The Gnostic Gospels. Elaine Pagels.
The Gnostic Gospels.by Elaine Pagels.Vintage: 1979. Written by an academic who is an ‘expert’ in gnosticism, this popular work gives a brief introduction to the texts discovered at … Read more »
history
Voyagers to the New World. Nigel Davies.
Voyagers to the New World.Nigel DaviesWilliam Morrow: 1979. Here is a book that should be updated every decade or two. This is a thorough review of the main … Read more »
Aztecs: An Interpretation. Inga Clendinnen.
Aztecs: An Interpretation.Inga Clendinnen.Cambridge: 1995. Along with Bernal Diaz and Todorov, this is among the best Aztec books I’ve read. This book takes a close look at the … Read more »
The Nothing That Is. Robert Kaplan
The Nothing That Is: A Natural History of Zero.Robert Kaplan.Oxford: 1999. An interesting topic that intrigued me when I first read about this book in a review. The … Read more »
The First Coming. Thomas Sheehan.
The First Comingby Thomas Sheehan.Vintage: 1986. Subtitled, “How the Kingdom of God Became Christianity,” this book attemps to look underneath and through the surface of the Bible to … Read more »
Calendar. David Ewing Duncan.
Calendarby David Ewing Duncan.Avon Books: 1998 Subtitled “Humanity’s Epic Struggle to Determine a True and Accurate Year”, this book mainly focuses on the Gregorian calendar, mentioning non-western developments … Read more »
The Aztecs: People of the Sun. Alfonso Caso.
Return of the Nephilimby Alfonso Caso.University of Oklahoma: 1970. Wonderfully illustrated by Miguel Covarrubias, this book is at times a general overview of the confusing and complex Aztec … Read more »
The Rise & Fall of the Third Reich. William L. Shirer
The Rise and Fall of the Third Reichby William L. Shirer.Simon & Schuster 1959. A huge book of equal significance. Shirer was a journalist who spent much time … Read more »
The European Discovery of America. Samuel Eliot Morison
The European Discovery of America: The Northern Voyagesby Samuel Eliot Morison. S.E. Morison is renowned as a naval historian, and I fear it may be going to his … Read more »
A Short Account of the Destruction of the Indies. by Bartolome de las Casas
A Short Account of the Destruction of the Indies Bartolome de las Casas. Penguin: 1992/1552. Written by the “Friend of the Indians”, Las Casas was the first & … Read more »