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Old 07-04-2013, 09:22 AM   #43
issybird
o saeclum infacetum
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Quote:
Originally Posted by paola View Post
I am keeping to shorter works this month, as I am still battling my way through the Andes, .
Quote:
Originally Posted by fantasyfan View Post
I've finished Conquest of the Incas and it is certainly one of the finest--perhaps the finest--large-scale Historical study I have ever read. It has a remarkable precision of detail, depth of analysis, and epic scope that make it difficult to put down.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Bookpossum View Post
My undergraduate degree was in history, but I don't think I have ever read a more impressive work in that discipline than this one.
Bumping this thread because of paola's post in the July nominations thread. I didn't finish it until early May myself. It was the longest 500-page book I've ever read; not that it was difficult, as Hemming's clear exposition presented no problems, but it was what I can only describe as dense. A slow read and deep immersion. I'm glad that others thought it was worth the effort. I never would have gotten to it if it were not the club selection and I'm deeply grateful. A world-expander.

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Originally Posted by desertblues View Post
Somehow this reminds me of the great historical work of Montaillou by Le Roy Ladurie http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Emmanuel_Le_Roy_Ladurie
I think this is an inspired comparison. Montaillou is one of my favorite books and yes, it provided a very similar experience of glazed inattention to the world around me, as I lived in southern France in the fourteenth century. For anyone who hasn't read it and is intrigued, I promise it's a far faster read than Incas!
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