Reading Recommendations:

Pure Goldwater, John W. Dean and Barry M. Goldwater, Jr. -

The legacy of Barry Goldwater, firebrand politician, optimistic conservative, and defining figure in American public life, is more important than ever in an era in which American conservatism has lost its way. In this illuminating look at his life, bestselling author, John W. Dean, and Barry M. Goldwater, Jr., have assembled a treasure trove of Goldwater's own unscripted words; it is pure Goldwater. For over 50 years, in moments outside the political fray, the Senator and 1964 Republican Presidential candidate kept a private journal, recording his reflections on a rich political and personal life. That journal, never previously published, is the core of Pure Goldwater. With unprecedented access to the Senator's correspondence, interviews, and behind the scene conversations, Dean and the Senator's son narrate the remarkable story of Goldwater's life and career, from his learning the ways of Washington, to the launching of a movement, to his growing discomfort with the rise of the extreme Right, along with his frank remarks about Richard Nixon and his consistent devotion to his partner and wife, Peggy.

The Senator's journal illuminates his private thoughts, his disagreements with the Republican Party on issues such as abortion and gay rights, his long standing support for the Arizona NAACP, his opposition to big government, and his constant quest to empower the individual. This intimate material paints a fresh and insightful portrait of an American original, an unfiltered view of a man whose life and ideas changed history.

And, Comanche Empire, Pekka Hamalainen -

In the 18th and early 19th centuries, at the high tide of imperial struggles in North America, an indigenous empire rose to dominate the fiercely contested lands of the American Southwest, the Southern Great Plains, and northern Mexico. This powerful empire, built by the Comanche Indians, eclipsed its various European and Native American rivals in military prowess, political prestige, economic power, commercial reach, and cultural influence. Yet, until now, the Comanche empire has gone unrecognized in historical accounts.

This compelling and original book uncovers the lost story of the Comanches. It is a story that challenges the idea of indigenous peoples as victims of European Expansion and offers a new model for the history of colonial expansion, colonial frontiers, and Native-European relations in North America and elsewhere. Pekka Hamalainen shows in vivid detail how the Comanches built their unique empire and resisted European colonization, and why they fell to defeat in 1875. With extensive knowledge and deep insight, the author brings into clear relief the Comanches' remarkable impact on the trajectory of American colonial history.

And, London Rising, The Men Who Made Modern London, Leo Hollis -

By the middle of the 17th century, London was on the verge of collapse. Its ancient infrastructure could no longer support its explosive growth: the English Civil War had torn society apart, and in 1665, the capitol was struck by a plaque that claimed 100,000 lives. And then, the following year, the Great Fire raged through the city, destroying 13,200 houses, 87 churches, including the thousand-year-old St. Paul's Cathedral, and all the major sites of trade and business. As Leo Hollis recounts in his stirring history of the period, modern London was born out of this crucible.

Among the catalysts for this rebirth were five extraordinary men, each deeply influenced by the Civil War, whose intersecting lives from the heart of London Rising - famed philosopher, John Locke - whose ideas about the individual would outline a new theory of civil society based on natural rights; diarist John Evelyn, who insightfully chronicled the tumult and transformation before him; the polymathic scientist and architect Robert Hooke; developer Nicholas Barboa, who built much of the city after the fire; and Sir Christopher Wren, astronomer, geometer, and the greatest English architect of his time, whose reconstruction of St. Paul's Cathedral was the essential symbol of London's rebirth. The city today is in great part the result of the myriad advances in literature, planning, science, and social issues forged by these five.

Hollis paints a vibrant portrait of one of the world's greatest cities, and of a generation of men whose impact on London is unmatched.

See you at Rylander!