This is a review for the collection of American writings assembled by Canterbury Classics, and not a review of the US Constitution.
War and Peace Review
It luxuriates, meandering through lives and small events that stack up into occasional flashes of intense conflict. Instead of following a central plot thread all the way through in a direct fashion, as a modern novel would, Tolstoy leads the reader on a winding path that, while you’re walking it, can feel unfocused, but that somehow still conveys a sense of progress.
Wisdom Sits in Places Review
I was left pondering this idea of perception and the environment, too nebulous as yet for me to fully express it myself. Wisdom Sits in Places is the answer for which I did not realize I was looking.
Material World Review
Material World’s strength is in examining the many permutations of these substances, and following them from their initial extraction as raw resources through their conversion into recognizable products, although do not expect too great of technical depth.
Using History
There’s clearly nothing wrong with being inspired by history for your writing – historical fiction is a genre, after all – but Impressions has me pondering how closely a fantasy story can hew to real history without confusing or distracting the reader.
Why War
The point is not in the specifics, but in prompting you (and me) to consider these things when we write. I’ve said it many times, and I’ll continue saying it; the most important decisions you make in your story might be the ones that you don’t even realize you’re making.
The Cutting-Off Way Review
Rather than engaging in “Russeauistic retrospective utopianism," Lee presents a nuanced, complex portrait of indigenous warfare during, prior to, and just after the contact period, examining the question from the tactical, operational, and strategic levels of war.
Teamwork Sometimes
I don’t deride teamwork to the extent that Rand does, but neither do I hold it up as a veritable moral imperative demanded by a collectivist deity…and given the current context, I consider that we are in far greater danger of too greatly lauding the team than we are of not valuing teamwork sufficiently.
Shahnameh Review
The ”Persian Book of Kings” is sometimes described as the Persian Iliad which, after reading it, I think is a terrible description. Shahnameh is far less narrative, and it is as much a history book as it is an epic.
How to Behave Badly in Elizabethan England Review
Slice-of-life history books have a particular appeal, since they include the sorts of details that escape larger “history” texts, but that are exactly what can enrich a story and make its world immersive for the reader.
IGC Publishing 