History Lessons

I admit I'm a lazy reader. Despite being an avid bibliophile, my reading material generally tends to speculative fiction and fiction in general. On the other hand, my non-fiction reading material is sorely lacking so that when something pops up in my reading radar, I have to get it.

A case in point is my recent acquisition, Hell Riders by Terry Brighton. I'm sure everyone has heard of Alfred Tennyson's poem, "The Charge of the Light Brigade," the start which goes:

Half a league, half a league/Half a league onward, /All in the valley of Death/ Rode the six hundred./"Forward, the Light Brigade!/"Charge for the guns!" he said:/Into the valley of Death

Well, this book is the real story behind the 20-minute charge of British sabers and horses against Russian cannons that left hundreds dead. With a tragic recommendation like that, what's not to like, right?

Of course different factors come into play when these books pique my interest. For example, Alison Weir's The Wars of the Roses-- about the royal feud between the House Lancaster and House York-- had such a great title and cover when I first saw it in a book catalog. So when I saw a copy of this locally, I immediately grabbed it.

On the other hand, I was interested in getting Peter Wells' The Battle That Stopped Rome but it was a bit pricey. Fortunately enough, I found another book, Stephen Dando-Collins' Caesar's Legion, that was about the same thing but slightly cheaper.

There are also some historical personages I'm fascinated about, one of them being rebel leader Oliver Cromwell who brought low the British kings. Unfortunately, the only book I've found was the hardbound Old Ironsides by Frank Kitson, which was a bit expensive. Despite having bought it already, I still have misgivings about whether this book is worth it. (And speaking of personages, does anyone know a good book about Belisarius?)

Lastly, I'm beginning to read Warriors of God by James Reston, that chronicles the battles between Richard the Lionhearted and Saladin. In this one, you got the the Third Crusades in the Middle East and two of that era's greatest generals in an all-out smack-down.

Of course, everyone knows the ending of this one but that's the whole point of history books, right?

So what non-fic books are you people reading?