Ace of Hearts

Remarkable book, less than satisfactory reader.

Revisado: 01-08-25

This book challenges everything you think you know about Paul, but, since Paul was crucially misread by later Christian theologians, also how you understand the original relationship between Judaism and Christianity. (And what might have been their very different relationship in history.) The author has a commanding grasp of all relevant languages and texts, is alert to both text and context as well as the literary, philosophical and historical dimensions of Paul’s words, and crafts her arguments clearly and elegantly. The only minus is having to listen to the citations read aloud and the oddly ironic tone of the reader. I frequently wished that I had the physical book.

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Astonishing ruler!

Revisado: 08-08-24

This is a detailed scholarly study not just of Theodoric but of the whole period of Italian history from 450 to 550 AD. I am a historian and I was amazed at how little I understood about this period (most of it wrong). It is long and exhaustive (author even covers the historiography of Theodoric) but genuinely illuminating. Theodoric was an unicum with his gothic heritage and Roman education. He was truly the last Roman ruler of Italy and it was Justinian who brought on the Dark Ages.

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A story you might not like but should know

Revisado: 03-07-24

The author does an amazing job of weaving together various dimensions of postwar German experience, attitude and behavior. He asks very hard questions of his subjects. Though at times the absence of visuals or the recital of names of German authors, actors or artists is perplexing for nonGermans, the book justifies itself on the basis of its moral rigor and historical capaciousness. You might not like it, but you should know this.

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Required reading despite being 20 years old

Revisado: 12-28-23

This is a brilliantly analytical account of the historical process that produced the image of Eastern European that I grew up with in 1950s America. It blew my mind to learn that the countries and peoples of Eastern Europe had been completely remade between 1940 and 1945. Snyder wisely roots this story in the period 1569 to 1940 and bravely takes on their complicated transitions after 1989 with the end of the USSR. Astonishing how prescient his judgment was about the importance of Ukraine and other 1990s European developments. Required reading for citizens of the 21st century, especially Americans.

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Terrible but helps to redress the balance

Revisado: 09-27-23

The truth is painful, but this book does justice to the Soviet people and their desperate struggle against the Nazis. Without them we would have lost.

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