LitQueuelitqueue

After

Genghis Khan and the Making of the Modern World

Jack Weatherford2004

6 of 6 directions open

More like it

Same earnest register, still history

1 more ↓

  • The Woman Who Would Be King

    Kara Cooney2014

    A biography of Hatshepsut, the woman who took the title of Pharaoh in ancient Egypt. It traces her rise from princess to king.

    pace0·prose0·bleak0

Denser prose

3 more ↓

  • Discipline and Punish: The Birth of the Prison

    Michel Foucault

    A philosophical history examines the shift from public torture to modern prison surveillance. It analyzes how power controls the body.

    earnest → clinical, still history

    pace0·prose+2·bleak+1

  • The Gulag Archipeligo 1918-1956: An Experiment In Literary Investigation I - Ii.

    Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn

    A history of the Soviet forced labor camp system based on survivor reports and the author's own imprisonment. It documents state-run repression.

    earnest → bleak, still history

    pace0·prose+2·bleak+2

  • The Mediterranean and the Mediterranean World in the Age of Philip II, Volume I

    Fernand Braudel

    A history of the 16th-century Mediterranean that prioritizes geography and long-term environmental trends over individual events.

    earnest → meditative

    pace-1·prose+2·bleak0

To recover

3 more ↓

  • His Excellency: George Washington

    Joseph J. Ellis

    A chronological study of Washington's character and leadership. It focuses on his evolution from a young soldier to a national figurehead.

    earnest → meditative, still history

    pace0·prose+1·bleak-1

  • The Defining Moment: FDR's Hundred Days and the Triumph of Hope

    Jonathan Alter

    A history of Franklin D. Roosevelt's 1932 election and the first three months of his presidency during the Great Depression.

    Same earnest register, still history

    pace+1·prose0·bleak-1

  • Churchill: A Biography

    Roy Jenkins

    earnest → wry, still history

    pace0·prose+1·bleak-1

Faster

3 more ↓

  • Astrophysics for People in a Hurry

    Neil deGrasse Tyson2017

    A summary of the origin of the universe, the laws of physics, and the nature of space and time.

    earnest → playful

    pace+2·prose-1·bleak-1

  • Steal Like an Artist

    Austin Kleon2012

    A series of short, illustrated principles for creative work. It focuses on remixing existing ideas and establishing productive daily habits.

    earnest → playful

    pace+2·prose-1·bleak-1

  • Poke the Box

    Seth Godin2011

    A short manifesto encouraging readers to start projects and take initiative. It argues that the greatest risk is staying in place.

    Same earnest register

    pace+2·prose-1·bleak-1

Slower

3 more ↓

  • Confessions

    Augustine of Hippo

    A 4th-century bishop writes a spiritual autobiography addressed to God. He recounts his sinful youth and his eventual conversion to Christianity.

    earnest → meditative

    pace-1·prose+2·bleak-1

  • How to Read a Book

    Mortimer J. Adler1940

    This is a guide to active reading techniques for different genres. It outlines levels of reading from basic literacy to syntopical analysis.

    earnest → mysterious

    pace-1·prose+2·bleak0

  • The Red Book: Liber Novus

    C.G. Jung2009

    A psychologist records his visions and internal dialogues in an illuminated manuscript created during a period of intense self-exploration.

    earnest → dreamlike

    pace-1·prose+2·bleak0

Heavier

3 more ↓

  • Trail of Tears: The Rise and Fall of the Cherokee Nation

    John Ehle

    A historical account of the Cherokee Nation's political struggles and their forced removal from ancestral lands in the 1830s.

    earnest → elegiac, still history

    pace0·prose0·bleak+2

  • Hitler: A Study in Tyranny – A Classic Biography: Authoritative and Readable, Abridged

    Alan Bullock

    A detailed biography of Adolf Hitler that focuses on his rise to power and his psychological control over the German state.

    earnest → clinical, still history

    pace0·prose+1·bleak+2

  • Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee

    Dee Alexander Brown

    A chronological history of the displacement and systematic destruction of Native American tribes in the late 19th century.

    earnest → elegiac, still history

    pace0·prose0·bleak+2