Washington, DC History & Culture

In June, we will learn the history of a region of the world that we have only rarely visited in this group: Polynesia. This book explores the history of how humans came to populate these islands. Sea People: The Puzzle of Polynesia by Christina Thompson.

Here is what the publisher has to say about the book:

"For more than a millennium, Polynesians have occupied the remotest islands in the Pacific Ocean, a vast triangle stretching from Hawaii to New Zealand to Easter Island. Both the most closely related and the most widely dispersed people in the world before the era of mass migration, Polynesians can trace their roots to a group of epic voyagers who ventured out into the unknown in one of the greatest adventures in human history.

How did the earliest Polynesians find and colonize these far-flung islands? How did a people without writing or metal tools conquer the largest ocean in the world? This conundrum, which came to be known as the Problem of Polynesian Origins, emerged in the eighteenth century as one of the great geographical mysteries of mankind.

Thompson explores the fascinating story of these ancestors, as well as those of the many sailors, linguists, archaeologists, folklorists, biologists, and geographers who have puzzled over this history for three hundred years."

Please remember that this is, first and foremost, a book club. Like any local book club, the point is discussion about a shared experience - reading the book! It is not a lecture series. So as usual, get yourself a copy and read it, then join us for another interesting discussion. We continue to meet virtually because so many of our members now join us from locations far from the D.C area.

A zoom link to the discussion will be sent a day before the meeting.

We have arrived at the beginning of the commemoration of the 250th anniversary of the American Revolution, and - no doubt, this group will read its fair share of related books - starting this July. Nathaniel Philbrick wrote three books on the war for independence. This is the middle of the three: Valiant Ambition: George Washington, Benedict Arnold, and the Fate of the American Revolution. It captures a short time period within the larger war, starting in 1776 when Washington was less certain of the path forward, and Arnold seemed to do no wrong. Their positions reversed over the next four years, and this book tells that story.

Here is what the publisher has to say about the book:

"Valiant Ambition is a complex, controversial, and dramatic portrait of a people in crisis and the war that gave birth to a nation. The focus is on loyalty and personal integrity, evoking a Shakespearean tragedy that unfolds in the key relationship of Washington and Arnold, who is an impulsive but sympathetic hero whose misfortunes at the hands of self-serving politicians fatally destroy his faith in the legitimacy of the rebellion. As a country wary of tyrants suddenly must figure out how it should be led, Washington’s unmatched ability to rise above the petty politics of his time enables him to win the war that really matters."

Please remember that this is, first and foremost, a book club. Like any local book club, the point is discussion about a shared experience - reading the book! It is not a lecture series. So as usual, get yourself a copy, read it, then join us for another interesting discussion. We continue to meet virtually because so many of our members now join us from locations outside the D.C area.

A zoom link to the discussion will be sent a day before the meeting.