What we’re about
We share perspectives on books and topics in History and Foreign Affairs in a friendly, small group roundtable discussion format. Our focus is on interesting eras, significant events, transformative figures, and trends across cultures and time. By discussing how Geography, Economics and Trade, Technology, Politics, and Culture have shaped History, we can better understand modern world events and current geopolitical conflicts.
If you have a passion for discussing topics in History and Foreign Affairs, you will enjoy being a part of our community.
Upcoming events (3)
See all- Oil and War: Germany in WW IILink visible for attendees
Many say WW II was decided by oil. Most of the key military innovations - tanks, airplanes, ships, submarines, and motorized transport - required oil. As a result, each country’s war-time strategy was dictated by its ability to get it. We'll discuss how this critical resource impacted the course and outcome of WW II with a focus on Germany.
Suggested Reading:
Oil and War: ten conclusions from WW II
Rethinking Strategy: Oil and War - Book: Iron Curtain: The Crushing of Eastern Europe 1944–1956 by Anne ApplebaumLink visible for attendees
Pulitzer Prize-winning author Applebaum delivers a groundbreaking history of how Communism took over Eastern Europe after WW II, transformed the individuals living there and created the Soviet Bloc.
National Book Award Finalist
TIME Magazine's #1 Nonfiction Book of 2012
A New York Times Notable Book
A Washington Post Top Ten Book of 2012
Best Nonfiction of 2012: The Wall Street Journal, The Plain DealerIron Curtain: The Crushing of Eastern Europe 1944–1956 by Anne Applebaum is available in all formats at public libraries and bookstores.
- Book Discussion: Nuclear Folly: A History of Cuban Missile Crisis -Serhii PlokhyLink visible for attendees
A harrowing account of the Cuban missile crisis and how the US and USSR came to the brink of nuclear apocalypse. Plokhy vividly traces the tortuous decision-making by John Kennedy, Nikita Khrushchev and Fidel Castro.
Nuclear war was ultimately avoided due to the realization and fear that escalation on either the Soviets’ or the Americans’ part would lead to mutual destruction. As today’s world leaders are abandoning disarmament treaties, building up their nuclear arsenals, and exchanging threats of nuclear strikes, the Cuban missile crisis offers lessons for a new atomic age.
"What makes this the definitive history is Mr Plokhy’s telling of the tale in gripping detail from the Soviet perspective.... It is the picture Mr Plokhy paints of the complete failure of the key decision-makers to get inside the minds of their counterparts that is most telling.... With his masterly book, Mr Plokhy has sounded a warning bell."
― The EconomistNuclear Folly: A History of the Cuban Missile Crisis by Serhii Plokhy is available in all formats at public libraries and bookstores.
