I am currently reading The Enlightenment: The Rise of Modern Paganism By Peter Gay.  It is an ok book but not one I would pick.  I am reading it for a class on 18th and 19th Century History.The book I am currently reading for fun is The Vanished Kingdom: Travels through the History of Prussia By James Roy.  It is a great book that is very illuminating on the social and political pressures within Prussia.  It starts with the Teutonic Knights and ends in 1945.  Good read.

Then a few pages later she referred to the LA riots a “rebellion”.

I read an article on mob mentality that characterized the brutal assault on Reginald Denny during the LA riots as a protest, over the lack of jobs in the area. The subsequent aquittal of most of Denny's attackers was a total about face, of the law's stance on those who take part in crime during riots. It used to be considered a more serious crime to act as a mob i.e. lynching, now it is an excuse as in the case of Denny's attackers. The first two paragraphs here are worth a look.http://www.law.upenn.edu/fac/phrobins/books/Denny.pdf

I need to do more history reading for fun.  I should move this thread to general discussion and find out what books everyone else is currently reading.

I think you should.  This would be a good thread for everyone to keep the others abreast of what they are currently reading and maybe give others ideas of good history books worth reading.  We could post short descriptions instead of full reviews. I keep thinking I should post more book reviews in the review section.  I have several that i have completed but laziness has kept me from posting them. ;DI have switched books again.  I am currently reading The German Wars of Unification by Dennis Showalter.  It is a good look at mid-nineteenth century Prussian army and why they were so successful in the short wars they fought in the middle decades of the century.  It is also heavily footnoted which will help point me to sources for my MA Theses.

Just finished Through the Maelstrom: A Red Army Soldier's War on the Eastern Front, 1942-1945 by Boris Gorbachevsky.  Fascinating memoir of a Red Army soldier starting in officer cadet training in Siberia in 1942.  He and his fellow cadets were sent to the front in early 1942 as private soldiers / cadets with a promise of a commission after their first battle (if they survived).  Gorbachevsky spent time as a private/cadet in a rifle platoon and then as a sergeant platoon leader and lieutenant company commander during the summer / fall offensives against the Rzhev salient where his narrative of frontline action is riveting.  He is eventually appointed battalion komsorg (political officer) and he remains a political officer for the remainder of the war at various levels (battalion, regiment, division).This book is of value to the WWII and military historian, in my rather humble opinion, because of its candor about the "forgotten" battles of the Red Army, the terrible costs in lives, and the front line soldiers' perspectives on combat, command, and life from the dark days of 1942 through the end of the war.  Most other Soviet memoirs deal with the successes of the Great Patriotic War, Gorbachevsky offers a view of the campaigns that are still painful for Russian citizens.  Perhaps we'll see more of these works getting translated and published, but given the omnipresent Soviet censorship, propaganda, and suppression, works like this one will be rare.One note of caution, this is a memoir, so keep in mind that it is not necessarily all researched and documented history.

I have spent the last month catching up on my Sci-Fi reading but am not returning to history books because I just enjoy history more.  I am currently reading Iron Kingdom: The Rise and Downfall of Prussia, 1600-1947 by Christopher Clark.  I am only about 100 pages in so far and it is a pretty hefty book at 688 pages.  It is a fairly straightforward and balanced history and I will probably post a full review of it when I am finished.

I am currently reading Undaunted Courage by Stephen E. Ambrose about the Lewis and Clark Expedition

There is some interest in proving that Lewis was murdered, you might like this article H.H.http://hnn.us/articles/1758.html