Tuesday, May 08, 2007

History of the World, Part One

Sorry for the delay since I last posted. Part of the reason was my hectic schedule, but mostly I've just been struggling to come up with a non-Vocal-Majority-related topic to write about, hoping to give my readers (both of you!) a break. Plus, the rest of my spare time (such that it is) is taken up with learning VM music and VM choreography to the point where even I am almost sick of it... oh, wait, I wasn't going to write about that. Sorry.

Actually, I have managed to fit into my limited down time some pretty interesting reading, of Winston Churchill's History of the English-Speaking Peoples. I've never been a huge history buff like my brother Greg, but occasionally I find myself becoming fascinated with history if the story is well-told. Churchill's book (actually a single volume compiled from his original, more scholarly, four-volume treatise) is pretty dry from time to time, but I've still found it interesting. (Note to my pastor: I was joking when I said I was carrying the book around just to look intelligent. I actually am reading it.)

What is most compelling to me is the big picture it gives. It starts with the Roman-occupied British Isles and works forward chronologically, through the Dark Ages, the Medieval era, and onward to the early/mid-20th century when it was written. Most of the historic figures I had heard of, and many of them I knew their stories already. What has been new is how they flow together, how one familiar story relates to another, over and over through history. I highly recommend it.