As the leaves turn bright with color this autumn, and as we mark the 200th birthday of Thomas Jefferson University, I was reflecting on two books I enjoyed over the last few months, both in the realm of history.
First, Eric H. Cline’s “1177 B.C.: The Year Civilization Collapsed” tells the story, based upon archeologic treasures (some recently discovered) of the Late Bronze Age and the magnificent civilizations from the 15th century B.C. onward (from Mesopotamia, to Greece, to the Hittites, the Levant and Egypt). Cline describes the decline of these grand civilizations due to natural disasters, drought, internal strife and external invasions by the still not clearly defined “Sea Peoples.” The author posits 1177 B.C. as the turning point of this ancient world. The second book illustrates the pivotal time of the 1860s in America.
The presidential scholar Jon Meacham’s “And There Was Light: Abraham Lincoln and the American Struggle” is the story of very human “Honest Abe”, an imperfect man, self-educated, whose moral antislavery commitment began as he was raised in a small Baptist community, and who steadfastly maintained his views through early political failures, countless challenges and the American Civil War. On a stormy Saturday, March 4, 1865, Lincoln and the Republican Party celebrated his second inauguration day in Washington D.C., having defeated his Democratic challenger, the son of Jefferson’s founder–ex-Union General George Brinton McClellan. Meacham’s text reveals Lincoln’s internal and external struggles to “do right” and makes it clear that “in a democracy, the pursuit of power for power’s sake, devoid of devotion to equal justice and fair play, is tempting but destructive.”
Wonderful lessons are learned from the study and scholarly interpretation of human history! I recommend both of these books to those who enjoy historical nonfiction.
Recommended Citation
Yeo, MD, FACS, Charles
(2024)
"Two Terrific Nonfiction Scholarly Works,"
Jefferson Surgical Solutions: Vol. 20:
Iss.
2, Article 2.
Available at:
https://jdc.jefferson.edu/jss/vol20/iss2/2