Frederick C. Beiser, The German Historicist Tradition. It’s long and dense, but full of good stuff and written with extreme clarity that’s almost unbelievable. Historians these days are a well-discussed way of the history of German thought. Have you ever wondered why Justus Möser was important, and why he focused on the history of Osnabrück? Or how Leopold Rankke saw his work as a response to Hegel? What about the difference between Dilthey and Rickert? If nothing else, this book is also an excellent background for capturing the development of the Austrian school approach to economics. After reading it, I started ordering other books by the same author.
Celine Dietziker and Lukas Gruntz, Aalto in Detail: Parts Catalog. I hadn’t realized how much of a “micro achitect” you are. This book, for example, has a nice collection of different photos of the floors he designs. There is a chapter on “Handrails,” “Door Handles,” and “Drainage.” This is my book.
Zeke Hernandez, The Truth About Immigration: Why Successful Communities Welcome Newcomers, delivers exactly what its title promises.
Neil Taylor, Estonia: A Modern History, the best history I’ve found on that country. It also has a rave blurb from Robert Service.
Arthur Brown Ruhl, New Masters of the Baltic, travel book from 1921. When you visit any place, you should try to read the earliest travel book of the said place. Beautiful in perspective, indefensible and yet familiar with insight, and these books give you a sense of how impactful history can be. Who are the “good guys” used to be discovered more often than you might think.
Then there are passages like this: “I asked if they thought that Latvia would be able to maintain its independence when it became Russia again. Yes, they say, they do; if people outside Russia’s borders band together to form a defensive alliance, old Russia would have trouble forcing them. But they would like to ask me a question. Did the Allies, who had encouraged them to declare their independence, really believe in it? Or were they simply used because the Allies thought their troops were too good to send against the Bolsheviks?”
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