>> Okay, this is totally off topic, but I want to recommend a really nifty >> little book I just finished. It's the biography of Lincoln in the "Penguin >> Lives" series. The author is Thomas Keneally. > > On that off-topic note, I'd recommend the "Horrible History" series for > world history; _The Rotten Romans_, _The Awful Egyptians_, and so on. > They're short books for a younger audience, and sure, they go into wars > and rulers. But they also discuss latrines, eating milk-fed slugs, and > those other precious gems that are the *real* reason to study history.
I'll make a confession: I sometimes do buy children's books. For myself, that is. What I've found is that when I know absolutely nothing about a topic, it can be difficult a thorough but understandable primer written for adults. Most books for adults assume a certain amount of knowledge already. So if I want to know the basics of a topic I knew nothing at all about previously, I'll go find a children's book about it. --Mike
