What we’re about
Join us for a history book club. Whether you’re a history buff or just interested in the conversation, come share your perspective.
For each monthly meet-up, we'll discuss the selected book over drinks and/or food. If you didn't have time to read the book in its entirety, or at all, you're still welcome to join. Each event description will include a lecture by the author, interview, or book preview to give you good context.
Upcoming events
3
Book Discussion - The Economic Weapon
Location not specified yetFor this meeting, we'll be discussing Nicholas Mulder’s The Economic Weapon: The Rise of Sanctions as a Tool of Modern War. How economic sanctions went from a utopian idea after WWI to a central weapon of modern geopolitics.
Length: 434 pages | ~14 hrs audiobook
Book Description
In the wreckage of World War I, policymakers believed that cutting off an enemy’s access to trade and finance could prevent future wars. Historian Nicholas Mulder traces how this vision of “peaceful pressure” evolved into one of the most powerful and controversial tools of statecraft. He explores the League of Nations’ early experiments, the devastating humanitarian toll in places like Greece and Spain, and how sanctions shaped the path to World War II. The book shows how a tool designed to avoid war became one of the defining instruments of modern conflict.
Book talk by author: Princeton University on Wed, Apr 6, 202210 attendees
Book Discussion - The Tragedy of Liberation
Grateful Gnome, 4300-4344 West 44th Avenue, Denver, CO, USDetails
For this meeting, we’ll be discussing Frank Dikötter’s The Tragedy of Liberation: A History of the Chinese Revolution 1945–1957.
The book is 401 pages long. The audiobook version is 14 hours and 29 minutes.
If you don’t think you’ll have time to read the book, but still want to join the discussion, you can watch this interview with the author where he talks about the book.
Book Description
In The Tragedy of Liberation, Frank Dikötter examines how the Communist takeover of China in 1949 transformed every aspect of society—often through violence and coercion. Using newly opened archives, he documents the mass executions, land reforms, and political purges that accompanied Mao’s consolidation of power, showing how fear and ideology reshaped daily life. It’s a stark, fast-moving account of how revolution and state-building collided in the making of modern China.8 attendees
Book Discussion - Comandante: Hugo Chávez’s Venezuela
TBD, Denver, CO, USDetails
For this meeting, we’ll be discussing Rory Carroll’s Comandante: Hugo Chávez’s Venezuela. The book traces Chávez’s rise from impoverished cadet to populist president and offers a clear report on how his charismatic yet chaotic rule inspired fervent devotion in some Venezuelans while provoking fear and disillusionment in others.
Feel free to join even if you don’t finish the book; our discussions are informal and welcome all perspectives. This interview offers a preview into the book and the author's perspective.
Length: 336 pages
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Book Description
In Comandante, acclaimed journalist Rory Carroll tells the inside story of Hugo Chávez’s life, investigates his time as Venezuela’s president and assesses his legacy. Carroll examines the almost religious devotion of millions of Venezuelans who regarded Chávez as a saviour, as well as the loathing of those who branded him a dictator. Drawing on interviews with ministers, aides, courtiers and citizens, this intimate piece of reportage chronicles a unique experiment in power that veered from enlightenment to tyranny and from comedy to farce.3 attendees
Past events
9
