Tales of Titans, Vol. 1: From Rome to the Renaissance by Rich DiSilvioMy rating: 4 of 5 stars
Tales of Titans is a collection of essays but I consider it more as episodes of a historic show. The heroes are portrayed as such but also with that DiSilvio touch of 'he's just a man'. You get both the extraordinary and the human fallacy of every historical figure you meet here. I find that it ramps up the reality and drama of each essay. Getting both aspects of the person helps to make them and everything they've been through and accomplished more approachable from our position here in 2017. History can be notoriously boring and/or dull but when you're reading Tales of Titans, boring and dull are the last adjectives in your mind.
The Hitler portion of this book was fantastic! I wouldn't say DiSilvio made Hitler relatable or someone to sympathize with in any way but I never tire of learning about that monster in a different way. I have yet to find someone who makes me want to give him an ounce of credit or sympathy but there's no denying the magnetism of his personality. The need to understand how he made so many people blindly follow along and comply in the destruction of an entire human race, it's a perfect storm that I hope is never duplicated.
This will be a book I will have my older son read because I feel like he is missing so much in school when it comes to history. I mean, it isn't even called History anymore, it's Humanities. Whatever you want to call it, it is our shared past and we can't possibly understand our present or contemplate our futures without first understanding what we've been through. Perhaps Rich DiSilvio didn't fashion himself a history professor but I'll be happy to substitute him in where I see gaps!
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