About us
We meet at the Draught house English pub and imbibe some beer and food while discussing history.
Titles range from more rigorous and scholarly works to lighter, more journalistic writing. Genres tend to include foreign policy, history, culture, science, politics, and area studies (e.g. The Middle East, Europe, South Asia, etc.) See our "Past Reads" page for titles.
Note to avoid scams: We will never contact you asking for money to read or review your book. If you have received an email claiming to be from us, please be aware that this is a scam. Please report it to your email provider.
Upcoming events
10
Thinking Historically: A Guide to Statecraft and Strategy
Draught House Pub & Brewery, 4112 Medical Pkwy, Austin, TX, USJoin us over drinks to discuss the book, “Thinking Historically: A Guide to Statecraft and Strategy.”
Description of book:
A compelling and insightful argument for historical study as a way to understand and navigate the complex, often confusing world of decision-making
It seems obvious that we should use history to improve policy. If we have a good understanding of the past, it should enable better decisions in the present, especially in the extraordinarily consequential worlds of statecraft and strategy. But how do we gain that knowledge? How should history be used? Sadly, it is rarely done well, and historians and decision-makers seldom interact. But in this remarkable book, Francis J. Gavin explains the many ways historical knowledge can help us understand and navigate the complex, often confusing world around us.
Good historical work convincingly captures the challenges and complexities the decisionmaker faces. At its most useful, history is less a narrowly defined field of study than a practice, a mental awareness, a discernment, and a responsiveness to the past and how it unfolded into our present world—a discipline in the best sense of the word. Gavin demonstrates how a historical sensibility helps us to appreciate the unexpected; complicates our assumptions; makes the unfamiliar familiar and the familiar unfamiliar; and requires us, without entirely suspending moral judgment, to try to understand others on their own terms. This book is a powerful argument for thinking historically as a way for readers to apply wisdom in encountering what is foreign to them.
Lecture with the author:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0d8g___4t0w
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cSqpZ41WMm4
Look for the group with lights and a sign.15 attendees
History Book Club Social Hour at Rules & Regs Rooftop Bar
The Fairmont Hotel Austin, 101 Red River, Austin, tx, USHistory book club is hoisting a social hour at the Rules & Regs rooftop bar on top of the Fairmont hotel in downtown Austin. No reading required for this book club meeting. Join us for drinks, food and conversation. Feel free to bring your favorite history book.
https://www.fairmont-austin.com/dine/rules-regs/
Note: this event takes place on a smoke friendly balcony. Please keep this in mind. If you attend as other tables may be smoking around us.
12 attendees
The Revolution to Come: A History of an Idea from Thucydides to Lenin
Draught House Pub & Brewery, 4112 Medical Pkwy, Austin, TX, USJoin us over food and drinks to discuss the book, “The Revolution to Come: A History of an Idea from Thucydides to Lenin.”
Description of Book:
How an event once considered the greatest of all political dangers came to be seen as a solution to all social problems. Political thinkers from Plato to John Adams saw revolutions as a grave threat to society and advocated for a constitution that prevented them by balancing social interests and forms of government. The Revolution to Come traces how evolving conceptions of history ushered in a faith in the power of revolution to create more just and reasonable societies. Taking readers from Greek antiquity to Leninist Russia, Dan Edelstein describes how classical philosophers viewed history as chaotic and directionless, and sought to keep historical change—especially revolutions—at bay. This conception prevailed until the eighteenth century, when Enlightenment thinkers conceived of history as a form of progress and of revolution as its catalyst. These ideas were put to the test during the French Revolution and came to define revolutions well into the twentieth century. Edelstein demonstrates how the coming of the revolution leaves societies divided over its goals, giving rise to new forms of violence in which rivals are targeted as counterrevolutionaries. A panoramic work of intellectual history, The Revolution to Come challenges us to reflect on the aims and consequences of revolution and to balance the value of stability over the hope for change in our own moment of fear and upheaval.
Lecture with author:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V-bMsTbzdik
http://youtube.com/watch?v=OfGWy1JHE3ELook for the group with lights and a sign.
11 attendees
Why Religion Went Obsolete: The Demise of Traditional Faith in America
Draught House Pub & Brewery, 4112 Medical Pkwy, Austin, TX, USJoin us over drinks to discuss the book, “Why Religion Went Obsolete: The Demise of Traditional Faith in America”
Description of the book:
Traditional religion in the United States has suffered huge losses in recent decades. The number of Americans identifying as "not religious" has increased remarkably. Religious affiliation, service attendance, and belief in God have declined. More and more people claim to be "spiritual but not religious." Religious organizations have been reeling from revelations of sexual and financial scandals and cover-ups. Public trust in "organized religion" has declined significantly. Crucially, these religious losses are concentrated among younger generations. This means that, barring unlikely religious revivals among youth, the losses will continue and accelerate in time, as less-religious younger Americans replace older more-religious ones and increasingly fewer American children are raised by religious parents. All this is clear. But what is less clear is exactly why this is happening. We know a lot more about the fact that traditional American religion has declined than we do about why this is so.
Lecture with author:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BVxCy5zacf4
Look for the group with lights and a sign.11 attendees
Past events
320
Group links
Members
1,374
