Booking Through Thursday: Patriotism

Do you ever read books that could be considered patriotic?

What would you recommend if somebody asked you for something patriotic—no matter what your country?

Because most of the texts I consume feature Americans, fictional and nonfictional, I really only go out of my way to pick up books about French history, not American history. When I was in middle school and high school, my peers were very unimpressed by my French heritage. (They also made fun of me for being born in Alabama. Not my peers, my friends.) In response, I’ve developed a ferocious and vocal pride in the motherland, bellowing “You’re welcome, America!” when people bring up American independence, the English language, and the tricolore.

I haven’t made much headway in the French history department, but I do heartily recommend Tom Reiss’ The Black Count, the story of Alex Dumas, who was born a slave in the Ancien Régime and became a general to rival Napoleon himself.