Civilization & Capitalism, 15th - 18th Century - The Perspective of the World (Fernand Braudel, 1979)

Started this book in 2012 and left off for whatever reason.  Resumed this year, but I still don't really get it.  Interesting information throughout on an anecdotal level, but I don't have enough knowledge to grasp what he's saying about "world economies" and the like.

French author; this translation from 1992.

The idea that cities in the north - Bruges etc. - were built from scratch.  Italian cities hearkened back to Rome, Byzantium, etc.

Reiterates that the Champagne fairs were a big deal; year-round; gathered from north and south;  in 12th and 13th centuries.

Lots of interesting discussion about the rise of the Dutch, the manner in which they operated their colonies, and then being overtaken by Britain.  The idea that England gained from finally "losing" its French possessions and becoming a true island.

Sections on Russia, Ottoman Empire, China, etc.

The Lost World of the Old Ones - Discoveries in the Ancient Southwest (David Roberts, 2015)

I enjoyed this - helps with bits and pieces of information on the "ancient southwest" - which we think of as a large area around Four Corners.  The author isn't a professional archaeologist - but is a heckuva rock climber and has written on many topics.  He had written a very popular/successful book on this topic a few years before - which I've not read - this one seemed like a sequel.  Picked up a variety of topics that don't fit together particularly closely - but all tied into this area.

One takeaway - still not much resolution on the depopulation that happened shortly before the Spanish showed up.  Also mysterious:  the populations in the pueblos at the time the Spanish showed up (down to now) - language and pottery patterns don't fit together cleanly - backgrounds?

The utter beauty of this stark area; the ingenuity of the ancient populations; great stuff here about the rock art in various forms.  Inaccessible granaries indicating protection of precious grains in starvation-times.  An interesting "meridian" theory about moving some of the population centers.

We have visited the general area quite a few times but haven't explored it nearly as much as we'd like.  A strange kind of beauty, captivating.

First chapter involves exploring Cedar Mesa - author spent lots of profitable time with an old-timer (Waldo) who was born and raised in the area - this quote made me think of my dad and his knowledge of the St. Joe area (other than the "vague sorrow" thing):  "The more time Greg and I spent in Waldo's company, the more we realized that he was a walking encyclopedia of local lore, or knowledge that had escaped the historians and archaeologists, of understandings that would evaporate with his passing.  Waldo knew it:  that sense of impending loss, I guessed, was at the core of the vague sorrow he seemed to carry with wherever he went, even as he told funny stories about the blatherings of self-styled "experts"."

They take a rafting trip into Desolation Canyon (named by John Wesley Powell) - author gets bummed because the trip is going too fast - just how it feels when we are hiking in Grand Canyon!  He writes:  "Twenty-nine of our eighty-five river miles were behind us.  I felt the adventure already slipping through my fingers - I wanted to make the journey last forever.  I thought of Edward Abbey [rafting through Glen Canyon] . . . "The time passes slowly," Abbey wrote, "but not slowly enough."  So true.

The Princess of Siberia - The Story of Maria Volkonsky and the Decembrist Exiles (Christine Sutherland, 1984)

Decembrists (so named because their short-lived revolution was launched in December (1825)) are oft-encountered in Russia history and literature, but I never had read any detail about them.

The Decembrists were aristocrats (often military); exposed to liberal ideas via French Revolution and Napoleonic wars; anxious for drastic change in Russia but lacking organizational skills and ruthlessness - it's hard to run a revolution!  Splits develop in revolutionary groups in northern and southern Russia; things are drifting; then the Tsar suddenly dies and the Decembrists decide they need to strike during a momentary potential power vacuum.  But many don't follow through; secret police are reasonably effective; the movement entirely fails.

And the new Tsar (Nicholas I) never forgets these traitors - a few executions, most exiled to Siberia.  No amnesty until Nicholas dies about 30 years later.

While Siberian exile wasn't new, this was a fairly novel large-scale deportation.

Protagonist was the young wife of an exile - she was from a wealthy family, completely unaware of her new husband's participation in the revolution.  Yet she immediately followed him to Siberia (as did other wives) - over the Tsar's objections and threats - and she (and the other wives) managed to build interesting lives in an incredibly remote location.  Along with essential support for their husbands.  These wives were impressive - and Maria Volkonsky in fact was commonly referred to as "The Princess of Siberia."

Even after amnesty - many Decembrists remained in Siberia - where they were comfortable after spending decades.

Decembrists have very favorable reputations.

Tolstoy started a novel about them but for whatever reason didn't pull it off.

This is a useful read alongside the Romanovs book, dovetails nicely.