1. Salt: A World History" by Mark Kurlansky 2. Alexander II: The Last Great Tsar" by Edvard Radzinsky 3. The Great Influenza: The Epic Story of the Deadliest Plague in History by John M. Barry
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This seems to be the sort of list public relations people cough up to create an impressive image: in this case, a curious, late middle age fellow who enjoys reading big, mass market books on weighty topics (serious, but not so wiggy you wouldn't find them on the shelves of the popular American bookstore Borders).
The "Salt" and "Alexander" books are obvious choices -- it's important, after all, for a President to have a sense of historical perspective.
And the "Great Influenza" book, from a PR point of view, delivers a double punch; it's historical and topical at the same time. Since there's a slowly growing awareness avian virus H5N1 will probably mutate, spread globally and kill a good number of us -- you want to show the Pres. is concerned and informed about the historical precedents for such bio slaughter.
.d.
-- http://monroelab.net/ <<<<<>>>>> groove to my groove