Historical Book Recomendation Thread

Natasha's Dance by Orlando Figes is a majestic cultural history of Russia from the building of St. Petersburg to the rise of Communism. It isn't about how "battle x changed the course of war y", though, so you history forum people might not like it!

Julian Delphiki said:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Egyptian

One of the best books I've read.

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I second that! For historic fiction it's pretty damn awsome.

Here's a classic of the kind I tend to like:

Wolfgang Schivelbusch: "The Railway Journey: The Industrialization and Perception of Time and Space"

http://www.amazon.com/Railway-Journey-Industrialization-Perception-Space/dp/0520059298

I would now like to take the time to un-recommend two books:

Suetonius's "Lives of Twelve Ceasars"
Robert Graves's Claudius novels

I would also like to ask if anyone read "Female Caligula", and if it's really biased or not?

I have to disagree on De vita Caesarum:


The Twelve Caesars is considered very significant in antiquity and remains a main source on Roman history. The book discusses the significant and critical period of the Principate from the end of the Republic to the reign of Domitian; comparisons are often made with Tacitus whose surviving works document a similar period.

Critical approaches: Reliability

Suetonius used the imperial archives to research eyewitness accounts, information, and other evidence to produce the book.
However, critics say the book is founded on gossip and citations of historians who had lived in the time of the early emperors, rather than on primary sources of that time. The book can be described as very racy, packed with gossip, dramatic and sometimes amusing. There are times the author subjectively expresses his opinion and knowledge.
Though he was never a senator, Suetonius took the side of the Senate in most conflicts with the princeps, as well as the senators' views of the emperor. This resulted in biases, both conscious and unconscious. Suetonius lost access to the official archives shortly after beginning his work. He was forced to rely on second-hand accounts when it came to Claudius (with the exception of Augustus' letters which had been gathered earlier) and does not quote the emperor.
Despite this, it provides valuable information on the heritage, personal habits, physical appearance, lives and political careers of the first Roman Emperors. It mentions details that other sources do not. For example, Suetonius is the main source on the life of Caligula, his uncle Claudius, and the heritage of Vespasian (the relevant sections of the Annals by his contemporary Tacitus being lost). Suetonius made a reference in this work to "Chrestus", which may refer to "Christ". During the book on Nero, Suetonius mentions a sect known as the Christians (see Historicity of Jesus). Like many of his contemporaries, Suetonius took omens seriously and carefully includes reports of omens portending Imperial births, accessions and deaths. (Quoted from Wikipedia Suetonius entry)

And yes, I read it too.

I found his coverage of Caligula unforgivably biased.

How so? Suetonius is biased; he's just a valuable source, especially on Caligula. (And I found the book a good read, BTW. I wouldn't unrecommend it on bias. Gibbon's Decline and Fall is also biased, while still having a point. Even Herodotus can be considered biased from a modern point of view.)

JEELEN said:

How so? Suetonius is biased; he's just a valuable source, especially on Caligula. (And I found the book a good read, BTW. I wouldn't unrecommend it on bias. Gibbon's Decline and Fall is also biased, while still having a point. Even Herodotus can be considered biased from a modern point of view.)

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I try like hell to read from neutral texts. I'm a little picky that way.

GuitarHero said:

I try like hell to read from neutral texts. I'm a little picky that way.

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If only we could be more like you.

Azale said:

If only we could be more like you.

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I don't know. I set fire to my copy of the Odyssey because if felt that it did't potray the gods neutrally.

Now that's just plain silly. (And sorry about your hand.)

On behalf of abaddon:

"Does anyone know of a book/s which blend fact and fiction of the Colonial era (Start of)

I'm thinking diarys of the explorers as they sailed out..

Also, factual books about that era, how nations went about it, global politics etc.. guess I want a history book about that era..I suppose focus on Europe, but a book that took in all the world would be great!

My Dad want's to buy me such books, if they exist. Can anyone recommend them to me?"

echinococcus said:

On behalf of abaddon:

"Does anyone know of a book/s which blend fact and fiction of the Colonial era (Start of)

I'm thinking diarys of the explorers as they sailed out..

Also, factual books about that era, how nations went about it, global politics etc.. guess I want a history book about that era..I suppose focus on Europe, but a book that took in all the world would be great!

My Dad want's to buy me such books, if they exist. Can anyone recommend them to me?"

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you could try THIS
4 Books By Sir Winston Churchill (Kindle Edition)
* Liberalism And The Social Problem
* London To Ladysmith Via Pretoria
* The River War An Account of the Reconquest of the Sudan
* The Story of the Malakand Field Force An Episode of Frontier War


not exactly the start of the era, but a good read anyway.

From Abaddon:

"Does anyone know of a book/s which blend fact and fiction of the Colonial era (Start of)

I'm thinking diarys of the explorers as they sailed out..

Also, factual books about that era, how nations went about it, global politics etc.. guess I want a history book about that era..I suppose focus on Europe, but a book that took in all the world would be great!

My Dad want's to buy me such books, if they exist. Can anyone recommend them to me?"

Ancient Grudge said:

From Abaddon:

"Does anyone know of a book/s which blend fact and fiction of the Colonial era (Start of)

I'm thinking diarys of the explorers as they sailed out..

Also, factual books about that era, how nations went about it, global politics etc.. guess I want a history book about that era..I suppose focus on Europe, but a book that took in all the world would be great!

My Dad want's to buy me such books, if they exist. Can anyone recommend them to me?"

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"Diaries of explorers and they sailed out"? That would have to be early in the colonial era. I can recommend an interesting one: Peregrinação (or, the english edition "The Travels of Mendez Pinto") a 16th century view of the european penetration into Asia by a remarkable adventurer, one of the last "renaissance men" involved on those travels.

And why are other people posting on Abaddon's behalf?

Ancient Grudge said:

From Abaddon:

"Does anyone know of a book/s which blend fact and fiction of the Colonial era (Start of)

I'm thinking diarys of the explorers as they sailed out..

Also, factual books about that era, how nations went about it, global politics etc.. guess I want a history book about that era..I suppose focus on Europe, but a book that took in all the world would be great!

My Dad want's to buy me such books, if they exist. Can anyone recommend them to me?"

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Amerigo Vespucci's fame rests on his Journals, the result of which was the naming of the new world as "America".

A bit of an oldie, but quite a while back I've read Bertrand Russels's A history of Western philosophy. If you don't have a problem with Russel's views or the limitations both in time and scope (the most recent philosophy isn't included, nor is Eastern philosophy), it's a reasonable introduction to philosophical schools through the ages and quite readable.

Ancient Grudge said:

From Abaddon:

"Does anyone know of a book/s which blend fact and fiction of the Colonial era (Start of)

I'm thinking diarys of the explorers as they sailed out..

Also, factual books about that era, how nations went about it, global politics etc.. guess I want a history book about that era..I suppose focus on Europe, but a book that took in all the world would be great!

My Dad want's to buy me such books, if they exist. Can anyone recommend them to me?"

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While they are purely ficticional, and focus mainly on the Napoleonic Era, you may still be interested in the Aubrey-Maturin series by Patrick O'Brian. Several of them were adopted into the movie Master and Commander.

JEELEN said:

suggestion: though I think this thread is a great idea, if it grows it might be worthwile to keep a survey of all books mentioned in post #1. (Listed either alphabetically, by author, or thematically.)

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That sounds like a good idea; I might do that soon. Probably with a historical order.

Also, let me plug The Story of French by Jean-Benoit Nadeau and Julie Barlow. While the main focus is on the development of the French language, it does often go into the social and politics of the countries that spoke it (focusing on France, of course). My only complaint is it sometimes fall into trap of just listing French (of France, mostly) achivements, but those are few and far between.

Inquiry: Can anyone recommend a book on the politics of Japan from the Russo-Japanese War to the end of WW2? Special notice towards the inner politics of the IJA and IJN, tactics, and colonial administration would also be welcome

I would also like a book in that mold but geared towards Fascist Italy. I have a book right now on Italy (called Modern Italy) but it's incredibly dry and not as specific on that time period as I would like.