Historical Book Recomendation Thread

[Virote_Considon]

Originally Posted by Phrossack

I quite enjoyed Tom Holland's Persian Fire, a book on Persia, Athens, Sparta, and the war. And I'm not even interested in that time period.

I also enjoyed the book. Alright if you need to quickly brush over something. As Dachs said, the facts themselves are more or less in order.

Does anyone have any opinions on "The Spartans" by Paul Cartledge? One of my personal favourites, though it's been a long time since I've so much as skimmed it.

[Dachs]

Cartledge is basically the expert on Sparta at the moment (or at least, he was ten years ago). His biography of Agesilaos II is quite pro.

Can't speak to his other stuff, and I have seen him give endorsements to things rather distressingly far outside his bailiwick...

[Phrossack]

Originally Posted by Dachs

I think he took creative liberties with his talk about Athenian "terrorism" and Zoroastrian holy war, stretching already-thin evidence (some of which is almost wholly fictional anyway). He's a writer who primarily works in fiction, writing a book for a popular audience and framing things in terms of the post-9/11 world.

Most of the facts, at least, are right. And it's as good a place to start as any.

Huh. Guess I must've ignored that load of bollocks. There's a book on Carrhae now, but the author foolishly tries to compare it to the US occupation of Iraq in a desperate bid to make it seem relevant to non-historians.

[Quackers]

Originally Posted by Masada

Eh, there's a whole bunch of Oxford and Cambridge stuff that's usually very good - often with divergent perspectives on What Actually Happened across chapters. The stand-out is The Cambridge Economic History of Europe (Britland) which is readable, being divided into nice discrete (different authors) chapters, with ossim up-to-date references, a fairly good histiographical discussion thread running through-out and all in a fairly slim 500 pages. I would avoid single author works, simply because of the number of different views - and the need to be exposed to them - and the generally economic part of most economic Histories. The Cambridge also happens to have Findlay and, I believe, O'Rourke as editors and major contributors, which is a Good Thing.

The final volume of the Cambridge Economic history of Europe is a mere snip at £492 Sterling on Amazon.co.uk

EDIT: Anything by Niall Fergusion tbh, it's entertaining and bound to troll the history forum :P

[Whiskey_Lord]

Trolling the history forum? How could I pass up such an opportunity?

[Quackers]

Aye, I think the majority of History forum patrons are way too dense to understand "killer apps"

[Quinzy]

'A History of Venice' by J.J. Norwich. Possibly one of the best books I've ever read. Fantastic history, fantastic writer, really characterful.

I'd also have to recommend 'Popular Culture and Popular Movements in Reformation Germany by Robert Scribner for a fantastic alternative look at the operations of the Holy Roman Empire. He's following a trend of looking at the HRE from a cultural rather than a legal perspective. Very nice book, some interesting anthropological tidbits thrown in. Made for a good read.

[Dachs]

Originally Posted by Phrossack

Huh. Guess I must've ignored that load of bollocks. There's a book on Carrhae now, but the author foolishly tries to compare it to the US occupation of Iraq in a desperate bid to make it seem relevant to non-historians.

I picked that dumb thing up in the university library a few months ago. Saw it was a new release, saw it was on Rome and the Pahlavan so I was like OSSIM - wanted to see if the author went into any detail on the interesting stuff, like Pakores and Labienus' invasion of the Roman East in the 40s BC (and how Ventidius Bassus brilliantly - not a word to be overused - turned back the invasion of Syria in the campaign of Kyrrhestike, a feat easily the equal of that of the Suren at Carrhae) - you know, the stuff that doesn't get talked about enough in favor of Crap Everybody Already Knows like Carrhae. Instead, we get Carrhae and more Carrhae, and an out of place stupid frigging morality tale that doesn't even make sense. Apparently the moral of the story is that invading Iraq is stupid, despite the vast number of times it's been successfully invaded and conquered. And there's some kind of connection between the modern day AQI and the Suren-Pahlavan. Jesus H. Christ.

Sorry, I needed to vent.

[Masada]

Originally Posted by Quackers

The final volume of the Cambridge Economic history of Europe is a mere snip at £492 Sterling on Amazon.co.uk

Uni library?

[Antilogic]

I finished Voodoo Histories yesterday and recommend it. It simultaneously looks at famous conspiracy theories throughout the 20th century as well as the people behind them and why they think the way they do. Kind of a part-history, part-psychology tack on the subject.

[Samez]

I am looking for literature on the soviet airforce. There is plenty of books around for the WWII era but I couldn't find anything reasonable about the cold war.

[GoodGame]

Originally Posted by Dachs

I picked that dumb thing up in the university library a few months ago. Saw it was a new release, saw it was on Rome and the Pahlavan so I was like OSSIM - wanted to see if the author went into any detail on the interesting stuff, like Pakores and Labienus' invasion of the Roman East in the 40s BC (and how Ventidius Bassus brilliantly - not a word to be overused - turned back the invasion of Syria in the campaign of Kyrrhestike, a feat easily the equal of that of the Suren at Carrhae) - you know, the stuff that doesn't get talked about enough in favor of Crap Everybody Already Knows like Carrhae. Instead, we get Carrhae and more Carrhae, and an out of place stupid frigging morality tale that doesn't even make sense. Apparently the moral of the story is that invading Iraq is stupid, despite the vast number of times it's been successfully invaded and conquered. And there's some kind of connection between the modern day AQI and the Suren-Pahlavan. Jesus H. Christ.

Sorry, I needed to vent.

The author said that Iraq = Carrhae? hmmmm...

[Dachs]

Originally Posted by GoodGame

The author said that Iraq = Carrhae? hmmmm...

Well, you could reasonably describe Crassus' invasion as having been an invasion of "Iraq", even though he didn't actually get there. Ish.

Yeah, it's stupid, I agree.

[carmen510]

This is not so much of a book recommendation as a request for information.

Are John Toland's (the author, not the philosopher) books, for lack of a better word, "good" and historically accurate? I'm currently reading his biography of Adolf Hitler, and would like to know if there are any "wrong" assertions or big mistakes.

[soul_warrior]

currently reading Persian Fire by Tom Holland.
very well written, easily understood language and provides an interseting point of view regarding the struggle between east and west.

[Antilogic]

Originally Posted by soul_warrior

currently reading Persian Fire by Tom Holland.
very well written, easily understood language and provides an interseting point of view regarding the struggle between east and west.

The only book I've read by him is Rubicon. I don't remember too much about it, to be honest. His writing hasn't stuck with me as much as David McCullough's does.

And I gotta say, Iron Kingdom (it was talked about in the OT book thread) is amazingly well-written, and is a great general history for Prussia. I'm taking a look at Orlando Figes' The Crimean War, and while his editor could have helped out a little (I get some deja vu when reading the first couple chapters, and he has some fairly similar points that could have been condensed and organized better), the book is good on the lead-up to the war (motives of the Russians, British, and French in the Ottoman Empire).

[soul_warrior]

Originally Posted by Antilogic

The only book I've read by him is Rubicon. I don't remember too much about it, to be honest. His writing hasn't stuck with me as much as David McCullough's does.

"read" the audio book for rubicon.
was enjoyable.
same style, as in informative/flowing, story like.
i find it easy to read book that have a flow to them, even if not as "technical". i remember more, and im over the need to read these "Ulysses" style books, that no one reads or cares about.
give me a good read anyday of the week over a complex academic read...

[Phrossack]

Originally Posted by soul_warrior

currently reading Persian Fire by Tom Holland.
very well written, easily understood language and provides an interseting point of view regarding the struggle between east and west.

One of my favorite books, actually. I don't even like Western history that much.

[General Pilates]

What are some good books about the crusades? Just started The Crusades by Hans E. Mayer and not sure what to think of it.

[Masada]

Chris Tyerman's God's War: A New History of the Crusades is a good read.