A Few Book Questions

[Eli]

Ian Beckett's "The Great War" - a history of WWI. Is it good?

The Penguin History of the World - I always wanted a good, coherent, interesting overview. Will this book give me one?

Zinn's "Popular History of the US" - I heard a lot about this one, and usually hearing a lot about a book makes me suspicious. What say you?

And "The French Revolution", by some George Lefebre dude. I actually couldn't find any reviews on Amazon for this book, which means that it must be old and maybe no longer relevant. But on a cursory reading it looked good. Does anyone knows something about it?

God, I wish Amazon shipments to Israel weren't so expensive. The choice of good history books is tiny.

 

[sydhe]

I wouldn't use Zinn's book as your primary source on US history. It does take a different viewpoint than basic US histories (from the working classes rather than the top). For a basic US history Daniel Boorstin's history is pretty good.

The Penguin history of the world is, if I remember, reasonably good. I like William McNeill's books.

 

[Eli]

I wouldn't use Zinn's book as your primary source on US history. It does take a different viewpoint than basic US histories (from the working classes rather than the top). For a basic US history Daniel Boorstin's history is pretty good.

Actually, the intention is to develop interest in American history through relatively light reading, before moving to the 'real' history books.

I also saw Nathaniel Philbrick's Mayflower for a good price - I consider getting it as well. Are you familiar with it, or at least with the author?

The Penguin history of the world is, if I remember, reasonably good. I like William McNeill's books.

It's by JM Roberts, though.

 

[Maimonides]

And "The French Revolution", by some George Lefebre dude. I actually couldn't find any reviews on Amazon for this book, which means that it must be old and maybe no longer relevant. But on a cursory reading it looked good. Does anyone knows something about it?

It must be out of print. Try searching Ebay under "used books" or "rare books." Ebay prices for out of print books tend to be ridiculously high, though.

God, I wish Amazon shipments to Israel weren't so expensive. The choice of good history books is tiny.

I ordered a Jack Daniel's in a bar in Jerusalem once. I almost soiled my shorts when they charged me $14 for the drink. Then I remembered how far that bottle had to travel.

Actually, the intention is to develop interest in American history through relatively light reading, before moving to the 'real' history books.

If that's all you want, just about any book on American history will do. Is there something more specific you are interested in like the Civil War or the Wild West?

 

[sydhe]

It's by JM Roberts, though.

I know. I meant to recommend McNeill's books, too.

McNeill's best known works are probably The Rise of the West and Plagues and Peoples. He also wrote A World History, which I like better than The Rise of the West.

 

[DNK]

I'm slowly reading A World History right now, after seeing it praised in a bibliography for another general history overview... A brief history of the human race by Michael Cook. Cook's had some interesting views on technological diffusion, culture, and geography in the progression of civilization, and took a fairly scientific stance, explaining throughout how DNA, archeology, etc, led him to his conclusions. It's not extremely in-depth, but introduced me to a new way of thinking about the beginnings of civilization and why it has changed the way it has. It also focuses a lot more on peripheral civilizations, as compared to my history classes at least. There's sections devoted to Indian, Chinese, Australian, and American civilizations, which he uses to address more general concepts.

McNeill's book I'm not quite so far in, but it has its differences. His approach isn't as scientific in nature, and is a bit older, but focuses more on just the general history than in the process used in arriving at that history. In some ways I consider it the better book, with a more detailed outline that helps put everything together, but still delves into detail and theories of causation, etc, with regards to certain events and changes. I think his book is more based around the shifting, main centers of civilization and change, which then alter the peripheral ones by a process of diffusion/conquest, so there's a bit less focus on those other peoples, although they are not completely neglected (I just haven't gotten to their respective chapters yet).

I'd consider reading McNeill's over Cook's, just because it gives a better big picture view, although Cook's was also very enjoyable. I haven't read much on this, though, so take it all with a grain of salt.