Historical Book Recomendation Thread

[Masada]

Does he mention the Malay Archipelago at all?

 

[Ice_Tyrant]

Does anybody here know of a good book about the Nanjing Massacre?

 

[North King]

Does he mention the Malay Archipelago at all?

From what I remember of the book, it more or less just looks at China, the Mughals, and the Ottomans. Still does that pretty well, all things considered.

Also, EU 3 is not obscure, leastaways not in a history subsection of a strategy gaming forum.

 

[Cheezy the Wiz]

Should be able to get through it in a single weekend. Unless you're a slow reader or something. You're not a slow reader, are you?

Its now apparent that Johnny No. 5 is a regular poster here.

 

[Smellincoffee]

Does anybody here know of a good book about the Nanjing Massacre?

Not having read it myself, I can't say if it's a "good" book, but my library carries a volume titled The Rape of Nanking.

 

[Atticus]

I advice to read nothing about the subject.

 

[Dachs]

Does anybody here know of a good book about the Nanjing Massacre?

Dunno, but good luck!

While you're at it, you should pick up some good books about the Great Fire of Smyrna, the Holocaust, the mass killings in Rwanda, and Srebrenica.

 

[Tee Kay]

It's an ok written book, some good parts so far.

The material is good, but there's something about his writing that puts me off.

p.s. I play an obscure historical strategy video game called Europa Universalis III-(In Nomine 3.1), so reading about the time period of this game is really neat.

It's definitely not obscure here.

Does he mention the Malay Archipelago at all?

Not really. The focus is on the general development of, relationship between and relative "power" of the three "core" Eurasian civilizations: the Far West (ie White Christiandom), Middle Eurasia (ie, Dar al-Islam, in particular the three Gunpowder Empires) and the Far East (ie China, with some sections on Japan, and disappointly very little on SE Asia, but no one cares about SE Asia). As a general/popular history book, it offers a pretty good broad overview of the last six centuries with some concise but insightful analysis mixed in, though obviously the scale of the topic is a bit difficult to condense neatly into 500 pages.

Does anybody here know of a good book about the Nanjing Massacre?

There isn't one.

 

[Kentharu]

I need literature on the making of the Modern Middle East. I already looked at Yapp's stuff so he's out.

 

[Smellincoffee]

I need literature on the making of the Modern Middle East. I already looked at Yapp's stuff so he's out.

Ever read Bernard Lewis?

 

[Arriaga II]

Does anybody here know of a good book about the Nanjing Massacre?

Iris Chang's work on the subject is probably the most well-known but has some very serious flaws. According to some.

 

[carmen510]

I'm looking for books on Egyptian history, from the Ancient World up to modern times. Any bibliographies on Egyptian figures like Nasser or the pharaohs would also be welcome.

 

[Ajidica]

Any good books on the English Civil War for a non-scholar?

 

[sophie]

Any good books on the English Civil War for a non-scholar?

Well, if you're looking for a good survey, I just read Bucholz and Key, Early Modern England 1485-1714 which gave a pretty good overview of the topic. If you're looking for causes, Russell's Causes of the English Civil War combined with Stone's Causes of the English Revolution give an excellent overview of the events leading directly to the war. But I think we could help you a lot better if you told us which part of the English Civil War you want to know about. Bishops' Wars of 1639-41? Irish Rebellion? Civil War 41-44/45ish? Revolution 45-49ish? Commonwealth? Cromwell? Rump Parliament?

 

[Laurwin]

anything for economic history? I need for history purposes mainly, not for economics class. I got the ascent of money by niall ferguson but that's not much.

also, anything about 1500-1600s Europe? I guess something about the religious stuff mainly. I think I got my bases covered on the nordic countries history but I'd like get a good view on the European situation.

anything for Russia's eastward expansion?

anything for 1800s USA?

 

[Masada]

Avoid anything Ferguson writes. Read Berstein's A Birth of Plenty if your looking for something accesable.

 

[Dachs]

Um...see what I wrote in the other thread.

 

[ParkCungHee]

Iris Chang's work on the subject is probably the most well-known but has some very serious flaws. According to some.

Big Flaws.
If you read Chang remember that she's not writing as a historian or doing historical work. She's trying to get people to pay attention to an event that she feels you should pay attention to. If you're looking for a book, it's already accomplished that.
As far as explaining or providing understanding, that's not the books concern, nor is she really trained and equipped to do that.

If you don't mind something not specifically on the Rape of Nanjing, I'd recommend Soldiers of the Sun. The book's long view is particularly helpful, it starts with the formation of the IJA. That said, the weight of the book is in the right chapter and there's a complete chapter on the rape of Nanjing and IIRC another one on the Nanjing campaign. It really feels like a book about it that just felt it needed a bunch of backstory to explain it. Skim through the first chapters, (or don't, it's a great book) and then get to the chapter and you'll be set.

 

[civ_king]

Any recommendation on the government of Austrian from the May Constitution of 1934 until Anschluss?

 

[Camikaze]

I'm looking for some stuff on British and French decolonisation following WWII. Anything that deals with a comparison of the two would be particularly good.