Historical Book Recomendation Thread

[Antilogic]

Well this is a bit specific, but I remember Santa Anna of Mexico by Will Fowler giving a strong overview of at least 19th C. Mexico. It is also a pretty good read.

I'll check it out--sounds like it will get me started on the period.

 

[Dachs]

Edit: seeing as this is the historical book recommendation thread The Campaigns of Napoleon by David Chandler is an excellent review of his strategies and tactics though a bit long(1100 pages).

Chandler is basically the starting point for anybody who wants to learn about what happened. Almost a sine qua non.

But.

To a significant extent, his analysis has been superseded by other commentators (see e.g. Owen Connelly), his segments on the diplomacy are pretty much garbage, and he has a minor problem with hagiography. None of which detracts from the importance of the book, and people should absolutely familiarize themselves with it if they're even going to start discussing Napoleon, but it's very far from the be-all, end-all.

 

[Zulu Impi]

Chandler is basically the starting point for anybody who wants to learn about what happened. Almost a sine qua non.

But.

To a significant extent, his analysis has been superseded by other commentators (see e.g. Owen Connelly), his segments on the diplomacy are pretty much garbage, and he has a minor problem with hagiography. None of which detracts from the importance of the book, and people should absolutely familiarize themselves with it if they're even going to start discussing Napoleon, but it's very far from the be-all, end-all.

Though I am admittedly not very well versed in the subject, his perspectives on the diplomatic and geopolitical aspects of Napoleon do seem pretty bad. That said, I like the summaries it has of the different armies and military formations of the period.

 

[Whomp]

What would be a good entry level book on either WW 1 or WW 2? I have an 11 year old that seems to be interested on "why"? His good friend just spent the first half of their school year in Krakow and a recent trip to the Churchill Museum has sparked an interest in history. I was going to give him David Fromkin's "A Peace to End All Peace" but it might not be a great entry level book. Anne Frank, maybe? Any thoughts?

 

[Serutan]

I liked Keegan's The First World War. You probably should try to find it at a library and skim
it to see if you think the 11 year old would like it.

 

[Antilogic]

Hew Strachan's single-volume The First World War has been recommended on the forums before (and I'm joining in on recommending it now that I've read it). The material is well-organized and the first two chapters are great on the "why" leading up to the war and the initial strategies employed. While it is not geared for children, it is still short and accessible enough I think an intelligent 11-year old could handle it with a little parental help.

 

[Dachs]

Hew Strachan's single-volume The First World War has been recommended on the forums before (and I'm joining in on recommending it now that I've read it). The material is well-organized and the first two chapters are great on the "why" leading up to the war and the initial strategies employed. While it is not geared for children, it is still short and accessible enough I think an intelligent 11-year old could handle it with a little parental help.

Yes, I was going to recommend this until I thought harder about the "eleven year old" bit; hell, even I probably wouldn't have read it when I was eleven (although my little brother has ).

Something like Keegan's book, which is both longer and offers a more skewed picture of the war, would be significantly less desirable.

 

[Yui108]

Can anyone think of any books at all that deal with the Russian conflicts with the ottoman empire in the late 18th century as well as on the general structure of the 18tg century ottoman empire.

EDIT: and on second thought, anything on pre-revolution French diplomatic goals and aims?

 

[Antilogic]

Yes, I was going to recommend this until I thought harder about the "eleven year old" bit; hell, even I probably wouldn't have read it when I was eleven (although my little brother has ).

Something like Keegan's book, which is both longer and offers a more skewed picture of the war, would be significantly less desirable.

I haven't read Keegan, so I can't evaluate his work relative to Strachan directly. I do share your apprehension recommending this to a pre-teen, it's not a simple book by any stretch of the word. I'd definitely recommend it to the parents, and if they think their kid will get it, let him (or her) take a shot at it.

 

[Traitorfish]

Are there any good general books on Polynesian and/or Melanesian history? I've been reading a little anthropological stuff that deals with the region, and I'd like to learn a bit more about it.

Hopeful cough?

 

[Whomp]

Thanks for the ideas. I will probably read them first as advised. He's a prodigious reader but I don't want to give the kid nightmares either.

 

[Joecoolyo]

So I have Why The West Rules - For Now by Ian Morris sitting on my shelf; my history teacher made us buy it because he liked the couple pages in it about World War One through the Cold War. I read that, and wasn't very impressed, but it seems like such a waste letting it sit there.

Is this book any good? Should I delve further into it?

 

[ParkCungHee]

Thanks for the ideas. I will probably read them first as advised. He's a prodigious reader but I don't want to give the kid nightmares either.

If you're willing to put in a little effort, it might help to bring a highlighter as you read, highlight what's essential, and then photocopy down the book. I don't know what the kid's reading level is like, but that usually seems a bit early for selective reading. Strachan does delve into a lot of the issues people don't normally get into, like the Balkans, Italian theatre, etc. mainly as a counter to the mud, blood and endless poetry the average WWI reader is used to.

However, those chapters probably aren't necessary for the "Why" of the war as much as the others. Just a suggestion, because it's usually appreciated when professors do it for me.

 

[Bowsling]

There is a series of documentaries floating around called The First World War. Based of the Hew Strachan book. Not necessarily entry-level, but still an excellent, concise series of documentaries. Highly recommended, if you can find it.

 

[Whomp]

Great ideas. I will relay these ideas to his momo for us to discuss how we might want to proceed. He's a really bright kid but he's still a 11 year old (and sports nerd according to his sister) so this will be something higher level to talk about than why the French national soccer team has two stars on it.

 

[SS-18 ICBM]

Anyone have any recommendations for a book about the unification of Germany in 1871? What about a book showing East and West Germany side-by-side up to their unification? I'd like to check if my local library has what you people suggest, and read the book/s, of course.

 

[Cheezy the Wiz]

What about a book showing East and West Germany side-by-side up to their unification?

Why would you want a book on so useless a subject as that?

 

[SS-18 ICBM]

Because I find the situation interesting and I want to read about it? Why does the subject upset you so?

 

[Dachs]

Anyone have any recommendations for a book about the unification of Germany in 1871?

What about it? The war itself or the constitutional stuff that was essentially desultory?

For the first of those, Dennis Showalter's The Wars of German Unification is the best. For the second, Showalter touches on it at least briefly, but you'd probably get a decent view of the constitutional question from the first volume of Otto Pflanze's biography of Bismarck.

What about a book showing East and West Germany side-by-side up to their unification? I'd like to check if my local library has what you people suggest, and read the book/s, of course.

I think L. Frank Tipton's A History of Modern Germany does this to some extent.

 

[ParkCungHee]

For the second, Showalter touches on it at least briefly, but you'd probably get a decent view of the constitutional question from the first volume of Otto Pflanze's biography of Bismarck.

It's very disappointing that there hasn't been serious work on that. The German constitution was one of the most complex and difficult to craft in the modern era, and the fact that it worked so good was rather amazing. We've got a jillion odd books about the American constitution, almost none about the German.