Historical Book Recomendation Thread

[History_Buff]

It's probably one of the best books you can get on the subject (in English), being both thorough and well written. Also it's actually titled The Thirty Years War: Europe's Tragedy.

Yeah, I know, but that's not as funny I suppose I'll have to take another crack at it.

Though the request stands; I wouldn't mind a book that covers the governance of the Empire, preferably from Otto to Napoleon.

 

[civ_king]

Has Dachs read every history book, or just most of them?

All of them +1

 

[sophie]

Yeah, I know, but that's not as funny I suppose I'll have to take another crack at it.

Though the request stands; I wouldn't mind a book that covers the governance of the Empire, preferably from Otto to Napoleon.

Yeah, that is way too long of a period for any book to cover well. I'd recommend going smaller and reading a number of different books that cover a part of the period you want.

 

[History_Buff]

But that's so much harder! I suppose the natural break-down is Otto to the Golden Bull, Golden Bull to 30 Years, and Westphalia to Napoleon?

 

[sophie]

But that's so much harder! I suppose the natural break-down is Otto to the Golden Bull, Golden Bull to 30 Years, and Westphalia to Napoleon?

Yeah, I suppose that would work for a start. Hey! Nobody said history was easy!

 

[Bowsling]

So I just went out and bought Hew Strachan's The First World War, Volume 1: To Arms.

Any biases or such to keep in mind while reading?

 

[sophie]

So I just went out and bought Hew Strachan's The First World War, Volume 1: To Arms.

Any biases or such to keep in mind while reading?

Not that I can think of. That book is excellent.

 

[ParkCungHee]

Hew Strachan is pretty much the one thing that we can all agree is awesome.

 

[Cheezy the Wiz]

Well that, and The Battle Cry of Freedom.

 

[Antilogic]

Well that, and The Battle Cry of Freedom.

Amen. If Iron Kingdom hasn't made that list yet, I think its close. We should come up with the top-recommended history books list, make it a sticky. Aim for (at most) a dozen books we all agree are amazing.

 

[Dachs]

It'd probably look something like

Barbarian Migrations
First World War Part I
1491
China Marches West
Transformation of European Politics
Battle Cry of Freedom
Thirty Years War: Europe's Tragedy
Iron Kingdom
Power and Plenty
History of the Byzantine State and Society
Alexander to Actium

and probably some stuff to fill quota in sub-Saharan Africa, India, EEur, and the Arab World, although those regions don't have a whole lot of good magnum opus-type books around for them

 

[Cheezy the Wiz]

I think we could add the Robert Service biographies of Lenin, Stalin, and Trotsky to the mix. People on both sides of those debates cite them considerably and hold them in high regard.

 

[Ajidica]

I thought you had a rather low opinion of Service, at least that is the impression I got when I mentioned one of his books in the "Ask a Red" thread.

 

[Traitorfish]

I can't speak fro the first two, but I'm told that it his biography of Trotsky was basically a hatchet job, as well as spending an uncomfortable amount of time dwelling on Trotsky's Jewish ancestry.

 

[Cheezy the Wiz]

I thought you had a rather low opinion of Service, at least that is the impression I got when I mentioned one of his books in the "Ask a Red" thread.

I do, but his biographies are pretty decent, compared to most other biographies of those people. But then the book in question wasn't a biography, which involves learning about a specific personality (and can be fascinating and draw one in, even if they find the person in question particularly disreputable), it was a propaganda piece. He clearly didn't take it seriously, and was writing it basically to slander communism.

I can't speak fro the first two, but I'm told that it his biography of Trotsky was basically a hatchet job, as well as spending an uncomfortable amount of time dwelling on Trotsky's Jewish ancestry.

I haven't read it, I just decided to include it on the reputation of the other two.

 

[ParkCungHee]

I can't speak fro the first two, but I'm told that it his biography of Trotsky was basically a hatchet job, as well as spending an uncomfortable amount of time dwelling on Trotsky's Jewish ancestry.

To be fair, a hatchet job is what the average reader needs on Trotsky.

I'd toss Ian Kershaw's biography of Hitler on the list. Sure it spends more time hunting down various stories about Hitler and demonstrating that they are very stupid and wrong but that's what makes it so great.

 

[civ_king]

Someone should clearly make a timeline of history and place the books on it, perhaps with maps of different times showing what books to read

 

[Glassfan]

Based on Louis XXIV's recomendation from the Carthage thread, I've just finished Carthage Must Be Destroyed, by Richard Miles (2010). This is a fine book based on archeology, history, mythology, palaeobotony - even linguistics (due to the distinct shortage of contemporary Carthaginian historians). Miles even manages a new 'trope - "Ideology and egotism dictate that even (Roman) historians united in hostility towards their subject still manage vehemently to disagree with one another, and it is within the contradictions and differences of opinion that exist between these writers that the deficiencies of their heavily biased account can be partially overcome."

Well, this is no Battle Cry of Freedom, but it's a fine work on a marginal subject. 520 pages, with illustrations, good maps, end notes, and extensive bibliography.

 

[Louis XXIV]

I'm glad you enjoyed it

 

[ParkCungHee]

So after reading Boxing: A Cultural History, and seeing the discussion in the Many Questions thread, I was wondering if anyone had any other books that might cover the development of dueling culture. Dueling Culture in any society is welcome, and the more variety, the better.