Which book are you reading now? Volume XI

[Ajidica]

Is reading those ancient historians directly worth it?

Depends on what you are reading it for. If you are reading to learn about what happened, then probably not worth reading it. If you are reading the ancient histories to learn about what people thought of an event and how they perceived it at the time, it probably is worth reading then.

 

[Antilogic]

As a kid who used to, I'd argue strongly against the notion. You'll get a much better understanding of the the world with modern scholarship, and it won't take you as long to finish the books so you can read other interesting things.

 

[ParkCungHee]

Is reading those ancient historians directly worth it?

Not without a good commentary or background in the subject. If you have either of those, yes it is.

 

[Flying Pig]

More to the point, Herodotus is simply an excellent read, and Holland writes it very well. Admittedly, if you're looking to learn history, there are better methods, with the caveat that almost all of what modern historians write about the ancient world is based on interpretations of those ancient literary texts.

 

[SS-18 ICBM]

The Balkans by Misha Glenn has a focus on "Nationalism, War, and the Great Powers". The thesis seems to be that the machinations of major powers contributed greatly to molding the Balkans into what they are today. Interesting how the Serbian struggles for self-determination began with helping the Sublime Porte assert its authority in the area. Probably doesn't feature in the national mythology, such as the instances of Greek rebels massacring entire villages in their war for independence.

 

[Cheezy the Wiz]

Not without a good commentary or background in the subject. If you have either of those, yes it is.

Fortunately, such books exist! Check out the "Landmark" series. They're everything you could possibly ever want for reading Herodotus, Thucydides, Xenophon, and Arrian.

 

[Silv Something]

At Home by Bill Bryson. I've heard a number of interesting things about it, and so wanted to give it a try. I'm not deep into it enough yet to form an opinion.

I read that one. It claims to be a history of the home, but I found it to be more of Bryson loosely gathering several historical themes under the umbrella of 'house'. He is never afraid of digging deep into the history of what we might now call mundane.

 

[MagisterCultuum]

I'm reading Shadows over Innsmouth, an anthology of short stories in the Cthulu mythos.


I'm also listening to a librivox recording of the Summa Theologica by St Thomas Aquinas.


I'm disappointed by Aquinas so far. I was for some reason expecting to find some respectable philosophy, but instead am finding poor sophistry. He mostly seems to be using complicated Aristotelian terminology in order to rationalize statements made by authority figures like Augustine, particularly where it makes much more sense to assume that those authorities were mistaken. Often the complications are only necessitated by the Vulgate using Latin words not really equivalent to the terms used in the original language of scripture, where a more literal translation would not suggest any need to consider the subject. The objections he addresses frequently make more sense than the positions he defends as orthodox (although some of the objections seem quite silly), and when they make the most sense he does not offer any arguments against them except an appeal to authority. Generally that authority is not even scripture but rather a context-free statement by a fallible mortal like Augustine, a statement that seems no more authoritative than those used as the basis to raise the objections.


Frankly, the Cthulu mythos seems to make more sense.

 

[Cutlass]

I read that one. It claims to be a history of the home, but I found it to be more of Bryson loosely gathering several historical themes under the umbrella of 'house'. He is never afraid of digging deep into the history of what we might now call mundane.

Yeah. It's a loose history tying, or trying to tie, a lot of disparate things together to explain why the modern house is what it is. Though it's very British/American centered. So doesn't tell a lot about the influences from elsewhere.

 

[Smellincoffee]

Finishing up The World Until Yesterday, by Jared Diamond. The chapter on religion is unsatisfying, but we'll see..

 

[Cheezy the Wiz]

г. сафаров - колониальная революция, опыт туркестана

(G. Safarov - The Colonial Revolution, the Experience of Turkestan)

For my research. It's extremely useful, when people who are a part of events write books about said events!

 

[Arakhor]

Did you actually read that book in Cyrillic, whatever it is?

 

[Cheezy the Wiz]

I am reading it, yes. Many of my dissertation sources only exist in Russian, so I am forced to put all of my lessons to the test. They are often the personal writings, letters and dispatches, or essays by Soviet politicians or officials. My sources include Lazar Kaganovich, Mikhail Frunze, and of course Vladimir Lenin.

I can read much of it without a dictionary, but I still must have one nearby.

 

[Azale]

I'm reading too many things at once.

The Chile Reader - edited by some people

A highly readable collection of mostly primary source documents on Chilean history. The documents are usually no longer than 3-4 pages and each is accompanied by a short overview/summary. I want every book in this collection.

Major Problems in Texas History - lots of contributors & editors

I probably have an edition older than the cover above, but I'll take whatever I can get from this now super expensive series even if that means some of the scholarship might be out of date. These books combine primary source documents with essays from leading specialists. The chapters are mostly chronological, with some diversions to discuss the specific experiences of women, tejanos and immigrants.

The Soviet Century - by Moshe Lewin

Excited about this one, especially since I picked it up in hardcover for $5.99. Just started on it and so far it's a fairly quick read. Doesn't profess to be a comprehensive history of the USSR, but it does profess to put newly released archives to use better than many of its predecessors. It's from 2005 so some of the scholarship might be dated.

 

[FriendlyFire]

The Divide: American Injustice in the Age of the Wealth Gap - Matt Taibbi

 

[Old Hippy]

Burial Rites: Hannah Kent
it reimagines the life and death of Agnes Magnusdottir, the last woman to be executed in Iceland. Sentenced to death for her part in the gory murder of two men, she was beheaded by axe on January 12, 1830, aged 33. (it was a birthday present, loved it, best fictional history I've read)

 

[SS-18 ICBM]

Wow, just wow...

"One American claimed that [Josip Broz] Tito was not a person but an acronym for a shadowy, ineffective conspiracy - the Third International Terrorist Organization!"

 

[Masada]

Escape From Camp 14 - Blaine Harden
Botchan - Soseki Natsume
Spring Snow - Yukio Mishima
Flash Boys - Michael Lewis

 

[SS-18 ICBM]

The Penguin History of Canada by Robert Bothwell shall be the last book I borrow from the Pickering Public Library. Considering it was published in 2006, the year I arrived in Canada, it is the perfect send-off to the first residence of my adopted country.

 

[Phrossack]

The Penguin History of Canada by Robert Bothwell shall be the last book I borrow from the Pickering Public Library. Considering it was published in 2006, the year I arrived in Canada, it is the perfect send-off to the first residence of my adopted country.

I'm very curious to read what penguins think of Canadian history.