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Has anyone read Meacham's new book about Thomas Jefferson? I picked it up on a whim, going to start it soon as my next non-fiction endeavor:
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Dec 9, 2012 16:59
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Jeff Wiiver posted:Are there any good, non-biased accounts of the foundation of modern Israel?  http://www.amazon.com/Arab-Israeli-Dilemma-Contemporary-Issues-Middle/dp/0815623402 I took a class a while back regarding the Arab-Israeli conflict and this was used as historical background for the class. It's a bit dry and textbooky, but the book really hits most of the points. The class was taught by a former Air Force intelligence officer whose area of specialization was the Middle East. He seemed to know what he was doing, and the book is solid too. It sits on my bookshelf to this day.
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Dec 25, 2012 17:52
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I've been on a bit of a boat binge lately. Just finished "To Rule The Waves" and "Six Frigates". Looking for any other good books about that time period.
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Dec 25, 2012 19:59
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RaceyBucket posted:I've been on a bit of a boat binge lately. Just finished "To Rule The Waves" and "Six Frigates". Looking for any other good books about that time period. On the rise of the Royal Navy, I just read Sir Francis Drake by John Sugden, which was great. Also from the Elizabethan era, Garrett Mattingly's The Armada (AKA The Defeat Of The Spanish Armada) focuses on maybe the most famous naval battle ever and the politics and personalities involved. Peter Earle's Pirate Wars, kind of an anti-pirate book, about how the navy policed and finally defeated the Caribbean pirates. (Speaking of pirates, which maybe you're not, the best introduction I've read is David Cordingly's Under the Black Flag: The Romance and the Reality of Life Among the Pirates.) Not a narrative history, but a technical breakdown of the RN at its height: The Wooden World: An Anatomy of the Georgian Navy by N.A.M. Rodger. There is also an annotated list of naval classics at this site: http://www.sea-room.com/series/cnl-series.html
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Dec 25, 2012 20:22
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Finished Saul David's The Indian Mutiny: 1857, so now I'm looking for a book that gives an overview of British involvement in India. Any suggestions?
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Dec 26, 2012 13:30
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Playing a historical video game that spans from 1453 to 1821 and I'd like to read on European political history in that time frame. Something that sweeps across the decades while touching on all the important parts: the reformation, the enlightenment, the French revolution and such. I've only ever read about post-1900 European history so I'm hoping it won't be too dense for me.
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Dec 31, 2012 07:35
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Has anyone read Stepping Through Time? Is it worth picking up?
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Dec 31, 2012 16:08
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Vegetable posted:Playing a historical video game that spans from 1453 to 1821 and I'd like to read on European political history in that time frame. Something that sweeps across the decades while touching on all the important parts: the reformation, the enlightenment, the French revolution and such. I've only ever read about post-1900 European history so I'm hoping it won't be too dense for me. I haven't read it (though I own it), but Europe: A History by Norman Davies is probably the most comprehensive thing out there. Aside from that, you'd be better off picking something more specific that interests you and reading just about that.
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Dec 31, 2012 18:35
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Vegetable posted:Playing a historical video game that spans from 1453 to 1821 and I'd like to read on European political history in that time frame. Something that sweeps across the decades while touching on all the important parts: the reformation, the enlightenment, the French revolution and such. I've only ever read about post-1900 European history so I'm hoping it won't be too dense for me. Diarmaid MacCulloch's The Reformation is very good. I didn't find it terribly dense.
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Dec 31, 2012 19:20
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I'm looking for some good books on early African history - particularly, on the kingdoms and civilizations that arose between the Bronze Age and early Middle Ages. Any ideas? To contribute a bit: If any of you want a (relatively) condensed version of Medieval political history, I highly recommend the Shorter Cambridge Medieval History. It's written by one of the editors of the original Cambridge Medieval History; he was paid to take all of that and stuff it into two large books. It's been out of print for a while, and the information may be somewhat outdated now that Cambridge released the New Medieval History, but it's both easy to read and superb if you just want an outline on medieval history. I was lucky to find it at my local library, but apparently you can find it online for  or 
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Jan 1, 2013 19:36
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Vegetable posted:Playing a historical video game that spans from 1453 to 1821 and I'd like to read on European political history in that time frame. Something that sweeps across the decades while touching on all the important parts: the reformation, the enlightenment, the French revolution and such. I've only ever read about post-1900 European history so I'm hoping it won't be too dense for me. While it does not at all cover the complete period you mentioned, Adam Zamoyski's "Moscow 1812: Napoleon's Fatal March" gives a good overview on the relations between the major continental European powers in the last years prior to 1812. That, and it's a good (albeit, considering the death toll, a somewhat depressing) description of Napoleon's fatal march against Russia.
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Jan 2, 2013 13:13
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Drone posted:I haven't read it (though I own it), but Europe: A History by Norman Davies is probably the most comprehensive thing out there. Aside from that, you'd be better off picking something more specific that interests you and reading just about that. I can confirm that Europe owns. It corrects a lot of the overemphasis on Western Europe prevalent in earlier histories (in English). I kinda want to re-read it now, but I'm pretty sure my copy would disintegrate if I tried; books that size are not meant to be softcovers.
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Jan 6, 2013 20:11
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Hey everyone, I was wondering if anyone knew of a good book on the Russian Revolution? Ideally what I'm looking for is something that has a narrative approach covering the 1917 to 1922 period, with a little bit of background. It would be great if it included important, sourced, information on literacy, poverty, etc, all the things that would show why the revolutions happened and what advantages or disadvantages both sides had. More importantly I would love it if it incorporated diaries/journal entries on the revolutions from both influential figures as well as commoners on both sides of the conflict. If you've ever read James M. McPherson's Battle Cry of Freedom that's basically what I'm looking for in a book. Only instead of being about the U.S. Civil War it would be about the Russian Revolution.
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Jan 8, 2013 22:16
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Xanderg posted:Hey everyone, I was wondering if anyone knew of a good book on the Russian Revolution? Ideally what I'm looking for is something that has a narrative approach covering the 1917 to 1922 period, with a little bit of background. It would be great if it included important, sourced, information on literacy, poverty, etc, all the things that would show why the revolutions happened and what advantages or disadvantages both sides had. More importantly I would love it if it incorporated diaries/journal entries on the revolutions from both influential figures as well as commoners on both sides of the conflict. I read Orlando Figes' "A People's Tragedy: The Russian Revolution 1891-1924" as a text for my early Soviet history seminar at University. It was a well sourced book that consulted a very large number of primary documents, was written in 1996 (so there was increased access into former Soviet archives), and provides a very good background into Tsarist Russian, the early leadup to the February Revolution (e.g. 1905 Revolution, etc), the period between Feb 1917 and March 1918, and the Civil War between 1918 and 1924 (with the death of Lenin). I think it sounds right up your alley (though I haven't read McPherson).
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Jan 9, 2013 00:14
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Does anyone have any recommendations for books dealing with the rise and development of ancient civilizations in the Mesopotamia region? Preferably something that discusses art/culture and social/political organization and gives some insights into daily life. Anything within the time range of 4000BCE to approximately Ancient Greece would be good.
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Jan 9, 2013 22:32
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Xanderg posted:Hey everyone, I was wondering if anyone knew of a good book on the Russian Revolution? Ideally what I'm looking for is something that has a narrative approach covering the 1917 to 1922 period, with a little bit of background. It would be great if it included important, sourced, information on literacy, poverty, etc, all the things that would show why the revolutions happened and what advantages or disadvantages both sides had. More importantly I would love it if it incorporated diaries/journal entries on the revolutions from both influential figures as well as commoners on both sides of the conflict. You should grab The Russian Revolution, 1917 by Rex Wade. Granted, it only deals with 1917 and the February and October revolutions, but it's absolutely essential reading. It's very accessible too.
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Jan 10, 2013 06:41
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Are there any solid books on the crusades that feature a lot of first hand accounts? (Ie. narratives from soldiers or others who participated in them, if any of those were written down at the time)
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Jan 11, 2013 11:36
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feraltennisprodigy posted:Are there any solid books on the crusades that feature a lot of first hand accounts? (Ie. narratives from soldiers or others who participated in them, if any of those were written down at the time) Penguin has a couple: This one has two accounts, one from the fourth crusade by Geoffrey of Villehardouin and another about Louis IX's later crusades. There's another one I'm not too familiar with made of first-hand accounts about the first crusades, too. There's also the Book of Contemplation, written by an Arab in the 12th century which touches on the Crusades from the other side.
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Jan 11, 2013 16:58
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What's a good general history of slavery in America?
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Jan 12, 2013 01:52
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RedZone posted:Does anyone have any recommendations for books dealing with the rise and development of ancient civilizations in the Mesopotamia region? Preferably something that discusses art/culture and social/political organization and gives some insights into daily life. Anything within the time range of 4000BCE to approximately Ancient Greece would be good. I read this one and it was pretty good. It's meant to be used as a textbook, I think, but it's written in a pretty nice style for a textbook so you shouldn't have any problems getting through it from cover to cover.
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Jan 13, 2013 12:30
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barkingclam posted:There's also the Book of Contemplation, written by an Arab in the 12th century which touches on the Crusades from the other side. There's also The Crusades Through Arab Eyes.
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Jan 13, 2013 20:58
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barkingclam posted:Penguin has a couple: This one has two accounts, one from the fourth crusade by Geoffrey of Villehardouin and another about Louis IX's later crusades. There's another one I'm not too familiar with made of first-hand accounts about the first crusades, too. There's also the Book of Contemplation, written by an Arab in the 12th century which touches on the Crusades from the other side. Thanks for the suggestions, I picked up the Kindle edition of the first one to begin with and will be reading it once I'm done with the book I'm currently reading. 
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Jan 13, 2013 23:13
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Blurred posted:I read this one and it was pretty good. It's meant to be used as a textbook, I think, but it's written in a pretty nice style for a textbook so you shouldn't have any problems getting through it from cover to cover. This fits really closely to what I was looking for. Thanks!
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Jan 14, 2013 01:23
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Alhazred posted:There's also The Crusades Through Arab Eyes. Seconding this book. I had it as a textbook in a 400-level medieval history course and it was great. We read it in tandem with a more traditional history of the Crusades, which was a great way to use both of them. Can't remember which at the moment and I'm not sure if I still have the book, but if I find it in the near future I'll edit this post.
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Jan 14, 2013 02:55
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Lord Hydronium posted:What's a good general history of slavery in America? It might be too broad (as it starts in ancient civilization), but David Brion Davis' Inhuman Bondage is a decent starting point. It is very long, but it is also enjoyable to read (and won a Pulitzer!).
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Jan 14, 2013 19:55
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Does anyone know of any books portraying normal daily life in the Soviet Union e: I mean Khrushchev up to the end though. I saw Magnetic City earlier posted and am definitely going to get that one day, but I'm more interested in post Stalin.
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Jan 16, 2013 06:25
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Does anyone have any good books on Ukraine in the 20th century? I've recently become very interested in this period and am mainly interested in the holodomors, civil war, and any kind of movement against the USSR/for ukrainian culture. My family emigrated from Ukraine in the 1920s, but we've kept no culture or historical knowledge from Ukraine, so I'm kind of eager to learn what kind of environment they escaped from (at that time I know it was basically just horrible), and about the culture the soviets tried to erase. This stuff doesn't seem to easy to find.
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Jan 16, 2013 06:43
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grvm posted:Does anyone have any good books on Ukraine in the 20th century? I've recently become very interested in this period and am mainly interested in the holodomors, civil war, and any kind of movement against the USSR/for ukrainian culture. My family emigrated from Ukraine in the 1920s, but we've kept no culture or historical knowledge from Ukraine, so I'm kind of eager to learn what kind of environment they escaped from (at that time I know it was basically just horrible), and about the culture the soviets tried to erase. This stuff doesn't seem to easy to find. It's not exactly what you're asking for, but Timothy Snyder's Bloodlands: Europe Between Hitler and Stalin talks about how the countries between Germany and Russia suffered under both the Nazi and Soviet regimes.
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Jan 16, 2013 17:07
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Can anyone suggest any history books that would be appropriate for a middle school reader? I'm working on a curriculum list for a summer reading program, and we're trying to get nonfiction for the younger levels, but it's proving difficult.
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Jan 16, 2013 20:32
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I may get flamed for this, but Horrible Histories?
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Jan 16, 2013 22:24
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MRC48B posted:I may get flamed for this, but Horrible Histories? I remeber that series. I loved those books when i was younger.
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Jan 17, 2013 04:35
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Chamberk posted:Can anyone suggest any history books that would be appropriate for a middle school reader? I'm working on a curriculum list for a summer reading program, and we're trying to get nonfiction for the younger levels, but it's proving difficult. There is a version of Zinn's People's History of the US that is written specifically for young people. I think it would work for middle school as normal Zinn is sometimes used in high school classes. 50 American Heroes and 101 Changemakers are kind of set up in similar ways - 1 to 2 page biographies of people in US history plus some extension activities. Killing Lincoln has been popular amongst my 8th grade boys. Stupid American History is another popular one - set up kind of like Uncle John's Bathroom Readers.
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Jan 17, 2013 06:39
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Can anyone recommend a good history of the development of ships? I'd like to start with something more technical the To Rule The Waves. Something like this looks way too expansive and lacking in detail. Has anyone read The History of the Ship? It looks a little better but still probably moves too fast to be really informative. Maybe I should focus my search a little more. Can anyone recommend something on the development of European sailing ships from ~1000 to ~1900? edit: Found a couple more that look good. Anyone have an opinion on these? The Earliest Ships The Archaeology of Boats and Ships oXDemosthenesXo fucked around with this message at 22:34 on Jan 19, 2013 |
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Jan 19, 2013 22:26
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Just went through this thread in about an hour hoping for recommendations about the beginnings of the unions (preferably available on Google books), as my Google-fu is weak.
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Jan 21, 2013 02:40
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grvm posted:Does anyone have any good books on Ukraine in the 20th century? I've recently become very interested in this period and am mainly interested in the holodomors, civil war, and any kind of movement against the USSR/for ukrainian culture. My family emigrated from Ukraine in the 1920s, but we've kept no culture or historical knowledge from Ukraine, so I'm kind of eager to learn what kind of environment they escaped from (at that time I know it was basically just horrible), and about the culture the soviets tried to erase. This stuff doesn't seem to easy to find. Just noticed this one. The problem you'll have with this topic is, because it's been so little researched (as you've noted), it tends to be dominated by nationalist interpretations, which are often self-serving or have bought into certain nationalist myths. For example, with the Holodomor, the popular notion amongst Ukrainians is the idea that it was a deliberately inflicted starvation - a Holocaust - whereas the academic conclusion tends more along the lines of blaming colossal inefficiency, blind optimism, a fear/inability to report the truth in a brutal Stalinist system, and ill-timed and poorly implemented organizational changes (though to be fair, some scholars say it was deliberate too). But to try and argue for a non-deliberate explanation to the average Ukrainian is to become a Soviet/Stalinist apologist (as if instead arguing that it was merely a system so badly run that several million starved to death was somehow a useful apologetic) and effectively a Holocaust denier. In my time working on the subject I was always extremely uneasy for this reason and never discussed things with the older Ukrainians I came into contact with (and the people I worked with used to joke about what we'd do when we received all the money Putin was supposed to be paying us for our faithful, pro-Russian work - we were actually accused of this). For the two sorts of scholarship on the subject, you could check out Harvest of Sorrow by Robert Conquest or Michael Ellman, vs. The Years of Hunger: Soviet Agriculture, 1931–33 by Davies & Wheatcroft or John-Paul Himka. There is a lively debate on the issue. Don't even attempt to form a solid stance on the UPA/OUN, the anti-Jewish pogroms, the Polish-Ukrainian divide, etc, without serious study, because you will find a great deal of massively polarized literature on the topic and can be easily led astray by examining just one or two books. Xotl fucked around with this message at 17:25 on Jan 22, 2013 |
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Jan 21, 2013 06:41
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ThePutty posted:Is there any good books on modern Arab history in the Middle East? Things like the Arab Revolt, Israel and Palestine, the rise of dictatorships and everything in between and outside of that. Bought Robert Fisk's The Great War for Civilisation: The Conquest of the Middle East the other day, but I haven't started reading it yet... it's supposed to be excellent. 
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Jan 21, 2013 19:06
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Xotl posted:Just noticed this one. The problem you'll have with this topic is, because it's been so little researched (as you've noted), it tends to be dominated by nationalist interpretations, which are often self-serving or have bought into certain nationalist myths. For example, with the Holodomor, the popular notion amongst Ukrainians is the idea that it was a deliberately inflicted starvation - a Holocaust - whereas the academic conclusion tends more along the lines of blaming colossal inefficiency, blind optimism, a fear/inability to report the truth in a brutal Stalinist system, and ill-timed and poorly implemented organizational changes (though to be fair, some scholars blame Stalin too). But to try and argue for a non-deliberate explanation to the average Ukrainian is to become a Soviet/Stalinist apologist (as if instead arguing that it was merely a system so badly run that several million starved to death was somehow a useful apologetic) and effectively a Holocaust denier. In my time working on the subject I was always extremely uneasy for this reason and never discussed things with the older Ukrainians I came into contact with (and the people I worked with used to joke about what we'd do when we received all the money from our cheques Putin was supposed to be paying us for our faithful, pro-Russian work - we were actually accused of this). Hey, thanks for this response. Basically the only thing I knew about Ukrainian culture growing up was that we hated the Russians, so I'm not exactly going in unbiased (unfortunately.) Maybe you could point me towards some more broad books about the history and culture of Ukraine? I'm interested in the Holodomors but really I just want to learn more about Ukraine on the whole. I literally know nothing, so maybe it's better I start from a broader view before jumping into a heavily debated scholarly topic like the holodomor.
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Jan 22, 2013 08:02
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Maybe I'm a terrible person, but the only thing I can think of when I see "Holodomor" is "Hodor."
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Jan 22, 2013 14:53
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grvm posted:Hey, thanks for this response. Basically the only thing I knew about Ukrainian culture growing up was that we hated the Russians, so I'm not exactly going in unbiased (unfortunately.) Maybe you could point me towards some more broad books about the history and culture of Ukraine? I'm interested in the Holodomors but really I just want to learn more about Ukraine on the whole. I literally know nothing, so maybe it's better I start from a broader view before jumping into a heavily debated scholarly topic like the holodomor. Borderland by Anna Reid is a pretty good overview of Ukrainian history. It doesn't cover the most recent decade, but it's still good. I read it when I lived in Kiev for two months. Holy poo poo, that was depressing.
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Jan 22, 2013 15:49
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So, how about the War of 1812? I'm looking for some kind of an overview.
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Jan 22, 2013 20:53
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