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PittTheElder posted:Although that narrative is certainly not without it's critics. I much prefer Guy Halsall's Barbarian Migrations, which asserts that it's not that the barbarians eventually outsmarted the Romans, but instead that they had been closely related to it for centuries, and it was weakening Roman authority that brought them in the first place, often by invitation. The 'barbarians' weren't trying to destroy the Empire, they were just trying to carve themselves a powerful spot within it, and were going out of their way to be as Roman as possible. But a century of internecine conflict, giving rise to regional power blocks, proved so damaging to central authority that the whole empire never got put back together. Heather's books agree with and reinforce this thesis, particularly that the Roman Empire didn't even end in the west in 476, as the barbarian successor states fought over claims of continuity and legitimacy and kept many forms of the empire intact. It's disintegration over a long time generally against the wishes of those actually causing it, basically.
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Jul 16, 2015 15:30
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smr posted:If you've read both of these, can you explain the difference between the two? I have Unfinished Empire in the queue but looking at The Empire Project, they seem similar. Wondering which I should read first, if either. It's more of a difference of emphasis. The Empire Project is written chronologically, with Part I covering the heyday of 19th century expansion by area (ie chapter 2 is Canada/the Atlantic world, chapter 5 is the Raj etc.) and ending with the Edwardian apogee; Part 2 does 20th century decline, from 1914 through the final end of empire in the 60s. Unfinished Empire is organized thematically. Colonization, colonial government, colonial life, rebellions etc. Both are enjoyable. It's more really what you're looking for.
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Jul 16, 2015 15:47
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What are some good books on pre-European contact sub-Saharan Africa? I figure it may be scarce pickings due to records being lost/destroyed/nonexistent, but I would love to learn what I can about the people and empires and culture.
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Jul 16, 2015 17:20
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Cheikh Ante Diop 
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Jul 16, 2015 17:34
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Any good books on Georges Clemenceau?
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Jul 18, 2015 23:31
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A Dapper Walrus posted:Any good books on Georges Clemenceau? At the Heart of a Tiger: Clemenceau and His World by Gregor Dallas. It's mostly a political biography, because Clemenceau burned almost all of his personal papers in the month before he died. Solid read though.
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Jul 19, 2015 03:58
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On the topic of biography, is there a definitive on Mussolini? Just finished Thompson's White War and seems that'd be a good way to follow up.
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Jul 20, 2015 15:42
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Roark posted:It's more of a difference of emphasis. The Empire Project is written chronologically, with Part I covering the heyday of 19th century expansion by area (ie chapter 2 is Canada/the Atlantic world, chapter 5 is the Raj etc.) and ending with the Edwardian apogee; Part 2 does 20th century decline, from 1914 through the final end of empire in the 60s. Unfinished Empire is organized thematically. Colonization, colonial government, colonial life, rebellions etc. Got it and thank you. I think I'll go with The Empire Project first and then hit Unfinished Empire down the road a ways.
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Jul 21, 2015 18:37
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Tekopo posted:Does anyone have a recommendation for a general book about WWII PTO, covering the entire campaign? Ideally something on the more detailed/complex end. The classics are: Eagle Against the Sun by Ronald Spector - from the American perspective. The Pacific War by John Costello - from the British perspective. Rising Sun by John Toland - from the Japanese perspective. Plus there's a new one called Hirohito's War by Francis Pike, which I'm reading at the moment. It's a massive book, I'm 250 pages in and it's only up to mid-1941 and the Pearl Harbor operation hasn't even been mentioned yet. It goes into quite a lot of detail about the wars in China from 1931 on which the others don't, and there's an interesting comparison of the pre-war economies of the US and Japan. Plus the author has dozens of supporting maps and charts on his website to go along with the text.
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Jul 22, 2015 23:01
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The SOE in WW2 have dozens of books written about them, but the OSS seems far less common a topic with a mixed bag of reviews for the handful I've found on Amazon. Are there any particularly outstanding books about OSS involvement in WW2 other than picking bits and pieces out of SOE books that reference American involvement?
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Jul 23, 2015 16:32
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Can anyone recommend a good history on the Medici or the merchant families of Italy in general? I've been reading a couple of books on the history of finance and they seem incredibly interesting. I read Machiavelli in high school but would like something more about the people themselves.
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Jul 24, 2015 15:40
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Mr Crucial posted:The classics are:
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Jul 24, 2015 15:44
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Mr. World posted:Can anyone recommend a good history on the Medici or the merchant families of Italy in general? I've been reading a couple of books on the history of finance and they seem incredibly interesting. I read Machiavelli in high school but would like something more about the people themselves. Christopher Hibbert's The House of Medici: Its Rise and Fall is the standard popular history of the Medici's in general, and Miles Unger's Magnifico is a highly readable bio of Lorenzo the Magnificent and broader look at his times/the late Republic of Florence.
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Jul 24, 2015 15:52
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What's a good book that traces the history of modern American liberalism?
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Jul 26, 2015 07:29
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Vegetable posted:What's a good book that traces the history of modern American liberalism? I believe the classic study is The Liberal Tradition in America by Louis Hartz, which was first published in the mid 50s and continually in print since then. I also read The Democrats: From Jefferson to Clinton by Robert Rutland and enjoyed that as well.
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Jul 26, 2015 16:30
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Buggalo posted:What are some good books on pre-European contact sub-Saharan Africa? I figure it may be scarce pickings due to records being lost/destroyed/nonexistent, but I would love to learn what I can about the people and empires and culture. How good is your French?
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Jul 26, 2015 22:27
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Roark posted:Christopher Hibbert's The House of Medici: Its Rise and Fall is the standard popular history of the Medici's in general, and Miles Unger's Magnifico is a highly readable bio of Lorenzo the Magnificent and broader look at his times/the late Republic of Florence. Awesome! Thanks
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Jul 26, 2015 22:39
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Tekopo posted:I bought Rising Sun because it looked pretty good. I had a look at Hirohito's War but some of the reviews on Amazon seemed to be very negative on it. I just read those Amazon reviews and most of them are pretty fair, to be honest. There are a number of basic errors that I've spotted (e.g. saying that the Zero fighter had a 'Ki-43' engine when the Ki-43 was actually an entirely different plane). The maps not being included is a bit unfair given that most of the other 1 volume efforts only have half a dozens maps at best whereas this has 50-odd, even if they are only available online. I'm still enjoying it and I think it's a good book, maybe wait for a second edition to come out with some better editing. I got the Kindle edition which should hopefully be updated.
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Jul 27, 2015 13:07
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Any particular stand-out title I should be looking at for a one volume biography of Teddy Roosevelt?
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Jul 28, 2015 23:36
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Mr. World posted:Can anyone recommend a good history on the Medici or the merchant families of Italy in general? I've been reading a couple of books on the history of finance and they seem incredibly interesting. I read Machiavelli in high school but would like something more about the people themselves. Iris Origo's Merchant of Prato is good if you want to learn about the nuts and bolts of merchant life. BravestOfTheLamps fucked around with this message at 16:15 on Jul 29, 2015 |
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Jul 29, 2015 16:06
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BeigeJacket posted:Any particular stand-out title I should be looking at for a one volume biography of Teddy Roosevelt? I would go with TR: The Last Romantic by HW Brands. However, you might want to read this blog post by a psycho who read 14 biographies of Roosevelt in 18 weeks and wrote a para about each.
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Jul 29, 2015 16:42
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I just started The Persistence of the Old Regime by Arno Mayer. Anyone who has some criticisms of its central thesis? I'm pretty inclined to accept a lot at face value, but I'm sure there'll be some disagreements on this
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Jul 29, 2015 17:39
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Antwan3K posted:I just started The Persistence of the Old Regime by Arno Mayer. Anyone who has some criticisms of its central thesis? I'm pretty inclined to accept a lot at face value, but I'm sure there'll be some disagreements on this That in Europe the world wars and holocaust shook off aristocratic influence over politics was a big final thing that is patently not true. My main evidence being the EU. Other than that I have nothing. Did you read his other books (new politics,economics)? They are required reading in my opinion to get the totality of some of his points because he does not expand upon them to much in this one.
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Jul 29, 2015 23:00
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Big Arno mayer fan here
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Jul 29, 2015 23:01
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Mr. World posted:Can anyone recommend a good history on the Medici or the merchant families of Italy in general? I've been reading a couple of books on the history of finance and they seem incredibly interesting. I read Machiavelli in high school but would like something more about the people themselves. Lane, The Maritime Republics might be worth a punt. BravestOfTheLamps posted:Iris Origo's Merchant of Prato is good if you want to learn about the nuts and bolts of merchant life. There is also Marshall, The Local Merchants of Prato
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Jul 29, 2015 23:04
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Stravinsky posted:That in Europe the world wars and holocaust shook off aristocratic influence over politics was a big final thing that is patently not true. My main evidence being the EU. It's a little hard to argue that the EU represents a continuation of 19th century aristocratic power. Yes, power is still very much in the hands of privileged elites but that's true in any historical social or governmental system you care to name. The decline of the dominance of a previous ruling class and the development of a new one is a pretty notable thing and worth mentioning in a book on the era.
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Jul 29, 2015 23:44
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BravestOfTheLamps posted:Iris Origo's Merchant of Prato is good if you want to learn about the nuts and bolts of merchant life. This looks exactly like what I'm looking for. Thanks!
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Jul 29, 2015 23:54
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what's a good book to read about haskalah
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Jul 31, 2015 03:38
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Samog posted:what's a good book to read about haskalah Shmuel Feiner's The Jewish Enlightenment or David Ruderman's Early Modern Jewry: A New Cultural History.
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Jul 31, 2015 15:02
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I'm looking for a book on Allied treatment of Axis combatants and POWs. Specifically about retaliation for Malmedy, summary execution of prisoners, that sort of thing. I once read a portion of a really excellent book dealing with the subject, but now I can't find it for the life of me
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Jul 31, 2015 17:38
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During a summer class today, I felt a little bad because I realized I know pretty much nothing about the United States Suffragettes, let alone Alice Paul. I want to remedy this. Does anyone have any recommendations that are a general overview of women's suffrage in the US, or about Alice Paul?
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Jul 31, 2015 20:01
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walgreenslatino posted:I'm looking for a book on Allied treatment of Axis combatants and POWs. Specifically about retaliation for Malmedy, summary execution of prisoners, that sort of thing. I once read a portion of a really excellent book dealing with the subject, but now I can't find it for the life of me This is not exactly what you asked for, but I found it fascinating, and if you're into this sort of thing you probably will also: http://www.amazon.com/Soldaten-Fighting-Killing-Secret-Transcripts/dp/0307958124 It's a book of transcripts of German POWs in Britain talking among themselves, and the insights it gives into the men. Absolutely compelling. Trin Tragula fucked around with this message at 20:59 on Jul 31, 2015 |
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Jul 31, 2015 20:43
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Does anyone know a good book on the early years of Hollywood and the golden age.
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Aug 1, 2015 01:08
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Roark posted:Shmuel Feiner's The Jewish Enlightenment or David Ruderman's Early Modern Jewry: A New Cultural History. thank
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Aug 1, 2015 06:12
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I'm looking for a comprehensive overview of the Ancient Levant/Ancient Near East from the Early Bronze Age through the Iron Age (4000BCE - 0 BCE). The cultures I'd like to get educated about are: Sumer, Akkad, Amorites, Assyria, Babylonia, Canaanites, Hitte Empire, Sea Peoples, Neo-Hittite, Neo-Babylonian, Neo-Assyrian, Arcahemenid Empire. Ideally I would be looking for a single book that provides a broad overview of this time period and the civilizations I listed above. I have no idea if there is a single book that can fulfill that need. If no such single book exists than I'd like to cover it in the least amount of books possible.
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Aug 1, 2015 18:39
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Cyrano4747 posted:It's a little hard to argue that the EU represents a continuation of 19th century aristocratic power. Yes, power is still very much in the hands of privileged elites but that's true in any historical social or governmental system you care to name. The decline of the dominance of a previous ruling class and the development of a new one is a pretty notable thing and worth mentioning in a book on the era. I could argue that the eu is a continuation of policy of the previous ruling class, but that would be boring and this isnt d&d
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Aug 1, 2015 23:56
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Megasabin posted:I'm looking for a comprehensive overview of the Ancient Levant/Ancient Near East from the Early Bronze Age through the Iron Age (4000BCE - 0 BCE). The cultures I'd like to get educated about are: Sumer, Akkad, Amorites, Assyria, Babylonia, Canaanites, Hitte Empire, Sea Peoples, Neo-Hittite, Neo-Babylonian, Neo-Assyrian, Arcahemenid Empire. 
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Aug 1, 2015 23:56
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Stravinsky posted:I could argue that the eu is a continuation of policy of the previous ruling class, but that would be boring and this isnt d&d Pls argue that imo
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Aug 2, 2015 01:13
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Awesome, thanks. I'm debating between that book and this one: http://www.amazon.com/History-Ancient-3000-323-Blackwell-World-ebook/dp/B00Z0JA72M/ref=tmm_kin_title_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=&sr= Any chance you've ready the other one as well. The other has a kindle version, which is appealing, but I'd rather get the better book over anything else.
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Aug 2, 2015 06:54
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Megasabin posted:Awesome, thanks. I'm debating between that book and this one: http://www.amazon.com/History-Ancient-3000-323-Blackwell-World-ebook/dp/B00Z0JA72M/ref=tmm_kin_title_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=&sr= I vaguely remember looking through that one when helping someone pick out a book to use for his class on the subject. The one suggested was the one he went with because it had chapters where it talked about some of the more forgotten peoples in history and the chapters more or less went chronologically instead of hopping around region to region so it gives a better picture of world events and when things happened. Just realize these are both textbooks and are meant to be supplemented by lectures from a professor but will be fine if you just want a super broad view of ancient western civ.
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Aug 3, 2015 00:24
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