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Boomer The Cannon posted:I've trying to read a biography of each US President, and rather than start at the beginning I picked up mid-20th Century (Truman by McCullough, Eisenhower In War and Peace by Smith, An Unfinished Life by Dallek, LBJ by Dallek and The Arrogance of Power by Summers). Funnily enough, I just started this exact same project. In researching I found this guy's blog to be very helpful and thorough, as well as him seeming like a pretty trustworthy critic. He's not quite up to the era you need, though.
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Jun 11, 2017 06:10
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Bandiet posted:Funnily enough, I just started this exact same project. In researching I found this guy's blog to be very helpful and thorough, as well as him seeming like a pretty trustworthy critic. He's not quite up to the era you need, though. He's got what I could use, though. I did start in a weird spot.
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Jun 13, 2017 01:43
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Has anyone else here read Frances Hill's A Delusion of Satan? Probably the most in depth book on the Salem Witch Trials I've read, and I'd really like to see it adapted into a docudrama or something.
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Jun 21, 2017 07:13
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Any recommendations for books on the Korean War? Preferably with audiobook counterparts
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Jun 21, 2017 19:03
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COOL CORN posted:Any recommendations for books on the Korean War? Preferably with audiobook counterparts I've only read the Max Hastings one (The Korean War), but it was good enough that I'd recommend it. There's an audiobook book version too. It doesn't have many maps or pictures, so you wouldn't be missing much, if anything.
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Jun 21, 2017 21:13
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COOL CORN posted:Any recommendations for books on the Korean War? Preferably with audiobook counterparts I don't do audiobooks at all, so can't help you there, but I read Brothers At War by Sheila Miyoshi Jager sometime last year and it was very good in that it focused more on internal Korean politics and agency on both sides than it did American and Chinese intentions, which seems to be the focus of most books in this area. For that American/military perspective, Halberstam's The Coldest Winter did the job well. Between the two of those, I feel reasonably covered on the Korean War.
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Jun 22, 2017 16:11
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I've been reading Page Smiths "People's History of the United States." It's an 8 volume series he wrote for the bicentennial. The third volume that covers the antebellum period is my favorite so far. Really my biggest takeaway is that America was probably a mistake. Had those colonists just paid their fair share, we could all been living in the great united Canada under the commonwealth.
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Jun 23, 2017 08:42
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I apologize if this has been asked before but I've realized my knowledge of the Afghanistan war (U.S.) is basically poo poo and I'm wondering if there are any good books that cover it from the beginning to more or less the past couple of years?
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Jun 24, 2017 02:17
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There's The Forever War by Dexter Filkins, but it covers the general "war on terror" response to 911 so it includes Iraq in addition to Afghanistan.
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Jun 24, 2017 03:14
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clean ayers act posted:I apologize if this has been asked before but I've realized my knowledge of the Afghanistan war (U.S.) is basically poo poo and I'm wondering if there are any good books that cover it from the beginning to more or less the past couple of years? https://afghanistan-analyst.org/bibliography/
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Jun 24, 2017 04:52
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I'm looking for a book about the Scramble for Africa. I know very little about the period so I'm mostly looking for books that give a broader view but books about specific parts or countries are fine too.
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Jun 26, 2017 10:27
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clean ayers act posted:I apologize if this has been asked before but I've realized my knowledge of the Afghanistan war (U.S.) is basically poo poo and I'm wondering if there are any good books that cover it from the beginning to more or less the past couple of years? There's this https://www.amazon.com/Wrong-Enemy-America-Afghanistan-2001-2014/dp/0544046692 which I liked but it's more on the journalistic side and quite argumentative. But an engrossing and quick read.
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Jun 26, 2017 11:33
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Fader Movitz posted:I'm looking for a book about the Scramble for Africa. I know very little about the period so I'm mostly looking for books that give a broader view but books about specific parts or countries are fine too. I liked Pakenham's book on the subject. It's been a while since I've read it but I think it's pretty much what you're looking for, a broad view of developments in the late 19th/early 20th century.
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Jun 27, 2017 07:54
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Can anyone recommend any good books on the history of Northern Ireland generally and the Troubles more generally. I've read Big Boys' Rules by Mark Urban, which is a fantastic look into the UK security services of various stripes' activities and am keen to read more but it seems like (unsurprisingly) a lot of the books out there have quite a bias in them. I'd also be interested in memoirs by people involved on whichever side (obviously realise these are likely to have significant bias).
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Jun 29, 2017 12:32
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Owlkill posted:I'd also be interested in memoirs by people involved on whichever side (obviously realise these are likely to have significant bias). for this you can't do much better than Ed Moloney's Voices from the Grave. It stems from an oral history project that Boston College is carrying out, interviewing important people on both sides of the Troubles, and is essentially two edited transcripts: one from an IRA member and one from a unionist. There's plenty of background and contextual information as well. It's a great read.
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Jun 29, 2017 15:01
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MeatwadIsGod posted:Will Durant's Caesar and Christ covers the Republican and Imperial eras very thoroughly. I'm almost done with Tom Holland's Dynasty but I didn't find it nearly as good as Persian Fire or Rubicon. It's soured me on him a little. Adrian Goldsworthy's Julius Caesar and Augustus biographies are excellent. Very belated thanks for the Adrian Goldsworthy recommendations. Julius Ceasar in particular was fantastic.
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Jun 29, 2017 17:35
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Are there any fairminded biographies/histories of Huey P Long that don't immediately get into tut tutting All the King's Men type bullshit? Love to read more about the man
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Jun 29, 2017 19:30
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Punkin Spunkin posted:Are there any fairminded biographies/histories of Huey P Long that don't immediately get into tut tutting All the King's Men type bullshit? Love to read more about the man Yeah, you want the T. Harry Williams one from 1981 (originally from 1970, when it won a National Book Award and a Pulitzer Prize). Has a lot of oral history in it. Sadly no kindle version. https://www.amazon.com/Huey-Long-T-Harry-Williams/dp/0394747909/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1498762470&sr=8-1&keywords=huey+long https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/T._Harry_Williams#Fascination_with_Huey_Long ulmont fucked around with this message at 19:56 on Jun 29, 2017 |
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Jun 29, 2017 19:54
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chernobyl kinsman posted:for this you can't do much better than Ed Moloney's Voices from the Grave. Thanks for the tip! Sounds fascinating, ordered a secondhand copy off eBay.
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Jun 29, 2017 23:30
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Subvisual Haze posted:Very belated thanks for the Adrian Goldsworthy recommendations. Julius Ceasar in particular was fantastic. He has tons of other histories and I think even a few historical novels that I've been meaning to read. As someone who isn't super enthralled by military history he can really make it fascinating reading. His lecture on Roman warfare is good stuff, too.
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Jun 30, 2017 03:42
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ulmont posted:Yeah, you want the T. Harry Williams one from 1981 (originally from 1970, when it won a National Book Award and a Pulitzer Prize). Has a lot of oral history in it. I'll second this one; it's the best Huey Long biography I've read, even if it's got some obvious political slants in it that are relatively easy to see and adjust for.
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Jun 30, 2017 12:12
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kalthir posted:I liked Pakenham's book on the subject. It's been a while since I've read it but I think it's pretty much what you're looking for, a broad view of developments in the late 19th/early 20th century. It seems to be exactly what I was looking for, Thanks!
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Jun 30, 2017 14:52
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Looking for two things: 1. Good read on the French Revolution, preferably one that mixes historical backgrounding with the thrills and spills of the Revolution. 2. Good read on Genghis Khan or the Mongols generally. I was thinking about Frank McLynn's new book, since I liked his Napoleon biography. Can't find much written about it - anyone read it?
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Jul 1, 2017 05:08
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I definitely enjoyed McLynn's Khan biography and found it really engaging. He goes into good detail about the culture and tribal politics of the Mongolia region and all the places the Khan invaded, which is really fascinating. It helps that the subject is really interesting. The early part of Temujin's life is like something out of Conan book, and once he becomes Khan the Mongols just kind of explode across Asia and just kind of trounce everyone around, kinda like Napoleon. The only thing I really want is a follow up that goes into detail about his grandson Kublai or something. McLynn keeps going for a little while after the Khan's death in order to wrap things up for that generation of Mongols but still.
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Jul 1, 2017 05:57
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Mantis42 posted:I definitely enjoyed McLynn's Khan biography and found it really engaging. He goes into good detail about the culture and tribal politics of the Mongolia region and all the places the Khan invaded, which is really fascinating. It helps that the subject is really interesting. The early part of Temujin's life is like something out of Conan book, and once he becomes Khan the Mongols just kind of explode across Asia and just kind of trounce everyone around, kinda like Napoleon. Thanks - I'll get it. The only thing I recall disliking about McLynn in Napoleon is that he has a habit of saying "If such-and-such had gone east instead of west, or if Napoleon had just waited until the next day to attack, the world today would be unrecognisable/we'd all be speaking French." It was fun the first few times, but he ends up doing it way too much. There was also some fanciful psychoanalysing. Otherwise it was very informative. He writes particularly well on the hellish French retreat from Russia. snoremac fucked around with this message at 06:40 on Jul 1, 2017 |
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Jul 1, 2017 06:26
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Ron Jeremy posted:Really my biggest takeaway is that America was probably a mistake. Had those colonists just paid their fair share, we could all been living in the great united Canada under the commonwealth. Proud to be posting on the same board as you, Mr Churchill.
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Jul 1, 2017 12:18
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snoremac posted:Looking for two things: I'm slowly working my way through Citizens by Simon Schama and I'd say it's quite well written and detailed, with a lot of broader historical context which I appreciate. Beware it is a tome of a book though and being published in '89 there are probably newer works.
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Jul 1, 2017 17:31
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Schama embraced the spirit of the time and derided the whole revolution as being some kind of violent horrible monstrosity.
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Jul 1, 2017 18:57
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Schama's academic background is studying the interaction between French republicanism and Dutch republicanism and his finding was more or less that the French didn't give a poo poo about it so his attitude might have something to do with more than just the national mood.
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Jul 1, 2017 19:36
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Has anyone read the Andrew Roberts biography of Napoleon? How is it?
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Jul 1, 2017 20:22
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It's alright. Main problem with it is that Roberts is absolutely in love with Napoleon. Thinks he was amazing and defends every bad thing he did, from looting art works to executing Turkish prisoners.
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Jul 2, 2017 00:06
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Disinterested posted:Schama's academic background is studying the interaction between French republicanism and Dutch republicanism and his finding was more or less that the French didn't give a poo poo about it so his attitude might have something to do with more than just the national mood. I don't know much about Schama's work on the Dutch Republic, but my impression of Citizens is that it was written when Furet's book on interpreting the Revolution was at its most popular. The whole idea of the French Revolution as a violent preview of twentieth century totalitarianism that Furet put forward is something that I think must have had a significant impact on how Schama tells his story.
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Jul 2, 2017 00:22
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cloudchamber posted:I don't know much about Schama's work on the Dutch Republic, but my impression of Citizens is that it was written when Furet's book on interpreting the Revolution was at its most popular. The whole idea of the French Revolution as a violent preview of twentieth century totalitarianism that Furet put forward is something that I think must have had a significant impact on how Schama tells his story. That's definitely what he thinks to some degree but I think of you dig you'll find its because Schama thinks of other republican traditions with less radical experiences preferentially.
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Jul 2, 2017 00:41
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Interesting! I barely know the subject let alone the historiography and prominent authors etc. Would you recommend any book as a counter balance to Citizens?
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Jul 2, 2017 01:35
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cloudchamber posted:It's alright. Main problem with it is that Roberts is absolutely in love with Napoleon. Thinks he was amazing and defends every bad thing he did, from looting art works to executing Turkish prisoners. Its the only Napoleon bio I've ever read and I thought it was pretty entertaining, though yea its apologetic in tone.
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Jul 2, 2017 04:28
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Fledgling Gulps posted:Interesting! I barely know the subject let alone the historiography and prominent authors etc. Would you recommend any book as a counter balance to Citizens? I bought Liberty or Death by Peter McPhee when I was going through the same French Revolution book hunt you were. I haven't read it yet though. Take a look and see. Also of note: the Revolutions podcast did a series on the French Revolution. You can listen to it or check out his sources section for ideas.
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Jul 2, 2017 23:05
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Could anyone give me some recommendations on painting history? Recently I've read biographies of Vincent van Gogh and Jackson Pollock, and now I'm interested in learning about painting history in general. Thanks for the help, appreciate it.
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Jul 3, 2017 06:58
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Figure this might be a good place to ask. I'm looking for a book that describes travel in the 1700's. Getting from Manchester to Berlin sort of thing. It could be memoir, history book, accurate historical novel, whatever describes the challenges people had traveling long distances. Land travel and sea/riverine travel are equally interesting to me, as are different parts of the world and different social classes. Thanks in advance for any help!
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Jul 3, 2017 08:25
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navyjack posted:Figure this might be a good place to ask. I'm looking for a book that describes travel in the 1700's. Getting from Manchester to Berlin sort of thing. It could be memoir, history book, accurate historical novel, whatever describes the challenges people had traveling long distances. Land travel and sea/riverine travel are equally interesting to me, as are different parts of the world and different social classes. There are quite a few of these as that was a golden age for travel writing, although most of these focus not on the mode of travel but on the sights and people the author saw. The good thing is that they're all public domain Here's a few: Smollett's Travels Through France and Italy Johnson's A Journey to the Western Islands of Scotland Boswell's An Account of Corsica
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Jul 3, 2017 13:59
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dokmo posted:There are quite a few of these as that was a golden age for travel writing, although most of these focus not on the mode of travel but on the sights and people the author saw. The good thing is that they're all public domain Here's a few: Awesome, thanks!!!
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Jul 3, 2017 21:23
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