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Ersatz posted:I want to second this recommendation. I rarely enjoy books on military history, but The Guns of August was enthralling. Anything by Barbara Tuchman is great, but I'd especially recommend The March of Folly and A Distant Mirror above all others if you are looking for more general histories, where I think she truly shines. baw fucked around with this message at 06:21 on Jan 19, 2012 |
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Jan 19, 2012 06:15
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BingitsLola posted:
There are at least two things in A Short History of Everything which are blatantly false, and I expect much more out of any modern science writing. baw fucked around with this message at 06:21 on Jan 19, 2012 |
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Jan 19, 2012 06:18
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Jigsaw posted:Are you just going to leave us in suspense, then? I know he made some egregious errors in The Mother Tongue, so I'm not surprised. He mentioned the whole "glass is a liquid" thing and also the whole "every cell in the human body is replaced within your lifetime," neither of which are true.
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Jan 20, 2012 13:18
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Doh004 posted:First post in this subforum, sorry if I'm outta place. Read some Mario Vargas Llosa, especially The Feast of the Goat and War of the End of the World (and be prepared for people to ask you if you're reading World War Z because they kinda look similar.) If you're into art in any capacity and are interested in Paul Gauguin and his lesser-known-but-still-famous grandmother, Flora Tristan, read The Way to Paradise. I've been wanting to make a MVL megathread but I'm not sure how interested people would be and tbqh I haven't thought much beyond the title, which would be "The Way to the End of the Goat: Mario Vargas Llosa Megathread!"
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Feb 1, 2012 17:59
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Ferrosol posted:Just finished reading The Wages of Destruction: The Making and Breaking of the Nazi Economy, by Adam Tooze A fascinating look at the Nazi war economy that dispels a lot of the economic myths that surround the German war economy and exposes the economic reasoning behind some of Hitler's more odd military decisions. I should warn you though it can get a bit heavy on the economics at times but its still an absolutely brilliant need if you want to know how the Germans organised their wartime economy. This is also a great read, and if you're interested in studying the Third Reich, your first stop should be Richard Evans' definitive trilogy (the last volume of which came out in 2009,) and then you can branch out into other aspects that interest you. There are a lot of new histories of the Third Reich and World War II in general, so right now is an awesome time to start reading about it.
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Feb 3, 2012 10:26
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nerdpony posted:Seconding this recommendation of Evans' trilogy. Bendersky's A Concise History of Nazi Germany is also a good place to start. If you're (or anyone else is) looking for more specific recommendations for social history-type works, feel free to ask me in-thread or shoot me a PM. I'm a historian and this is a field where I've done a lot of work, so I can recommend a lot of titles and authors. Well poo poo I'm into the Third Reich as a political and economic phenomenon, along with the Nuremberg trials (probably because they expose a lot of the underlying psychological and political motivations of the participants.) Even though it's impossible to talk about the Third Reich in any capacity without talking about the military, I'm far more interested in how the whole movement was possible, rather than specific military actions. I've read Manzowar's Hitler's Empire and Evans' trilogy and Tooze's economic history. For the Nuremberg trials I've read Persico's account, Goldensohn's and Gilbert's interviews, and Interrogations by Overy (which kinda went over a lot of the things from Goldensohn's and Gilbert's accounts.) I've also read a few military accounts (Keegan, Gilbert, Hastings and Hart) but for me the most interesting thing is how the Nazis came to power and were able to brainwash so many people in a modern and industrial country. If there is anything more in-depth that you think I'd be interested in, please post it here. I'm always on the lookout for more. The most I've read of the interbellum period have been the accounts in general histories of the Third Reich, and if you could recommend anything that focuses on those years it would be pretty cool too.
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Feb 3, 2012 22:02
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Boondock Saint posted:How was this? I've been interested in reading it for awhile so I'm looking for someone to nudge me towards it. I thought it was fantastic. It was pretty much perfect for my interests because the military conquests and defeats are mentioned in passing because the book mostly focuses on how the Reich was administered. It really shows just how poorly-run the entire mess was from the very start, with brutality and loyalty often being the most important qualifications for any post in the empire. And if you've read Manzowar before, you'll know that he knows how to write a gripping historical narrative. It gave it five stars on goodreads.com.
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Feb 6, 2012 10:27
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