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Samog posted:Any good books about the history of the cartels in Mexico? It's fiction, but 2666 is a multipart account of life in northern Mexico under the control of the cartels. It's obviously not a history, but it's a very good read and definitely gives a visceral sense of how the cartels transformed the region.
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Apr 13, 2017 08:17
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kalthir posted:Norwich's A Short History of Byzantium is fun. It's (I think) an abridged version of the three-volume series he did on Byzantium, but finding all three volumes might be a bit tricky since they've been out of print for a while. Seconding this. Norwich's older books, including his histories of Byzantium, Venice, and Norman Sicily are all very fun and readable. His more recent ones were nothing special.
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Aug 21, 2017 21:57
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Hyrax Attack! posted:Looking for recommendations for books on Teddy Roosevelt or MLK Jr. if they have quality audiobooks it would be appreciated. The Edmund Morris Roosevelt trilogy is quite readable and informative. Roosevelt is one of the American presidents who was as interesting before he was president than during or after, so concentrating on his early life is quite rewarding.
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May 21, 2018 19:47
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That said, half the fun of reading GG&S is arguing with it while you read it, so it can be stimulating in that respect. Just don't accept it as scientific truth, like some folks did when it was first released.
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Aug 25, 2018 02:00
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Dukket posted:Looking for something on the spread of christianity to and throughout Europe? Not exactly the focus you're asking for, but Diarmaid MacCulloch's Christianity: The First Three Thousand Years is a pretty good survey of church history, including into and through Europe. His Reformation history is also good if you're interested in that period.
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Jan 12, 2019 18:22
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Glad you found a recommendation that fits what you were looking for, but let me add another vote for 1491 as an eye-opening, accessible popular history book for a young person looking to read about cool history poo poo and hopefully spark an interest in further reading.
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Jan 16, 2019 22:54
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SlightlyMad posted:Yeah, "needs more evidence" seems about right. As a book it is not an academic history book but I will look at whatever claims he makes with some considerable scepticism. That said, I try to be both openminded and sceptical of critics too. (I still don't find the premise of the book preposterous, just unproven.) Not to pile on too much, but "needs more evidence" is not right for cases like this. "Misguided and misleading" is right; he's not just wrong about one or two facts, his methods of investigation are totally wrong and he is clearly guided by a desire to prove something right than to investigate a question. This isn't somebody who came close or is on the right track and just needs a little more help to finish off, this is classic crank writing. Treating the critics equally sceptically in the sense of assuming equal weight to their points is spurious both-sidesism that does a disservice to proper techniques of historical or scientific investigation. It's appropriate to be sceptical of critics' claims, especially when they are invested in the current system, but on the other hand credit should be given to the side employing proper, proven, rational techniques of analysis. That doesn't mean current historians are completely right about historic patterns of migration or exploration. However, it does mean that this book is not a useful way to learn more about it, other than by negative example.
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Jun 7, 2019 20:14
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SubG posted:I don't think we should forgive the chief propagandist of the Confederacy because he's from the South any more than we should forgive Goebbels just because he was from Germany. My favorite goon takes are the ones that are 8,000 miles over the line. Here's a nice quotation from the Bibliographical Note of the second volume, published in 1963. Shelby Foote's Civil War History, vol. 2 posted:...I am obligated also to the governors of my native state [Mississippi] and the adjoining states of Arkansas and Alabama for helping to lessen my sectional bias by reproducing, in their actions during several of the years that went into the writing of this volume, much that was least admirable in the position my forebears occupied when they stood up to Lincoln. I suppose, or in any case fervently hope, it is true that history never repeats itself, but I know from watching these three gentlemen that it can be terrifying in its approximations, even when the reproduction - deriving, as it does, its scale from the performers - is in miniature. This gives a taste of the reasons to read his series: thoughtful work by a fantastic prose stylist who has life and cultural experiences very different from you, the 202x reader, and who was taking care to present them in what to him seemed like a balanced fashion, rather than as a work of polemic. Obviously we are all going to have major disagreements with someone who was in favor of keeping the Confederate battle flag as a cultural symbol, as he was on record for, but it's also helpful in this era of Internet echo chambers to read work by someone intelligent who doesn't entirely agree with you. Goebbels, or the chief propagandist of the Confederacy, he definitely is not.
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May 20, 2021 06:03
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Bandiet posted:Where can I learn as much detail about life in the Antebellum South as possible? I don't mind academic or dry. One book that I like to recommend is Dwelling Place: A Plantation Epic by Erskine Clarke. It's a nonfiction account of a slave-owning family in SE Georgia, based on the family's letters, that follows them for several decades, up to the Civil War. What is interesting about it is that the author also tries to reconstruct the lives and lifestyles of the slaves on the plantation and in the surrounding area as well. Obviously, there are fewer surviving letters and other primary documents for the enslaved population, but the author still gives a comprehensive view of what life would have been like for those people at those times in those places. Two main reasons I like to recommend it for people interested in reading about the antebellum South: 1) The situation is different in south-east Georgia than in some of the more famous areas in cotton country. The economy has different drivers, and the relationship between the white and black populations is somewhat different. For example, during the hot season, the slave-owning whites would all move to their coastal houses for better weather. The enslaved groups would be left basically on their own on the farming land; the health conditions were obviously worse, but they were not directly supervised by the white families for several months of the year, which led to differences in their own way of life. 2) The book follows a long enough period of time that the reader can see the changes that occurred. First off is the regionally increasing dominance of the cotton economy, where families in the SE Georgia region ended up moving themselves or their enslaved people to regions farther inland that would be more profitable, but which also disrupted all of the societal systems that the whites had built to try to convince themselves that they were actually "helping" their enslaved population. Not that those justifications were legitimate, but through the letters and documents, the reader can see the whites of the time being forced to face a bit more of the naked injustice of the system. The second big change is the run up to the Civil War, where the white populations become MUCH more reactionary ("How dare the Yankees tell me how to run my plantation!") very quickly, both younger and older generations. And then when the Civil War actually reaches the region, the total disruption of the enslaved communities happens as people become mobile and the white populations are faced with that their former enslaved people actually thought of them.
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Jul 27, 2021 16:22
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blue squares posted:I find investigate journalism really fascinating, not only in the results but in the process. I love reading about reporters digging into things and the how-to of uncovering evidence and finding sources. All the President's Men is a classic here.
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Apr 12, 2022 19:55
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After reading a few other books on Cold War history, I'm currently reading Dark Sun, Rhodes' history of hydrogen bomb development. His treatment of the early development of the Strategic Air Command and LeMay's role in transforming it is quite interesting, and makes the reader really think about the challenges of developing an entirely new military organization to utilize brand new, essentially untested technology in what is ostensibly peacetime in a new strategic and political landscape. I'm curious if anyone knows of good books detailing the early development of SAC and/or of early development of Cold War military strategy (late 40s-50s).
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May 16, 2023 22:17
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Thanks for the suggestion. Grognardy/academic is fine (as are opinionated works that I don't necessarily agree with; part of the fun is putting yourself in the shoes of someone like LeMay). Nuclear Statecraft sounds like it's up the right alley, and let me to some other books to try as well.
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May 17, 2023 20:19
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Minenfeld! posted:There's the old Wizards of Armageddon. That was one of the books that came up when I was looking into Nuclear Statecraft! Thanks for confirming that it's worth looking into.
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May 18, 2023 16:33
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Shakespeare's Kings by John Julius Norwich is basically that book. It's not super in depth, but it's an easy to read overview for people who don't know much English history. Not a bad first stop to make you decide if you want to read more about particular periods.
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Jan 28, 2024 00:30
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