Post and discuss about any history book.
>The Last Lion: Winston Spencer Churchill: Visions of Glory, 1874-1932 by William Manchester>Manchester follows Churchill from his birth to 1932, when he began to warn against the re-militarization of Germany. Born of an American mother and the gifted but unstable son of a duke, his childhood was one of wretched neglect. He sought glory on the battlefields of Cuba, Sudan, India, South Africa and the trenches of France. In Parliament he was the prime force behind the creation of Iraq and Jordan, laid the groundwork for the birth of Israel, and negotiated the independence of the Irish Free State. Yet, as Chancellor of the Exchequer he plunged England into economic crisis, and his fruitless attempt to suppress Gandhi's quest for Indian independence brought political chaos to Britain.https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/17374322-the-last-lion
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>>24394548
In the Days of McKinley by Margaret Leech
>William McKinley, who served as the nationโs President from 1897 to 1901, led the United States during the Spanish-American War. The United States annexed the Philippines during his presidency. McKinley became a person of great public interest, and thousands of Americans flocked to meet him and hear him speak. He excited, motivated his audience. He was assassinated by an anarchist soon after his reelection.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_McKinley
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/167949602-in-the-days-of-mckinley-easton-press-library-of-american-presidents
The Steel Bonnets: The Story of the Anglo-Scottish Border Reivers by George MacDonald Fraser
>From the thirteenth to the sixteenth centuries, outlaws reigned supreme on the contentious frontier between England and Scotland. Feud and terror, raid and reprisal were the ordinary stuff of lifeand a way of survival. Power was held by the notorious border reivers (the steel bonnets,โ named for their flashy helmets), clan-loyal raiders, freebooters, plunderers, and rustlers who robbed and murdered in the name of family: the famous clanslike Elliot, Armstrong, Charlton, and Robsonromanticized by Sir Walter Scott. They were the last opponents to the Acts of Union of 1707, and fought fiercely and fancifully to the end.
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/133693421-the-steel-bonnets
>>24418232 (OP)read pic related last year
>War in European History by Michael Eliot Howard>First published over thirty years ago, War in European History is a brilliantly written survey of the changing ways that war has been waged in Europe, from the Norse invasions to the present day. Far more than a simple military history, the book serves as a succinct and enlightening overview of the development of European society as a whole over the last millennium. From the Norsemen and the world of the medieval knights, through to the industrialized mass warfare of the twentieth century, Michael Howard illuminates the way in which warfare has shaped the history of the Continent, its effect on social and political institutions, and the ways in which technological and social change have in turn shaped the way in which wars are fought. This new edition includes a fully updated further reading and a new final chapter bringing the story into the twenty-first century, including the invasion of Iraq and the so-called War against Terror..https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/18867265-war-in-european-history
looking for good cultural history or books that mix anthropology with history.
what should a man read to get a basic understanding of world history? im also fairly interested in the more immediate 20th century and 19th century and whatever helps contextualize the current year.
>>24418232 (OP)the fuck is this? haven't they heard of the "Lion of Panjshir"??
>https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ahmad_Shah_Massoud
Dreadnought: Britain, Germany and the Coming of the Great War by Robert K. Massie
>Published in 1991, Dreadnought focuses on the Anglo-German naval arms race and the broader European power struggle during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. It blends biography, diplomacy, and naval history into a comprehensive prelude to the Great War.
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/2108193.Dreadnought
>>24418650>what should a man read to get a basic understanding of world history?The Timetables of History - Bernard Grun
A History of Civilizations - Fernand Braudel
A Short History of the World - Geoffrey Blainey
>>244186181491 and 1493 by Charles Mann
>>24418889thanks mang. will look out for these.
picked up Bill Bryson's A Short History of Everything because it was cheap. is it better not to read it at all?
Henry of Lancaster's Expedition to Aquitaine
>This reassessment of a neglected campaign draws on a wealth of original source material to furnish an examination of the campaign "in the round"; recruitment, preparations and financial administration, as well as its events and achievements, are examined closely. A detailed biographical study of the individuals who took up arms under Lancaster's command forms a main part of this work: the portrayal of hundreds of careers in arms allows us to glean a sense of what life was like for soldiers in this army and in the later Middle Ages in general. An investigation of the men's martial experience, motivations for service and personal military networks provides an understanding of how and, indeed, why the army was so effective in the field of war. It also reveals much about the emergence of professionalism in English medieval armies and offers a reassessment of Lancaster's importance as a captain, administrator and diplomat, and above all, as a successful military commander.
Personally I liked this one quite a lot. If you want to know how a 14th century army was organised and actually run this is the book I'd recommend.
Wagons West by Frank McLynn
>Seeking the promised land, the pioneers trekked 2,000 miles by covered wagon from the Missouri to the Pacific. They went into the unknown, braving dangers from hunger, thirst, disease, drowning and Indians. The year-by-year narrative builds to a climax with the dreadful tale of the Donner party marooned in the snow and reduced to cannibalism.
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/3964094-wagons-west
>>24418900Thanks but something a bit more academic
I remember a thread earlier this year about a modern day "Parallel Lives", and De Gaulle's name was floated there a lot. I'm not done with pic rel yet, but I truly think De Gaulle is among the last of the "Great Men" in the classic sense of the term.
Finally finished Herodotus' Histories.
Pretty good. Liked the parts about Lidya, Egypt, Scythians, everything about Persians was interesting.
>>24420759I prefer Thucydides, but Herodotus is cool, feels like he's just shooting the shit with the reader
Just finished reading South Pole by Roald Amundsen. It is 90% about skiing, weather conditions and killing dogs
>>24418232 (OP)>lionChurchill was a Rothschild dog. After the bankers paid off his gambling debts, they owned him and he was their puppet.
>>24418232 (OP)Against Our Better Judgment: The Hidden History of How the U.S. Was Used to Create Israel by Alison Weir
A concise overview of the actions American and the British Jews undertook to found Israel and Israel's early actions. Well worth a read.
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/20919295-against-our-better-judgment
>>24419190>picked up Bill Bryson's A Short History of Everything because it was cheap. is it better not to read it at all?Might as well read it if you've got it already; then you can return here with your thoughts on it :-)
Anything you guys could recommend about the intricacies of being a lord and land ownership and administration? I'm particularly looking to understand how aristocrats managed and kept track of estates hundreds of kilometers away, and how that differed from how involved they were compared to the land where they actually lived.
>>24418232 (OP)>The Last Shabbos Goy: Churchill and his Debtors
Looking for good, old and indepth books on the Black Death. Wrote at the time is a bonus, I'm looking for a historical, societal, economical and long overview on it. Multiple books welcome too.
Need books on the creation of the liberal international order.
Need something about jungles or forest and exploration, asia or latin america prefered.
>>24424173Highly rec this biography of an extremely interesting man you've probably never heard about before.
Soldiers and Ghosts: A History of Battle in Classical Antiquity - J. E. Lendon
>>24423488They basically exploited us. Good pretext to bomb them
>>24424072From what I know
>>24424072>The Battle of Bretton Woods - Benn Steil>Upending the conventional wisdom that Bretton Woods was the product of an amiable Anglo-American collaboration, Steil shows that it was in reality part of a much more ambitious geopolitical agenda hatched within President Franklin D. Roosevelt's Treasury and aimed at eliminating Britain as an economic and political rival. At the heart of the drama were the antipodal characters of John Maynard Keynes, the renowned and revolutionary British economist, and Harry Dexter White, the dogged, self-made American technocrat. >Bringing to bear new and striking archival evidence, Steil offers the most compelling portrait yet of the complex and controversial figure of Whiteโthe architect of the dollar's privileged place in the Bretton Woods monetary system, who also, very privately, admired Soviet economic planning and engaged in clandestine communications with Soviet intelligence officials and agents over many years.
>>24424970I have this. Would you recommend it?
>>24425196It's good, but you just have to manage your expectations a bit. It's less about Bretton Woods itself and more about Keynes and White and how they represented essentially different intellectual strands on how the world should look like after the war. So essentially part-intellectual history and part-biography more than anything else.
>>24425305Alright, thanks. I like intellectual history, such as Isaiah Berlin's works.
Mesoamerican history nerd here, as usual I'll shill "When Montezuma Met Cortes"
It's a really interesting comparison of different accounts and retellings (+ their various biases and contradictions) of their meeting and the Cortes expedition/the Fall of the Aztec in general. It also acts as a historiography of how it's been retold and presented, with details being distorted over time and leveraged for different ideological/national interests
Plus, it gets into a lot of the personal as well as political background on both Cortes/the Spanish and Moctezuma II/the Aztec: It's one of the better books I've seen to tackle the political dynamics and motives of other Mesoamerican kings and officials like like Xicomecoatl, Ixtlilxochitl II, Xicotencatl II, etc, which is important as very few sources do this despite the fact that those other kings/officials and their motives and interests played a big part of how events played out, and are really almost as important as Cortes and Moctezuma II. This is something I get into myself (including some observations even restall doesn't get into, tho moreso in even longer posts not linked here that me/friends have posted on other sites) here: pastebin.com/h18M28BR and arch.b4k.dev/v/thread/640670498/#640679139 and desuarchive.org/his/thread/16781148/#16781964
I don't agree with absolutely every conclusion Restall makes but it and his prior work "7 Myths of the Spanish Conquest", are pretty much mandatory reading for a decent understanding of the topic just to get an idea of how the different primary sources conflict with each other and skew details
Also pic related is WIP reading chart me and some friends on other sites are working on. I'll probably end up removing Broken Spears from the Conquest section for Collision of Worlds and/or maybe add a few books on the conquests of West Mexico and the Maya regions since currently this is very Central Mexico/Aztec focused, when in reality there were centuries of campaigns and expeditions against Mesoamerican states in other areas: The last Maya kingdoms didn't fall to 1697
If people want more suggestions let me know, tho I read academic papers and watch conferences, or read specific chapters of books while doing research much more then I read full books front to back
>>24418889>>24418650>>24419190Keep in mind most generalist history sources gloss over the Precolumbian Americas, despite the fact it had two of six of the world's major cradles of civilization and a lot of other regions with neat stuff going on
For example, I pulled up the 3 books the other anon suggested (though not the fourth edition specifically of "Timetables..."), and Braudel basically ignores it entirely, and Blainey only talks about it for like a few pages to then talk about the Spanish conquests for a few pages, both are also very, very outdated with errors as a result. Grun was better then I expected but still really limited by it's format and also skips a bunch and is also dated
1/2
shit forgot my image
>>24418889>>24418650>>24419190cont:
I'd read
>>24418900 as a compliment for any generalist world history book since it's all about explaining how the Americas had way going on then most World History stuff covers, even if it too is also not current to modern scholarship either (not nearly as dated as those other 3)
>>24420350How much more academic? I'd consider 1491 to lean that way a decent bit. Also, clarify what you mean when you want anthropology mixed in. Like what sort of anthropological lenses or topical focus are you wanting, exactly?
2/2 for now
>>24418232 (OP)Can I get a recommendation for a history of Australia? Preferably with a focus on the colonial period up till federation.
>>24421475Will continue with Thucydides later, want to read some ancienter history first. Mesopotamia, Egypt, Hittites, bronze age collapse. Thinking about Eric Cline - 1177 BC and its sequel.
>>24425805R.W. Connell & T.H. Irving (1979) _Class structure in Australian history: Documents, narrative and argument_
>Allah's Mountains: The Battle for Chechnya by Sebastian Smith is a compelling blend of travelogue, history, and war journalism that explores the conflict between the Chechen mountain tribes and the Russian army, with a focus on the late 1990s. Set in the Caucasus, a region known for its diverse languages and rugged beauty, the book traces centuries of turmoil, where various empiresโGreeks, Persians, Arabs, and Russiansโhave clashed. Smith, who reported from Chechnya during the war, details the latest conflict sparked by Vladimir Putin's 1999 invasion, which left thousands dead and Chechen towns devastated. The narrative covers the Chechens' fierce resistance, using simple tactics to hold off the Russian forces, and frames the struggle within the regionโs strategic importance, especially due to its oil pipelines
>>24425776How is the account if Bernal Diaz del Castillo treated nowadays? I always loved reading it when I was a kid.
Books discussing low schizo theories about ancient history?
anyone got any charts to share?
>>24418232 (OP)Are Doris Kearns Goodwin's history books worth reading?
>No Ordinary Time>Team of Rivals>The Bully Pulpit
>>24418232 (OP)Any general Islam history rec? For example their different subfaiths and their historical trajectory. Imagine Christianity: the first 3000 years but for Islam. Thanks in advance
>>24431249Very good chart.
>>24425776i recently got prescott's works for cheap. how misinformed will i be after i read them?
About 80% through Gulag: A History by Anne Applebaum. I own The Gulag Archipelago too and will read it eventually but later on. When I look up either of these books I see lots of Marxist faggots criticizing them. Applebaum does seem to be just a journalist, not a historian, and an American married to a Polish guy so I'm sure she doesn't have the kindest most unbiased view of the Soviet Union... everyone is biased to some extent. But I ask these Marxist fags, where is the "correct history" of the Gulag system then, and also, what is your argument, that it was actually good? Lolmao
Any other books like Travels of marco polo? Exploration notes discovering new lands.
>>24432715Non nautical would be prefered but thanks for the rec anon.
>>24432513the travels of ibn battuta
>>24418232 (OP)These books by Dale Van Every are pretty well written but not easy to find used, I wish someone would reprint them or make decent ebook copies for them.
https://www.goodreads.com/series/54628-the-frontier-people-of-america
Do you have any standout living historians? I am particularly interested in historians of Ancient Rome. Iโve read Tom Holland. He is okay. Iโve also read Mary Beard. She is terrible. There seems to be no others of note.
Dรญaz
md5: f2f0283fc3328b0dcfd704324dbf7a74
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>>24425776Thanks for the Cortรฉs recommendation.
>>24435006>standout living historians>particularly interested in historians of Ancient RomeAdrian Goldsworthy, Anthony Everitt and Peter Heather.
>>24418232 (OP)From a pure narrative point, what conflict was the most interesting in human history?
>>24436075Second Punic War
40937
md5: cf70ef00f8d8233a06f6d65c697f076e
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Can history be called a science? Do the methods of historians yield accurate accounts of past events?
>>24425776i just came back to this board after years and years and years
why are you still fucking incapable of making a concise post
>>24423373>>24423822Reading this series made me come away realizing Churchill was genuinely a retard and all the post war valorizing of him was propaganda. Not surprised they shuffled him into irrelevance after the war ended.
>>24436075 Spring &Autumn Period
Final Byzantine-Sassanid War
2nd Fitna
War[s] of the Lombard League and the Imperial/Papal conflicts
Hundred Years War
Mameluke-Mongol Wars
ChuโHan Contention
Dutch War of Independence
Seven Years War
Napoleonic War
>>24418232 (OP)I enjoyed this well enough. Any other newer releases that are worth reading?
>Henry V: The Astonishing Triumph of England's Greatest Warrior King - Dan Jones>In 1413, when Henry V ascended to the English throne, his kingdom was hopelessly torn apart by political faction and partisanship. Public finances and law and order were in a state of crisis. Pirates tormented the coast; plots, conspiracies, and heresy threatened society. The lingering effects of the worst pandemic in human history continued to menace daily life. And then, in less than ten years, Henry turns it all around. By common consensus in his day, and for hundreds of years afterward, Henry was the greatest medieval king that ever lived. Through skillful leadership, unwavering vision, and seemingly by sheer force of personality, he managed to catapult his realm into the greatest triumphs it has ever he united the political community behind the crown, renewed the justice system, revived Englandโs maritime dominance. And then there are his military achievements in France, most notably the resounding, against-the-odds victory at Agincourt. He was tough, lucky, intelligent, farsighted, and cultured. But he was also, at times, cold, callous, violent, by instinct a traditionalist and even a reactionary.
>>24436167Herodotus did pretty good all things considered.
Modern historians can be questionable, but so can ancients
>>24418232 (OP)I get choice paralysis with history because there's just so much to choose from and I dont know what to read lol
>>24438542If certain historical eras are of interest to you just ask for some recommendations.
Any book recs for the rise of islam arab conquests?
I know there were tech advances by them and they actually translated stuff into Arabic that later got translated into Latin and read in the west. But I know very little about the origination of the religion and how it lead to most of the middle east becoming that
>>24438646First you should read the biography of Muhammad, because the role of Islam as religion was very important in this process. Althought the orientalist and secular minded historiography only looks to the side of material gains, ambition or economical power, religion also plays a role in this case, I should say the main role. So I recommend the book The Noble Life of the Prophet by Ali Muhammad Assalabi.
>>24438763What primary sources are there for the period?
Something I've enjoyed about the Greeks and romans is they had historians. Did the Arabs not have that?
>>24438646>Any book recs for the rise of islam arab conquests?don't bother bro there's no real history here. it's all made up
>>24418582I read this. It was pretty good and I would recommend it as Iโve found few books that cover the same subject.
>>24418650March of the Titans
>>24438635Yes but to understand those eras don't you need to understand what came before
>>24427354There's a lot more that can be said about this, but unironically some of the best places to start would be Restall's books which I already suggested, so if you want a more in depth examination, read those.
But basically, like all Conquistador accounts, Diaz is writing primarily to glorify and justify his own actions, so that's a bias that you need to read his accounts with. He's also writing many decades after the fact in part as a response to earlier publications by Cortes (and the retelling by Gomara) etc, as well as critics of Spanish colonization like Las Casas: That's part of why his account is titled the "true history"... but because he is writing so far after the events happened in his old age, the fact he was still writing with a self-serving motive etc means his account should be read critically
He also ironically actually picks up and retells many things present in stuff like Gomara's adaptation that are known to be or considered to likely be errors or myths or intentional revisionism, and for that reason some have speculated if Diaz even participated in the account at all (though conversely, I know somebody who is an archeologist who considers Diaz's account to be one of the more reliable), or at the very least that he misremembered things himself and uncritically adopted them, or was still trying to play into popular sentiment and appeal to readers seeking an exciting narrative and the moments they'd want to hear about (EX: Cortes burning his boats, which never happened, tho off the top of my head I don't recall for sure if Diaz includes that bit)
Keep in mind also it's not like the Spanish accounts are all unreliable and the Indigenous accounts are all 100% accurate, Mesoamerican authors were writing with specific biases and motives too (EX: Fernando Ixtlilxochitl was writing to glorify his city of Texcoco to gain favor within the Spanish colonial system and makes it's most famous king, Nezahualcoyotl into an all important monotheistic philospher king who almost singlehandedly founded the Aztec empire and totally never sacrificed people) too
>>24428416Is this supposed to be "Aztecs: An Interpretation"? If so I've heard of it but I haven't read it, and to be honest I can't recall much specific praise or critiques to clarify on. But given that I've heard it come up in academic contexts and not negatively, I have to imagine at worst it's probably just outdated or has some common misconceptions that even academic books sometimes have (the 4 Tezcatlipocas, the Toltec empire existing, the idea that Cortes got allies due to the Mexica of Tenochtitlan being hated for sacrifices, etc)
>>24435792As the chart says, you should read either Carrasco's translation of Diaz or the old Maudsley ones since those include the events in Guatemala after the fall of Tenochtitlan, and should pair it with Rsstall's books
>>24436650I've definitely improved at being concise from the years of having to fit my shit within 4chan's character limit, but ultimately I really like being in depth and worry about wording things in an unclear way, so there's still only so much I can do.
>>24438848There primary sources are in the book of Muhammad Assalabi that I recommended to you.
>>24439808Any works on pre-Spanish Mexico/America? I'm aware of the fact they had cities and complex societies for a long time by that point but I struggle to find anything before the Spanish arrive. Though I would be interested in any works specifically about Spanish rule in the region.
>>24438980>no real history hereFor the Arabs during the middle ages or just in general
>>24439084Any history writer worth his salt usually provides some historical context for what they are writing about.
>>24440681My bad, meant to respond to this
>>24439590
So what are some good intro books that give an overall history of China?
Iโm thinking of either reading the Cambridge Illustrated History of China or the Imperial China book that DK released and then find books covering Republican China and then Communist China.
Anyone have other suggestions?
>>24442944I know John Keay wrote a good general history of China, but I can't attest to it personally
>>24442944Penguin has a good general intro to modern china from 1850-2000. There is a series by Belknap Press on each dynasty which I've been eyeing but haven't gotten yet.
Finishing this, anyone have something meatier?
>>24443768Robert Service has some interesting cold war books.
https://www.goodreads.com/author/list/5056734.Robert_Service
>>24418232 (OP)The Thirty Years War: Europeโs Tragedy by Peter H. Wilson
Iโve heard this book is very good and plan on reading it at some point.
>>24418232 (OP)any good books about contacts between east and west?
>>24424173Not exactly a history book, but a very interesting account of the author's journey into the jungle of New Guinea in search of an uncontacted tribe
I finished Gulag: A History
Now I'm re-reading The Killer Angels, historical fiction novel about the battle of Gettysburg. About 30% through it. Shit's lit
>>24442944Search for Modern China
When China Wakes
>>24444237how's his modern Russia stuff?
>>24446766>Now I'm re-reading The Killer Angels, historical fiction novel about the battle of GettysburgGreat book, Bruce Catton and Shelby Foote's books on the Gettysburg campaign are also excellent.
>>24418232 (OP)Looking for good books on the Cold War intellectual and literary scene, something extensive.
Looking for a nice book about medieval architecture, castle, cathedral, church and other smaller buildings too. Medieval europe or china, japan.
>>24423710I read JH Clapham's books "Economic Development of Germany and France 1815-1914" and "A concise economic history of Britain from the earliest times to 1750" a couple of years ago that shed a lot of light on the agricultural practices in those countries and surprisingly complex relations between the lords and tenants. Agriculture is just a part of the books but footnotes and references abound to other material.
best books about this nigga?
>>24448505Some of his books are over 70 years old, can you really consider books from that era to be woke?
>>24444284getting that on paperback for my birthday this week.
on another note, whats a good cultural history of the Germans like The Icon And The Axe is for Russian cultural history?
>>24449010you might like "Castles" by Sidney Toy
>>24436928wasn't Neville Chamberlin a much better leader?
>>24449010try castle by David Macaulay
Anyone have good books about early gunpowder warfare? not so much the historical process, but tactics and weaponry used.
>>24452062>The Pursuit of Power: Technology, Armed Force, and Society since A.D. 1000 by William McNeill>The Military Revolution: Military Innovation and the Rise of the West 1500-1800 by Geoffrey Parker>The Gunpowder Age: China, Military Innovation, and the Rise of the West in World History by Tonio Andrade
>>24449389He is alive and very powerful. You wont fight any critic about him. However you can learn his playbook. Basically anything on managerialism. 'The Machiavelians, defenders of freedom' and 'The Populist delusion' are good books which describe his politics. He wrote a book himself 'On Leadership' which gets dangerously redpilled sometimes.
>>24452319thank you! I have read the pursuit of power, I'll check out the others
>>24452416>>24449389Ofc you can also read 'The managerial revolution' by our great lord Burnt ham. Blair is still in total control of everything uk
>>24418232 (OP)Is James Holland worth reading?
>>24451068Still waiting on an answer
>>24452319>>The Gunpowder Age: China, Military Innovation, and the Rise of the West in World History by Tonio AndradeI've seen some of the other books by this guy and they look really cool, like the Chinese taking Taiwan from the Dutch. Expensive as fuck though
>>24421475Do you recommend both? I've only read some fragments.
>>24453366nta but I really loved Thucydides. He's got his head on straight and gives you as much of a straightforward narrative as you can get, he does include analysis' but it's all in form of speeches. He tells you at the start that they are all made up and I pretty caught onto it just him explaining the rationale (or at least, what he thinks is) behind the actions taken.
>>24418232 (OP)Catton or Foote?
Tuchman or Clark?
>>24452589Still waiting...
>>24453802I like the sound of that. I wanted to know if the dozen or so pages I've read were representative of his work. Thank you; I'll read it.
>>24453810>Catton or Foote?Both have their merits. Catton's writing style is more journalistic. Foote is more baroque. Catton generally does a more sympathetic portrayal of the Union side, Foot at times does something similar for the Confederacy. If you read anything by Catton, read his Centennial History of the Civil War series.
>Tuchman or Clark?Clark. Tuchman writes pretty good prose, but newer books about the beginnings to WW1 (Christopher Clark, Sean McMeekin, Margaret MacMillan, Max Hastings, etc.) are more comprehensive.
>>24418232 (OP)Reading this now that puts Whitman and his work into context with his times and setting. It was interesting time even if you exclude the civil war
Thoughts on picrelated? I'm reading it at the moment and I'm impressed.
Looking for the best books about the following eras of China:
>Chinaโs Republican Era
>Chinese Civil War
>First Decades of CCP rule
>The Cultural Revolution
>>24455515I finished it, it's pop history done right. Ironically made me a bit pessimistic about the West if anything, since Holland, as an atheist, seems to imply that much of what Christians -and by extension, Western liberals - believe is rooted in faith and not really historical reality. Makes me wonder how we will react when that reality check finally comes knocking.
>>24452062I've had this on my shelf for a while, but haven't got around to reading it yet.
>>24438372The Eagle and the Hart: The Tragedy of Richard II and Henry IV
>>24455807And in spite of this, the church is historical in of itself. So either he doesn't get hermeneutics or blinkers himself culturally on purpose to maintain an agenda.
Iain Gately's Tobacco
>Long before Columbus arrived in the New Word, tobacco was cultivated and enjoyed by the indigenous inhabitants of the Americas, who used it for medicinal, religious, and social purposes. But when Europeans began to colonize the American continents, it became something else entirelyโa cultural touchstone of pleasure and success, and a coveted commodity that would transform the world economy forever.
>>24418232 (OP)Every time I read about Churchill talking about saving Britain for the British people it always rings hollow because the state of Britain now is way worse than a Nazi puppet state could ever be.
>>24418650As a supplement to
>>24418889 the shortest history series is great for explaining broad trends in the topics it covers and putting isolated events you read about in more cultural context
>>24418232 (OP)Since its a hot button issue right now, requesting the most objective overview of the Spanish-American War...
>>24459005G. J. A. O'Toole's book on the USS Maine is basically about the "inciting incident" to the SpanishโAmerican War. I've never read an overview of the entire conflict.
>The Spanish War: An American Epic, 1898 by G.J.A. O'Toole>On the night of February 15, 1898, the U.S. battleship Maine was ripped in half by an explosion in Havana harbor with the loss of 266 American lives. War with Spain followed nine weeks later. After a three-month fight on two fronts half a world apart, the era of isolation was gone forever, as the United States formed alliances and gained spheres of influence that would shape its destiny for decades to come.https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/189756.The_Spanish_War
>Tudor England by John Guy
>account of political and religious developments from the advent of the Tudors in the 1460s to the death of Elizabeth I in 1603
>Published by Oxford University Press
>>24458267that's the essential British mentality though, chasing progress at all costs. I would know because its my background and my worldview is completely at odds with my mother.
>>24418232 (OP)Iโm generally not a history reader outside of the classics and stuff like Wedgwood and Huizinga
Got these on a whim recently. The JFK one is entertaining but I get the feeling it may be tinfoil tier
>>24460642>Personal Memoirs of Ulysses S. GrantGood choice, Grant and Sherman are both worth reading. Harvard University Press has a nice annotated edition of Grantโs memoirs, but you can also read it for free on Project Gutenberg.
What is generally considered to be the best biography for Grant?
https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/4367
>>24462348Maybe some consider it more of a pop history book but before buying those books I read Chernowโs Grant. I feel it did its job well in an engaging and easy to read way. Perhaps it whitewashes Grant a little too much but I think Grant was a pretty likable guy and a good soul
Any Italianons recommend history books in general to understand Italy? Im moving there soon and want to get the run down of the countries history so I can understand the landscape a little better.
>>24462672Iโm not Italian (though Iโve studied the language and the country for some time) but I read this book and thought it was quite insightful. If nothing else, it gives you a run down on Italian history and the history of the idea of Italy.
>>24462688Grazie mille anon
>>24425805I've heard Percy Stephensen is good but i haven't read him.
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Across The Wide Missouri - Bernard DeVoto
>The book chronicles the competition between John Jacob Astor's American Fur Company and the Rocky Mountain Fur Company, an "opposition" group of trappers (including Jim Bridger and Kit Carson) descended from the earlier entrepreneurial activities of General William H. Ashley. Devoto specifically narrates the major expeditions and the daily experiences of the Western divisions of these companies, which scoured the northernmost regions of the Rocky Mountains for beaver.
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/831175.Across_The_Wide_Missouri
>>24463419Yeah, nah, I read Milovan Djilas on Stalin.
>>24451068>1726260103840357.jpgGeorge Bailey's Germans is a bit dated but a well-written overview.
>>24460642The Guns of August is easily one of the best written and entertaining history books so it will forever remain a classic
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Are there any short modern overviews of Roman history that I could read before Gibbon?
>>24465249It's impossible to have any good overview of Roman history in a single book, there is simply too much to cover and too much that changes over periods. The Routledge History of the Ancient World and The Edinburgh History of Ancient Rome are both good series. Pick up a book on whatever period interests you the most
>>24452560those books are very casual
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Good books on the intellectual history of so-called "cold war liberalism"?
>>24466915Why do you want an intellectual history rather than just reading Kissinger? I mean your subject is necrotically stitched together out of fascism, social-democratic anti-communism and British Men on Horses shit. Never mind the American intellectual "tradition."
>>24466915Maybe not quite what you're looking for, but on my TBR list is
>The Tragedy of American Diplomacy - William Appleman Williams
>>24455511this looks great
>>24467628I actually just got that
>>24467589I don't think that would work
Good out of print book about the Pennsylvania Mutiny of 1783.
>>24418889Passages from Antiquity to Feudalism and Lineages of the Absolutist State, by Perry Anderson. Only takes you up to the late 18th century though.
>>24460642>1776Good book, it was my gateway drug for authors/books about The American Revolution (John Ferling, David Hackett Fischer and Gordon Wood).
>>24418232 (OP)Is Tim Witmarsh's "Battling The Gods" a good resource for ancient unbelief?
>>24475362Always hate how any history lists always basically skip over all of Antiquity and the Middle Ages to just get to the modern period immediately.
>>24475362Non-academic pop shite.
>>24475362>no history about greeks and ottoman dynasty >No history about england before colonization era ,Jerusalem and the Crusades>no history about every empire's struggle to conquer north america. >No history book on chinese and mongol empire aye ,atleast someone didn't forgot to add thirty years war.
>>24475362>Buddy Levy Conquistadores>not Fernando Cervantes Conquistadores
>>24475914Speaking of which does anyone have that infographic about Aztec/Mayan history?
>>24475914Also what are some good histories that blend cultural history with military history in regards to Incas/Mayans/Aztecs?
