Good History books

[regoarrarr]

www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/0195210433/ref=mp_s_a_1?qid=1366758891&sr=8-5&pi=SL75

Darrell

I have that book already; in fact this discussion made me think I should pull it off the shelves and re-read it.

Thanks for the confirmation - I couldn't tell if darrell was joking or not, since (at least for me), his link goes to some sort of odd text-only Amazon page.

I was also glad to see you don't need to check the book out from the library, since there's only one copy available

[darrelljs]

That book is great...no History of the World will be perfect but its well written and interesting, and after reading it I found several periods/areas fascinating and read more focused books accordingly. The one problem is that its a bit Euro centric but still a good place to start if you are getting into history.

Darrell

[DaveV]

I was also glad to see you don't need to check the book out from the library, since there's only one copy available

It *would* kind of defeat the purpose of the thread if I cleaned all the suggested titles out of the library

[Brian Shanahan]

I'm currently rereading Peter Heather's book The Fall of the Roman Empire, which deals with late Antiquity, and a lot of new scholarship on why the Western Empire collapsed.

I've also read Richard J. Evans' Third Reich trilogy, which I found very readable and informative.

To move away from European history (kind of), I would also recommend Thomas Packenham's The Scramble for Africa. I learned a whole lot of stuff about pre Imperialism Africa through that book. Really opened my eyes.

And of course, for someone who is a good little Socialist, one has to mention Eric Hobsbawm, the late great Marxist historian. He was also a great read incidentally.

[ShadowHM]

I know I am arriving late to this discussion.

I love reading history. Sometimes, I prefer historical fiction, just to get the 'feel' of a time and place where I cannot visit.

In that vein, I would recommend "Three Day Road", by Joseph Boyden. It blends a place I know well (Northern Ontario) and a time and place I don't know well (W.W.I. battlefields)

Another way I like to explore history is through the eyes of the researchers. Two books that do that are:

"A Geography of Blood", by Candace Savage. This one explores the history of the Cypress Hills, near the Saskatchewan / Montana border.

"In an Antique Land: History in the Guise of a Traveler's Tale", by Amitav Ghosh. This one follows the author's search for the story of a Jewish merchant's slave in India.

And, lastly, there is nothing like the fun of reading a well-written and passionate attempt to re-write history.
"The Farfarers: A New History of North America", by Farley Mowat. In this one, Mowat challenges the notion that the Vikings were the first Europeans to arrive in North America.

Best wishes for enjoyable reading.

[regoarrarr]

Following up on this since it got necro'd - I got the History of the World that was I believe suggested by darrelljs - it lost my interest about the time of the Roman empire.

I did read Patriots, which I enjoyed, and I am currently reading The Second World War by Beevor, which I am also enjoying

[DaveV]

"The Frontiersmen" by Alan Eckert gives some interesting history of Ohio (shows just how badly the Europeans screwed over the Natives).

[darrelljs]

Following up on this since it got necro'd - I got the History of the World that was I believe suggested by darrelljs - it lost my interest about the time of the Roman empire.

I did read Patriots, which I enjoyed, and I am currently reading The Second World War by Beevor, which I am also enjoying

I should have taken into account your Wheel of Fortune result before recommending that to you...

Darrell

[Commodore]

Fletcher Pratt's The Battles The Changed History is fun, and a light read.

Of course, Google Reader means if you want real history, you can read it directly. That can be a bit of a jarring experience, though.

[GreyWolf]

Power and Persuasion in Late Antiquity by Peter Brown.