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On that note, what would be the best books to read on WW1?
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Apr 11, 2014 22:08
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TheFallenEvincar posted:Any good books on the rise of the Nazi Party in Germany and maybe the rise of fascism in Europe in general? I'm more interested in German history, German perspective, and politics rather than yet another random book about the world war. Like, more of a heavy focus on the pre-war events. There are two parts to this, the rise of german fascism in the form of the Nazi party and the rise of Hitler himself. The two were not synonymous, as Hitler enjoyed far wider support than the Nazi party. Ian Kershaw's The "Hitler Myth": Image and Reality in the Third Reich is probably a good introduction to Hitler's cult of personality, Laurence Rees's Hitler's Charisma: Leading Millions into the Abyss is a good look at the things people actually admired about Hitler. A more general look at the rise of the Nazi party and the conditions in Germany that allowed this to happen, Richard J Evans' The Coming of the Third Reich is one of my favorite history books of all time—one of its themes is the contingent nature of the Nazis coming to power, and the numerous times when, if things had just taken a slightly different turn, there would have been no Nazis in power at all. Homemaster posted:On that note, what would be the best books to read on WW1? The usual answers are Barbara Tuchman's The Guns of August and Robert Massie's Dreadnought. This isn't an area I've read a lot about, but both of these are excellent.
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Apr 11, 2014 22:47
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Homemaster posted:On that note, what would be the best books to read on WW1? That's a pretty broad topic, any chance you're interested in a more specific aspect of it?
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Apr 11, 2014 22:48
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The history behind it ie how it began Maybe there is a book detailing how many wars began?
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Apr 11, 2014 23:05
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Homemaster posted:The history behind it ie how it began Guns of August is probably the most famous book on the outbreak of the war. Personally I can recommend The Sleepwalkers (Christopher Clark), it's just published last year and it's really good.
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Apr 11, 2014 23:14
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Yeah there's a bunch of stuff on WWI published recently to coincide with the centenary. My favorite book about WWI is The Great War and Modern Memory by Fussell, but its more about the cultural reverberations of the war in a specifically British context. Guns of August is great, especially if you want an account of the march to war. The topic of who is to blame for the war is fraught, and there are many books with many different arguments. I enjoyed The Pity of War by Niall Ferguson, even if he is an rear end in a top hat.
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Apr 12, 2014 00:10
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TheFallenEvincar posted:Any good books on the rise of the Nazi Party in Germany and maybe the rise of fascism in Europe in general? I'm more interested in German history, German perspective, and politics rather than yet another random book about the world war. Like, more of a heavy focus on the pre-war events. The Nazi Seizure of Power is a really good case study of a single village.
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Apr 12, 2014 05:03
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vyelkin posted:Guns of August is probably the most famous book on the outbreak of the war. Yep, this is what you're looking for. Best approachable book to start with, if it grabs you you'll have a whole world to dig into.
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Apr 12, 2014 05:22
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gohuskies posted:If you like Caro, you absolutely must read The Power Broker, his biography of Robert Moses. It's a single volume and a masterpiece. It's focused on power and how it is accumulated and used, like the LBJ series, but it looks at the city level rather than Congress/federal. Thanks for this, I'll keep my eyes open for it! I'm only vaguely familiar with who Moses was, but it sounds interesting. On a related note, has anyone read Steven Ambrose's biography of Richard Nixon? Once I finish The Years of Lyndon Johnson, I'm thinking about moving on to the next President and the local library has all three volumes.
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Apr 14, 2014 01:40
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barkingclam posted:On a related note, has anyone read Steven Ambrose's biography of Richard Nixon? Once I finish The Years of Lyndon Johnson, I'm thinking about moving on to the next President and the local library has all three volumes. I haven't read that, but I thought Rick Perlstein's Nixonland was pretty great when I read it 5 years ago. It's only 1 volume but it's not a biography, so probably not quite what you're looking for.
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Apr 14, 2014 02:36
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Homemaster posted:The history behind it ie how it began Along with Sleepwalkers, Margaret McMillan's The War That Ended Peace is a good one to read, as well as her earlier book on the Treaty of Versailles, Paris 1919.
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Apr 14, 2014 19:01
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dublish posted:I haven't read that, but I thought Rick Perlstein's Nixonland was pretty great when I read it 5 years ago. It's only 1 volume but it's not a biography, so probably not quite what you're looking for. That's one I keep hearing good things about, but the local library doesn't have a copy and I'd rather stick with something they have for now. I'll probably read it eventually.
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Apr 15, 2014 17:47
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Do they have Hofstadter's The Paranoid Style in American Politics?
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Apr 15, 2014 17:58
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Nixonland is great but I would call it more a cultural/political history of the period with Nixon as the centrepiece than a straight-up biography of the man. Also Perlstein's previous book about Goldwater "Before the Storm" is really good if you're into the history of the Birchers and all those zany fringe-groups.
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Apr 16, 2014 04:28
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Seams posted:Nixonland is great but I would call it more a cultural/political history of the period with Nixon as the centrepiece than a straight-up biography of the man. "Before the Storm" just went on my list. Thanks! Not an enemies list. A book list. I just realized how ominous that sounded right after a conversation about Nixon. 
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Apr 17, 2014 13:32
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Speaking of Perlstein, part 3 of his right-wing trilogy comes out this summer. The bad guys win in the end.  http://www.amazon.com/The-Invisible-Bridge-Nixon-Reagan/dp/1476782415/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1397749765&sr=8-1&keywords=perlstein
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Apr 17, 2014 16:50
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Lee Harvey Oswald posted:Speaking of Perlstein, part 3 of his right-wing trilogy comes out this summer. The bad guys win in the end. Spoiler: the present and future suck.
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Apr 17, 2014 17:40
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Does anyone have good suggestions for a history-related Book of the Month selection? Right now I'm thinking of including People's History of the United States in next month's poll but other suggestions would be good, especially since the ones I've been suggesting on my own (1491, etc.) don't seem to get many votes.
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Apr 17, 2014 18:30
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The Guns of August is a great historical book that also has some of the best non fiction prose I have ever read. “The muffled tongue of Big Ben tolled nine by the clock as the cortege left the palace, but on history's clock it was sunset, and the sun of the old world was setting in a dying blaze of splendor never to be seen again.”
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Apr 17, 2014 18:36
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Hieronymous Alloy posted:Does anyone have good suggestions for a history-related Book of the Month selection? Right now I'm thinking of including People's History of the United States in next month's poll but other suggestions would be good, especially since the ones I've been suggesting on my own (1491, etc.) don't seem to get many votes. I love biographies of people who lived lives that sound like movies. The Black Count: Glory, Revolution, Betrayal, and the Real Count of Monte Cristo by Tom Reiss. Biography of a black French revolution hero, who happened to be the father of the guy who wrote The Count of Monte Cristo and The Three Musketeers. Good writing, but the actual story carries the weight: it is a terrific tale. Cochrane the Dauntless: The Life and Adventures of Admiral Thomas Cochrane, 1775-1860 by David Cordingly. Biography of a napoleonic Wars-era captain who eventually became the real life inspiration for the Aubrey/Maturin books. He was an unbelievable character who made enemies out of friends, whose chaotic personal life was the opposite of his naval career: he ended up being a decorated captain for not just the Royal navy, but also led the navies of Chile, Brazil, and Greece.
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Apr 17, 2014 19:28
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Hieronymous Alloy posted:Does anyone have good suggestions for a history-related Book of the Month selection? Right now I'm thinking of including People's History of the United States in next month's poll but other suggestions would be good, especially since the ones I've been suggesting on my own (1491, etc.) don't seem to get many votes. Uranium: War, Energy, and the Rock that Shaped the World Guests of the Ayatollah: The First Battle in America's War Against Militant Islam I'll also back Dokmo's suggestion for The Black Count.
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Apr 18, 2014 05:59
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Lee Harvey Oswald posted:Speaking of Perlstein, part 3 of his right-wing trilogy comes out this summer. The bad guys win in the end. Cool, thanks for this. Fingers crossed it is as excellent as the other two.
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Apr 24, 2014 04:05
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I just finished reading through the thread, and I'm looking for recommendations. Stravinsky posted:Does anybody have any good reccomendations for books on relations of western powers with China in the 1800s and possibly late 1700s. Main line of inquiry would be the Opium wars but I am looking for things that happened prior and post those events. Academic is fine with me. -This. Generally the "opening" of China to the outside world, and specifically the Opium Wars I'm interested in. I'd rather non-academic myself, but I'll take whatever. -The rise of Germany. Two people have suggested Iron Kingdom, with one saying it was a lens through which to view European history, which is how I'd be going at it as well. Any others I should know about? -Russia in the early 90s. Basically I want to get a handle on modern Russia. I'd be very interested in how Russia emerged from the breakup of the USSR, that coup attempt that I know nothing about, and maybe stuff about Gorbachev's reforms in the 80s. Somewhat disparate subjects I know, but I gotta start somewhere. -The 19th century Ottoman Empire. It was known as the "sick man of Europe" at the time, but it was also instituting numerous reforms. I've heard of a book that focuses on the reform aspect, but cannot remember the name. -Something about the Caucuses. I'm interested in the region but I know almost nothing about it. Comprehensive or brief, and suggestions here would be great. Whew. I'll mention some books that I've read lately: Byzantium: The Surprising Life of a Medieval Empire by Judith Herrin. A very basic introduction to the history of the empire. It is broken down by subject, though still is roughly chronological. You get some military stuff, cultural, economic, religious, and so forth. The thesis of the book is basically "Byzantium isn't actually boring", and she's mostly right. The paperback version has a gorgeous cover, which is a big part of why I bought it. The Crimean War by Orlando Figes. I knew nothing about the war, so it was a pretty informative book. It was one of the first "modern" wars, featuring things like telegraphs and trains and heavy artillery. Given recent events it is pretty topical as well; this has been a contested bit of soil (mostly between Russia and the Ottomans) for quite some time. Civilization: The West and the Rest by Niall Furguson. While interesting in its scope, it really pissed me off. Colonialism in Africa wasn't that bad because it brought new medical technology. Revolutionaries the world over just want rock music and blue jeans. It spends a lot of time on tangents, with the chapter on medicine in particular being not about medicine at all. I think most people here would hate it.
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Apr 26, 2014 04:37
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Count Roland posted:Civilization: The West and the Rest by Niall Furguson[/b]. While interesting in its scope, it really pissed me off. Colonialism in Africa wasn't that bad because it brought new medical technology. Revolutionaries the world over just want rock music and blue jeans. It spends a lot of time on tangents, with the chapter on medicine in particular being not about medicine at all. I think most people here would hate it. That's because Niall Furguson is renowned for being a general shithead who reminisces about the days of The Empire.
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Apr 26, 2014 05:27
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Yes, it's like a lava lamp.
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Count Roland posted:
Try W.T. Hanes's The Opium Wars. I found it a good intro to the subject, and liked that a lot of attention and weight was given to the very deep cultural differences that helped exacerbate the situation.
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Apr 28, 2014 16:21
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Hieronymous Alloy posted:Does anyone have good suggestions for a history-related Book of the Month selection? Right now I'm thinking of including People's History of the United States in next month's poll but other suggestions would be good, especially since the ones I've been suggesting on my own (1491, etc.) don't seem to get many votes. Have you ever done King Leopold's Ghost? It's historical and also a hugely important book for its impact on how people think of colonialism. It's depressing as poo poo though.
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Apr 28, 2014 16:40
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Fighting Trousers posted:Try W.T. Hanes's The Opium Wars. I found it a good intro to the subject, and liked that a lot of attention and weight was given to the very deep cultural differences that helped exacerbate the situation. Some of the amazon reviews worry me, about not only grammatical and numerical errors, but events that didn't happen? Did you notice any of this stuff? As a beginner to the subject I would not notice any errors, except for spelling mistakes and the like.
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Apr 28, 2014 23:43
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vyelkin posted:Have you ever done King Leopold's Ghost? It's historical and also a hugely important book for its impact on how people think of colonialism. It's depressing as poo poo though. Seconding this. I also happened to pick up a nice copy at my local used book story for $4.  
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Apr 29, 2014 15:10
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vyelkin posted:Have you ever done King Leopold's Ghost? It's historical and also a hugely important book for its impact on how people think of colonialism. It's depressing as poo poo though. I'll try to put it on the poll next month or the month after presuming I remember (feel free to remind me!)
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Apr 29, 2014 16:10
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I was definitely satisfied with Christopher Clark's books on Prussia and WW1, any recommendations for Tsarist/pre-Soviet Russian history?
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Apr 30, 2014 06:08
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Today I learned that the black death caused the renaissance and I would very much like to read a book about the subject.
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May 2, 2014 13:43
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TheFallenEvincar posted:I was definitely satisfied with Christopher Clark's books on Prussia and WW1, any recommendations for Tsarist/pre-Soviet Russian history? It's a huge topic, what specifically are you interested in?
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May 2, 2014 13:58
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Vogler posted:Today I learned that the black death caused the renaissance and I would very much like to read a book about the subject. Where did you hear that from if I may ask?
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May 2, 2014 15:15
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Stravinsky posted:Where did you hear that from if I may ask? The wikipedia article on the renaissance.
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May 2, 2014 16:53
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I've got some disposable income and I'm trying to decide between Anne Applebaum's Iron Curtain: The Crushing of Eastern Europe 1944-1956 and Sean McMeekin's July 1914: Countdown to War. Have any goons read either of these?
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May 3, 2014 05:52
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McMeekin. I haven't that read that particular Applebaum book but I though GULAG was pretty terrible.
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May 3, 2014 10:49
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TheFallenEvincar posted:I was definitely satisfied with Christopher Clark's books on Prussia and WW1, any recommendations for Tsarist/pre-Soviet Russian history?
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May 3, 2014 17:06
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Vogler posted:Today I learned that the black death caused the renaissance and I would very much like to read a book about the subject. If you're interested in the renaissance era, you should figure out what aspect of it and what region you're interested in. The concept of a European renaissance is tough to study because it isn't limited to one time, place, or field of study. You could read a half dozen books on just the Italian art renaissance and still barely touch the western and northern art renaissances, let alone the scientific and cultural renaissances everywhere else. My point is, your best bet is to approach studying "the renaissance" by studying a place or subject area you're interested in, and focusing in on a book that covers that area from about 1400 to 1600 AD. Railing Kill fucked around with this message at 18:32 on May 3, 2014 |
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May 3, 2014 18:09
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And then there is the greater picture that involves the earlier renaissances of the 12th Century, and likely another one during the time of Charlemagne, and probably more I'm not aware of.
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May 3, 2014 18:14
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Well what I am interested in is how the depopulation of Italy caused it to become a liberal and open society. I picked up The History of the Renaissance by Susan Wise Bauer. The title is misleading (but that fits me well) as it is about what led up to the Renaissance in the years 1100-1453. I don't know if it will discuss my aforementioned point but it seems like a good book that will give me some overview. Vogler fucked around with this message at 21:43 on May 3, 2014 |
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May 3, 2014 21:40
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