AlexEvans

I couldn't find a thread for these. Anyway, I love reading history, and I thought a thread to discuss, perhaps exchange recommendations, might be fun.

The last history I read (finished it last night actually) was Jefferson's War. It's about America's war with the Barbary pirates, growth of the navy. Very good. Particularly interesting in the dilemma of the times, which was live with it (pirate states seizing your ships, selling the crews into slavery, demanding tribute) or fight a war to try to put a stop to it.

It was a good read, and left me wanting to read more about the time periods immediately before and after.

Tesseract

History has always been interesting for me. How was the book?

I'm currently trying to finish Rise and Fall of the Third Reich, and Mary, Queen of Scots and the Murder of Lord Darnley. Been looking for a book by Alison Weir on Eleanor of Aquitaine, but no luck.

Thing about history books though, is that you'd have to take the accounts with a grain of salt. Meaning, aside from reading history, you'd have to take the author's biases into account. Is she/he pro- or against the situation? Is she/he biased for or against the protagonist/s? The experience of reading a history book all the more interesting, especially when you start reading different authors on the same topic.

StellaSlight

I have this passion for history too, and I've never been able to resist a tempting history book when book shopping.

Tesseract I think you rised some very solid questions about history books, and how the readers should always be careful to make the difference between historic details and personal input.

How funny is that. The last history book I've read was a biography of Eleanor of Aquitaine, written by a French historian.
That was a really fascinating tale of the life of one of the most important and influential personalities of the Middle-Earth, and one fantastic woman who defied all the prejudices against her sex in a time where women were less worthy then horses. Duchess, then successively Queen of France and Queen of England, mother of three Kings, Aliénor (her French name) was the only woman who ever went on a Crusade.

I'd like to read Alison Weir's book because I heard it was very good, and I was already tempted by her biography of Elizabeth I.


I have two choices for my next history book.
I've bought Lafayette by Harlow Giles Unger, which seems to be a terrific biography of le Marquis de Lafayette, and his role in three major events : the American War of Independence and the French Revolutions of 1789 and 1830.
The second book is a study on the possible causes of the disappearance of the Neanderthals during the pre-historic period.
Yep, very different books and topics.

Tesseract

Thanks. One of the reasons why I love reading history books, particularly biographies and interpretations of certain events. I used to go to the library, grab a topic I'm interested in, then bring about two or three related books to the table. Same topic, different authors. It's quite interesting to see one author describe the protagonist as 'willful', and another 'a cunning strategist'.


*cough* Middle Ages.

And yes, Eleanor is an interesting woman, for all the reasons that you mentioned. And given the state of things in her day, she must've been incredibly strong to become what she was, and still remain the kind of woman portrayed in the Middle Ages and such.

Oh, read it! I've read just parts of Elizabeth I from my college library, and I never got to borrow it (for some reason it was categorized as for library use only. Weird). Now I want a copy for my own and I can't get it locally. Bah. You could also look into the works of Antonia Fraser, a contemporary of Alison Weir.

So it's actually three books that I want to read by Alison Weir. The first is what I'm reading now (Mary Queen of Scots..), the second is her biog of Elizabeth I, and the other is Eleanor of Aquitaine)


Very interesting choice of books, btw. Regarding the Neanderthals, I came across a theory once when I was reading a science mag (or was it while watching Discovery Channel-?) that it was simply because they didn't have the brain power to adapt. I think the reason that homo sapiens survived was it's capability to be creative. Humans can move and forage across different climates and landscapes. Neanderthals, while stronger and more hardy, hardly ever moved out of caves. So, when the Ice Age set in, and their local resources got depleted, they just died out. Humans, on the other hand, pulled up stakes and headed out to other places.

Tell us what the conclusions were, from that book, okay? I'm interested to know.

StellaSlight

OMG!
When I wrote that post, I had just watched The Return of the King, which explains the whole Middle Earth/Middle-Ages confusion!


I went to an English library today and bought Alison Weir's biography of Eleanor of Aquitaine. I can't wait to read it, although I have other books that I need to read at first. Then I'll be able to compare both biographies --one being in French and the other in English-- and see if there are differences in the points of view.


I'll come back over here to tell ya the conclusions, although I have the feeling that it won't be really clear and cut. Usually, with studies like this, the authors explain the theories, sometimes stating their positions, but nothing's for sure, so it's up for everyone to choose the best theory.

Thief Of Love

I'm very fond of Antonia Fraser and Alison Weir (even if Weir sometimes treats speculation as fact, at least when it comes to Henry VIII and wives), particularly since my area of study is English history. I got David Starkey's Six Wives for Christmas - has anyone read that one? I was saving it for summer (since it's hard to get into reading a book of that scope during the semester), but haven't tackled it yet (been reading historical fiction instead, as well as a few books for next semester).

Bronson

I love history myself and will from time to time read one. I fiished reading about Joan of Arc and I found it facinating.

silver_lined_cloud

Oh, I love reading history. Historical novels, history textbooks, anything. I like it better than most classic literature. I'm especially obsessed with books regarding the American Civil War, since it fascinates me for some reason. .

StellaSlight

I find the story of Joan really fascinating as well. I haven't got the chance to read a whole biography of hers, but I've seen alot of documentaries about her life, her bizarre gift and the role she played in history. One thing I didn't know before was that she was the first one who defined the nations of "France" and "England". Before her, France and England were rather considered in terms of lands, not nations, and were rather unclearly defined, mostly in the south of England/north of France. Joan was the first one who brought up this idea of France and England as nations and the idea of patriotism.

Bronson

I did not realize that but you are correct. This is why I enjoy history so much. You find out things that you would not have known. In the case of Joan of Arc, it desturbed me that no one even tried to rescue or ransom her. Not even the man to whom he owed his being on the throne to her.

Baranlothiel

I'm currently reading it and it's fabulous. I highly recommend his biography of Elizabeth I as well.

Pav

I love historical novels, especially about Rome/Greece history.

wizard87

oh you mean THAT kind of history books.

when i first read the thread title i thought of things like "a cambridge history of southeast asia" by nicholas tarling with chapters like plural society or ethnic diversity. stuff like that. or maybe books on european history with chapters like "industrial revolution", "russian revolution" and etc.

those kinda books i'm afraid of (cos i do them for my history course)

but books like biographies and stuff are fascinating! except i don't read them much cos i don't have time.

Kimberly

I'm so happy someone started a thread on this. I love reading history books and social studies books!! I will certainly have to look into some of the books you guys have suggested. Here are some of my favorites:

King Leopold's Ghost: A Story of Greed, Terror, and Heroism in Colonial Africa by AdamÂ_Hochschild. This is the chilling story of the Congo in the 1800's.


Reflections on the Way to the Gallows: Rebel Women in Pre-War Japan by MikisoÂ_Hane. This tells the story of several political and social reformers in pre-war Japan.

The Devil in the White City: Murder, Magic, and Madness at the Fair That Changed America by Erik Larson. The story of the Chicago World Fair and the story of a serial killer who used the fair to get victims.

Nazi Doctors: Medical Killing and the Psychology of Genocide by RobertÂ_JayÂ_Lifton. Looks at how Hitler changed the basic duties of a Dr. how he warped the idea of health in the medical community.

Bronson

Yes, historical novels are great. You get history with a good story.