WHAT ARE YOU READING?

Last Veeky Forums book I read. Walked in thinking I should know about the drunkard that closed out the Civil War and bumbled his Presidency, learned what a based god he was. Really good read, had trouble putting it down. Obviously it's a very positive portrayal of Grant, but even cutting some biases down he still ranks as one of my favorite historical personalities now.

HA

I love reading about the history of spaceflight and this book is probably the only one that offers some sort of biographies for lesser known astronauts who never made it. Without one tiny mistake evrything we know would've been completely different.

The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich audiobook.

Steven Pinkers The Better Angels of our Nature physical

Good books on the Middle Ages?

What tiny mistake?

That's a broad ropic, what are you looking for? What topic, a certain war, economy, or a certain kingdom or areas?

I read Der Kaiser!, but it's a dutch book. Pretty based tough, with pictures and stuff.
I also recommend The Hero With a Thousand Faces by Joseph Campbell, just finished it, pretty based. But it's more about mythology and related stuff.
I now ordered John Milton's Paradise Lost.
Thanks I'm a Phoeniciaboo

Does anybody have any good books on the Sicilian wars between Carthage and Sicilian city states? I was going to look into Tyrants of Syracuse (a two book series).

For example Charlie Bassett who had the best chances at becoming the co-pilot for Apollo 11 was decapitated in a T-38 crash in 1966 and he wasn't even the pilot.
Actually every accident changed history a bit. 8 astronauts in total were killed in various accidents.
The first one died because his plane hit a goose. Ironically it was weekend and he usually reserved those for... geese watching.

Currently reading The Inheritance of Rome by Chris Wickham. Broad overview, but easy enough to get into for someone with little knowledge of the early middle ages.

I just finished China: A Histoy by Keay. Really nice book as someone who basically knows nothing about China aside from a vague listing of what dynasty comes after what.

I just started Philip the Bold by Vaughan, it's like 50 years old and even the foreword lets you know a lot has changed in the study of Valois Burgundy since it came out but I couldn't find much in the way of modern general histories of Burgundy as opposed to specific topics and it still seems to be recommended.

I'm the original creator of this chart and recently updated it with this one

anyone got the pdf to The Cold War by John lewis gaddis?

Just finished Darkness at Noon.

One of the best books I've read, but it's bretty hard to maintain the 'Stalin did nothing wrong' facade when reading it.

Currently reading 1812

What Is a good book on democratic Kampuchea/ pol pot? To be such a recent and horrific genocide I find much less on it than the Rwandan genocide or Armenian genocide.

Same book I read every day

Tractatus ,Philosophical Investigations, the 2nd sex, thus spoke Zarathustra,beyond good and evil, the myth of Sisyphus, the ego and its own,The World as Will and Representation

star ship troopers, the richest man in Babylon, the book of lies

>The Imjin War

Huh, I never expected there to be any major western books on that war considering its relative obscurity. Might check it out.

reflections on violence

Currently 1/2 way through "The Roman Revolution" by Ronald Syme. It's definitely NOT for beginners, but it is a enjoyable work that really knows how to use its sources

Pic related is about 1/2 of my undergrad graduation gift from my grandparents, and I'm apparently getting two more in the mail. So I'm probably gonna jump on "A Companion to the Roman Army" after I finish the current read.

Recommendations for something about Taft? I read Bully Pulpit and want to read more about him.

Maybe just something about the Gilded Age in general

I got two new books
The White War Italian Front 1915-1919
Voices from Stalingrad

Currently reading: Soviet Combat Divers of WW2

Finished Napoleon the great about a week ago which was amazing and highly recommended

currently reading Guns of August and it didn't draw me in as much as I hoped

next on the list is Sleepwalkers of Fall of the Ottomans

Just TR.

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maybe this?

Kiernan, Ben. Blood and Soil: A World History of Genocide and Extermination from Sparta to Darfur. New Haven, CT: Yale University Press, 2007.
>An effort to write a global history of genocide that draws clear connections between modern and premodern incidents of mass killing. Kiernan, a specialist on Cambodia, attempts to find common aspects of genocidal violence across time and cultures.
Hinton, Alexander Laban. 2005. Why did they kill? Cambodia in the shadow of genocide. Berkeley: Univ. of California Press.
>Focuses on the devastation that took place in Cambodia from April 1975 to January 1979 under the Khmer Rouge, including consideration of ways in which human difference is manufactured, how identity and meaning are constructed, and how emotionally resonant forms of cultural knowledge are incorporated into genocidal ideologies.

Recommend me something related to transhumanism, everything i have seen related to it are essays and other stuff, bu i want to read a book on it

OP here. I prefer the original. These only work when the books are few. No one wants to go through a dozens of books in a JPG image.

The original works well because it isn't overwhelming, and it has been of great help to me.

I hope you will keep making these.

Regards

fuck i wanted to get your pic related, but i ended up getting the greek book series instead
still good

What's Veeky Forums opinion on popular history books? I'm currently reading Der taumelnde Kontinent (The staggering Continent) and it's pretty entertaining, gives a broad view across culture, arts and political events in Europe during 1900 and 1914

>WHAT ARE YOU READING?
At this moment, Metaphysics book Alpha chapters 3-4, book Delta chapter 1 and Johansen's History of Ancient Philosophy, the chapters on the Milesians and Heraclitus.

I just finished Beard's SPQR. I know Veeky Forums doesn't like it too much but I didn't know anything at all about Rome so I thought it might be a decent starter. Right now, I'm reading "Ancient Religion, Modern Politics" which is about how Islamic tradition helped create the modern Islamism and why there arent necessarily comparable movements in Hinduism and (Latin-American) Christianity,

Started this today

I recommend it if you ever get the chance. They just made a version of The Celts by Nora Chadwick that looks great. Thinking of getting it.

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Any good recs on the Republic of Genoa, or Venice?

Venice a New history is pretty good.

So what's the difference between "Napoleon the Great" and "Napoleon: a life" ? Are they basically the same book under a different name, or is there a significant difference between them? (If there is, which would you recommend?)

Can anyone recommend some books on Fascist Italy?

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I haven't read Napoleon The Great but Napoleon A Life was written after the release of more than 3000 new letters by Napoleon that give more insight into his life. Roberts also tries to paint a different light on Napoleon's life that he was never a type of proto-Hitler like he seems to be compared to unfairly. It's a great book so far.

What English translation would you recommend for The Iliad/Odyssey? Both "Start with the Greeks" images recommend different translation, the Pope and Fagels one.

Give it some time, the same happened to me when I first read it. Sleepwalkers is my favorite history book, hands down. Just incredible.

Is there a version of this for the major city states?

I'm reading this more for their thoughs on how the country has changed that than the historic acounts

isn't Sleepwalkers more about the events preceding the war as opposed to the war itself?

Sleepwalkers is about the origins of the Great War. Starts off with the Serbian machinations, then the various European alliances and political stuff. Then the pace picks up as it goes through the assassination, then July Crisis, and finally mobilization.

The Guns of August deals more with the events of July and August, up until the start of the Battle of the Marne. There's also a chapter about Schlieffen Plan and Plan XVII.

Both are great books, though I personally prefer The Sleepwalkers. I actually suggest reading both - start with the Sleepwalkers to familiarize yourself with the people involved. Then Guns of August for the events after the July Crisis, where Sleepwalkers ends.

I'm reading The Rise and Fall of Communism by Archie Brown. From what I have read thus far I can say it's an excellent book and it gives you an in-depth analysis of each Communist state, as well as non-ruling Communist parties and the historical background to the divergence of socialism and Communism, and is structured chronologically. Before this I read Comrades by Robert Service, but this one is more in-depth and less Russo-centric in its scope.

Magicians of the gods

Update.
Done.
Honestly the second to last chapter (before the review and conclusion) gets the point of the second half of the book across.
Fuck the pope, and fuck religious leaders in general, just believe in Jesus.

Fagles for the real experience. Pope is Pope.

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i have yet to make charts on florence and venetian maritime empire

Almost finished with this. It's a pretty basic account of the first and second wars of the diadochi, but the author does a great job of storytelling.

As said, The Sleepwalkers is about causes of ww1 indeed and Guns of August about the first few months with a heavy focus on the western front although the first few chaptes are about pre-war too.

The lead-up to ww1 is my favorite topic by far. Once you start actually reading about it and knowing the personalities and past of the many characters that played a big role in it, it's impossible to stop. It's the most complex geopolitical conflict ever and as such there's a lot of material to work with. Take The July Crisis by Otte for example. Reading that book puts things into perspective.

The Guns of August is a classic and Tuchman was a great writer. I agree you should read it and The Proud Tower too. It's a book dealing with the decades previous to what you'll read about in The Sleepwalkers. Ignoring the chapter about Germany (a great one by itself but a bit out of place when considering the context IMO) it's an excellent work. Many Americans (I'm not from the USA) have no idea who Thomas Reed was for example and it can be enlightening.

A book that complements greatly with The Sleepwalkers is The War That Ended Peace by Margaret MacMillan, so anyone looking into Clark's book should keep it in mind.

Regarding the actual war, the chart is lacking the (arguably) best single volume out there: 1914-1918 by David Stevenson.

I know I wrote a lot but there's a lot of ww1 related books in the chart and this board seems to like the topic so I gave it a try.

Bump

A good book on Lincoln?

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Looking for good biographies of Cesare Borgia and Rasputin

any books recommended on the following topics:

>Cultural Revolution
>The Hundred Years War (similar to Wilson's The Thirty Years War)
>Oliver Cromwell's rule
>US Presidents between Polk and Lincoln (similar to Millard's Destiny of the Republic which is about Garfield)
>The First Crusade

bumping for the first crusade

Heres my crusader books,(and a few others) bad pic sorry its very early and dark here. need to be quiet too. Might give you somewhere to start.

Pretty good so far.

What do you think is the best of those on the first crusade? There's a great 500yr old Italian epic called Jerusalem Delivered that I need to do some background research for

>Borgia
The Prince, by Niccolo Machiavelli

I thought that book was just inspired by him and not actually a biography of Cesare Borgia

That's why you should read it.

Harold Lamb, Iron Men and Saints.

You can find the audiobook on your usual torrent sites, really high quality.

Any recc a good book about Augustus?

Cesare was an excellent leader in machiavelli's view, and personifies many of the qualities of il princeps. You should read all of machiavelli's works

The Prince is already on my list. For some reason I thought that was the only thing he's written though?

Cesare Borgia: His Life and Times
by Sarah Bradford

best i can find
Mallett, Michael. The Borgias: The Rise and Fall of a Renaissance Dynasty. London: Bodley Head, 1969.
>Most maligned of Renaissance papal families, the Borgias continue to elude an in-depth examination of the family history and its papal officeholders (Calixtus III and Alexander VI). Helpful but with shortcomings in its interpretation and uncritical acceptance of the hostile picture of the family from contemporary sources and the picture of the Borgias created by Alexander VI’s successor, Julius II.

>Cultural Revolution
pastebin.com/nfJ87udX
>Hundred Years War
renaissance and reformation perspective
pastebin.com/ajDGmXmg
medieval studies perspective
pastebin.com/2uNgbg7z
military history perspective
pastebin.com/Ja5k1CxX

joan of arc
pastebin.com/TCMUFgpU
>Oliver Cromwell's rule
military history perspective
pastebin.com/9hX8s0vP
renaissance and reformation perspective
pastebin.com/ia2vJaX0
>>US Presidents between Polk and Lincoln (similar to Millard's Destiny of the Republic which is about Garfield)
no clue, might find stuff later for you
>The First Crusade
military history
pastebin.com/bZjCWPZM
medieval studies
pastebin.com/7h8fASgv
crusading warfare
pastebin.com/6RwVmGft

What do you think of Hew Strachan?

Sorry took so long, had shit to do. Frankopans book on the left is a good starter. Other than that its hard to say, How To Plan A Crusade is a a good book but its a lot more detailed than it looks., the books on the crusades generally may be your best best to get an alround view of before and after the period you need.

I read his First World War and it's ok (better if you watch the tv series too). I find him a bit too judgemental but otherwise a good introduction to the actual war.
I haven't read his To Arms! And it gets a lot of praise. He's going to die before finishing the other two promised volumes though.

Anyone have any good, introductory stuff on the Balkans

>Regarding the actual war, the chart is lacking the (arguably) best single volume out there: 1914-1918 by David Stevenson.

How does A World Undone by GJ Meyer compare?

I wasn't clear enough, I'm sorry.

Meyer's is an excellent book, and probably the best option for someone looking for a single volume on the war and with no previous knowledge. Very readable and well researched, providing background after each chapter.

Stevenson's is a completely different beast. Way broader in scope and way more rigid and packed with data, a lot of data, and presented in tiny font. Not a badly written book by any means (he uses a very clear and plain English) but it's organized by themes rather than following a timeline like a newcomer may wish.
An incredible read for anyone that's not easily frightened by gargantuan books or has previous knowldge. I'll leave you the table of contents to give you an idea about both how broad it is and the theme based structure I talked about.

Table of Contents:

1: The destruction of peace, p. 3

2: The failure of the war of movement, summer-winter 1914, p. 44

3: Making a new world, spring 1915-spring 1917, p. 99

4: The widening of the war, p. 106

5: War aims and peace negotiations, p. 127

6: The land war in Europe : strategy, p. 152

7: Technology, logistics, and tactics, p. 179

8: Manpower and morale, p. 198

9: Armaments and economics, p. 219

10: Naval warfare and blockade, p. 243

11: The politics of the home fronts, p. 263

12: The third phase, spring 1917-autumn 1918, p. 297

13: The February revolution and American intervention, spring 1917, p. 301

14: Towards exhaustion, summer-autumn 1917, p. 320

15: The central powers' last throw, autumn 1917-summer 1918, p. 371

16: The turn of the tide, summer-autumn 1918, p. 421

17: Ceasefire, p. 466

18: Peacemaking, 1919-1920, p. 503

19: Rebuilding, 1920-1929, p. 530

20: Demolition, 1929-1945, p. 563

21: Conclusion : the war becomes history, p. 587

I want recommendations for books specifically on the Russian Civil War (1917 - 1922), or Late Tsarist Russia (1894 - 1917). Preferably available on Audible.

not sure if anything in here is on audible, but these are bibliographies on the russian civil war
pastebin.com/UXeqUWNd
pastebin.com/vqY1DtEt

pic related

What does Veeky Forums think of Runciman's History of the Crusades?

Bump

Wow, thanks for that. While I don't consider myself 'new' to WWI, I'm not really an expert either so I'll probably check out Meyer's first.

Bump