Hi! I've recently decided to start reading again after a couple of years of not doing it.
I love history. My favorite time periods are:
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Ancient Rome
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Middle Ages
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First World War
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Second World War (currently reading "Hitler", by Ian Kershaw.)
I'd appreciate any good recommendations. Thanks!
by Doctore_11
20 Comments
“Caesar: Life of a Colossus”, by Adrian Goldsworthy
“Augustus: The First Emperor”, by Adrian Goldsworthy
Colleen McCullough’s Masters of Rome historical fiction series takes place from 100 BC to 31 BC, and it’s comprehensive and meticulously detailed. They all average about 700 pages:
“First Man in Rome”
“The Grass Crown”
“Fortune’s Favorites”
“Caesar’s Women”
“Caesar”
“The October Horse”
“Antony and Cleopatra”
For WWI:
“The Guns of August”, by Barbara Tuchman
“The War That Ended Peace”, by Margaret MacMillan
“A World Undone: The Story of the Great War 1914-1918”
The twelve ceasars (as the name hints – all about roman emperors)
Destiny disrupted (havent read this but ive heard that its quite engaging and is a window into the islamic world)
For ancient Rome:
A Rome of One’s Own: The Forgotten Women of the Roman Empire
A Fatal Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum: Murder in Ancient Rome
both are by Emma Southon.
Sarah Vowell! American history with a good laugh. 👍👍👍
Middle Ages: Sharon Kay Penman’s Welsh Princes series
WW2: Gone to Soldiers by Marge Piercy
City of Thieves is set in Leningrad during WWII. Great novel.
If you’re into historical fiction I really liked Beneath a Scarlet Sky and All the Light We Cannot See, both set during WWII
Everyone should read History of the Peloponnesian War, by Thucydides. This guy, at the age of 30 or so, back in 430 BC or thereabouts, he decided he had it in him to write a book that would be a “possession for all time.” What they called a ktema es aei. And then he spent the next thirty years of his life writing this book, and he was right. It is. And also by the way he was a very notable guy, mentioned in at least one play that I know of from the time (although I don’t remember which play lol). EDIT: get the Penguin edition, with the intro by M.I. Finley.
Dreadnought, by Robert K. Massie. Lots of new information about the runup to WWI, including interesting insights about Churchill and his family and how everyone knew ten years beforehand when the war was going to start. They had peace conferences ten years ahead of time, to try to stave it off. >!The peace conferences didn’t work.!<
Roy Appleman, East of Chosin: Entrapment and Breakout in Korea, 1950. I know, the Korean War wasn’t on your list, but this is a phenomenal book. Your brain will thank you.
A few WWII classics:
Ordinary Men: Reserve Battalion 101, by Christopher Browning. This book was an instant classic when it came out, and catalyzed the author’s move from (I think) U of the Pacific to Duke. Unforgettable.
Into That Darkness, by Gitta Sereny. I said it was a classic, there’s not much more to say.
The Destruction of the European Jews, by Raul Hilberg. It’ll tell you quite a bit that you didn’t know, about the episode. This one is frequently described as “magisterial.” He knows what he’s talking about.
*The assassination of Julius Caesar* by Michael Parenti
I really enjoyed *Eight Days at Yalta: How Churchill, Roosevelt and Stalin Shaped the Post-War World* by Diana Preston!
Mary Beard’s nonfiction books on ancient Rome are outstanding!
For WW II, I highly recommend *Swansong 1945* by Walter Kempowski.
Lady of the Army: The Life of Mrs. George S. Patton
“A masterpiece of seminal research, Lady of the Army is an extraordinary, detailed, and unique biography of a remarkable woman married to a now legendary American military leader in both World War I and World War II.”
**Ancient Rome**
Cicero – Anthony Everitt
SPOR – Anthony Everitt
The Rise of Rome – Livey
Dynasty – Tom Holland
Fall of the Roman Republic – Plutarch
Rubicon – Tom Holland
Spartacus War – Barry Strauss
Caesar against the Celts
Augustus – Anthony Everitt
**WWII**
The Few – Kershaw
The Lost Eleven – Dennis George and Robert Child
Pearl Harbor – Craig Nelson
An absolute MUST read: In The Garden of Beasts by Erik Larson. I think every line of dialogue is taken directly from the historical record. It is so, so good.
I’m a fan of first person historical accounts. With the Old Breed by Eugene Sledge and The Good War by Studs Terkel come to mind for WWII.
These Truths by Jill Lepore (more of a comprehensive US history book but very good)
Suburban Warriors by Lisa McGirr (focused on right wing populism in Southern California but excellent and helpful for understanding post-WW2 America and how we got to our situation today)
The Light Ages by Seb Falk
The Death of Democracy by Benjamin Carter Hett
Mala’s Cat by Mala Kacenberg
Barbara Tuchman is great. She has a terrific book on the middle ages, called A Distant Mirror; and another one, an award-winning one, on the first world war, called The Guns of August.
Recently finished Bloodlands by Timothy Snyder. An appalling read about how the lands between Germany and Russia from 1933 to 1945 were absolutely devastated by both countries. Stalin and Hitler accounted for the deaths of 14 million people.