Any other history fans out there?
- Thread starter URBCLONE
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I love the history channel, not huge into the reading though. The last book I got around to was 1776, which was an outstanding ready. I'm assuming if you're an avid history reader though you've already hit it up.
Interesting book, it sounds like. Please provide the title of the book, and would you recommend it? Thanks.
Love early colonial American-AWI (American War for Independence) histories. At the moment, reading "Albion's Seed," about the four British folkways that accounted for the early settlements that populated the Atlantic coast line in the 1600s and 1700s.
A few weeks ago, I joined the History Book Club. One of the titles I selected, "Panorama of the Enlightenment," is beautifully rendered and, flipping through it, looks highly promising. I expect it to illuminate much of what was happening politically and socially in colonial America and years following.
Title is The Fall of Berlin by Anthony Read and David Fisher. I buy a lot of my stuff at Half Price Books and at Amazon.com. I love anything late 19th Century through WWII. I will occasionally branch out into French Revolution, church history, Civil War, and some colonial history as well.
One of the best books I've read in the last year was The Fatal Shore, about the founding of Australia as a penal colony by the British. Fascinating stuff and the author did an excellent job of keeping the story readable.
One author I really like is Niall Ferguson. He has written extensively on WWI and WWII and I own most of his work.
I absolutely love history. Almost anything interests me, especially on the History Channel!
I am currently reading The Path Between the Seas, another McCullough book--an excellent read so far.
Thanks for all the tips! I'm trying to broaden my horizons by reading more books, and it has been great so far!
I am currently reading The Path Between the Seas, another McCullough book--an excellent read so far.
Thanks for all the tips! I'm trying to broaden my horizons by reading more books, and it has been great so far!
The Path Between the Seas was incredible! Great book and absolutely fascinating. I'm not an engineer, but it is still remarkable how they were able to build that canal. Thanks for mentioning that book!
PS - I get the Military Channel on DirecTV and they have some great stuff on there as well. For example, there was a 10 or 11 part series on WWI on there that was narrated. Good stuff.
I've been reading a collection of essays/articles written by George Orwell throughout his life. If you're interested in how things were being perceived as they actually unfolded, it's a great read. For example, a lot of his essays and articles were written during WWII. One titled "You and the Atom Bomb" was written in 1945 shortly after the bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. While most of the world was in a panic expecting that that civilization would end as we bombed each other back into the stone age, Orwell writes an extremely intelligent article that essentially predicts the cold war.
Here's a snippet: "...So we have before us the prospect of two or three monstrous super-states, each possessed of a weapon by which millions of people can be wiped out in a few seconds, dividing the world between them. It has been rather hastily assumed that this means bigger and bloodier wars, and perhaps an actual end to the machine civilization. But suppose - and really this is the likeliest development - that the surviving great nations make a tacit agreement never to use the atomic bomb against one another? Suppose they only use the threat of it against people who are unable to retaliate?..."
It's really fascinating to read about the various social/political/economic issues from the perspective of someone living in the moment.
I get Military on Dish as well. I didn't mention it because I don't think many people get that channel. It ranks higher than the History Channel for me!
I just finished Fifteen Stars by Weintraub. It really paints Montgomery as a twit and McArthur as a megalomaniac. It also cannonizes Marshall. The coolest thing I learned from it was that they minted so many purple hearts for the impending invasion of mainland Japan that they were using them past Viet Nam.
I just finished a fascinating book by Erik Larson titled "The Devil in the White City". I lived in Chicago for a number of years and knew of the World's Fair that brought electricity into vogue (Westinghouse exhibits) and from which the Ferris Wheel was born. I didn't know much else! This book is a fascinating story of the politics behind the fair, the architects who brought it to light and the serial murderer who operated under it's cover. I can't wait for my next trip to Chicago so I can track down some of the remaining "relics" from the 1893 World's Fair!
I've just started a book on the Battle of Gettysburg and I'm curious if anyone knows of a book that does brief bio's of the Union and Confederate Officer Corps. For instance, I don't want to read an entire book on the life of Jubal Early, just a chapter. I find myself going to Wickipedia for such info and it's slowing my progress. Anybody?
I've just started a book on the Battle of Gettysburg and I'm curious if anyone knows of a book that does brief bio's of the Union and Confederate Officer Corps. For instance, I don't want to read an entire book on the life of Jubal Early, just a chapter. I find myself going to Wickipedia for such info and it's slowing my progress. Anybody?
I'm a huge history buff. I have six or seven books sitting on my nightstand right now, but at the moment I am reading "A War To Be Won", which is a comprehensive new history of WWII. I also just finished the first part of "The War" by Ken Burns. That was very moving also.
In the middle of "Looking for Lincoln".
Interesting book dealing with the aftermath of Lincoln's assassination. Not the hunt for Booth or his accomplices but rather how the public reacted and how his legacy grew through the years.
Funny how many different people claimed to know the true story of Lincoln and wrote books about him - most contained half-truths or outright false stories. Not much different from the way things are today!
Interesting book dealing with the aftermath of Lincoln's assassination. Not the hunt for Booth or his accomplices but rather how the public reacted and how his legacy grew through the years.
Funny how many different people claimed to know the true story of Lincoln and wrote books about him - most contained half-truths or outright false stories. Not much different from the way things are today!
If you thought Fall of Berlin was good, I would suggest Stalingrad by the same author, if you haven't read it. Excellent read.
If you get military channel watch Survival School at bridgeport, California. I went through that training and it was a *****. Fun but a *****.
I am an WW2 buff also.
I am an WW2 buff also.
I've been wanting to pick that up for quite a while. I've been watching for it on Amazon and at Half Price. Eastern Front is just horrendous to read about. It seriously is like a train wreck, miserable but you can't take your eyes off of it.
I saw part of that. They were riding one guy really hard, but he had a great attitude and made it. Thank you and all service members for what you do/have done for our country. My dad was in the Navy and that is where I picked up my interest in naval/military items.
BTW - My favorite history prof at ISU was Dr. Alan Wilt. That man was a fantastic teacher. I was in his class in the fall of '89 when the Berlin Wall came down. Felt like the whole world was changing for the better.
Some of my favorite books are by Donald Burgett. There are four in the series. It's a fist hand account of the 101st from Normandy through the caputure of the Eagle's Nest. The first book is about the Normandy invasion. The second is "Seven Roads to Hell. A Screaming Eagle in Bastogne." The third is about Market Garden. The fourth is the race to capture the Eagle's Nest. All very well done.
