Recommend me some good historical reading

[JWvonGoethe]

On the Second World war the best books I have read recently are Richard J. Evans' The Coming of the Third Reich and The Third Reich in Power; both are very readable, and a third volume is due out soon (next year I think?)

On the French Revolution my favourite is Simon Schama's Citizens; Antonia Fraser's Marie Antoinette is very good, as is Maria Fairweather's Madame de Stael, though neither of these is particularly about the revolution.

Orlando Figes' A People's Tragedy is very good on the Russian Revolution, and his cultural history of Russia is also very readable (Natasha's Dance); John Reed's Ten Days that Shook the World is an interesting narrative of the October Revolution.

For 'English' history you could do worse than Simon Schama's three volume A History of Britain, which is an interesting and very enjoyable overview of the last 5000 years.

Also, I am very much enjoying Christopher Tyerman's God's War: A New History of the Crusades.

Not specifically Rome, but try Robin Lane Fox's The Classical World.

[KilgoreTrout]

The Passing of the Armies by General Joshua Lawrence Chamberlain , commander of the 20th Maine (of little round top fame). Autobio/memoir of one of the brightest, toughest, and introspective officers the Union had. Chamberlain's obit was printed TWICE before the end of the war. He survived and returned to his cherished Maine. This book is the result.

[VespaRally]

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would like a little knowledge of American history since I little to nothing about it.

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Read The Autobiography of Malcolm X . It's a gripping read and it it a good primer for 20th century American events.

[DoubleDealDecker]

OK, I wasn't going to mention this one, but since 'The Killer
Angels' got 2 more thumbs up and somebody said they like old Suetonious...here goes. 'I, Claudius' by Robert Graves is the
fictionalized account of the Claudian emperors as told by the ancient historians and butt knockers Tacitus, Plutarch, and Suetonious. Based on fact, this is a view into the murderous den of snakes that largely founded the world we live in. The BBC TV series is just as good as the book. You can learn as much about Rome reading this delicious piece of fiction as reading all of smelly old Edward Gibbon. Once you
pick it up, there is no putting it down until the last poisoned mushroom.

[Rick Nebiolo]

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I have been told 'Stalingrad' is an excellent book, and would fit my criteria a lot. Confirm/deny?

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I've read "Stalingrad" by Anthony Beever and it was very good (as was "The Fall of Berlin"). But there are other books with that title that may be just as good or better.

I'm playing a donkament on the other monitor so I won't have time to link but most of Stephen Ambrose's books are very good and relatively easy reads. Here are the ones I've read and liked best:

"Undaunted Courage" - about Lewis and Clark (but mostly Lewis)

"Band of Brothers" - As good as the HBO series is I liked the book a little better. This follows one company from D-Day to the end of the war.

"D Day"

"Citizen Soldiers" (this should be read after D Day)

"The Wild Blue" is just awful. I think this one involved the charges of plagiarism and was written near the end of his life.

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I'll second the rec for whoever mentioned "The Making of the Atomic Bomb" by Richard Rhodes.

If you are going to read just one book on the Civil War then read "Battle Cry of Freedom" mentioned elsewhere. The "Killer Angles" would be a great second book (along with the whole Shaara father and son historical fiction trilogy). If you have a year or so then of course read the Shelby Foote trilogy. Nothing can top that; each volume is so heavy that one time I fell asleep in bed reading it dropping in on my chin leaving a big bruise!

John Keegan's books on war, wars and warfare are also top reads.

One more. "The Fifties" by David Halberstam. This is the guy who wrote "The Best and the Brightest" on Vietnam but "The Fifties" might be a good cover for that decade.

~ Rick

PS Not pure history but the twenty volume Aubrey/Matrurin series(the film Master and Commander was based on this) by Patrick O'Brien is just great reading and tells a lot about life on the high seas and in Britain during the Napoleonic Wars. My gf read the whole thing in about three months! (Edit to say it took me about five months).