Bookclub and Sources Wednesday!

Submitted by AutoModerator t3_10qsj6g in history

Hi everybody,

Welcome to our weekly book recommendation thread!

We have found that a lot of people come to this sub to ask for books about history or sources on certain topics. Others make posts about a book they themselves have read and want to share their thoughts about it with the rest of the sub.

We thought it would be a good idea to try and bundle these posts together a bit. One big weekly post where everybody can ask for books or (re)sources on any historic subject or timeperiod, or to share books they recently discovered or read. Giving opinions or asking about their factuality is encouraged!

Of course it’s not limited to *just* books; podcasts, videos, etc. are also welcome. As a reminder, r/history also has a recommended list of things to [read, listen to or watch](https://www.reddit.com/r/history/wiki/recommendedlist)

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Baalphire81 t1_j6rwl4i wrote

https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/dan-carlins-hardcore-history/id173001861?i=1000594618010 Dan Carlin’s latest podcast has been an incredible listen. Can’t wait for the follow up!

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xander_C t1_j6s1jy2 wrote

If you liked it, check out Children of Ash and Elm by Neil Price. I believe he referenced it in the podcast, and it's one of the best books I've read on the period.

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Burt_Rhinestone t1_j6tzich wrote

Thank you so much. I recently switched jobs, so I can't podcast all day and I lost track of Dan's shows. He's the absolute best and it isn't even close.

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Thomaspden t1_j6s20jq wrote

I've just been reading a book on a Victorian murder case, Did she kill him? A victorian tale of Deception, Adultery & Arsenic by Kat Colquhoun. Its an interesting read into, if nothing else, victorian medicines and a suffocating and ambitious middle class!

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elmonoenano t1_j6swwfq wrote

Did you read Erik Larson's Thunderstruck? It's just after the Victorian era but he combines a murder case with the development of the radio. It was really interesting. You learn about both the culture of the era and the technology of radio and pharmacies at the same time.

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elmonoenano t1_j6sorpe wrote

This week I read Matthew Restall's Seven Myths About The Spanish Conquest. It was a good book, short and to the point. It addressed the big ever present myths about the conquest. In the Anglophonic world most of them rest on Prescott's old work. Apparently Dan Carlin hinted recently that he would be doing an episode about the conquest. This is probably a good book to read before that b/c I'm certain Carlin with use about 6 or the 7 myths that are addressed in the book.

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Infamous-Bag-3880 t1_j6sr8uz wrote

Woodsmoke and Sage:The five senses 1485-1603:How the Tudors experienced the world, by Amy Licence. What everyone in Tudor saw,smelled, tasted,etc. Fascinating descriptions of what you would've experienced day to day in early modern England. A nice break from Royal biographies.

The Book of the City of Ladies, by Christine de Pizan. Published in 1405, it is a response to a male writer's tirade against women. Powerful stuff. Christine was one of the first (if not the first ) professional female writers of the Middle Ages. This book was one of the first salvos of the roughly 300 year long "Quarelle des Femmes. " A call and response debate that questioned women's roles as wife, mother, warrior, and leader. Highly recommended!

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dropbear123 t1_j6suqr2 wrote

Started and gave up Betrayal in Berlin: George Blake, the Berlin Tunnel and the Greatest Conspiracy of the Cold War by Steve Vogel. About a British and American plot in 1950s Berlin to dig a large tunnel and tap into Soviet communication wires and how it was stopped by a communist spy/traitor. It was clearly well researched and very detailed, with a strong opening of Blake's time as a Korean prisoner of war. But it started to drag with all the biographical details of everyone involved and I just wasn't enjoying it enough to read nearly 500 pages or so. Not a bad history book but not for me.

I did start and quickly finish Fall: The Mystery of Robert Maxwell by John Preston

>4.5/5 despite the topic (corrupt businessmen) not being one I normally read I enjoyed it enough (read it in 2 days) that I am rounding up for Goodreads. Very good at describing Maxwell's rise to prominence, corruption, weirdness (bullying, gluttony, childishness etc) and eventual downfall. Quite a bit on his rivalry with Murdoch. While the topic of spying does come up from time to time it is not mentioned in any large amount of detail. It's the first book I've read about Maxwell and I thought it was great, but I have nothing to compare it to. In terms of Maxwell's death the author mostly rules out murder and puts it as sort of 50/50 accident vs suicide. The book mostly ends with Maxwell's death and the scandal of the pension theft being revealed. There is a brief aftermath for the various family and people involved, but almost nothing on Ghislaine as the book came out in 2020 before she was found guilty in 2021. The book is a bit broader in detail and scope rather than as in-depth as the author's A Very English Scandal about the 1970s Thorpe scandal.

Next up is Cry Havoc: The Arms Race and the Second World War 1931-1941 by Joe Maiolo which was suggested to me a while back on one of these weekly threads. Based on about 40 pages/2 chapters it does seem good so far. Has quite a bit on economic issues like domestic spending vs military spending and free market vs state planning (the first chapter is about the Soviets and the First Five Year Plan). Also has so far quite a bit about the internal factions and disputes over planning and spending like the Japanese civilian government vs the army vs the navy in the early 30s (the second chapter).

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ClodiaNotClaudia t1_j6sifl9 wrote

Any recommendations for books about piracy during or after the Elizabethan era?

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Skookum_J t1_j6tjd1u wrote

Could check out The Pirate Queen, by Susan Ronald. It's about the court of Elizabeth and the "adventurers" that she surrounded herself with. To the French and Spanish, they were Pirates, but to the English they were "privateers" or gentleman adventurers.

Edit: saw you're also looking for stuff on after the Elizabethan era.

Empire of Blue Water, by Stephan Talty. is a great biography of Henry Morgan. Technically he was a Privateer, and he would have been pissed if you called him a Pirate. But for everyone but the English, he was The Pirate.

Under the Black Flag, by David Cordingly is a great overview of piracy up to and through the Golden Age of piracy. Dispells some of the myths, and tells the real stories behind some of the most famous Pirates.

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elmonoenano t1_j6xxgdu wrote

There's been a few AMAs on /r/askhistorians about piracy from people promoting their books. This one sounds like it would be the closest to what you're asking about: https://www.reddit.com/r/AskHistorians/comments/9gv3ax/iama_history_lecturer_who_is_an_expert_on_the/

Another: https://www.reddit.com/r/AskHistorians/comments/k04tmz/ama_the_golden_age_of_piracy/

Another: https://www.reddit.com/r/AskHistorians/comments/1fpy0w/wednesday_ama_piracy_from_antiquity_to_the_present/

And this is a little tidbit from my local history society. It' hypothesizes that Sir. Francis Drake actually was in Oregon when he came up the Pacific coast and not north of San Francisco. I don't really buy it, but it is fun and she raises some interesting issues about language that kind of highlight the difficulties of assessing what these early explorers meant when they didn't know the languages or the different peoples they were encountering. https://youtu.be/oPq92OMJnBE

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Ejecto_Seato t1_j6sdgmw wrote

Any recommendations for books on the history of Spain?

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Ejecto_Seato t1_j6tpwq5 wrote

Also perhaps to narrow it down, I’m very much interested in the medieval time period (think around the time of Ferdinand the Great and the splitting up of his kingdom , El Cid, etc) and the region of Leon, Asturias, and Castile. But larger survey of Spanish/Iberian history and/or the colonial/exploration age would also be interesting.

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Thibaudborny t1_j71g5aw wrote

Personally, I'm more into early modern Spain (for which I'd recommend the books by JH Elliott or Geoffrey Parker), but as far as medieval Spain goes, the picks from my personal library are:

  • LP Harvey, "Islamic Spain,1250 to 1500"
  • Townsend Miller, "Henry IV of Castille"
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Lycaeides13 t1_j6sdtaq wrote

I've been reading the Aubrey/Maturin books by Patrick O'Brian, I am looking for good complimentary books on naval history, of any country so long as it is an interesting/ accurate read

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Averyphotog t1_j6sps9g wrote

I really enjoyed Six Frigates by Ian W.Toll, on the infancy of the U.S. Navy

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Skookum_J t1_j6tk5vx wrote

Check out Cochrane, by David Cordingly. It follows the life of Thomas Cochrane, one of the most famous ship captains of the Napoleonic era.

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Alighieri2Mozart t1_j6srfx3 wrote

Reading 'Crisis and Continuity at the Abbasid Court: Formal and Informal Politics in the Caliphate of al-Muqtadir'

Really enjoying it, would love some recommendations on anything to do with the Abbasid Caliphate and the era surrounding it.

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thereasonyousuffer t1_j6t5753 wrote

Read Enemy At The Gates by Andreas wheatcroft recently. Strong recommend from me

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C_Hawk14 t1_j6tzl19 wrote

In fantasy there are many tropes that are probably wrong and I would like some sources on what was real.

Things like

  • roadside taverns; afaik a myth
  • dealing with crime
  • literacy levels
  • underground structures
  • leather armor

For taverns, I heard that villages are naturally placed apart, iirc about 4 hours walking. (US has longer distances because technological improvements). What was the reality around travel, trade and food?

And for town guards I heard they only existed in larger settlements. How would smaller villages handle security and crime?

How many people knew how to read and write? And at what level? What did they use it for and if they could not read/write well, how did they send/read messages? Was writing mainly used for accounting and science/history?

Perhaps this is just a fantasy thing, but how did we get to the point where dungeons are typically underground mazes? Building underground is always going to be more difficult than building above ground level, or rather ground water level. If people did build underground, was it mainly as a way to store food because we did not have refrigerators back then?

I always thought leather wasn't used as armor as it was very expensive to make versus fabric, but at some point we switched from the gambeson to "buff coats". Why was this? At least that's for European history ofc. For other regions they did use leather as I assume the quality or supply of iron ore was not enough to produce weapons of such a grade that required similar high grade armor.

These are the subjects I can think of rn, but if anyone has other subjects I'm eager to hear about them :)

TLDR; What (Medieval) Fantasy tropes are true/false and how does it relate to our own world's history?

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bangdazap t1_j6x36x6 wrote

>Perhaps this is just a fantasy thing, but how did we get to the point where dungeons are typically underground mazes? Building underground is always going to be more difficult than building above ground level, or rather ground water level. If people did build underground, was it mainly as a way to store food because we did not have refrigerators back then?

This might have its origin in catacombs as found under Rome and Paris, which are quite labyrinthine but not built to any central plan.

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C_Hawk14 t1_j6xbc3f wrote

I did not think of that, but it makes sense

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[deleted] t1_j6trofh wrote

[deleted]

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No-Strength-6805 t1_j6vm3us wrote

I very enjoyed an Australian acedemic R.J.B. Bosworth, he has a book called "Mussolini's Italy" besides a biography of IL Duce , unlike many acedemics is a good read.

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ideonode t1_j6w8hfr wrote

I've recently finished reading Michelangelo and the Pope's Ceiling by Ross King. It tells the story of how the famous Renaissance artist was commissioned to create the stunning frescos on the Sistine Chapel. It provides a detailed account of the creatioin of this masterpiece, including all the fairly mundane aspects involved in creating such art. Ross King balances the character of Michelangelo with that of Raphael, who was also active in Rome at the same time as the ceiling was being frescoed. Raphael is an excellent contrast to the somewhat cantankerous Michelangelo. And the third principal in this story is Pope Julius II, who commissioned both of them, and is off warring across Italy for most of the story.

It's a well told tale. King is a excellent teller of Renaissance histories - I cannot recommend enough his Bookseller of Florence. He's also done a couple of other set pieces based around Renaissnace creations - one on Brunelleschi's Dome in Florence, and another on Leonardo's Last Supper. All are to be recommended.

(As as aside, I also read his novel Ex Libris, which is a bibliomystery set in the early days of the 17th century in Europe - sadly, whilst the first half of this is entertaining, it fades a bit towards the end...)

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elmonoenano t1_j6xycff wrote

Ross King has been at the Free Library of Philadelphia a few times. I always enjoy his talks. His one on the Bookseller of Florence was really interesting. I would recommend listening to all of them. He's really engaging.

Here's the link to his hit results on their author events talks: http://libwww.freelibrary.org/podcast/?q=Ross+King

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irequireausername t1_j7675j3 wrote

I recently listened to Ultra by Rachel Maddow and loved it. Can anyone else who had listened to it recommend any similar books besides the ones she mentions? Thanks in advance!

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