Bookclub and Sources Wednesday!

Submitted by AutoModerator t3_10f5ogv 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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jezreelite t1_j4xh9i6 wrote

I'm also finished with The Realm of Saint Stephen: A History of Medieval Hungary. It's political, cultural, and economic history. The weirdest moments, so far, have been:

  • András II's wife, Gertrude, getting hacked into tiny pieces on a hunting trip by angry Hungarian nobles. The murder was probably motivated by her favoring of Germans, particularly her own brothers.
  • Béla IV begging his nobility to support him against the Mongols and them being like, "LOL, no. Everything will be fine!" (Spoiler alert: It wasn't.)
  • László IV abandoning his Neapolitan princess bride for a Cuman, possibly becoming a pagan himself, and getting murdered by another Cuman because of romantic rivalry.
  • Lajos I invading Naples to avenge the murder of his brother and then squandering all good will by ordering the beheading of Charles de Durazzo.
  • Another Charles de Durazzo (nephew and son-in-law of the beheaded Charles) overthrowing and murdering Jeanne I of Naples with Lajos' OK (because she was the wife of Lajos' murdered brother), but then deciding to claim Hungary too after Lajos' death instead of his daughter, Maria. He then sent away most of his guard and was promptly murdered by Lajos' disgruntled widow, Elizabeta Kotromanić, who put her daughter back on the throne.
  • Ulászló II declaring war on Lovro Iločki for calling him an ox.
  • The Hungarian nobility right before the Ottoman invasion being more interested in enhancing their own wealth than defending the country. (Much as they'd done before the Mongol invasion 300 years earlier.)
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dropbear123 t1_j4xa0pj wrote

Managed to get 2 finished but the second one took me longer than I thought it would The Last Emperor of Mexico: A Disaster in the New World by Edward Shawcross (both reviews copied and pasted)

>4.5/5 rounding down for goodreads (but I was close to rounding up to 5/5) . Read most of it over the course of one day.

>Napoleon III, Emperor of the French, using the oppurtunity of the American Civil War in the 1860s (so the US was distracted and couldn't intervene to enforce its Monroe Doctrine) and the excuse of Mexico's foreign debts installed Archduke Maximillian Habsburg as emperor of Mexico in order to counter the USA's expansion and growing influence. The book covers the process that led to Maximillian becoming emperor, his rule, the war with the republican former government forces and the fairly rapid decline of his empire before his execution by Mexican firing squad.

>The author argues that the plan failed for a range of reasons. In terms of Maximillian himself he had a tendancy to fuss about things like pagentry or royal tours of his lands, rather than important things like economic reform. Additionally he was a genuine liberal reformer, but could never compete with his opponents in terms of promise and policies but did alienate his conservative monarchy supporting base by trying to. But the entire scheme to make Maximillian emperor was also reliant on foreign support, mainly French and it was very expensive to them. Once the American Civil War was over the European powers didn't want to risk provoking the USA so cut off the supply of money and volunteers to Maximillian.

>The book is very enjoyable to read. No prior knowledge of Mexican history needed, I don't have any. Overall I'd recommend it.

Just finished today Russia: Revolution and Civil War 1917-1921 by Antony Beevor which I recently bought and had also been suggested to me on one of the previous threads.

>4/5

>Good, straightfoward-ish (considering the complexity of the topic) mostly military history of the Russian Revolution and Civil War. Jumps straight into 1917 and the Feburary Revolution, so if you want the longer background with things like the Russo-Japanese War or the 1905 Revolution then look elsewhere as they are not mentioned much (maybe Figes' A People Betrayed or S.A Smith's Russia in Revolution). It is especially good for the on the ground accounts from all sides and from the various foreigners in Russia as part of the Allied Intervention, which makes the book great at showing the chaos of the time period. The book is also strong on the atrocities, brutality and suffering inflicted by both sides, with quite a lot of detail on that and the various methods used (degloving of hands, mass executions, putting people on slowly sinking barges etc). There is a decent amount on the mistakes and human error (early naivity, arrogance, inability to offer compromise to the distinct nationalities and peasants etc) that caused the Whites to fail. The book mostly ends with the end of the Polish-Soviet War and the fall of White Crimea, but there is a brief final chapter on the peasant revolts after that and the Kronstadt Uprising.

>While the book is well written I do feel there is something, but I can't think of what exactly, that is missing that stops the book from being great instead of just good. Maybe some more in-depth political analysis.

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nola_throwaway53826 t1_j5lamnp wrote

I'll second that recommendation for The Last Emperor of Mexico. Was a good book covering the events of a little known event in Mexican history and did a good job at it.

Mexico has a pretty interesting, messed up, and bloody history. From the war of independence from Spain, where they have a succession of presidents and dictators who get overthrown and executed on a somewhat regular basis. One of the heroes of the war of independence declares himself emperor, gets overthrown, and put before a firing squad. Other presidents get executed by their opposition, like Guerrero who is hanged.

You've got the US meddling in affairs and spurring revolution in Texas and eventually warring with Mexico and taking a good chunk of territory. Look up the books So Far From God by John Eisenhower for a good American perspective and A Glorious Defeat by Timothy Henderson for the Mexican side. After that is civil war where the liberal opposition wins, and then the conservatives get European intervention for the second Mexican Empire.

Porfirio Diaz gets power for 35 years after all this and has relative stability, but he does rule with absolute authority, and caters to the elite of the country and soliciting massive foreign investment. What's kind of ridiculous is that he triggers the Mexican revolution thanks to the Creelman interview, where he tells an American journalist he will not run for reelection. That gets everyone excited and getting political parties going, until Diaz changes his mind. That causes everything to boil over into revolution.

It's interesting stuff.

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D0fus t1_j4w6vus wrote

I have enjoyed the works of John Keegan. They are very well researched, and he has an unique approach, and obviously enjoyed teaching. But what sets him apart, in my mind, is the elegance of his writing. Regardless of the subject, I just enjoy reading his work.

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No-Strength-6805 t1_j4ysxp8 wrote

Keegan excellent writer and historian thou once or twice strayed a little from his expertise, his book on American Civil War and also on Naval warfare "Price of Admiralty " where a little below his normal quality ,but considering quanity he wrote is understandable

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Rear-gunner t1_j4uuli2 wrote

Follow The Road Less Traveled: The Secret Battle to End the Great War, 1916-1917 by Philip Zelikow a fascinating study on Wilson in ww1 attempt to make a peace. While reading it I was wondering how much better the world would be if he had done it.

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nola_throwaway53826 t1_j4vd8xz wrote

I am looking to start reading into military history that I am unfamiliar with. I've read a good deal on the World Wars, the American Civil War, the ancient Romans, and many others. I am looking to try and learn more about other conflicts that I know very little about. For instance, the Spanish American war. I know the highlights, but I am hoping that someone can recommend a good book going into the history on that. I am also interested in the French invasion and conquest of Algeria in the 1830's if anyone has any good books there.

If anyone has any recommendations about conflicts that they know about, but are not as widely known, I'd be interested in that as well.

I'd also be interested in any books on Imperial China and its conflicts as well. I can recommend one book there that I thought was interesting: Voices from the Ming-Qing Cataclysm. It's a collection of eyewitness accounts of the Qing conquest of Ming China. It can get into vivid detail about the sacking of cities, people trying to escape, the perils of road travel during the invasion and collapse of the government, it was very compelling.

One final book I will recommend on Imperial China is Emperor of China: Self Portrait of K'ang-Hsi. It's a collection of the documents by the Qing emperor K'ang-Hsi (sometimes read as Kangxi). Its well written, the prose is simple and easy to comprehend, and gives his thoughts on ruling, military affairs, meting out justice as an emperor, and more. Very interesting stuff.

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Irichcrusader t1_j4wri8u wrote

Any books on any lesser known conflicts? Think I can help with that:

- China's War with Japan 1937-1945 by Rana Mitter (currently reading this one right now)

- The Opium war by Julia Lovell

- The Boys of '67: Charlie Company's War in Vietnam by Andrew Wiest

- The Last Mughal, The fall of a Dynasty, Delhi 1857 by William Dalrymple

- Pol Pot: The History of a Nightmare by Philip Short (despite what's implied by the name, this one is closer to being a history of Cambodia in the lead up to and during the Khmer Rouge regime)

- The Korean War by Max Hastings

- Europe's Tragedy: A History of the 30 Years War by Peter H. Wilson (a fascinating, though ponderous book at times to get through)

- The Cage: The Fight for Sri Lanka and the Last Days of the Tamil Tigers by Gordon Weiss

- Blood and Sand: Suez, Hungary, and the Crisis that Shook the World by Alex von Tunzelmann

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nola_throwaway53826 t1_j50i0dv wrote

These are all great suggestions, thanks. I think I'll start with with The Opium War, that one looks interesting. But I'll add each of these books to my list.

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No-Strength-6805 t1_j4wffft wrote

Crimea War by Orlando Figes ,A War of Frontier and Empire Phillipines American War 1899-1903 by David Silby

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nola_throwaway53826 t1_j4wjb7p wrote

Thanks for the suggestions. I have read several of Orlando Figes works before and they were pretty solid. His book on the Russian Revolution and the civil war, A People's Tragedy was a fantastic book on the topic.

I know almost nothing about the Philipine-American war, and that is definately an overlooked conflict. I'm looking forward to checking out that book.

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creativeoutsider101 t1_j54qhp4 wrote

I love books about myths and stories of Ancient Greece. Like:

  • Circe, written bij Madeline Miller
  • A song for Achilles - Madeline Miller
  • Troy- Stephen Fry

They are so fascinating !

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Tiny-Bus-3820 t1_j53lhfo wrote

Wow Medieval Hungary sounds like a soap opera!! Very interesting with unexpected twists and turns!!

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LRembold t1_j4uzte9 wrote

Any good sources or books in the All Russian Military Union, or ROVS. I am trying to search for their activities in south America but cant seen to find anything about it

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DipanshiB t1_j4wv8wc wrote

Recently started A Little History of the World by E.H. Gombrich, and while it is aimed at children, would really recommend it to anyone looking to start off with reading history and who has no prior knowledge. Not a book for anyone with serious interest or knowledge of history though, definitely just for beginners.

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MapleMemed t1_j4ybh3m wrote

Recently I've found myself more interested with Asian history, this falls from Arabia all the way to Japan, and I find it very interesting.

Recently I've been studying Japanese history, and hearing what the Chinese wrote down about them makes me very interested, and I really want to learn their history. So far I can find proper, well done series on Indian history or Afghanistan history,

But I really cannot seem to find any good playlists of anything on Chinese or Vietnamese history, not even Korean history which is what I really would like to learn.

So with the introduction out of the way, do any of you know any good documentary series (Episodes that can be an hour long or more) or short videos (usually 10 minutes or longer) for general history of China, Korea and Vietnam? I'm looking to go back to around as far back as I can go, but I really don't know where to start. So, if any of you could help me I'd be grateful, thank you.

PS: For examples on what I'm trying to reference as "long/short" videos is that I'm looking for (preferably) videos that are often long documentaries, or short videos that give basic yet good rundowns. (A good example being Linfamy on YouTube), again, thank you.

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ottolouis t1_j503x0d wrote

Can you recommend a modern history of the Gallic Wars that isn't just a biography of Caesar?

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mackeydesigns t1_j5bf3k1 wrote

History Books on Aftermath of WWII?

I have a mild curiosity for World War 2 (Europe theater specifically) and I’ve been reading anything from timeline history, to personal accounts, to extremely detailed info on the history of the SS. However, almost all of these books ends right after the fall of Berlin.

I have little memory from school education or what happened next and the aftermath of the years following, even though I have a pretty good idea.

Are there any books to recommend that covers this part of history?

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Pierre-Gringoire t1_j5curk6 wrote

Postwar: A History of Europe Since 1945 by Tony Judt. Solid and very detailed.

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bangdazap t1_j5f6thd wrote

German Autumn by Stig Dagerman - it's a collection of articles written by the Swedish author as he traveled through Germany in the autumn of 1946.

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Stalins_Moustachio t1_j4veqb2 wrote

Happy Wednesday everyone!

Looking for your suggestions on interesting/niche military history topics. A famous commander, campaign, battle or conflict perhaps? Cheers!

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Irichcrusader t1_j4wtaw5 wrote

It's hardly a little-known topic, but i really loved Constantinople: The Last Great Siege, 1453 by Rodger Crowley. It truly was an epic battle and Crowley's writing makes it come alive in such a way that you almost feel like you're there watching it happen.

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Skookum_J t1_j4xpbsw wrote

Should also check out his other books. Empires of the Sea, and Conquerors, are both fantastic, and cover some lesser known battles

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Irichcrusader t1_j50w4e1 wrote

Yeah, I've read Empire of the Sea and loved it, guy's got a real knack for making history come alive. Still have yet to check out Conquerors and his book on Venice, which I've also heard good stuff about.

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xander_C t1_j4w9h7l wrote

If you're willing to do memoirs, Grant's are fantastic. Same with Caesar's war dispatches. March of the Ten Thousand is also a classic. Arrian's Campaigns of Alexander the Great has what you're looking for.

Unfortunately, I wouldn't call any of those niche topics. By rule, the more famous the commander, campaign or battle, the lesson niche it's probably going to be. I also tend to like the classics, so if you're looking for an overview, someone else probably has better recommendations.

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No-Strength-6805 t1_j4wb1il wrote

Winfield Scott and Mexican American War. Excellent biography by John S.D.Eisenhower& Timothy Hendersons A Glorious Defeat

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Skookum_J t1_j4xozkj wrote

Check out the Hussites. Real interesting period in military history. And the Hussites are a fascinating group that developed a method of fighting that allowed previously untrained peasants to fight head to head with one of the most powerful military forces of their time.

Warrior of God: Jan Zizka and the Hussite Revolution, by Victor Verney is a great start.

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mobyhex t1_j5p7607 wrote

I'm on my 3rd time through the audiobook version of The Best and the Brightest by David Halberstam. Anyone else enjoy this book? Just absolutely THEE most enjoyable book I have ever read. I'm trying to figure out what makes me keep coming back to this book and wondering if there are any others like it out there.

I love it because:

  • It's a deeply personal take by a great writer
  • It's has an ambitious breadth and tells a wide range of interconnected stories - I thoroughly enjoy his approach - I never felt quite lost - but by the end I always want to start over.
  • It concentrates on all the 2nd to 5th tier policy people who made the Vietnam tragedy possible
  • I love Cold War history
  • The narrator on this audiobook is just a perfect match for the content
  • There's a kind of a smarmy, joyous glee in bringing some of these people down to scale. I just listened to the stuff on McGeorge Bundy and couldn't get enough.
  • It's a breathtakingly tragic story in the end - so many steps along the way - so many had a hand in letting this inch on and on.
  • Love the stuff on China, the background on losing China.

I've never encountered a book that gave me such a thorough understanding of events while at the same time being a thoroughly enjoyable experience. Are there other history/nonfiction authors like this?

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bangdazap t1_j5pwprj wrote

You might enjoy A Bright Shining Lie - John Paul Van and the American War in Vietnam by Neil Sheehan, a colleague of Halberstam's during the early part of the Vietnam War. It covers the early part of the Vietnam War, through the lens of US adviser to the RVN John Paul Van.

Another colleague of Halberstam's was Michael Herr, who wrote Dispatches (I think it's a collection of reports he filed during the war). More of an impressionistic picture of the war, less of a history. You might recognize some of the scenes from the film Apocalypse Now from this book (IIRC, it was a while since I read it).

Not a history of the war, but William W. Prochnau's Once Upon a Distant War is a story about the young journalists (Halberstam among them) who caused the US government so much grief through their reporting on the Vietnam War. Find out why some called it "Halberstam's War".

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KeeperofQueensCorgis t1_j646rjb wrote

> The Best and the Brightest

Is this the book that tries to explain how the US got itself into the situation it did in Vietnam despite having the 'best and the brightest' minds in the country in charge?

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