Kevin's Watch

A topic reflecting Duchess' in the Gen Sci fi/fantasy forum; What History book are you reading right now? What themes does it discuss, and is it a book of good quality with non-bias opinions? Does it offer you innovative perspectives that you had not considered before?

Right now I am reading Stalin: Triumph and Tragedy written by Dmitri Volkogonov and translated by Harold Shukman. It relates how the Triumph of one man is the Tragedy of an entire people. It tells of Stalin’s entire life story. I’m only 50 pages in; it’s an extensive book filled with interesting facts that I had no knowledge of before. At the moment in the book, the Soviet Union is on the brink of its revolution and Stalin is an executer of Lenin’s commands.

I will give further details as I go along.

For the last year or so I've been popping occasionally into the university library to read bits of The Story of Assyria, by ZA Ragozin. Published circa 1887 as part of the extensive Story of the Nations series.
First of all, it satisfies my interest in ancient cultures. Secondly, it is absolutely fascinating for me to see the perspectives of an assyriologist in the 19th century, right at the beginning of that area of study. He's not unbiased, he's not un- casually racist. He refers events in the ancient near east back to the Old Testament. reading the book is as much an exercise in understanding these perspectives as learning the history that is the subject of the book. In other words, it suits me perfectly.
If it wasn't for my lack of free time I'd have tried to finish that one and read some of the other books by now--Chaldea would have been next--but as it stands I doubt I'll even et to the end of this one before I leave uni. A shame--they have at least twenty books from the series in the library here (there are at least seventy in the series), and I don't think they're otherwise easy to find.

Along with beginning to reread Runes, I'm reading The Portugese by Marion Kaplan...and older book, and somewhat of a travelogue, but some very good historical insights back to the foundation of the country, Phoenicians, Romans, Gauls, Moors, etc...

My most recent historical reading was The Golden Spruce - A True Story of Myth, Madness, and Greed. The book centers on the felling, 10 years ago in British Columbia, of a giant Golden Spruce tree as an act of eco-terrorism by an ex-logger turned environmentalist. The act is in protest of the destruction of British Columbia's old growth forests, but also surveys the history of the region from the european arrival in the late 1700's through the growth of the logging industry.

I got a great book for Christmas - The Atlas of World History. It divides time into segments - right back to hunter-gatherer - and then goes through every part of the world and what was happening, who was invading who, etc, all with great maps and stuff.

It's not really a 'reading' book though, more of a 'pick up and flick for half an hour' or check out certain things book. Dead interesting stuff. (no pun intended!)

This Stalin book is getting very interesting. I find Stalin's phone call to Lenin's wife quite a significant event. Stalin rarely lost his evenness even in the early days where the revolution was still going on; yet he insults and shouts at Lenin’s wife.

I also find Lenin’s assertion that Comrade Stalin, “must not come to power”, interesting; almost as if he knew what was going to happen.

Today, I picked up Persian Fire, the book by Tom Holland on the Greek- Persian wars.

I am still deeply immersed in the Stalin book; it is very lengthy. I was startled by the fact that Stalin, on two occasions, offered his resignation to the Central Committee.

I finally finished 'Team of Rivals' a book about Lincoln and his cabinet and the United States during the Civil War. It covers the experience of the government and the people more than too many particulars of the battles, but I've found that the social context is usually the best prerequisite in understanding opposing side's approaches to warfare. I will eventually follow up with a book more about the military and logistical aspects of the Civil War.

I'm about a third way into 'The Fall of Carthage' and am enjoying the read, the Punic Wars so far are as multi dimensional as the Peloppenesian Wars were, whether in terms of competing social values, differing attitudes about warfare, random events or weather.

I would like to read at least one account of Alexander, but too much of it seems caught up in pseudo-historical-psychology which really doesn't interest me, I want to know how the military, the society that funded it, and the leader of that military all managed to contribute to each other succesfully.

Not being able to find that, I'll probably be looking for some history covering the transition from the Roman Empire to Midieval Europe.... and maybe catch up on more classical literature in between.

Tjol, I wonder if you've read "Scipio Africanus" by B. H. Liddel-Hart. Great book.

Right now I'm reading Mohammed: A Prophet For Our Time

exnihilo wrote:Tjol, I wonder if you've read "Scipio Africanus" by B. H. Liddel-Hart. Great book.

Right now I'm reading Mohammed: A Prophet For Our Time

No, I've seen it, but I haven't grabbed it. I'll put it on my future read list given a reccomendation though.

I've been rereading the biography of John Adams, by David McCullough.

Tjol, I've looked at Team of Rivals a few times, would you recommend? Sounds like you would.

I read a decent book on Alexander, its at home, I forget the title.

Right now I'm reading Augustus by Anthony Everitt. I like when authors of antiquity don't sound like they've figured it all out, but admit you can only guess based on the little evidence we may have. Its been pretty interesting so far, didn't know much about this time in Roman history at all.

I'm also on a break from Shelby Foote's Civil War Narrative. Great series.

EDIT: Damelon, let me know about that book, my dad has it. I read 1776 and enjoyed it.

Cybrweez wrote:Tjol, I've looked at Team of Rivals a few times, would you recommend? Sounds like you would.

It's very good on a lot of levels. The history and the political counterbalancing that Lincoln and other politicians had to do was astounding. Additionally, the insight into the very tragic events that were seemingly commnplace for our forefathers is just stunning.

It doesn't talk a lot about the Civil War in military terms, but it does talk very much about secession, preserving the Union, and trying to balance non-abolitionist unionists with those people who wanted abolition even at the cost of the Union. It also talks about the personalities and political actions involved between members of Lincoln's cabinet.

My only caution to you though, is that it is a big book, and the first 100-150 pages might be a little slow going. It moves along much better after that point though.

I read a decent book on Alexander, its at home, I forget the title.

Right now I'm reading Augustus by Anthony Everitt. I like when authors of antiquity don't sound like they've figured it all out, but admit you can only guess based on the little evidence we may have. Its been pretty interesting so far, didn't know much about this time in Roman history at all.

I'm also on a break from Shelby Foote's Civil War Narrative. Great series.

EDIT: Damelon, let me know about that book, my dad has it. I read 1776 and enjoyed it.

I enjoyed 'John Adams' for what it's worth. You should follow it up with some reading on Hamilton in my opinion. After reading Chernow's biography, I had a better picture of the political venom that existed between Adams and Hamilton in almost equal degree to that between Hamilton or Adams and Jefferson. Adams and Hamilton were both great men, but also proved to be human in their own ways as well, and it's too bad they didn't respect each other a bit more for the sacrafices they'd each made, and for each other's accomplishments. If you only read Chernow, or only read McCullough, you get at least a mildly tilted account of ther other half in my opinion.

I still have to read a Jefferson biography in order to complete the full picture of him, and what his ambitions and ideals truly were. But I figure that will come after reading on the French Revolution, as TJ's sympathy for the french revolution is one of the things I find most disagreeable about him. (The Declaration of Independence and The Bill of Rights on the other hand being two of his greatest achievements)

Yes, Thomas Jefferson is quite a conundrum. He has so many faces it is difficult to settle on which one is the real Thomas Jefferson. Was it the gentleman planter? The quiet delegate with a long memory and an eloquent pen? The Parisian dandy? Or the revolutionary firebrand? Or something else entirely. Let me know if you read a good book about him.

I just finished a book titled "Those Terrible Middle Ages!" translated from Regine Pernoud. It is an interesting enough survey of the feudal and high middle ages in the form of examining different preconceptions that have been developed about the periods (and the possible how's and whys in how those misperceptions came into being). But what I really really like about this book, is that it's somewhat about an era of history, the era that the author was most studied in, but on the larger scale this book is about history, historians, and the importance of a scientific approach to history rather than an ideological approach.

If you're interested in history, or if you want to know why other people are interested in history, this is a really good starting point. It in some ways is the book that C.S. Lewis had hoped to write when he started 'The Abolition of Man' before he decided instead to write on the effect of relativist thinking on ethics. Regine Pernoud stays to discussing how one subject can be distorted by persons thinking that history is an ideological tool to manipulate rather that a means of looking at ourselves through humanities actions in contexts prior to the present.

edit:
In theme, I really think it's somewhat getting at the themes related to self imposed ignorance that's described in 'The Runes of the Earth' to boot..., although some historical revisionists might not read that into Runes...

The Washing of the Spears by Donald R Morris.

Arguably the definitive work on the rise and fall of the Zulu Empire. Written by an Amerian at that, which I sometimes find amusing.

--A

Good book, Av. I've got it lying around somewhere in the house.

My two bob's worth, apart from a second re-read of ROTE because we haven't got access to FR yet is:


1421 The Year China Discovered the World Gavin Menzies
A Short History of the World Geoffrey Blainey
The Templars Piers Paul Read

Tjol wrote:I just finished a book titled "Those Terrible Middle Ages!" translated from Regine Pernoud. It is an interesting enough survey of the feudal and high middle ages in the form of examining different preconceptions that have been developed about the periods (and the possible how's and whys in how those misperceptions came into being). But what I really really like about this book, is that it's somewhat about an era of history, the era that the author was most studied in, but on the larger scale this book is about history, historians, and the importance of a scientific approach to history rather than an ideological approach.

Heh, interesting; I assume that you're broadly referring to the medieval age's other title, "The Dark Ages?"