Bookclub Wednesday!

Submitted by AutoModerator t3_yk3arn 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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mormon_rockwell t1_iurdbdi wrote

Looking for a good book on the Salem Witch Trials. I’m also interested in anything on the early Puritans as well.

For anyone still in the Halloween spirit, Aaron Mahnke (creator of the Lore podcast) has an excellent series on the Salem trials in the first season of his Unobscured podcast.

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No-Strength-6805 t1_iurf4xd wrote

Stacy Schiff a Pulitzer prize winning author and essayist wrote" Witches, Salem,1692" in 2015

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BostonBlackCat t1_iusc8x4 wrote

I loved Stacy Schiff's prize winning Cleopatra biography, and I live in Salem and have read a bunch of trial related books, but I found her "Witches" book very dry and difficult to get through, although it did have some interesting new information regarding some of the accusers and their standing within the community, and how this related to their accusations and those they accused, and how it wasn't necessarily a simple case of accusers = villains and accused = victims. If you had already read a bunch on the trials and were looking for even more exhaustive information, I think "Witches" was worthwhile, but I wouldn't recommend it as a first book to read about the trials.

Personally my favorite book on the trials is Frances Hill's "A Delusion of Satan: The Full Story Of The Salem Witch Trials." I found this to be the best combination of a comprehensive historical overview and readability; I found this book very hard to put down, the opposite of Schiff's. After that I recommend reading "A Storm of Witchcraft: The Salem Trials and the American Experience" by Emerson Baker, which looks at the trials in a larger context of early American history and Puritanism.

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TheCapnJP t1_iutlqj2 wrote

I second Bakers A Storm of Witchcraft which gives not only a good overview of the trials but also the general context of the period and potential underlying causes.

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BillBushee t1_iuuh62p wrote

I agree, Witches was a thoroughly detailed book, but exhausting to read.

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Petahpie t1_iur5t5g wrote

Any recs for South American Wars of Independence (particularly in the north, but I'm not picky)? The only one that I could find on the subreddit booklist was by Robert Harvey, and, well, I read his bio of Simón Bolívar and it was awful. Factual errors, perpetuating myths, and none of it cited. My Spanish is coming along nicely, so English or Spanish books are both welcome.

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elmonoenano t1_ius47q1 wrote

The Marie Arana biography of Bolivar received good reviews when it came out and there's tons of used copies floating around at this point.

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Stalins_Moustachio t1_iur7315 wrote

Maria Arana's Bolivar: American Liberator is an excellent book on the life of one Latin America's most influential 19th century figures, Simon Bolivar. The book further explores the Bolivarian revolution, its root causes and ultimately Bolivar's downfall.

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toastedmeat_ t1_iursrw6 wrote

I’ve recently been super into books about the female spies of ww2, and I have several recommendations!

Odette by Jerrard Tickell

  • the biography of a French mother who served as a courier in Nazi-occupied France and survived interrogation and imprisonment in Ravensbrück concentration camp.

D-Day Girls by Sarah Rose

  • follows several women as they organize networks of spies and agents behind enemy lines in France, and describes their contribution to the success of D-Day.

A Woman of No Importance by Sonia Purnell

-a biography of Virginia Hall, American spy with a wooden leg who became the most feared allied agent in France.

Some more women’s history recs:

-The Radium Girls by Kate Moore

-The Woman they could not Silence, also by Kate Moore

-A Game of Birds and Wolves by Simon Parkin

-A House in the Mountains by Caroline Moorehead

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ColdCaseKim t1_iusbha1 wrote

Radium Girls was harrowing. A 95-year-old relative borrowed it and was flabbergasted: “I never knew any if this stuff!” Neither did I.

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dropbear123 t1_iustryz wrote

Read 2 books this week reviews copied and pasted

A while back in another of these posts I asked for suggestions about East Germany and someone suggested The Collapse: The Accidental Opening of the Berlin Wall by Mary Elise Sarotte which I've got round to reading and it was good.

>4/5

>Pretty good. Not very long, 180 pages of main text and another 100 pages for the notes and sources. The first chapter sets out the longer term context and history of the wall and then the book basically covers all of 1989 and the process that led to the end of the Berlin Wall. The book leans heavily and convincingly into the fall of the Berlin Wall. being a total accident, with a lot of focus on the things that seem trivial and the various cockups by the GDR leadership. Has a good mix of points of view, the leadership, foreign journalists, activists etc. Personally I enjoyed the bits about the Polituburo and the leadership with the high level politics the most.

I've just now finished The Habsburgs: The Rise and Fall of a World Power, by Martyn Rady

>4.25/5

>Overall pretty good. 330 pages plus another 70 for sources. First book I've read specifically about the Habsburgs so I can't really compare it to anything else. Goes all the way from the medieval era to the end of WWI. The writing is good and accessible. Good mix of info both personal to the Habsburg's lives as well as their policy and territory. It also has a few chapters on secondary topics like freemasonry in Habsburg lands or scientific exploration. It took me a while to enjoy the book, it didn't do anything wrong but maybe I just wasn't as interested in the medieval stuff or the 16th century. But once I got to the Thirty Years War I thought it got a lot more enjoyable. It also has a good further reading list, which is divided by chapter, so if you really want to learn a lot about the Habsburgs this is probably a good place to start.

Next up will be Fracture: Life and Culture in the West 1918-1938, by Phillip Blom.

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MoabEngineer t1_iv7i85y wrote

I just posted a review of "Ordeal by Battle" about the civil, social, and military differences between Great Britain and Germany that lead to the outbreak of World War I. You might like that, too.

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Stalins_Moustachio t1_iur83lb wrote

Happy Wednesday everyone!

Finally got through Lincoln by David H. Donald, and it's fantastic. A bit on the longer side, but you won't find this book dissappointing. Very well written, and full of interesting details. Highly recommend!

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Unable_Ebb5755 t1_iursnxl wrote

Any good books on Thanksgiving? This is the only one I could even find https://www.amazon.com/Thanksgiving-American-Holiday-History/dp/0871969742

If not a book then some reading/watching material?

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martynovb t1_iurxq3p wrote

I am a beginner and I want to start to learn the history of the 20th century.

Recommend some book for it, please.

Thanks!

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elmonoenano t1_ius6dt5 wrote

There are books that kind of cover this stuff, but they're not very good. It's just not a great way to learn history. There's this kind of idea of history being a series of events that happened in a certain order, but that's not really the interesting or valuable thing about it. You're much more likely to be able to remember about the stuff during a period if you're reading about the context around and understanding why it's important.

I would maybe look at a specific event like the Great Depression to understand how the financial system was changed during the 20th century b/c that will tell you a lot more about the world than knowing the Suez Crisis happened before the War of Attrition, and it will also tell you more about the Suez Crisis than the military implications.

There's a book I love, but it's kind of an undertaking called Postwar by Tony Judt that does a good job of explaining the postwar system in Europe. It's a great book but might be a lot to handle if you don't usually read history.

I would maybe start with something like Galbraith's The Great Crash, 1929 to understand the 20th century.

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DrunkenWastrel t1_iuryt91 wrote

Can someone please recommend a book (or documentary) that talks about the Turkic khaganates that plagued Northern China from 200-1000 CE. My understanding is that the Great Wall of China was built over time to defend against constant raids from the North and I'm fascinated by this interaction.

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yutani333 t1_iusm5p8 wrote

Thoughts on "Work" by James Suzman?

So, I just finished this one, and I've quite enjoyed the writing as well as the compilation/contextualization of informotion, so far.

However, I would like to get some more opinions. So far, the one thing that stands out to me, is perhaps the tendency to fall back on linear progression narratives (as well as some "original affluent society" stuff in there). Is this indicative of larger problems? Or is it more of a rhetorical artifact?

Thanks.

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Zoilist_PaperClip t1_iusdjo2 wrote

Best history book(s) you’ve read?

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dropbear123 t1_iusibiw wrote

No particular organisation, I just went through Goodreads and picked out my favourites from my read list.

Tommy: The British Soldier on the Western Front 1914-1918 by Richard Holmes

The Wages of Destruction: The Making and Breaking of the Nazi Economy by Adam Tooze (not the easiest read, lots of economic termoninolgy and statistics)

The Coming of the Third Reich (The History of the Third Reich, #1) Richard Evans

Peter the Great: His Life and World by Robert K. Massie

The White War: Life and Death on the Italian Front 1915 - 1919 by Mark Thompson

The Time Traveller's Guide to Medieval England: A Handbook for Visitors to the Fourteenth Century by Ian Mortimer

The Crusades: The War for the Holy Land by Thomas Asbridge

Afgantsy: The Russians In Afghanistan, 1979-1989 by Rodric Braithwaite

Savage Continent: Europe in the Aftermath of World War II by Keith Lowe

The War That Ended Peace: The Road to 1914 by Margaret MacMillan

The German War: A Nation Under Arms by Nicholas Stargardt (WWII)

A Spy Among Friends: Kim Philby and the Great Betrayal by Ben Macintyre

Ring of Steel: Germany and Austria-Hungary in World War I by Alexander Watson

July Crisis: The World's Descent into War, Summer 1914 by T.G Otte (advanced, little background context provided and pretty much 500 pages from the assassination of Franz Ferdinand to just before Britain declares war in early August)

The Vanquished: Why the First World War Failed to End, 1917-1923 by Robert Gerwarth

The Fortress: The Great Siege of Przemysl by Alexander Watson

Statesman of Europe: A Life of Sir Edward Grey by T.G Otte (probably need a bit of knowledge of the late Victorian and Edwardian domestic and international politics though)

The Northumbrians: North-East England and its People - A New History by Dan Jackson

Blood and Iron: The Rise and Fall of the German Empire 1871–1918 by Katja Hoyer

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jimnantzstie t1_ivcjgsk wrote

I just read The War that Ended Peace about a month ago.

Was absolutely fantastic.

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Stalins_Moustachio t1_iuse1rh wrote

Afghanistan: Afghanistan by Jonatahn A. Lee. The books provides a great overview of Afghanistan's rich history from the 15th century to the modern day.

Intelligence: The Secret World: A History of Intelligence by Christopher Andrews. It's a fantastic book that documents the history of intelligence and spy operations throughout human history! Definitely a must read.

China: The Story of China by Michael Wood traces key milestones and developments in China from the Middle Kingdom up until today. It provides an excellent overview of China's history without being dull or dreary.

Iran: America and Iran: A History, 1720 to the Present whose name is self-explanatory. I enjoyed this one as it overcomes the common, but wrong, perception many have that Washington's historic relationship of interaction with Tehran started only after the Islamic Revolution.

African history: I really recommend Martin Meredith. Specifically his books The Fortunes of Africa: A 5000-Year History of Wealth, Greed, and Endeavor and The Fate of Africa: A History of the Continent Since Independence. Toby Green's A Fistfull of Shells similarily takes the reader across West Africa's rich history, from the 15th crntury to the modern day. Also check out David Van Reybrouk's Congo: The Epic History of a People.

Andalusia + Medieval: I cannot recommend Dr. Brian Catlos enough. He is an excellent source on the topic. Definitely check out his books, specifically, Kingdoms of Faith: A New History of Islamic Spain and Infidel Kings and Unholy Warriors: Faith, Power, and Violence in the Age of Crusade and Jihad.

Latin America: Maria Arana's Bolivar: American Liberator is an excellent book on the life of one Latin America's most influential 19th century figures, Simon Bolivar. The book further explores the Bolivarian revolution, its root causes and ultimately Bolivar's downfall.

Ottomans: David Fromkin's A Peace to End All Peace, and The Last Muslim Conquest: The Ottoman Empire and Its Wars in Europe by Gàbor Àgoston. The latter provides an in depth and rich look at the Ottoman Empire's socio-economic and military history from the Empire's rise to the Siege of Vienna and beyond. Why I really loved this book was the author's tying in of pertinent events within the Ottoman Empire to those on Europe, such as the rise of the Hapsburgs. Àgoston also does a great job examining key details within the Empire, such as frontier management, intelligence, diplomacy and military structure!

Arab World: Tim Mackintosh-Smith's Arabs: A 3,000-Year History of Peoples, Tribes and Empires, and Albert Hourani's A History of the Arab Peoples. Al Jabarti's chronicle Napoleon in Egypt transports  the reader to Egypt in the 19th century, and does an excellent job at conveying the Egyptian perspective of Napleon's expedition.

Central Asia: Adeeb Khaled's Central Asia: A New History. The book does an excellent job of explaining the complex history and geopolitics of a region I don't think gets enough attention.

Native American: Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee by Dee Brown, Empire of the Summer Moon by S. C. Gwynne and The Earth is Weeping by Peter Cozzens. National Geographic also had a fantastic visual history book called The Old West by Stephen G. Hyslop. Also check out Blood and Thunder by Hampton Sides.

WW2: Robert Paxton's Vichy France: Old Guard and New Order details the often-overlooked Vichy French government's actions and role in WW2, both within France and the wider Axis. John Gooch's Mussolini's War: Fascist Italy from Triumph to Collapse does an excellent job of looking at the rise of fascism in Italy, and its ultimate demise. The book is really well written, and definitely keeps the reader engaged.

Carthage: Richard Miles' Carthage Must Be Destroyed: The Rise and Fall of an Ancient Civilization. The book is very well written and takes the reader through the origins of Carthage's founding to the peak of it's mercantile empire, and ultimately the Punic wars and the city's destruction. I found it refreshing to read about Carthage from a non-Roman perspective. Definitely check it out!

Visual History: DK Publishing's book on the US Civil War. The mix of visual and text reading really helps things settle in. Also check out their books on WW1, WW2, The History of the World Map by Map and WW2 Map by Map.

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elmonoenano t1_iuuvyel wrote

The Fire is Upon Us by Nick Buccola. This was an interesting book that came out a really opportune time. It explains a lot of the racism within the Republican voting public and how the GOP has harnessed it.

False Cause by Adam Domby. I liked this b/c it explained some of the political mechanisms used to develop the Lost Cause Narrative and why it was important to local political powers to have that narrative.

Until Justice Done by Kate Masur. I thought it was interesting to see how the South used federal power in the antebellum period to run roughshod over state's rights arguments from the Northern states, exactly the opposite of their later claims after the war.

Postwar by Tony Judt. I don't think there's anything better for understanding the late 20th Century.

The Walter Stahr biographies of Seward, Stanton, and the new one about Chase. These men did so much to shape the modern world and the modern American government system and they really don't get enough credit or focus. Stahr's biographies are fascinating.

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Zoilist_PaperClip t1_iusewda wrote

History of Islamic gunpowder empires like safavids?

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Stalins_Moustachio t1_iuta481 wrote

My obvious recommendation would be Islamic Gunpowder Empires: Ottomans, Safavids, and Mughals by Douglas Streusand. But for an added in depth look, I recommend the following:

Afghanistan by Jonatahn A. Lee. The books provides a great overview of Afghanistan's rich history from the 15th century to the modern day.

America and Iran: A History, 1720 to the Present whose name is self-explanatory. I enjoyed this one as it overcomes the common, but wrong, perception many have that Washington's historic relationship of interaction with Tehran started only after the Islamic Revolution.

David Fromkin's A Peace to End All Peace, and The Last Muslim Conquest: The Ottoman Empire and Its Wars in Europe by Gàbor Àgoston. The latter provides an in depth and rich look at the Ottoman Empire's socio-economic and military history from the Empire's rise to the Siege of Vienna and beyond. Why I really loved this book was the author's tying in of pertinent events within the Ottoman Empire to those on Europe, such as the rise of the Hapsburgs. Àgoston also does a great job examining key details within the Empire, such as frontier management, intelligence, diplomacy and military structure!

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halabula066 t1_iuslkkz wrote

Anyone have any good recommendations of scholarly work on the minutiae of urbanization?

I wrote up a more detailed description of my specific inquiries in this post.

But to summarize, I want any literature that delves into the human-scale, nitty-gritty, of what the process of urbanization (cities starting, developing, expanding, and reproducing) was like in various historical urbanization events.

While I'd appreciate any recs in such a purview, specific periods of interest include Indian (North as well as South) urbanization, pre-contact Americas (both agricultural and non-agricultural based urban development) and the Mediterranean (Italic/Hellenic expansions).

Thanks.

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elmonoenano t1_iusxt7r wrote

Besides the Caro book on Robert Moses I would maybe look at Donald Shoup's book, The High Cost of Free Parking about some of the inefficiencies of promoting car centered transportation on urban development.

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eeeee_hamster t1_iutdnuw wrote

Can anyone recommend books on the tragic loss of life in world war1?

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No-Strength-6805 t1_iutq6o0 wrote

"Wounded:a new history of the western front in world war 1"by Linda mayhew

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jimnantzstie t1_ivcjvbs wrote

A Storm in Flanders by Winston Groom is a pretty easy read and a pretty good book.

It’s written for an American audience who don’t know nearly as much about WW1 compared to WW2 (because the US was much more involved in WW2), and it’s also by the same guy who wrote Forrest Gump lol but I’d recommend it.

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No-Strength-6805 t1_iutqxhc wrote

"A World Undone :the story of great war 1914-1918" by G.J. Meyer

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Sufficient-Race-8479 t1_iuulclw wrote

George Washington, John Adam’s, Thomas Jefferson. Amazing books.

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No-Strength-6805 t1_iuwbkoe wrote

For that time I read Joseph Ellis he has biographies of all three, Ron Chernow has recent biography of Washington,David McCullough excellent book on Adams,plus Jon Meacham biography of Jefferson.

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jimnantzstie t1_ivcjzu8 wrote

McCulloughs biography of Adams is fantastic. The HBO show based off of it is pretty good too.

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elmonoenano t1_iuwv1tc wrote

Peter Stark's book, Young Washington is a great look at the development of Washington. He was a really interesting guy and his childhood was rough.

Also, Tom Rick's book, First Principles covers those three with a dash of Madison and their intellectual life. It was a good book. I'd recommend reading it with Forrest McDonald's Novus Ordo Seclorum.

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SnowballtheSage t1_iuvh8vs wrote

" The eagle we hold as a symbol for power and majesty. If mother eagles did not push their young ones out of the nest, however, we would know the eagle as a symbol for hedonism and cowardice. Afterall, childhood is the cradle of character and no young adult we praise as temperate and courageous started off as a “docile” and “disciplined” child. The case is rather that the parents made themselves available for the children as resources to connect with, to emulate, to help regulate their emotional states and develop their views of the world. This we recognise as the virtuous mean of parenting and such parents afforded their children spaces and opportunities where they could play and experiment, make mistakes and figure things out for themselves. For it is only through the forge of trial and error that we arrive to virtue."

Hey there everyone, I just finished and posted my own commentary and break-down of Aristotle's account on temperance in the Nicomachean Ethics. For those interested please read me here

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turbo_mc_turbo t1_iuvrqzr wrote

I am looking for a book about connections between the U.S. organized crime and above-ground politics - in particular the Democrat party, and prior to WW2. (Yes very specific).

I am wondering if FDR and the Democrats had any "help" staying in power at the federal level, for 20 years. They had well-oiled political machines and FDR played the nation like a fine violin, but still.

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No-Strength-6805 t1_iv1fgj9 wrote

Everyone looks for reasons but FDR just knew how to form coalitions including big city bosses but have never seen a connection to organized crime or a book about it.

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fovc t1_iv475qy wrote

Follow up to this thread. Any book recommendations about the British navy in the 18th c?

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GliderMan84 t1_iv69sv7 wrote

N.A.M. Rodgers' 2 "a naval history of Britain" books. Paul Kennedy wrote one too, I believe.

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MoabEngineer t1_iv7gusk wrote

I just finished “Ordeal by Battle” by F.S. Oliver.  It was published in 1916 during World War I, but it is not about combat or significant campaigns.  It is a study of contrasts between the civil, social, and military segments of Great Britain and Germany in the years leading up to war and how their actions or inactions contributed to its outbreak.

The prose is very wordy and somewhat dense, as you might expect from British writers of the day, but the ideas and context come through clearly.  What was most striking to me is that if you replace “Great Britain” with “America” and “Germany” with “China,” you would have thought much of it was written today.  Many of the parallels are striking.

For those interested in a deeper understanding of how societies come to blows because of innate differences and worldviews, I highly recommend this book.  It contains many insights for the 21st Century.

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surgeons_mate t1_iv7vykh wrote

Is there a good single volume history of the Roman empire?

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intothewildthings t1_ivl9yld wrote

My wife just moved to the US and she’s looking for a good book on US History. Her English is good, but she’d like to read something a little less dry and shorter than a college textbook. I would greatly appreciate any recommendations! Thanks!

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