Bookclub Wednesday!

Submitted by AutoModerator t3_zezeqq 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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McGillis_is_a_Char t1_iz98xpf wrote

I have been getting more interested in the 18th Century Ottoman Empire specifically. The histories I have read devoted about 6 pages to Ahmed III then skip directly to the Napoleonic Wars. Does anyone know a book that explores that era in depth?

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groug t1_izqc1hz wrote

I'm currently reading Osman's Dream by Caroline Finkel and I'm not quite to the 18th century yet, but going by the index there are several chapters about the 18th century Ottomans. From Mustafa II's accession to Napoleon first being mentioned is something like 70 pages.

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McGillis_is_a_Char t1_izqcbm5 wrote

Oh boy. I haven't read Osman's Dream in like 15 years. Thanks for reminding me about it.

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elmonoenano t1_izagli3 wrote

I found The Civil War in 50 Objects at a thrift store for cheap and picked it up. It's from the New York Historical Society. It's got a good selection of artifacts. B/c so many people go through New York and b/c NYC has some unique historical events during the period it's an especially good collection to pull objects from. The book is actually printed on pretty high quality paper and the images of the objects are full color and well done. I think I paid $5 for it, which is a total steal. This is a book that'll probably last, with minimal image fading for at least a few decades.

One of the objects that are specific to New York City is a pamphlet with the mayor at that time, Fernando Wood who was famously corrupt even by NYC machine standards, calling for NYC to succeed from the Union and the State of New York, to become a free city. It was apparently a ploy to try and force Lincoln and Congress to grant NYC some kind of benefits in trade. Lincoln immediately shut it down and after Ft. Sumter it was quickly forgotten.

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mmesuggia t1_iz9mc1w wrote

If this is an inappropriate question please feel free to delete; I’m interested in the history of the East India Company. Any good recs? Preferably nothing too dry 😎

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elmonoenano t1_izac5l9 wrote

William Dalrymple has a series of books and a podcast. The Anarchy has gotten solidly good reviews. https://www.theguardian.com/books/2019/sep/11/anarchy-relentless-rise-east-india-company-william-darymple-review

His podcast is called Empire and he does it with Anita Anand who's written books on Sophia Duleep Singh and the Jallianwallah Bagh massacre. https://twitter.com/EmpirePodUK

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mmesuggia t1_izh294d wrote

Thank you so much! Appreciate your kindness 😎

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mmesuggia t1_izh2wyp wrote

Annnnnnnnd I find I have ‘The Anarchy’ in my kindle library already. Lol a good reminder to go read it!

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Fiberian_Hufky t1_j000o2w wrote

To go off of the other comment, I recently read 'The Anarchy' and it was fantastic. In my opinion, it was particularly good at balancing the political situation within the company and outside of it. It's also great to read after reading about the Mughal Empire if chronology is important. Hopefully you enjoy :)

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shinyshinyrocks t1_iz9act2 wrote

I love books about material culture, especially as the subject relates to the economy of its time. For example “Cod” and “Salt.”

I’d love a recommendation, I’m always looking for a new topic.

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elmonoenano t1_izadxw6 wrote

There's one called The Big Oyster about the development of New York and its relationship to oysters that came out a few years ago. It's by the same author as Salt and Cod.

The BBC had a podcast a few years ago called The History of the World in 100 Objects that they did with the British National Museum. They put out a book of it, which is nice b/c you can actually see the objects. The book is by Neil McGregor and I know he as some similar ones. I think there's one on Shakespeare's England in 50 objects.

That series spun off a whole bunch of other similar books. I'm reading one right now from the New York Historical Society about the history of the US Civil War in 50 objects, there's one on the history of the US in 100 documents, there's one on India.

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Skookum_J t1_iza7vqz wrote

A History of the world in 6 glasses, by Tom Standage is a fun read. Covers the development of culture and technology through the lense of 6 drinks.

At Home, by Bill Bryson is another great read. Covers the development of all the material and technology that goes into a modern home. Bryson's writing is also a lot of fun to read.

Maybe a bit off topic, but you might enjoy Longitude, by Dava Sobe. More of a biography of the inventor, but it covers the development of the clock that is the origin of pocket watch, and its role and importance for navigation at sea.

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k1lk1 t1_ize6sat wrote

Looking for a book covering the history of France from a grand narrative perspective. I.e. I care less about dates of reign and conquest and more about the civilizational zeitgeist (having trouble explaining that, but for example consider a history of England that focused on the Celtic to Roman to Saxon to Norman cultural changes, how they affected the rights of peasants and nobility, etc)

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nola_throwaway53826 t1_iz9n93a wrote

I received a copy of A World at Arms by Gerhard Weinberg. I am looking forward to reading it, as I know a lot of people regard it as one of the better single volume histories of the second world war

However, I did notice this is the first edition from back in 1994 when it was first published. I know a second edition came out in 2014. Would anyone be able to tell me if the updated edition contains any significant changes or updates to any of the information in the first edition?

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elmonoenano t1_izacb33 wrote

Usually there's an explanation in the introduction or an author's note in the opening pages about what's changed.

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TrueNerd89 t1_izdlibv wrote

Anything on the age of city states in Italy? I'm aware that's pretty broad, but I'd like to get a good general idea of role the region played in the Renaissance etc. Preferable not to dry.

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Walmsley7 t1_iz9t1oj wrote

Any good recommendations on non-fiction books covering daily life in the late Middle Ages?

My SO asked for a non-fiction book dealing with the topic after being disappointed that another book she read really only dealt with war and the nobility. She would be interested in the nitty gritty details and logistics. For example, she expressed a lot of interest in a throw away line about how complicated the hierarchies of serfdom and different sub-groups actually were, and was disappointed it was basically treated in just a sentence. I realize it’s a long period of time, so something focusing on life after 1000 AD would be best.

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nola_throwaway53826 t1_iz9wr1e wrote

You can try A Time Travelers Guide to Medieval England by Ian Mortimer. It basically only covers 14th century England and does not go into life on the continent. But it does go into village life, customs, laws, travel, urban life, and does not just focus on the nobility. For instance, it goes into how much things cost, how much an urban laborer could expect to make, and so on.

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Rocketgirl8097 t1_izaz4hg wrote

It's designed for writers looking to create an authentic setting for a novel. But you might want to check out The Writer's Guide to Everyday Life in the Middle Ages. There are several books in this series, including Regency and Victorian England, and Renaissance England.

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Walmsley7 t1_izb2307 wrote

Well I’m a writer so that might be for me then lol

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DonkeyDonRulz t1_izoszqr wrote

Barbara Tuchman's "a distant mirror" looked at the in-betweeners, the middle class guys of the 1300s.

She has a long intro where she said she wanted to cover more mundane life of peasants, but there was a dearth of source material written, since that population was largely illiterate.

I imagine it'd be like if someone in the year 3000 wanted to know what kind of airplanes the average peasant had in 2022. Or what kind of selfie camera junior high kids had in the 1970s. The technology just hadn't l worked it's way that far into society yet. Same with writing in the pre-guttenberg era. And the people who could afford a scribe, well, they prolly weren't writing about the farrier and the farmer, or the butcher and the baker. She also made a point that very little was written about women, either.

Anyway, good luck in your search

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Fiberian_Hufky t1_j0012u9 wrote

Hello! I'm going to be teaching Black Civil Rights to my students and would like to brush up on the history/understand the historiography a bit more. If you have any recommendations, that would be incredibly helpful!

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No-Strength-6805 t1_j05brlt wrote

You might look at "Eyes on the Prize" by Juan Williams also it is book from PBS Documentry series on Civil Rights Also "The Fall of the House of Dixie " by Bruce Levine And as always Taylor Branch 2 vol.on the movement

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myguitar_lola t1_izavoyi wrote

Looking for cinema/documentaries about 1910-1929 farming

I'm learning a ton about 1929+, but I'd like to know how my grandmother lived in the 00s-20s. They had a farm in NE Oklahoma, moved from Southern Kansas In 1902.

The TV/Movie Christy (90s) covers some of what I've heard regarding poverty, shoes, rural ethics, etc, but they're set in Tennessee. Tv/movie Sarah Plain and Tall (90s) shows some small farm life. I couldn't find much about how common this storyline was in real life- advertising for a wife.

Been watching docs about Tulsa, other cities, during that time, but can't find good stuff about basic farm life.

I've dug out everything possible so far from my tree on ancestry.com, and I'm still working through the Oklahoma historical websites.

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DonkeyDonRulz t1_izov6n9 wrote

Watch ken Burns "the dust bowl".

Not much changed on the frontier in that time I imagine. My family grew up in Illinois/Iowa farm country , and I don't think the horse really even got supplanted until WW2, judging by family photos.

Look for 1918 flu documentaries, I saw one that discussed the progression, and panic in small Midwest America in as in it spread from that army base. Quarantine photos and photos of towns keeping guard and what not.

I feel like another ken Burns show touched on the Midwest in that period, possibly "prohibition", or the jack Johnson one.. they're all spectacular documentaries, so you can't lose.

Also,.just found this website that sorts clips from his shows, sorted by dates, areas, characters

The 1920s: https://www.pbs.org/kenburns/unum/playlist/1920s#19th-amendment

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myguitar_lola t1_izoxm51 wrote

I looove the ken burns specials! I also really liked an older doc called Surviving the Dust Bowl. I found the first hand accounts so immersive mostly bc they told stories from their childhood perspective. "Daddy" instead of "my father".

I also watched a few on the polio outbreaks in the early 20th century bc my grandmother had polio as a child and post polio as an older adult. That rocked my world. I actually never knew much about it.

Omg that timeline is amazing!!! When I get home I'll check to see if my PBS app shows that.

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Rocketgirl8097 t1_izaznsv wrote

Dont know about movies but maybe the prairie book series by Laura Ingalls Wilder? Could probably find lots of books if you are willing to read.

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myguitar_lola t1_izb4lq8 wrote

I tried both the show/movie and the first few books, but it just didn't match the things I know so far. Real bummer bc there's a ton of those stories these days.

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SannySen t1_izawpds wrote

For anyone who's read The Search for Modern China by Jonathan Spence and Making China Modern by Klaus Mühlhahn, how would you compare them?

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dropbear123 t1_izb535r wrote

Finished Witchfinders: A Seventeenth-Century English Tragedy by Malcolm Gaskill

>3/5 stars, decent overall but not for me.

>Surprisingly in-depth and clearly well researched with a large number of individuals and cases covered. But I found it a bit boring to read and tried to read it quickly so I could move on to something else. There are only so many times you can read about women being searched for weird body parts and confessing to being suckled by imps before it gets a bit repetitive. The book argues that the chaos of the English Civil War, with the seemingly natural order of things going wrong allowed the witch hunt craze to begin. Prior to the civil war the paranoia was there but most witch trials went nowhere due to the legal demands for proof. The main witchfinders Matthew Hopkins and John Stearne are presented as catalysts that turn the paranoia into a witch hunt. The main reason presented for the witch hunts is genuine belief combined with guilt, as many of the accused witches were poor older women who had been refused aid. There is a lot of old woman asks for something, is refused, then bad things happen to the person who refused them (such as family or livestock getting ill or dying) which leads to the accusation. One thing I did like about the book was the financial side of things, as it turns out witch hunts were very expensive which is one of the reasons why they declined.

Now reading A Fiery & Furious People: A History of Violence in England by James Sharpe. About a third of the way through it and I am really enjoying it, so despite it being over 600 pages I am reading it fairly quickly and should have it finished by the end of the week.

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theboldbricks t1_izbirm9 wrote

Just started reading Sarah-Beth Watkins' Lady Katherine Knollys. Interested in reading this as I believe(?) there is debate about whether Henry VIII was indeed her father of not.

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Donwan2november t1_izdnd6j wrote

What are some good books on former more obscure presidents? I read one on Grant recently and really enjoyed it

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No-Strength-6805 t1_izh6e8f wrote

Calvin Coolidge by Amity Shales A Man of Iron : the Turbulant Life and Improbable Presidency of Grover Cleveland by Troy Senik Polk ; the Man who Transformed the Presidency and Country by Walter Borneman

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groug t1_izqcaw8 wrote

A Country of Vast Designs by Robert Merry, about Polk

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ItsRednaxlar t1_izg2qsa wrote

I’m just looking for podcasts on modern China through and after Maos tenure and some on the Soviet Union also, and just great history podcasts in general

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milesiguess t1_izgb47c wrote

Picked up Meet the Georgians by Robert Peal this weekend and it covers a lot about the Georgian period, ive researched a fair bit about the 1700s and it had plenty of facts i didn't know and im only about 2 chapters in and he (the author) does tell you where some information comes from and i find the book overall really intresting despite the cover making me assume that it was gonna be pretty childish (it really isnt which is great because the time period was anything but childfriendly), i was pleasantly surprised to see the information in the book be presented in a more light hearted way, made me fall in love with the time period even more, if you would like to learn some more beginner friendly information on the Georgians and your intimidated by history books in a more formal format i would definitely recommend.

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Larielia t1_izhk4r9 wrote

What are some of your favourite books about daily life in the ancient world?

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Funky_Fishy t1_izhusa2 wrote

Hey yall, was wondering if anyone had any recommendations on the unification of Germany under Wilhelm? No books I've read or lectures I've heard have really ellaborated on the topic.

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DonkeyDonRulz t1_izow98b wrote

I've been meaning to read more on Bismarck. I've heard good references to the Jonathan Steinberg biography. Katya Hoyer "blood and Iron" books. ( I've heard A.J.P Taylor's book might be biased, but I can't remember how)

https://fivebooks.com/best-books/nineteenth-century-germany-richard-evans/#book-55461

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Funky_Fishy t1_izrpfzb wrote

Thank you very much, this is exactly what I needed! The link is also very nice, might have to check out some of the other books on there as well

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FaallenOon t1_izsby8u wrote

Could you recommend books that are good for non-historians that deal with daily life in ancient Greece, please?

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Rear-gunner t1_j05wjz4 wrote

I am enjoying the History extra podcasts, there are many discussions by some very good people.

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concept_I t1_j0678l2 wrote

My comment wasn't serious enough for this sub🤣

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