GoodSpeakersRWorthIt
GoodSpeakersRWorthIt t1_jdyuxag wrote
Reply to Bookclub and Sources Wednesday! by AutoModerator
Looking for recommendations for a brief overview of regional histories. Timeline is more contemporary. Ideally Around 100 years ago to 1960s, (decoloniz era), bleeding into the present is fine.
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Particularly focusing on India, China, Brazil, and the Middle East.
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To clarify, instead of reading a heavy time commitment Art History Monograph, like 300-400 page "Caravaggio - Complete works,"
I'm looking more for the Taschen "Basic Art" series, abbreviated version. (100pages)
...Where it's still high quality and worth reading, but not spelling out every minute genealogy and every possible pov (art technique, history, ideological, etc)
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Googling around, I found some of these:
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Cambridge Concise History of India (too long, 400 pages)https://www.amazon.com/dp/110767218X/?coliid=I1R9D0SP60JC91&colid=3RRM95BN0YKZU&psc=1&ref_=lv_ov_lig_dp_it
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Robert's Concise History of China (too long, 368 pages)
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Cambridge Concise History of Brazil (too long at almost 500 pages)
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Al-Marashi's Concise History of Middle East (too long, at 500+ pages)
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For what it's worth, I'm most interested in Econ History, but ideally a competent/not overly academic writing style.
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History books I like:
CLR James - Black Jacobins
Thiong’o – Decolonising The Mind
Baptist - Half Has Never Been Told
Mills - Power Elite (*he sucks at writing though)
Zinn - People's History of USA
Grant - Natural Mystics: Marley, Tosh, & Wailer
Steel - Vive La Revolution
B. Ogot - Zamani - Survey of E. African History
Ntarangwi - East African Hip Hop
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Periodicals:
The Economist
Transition (Duke Uni Press)
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Have some understanding of the India / Brazil / China / MidEast regions, reading Economist pieces here & there for past 10 years, but wanted to just have a little more overall continuity.
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Def don't want to pay for 500 pages that the cover dawn of time to now, just last 100 years or so, even last 50 years.
Def don't want a large textbook i got no space for.
100-200 page paperback is ideal.
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cheers,
GoodSpeakersRWorthIt t1_jdyy01j wrote
Reply to comment by MeatballDom in Bookclub and Sources Wednesday! by AutoModerator
Thanks for replying.
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Yeh, skipping to the good stuff makes sense. Just extra dolares n space for stuff I'm not gonna use.
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I actually can't read tablets, hurts my eyes (even w those gunnar pc glassses), + physical space is limited.
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Was hyped to find those "BASIC ART" Taschen books. They really are amazing quality and short, and give you a great pov. Way better writing than I expected, and thoughtful analysis, so wudd if it's not every single painting, u kno.
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A past 100yrs history version of that would be ideal.
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yurr academic/researched work is necessary, but I find a lot of academic writing fails at writing. Exceptions being ppl like Baptist and CLR James, Thiong'o, sometimes Zinn.
Mills is the worst. Literally repeats an obvious idea for 10 pages at a time, with little cohesion.
S'like, Dude, Mills, give it a couple more passes before publishing, lol.
I feel like, especially, anything history-inclined, you should always use examples and case studies. But he writes oceans of generalities, supported in footnotes/bibliographies, vs. Baptist's ability to novelize threads from various sources (being a competent enough writer).
So you get the themes from slave narratives, plantation investor's deals w lawmakers, accountant records/audits, and political movements, banker policy, all with real-world examples, with the econ ethnic stakes made pretty clear. (and still all the academic footnotes etc)
Vs. the more cooped-up, badwriter academic vibes, where it's like allergic to specific, lived experience examples.
anyway....
Pardon my frivolous ranting, how often does one get to talk about books nahdaze.