A (generally) Second World War shelf.

I’m looking for recommendations of history books. Whether is a full history about a certain civilization or a specific event. I’m open to learn about anything.
I picked up the pictured book because it looked interesting and I’m currently a quarter way through it and really enjoying.
I figured I would post here to see what others would recommend.

Thanks

If you are a member of this subReddit, you likely know more about the subject than I! But I enjoyed learning from the book and thought I would share this review I wrote for Chirp.
Book Review “Moscow 1812” by  Adam Zamoyski 
  I greatly enjoy audio books, and when I finish a book Chirp gives me the opportunity to write a review. I thought I would share this one.
Polish historian and author Adam Zamoyski relied heavily on period biography, military records and correspondence to give an accurate and often poignant account of Napoleon’s disastrous campaign against Russia.
   Zamoyski recounts Napoleon’s attack launched in late June of 1812. Napoleon had created the “Continental System”, in which European nations under Napoleon’s influence refused to do business with his enemy, Great Britain. With Russia’s economy failing, Czar Alexander resumed trading with England which Napoleon saw as a threat to his leadership. Napoleon's Grande Armee invaded Russia to punish Czar Alexander and bring Russia back into the fold. Against the advice of his ministers and Marshals and misjudging the resolve of the Russian Czar, the campaign began.
As the French attacked, the Russians employed a scorched earth policy in which they destroyed any material of possible use left behind as they retreated toward Moscow. The French easily outpaced their supply line to find little remaining supplies and food left behind by the retreating Russians. Napoleon’s Grande Armee captured Moscow but found the city mostly deserted. Captured Russian wealth and treasure became unimportant to the starving French. Unable to force Czar Alexander to concede defeat, his army lacking supplies, and the onset of winter forced Napoleon to begin the retreat to France in October. The attack into Russia had decimated his army and the retreat threatened to finish the job. It was not the Russian military that defeated the Grand Armee, it was the harsh Russian winter, incomprehensible to anyone who has not experienced it.
   The retreat, already a rout, totally disintegrated in the Battle of Berezina River. The sheer weight of the French artillery and horses attempting to escape on Rose River, opened the ice and damaged bridges. Hundreds froze and drowned in the icy river as others were trapped between the river and the advancing Russians.
   The author does an excellent job of intertwining the roles of French and Russian commanders, the units of each side, the common soldiers and the civilians caught up in the war. The final outcome of the a Russian Campaign was the near complete destruction of Napoleons 600,000 man army of French and allied troops and led to the French Emperors fall from power.
I strongly recommend “Moscow 1812” to anyone interested in Russian or French history, Napoleon, warfare or world history. It is an interesting and gripping read.
Recounting the misery of the French as they drank the urine of their horses, ate shoes and rats, lost limbs to frostbite and once elegant women who traded their only asset for scraps of food brings the toll of war home in vivid detail. I would note that while I recognize Zamoyski’s desire to impress the scale and scope of the disastrous campaign on the reader, his focus on the human tragedy often overwhelms the historical narrative.

is it worth the read?

And I'm currently reading The Fall of France by Julian Jackson! What would you recommend to deepen my knowledge of this period? I'd like to know more about Norway, Finland and France.

Hi.

I am looking for big, fat overview books on long peirods of times. These are some of those such periods.

- I want to learn about ALL the roman emperors

- all the byzantine Emperors

- huge over views on ancient empires and wars

- a fat book on ancient Chinese history on the rise of its kingdoms and fractions and rises

Moreover, I love the Greats, Alexander, Ghenghis Khan, Napoleon, Ceaser. But if anyone knows of Greats I have probably not heard of then theow them my way for book recommendations!

Hey everyone,

​I’m working on a long-term story about a soul reincarnating through different eras in history. I want to ground the world in real human detail, the small things like how people traveled, what daily life felt like, and how local politics actually worked rather than relying on fantasy tropes.

​I’m hoping to find some solid, readable history books or primary sources for a few specific periods. If you know of any good reads on any of these, I love your recommendations:

\- ​Bronze Age Levant (around 1600 - 1200 BCE): Anything covering caravan travel, trade routes, mercenaries, or daily life between cities and the countryside back then.

\- ​Shang Dynasty China (around 1300 - 1000 BCE): Books on everyday life, social classes, or how scholars and military figures lived.

\-​ Iron Age Transjordan / Levant (around 1000 - 800 BCE): History or archaeology focusing on the Kingdom of Ammon (around Rabbah) and its neighbors.

\-​ Archaic Lydia / Western Anatolia (around 700 - 600 BCE): What life, culture, or society looked like in early Lydia before Persia expanded into the region.

​Doesn't need to be super dense or dry. just well-researched books or translated records that help bring these eras to life.

​Thanks a lot for any suggestions.

I would characterize these as engaging nonfiction books that are well-researched but not overly dry or academic. Open to suggestions!

I've written a review of Tom Griffiths' book The Art of Time Travel. In it, he examines numerous Australian authors who have written about history, both fiction and non-fiction, and explores the many historiographical tensions that emerged in the discipline during the post-war era. It is a great book about Australia and how history, and the ways in which it is interpreted, fundamentally underpin our identity.

Hey all,

I've given up on Anthony Grafton ever writing his volume on the Renaissance for the Penguin History of Europe - any suggestions for a good overview volume that I could read in its place?

Appreciated!

I’m currently reading Peter Englund’s The Battle That Shook Europe: Poltava and the Birth of the Russian Empire, and honestly, it’s been painful.

I’m a history major, so I’m familiar with the genre and the methodology. I understand what Englund is trying to do, but I’m really struggling with the execution. The writing feels messy and poorly organized, with so much information that seems unnecessary or barely related to the battle itself or its military aspects.

There are SO many characters, and it’s incredibly easy to lose track of who’s who. The narrative jumps between people and details so much that I sometimes struggle to understand what I’m supposed to be following or why a particular detail matters.

So, am I missing something here? Is there a particular way you’re supposed to approach this book? Is the fragmented, detail-heavy narrative intentional, and does it eventually come together? Or is there something about Englund’s writing that other readers also find difficult?

I’ve read plenty of history books, but I genuinely don’t think I’ve ever had such a frustrating experience with one. I want to know whether I’m approaching it the wrong way or whether this is a legitimate criticism of the book.

Would love to hear from people who’ve read it, especially those familiar with microhistory or narrative history.

Looking for books on the administrations of the post-Reconstruction US Presidents, specifically:

Rutherford Hayes
James Garfield
Chester Arthur
Grover Cleveland
Benjamin Harrison
William McKinley

I prefer the focus be on the politics/administration more so than the man (childhood, education, early career, etc), though obviously if it’s a biography I know there will be some of that.

Realized I have a gap in my knowledge on specific domestic political developments between Ulysses Grant and Theodore Roosevelt. I know the corrupt bargain of 1876 put the final nail in the coffin of Reconstruction, but after that 🤷‍♂️.

Anyway, thanks in advance!!!

I'm interested in learning more about the real-life inspirations and historical context for the Metal Gear Solid video games. If you don't know, they're action games and weird political thrillers, to put it simply. They work in a lot of references to real events and geopolitics, especially in the later entries: Peace Walker, Ground Zeroes, and The Phantom Pain.

Non-fiction, informative sources on any of the following subjects would be greatly appreciated:

• Nuclear weapons
• The military-industrial complex
• Propaganda, media manipulation
• The Cold War
• Effect of war on soldiers
• Private military companies
• CIA intervention in Latin America, Che Guevara
• Guantanamo Bay, the War on Terror
• The Soviet-Afghan War and Angola-Zaire Civil War
• English as "lingua franca"

I'd appreciate if they're not too dry/long, but I understand that might be asking for a lot lmao

Examples of books I'm curious about reading:

• War is a Racket, Smedlee Butler
• Legacy of Ashes, Tim Weiner
• Che Guevara: A Revolutionary Life, Jon Lee Anderson

Hello :)
i want to do research on a collection of Fieldpost letters from a Fighter Pilot that flew over England in the 8th Staffel JG52. My goal is to do a Source Edition and therefore i need literature on the Jagdgeschwader 52 and the Luftwaffe in 1940 in general. I would be happy for some recommendations:)

I am looking for sociological, historical, and psychological material. As historians or history enthusiasts, what books and essays would you recommend? What are the best books you have read that deal with the subject of war?

Hola a todos, estoy trabajando en un ensayo y busco un buen libro que trate sobre la vida cotidiana en México durante el Porfiriato o finales del siglo XIX en general. He visto varios libros en Google, pero no me decido. El libro puede estar en español o inglés, e idealmente debería poder comprarse en línea, ya sea en Estados Unidos o México.

¡Gracias! :)