History as a whole

[Ar7]

Hello all, been a while since I visited this forum. I was active for some time during the MTW and the beginning of RTW period. Honestly though, RTW just lost it's appeal too fast and unfortunately I left the forum as well. Yet I still remember what a great community this forum had, so I thought that this would be the best place to ask

I have always had an interest in history though I've never done anything serious about it. The school education was pathethic, we studied history for six years and three of them were focused on Estonian history. If you know how small and unimportant Estonia is then you can easily realise how stupid it was to spend three out of six years on it, especially since the material was the same each year

So now I am going to a University and have a job...my how things how changed but the fact is, the job involves night shifts. While the admin has a lot to do in a hotel during the day, nights are a totally different matter. So I picked up a large tome from home that read "Medieval History" on the cover and began to read. Quite nicely written and a part of a larger world history series, but it had one large problem.

The author defines HRE as the center of power in the medieval world and thus focuses 85% of the entire 700 pages only on it's history. He touches the rest of Europe and the Islam world so briefly that it feels like reading the German history rather the World one.

So I would like your educated opinion on good historical literature. I am looking for books that give a good review on history from the medieval times until the end of Napoleonic wars and speak of Europe and the Islamic world, the rest of the world doesn't hurt either. I am hoping for literature that is mature, maybe even hard to digest, anything instead of vague books that say they review the world in 50 pages. I am thinking of getting a detailed overview of history and then I'll look into periods or countries that spark interest in me.

Thank you in advance

PS. If you know any good literature in Russian then please please please tell me. I prefer Russian over English.

[Banquo's Ghost]

PS. If you know any good literature in Russian then please please please tell me. I prefer Russian over English.

Personally, I don't, but my wife is Russian and a history buff so if you wait till later this evening or tomorrow morning, I'll try and post you a recommended list.

[Ar7]

*looks excited*

That was a shot in the dark, but it seems it was worth it, I will be waiting

I would still appreciate other answers while we wait for the wife

Great forum!

[L'Impresario]

I don't know if this is what you 're looking for, but Arnold J. Toynbee's "A Study of History" is one of the most famous generic works on history. You 'll prolly find it abridged, as it's truly a Leviathan with 10 heavy tomes.

And since this is a "total war" forum, I can't desist from recommending a great introduction to European history & warfare, Michael Howard's "War in European History" (actually it begins with the Middle Ages, a logical thing if we 're to trace the notion of "Europe" to Charlemagne). It's not very long and a fundamental read (pretty enjoyable as well).

[Alexanderofmacedon]

I have a book on Peter the Great...? Heh...

[Lord Winter]

Early modern Europe: An oxford history, makes a good introduction to Europe from the Renaissance to the end of the Napoleonic wars.

[Justiciar]

The school education was pathethic, we studied history for six years and three of them were focused on Estonian history. If you know how small and unimportant Estonia is then you can easily realise how stupid it was to spend three out of six years on it, especially since the material was the same each year

No history is unimportant.

[Avicenna]

Well, history is mostly curiousity, and the real use, examples. So, like Justiciar says, it's not useless.

[nokhor]

"the rise of the west" by william h. mcneil is a synthetic history of humanity from start of civilization to the 80s, it is one book and deals with trends and recurring patterns in history.

"the story of civilization" by will and ariel durant is a multi volume history of the world that also dabble in cultural and social event, not just political history. this one is huge but good for what it is.

[King Kurt]

One of the best history books I have ever read was A Distant Mirror by Barbara Tuchman. It tells the history of aproximately the 100 years war but is mainly about the effect the Black death has on Europe as a whole. About a third of Europe's population was wiped out by the Black Death - comparable to the possible casualties in a nuclear war - hence A Distant Mirror. Although it is a history book, it is so well written it grips you like a novel.

She has written many more books and I would particuarly recomend August 1914 which is the history of the build up to WW1 and the events of the first month. She manages to create the feeling of dreadful loss and the sheer scale and impact that conflict made on European society - a magnificant and moving book.

Sadly - for you - I do not think they would be available in Russian - but they might be as she is a well respected historian. If not, I would still recomend getting the english versions.

[Randarkmaan]

Well, a good series of history books that I have are those by Carl Grimber, 33 books covering the dawn of human history to the modern age, these books also have a few pretty good chapters about culuture which are interesting, I'm not quite sure were you can get them though, or if they are in English (they probably are, it's originally Swedish and I have them in Norwegian).

[Pontifex Rex]

If you want a good general history of Europe from the late Roman empire forward to about 1000 AD try "Early Medieval Europe, 300-1000" by Roger Collins. From books like this you can then start zeroing in on topics that strike your interest.