Early modern Europe: An oxford history, makes a good introduction to Europe from the Renaissance to the end of the Napoleonic wars.
Early modern Europe: An oxford history, makes a good introduction to Europe from the Renaissance to the end of the Napoleonic wars.
When it occurs to a man that nature does not regard him as important and that she feels she would not maim the universe by disposing of him, he at first wishes to throw bricks at the temple, and he hates deeply the fact that there are no bricks and no temples
-Stephen Crane
No history is unimportant.Originally Posted by Ar7
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When Adam delved and Eve span, Who was then the gentleman? From the beginning all men by nature were created alike, and our bondage or servitude came in by the unjust oppression of naughty men. For if God would have had any bondsmen from the beginning, he would have appointed who should be bound, and who free. And therefore I exhort you to consider that now the time is come, appointed to us by God, in which ye may (if ye will) cast off the yoke of bondage, and recover liberty. - John Ball
Well, history is mostly curiousity, and the real use, examples. So, like Justiciar says, it's not useless.
Student by day, bacon-eating narwhal by night (specifically midnight)
"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.
indeed
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.![]()
"Some people say MTW is a matter of life or death - but you have to realise it is more important than that"
With apologies to Bill Shankly
My first balloon- for "On this day in History"
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).
"One of the nice things about looking at a bear is that you know it spends 100 per cent of every minute of every day being a bear. It doesn't strive to become a better bear. It doesn't go to sleep thinking, "I wasn't really a very good bear today". They are just 100 per cent bear, whereas human beings feel we're not 100 per cent human, that we're always letting ourselves down. We're constantly striving towards something, to some fulfilment"
-Stephen Fry
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.
Pontifex Rex
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