Please help me learn world history!

[Anonymous]

I’m randomly doing something this year that started on accident but I’m kind of now continuing it on purpose - one fiction and one non fiction book on similar topics.

Jan - Nantucket unit - Hotel Nantucket, In the Heart of the Sea
Feb - WWII unit - the happiest man on earth, salt to the sea
Mar - opioid unit - Demon Copperhead, Empire of Pain

I’ll let you know what i come up with next! I randomly enjoyed some history & literature classes I took in college.

In 2021 read both the island of sea women, then the PP suggested Pachinko. Interesting companion books & I liked knowing about Jeju when it was occasionally referenced in Pachinko.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:If you like your history with humor, I love Sarah Vowell. Reading or audio - both are great!

+1
She is so good!

[Anonymous]

I think the Crash Course videos on YouTube are hilarious and can be helpful if you need a quick summary about a specific topic.

https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLBDA2E52FB1EF80C9

[Anonymous]

EH Gombrich “A Little History of the World.” Technically for children (now probably a higher level than most adults can read) but so great. It’s heavy on the western history with not much regarding the Americas and not much in Asia but in terms of learning about how and why and where and who without feeling like you’re being recited at, it’s the best.

[Anonymous]

Winds of War is just a really good historical novel about Ww2 Europe. A really easy read and covers a lot in basically true historical detail.

Also, I recommend this a lot and it’s a very random recommendation … but I absolutely loved Mastering the Art of Soviet Cooking. I’ve read a lot on Soviet russia and I don’t think anything really captured the real spirit of the Soviet era quite as well. On Soviet life; there’s also dr zhivago which is great and then there’s a book about Pasternak and the publication of dr zhivago — it bogs down a little but is really very educational about Soviet history over many decades.

There are a couple books that focus on world history through food and beverage that I’ve wanted to read….like a history of the world in six glasses. A short history Of nearly everything by bill Bryson has also been on my list because I like his style so much. His book about England had a remarkable amount of history in it because he talks about the stories behind everyplace he travels.

[Anonymous]

The Struggle for Mastery in Europe AJP Taylor.
Classic and well written. Here's the wiki page on it, it's that good

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Struggle_for_Mastery_in_Europe_1848–1918

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Winds of War is just a really good historical novel about Ww2 Europe. A really easy read and covers a lot in basically true historical detail.

Also, I recommend this a lot and it’s a very random recommendation … but I absolutely loved Mastering the Art of Soviet Cooking. I’ve read a lot on Soviet russia and I don’t think anything really captured the real spirit of the Soviet era quite as well. On Soviet life; there’s also dr zhivago which is great and then there’s a book about Pasternak and the publication of dr zhivago — it bogs down a little but is really very educational about Soviet history over many decades.

There are a couple books that focus on world history through food and beverage that I’ve wanted to read….like a history of the world in six glasses. A short history Of nearly everything by bill Bryson has also been on my list because I like his style so much. His book about England had a remarkable amount of history in it because he talks about the stories behind everyplace he travels.

I also recommend Winds Of War. And anything (everything!) by Sharon Kay Penman.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Winds of War is just a really good historical novel about Ww2 Europe. A really easy read and covers a lot in basically true historical detail.

Also, I recommend this a lot and it’s a very random recommendation … but I absolutely loved Mastering the Art of Soviet Cooking. I’ve read a lot on Soviet russia and I don’t think anything really captured the real spirit of the Soviet era quite as well. On Soviet life; there’s also dr zhivago which is great and then there’s a book about Pasternak and the publication of dr zhivago — it bogs down a little but is really very educational about Soviet history over many decades.

There are a couple books that focus on world history through food and beverage that I’ve wanted to read….like a history of the world in six glasses. A short history Of nearly everything by bill Bryson has also been on my list because I like his style so much. His book about England had a remarkable amount of history in it because he talks about the stories behind everyplace he travels.

I also recommend Winds Of War. And anything (everything!) by Sharon Kay Penman.

Oh, I should add- all the "Flashman" books by George MacDonald Fraser.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Also, I recommend this a lot and it’s a very random recommendation … but I absolutely loved Mastering the Art of Soviet Cooking. I’ve read a lot on Soviet russia and I don’t think anything really captured the real spirit of the Soviet era quite as well.

This book is simply amazing, agree with all you said, happily recommend it too

Also the Bill Bryson book you mentioned is a good read

Robert K. Massie’s books on the Romanovs, especially the last Tsar and family are great reads. Also his books on Peter the Great and Catherine the Great

I prefer reading books on Royal families mostly English centric and still remember how fun it was to read The Six Wives of Henry the Eighth by Alison Weir

Another author I liked - Alex Von Tunzelmans books Indian Summer and Red Heat

[Anonymous]

World History for Dummies

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I love history and love going down wormholes and reading deeply on something that grabs my attention. I think overarching histories do tend to be a bit dry because they span a lot. My suggestions are to choose something specific to start with and maybe find a documentary or podcast series that you like. With a good narrator, these an be more engaging than reading a book.

Thought Lucy Worsley's 3 part History of the Tsars on Amazon was excellent. Could be an interesting place to start given everything that's going on with Russia at the moment. Russian history is pretty fascinating and, once you have watched that, you could read/listen/watch something about Russia in the 20th century and it will give you an excellent background to what is happening at the moment.

I’m not prone to hero-worship in general, but I totally worship Lucy Worsley. She’s the coolest!

OP, I’m partial to historical novels because they hint at what it might have felt like to live through various historical events and the stories help me to care about the facts more than I ever did when learning “X person did Y in Z year.” There have been a few threads on this forum, but a good place to start is Ken Follett. He did a 20th-Century trilogy and another one that was much earlier (1500s maybe?) in England.

[Anonymous]

I agree that Winds of War is one of the best books I've ever read and I sure learned a lot from it about history. The story centers around a family as well and that made it highly readable. Also, there is a sequel to it called War and Remembrance that is equally good.

I've read them both and also more recently listened to the audio versions of both which is also really excellent.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I love history and love going down wormholes and reading deeply on something that grabs my attention. I think overarching histories do tend to be a bit dry because they span a lot. My suggestions are to choose something specific to start with and maybe find a documentary or podcast series that you like. With a good narrator, these an be more engaging than reading a book.

Thought Lucy Worsley's 3 part History of the Tsars on Amazon was excellent. Could be an interesting place to start given everything that's going on with Russia at the moment. Russian history is pretty fascinating and, once you have watched that, you could read/listen/watch something about Russia in the 20th century and it will give you an excellent background to what is happening at the moment.

I’m not prone to hero-worship in general, but I totally worship Lucy Worsley. She’s the coolest!

OP, I’m partial to historical novels because they hint at what it might have felt like to live through various historical events and the stories help me to care about the facts more than I ever did when learning “X person did Y in Z year.” There have been a few threads on this forum, but a good place to start is Ken Follett. He did a 20th-Century trilogy and another one that was much earlier (1500s maybe?) in England.

I enjoy Worsley a lot but don’t find that she translates to page well.

[Anonymous]

Has someone mentioned the Harari book "Sapiens"--which is world history/human development....the most fascinating book I've read in a long time; I couldn't put it down!

Also in the "great courses" list, Eastern Europe was so interesting--I think that that region gets ignored a lot as Western Europe, or Russia, or China, or India, are focused on. I'm of Eastern European descent and learned so much, and it was easy to watch/listen to.

[Anonymous]

Oh I forgot to mention--YEARS ago I read "Poland" by James Michner. The backstory is the author was so famous that some financial backer said, "if you could write about anything, what would it be?" and he said Poland, because it's just that fascinating.

It's an easy read (historical fiction) that goes through many generations of one family