Accessible history books

[llall]

I don't normally read history books. I find they tend to get so bogged down in names and dates that I find it hard to stay interested.

However, I absolutely loved Anne Funder's Stasiland. It focused more on personal accounts and her own journey through modern day Germany to tell the story of Germans under the watchful eye of the Stasi.

I'd like to find more history books like this, preferably ones focusing on 20th/21st century events (especially the Vietnam War and Nazi Germany).

Any suggestions?

[PeterL]

Good history isn't written until well after the events. There are no good histories of WWII that do not concentrate on the details, and the histories of the Vietnam War are straying further from the facts, as historians write what they wished happened, rather than what actually did happen. There are excellent hosistories of the renaissance, and Prescott's The Conquest of Peru and The Conquest of Mexico are quite good. There are good histories of Russia from 862 until about 1800, but it gets mushy after that, and it probably will take another two hundred years for that to be corrected.

[Babyguile]

Given what you have said, I recommend highly Nothing to Envy: Real Lives in North Korea by Barbara Demick. It records the short histoy of North Korea from the annex of the Korean peninsula by the Soviet Union and USA at the end of WWII, through to the regime of Kim-Jong Il and the food shortages/meltdown that followed. It also looks at his death and its aftermath. She uses information gained from her extensive interviews of North Koreans who defected to China and South Korea. The book focuses on the struggle to live and survive under one of the most repressive regimes of the twentieth century, and follows the lives of two families right to their conclusions (the fates of the individuals are mixed: it's not entirely a cheerful book).

[ladderandbucket]

You might like Colin Thubron or Sven Lindqvist. Although ostensibly travel writers they are very much focused on the histories of the places they visit.

[Seasider]

II read it a long time ago but the memory remains. "The Great Hunger" by Cecil Woodham Smith. The story of the Irish Potato Famine. Also "The Sun King" by Nancy Mitford. About Louis XIV of France.

[McGrain]

I'm reading The Beauty and the Sorrow by Peter Englund. People have gone a little crazy for this book. It is a history of WWI told from the persepctive of the people that lived it - an American who married into Polish aristocracy, a Hungarian cavalryman, a Scottish nurse and a German schoolgirl amongs around fifteen others, and draws upon their diaries and letters to tell these unique and insighful stories. Sounds like it is right up your alley.

[Insane4Twain]

Absolutely agree with Babyguile's assessment of Nothing to Envy. It was a very sobering read.

I'm almost finished reading the entire set of Will Durant's Story of Civilization series. I recommend it to anyone who wants an entertaining overview of, well, civilization.

[JBI]

Given what you have said, I recommend highly Nothing to Envy: Real Lives in North Korea by Barbara Demick. It records the short histoy of North Korea from the annex of the Korean peninsula by the Soviet Union and USA at the end of WWII, through to the regime of Kim-Jong Il and the food shortages/meltdown that followed. It also looks at his death and its aftermath. She uses information gained from her extensive interviews of North Koreans who defected to China and South Korea. The book focuses on the struggle to live and survive under one of the most repressive regimes of the twentieth century, and follows the lives of two families right to their conclusions (the fates of the individuals are mixed: it's not entirely a cheerful book).

My professor Once remarked on how difficult it is to get anything reliable out of north Korean refugees, As they arrive with coached answers most of the time. He noted that almost all we know of North Korea is guesswork from CIA sources.

[kasie]

Not your specified periods but you may find this interesting: The Face of War by John Keegan: it's about the ordinary footsloggers in three big battles, Agincourt, Waterloo and the Somme. The same author's The History of Warfare is also useful background if military history is your interest, as is Richard Holmes' Tommy and Redcoat.

WWII - you could try Antony Beevor's Stalingrad and Berlin.

(These are British authors, btw so you may not agree with the British point of view.)

[Gilliatt Gurgle]

...I'm almost finished reading the entire set of Will Durant's Story of Civilization series. I recommend it to anyone who wants an entertaining overview of, well, civilization.

That is quite a feat ! I have the Durant series, but have not read the entirety of it.
I do periodically refer to specifc parts on occasion and I agree; Durant's writing is entertaining.

[llall]

Thank you for the suggestions.

I've recently finished reading Dispatches (Herr), A Rumor of War (Caputo) and Stasiland (Funder).

I think what makes them more accessible is the fact that they're written by journalists and they're at least partly autobiographical. The authors are more concerned with creating a compelling narrative that remains true to their experience of the events in question. This might not be as unbiased and detailed as a more traditional history book (dates, figures, timeline, etc.) but I think it makes for a more enjoyable read.

Can anyone recommend any history books written by journalists or any autobiographies dealing with what would have been current affairs to the author at the time of writing? Perhaps the autobiography of a politician.

[PeterL]

You might want to read any of the travel and exploration books by Sir Richard Francis Burton.

There is a great deal of fiction that tells the history with characters written in to make things interesting. When the first Flashman novel was published some historians believed that it was authentically from the notes of a Victorian military officer, because it was so well done. Fraser corrected them. That is just one of many fictionalized histories that are better than what is published as history.

[kasie]

You may enjoy Playing the Enemy by John Carlin. It's about the Rugby World Cup final of 1995 and how the newly released Nelson Mandela used the match to draw together the disparate elements in South Africa. As well as an account of the events leading up to the match, Carlin gives a succinct overview of the stages of the final months of Apartheid and the negotiations leading to freeing of Mandela and his return to the political scene. Carlin is a sports journalist and at times his written style reverts to Sports Report but if you can overlook these passages, you may find the eye-witness account of the event interesting. I am no sports fan but I found the background detail useful. (I believe the book was filmed under the title of Invicta.)

[mal4mac]

Why not read historical novels?

[Kafka's Crow]

Why not read historical novels?

This is the way I read my history. I read the mammoth Pillars of the Earth just for history although it has the unenviable status of the worst novel I have ever read. In the same category comes another big book, Sarum by Edward Rutherford. Absolutely rubbish novel but good historical details. Barbara Tuchman's books are good. One has to be extremely careful while believing in history books. There is a very fine line between history and propaganda. You expect the North Korean refugees or the CIA to paint a neutral picture of that country? Then there are historical facts which are buried but do come back to life after a few years. There were some facts about the vulnerability of Pearl Harbour, the British support of Hitler against Stalin or even the Falklands War which all got buried under official 'histories'. They will come back one day but not now. I don't read about the WWII. Ever heard of Wilhelm Gustloff? Obviously you have heard about the Titanic then why not about WG? All history is written by victors, specially recent history. Life is too short and there are too many great books out there that I'd rather spend my time on. I love reading about the Black Death, the al Andalusian empire, the Reconquista and the Renaissance but I have serious doubts about recent history. The Life of Samuel Johnson and Samuel Pepys's Diaries have more historical truth in them than any official history about the periods in which these books were written.

[mortalterror]

Ever heard of Wilhelm Gustloff? Obviously you have heard about the Titanic then why not about WG?
Reminds me of the Roman naval disaster of 255 BC. Coming back from Carthage they lost 184 ships in a gale and about 100,000 men.

[Kafka's Crow]

Reminds me of the Roman naval disaster of 255 BC. Coming back from Carthage they lost 184 ships in a gale and about 100,000 men.

Oh yes, I do like to read about the Punic Wars. Alexander the Great fascinates me as well. Michael Wood's book and dicumentary wherein he follows Alexander's footsteps: http://www.amazon.co.uk/Footsteps-Alexander-Great-Michael-Wood/dp/0563521937/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1364269937&sr=8-1 is very informative although you do need to read a 'proper' historical account of his conquests to complement the knowledge gained after reading Wood's work.

I recently read Genghis Khan: And the Making of the Modern World by Jack Weatherford. Excellent account of the great conqueror and his legacy: http://www.amazon.co.uk/Genghis-Khan-Making-Modern-World/dp/0609809644/ref=pd_sim_b_3

[Vota]

It's interesting how wildly different people's opinions of books can be. I would never place Pillars of the Earth and Sarum in the same sentence with rubbish.

[ennison]

It's almost impossible to get anything sensible out of professors. They are almost all brainwashed toady Marxists.

[Ecurb]

It's almost impossible to get anything sensible out of professors. They are almost all brainwashed toady Marxists.

In this day of Capitalist ascendancy, Marxist brainwashing and Marxist toadying must be dying arts. Oh, for those halcyon days of yore, when Marxists brainwashed anyone they could lay their hands on, and if you didn't toady, you were sent to Siberia! As Wordsworth wrote of the French Revolution, "Bliss was it in that dawn to be alive, But to be young was very heaven."

[PeterL]

It's almost impossible to get anything sensible out of professors. They are almost all brainwashed toady Marxists.

That is true, and they do the hiring, so there is little chance of things improving in the near future.

[Paulclem]

Not your specified periods but you may find this interesting: The Face of War by John Keegan: it's about the ordinary footsloggers in three big battles, Agincourt, Waterloo and the Somme. The same author's The History of Warfare is also useful background if military history is your interest, as is Richard Holmes' Tommy and Redcoat.

WWII - you could try Antony Beevor's Stalingrad and Berlin.

(These are British authors, btw so you may not agree with the British point of view.)

Agreed. They are both excellent, as is Beevor's "Crete" which tells of the successful invasion of Crete by paratroopers, and the really disgraceful way it was lost.

I noticed that one poster said they didn't read WW2 histories as being too close. I don't know about that, but I learnt a lot from both of these books including a proper perspective about how WW2 was actually won - on the backs of 20 million plus Russian deaths.

Coming from the UK, which has had its own take on WW2 history - The Battle of Britain, The Battle for the Atlantic, The dambuster Raid etc, and which has overplayed its national role when Brits have in the past said "We won the war" etc is challenging. I was born in the 1960s and came to be brought up on this triumphalist stuff.

Then of course, anyone from the US could say - without us we'd never have been able to defeat Hitler - and this is true. It is also true to say that without the Russians, neither would the US in the timescale of WW2.

My point is that the focus of these facts has altered and challenged my reading of WW2, and I think these histories do a really good job.

I saw a question about WW2 histories written by journalists. Beevor wrote a book about the Russian front using the journalistic writings of Vassily Grossman. He was a Red Star journalist and covered Stalingrad and other parts of the eastern front. His perspective is excellent, and gives you quite a different sense of the war from the Soviet side.

As for historical novels, I've really enjoyed Philip Kerr's Bernie Gunther detective stories which are set in pre and wartime Berlin. His laest one, A Man Without Breath

http://www.amazon.co.uk/s/ref=nb_sb_ss_i_1_13?url=search-alias%3Dstripbooks&field-keywords=a+man+without+breath+by+philip+kerr&sprefix=a+man+without%2Cstripbooks%2C289

is out. I'm waiting for the price to come down, though I might just get on with it anyway. His last one, A Prague Fatale was also very good. A Man Without Breath is about the discovery of the Polish Officers in Katyn Forest which was used as anti Russian propaganda. A Prague fatale deals with the assassination of Rheinhard Heydrich.

The novels concern Bernie Gunther, an anti Nazi policeman who is forced to join the SS on the outbreak of war. I find the details fascinating, and they are good thrillers too.

[Emil Miller]

'Hitlers Generals' edited by Correlli Barnett, with contributions from various historians, makes riveting reading for anyone with an interest in WWII. They are all there, Fritsch, Blomberg, Rundstedt, Reichenau, Mannstein, Guderian, Rommel et al. These men commanded the greatest military machine ever created but their individuality is what comes through in these essays. The arguments with Hitler and among themselves make for fascinating reading and gives a great insight into the war as seen from the highest levels of the German command.

[kev67]

May I put in a word for Persian Fire by Tom Holland. It was fab.

[Paulclem]

'Hitlers Generals' edited by Correlli Barnett, with contributions from various historians, makes riveting reading for anyone with an interest in WWII. They are all there, Fritsch, Blomberg, Rundstedt, Reichenau, Mannstein, Guderian, Rommel et al. These men commanded the greatest military machine ever created but their individuality is what comes through in these essays. The arguments with Hitler and among themselves make for fascinating reading and gives a great insight into the war as seen from the highest levels of the German command.

I may well give this a whirl the next time I feel like a WW2 history fix. I was looking for it today in Waterstones but alas...

[Emil Miller]

I may well give this a whirl the next time I feel like a WW2 history fix. I was looking for it today in Waterstones but alas...

I don't know, but I doubt that it is out of print. My copy dates from 1995 but Barnett is such a noted historian on WW1 and WWII that it should be possible to get hold of a copy through Amazon. I don't buy books over the net and so tomorrow I am going into town to get a (telephone reserved) book that has been difficult to obtain from other London booksellers even though it is quite well known .

[Paulclem]

I don't know, but I doubt that it is out of print. My copy dates from 1995 but Barnett is such a noted historian on WW1 and WWII that it should be possible to get hold of a copy through Amazon. I don't buy books over the net and so tomorrow I am going into town to get a (telephone reserved) book that has been difficult to obtain from other London booksellers even though it is quite well known .

Our Waterstones is not that big. I'm going to check it out in the Kindle store tonight. Should be fine.

[ennison]

Anything by John Prebble. The World of Rob Donn by Grimble. Anything by Hastings. Ditto Lyn Macdonald, Saul David, and Martin Middlebrook.

[chrisvia]

I haven't read many history books, but of those I have I enjoyed Howard Zinn (America), Norman Davies (Europe; Poland), and Paul Johnson (compilations; historical figures).