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Recommend some history books

zizzybaluba

sultan of zip
zizzybaluba
Joined
Apr 7, 2006
Messages
375
Hiya everybody,

I'm looking to read up on some areas of history which I know less than I would like. Specifically, I'd like to know more about Pre-Columbian American civilizations and European history before about 1200 AD, excluding the Greco-Roman empires.

Anyone have any suggestions?
Thanks in advance.
--ziz
 
The Discoverers by Daniel Boorstin.

The Rise and Fall of the Great Powers by Paul Kennedy

ETA: I only read the thread title before posting, without seeing the specific topic you were interested in. I still recommend these books though! And there is some great stuff about Mayan calendars in The Discoverers.
 
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zizzybaluba said:
Have you read it? Is it any good?
Click to expand...

Didn't get a chance to finish it, but what I read was excellent - fascinating stuff about the indians in present-day Florida and Oregon/Washington and the nascent neolithic civilizations they had.
 
zizzybaluba said:
Hiya everybody,

I'm looking to read up on some areas of history which I know less than I would like. Specifically, I'd like to know more about Pre-Columbian American civilizations and European history before about 1200 AD, excluding the Greco-Roman empires.

Anyone have any suggestions?
Thanks in advance.
--ziz
Click to expand...

I have a fairly large collection of works on the history of law and the history of science that cover the relevant period. Do those areas interest you? If so, I can post some suggestions.
 
ceo_esq said:
I have a fairly large collection of works on the history of law and the history of science that cover the relevant period. Do those areas interest you? If so, I can post some suggestions.
Click to expand...

Even if ziz isn't, I would be.
 
I enjoyed these:

A History of London, Stephen Inwood, 1998. It starts with Londinium.

Barbara Tuchman, two books: A Distant Mirror, which is about the 14th century in Europe (mostly France area), and "'Bible and Sword: England and Palestine from the Bronze Age to Balfour" Don't let the title make you think that it's a religious work. It is not, it is rather a history of the relationship of England to the area, from early times, especially through the Crusades, and during the 19th century and early years of Israel. Ms Tuchman also wrote "Guns of August" which was a Pulitzer-Prize winning account of the month of August, 1914, and the immediate time up to the start of WWI. (Among other books!)

I can also recommend several on the Black Death (1300s, mostly)
 
kmortis said:
Even if ziz isn't, I would be.
Click to expand...

Sorry to have neglected your comment, kmortis! Here are two starter recommendations:
  • On early legal history: Law and Revolution: The Formation of the Western Legal Tradition by Harold Berman (published by Harvard University Press)
  • On the early history of science: The Beginnings of Western Science: The European Scientific Tradition in Philosophical, Religious, and Institutional Context, 600 B.C. to A.D. 1450 by David Lindberg (published by the University of Chicago Press)
Each is a landmark in its field and a fascinating read.
 
Some interesting recommendations here! I would like to second anything by Barbara Tuchman. She is a very good writer.

Any historical fiction recommendations would almost be welcome. One of my favorites is Ken Follet's "Pillars of the Earth" http://www.ken-follett.com/bibliography/pillars.html
An interesting read on the life of a skilled mason and his family.

Charlie (history is doomed to be written up and enjoyed) Monoxide
 
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