The Making of the Atomic Bomb by Richard Rhodes

If you enjoy it Then your next read should be rise and rebelion,by Jeff shaara he wrote a two part revolutionary war series the one after that is the Glorious cause

The Panic of 1907 -Bruner,Carr
A History Of Pan African Revolt -CLR James
Inventing Pollution -Thorsheim

The Shelby Foote narrative is the touchstone for all subsequent Civil War writing IMO.

A subsequent author I like a lot is Steven Sears. I've read several of his books, but my favorite is Chancellorsville.

Thirteen Days: A Memoir of the Cuban Missile Crisis by Robert F. Kennedy

Hitler by Ian Kershaw

I listened to "Civil War Battlefields..." while following along on Google Earth, it was one of the most fantastic historical explorations I've ever taken. My father is from Tennessee, and I've seen many of the places 1st hand but this still gave me chills at some points.

Biased yes, but if anything, probably more honest than most people prefer. Zinn, in effect, grabs us by the scruff of the neck and rubs our noses in the **** we don't like to see and that gets too easily dismissed, denied, or minimized. Instead of writing history from the point of view of the victors, he turns this approach on its head and makes sure you know about what happened to the other side. That's what I like about it.

On the minus side, Zinn's utopian colors show through at times, which is a little annoying. He's critical of many political actions without really offering any kind of alternative. When he does offer a vague solution to a problem, he doesn't really address, in realistic way, what the consequences would be.

Overall, though, I think the positive outweigh the negatives. It is definitely in our interests as a nation not to forget the victims in the march of human progress. I fear that the information explosion of our age has, paradoxically, turned us increasingly into a nation of sheep being herded to the slaughterhouse. Information has become more confusing, manipulable, and we're collectively less equiped to exercise critical thinking than the typical 18th century farmer.

Command of the Ocean - NAM Rodger. Brilliant account of the British Navy between the mid 17th century and the end of the Napoleonic wars. Not just ship design and sea battles but the influence of the navy on politics, the economy etc.

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Command-Ocea...sr=1-1-catcorr

Omg, I know the existence of this book is known to every single person here, but I am 2 hours into Stars in Their Courses: The Gettysburg Campaign by Shelby Foote, which is apparently excerpted directly from his longer work and it is absolutely incredible.

I have no interest whatsoever in the American Civil War and I fear I might still be reading this book at dawn tomorrow.

Man, i sooo get you. If you like those, then you will probably love will durant(unless you already read his stuff).

what are the main differences between 1948 and the other two? I always hear 1948 talked about in a fairly favorable light by Zionists (obv not so Birth)

Anything by Lord Norwich who wrote extensively about the Byznatine and Venetian empires.

bump for anything on the entirety of Roman history (or segmented, w/e). Preferable under 2000pg total. Also, I need maps, lots and lots of maps. Something that delves into the economics and social structure in good detail, rather than spending all the time on battles/wars would be nice (although I don't want to fully gloss over the major wars either).

http://www.scribd.com/doc/6015318/Th...e-John-Perkins

This is a rare account of what's really going on....part of it anyway...

http://www.amazon.com/Autobiography-.../dp/0231083734

Ian Mortimer - The time traveller's guide to medieval England.

Had to read this as part of A level History course but found generally very interesting.

Thank you. A friend recommended this to me years ago.

Just ordered off Amazon for like 5 bucks wooooooooo!!
Thank you, your order has been placed.
An e-mail confirmation has been sent to you.

Half way through Stacy Schiff's "Cleopatra - A Life" and while not my favorite history book, is pretty good as far as tying the stories together from Cleopatra's pov. Wondering if anyone else has read it or has any thoughts to share.

Freedom At Midnight: Britain Gave Away An Empire by Dominique Lapierre and Larry Collins.

A popular history about the withdrawal of Britain from the Indian subcontinent and the creation of its two successor states; India and Pakistan. It is rigorous, readable and moving.


The Great Game by Peter Hopkirk.

This chronicles the rivalry between Tsarist Russia and British India during the 19th century for supremacy over the lands conquered by the Mongols in Asia. It reads like a novel but is a serious history.

The Scramble For Africa by Thomas Pakenham

This is a history of the piecemeal conquest of Africa in the 19th century by the European Powers. Pakenham is a serious historian who knows how to write well.

If you're really into that sort of thing you should probably pick up The Story of Civilization series, by Will & Ariel Durant. Goes on & on & on and it's jam-packed with personal judgment, which as we all know, is way more fun to read.

Stilwell and the American Experience in China, 1911-45:

http://www.amazon.com/Stilwell-Ameri...1743185&sr=1-7


The Guns of August:

http://www.amazon.com/Guns-August-Ba...1743185&sr=1-2

I can personally vouch that the above two books are excellent and provide exciting reading to boot. I would also assume that other books by Barbara Tuchman are equally well written, researched, and worthwhile:

http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_ss...arbara+tuchman

-Zeno

A Captive Mind - Milosz

Anything by Timothy Garton Ash

The Last Stand - Nathaniel Philbrick.
Just finished reading this and was very impressed. It's totally absorbing and a thrilling account. Highly recommended.

The Pacific - Hugh Ambrose.
Sold as the 'official companion book to the HBO miniseries' I was not so impressed by this one. The author, imo, does'nt seem to know if he wants to write a factual account of the Pacific conflict or a romantic account of a few of the men who fought it. The result is quite a dull read.

Thanks. I read that a while ago but couldn't remember to title or authors. Excellent book. Very readable though not necessarily all that rigorous (was a bit too biased towards Mountbatten IMO)