Hi reddit, long time lurker. My 15 year old sister chose modern history (mostly 20th century) as a subject next year and while she says that history interests her, she doesn't seem too passionate about it. Any recommendations on books that might spark her interest?
Thanks so much in advance. She just needs that initial push and I know she'll kill the subject.
What is your sister interested in? Is she interested in the history of a particular country of the 20th century? A particular event? A particular individual? I think you need to give us more to go on than just 20th century history. :)
Lay reader here. Since you've had no replies for an hour, I thought I'd weigh in.
There's a sub-genre of books that people call "biographies of things." They take one topic and expand on it. Essentially they're history books. There are so many good ones. I'll give you three:
Cod, by Mark Kurlansky
Scurvy, by Stephen R. Bown
Lesser Beasts, by Mark Essig
It depends on whar she's interested in, but the Cartoon History of the World and World History: The Comic (Larry Gonick Zak Zabell), which were interesting for me to read as an adult. Otherwise, very readable books are Courtesans and Fishcakes, The World of Pompeii (John Dobbins, Peter Foss), Women in the Viking Age (Jesch), Medieval Children (Nicholas Orme), Humour in the Dutch Culture of the Golden Age (Rudolf Dekker), 1491 (Charles Mann), Daily Lives of Civilians in Wartime Asia (Stewart Lone)- those are the books which I love best and find most readable. I like social history and the whole daily lives of people type history...I'm terrible at dates and have no clue and little interest in military history though. Your sister probably has different interests but I can recommend a long list of books to do with medieval Europe's judicial system and criminals, a ton of stuff about Vikings and a fair amount of books on Slavic folklore throughout history. I doubt many people find it interesting (although there are some great historical fictions about the first subject) but if she does, ask away.
Would she be interested in some historical fiction? Or some historical documentaries (or accurate enough movies set in the past)?
Is there any specific period of History that you've noticed she's into? What areas of History interest you? Do you think they would interest her?
Some areas of History that interest me are: The Vikings (especially Norse Iceland), Weimar Republic, Nazi Germany, History of Psychology & Psychiatry, LGBTQ America (mainly 1920's-1980's; So anything leading up to the Stonewall Riots, the Riots itself & The AIDS Crisis), Taisho (1912-1926; Where Japan starts to modernise) & Showa-era (1926-1989; WW2, "comfort women", "Unit 731") Japan. Late Imperial & Revolutionary Russia (1905-1924)
If any of the topics I've mentioned seem interesting & you think your sister (or yourself) might find them interesting, if you like I can recommend some introductory texts for the topics :)
Not all 20th Century but....
"1493" is a really interesting and accessible read on the consequences of Columbian contact.
"A World Undone" is a pretty good history of WW1 but it's pretty grim stuff.
"A History Of The World In 7 Glasses" is a nifty history of the drinks that shaped the world.
"Holy Sh*t" is a fun history of cursing and profanity
"The Story of Sushi" is a pretty cool history of Sushi and its rise in American food culture but it also follows a student through the California Sushi Academy which gives it a bit more of a novel like feel.
What portion of the 20th century?
A Fierce Discontent - The Rise and Fall of the Progressive Movement in America by Michael McGerr is fairly decent as an overview on why we should care. It identifies that the gap between the rich and the poor isn't a new concept in the last few decades but a struggle that has been ongoing from even the mid 19th century in the United States. (covers around 1865-1928ish)
The March series books by John Robert Lewis focus on the civil rights movement with enough stylized writing to not bog it down in tons of footnotes and ideal for a teenager. (1960s)
The Story of Film by Mark Cousins covers how filmmakers have been influenced by both historical events and each other. You have ongoing examples even today where certain episodes of TV and movies have been edited or completely shelved to not inflame the public with acts of terrorism, shootings, and the like. Specific examples of this include: Spider-man was edited to remove the World Trade Center and replaced instead with Spider-Man hanging off a flagpole with a large American Flag. Zoolander had the WTC digitally deleted out. Men in Black II had the WTC replaced with the Statue of Liberty. Bourne Identity removed terrorism from the storyline. (pretty much the entire 20th century)
To start getting her interested, I might start with some more novel-like books. Under a Cruel Star by Heda Margolius Kovaly is excellent, and a book I've had to read in college history classes. It's about a Jewish woman in Soviet controlled Prague where her husband gets caught up in the show trials.
Persepolis by Marjane Satrapi is a really excellent graphic novel about a girl growing up in Iran during the Islamic Revolution.
At that age I prefered bio and daily life and individuals in events to the usual kings and wars stuff. Political history of the gulags = zzzz The Long Walk by Slavomir Rawicz = 8-D. Look at what Scholastic Books is offering in history. They often have a superb idea of their market. Then be sure to get the right age range. A book for a 9yo will make her eyes roll up into her head and stick.
That said, you can always bet on self-interest: teenagers and women in history.
You can look for Teenage: The Prehistory of Youth Culture: 1875-1945 by Jon Savage. He's careful to always get both a male and female "voice" for each era. I particularly like that he covers Europe & America, including youth resistance against the Nazis, like the White Rose - but the Hitler Youth, too. He has another volume, Teenage: The Creation of Youth Culture for the later 20th C.
For something more girly, try Some Wore Bobby Sox: The Emergence of Teenage Girls' Culture, 1920-1945 (Girls' History & Culture Book) by Kelly Schrum.