What books would you recommend if one was interested in WWI or the roman empire?
I'm currently reading "Sabotør i Holger Danske" (saboteur in Holger Danske.)
It's a non-fiction book about the saboteur group Holger Danske which operated in Denmark during WWII. The author has chosen to focus on "the human aspect" in his book. He had previously written about saboteur groups, but in his previous' works he chose to focus more on his sources than on the material.
I really like his style of writing, and I enjoy the more "personal" insight into the war. I was wondering if there was something similar with regards to WWI.
I am also currently listening to Dan Carlins Hardcore History podcast on WWI and I'm enjoying it a lot.
I've heard of the book "the guns of august". Should I read that?
I know nothing about the roman empire, but I would like to learn about it. How did it come to be? who was caesar? What about the Punic wars? Is there a "The roman empire for dummies" I could read?
Thanks in advance for the help :)
This book list for WWI should help. I'd recommend War of Attrition and Bloody Victory by William Phillpott. Guns of August is fairly subpar by today's standards.
A work not in NMW's reading list, and one of my personal favorites, is Andy Simpson's Hot Blood and Cold Steel: Life in the British Trenches in the First World War. It sounds just like the personal experience you want. Martin Middlebrooks' works, The First Day on the Somme and The Kaisers Battle, both focus heavily on personal accounts and following certain groups of men throughout the leadup and duration of the battle. That also sounds right up your alley.
I'd also say that, since you're listening to Dan Carlin, you should read the counterpoint to the tone of his podcast, Dan Todman's The First World War: Myth and Memory.
Hi there, Djolke. Since you're looking for something more "personal" in regards to WWI, I can recommend the Swedish historian Peter Englund's The beauty and the sorrow: an intimate history of the First World War which would be right up your alley. I know for a fact that it has been translated into Danish under the title Kampens skønhed og gru: første verdenskrig i 212 korte kapitler.
I know nothing about the roman empire, but I would like to learn about it. How did it come to be? who was caesar? What about the Punic wars? Is there a "The roman empire for dummies" I could read?
I asked something similar a while ago and the most popular recommendation was Rome: A political and military history by Christopher Mckay
For the end of the Roman Republic and the start of the Empire, I'd recommend The Roman Revolution by Syme, really convincing breakdown about how it all transpired. I like Goldsworthy so would recommend his The Punic Wars.