Hey reddit, I've recently become very much interested in world politics, but the more I learn, the more I realise that I don't really have a strong enough foundation of world history. I am very much interested in learning more about World War 1 & 2, The Cold War etc.
Basically what I'm looking for are books on not the violence aspect of the wars themselves, but the political landscapes and the tensions that led to them, the Soviet Union, Hitler's Germany, socialism, and other general foreign events of significance.
I know that there are probably no completely unbiased sources out there, but I'd just like your recommendations nonetheless.
Thanks guys.
'The Origins of the First World War' by Koch (1972) - editors works on the international politics and economic implications for war..very good.
Concerning Nazism.
'Nazism 1919-1945, volume 1: the rise to power 1919-1934' by Noakes and Pridham (200) - I love these Noakes and Pridham primary sources books. They were the bible for my specialist subject on Nazi Germany. Encapsulates the rise of Nazism through primary sources. So so so interesting!
'The Third Reich in Power - how the Nazis won over the hearts and minds of a nation' by Evans (2005) - not an intro book. But well worth the read of the social changes pre-1939.
'The Origins of the Second World War' by AJP Taylor (1961) - a classic. Enough said.
If you want to explore more on the international relations field, pick up any introductory book. I've found most introductory IR or global politics books to be useful and they concisely cover the international politics for ww1/2. (IR theories can also be helpful for you to understand the motives of state actors. Not necessarily before 1945 but also to this day).
'Global Politics' by Heywood - (2011). It does cover aspects of power and identity of state actors in the WW1/2 eras. Primary focus is on after 1945 when a new liberalised world order based on international law starts to cement.
The AskHistorians Book List has a couple of great volumes on the lead-up to war.
I'd also recommend Sean McMeekin's July 1914, James Joll's The Origins of the First World War, T.G. Otte's July Crisis, and Robert K. Massie's Dreadnought: Britain, Germany, and the Coming of the Great War