Thursday Reading and Recommendations is intended as bookish free-for-all, for the discussion and recommendation of all books historical, or tangentially so. Suggested topics include, but are by no means limited to:
Asking for book recommendations on specific topics or periods of history
Newly published books and articles you're dying to read
Recent book releases, old book reviews, reading recommendations, or just talking about what you're reading now
Historiographical discussions, debates, and disputes
...And so on!
Regular participants in the Thursday threads should just keep doing what they've been doing; newcomers should take notice that this thread is meant for open discussion of history and books, not just anything you like -- we'll have a thread on Friday for that, as usual.
I would like to be (regularly) informed/updated about new findings and insights in Late Antique - Early Medieval history. Where do I look?
I asked this in a seperate thread already, as I didn't know that this existed.
Are there any good books that focus on early-mid Imperial China (Qin to Song) and follow a sort of historical narrative (with that I mean the book following a rough chronological order)? It doesn't particulary matter if the book spans a long or short time period.
I own Early Chinese Empires by Mark Edward Lewis, and while its a great book (especially for someone without background like me), it doesn't really follow the events in a chronological order, but deals with a seperate topic in each chapter.
I recently started reading books about terrorism/counter-terrorism and am looking for a good overview of the Algerian War. The wiki recommends A Savage War of Peace but also mentions it is an outdated work.
Does anyone have more modern recommendations?
A few years back I read Robin Fleming's Britain After Rome (Penguin, 2010), and I really enjoyed the way she used archeological techniques to focus on the lives of ordinary people and crafted narratives based around the forensic details of bodies and gravesites and such. More than just the archeological techniques, I found that her writing brought the details to life in a really palpable way. There was one chapter in which she described a woman's corpse that was weighted down with a stone that surprisingly terrifying for an academic book.
Are there other historians working in this mode whose writing is similarly accessible and compelling? I'm fairly ambivalent about the topic, though I assume that archeological history tends to focus on periods and places where written records are sparse, which is fine with me. I'm more interested in someone who's writing is compelling than a particular people or period.
Hey guys, I'm writing a fantasy novel mostly based off of Black African History and... I'm realizing that I don't know a lot about it. Does anyone have any recommendations on where I could start?
Specifically, I'm interested in African Medieval history (900CE - 1600 CE), the history of Gender in Africa/How women were treated in ancient African societies, and any information on the Malian Empire and/or Ghana Empire. Governance, warfare and arts are also a need for me.
While it's fascinating, I'm not really looking for books about Arab/Islamic history (unless it has a lot to do with Black Africans), nor books about East African history (so no Ethiopians, Axum/Nubia, etc.) and definitely no Egypt. I also don't want anything that goes into detail about slavery (I've had enough of reading about that.) Just about Black West Africans in Medieval times.
Thanks in advance! :D
How could I learning about American history during the mid 1800s? It is my favorite time period but I really don’t know anything about it in detail. I’m new to exploring history and think this would be an exciting entry into learning more.
Can anyone recommend a good book on Vichy France? I'm particularly interested in everyday life for people in the unoccupied zone, and in amy resistance movements.