What are some good history books?

Question

i am trying to get a broad historical overview of the world. i never read history but just recently got into it when i read A VISION UNFULFILLED by John M Thompson

the book is about russian history, its very detailed but well written, its kind of story like , not alot of analysis on his part and i prefer that.

Childrens books for geenral world overview and then good literaary detailed books on Roman history, European history and Russian history. And anythign else you think its really a must readbut not in the scholarly sence

Answer 1

Try Bookyards History section. They have a few hundred ebooks covering history. i.e. The romans, greeks, egyptian, a large European section etc. The link is found here http://www.bookyards.com/categories.html?type=books&category_id=18

Ebooks on American history can be found here http://www.bookyards.com/categories.html?type=books&category_id=31

Bookyards is a free online library.

Answer 2

Russia Goes Dry: Alcohol, State and Society
Stephen White
-A lot of fun to read, honestly. Great visuals throughout the book too. Definitely a must if you're interested in Russian history.

Leonardo: The Artist and the Man
Serge Bramly
-A fantastic biography of Da Vinci. It analyzes his sketches and gives a great overview of life during the Renaissance in general. Really great and well written.

The Word Made Flesh: A History of Christian Thought
Margaret R. Miles
-This book is fantastic and not very difficult to get through. History and religion are so intertwined that a good book on Christianity's history is well worth your time.

A Fez of the Heart: Travels Around Turkey in Search of a Hat
Jeremy Seal
-Not as serious as the other ones listed, but really great nontheless. I read it in high school, so its definitely more pleasurable to read than more academic history books. However, it gives such a great explanation of Turkish history and society its worth a read--especially with what's been in the news about Turkey recently.

Answer 3

The Greek Achievement by Charles Freeman is a good book on ancient Greece. I think is of the kind you look for.
I liked a lot Power and Imagination: City-States in Renaissance Italy by Lauro Martines. It has a little more of a personal view but is still very good.
The Reformation by Diarmaid MacCulloch is very detailed and very interesting.
I liked a lot the Civilization and Capitalism series by Fernand Braudel. It is very good as an overview but it also has a lot of his own analysis.

Answer 4

One excellent book that does justice to English History is 'Great Tales from English History'.
The book tells "The truth about King Arthur, Lady Godiva, Richard the Lionheart, and more." Each chapter is quite short (the book is 221 pgs. long), yet well-written, and informative. It lies somewhere between the children's book in its simplicity, yet reads like a good "literary, detailed" book.
Its Bibliography and Source notes are excellent, and very helpful if one is interested in British/European/Roman History.
Lege Feliciter!

Answer 5

Killing Patton, Killing Lincoln, Killing Jesus, Killing Kennedy, Killing Reagen, (Those are excellent history books written about the last few months of their life andthe mystery of their deaths and who did it.) If you like alternative history here is: The Man In The High Castle, Fatherland, The Only Thing To Fear, those are all excellent alternative WW2 books especially the first and second one.

Answer 6

Memiors of A Geisha
The Diary of Anne Frank
Farewll to Manzanar