What Are The Classic Texts to Read in Historical Study?

Question

I plan to enter a liberal arts college as a History Major within the next year. In preparation, I would like to read a list of books considered the "classic" or essential historical study books, preferably books that would commonly be assigned in college. My specific interest is in Modern European history.

I was homeschooled in high school so I never had AP classes or many prescribed history books.

The book list can consist of any era- classical/Roman/Greek- "Modern". Would prefer the recommendations to be books from "well-known" historians (not quite sure who they are yet!) and mostly non-fiction. I've read probably all the historical fiction there is :-).

Answer 1

Because of your particular background, I recommend that you read (or read "in") certain books that are not "standard" texts, but that are books whose ideas you will be called on to defend or refute all your life. Gibbon: "Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire." Carlyle, "History of the French Revolution." Prescott, "Conquest of Peru." Churchill, "History of the Second World War."

For example, there is a recent book, "Fall of the Roman Empire" by Peter Heather of Oxford. He argues that the Roman empire truly came to an end about AD 476, despite others' attempts to refute Gibbon,who wrote 250 years ago.

Next, I recommend you go to amazon.com and get a cheap used copy of William L. Langer, "Encyclopedia of World History." An oldie but a goodie. It has dates and facts of every thing you want to know.

As for books assigned in college, they'll assign those to you in college LOL. You may get some good out of those, but really, you want the other good stuff at the liberal arts college where you go. (Wish I knew where you're going. I went to big state universities, and I loved them.)

Answer 2

I would not advise any "survey" books, because they'll be assigned to you in class.

I can recommend some that I studied .. of course you must start with the classics Iliad, Oddessy, Aeneid.

You should at least read an overview of Gibbons Rise and Fall of the Roman Empire -- I personally wouldn't advise getting bogged down in the whole things.

Moving forward a few centuries ... Read about Charlemagne. You can pick from any good bios, but they needn't be extensive.

Let's move you forward a bit further and you need to pick up another bio about Martin Luther and the reformation. Again, doesn't need to be extensive, but you need to get the basics.

These first two can even be decent web sites.

You also really need to read some Russian and Middle Eastern History as well. For the Russian try "A History of Russia" by Nicholas V. Riasanovsky. There are two volumes. For Middle East, "History of the Arab Peoples" by Albert Hourani.

Now, you've got some basics ... let's look at some specific modern era books.

Other things on the list:
Night - Elie Wiesel
The History of the Second World War - Liddell Hart
THE CIVIL WAR by Shelby Foote
THE MAKING OF THE ATOMIC BOMB by Richard Rhodes
THE SECOND WORLD WAR by Winston Churchill
THE GREAT WAR AND MODERN MEMORY by Paul Fussell

You may notice a lot of military stuff ... that's my degree and interest, but hope some of this is helpful!
Good Luck!

Answer 3

It's great that you're eager to get a head-start on your studies. But the truth is there is no specific "canon" from which historians draw their interpretations. There are a number of highly influential books that are often cited. Marx and Engels's "Kapital" is a great example. A previous post gives some other fine suggestions. But there's no hard and fast list.

This is because professional historians don't care about "classics." In fact, most of them make their living critiquing traditional interpretations. Put another way, studying history as little to do with facts, and everything to do with interpretation. If a historian cites Gibbon on the Roman Empire, he or she does it only to show how Gibbon got things wrong. If he cites Churchill, he does it to call him an imperialist pig. Beyond that, although most historians are familiar with the argumentation in these well-known works, very few of them have actually read them. "Kapital" is cited endlessly, but I'm yet to meet a historian who's actually gotten all the way through it. You have to know what Marx's big ideas are, and why historians find them appealing. That's the issue.

So the most important thing for you to do as a student of history is to find out about these highly politicized debates and to try to hash out where you stand. So don't read "classics" in the blind hope it'll help you later. Read up on topics like imperialism, working-class history, and questions of race and gender that form the basis of studies today. These theoretical issues are at the heart of just about all work on modern Europe. Eventually, you'll find you're able to recognize the types of arguments being made in all kinds of historical writing, and you'll be far better equipped to respond.

Good luck.

Answer 4

Well here's a historian's bookshelves you can peruse. I'm impressed that you've read all the historical fiction out there...pretty incredible. Two to start with; Xenophon's ANABASIS (The March Upcountry) and Caesar's CONQUEST of GAUL.

http://www.librarything.com/catalog/Ammianus

Answer 5

In maximum senses the term is an extremely subjective one. while one says Classical Literature (caps intentional) in an academic putting, you get my branch, Greek and Roman works, relatively classics in the event that they have lasted for actually hundreds of years.

Answer 6

The one that you will propably be given is What is History? It is great for explaning the job and role of the Historian.