What was the most interesting history book you ever read?

Question

Something non-fiction that you found fascinating?

Answer 1

I've always been a big fan of American Civil War books, having gotten hooked at a very young age by the Catton volume American Heritage Civil War.

I also enjoyed Churchill's multi-volume English History. Never managed to plow my way through Gibbons Rise and Fall of Rome although read parts here and there through several borrowings from the library. The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich by William Shirer was pretty good and I enjoyed the video series they made back in, oh, about the 1960s based on the book. I once read a decent history of the War of 1812 from the Canadian point of view that was fascinating because of the different perspective it presented, but I forget who wrote it. I haven't read any recently published works that have hit the mark with me.

Answer 2

Pretty much anything by Eric Foner. "Reconstruction: America's Unfinished Revolution" is a good one.

It is fascinating for me to read in his various works about the Southern Union Army veterans who returned home after the war to fight the slavers, as well as the radical left poor white militias and their alliance with the black ex-slaves. He also discusses the assassination of left-wing Arkansas congressman James M. Hinds by the Ku Klux Klan.

He covers aspects of the Civil War that are rarely covered. Mostly we get that "North vs. South" crap.

For more recent history, it's hard to beat Carl Oglesby's "The Yankee and Cowboy War," about the fighting between the factions of the wealthy who own USA, Inc. I was particularly interested by his discussions of the 1960s assassinations, and the dynamics of the Watergate scandal. I don't like his politics - in spite of his radical reputation he's actually pretty conservative, but his writing is interesting.

Answer 3

"From the Ruins of the Reich - Germany, 1945-1949" by Douglas Botting. An excellent book describing the collapse of Nazi Germany, its division into zones by the Allies, denazification, political and social life, the Berlin Airlift, the creation of the Federal Republic of Germany, etc. Highly recommended.

Answer 4

The Peloponnesian War by Thucydides

Answer 5

Dear Steve,
There’s a biography of Sir FRANCIS DRAKE out there that reads more like a novel than a historic document. I must have been about 14 when I “had to” plow through it for a report.
Marry Christmas,
PennyAnn

Answer 6

WHEN GOD WAS A WOMAN by Merlin Stone; fascinating look at ancient goddess religions and the people who worshipped the various goddesses.

Answer 7

"The Most Evil Men and Women in History" by Miranda Twiss.

Second was "The Bedside Book of Bastards" can't remember the author.

Answer 8

Polio: An American History
Persecution (this one is more political opinion; not history)
Hirohito and the Making of Modern Japan

Answer 9

sabre jet ace ,the first hardbound book i ever read at about age 7 .it was the story of joe mc connel the first jet fighter ace in the air force.

Answer 10

most of my non fiction is science based but i found monarch a good read.