"Blood and Iron" by Katja Hoyer is a wonderful description of the Bismarck-Wilhelmite period during which Germany unified, militarized and emerged as a superpower.

Considering how much is in it, it is amazingly short. Vital background for those interested in the World Wars and how they came about.

Currently Reading two history books and while I'm not finished with either, I can say they're pretty great so far:

• These Truths: A History of the U.S. By Jill Lepore - A really great history of the United States that also analyzes said history, especially in regards to the values that made the Declaration of Independence so powerful. The self-evident truths and how it's possible a nation could believe in them while also believing in slavery, oppressing women and so on. It also touches on whether or not we have lived up to said truths and so far I'm enjoying it. I've read another of Lepore's books, and I find her style and skill as a writer engaging and lively. Not dry at all, which is great for a book that's over 900 pages.

• Military Necessity and Civil Rights Policy: Black Citizenship and the Constitution, 1861–1868 by Mary Frances Berry - Less a book and more of a....study? An analysis? An argument? I'm not exactly sure what to call it but it's well written and informative. It's primarily about the views and opinions of white people in Colonial America regarding whether or not blacks, both free and enslaved, should serve in the military. It's also so much more than that. It talks about how the prevailing thoughts were that slaves were less than human, less than white people, and undeserving of citizenship, yet when times became desperate enough blacks could be granted their freedom and much more by proving valor in combat. It also touches on civil rights policies and I presume (like I said, I haven't finished it yet), will show that there was a correlation between when white people recognized the usefulness of blacks in the military and when they began passing laws giving blacks more and more freedoms. I expect to see the Civil War and how blacks fought there mentioned greatly, and to see the link forged and explored. Really fascinating stuff, I also like how Berry explores the concept of citizenship and its relation to military service.

Thank you for this! My family emigrated to America from Germany around the time of unification and I've always wondered what might have prompted them to do that. This book might have some insight into what my ancestors were going through!

I need a book on the Ancient world and very early civilization, places, and people's like Mesopotamia, Assyrians, Indus River valley civilization, and Babylonia, etc, But I need it to be entertaining, I am not a historian to me history is a fun hobby so I will lose focus and give up if I start reading the equivalent of a textbook, Basically I need a history book written like fan-fiction while still maintaining reality if anyone has a book that fits this description but not the time-frame feel free to still recommend it as I'll probably want to read eventually.

This is the first time I've seen this thread...it's awesome! I'm not sure if it's been brought up yet, but there's a podcast called "battles of the first world war" by Mike Cunha. He goes in depth with major battles of WW1, and it's a great listen!

You might also enjoy Fighting for Citizenship: Black Northerners and the Debate Over Military Service in the Civil War by Brian Taylor. A study about the ambivalence that northern blacks felt when compelled to fight in the war.

I’m currently reading a study about the roots of the Iraq War in preparation for the 20th anniversary of the invasion next month. Also on the shelf is Michael Holt’s book on the 1860 election, Adrian Brettle’s Colossal Ambitions about Confederate dreams of empire, and Erica Dunbar’s Never Caught about Washington’s pursuit of Ona Judge.

I recently finished "The Anglo-Saxons: A History of the Beginnings of England: 400 – 1066", by Marc Morris.

Best comprehensive single volume history of Spain (in English)?
I was hoping to find an overview history of Spain. There are a lot of them, and I'm not sure which one to read.I saw quite a few in my search:

The History of Spain by Peter PiersonSpain A Unique History by Stanley G. PayneA Concise History of Spain by Phillips

Any thoughts or recommendations?

Yes, thank you, that looks exactly like something I need to read next! I think it’s very interesting looking at how minorities in America reacted to America’s wars and I imagine the Civil War being one of the biggest moments of differing opinions on that matter. I’m also aware that during the Vietnam War there was a huge movement of black people refusing to serve even when drafted, I suppose that’s something I’ll need to read up on too.

It also brings into question whether or not someone should have to serve in the military to be a citizen. The idea of not being able to truly take part in your country’s institutions/government/etc unless you’re willing to fight and die in wars you had no say in starting is..troubling. Interesting, but troubling.

I'm also reading "the wars of reconstruction" which provides a more black centric viewpoint of all the challenges directly before and after emancipation. I feel like so much of the Civil War and wiring on slavery comes from the white viewpoint without considering the challenges individuals faced in the black community.

I'm getting near to the end of Genghis Khan and the Making of the Modern World by Jack Weatherford, I'm really enjoying so I am wondering what I could read next?

I don't mind who it's about as long as it's a page turner like this is

Currently reading Rise and Kill First. The Secret History of Israel's Targeted Assassinations by Rogen Bergman. It's very dense and dry but has a massive wealth of information on the Israel's response to constant threats of terrorism both within its borders and abroad.

Will Durant's, histories maybe.

Currently reading Augustus by Anthony Everett, Will Durant’s The reformation and “House of the dead, Siberian exile under the Tsars”.

Can anyone recommend a book that gives a history of the 80s in America? I’d like it to look at a mix of political and social changes.

I looked these up and they seem like beginner history books, which is perfect for me, although they also seem pretty dated, So might check them out but I'll definitely read them with a grain of salt.

Currently reading “Hitler’s War” by Thomas Weber. A cumulative history of Hitler’s World War I military service. Only book I could ever find on the subject. It aims to disprove the myths expressed by Hitler in “Mien Kampf” about his WWI service as well as the common myth that it was the war itself that radicalized him.

Pierre Briant is good for Persian stuff. I'm currently reading Ancient Iraq by Georges Roux and its very good so far.

They are very dated, and I wish people would stop recommending them. It’s extremely insulting as an ancient historian to see so many people apparently believe that we’ve learned nothing of interest in the last 90 years. I wrote more about the first volume here.

Susan Wise Bauer’s History of the Ancient World is probably your best bet. For ancient Egypt in particular, I recommend Temples, Tombs, and Hieroglyphs and Red Land, Black Land by Barbara Mertz.

Can anyone recommend a book (or several!) on ancient LGBTQ+ history? I'm ideally looking for BCE information but I'd also be ok with anything before the 19th century.

Here's a good interview with Hoyer over at The New Books Network: https://newbooksnetwork.com/blood-and-iron

I just heard a good interview with Taylor on The Rogue Historian podcast. They talked about the New Orleans Native Guard and explained what was really going on with it during the Confederacy, since it's often used as an example of Black Confederates.

Kate Masur's book, Til Justice Done, is about the civil rights movement in the antebellum period and the Souths' constant reaching and imposition on Northern states really started to drive civil rights in the 1850s. A lot of states expanded citizenship to Black Americans during that period, that's part of what Dred Scott was about. States were also trying to force equal application of the privileges and immunities clause, etc. Ohio really did a 180 during the period and is an instructive example.

This isn't really helpful, but Stephen Metcalf has been writing one for like the last decade and I wish he would finish it up. Rick Perlstein has one called Reaganland. I heard some interviews with him and I don't know if I totally buy his argument, but overall I think it's a good look at the decade. https://www.nytimes.com/2020/08/18/books/review/reaganland-rick-perlstein.html

Has anyone here read Weimar Germany – Promise and Tragedy by Eric Weitz and is it any good?

Read The Pike: Gabriele D'Annunzio, Poet, Seducer and Preacher of War by Lucy Hughes-Hallett which I mentioned in last weeks post.

>3.75/5 a good history book but very difficult to recommend.

>Chunky at 650 pages, the first half covers D'Annunzio's life pre-WWI - his works, his financial struggles (the man had a borderline mental problem with how quickly he spent money) , the numerous affairs. The second half covers his experiences in WWI, his capture and rule of Fiume, his life after he was forced out of Fiume, and his relationship with Mussolini (who saw Annuzio as an inspiration but also felt he was a potential threat he had to keep on side). The writing style is great, even the topics I'm not interested in were still entertaining to read. I very rarely skipped over stuff. The book basically covers everything anyone would want to know about Annunzio

>The reason I wouldn't recommend it is mainly due to the length. I went into the book for the political stuff, mainly around Fiume, and it took several hundred pages to get to that. But if you are interested in literary and artistic side of things then you have several hundred political and military pages to read.

Also read Weimar Germany (Short Oxford History of Germany series) edited by Anthony McElligott

>3.25/5 not bad but I wouldn't particularly recommend it.

>Basically a undergrad level textbook with each chapter by a different historian. The writing is very on the academic side and for certain topics (the urban reform and welfare chapters) quite dense. For other chapters despite having niche topics (Bauhaus and new housing, Weimar Jews) they were surprisingly readable and more interesting than I expected. Of the normal topics the politics chapter was good but focused on emergency powers and the shift towards authoritarianism in 1930-32 rather than x happened then Y happened. The foreign policy chapter was good about how the German government tried to undo the Versailles Treaty. The culture chapter was better than I expected and basically argues that the arts (theatre, cinema) of the time were a lot more conservative than the traditional image of Weimar culture suggests. I also liked the chapter on the Reichswehr about the different visions for the future of the German military and the militarisation of society. There is a economics chapter but it was complicated.

>There is a decent further reading list for each chapter but for the more niche topics (urban reform) most of the suggestions are in German.

Now reading 2 books - On a Knife Edge: How Germany Lost the First World War by Holger Afflerbach and The Chief: Douglas Haig and the British Army by Gary Sheffield (his Forgotten Victory - The First World War Myths and Reality is also very good) and really enjoying both but not that far into them yet

Looking for some material on female rulers in history. Already have stuff on Elizabeth I, Cleopatra, Lilioukalani, and Catherine the Great.

Would be especially interested in Olga of Kiev, but she doesn't seem to have much out there.

I enjoyed "When Women Ruled the World: Six Queens of Egypt" by Kara Cooney. Several years ago she gave a talk as part of a National Geographic traveling series. I found her to be an excellent speaker. I bet videos have been posted to YouTube by now.

I’m fascinated by totalitarian governments, how they came to be and the men who led them.

Last year I read Lenin: The Man, the Dictator, and the Master of Terror; Young Stalin; and Stalin: The Court of the Red Tsar.

I just finished The Romanovs: 1614-1918 and have started Mao: The Unknown Story. Any recommendations are super appreciated!

I read Mai Ngai's The Chinese Question. It was interesting and helpful b/c she tied in anti-Chinese sentiment from the US, Australia, and South Africa to show how they influenced each other. I know it's ridiculous to expert her to know every language, but I would have liked to have learned more about Chinese immigration to Peru.

I think there are some interesting lessons to learn about changing rationales in racism and the economic importance of the transnational Chinese community to China in terms of remittances and reinvestment in the home country.

I thought the book maybe over focused on S. Africa, but I put that down to that subject most likely having more archival resources.

There's a book by Carl Nightingale called Segregation. It was kind of dry, but it would be a good complement to Ngai's book. Overall if you have any interest in Chinese migration in the late 19th/early 20th century I would recommend Ngai's book.

This was a great book to read after playing AC: Valhalla

I haven't read the Weitz book. But I've had When Money Dies by Fergusson on my TBR pile for a while and it looks like something you might be interested in. It's kind of old, so it's hard to find a recent review of it. But maybe that means you'll be able to find a cheap used copy.

I just finished Forgotten Bastards of the Eastern Front: American Airmen Behind Soviet Lines and the Collapse of the Grand Alliance by Plokhy. I loved it! It focuses on the American airbases in Poltava in what is now Ukraine, which were originally established so that the British and Americans could do bombing runs straight across Germany and land in Ukraine to refuel. Stalin wasn’t thrilled about it but he ended up giving in.

Most of the Americans who were sent to staff the airbases were picked because they spoke Russian (although they were screened for anti-Soviet sentiment). The Soviets, of course, immediately assumed all these guys were spies (they weren’t). Drama ensued.

It should’ve been a relatively small moment in the larger war but he makes a really strong argument that it had outsized influence, >!partly because Harriman was involved, partly because a lot of the Americans (and Soviets) who worked at Poltava were posted to Berlin after the war, and partly because near the end of the war Poltava became central to the disputes over what was going to happen to the American POWs who were being freed from German camps by the Red Army!<

I also really liked the way that he got into the Soviet archives to follow up on how the locals around Poltava, especially the woman who dated American GIs, were treated in the Cold War. I felt like that easily could’ve been overlooked and I’m glad that he included that really personal level as well as the overarching strategic and political impact.

Highly recommend!

Two EXCELLENT books about the Iraq War

The March Up

and

The Strongest Tribe

Both by Author Bing West.

Now, the March Up is an interesting read, but you can take it or leave it. The Strongest Tribe on the other hand is downright educational. Its an engaging read, but its educational enough that (if I was a person that made these kind of decisions) I would put it on the mandatory/professional reading list for politicians, diplomats, and military leaders above E-7 or O-4)

First, for important context, who is Bing West?

From wikipedia

>Francis J. "Bing" West Jr. (born May 2, 1940) is an American author, Marine combat veteran and former Assistant Secretary of Defense for International Security Affairs during the Reagan Administration.

But ok the real key points here are - the guy was a Marine infantry platoon commander in Vietnam. He was right there in the S***

But also made it up to Col.

But also worked in the White House.

But also worked for the RAND corporation.

The important here is, he has real world experience at all these levels, but also he has the street cred to get access to people.

When he and Gen Ray Smith decide "hey, 1st Marines is in on the Iraq invasion, pushing all the way up to Baghdad, let's ride along and write a book about it" (The March Up), they have the connections to get permission to literally buy an SUV and ride along with the convoy the whole way

and based on his street cred, his "I was an Lt in Vietnam" means he can sit down with the infantry enlisted and junior officers and they'll talk to him.

But his I was a Col, creds mean he can get interview time with the General too

and his White House cred means he can get to the point interviews with the actual Bush administration decision makers. No doors were closed to him.

AND he speaks from actual subject matter expertise.

Like, when everyone was all sunshine about the rewriting of American counterinsurgency doctrine under Peter Pace, Gen pace assembled an entire think tank to make that rewrite happen. Bing West was one of the academics on that staff. He literally helped re-write "the book" on counterinsurgency.

>Interesting side note - part of the process for reshaping COIN strategy came from square one - study, go back, find ALL the counterinsurgencies in the modern era, Vietnam, the Troubles, etc and see what did they try, what worked what didn't, and why?" and oh BTW in Vietnam he was there. So sure enough one tactic he believed strongly in, was the whole "if you want the populace to side with you, you have to prove you are invested, and prove you can provide some safety. You gotta live among them. Can't own the town unless you live in the town. Which is what they tried in Vietnam, as West wrote about in his book "The Village", and reading it I was like, "yo.... I recognize this", because sure enough, it shed light on why, on my Iraq deployment, we picked the most defensible building in our sector, bought it, sandbagged it up, and LIVED IN the city we needed to assume control of.

Bottom line, As a former Marine, former academic researchers/think tank guy/former White House cabinet level staffer, this is a guy who knows how to research, has subject matter expertise at multiple levels of war and policy, and has access to face to face interaction with people that will open up to him, all the way from Marine Private First Class up to Undersecretary of State, so his book "The Strongest Tribe" as a chronicle and analysis of

how did we fight the insurgency in Iraq, what went wrong, what went right, and what changed things for better or worse

is excellently written and insightful. (Also, he pulls NO punches. He openly discusses which decision makers made dumb dumb dumb decisions. He tells it just how it is on Paul Bremer for example.)

I actually say that the most interesting pair of parallels books which SHOULDN'T be about the same thing, and yet, they kind of are

are The March Up paired with From Beirut to Jerusalem by Thomas Friedman (yes, aware of the many criticisms of Friedman)

But between the two books, set decades apart, in different conflicts, there is a very notable consistency in the end theme of how Middle Eastern intertribal politics cannot be forced into a Western Template.

The landscape is going to be dominated by various factions looking out for their own peoples' interests and maintaining a level of mistrust. You can't just stitch together a new pretty "national flag" and say "ok fam, just like work together eh?"

American Promethious and also Making of the Atomic Bomb

I'd be interested to hear your recommendations for those women. In exchange, I recommend reading Empress Dowager Cixi: The Concubine Who Launched Modern China.

Thanks for the the information!

Can you guys recommend a good basic biography on Ben Franklin? Every book I see is either a kids book or it says “general biographies are all over the place and this book will focus on this one weird thing”.

They aren't related topics but does anyone have any resources regarding the:

• Canadian invasion of Italy in WW2?

• The Napoleonic Wars?

Not really bothered what the level of detail is about the Canadian stuff, but I'd rather the Napoleonic stuff be easy enough to digest. I know the bullet points but I don't want to jump into an extremely complex read.

I’m maybe 30% through American Prometheus and I can’t put it down. The research is impeccable, there may not be a more interesting person from that era than Oppenheimer, and there is just so much I didn’t know about him beyond the bomb.

Thr audiobook for both are amazing

Saving Titanic isn't just a documentary, but a fully scripted and acted movie told from the perspective of the coal shovelers and engineers who stayed in the bowels of the ship to keep the pumps and lights on. The movie is nicely edited with points where a narrator explains certain things that the crewmen themselves wouldn't be able to know at the time. (Like a further hull breech that wasn't visible because it was in a coal bunker, between boiler rooms)

The Gordon Wood one is highly regarded. Also, Five Books has this article on the best Ben Franklin books: https://fivebooks.com/best-books/benjamin-franklin-d-g-hart/

Walter Isaacson's got one too. He's not a dedicated historian of the period but his bioraphies are popular. http://libwww.freelibrary.org/podcast/episode/892

You could also read Kelsa Pellettiere's piece in the Bulkwart from when the Ken Burns doc came out. You can also hit her up on twitter where she's Franklin Fangirl or something. https://www.thebulwark.com/ken-burns-pbs-documentary-review-the-worldly-ben-franklin/

Wow I was about comment the same. Nearing the end now and I loved it! Mongol history is endlessly interesting to me. Weatherford doesn’t really talk about the scale of the destruction during the Mongol conquests though.

I recommend ‘A Land So Strange’ by Andres Resendez. I flew through that book.

‘The Secret History of the Mongol Queens’ by Jack Weatherford. Those Mongol women were badass

wow, thank you! you made that look easy.

You might look at biographies by Phillip Short of Mao,Pol Pot ,and his recent one of Putin.And also R.J.B. BOSWORTH works on Mussolini and Italy.

Very cool thread!! I'll be working on a paper on millennialism in Ninteenth Century America soon. Looking for books, resources, anything that could give me some insights! Thanks!!

How is Will Durant’s The Reformation? I’m always interested in reading more books on that subject

Read Taking Pairs: The Epic Battle for the City of Lights by Martin Dugard this week. Solid book, not super in depth, but did a nice job hitting major events and giving various perspectives of many of those involved. I did like that it had some information from the perspective from Charles de Gaulle however. I don't know a whole lot about him because he seems to often get glossed over in many WWII books. Going to read Taking Berlin by the same author this week.

I’m currently re-reading “The Wages of Destruction: The Making and Breaking of the Nazi Economy” by Adam Tooze. It’s one of the best books I’ve read on (mostly) pre-WWII Nazi Germany. It requires a bit of background knowledge to follow along with the major players, but it’s a fascinating look at the reasons behind many of the foreign and domestic policy decisions of the Nazis. As you might imagine, everything hinged on autarky, with the ultimate goal of improving Germany’s standard of living with that of their neighbors, but especially the US. The book is thoroughly researched and provides the reader with incredible facts and figures. One of my favorite tidbits is that the Volkswagen (literal “People’s Car”) project never came to fruition, with not a single one ever being delivered to those who had put down monthly deposits.

I second this book! It’s in my top 10 favorites of all time!

I have

Cleopatra by Stacy Schiff

Hawaii's Story by Hawaii's Queen by Queen Lilioukalani

Elizabeth: Struggle for the Throne by David Starkey

Catherine the Great by Robert Massie(he has more on Russian history; Peter the Great and the Romanovs)

I know he has written a lot in cooperation with Bill O'Reilly, ,and has very diverse subjects to his books

Hasn’t gotten to the reformation yet but it is doing a very good job over viewing late 13th Flemish art. It is a very general book.

On Napolean might start author Adam Zamoyski who wrote a biography and 1812:Napoleans fatal march,or Dominic Lieven's Russia against Napolean,and David Gates 1803-1815 the Napoleanic Wars or Gates The Spainish Ulcer.

On Canada check out author Mark Zuehlke ,he has 3 books on the subject.

I really liked a short biography by Edmund S. Morgan of Yale University only 354 pages, much more philosophical in nature trying to understand Franklin's true beliefs.Gorden Wood called it "the best short biography ever written"

Sounds like you are a Katja Hoyer fan. Just thought I’d mention that she has a new book coming out called: Beyond the Wall: A History of East Germany. It is available for preorder on Amazon. The book will be released on September 5, 2023. I already ordered a copy so I’m happy to find out that she’s a good writer!!

If you enjoy historical podcasts , you might like Cold War Conversations. The moderator even interviewed Nikita Khrushchev’s son Sergei.

Indeed! It isn't just political conditions like wars that make people move, but many parts of Germany urbanised and industrialised, causing much social dislocation.

On the under-rated YouTube channel "WW2TV" she does a lecture on the rise of Nazism starting in 1918 (which is when you have to start that story). The channel is long form, the episode is an hour or so, but she covers everything, very engagingly and concisely.

Considering how misunderstood this period is, and how intricate it can be, it's a real treasure to have it laid out so clearly.

Sounds like the paper your writing will be very interesting. You might be interested in looking at the writings of M James Penton. He is a former Jehovah’s Witness who discusses a lot about the history of millennialism and how it influenced the Jehovah’s Witnesses. His work Apocalypse Delayed, although older, is very good. In it, he recounts the influence that millennialists like Nelson Barbour had on Charles Taze Russell and his Bible Students movement. A schism occurred within the group with a portion becoming the Jehovah’s Witnesses in 1931. You can also search James Penton on Youtube. I’ve seen several interviews featuring him on there. Good luck with your paper!!🍀🍀

Thanks so much!! I'll absolutely check him out. I need to narrow down a bit so I'll take any and all info I can gwt!!

I think that narrowing the topic to the examination of two movements the Seventh Day Adventists and Jehovah’s Witnesses might be beneficial. Then it could be argued that the real significance of nineteenth century millennialism lies in its continuing influence on contemporary religious culture and movements. Just a suggestion.

Thanks for telling me about that YouTube channel. I like to hear about the history channels that they offer. Thank you so much.

I was leaning toward millennialism and reform, but that's an interesting direction too. I have some workshop time, so I'll try a few things to see what sources are like. Thanks again!!

You’re welcome. Good luck!!

He is a ,great author,I not understand the hate on him, he will teach you more about these cultures, their philosophies,religions etc tec ,than any modern author. Yes you will find more modern correct info from modern authors, but they are boring and narrow minded, you asked for a wider picture,.
Try ,Gun ,germs and steel , for a more academic approach.

Hi!

It looks like you are talking about the book Guns, Germs, and Steel by Jared Diamond.

The book over the past years has become rather popular, which is hardly surprising since it is a good and entertaining read. It has reached the point that for some people it has sort of reached the status of gospel. On /r/history we noticed a trend where every time a question was asked that has even the slightest relation to the book a dozen or so people would jump in and recommend the book. Which in the context of history is a bit problematic and the reason this reply was written.

Why it is problematic can be broken down into two reasons:

1. In academic history there isn't such thing as one definitive authority or work on things. There are often others who research the same subjects and people that dive into work of others to build on it or to see if it indeed holds up. This being critical of your sources and not relying on one source is actually a very important skill in studying history often lacking when dozens of people just spam the same work over and over again as a definite guide and answer to "everything".
2. There are a good amount of modern historians and anthropologists who are quite critical of Guns, Germs, and Steel and there are some very real issues with Diamond's work. These issues are often overlooked or not noticed by the people reading his book. Which is understandable, given the fact that for many it will be their first exposure to the subject. Considering the popularity of the book it is also the reason that we felt it was needed to create this response.

In an ideal world, every time the book was posted in /r/history, it would be accompanied by critical notes and other works covering the same subject. Lacking that a dozen other people would quickly respond and do the same. But simply put, that isn't always going to happen and as a result, we have created this response so people can be made aware of these things. Does this mean that the /r/history mods hate the book or Diamond himself? No, if that was the case, we would simply instruct the bot to remove every mention of it. This is just an attempt to bring some balance to a conversation that in popular history had become a bit unbalanced. It should also be noted that being critical of someone's work isn't the same as outright dismissing it. Historians are always critical of any work they examine, that is part of their core skill set and key in doing good research.

Below you'll find a list of other works covering much of the same subject. Further below you'll find an explanation of why many historians and anthropologists are critical of Diamonds work.

Other works covering the same and similar subjects.

• Seven Myths of the Spanish Conquest

• 1491: New Revelations of the Americas Before Columbus

• Last Days of the Inca

• Epidemics and Enslavement: Biological Catastrophe in the Native Southeast, 1492-1715

• The Great Divergence

• Why the West Rules for Now

• Ecological Imperialism: The Biological Expansion of Europe, 900-1900

Criticism of Guns, Germs, and Steel

Many historians and anthropologists believe Diamond plays fast and loose with history by generalizing highly complex topics to provide an ecological/geographical determinist view of human history. There is a reason historians avoid grand theories of human history: those "just so stories" don't adequately explain human history. It's true however that it is an entertaining introductory text that forces people to look at world history from a different vantage point. That being said, Diamond writes a rather oversimplified narrative that seemingly ignores the human element of history.

Cherry-picked data while ignoring the complexity of issues

In his chapter "Lethal Gift of Livestock" on the origin of human crowd infections he picks 5 pathogens that best support his idea of domestic origins. However, when diving into the genetic and historic data, only two pathogens (maybe influenza and most likely measles) could possibly have jumped to humans through domestication. The majority were already a part of the human disease load before the origin of agriculture, domestication, and sedentary population centers. This is an example of Diamond ignoring the evidence that didn't support his theory to explain conquest via disease spread to immunologically naive Native Americas.

A similar case of cherry-picking history is seen when discussing the conquest of the Inca.

> Pizarro's military advantages lay in the Spaniards' steel swords and other weapons, steel armor, guns, and horses... Such imbalances of equipment were decisive in innumerable other confrontations of Europeans with Native Americans and other peoples. The sole Native Americans able to resist European conquest for many centuries were those tribes that reduced the military disparity by acquiring and mastering both guns and horses.

This is a very broad generalization that effectively makes it false. Conquest was not a simple matter of conquering a people, raising a Spanish flag, and calling "game over." Conquest was a constant process of negotiation, accommodation, and rebellion played out through the ebbs and flows of power over the course of centuries. Some Yucatan Maya city-states maintained independence for two hundred years after contact, were "conquered", and then immediately rebelled again. The Pueblos along the Rio Grande revolted in 1680, dislodged the Spanish for a decade, and instigated unrest that threatened the survival of the entire northern edge of the empire for decades to come. Technological "advantage", in this case guns and steel, did not automatically equate to battlefield success in the face of resistance, rough terrain and vastly superior numbers. The story was far more nuanced, and conquest was never a cut and dry issue, which in the book is not really touched upon. In the book it seems to be case of the Inka being conquered when Pizarro says they were conquered.

Uncritical examining of the historical record surrounding conquest

Being critical of the sources you come across and being aware of their context, biases and agendas is a core skill of any historian.

Pizarro, Cortez and other conquistadores were biased authors who wrote for the sole purpose of supporting/justifying their claim on the territory, riches and peoples they subdued. To do so they elaborated their own sufferings, bravery, and outstanding deeds, while minimizing the work of native allies, pure dumb luck, and good timing. If you only read their accounts you walk away thinking a handful of adventurers conquered an empire thanks to guns and steel and a smattering of germs. No historian in the last half century would be so naive to argue this generalized view of conquest, but European technological supremacy is one keystone to Diamond's thesis so he presents conquest at the hands of a handful of adventurers.

The construction of the arguments for GG&S paints Native Americans specifically, and the colonized world in general, as categorically one step behind.

To believe the narrative you need to view Native Americans as somehow naive, unable to understand Spanish motivations and desires, unable react to new weapons/military tactics, unwilling to accommodate to a changing political landscape, incapable of mounting resistance once conquered, too stupid to invent the key technological advances used against them, and doomed to die because they failed to build cities, domesticate animals and thereby acquire infectious organisms. This while they often did fare much better as suggested in the book (and the sources it tends to cite). They often did mount successful resistance, were quick to adapt to new military technologies, build sprawling citiest and much more. When viewed through this lens, we hope you can see why so many historians and anthropologists are livid that a popular writer is perpetuating a false interpretation of history while minimizing the agency of entire continents full of people.

Further reading

If you are interested in reading more about what others think of Diamon's book you can give these resources a go:

• /r/askHistorians section in their FAQ about GG&S
• Jim Blaut on Jared Diamond

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https://youtu.be/GgY72j38Zv4.

Audio books,even better

Agreed I have read many of their collaborations.

In one of the last few weeks /u/dropbear123 reviewed Cry Havoc by Joe Maiolo and said it compared favorably to Tooze in some aspects of readability.
Here's an interview with Maiolo if you're curious about it. https://newbooksnetwork.com/joe-maiolo-cry-havoc-how-the-arms-race-drove-the-world-to-war-1931-1941

You might dig When France Fell. It's about the Anglo-American relationship with Vichy. De Gaulle figures in b/c he was just kind of a difficult person to work wth.

You can hear an interview with the author here: https://newbooksnetwork.com/when-france-fell

Definitely read destiny disrupted, it breaks down a lot of what happened in the Middle East and Islamic world over most of reworded history

What are some popular and fairly unbiased introduction to world history for people who are generally not interested in history?

Trying to get someone (a non-Westerner who has been living here since an early age) interested in reading about history, but I do know they're not interested except for a mild curiosity about world history. They're through a stage in their life where they may want to use history to make sense of their life. But I'm not familiar with books on world history myself, only with specific areas (e.g., science history).

Now, I know there is no escaping that history will have its biases, and that a book written by an English-speaking author in a Western country and for Western readership will likely have some degree of pro-Western biases. And that a popular world history book of only a few hundred pages will necessarily simplify history and leave out important events.

But some works of history are based on stronger scholarship than others, which have a political agenda or are written by people without the necessary educational background. So it's not all the same, but at the same time no work is "perfect."

So I want to ask for your help in getting some recommendations. Appreciate it.

Awesome! I’ll have to pre-order it!

Just added to my History playlist! Thanks for sharing!

What is your impressions of these collaborations,my only thought was many of there points have previously been ,do you feel these books are originals or restatement of points other books have made.

I will - Thank you!

This is really a tough question to answer because it depends what your friend is interested in. If there’s a specific time or issue that interests them more than others then I would suggest finding something regarding that. For instance, if they like Samurai movies or Medieval knights then look for a decent, not heavy, book regarding that time frame.

You could also try something more general that covers a broad expanse of time such as Dan Carlin’s book, The End is Always Near. It’s been a while since I read that but I remember him releasing many historical events to modern day so it is more relevant and interesting.

Not a book, but you should also show them the YouTube channel called, Crash Course World History. It’s done by a history teacher in an engaging way and is meant to cover historical eras in an easy and relevant way - meant for people exactly like your friend. I would recommend starting there and then if they find a historical era or civilization they want to know more about then diving into some related books. Hope that helps!

What evidence supports Mary Magdalene as a prostitute, and what alternative theories about her role in Jesus' life have emerged among scholars?

Short, simple, easy reads. More like good introductions into the major events/points of each topic, not really a deep dive or anything new.

Thanks for the link. I’d not heard of Cry Havoc before. I’ll have to add it to my list.

I'll have to check it out.

Can anyone recommend reading material about the tactics and strategy of major historical socio-political movements like the suffragettes or civil rights movement?

For some context, I am a social scientist working on collective climate activism. I am interested in comparing the success of movements that have focused on winning public approval/disrupting the public for attention/disrupting structures of power. Would love to read some academic books or papers that discuss a) tactics/strategy, and b) public reactions.

I'd recommend Direct Action by James Tracy. It's about a group of radical American pacifists who met in prison camps where they were confined for refusing to serve during WWII. They were quite influential on the tactics of the antiwar and civil rights movement during the 50s and 60s.

Nothing really. At some point, she was mixed up with another women (in the Gospel of John), "the woman taken in adultery", and they are not the same person.

The Gospels aren't really historical documents and Mary Magdalene was probably not a real person. She's just there in the story to witness three important events: the crucifixion, burial and empty tomb of Jesus.

There are plenty of alternative theories about her role in Jesus' life, but generally not espoused by serious scholars. As part of fiction writer Dan Brown marketing of the novel the Da Vince Code, Brown claimed that Mary Magdalene married Jesus and had a child by him. That child was supposed to have living descendants, etc etc. You can watch a thorough debunking of this claim here: https://youtu.be/UAtoP5nFhh4

Andrew Roberts' excellent biography Napoleon the Great covers all the major campaigns at a "birdseye" level of detail. It's incredibly readable and of course as a biography it sets them into the context of Napoleon's life as a whole. It's not specifically focused on the military aspects, but each battle gets a fairly thorough write up, including lots of detail about troop numbers, equipment tactics, and so on. The withdrawal from Russia is done very well indeed. I think he could have gone into more detail about Waterloo, but overall I loved it and it's one of my most recommended history books.

(I suppose you might argue that the earlier campaigns are part of the French Revolutionary Wars rather than the Napoleonic Wars, but if you're interested in the period then I still think this is a great introduction).

Can anyone recommend a book which compares and contrasts some of the major empires from world history? I'm hoping to find something that stretches back to the Roman Empire and takes in some of the Chinese empires, the Moghuls, the Ottomans, Austria-Hungary, the British Empire, and more besides. I'm particular interested in the "decline and fall" aspects (i.e. what were the events and conditions that led to the demise of the empire in question), but general histories are ok as well.

I remember liking Empires in World History: Power and the Politics of Difference by Frederick Cooper and Jane Burbank when I read it for university a few years ago. But it is more focused on how empires dealt with their diverse subjects rather than the decline and fall. The Amazon page for it does have the look inside feature to see if it has what you want.

Thank you for your suggestion

Does anyone have any favorite sources regarding social history of the first half of the 20th century? US/Europe are both welcome.

Hello all, first time r/History poster, please be gentle.

First off, I'm a 100% Hitler was evil guy, this has nothing to do with liking Nazis or anything like this.

Growing up, I watched the History channel when it was still completely history shows. I loved history of all kinds, but I particularly enjoyed WWII docs. What caught my attention as a child wasn't the tanks or giant guns or anything like that - it was the architecture and the grand plans for Berlin and Germany as a whole. I remember they wanted to turn it into a "worthy" capital for their imagined global empire. I remember seeing many many blueprints, city designs, and even a massive mock up of Berlin after it was rebuilt.

I would really be interested in finding shows or books that discuss their plans for the future from an infrastructure point of view, and would appreciate any recommendations.

As an aside, I recommend reading Blitzed, I found it to be a fascinating insight on an aspect of WW2 I hadn't been aware of.

Thank you everyone

Radical Sisters by Anne Valk might be worthwhile, it's a bit late in the timeframe you presented, but, it presents a very interesting look at the divide and cooperation between feminist groups fighting for equality and black women wanting racial equality as well and how different groups approached this (e.g is it worth fighting for feminism when I can't even be black yet?)

Probably won't give you the answer you're looking for for your activism, but will provide some of the background on how groups wanting similar goals may group them differently in levels of importance. Brian Behnken's Fighting their own battles might be worthwhile too.

Can anyone recommend me any books/podcasts/docs about Taiwanese history? I’ve read Forbidden Nation by Manthorpe and I’m looking for more.

Additionally, any good bios or histories on Sun Yat Sen? Thx!