Comrades, I'd like to become a history buff/juggernaut.

[CynicalIdealist]

Tips on where to begin? Books to read? Classes to take? How to utilize primary sources?

[Omsk]

Hi comrade!

Tips on where to begin? Books to read? Classes to take? How to utilize primary sources?
You question is hard to answer,you didn't specify what period of history you are interested in,but lets say you want to learn 'everything'.
Well,for starters,go to your nearest library or bookstore and buy a number of books that you find interesting enough (its hard to be precise,books about single period of human history are more common)

-First,make a choice,as most would be historians do -
What period of human history interests you the most?

- Ancient times,Medieval ages,Renaissance,XX century,modern times etc etc.

Or maybe revolutionary and communist history is most fascinating to you?

In any case,books are your friends,don't read up too-much online,as the information online is sometimes wrong or written from just one perspective.

When you choose a period,the first thing to do is to buy a book regarding it:
For instance,if you are interested in WW2,buy general encyclopedias,and read up as much as you can,so you can gain the basic perspective,wiki articles could be a start,but that should be your last wanted solution,as they are sometimes,full of misinformation and don't have the best sources,+ they are not that well written.

As for the sources,choose historians who are not overly critical on one side,and glorify the other,as the historic materials written by them don't usually bring out the true facts.
Ie (for instance,you could hardly find a good history book on the Soviet Union in WW2 that is written by an American historian)
-Choose wisely,as learning wrong facts is a costly thing.

As for the online articles regarding communist history,you might want to check -

http://www.marxists.org/

(it has a nice variety of articles regarding the revolution,the Great Patriotic War (ww2) and a lot of subject that should be of interest of you.)

And to conclude,history is the teacher of life,you should always have a decent knowledge of it,books are usually the best option,while online, i would not recommend to you.

[ComradeOm]

History is piss easy: read a lot. Start with general works and then move onto more specialised ones. It can be expensive and time-consuming but anyone can become relatively knowledgeable about a period with enough reading

Obviously going the next step and becoming a true expert in the field requires access to journal papers, primary materials and other historians. These are typically only available to professionals

[Admiral Swagmeister G-Funk]

study something you are truly interested in for starters, and it will open all kinds of avenues.

[ZeroNowhere]

What do you wish to find out about history?

[synthesis]

I'd say the best place to start with history would be stuff by Wittgenstein and Nicholas Taleb.

[graymouser]

It all depends on what you're interested in. Primary sources are great, but they are written assuming much more context that you won't initially have. You'll need to read a few histories on a period before you can extract much of value from primary sources, for instance you can't decide you want to understand the fall of the Roman Republic and start reading Suetonius or Plutarch and expect to get there. You'll want at least one good academic survey (you want books published under academic presses, not popular ones, for this; try finding the syllabus of a good history course for ideas) first, and from there I'd suggest branching out into more niche areas.

For instance, let's say you want to understand the fall of the Roman Republic. I'd start with H.H. Scullard's From the Gracchi to Nero, a survey of 200 years starting in 146 BCE and ending in 66 CE. That will get you the background, and then you can read about areas that interest you - for instance, maybe you'll want to read Fergus Millar's The Crowd in Rome in the Ancient Republic, about how the politics of the plebeian assemblies really worked. As you get more in tune with the historians' work, you'll gain enough context to where you can go back and meaningfully read the sources and make your own conclusions.

If you want to do an academic route, it's worth surveying 300-level classes. You'll get exposure to some really fascinating works as well as reading some primary sources. When I was in college I minored in ancient history, but you could pick any area you want. Popular history is more of a mixed bag; some of it is good, but there are even left-wing popular history works (such as Michael Parenti's book on Julius Caesar) that are really crap. If you really want to become a "juggernaut," read academic histories to get a grasp of what's going on, and supplement that with radical histories to correct the slant of academia. Or find something that's got a good slant already; I'm currently reading James McPherson's history of the American Civil War, The Battle Cry of Freedom - it was published by Oxford, and while it's not a radical history, it takes its lumps from Confederate apologists for being fundamentally on the union side.

Finally, you will have to be picky about what you're reading. Reviews on Amazon can give you a good quick impression; also feel free to kick about a bunch of book suggestions here. Like I said, finding a good syllabus may be the place to start.

[Kuppo Shakur]

Learn about pirates and shit.
Blackbeard the Pirate by Robert E. Lee.

[bailey_187]

H.G. Wells has a good history of the world. its probably quite outdated by a modern historians standards but its a good overview of the world's history (although not complete ofc). From there u could see what u found most interesting about world history and go from there.

J.M Roberts also has a good world history book and is more specific, but its less readable

[RevolutionaryTerror]

Marx had a superb understanding of history, you really can do no wrong by reading a lot of Marx.

A number of Marxist theorists tackle specific historical problems, such as Gramsci and the development of the Italian history. If you want to become a "juggernaut" it can be useful to examine how those like Gramsci and Marx analyzed specific historical trends/problems. Over time you will be able to strike out on the great ocean of historical books, especially primary sources, and analyze them from a Marxist viewpoint.

Another solid option is to take history courses at a college, as you will invariably learn about historiography (methods used in historical research). Such historiography can otherwise be derived from reading Marx, Gramsci et. al.

[Comrade Wolfie's Very Nearly Banned Adventures]

You could always persue it through education, take qualifications in History/Ancient History/Medieval History etc, etc and work your way to a degree and beyond.

[Os Cangaceiros]

J.M Roberts also has a good world history book and is more specific, but its less readable

I own this book. I've never read it all the way through, though, but I've read sections. It's OK.

[ChrisK]

History is piss easy: read a lot. Start with general works and then move onto more specialised ones. It can be expensive and time-consuming but anyone can become relatively knowledgeable about a period with enough reading

Obviously going the next step and becoming a true expert in the field requires access to journal papers, primary materials and other historians. These are typically only available to professionals

Off topic question. Are you a professional?

[ComradeOm]

Nope

[ChrisK]

Well you still seem like one. Keep on being knowledgeable.

[Raubleaux]

My professional advice is to be less general.