Reccommend Me Some Books

[#FF0000]

So I am looking for some non-fiction history books, on any subject, from any time, any place. I'm looking for something heavy and academic with hella detail, as opposed to something that reads more like a novel, you know what I mean?

I prefer massive fuck-off tomes that amazon has to deliver by crane and be like "here you go have fun reading about the customs of shoemakers in the Ottoman Empire from 1453-1457" but I'm fine with books of any length as long as it is loaded with information about a subject in history so specific and detailed that nobody who isn't writing a thesis has any business giving a fuck about (for example) (http://www.ospreypublishing.com/store/The-New-Zealand-Expeditionary-Force-in-World-War-I_9781849085397)

(maybe we should make this a sticky for people to request recommendations and give recommendations.)

[Os Cangaceiros]

I'm currently reading through "Critical Perspectives on Mao Zedong's Thought".

It is heavily academic, full of turgid prose and moribund ideas, and absolutely dreadful. You'll love it, I'm sure.

[Brosa Luxemburg]

Well, I would look at these books for sure.

Killing Hope: U.S. Military and C.I.A. Interventions Since WWII by William Blum (http://www.amazon.com/Killing-Hope-C-I-Interventions-II--Updated/dp/1567512526/ref=sr_1_2?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1344214200&sr=1-2&keywords=killing+hope)

Legacy of Ashes: A History of the C.I.A. by Tim Weiner (http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0307389006/ref=s9_simh_gw_p14_d1_i2?pf_rd_m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_s=center-2&pf_rd_r=0D5SG341SQ188YYD85BS&pf_rd_t=101&pf_rd_p=470938631&pf_rd_i=507846)

Enemies: A History of the F.B.I. by Time Weiner (http://www.amazon.com/Enemies-History-FBI-Tim-Weiner/dp/1400067480/ref=pd_sim_b_1)

The War Lovers: Roosevelt, Lodge, Hearst, and the Rush to Empire, 1898 by Evan Thomas (http://www.amazon.com/War-Lovers-Roosevelt-Hearst-Empire/dp/B005DI8BO6/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1344214373&sr=1-1&keywords=The+war+lovers)

Road To War: America 1914-1917 by Walter Millis (http://www.amazon.com/Road-War-America-1914-1917/dp/B000R2GG6S/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1344214588&sr=1-1&keywords=road+to+war+walter+millis)

Arms and Men: A Study in American Military History by Walter Millis (http://www.amazon.com/Arms-Men-American-Military-History/dp/0813509319/ref=la_B001KCWL9A_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1344214654&sr=1-3)

All The Shah's Men: An American Coup and the Roots of Middle East Terror by Stephen Kinzer (http://www.amazon.com/All-Shahs-Men-American-Middle/dp/047018549X/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1344214730&sr=1-1&keywords=all+the+shah%27s+men)

Free Soil, Free Labor, Free Men by Eric Foner (http://www.amazon.com/Free-Soil-Labor-Men-Introductory/dp/0195094972/ref=pd_sim_b_4)

An Economic Interpretation of the Constitution of the United States by Charles A. Beard (http://www.amazon.com/Economic-Interpretation-Constitution-United-States/dp/048643365X/ref=pd_sim_b_19)

This should keep you busy for a while ;)

[Brosa Luxemburg]

So I am looking for some non-fiction history books, on any subject, from any time, any place. I'm looking for something heavy and academic with hella detail, as opposed to something that reads more like a novel, you know what I mean?

I prefer massive fuck-off tomes that amazon has to deliver by crane and be like "here you go have fun reading about the customs of shoemakers in the Ottoman Empire from 1453-1457" but I'm fine with books of any length as long as it is loaded with information about a subject in history so specific and detailed that nobody who isn't writing a thesis has any business giving a fuck about (for example) (http://www.ospreypublishing.com/store/The-New-Zealand-Expeditionary-Force-in-World-War-I_9781849085397)

(maybe we should make this a sticky for people to request recommendations and give recommendations.)


Well, I didn't read this before posting so some of my suggestions aren't that great, but some of them still are pretty good.

[Peoples' War]

Have you read Howard Zinn's "A People's History of the United States"?

[skitty]

The Gulag Archipelago(unabridged)-Solzhenitsyn
Main Currents of Marxism-Kolakowski
Mary Chestnut's Civil War(unabridged)-edited by C. Vann Woodward

[#FF0000]

Well, I would look at these books for sure.

Killing Hope: U.S. Military and C.I.A. Interventions Since WWII by William Blum (http://www.amazon.com/Killing-Hope-C-I-Interventions-II--Updated/dp/1567512526/ref=sr_1_2?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1344214200&sr=1-2&keywords=killing+hope)

Legacy of Ashes: A History of the C.I.A. by Tim Weiner (http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0307389006/ref=s9_simh_gw_p14_d1_i2?pf_rd_m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_s=center-2&pf_rd_r=0D5SG341SQ188YYD85BS&pf_rd_t=101&pf_rd_p=470938631&pf_rd_i=507846)

Enemies: A History of the F.B.I. by Time Weiner (http://www.amazon.com/Enemies-History-FBI-Tim-Weiner/dp/1400067480/ref=pd_sim_b_1)

The War Lovers: Roosevelt, Lodge, Hearst, and the Rush to Empire, 1898 by Evan Thomas (http://www.amazon.com/War-Lovers-Roosevelt-Hearst-Empire/dp/B005DI8BO6/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1344214373&sr=1-1&keywords=The+war+lovers)

Road To War: America 1914-1917 by Walter Millis (http://www.amazon.com/Road-War-America-1914-1917/dp/B000R2GG6S/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1344214588&sr=1-1&keywords=road+to+war+walter+millis)

Arms and Men: A Study in American Military History by Walter Millis (http://www.amazon.com/Arms-Men-American-Military-History/dp/0813509319/ref=la_B001KCWL9A_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1344214654&sr=1-3)

All The Shah's Men: An American Coup and the Roots of Middle East Terror by Stephen Kinzer (http://www.amazon.com/All-Shahs-Men-American-Middle/dp/047018549X/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1344214730&sr=1-1&keywords=all+the+shah%27s+men)

Free Soil, Free Labor, Free Men by Eric Foner (http://www.amazon.com/Free-Soil-Labor-Men-Introductory/dp/0195094972/ref=pd_sim_b_4)

An Economic Interpretation of the Constitution of the United States by Charles A. Beard (http://www.amazon.com/Economic-Interpretation-Constitution-United-States/dp/048643365X/ref=pd_sim_b_19)

This should keep you busy for a while ;)

Excellent. Thanks.


Have you read Howard Zinn's "A People's History of the United States"?

Yeah I have and it's not quite what I'm looking for, but thanks for the suggestion either way, dogg.


I'm currently reading through "Critical Perspectives on Mao Zedong's Thought".

It is heavily academic, full of turgid prose and moribund ideas, and absolutely dreadful. You'll love it, I'm sure.

Oh not exactly what I had in mind but that sounds excellent too.

EDIT: And keep in mind, I'm not looking for anything from a necessarily left-wing perspective.

[Admiral Swagmeister G-Funk]

Anything by Hobsbawm. Academic but approachable and deals with cool subjects like the industrialization. He's a Marxist (or was, think he kinda got old and lost touch).

[Zukunftsmusik]

(for example) (http://www.ospreypublishing.com/store/The-New-Zealand-Expeditionary-Force-in-World-War-I_9781849085397)

holy shit

[pluckedflowers]

Anything by Hobsbawm. Academic but approachable and deals with cool subjects like the industrialization. He's a Marxist (or was, think he kinda got old and lost touch).

I don't think he has ever stopped being a Marxist, but I could be wrong. In any case, I second the recommendation, and would specifically mention his series that included the Age of Revolution, The Age of Capital, and The Age of Empire. He's a little old fashioned and never misses a chance to take a potshot at the peasantry, but what can you do?

Also worth reading is his Echoes of the Marseillaise, which is a history of the historical debates surrounding the French Revolution.

[pluckedflowers]

Aside from my Hobsbwam recommendations above, you might also check out The Making of Bourgeois Europe by Colin Mooers.

[piet11111]

Ian kershaw books are great if you want to learn about nazi germany.

[TheGodlessUtopian]

This will mess with ya: http://www.amazon.com/Anti-Oedipus-Capitalism-Schizophrenia-Penguin-Classics/dp/0143105825/ref=pd_sim_b_36

[Workers-Control-Over-Prod]

Cocaine Death Squads and the War on Terror; US Imperialism and the Class Struggle in Colombia Oliver Villar. Half the book is the bibliography, so have fun!

[Workers-Control-Over-Prod]

The Falcons of the Kremlin; The Soviet Armed Forces 1917 to Today [1986] - Langen Müller

Capitalism and Class Struggle in the USSR Fernandez

The Limits of Capital David Harvey

[Workers-Control-Over-Prod]

I also want the admins to sticky this thread, because i also have some requests.

Can anyone recommend a critical book on Colonialism?

[Ethics Gradient, Traitor For All Ages]

I feel bad because you haven't received any suggestions that are not at least somewhat related to left wing views and I am about to continue this trend. My apologies.

The Wages of Destruction: The Making and Breaking of the Nazi Economy by Adam Tooze

http://www.amazon.com/The-Wages-Destruction-Breaking-Economy/dp/0143113208/ref=tmm_pap_title_0

Liberalism: A Counter-History by Domenico Losurdo

http://www.amazon.com/Liberalism-Counter-History-Domenico-Losurdo/dp/1844676935/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1344298269&sr=1-1&keywords=liberalism+a+counter-history

Revolutionary Dreams: Utopian Vision and Experimental Life in the Russian Revolution by Richard Stites

http://www.amazon.com/Revolutionary-Dreams-Utopian-Experimental-Revolution/dp/0195055373/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1344298332&sr=1-1&keywords=revolutionary+dreams

All are excellent. The Wages of Destruction in particular, which maybe comes closest to your request for a tome relevant only to academics.

[Rudi]

Greetings Comrade,


Here are my recommendations:


Kyrgyz leadership and ethonopolitics: before and after the tulip revolution: the changed position of ethnic Russians and Uzbeks
By Munara Omuralieva ;)



The Chaining of a Continent: Export Demand for Captives and the History of Africa South of the Sahara, 1450-1870
By Joseph E. Inikori :thumbup1:



Currently reading:



The economic transformation of the soviet union, 1913-1945
By R.W. Davies



and Central Asia: Aspects of transition: History, ethnicity, modernity
By Tom Everett-Heath

[MarxSchmarx]

If you want a tedious tome (~1000 pages) about a specific time and place that is nevertheless spectacularly researched, rich in detail, and convincingly written, read "A History of Tibet 1913-1951 The Demise of the Lamaist State" by Melvyn Goldstein.

Another somewhat obscure-subject book I couldn't put down was "Strange Neutrality: Soviet-Japanese Relations During the Second World War" by George Lensen.

[o well this is ok I guess]

The biggest book on my shelf is the unabridged "History of Madness" by Michel Foucault. I haven't read it all yet.
It's not really a history history book, but from the little I've read of it I figure it counts. And I guess Foucault is sort of a heavy academic.

[Zostrianos]

If you're interested in the religious history of the late Roman\early Byzantine empire (like me), I highly recommend Christianity and Paganism in the Fourth to Eighth Centuries (http://www.amazon.com/Christianity-Paganism-Fourth-Eighth-Centuries/dp/0300080778/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1312623823&sr=8-1) by Yale's Ramsay Macmullen. It's not too big, but extremely dense and highly academic. By far the most reliable source on how the Christian church used violence, terror and destruction to convert the Empire, and how its triumph contributed to the Dark Ages, the decline of free intellectual thought, and the rise of superstition.

[piet11111]

I also want the admins to sticky this thread, because i also have some requests.

Can anyone recommend a critical book on Colonialism?

Heart of darkness ?
Or did you mean something academic ?

[Fight Social-Fascism]

Have you read Howard Zinn's "A People's History of the United States"?

I recommend Settlers: Mythology of the White Proletariat (www.indybay.org/uploads/2005/10/28/sakaisettlersocr.pdf) instead. While there are a few errors here and there, it is much more correct than Zinn's book.

[#FF0000]

If you're interested in the religious history of the late Roman\early Byzantine empire (like me), I highly recommend Christianity and Paganism in the Fourth to Eighth Centuries (http://www.amazon.com/Christianity-Paganism-Fourth-Eighth-Centuries/dp/0300080778/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1312623823&sr=8-1) by Yale's Ramsay Macmullen. It's not too big, but extremely dense and highly academic. By far the most reliable source on how the Christian church used violence, terror and destruction to convert the Empire, and how its triumph contributed to the Dark Ages, the decline of free intellectual thought, and the rise of superstition.

That's strange. I was under the impression that the "Dark Ages" wasn't really considered a thing by modern historians

[Ostrinski]

Edward Carr is pretty academic in his writings on the Soviet Union, he just gives you those raw facts, nothing that can be percieved as a judgment, which is extremely rare on something divisive like the Soviet Union.

Also, you might consult with A Marxist Historian. He's probably the resident authority on academic historical stuff.

[pluckedflowers]

Edward Carr is pretty academic in his writings on the Soviet Union, he just gives you thise raw facts, nothing that can be percieved as a judgment, which is extremely rare on something divisive like the Soviet Union).

Also, you might consult with A Marxist Historian. He's probably the resident authority on academic historical stuff.

I'm not too familiar with Carr's work on the Soviet Union, but when he has come up in some of my history courses (with a Marxist professor) he is regarded as a relatively controversial figure for his tendency to emphasize the USSR's progress and downplay its problems.

[Zostrianos]

That's strange. I was under the impression that the "Dark Ages" wasn't really considered a thing by modern historians

The term is usually avoided by modern historians, but the historical evidence shows a decline in learning and education following the conversion of the Empire, and especially after the barbarian invasions, decline of urbanism, etc. Christians shut down the philosophical schools, made other religions illegal, and burned non-Christian books (hence I think it’s an appropriate term for the period). Another thing that Macmullen shows is how the Church ridiculed philosophy and philosophers, and encouraged the faithful to be “wise in ignorance”, warning them that too much inquiry could lead to sin. Philosophy and learning, which had had a prized place in classical Antiquity, was discredited and fell into disrepute as a result.
*
*

[ed miliband]

'in pursuit of the millenium' by norman cohn. it's about mental religious cults in the middle ages, objectively a fascinating subject, right? it was one of guy debord's favourite books (the aforementioned hobsbawm dug it too) and whilst the political point cohn tries to draw out (marxism = millennialism, a characteristic it shares with nazism, basically), is a bit shit it's a fucking amazing book.

silvia federici's 'caliban and the witch' is really good, but you probably know that.

i've heard good stuff about carlo ginzburg's 'the cheese and the worms', which covers a similar historical period to those ^^. haven't read it though. another i haven't read: 'leviathan and the air pump', heard great stuff about it tho.

edit: and for something even more obvious, ep thompson's 'the making of the english working class'. now that's a monster of a book.

[Workers-Control-Over-Prod]

Heart of darkness ?
Or did you mean something academic ?

That's great, i also would like to find a book on the socio-economic aspect of colonialism.

[NoOneIsIllegal]

"The Scramble for Africa" - Thomas Pakenham

"Roots of Revolution: A History of the Populist and Socialist Movements in 19th Century Russia" - Franco Venturi

There ya go. They're both thicker than Marx's Capital volume one. Both interesting subjects too. The former about the cutting up of Africa by European powers (it's extremely detailed on Britain and a few other countries; but it covers everyone pretty well). The latter is about that one country we always talk about on here, but it discusses a time period on particular ideas and groups we never discuss on this site.
Both books are probably too detailed and specific... you'll love it.
Enjoy.

[Brosa Luxemburg]

I saw E.H. Carr was mentioned, and I loved reading his 3-volume work on the Bolshevik revolution.

I haven't read this yet, but this is supposed to be a good book on the "third period" of the Soviet Union by Carr http://www.amazon.com/Twilight-Comintern-1930-1935-Edward-Hallett/dp/0394525124/ref=la_B000AQ8WWM_1_9?ie=UTF8&qid=1344612510&sr=1-9

Also check out The Class Struggle in the Ancient Greek World (http://www.amazon.com/Class-Struggle-Ancient-Greek-World/dp/0801495970/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1344612793&sr=1-1&keywords=the+class+struggle+in+the+ancient+greek+w orld)

I haven't read this book on the German revolution in 1917-23 yet, but it is supposed to be great (and clocking in at around 1,000 pages). http://www.amazon.com/German-Revolution-1917-1923-Historical-Materialism/dp/1931859329/ref=pd_sim_b_28

[Pricey]

'The Open Veins of Latin America: Five Centuries of the Pillage of a Continent' by Eduardo Galeano is quite possibly the best history book I have ever read. As a further recommendation it was banned by the fascist governments of Brazil, Chile, Argentina and Uruguay when it came out in 1971.

[#FF0000]

Bumping this again, because I need more books.

Looking for a good book on the Troubles in Ireland. Doesn't have to be a tome like I usually ask for. Just looking for a good overview and introduction to the subject

[Zeus the Moose]

I had to read parts of Austerity Britain (http://www.amazon.com/Austerity-Britain-1945-1951-Tales-Jerusalem/dp/0747599238/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1347943404&sr=8-1&keywords=austerity+britain) for my politics of Western Europe class, and I thought it was an interesting read at the time. I intend to go back to it at some point. It's somewhat tome-like, so you might appreciate.

[Jimmie Higgins]

Free Soil, Free Labor, Free Men by Eric Foner (http://www.amazon.com/Free-Soil-Labor-Men-Introductory/dp/0195094972/ref=pd_sim_b_4)


Well the fuck-off tome version of this is Foner's "Reconstruction: America's unfinished Revolution" which is about twice as long :lol:

[Hit The North]

I can't believe that no one has yet mentioned the peerless Marxist classic that is Leon Trotsky's The History of the Russian Revolution (http://www.amazon.co.uk/History-Russian-Revolution-Leon-Trotsky/dp/1931859450/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1347966073&sr=1-1).

Also worth a read is the reissue of Victor Serge's magnificent Memoirs of a Revolutionary (http://www.amazon.co.uk/Memoirs-Revolutionary-Review-Books-Classics/dp/1590174518/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1347966296&sr=1-1).

[bricolage]

Bumping this again, because I need more books.

Looking for a good book on the Troubles in Ireland. Doesn't have to be a tome like I usually ask for. Just looking for a good overview and introduction to the subject
I borrowed Tim Pat Coogans book called... The Troubles from my friend for a bit which seemed pretty good, had to give it back before I could finish it though.

But I think if you do want a tome Lost Lives by David McKittrick and others is meant to be the one.

[Smash Capitalism]

Love and Marriage by emma goldman :blackA::star::reda:

[ed miliband]

Bumping this again, because I need more books.

Looking for a good book on the Troubles in Ireland. Doesn't have to be a tome like I usually ask for. Just looking for a good overview and introduction to the subject

eamonn mccann's 'war and an irish town' is meant to be ace. some extracts here:

http://cain.ulst.ac.uk/events/crights/mccann93.htm

[Os Cangaceiros]

Armed Struggle: The History of the IRA by Richard English isn't bad.

[black magick hustla]

I recommend Settlers: Mythology of the White Proletariat (www.indybay.org/uploads/2005/10/28/sakaisettlersocr.pdf) instead. While there are a few errors here and there, it is much more correct than Zinn's book.

god no thats like the bible of third worldists and self hating white basement dwellers

[skitty]

The Complete Gettysburg Guide...-Petruzzi
ISBN-10: 1932714634

Each small unit, minute by minute

[ComradeOm]

I'm not too familiar with Carr's work on the Soviet Union, but when he has come up in some of my history courses (with a Marxist professor) he is regarded as a relatively controversial figure for his tendency to emphasize the USSR's progress and downplay its problems.Carr gets stick from both sides. The totalitarian school don't accept that there are anything to applaud at all while the revisionists argue that the immense human and material cost incurred voids any talk of 'achievements'

While I tend to agree with the latter, Carr was generally pretty accurate and objective. He was an excellent historian but one who operated at a level above social history

While we're on Carr though, the last set of volumes (Foundations of a Planned Economy) in his grand history are superbly dense. They're co-written with RW Davies who went on to pen the equally magisterial Industrialisation of Soviet Russia series. Both sets are nirvana if you like densely packed and minutely detailed month-by-month accounts of the early Soviet economy

[TheGodlessUtopian]

Does anyone have any recommendations for books relating to Trotskyism and Anarchism in Maoist China?