The Thirty Years' War, C.V. Wedgwood

It feels silly to say that a book about the 30 Years War was a bit confusing and the endless list of battles was pointless; that is the essence of the 30 Years War and why it's so difficult to understand or teach. This book does a great job when it settles down to talk about social history, the impact of the battles the economics of the battles, or the people involved in the battles. I got a lot of great information about Richelieu and Gustavus Adolphus and I can finally remember which one was Frederick and which two were Ferdinand. But my eyes did glaze over at some of the endless chapters about battles that went nowhere and accomplished nothing.

Grade: B
#42 in 2017

A Gentleman in Moscow, Amor Towles

This book is lovely, and wonderful for really feeeling like you're living through the changing history in Russia after the Revolution. For me, though, its light and lovely tone got tiresome after a while, and I wish it had been about 2/3 as long as it was. Grade: C #27 in 2017

Destiny Disrupted: A History of the World through Islamic Eyes, Tamim Ansary

This book is PHENOMENAL. Read it RIGHT NOW.

I would HIGHLY recommend it to anyone, especially if you've got any interest in current events (or history), but even if that's not normally your thing. The writing is exceptionally clear, and it covers topics you may have heard here and there, but puts them into context and makes sense of huge swaths of history normally dismissed in a sentence or two in Western history books. It also does a wonderful and even-handed job of explaining how the modern middle east came to be the way it is, and how the current world climate of distrust between the West and Muslim countries came to be the way it is. I got this copy from the library but have already purchased a paperback copy because I'll need to read it again and use it for reference. I have also already used it in all the world history classes I teach.

Grade: A
#24 in 2017

The Victorian City: Everyday Life in Dickens' London, Judith Flanders

This makes me want to reread Dickens, which is HIGH PRAISE because I hated Dickens in high school (except A Tale of Two Cities. I looooved me some Sidney Carton). But this book is FASCINATING. There are chapters on everything, from how sewer systems worked before the Great Stink, to what street sellers shouted as they sold stuff, to what prostitutes wore (fun fact: we're not sure!). This is a fun book, and there's a lot of great stuff here to excitedly tell people as you're reading.

For example, I just turned to my roommate and said, "So it turns out no one was sure who were the prostitutes and who weren't in London; all the records are from men who were like THERE ARE SO MANY PROSTITUTES ON THE STREETS," by which they mostly meant women who were out in public or maybe looked at them in what they considered a friendly way. It's hilariously ridiculous. Also, because the prostitutes allegedly dressed so brightly, they were known as "gay women," and the streets were just FILLED with gay women. I'll be honest -- that sounds great.

On the other hand, huge amounts of the chapters are just listing things; 74 kinds of street sellers, 93 things for sale for breakfast, the cost of 112 different rolls. I'm kidding, but not really. It gets exhausting, which is why it took me so long to get through the whole book.

Grade: B
#94 in 2016

Book Recommendations: Non Fiction and History

I've been asked a few times for my best history/non-fiction book recs, so here are some I have loved. Nearly all of these are written for a popular history audience, not a specialist, so they're plotted or paced almost like novels. These are books that will make you turn to whoever is sitting next to you and go, "Oh my god, did you know--" until they give up and leave the room. 

I'll also label them "long" or "short" for how long it'll take you to read them. ...keep in mind that I read a lot, and all the time, so my "short" might not be yours.

If you're looking for something exciting action adventure-y:
A Spy Among Friends: Kim Philby and the Great Betrayal
This cold war spy book reads like a novel -- and it should, since Graham Greene is one of the men involved. Once you get into this one you won't be able to put it down. (medium)

Warriors of God: Richard the Lionheart and Saladin in the Third Crusade
This is about the crusades, and it's a little bit drier, but it's awesome. It's either what Kingdom of Heaven was based on, or they're both using the same primary sources, the difference being that Orlando Bloom's character should have been an old grizzled dude. I've used this book (excerpts) in class with 9th graders, and they loved it. Los of set up, lots of "oh my god, WHY WOULD YOU DO THAT??" Also: some great gossip about Richard the Lionheart. (longish)

Genghis Khan and the Making of the Modern World
This! Is! So! Exciting!! Genghis Khan's actual life feels like you're watching an awesome, epic movie about a badass warrior with surprisingly enlightened views. Compulsively readable. The sequel has been in my to-read list for... literal years. (shortish)


Something kind of creepy or mysterious:
The Ghost Map: The Story of London's Most Terrifying Epidemic -- and How It Changed Science, Cities, and the Modern World
Such a cool book. Did you know that germs travel through contaminated water? Well, people sure didn't before - not kidding -- John Snow proved that they did through tireless work. Cholera was wiping out whole neighborhoods, and no one else connected it to the water supply. Sounds kind of boring, but how he put it together is a page-turning read. (Shortish)

The Invention of Murder: How the Victorians Revelled in Death and Detection and Created Modern Crime
A nice case-by-case history of murder in Victorian England, how it was discussed at the time, and how the Victorians were obsessed with death. If you like true-crime TV or watching Criminal Minds, you'll love this. (Medium)

The Dead Duke, His Secret Wife, and the Missing Corpse: An Extraordinary Edwardian Case of Deception and Intrigue
This book is BANANAS. I'm not going to tell you anything here except the title. Look at that title! Read this book! (shortish)

Something packed full of information that will honestly just blow your mind:

Zealot: The Life and Times of Jesus of Nazareth
As a Jewish atheist, I can whole-heartedly recommend this book whether you're a practicing Christian or have no particular feelings about God. This is an incredibly well-researched biography of Jesus the man, placing him in the right time and place, and explaining the social, political, and economic issues of his day and how we see those things reflected in the Bible. Does it sound dry? It's fascinating. (medium)

Wide as the Waters: The Story of the English Bible and the Revolution it Inspired
For a long time it was illegal to translate the Bible into English, and people were killed for attempting it. Then King James approved it, and we got the King James version. You won't believe how many every day and common expressions come from this ranslation, or how profound its impact was on history. (Medium)

Paris 1919: Six Months that Changed the World
Okay. This is a dense, dense book. I've read it twice, but I'll probably read it again and go, "Wait, what?" a few more times. If you like military history, or American history (not my favorite) then this book is amazing. But keep in mind, I brought Postwar with me to the beach in Hawaii one vacation. It's all the decisions that were made after World War I -- and I do mean all -- and how they happened. The personalities involved, the negotiations, the back stabbing and double dealing. It's very readable, but also very long. Personally, I love how it's broken down by continent, so you see how WWI affected Europe, Asia, and other places. (Long. The Longest.)

She-Wolves: The Women who ruled England before Elizabeth
FASCINATING. There were so many women who NEARLY got to be the Queen of England before Elizabeth. They ruled through their sons, their husbands, their claims on the throne that were almost but somehow not quite legitemate enough. This book makes medieval military history feel fresh and exciting, like you're watching a war movie, and its thesis -- that these bad ass women deserve more attention -- is thoroughly persuasive. (Medium)

Dynasty: The Rise and Fall of the House of Caesar

I've read a ton of Roman history, and this is by far the clearest and most readable. Amazingly clear, exciting, well-explained history of the Caesars, and all the unbelievably crazy shit they got up to -- even the "good" ones. Reads like a novel, un-put-down-able. (Medium)

BONUS: Science books!
What if? Serious Scientific Answers to Absurd Hypothetical Questions 

This is hilarious and fascinating and wonderful. It's by the guy who writes XKCD. Just awesome. 

A Short History of Nearly Everything
Have you read this? Go read this! Especially the part about the Yellowstone volcano. It will scare you so fucking much. It ranges from hilarious to amazing to fascinating to shocking science explanations. Bryson is always wonderfully readable. I love this book. (Medium)

T-Rex and the Crater of Doom
How do we know that the dinosaurs were killed by a meteor? Well, the author of this book is the guy who proved it. Short, fascinating, and with a first chapter that will knock your socks off (and wipe life off the planet. (Short)

She-Wolves: The Women Who Ruled England Before Elizabeth, Helen Castor

Yeah. I've read one book in a month. Whoops. And I was so on track before. 

I loved this! The prose is super clear, the stories are REALLY interesting, and I loved looking at the rise and fall of these kings from the perspective of their wives. (Or moms.) Highly readable, very very interesting. I have no idea why it took me a month to get through, except I just lacked any spare time for reading, and when I climbed into bed at night I was ready to sleep, too tired to read. 

I should have more to say about a book I really enjoyed, but -- if this sounds remotely like a thing you'd like to read, definitely read it. 

Grade: A

#71 in 2016

A Spy Among Friends: Kim Philby and the Great Betrayal, Ben Macintyre

Then I took like, 2 weeks off from reading because I'm on vacation and it's the Olympics, whoops. Also, in my defense, this book is non-fiction, and it took me a while to get going with it.

But once I did, my god. someone recommended this to me as vacation reading and I strongly agree. If you like thrillers or spy movies you should take this book to a beach and read the whole thing in a couple of days, under an umbrella with a drink in hand. It's the true-life story of the Russia mole inside MI6 in the UK during WWII and the early Cold War, the man who was simultaneously reporting everything to the Kremlin and running the anti-Soviet counterspy division. The number of ways he was almost turned in, the way he totally duped people, the close calls -- all of these things would seem insane if this were a movie, but they all really happened.

Halfway through the book MI5 begin to suspect him, but that is only halfway through the book! Things continue to escalate in ways that should be outlandish, and are totally real. You will find yourself turning to whomever is sitting closest to you and shouting, "AND THEN, YOU WON'T BELIEVE THIS PART, AND THEN--"

If I had a criticism, I would have liked to have the parts about James Angleton and the CIA more fleshed out, but otherwise, this was a literal page turner. ...except I read it on a kindle, so I guess it was a literal virtual page turner.

Grade: A
#66 in 2016

How to Fight Presidents: Defending Yourself Against the Badasses Who Ran This Country, Daniel O'Brien

This is history by one of the main guys over at Cracked (go listen to the Cracked podcast, it's awesome). It's both well-researched and funny, and if it weren't quite so full of swear words I would give it to my students. Some of the jokes get a little repetitive, but I also laughed out loud at several of the chapters. Perfect vacation reading, if you happen to be a nerd (which I am, obviously).

Grade: A
#63 in 2016

The Invention of Murder: How the Victorians Revelled in Death and Detection and Created Modern Crime, Judith Flanders

This book was awesome. It covers all the different waves of crime in Victorian England, how they were covered by the media then, how they were popularized, how different types of crimes and criminals were seen (and glorified or turned into boogey men), and the impact on laws and the legal system. It's incredibly interesting, and the footnotes are hilarious. If the title makes this topic sound even vaguely interesting, you should pick this up. Loved it.

Grade: A
#62 in 2016

Danubia: A Personal History of Habsburg Europe, Simon Winder

So on the one hand, I loved this book. The author is just plain old funny. He is wry and a often sarcastic, and there's a lot to mock about the poor Habsburgs, who had an empire but never really did much with it, and certainly weren't successful at much. In his introduction he promises to avoid talking about how one ethnic group is spicy, or another is cold, or another is always joyful and drinking, and I love that level of metacognition about history writing, especially when discussing Eastern Europe, where everyone is constantly trying to merge or differentiate themselves.

On the other hand, he constantly describes castles, or paintings, or suits of armor, or museum exhibits in a way that sounds hilarious, but I want to see it. There are almost no photographs, but the whole book is predicated on traveling from city to city and castle to castle. I spent a lot of time on my phone looking at google images, and it added a ton to the book. It needs both maps and photographs. Also, Winder talks about classical music as if we're all totally familiar with every Austrian (etc etc) composer. I like classical music, too, but it genuinely made me feel like he was condescending to me a little, and that made me like him less.

Grade: C
#54 in 2016

Wedlock The True Story of the Disastrous Marriage and Remarkable Divorce of Mary Eleanor Bowes, Countess of Strathmore, Wendy Moore

This is a weird one -- I loved this book, and also didn't finish it. The history is SO fascinating and juicy, and the plot has such twists and turns that I was on the edge of my seat. But there's a point about halfway through where the bad guy is winning, and some of the spousal abuse that happens is so incredibly terrible, and also historically accurate, that I just didn't want to pick it up again. Reading it felt like punishing myself. And it's history, so it really happened to someone, and it just made me sad.

Grade: DNF

2015

Dynasty: The Rise and Fall of the House of Caesar

This book is amazing. It made Julius Caesar (and the rulers who followed him, although only the ones in his direct line) absolute accessible and understandable. It made the history funny and fascinating and easily digested. It was the kind of book where you go to a party and you suddenly find yourself asking people if they want to hear an interesting fact about Augustus Caesar! (They probably don't.)

Grade: A

2015

In the Shadow of the Sword: The Birth of Islam and the Rise of the Global Arab Empire, by Tom Holland

That's a very flashy name for a book that's basically just about the historicity of the Koran. I have read a bunch of books about how the New Testament was assembled and picked over by early Christian church; this book is a very interesting look at early sources about Mohammed and how he fit into the landscape of the late antiquity Middle East, and how/when the Koran was put together. I enjoy the way Tom Holland writes; all his stuff is good.

Grade: B

Originally posted 2012

Hero, Michael Korda

This is a great, great biography of Lawrence of Arabia. I not only got to know Lawrence but also a lot of the root causes of conflicts in the Middle East at the moment, since he helped create the map (and he wanted it to look very different than it does). The book dips heavily into psychology -- did Lawrence never date because he was gay or because he was afraid of his mother? -- which bugged me a little bit, but mostly Korda uses those passages to refute other biographers who claim really stupid things about Lawrence. Korda, on the other hand, is so desperately in love with Lawrence that it made me laugh out loud every now and then. (And there should be a warning for the rape and later kinky sex chapters, but I guess we don't warn for real life.)

Grade: B

Originally posted in 2011

Persian Fire: The First World Empire and the Battle for the West and Rubicon: The Last Years of the Roman Republic, Tom Holland

(I'm halfway through his other book, but I can't seem to concentrate on it enough to get to the end.)

So interesting, so well written, so full of information I will never have time to teach my students. I was particularly enamored of Holland's descriptions of how the Persians viewed the battles at Marathon and Thermopylae, instead of a narrative from the Greek perspective which I'm more used to. The book on Rome is equally interesting but less of a story and more just an explanation of all the things that happened in the centuries before Caesar killed the Republic. (It would help if every single name in Rome didn't start with a C, boy I get them confused.)

Persian Fire: A

Rubicon: B

Originally posted 2010

TAGS

Jesus Wars: How Four Patriarchs, Three Queens, and Two Emperors Decided What Christians would Believe for the Next 1,500 Years, Philip Jenkins

I can't imagine anyone but me would be interested in this book, but I was very, very interested. It has always fascinated me that there were all kinds of wars and assassinations over the idea of monophytism, when it seems like such an obscure fiddly little detail of Christianity. (...says the atheist Jew.) The book has a really interesting thesis about the fractures in Eastern Christianity paving the way for the Muslim invasions of the 700s. And at one point the author compares all the extremely complicated religious arguments taking place to that scene in Monty Python and the Holy Grail where they read the directions for the Holy Hand Grenade.

Grade: B

Originally posted 2010

Mary, Queen of Scots, and the Murder of Lord Darnley, Alison Weir

One of my coworkers picked this book up and went, "What is this, like, a Phillipa Gregory book?" I kind of rolled my eyes and said, "Actually it's a 600 page non-fiction book about the murder of the King of Scotland." She shrugged and said, "I didn't like 'The Other Boleyn Girl' that much," and walked away. 

I am definitely the sort of person who enjoys a 600 page exploration of the evidence about who killed someone 400 years ago (even though most of that evidence has vanished or was a forgery to begin with). The process of trying to solve a mystery hundreds of years after the fact is so INTERESTING. I'm not particularly invested in who killed Lord Darnley, so I'm happy to go along with Weir's opinion on Mary's guilt. And it as a super interesting contrast to her book on Elizabeth, which wasn't sympathetic to Mary at all.

Grade: B

Originally posted 2010

The Life of Elizabeth I, Alison Weir

This is an amazing biography of a really interesting monarch. I like it better than the other Weir biographies I've read; there are fewer chapters that are lists of the types of banquets or the amount of annual spending on corn subsidies, and way more actual story. It helps that there were so many interesting parts of Elizabeth's life. Her most reliable counselor may very well have helped to murder her lover's wife, in order to create a scandal so that Elizabeth would never be able to marry him! Her lifelong friendship/feud with Mary, Queen of Scots! Her tempestuous relationship with Essex and his eventual betrayal! He is presented so effectively as a bad guy that I was rooting for his death, never mind that it's a true story and he was a real person.

It's still dense, and I wouldn't say it's easy weekend reading or anything, but if you are looking for a good biography of an interesting Queen, this one's great.

Grade: B

Originally posted 2010

Paris 1919: Six Months That Changed the World, Margaret MacMillan

Well, I was reading a lot there for a while before life intervened. Ah, well. 

This book is awesome. Both the sheer scope of information and the way it's set up are great. She goes though the negotiations at the treaty of Versailles not chronologically but by region of the world, so there's an entire section on how the Middle East was affected, and how each country in Western Europe won or lost territory, Eastern Europe, Asia... It's really clear and easy to follow. And despite a cast of thousands I totally knew who everyone was and what country they were from. It's not as close to prose as the book on Genghis Khan or the Little Ice Age, but it's also 500 pages long.

There are also tons of maps. That is the #1 thing I want in my history books: maps! It is SO NICE to be able to reference what in hell the negotiators are talking about when they quibble over the boundaries of a country that I can only vaguely remember how to locate. 

My only quibble is that she spends the last few pages arguing that World War II would have happened whether or not the treaty had been signed, and I wrote my college thesis on the opposite argument. So it's really only my quibble.

Grade: A

Originally posted 2009

Genghis Khan and the Making of the Modern World, Jack Weatherford

My work BFF started this and kept telling me about it at a party while we were drunk. It's that good. I have a few issues with the conclusion the author draws -- the European Renaissance is attributable to a lot more than a recreation of Genghis Khan's trade routes -- and the sources used. (Half the information comes from a newly rediscovered and translated book called the Secret History of Genghis Khan, which is awesome! But... in history, things that are awesome are generally not true.)

Everything you think you know about the Mongols is wrong, just by the by. It is SO INTERESTING how Genghis Khan built his empire based on merit and fairness, and how miserable his childhood was, and all the amazing and liberal things he did. Plus, his fighting tactics were amazing! And it is equally fascinating how the empire fell apart, and what the long-term impact of the Mongols was, and how words like "mongoloid" entered the common language as derisive terms, even though he was considered a great man in his own time. 

So good! You will read it and then you will bore people at parties when you can't shut up about it.

Grade: A

Originally posted 2009