I recommend The Wager by David Grann. The 18th Century shipwreck of the HMS Wager and the ensing mutiny, murder and mayhem. Written more like a thriller. Lots of additional info and photos included. Everybody I know who has read it (including me) has thoroughly enjoyed it.
The wager has been on my list for a while. I read his other book, killers of the flower moon and as someone who never reads history, his writing was digestible and enjoyable.
In this vein, In the Kingdom of Ice by Hampton Sides. Tells the story of a ship's arctic exploration in the late 1870s. Absolutely riveting and terrifying and inspiring, with many details coming directly from the writings of those involved. Truly reads like a novel. It's so good that the only "problem" with it is resisting the urge to Google the event to find out the fate of everyone involved.
I too had a great history teacher for American history in high school. His approach was to teach history by going over the biographies of each president. Because of him I majored in history in college and eventually became a teacher myself. I am 72 years old and still reminisce about those classes. As far as books go I recommend Ron Chernow’s biography of George Washington. It is so much more than a typical biography. It goes over the whole history of the era from around 1730 to 1800.
My absolute favorite is A Distant Mirror: The Calamitous 14th Century by Barbara Tuchman. Hard to find, but a great narrative story that paints a clear picture of.
I have really great history teachers. One of my high school teachers was on the USS Indianapolis and one of the survivors. He was a fabulous teacher. I love history and reading history.
Barbara Tuchman's _A Distant Mirror_ is a very readable classic. It is a great look not only into the history of 14th Century France, but the mindset of the people of the time. Her _The Guns of August_ is one of the premier books on the outbreak of WW1, but a little less readable.
This is awesome. I was only ever taught Western history in school and I’ve always wanted to learn more about Asian history but had no idea where to start. Genghis, here I come.
I HIGHLY recommend A History of the World in 6 Glasses by Tom Standage. This is a world history periodization book based on six different drinks that changed the world or essential in the time period. (I am a high school social studies teacher and this is a book I highly enjoy) Thanks for all the things you create. I am reading Game of Thrones and the Bloodsworn Saga because of you.
I would love a video about how you read history books and highlight, take notes, use a commonplace notebook or etc - just discovered your channel! Great videos! Keep it up 👍
Thank you! I appreciate this video as I am planning on becoming a history teacher and am diving into every history book/documentary I see! Subscribed within the first minute!
100% getting on these recommendations. I appreciate that you're not coming from the "Read these books to open your mind" train that many recommended vids have been giving me. If I'm taking a break from fiction it's starting here!
I'm surprised that nobody has mentioned The Story of Civilization by Will and Ariel Durant. Its 11 volumes are by far the best world history available for the general public. Page Smith wrote an excellent 8 volume history of the United States in a similar style. Also well worth reading are Gibbon's Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire, and Bill Shirer's Rise and Fall of the Third Reich. Both these works are easily accessible to the general public.
I’m reading my first history book now and enjoying it after having listened to Dan Carlin’s King of Kings on your recommendation. Dan Jones’ Powers and Thrones is proving entertaining and certainly similar to the sample platter you mentioned; covering a long period of history and a wide selection of topics, I definitely think this will serve me well in helping me find a subject I want to look at closer
I HATED my high school history teacher but he was so damn good with the subject that I couldn't help but learn from him. As a child I loved historical books & have carried that into my 8 decades of life.
Two Arctic Shipwreck books, ‘Labyrinth of Ice’ and ‘Empire of Ice and Stone’ by Buddy Levy were really fun reads. Incredible stories that are written in a way that makes you feel like you are there experiencing it first hand.
"Destiny" was a great read. Some of my favorites - BIrth of the Modern (Paul Johnson - how our modern world came into being - incredibly fascinating) The Discoverers (Daniel Boorstin (Librarians of Congress) - quite simply, what, how, when and why we have discovered) Millennium + Near a Thousand Tables (the last 1,00 years; the second is a history of food) The Between the Seas - David McCullough (building of the Panama Canal)
Michael Kist! I stumbled across your video entirely by accident, I’ve been a huge fan since Kist and Solack during your BGN days. Loved your Birds talk back in the day and your channel looks right up my alley.
This year, for history, I'm reading: One Nation Under Blackmail (a blend of history and journalism) - Whitney Webb A World Undone - G J Meyer Children of Ash and Elm - Niel Price Crusades - Dan Jones And I'll also include a historical fantasy/fiction that should entice you nerds: The Just City - Jo Walton
A few I really enjoyed - Rats, Lice, and History; The Endurance; The Discovers; and The Big Oyster. Also, The Professor and the Madman (more a memoir but of historical interest.) Thanks for the recommendations. 🌻🍄
10 Caesars by Barry Strauss is fantastic, it’s about 50 pages each on ten different emperors during Roman history. It’s easy to read, packed with knowledge and gives a good overview of each of the emperors within. While not deep, it is a great jumping off point for any future Rome enthusiasts.
Deleted my Tik tok about a year ago. Didn’t know you had a RUclips account d randomly stumbled on your channel in my recommended. Appreciate you putting in the work you do for your videos and putting them out on multiple platforms for people like me brother 🤙
Maybe not quite the books written ABOUT history, but I enjoyed a couple of short essay books this year written at a time which is significant in history now and would be nice introductions to further reading on the subjects. The first was Virginia Woolf’s A Room of Ones Own, which is about her experience with being a woman and not having access to the same things men did, and I think it was at a time when women’s rights were starting to change so it was an interesting perspective. The second was James Baldwins No Name in the Street, it was about his time and life, in and around the civil rights movement in America. I found it immensely interesting and made me interested in reading more about it from a first person prospective.
History of the world in 6 glasses, the secret history of the mongol queens, Isaac’s storm, the things they carried are just a few I have recommended to many people
I've started SPQR a few days ago, and she just gets me hooked on the subject even if only 170 pages in and during the part of Roman Republic that I'll be honest isn't my biggest interest, but the fact you say that Dynasty Disrupted is even better at that than SPQR I'm pumped to read it. And it will fit nicely on my 2025 goal of expanding my history reading from eurocentric topics. One book I would recommend to everyone, it's not really casual history, but I just felt it was so fascinating is "The Untold History of Ramen" by George Solt.
Great video! I came here from tik tok love your content. A great book I’m reading to get into the Viking age is The Wolf Age by Tore Skeie very informative and easy to follow
I recommend Fire in the Lake: The Vietnamese and The Americans in Vietnam written by Frances Fitzgerald. The book was required reading for a Vietnam War history class I took my freshman year. I found a used copy last year and plan to re-read it. It helped me understand the Vietnamese culture, and why our loss was inevitable.
As a soon to be grad of a History degree excellent books on great topics. I would recommend Agincourt: Henry V The battle that made England and Storm of Steel a WWI diary from a German Soldier.
Popular history authors I have enjoyed: Barbara Tuchman, G. J. Meyer, Andrew Roberts, and Niall Ferguson. Thomas Sowell’s Cultures trilogy is also great history.
Stumbled on your video somehow… no clue why. Loved it. I had a college instructor who was the exact same as the one you described you were lucky enough to have. Couldn’t get enough. Have you or have you considered doing a series on fantasy books based on true history? If you have I just can’t find it. I’m loving your channel. Thanks so much h for something I have missed.
Welcome! And yeah I did a video that was basically "if you like this fantasy, read this history" so there's a version of that from a couple months ago, probably in my first 10 vids
'Ornament of the World' by Maria Rosa Menocal, 'House of Rain' by Craig Childs and 'The Perfect Heresy' by Stephen O'Shea are some of my favourites that haven't been mentioned yet.
One of my favorites of all time is Three Kingdoms by Luo Guangzhong. But the Moss Roberts translation. Absolute insanity about the 3 Kingdoms era in Ancient China
Candice Millard is an entertaining and informative writer in the popular history genre. Well worth checking out, I am currently going through her catalogue and have not been disappointed yet.
The Storm Before The Storm by Mike Duncan was absolutely fantastic and I recommend it to anyone that has an interest but is fairly new to Roman history. Super easy reading.
The reasons in the US that history teachers are considers boring are twofold: look how many coaches are teaching history and look how teachers have to teach toward the EOI test.
Enjoyed the Greatest Knight. Recommend any Dan Jones but the Power and Thrones was quite a romp thru time. Currently reading his Henry V which has more in depth on his life in a highly readable form. Last recommendation is House of lilies by Justine Firnhaber Baker, a quick recap of the French Capetian dynasty (980-1300s).
A few recommendations: •Magnetic Mountain by Stephen Kotkin •The Cheese and the Worms by Carlo Ginzburg •The Gunpowder Age by Tonio Andrade •Nomads and the Outside World by A. M. Khazanov •Cuba: An American History by Ada Ferrer •The Rise of Western Christendom by Peter Brown •Zakhor: Jewish History and Jewish Memory by Yosef Hayin Yerushalmi •The Return of Martin Guerre by Natalie Zemon Davis •Stalin and the Bomb by David Holloway •The Death of Woman Wang by Jonathan Spence •The Second Founding by Eric Foner
New subscriber here, so I don't know if you've covered these somewhere along the line... How the Scots Invented the Modern World by Arthur Herman; and of course, Killer Angels by Michael Shaara.
I joined a bookclub and we are reading Ovid and Homer this year. I also want to read some roman history to learn more about the Roman empire during that time. Do you have a recommendation?
Try Marcel Druon's The Accursed Kings series and my persnal favorite Robert Graves' The Golden Fleece Montefiore's The young Stalin + The Red Tsar both exceptional
Always have to recommend The Rise and Fall of the Dinosaurs by Steve Brusatte and The Germans and Europe by Peter Millar. Destiny in the Desert by Jonathan Dimbleby is a good one for WW2 in north Africa, and for something a bit different The Ghosts of K2 by Mick Conefrey which is great account of the first ascent of the world's second highest mountain.
I'd be interested in a similar pop history book on the various parts of Africa. I'd assume North Africa probably comes up in Destiny Disrupted, but it would be nice to see suggestions from other parts.
Hello is there any recommendations on indian history with all the empires it had chola, mauryan gupta etc i am very curious about it and i would also suggest u to please study about them if u havenet u would b very intrigued
Thank you for this channel. I love history, but am pretty unlearned about the history of Islam. I think most Americans are very ignorant about the history of the Middle East. Clearly, it wasn’t taught in school. World history was Western European history. I just ordered “Destiny Disrupted.”
Great video I have some new books on my list now. I’d like to leave a good history recommendation that I just recently finished: ‘Sword and Scimitar’ by Raymond Ibrahim 👍🏻
I would love a recommendation for something accessible that focuses on the lives of prehistoric humans and human ancestors, I.e. Paleolithic era, nothing beyond Neolithic
I know you are interested in the subject. Two books on popular Indian history that I can recommend are False Allies by Manu S. Pillai and Lords of the Deccan by Anirudh Kanisetti. Both incredible reads.
Mongolian Historical Fantasy that I enjoyed very much is Stephen Aryan’s The Nightingale & the Falcon: Judas Blossom, Blood Dimmed Tide and in coming out in 2025 The Sorrow & the Sea!
1861: The Civil War Awakening by Adam Goodhart Jerusalem: A Biography by Simon Montefiore The Guns of August by Barbara Tuchman and The Proud Tower by Barbara Tuchman King Leopold's Ghost by Adam Hochschild
Any WW1/WW2 recommendations? I read the grape of nanking recently and was horrified but fascinated. I’d like to read more about both wars but don’t know where to pivot after that book.
A World Undone by GJ Meyer is a great narrative history of WWI that provides background and context for those unfamiliar with the era. Well written and concise.
I have kind of love/Hate feeling towards Genghis Khan. On one hand he was a warmonger. He killed lots of people but that's how he grew up. I mean his family was killed. His wife was stolen and raped before it. Even technically got married. His own brother wanted to kill him. So he realized that power and strength. What gets the job done? On the other hand, after he conquered whatever land he learned the little people live as long as they didn't rise up against him. He didn't care about the religion. He didn't try to enforce their his religion and so bad for Conquering but at the same time also good as a leader
Currently reading Babylon, Mesopotamia the birth of civilization by Paul Kriwaczek highly recommend Another book I read early in my History endeavors was Sapiens by Yuval Noah Harari Great video and appreciate your recommendations
You talk about your history teacher being your spark, my mom was my history teacher in high school.
I recommend The Wager by David Grann. The 18th Century shipwreck of the HMS Wager and the ensing mutiny, murder and mayhem. Written more like a thriller. Lots of additional info and photos included. Everybody I know who has read it (including me) has thoroughly enjoyed it.
The wager has been on my list for a while. I read his other book, killers of the flower moon and as someone who never reads history, his writing was digestible and enjoyable.
@JerryThomas-c1w now this is your sign to read it! ☺
I listened to it on audio and really enjoyed it and I recently found it at a library book sale for a dollar so now I have my own copy📚!!
@@JerryThomas-c1w The Wager was so good
In this vein, In the Kingdom of Ice by Hampton Sides. Tells the story of a ship's arctic exploration in the late 1870s. Absolutely riveting and terrifying and inspiring, with many details coming directly from the writings of those involved. Truly reads like a novel. It's so good that the only "problem" with it is resisting the urge to Google the event to find out the fate of everyone involved.
I too had a great history teacher for American history in high school. His approach was to teach history by going over the biographies of each president. Because of him I majored in history in college and eventually became a teacher myself. I am 72 years old and still reminisce about those classes. As far as books go I recommend Ron Chernow’s biography of George Washington. It is so much more than a typical biography. It goes over the whole history of the era from around 1730 to 1800.
That's awesome! I've heard Chernow's books are excellent
My absolute favorite is A Distant Mirror: The Calamitous 14th Century by Barbara Tuchman. Hard to find, but a great narrative story that paints a clear picture of.
This is my favorite book of all time.
Same! It's the first book I thought of when I saw this video.
I came to the comment section to recommend this one! Incredible book.
@joshsalwen Check out G. J. Meyer’s The Tudors and A World Undone. Both are very readable and enjoyable.
Yes! Her books are excellent- I have this one, The March of Folly, and The Proud Tower.
I have really great history teachers. One of my high school teachers was on the USS Indianapolis and one of the survivors. He was a fabulous teacher. I love history and reading history.
Wow the story of the Indianapolis is a wild one
Empire of the Summer Moon by SC Gwynne. It's a history of the Comanches and their wars on the Texas frontier. Amazing book.
One of the best history books I have read.
Excellent book!
I’ll be honest I clicked because I saw the Borussia Dortmund jersey. I’m game for anyone that enjoys soccer/football.
Heja BVB
Haha I literally did the same thing 😂
Fun club to watch. Fan base is pretty cool and kits are usually on point.
Stop calling it Soccer ffs
@@user-ul5ul7yz1h but it's called soccer sorry that you find the name of the sport in the US offensive
Always excited for a new histroy books video. I've bought three books on your recommendation & I've loved all of them. Keep these videos coming!
Love hearing that! Glad they're hittin
Barbara Tuchman's _A Distant Mirror_ is a very readable classic. It is a great look not only into the history of 14th Century France, but the mindset of the people of the time.
Her _The Guns of August_ is one of the premier books on the outbreak of WW1, but a little less readable.
😂 I just posted the same recommendation. It is so good.
This is awesome. I was only ever taught Western history in school and I’ve always wanted to learn more about Asian history but had no idea where to start. Genghis, here I come.
I HIGHLY recommend A History of the World in 6 Glasses by Tom Standage. This is a world history periodization book based on six different drinks that changed the world or essential in the time period. (I am a high school social studies teacher and this is a book I highly enjoy)
Thanks for all the things you create. I am reading Game of Thrones and the Bloodsworn Saga because of you.
This book was a fun and thought-provoking read!
would love a video on the most difficult books you've ever read
I would love a video about how you read history books and highlight, take notes, use a commonplace notebook or etc - just discovered your channel! Great videos! Keep it up 👍
We need an office tour. So many cool nik nacs in the background
Thank you! I appreciate this video as I am planning on becoming a history teacher and am diving into every history book/documentary I see! Subscribed within the first minute!
100% getting on these recommendations. I appreciate that you're not coming from the "Read these books to open your mind" train that many recommended vids have been giving me. If I'm taking a break from fiction it's starting here!
I love reading history! One of the reasons for this love of history is that it helps clarify current events.
Thanks for refreshing my love of history in an easy to understand way.
always here to support you Michael! Proud of you for being a full time content creator
I'm surprised that nobody has mentioned The Story of Civilization by Will and Ariel Durant. Its 11 volumes are by far the best world history available for the general public. Page Smith wrote an excellent 8 volume history of the United States in a similar style. Also well worth reading are Gibbon's Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire, and Bill Shirer's Rise and Fall of the Third Reich. Both these works are easily accessible to the general public.
I’m reading my first history book now and enjoying it after having listened to Dan Carlin’s King of Kings on your recommendation. Dan Jones’ Powers and Thrones is proving entertaining and certainly similar to the sample platter you mentioned; covering a long period of history and a wide selection of topics, I definitely think this will serve me well in helping me find a subject I want to look at closer
Gosh, there is nothing like a great teacher!!
Longitude by Dava Soebel is BRILLIANT! Scholarly and accessible.
I HATED my high school history teacher but he was so damn good with the subject that I couldn't help but learn from him. As a child I loved historical books & have carried that into my 8 decades of life.
Two Arctic Shipwreck books, ‘Labyrinth of Ice’ and ‘Empire of Ice and Stone’ by Buddy Levy were really fun reads. Incredible stories that are written in a way that makes you feel like you are there experiencing it first hand.
"Destiny" was a great read. Some of my favorites -
BIrth of the Modern (Paul Johnson - how our modern world came into being - incredibly fascinating)
The Discoverers (Daniel Boorstin (Librarians of Congress) - quite simply, what, how, when and why we have discovered)
Millennium + Near a Thousand Tables (the last 1,00 years; the second is a history of food)
The Between the Seas - David McCullough (building of the Panama Canal)
Michael Kist! I stumbled across your video entirely by accident, I’ve been a huge fan since Kist and Solack during your BGN days. Loved your Birds talk back in the day and your channel looks right up my alley.
Welcome gentle listener! Go birds (tough L today but the point stands)
Great to find your book content. Miss the Kist and Solak days
Go birds!
This year, for history, I'm reading:
One Nation Under Blackmail (a blend of history and journalism) - Whitney Webb
A World Undone - G J Meyer
Children of Ash and Elm - Niel Price
Crusades - Dan Jones
And I'll also include a historical fantasy/fiction that should entice you nerds:
The Just City - Jo Walton
A few I really enjoyed - Rats, Lice, and History; The Endurance; The Discovers; and The Big Oyster. Also, The Professor and the Madman (more a memoir but of historical interest.) Thanks for the recommendations. 🌻🍄
First video I have watched of yours! Great video. Love your voice. Drop the biceps routine lol.
And also added a bunch of books to my tbr!
10 Caesars by Barry Strauss is fantastic, it’s about 50 pages each on ten different emperors during Roman history. It’s easy to read, packed with knowledge and gives a good overview of each of the emperors within. While not deep, it is a great jumping off point for any future Rome enthusiasts.
Agreed!
Deleted my Tik tok about a year ago. Didn’t know you had a RUclips account d randomly stumbled on your channel in my recommended. Appreciate you putting in the work you do for your videos and putting them out on multiple platforms for people like me brother 🤙
Hey thanks for the support brother! Glad you found me again
Maybe not quite the books written ABOUT history, but I enjoyed a couple of short essay books this year written at a time which is significant in history now and would be nice introductions to further reading on the subjects. The first was Virginia Woolf’s A Room of Ones Own, which is about her experience with being a woman and not having access to the same things men did, and I think it was at a time when women’s rights were starting to change so it was an interesting perspective. The second was James Baldwins No Name in the Street, it was about his time and life, in and around the civil rights movement in America. I found it immensely interesting and made me interested in reading more about it from a first person prospective.
History of the world in 6 glasses, the secret history of the mongol queens, Isaac’s storm, the things they carried are just a few I have recommended to many people
New subscriber this is my favorite book channel on RUclips
Hey thanks for being here!
The book that hooked me on a more academic approach to History (yet reads like a novel) was "O Jerusalem" by Collins and Lapierre.
I've started SPQR a few days ago, and she just gets me hooked on the subject even if only 170 pages in and during the part of Roman Republic that I'll be honest isn't my biggest interest, but the fact you say that Dynasty Disrupted is even better at that than SPQR I'm pumped to read it. And it will fit nicely on my 2025 goal of expanding my history reading from eurocentric topics. One book I would recommend to everyone, it's not really casual history, but I just felt it was so fascinating is "The Untold History of Ramen" by George Solt.
Yup I rate SPQR quite high too so I think you'll very much enjoy Destiny Disrupted.
Loving the consistency brother
Top tier reccos! Thank you!
For the anglophiles: The Plantagenets and The Wars of the Roses by Dan Jones are great picks. Incredibly informative and eminently readable.
Know the rules is a great motivator. Fear of retribution explains a lot. Just the communication aspect is daunting.
Excellent video! You’ve gained a new subscriber!
Thank you and welcome!
Great video! I came here from tik tok love your content. A great book I’m reading to get into the Viking age is The Wolf Age by Tore Skeie very informative and easy to follow
Great book, and welcome!
I couldn’t concentrate on your message because I was busy focusing on the Lego coliseum! 😂
My prized possession
Thanks for the recommendations. Can't wait to get my hands on some of them
I recommend Fire in the Lake: The Vietnamese and The Americans in Vietnam written by Frances Fitzgerald. The book was required reading for a Vietnam War history class I took my freshman year. I found a used copy last year and plan to re-read it. It helped me understand the Vietnamese culture, and why our loss was inevitable.
As a soon to be grad of a History degree excellent books on great topics. I would recommend Agincourt: Henry V The battle that made England and Storm of Steel a WWI diary from a German Soldier.
Was just talking about Storm of Steel in the Discord, wild book
Popular history authors I have enjoyed: Barbara Tuchman, G. J. Meyer, Andrew Roberts, and Niall Ferguson. Thomas Sowell’s Cultures trilogy is also great history.
The Western Tradition lectures by the late Professor Eugen Weber. All 28 of the half hour videos have been remastered and are available on RUclips.
Great video!
Appreciate ya!
Stumbled on your video somehow… no clue why. Loved it. I had a college instructor who was the exact same as the one you described you were lucky enough to have. Couldn’t get enough.
Have you or have you considered doing a series on fantasy books based on true history? If you have I just can’t find it. I’m loving your channel. Thanks so much h for something I have missed.
Welcome! And yeah I did a video that was basically "if you like this fantasy, read this history" so there's a version of that from a couple months ago, probably in my first 10 vids
Thanks for the suggestions. Just added them to my reading list.
I've never heard of any of these books, except SPQR, and they sound fascinating!
Love history books and yes some can be very dry, thanks for the recommendations ☺️
Great class on good history books to read!
'Ornament of the World' by Maria Rosa Menocal, 'House of Rain' by Craig Childs and 'The Perfect Heresy' by Stephen O'Shea are some of my favourites that haven't been mentioned yet.
I would recommend anything by Guy Shrubsole. Most notably 'The lost rainforests of great Britain'. You won't think of GB the same.
One of my favorites of all time is Three Kingdoms by Luo Guangzhong. But the Moss Roberts translation. Absolute insanity about the 3 Kingdoms era in Ancient China
Candice Millard is an entertaining and informative writer in the popular history genre. Well worth checking out, I am currently going through her catalogue and have not been disappointed yet.
The Philip freeman trilogy of Alexander the Great, Hannibal and Julius Caesar. Great narrative introductions and got me personally hooked
Of those I've only read Hannibal but it was an excellent refresher
The Storm Before The Storm by Mike Duncan was absolutely fantastic and I recommend it to anyone that has an interest but is fairly new to Roman history. Super easy reading.
Rec'd it on my Roman Republic in chronological order video, excellent book
The reasons in the US that history teachers are considers boring are twofold: look how many coaches are teaching history and look how teachers have to teach toward the EOI test.
Enjoyed the Greatest Knight. Recommend any Dan Jones but the Power and Thrones was quite a romp thru time. Currently reading his Henry V which has more in depth on his life in a highly readable form. Last recommendation is House of lilies by Justine Firnhaber Baker, a quick recap of the French Capetian dynasty (980-1300s).
I've read the others and agree, own House of Lilies and am definitely getting to it
A few recommendations:
•Magnetic Mountain by Stephen Kotkin
•The Cheese and the Worms by Carlo Ginzburg
•The Gunpowder Age by Tonio Andrade
•Nomads and the Outside World by A. M. Khazanov
•Cuba: An American History by Ada Ferrer
•The Rise of Western Christendom by Peter Brown
•Zakhor: Jewish History and Jewish Memory by Yosef Hayin Yerushalmi
•The Return of Martin Guerre by Natalie Zemon Davis
•Stalin and the Bomb by David Holloway
•The Death of Woman Wang by Jonathan Spence
•The Second Founding by Eric Foner
Awesome vid. New sub!
Welcome!
Enemy at the Gate by Andrew Wheatcroft - riveting retelling of the Ottoman/Habsburg conflicts.
New subscriber here, so I don't know if you've covered these somewhere along the line... How the Scots Invented the Modern World by Arthur Herman; and of course, Killer Angels by Michael Shaara.
Congrats on the new career Mike. Hope you're doing well. Go Eagles!!!!!
Heyyyy go birds!
I'll recommend 'Moscow 1812' by Adam Zamoyski, about Napoleon's failed invasion of Russia.
How about A Nervous Splendor by Frederic Morton? Also, The Making of the Atomic Bomb by Richard Rhodes is great.
I like James Michener and McCullough. I need to approach history like gossip with a narrative rather than expository.
From Dawn to Decadence by Barzun.
In my Texas high school the history teachers were mostly disgruntled football coaches who were forced to also teach some classes.
There's a lot of that unfortunately
I joined a bookclub and we are reading Ovid and Homer this year. I also want to read some roman history to learn more about the Roman empire during that time. Do you have a recommendation?
I've got a video dropping tomorrow that has some recs that align with Ovid's time
@KistReadsBooks Great! Thanks for the reply. I subscribed and will watch it tomorrow.
I'd like to recommend A World Lit Only By Fire by William Manchester. It gives you a glimpse into the world of the peasants.
Try Marcel Druon's The Accursed Kings series
and my persnal favorite Robert Graves' The Golden Fleece
Montefiore's The young Stalin + The Red Tsar both exceptional
Always have to recommend The Rise and Fall of the Dinosaurs by Steve Brusatte and The Germans and Europe by Peter Millar. Destiny in the Desert by Jonathan Dimbleby is a good one for WW2 in north Africa, and for something a bit different The Ghosts of K2 by Mick Conefrey which is great account of the first ascent of the world's second highest mountain.
Loved Brussate's dino book, have to read his book on the mammals and look into your recs, appreciate it!
I'd be interested in a similar pop history book on the various parts of Africa. I'd assume North Africa probably comes up in Destiny Disrupted, but it would be nice to see suggestions from other parts.
Have you read "King Leopold's' Ghost?"
What about From Dawn to Decadence by Jacques Barzun?
Race of Aces by John Bruning was phenomenal
Hello is there any recommendations on indian history with all the empires it had chola, mauryan gupta etc i am very curious about it and i would also suggest u to please study about them if u havenet u would b very intrigued
History books for casuals is a great video topic.
Thank you for this channel. I love history, but am pretty unlearned about the history of Islam. I think most Americans are very ignorant about the history of the Middle East. Clearly, it wasn’t taught in school. World history was Western European history. I just ordered “Destiny Disrupted.”
Interesting that in choice two, the Abasid Caliphate was destroyed by Hulagu, a Mongol.
Great video I have some new books on my list now. I’d like to leave a good history recommendation that I just recently finished: ‘Sword and Scimitar’ by Raymond Ibrahim 👍🏻
Clearly a man of the culture, I mean just look at the Dortmund kit.
I would love a recommendation for something accessible that focuses on the lives of prehistoric humans and human ancestors, I.e. Paleolithic era, nothing beyond Neolithic
I know you are interested in the subject. Two books on popular Indian history that I can recommend are False Allies by Manu S. Pillai and Lords of the Deccan by Anirudh Kanisetti. Both incredible reads.
Will look into those, thank you!
Will Durant is the greatest historical writer of all time and had a 12 volume set of world history. Very, very readable AND comprehensive
Mongolian Historical Fantasy that I enjoyed very much is Stephen Aryan’s The Nightingale & the Falcon: Judas Blossom, Blood Dimmed Tide and in coming out in 2025 The Sorrow & the Sea!
Will check that out!
Was not expecting the Penn state mention in this video lol
Could you make a video about entertaining books that cover slightly more modern topics like World War 2, The Russian Revolution, or The Cold War?
Yeah, it comes down to the presentation, leading right to that teacher.
1861: The Civil War Awakening by Adam Goodhart
Jerusalem: A Biography by Simon Montefiore
The Guns of August by Barbara Tuchman and The Proud Tower by Barbara Tuchman
King Leopold's Ghost by Adam Hochschild
Any WW1/WW2 recommendations? I read the grape of nanking recently and was horrified but fascinated. I’d like to read more about both wars but don’t know where to pivot after that book.
For WW1 The Last of the Doughboys (Rubin) is great. For WW2 I've recently read Bloodlands (Snyder) and Ordinary Men (Browning) and loved em both
A World Undone by GJ Meyer is a great narrative history of WWI that provides background and context for those unfamiliar with the era. Well written and concise.
The Guns of August is great, but more scholarly than easy history.
@@ltalbot41-h6sI agree. G. J. Meyer is a very readable popular historian.
Any of the books by Dan Jones covering the Medieval world.
I have kind of love/Hate feeling towards Genghis Khan. On one hand he was a warmonger. He killed lots of people but that's how he grew up. I mean his family was killed. His wife was stolen and raped before it. Even technically got married. His own brother wanted to kill him. So he realized that power and strength. What gets the job done? On the other hand, after he conquered whatever land he learned the little people live as long as they didn't rise up against him. He didn't care about the religion. He didn't try to enforce their his religion and so bad for Conquering but at the same time also good as a leader
I would recommend Bury my Heart at wounded knee by Dee Brown and Ice Ghosts ( about the search for the Franklin expedition)
Empire of the summer moon is good too.
Currently reading Babylon, Mesopotamia the birth of civilization by Paul Kriwaczek highly recommend
Another book I read early in my History endeavors was Sapiens by Yuval Noah Harari
Great video and appreciate your recommendations