When I was 14/15 years old and was starting to be interested in history, I realised that I needed a basic timeline of events so that I'd have an idea of what happened when. I feel that many people lack this basic knowledge; like a former workmate of mine who once asked me if Jesus had lived in the Middle Ages(!) So I came upon HG Wells 'A Short History of The World', a book that, sure, is now outdated and perhaps a bit sketchy, but it gave me exactly that "what happened when" notion that I was looking for. Besides, it's an easy read, ideal for curious teenagers like I was, and who would probably find some of those rather didactic tomes you recommended a bit tough to get through. From there I went on to read stuff like Herodotus, Polybius, Xenophon and Caesar, as well as contemporary greats like Tuchman, Runciman, Campbell, Graves, etc. I also would say that you can't underestimate the learning potential that comes from reading historical novels, although some fact-checking may be useful with most of them.
One popular history book I recently read was Eric Cline's 1177 B.C. The Year Civilization Collapsed which was about the Bronze Age Collapse. I felt it was pretty good especially his unwillingness to assign the reason for the collapse to a single reason (The Sea Peoples) as some in his field tend to do. In his book he even said basically, "I know you all want a nice, neat conclusion to this story but sorry, you're not getting one because we don't know enough to make that call." Don't get that from popular history books very often. Also, I am getting the Penguin Deluxe Edition of Herodotus' The Histories based on your recommendation.
Great video and a fascinating topic! Jennifer Brooks recently made a video about Nero and how he was probably not quite as bad as he is made out to be. Greetings from the UK!
Super-Informative! I’m guilty of picking up a “popular” one last year - The Mortal Republic by Edward Watts - but actually didn’t finish it. Now I feel dirty 😜
Well, I have listened and made an entire list of 2 pages long that I do not have. I am off to see what I can find to purchase. This was absolutely excellent!! Would you ever consider doing a weekly or monthly deep dive into them? We can do a read a long so we are up with you and then sit back and enjoy. Thanks Michael and welcome back, I have missed you!
I will have to pick up that "Egypt, Greece, and Rome" book. Maybe "the Rise and Fall of Egypt," as well. Have a few on ancient Greece and Rome already. I will usually have the primary sources at hand while reading the big text books. I don't know how some people can hate studying history, it is incredibly fascinating, and no matter how much one reads into it, there will always be some crazy event you have never heard of before that will bring you down another rabbit hole. It is great! haha
Thanks for this. I have been looking into this topic and you've offered some great suggestions. Sadly, in Australia those textbooks will cost about $1 million. 😥😥
Yes! I agree, question everything. I've taught my son to do that and told him even when the information comes from me. It's interesting you should mention Caesar, as I was just gifted a biography on him. I also have SPQR. Purdy pictures are always a bonus. =)
Michael "History Begins at Sumer: Twenty-Seven Firsts in Man's Recorded History" by Samuel Noah Kramer is a great source before Greece, Egypt and Rome. He has written many good ancient history books. It may be dated now but I really enjoyed it. Have you looked for good titles about the really ancient civilisations. Sumeria, Hitite and Ur and the other civilisations of the Tigris/ Euphrates ? That doesn't even include Meso-America, China, and the Celts? . I would respect yo.ur opinion.
Great recommendations! I’ve read a decent amount on those subjects but haven’t read those particular ones. I’ve also found some Oxford histories dry as well as presumptuous that I would be more familiar with the geography they speak of. I agree that supplemental readings are recommended. Also, that’s quite a big edition of Suetonius! I didn’t know that Rome’s tabloid extraordinaire could be found in such a nice copy. Lastly, I completely agree with how rewarding studying ancient history can be, especially if you get the chance to travel to those places. I honeymooned in Rome and it was a near transcendent experience.
Michael, great video! Years ago I took year of Ancient History in college and I remember the Professor claiming that Suetonius was fun to read but not big on facts, he said he was more like a gossip columnist!
Hi Michael, I'm delighted to have found your channel! I study archaeology so I found it fascinating to hear your thoughts on this. In the dichotomy between ancient history and archaeology (the texts vs the material stuff), my thoughts continually return to the fact that additions to the textual record are comparatively rare, whereas huge amounts are constantly added to our knowledge of the archaeological record. This usually results in books on archaeology going out of date far faster than books on history - indeed many scholarly archaeology books go out of date between being written and being printed! My studies have never led me to delve into the classical world that you cover in this video, so I will definitely make use of your recommendations here. Super video!
Nice one Mike, good strategy I do think sometimes perhaps some of the popular history books are good for piquing people's interests and then encourage them to explore further. But to be honest as long as people find the subject of ancient history interesting then that's what matters. Great job in championing this wonderful subject. Looking forward to more. Mark 😁👍
Hi, Michael! I just discovered your channel, and I'm pleased as punch! I'm a history BookTuber and an all-around history nerd. Ancient history is one of my favorite topics. I have several of the books you highlighted, and I was particularly pleased to see Ancient Greece: A Political, Social, and Cultural History. I loved that book! I own the second edition. I may need to save up for the fourth. Anyway, I just wanted to introduce myself (I'm Peg), and I do hope you'll make more history videos in the future! In the meantime, I'll catch up on all that I've missed. Great video!
Wow! Thanks! I usually do videos about fiction so when I did this one I didn’t think I would get much of a response. I was surprised people actually watched it! That encourages me to do more history so I’m going to hopefully start an ancient history series starting next week. I really appreciate your watching!
I started with Rome as my 1st intrest. Like you said though ,it brought up other cultures, and that had me looking into the rest. Loved this. Great Video. I found kind of like you said , I read one thing it, tells you one thing, read another , here you have another. Made me realize about a lot of things, they are not sure. Still I find it fascinating. Again Great Video. 👍
I will find the answer regardless but how if possible can I find trustworthy history and information on the internet(for when I can't get a book or certain source)
@@michaelk.vaughan8617 Thank you so much! This is by far the best content I've ever seen on booktube and the first to actually address a wide range of my own personal fields of interest, with such sensetivity and proficiency. Love it! Just wow! I'll stay tuned.
Hey, cool video. As you said, not all popular history books are great to roll into the subject but some are definitely great to start with. The thing is you really have to do your research before you buy an introduction book.
I know this was from a couple years ago but the atlas on Ancient Civilizations looks pretty interesting. I'll definitely check it out so thanks for the recommendation.
Great discussion. Good reminder that much of what we read is full of lies, assumptions, misleading info, simplifications, biased perspectives, propaganda, and/or boring texts and brilliant maps. LOL. We don't really know what happened a long time ago, do we? The best we can do is go to those translated primary texts, like you're suggesting. Of course, the translators may have manipulated the info over time.
One of my favourite writers of all time is Pierre Hadot, who is a historian of ancient history philosphy. He has a great book on Marcus Aurelius. What is amazing about his books is that you are reading history, but at the same time he is saying things that are deeply relevant for our day to day lives. Pierre Hadot brings the wisdom of the ancients to us. He is one of the most French important historians of the 20th century, his books are beautiful, I would highky advise it.
It seems like updated editions of these histories is just a racket to charge more money. 😂 it’s not like much has changed since thousands of years ago (just kidding, I know the scholarship does change over time)
When I was 14/15 years old and was starting to be interested in history, I realised that I needed a basic timeline of events so that I'd have an idea of what happened when. I feel that many people lack this basic knowledge; like a former workmate of mine who once asked me if Jesus had lived in the Middle Ages(!) So I came upon HG Wells 'A Short History of The World', a book that, sure, is now outdated and perhaps a bit sketchy, but it gave me exactly that "what happened when" notion that I was looking for. Besides, it's an easy read, ideal for curious teenagers like I was, and who would probably find some of those rather didactic tomes you recommended a bit tough to get through. From there I went on to read stuff like Herodotus, Polybius, Xenophon and Caesar, as well as contemporary greats like Tuchman, Runciman, Campbell, Graves, etc. I also would say that you can't underestimate the learning potential that comes from reading historical novels, although some fact-checking may be useful with most of them.
Yes. A basic idea of timeline really helps to put things in place.
One popular history book I recently read was Eric Cline's 1177 B.C. The Year Civilization Collapsed which was about the Bronze Age Collapse. I felt it was pretty good especially his unwillingness to assign the reason for the collapse to a single reason (The Sea Peoples) as some in his field tend to do. In his book he even said basically, "I know you all want a nice, neat conclusion to this story but sorry, you're not getting one because we don't know enough to make that call." Don't get that from popular history books very often. Also, I am getting the Penguin Deluxe Edition of Herodotus' The Histories based on your recommendation.
Excellent video Michael! I read The Twelve Caesars and Herodotus last year and they were fabulous. Deb
Great video and a fascinating topic!
Jennifer Brooks recently made a video about Nero and how he was probably not quite as bad as he is made out to be.
Greetings from the UK!
Greetings! I will have to check out that video!
Wish I could click like more than once. Third time watching this particular video. Do you have a list of other historical videos that you have done?
Super-Informative! I’m guilty of picking up a “popular” one last year - The Mortal Republic by Edward Watts - but actually didn’t finish it. Now I feel dirty 😜
Ha! I was actually afraid nobody would watch this video. Thanks so much!
You missed Indian civilisation. Its one of the most ancient civilisation. Could be older than Greece.
I got into Ancient History duo to my freshman year of high school due to Mr. Cyrus and have never stopped. It is a great subject....
How can you talk about ancient history without Roger??? ...Great video MKV!
Thanks! This video IS ancient history.
I'd love those Atlas. I need those.
I wonder what your thoughts are on Livy on Roman History?
Keep it up my man
Read the Iliad in HS and never stopped
Well, I have listened and made an entire list of 2 pages long that I do not have. I am off to see what I can find to purchase. This was absolutely excellent!! Would you ever consider doing a weekly or monthly deep dive into them? We can do a read a long so we are up with you and then sit back and enjoy. Thanks Michael and welcome back, I have missed you!
I actually have been thinking of doing more on the ancient historians.
Excellent resources! A great video giving us solid information. Very helpful!
Thanks so much! I really appreciate you watching!
I will have to pick up that "Egypt, Greece, and Rome" book. Maybe "the Rise and Fall of Egypt," as well. Have a few on ancient Greece and Rome already. I will usually have the primary sources at hand while reading the big text books. I don't know how some people can hate studying history, it is incredibly fascinating, and no matter how much one reads into it, there will always be some crazy event you have never heard of before that will bring you down another rabbit hole. It is great! haha
It is great! There are certainly a lot of crazy events in ancient history! Thanks for watching!
Thanks for this. I have been looking into this topic and you've offered some great suggestions. Sadly, in Australia those textbooks will cost about $1 million. 😥😥
Wow! I’ve heard that books are really expensive there but that is just crazy.
That's why piracy was created
To chyba tam nikt nie ma ksiązek jak takie drogie albo sami milionerzy mieszkają ....😯😯👉📖📖📖📖📖
Yes! I agree, question everything. I've taught my son to do that and told him even when the information comes from me. It's interesting you should mention Caesar, as I was just gifted a biography on him. I also have SPQR. Purdy pictures are always a bonus. =)
I have a bunch of biographies about Caesar. So interesting. Thanks so much for watching this. I was worried it wouldn’t get much interest.
@@michaelk.vaughan8617 With a lot of history buffs, I'm sure it will be a success!
Michael "History Begins at Sumer: Twenty-Seven Firsts in Man's Recorded History"
by Samuel Noah Kramer is a great source before Greece, Egypt and Rome. He has written many good ancient history books. It may be dated now but I really enjoyed it. Have you looked for good titles about the really ancient civilisations. Sumeria, Hitite and Ur and the other civilisations of the Tigris/ Euphrates ? That doesn't even include Meso-America, China, and the Celts? . I would respect yo.ur opinion.
Great recommendations! I’ve read a decent amount on those subjects but haven’t read those particular ones. I’ve also found some Oxford histories dry as well as presumptuous that I would be more familiar with the geography they speak of. I agree that supplemental readings are recommended.
Also, that’s quite a big edition of Suetonius! I didn’t know that Rome’s tabloid extraordinaire could be found in such a nice copy.
Lastly, I completely agree with how rewarding studying ancient history can be, especially if you get the chance to travel to those places. I honeymooned in Rome and it was a near transcendent experience.
Yeah, those Oxfords can be pretty presumptuous! That big Suetonius was one Penguin put out a while back. Really great edition actually.
History IS great and it’s not boring! That book on Iraq looks interesting. Might have to add it to my TBR!
Michael, great video! Years ago I took year of Ancient History in college and I remember the Professor claiming that Suetonius was fun to read but not big on facts, he said he was more like a gossip columnist!
He really was!
Wonderful video! I have the Oxford book on Egypt and you’re right - it’s very dry! But I’m going to check out the Rise & Fall by Toby Wilkinson.
I think you will like that one!
Hi Michael, I'm delighted to have found your channel! I study archaeology so I found it fascinating to hear your thoughts on this. In the dichotomy between ancient history and archaeology (the texts vs the material stuff), my thoughts continually return to the fact that additions to the textual record are comparatively rare, whereas huge amounts are constantly added to our knowledge of the archaeological record. This usually results in books on archaeology going out of date far faster than books on history - indeed many scholarly archaeology books go out of date between being written and being printed! My studies have never led me to delve into the classical world that you cover in this video, so I will definitely make use of your recommendations here. Super video!
Nice one Mike, good strategy I do think sometimes perhaps some of the popular history books are good for piquing people's interests and then encourage them to explore further. But to be honest as long as people find the subject of ancient history interesting then that's what matters. Great job in championing this wonderful subject. Looking forward to more. Mark 😁👍
Thanks Mark!
Hi, Michael! I just discovered your channel, and I'm pleased as punch! I'm a history BookTuber and an all-around history nerd. Ancient history is one of my favorite topics. I have several of the books you highlighted, and I was particularly pleased to see Ancient Greece: A Political, Social, and Cultural History. I loved that book! I own the second edition. I may need to save up for the fourth. Anyway, I just wanted to introduce myself (I'm Peg), and I do hope you'll make more history videos in the future! In the meantime, I'll catch up on all that I've missed. Great video!
Wow! Thanks! I usually do videos about fiction so when I did this one I didn’t think I would get much of a response. I was surprised people actually watched it! That encourages me to do more history so I’m going to hopefully start an ancient history series starting next week. I really appreciate your watching!
@@michaelk.vaughan8617 That's fantastic! I'll be watching. :)
I started with Rome as my 1st intrest. Like you said though ,it brought up other cultures, and that had me looking into the rest. Loved this. Great Video. I found kind of like you said , I read one thing it, tells you one thing, read another , here you have another. Made me realize about a lot of things, they are not sure. Still I find it fascinating. Again Great Video. 👍
Thanks! I really appreciate that!
I will find the answer regardless but how if possible can I find trustworthy history and information on the internet(for when I can't get a book or certain source)
Would you say the history books nowadays are not true?
I can’t speak for them all but, no, I wouldn’t say that.
What a beautiful channel Michael! I got addicted!
Thanks Anna! I’m glad you like my nonsense!
@@michaelk.vaughan8617 Thank you so much! This is by far the best content I've ever seen on booktube and the first to actually address a wide range of my own personal fields of interest, with such sensetivity and proficiency. Love it! Just wow! I'll stay tuned.
Check out Bronze Age caveman, wrath of inanna….bizarre, irreverent, new, silly historical fiction. I recommend it.
Hey, cool video. As you said, not all popular history books are great to roll into the subject but some are definitely great to start with. The thing is you really have to do your research before you buy an introduction book.
I know this was from a couple years ago but the atlas on Ancient Civilizations looks pretty interesting. I'll definitely check it out so thanks for the recommendation.
This was great - so nice to see some textbook-love on BookTube!
Also: if you love your precious Julius Caesar so much, WHY DONCHA MARRY HIM? Next you'll be saying he was nowhere near Dealey Plaza when JFK was shot!
@@saintdonoghue Ha! Caesar was GREAT....at bringing down republics! I’m actually more of a Cicero guy myself. Thanks so much for watching!
Great discussion. Good reminder that much of what we read is full of lies, assumptions, misleading info, simplifications, biased perspectives, propaganda, and/or boring texts and brilliant maps. LOL. We don't really know what happened a long time ago, do we? The best we can do is go to those translated primary texts, like you're suggesting. Of course, the translators may have manipulated the info over time.
I love book nerds. 🤓 And history nerds too!
I can proudly proclaim myself both those types of nerd! Thanks so much for watching!
One of my favourite writers of all time is Pierre Hadot, who is a historian of ancient history philosphy. He has a great book on Marcus Aurelius. What is amazing about his books is that you are reading history, but at the same time he is saying things that are deeply relevant for our day to day lives. Pierre Hadot brings the wisdom of the ancients to us. He is one of the most French important historians of the 20th century, his books are beautiful, I would highky advise it.
I've just bought the first 2 books thanks to your video🙏
Do you have any recommendations for Ancient China?
I wish I did. I haven’t read enough about Ancient China.
It seems like updated editions of these histories is just a racket to charge more money. 😂 it’s not like much has changed since thousands of years ago (just kidding, I know the scholarship does change over time)
It’s all a big scam! I hope you didn’t fall asleep during this one! This could be my most boring video ever! Thanks for watching!
@@michaelk.vaughan8617 LOL I don't think it's humanly possible for you to be boring.
Not interested in ancient history but I wanted to hear you out 😄 I like the strategy you recommend
Thanks! I was pretty sure this would be my most boring video ever. Thanks for watching!
Those Atlas seem to be very interesting.
They have proven to be pretty valuable. So many translations of ancient classics have bad maps!
Thank you