I think your suggestion is absolutely spot on. Studying roman provincial archeology has taught me that literature can be very inaccessible. Like when people ask me what they should read if they are interrested and I have nothing to recommend. Most of our stuff is 30+ years old, dry as chalk and filled with jargon. I like that, but few people do. And I would love to get more people exited in the field. So thank you for this
It's really interesting to see perspective on Osprey Books from someone actually in the field of history. My own perspective is from Historical Wargaming, and there the Men-At-Arms books are AMAZING for "Hey, how do I start painting X army?". For example, when I started painting models for the Franco-Prussian war, I tracked down the book about the french army at the time. Super cool, love the video, love the defense of easy access for history.
Its funny you should mention the whole painting thing. I just picked up an Osprey book on the battle of Salamis because I wanted some inspiration for the bireme build
I absolutely agree, regardless of the subject you're interested in, unless you're incredibly nerdy about a subject, those weighty tomes aren't going to get you interested, they may just drive you away from it. Shorter books on tighter topics are much more approachable. My interest wasn't in Ancient Greece, but in Native American history, and medieval history, and small short books along the same format as Osprey books were what helped me find the next topic to dig into in more depth - in particular, the bibliographies in many of those shorter format books are of real value in pointing you to the next thing to expand your knowledge on the particular area that the books inspire you to look into.
You inspired me to pick up a few (not Osprey, but similar?) books on ancient Mesopotamia. The Ziggurat of Ur is something I keep wanting to build in Minecraft. As I've looked into it, I keep getting more interested in the area and the era.
I still have a couple of those exact dense ones you held up floating around somewhere from my BA, haha. In all seriousness though, I've seen other academics praise books for kids, or at least accessible even to kids, for having a lot of great info for curious adults, too. It's definitely valid!
I have a ton of their weapons and duel series and they've been great for having a wide range of slightly past surface level info of a ton of stuff. Incredible variety too, big agree on your recommendation.
Sad that you feel the need to defend those books for being aimed at younger people. As long as the material is reasonably accurate and presented in a way that's easy to understand, what more could you ask of intro books? Being inexpensive and not a huge commitment in either time or shelf space is just a bonus here. And I may be old enough to join AARP if I want to, but the Harold and the Purple Crayon series is still a treasured component in my personal library. People who think they're too old to read kids' books can bite me.
Absolutely agree! When you're first learning about something like Ancient Greek History, you want something that's going to *inspire* you, and a thousand pages of text probably isn't going to do that. I'm very visual, I want to see the food they ate, the clothes they wore, the Spondylus jewellery! From there I can pick one of any number of rabbit holes to go down and pick a more wordy more academic book to get more detailed knowledge. These books are like a "tasting menu" to see what you like, before you explore different things in more detail, and honestly they're great at any age. I don't know if they do a book on Ancient Greece, I'm not even sure if they're still A Thing, but I have some Dorling Kindersley books covering a few different topics, and the visuals are incredible! It's the closest you're gonna get to holding an ancient artifact in your hands outside of BEING an archaeologist.
I've had this question rattling around in my brain for a while. You're a certified guide, but do you actively give guide tours and if so, would you be willing to record one? Sorry, that's two questions. I think it would be interesting content.
"I might have to blurr out that guys a**" sorry that gave me such a good chuckle.
I think your suggestion is absolutely spot on. Studying roman provincial archeology has taught me that literature can be very inaccessible. Like when people ask me what they should read if they are interrested and I have nothing to recommend. Most of our stuff is 30+ years old, dry as chalk and filled with jargon.
I like that, but few people do. And I would love to get more people exited in the field.
So thank you for this
Osprey has a ton of Roman stuff too! I'm glad I could help
It's really interesting to see perspective on Osprey Books from someone actually in the field of history. My own perspective is from Historical Wargaming, and there the Men-At-Arms books are AMAZING for "Hey, how do I start painting X army?". For example, when I started painting models for the Franco-Prussian war, I tracked down the book about the french army at the time. Super cool, love the video, love the defense of easy access for history.
Its funny you should mention the whole painting thing. I just picked up an Osprey book on the battle of Salamis because I wanted some inspiration for the bireme build
I absolutely agree, regardless of the subject you're interested in, unless you're incredibly nerdy about a subject, those weighty tomes aren't going to get you interested, they may just drive you away from it. Shorter books on tighter topics are much more approachable. My interest wasn't in Ancient Greece, but in Native American history, and medieval history, and small short books along the same format as Osprey books were what helped me find the next topic to dig into in more depth - in particular, the bibliographies in many of those shorter format books are of real value in pointing you to the next thing to expand your knowledge on the particular area that the books inspire you to look into.
You've touched on a good point. I've seen many, MANY people driven away from a subject because the required reading was a phone book.
Thanks for all these books to check out. I do love large books and I cannot lie!
You inspired me to pick up a few (not Osprey, but similar?) books on ancient Mesopotamia. The Ziggurat of Ur is something I keep wanting to build in Minecraft. As I've looked into it, I keep getting more interested in the area and the era.
oh! that id like to see!
I still have a couple of those exact dense ones you held up floating around somewhere from my BA, haha. In all seriousness though, I've seen other academics praise books for kids, or at least accessible even to kids, for having a lot of great info for curious adults, too. It's definitely valid!
I have a great book on Greek mythology that I have read the heck out of. Now quite archology but I still found it cool
I have a ton of their weapons and duel series and they've been great for having a wide range of slightly past surface level info of a ton of stuff. Incredible variety too, big agree on your recommendation.
totally!
Got the Trojan Osprey book when I was learning about Troy to start a Roman history minecraft series
Sad that you feel the need to defend those books for being aimed at younger people. As long as the material is reasonably accurate and presented in a way that's easy to understand, what more could you ask of intro books? Being inexpensive and not a huge commitment in either time or shelf space is just a bonus here.
And I may be old enough to join AARP if I want to, but the Harold and the Purple Crayon series is still a treasured component in my personal library. People who think they're too old to read kids' books can bite me.
Absolutely agree!
When you're first learning about something like Ancient Greek History, you want something that's going to *inspire* you, and a thousand pages of text probably isn't going to do that. I'm very visual, I want to see the food they ate, the clothes they wore, the Spondylus jewellery! From there I can pick one of any number of rabbit holes to go down and pick a more wordy more academic book to get more detailed knowledge.
These books are like a "tasting menu" to see what you like, before you explore different things in more detail, and honestly they're great at any age.
I don't know if they do a book on Ancient Greece, I'm not even sure if they're still A Thing, but I have some Dorling Kindersley books covering a few different topics, and the visuals are incredible! It's the closest you're gonna get to holding an ancient artifact in your hands outside of BEING an archaeologist.
oh yeah, absolutely! I used them for references for a ton of people just getting started into Greek history
I've had this question rattling around in my brain for a while. You're a certified guide, but do you actively give guide tours and if so, would you be willing to record one? Sorry, that's two questions. I think it would be interesting content.
Funny you should mention that. Yes I do give tours and talks. I’m submitting a permit to film that very thing!
I’ve always liked DK books as accessible entry books, especially for kids
They're also great visual references! :)
Man how do make Alex the great dry
Fist😮