#10
#11

Have read about 50 pages of the Vietnam War book in a year. Quite dry thus far.

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#12

I enjoyed All Hell Let Loose (as much as you can enjoy a book about such a horrific topic). Obviously when it comes to WW2 there’s a huge number of books to choose from but as a single volume it does a really good job of encompassing the scale and the cost to ordinary people of the war.

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#13

I have read this. Bit Tory.

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#14

The Art Of Not Being Governed: An Anarchist History Of South-East Asia is a firm favourite, though a very heavy read and not exactly accessible. just a great set of ideas.

The other one along those lines that I like is Peasants Into Frenchmen. kind of an amazing way to turn your idea of what recent (late 19th C) history was like, and also just how weird and connected to that period our lives are now, as in the lives of us proles

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#15

That’s a shame, was interested in getting round to it at some point. Can be a bit of a pitfall with some history books.

How so? out of interest

#16
#17

Beevor is your classic fall of the berlin wall marked the end of history kind of a guy and is predisposed to associating any historical trends towards collectivism or redistribution intrinsically with Stalinism and mass murder. I’ve only read a bit of one of his books, and it’s not like it’s frothing right wing bullshit like David Starkey or anything, but the undertones of it are a bit jarring.

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#18

Alison Weir’s book on The War Of The Roses was brilliantly written and simplified a hell of a complex family tree. Worth a look into.

#19

This is one of the best books I’ve ever read:

Not strictly history, it’s more economics really I guess. A history of capitalism is getting towards an accurate summary.

#20

My dad loves a history book, so it’s always a safe bet as a Christmas/Birthday present.

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Battle Cry of Freedom has been his absolute favourite - apparently extremely accessible and readable, so need to read it myself soon.

#21

hang on, I’ve just confused him with someone else entirely. ignore!

#22

He’s a Daily Mail columnist so I assume that right-wing conservatism is baked into all his analysis

#23

Oh. Damn

#24

Actually a former editor of the Telegraph and Standard!

But according to his wiki he has voted both Labour and Tory (well he voted for Blair) and he hates Johnson so make of that what you will.

#25

I enjoyed the Tom Holland book Millennium, a very readable narrative history of “the dark ages”, though he’s a bit of a melt.

China Mielville’s October is good.

Really should read more history, I really want to read William Dalrymple’s The Anarchy about the East India Company.

#26

I think reading history books by people who have different political opinions is fine, as long as you’re aware of it (and can bear it)

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#27

Yeah, I sort of assume a lot of history writers who are British, especially those who write about British history are probably going to be Tory. TBH I’m not massively fussed as long as the writing is balanced and honest and not steeped in bias?

#28

Stalingrad is a worthwhile read, even it did feel a bit Corrigan to read it. Been a while since I read it (and I wasn’t as politically/critically engaged then) but I didn’t find it glorifying war or anything. It seemed like a well-written and readable account of a terrible terrible moment in history.

#29

As others have said, I think his mindset is very British upper class and that comes across. It’s very well researched and written, but he is a military historian and there’s a strong focus on the military and strategic aspects, rather than the human angle. It didn’t feel very compassionate towards the immense suffering.