| Books
and Films on History |
| Robert
Graves |
I Claudius
- – The
Life of Claudius Germanicus – the last
of the Julian Emperors. Claudius was
married to Messalina, a beautiful
but dangerous wife who ultimately
poisoned him when he was emperor of Rome. |
| Will and
Ariel Durant (1935-1975) |
The History
of Civilisation (11 Volumes - Jun
1993).
It is
probably one of the most comprehensive
history books. You will not read it cover
to cover, but rather use it, to read bits
that interest you.
It is
not liked by many historians because of
its "all-inclusive approach" to
historical events. Nevertheless, it is a
monumental work giving lots of insights
and establishing interesting
relationships. If you can get a good out
of print copy, don't hesitate to buy and
keep it. |
Eugene Weber -
Romanian
born American (died 2007) historian who
was educated at Sciences Po, Paris,
Cambridge, University of Alberta and was
a Professor at UCLA |
The
Western Tradition, Vol. 1: From the
Ancient World to Louis XIV
- 5th Edition
The book offers carefully
selected documents reflecting the social,
political, economic, cultural, and
religious development of Western
civilization. Volume I spans the rise of
Western civilization from Egypt and
Mesopotamia to the seventeenth century.
The
Western Tradition Vol 2: From the
Renaissance to the Present
Weber
took a pragmatic approach to history. He
once observed: "Nothing is more
concrete than history, nothing less
interested in theories or in abstract
ideas. The great historians have fewer
ideas about history than amateurs do;
they merely have a way of ordering their
facts to tell their story. It isn’t
theories they look for, but information,
documents, and ideas about how to find
and handle them |
| Jacques Barzun (1907-2012) |
The Culture
We Deserve - A series of
stimulating essays about contemporary
culture, sociology, art and literary
criticism and moral behavior |
| Eric John Ernest
Hobsbawm CH FRSL FBA (1917 – 2012)
was a world renown British historian
specializing in the rise of industrial
capitalism, socialism, and nationalism. |
The Age of
Revolution: (1789-1848) The work is
challenging, learned, brilliant in its
analytical power, wide-ranging in its
lucid exposition of literary, aesthetic
and scientific achievments and packed
with novel insight.This volume follows
the death of ancient traditions, the
triumph of new classes, and the emergence
of new technologies, sciences, and
ideologies, with vast intellectual daring
and aphoristic elegance.
The
Age of Capital: (1848-1875) (1996)This book is
most outstanding for its analyis of the
trends that created the new order. With
the sweep and sophistication that have
made him one of our greatest historians,
Hobsbawm indentifies this epoch's winners
and losers, its institutions, ideologies,
science, and religion.
The
Age of Empire: (1875-1914) (1989) - The book
discusses the evolution of European
economics, politics, arts, sciences, and
cultural life from the height of the
industrial revolution to the First World
War. Hobsbawm combines vast erudition
with a graceful prose style to re-create
the epoch that laid the basis for the
twentieth century.
The
Age of Extremes: A History of the World,
(1914-1991) - (1996) Dividing the century
into the Age of Catastrophe,
1914–1950, the Golden Age,
1950–1973, and the Landslide,
1973–1991, Hobsbawm marshals a
vast array of data into a volume of
unparalleled inclusiveness, vibrancy, and
insight.
In the short century between 1914 and
1991, the world has been convulsed by two
global wars that swept away millions of
lives and entire systems of government. |
| David Thomson |
Europe since
Napoleon (1990 Edition)
Gives
a very thorough examination of Europe
after Napoleon without going so far in
depth that the reader would lose
interest. |
Lawrence James
(born
1943) is an English historian and writer
educated at the University of York and at
Merton College, University of Oxford |
The Rise and
Fall of the British Empire
This
book covers the history of British
expansion overseas from the sixteenth to
the twentieth centuries. Narrative and
analysis are interwoven with revealing
eyewitness quotation to provide keen
insight into the minds of those involved
in conquering, settling and ruling the
greatest Empire the world has seen.
Throughout, there are consistant themes;
the search for profit and the moral
misgivings it generated; domestic
developments which made imperial
expansion desirable; and the sense of
national and personal destiny felt by the
empire-builders. Spanning four centuries
and six continents, James' magnificent
survey examines the imperial experience
and its legacy with tremendous verve.
Informed, comprehensive and perceptive,
it is the essential summary of the era.
'James' epic is not only a first-rate
narrative, but also a penetrating
portrait of the British...Having largely,
if often inadvertently, selfishly or
ham-fistedly, engineered the world we
live in, we need the courage now to face
up to our record as coolly and
intelligently as Lawrence James has done'
- |
| Paul Bushkovitch |
A Concise
History of Russia (Cambridge Concise
Histories 2011)
The
book emphasizes the enormous changes in
the understanding of Russian history
resulting from the end of the Soviet
Union in 1991. Since then, new material
has come to light on the history of the
Soviet era, providing new conceptions of
Russia's pre-revolutionary past. The book
traces not only the political history of
Russia, but also developments in its
literature, art, and science. Bushkovitch
describes well-known cultural figures,
such as Chekhov, Tolstoy, and Mendeleev
in their institutional and historical
contexts. Though the 1917 revolution, the
resulting Soviet system, and the Cold War
were a crucial part of Russian and world
history, Bushkovitch presents earlier
developments as more than just a prelude
to Bolshevik power. |
David Blackbourn
(born 1949 in Yorkshire) |
History of
Germany, 1780-1918: The Long Nineteenth
Century - 2nd
Edition
Here is contemporary
historical scholarship at its best.
Witty, modest about historical
generalizations, but ever willing to
introduce revisionism, Blackbourn
demonstrates how to write
thought-provoking and persuasive prose.
He is one of the brightest
of a younger generation of Anglo-American
scholars whose work has transformed the
historiography of modern Germany over the
past two decades
After completing his
dissertation at Jesus
College,
University of Cambridge -lecturer at Queen
Mary College in 1976 and Birkbeck
College,
both University of London,1979. In 1992 he moved to
the U.S. becoming a professor at Harvard.
He was awarded a Guggenheim
Fellowship in 1994 |
| Jonathan Fenby |
The History
of Modern France (2016)
A
history of modern France from the end of
Napoleon's reign to Francois Hollande in
2015 placing it in the context of the
1789 revolution and the variety of
counter-revolutions. The history is an
interesting mixture of French politics,
surrounding world events, and French
culture. This is a well researched book
with extensive citations and an up to
date list of references that treats the
related literature fairly. Jonathan Fency
- educated at New College, University of
Oxford. He is an Associate Fellow of the London
School of Economics (LSE), the School
of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS), and the
Royal Institute of International Events (Chatham
House). |
| Simon Michael Schama |
Citizens:
A Chronicle of the French Revolution(1990)
Some
critics said it is the most authoritative
social, cultural, and narrative history
of the French Revolution ever produced.
It was certainly the most history series
of events that changed the course of
history. It is certainly a good basis for
understanding and analysing the reasons
of the revolution. |
| Daniel J Boorstin (1914
– 2004) was an American historian at
the University of Chicago. He had
studied at Harvard Balliol College and
Yale |
The
Americans – The Colonial Experience
It is an essential
interpretation of how the habits of
people who lived more than two centuries
ago shaped the lives of modern Americans.
Boorstin shows how an undiscovered
continent shattered long-standing
traditions and utopian fantasies with the
hard demands of everyday life far from
the sophisticated centers of European
civilization: "Old categories were
shaken up, and new situations revealed
unsuspected uses for old knowledge,"
writes Boorstin. He starts with a series
of penetrating essays on the Puritans of
Massachusetts, the Quakers of
Pennsylvania, the philanthropists of
Georgia, and the planters of Virginia,
then tackles a set of diffuse topics that
range from astronomy to language to
medicine in fascinating vignettes.The
Colonial Experience is must
reading for anybody interested in the
development of the American character
The
Americans: The National Experience (1967)
The crucial period of American history
from the Revolution to the Civil War.
Here we meet the people who shaped, and
were shaped by, the American experience
The Americans:
The Democratic Experienc - This
book tells the story of the invention of
a new democratic culture and the
reorientation of the national character
through countless little revolutions in
economy, technology, and social
rearrangements...Illuminated by
reflections that are original, judicious
and sagacious...A huge fascinating
omnibus of a book...an exhilarating
adventure that carries us along the
highways and byways of a national history
like no other. |
|
The
Tragic Daughters of Charles I
The three daughters of
Charles I had hard and difficult lives.
An excellent history of their lives.
by Sarah-Beth Watkins(April
8 2019)
|
 |
My
Dear Hamilton
A book of histiorical fiction of letters
written by Alexander Hamilton's
(1755-1804) wife to her husband. It is
based on extensive research and a large
number of documents by Stephanie Dray
& Laura Kamoie
(April 3, 2018)
|
 |
Margaret
TudorQueen of Scots
A
fascinating look into the life of a
complex and vital woman who seemed so
close to power at times but so isolated
and alone at others.
bySarah-Beth Watkins(December
8, 2017)
|
 |
Jefferson's
America
A well written and well researched book,
that goes into a lot of detail, it did at
times seem a bit dry
by Julie M. Fenster
(May 22, 2017) |
 |
The
Confessions of Young Nero
Nero not as a Hollywood film
hero, but portrayed as a responsible
ruler who had to master difficult times
by Margaret George(January
19, 2017)
|
 |
James Fenimore
Cooper - A Life
He was
an important American figure, a writer
and novelist, and this work is a thorough
examination not only of his life but the
history of the time and the role he
played in it.
by Nick Louras(May
4 2016)
|
 |
The
Beauty Queen of Jerusalem
It is not a political biography,
Instead it is the biography of a
sephardic woman and her female relatives
in Jerusalem
The reader gets an intimate view of the
life of an extended family
by Sarit Yishai-Levi
(April 18 2016) |
 |
Louisa
- The Extraordinary Life of Mrs Adams
The extraordinary biography
of Louisa Catherine Adams, wife of
President John Quincy Adams. From her
time in London, to her marriage to John
Quincy Adams and their travels and
adventures together across Europe.
by Louisa Thomas
(March 28 2016) |
 |
As
the Sun King Rises
The
story of Cardinal Jules Mazarin
(1602-1661), the political spin doctor
behind Louis XIII and Louis XIV
by Yves
Jégo and Denis Lépée
(November 22nd 2015) |
 |
Napoleon:
A Concise Biography
(1769-1821)
An excerllent introduction
to Napoleon Bonaparte's political,
military and historic triumphs and
disasters
by David A. Bell(February
5th, 2015)
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