Managed to get 2 finished but the second one took me longer than I thought it would The Last Emperor of Mexico: A Disaster in the New World by Edward Shawcross (both reviews copied and pasted)

>4.5/5 rounding down for goodreads (but I was close to rounding up to 5/5) . Read most of it over the course of one day.

>Napoleon III, Emperor of the French, using the oppurtunity of the American Civil War in the 1860s (so the US was distracted and couldn't intervene to enforce its Monroe Doctrine) and the excuse of Mexico's foreign debts installed Archduke Maximillian Habsburg as emperor of Mexico in order to counter the USA's expansion and growing influence. The book covers the process that led to Maximillian becoming emperor, his rule, the war with the republican former government forces and the fairly rapid decline of his empire before his execution by Mexican firing squad.

>The author argues that the plan failed for a range of reasons. In terms of Maximillian himself he had a tendancy to fuss about things like pagentry or royal tours of his lands, rather than important things like economic reform. Additionally he was a genuine liberal reformer, but could never compete with his opponents in terms of promise and policies but did alienate his conservative monarchy supporting base by trying to. But the entire scheme to make Maximillian emperor was also reliant on foreign support, mainly French and it was very expensive to them. Once the American Civil War was over the European powers didn't want to risk provoking the USA so cut off the supply of money and volunteers to Maximillian.

>The book is very enjoyable to read. No prior knowledge of Mexican history needed, I don't have any. Overall I'd recommend it.

Just finished today Russia: Revolution and Civil War 1917-1921 by Antony Beevor which I recently bought and had also been suggested to me on one of the previous threads.

>4/5

>Good, straightfoward-ish (considering the complexity of the topic) mostly military history of the Russian Revolution and Civil War. Jumps straight into 1917 and the Feburary Revolution, so if you want the longer background with things like the Russo-Japanese War or the 1905 Revolution then look elsewhere as they are not mentioned much (maybe Figes' A People Betrayed or S.A Smith's Russia in Revolution). It is especially good for the on the ground accounts from all sides and from the various foreigners in Russia as part of the Allied Intervention, which makes the book great at showing the chaos of the time period. The book is also strong on the atrocities, brutality and suffering inflicted by both sides, with quite a lot of detail on that and the various methods used (degloving of hands, mass executions, putting people on slowly sinking barges etc). There is a decent amount on the mistakes and human error (early naivity, arrogance, inability to offer compromise to the distinct nationalities and peasants etc) that caused the Whites to fail. The book mostly ends with the end of the Polish-Soviet War and the fall of White Crimea, but there is a brief final chapter on the peasant revolts after that and the Kronstadt Uprising.

>While the book is well written I do feel there is something, but I can't think of what exactly, that is missing that stops the book from being great instead of just good. Maybe some more in-depth political analysis.

[deleted]

Recently started A Little History of the World by E.H. Gombrich, and while it is aimed at children, would really recommend it to anyone looking to start off with reading history and who has no prior knowledge. Not a book for anyone with serious interest or knowledge of history though, definitely just for beginners.

It's hardly a little-known topic, but i really loved Constantinople: The Last Great Siege, 1453 by Rodger Crowley. It truly was an epic battle and Crowley's writing makes it come alive in such a way that you almost feel like you're there watching it happen.

Any books on any lesser known conflicts? Think I can help with that:

- China's War with Japan 1937-1945 by Rana Mitter (currently reading this one right now)

- The Opium war by Julia Lovell

- The Boys of '67: Charlie Company's War in Vietnam by Andrew Wiest

- The Last Mughal, The fall of a Dynasty, Delhi 1857 by William Dalrymple

- Pol Pot: The History of a Nightmare by Philip Short (despite what's implied by the name, this one is closer to being a history of Cambodia in the lead up to and during the Khmer Rouge regime)

- The Korean War by Max Hastings

- Europe's Tragedy: A History of the 30 Years War by Peter H. Wilson (a fascinating, though ponderous book at times to get through)

- The Cage: The Fight for Sri Lanka and the Last Days of the Tamil Tigers by Gordon Weiss

- Blood and Sand: Suez, Hungary, and the Crisis that Shook the World by Alex von Tunzelmann

I wanna know the stats. I've been dying to upgrade my runes!

Thanks for the suggestions. I have read several of Orlando Figes works before and they were pretty solid. His book on the Russian Revolution and the civil war, A People's Tragedy was a fantastic book on the topic.

I know almost nothing about the Philipine-American war, and that is definately an overlooked conflict. I'm looking forward to checking out that book.

Crimea War by Orlando Figes ,A War of Frontier and Empire Phillipines American War 1899-1903 by David Silby

[removed]

Because of this book.

Crossing the Continent 1527-1540: The Story of the First African-American Explorer of the American South, by Robert Goodwin.

True. Ponce de Leon and other explorers had blacks with them. Juan Garrido for one. There is also evidence of Africans in the New World before Columbus.

My point is Esteban was the first known African in these three American states. He survived incredible harsh conditions. His contribution to history is not well known at all.

Winfield Scott and Mexican American War. Excellent biography by John S.D.Eisenhower& Timothy Hendersons A Glorious Defeat

Much of Africa was Islamic at the time, as this article clearly points out. Plus that he was born in Africa, then taken as a slave is pure conjecture He could have been born in Morocco to black Muslim slaves. He spoke Arabic, so a Muslim connection is clear.

If you're willing to do memoirs, Grant's are fantastic. Same with Caesar's war dispatches. March of the Ten Thousand is also a classic. Arrian's Campaigns of Alexander the Great has what you're looking for.

Unfortunately, I wouldn't call any of those niche topics. By rule, the more famous the commander, campaign or battle, the lesson niche it's probably going to be. I also tend to like the classics, so if you're looking for an overview, someone else probably has better recommendations.

Because I read the book, Crossing the Continent 1527-1540: The Story of the First African-American Explorer of the American South, by Robert Goodwin who explains very clearly how the slave trade worked in the 16th century.

I've also done an enormous amount of research for a project on which I am working.

What are your bona fides?

I have enjoyed the works of John Keegan. They are very well researched, and he has an unique approach, and obviously enjoyed teaching. But what sets him apart, in my mind, is the elegance of his writing. Regardless of the subject, I just enjoy reading his work.

Then why do you continue to affirm he was?

[removed]

Agreed, my understanding is that viking "age" grew gradually during and after the decline of Roman Empire, and in fact a lot of the raiding happened 'cause the Roman "authorities" were lapsed/gone.

Presumably pronounced something like “hoo-leh” in English?

[removed]

"Industrialized prison system" in no way similar to viking slaves at all, but you keep spouting ignorant stuff...

Lol this is perfect. Longboats weren't there yet but they certainly weren't that far away in their evolution to becoming the iconic Longboat. They still had boats so it still works.

There’s an estimated 50 million people living in slave like conditions according to human rights organizations and the number is on the rise

I agree with Ken Burns docs if you just want straight facts and timelines.

If you want to read about a snippet of early US...I recommend reading about the Salem witch trials. It really explains a lot about the US. Has to do with greed, mass hysteria and religion. I personally found visiting there to be more educational, but there are many books about it and docs.

But before you read that, I recommend Fantasyland How America went Haywire a 500 hundred year history. It's really a thesis, but I think very interesting and personally I believe it explains a lot about why America is the way it is today.