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I second this. It's fantastic!

I've read quite a few books recently, but they are shorter ones as I am trying to clear space

The Shortest History of England by James Hawes (review copied from Goodreads)

>2/5, would not recommend. Will not be keeping.

>Got it new on clearance, if I had paid full price for it I would be very annoyed. I know it is a short pop-history book but it has a lot of flaws. No listed sources or even sources for economic/number graphs for things like for amount of gold paid to the Danes or aircraft production before WWII. The only source I saw was with a graph was about the ethnic makeup of the American colonies vs the makeup of the British army. It also misses out a lot of details, for example it mentions the Mayflower ship and just says the group wanted to be away from royal control, no mention of puritans or religion at all. There are a lot of simple maps and diagrams, the kind that would be on a powerpoint presentation. The main argument of the book is basically the north-south divide and the (often foreign or at least more Europeanised in culture) elites vs the poorer native English, rather than focusing on major events or political policies. The author also argues that English (and broader British) history is basically a power stuggle between London+ the South East vs the rest of England+the other celtic areas. There is a point to it but the author takes it way too far (I don't entirely disagree with him but I wanted more history, less political argument). The medieval bit is just a long rant of oppressive Norman colonisers and the suppression of the English. The more modern stuff is basically another rant about how the north-south divide and the culturally different elites led to Brexit (which the author clearly opposes, but that is politics not history). Years ago I read Hawe's 'Shortest History of Germany' and liked it, but now I'm thinking less of it as his book about my own country was so lacking in detail so what did he get wrong about another country?

True Stories of the Second World War by Paul Dowsell (3/5 stars)

True Stories of the Blitz by Henry Brook (2/5 stars)

True Stories of D-Day by Henry Brook (3/5 stars)

>The 'True Stories' books is a box set. About 150-170 pages each. Aimed at a sort of older child audience I think (this was not clear on the box) - swearing is censored and while it mentions death (I mean they are WWII books) it isn't particularly graphic in terms of descriptions. Overall they were fine. The 'True Stories of the Second World War' was the best as it had the most variety and it also had a short further reading section at the end for each of the stories (like the Bismarck or snipers in Stalingrad).

I'm just about done with Palaces of Pleasure: From Music Halls to the Seaside to Football, How the Victorians Invented Mass Entertainment, by Lee Jackson. I've got about 50 pages ago but that is football (I''m not generally interested in sports) plus a short conclusion. (I got it for free, but not as a gift or anything just left behind in a hotel for anyone who wanted it, in case of bias)

>3.75/5 stars. Short at 260 pages. Overall I enjoyed it more than I expected. Entertaining and academic at the same time, covers a good mix of stories as well as policiy and legislation towards the various forms of entertainment, such as music halls, dance halls, gin palaces etc. It sort of front loads the stuff that didn't last as long like music halls, the stuff that had a longer lifespan such as British seaside resorts (which started to decline in the 1960s-70s) or football comes right at the end of the book. Covers a lot of themes such as profitabilty, class, perceptions of morality, reasons for long-term decline, prostitution (prostitutes seem to be a constant presence for the first half of the book) etc. Also I liked that included groups that opposed the various new forms of entertainment for more practical than moral reasons, such as old brewers and pub owners vs the new gin shop owners. I don't consider myself to know a lot about the Victorian era but I found accessible.

>Probably worth a read if interested in the Victorian period or social history in general.

Anyway now a short fiction break as I've got a Discworld and Expanse book to look forward to

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Hi, what books do you recommend about the history of Cyprus (most preferably a single e-book about the whole history, from ancient to current times)? My favorite authors of history books are Antony Beevor, James M. McPherson, Roger Crowley, Alexandra Richie, Neil Oliver, Hugh Kennedy, Neil Hagarty, Norman Davies, so I’d love to read something similar to these.

I checked your Recommended Reading List before asking this question, but I didn’t find what I am looking for - there are some books about Mediterranean, but no one focused on the Cyprus AND available as an e-book.

Wrong sub? This is a history bookclub my good sir

Looks interesting, I'll give it a read. Thanks.

It seems that you were able to narrow it down through your own thought processes and get to multiple answers that completely answer the question I asked. Without being much of a history buff and trying to be as objective as possible in relation to my arguments made in the discussion with my friends I posted the question as I did. I appreciate your feedback.

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Have you read the Maria Arana biography? That's the most recent non academic biography that got a lot reach.

If you want to stay with Byzantium, Totalus Rankium is currently in 1330, you can just pick up after Manuel's death. It's really good, but keep in mind that it's a comedy podcast and that in order to make it funnier they take primary sources at face value (although overall it's still pretty accurate, just not as nuanced as Robin's).

Yes this is ok. Although reading some summary of the world's (or country/region) history wouldn't hurt to better understand the context of things.

There is so much leeway between 'where horses more owned in the past across social classes and cultures' which is an insanely broad question, and 'What year this did happen in' which is insanely specific and almost arbitrary, because it can be googled and you have the answer instantaneously.

An example of a question in between would be: 'Would you consider the Peace of Westphalia to mark the true beginning of international politics as we know it?' or 'Did mutually assured destruction really prevent the US and the SU from engaging one another?' or, more in line with your question, 'What time period in European history was horse ownership most common, and in what country?' or 'Which culture was most engaged in the glorification of horses as a military or working animal?'. You know, more specific but not too specific. It leaves room for discussion and interpretation. Now all you have are bewildered comments, due to the lack of specificity.

Concerning your question- which, again, lacks specifictiy -horse ownership varied extremely per culture, time period and class. There is really no universal answer.

I didn't know that about Switzerland and the "alps". Very interesting. I've heard stories about using using cows. It's not so far fetched because cows would be more attainable and served more than one purpose. I'm also aware of the rights granted to the lower classes in the late medieval to early Renaissance Era. Alot of fascinating rebellions that led to the common classes restoring some of their rights. I believe the holy Roman empire lended itself to the situation by being leas centrally dominated than France or England. From what I know it was a web of independent operators which were loosely grouped together, so rights could vary widely across the empire. Overall it seems the lower classes enjoyed more freedom and representation quit earlier than the rest of the western big powers. I was not aware that Hungary imported alot of cattle, but it would make sense due to the expansive grasslands. As for the last part about traveling nobles, that was the norm since the fall of the roman empire. Lords/kings would travel to designated areas staying with their vassals to dispense justice and no doubt for some, to ease their own financial burden. In English history, there are multiple nobles who bankrupted themselves readying their estates for an impending monarchs visit. They would do it to get into the monarchs good graces in hopes of lucrative contracts. There are stories where the monarch never showed up, and the lord ended up bankrupt anyway without the monarch reimbursing them with favors. I usually would never use from this site, but I've read it and it's well written. https://www.history.com/news/elizabeth-i-royal-progress-expense

one of my favorite novels is turtles all the way down by john green

Now you've got me feeling bad for that hypothetical Mongol in 1250 with no horse. Having the jog alongside the horde.

Well again, you’re missing the mark on what I was asking. I’ll clarify it for you. Have there been cultures/societies where horse ownership was common throughout history, or was it always reserved for the upper class or those with a lot of wealth and status? I don’t see how this is historically ridiculous. I understand that different times had different cultural norms. All I’m looking for is examples of different cultures where people had horses and since I’m not an equine history buff I figured I’d get some responses of different peoples that everyone had a horse. Seems like some people on this subreddit keep their noses held pretty high about their knowledge of the past. And to add on to this, you didn’t even give an answer. All you did was talk negatively about myself and my friends. Thanks for your contribution here chief. And what would a non historically ridiculous question look like? “What year was George Washington born?” Well that’s easily looked up and found, there’s no need to ask the question on here and look for more detailed and nuanced responses to a question I already agreed with you about being a bit silly in nature. So please enlighten me with your vast knowledge of horses or just stop.

Anybody know of some good biographies of Simon Bolivar?

Been reading some books on naval history of the 1800's, and the South American revolutions came up a number of times. Piqued my interest. Know little of them, and Bolivar seems like a great place to start.

Any recommendations?

Yeah cars do not have to be fed each morning, do not get sick, etc.

I appreciate the correction. I have deleted my comment.

Here’s a few things I’ve been reading these past few weeks:

Cynthia Niccoletti’s essay on “Transcendent Constitutionalism”. If you’ve heard someone say the Civil War killed states rights this essay will prove them wrong. In fact, throughout Reconstruction moderate Republicans and the Supreme Court worked to halt a slide toward “consolidation” of the Union and tried to preserve federalism and the existing constitutional order as much as possible, minus secession and slavery of course. More generally it explores how Americans understood the war itself, and not just the amendments passed in its wake, as having fundamentally changed American law.

The Civil War of 1812 by Alan Taylor. I’ve come to conclude I don’t like Alan Taylor’s writing style even though I can’t fault his research. I do like how he shows the fissures which the War of 1812 exacerbated and the general fragility of the Union at that time. The divisive politics of it feel painfully relevant today.

Lastly, I’ve been listening to A Country of Vast Designs by Robert Merry. This one’s been on my list for a long time but with my slow reading speed I think the audio version is best. Polk is a such great protagonist. Coming off his defeat for Tennessee governor, he’s the political underdog in a struggle for the Democratic nomination for president. As of this writing, he’s edged out his rivals, secured the nomination, and been elected to office. I hope to get to the Mexican War stuff by tomorrow.

Would be interested in a book or podcasts relating to the origins of the Greeks