/lit/ - Literature

>>21300358
Grerard Pruniers "Africa's World War" is a look into the history behind the Second Kongo War, the factors leading up to the conflict and the roles and agencies of the multiple African states and organisations that took part in the war.

>>21300362
>The New Tsar

Deep exploration of Putin's childhood, time in the service of the KGB and rise into political power in post-soviet Russia.

Exactly what it says on the tin.
Switzerland did not exist in any meaningful capacity before 1000, and even then it took until the 1300 for the Alte Eidgenossenschaft between Uri, Schwyz and Glaurus for Switzerland to form as a political entity.
The book covers the Swiss-Habsburg wars, their peak mercenary years between 1490-1510, the ancient regime and Helvetian Republic, WWII and the present

>>21300358
David Ben Gurion's autobiography. Quite good, doesn't idolise him at all. It's not biased towards him and doesn't romanticise zionism. In fact it shows you how bipolar and schizo he was.

>>21300509
*biography. Also i forgot to upload the pic

A history of the Congo, starting from what is known about pro-European contact, to belgian colonization, the Mobutu years, ultimately ending in around 2010. Fascinating read, a lot of interviews with historical witnesses, overall just a great book.

examines the causes of WW1 and the decisions each country made that started the war. it ties together historical events, political changes, cultural attitudes, geopolitical goals, and decision-making groups and individuals of every major power. there's no "evil germans/serbs/russians/etc" narrative, it debunks commonly held beliefs like Kaiser Willhelm's supposed warlust, and overall does a great job showing that The Great War was not inevitable but rather unlikely. excellent read

Did you make the last hislit thread? History books don't really get discussed here.

>>21300372
You should read Godfather of the Kremlin as well. Maybe watch the documentary as well.

Essential reading for anybody trying to understand contemporary geopolitics in Central Asia. In-depth accounting of Russian, British, and later American imperial interactions with the states and peoples of modern Afghanistan, Pakistan, and Tibet. The prose is entertaining and unencumbered but dense with information so it's not a quick read.

bumping for interest
has anyone read anything by Pirenne or Huizinga? was it good?

Nice thread already. Does /lit/ have an archive repository for dead threads?

>>21301033
>>/lit/

>>21300372
Does it mention anything about Alexander Litvenyenko's (sp?) allegations about Putin being a p******ophile?

>>21301038
Cheers

A bit dry because it's mostly the records of monks and bishops and the like, this book is worth reading due to the fabulously macabre subject, as well as for the thorough explanation of the plague which happens to be quite nuanced, so this is a detailed book with heavy medieval vibes and quite a lot of info you're not going to get by reading Wikipedia or watching a YouTube video. Plus like I said it's mostly the accounts of the people who lived through the 1340s and 1350s, with commentary and a thorough introduction. It's quite cool.

>>21300372
What do you think of Putin's People by Catherine Belton for a somewhat accurate objective look at Putin's rise to power (assuming you've read it)?

>>21300362
>>21300550
read these and didn't particularly care for them
of the two, the congo was slightly more interesting if only for the machinations that lead to the establishment of the colony but the personal distance and anemic writing style of both authors made them fairly tedious reads

>>21300362
Thanks

Sorry for semi-hijacking the thread, but did anyone read this

BUMP

Imperial Japan at Its Zenith, a book that examines Japanese consumption, mass movements, tourism, and other related phenomena in the run-up, and during the celebrations of the Empire's 2600th anniversary in the war-year 1940.
Pretty decent prose and showcases how the Japanese middle class wasn't really that bothered by the war until Pearl Harbor.

>>21301189
Maybe check out "Dancing in the Glory of Monsters"? It has a more personable/reporter-like approach to the two Congo Wars.

bump

>>21300358
1066: the hidden history of the bayeux tapestry
I'd also like The Battle That Stopped Rome, except it's very repetitive. There's at least one chapter that could have been cut entirely.

A great history of the Troubles in Northern Ireland focusing on the first hand accounts of real members of the IRA, telling the true stories of their fight against the British and all that entailed, including disappearing people. Very compelling. I recommend the audiobook.

>>21300888
This is my first thread I've ever made on /lit/.

I've read Zygars "All the kremlins men", but I'll pick up your recommendation too.

>>21301054
I don't recall him being discusses besides "he got assassinated".

>>21301158
I'm afraid I haven't read that one, but I can recommend "All the Kremlins Men" by Zygar.

>>21303500
>including disappearing people.

You mean murdered people that the IRA won't reveal what happened to.

>>21300550
Thank you this seems interesting. I'm very much into East African post colonial history.

>>21303500
This is immediately going to my reading list. Thank you.

>>21303575
Do you have books to recommend on this issue?

>>21303575
>You mean murdered people that the IRA won't reveal what happened to.
Yes.

I bought this recently. Hope it's as good as I'm expecting.

Bump

Stalin's War by Sean McMeekin
Excellent, the first major academic who has given a complete revision of the Second World War.

>>21303569
>This is my first thread I've ever made on /lit/.
Got it

>>21300916
Add Peter Hopkirk's book as well

Iran - A Modern History by Abbas Amanat
Currently reading it. Extensive, well written, starts with the Safavid Shi'ism as the foundation of modern Iran.

>>21304811
That’s a good book.

BUMP

>>21292831
>>21292840
Books for this?

>>21304811
This seems really interesting. I'll get that for sure.

>>21304788
This was also really good from Sean McMeekin. Soviet archives opened up for just a couple of years, allowing McMeekin to write this new history of the Russian Revolution. I'll definitely check out "Stalins War"

It's really hard to find reliable history books about 20th century China, so I am always sceptical when I pick one up but I had read Karnow's Vietnam stuff in high school so I figured I would give him a chance. I highly recommend this for an overview of Mao and the Cultural Revolution. It is incredibly detailed and Karnow sticks to the facts, essentially recounting the events of Mao's rule without inserting his own analysis of Maoist ideology / not offering an opinion on whether Mao was good or not.

>>21307055
Cant help you with a specific title on the Romanian and Nationalism but Borzoi discuss something similar in regards to the Ottomans. He thinks contemporary US is much like the declining Ottoman empire
https://myth20c.wordpress.com/2022/06/24/sunset-of-the-ottomans/
This is an good podcast and has some recommendations

>>21300917
huizinga is a cultural historian following very much on the lines of burckhardt(read and loved all of burckhradt's main books on the greeks the renaissance and the age of constantine). his autumn of the middle ages is an atmospheric history of the 14th century in flandes and burgundy centered more so around fragments of poetry and moody but telling details it aims more so to give an impression of a culture rather than tell a straightforward historical narrative. found about pirenne from peter rl browns' the world of late antiquity(a nice companion or sequel to burckhardt) but pirenne's focus is rather different he's more of a social and economic historian focused on the long term growth of cities and trading routes, like a predecessor to braudel and the annales school. before trying your hand any of braudel's doorstoppers i would recommend reading manuel delanda's a thousand years of non linear history, an odd but worthwile author, mexican follower of gilles deleuze and later day polymath who explains braudel approach to the longue duree as bridging history with linguistics, geography, biology and complex systems theory,

>>21308313
im more into cultural history.see carl e schorske's fin de siecle vienna politics and culture is a good one, also t rodgers the age of fracture, which is a social and cultural history of the united states in the long 1980s, taking after clifford geertz cultural hermeneutic methodology. together with fred turner's from counterculture to cyberculture the rise of digital utopianism and the democratic surround: Multimedia and American Liberalism from World War II to the Psychedelic Sixties

>>21308159
thanks

>>21301484
Yes, it's excellent, but only covers the first half of his life. He explains how he developed his philosophy for living a life of virtue, which led him to great financial success and enabled him to retire in his 40s and devote himself to science and public service. He touches on how he formed a secret society that was able to influence people without their knowing, but he completely leaves out everything about Freemasonry and how he was a Freemason. Overall, I found the book inspiring and have read it a few times. He has a great sense of humor. The language takes some effort to get used to, but his autobiography is one of the best books I've read and has been of great value to me in my personal life.

>>21309133
Cheers anon I'll read it.

Rather disorganised look into society and laws of early medieval Europe. Seems to be a raw monography that was released without solid editing as an opinion piece(written around 2004 and it kind of tried to be partially a commentary on the EU in the introduction, then it lost this particular part which suggest it was written as something else), it has however a wealth of information as well as some very interesting insights. I think my favourite one was his deep dive into German historiography on the topic, especially since it was out of synch from the Anglo-French one(for that you can read Peter Heather's Empires and Barbarians, it has the same discussion somewhere).

>>21309265
Forgot pic

A comprehensive history of Byzantine politics, It's pretty dry but you'll get a lot out of it.

The only war worthy of study

dated but still a relevant world history book for the hereditarian perspective

ye24

A history of the Comanche from early Texas colonization days until they were confined into reservations in Oklahoma. Strung together with a biography of the last Comanche leader who was half white. Absolutely crazy stories in this, the Comanche give a whole to meaning to the term savage

>>21311027
I'll be readin this/

bomp

I liked that one, tried to discuss it here but only got one or two comments about how it was fanfic, in any case I don't think that's a very popular genre on /lit/

>>21300559
Going to read it. Thanks

>>21312885
Lol people here only discuss memes and twitter screencaps. The book itself is fantastic and his thesis is too a good extent is correct as far as Asia is concerned
Interesting fact Weatherford has moved to Mongolia and I don't think anyone has been in contact with him for sometime.

>>21300358
>>21300362
Do you happen to be a finnish NEET

>>21300358
Need to start Marc Bloch's History Of Feudalism any day now

Currently reading
Good book on what Valens did during his reign, problems he faced. A very interesting look into administration and religion and tries to follow what the hell Valens was actually doing at points. Although for the material it is impossible to make a real biography on the man so it is more a 'life and the times' of the Emperor. Follows Valentinian as well, generally just in relation to Valens though.

>>21313054
Ill add two to this post:

John Keegan - History Of Warfare
C.E. Hill - Who Chose The Gospels

>>21300358
Dude that book is awesome. I never thought I would see another fan its a pretty niche topic, at least in the West

>>21312989
Pretty dam based that he was so into Genghis Khan that he just retired to Mongolia

>>21300358
This is the best history book I have ever read. It is incredibly informative, impartial and extensively researched by a former (he died) leading scholar in Macedonian studies. The best part, I think, is that the writing isn't excessively dry and I think it is a pretty accessible read for the interested layman. It includes a narrative, while also commenting on the geographical, socio-political and cultural factors that influenced the beginnings; the rise in the mid-late 4th century; and the eventual decline in the 2nd century. Commentary about the Roman period is also included. A true exemplum of historical scholarship. I cant praise it enough.

The Psychology of Revolution - Gustave Le Bon
I know its not history but its essential to understanding history imo, just like Spengler's le Decline book

>>21313200
He even got Order of the Polar Star the highest civilian honor from the Mongolian government. Maybe they threw in a qt waifu as well lmao

The pacing is so good. I wish there was an update in this style, that went farther in time.

>>21300358
The Cambridge Ancient History Volume X. Just finished XI, I’ve been trying to get my hands on other volumes but it’s hard because of how expensive they are.