[ 3 / biz / cgl / ck / diy / fa / ic / jp / lit / sci / vr / vt ] [ index / top / reports ] [ become a patron ] [ status ]
2023-11: Warosu is now out of extended maintenance.

/lit/ - Literature

View post   
File: 56 KB, 372x400, 9781846144431.jpg [View same] [iqdb] [saucenao] [google]
7072066 No.7072066 [Reply] [Original]

What is a good introduction to world history? I was considering pic related. Is there a better alternative?

>> No.7072137

Roberts' writing is dense and dry as old cow shit, but PHotW is a fair place to start. be prepared to supplement your readings though with internet research because, he does like to pile the facts, names, and dates on ya (also like cow shit).

>> No.7072148
File: 55 KB, 416x650, 9780300108835.jpg [View same] [iqdb] [saucenao] [google]
7072148

I started with this. It's supposed to be for children, so dummy like me got into it easily.

>> No.7072160

>>7072148
This is actually an excellent summary of the history of the parts of the world that actually matter.

>> No.7072191

>>7072160
Would you recommend it over pic Roberts' for a college graduate?

>> No.7072203

>>7072066
>reading general summaries of the entirety of world history
Fucking why.

>> No.7072217

>>7072203
why not?

>> No.7072243

>penguin history

>> No.7072263

>>7072217
The nature of such works implies brevity. Every topic will be treated as succinctly as possible. Only the most critical events will be covered, while important but not as critical issues will not be. In effect, it becomes little more than a brief encyclopaedia entry.

Buying an encyclopaedia - or browsing a free one - and then moving on to general histories is a far wiser course of action.

>> No.7072282

>>7072263
>brevity is inherently bad

While obviously a summary won't hit the "important but not as critical issues," it's not inherently bad to get an overview of history for the sake of general context, as long as you then follow it up with more specific sources, fleshing out the skeleton of information that you now have.

>> No.7072306

>>7072282
Yes, I feel like it would help me to have a "big picture" understanding of history, not only to provide general context, but because I might discover which histories I am most interested in researching further.

>> No.7072313

>>7072243
While Penguin editions are often not the best, they are not inherently inferior. This book was an ordinary and well-known textbook before it was branded by Penguin.

>> No.7072320

>>7072203
>beginners and laymen should read detailed in depth accounts in chronological order.

There is literally nothing wrong with getting a quick overview before deciding what time period you want to study further.

>> No.7072364

Btw, can you recommend any books on Russian history? I've always been curious, but don't know where to start. Preferably something that gives a feel for characters, culture, etc. over just names and dates.

>> No.7072366
File: 9 KB, 250x393, martin-luther-hitler.jpg [View same] [iqdb] [saucenao] [google]
7072366

>>7072066

It's OK but Roberts falls for the same old meme that the protestant reformation was a good thing instead of the catastrophic setback for civilized society it really was.

>> No.7072377

>>7072364
check out the cambridge history of russia

if that's too in depth try Paul Bushkovitz's "A Concise History of Russia"

>> No.7072384

>>7072066
Robert Marks- The Origins of the Modern World: A Global and Ecological Narrative from the Fifteenth to the Twenty-first Century
link:
http://bookzz.org/book/2385146/1e7064

William Mcneill- The Rise of the West: A History of the Human Community
link:
http://bookzz.org/book/1280786/32cc62

Also check out the general works on Askhistorians. I haven't read any of the books suggested but they all deal with world history in some way:
https://www.reddit.com/r/AskHistorians/wiki/books/general

>> No.7072392

>>7072366
stay mad, papist

>> No.7072397
File: 198 KB, 1010x1500, HOTW.jpg [View same] [iqdb] [saucenao] [google]
7072397

>>7072243

It's completely identical in content to the non-penguin oxford history. The only difference is hardcover vs softcover and cover art.

>> No.7072426

>>7072377
seconding this guy

But if your interested in characters and cultures this book would be right up your alley.

Orlando Figes- Natasha's Dance: A Cultural History of Russia
http://bookzz.org/book/1562527/00172a
DL this fast btw, it looks like they're taking links down for this book left and right!

But there's also a lot to be said for reading the Cambridge History of Russia, even though what I've read so far deals with Russia's relationship to its empire and other European empires (this latter part is how the books starts off and the comparative approach is REALLY interesting to understanding Russia itself.) Imo you can't understand Russia through just its characters. Russia's expansion and state building is essential to the culture that arose in the 19th century.

Dominic Lieven, ed.: The Cambridge History of Russia, Volume 2: Imperial Russia, 1689-1917
Link:
http://bookzz.org/book/894096/5cac44

>> No.7072453

>>7072426
To add, Natasha's Dance discusses all the Russian literary greats, among them Tolstoy, Chekhov, Dostoevsky...the list goes on

>> No.7072467

>>7072313
I thought the issue with Penguin was their Classics series? Penguin publishes quite a number of good books, it's just the translations of that series that deservedly get a bad reputation, though it's obviously exaggerated on /lit/.

>> No.7072481

>>7072467
Yeah I was referring to the Penguin Classics.

>> No.7072588

What are some good history books on Britain 17-19th century? Preferably 18th

>> No.7073096

>>7072588
how many you want? I've got tons I can share with you

>> No.7073119

Kind of dumb that it focuses only on penguins IMO.

>> No.7073198

>>7073096
Companion to Eighteenth Century Britain
http://bookzz.org/book/809182/94154b

>> No.7074083

>>7072426
Thanks for those two anon

>> No.7074106

>>7072426
Ha, based Figes. Who said well-known and successful historians would be above sock-puppeting bad reviews for competitors' books on Amazon?

>> No.7074262

Is it possible to find "A history of western music" (Burkholder/Grout) in pdf?

>> No.7074292
File: 12 KB, 200x271, 200px-Wells_Outline_of_History.jpg [View same] [iqdb] [saucenao] [google]
7074292

This was excellent, although Well's socialist stances sometimes permeate through his writing.

>> No.7074303

Just read the Wikipedia article.

>> No.7074653

>>7074303
"no"

>> No.7074707
File: 108 KB, 827x796, wilson.jpg [View same] [iqdb] [saucenao] [google]
7074707

Doing a course on empires from the 15th century onwards soon. Any recommendations/shares from you cool bros?

>> No.7074758

>>7074707
J. Black, 'Beyond the Military Revolution'

Use it to access further reading to understand RMA. Specific historical debate within early modern; you'll want to know how militaries evolve from the High Middle Ages up until the French Revolution.