Recommend a book (non-fiction)

Hey there,

I'm wondering if anybody has any recommendations for a non-fiction book or book series. I've been looking for one that describes the history of European exploration, colonialism, imperialism and empire building, from the times of Spanish and Portuguese conquistadors to the collapse of the British empire. I'd prefer it to be non-technical; I'm not looking for a textbook. Something along the lines of Guns, Germs and Steel by Jared Diamond is what I'd preferably want.

Any recommendations? Thanks.

Denerick

Give Niall Ferguson's 'Empire' a go. Its focused on the rise of the British Empire with specific emphasis on its economic Imperialism and its cultural impact. Some boors and people who like to be offended will probably shout me down for this; frankly I don't care, Ferguson is an admirable historian with a tendancy to tackle the entrenched politically correct opinions within academia, which are often flawed and smothered with boring pedantries and tangential arguments. At least Ferguson has the gusto and intellect to make a core argument that doesn't amount to swatting at flies.

Sorry for the rant there, but I'm anticipating the onrush of critics and hysteria that seems to accompany the name 'Niall Ferguson'...

the west wing

I really enjoyed this book, The Scramble for Africa. I haven't read the whole thing but the chapters I did read were excellent in my opinion. Must finish it actually. I found it easy to read as opposed to being too technical.

nibbler

1491 by Charles C. Mann. It's about life in the Americas before Christopher Columbus.

chasmcb

Robert Harvey's Liberators is about the individuals who won independence for the various South American countries in 19th century from their colonial overlords in Europe. He has also written A Few Bloody Noses about American Revolution. Both books good reads.

MonkeyBalls

I came in to recommend Guns, Germs, and Steel...

Denerick wrote: »

Give Niall Ferguson's 'Empire' a go. Its focused on the rise of the British Empire with specific emphasis on its economic Imperialism and its cultural impact. Some boors and people who like to be offended will probably shout me down for this; frankly I don't care, Ferguson is an admirable historian with a tendancy to tackle the entrenched politically correct opinions within academia, which are often flawed and smothered with boring pedantries and tangential arguments. At least Ferguson has the gusto and intellect to make a core argument that doesn't amount to swatting at flies.

Sorry for the rant there, but I'm anticipating the onrush of critics and hysteria that seems to accompany the name 'Niall Ferguson'...

I have Empire stashed away somewhere, looking forward to reading it at some point, I heard it's excellent. If the PC bots in academia are opposed to it, all the better.

Toby Take a Bow

MonkeyBalls wrote: »

I came in to recommend Guns, Germs, and Steel...



I have Empire stashed away somewhere, looking forward to reading it at some point, I heard it's excellent. If the PC bots in academia are opposed to it, all the better.

I would second Guns, Germs and Steel. Fascinating and a brilliant read. Ferguson's Civilization would be the complete counterpoint to the arguments and general theme of Guns, Germs and Steel (whereas Diamond discusses geography and biology to describe European dominance, Ferguson has '6 killer apps' or something like that), so it would be good to compare the two.

Thanks for all of the recommendations, folks. They're exactly what I was looking for. I think I'll start by digging into something of Ferguson's. He seems to have written a lot of books that I think I'd enjoy.

P.S. If anybody else has any more recommendations I'd be happy to hear them.

P.P.S. On a somewhat related (and broad) theme: does anybody know of a good book which describes the rise of the European aristocracy? That's something else which I'd like to know a lot more about.

epgc3fyqirnbsx

In these threads I always recommend Wild Swans.
An excellent story and the ideal way to learn history

Hookah

J.M. Roberts 'History of Europe', (or 'History of the World'), while not specific to European colonisation, gives an excellent overview of history from the Stone Age onwards, and the emergence of European cultures.

Dowdy

Jacques Barzun's From Dawn to Decadence is a brilliant cultural history of the West in the years 1500 – 2000. It's quite idiosyncratic, and his final section reflects his advanced age and his curmudgeonly appraisal of late-twentieth-century "boredom", as he sees it, but it's jam packed with fascinating portraits of the important figures and movements from the 500 years since the Reformation. It's not so much a narrative history, being more episodic, but its encyclopaedic scope and brilliant writing made it a compelling read for me.

While it is ostensibly about the cultural history of the West, it necessarily focuses as much on historical episodes as it does on cultural movements. Well worth the read.

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Dawn-Decadence-Western-Cultural-Present/dp/0613708504/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1306352723&sr=1-1