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Recommended Reading

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  • Closed Accounts Posts: 41 thejamescaird


    my last 2 books

    guns germs and steel
    jared diamond

    he explains how better availabilty of good strains of wheat and barley etc as well as the big five animals for domestication in eurasia which were not available on other continents led to europeans and chinese being much more advanced than native americans and africans and australians

    long but fascinating:)

    generation kill
    evan wright

    sickening real life description of trigger happy marines in iraq slaughtering as they go. lowered my estimation of the usa sadly for me.:(


  • Closed Accounts Posts: 1,731 ✭✭✭MarchDub


    For a great new insight into WWII I recommend:

    Patrick Buchanan : "Churchill, Hitler and the Unnecessary War."

    Really compelling new insight into the war and what went into making it and how propagandized it has become. OUtlines the work of many contemporay historians who are attempting to de-mythologize this period.

    Diarmaid Ferriter : Judging Dev: A Reassessment of the Life and Legacy of Eamon De Valera.

    Dev has been too demonised and this is an excellent reassessment. Recently many of Dev's private papers have been made available to scholars and Ferriter's work reflects the new insight that they give to the study of Dev's time.

    Carmel McCaffrey: In Search of Ireland's Heroes.

    Great overview of Ireland since the twelfth century. Very readable. Same author did In Search of Ancient Ireland for the RTE/PBS series.


  • Closed Accounts Posts: 168 ✭✭mr kilo


    are there any books which cover the IRA escape attempts of the Curragh.


  • Closed Accounts Posts: 41 thejamescaird


    MarchDub wrote: »
    For a great new insight into WWII I recommend:

    Patrick Buchanan : "Churchill, Hitler and the Unnecessary War."

    Really compelling new insight into the war and what went into making it and how propagandized it has become. OUtlines the work of many contemporay historians who are attempting to de-mythologize this period.

    Diarmaid Ferriter : Judging Dev: A Reassessment of the Life and Legacy of Eamon De Valera.

    Dev has been too demonised and this is an excellent reassessment. Recently many of Dev's private papers have been made available to scholars and Ferriter's work reflects the new insight that they give to the study of Dev's time.

    hey is that the pat buchanon former republican politician in usa?

    also does it mention the money collected in america from irish american people for the republican movement during devs tour which later he more or less stole.


  • Closed Accounts Posts: 168 ✭✭mr kilo


    hey is that the pat buchanon former republican politician in usa?

    also does it mention the money collected in america from irish american people for the republican movement during devs tour which later he more or less stole.

    ya thanks alot u just blocked my comment...lol.


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  • Closed Accounts Posts: 1,731 ✭✭✭MarchDub


    hey is that the pat buchanon former republican politician in usa?

    also does it mention the money collected in america from irish american people for the republican movement during devs tour which later he more or less stole.

    You have to read work critically - not take one point that irks you [no matter how justified] and refuse to see anything else.

    These books are excellent and thorough which is why I recommend them. They are not "popular histories" aimed at supporting any particular prejudice but more explorations based on original source material. If you have any training in critical thinking [?] you will know what I mean and I do stand by them as good recommendations. Well written and scholarly.


  • Closed Accounts Posts: 1,616 ✭✭✭97i9y3941


    some personal faves of mine

    Stalin the court of the red tzar

    young stalin *a prequel to stalin court of red tzar*

    mao the unknown story*best book i ever read*

    Fall of berlin 1945*intresting cause it contains personal accounts

    Hitler and stalin*best selling 1992 book,been reprinted so many times

    The Dictator's Shadow: Life Under Augusto Pinochet *i recently acquired and finished that book,ordered it from the states,found it excellent,as far as i know its the most up to date bio about the man,contains some personal photos and alot of info about his crimes against humanity


  • Registered Users Posts: 883 ✭✭✭ilkhanid


    A book I enjoyed greatly is "Bararossa" by the late Alan Clark,a history of the German-Russian struggle in the Second World War. It has to be treated with caution as much of it is out-dated,it deals with the Russian side in much less detail than the German and it has a ferocious anti-german bias,but it is incredibly gripping, has wonderful pen portraits of the principal protagonists and is well written. Clark's account of Stalingrad is among the best, as good as Beevor or Craig.
    Another excellent work is "Peter the Great, his life and world" by Robert Massie, an extraordinarily detailed and beautifully written work populated by amazing characters which covers a whole region and era and tell you an enormous amount about Poland, Charles the king of Sweden, Turkey...about much more than just Peter himself.


  • Closed Accounts Posts: 92 ✭✭zesman


    Three I read recently were:

    The Nazis: A Warning from History by Laurence Rees

    Young Stalin by Simon Sebag Montefiore

    Stalingrad by Anthony Beevor

    All of which I'd highly recommend to anyone interested in Hitler, Stalin and World War Two


  • Closed Accounts Posts: 1,616 ✭✭✭97i9y3941


    young stalin,great book,morbid feeling way his poetry was included in the book


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  • Banned (with Prison Access) Posts: 6,488 ✭✭✭Denerick


    I've done an awful lot of reading of Irish history recently, patricularly the war of independence/civil war period. For the war of independence there a lot of good, well researched and interesting books out there, such as Hopkinsons book of the same name, Fitzpatricks 'The Two irelands'. Memoirs are good in this period and equally plentiful. Tom Barry, Liam Deasy, Ernie O'Malley (By far the best written, most readible) Dan Breen and Michael Brennan have all written accounts of their experiences. I'm a bit of biography/memoir whore anyway and there are several good bios on Michael Collins (The most obvious been Tim Pat Coogan, but you really need to overlook some of his amateurish ramblings sometimes) and de Valera. Even Séan Mac Eoin and co. have good bio's written about them.

    The Civil War unfortunately is less well written about, probably because of a lack of sources. Michael Hopkinson's 'Green against Green' is virtually a textbook, a monument to historical writing. O'Malleys 'The Singing Flame' is a number one must read, as is Liam Deasy's 'Brother against Brother'. Again I'm rambling with the memoir whoring but Tom Garvin, the UCD political scientist wrote a great wee book, '1922, the Birth of Irish democracy'

    So yeah, if you can get through that and take a look at the bibliographies you'll still probably realise who much reading you would still have to do!


  • Closed Accounts Posts: 259 ✭✭DublinDes


    Denerick wrote: »
    I've done an awful lot of reading of Irish history recently, patricularly the war of independence/civil war period. For the war of independence there a lot of good, well researched and interesting books out there, such as Hopkinsons book of the same name, Fitzpatricks 'The Two irelands'. Memoirs are good in this period and equally plentiful. Tom Barry, Liam Deasy, Ernie O'Malley (By far the best written, most readible) Dan Breen and Michael Brennan have all written accounts of their experiences. I'm a bit of biography/memoir whore anyway and there are several good bios on Michael Collins (The most obvious been Tim Pat Coogan, but you really need to overlook some of his amateurish ramblings sometimes) and de Valera. Even Séan Mac Eoin and co. have good bio's written about them.

    The Civil War unfortunately is less well written about, probably because of a lack of sources. Michael Hopkinson's 'Green against Green' is virtually a textbook, a monument to historical writing. O'Malleys 'The Singing Flame' is a number one must read, as is Liam Deasy's 'Brother against Brother'. Again I'm rambling with the memoir whoring but Tom Garvin, the UCD political scientist wrote a great wee book, '1922, the Birth of Irish democracy'

    So yeah, if you can get through that and take a look at the bibliographies you'll still probably realise who much reading you would still have to do!
    " Dan Breen and Michael Brennan have all written accounts of their experiences. " I see you've mentioned this guy Micheal Brennan quite a bit in various postings. I've done a google ( Micheal Brennan IRA etc ) and I cannot find very much references to him. Certainly if he wrote a book it must be out of print a long time.

    Can you give me any information of what he wrote ?


  • Banned (with Prison Access) Posts: 6,488 ✭✭✭Denerick


    Yeah, its called 'The War in Clare, 1911-1921.'

    I think its out of print (Last edition I think was in 1980)

    Do you have access to one of the bigger public libraries in Dublin? They have good access to most major books of the period (Don't know if Brennan's would be there, worth a look though.

    If your interested in the war in Clare then David Fitzpatricks 'Politics and Irish Life' is a must read. It should be available in most big bookshops (Like Hodges and Fidges, Chapters etc.)


  • Closed Accounts Posts: 2,653 ✭✭✭conchubhar1


    http://highered.mcgraw-hill.com/sites/0072900423/student_view0/

    America: The unfinished nation



    the best read book i have ever read - plenty of detail - easy to read - concise and the website is great for primary sources also.


  • Closed Accounts Posts: 92 ✭✭zesman


    Did anyone ever hear of a book "The Bolldy White Baron". Something to do about the Russian civil war apparently


  • Registered Users Posts: 3,483 ✭✭✭Ostrom


    I see Cormac O' Grada has a book out on the famine (or have I just not been looking...?)

    Anyone had a look yet?

    Was in Hodges Figgis the other day and saw a new publication from John Andrews (old Trinity head of geography). Librarian in the freeman says he is still active and working away on cartographic history - Impressive size of a book from a guy who must be well into his 80's.

    Anyway, I tend to find Irish historical geographers highly enjoyable - just putting it out there :)


  • Closed Accounts Posts: 16,165 ✭✭✭✭brianthebard


    This is the collection of free e-resources suggested by users in the past few weeks. If anyone has any others they'd like added to it please post on the original thread. I hope the way I've organised it makes some sort of sense.

    Source material (all forms);

    www.marxists.org (not just marxist texts)
    http://www.ucc.ie/celt/
    http://www.hartford-hwp.com/
    http://gallica.bnf.fr/ (in french)
    http://cain.ulst.ac.uk/ (related to conflict in Northern Ireland)
    http://meta.montclair.edu/spectator/index.html
    http://www.gutenberg.org/wiki/Main_Page
    http://hip.nli.ie/ (horizon portal on national library of Ireland)
    www.cartoons.ac.uk
    http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/
    https://stillslibrary.rte.ie/
    www.difp.ie (foreign policy documents from 1923 to 1932)

    General Archives;
    www.archive.org
    www.nationalarchives.ie
    www.nationalarchives.gov.uk
    http://www.ria.ie Royal Irish Academy

    Libraries;

    http://www.lcweb.loc.gov/catalog US library of Congress
    http://www.nli.ie National Library of Ireland
    http://www.bl.uk/ British library
    http://www.nls.uk/ National Library of Scotland
    http://www.llgc.org.uk/ National Welsh Library
    http://www.bnf.fr/ French National Library
    http://www.newberry.org/ Newberry Library


    Parliamentary documents;

    http://historical-debates.oireachtas.ie/ (Dail Debates)
    http://www.eppi.ac.uk/eppi/digbib/home (British papers on Ireland, 1801-1922)

    Heritage, Population and Census;

    http://griffiths.askaboutireland.ie/gv4/gv_start.php
    http://www.histpop.org/ohpr/servlet/
    http://www.census.nationalarchives.ie/
    http://www.limerickcity.ie/Library/LocalStudies/
    http://www.dublinheritage.ie/
    http://pilot.familysearch.org/
    http://www.seanruad.com/


  • Closed Accounts Posts: 16,165 ✭✭✭✭brianthebard


    Actually might leave this open for a while at least, if anyone has any questions, notices any problems with the links, please let me know. Are the short descriptions enough?


  • Closed Accounts Posts: 141 ✭✭ocianain


    Pox, by Deborah Hayden. On of the most original and provocative books I've ever read. The author shows how disease, in this case syphilis, affected world history and literature. Wilde, Stoker, Henry VIII, Abe Lincoln, Lenin all had one thing in common, syphilis. In it's tertiary stage the infected person feels like electricity is flowing through their body, that they were never more alive and creative, they feel like they can do anything. This of course is the recipe for the making of tyrants. She also has a website that's cool


  • Closed Accounts Posts: 864 ✭✭✭Aedh Baclamh


    I'm looking for a book that will give a good, detailed account of the entire WWII. I've numerous books on the subject (Stalingrad, Berlin - Antony Beevor, etc) but no book covering the whole war. It's frustrating to know about x battle but fail to see it's complete importance in the grand scheme of things and how exactly it came about.

    Thanks.


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  • Closed Accounts Posts: 6,093 ✭✭✭Amtmann


    There's a fantastic new general history of the Holy Roman Empire (1400-1650) by Thomas A Brady Jr out since May I think. It's here: http://www.amazon.co.uk/exec/obidos/ASIN/0521717787/ref=ox_ya_oh_product


  • Registered Users Posts: 972 ✭✭✭MultiUmm


    I'm currently reading a very interesting book called "Greek Mythology and Religion" by Maria Mavromataki.

    Unfortunately I'm not sure if you can get it in Ireland, my brother bought it as a gift when he was in Crete. :( You never know, it might be somewhere on the internet to purchase.


  • Registered Users Posts: 975 ✭✭✭Arnold Layne


    Stalingrad and Berlin - The Downfall 1945; both by Antony Beevor are excellent.

    Stalin - The Court of The Red Tsar is another great book.

    I'm currently reading Mischa Glenny's Book - The Balkans 1804 - 1999 which is very good and I am also reading Millenium by Tom Holland, although I do rate Persian Empire and Rubicon which I rate higher than Millenium.


  • Registered Users Posts: 98 ✭✭Eoinp


    Echo some of the early notes on herodotus and would add Sallust. Also there is a great review book of histories written by John Burrow http://www.bookdepository.co.uk/book/9780140283792/A-History-of-Histories

    AJP Taylor again, especially the origins of the second world war which is excellent.

    In terms of the English Civil War: The Nobel Revolt by Adamson is wonderful stuff.

    Reading Roger Cowley's book on the Battle for the Med in the 16th Century right now which is good and just finished a book on Edward I by Marc Morris, A Great & Terrible King: Edward I And The Forging of Modern Britain.

    So many more!
    Eoin


  • Registered Users Posts: 74 ✭✭spylon


    Steven Runcimen's books on the crudades and the fall of Constantinople are superb.


  • Closed Accounts Posts: 19,986 ✭✭✭✭mikemac


    Victorian London by Liza Picard

    Well actually, I got it as an ebook from itunes
    Very interesting on all aspects of social history and the living conditions (horrendous for many!) at the time


  • Closed Accounts Posts: 150 ✭✭bogtotty


    Can anyone recommend a decent book on the history of Dublin? I'm looking for something similar to the Oxford Companion to Irish History, something that covers the whole development of the city rather than just one period or social movement, which is all I've been able to locate so far. And it has to be available to buy online, I live a long camel ride from a decent bookshop.

    Help appreciated!


  • Registered Users Posts: 2,844 ✭✭✭pavb2


    Recently read Voyage of the Catalpa detailing the true story of the attempted rescue of Fenians from Australia (posted on literature but no one else seems to have read this). Best book i have read in a long time

    Also Adventures with the Connaught Rangers detailing peninsular wars from an Irishman's perspective.

    Maybe this has been mentioned and may be I'm in the wrong place but seems to be a lot of interest in Stalin/Russia/WW 2 would recommend Dan Carlin's podcasts in general or specifically "Ghosts of the Ostfront"


  • Closed Accounts Posts: 234 ✭✭nagero


    The National Archives has just released more data from the 1911 census. They now include religion, occupation, number of childen, years married, illness, literacy in the search results.

    http://census.nationalarchives.ie

    Similar data for the 1901 census is supposed to come online before the middle of next year.

    There is also an iPhone app http://bit.ly/icensus (by me) which is a companion to the website. Makes it easier to browse and search on a small screen.


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  • Registered Users Posts: 1,752 ✭✭✭markesmith


    I've just finished Iron Kingdom, highly recommended for a glimpse into the unique history of Prussia:
    http://www.amazon.co.uk/Iron-Kingdom-Downfall-Prussia-1600-1947/dp/0140293345/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1265716458&sr=1-1

    At the moment I'm veering between two oldies, 'Europe since Napoleon' (http://www.amazon.co.uk/Europe-Since-Napoleon-David-Thomson/dp/0140135618) and Decisive Battles of the Western World (http://www.amazon.com/Decisive-Battles-Western-World-v/dp/0907590462).

    Also, for footie fans, "Behind the Curtain" and "Ajax" (book about Ajax Amsterdam during WW2) are great reads.


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