How do you prefer History? (Roman, economic, events, empire)

[Felix C]

1. Names, people, places approach
2. Geography driven
3. Political
4. Economic
5. Great Men & Women
6. Social
7. Contrast and Compare versions

Further what examples to you prefer in the text:

1. First person narratives
2. Statistics
3. Straight third person
4. Author "mental" interpretations of human actors

[DewDropInn]

Accurate.

[Grandstander]

I'll take it in any form if it is well done. I read a great many narratives, biographies and monographs, but I also find that an extremely enjoyable way to learn is reading historical fiction, if the author is one of those meticulous research types such as Bernard Cornwell or C.S, Forester. (I very much dislike it when the author is a sloppy researcher, such as James Michener.)

My habit when concluding such novel has been to then hit the internet or library and find the historical scoop on the events that were portrayed. Or sometimes I will do the research first before reading the novel. I wind up learning a lot. Even through George MacDonald Fraser's "Flashman" series are intended as comic novels, I can tell you that the author has an absolute command of the history he is depicting, I checked him out.

[jtur88]

In 20-second sound bites. By an anchorwoman with big hair and, umm, you know.

[Escort Rider]

Originally Posted by Felix C

1. Names, people, places approach
2. Geography driven
3. Political
4. Economic
5. Great Men & Women
6. Social
7. Contrast and Compare versions

Further what examples to you prefer in the text:

1. First person narratives
2. Statistics
3. Straight third person
4. Author "mental" interpretations of human actors

All of the above, insofar as the period and the topic lend themselves to all of the above. As far as I know, there are no extant first person narratives to tell us about the dawn of agriculture so we have to rely on the evidence which exists.

[MrRational]

Originally Posted by Escort Rider

As far as I know, there are no extant first person narratives to tell us about the dawn of agriculture...

Heck, even then they were too blotto from the effects of fermenting those grains to tell a coherent story.

[Six Foot Three]

Visiting actual historical sites and/or settings and not just reading about it in a book.

My top place to see before i croak is to visit the Oracle of Delphi and stand in the actual chamber (Adyton) where the Pythian Priestess went to recieve her prophecies from Apollo to later pass on to paying customers/dignitaries etc..

Note: In actuality unknown to her she was getting high on ethylene vapors that lightly filled the adyton thru cracks in the floor .

[nyyfanatic85]

All of the above. I currently have 100+ books saved to my amazon.com wishlist that I sincerely hope to tackle someday! They include the whole gamut, from SEAL Team 6 to the Roman Empire. I do enjoy reading about great people in captivating narrative form, such as:

The President is a Sick Man
Devil in the White City
Bonnie and Clyde

and any other random history that doesn't get noted often in textbooks. That's what I love to read and find more about!

[tvdxer]

Originally Posted by Felix C

1. Names, people, places approach
2. Geography driven
3. Political
4. Economic
5. Great Men & Women
6. Social
7. Contrast and Compare versions

Further what examples to you prefer in the text:

1. First person narratives
2. Statistics
3. Straight third person
4. Author "mental" interpretations of human actors

#2, #6, and #7 for the first; #1, #2, and #3 for the second.

[ArkansasSlim]

How do I prefer history? By getting out in it and getting dirty. I'm an amateur archeologist and there is no greater joy or personal satisfaction than to excavate an artifact, pick it up, and know you are the first to touch that object in thousands of years. And I must emphasize; I am not a looter, I work with professional archeology teams.