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11-17-2007, 02:59 PM
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Location: Hughes County, Oklahoma
3,160 posts, read 9,946,844 times
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This is a good forum and I look forward to visiting often.
I don't have any titles to recommend. Right now I am trying to learn the history of the Creek Indians. The Road to Disappearance by Angie Debo is on my list.
I also like any American history topics, and I like to read about Europe 900-1500 AD. Well, I like any history as long as it is not too dense a read.
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11-17-2007, 03:18 PM
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2,377 posts, read 5,034,769 times
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Peggy,
Try " A Distant Mirror" by Barbara Tuchman.. It is a long book, but a real 'page-turner as far as history books go. She writes in such a way that you can actually "see" the historical people and events. Many history books are quite 'dry' !! Also Norman Cantor on the Middle Ages is great.
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11-18-2007, 05:00 AM
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Location: in the southwest
13,394 posts, read 42,201,499 times
Reputation: 13461
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11-18-2007, 02:29 PM
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Location: Las Vegas
14,193 posts, read 27,088,937 times
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I've always thought the popular reading of the times gives insight to the people and their lives. You might want to try Guy de Maupassant. He was French. One of my favorite stories is La Parure, or The Necklace. It is available in English. The French is tough because it's just old enough to be confusing.
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11-18-2007, 05:56 PM
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Location: in the southwest
13,394 posts, read 42,201,499 times
Reputation: 13461
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I love all of Guy de Maupassant's short stories.
He really understood human behavior, perhaps because he himself had so many of his own foibles. Reading his works does let one into that time and socio-economic realm of history.
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11-19-2007, 04:43 AM
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Location: Oxford, England
13,036 posts, read 22,891,254 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by cil
I love all of Guy de Maupassant's short stories.
He really understood human behavior, perhaps because he himself had so many of his own foibles. Reading his works does let one into that time and socio-economic realm of history.
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He was an absolute genius and is truly one of the greats. His ability to write up someone's entire life in a few pages is astounding and he is one of my very favourite authors. Zola and Balzac are pretty darn good too, but much more verbose.
Maupassant's economy of words does not take away from the potency of his writing and I admire him so much for his unerring eye for the best and the worst of human nature. |
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11-19-2007, 05:36 AM
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Location: in the southwest
13,394 posts, read 42,201,499 times
Reputation: 13461
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Mooseketeer
Maupassant's economy of words does not take away from the potency of his writing .
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It adds to it!  |
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11-19-2007, 05:56 AM
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Location: Hughes County, Oklahoma
3,160 posts, read 9,946,844 times
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Thanks, Trudeyrose. I will put those on my list.
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11-24-2007, 05:44 PM
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Location: home...finally, home .
8,399 posts, read 19,398,258 times
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I've always thought the popular reading of the times gives insight to the people and their lives. You might want to try Guy de Maupassant. He was French. One of my favorite stories is La Parure, or The Necklace. It is available in English. The French is tough because it's just old enough to be confusing.
I am a teacher and was just reading that story with my fifth graders. I believe I also read it all those years ago. Not in French , though.
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11-27-2007, 11:22 PM
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1 posts, read 1,308 times
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history books for fun
I found this site by typing a search for books on history of Europe. I like to read historical books for entertainment but I feel as if I am missing the big picture. Based on reading biographies of Napoleon, Elizabeth I, Catherine de Medici, Michelangelo, Wars of the Roses, etc. as well as Michener books like Poland, Mexico, Hawaii , I have learned lots about small segments, usually confined to a single country or region. I am looking for an entertaining version of the history of Europe thoughout the middle ages and the Renaissance that covers all of the regions and how they interelate at the time. By entertaining, I mean in depth coverage of people and relationships in addition to the events that occurred. It's the people, (good, evil, love, greed) that make history interesting to me. I'm not looking for historical fiction (although I like that as well).
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