How no I not be a history dummy?
All of my understanding of major historical events are one or two sentances long.
Do I just read wikipedia articles? Go to the library and just pick up whatever book looks informative? Are there youtube shows about history that won't make me look like a pleb? Is the only way to do this is to go to school and take history classes, but that's not an option for me.
>>938806
For complete noobs, Wikipedia isn't always bad, but it can be pretty shit and doesn't help to see the whole picture and how one event leads to another.
Videos can be good, depending on who is making them. I know there is a really amazing WWI on YouTube. Overall though videos are better to learn stories than the overall.
Honestly, I would say if you have a high-school or college history textbook, just start there and read the whole thing.
Read books, starting with what you find the most interesting, and then eventually branching out to cover whatever you know the least about if you want general knowledge or specializing on your favorite topic if you want to specialize in something. In a class all you'd be doing is essentially reading history books and primary sources and having someone hold you accountable for paying attention, so if you're motivated just start reading history books
What period/place are you interested in? You really don't want any book or video or anything that covers "all of history" so start where you're interested
>>938821
>What period/place are you interested in? You really don't want any book or video or anything that covers "all of history" so start where you're interested
I don't really have any specific interests. Anything major, I guess? I just don't want to be stupid when I don't know what the French Revolution is or how World War 1 started, or why America had a revolution.
>>938836
It depends on what you mean by "sound stupid" then. If you don't want to sound stupid around the average person then you could just browse Wikipedia and watch crash course. If you want to actually learn you'll need to read some books.
If you don't know where to start, just start with all the wars you can think of and work from there. There is always a ton of info about wars.
>>938902
I said be stupid, not sound stupid. I don't know anything about history.
Is Crash Course really not that bad of an overview?
Also, is there a way to know if a history book is good or not? Or can I just read whatever looks good? I want to try to avoid bias and misinformation.
>>938836
Best recommendation I can give you is to start somewhere you know nothing about, and see if you enjoy reading about history. Try to read a more contemporary book that explains motives behind events, what's going on elsewhere in the world at the time, etc. I enjoy the way James Michener writes fictional characters involved in historical events, because even if it's presumptuous he's generally cautious and presents differing sides of issues together rather than magnifying conflict. Those books aren't for everyone, nor are they the most scrutinized sources, but they were a gateway for me to get into more academic books, and he covers huge amounts of topics that you can immediately turn around and Wikipedia or find more about.
