What 3 books should someone new to history start with? I'm going to have about a month in the summer with nothing to do, so I'd like to read some history.
>>977955
That depends on where you want to start/
>>977966
I'm not really fussed. If the 3 books had some continuity that would great, but is not necessary. It could be a book each to represent a different period (antiquity, medieval period, etc.)
Something related to empires, collapse of societies, war, revered historical figures, etc. would be interesting.
To get a general idea of the scale of human history, I would recommend these titles. The first two are not actually textbook history books, but have helped me comprehend my history textbooks, as they are easily readable and give insight into the facets of what human culture consists of. I'm bretty sure each and every virgin paraplegic autist on this site will tear their neckbeards in half and stomp on their byzaboo dioramas in a hysteric fit when they see my suggestions, but then again - this is just my opinion, and the books I've listed have helped me greatly.
1) Guns Germs and Steel - Jared Diamond
2) A Short History of Nearly Everything - Bill Bryson
3) Worlds Together, Worlds Apart - Robert Tignor
Best of luck, friend. If you want to read about a period or phenomenon in particular, just name it and I will try to find something fitting.
>>978002
>Guns, germs and steel.
Terrible shit-tier book. Don't care if I sound autistic, if you read that tripe and actually give it credence then you aren't smart enough to post on /his/.
>>978043
All things considered its a very good book with some glaring inaccuracies. Don't let the Zebraposting mongaloids put you off reading it, draw your own conclusion.
>>978043
That sure showed them, champ!
Present some arguments explaining why you think it's shit or go back to your sweaty reading corner, you judgemental virgin
>>978075
MUH
ZEBRA
>>978092
You wont be able to change anybody's mind by just stating that.
Explain how this book is erronous, or at least why an amateur historian should not read it. I could easily pick a handful of much more academic works, but since OP already stated he's a beginner I wanted him to read about 1) the evolution of agriculture, 2) the longtitude/latitude-factor and 3) how and why location matters for a fledgling civilization.
Refute this pulitzer winning author, and evolve from being a provocative internet niggeroid to an academian actually able to hold a respectful and logical discourse
I'm gonna recommend you the book that got me into history, John Julius Norwich's The Popes. It covers western European history, in broad strokes in some parts, in great detail in others, from Saint Peter to Pope Benedict XVI. What I like to do is read a large, broad volume like this, that will give me a nice overview of a very long period, and from there I can jot the parts, periods, and people that interested me the most, then do further reading with a more detailed novel, like a biography or the history of one specific war. Norwich's prose is very light and easy to read, he's great for when you wanna show someone how cool history can be without scaring them with a big, academic textbook.
He also has a huge three-volume history of Byzantium that made me a Byzaboo, but if you don't have an e-reader, good luck finding physical copies.
>>978075
fuck off jared
>new to history
how is this even possible? you know exactly fuck all about history at all?
you have no idea what you're interested in?
summary histories of entire periods are always, ALWAYS fucking shit
>>978103
>pulitzer winning author
>historian
Are you in love with him or what? I wasn't even the same guy who you are discussing with but the guy is NOT a historian and clearly not fitting OPs criteria. I have nothing against some pop-history with an agenda but come on.
>>978159
I am going to assume that you didnt bother with reading my post. That's OK. However, you continue on without even attempting to
Explain how this book is erronous, or at least why an amateur historian should not read it.
The proverbial ball is in your court still.
>>978171
No, I won't argue with a point just to make you happy.
OP asked:
>What 3 books should someone new to history start with?
A book by a historian that is easy to read just like the 3 books I posted.
Jared is generally not part of the historical discourse. He doesn't take the fields he writes in very seriously and therefore states thing that a long known to them (but not to the general audience). I guess he is a fine author for people who can live with his ecological message.
Source: http://www.hsozkult.de/article/id/artikel-928
>>978185
Great. So you admit to that you either cant or wont argue against the factual validity of the book.
This is what it always comes down to.
Feel free to try to make Diamond look less competent than he is. It's not like ad hominems are out of style... I would expect nothing less of a dirty nu-german anyway.
(Unless you arent German, and just speak the language. Then I have an excellent suggestion for a fetid ruin of a state where you may send your asylum application)
Best regards from Norwegen, dickwad
>>978128
There are people alive right now walking around in Europe that don't know that Europeans moved to the Americas and crated America.
>>978215
>crated America
>crated
The cargo cult lives on and on, friends
>>978002
You can skip "Guns, Germs, and Steel". It's meme history, meant to sell books, not educate. Garbage book. But Bill Bryson is awesome. Haven't read the Tignor book. I would read some Niall Ferguson if I were you.
>>978219
My phone automatically input it when I was trying to type "created". Shit happens. Settle down you autist.
>>978215
examples?
sounds like horseshit t b h
>inb4 muh grandpappy says they was aliums built it
>>978234
What examples do you want? I've had conversations with people in real life, who were astounded when I told them as they didn't know.
Your average millenial is preoccupied with consumerism and status signalling. They couldn't care less about history.
>>978253
I know exactly 0 people who don't know this, the only sort of person I could think of that wouldn't would be some century old broke-back farmers with alzheimers
>>978261
No. Lower middle class English teenager.
>>978107
Not OP but I'll look into this seeing how the last book I enjoyed pertaining to history was Machiavelli's the Prince, wanted to get a decent history of the Vatican as well. Thanks!
>the future that could have been with Cesare Borgia as the Pope
>>978267
*late teenager
19 years old to be exact
>>978278
Nah. A skateboarder.
And yes, chavs are people too.
>>977955
Gibbon, Durant, and Herodotus
>>978513
How much of those books are factually accurate still?
>>978267
So you expect the shittiest social class of Northern Europe's most inbred nation to know basic world history?
Bless your naive heart, anon
>>978535
Knowing that the Americas were populated by European a handful of centuries ago is not exactly arcane knowledge.
>>978547
Are you from the UK?
Having visited a few high schools through school exchange in that miserable shitstain of an island myself, I would not be surprised in the least if at least 10% would be completely oblivious to how the Americas were colonized.
A Brief History of Ancient Greece - Pomeroy et al
The Histories - Herodotus
The Peloponessian War- Thucydides
fin
>>978581
did you go to the north or south?
The further south you go the better everything gets
>>978597
I'll give you a hint, guvna
When we asked the pupils at the school questions about applying for university, the answer was the same most of the time:
"dinnae ken", followed by a blank stare
So guys, I've selected
The histories
Decline and fall
Lessons of History by Will Durant
All 3 for £12!
Face of Battle is brilliant, too!
And really short.
>>978622
>dinnae ken
Lol no wonder it was miserable. Stay away from the north, each 20 miles up you go the IQ drops by a point.
>>978635
What editions? Don't order yet mate
>>978128
Sure, I've read a few biographies (Napoleon, Alexander, etc), watched a few documentaries, and know a few facts, but I've never gone into depth.
>>978651
B-b-but I'm from the north
>>978651
Met a really qt northern irish girl though, so it wasnt all for naught
Start with some theory on historiography.
Apologie Pour l'Histoire, by March Bloch is a good start to understand a little bit about modern history writing.
Then there's In Defence of History by Richard J. Evans.
Last but not least, On History by Eric Hobsbawm.
It's important to learn a little bit about how history is researched and written before diving into actual history books. You'll learn to tell the difference between a bad and a good history book by yourself if you learn some historiography first.
>>978651
Fun story the qt told me(she was a prefect, so she had to interact with these slack-jawed village idiots on a regular basis):a few days earlier, some retard actually almost suffocated on the school bus when he put a condom over his head and couldnt get it off
>>978723
What were you doing, teaching?
>>978729
No, it was a part of a high school/uni competence exchange my English literature high school class participated in. We were 17/18, most of us. This happened in 2011, so the average quality of the education might have been improved since
>>978664
Get Oxford's Herodotus
>>978759
Its actually gotten worse. Teachers are leaving the profession in their droves because its being gutted.
>Most things i know are in here
>Only 14 and have the historical knowledge of a 10th grader
>>978354
>lower middle class
>a chav
Wew lad
Any books on Carthage, i dont mind fiction if it is historical
I started Salammbo but it might be too unhistorical and archaic
>>977997
Roger Crowley writes great books that are really easy to read for newbies. They read more like an action packed fiction novel than a history book (even though theyre just as well researched than everything else). Highly suggest Empires of the Sea.
The Ghosts of Cannae as well, same principle, great book and writer.
You should be able to find them at a Barnes and Noble.
>>980481
>14
MODS MODS MODS
