Reddit mentions: The best historical european biographies

There are far too many to describe one as "the best", but here are some of my favourites.

The Making of the Atomic Bomb by Richard Rhodes is a well deserved winner of the Pulitzer Prize. A combination of history, science and biography and so very well written.

A few of my favourite biographies include the magisterial, and also Pulitzer Prize winning, Peter the Great by Robert Massie. He also wrote the wonderful Dreadnaught on the naval arms race between Britain and Germany just prior to WWI (a lot more interesting than it sounds!). Christopher Hibbert was one of the UK's much loved historians and biographers and amongst his many works his biography Queen Victoria - A Personal History is one of his best. Finally, perhaps my favourite biography of all is Everitt's Cicero - The Life and Times of Rome's Greatest Politician. This man was at the centre of the Fall of the Roman Republic; and indeed fell along with it.

Speaking of which, Rubicon - The Last Years of the Roman Republic is a recent and deserved best-seller on this fascinating period. Holland writes well and gives a great overview of the events, men (and women!) and unavoidable wars that accompanied the fall of the Republic, or the rise of the Empire (depending upon your perspective). :) Holland's Persian Fire on the Greco-Persian Wars (think Cyrus, Darius, Xerxes! Think of the Movie 300, if you must) is equally gripping.

Perhaps my favourite history book, or series, of all is Shelby Foote's magisterial trilogy on the American Civil War The Civil War - A Narrative. Quite simply one of the best books I've ever read.

If, like me, you're interested in teh history of Africa, start at the very beginning with The Wisdom of the Bones by Alan Walker and Pat Shipman (both famous paleoanthropologists). Whilst not the very latest in recent studies (nothing on Homo floresiensis for example), it is still perhaps the best introduction to human evolution available. Certainly the best I've come across. Then check out Africa - Biography of a Continent. Finish with the two masterpieces The Scramble for Africa on how European colonialism planted the seeds of the "dark continents" woes ever since, and The Washing of the Spears, a gripping history of the Anglo-Zulu wars of the 1870's. If you ever saw the movie Rorke's Drift or Zulu!, you will love this book.

Hopkirk's The Great Game - The Struggle for Empire in Central Asia teaches us that the more things change, the more they stay the same.

I should imagine that's enough to keep you going for the moment. I have plenty more suggestions if you want. :)

> no, no the resources of capitalism aren't there to help people, how naive do you have to be to believe that? They're hard at work making a profit, if they help people it's purely incidental.

Not that I agree with your contention but even if their "helping people" is only incidental does that not still count as "helping people?" Aside from that even what you may consider to be "useless trinkets," like say 22" chrome wheels with spinners or frivolous single-use items, still provide some value in helping to alleviate societies ills. Demand for those products often directly lead tools and processes that directly help people, or aid the development/production of those things by creating economies of scale that reduce the input costs of other things.

You also seem to hit on this profit motive in a way that reminds me of that old Warrant album from the 80s. There are plenty of companies, and people, these days that incorporate social causes into their business plan, and for that they are rewarded with regular, repeat business. Starbucks paying over market price for their coffee comes to mind. As do Patagonia, Costco, Cliff Bars etc. Those companies all have business practices that result in voluntarily paying higher costs to deliver the same goods "because it is the right thing to do." Thus, I simply disagree with your implied contention that its all "just for the profit." There is certainly a lot of that, but its far too broad a brush to paint everyone that way, and much to cynical.

> Also what's your proof that even the social democracy of marxist-leninist states wasn't capable of solving these problems better than your free market countries?

Well a search of marxist-leninist societies doesn't turn up much. Not that a lack of them means it isn't as good or better, but it doesn't give us much to work with. The only example I can think to point to would be the USSR, but even some academics seem to think Stalin just used that label to justify his methods. So, if you assume it was an example of marxist-leninist capability then I direct you to this book. As she notes, that government was unable to provide even basic life necessities like feminine care products that were commonplace elsewhere in the world.

Further, the fundamental tenet of free-market systems being better at allocating resources is based on the idea that a self-organizing system of individual transactions is better able to provide what people need (or think they need) than a centrally planned system run by a group of "enlightened" individuals. Since that would basically require omniscience to execute with perfect effect it isn't the slightest bit unreasonable to think that the actual output would be substantially less than perfect. I am not saying a free-market system is perfect, by any means, but it does appear that crowd sourcing your economic planning, if you will, provides a greater level of omniscience than whatever single party ruling could do. This makes the structural level of output much higher in my view.
>
> Anyway your last paragraph is a straight up lie so we're done here.

Well, whether its a lie depends on my subjective belief as to its veracity. Since I believed it when I typed it, it isn't a lie. I suspect you meant that its incorrect. If it is, tell me how it is that a lack of food in famine areas is a result of people being too freely able to grow and sell food there? How is the existence of people made homeless because they can't afford a place to live a result of too much development or too many units for rent/sale?

Getting back to the original topic of discussion about socialism's tendency to result in totalitarianism, you have all the evidence you need for that in your own words.

>Or make people want a good or service. Both work and making people want a service they don't need is easier as we already have everything we actually need, or at least the people with lots of money do.

When read together with your other statements it seems quite obvious that you would view many of the free-market's pursuits as frivolous and needless in the face of the suffering of others. How can socialism actually prevent that "waste" in your eyes without, in fact, regulating the minutiae of daily life and people's decisions? The simple fact that you and I differ on this is evidence of the natural variability in thought. Since people who think differently value different things how can you possibly divert all that effort to alleviate suffering without, to some extent, limiting the pursuits of those with different values? If your answer to that is to somehow make their values align, how is that not totalitarianism in every conceivable way?

Libertarians these days are becoming increasingly known for rather high marks on systemizing and exceptionally low marks for empathy. If that is true, then I wonder if for socialists it is the reverse. It would explain a lot.

You don't need to know Russian history to love and learn from Dostoevsky.

I agree that the Pevear and Volokhonsky translations are the best.

If you do want to read Russian history I recommend:

The Icon and the Axe is truly foundational, you have to read this book if you want to understand Russia and join the conversation about Russian history

Massie's biography of Peter the Great is one of the best books I've ever read. Reads like a novel, amazing story of Russia's move from a medieval/dark ages mentality to an enlightenment/scientific mindset. His bio of Catherine is also good--but his Peter is a classic across disciplines.

This is the best recent biography of Stalin.

Happy reading. Russian history is a hole you go into and don't easily come out. So much there, so interesting, so horrifying, so engrossing. American history is all about optimism (from the the non-native perspective). Russian history is all about suffering--from every perspective.

Ok, two different categories of recs that arent exactly what you asked for but you might want to put on the radar:

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1. Superbly enjoyable stories of bad-assery: I love Alistair MacLean's (historical fiction) books. These two are my favorite. They are the alpha male equivalent of romance beach novels. They are excellent:
   South by Java Head: https://www.amazon.com/South-Java-Head-Alistair-MacLean/dp/0006172482
   The Guns of Navarone: https://www.amazon.com/Guns-Navarone-Alistair-MacLean/dp/0006172474
   
   
2. Marcus Aurelius's Meditations is the single book I would take with me to an island. It reads like a conversation with a friend. Not archaic, not heavy or overwrought, and yet gets to the essence of what it means to be a good man and live a good life. General Mattis used to carry this in combat. I suggest reading it bits at a time, in 20-30 minute sessions. https://www.amazon.com/Meditations-Thrift-Editions-Marcus-Aurelius/dp/048629823X
   
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   Some quotes from #2 to give you a sense. Crazy this was just a roman emperor's diary 2000 years ago:
   
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   “When you arise in the morning think of what a privilege it is to be alive, to think, to enjoy, to love ...”
   
   “Never let the future disturb you. You will meet it, if you have to, with the same weapons of reason which today arm you against the present.”
   
   “The object of life is not to be on the side of the majority, but to escape finding oneself in the ranks of the insane.”
   
   “Whenever you are about to find fault with someone, ask yourself the following question: What fault of mine most nearly resembles the one I am about to criticize?”
   
   “The first rule is to keep an untroubled spirit. The second is to look things in the face and know them for what they are.”
   “Nothing happens to anybody which he is not fitted by nature to bear.”

My first master's degree was in Intelligence Studies with a concentration in Intelligence Operations.

My two favorite books are supplemental to each other but talk about the the US v. the USSR during the mid 80s to late 90s. One is from the perspective a former CIA case officer and the other is from the perspective of a former KGB case officer.

The Main Enemy: The Inside Story of the CIA's Final Showdown with the KGB by Milt Bearden
Spy Handler: Memoir of a KGB Officer

A great overview of intelligence history is A Century of Spies: Intelligence in the Twentieth Century by Jeffery T. Richelson. Richelson is very knowledgeable about intelligence history and well respected as one of the premiere historians in the field. He has written a ton of other books and I imagine they're pretty good and worthwhile.

Finally, Essence of Decision: Explaining the Cuban Missile Crisis is a great book not only about the Cuban Missile Crisis but examining how national security decisions are made.

This is a great opportunity (when is it not!) to discuss the holding of territory and the pacifying of locals during conquests from the perspective of the Romans, who did quite the conquering.

> Long-term

>Much more boring (in my opinion), but a lot of Roman generals gave land to their legionaries either after a conquest or once a legion - who had proven its self-worth - had expired it's length of service, which depended on the time period. Augustinian reforms raised the length to sixteen years, with four more in reserve. Depends really on the time period. Besides that, Roman's definitely had colonies in its territories, as often the governship of a far region was given to a particularly prominent man. For instance, before he became the man we know and love, Caesar was the governor of Spain.
>

> Short-term

>Now this is the cool stuff. Plutarch tells of a great quotation by Pyrrhus of Epirus who saw the Roman nightly fort for the first time and said, "The discipline of these barbarians is not barbarous." The Roman army built a nightly fort no matter where it was while on the march. A day of marching would lead to a night of digging and entrenching. Not only did this ensure the safety of the army at night, it also played heavily into the psychological warfare that we often overlook by the Romans. Now, these forts were legit - tall wooden walls, outlook towers, and trenches, and they made a new fort every damn day. With the battle over but the war far from won, the Romans continued to make their forts and block their flanks. This along with a decent idea of army logistics (insert joke about Crassus at Carrhae) allowed for the Romans to pick their battles and progress over unknown territory without fear of a counter-attack. They also used many local scouts (insert joke about Varus at the Teutoburg Forest) to help map the territory and play the locals off of one another. These jokes are sarcasm, Crassus and Varus were dumb.

>Another great tactic by the Romans after a successful campaign was to take hostages! Oh blimy. Imagine you just lost your army and your kingdom, and now the victors are willing to: A. not kill everyone, B. assimilate you into their empire, and C. let you keep most of your power, and all you had to do was send them your sons. This was a great way to keep the newly-conquered in check. In his conquest of Gaul, which was filled with many revolts, Caesar took hostages consistently. Oh, looks like the Helvetti have started a rebellion, let's kill one of their King's sons to send a message. Oh look they stopped rebelling.

Basically, the act of invading is a logistical nightmare. One must take into account a supply line, counter-attacks, local demeanor, and about 50 other things that I cannot even fathom from this spot in front of my computer. Unsuccessful invasions lead to the annihilation of armies, and this is why we hold successful invasions as archetype military stratagems. While I am not your high school history teacher, I would suggest reading about Hannibal, Scipio Africanus, and Caesar for a more thorough understanding of military invasions. Personally, Scipio is a boss, but there is more information on the other two.

Sources - Plutarch's Parallel Lives, Caesar's Conquest of Gaul

*edited for grammar and format

Nerves of steel come from confidence and being above fear. Confidence comes from practice and competition. Being above fear comes from a lifestyle of conquering fears.

If you want to be more comfortable on the street, figure out exactly what you're afraid of and get better at it. Are you afraid he's going to hit you? Learn boxing or muay thai or bjj. Are you afraid he's going to yell at you? Learn debate skills.

My dad was a firefighter for a decade. His dad trained WW2 bomber pilots. I asked my dad how he kept calm on intense calls. He said he would rely on his training and took every problem as it came. You have no idea what the scene is going to look like on your way there, but you can trust that you're the best prepared one there, so everyone's depending on you to take charge and lead. Planning ahead is very important, but more important is staying in the moment.

Meditation works out that muscle. Staying in the moment is a muscle in your brain that you have to work out. What fear and anxiety is is you living outside of the moment. Fear is you trying to bring the past into the present. Anxiety is you trying to predict the future. Live in the moment and take shit as it comes. The more you can do that, the more you can relax into chaotic situations with confidence. Just do your best and know that that's all anyone can do in life. We can only do our best.

Another thing is your mindset for life. Always do your best. Always give your fullest. Figure out your core values and live to them every day of your life. If you can say every day that you did your fucking best, then you are going to be able to say "I am ready to die today" and you won't walk around terrified of death. Death is the root fear of all the fears. If you can conquer the fear of death, you will be very strong.

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There's a lot more to this, I'm just kind of rambling off what comes to mind before I go to work. But this will get you started. I wish you all the best and I hope I've helped some.

Some good resources are Shambhala, The Art of Learning, On Becoming a Leader, Better Under Pressure, Leading at the Edge, Meditations by Marcus Aurelius, and then this interview with Rickson Gracie (one of the greatest fighters to ever walk the Earth).

My list would have to include

The Ball is Round this is an amazing history of the sport. It is a very big book but very good.

The Numbers Game This has been one of my favorite soccer reads and I am surprised at how little people talk about it.

This love is not for cowards Truly an amazing story.

Amung the Thugs a fun and alarming tale of holgainism. Something I am very glad has not developed around the sport in the USA.

also if your not already receiving them you should subscribe to
Howler Magazine and
Eight by Eight


I hope this list gets you started. I have more on my list but have not got around to them.

First and foremost, 48 Laws of Power. It will show you 100+ ways other people have tried and where they failed and succeeded. It's a great introduction. Get this first.

A lot for these are free on gutenberg.org

Meditations - On being ethical and virtuous in a position of power.


33 strategies of war - A great companion to the 48 laws.

Art of war - Ancient Chinese text on war and power. All but covered in 48 laws.

Hagakure - Japanese text on war and power. All but covered in 48 laws.

On war - Military strategy from Napoleonic era. All but covered in 48 laws.

Rise of Theodore Roosevelt - Amazing book.

Seeking Wisdom from Darwin to Munger - Abstract thought models and logic patterns of highly successful people.

The Obstacle is the Way - Not labeled a book on power, more like thriving during struggle, which is important to a leader.

Machiavelli: The Prince - Pretty much the opposite of meditations. All but covered in 48 laws.


Also, here's a good TED talk on why power/civics is important to study: http://www.ted.com/talks/eric_liu_why_ordinary_people_need_to_understand_power?language=en


If you've gone over these and want something more specialized, I can probably help.

Are you planning on taking us over with force or charm?

Peasants were the largest demographic group in Latin Christendom, comprising somewhere around ninety percent of the population or more. Most of these people were tenant farmers who leased a portion of a larger slice of land in return for a rent of service, kind, or money (although the latter is more rare and often only found in the later Middle Ages). These people could theoretically support themselves and their family off their own land. Some of these peasants were not free—serfs—meaning, depending on when and where they lived, they may be bound to the land that they worked and could not seek legal redress outside of their primary lord (the kings justice, for example, would have been beyond the reach of these people). All of this is to say that medieval peasants, even if serfs, were not slaves—a misconception that comes from the continued use in some medieval sources of the Roman word for slave, servus, and should not be taken as a indicator of shared meaning. I've seen documents that use servus, rusticus, and—in the vernacular Old French—vilain. Outside of what they needed to pay as part of their obligation, they were free to sell, trade, or work elsewhere in the hamlet or town for wage or kind.

The details for the sort of trade you are asking about is difficult to trace since the economic lives of most peasants only appear in the records of lords and local courts when they have some sort of legal problem or reach a certain level of wealth. The community in which most medieval peasants would have interacted and traded was the Parish, which—besides the family—is the basic unit for understanding peasant society. The Parish community would have operated as a sort of social nexus for the rural peasantry, through which small transactions would have been negotiated. Work/Trade for wage and work for kind probably occurred simultaneously based on need, although certain economic historians believe quite strongly that the latter wouldn't have occurred at certain points of economic crisis.

Most farming hamlets were largely self sufficient in respect to their daily needs, so the average peasant had no need to access the sort of long distance trade I think you might be imagining. This is easier to understand when you consider what we know about their eating habits. For most, diet was simple and with the exception of certain feast days fish or meat was largely a luxury most peasants could not afford. The bulk of peasant diet probably came from cereals, supplemented by whatever local herbs and vegetables that they grew in their personal garden, of which every farm was sure to have at least one. On the plus side, beer was plentiful, although it was usually not brewed at a high ABV. A quirky and active market in late medieval England was in beer, which often was brewed by women and sold ad-hoc as a means to supplement income.

I should add that the definition of peasantry is something of a thorny topic for medieval economic historians, particularly in England where they have a wealth of sources that give them a wide range of local practice to squabble about. For your purposes, I would recommend avoiding most of these debates and read Judith Bennett's A Medieval Life: Cecilia Penifader of Brigstock, c. 1295-1344, a slender volume that will give you a good general overview of medieval peasant life rich with economic detail. For a contemporary, non-economic view of French peasant life I would recommend Emmanuel Le Roy Ladurie's Montaillou: The Promised Land of Error, that chronicles life in a small southern French town through inquisitional records and provides small details about how peasants moved through the world, made friendships, and even weird things like their perception of time. A wonderful view of life peasant life a few centuries later is presented in the first few chapters of Eamon Duffy's The Voices of Morebath: Reformation and Rebellion in an English Village (2003), a book that, although about religious change, gives insight into the everyday.

edit: spelling words.

Please note none of these are affiliate links. Just trying to be a good dude and help a brother out!

There's a great book called "Tales from the Toolbox" which is stories from mechanics etc... from that era. That's a really fun read. https://www.amazon.ca/Tales-toolbox-Michael-Oliver-ebook/dp/B009RUC638/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1550261258&sr=8-1&keywords=tales+from+the+toolbox

There's also "The Last Road Race" which is a fascinating read. https://www.amazon.ca/Last-Road-Race-Williams-2004-03-01/dp/B01K144S6Q/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1550261297&sr=8-1&keywords=pescara+last+road+race

I really enjoyed "The Limit: Life and Death on the 1961 Grand Prix Circuit" even though if you know your racing history you know how it's going to end. https://www.amazon.ca/Limit-Life-Death-Grand-Circuit/dp/0446554731/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1550261323&sr=8-1&keywords=the+limit

The best though for me was "Cars at Speed" by Robert Daley. At a time when racing was very romanticized and the carnage and loss of life was glossed over, he covered the sport honestly. It's harsh reading in spots but captures the era beautifully. https://www.amazon.ca/CARS-AT-SPEED-Grand-Golden-ebook/dp/B0091XMXJI/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1550261411&sr=8-1&keywords=cars+at+speed+robert+daley

And if you want something a little different, "Go Like Hell" is about Ferrari vs Ford at Le Mans, and that's a great read as well. https://www.amazon.ca/Go-Like-Hell-Ferrari-Battle-ebook/dp/B003K16PBY/ref=pd_sim_351_6/132-9271315-8602668?_encoding=UTF8&pd_rd_i=B003K16PBY&pd_rd_r=b3ff6727-315d-11e9-acf9-71fc83dc301e&pd_rd_w=GnFre&pd_rd_wg=bQUij&pf_rd_p=29a85b27-a36a-4f8d-94ca-61aa962c5f39&pf_rd_r=R7RP2WR2JFDKZGV00V91&psc=1&refRID=R7RP2WR2JFDKZGV00V91

And Sid Watkins (former F1 doctor who is a big part of why the death rate dropped in F1) has a great autobiography. https://www.amazon.ca/Life-At-Limit-Triumph-Tragedy-ebook/dp/B00BQF6RBO/ref=pd_sim_351_4/132-9271315-8602668?_encoding=UTF8&pd_rd_i=B00BQF6RBO&pd_rd_r=b3ff6727-315d-11e9-acf9-71fc83dc301e&pd_rd_w=GnFre&pd_rd_wg=bQUij&pf_rd_p=29a85b27-a36a-4f8d-94ca-61aa962c5f39&pf_rd_r=R7RP2WR2JFDKZGV00V91&psc=1&refRID=R7RP2WR2JFDKZGV00V91

Hope this helps you out. I've read all these and they're all great. (Actually I did The Limit via audiobook. It's on Audible.)

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If you like the Romantics, you can't go wrong with anything by Richard Holmes:

• Coleridge: Early Visions
  
• Coleridge: Darker Reflections
  
• Footsteps: Adventures of a Romantic Biographer
  
• Shelley: The Pursuit
  
• Dr Johnson and Mr. Savage
  
• The Age of Wonder: How the Romantic Generation Discovered the Beauty and Terror of Science (only tangentially related, but this is a very, very good book)
  
• Sidetracks: Explorations of a Romantic Biographer
  
  ____
  
  The Coleridge biographies are probably my favorite — he led an adventurous and tragic life, and even at over a thousand pages the two volumes read like a breeze (they even motivated me to read Biographia Literaria, unabridged, which I do not recommend).
  
  Holmes is an amazing biographer, so I think anything written by him will be worth your time.

Seems like the body is great, but if you think your mind is lacking, you have to train that too! Mens sana in corpore sano, you know. I will like to support the idea of meditation; guided meditation is great, and it really helps you put things in perspective and create the self-awareness that you need to know where you stand. Also, I'll recommend you read Meditations, by Marcus Aurelius. Seriously a good read, and it's cheap (or free online)

I read a really good book on this subject called Spy Handler: Memoir of a KGB Officer, and I certainly recommend it. It was written by the KGB officer who ran Aldrich Ames and Robert Hanssen, two of the most important spies the soviets ever had in the US.

For those unfamiliar, Aldrich Ames was a CIA officer who sold the identity of western sources (spies for the US) to the KGB for cash.

The Senate Select Committee on Intelligence said:
>Ames admitted that he had compromised "virtually all Soviet agents of the CIA and other American and foreign services known to me" and had provided the USSR and Russia with a "huge quantity of information on United States foreign, defense and security policies". It is estimated that information Ames provided to the Soviets led to the compromise of at least a hundred U.S. intelligence operations and to the execution of at least ten U.S. sources.

Robert Hanssen is the FBI agent who spent 22 years feeding secrets to the KGB. The investigation leading to his arrest is dramatized in the 2007 movie Breach.

Of particular interest in this book is the way Cherkashin talks about the recruiting game. His best spies were motivated by money (Ames) or ego (Hanssen), but he also talks about the use of sexual blackmail. At one point he uses the services of a female agent to collect incriminating photography that he then uses to blackmail the man into providing information. What I love is the way he talks about how these different sources had to be managed, requiring an understanding of human motivations and what people were willing to do. Someone you were blackmailing could only be pushed so far, after all. While he did not operate far outside of Human Intelligence (HumInt) gathering, he does talk a lot about several operations that caught US spies. A very good read!

Fair warning, the War of the Roses is a very complex and dense topic to dive into. Any book you pick up worth it's salt, will have (and better have) at least two chapters dedicated to just background before you even begin to get to the foundations of the causes for the War. The WotR is easily the most defining moment in English history between the Norman invasion and the Civil War and covers decades of history, literally.

Having said that, while this is not my subject area, and I'm not terribly well read in the topic, I do have a recommendation for a book that sits astride "popular history" and "academic history". I say that, because again, this is a dense subject and no book that is worth your time would be purely "pop history".

Alison Weir's War of the Roses, does a good job of making the subject accessible to readers of history, though not to fans of "lite history." "Lite History" to me are those pulpy history paperbacks that tend to populate the military history sections of bookstores about Navy Seals, Special Forces, Nazis, and those god awful books about the Merovingians being descendants of Jesus.

While the book only has one footnote that I can recall (giving a rough estimation of price equivalencies between 14th century money and late 20th Century), it does have an extensive bibliography and helpful index. Footnoting would be helpful in knowing the sources and providing additional information (my favorite thing about footnotes!) provided, but since the book is not "academic" its overlooked. The most helpful addition to the book are simplified family trees which I promise will be useful as the overlapping and twisting mixtures of marriages, second cousins, and family offshoots played a major part in being the cause and agitator of the war, and I promise you will refer to it more than once.

While the writing style is very casual and doesn't run down various rabbit hole topics that would fascinate an academic (and confuse the casual), it is still very dense. Keeping track of the names of the players, which Houses they were loyal to, and what role they play requires close attention to be paid or you will find yourself backtracking. I myself restarted the book three or four times before I reached page 100 over the years as I easily became lost and confused. I don't fault the writer at all as this was my first book on the subject and I often found myself lost. You will still need to sit quietly and read alone; this is not a book to read on a busy cross town bus, its by no means is a summer page turner.

Weir has a background in history, but is not a formal academic. She focuses mostly on historical fictions and biographies of England's royalty from the Middle Ages through the Renaissance. You can clearly tell that she has strong familiarity with the subject, knows how to research, and is thorough in covering the topics she tries to tackle (though through out her career some have been better than others). She presents her works in a way that makes complex histories and dense materials accessible to those who want to go beyond a tv documentary familiarity but not ready to delve into the dense undergrowth of an academic book.

For a casual yet informative and quality work, I recommend Alison Weir's War of the Roses.

Just don't use it as a source for your history paper.

I infer that you are looking for a secular handle on a normative ethical theory.

Right Conduct: Theories and Application by Bayles and Henley provides a basic outline of essential philosophical thinking from an academic perspective.

The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People, while authored by a Mormon, doesn't have any religious content that I recall and outlines some very useful heuristics for living a moral life. It's targeted at a general audience.


Meditations by Marcus Aurelius does contain some religious content (though here he's not referring to YHWH), but still has a lot of useful ideas with secular application.

You may also be interested in The School of Life and The Greater Good Science Center.

Good luck.

Barbara Tuchman was brilliant writer of history.

Albert Camus was a brilliant absurdist philosopher and novelist.

Jared Diamond has written some brilliant books at the intersection of anthropology and ecology. Another good book in this genre is Clive Ponting's A New Green History of the World.

Gwynne Dyer is an acclaimed military historian turned journalist on international affairs who has written a number of very engaging books on warfare and politics. His most recent book Climate Wars is the ONE book I would recommend to someone, if so limited, on the subject as it embodies both a wonderful synopsis of the science juxtaposed against the harsh realpolitiks and potential fates of humankind that may unfold unless we can manage to tackle the matter seriously, soon. Another great book on climate change is Bill McKibben's Deep Economy.

For social activists interested in ending world hunger and abject poverty, I can recommend: Nobel Prize winning economist Amartya Sen's Development as Freedom; Nobel Prize winning micro-financier Muhammad Yunus' Creating a World Without Poverty: Social Business and the Future of Capitalism; UN MDG famed economist Jeffrey Sach's End Of Poverty; and Greg Mortenson's Three Cups of Tea

For anyone of Scottish heritage, I heartily recommend Arthur Hermann's How The Scots Invented the Modern World: The True Story of How Western Europe's Poorest Nation Created Our World and Everything in It

For naval history buffs: Robert K. Massie's Dreadnought.

Last, but not least: Robert Pirsig's classic Zen And The Art Of Motorcycle Maintenance.

Enjoy!

Sapiens is a general history book about humanity, not so much traditional countries' history. It explores things like how did agriculture and warfare start, why is homo sapiens the only surviving human species etc.

For fun reading about history, I recommend anything written by Robert K. Massie. This is not general history; he wrote mostly about Tsarist Russia, but Dreadnought: Britain, Germany and the Coming of the Great War is a good starter for pre-WW1 European history.
I say "a good starter" because Massie's approach is very biographical - he mostly tells the story through the lives and actions of the decision makers, with less "modern" emphasis on economic factors etc. But he's a really good writer and it's the kind of history book you can read on a beach.

I don't think I'd be able to really stay updated, I never do with that sort of stuff. But, I have a reading list that you should add- that is if you are doing payed books:

For full on historians looking for depth in medieval subjects:

-Asbridge's The Crusades is a far better Crusades history that goes into good depth than any other I've read

-Morris' The Norman Conquest oncemore just a great book for depth and detail

-Jones' The Plantagenets this one I would avoid if you hate sensationalism in history, Dan Jones is a real historian and he writes it as a real historian but he's on the edge of being more entertainer level than educator level

-Moore's 2008 edition of The Formation of a Persecuting Society is definitely the best analysis of medieval heresy I've read

(+ for more details into his actual thought process and the full counter argument to his critics that came out against him later on )

For casual historians looking for analysis and shorter reads:

-Phillip's Holy Warriors is probably an overall better analysis than Asbridge but far less deep, if you like battles go for Asbridge but this is a far shorter read

-Asbridge's The Greatest Knight good book on the Plantagenets through the eyes of the knights

-Golding's Conquest and Colonisation a slightly more boring read, maybe go with the "A short introduction to" book isntead

-Pegg's A Most Holy War for lighter reading on medieval heresy

During that period it was a balancing act of a few primary factors: speed, guns, and armor. The amount of armor and guns directly impacted both the size and the weight of the vessel, and this in turn effected the speed.

At the time, the pinnacle of tactics during Naval Battles was what is known as "Crossing the T". Essentially, one line of ships would cut-off the other, and in doing so were able to bring all their guns to bear on their opponent. Likewise, their opponent could not bring all of their guns to bear to retaliate. This diagram shows what it would have generally looked like.

For a tactic like that to succeed you needed, as a battleship, a good combination of guns, speed, and armor. A classic example of this would be Admiral Count Heihachiro Togo and his victory over the Russians at Tsuhima in 1904. Both sides had guns that could fire at about the same range (and the bigger the gun, the bigger the range and the more destructive power). William Pakenham, who was a Royal Navy observer on-board Admiral Togo's ship, stated "when 12 inch guns are fired, shots from 10 inch guns pass unnoticed, while, for all the respect they instill, 8 inch or 6 inch might as well be pea shooters". Basically, the goal was to have the biggest guns possible on-board. This provides maximum firepower and range.

Admiral Togo had one more advantage over the Russians: Speed. He had about six or seven knots advantage over the Russians. If you have greater speed and range, then you can determine where and when the fight actually happens - by engaging the enemy from a longer distance and even moving away to keep that advantage. So if you can control those factors you can control the battle.

"Armor is speed" is something Jacky Fisher (important British admiral, key in the conception and design of HMS Dreadnought) is reported as having once said. This is because the more steel you put on the boat, the slower it is going to go. Unless of course you have new and more powerful methods of propulsion/power, which would allow you to attain a higher speed with more weight. Armor of course is important, as your ships need to be able to withstand hits. HMS Warsprite at Jutland for example, sustained 11 hits. While she was severely damage (and ordered home to Roysoth) she survived those hits and lived to see another day (a lot of days to be precise, she was engaged in WWII as well).

As u/Vonadler notes as well, money is a key issue. HMS Dreadnought cost approximately £1,784,000 in 1905. As an upgrade over other ship designs, she only cost £181,000 more. However, you have to multiply that by the amount of ships you want to build and then the number only gets more astronomical. In August 1914, the Royal Navy had 22 Battleships in commission (with 40 Pre-Dreadnoughts which are the older battleship designs that came before the Dreadnought in 1905) with another 13 under construction. And the price had only gone up since 1905. The Germans for example only had 15 built with 5 under construction. However I disagree that Vanguard was about 10 million GBP more to construct. Vanguard was built in the 1940s, 40 years after Dreadnought. Using [this inflation calculator] (http://inflation.stephenmorley.org/) I compared £11,530,503 in 1941 (the year that Vanguard was laid down) to 1905 (the year Dreadnought was laid down). In 1905, Vanguard would have cost about £5,291,677.27 pounds. A substantial increase to be sure, but only of about 297% compared to 546%. The overall point stands however, that bigger Battleships with more armor and whatnot do cost significantly more than their smaller counterparts.

And with ships you do not just have the cost of building. maintenance, crew (in the case of the German Battleships 1000+ crew members), fuel, etc... Those costs add up quickly. u/thefourthmaninaboat is also correct that the infrastructure was also a factor in Battleship design. On the other hand, cruise ships didn't really have to contend with all of this. They had their own design challenges to be sure, but armor for example wasn't really a factor.

This is my first "real" reply on this sub, so I hope it's been helpful and informative!

----------------
Sources

• Dreadnought: Britain, Germany, and the Coming of the Great War by Robert K. Massie
  
  
• From Imperial Splendor to Internment: The Imperial German Navy in the First World War by Nicolas Wolz
  
  
• Warships and Sea Battles of World War One published by Beekman House
  
  
• Inflation Calculator

With respect to the Haredi community, you're probably right; however, the question arises: Is it possible to evoke pressure from the inside? Put differently, is the Haredi community so well isolated that it will be essentially unresponsive to any outside influence whatsoever? On the other hand, are there ways to effectively appeal to change?

I'm thinking of some parallel to Slavenka Drakulic's description of the true Iron Curtain during the Soviet era being made up of "glossy pictures of beautiful women in amazing clothes," i.e. representing a winsome boundary with the West marked by appeal and not just partition. (Can't remember if this was in Cafe Europa or How We Survived Communism and Even Laughed.)

Try the ice cube trick if the anxiety ever hits and you have a drink handy. I just hold an ice cube in my left hand until it melts. Can still shake hands and everything but the ice cube seems to force my heart to slow down a bit. My best guess is that it triggers the Mammalian Diving Reflex and turns off whatever is derailing.

That trick came from a Viet Nam Vet, has been a huge help as time has gone on.

As for things sticking around, now that I'm well into my 40's the flashbacks and nightmares seem to have slowed to almost nothing - though they can still get triggered by trauma anniversary and other surprises. I have one trauma around a car accident so anytime the brakes squeal behind me I get to have a fun day.

Totally agree that basic Meditation is necessary to get through, can't see it ever being accepted in the public school system here in the US though - hell some places refuse to teach Evolution.

I also think that Philosophy has helped me cope some - Epictetus and Marcus Aurelius have been incredibly helpful reading to sort of adjust the way I see the world these days. I highly recommend the two following books:

http://www.amazon.com/Enchiridion-Dover-Thrift-Editions-Epictetus/dp/0486433595
http://www.amazon.com/Meditations-Thrift-Editions-Marcus-Aurelius/dp/048629823X

What are the best books on Hannibal (particularly ones that may have been overlooked)?

Personally I like Lazenby's Hannibal's War (for the academically inclined) and Dodge's Hannibal (for a general audience).

EDIT:

For those interested in learning more about Hannibal, here are my top picks from books actually on my book shelf:

1. Hannibal's War by J. F. Lazenby (little dry, but well documented history)
   
2. The First Punic War: A Military History by J. F. Lazenby (can't really understand Hannibal without the prelude)
   
3. The Punic Wars by Adrian Goldsworthy (dude knows more about the Roman Army than anyone)
   
4. Hannibal by Theodore Ayrault Dodge (Dodge was a Union officer in the Civil War and wrote some great books on Hannibal, Caesar, Alexander, etc. ... probably the best companion to primary source material on a first read through -- and it's out of copyright so you can find free copies online)
   
5. Scipio Africanus: Greater Than Napoleon by B. H. Liddell Hart (was Scipio the real, and somewhat overlooked, genius of the Second Punic War?)
   
   And recommendations and from /u/gevemacd :
   
   
6. Hannibal A Hellenistic Life by Eve MacDonald (/u/gevemacd herself!)
   
7. Cannae: The Experience of Battle in the Second Punic War by Gregory Daly (I haven't read this, but the slow trapping and butchery 70,000 men on a hot day seems like a fascinating topic for history as it was actually experienced)

For the First World War I strongly recommend Richard Holmes' Tommy: The British Soldier on the Western Front 1914-1918 which is both comprehensive and accessible. Holmes' masterpiece Soldiers: Army lives and loyalties from Redcoats to Dusty Warriors is excellent, but has a much broader scope so may offer less detail.

For a view on how Junior Officers and NCOs interacted you can try John Lewis-Stempell's Six Weeks: The short and gallant life of the British Officer in the First World War. I must caution that I am only half way through it and so far have found it to be rather sentimental and lacking in critique, but it is a good read nonetheless.

On a point of order Colour Sergeant is a rank specific to the infantry and Royal Marines, in the Household Cavalry it is Staff Corporal (or Company Quartermaster Corporal) and in other cap badges the rank is Staff Sergeant: something to bear in mind if you're interested in broader research. Also The Rifles spell it as serjeant.

Most of my knowledge regarding the matter is European, so I'm going to give a list of my favorites regarding the European / African front.

To get the German perspective of the war, I'd recommend:

• Panzer Commander - Hans von Luck - One of my favorites
  
  
• Panzer Leader - Heinz Guderian - He developed Blitzkrieg tactics
  
  
• The Rommel Papers - Erwin Rommel - Written by my favorite German Field Marshal up until his forced suicide by Hitler. Good read of the Western and African theaters of war. Also a good book to read if you're interested in what German command was doing on the lead up to D-Day.
  
  I have a few battle-specific books I enjoy too:
  
  
• Stalingrad: The Fateful Siege 1942-1943 - You really don't know the brutality of Stalingrad till you've read this book. You'll see it in a whole new light I think.
  
  
• Berlin: Downfall 1945 - Battle of Berlin at the end of the war, another good book.
  
  Now if you want to play games, Hearts of Iron series is great (someone recommended the Darkest Hour release of the game. Allows you to play historical missions based on historical troop layouts, or play the entire war as a nation. Historical events are incorporated into the game. While you'll rarely get a 100% accurate game as it is abstracted, it is an excellent way to see what challenges faced the nations of the time. You could play as Russia from 1936 and prepare yourself for the eventual German invasion. Or maybe you decide to play as Germany, and not invade Russia. But will Russia invade you when they are stronger? Will warn you: It does not have a learning curve. As with almost all Paradox Interactive games, it is a learning cliff.

Hi there, I am not a professional naval historian (my master's was in American history, post civil war) but I have read quite a bit on the topic. Several books come to mind:

• I second the Massie recommendations. Here are Amazon links:
  
  http://www.amazon.com/Dreadnought-Robert-K-Massie/dp/0345375564/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1370960465&sr=1-1&keywords=dreadnought+massie
  
  http://www.amazon.com/Castles-Steel-Britain-Germany-Winning/dp/0345408780/ref=sr_1_6?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1370960472&sr=1-6
  
  
• The British historian N.A.M. Rodger has written two naval histories of Britain, which are very accessible. Rodger does a good job of balancing strategy and tactics with the political and bureaucratic matters that make a navy efficient.
  
  The Safeguard of the Sea:
  http://www.amazon.com/Safeguard-Sea-History-Britain-660-1649/dp/0393319601/ref=sr_1_3?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1370960428&sr=1-3
  
  The Command of the Ocean:
  http://www.amazon.com/The-Command-Ocean-History-1649%C2%AD-1815/dp/0393060500
  
  
• John Keegan wrote a short book, The Price of Admiralty, focusing on the naval battles of Trafalgar, Jutland, Midway, and the Battle of the Atlantic in WWII.
  
  http://www.amazon.com/dp/0140096507
  
  
• There are any number of books on Midway, but one that I enjoyed is Shattered Sword, by Parshall and Tully. They delved deeply into Japanese archives and reconstructed details of flight operations and naval SOP to illuminate the battle in a way that I had not seen before:
  
  http://www.amazon.com/Shattered-Sword-Untold-Battle-Midway/dp/1574889249
  
  And, of course, if you want fiction, both the Horatio Hornblower and the Aubrey-Maturin series are good reads. A-M is a bit more modern lit; Hornblower is entertaining but starts to read a bit older.
  
  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Horatio_Hornblower
  
  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aubrey–Maturin_series
  
  I hope this helps. When I get home I'll take a look at my shelves and see what else comes to mind.

I don't remember the page, but Robert Massie talks about it in his biography of Peter the Great. Apparently he started bear hunting with a pike and sword, but decided that it wasn't fair to hunt with steel, so he switched to a wooden pitchfork like implement. Fantastic book actually, a must read if you have any interest in Russia or the late 18th century.

http://www.amazon.com/Peter-Great-Robert-K-Massie/dp/0345298063

Oh yes Mario raced under the American flag. He's a rather proud naturalized citizen.

If you mean world championship, yes Phil Hill won in 1961. A highly recommended read: http://www.amazon.com/Limit-Life-Death-Grand-Circuit/dp/0446554731

Actually the 60's were a pretty good time for US drivers. Hill, Gurney and Richie Ginther all had pretty good success. Then Revson in the early 70's until his death.

After Andretti the last remotely successful US driver was Eddie Cheever, 9 podiums but no wins.

The answer, in part, is why there are so many Russian oligarchs today. The transition away from socialist ideals occurred before the fall of the Soviet Union. In the 1980s cooperatives were begun and small private businesses began to appear, but they were new and no one really had any idea of what they were doing since the last time something like this was tried was in the 1920s under NEP. After the fall of the Soviet Union a 'privatization' period began where the government printed the equivalent of bonds or shares. Everyone in the Soviet Union received them. What they could do with them was left up to the people themselves. They could invest in newly privatized industries, cooperatives, businesses or hold on to them, sell them, etc. What happened is that those with connections in the government and previous business experience began buying up those bonds from the people and accumulating such large amounts that they could place large yet minimal bids on million dollar industries, buy them for cheap, and then reap enormous profits. Many also speculated on currency and issued the equivalent of promissory notes, acquiring companies for pennies when the ruble devalued, etc. An interesting, although journalistic account, is The Oligarchs: Wealth And Power In The New Russia.

I’m recommending books meant for general readers here. If you want something more in-depth, I’ll be happy to supply it.

For military matters, a very approachable overview by a historian of medieval military matters is Michael Prestwich’s [Knight: The Medieval Warrior’s (Unofficial) Manual] (http://www.amazon.com/Knight-Medieval-Warriors-Unofficial-Manual/dp/0500251606) (2010).

For urban life, there is a heavily illustrated survey by Chiara Frigoni, [A Day in a Medieval City] (http://www.amazon.com/Day-Medieval-City-Chiara-Frugoni/dp/0226266354) (2005).

For the life of common people, a brief but very informative look is Judith Bennett’s [A Medieval Life: Cecilia Penifader of Brigstock, c. 1295-1344] (http://www.amazon.com/Medieval-Life-Penifader-Brigstock-1295-1344/dp/0072903317) (1998), which explains what life in an English village would be like. Much older (1937), outdated in many respects, but still very readable is H. S. Bennett’s (no relation) [Life on an English Manor] (http://archive.org/details/lifeontheenglish020976mbp) here in a free e-book link but also available second hand.

I mean, everyone who got rich in Russia in the 90s has a lot of questions around how they did it. It was like the wild west back in those days.

There is a really good book about it called The Oligarchs that focuses on some of those men who became filthy rich after the newly capitalist 90s Russia. It's a fascinating read, highly recommended to understand early post-Soviet Russia.

Alan Turing rocks! It's way past time for the British government to apologize, but better late than never.

If you're at all curious about Turing, I recommend "Alan Turing: The Enigma." (http://www.amazon.ca/Alan-Turing-Enigma-Andrew-Hodges/dp/0099116413/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1252681070&sr=8-1)


It's the best bio I've found of him and seems to provide the basis for some of the other bios out there.

I see a lot of great books already listed. I'll offer a few lesser-known books that haven't been mentioned yet.

Larry Gonick's Cartoon History of the Universe series is brilliant for general readers of almost any age.

I see William Shirer's The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich has been mentioned, but I find his book on France - The Collapse of the Third Republic - equally compelling.

For those who love Barb Tuchmann's Guns of August,
Dreadnought by Robert Massie and The Lions of July by William Jannen are excellent additions in covering the lead up to WWI.

For Roman History, I'd recommend Adrian Goldsworthy's Caesar: Life of a Colossus and Anthony Everitt's Augustus: The Life of Rome's First Emperor

Lone Survivor - by Marcus Luttrell


One of the best action non-fiction stories I have ever read. Considering where our troops are around Afghanistan I found this book to be amazing with its detail, the courage of these men, and the ultimate battle each faces within himself. Truly an inspiring account of events we tend to not usually have privy to within our government.


Another favorite of mine that I recently finished was Among the Thugs by Bill Bufford - it's about soccer hooliganism in Europe during the 1970s and 80s. I am a big soccer fan so I absolutely loved it, but I think it would be a good, entertaining read for anyone that likes first person accounts where the author puts you in the mix of the craziness and you can picture yourself going through the story.

I can work on the + if allowable.

You should definitely read about Alexander the Great. He was one of the most amazing characters in any history of the world. The things he accomplished were greater than some mythological tales. He was viewed as a god by many. His teacher was Aristotle. He conquered the known world and beyond at the time. And he died at 33.
This is a good very historical version.
Alexander of Macedon 356-323 B.C.: A Historical Biography https://www.amazon.com/dp/0520071662/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_O.0vzbKZ5PRVF

I can't believe nobody has mentioned The Age of Wonder yet. This is one of the best non-fiction science books that I've ever read. Great narrative, great information, very entertaining.

I love reading biographies, I find them more inspiring and enjoyable to read than self-help books. Currently I'm reading Benjamin Franklin: An American Life. I highly recommend this book to anyone, prior to this book I only knew what they taught us in History class, this explores so many more aspect of his life, some of which we can all relate to (like his constant drive to improve himself).

[Meditations by Marcus Aurelius] (http://www.amazon.com/Meditations-Thrift-Editions-Marcus-Aurelius/dp/048629823X) is another great book I just finished. Written by a former Roman emperor who ruled during the time of frequent war, disease, and natural disasters, it's about how he dealt with it all as a leader by following the stoic philosophy. Amazing book and helped changed my outlook on the world.

The Black Swan: The Impact of the Highly Improbable by Nassim Nicholas Taleb. This is one of those books that isn't geared to self-improvement, but to updating your view of the world. In it Taleb talks about how highly improbably events happen all the time, but we only see them as probable in hindsight. I think it's a great read since we tend to think in cause-and-effect ways, when in fact the world works more in a probabilistic way.

There's a great book, The Age of Wonder, that goes into a lot of detail about Herschel's life (including other scientists in that generation). Pretty fascinating guy, he also had a brilliant sister (Caroline Herschel) who was a famous comet 'hunter'.

He eventually built a 40 foot telescope which became famous, which his sister helped him operate. If I'm not mistaken, Herschel was also one of the first to hit upon the idea of deep space and the vast distances involved.

Ahaha, right - well, for Alexander the Great you'll of course be spoilt for choices on secondary reading. There will be newer books than Peter Green's biography on Alexander but Green's a veteran on the subject and absolutely solid classical scholar. I think those Blackwell and Brill companions will still be good sources for secondary reading.

The Wikipedia page on historiography of Alexander the Great is a good place to start for ancient sources, if you haven't seen it yet. Life of Alexander by Plutarch will be on the same book that I recommended for you above.

hmmmm... well, not much that Ive read fall under that price range. Do you like in the USA, can you use Amazon?

https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/0786884517/ref=mp_s_a_1_6?ie=UTF8&qid=1495585796&sr=8-6&pi=AC_SX236_SY340_FMwebp_QL65&keywords=pirate+biography&dpPl=1&dpID=51-foWCviEL&ref=plSrch

That one is 9-10 dollars, the story of Captain Kidd. If you dont mind used editions some of the stuff by Robert K Massie is under 5 dollars for print.

Dreadnought is about Britain and Germany gearing up do WW1

Peter the Great was one of the most famous Tsars of Russia

https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/ol/0345298063/ref=mw_dp_olp?ie=UTF8&condition=all

Ghenghis Khan and The Making of The Modern world was fascinating

https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/ol/0609809644/ref=mw_dp_olp?ie=UTF8&condition=all

The republic of Pirates was pretty interesting too

https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/ol/015603462X/ref=mw_dp_olp?ie=UTF8&condition=all

i linked to used books, so be aware of that - i buy almost all of my books used in "good" or "great" condition and have no complaints so far.

Complete novice? Extra Credits.

Seconding the Podcasts from Carlin, "Punic Nightmares" and Duncan's History of Rome and Born Yesterday. Seriously, Duncan is amazing. Major history hard-on.

Also, the History Channel has a pretty fun website, and there aren't any pawnshop aliens American Trucker-Pickers.

And if you want to read something that was written a tad earlier, Appian's histories cover the Second Punic War in several sections: The Spanish Wars, The Hannibalic War in Europe, and The Punic War and Numidian Affairs about Scipio in Africa (he also writes about the First Punic War), Livy deals with the Second Punic War in chapters 21-25 and 26-30, Polybius uses the Punic Wars to extol (and for us, explain) Roman virtues and institutions, and Plutarch gives two Generals treatment in his Parallel Lives, Fabius and Flaminius.

Modern books, I liked Adrian Goldsworthy's [The Punic Wars] (http://www.amazon.com/The-Punic-Wars-Adrian-Goldsworthy/dp/0304352845), and had WAY too much fun reading this book about Scipio and this book about Hannibal in tandem.

Oh... after you're done with all/any of that you might want to go buy Rome Total War and play as the Scipii. Extra points if you download Europa Barbarorum. Rome 2 is out and presumably awesome (and EB2)

The Royal Stuarts by Alan Massie is a fantastically written account of the Stuart dynasty, from their origins in Scotland to their ultimate fall in the early 18th century.

The Plantagenets by Dan Jones an equally enthralling account of the Plantagenet dynasty (the Angevin line), from Henry II to Richard II--which I believe will give you what you're looking for in the medieval period. More books along this line could be Edward III: The Perfect King by Roger Mortimer which gives a much more in-depth and nuanced view of one of England's greatest monarchs (as well as some controversial opinions of Mortimer's regarding Edward II). Another of Mortimer's books Henry IV: The Righteous King gives a good, well-written look at the "usurper" of the Angevin line and the beginning of the reign of the House of Lancaster.

You might then move on to The Wars of the Roses by Alison Weir or The Wars of the Roses by Dan Jones for a good account of the tumultuous civil wars of the 15th century (I've read the former twice and adore it; I have not yet had the opportunity to read Jones' sequel).

I too am still searching for a satisfying biography of Cromwell!

Very interesting original report of a POW interrogation that details the weeks after the Normandy invasion for a SS PzG division from the perspective of one of the division staff officers. Summary in the article and the entire actual report is provided as well.

EDIT: This intel report covers a similar time frame, location, and scope as one of the memoirs I have, Panzer Commander from Hanz Von Luck. It's a good read if you haven't gone through it, and want to get into additional first hand experience at a similar level on the same battlefield.

One of the best and most dramatic works I can recommend is The Ghosts of Cannae: Hannibal and the Darkest Hour of the Roman Republic, by Robert L. O'Connell. The battle of Cannae was a turning point for Rome, and O'Connell captures the horror and drama of the battle and surrounding events excellently. I HIGHLY recommend it.

In terms of Roman historians... It really depends on what period you're looking at. Want an awesome insight into the military? Go with Caesar's Commentaries of the Conquest of Gaul. Punic Wars? Check out Livy. Definitely check out Plutarch's Parallel Lives as well.

Of course, the quintessential book on the Roman Empire is Gibbon's Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire. One can hardly consider themselves a Roman scholar without reading it, and nearly every historian will refer to it at some point.

Oh! And there's an interesting one I came across, for a bit more of a lower-look. By a Roman no less! Cookery and Dining in Imperial Rome*, by Apicius is very interesting. Might not be worth it to put on your list, but definitely check it out.

TL;DR: If I have to pick two to add, take the Ghosts of Cannae and Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire. By a Roman, pick from what's relevant.

Many monk mode books are available as audiobooks on YouTube, or PDF files through torrents.

It's actually great that you're on a low budget for monk mode. Living frugally is a great activity for building a sense of self-efficacy.

Absolute essentials may be:

A notebook to plan, journal, record exercise, etc.

One or two books that you refer back to often enough, or work through slowly (Meditations by Marcus Aurelius comes to mind: http://www.amazon.com/Meditations-Thrift-Editions-Marcus-Aurelius/dp/048629823X)

Maybe some camping gear or other stuff that gets you into nature more often. Tent/sleeping bag/lantern/firemaking supplies.

Outside of that, you don't need anything, and tbh, it's monk mode.. monks don't need anything and that's part of the experience. Good luck man!

P.S. second u/Dr_D1amond on supplements

Your question made me think me think of James Cook and Joseph Banks' experiences as described in Richard Holmes' The Age of Wonder. I went back to it looking for some insight.

Most conflicts between the islanders and the ship's men seemed to revolve around theft. Sex, on the other hand, seemed to be an amicable form of trade:

> Much time was spent in bargaining for sexual favors. The basic currency was any kind of usable metal object: there was no need for gold or silver or trinkets. Among the able seamen the initial going rate was one ship's nail for one ordinary fuck, but hyper-inflation soon set in. The Tahitians well understood a market economy. There was a run on anything metal that could be smuggled off the ship - cutlery, cleats, handles, cooking utensils, spare tools, but especially nails. It was said that the Endeavour's carpenter soon operated an illegal monopoly on metal goods, and nails were leaving the ship by the sackful.

Their queen, Oborea, allowed Banks to sleep with her personal servant, Otheothea, and later offered herself as a companion (though Banks wasn't interested). He also describes a Tahitian man bartering with him for the use of a woman. So it seems like the trading of sexual favors was acceptable within the Tahitian community. But I doubt the Tahitians were happy with their women acquiring "the British disease" - the STD - that became rampant during the ship's stay.

Edit: In response to u/359RP's question, another excerpt from Holmes' book:

> The only Tahitian practice that Banks found totally alien and repulsive was that of infanticide, which was used regularly and without compunction as a form of birth control by couples who were not ready yet to support children. Banks could scarcely believe this, until he questioned several couples who freely admitted to destroying two or three children, showing not the slightest apparent guilt or regret. This was a different kind of innocence, one far harder to accept. Banks pursued the question, and found that the custom originated in the formation of communal groups in which the trading of sexual favors were freely exchanged between different partners.

Source: The Age of Wonder: The Romantic Generation and the Discovery of the Beauty and Terror of Science by Richard Holmes (2010, Kindle edition)

I won't pretend to support the actions of axis soldiers, just the same as I wouldn't support the actions of soldiers in muddled conflicts like we have going on today, however I respect the courage and stalwart determination of soldiers no matter which country they fight for, or for what political/religious ideology they fight for.


It's with that sense of respect in mind, that I find bringing stories to light, from both sides of any conflict, is beneficial, and why I detest people who dismiss those stories and soldiers because "they were our enemy and they did horrible things".
War is horrible by definition, horrible things are bound to happen, and even worse things are bound to happen when religion is thrown in, as shown with Japan's involvement in WWII, but that doesn't make the stories or the soldiers any less impressive, or detract from the insane amount of courage it would have taken for ANY soldier to fight on those fronts, in those conditions, and with those tools.


In the same way I can absolutely respect and be amazed by the courage shown by the soldiers during the raid of St. Nazaire, I can also be equally amazed and impressed by the courage and fighting spirit (and oftentimes surprising humility) of the German soldiers during their conflicts, such as some of the stories of Hanz Von Luck (very interesting book, I suggest finding a copy), it's for those reasons that I think you should reconsider dismissing an entire army of its right to have its stories told simply because you don't like the thought of them having killed allies in past conflicts.

Books regarding how to build your online business / extract value out of an email list come from people who collected their online offerings.

For example: Ryan Levesque "Ask" on how to build products through email lists are a compilation of user stories from what he's done online.

With that said if you're looking for general entrepreneurship books here are a few I would check out:

• My Startup Life by Ben Casnocha. Ben started a company in his teens. Recently he wrote a book with Reid Hoffman (founder of LinkedIn) called The Startup of You
  
  
• Crush It by Gary Vaynerchuck
  
  
• The Four Hour Workweek by Tim Ferriss
  
  The best books to read to get through the thick and thin however are not business books. For example, Meditations by Marcus Aurelius is excellent

I don't know which category this would go under- it best fits "Broad overviews" but it's so in-depth I would hesitate to place it there. Maybe a new category of something like "Great Britain" or "English Perspective"?

Tommy: The British Soldier on the Western Front (link) by Richard Holmes (2005)

Incredibly in-depth overview of England during the War that thoroughly explains the experience of the average Tommy and how the English army operated. Uses extensive primary sources (letters, diaries, etc.) and is a good place to go if you're interested in England during the War, although it's pretty long for a casual read (~750 pages).

I'm sure you do...Comrade...o_O

The KGB was far and away better than CIA in human intelligence. Two books I read and enjoyed. Spymaster and Spy Handler

Not sure what you're interested in but I read Among the Thugs by Buford in a sociology class and it's a great and interesting exploration of mob mentality/crowd psych through the lens of the life and activities of soccer/football hooligans.

http://www.amazon.com/Among-Thugs-Bill-Buford/dp/0679745351

I haven't but I will. Check out The Long Walk. https://www.amazon.com/Long-Walk-Story-Freedom-Tie/dp/1599219751

There are a number of true life adventure stories, especially about escapes from Russia, that are well worth the read. I have read most of these and they are amazing. https://www.amazon.com/gp/buy/thankyou/handlers/display.html?ie=UTF8&asins=1633230473&isRefresh=1&orderId=113-2199401-5946649&purchaseId=106-0134021-8976259&viewId=ThankYouCart

In about 1908 my grandfather and his brother drove from Boston across the States, the the Philippines, Japan, China, Russia and on to Europe. We have the picture album of it but unfortunately his hag of a second wife burned his diaries about the trip shortly after he died.

Feminism as it currently exists today was not present in the medieval period. What we can talk about is female agency. In other words how women acted within the constraints of a patriarchal society either as individuals or as a group. Acts of subversion can be seen in a number of ways. I have mentioned a few times on here about how women could not participate fully in the church- they were forbidden to touch the alter. However, many women donated their clothes, or made personalised alter clothes for the church or priests. This meant that clothes that has touched them, that they had owned or made and perhaps worn on their body eventually came to wrap the alter - one of the most sacred parts of the church. Or touched the body of the clergyman they donated it too. While we cannot say that this was a feminist act it was certainly a way of cleverly avoiding the ban on touching (even if by proxy!).

Another, perhaps more obvious way, was that many women who were married once and became widows chose to stay that way. They elected not to remarry. Widows had a special place in society - they almost operated as men, especially in relation to property and wealth.

There are of course unmarried or single women who equally chose to live that way (a wonderful book on Cecila Penifader by Judith Bennettt https://www.amazon.com/Medieval-Life-Penifader-Brigstock-1295-1344/dp/0072903317 shows one such (well off) peasant woman. This is a super book! I return to it again and again. Also, work by Dr Cordelia Beattie discusses single women Beattie, C. (2007) Medieval Single Women: The Politics of Social Classification in Late Medieval England. Oxford: Oxford University Press. Dr Beattie has a range of really informative publications on medieval women!

off the top of my head:

Meditations, with The Inner Citadel as a reader

Letters from a Stoic

A Guide to the Good Life by Irvine

Do The Work by Pressfield as well as The War of Art by Pressfield

Managing Oneself by Ducker

Man's Search for Meaning by Frankl

What Predicts Divorce by Gottman

Nicomachean Ethics

Models by Manson seems to be popular on reddit

So Good They Can't Ignore You by Newport, as well

I'm currently reading Triumphs of Experience by Vaillant and find it insightful.

Books such as World War One: History in an Hour is a good starting point, but if you're interested in a more detailed account of the First World War and you enjoy a challenge, 1914-1918: The History of the First World War by David Stephenson is really good. Another really interesting book that I've just recently read is 'Tommy - The British Soldier on the Western Front' by Richard Holmes, which is obviously a very detailed account on the British side of the First World War. I have been doing my own research on the British soldier on the Western Front for as long as I can remember, so I would be glad to give you any advice.

His memoirs, The Gallic Wars and The Civil Wars are great places to start, and they are rather short. And its all written by Caesar, so who better to tell you about how great Caesar is!

http://www.amazon.com/The-Conquest-Gaul-Penguin-Classics/dp/0140444335/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1374613113&sr=8-1&keywords=The+Gallic+Wars+Penguin+Classics

http://www.amazon.com/Civil-War-Caesar-Penguin-Classics/dp/0140441875/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1374613143&sr=1-1&keywords=The+Civil+War+Julius+Caesar

So what you're saying is the book hasn't helped you as much as you hoped? :P

I don't know any books about that specifically, but I think Kierkegaard's Fear and Trembling and Marcus Aurelius's Meditations have a lot of really good stuff in them. Kierkegaard's book is about the abstract life of faith, while Marcus Aurelius's is a more down-to-earth practical guide for day-to-day life-- if I didn't know he was a pagan I could almost swear he was a Christian (I think a lot of the Stoics became Christians in the first couple centuries).

Glad to have you all the same.

Incidentally, a book I've recommended to people here before is Richard Holmes' Tommy: The British Soldier on the Western Front (2004). It's affordable, vastly comprehensive, very well-written, and frankly huge (688 pages!). Holmes was one of the best military historians we had when it came to writing about complicated matters for a popular audience, and it was a pity to see him die so unexpectedly in 2011. If you find yourself interested in this subject and have some time to kill in your reading rotation, it might be worth giving Tommy a try.

The Age of Wonder by Richard Holmes. It gives a pretty good background for the scientific tradition that we participate in today through the lives and works of noteworthy scientists.

If you dig science fiction, this guy is really amusing. The cyberiad or The Futurological Congress by Stanislaw Lem.

There was a book wrote about it,A higher Call.

The book was very well written and interesting: definitely worth a read!

this is totally not true. Tribes were constantly rebelling against Alexander. Alexander would pacify them, and then move forward, and then they would rebel again. Alexander never had complete control over the lands he conquered.

He also did not exactly embrace cultures - in Anatolia he consistently overthrew the local oligarchy governments to set up democracies that would work in his favor. While this may sound like a nice act, Alexander also over threw democracies in Greece to set up oligarchies - he did whatever was necessary to consolidate his own power.

Third, Alexander the great was never known as the great in his time. The roman's gave Alexander the title the great because they wanted to justify their own imperial conquests. The Romans turned Alexander into a symbol for their own purposes.

Fourth, and the reason why Alexander did embrace Persian culture, was that Alexander was of mixed blood. Alexander's mother, Olympia, was from Epirus, a rival tribe to the Macedonians. Macedonians looked down upon Epirus as being a backward and savage place. Alexander, consequently, was looked down upon for being of mixed blood. In fact, Alexander's father tried to murder Alexander when Alexander was 16 so that his new son, whom his 5th wife had just birthed, and who was of pure Macedonian blood, would take over the throne. After fleeing into exile, two years later Alexander and Olympia plotted together to convince one Phillip's guards to assassinate Philip, and thats how Alexander became king.

Source: http://www.amazon.com/Alexander-Macedon-356-323-B-C-Historical/dp/0520071662

tl:dr; Alexander wasn't a nice guy, but no one can be a nice guy he is playing the game of thrones.

Alright bro, I'm not gonna sugar coat it... so don't get offended as I am trying to help.

First grab the book meditations: it is ONE dollar,

https://www.amazon.com/Meditations-Thrift-Editions-Marcus-Aurelius/dp/048629823X

Then subscribe to /r/howtonotgiveafuck

https://www.reddit.com/r/howtonotgiveafuck/

Stop letting stupid people ruin your day, people will be stupid, but that doesn't mean you should get upset. You can't control people being douchebags, but you can control how you react to it.

It doesn't matter who is wrong and who is right, what matters is that it is making you unhappy.... some of the situations you described above you were in the right, and others, maybe not so much... but it doesn't matter.

And lastly, sorry but I think you should find another girl, why do you let her treat you like that? I say this with love, please grow some balls. You don't need to convince anyone of anything, if your girlfriend doesn't believe you, it is not because you didn't explain yourself properly, it is because she doesn't respect you enough. I suggest the book "way of the superior man"

I think I answered most of your questions. To answer your last question, why do you even want to continue hanging out with these people, just find people you like and surround yourself with them.

Get reading! sounds like you are young and still have some time to form yourself into the man you can be!

I recommend you read the book [How We Survived Communism and Even Laughed, by Slavenka Drakulic] (https://smile.amazon.com/How-Survived-Communism-Even-Laughed/dp/0060975407/ref=smi_www_rco2_go_smi_g3905707922?_encoding=UTF8&%2AVersion%2A=1&%2Aentries%2A=0&ie=UTF8)

It's about the human face of life in communist countries, particularly for women.

The excellent prequel by Massie is Dreadnought: Britain, Germany, and the Coming of the Great War

It's extremely complex that whole situation, if you like reading and the subject check out this book:

https://www.amazon.com/Oligarchs-Wealth-Power-New-Russia/dp/1610390709

It'll give you a pretty good idea of what happened before and after.

Commentarii de Bello Gallico is Caesar's first hand, at times braggadocious and totally awesome account of the conquest of Gaul. Highly suggested reading I have read it several times.

Here is a link to the most widely used translation, the Conquest of Gaul by penguin classics. It's 8 bucks folks https://www.amazon.com/Conquest-Gaul-Penguin-Classics/dp/0140444335

Hm, I bought this one just because it's the best seller. https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/048629823X/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o01_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

I put the one you mentioned on a list for later if I decide to read it again. What makes the Hays' version better?

This is a great book for the mid to later medevil period that came out recently, that I enjoyed. It ties together a lot of history that you know with what you don't.

http://www.amazon.com/The-Plantagenets-Warrior-Queens-England/dp/0143124927

I read a lot of historical fiction, hope thats allowed to recommend:

The book that made the greatest impression on me with regards to the frontlines in WW2 was https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Forgotten_Soldier. It is a fantastic story seen by the footsoldier. I really, really, REALLY dont want to be on the receiving end of artillery fire after reading this book.

A very different book is this https://www.amazon.com/Panzer-Commander-Memoirs-Colonel-Library/dp/0440208025.

Here you experience the war from a senior officers point of view. It mostly works on a division/batallion level. Instead of describing the horrors in detail, it often just states "we took heavy losses". Still it takes you from Germany to France to Russia to Africa to France to Germany to Russia to Germany, so you get to experience the war in many different places, stages, viewpoints (attacker, defender, prisoner) and times.

Edit: If you are interested in Alexander the great and want action packed historical fiction, do this one: https://www.amazon.com/God-War-Story-Alexander-Great/dp/1409135942

At the risk of having everyone here roll their eyes at me, Among the Thugs by Bill Buford is still one of my favorites. I know a lot of people don't really consider it a soccer book, but it was my first real exposure to the sport beyond YMCA herd soccer, so it holds a bit of a place in my heart.

Yep. Hans Von Luck talks about this idea in good detail in Panzer Commander.

Hans Von Luck wrote Panzer Commander not Panzer Leader

see here

And his wiki article

Its a great book, from someone who leaded from the ground.

He was at El Alamein, Kasserine Pass, Poland, Belgium, Normandy on D-Day, and the Ost Front.

EDIT: He was with the 3rd panzer army during operation barbarossa and at the personal request of Rommel, with the afrika korps in North Africa.

i've plugged it here before but i definitely recommend bill buford's "among the thugs" if youre looking for something on the sociology and culture around football fans. it is a sensational read.

https://www.amazon.com/Among-Thugs-Bill-Buford/dp/0679745351

It's been a while since I picked it up, but The Age of Wonder by Richard Holmes has a lot of information on both Mary Shelley and the scientific scene during the late 18th/early 19th century.

At that point in science people were making some astonishing breakthroughs: planets were being discovered, Humphrey Davies was experimenting with the power of chemicals, the first hot-air balloons were being created, etc. Basically, it was a point in English history when both Romanticism and Science were making breakthroughs and the current mood of England was one of unbridled wonder at the possibilities of science.

I'd reccommend reading A Medieval Life, which uses both outside research and a very fortunate abundance of local court records to piece together the life of a single villain from England. http://www.amazon.com/Medieval-Life-Penifader-Brigstock-1295-1344/dp/0072903317

The book makes it very clear several times that she isn't representative of all peasants simply because they were so diverse across Europe, but one thing I recall it pointing out is that there were indeed a substantial number of 'holidays', all based around the church calendar. Several large feasts around christmas and easter, as well as a long succession in the summer, along with a multitude of single day feasts throughout the year, plus you would have the sabbath.

It makes it clear that while she had hardships, it wasn't as bad as commonly imagined for many, if not most, in the lower class. If you made it past childhood you would likely live a fairly decent life (average lifespans are heavily skewed by the huge infant mortality rate), and the work itself wasn't for many as bad as commonly portrayed in modern fiction.

hi! you commented a long time ago, but hopefully you have a dollar to spare (and a prime membership: http://www.amazon.com/Meditations-Thrift-Editions-Marcus-Aurelius/dp/048629823X/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1420595333&sr=8-1&keywords=marcus+aurelius

I found this copy of MA's meditations for a dollar.. and when I went to check out, my final bill came to $.33 after some discounts, and the fact I have amazon prime. Check it out and order this if you want to!

Here are a couple great Non-Arsenal specific books. All come highly recommended:

http://www.amazon.com/The-Miracle-Castel-Sangro-Passion/dp/0767905997

http://www.amazon.com/Among-Thugs-Bill-Buford/dp/0679745351/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1422638459&sr=1-1&keywords=among+the+thugs&pebp=1422638445664&peasin=679745351

http://www.amazon.com/How-Soccer-Explains-World-Globalization/dp/0061978051/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1422638489&sr=1-1&keywords=how+soccer+explains+the+world&pebp=1422638475663&peasin=61978051

You're far better off reading these books than wasting time with Peterson. Peterson's works are a soothing balm, these men sought after absolute truths -

https://www.amazon.com/Meditations-Thrift-Editions-Marcus-Aurelius/dp/048629823X

https://www.amazon.com/Critique-Pure-Reason-Penguin-Classics/dp/0140447474/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1527773842&sr=1-1&keywords=kant

https://www.amazon.com/Madness-Civilization-History-Insanity-Reason/dp/067972110X/ref=sr_1_4?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1527773870&sr=1-4&keywords=foucault&dpID=41FzjCBzJJL&preST=_SY291_BO1,204,203,200_QL40_&dpSrc=srch

https://www.amazon.com/Nicomachean-Ethics-Aristotle/dp/0872204642/ref=sr_1_6?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1527773951&sr=1-6&keywords=aristotle&dpID=31b2stlDDgL&preST=_SY291_BO1,204,203,200_QL40_&dpSrc=srch

https://www.amazon.com/Republic-Dover-Thrift-Editions-ebook/dp/B00A73FJ10/ref=sr_1_4?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1527774019&sr=1-4&keywords=aristotle+the+republic&dpID=51dfJWGupmL&preST=_SY445_QL70_&dpSrc=srch

https://www.amazon.com/Plantagenets-Warrior-Kings-Queens-England/dp/0143124927

Pretty good book about the Plantagenets who ruled England (and at times parts of Ireland, Scotland and Wales) during the time period you're talking about.

If you can afford it, please do yourself a favor and buy a copy, I got this one from amazon for $1 (with prime), $1! It is always in my bag with me.

Franz Stigler is perhaps best known for his antics involving escorting a damaged American B-17 to safety.

However, in his amazing account of the war detailed in the biographical book of his war experience ( [A Higher Call] ( http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/0425252868?pc_redir=1405330637&robot_redir=1) ) we learn that he was a seemingly invincible German ace fighter pilot. He flew in missions from nearly the beginning of the war to the very end, wherein he finds himself among an elite unit of German aces flying the ME-262 jet fighter.

Stigler was credited with a few HUNDRED kills. Was he the most successful fighter pilot in all of recorded history? No.

That title belongs to another German ace by the name of Erich Hartmann with 352 credited kills.

Both men survived the war and many decades afterwards, dying eventually of old age. They seemed to be absolutely invincible in the skies over Germany.

Unfortunately most historical resources seem to have a bias towards Hannibal so Scipio gets shortchanged. I have found Scipio Africanus - Greater Than Napoleon to be a pretty good pro Scipio analysis of his military career.

I enjoyed Scipio Africanus: Greater Than Napoleon.

Alison Weir is a good mix of informative and readable; this book in particular would be a good start.

Yes, there's a big distinction. Here's a link that scratches the surface of dreadnought background & development to get you started.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HMS_Dreadnought_(1906)

If you get really curious, here's two books that round out the subject of how dreadnoughts fit into naval history...

http://www.amazon.com/Dreadnought-Robert-K-Massie/dp/0345375564/ref=la_B000AQ6XVE_1_6?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1406314026&sr=1-6

http://www.amazon.com/Castles-Steel-Britain-Germany-Winning/dp/0345408780

Hans von Luck was Rommel's favorite junior officer. While he was no Nazi, he was from a strong Prussian military background, and he fought from the invasion of Poland through to 1945. His autobiographical book offers a somewhat rare perspective on good soldiering on the Axis side.

Why are you guys acting like I'm the first one to come up with the idea that Alexander the Great wasn't so great? There's been many authors that have taken a skeptical look at the historical dick-riding that Alexander has gotten.

This is a good read if you're interested mate:

www.amazon.co.uk/Conquest-Gaul-Classics-Julius-Caesar/dp/0140444335

I'm not Jeff, but I've struggled with this as well. Some books that have helped me were Way of the Superior Man, 50th Law, and Meditations. They're worth a read.

I read half of Panzer Commander by Colonel Hans Van Luck.

You might like it more than I did.

https://www.amazon.com/Panzer-Commander-Memoirs-Colonel-Library/dp/0440208025

If you dig non-fiction and science and biographies I recommend my favorite book: The Age of Wonder

https://www.amazon.com/Age-Wonder-Romantic-Generation-Discovery/dp/1400031877

You may wish to check out this book:

http://www.amazon.com/Dreadnought-Robert-K-Massie/dp/0345375564

I highly recommend it.

https://www.amazon.com/Meditations-Thrift-Editions-Marcus-Aurelius/dp/048629823X

Highly recommend giving this a read.

If you want a book specifically about Turing the man, rather than just his mathematical work Alan Turing: the enigma by Andrew Hodges is great.

Edit: See reviews here: http://www.amazon.co.uk/Alan-Turing-Enigma-Andrew-Hodges/dp/0099116413

I recommend reading The Plantegents it’s an easy to read book that isn’t that dry most of the time.

Not self help, but it will help you.

> something competely irrelevant.


Ahh yes these books published by people who were alive at the time and had contact with Rommel are irrelevant.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ronald_Lewin

https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0949476/


https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rommel:_The_Desert_Fox

https://www.amazon.com/Rommel-Military-Commander-Ronald-Lewin/dp/0760708614

https://www.amazon.com/Panzer-Commander-Memoirs-Colonel-Library/dp/0440208025

The Limit: Life and Death on the 1961 Grand Prix Circuit is a great read on Phil Hill, Ken Miles, and the other drivers of the era. It delves into the Ford vs Ferrari duel as well.
https://www.amazon.com/dp/0446554731/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_i_AcsEDb20YFGKQ

The Game of Thrones books (finally!) and an autobiography of Alan Turing called The Enigma, which is taking forever to get through, but is very interesting nonetheless.

http://www.amazon.com/Peter-Great-His-Life-World/dp/0345298063


The best book i have ever read.

Fun Fact: Franz Stigler, a German WWII Pilot Ace, took a round with his Head and survived it. IIRC, the projectile went through the front window and HUD (its quite thick) of his BF109 and struck his head. There are pictures/ videos showing the indent mark on his head.

Source: A Higher Call: An Incredible True Story of Combat and Chivalry in the War-Torn Skies of World War II

I can absolutely recommend this book!

FYI: There's another book with the same title. I love first-person non fiction like this. I read it a few years ago, and was enthralled.


I haven't read Stephen King's book, but you guys make it sound tempting.

I would recommend the book Among the Thugs by Bill Buford. It's an incredible look into the ultras culture in Europe, including the UK Firms of the 70's and 80's. One of my favorite reads of all time, and it definitely touches on the sociological aspect of hooliganism.

Among the Thugs

Great book

My preference is the Long version, just for the style (which somehow feels most appropriate for a Stoic philosopher-emperor to have written, at least to me). Be aware that the language is somewhat archaic; if you prefer a more modern-English version (which does paraphrase and summarize quite a bit), try Hays. But you can check out the Long online, so no risk in trying it. Online version.

There are several book versions available on Amazon. This one isn't the version I own, but I was satisfied with my copy of Enchiridion from the same publisher. (Note that, while an editorial review mentioned on the page refers to the Hays translation, the book preview shows the Long translation).

I love getting the opportunity to plug my absolute favorite book

http://www.amazon.com/Scipio-Africanus-Greater-Than-Napoleon/dp/0306813637

Scipio Africanus was the man that beat Hannibal in the second Punic War. If you want a more Hannibal-centric text then I would recommend The War with Hannibal by Titus Livy, though that one was written in antiquity so you'll have to keep that in mind while reading it.

I really enjoyed Richard Holmes' The Age of Wonder and also Chaos and The Information by James Gleick.

1. The Way Of Men.
   This book changed my life. Im sure anyone on this sub will recognize themselves and the situations Donovan writes about.
   
   
2. Anything by Robert Greene.
   How to become powerful, seductive and master yourself.
   
   
3. Meditations.
   This book helped me overcome my fear of death, which made me give less fucks. Because in the end, nothing matters.
   
   I dont have anymore than that at the moment, but i would suggest reading biographies of great men. Right now im reading Seven Pillars Of Wisdom, T. E. Lawrence(of Arabia)s first hand account of the Arab uprising during the First World War

Hard copy of Meditations on Amazon, $1 + free shipping with prime

https://www.amazon.com/Meditations-Thrift-Editions-Marcus-Aurelius/dp/048629823X/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1500042921&sr=8-1&keywords=meditations+marcus+aurelius

The actual book that the movie was based on is actually pretty good. There is also Enigma: Battle for the Code that goes into much more detail about all the players involved in breaking the Enigma, not just Turing.

If you want to know more about him (and Phil Hill and the rest of F1 at the time), I cannot recommend enough The Limit. Fantastic read.

So I've been reading https://www.amazon.com/Panzer-Commander-Memoirs-Colonel-Library/dp/0440208025 and found that this author (A colonel that knew Rommel personally quite well) claimed that the July 20, 1944 plot to kill hitler, and after that germany would seek to befriend the western allies to defeat Russia and agree to de-nazify to an extent.

Idk if "lesser known" but that was certainly interesting to me. at a glance I dont see any kind of mention of that motive on wikipedia

The Limit: Life and Death on the 1961 Grand Prix Circuit

by Michael Cannell

one if the best books I've read on any subject

https://www.amazon.ca/Limit-Life-Death-Grand-Circuit/dp/0446554731#productDescription_secondary_view_div_1488207401716

If you enjoyed Green Street then you really should give this book a read if you haven't already.

Hey /u/Revinn, why don't you look up "Among the Thugs" by Bill Buford? I started reading it and I set it down but it seems like a fitting book to contribute to your paper.

http://www.amazon.com/Among-Thugs-Bill-Buford/dp/0679745351

There were many of these events, though they are largely forgotten. A Higher Call tells the amazing true story of a badly damaged american bomber which was escorted home by a german fighter pilot... the story was largely kept quiet during the war, before the pilots found each other years and years later. Its an amazing story :)

http://www.amazon.com/Higher-Call-Incredible-Chivalry-War-Torn/dp/0425252868/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1381670921&sr=8-1&keywords=a+higher+call

A far more appropriate bogeyman would have been happy to refer to the start of the battle. Okay, at this point, but it's important to establish a colony in the New Russia by David E. Hoffman](http://www.amazon.com/The-Oligarchs-Wealth-Power-Russia/dp/1610390709).

In addition to the other books mentioned here, Among the Thugs and Winning at All Costs are both really good.

My two favorites.

https://www.amazon.com/Go-Like-Hell-Ferrari-Battle/dp/0547336055/ref=sr_1_1?crid=368C6TS70KZSG&keywords=aj+baime+go+like+hell&qid=1570326528&sprefix=AJ+Ba%2Caps%2C181&sr=8-1

https://www.amazon.com/Limit-Life-Death-Grand-Circuit/dp/0446554731/ref=sr_1_1?crid=1Z02C9YX16Y22&keywords=the+limit&qid=1570326512&sprefix=The+Lim%2Caps%2C183&sr=8-1

Meditations by Marcus Aurelius https://www.amazon.com/Meditations-Thrift-Editions-Marcus-Aurelius/dp/048629823X

You realize that almost two thousand years ago there was an emperor of Rome that was going through some of the same things that we do and has some wise words on a lot of subjects.

My favorite: Alison Weir

Will add that to my to read list, thanks.

My first introduction to these figures and how they were connected was The Oligarchs back in the early 2000s.

Sounds like "The Long Walk"

https://www.amazon.com/Long-Walk-Story-Freedom-Tie/dp/1599219751

Movie trailer

also "As Far as My Feet Will Carry Me"

> http://www.amazon.com/Dreadnought-Robert-K-Massie/dp/0345375564/ref=la_B000AQ6XVE_1_6?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1406314026&sr=1-6[2]
>
> http://www.amazon.com/Castles-Steel-Britain-Germany-Winning/dp/0345408780[3]

Cannot recommend these books highly enough! Everyone on this sub should read them :)

This is a nice, short, and informative book that is not "academic" in tone (but is academic in rigor). I assign it to my freshman/sophomore level courses.

https://www.amazon.com/Medieval-Life-Penifader-Brigstock-1295-1344/dp/0072903317

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0425252868/ref=ox_sc_sfl_title_2?ie=UTF8&psc=1&smid=ATVPDKIKX0DER

For those interested.

You may be interested in Among the Thugs.

The Age of Wonder tells historical stories about scientists working in the late 1700's - interesting mix of various sciences, philosophy, and history.

For design engineers whose job requires creativity

(Book 1)

(Book 2)

Meditations is an awesome read! The version on my pictures, though, is an old translation and kind of hard to follow. Dover Thrift offers a contemporary English translation that makes it orders of magnitude more understandable. http://amzn.com/048629823X

Go beyond wikipedia. You won't regret it.

http://www.amazon.com/Scipio-Africanus-Greater-Than-Napoleon/dp/0306813637

Probably the best book on the Second Punic War despite having a terrible title.

In one autobiography I read written by Panzer Commander Colonel Hans von Luck (the book: http://www.amazon.com/Panzer-Commander-Memoirs-Colonel-Libary/dp/0440208025) he says at one point he spotted a convoy of allied tanks moving in the distance and at the time he was standing near a deployment of Flak 88s. He ordered the Flak 88 crews to direct their fire on the tanks but the crews refused saying that they were only anti-aircraft crews and weren't going to engage tanks. He pulled his pistol, aimed it at them, and said they either engage the tanks or he would shoot them for disobeying an order. They ended up engaging the tanks from long range and took out several of them.

I don't remember exactly where this happened but I seem to remember it was somewhere near Normandy after the allied landings.

EDIT I didn't mean to imply that the flak 88 crews thought the guns would be ineffective. I read the books like 8-10 years ago and always remembered that part. I figured it was because they didn't want to become tank targets but as someone else pointed out it was because the crew's point was that they only took orders from Luftwaffe commanders.

"Darkness at Dawn: The Rise of the Russian Criminal State"

Is good if you're interested in the direct aftermath and the immediate consequences of the collapse. The author was the Moscow correspondent for the WSJ for quite some time, so you'll end up wading through some inevitable bias. Alternatively, you can look into "The Oligarchs: Wealth and Power in the New Russia" and exchange a psychology-based explanation for the modern Russian Federation from Satter's book for a series of biographies of the current top flight of Russian society.

​

I've heard good things about Remnick's "Lenin's Tomb: The Last Days of the Soviet Empire" but I have not had a chance to read it myself, so I can't comment much on its historicity or historiography.

According to this book, it was widespread to Soviet satellite such as Romania. She talks about how they were able to go from one choice in toilet paper to 2, and it was a huge deal in her town. Everybody was talking about it.

http://www.amazon.com/How-Survived-Communism-Even-Laughed/dp/0060975407

Scipio , he face HANNIBAL and defeated him and Carthage. Also, I recommend book by B.H Liddell Hart http://amzn.to/2l4sw1S which goes to an in-depth analysis of the tactics and strategies of Scipio. IMHO, Scipio is better.

If you really want a physical book there's a budget one on amazon.

I bought it when it was only $1 and now it's $1.78

A stunning look at World War II from the other side...

From the turret of a German tank, Colonel Hans von Luck commanded Rommel's 7th and then 21st Panzer Division. El Alamein, Kasserine Pass, Poland, Belgium, Normandy on D-Day, the disastrous Russian front--von Luck fought there with some of the best soldiers in the world. German soldiers.

Awarded the German Cross in Gold and the Knight's Cross, von Luck writes as an officer and a gentleman. Told with the vivid detail of an impassioned eyewitness, his rare and moving memoir has become a classic in the literature of World War II, a first-person chronicle of the glory--and the inevitable tragedy--of a superb soldier fighting Hitler's war.

https://www.amazon.com/Panzer-Commander-Memoirs-Colonel-Library/dp/0440208025

I highly recommend Dreadnaught by Robert K Massie. It is a fascinatingly in depth, if a bit dense, history of the events leading to World War I starting from the foundation of Germany. To be honest, I started it 5 years ago and still have not finished it (it is huge!), but I do not think there is another book on the subject that comes close to the level of detail it contains. Read it if only to understand the complex personal relationships of the Royal families of that era that had such a great impact on the coming war.

Dreadnought by Robert K. Massie. It starts well before the war (1900-ish) and is a bit of a dry read. I found it fascinating, however.

Sorry to arrive late to the party, but there is another book regarding the resident KGB officer at the USSR embassy in Washington D.C.

I just bought this one on amazon https://www.amazon.com/Meditations-Thrift-Editions-Marcus-Aurelius/dp/048629823X/ref=sr_1_sc_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1468363864&sr=8-1-spell&keywords=marcus+auraleus+meditations that has only about 90 pages.

https://www.amazon.ca/Meditations-Marcus-Aurelius/dp/048629823X

For Canadian Amazon.

You can get a paperback version of Meditations on Amazon for $1.78 right now.

Become a Stoic.

I can't save your life. But God knows I just tried:

http://www.amazon.com/Meditations-Thrift-Editions-Marcus-Aurelius/dp/048629823X/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1421043430&sr=1-1&keywords=meditations

Spy Handler: Memoir of a KGB Officer is a fascinating read by the man who was the case handler for some of America's most notorious spies including Robert Hannsen and Aldrich Ames.

Fiction: American Gods by Neil Gaiman

Non-Fiction: Among the Thugs by Bill Buford (here it is, I want you to read it)

Dreadnought. It's a history of the naval build-up prior to WWI. And it's sequel Castles of Steel about the naval history of WWI coincidentally.

Here's a link to the book. It's fantastic.

Read the book - http://www.amazon.com/Higher-Call-Incredible-Chivalry-War-Torn/dp/0425252868

the limit

For 1961, there's a book worth reading about Phil Hill and von Trips, The Limit: Life and Death on the 1961 Grand Prix Circuit

https://www.amazon.ca/Meditations-Marcus-Aurelius/dp/048629823X

Meditations is 112 pages, at least, according to Amazon. It depends on your reading speed.

• The Temple in Time and Eternity
  
• Teachings of the Prophet Joseph Smith
  
• Meditations of Marcus Aurelius
  

Meditations - Marcus Aurelius

wiki

amazon

1. Botella térmica para tener todo el tiempo agua fría en el escritorio (no hace falta aclarar los beneficios de tomar agua en vez de gaseosas):
   
   https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01ERYA6D0/ref=ox_sc_sfl_title_11?ie=UTF8&psc=1&smid=A1EF3XZB4ZXIHL (esta se pasa un poquito pero hay algunas por $10)
   
   
   
2. Un buen libro que te cambie la vida:
   
   https://www.amazon.com/Meditations-Thrift-Editions-Marcus-Aurelius/dp/048629823X/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1496652240&sr=8-1&keywords=meditations+marcus+aurelius

This is the one you're looking for:

https://www.amazon.com/Meditations-Thrift-Editions-Marcus-Aurelius/dp/048629823X/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1496588594&sr=1-1&keywords=george+long+marcus+aurelius

Marcus Aurelius - Meditations

Also add him as historical figure, man was as close to stoic as you can be.

Check out Meditations by Marcus Aurelius

Meditations by Marcus Aurelius

Here is the mobile version of your link

http://www.amazon.com/Among-Thugs-Bill-Buford/dp/0679745351

When the glass starts breaking, the ruck is on.

Among the Thugs by Bill Buford.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/0679745351/ref=redir_mdp_mobile/191-6902564-3828909

Here are some links for the product in the above comment for different countries:

Link: The Age of Wonder

• UK: amazon.co.uk
  
• Spain: amazon.es
  
• France: amazon.fr
  
• Germany: amazon.de
  
• Japan: amazon.co.jp
  
• Canada: amazon.ca
  
• Italy: amazon.it
  
• China: amazon.cn
  
  
  This bot is currently in testing so let me know what you think by voting (or commenting).