Reddit mentions: The best world war i history books

There's a lot I could say as the history of the sciences and medicine is an area of great interest to me (I'm contemplating doing my dissertation on it), but a lot of it largely speculative and without facts to back my points. What I mostly want to draw your attention to is a nice little book I picked up last year, A Short History of Scientific Thought. It's a general piece, but a good start point if you're interested. And each chapter does have a list of further reading at the end.

Admittedly only the first 50 pages cover pre-renaissance, but so much happens after that I can forgive it. It covers changes in thoughts, things like the growth of universities and the impact of the printing press. There's a list of Arab thinkers who covered areas like medicine and astromony from the 8th century to 13th. People forget things like math or medicine too as important areas.

I remember learning about Newton in one lecture, and our teacher made a scathing comment about how he was a Christian and an Alchemist, like it was something to be ashamed of. Religion was interwinded in the history of humanity, and it's foolish to try and seperate them due to modern views. Take Alchemy for example. We all learn it's a bunch of silly hocus pocus. But that wasn't always the case (Check out Distilling Knowledge if you're ever curious about the shift from Alchemy to Chemisty and the history of the disciplines!)

Read and learn my friend! Nothing is ever so black and white as some like to paint it. There are so many branches of science, many of which are more important at different times and likely to get more focus. And remember, it was the churches, the monks and monastaries what preserved and copied many of the ancient texts we have at our disposal today. I think people who claim there was a dark age, a suppression of knowledge are looking at it the wrong way. I am of the personal opinion that the development of the printing press in the 15th Century does not get enough credit. It is due to that we saw the sudden explosion of texts being more readily available to a wider audience. This meant more minds to read, to learn, to critique the assumed knowledge of the time.

Juan Cole is a good place to start.

An old one, but VERY useful is Sir John Bagot Glubb's A Short History of the Arab Peoples. He lived among the bedouin of the Arabian Peninsula and became fluent in Arabic. Plus he is a good writer. https://www.amazon.com/Short-History-Arab-Peoples/dp/0880292261/ref=sr_1_4?crid=14EK2682K6QSK&keywords=john+glubb&qid=1558423559&s=books&sprefix=john+glubb%2Caps%2C309&sr=1-4

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I would also recommend Karen Armstrong - anything by her. But The Battle for God: A History of Fundamentalism is fascinating. https://www.amazon.com/Battle-God-History-Fundamentalism-Ballantine-ebook/dp/B005DB6NCA/ref=sr_1_1?keywords=battle+for+god&qid=1558423715&s=books&sr=1-1

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Best of luck! Hope this helps.

> Am I reading the wrong books?

In the case of Ottoman Endgame, possibly, depending on what your level of interest is?

Ottoman Endgame is the best book I've read on the subject of WWI in the Middle East, and I've read a fair few. I like it precisely because of its level of detail.

That particular subject is that it's one that is incredibly attractive to monolingual English-speaking non-regional-specialists who want to write about, say, Gallipoli, or Lawrence of Arabia. And there's quite a lot of material in English to write about so you can have a book as huge as David Fromkin's A Peace to End All Peace (635 pages) which is composed entirely from English-language primary and secondary sources.

The problem there is two-fold.

One, it's obviously not the whole story. Just as no historian would dare to write a history of the Western Front without recourse to German-language sources, it's actually a bit shameless that so many do so without even an attempt to access Turkish- or Arabic-language sources (even if it's just hiring a couple research assistants.)

Secondly, by doing so, the entire narrative of the war (in English historical writing) for a very long time was shaped by the judgements and biases of those English language sources. The British at the time constantly failed to rate Turkish combat abilities and despite all evidence to the contrary often failed to recognize that even after the war. So for instance, starting at least with Churchill's history of the war there's been a "Lost Cause" narrative around Gallipoli, that, for example, if only they had done a bit more they might have been able to force the straits. Aside from the problems in that assumption, then what? Basic assumptions of the British commanders (like that the people of Istanbul would welcome the British fleet as liberators, which predicated a lot of the assumption that "forcing the straits" would even be strategically valuable) have gone unchallenged in a lot of the accounts that I'm familiar with.

The other aspect is that many of the issues involved in these discussions, particularly around the peace agreements, is of critical importance to get correct down to even the most minute choice of words. I can understand why a lay-reader would find that excruciating, except that so much of the popular history written on this gets it so spectacularly wrong. This can even include seemingly big, important issues, like this utter drivel that was published in Foreign Affairs in May of this year about how the Sykes-Picot agreement was about oil pipelines.

So if so many get the obvious facts wrong, it's unsurprising that so many get the minute details wrong about, say, the precise date and timelines of the Ottoman entry into the war or the debates over the wording of Britain's war-time promises and post-war settlements.

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So what to make of this? Ottoman Endgame is the right book if what you want is a highly detailed book on the subject. Despite that, McMeekin, too, seems to have made rather important mistakes on details and in precisely some of the issues of language specialism that I critiqued above.

That being said, it's certainly better than anything I've come across as a non-Ottomanist/non-Turkologist in terms of those details. There might well be better books published in Turkish, but I'm not familiar with that material.

But that doesn't mean there aren't more accessible books that are still very good.

For the general reader, Eugene Rogan's The Fall of the Ottomans is probably a better (and shorter) option. Fromkin, despite my qualms, is a damned good writer and there's a reason why his is the best known book on the topic.

Insofar as it's a corrective to, say, T.E. Lawrence's Seven Pillars of Wisdom or Churchill's The World in Crisis those books might also well be necessary background reading to understand why some level of correction of the historical narrative was even necessary. They're also wonderfully written.

So I wouldn't say it's the wrong book, but for your purposes there may be others you would enjoy more if you only wanted to read one book on the topic, like Rogan's.

Four recent books (one of which I haven't looked at personally) have addressed this matter in varying capacities, and while none of the three I've seen is perfect all four each have considerable merits.

Adam Hochschild's To End All Wars: A Story of Loyalty and Rebellion, 1914-1918 (2011) is an admirable attempt to integrate the story of objectors, resisters, pacifists and the like into the already well-established tableau of the war's history. It is a less than objective work, to put it mildly -- the tone is often one of outrage rather than dispassionate provision of facts. Still, the war seems to bring this out in people in a way that others do not, so this is scarcely a surprising feature. Still a good start, though; broadly focused on Great Britain and British colonies.

Louisa Thomas' Conscience: Two Soldiers, Two Pacifists, One Family (2011) examines the tensions involved in non-combatant decisions on the American home front, with particular focus upon her great grandfather, Norman Thomas, who refused to fight at a time when two of his brothers had chosen otherwise. More of a meditation than an outright history book, but still quite interesting.

Peter Englund's fascinating narrative history, The Beauty and the Sorrow (2011), contains about twenty interwoven accounts of the war from a variety of perspectives, many of them on the home front. It's more determinedly international than the other two books I've mentioned, but may be less completely useful to you in that it jumps around considerably to provide a wider view.

For a specifically Australian view (albeit in a work I've not yet read, and probably won't be reading), check out Philip Payton's Regional Australia and the Great War (2012), which focuses on soldiers from a specific part of Australia and how both they and their home front contemporaries fared. If any book is likely to have at least something in it that will specifically help you, it's probably this one!

I think that list is some heavy sledding for someone who hasn't looked at the humanities in nearly a decade, but what the hell, start picking things and see what you like.

I used to have a friend who read the Iliad and the Odyssey and who blogged them both; his site is no longer active, but you can access them here. His summaries are accurate and the whole thing is hilarious, and it might be an easier introduction than jumping head-on into a translation all by yourself. (I recommend the Richard Lattimore translations, by the way.)

Good Lord, if you're in London, then go to as many art museums as you can. You've got so much at your disposal!

If you're a Brit, then I highly recommend Robert Massie's naval histories of World War I. I wouldn't necessarily recommend them to an American history novice, but it's my understanding that you Brits cover the Great War in a lot more detail than we do over here, so you are likely familiar enough with the broad strokes that Massie will be very accessible to you.

His books, here and here are impeccably researched and immaculately written. They read like novels. His histories of Peter the Great and Nicholas and Alexandra are equally gripping. When my English teacher husband read the Peter the Great bio, he finally understood why I kept telling him that in a world where Russian history exists, nobody has any need to read fiction.

Two books I recommend:

1. "How Jerusalem was Won" - this is a period piece detailing the entire campaign in the Middle East - detailing heavily the Desert Mounted Corps's impact on the success of the campaign. Its almost a near-contemporary piece however, and thus has jingoistic overtones. If one reads it carefully it still retains a bit of its informative edge.
   
   
2. Australian Light Horse - A much more recent publication, being a unit history of the eponymous title. Its a far more historical piece and I highly recommend it. In terms of true cavalry formations, most of the units in the Middle East in fact came from New Zealand and Australia; whom had not disbanded or whittled away its cavalry in assignments on the Western Front.

I should make clear by film I meant Paths of Glory! I've tried my hand at film-making, pretty awful at it.

I haven't posted the podcast on Youtube because I was getting too much audio degradation every time I've tried uploading. I'll post the links below to the various places you can grab the podcast.

Probably within the next month I would say. Have at least one episode I'd like to publish before then. If you're interested in reading on the mutinies the best interpretation is Between Mutiny and Obedience by Leonard V. Smith. If you have a public library or university you may be able to access it on JSTOR.

It's insane though how little there is published on the mutinies. Censorship virtually erased it. We know it happened, but very few original letters and journals exist in archives. Most of what we have is official court transcripts and the like.

iTunes // Stitcher // Google Play // Spotify // Website //

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Good work! You should try to make a Joe Sacco "The great war" version :)
For those not in the know, it is an awesome 6 meter long WW1 black/white drawing.
http://www.theguardian.com/books/2013/sep/09/great-war-joe-sacco-review#img-1

http://www.amazon.co.uk/The-Great-War-Joe-Sacco/dp/0224097717

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.

Here are all the local Amazon links I could find:


amazon.com

amazon.ca

amazon.com.au

amazon.in

amazon.com.mx

amazon.de

amazon.it

amazon.es

amazon.com.br

amazon.nl

amazon.co.jp

amazon.fr

Beep bloop. I'm a bot to convert Amazon ebook links to local Amazon sites.
I currently look here: amazon.com, amazon.co.uk, amazon.ca, amazon.com.au, amazon.in, amazon.com.mx, amazon.de, amazon.it, amazon.es, amazon.com.br, amazon.nl, amazon.co.jp, amazon.fr, if you would like your local version of Amazon adding please contact my creator.

Thanks! I'm quite interested in the South-Eastern European region as well, as I've gathered that the relationship between Austria-Hungary and Serbia is quite important (obviously).

Are you familiar with The Long Fuse by Lafore?

Hi, could someone help me get in touch with whoever created this resource? Several of the images, if not most, of the images in the Imperial Russian Army section are stolen directly from my Dad's book (https://www.amazon.co.uk/Russian-Army-1914-18-Men-at-Arms/dp/1841763039/ref=asap_bc?ie=UTF8). I would imagine it's the similar for the other armies too.

The images themselves were illustrated by a very good friend of his (https://ospreypublishing.com/andrei-karachtchouk). I've tried looking up the company but am not sure I am viewing the correct source. Cheers!

That great river of books that sucks away my money says I should have a used hardback edition in about 10 days. I would not look for a book report for, oh, maybe 6 months or so. I'll repay the "favor" this way. A Short History of the World is perhaps bordering on fluff compared to what you recommended, but it is an overview that may lead to other research. Perhaps more interesting to me are a couple of offbeat ones by Tom Standage: A History of the World in 6 Glasses, and An Edible History of Humanity. They sorta slip interesting historical factoids into your brain without it seeming like your having to work at learning history.

https://www.amazon.com/Infantry-Attacks-Marshall-Erwin-Rommel/dp/1607963353/189-2702265-0313642?ie=UTF8&*Version*=1&*entries*=0

Infantry Attacks by the great Rommel himself. My Grandfather had a copy of it, it's a fascinating book.

For fiction go and read All Quiet on the Western Front.

Because I looked up each of these, here are links for reference:

• New Atlantis
  
• The American Challenge
  
• The Great Illusion
  
• The Diamond Age
  
  ^ these are Amazon links, no referrals!

Well, starting with WW1.. there was a popular argument that said war was impossible because economies had become too intertwined. That global capitalism had made war unprofitable. The book [The Great Illusion](The Great Illusion A Study of the Relation of Military Power to National Advantage https://www.amazon.com/dp/161203652X/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_tai_ohsJybGWTPVJ0) popularized this view.

I remember reading J.M. Roberts' A Short History of the World a dozen or so years ago. It was awesome because it really did keep it simple and you never felt like it bogged down anywhere - which must be an incredible task given the breadth of subject.

I would consider it a good primer or first read of world history. You can always find something more detailed or specific further down the road.

A Short History of the World by J. M. Roberts. Praised by The Economist, some Christian association, NY Times, etc. Boring in parts (it's tough to get excited about Sumerian civilization) but overall very good explanation of human history.

http://www.amazon.com/Short-History-World-John-Roberts/dp/019511504X/ref=pd_cp_b_1

Infantry Attacks by Erwin Rommel is a good basis for beginning to learn about the larger picture of strategy. This is also a good read "Military Strategy: Principles, Practices, Historical Perspectives" by John M. Collins.

Read origin of species it is free on amazon https://www.amazon.com/origin-species-Charles-Darwin-ebook/dp/B008478VE8/ref=mt_kindle?_encoding=UTF8&me=

It's a free digital book on Amazon. Read it on the pc or a kindle.
http://www.amazon.com/On-origin-species-Charles-Darwin-ebook/dp/B008478VE8

A Short History of World War I by James L. Stokesbury is a fantastic book. I finished it a few months ago and, in my mind, no other author is able to cover so much of the conflict in a single, concise volume with so much insight.

He doesn't mince words, either. If a general was an idiot, Stokesbury will call him an idiot. If a campaign was stupid, he'll say so. Needless to say, because it was World War I and we have hindsight, there is a lot of this, but it's very enjoyable and touching and a great work of history.

From an Amazon review:

> Unlike some authors, Stokesbury pulls no punches. When a commander is dense, stupid, or even worse, he tells it like it is. One of my favorite lines from the book goes something like (I don't have my copy at hand) `General ... was appointed to command the ... army, and was expected to do nothing, which he did exceedingly well.' This gives you a flavor of his writing style. This is not to say that Stokesbury is flippant, just direct.

Free here: http://www.amazon.com/On-origin-species-Charles-Darwin-ebook/dp/B008478VE8

If you did read that article (which is possible in 24 minutes), you have about as good an understanding as you would from listening to Blueprint for Armageddon. Not as much nightmare imagery but more facts. If you still want to know more read this book., which also won't take as long as Carlin's podcast.

I like the "short history on" books.

A Short History of World War II.

A Short History of World War I.

A Short History of the Korean War.

A Short History of the American Revolution.

I've found them to be really easy to read and exciting.

Here's an amazon links for everything I can think of:

[The Burning of the World by Bela Zombory-Moldovan] (https://www.amazon.com/Burning-World-Memoir-Review-Classics/dp/1590178092)

[Poilu by Louis Barthas] (https://www.amazon.com/Poilu-Notebooks-Corporal-Barrelmaker-1914-1918/dp/0300191596/ref=pd_sim_b_22?ie=UTF8&refRID=08182FWK7NN6N9QSEAF7)

[Infantry Attacks by Erwin Rommel] (https://www.amazon.com/Infantry-Attacks-Marshall-Erwin-Rommel/dp/1607963353)

[Outside Verdun by Arnold Zweig] (https://www.amazon.com/Outside-Verdun-Arnold-Zweig/dp/1908754524)

[Storm of Steel by Ernst Juenger] (https://www.amazon.com/Storm-Steel-Penguin-Classics-Deluxe/dp/0142437905)

[Goodbye to All That by Robert Graves] (https://www.amazon.com/Good-Bye-That-Autobiography-Robert-Graves/dp/0385093306)

damn the modern era where I can get the same book for free.

http://www.amazon.com/On-origin-species-ebook/dp/B008478VE8/ref=sr_1_2?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1343694937&sr=1-2&keywords=on+the+origin+of+species

I checked em out...

["The Military Revolution" ]
(http://www.amazon.com/Military-Revolution-Innovation-Rise-1500-1800/dp/0521479584/ref=sr_1_4?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1396059549&sr=1-4&keywords=Geoffrey+Parker)
by
[Geoffrey Parker]
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Geoffrey_Parker_(historian))

["Battles of the 30 years war"]
(http://www.amazon.com/Battles-Thirty-Years-War-Contributions/dp/0313320284/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1396059822&sr=1-1&keywords=battles+of+the+30+years+wars)
by
[William Guthrie]
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Guthrie_(historian))

["Warfare in the 17th century"]
(http://www.amazon.com/Warfare-Seventeenth-Century-Smithsonian-History/dp/006089170X/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1396060084&sr=1-1&keywords=Warfare+in+the+17th+century)
by
[John Childs]
(http://www.worldcat.org/identities/lccn-n82-90965/)

["History of the art of war"]
(http://www.amazon.com/Medieval-Warfare-History-Art-War/dp/0803265859/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1396066515&sr=1-1&keywords=History+of+the+art+of+war)
by
[Hans Delbruck]
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hans_Delbruck)

["Infantry Attacks"]
(http://www.amazon.com/Infantry-Attacks-Marshall-Erwin-Rommel/dp/1607963353/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1396066713&sr=1-1&keywords=Infantry+Attacks)
by
[Erwin Rommel]
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Erwin_Rommel)

["Achtung Panzer"]
(http://www.amazon.com/Achtung-Panzer-Cassell-Military-Classics/dp/0304352853/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1396066882&sr=1-1&keywords=Achtung+Panzer)
by
[Heinz Guderian]
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heinz_Guderian)

Try the following:

http://www.amazon.com/Beauty-Sorrow-Intimate-History-First/dp/030759386X/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1322721086&sr=8-1

Erwin Rommel DONT REAL!!!!!.

The Long Fuse by Laurence Lafore

His book from WWI is Infantry Attacks and he never got a chance to edit his journals from WWII into its intended sequel but they were published by his son as The Rommel Papers.