Books

[Dpad]

Which books have you recently read? Fiction or non-fiction, doesn't matter. One you would recommend.

I finished reading The Ugly Renaissance by Alexander Lee. Very good, especially if you are a student or fan of that time period.

 

[LanaP]

Anything by Erik D. Astor, he and his wife are active in the interracial lifestyle and his books reflect it. Deanna Dodge has one collaboration with him. Most of the ebook sites have them.

 

[Torpedo]

I read nearly all non fiction. probably more military and political history than anything else. For light reading I prefer Isaac Asimov

 

[Dpad]

I prefer non fiction also. My favorite time period is the Roman era

 

[Torpedo]

I prefer non fiction also. My favorite time period is the Roman era

There are a lot of good lessons about the roll of government in the study the the rise and fall of the Roman Empire

 

[bm_from_southjersey]

Like Torpedo, I only read non-fiction, primarily history. Usually I pick a topic and go with it for a while.

Right now my interest is WWI as we are in the midst of its centennial. I've read six books so far this year, all WWI related:

One Morning in Sarajevo, 28 June 1914 by David James Smith
Invasion 1914: The Schlieffen Plan to the Battle of the Marne by Ian Senior
Gallipoli by Peter Hart
Paris 1919 by Margaret MacMillan
A Mad Catastrophe: The Outbreak of World War I and the Collapse of the Hapsburg Empire by Geofrey Wawro
Hundred Days: The Campaign That Ended World War I by Nick Lloyd

Currently reading A Box of Sand: The Italo-Ottoman War 1911-1912 by Charles Stephenson, not WWI but a little known, little researched an important predecessor to WWI.

 

[Dpad]

Like Torpedo, I only read non-fiction, primarily history. Usually I pick a topic and go with it for a while.

Right now my interest is WWI as we are in the midst of its centennial. I've read six books so far this year, all WWI related:

One Morning in Sarajevo, 28 June 1914 by David James Smith
Invasion 1914: The Schlieffen Plan to the Battle of the Marne by Ian Senior
Gallipoli by Peter Hart
Paris 1919 by Margaret MacMillan
A Mad Catastrophe: The Outbreak of World War I and the Collapse of the Hapsburg Empire by Geofrey Wawro
Hundred Days: The Campaign That Ended World War I by Nick Lloyd

Currently reading A Box of Sand: The Italo-Ottoman War 1911-1912 by Charles Stephenson, not WWI but a little known, little researched an important predecessor to WWI.

don't know much about WW1, but been interested in learning (Mostly read about WW2). Do you know a god one to read for someone who doesn't know much about WW1?

 

[bm_from_southjersey]

@Dpad

Hew Strachan's The First World War. I haven't read it but the Military Channel made a five part series out of it, and the series was very good.


http://www.amazon.com/The-First-World-War-Strachan/dp/0143035185

Also John Keegan's The First World War is held in very high regard.



http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/0375700455/ref=pd_aw_sim_14_1?ie=UTF8&refRID=0HHP3CR6HWGD9JA7C04D

 

[Torpedo]

One of the truly fascinating aspects of history is how much has hinged on minor normally inconsequential occurrences. For instance, what if Genghis Khan hadn't been subject to nose bleeds? What if the Mongols had come back after Genghis Khan died? What would have happened early in the Revolutionary War if it hadn't been foggy on Manhattan Island and Washington hadn't escaped? A pretty good list could be made of what if's

 

[Dpad]

One of the truly fascinating aspects of history is how much has hinged on minor normally inconsequential occurrences. For instance, what if Genghis Khan hadn't been subject to nose bleeds? What if the Mongols had come back after Genghis Khan died? What would have happened early in the Revolutionary War if it hadn't been foggy on Manhattan Island and Washington hadn't escaped? A pretty good list could be made of what if's

How about, if the Romans managed to conquer the German tribes?

 

[Torpedo]

How about, if the Romans managed to conquer the German tribes?

Very good example. I imagine we could compile quite a list.

 

[Dpad]

Very good example. I imagine we could compile quite a list.

"What if?" those are good to think about and discuss

 

[bm_from_southjersey]

Very good example. I imagine we could compile quite a list.

Here's one to consider. Given the millions of soldiers who died on the Western Front and that he saw action in the Battle of the Somme and Ypres, two of the deadliest in the war and that he was a victim of mustard gas, what if Hitler had died during WWI?

 

[Dpad]

Here's one to consider. Given the millions of soldiers who died on the Western Front and that he saw action in the Battle of the Somme and Ypres, two of the deadliest in the war and that he was a victim of mustard gas, what if Hitler had died during WWI?

I think a world war would have still happened. Japan had a very aggressive policy

 

[bm_from_southjersey]

I think a world war would have still happened. Japan had a very aggressive policy

Maybe, or maybe the lack of Hitler would have meant that the opposition in postwar Germany would have stayed fractured, the Nazi Party might not have developed, and maybe the Weimar Republic would have survived.

 

[Dpad]

Maybe, or maybe the lack of Hitler would have meant that the opposition in postwar Germany would have stayed fractured, the Nazi Party might not have developed, and maybe the Weimar Republic would have survived.

What about communism? Without fascism, and the distrust of the Weimar Government, I believe it would have spread to Germany

 

[bm_from_southjersey]

What about communism? Without fascism, and the distrust of the Weimar Government, I believe it would have spread to Germany

The various right wing factions battled the KPD, socialists, and Spartacists throughout the short life of the Weimar Republic, only armed intervention from the Soviet Union, like what happened in the Spanish Civil War, would have tipped the scales for the communists, in my opinion.

There could have been fascism without Hitler, but it would have never achieved the power it did without Hitler.

 

[Dpad]

The various right wing factions battled the KPD, socialists, and Spartacists throughout the short life of the Weimar Republic, only armed intervention from the Soviet Union, like what happened in the Spanish Civil War, would have tipped the scales for the communists, in my opinion.

There could have been fascism without Hitler, but it would have never achieved the power it did without Hitler.

Hitler was very, how can I say, he inspired people with his speeches. People voted him in, because he made them feel proud to be German again. So I believe you are right. Nazi party would have been a small without him.

 

[Dpad]

The various right wing factions battled the KPD, socialists, and Spartacists throughout the short life of the Weimar Republic, only armed intervention from the Soviet Union, like what happened in the Spanish Civil War, would have tipped the scales for the communists, in my opinion.

There could have been fascism without Hitler, but it would have never achieved the power it did without Hitler.

Pretty sure The Soviet Union would have interfered.

 

[bm_from_southjersey]

What about communism? Without fascism, and the distrust of the Weimar Government, I believe it would have spread to Germany

Great discussion points.

This is why I love studying WWI. WWI acts as a pivot between the 19th and 21st century. All of the causes of the war can be traced back to the 19th century- emerging nationalism especially in the Balkans, pan-Slavism, the disintegration of the Ottoman Empire and the decaying of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, the race for colonial empire, the rise of Prussia and German unification, Italian unification and Italian irridentism, emerging Japanese power. The aftermath and the loose ends of the war- the Arab-Israeli conflict, communism, the US taking on a larger role in world affairs, the fate of the Kurds, the artifical creation of Iraq, the Armenian Genocide, the former Yugoslavia and self determination in the Balkans- are still being dealt with today.