I don't remember if this was a year thread or in general.

 

In High School, I never took a class on European history, and along those lines, never had any lessons on the French Revolution. Part of this was on purpose, as I thought too much history was taught from a anglo-/franco- lens because I was really into World War I at the time and the lessons there were so ridiculous.

 

Anyway long-story short, I'm not sure where to start book-wise. I was going to read the oxford history of the French Revolution, but then read that was in the "revisionist" camp. I'd probably like to read a marxist historian as this seems crazy to me that it would not be a class struggle so I'd like that background first before moving on.

 

I started reading "The French Revolution a history by Thomas Carlysle" but had to stop. It basically confirmed that the wordy writers of the 19th century were often terrible, but like we assume British people are smarter than us, read the barrage of vocabulary and think it's intellectual.

 

Any recommendations? My first idea is reading "The 12 Who Ruled" but that's a very specific, not longview, history of the revolution.

 

I'd also like one that doesn't end with Napolean.

I don't remember if this was a year thread or in general.

 

In High School, I never took a class on European history, and along those lines, never had any lessons on the French Revolution. Part of this was on purpose, as I thought too much history was taught from a anglo-/franco- lens because I was really into World War I at the time and the lessons there were so ridiculous.

 

Anyway long-story short, I'm not sure where to start book-wise. I was going to read the oxford history of the French Revolution, but then read that was in the "revisionist" camp. I'd probably like to read a marxist historian as this seems crazy to me that it would not be a class struggle so I'd like that background first before moving on.

 

I started reading "The French Revolution a history by Thomas Carlysle" but had to stop. It basically confirmed that the wordy writers of the 19th century were often terrible, but like we assume British people are smarter than us, read the barrage of vocabulary and think it's intellectual.

 

Any recommendations? My first idea is reading "The 12 Who Ruled" but that's a very specific, not longview, history of the revolution.

 

I'd also like one that doesn't end with Napolean.

 

i like to know more in what you are looking for. are you looking to read a book, any

book? are you just trying to read a historical book on a certain era, people or person?

I'd say he wants to read something about the French Revolution.

 

I've got a friend pursuing a phd in history in a different era from the FR but he always nerds out about the FR. He hasn't read a lot of "overview" books on the FR I guess, but this is what he said:

 

That's a really, super tough call to make.

 

Well, if she/he wants something easy and fun to read, there's "Vive la Revolution" by Mark Steel. Humorous, some informative gaps I have seen but good at subverting a lot of the excesses of the revisionist turn.

 

lol carlyle

 

You don't want to read anything from the 19th century. His book is mostly of historiographic interest, actually I'd say its of use as a primary source on consevrative political thought in the 1830s. I mean you might as well just read "A Tale of Two Cities" if you want a distillation of Carlyle.

 

I recently picked up a new one, "A People's History of the French Revolution," but I can't really vouch for it yet.

 

He hasn't read the 12, but says the author is pretty well-regarded. The closest he could really recommend to a broad overview is this collection of essays by historians. It's more about what historians have thought and said about the FR over time, but I thought you might be interested. His first recommendation would still be the pop history book by Mark Steel mentioned above. Not a rigorous analysis but a good way to get into it as long as you take some things with a grain of salt.

 

 

the FR is not just 1 book and it describe the situation.

 

it was mostly of economic and the inbreeding of the aristocracy

at the time.

 

read on the mentality of the King of the time, the queen coming

from the other country, the little safe haven she made for herself,

the politic of the time. start at 20 yrs before the FR and how it lead

up to it. the wanton abuse of the people, the lowly serf. the hunger

and the reigning monarch not knowing, not having the cabinet members

to deal with it, the continue expense of the noble houses. most important

how the cabinet members kept it hidden from the king.

 

then the strife of the poor and the breaking point.

 

here is the main point, how there was no government and how later

the military came to power b/c of the void.

 

 

many different books explains it all.

I'd say he wants to read something about the French Revolution.

 

I've got a friend pursuing a phd in history in a different era from the FR but he always nerds out about the FR. He hasn't read a lot of "overview" books on the FR I guess, but this is what he said:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

He hasn't read the 12, but says the author is pretty well-regarded. The closest he could really recommend to a broad overview is this collection of essays by historians. It's more about what historians have thought and said about the FR over time, but I thought you might be interested. His first recommendation would still be the pop history book by Mark Steel mentioned above. Not a rigorous analysis but a good way to get into it as long as you take some things with a grain of salt.

 

Carlisle was on the gutenberg project for free, ha.

 

It's really incredible to me how hard this is. Like, I don't even know basic chronology, but nobody has been able to point to something all encompassing. If I wanted someone to learn about the Civil War, I'd point them to McPherson and then onward and upward.

 

I'm going to try the essays.

the FR is not just 1 book and it describe the situation.

 

it was mostly of economic and the inbreeding of the aristocracy

at the time.

 

read on the mentality of the King of the time, the queen coming

from the other country, the little safe haven she made for herself,

the politic of the time. start at 20 yrs before the FR and how it lead

up to it. the wanton abuse of the people, the lowly serf. the hunger

and the reigning monarch not knowing, not having the cabinet members

to deal with it, the continue expense of the noble houses. most important

how the cabinet members kept it hidden from the king.

 

then the strife of the poor and the breaking point.

 

here is the main point, how there was no government and how later

the military came to power b/c of the void.

 

 

many different books explains it all.

 

This sounds like when I took a Bolshevik Revolution class in college and we had to start with Peter the Great.

This sounds like when I took a Bolshevik Revolution class in college and we had to start with Peter the Great.

 

yeah but peter the great..... ummm

 

with ref to the FR i didn't even mention how the house of the

Harsburg had to do with it, or how bout the polish, swiss and

german countries took advantage of the money opportunities.

 

the House of the the Rothchild's made millions time 10 or more \

on the FR.

Carlisle was on the gutenberg project for free, ha.

 

It's really incredible to me how hard this is. Like, I don't even know basic chronology, but nobody has been able to point to something all encompassing. If I wanted someone to learn about the Civil War, I'd point them to McPherson and then onward and upward.

 

I'm going to try the essays.

try Wikipedia it is easier.

try Wikipedia it is easier.

 

You are probably right.

I got the Untold History of Westeros for xmas, such a fantastic read for a GoT nerd like me.

You are probably right.

 

you know come at it from the economical reason for it and then how in the end

they were where they started. in killing the noble houses.

 

a full circle due to economics.

I got the Untold History of Westeros for xmas, such a fantastic read for a GoT nerd like me.

 

That book is worth it just for the art.

I got the Untold History of Westeros for xmas, such a fantastic read for a GoT nerd like me.

 

I got it as well but I haven't had time to read much of it yet. The brief artwork I've seen so far has been amazing though

I'm reading third book in Ken Follett's Century Trilogy, Edge of Eternity. Pretty good.

I'm reading third book in Ken Follett's Century Trilogy, Edge of Eternity. Pretty good.

 

I got half way through it about 6 months ago and got burnt out (having read the first two in the trilogy like 4 months before that). His books are great if you haven't read one in a while, but it's the same themes (if not straight plot points) over and over again. And so many characters to keep track of.

Carlisle was on the gutenberg project for free, ha.

 

It's really incredible to me how hard this is. Like, I don't even know basic chronology, but nobody has been able to point to something all encompassing. If I wanted someone to learn about the Civil War, I'd point them to McPherson and then onward and upward.

 

I'm going to try the essays.

this is an excerpt he sent me from the Mark Steel book:

 

 

Incidentally, the guillotine, invented by Doctor Guillotin, was introduced as a liberal measure, and was considered to be more humane than the old methods of execution, of which the most common involved strapping the victim to a water wheel until his back broke. So it’s almost certain that when the guillotine was introduced, a French election ad will have complained, "The introduction of the guillotine proves that the Jacobins are soft on crime. For if a burglar knows that once he is caught he will merely be beheaded instantly without hours of agony on a water wheel, there is no deterrent whatsoever. Proving once again that Mr. Robespierre is the burglar’s friend."

 

and he sent me this tumblr this morning:

http://thathappenedinthefrenchrev.tumblr.com/

 

That book is worth it just for the art.

 

 

I got it as well but I haven't had time to read much of it yet. The brief artwork I've seen so far has been amazing though

Absolutely, the art is fantastically done. I kind of wish this was out before the show since most of the castles look so much better in their pictures then compared to the show (and they did a really good job still in the show).

 

The first half was some of the most interesting stuff I've read in the entire saga, how Westeros came about and how the Targaryeans came to power and fell was fantastic to read.

 

I'm going through the individual realms now (North, Vale, etc) and while good it isn't at the same level as the first half (it's just not as interesting to me), still good stuff though. For anyone who is a fan of the books/show you REALLY need to check this book out.

this is an excerpt he sent me from the Mark Steel book:

 

 

 

 

and he sent me this tumblr this morning:

http://thathappenedinthefrenchrev.tumblr.com/

 

Oh my god.

Also, I've really enjoyed Tom Rachman's last two novels. Just finished "The Rise and Fall of Great Powers" a few weeks ago. Not a hard read and fun to get through. I rec.

I got half way through it about 6 months ago and got burnt out (having read the first two in the trilogy like 4 months before that). His books are great if you haven't read one in a while, but it's the same themes (if not straight plot points) over and over again. And so many characters to keep track of.

I've just always liked Follett's stuff. Not expecting literary brilliance, but it's always entertaining and a pageturner. But yeah, there are lots of characters to follow.

Got this for Christmas, finishing it up now...

 

Has anyone read any of Feist's Riftwar Cycle? I'm about halfway through the second book of the Riftwar Trilogy so far. It's not bad, started reading to attempt to quell my ASOIAF thirst.

Has anyone read any of Feist's Riftwar Cycle? I'm about halfway through the second book of the Riftwar Trilogy so far. It's not bad, started reading to attempt to quell my ASOIAF thirst.

 

nice easy reading. too bad he is not that much of a writer. it took him several

yrs to follow up the books with a new one. then he came out with a group of

others. now the timeline of the books are out of whack.

 

i found out later, some know writers give opportunities to new writers to write

under the main author's name. following the contents of the story line.

One of my favorite threads that unfortunately disappears quickly.

 

I decided this year to read (or at least attempt to read) some books from the lists of the best books of all time. Some on the lists I've already read...some by choice (like Gone With The Wind) and some by mandate in school (like The Great Gatsby). I threw myself a softball for the first one of the year with H. P. Lovecraft's At The Mountains of Madness. I'm really enjoying it. The writing takes a little to get used to, but it's quite the story. His descriptions of the Antarctic are pretty vivid.

 

Not sure which one I'll try next. The one nice thing about many of the books on the lists is that they're cheap (and even sometimes free) on the Kindle.

I am reading a translation of the Dead Sea scrolls now, then The World Until Yesterday: What Can We Learn from Traditional Societies by Jared Diamond. I already read Collapse and Guns, Germs, and Steel by him.

 

http://www.amazon.com/World-Until-Yesterda...asap_bc?ie=UTF8