A call to the history buffs on the board.

[Paul faplad Finch]

Help a fella out, will you?

I've been thinking recently that, for all that I consider myself a relatively intelligent bloke, as far as that goes, I'm sorely lacking in the old 'book learning'. I coasted through GCSE's, dropped out without finishing A levels and haven't looked back since.

So I've decided to add a non-fiction book to my rotation. As it stands I always read a scifi then a fantasy/horror, then a real world (thriller or historical etc.) and then repeat but I'm looking to add something a bit edumacational in the middle of that.

Ideally, to begin with, a history series. I was thinking a history of Britain, either a book per century or book per monarch type of deal.  I'm looking for something that can tread the fine line between being so dry and academic as to bore the layman, and being so dumbed down as to patronise anyone with half a brain.

I know from comments on various threads that there are a few on here that are quite well read in these areas and was hoping for some recomendations. And just to be awkward, nothing too obscure please, as I'll be relying on my local library to get them for me and they aren't the best.

Thanks in advance for any help (and I won't be offended if I don't hear anything straight away because I know we'd all rather be looking at a certain picture on a certain other thread tonight).

[worldshown]

Books I can recommend are John O'Farrell's "An Utterly Impartial History of Britain: or 2000 Years of Upper Class Idiots In Charge" and Andrew Marr's "A History of Modern Britain"

O'Farrell's book is informative and entertaining, though I wouldn't let kids do their history homework from it just in case they don't spot the jokes.

Marr's book is written in easy to follow language and neatly covers the post-WW2 decades like the accompanying television series did.

Under no circumstances read "Events That Changed The World" by Rodney Castleden as the author cannot help soiling the articles in his book with his personal politics.

[Old Tankie]

I recommend these two books if you like a bit of history but from a slightly different perspective:-

Rifles - Six Years with Wellington's Legendary Sharpshooters by Mark Urban (Published by Faber & Faber)

and

The English Rebel - One Thousand Years of Troublemaking, from the Normans to the Nineties by David Horspool (Published by Penguin - Viking)
 

[Dandontdare]

The French Revolution is such a huge event for all of European (and subsequently American)  History - an excellently accurate novelization is "a place of greater safety " by Hilary Mantel

I studied the period in depth for history A level and there
wasn't a single essay question on it that year  - hence my fucking D in history! Many years later I found this novel to be very accurate,

I wholeheartedly approve of your desire to read history in any format. Historians should be revered above bankers and pop stars in a sane  society, but we don't currently have one of those so...

[Paul faplad Finch]

Cheers for the recs. fellas. I'm heading to the library on Monday (hopefully they'll have the Fiends GN I ordered weeks ago) and I'll ask about a couple of them.  The 'English Rebel' and 'Impartial History' ones sound like the best bet. Get a bit of an overview before I delve into any specific eras.

I wholeheartedly approve of your desire to read history in any format. Historians should be revered above bankers and pop stars in a sane  society, but we don't currently have one of those so...

I've always had an interest but I kind of cut off my nose, so to speak, when I was at school, when I kind of turned my back on lessons altogether towards the end and History was the baby in the bathwater.

I've read a lot of historical fictionover the years, mainly Bernard Cornwell and his ilk, but I also have vague memories of a series about the Roman Empire by (I think, though I may have dreamed it) the woman who wrote The Thornbirds. I remember them being huge doorstops and lots of them. I never finished the series. May have to give them another look actually.

[maryanddavid]

Having just read about the Highland clearences in Scotland, and it similarties to the situation in Ireland at the same time, it made me realise how much I dont know about Britain and British history. I will follow the rec above, anyone care to rec some folklore collection from England, Scotland and Wales?

David

[Peter Wolf]

Folklore - Myths and legends of Britain - Readers Digest

http://www.amazon.co.uk/product-reviews/B000RT1H5G

[vzzbux]

Just pimping an old friend of mine.
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Last-Round-Leicestershire-Rutland-1940-1945/dp/1859835597/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1290328114&sr=1-1





V

[The Enigmatic Dr X]

There's a fantastic two volume biography of Hitler from the 90s that answered a lot of my questions (ie how did he get to such power?)

If that is too heavy, then how about: Freakonomics (and the sequel, Superfreakonomics) or McMafia? Both go some way to illuminating why the world is the way it is.

[House of Usher]

Folklore - Myths and legends of Britain - Readers Digest

http://www.amazon.co.uk/product-reviews/B000RT1H5G

That's a pretty nice tome to have on your library shelf, and worth paying up to £25 for from an antiquarian bookseller. My partner has had a very battered copy since it was published in the mid-seventies and she loved it so much we got it rebound in leather to stop it falling apart.

I've no new recommendations to make, but I will echo worldshown's recommendation of the Andrew Marr book.

[Paul faplad Finch]

Just a quick bump to say that I picked up that 'English Rebel' book from the library today and at first impressions it looks like just the kind of thing I was looking for so cheers, er, hang on, Tankie.

Of course, now that I have bumped the thread, any more for any more?

[malkymac]

I recommend these two books if you like a bit of history but from a slightly different perspective:-

Rifles - Six Years with Wellington's Legendary Sharpshooters by Mark Urban (Published by Faber & Faber)

and

The English Rebel - One Thousand Years of Troublemaking, from the Normans to the Nineties by David Horspool (Published by Penguin - Viking)
 

I was just going to recommend the book 'Redcoats' by Mark Urban. Good stuff.

[malkymac]

sorry I meant 'fusiliers'. 

[Beeks]

Gangs of New York: An Informal History of the Underworld by Herbert Asbury

Cracking read and what the film was based upon  

Ok so it's not 'History of Britain but it is an interesting documentation of the settlers in New York and its more colourful characters 

[Proudhuff]

Osprey books, any and all!