The suggest a topic and get a recommendation thread.

[Ruskie]

So I have been thinking about starting this for a while but I’m not sure if it will work. Anyway in theory people ask for a book recommendation and people help out. I’m thinking in more general terms. Obviously it’s easy to google but I’m looking for personal thoughts and ideas.


So to start with I would like recommendations for books on the following...

WW1/WW2

Socialism

Cuban Revolution

[Levin]

Ruskie said:

Obviously it’s easy to google but I’m looking for personal thoughts and ideas. So to start with I would like recommendations for books on the following...

WW1/WW2

I like the idea behind this thread! Are there any particular facets of WWI or WWII you'd like recommendations for? Is there a certain battle or region that you're particularly interested in, or is it an all-round work on the subjects?

WWI: 'All Quiet on the Western Front' by Erich Maria Remarque is a work of fiction but is often cited as one of the best for evoking the sensation of being at the front. It isn't especially long, either, so if you haven't read it before then I suggest it may hold some appeal. Henri Barbusse's 'Under Fire' (using the translated English title) is similar but written by a Frenchman. I found it slightly drier and less memorable though Barbusse's book actually pre-dates Remarque's.

[Ruskie]

Levin said:

Ruskie said:

Obviously it’s easy to google but I’m looking for personal thoughts and ideas. So to start with I would like recommendations for books on the following...

WW1/WW2

I like the idea behind this thread! Are there any particular facets of WWI or WWII you'd like recommendations for? Is there a certain battle or region that you're particularly interested in, or is it an all-round work on the subjects?

WWI: 'All Quiet on the Western Front' by Erich Maria Remarque is a work of fiction but is often cited as one of the best for evoking the sensation of being at the front. It isn't especially long, either, so if you haven't read it before then I suggest it may hold some appeal. Henri Barbusse's 'Under Fire' (using the translated English title) is similar but written by a Frenchman. I found it slightly drier and less memorable though Barbusse's book actually pre-dates Remarque's.

Thank you for the suggestions. WWI I’m looking for a more general overview as it’s not a topic I have ever looked at and would like to broaden my knowledge on it.

[rst99]

Any suggestions for books on the subject of the Spanish conquest of the Americas - Hernan Cortes in particular.

[Levin]

Ruskie said:

Thank you for the suggestions. WWI I’m looking for a more general overview as it’s not a topic I have ever looked at and would like to broaden my knowledge on it.

First of all, I’m inclined to apologise for having not replied to this thread again sooner. Ironically, my post will end with a request for suggestions relating to WWI as well - but first, an attempt at answering your request, late as it may be.

‘The Sleepwalkers’ by Christopher Clark and ‘Catastrophe’ by Max Hastings both explain how the world found itself embroiled in a continental European war in 1914. I’ve read ‘Catastrophe’ but don’t have a copy to hand. Hastings describes the dreadful start France had in the war; August 22 1914 was the costliest day of their military campaign. ‘The Sleepwalkers’ I started but only finished the first part of (I keep meaning to get back to it, but the to-read pile keeps growing). It is a longer book, and the first section is mostly devoted to the relationship between Austria-Hungary and the Balkan states.

If the Gallipoli front is one of interest, you might like Eugene Rogan’s ‘The Fall of the Ottomans’ or perhaps even Andrew Mango’s ‘Atatürk’, a biography of Mustafa Kemal Atatürk. The war and its aftermath had a huge effect on modern Turkey, contributing to modern Turkish using the Latin alphabet. It’s a side of the war not often considered. While more detailed studies of the Gallipoli campaign exist I haven’t read them; they are only parts of those two books. I read both in sequence with each other to try and retain more information.

I hope this is of some use; I am no expert on the subject myself (I could contend that I am no expert on any subject). My subject requests are probably going to be somewhat reflective of that mindset.

I’d like suggestions on what to read concerning Passchendaele. If anyone has suggestions concerning the Battle of Mons, the Battle of the Marne, or perhaps even the German 1918 spring offensive (referred to as the Ludendorff Offensive or ‘Kaiserschlacht’, sometimes).

[Nom de ploom]

WW2 - I can heartily recommend two one volume tomes

All Hell let loose by Max Hastings (considered by many to be THE one volume account above others)

however, The Storm of War by Andrew Roberts is just about its equal.

both brilliant imho