Current Events > Anyone else really into History?

(+) Yeah! (+)

I've always enjoyed history but for the last few years I can't get enough of it. I started off reading about US history, but I'm going to go back to ancient times and start reading world history from the start of civilization, not in crazy depth but just a little more than superficial. Then I want to go in depth into the major civilizations. I'm trying to come up with a book list, its sorta hard. This might span me many years to be done.

My favorite subject

Me

The Antebellum Period through Reconstruction in the US is the most interesting period for me. You can trace so much of the present to what happened in this timeframe.

I like history a lot. Mostly modern European and North American history, basically 20th century. Most people don't seem that interested.

Any books you guys recommend for my list? Most of my "reading" is actually going to be audible. My total daily commute is 1 hour. I can more or less listen for 20-25 hours a month.

I'm starting the History of the World by Susan Bauer now. I believe its a 3 book series. Once I get a good timeline of history, I'm just going to start early and perhaps read on each major civilization. These books might take me through April.

One of my big barriers though is finding audiobooks of what I want to read. Theres a few great books I've already found online that don't have audiobooks. That makes it tough for me.

I like it. I took a world history class in community College and we had a big test in class. I didn't really study. I just read the class book cover to cover . But also some shit I already knee anyway. Took the test and I was one of only 3 people who got I think either a perfect score or very close

Love studying history. My focus was 19th Century European and American histories, but I've been on a major medieval kick as well.

Yeah, I love it.
It also gives a lot of cool context. Like how "Women weren't allowed to vote" is kinda crap. It wasn't that women weren't allowed to vote: they didn't want to vote throughout history because voting for citizens came with the inherent tradeoff of serving your country through the government or military services, which men gladly accepted since it was their natural inclinations and they're genetically predisposed to being protectors.
So they made those laws for women not being allowed to vote as a result: to protect impulsive decisions to vote and not have them regret enlisting in military services or the like as a result.
In historical context it makes sense. If women get captured as prisoners of war, I don't think it takes a genius to imagine what the opposing army is gonna do with her.

Or India's unspoken involvement and great contributions during World War II.
Among many others.

I wouldn't say I'm really into history but I've always been interested and that's been reflected in my gaming choices over the years.

Dan_Haren- posted...

Any books you guys recommend for my list? Most of my "reading" is actually going to be audible. My total daily commute is 1 hour. I can more or less listen for 20-25 hours a month.

I know quite a few good World War II books if you're interested in that area. I believe most of them do have audible versions.

So for the last few years I've read biographies of different presidents and figures - washington, adams, jefferson, hamilton, grant. But as interesting as US history is, I think world history is just so much more fascinating.

There's a great book called Krakatoa: The Day The World Exploded. It touches upon of a lot of subjects actually, like dutch colonialism in Indonesia, plate tectonics, the spice trade that brought europeans to the east indies, etc.

I am very much into history.

specifically this timeline:

Greece to Rome, to Middle Ages, to reinissance, to the rise of
the Portuguese and Spanish empires, then french and British, then world war 1, 2, and how the modern western nations were shaped, especially the 3 North American nations

Anyone else watch the Pluto app? Theyve got whole channels dedicated to this kind of stuff. Sure theyre old programs but still cool.

Massive history nerd here.

(Um, I don't mean I'm particularly massive, just... Oh, you work it out.)

Anyone got book suggestions on world history?

i love history too

-BrokenSpiral- posted...

It also gives a lot of cool context. Like how "Women weren't allowed to vote" is kinda crap. It wasn't that women weren't allowed to vote: they didn't want to vote throughout history because voting for citizens came with the inherent tradeoff of serving your country through the government or military services, which men gladly accepted since it was their natural inclinations and they're genetically predisposed to being protectors.
So they made those laws for women not being allowed to vote as a result: to protect impulsive decisions to vote and not have them regret enlisting in military services or the like as a result.
In historical context it makes sense. If women get captured as prisoners of war, I don't think it takes a genius to imagine what the opposing army is gonna do with her.

The "by denying women the vote, we were just trying protect them from the horrors of combat" excuse is clearly horseshit. Women were never liable to compulsory military service in the democracies until 1995, in Finland.

The UK became a (limited) democracy in 1832 with the passing of the First Reform Act -- but denied women the vote. Yet compulsory military service didn't become a thing in the UK until eighty-four years later, in 1916; so just how the fuck did denying British women the vote protect them from being forced into national service? After women were finally given the vote in 1919 in the United States, how often were women drafted between 1940-73?

And the claim that "it wasn't that women weren't allowed to vote" is horseshit too. Eligibility for the franchise was defined by legislation that, for decades, restricted it to men. "By saying that only men were allowed, we weren't really saying that women weren't allowed!" The opportunity wasn't offered to women for them to accept or reject; for the longest time, it was simply unthinkable to offer it to them at all.

I watch a fair bit of historical content on youtube.

Yeah, but I'm more of a prehistory / bronze age nerd myself. The closer we get to firearms the less interested I become.
Except old cold war files. I always have time for those.

My specific areas of interest are naval history and the Pacific theater of World War II

Yes. And goodbye.

Me love it