Members hi.flyer Posted May 12, 2009 Members Share Posted May 12, 2009 How do you feel about Howard Zinn's A People's History of the United States? I've heard about it for a long time but I'm only finally getting around to reading it now after having borrowed it from my dad. I know you are a history whiz, and I'm interested in getting my BA in history at some point, so go ahead and hit me off w/ your opinions! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators Kindness Posted May 12, 2009 Moderators Share Posted May 12, 2009 History whiz? AFAIK, his only expertise is googling wikipedia for answers. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members hi.flyer Posted May 12, 2009 Author Members Share Posted May 12, 2009 ^ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members King Kashue Posted May 12, 2009 Members Share Posted May 12, 2009 History whiz? AFAIK, his only expertise is googling wikipedia for answers. True story. As for Zinn, unfortunately, I've not read the book. I know Zinn from articles and speeches, and he's definitely a smart guy. I don't necessarily agree with everything (or maybe even most) of what he says, but he's not just blowing smoke. Whether you end up nodding your head or shaking it, his thoughts are generally well-researched and well-constructed, so he'll likely get you thinking either way. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members hi.flyer Posted May 12, 2009 Author Members Share Posted May 12, 2009 Cool. Yea, it does speak to me, ya know, ideologically (), but also he backs his {censored} up w/ primary sources like crazy, so it's not just soapbox diatribes. I like it! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members #6 Posted May 12, 2009 Members Share Posted May 12, 2009 the most important thing in reading history is to read the foot/end notes, then check those sources too... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members hi.flyer Posted May 12, 2009 Author Members Share Posted May 12, 2009 I wanna check out A Distant Mirror, too. A violinist friend who's all into Early Music told me about it and it sounded really cool. Have you read that? You're like, um, a 'medievalist' or whatever, right? Or uh, hey, failing that, turn me on to anything else interesting/informative. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members #6 Posted May 12, 2009 Members Share Posted May 12, 2009 A Distant Mirror is Tuchman's on the 14th cent. right? All of Tuchman is enjoyable reading, though she is more of a compiler than a research historian, but i know alot of pros that started b/c of her... heres a rec. from me (kave a grad degree in history, but don't actually work in the field) "Racing The Enemy" by Hasegawa Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members hi.flyer Posted May 12, 2009 Author Members Share Posted May 12, 2009 heres a rec. from me (kave a grad degree in history, but don't actually work in the field) "Racing The Enemy" by Hasegawa *wikis* Interesting! Yea, I love that revisionist kinda stuff, I'll definitely check it out. Thanks! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members King Kashue Posted May 12, 2009 Members Share Posted May 12, 2009 I wanna check out A Distant Mirror, too. A violinist friend who's all into Early Music told me about it and it sounded really cool. Have you read that? You're like, um, a 'medievalist' or whatever, right? Or uh, hey, failing that, turn me on to anything else interesting/informative. Yep, Medievaist. Tuchman's book is okay, but as noted, it's not the work of a research historian. It's a nice read though. For other books, I can suggest quite a few. I can just point you at several "great books", or get more specific. Are you interested in any specific periods? Or, alternatively, in what themes/subjects are you interested? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members hi.flyer Posted May 12, 2009 Author Members Share Posted May 12, 2009 I can just point you at several "great books", or get more specific. Are you interested in any specific periods? Or, alternatively, in what themes/subjects are you interested? Um, well, I'm into the Classical era, Medieval/Renaissance, American (pre- and post-Columbian)... I dunno, I'm pretty open to whatever. As for themes, I guess I like cultural stuff (ya know, art, etc), society (like Zinn, the common man, whatever) and revisionism. I dunno! Hit me w/ yo' best shot! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members dravenzouk Posted May 12, 2009 Members Share Posted May 12, 2009 hi.flyer: You might really enjoy "Power, Faith, & Fantasy" by Michael Oren. It examines the link & history of the United States and the Middle East from 1776 to the present day. It presents the history from three different perspectives - politics, religion, and culture. It's pretty well done and very interesting. Not perfect of course, and definately US-centric, but worth reading. It deals with the earlier (and less widely known) period in much more depth than modern day stuff, which some say is a weakness, but I found that to be more interesting as it talked about things I really knew little about. From Publishers WeeklyIn this engaging if unbalanced survey, the author of the acclaimed Six Days of War finds continuity in U.S. relations with the Middle East from the early 19th-century war against the Barbary pirates to today's Iraq war. As America's power grew, he contends, strategic considerations became complicatedby the region's religious significance, especially to the Protestant missionaries whose interests drove U.S. policyin the 19th century and who championed a Jewish state in Palestine long before the Zionist movement took up that cause. Meanwhile, Oren notes, Americans' romantic fantasies about the Muslim world (as expressed in Mideast-themed movies) have repeatedly run aground on stubborn, squalid realities, most recently in the Iraq fiasco. Oren dwells on the pre-WWII era, when U.S.-Mideast relations were of little significance. The postwar period, when these relations were central to world affairs, gets shoehorned into 127 hasty pages, and the emphasis on continuity gives short shrift to the new and crucial role of oil in U.S. policy making. Oren's treatment views this history almost entirely through American eyes; the U.S. comes off as usually well intentioned and idealistic, if often confused and confounded by regional complexities. Oren's is a fluent, comprehensive narrative of two centuries of entanglement, but it's analytically disappointing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members #6 Posted May 12, 2009 Members Share Posted May 12, 2009 Um, well, I'm into the Classical era, Medieval/Renaissance, American (pre- and post-Columbian)... I dunno, I'm pretty open to whatever. As for themes, I guess I like cultural stuff (ya know, art, etc), society (like Zinn, the common man, whatever) and revisionism. I dunno! Hit me w/ yo' best shot! alright...out of print last i knew, but a great book: The Hummingbird and The Hawk: Conquest and Sovereignty in the Valley of Mexico Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members hi.flyer Posted May 12, 2009 Author Members Share Posted May 12, 2009 Awesome, those both sound like they'd be right up my alley. Thanks, ya'll! *googles* Oh gosh... Aztecs. AWESOME!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members rpsands Posted May 12, 2009 Members Share Posted May 12, 2009 This is pretty much my favorite middle ages literature:http://www.amazon.com/Medieval-Fashions-Coloring-History-Fashion/dp/0486401448 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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