Favorite Historians?

dolores haze · Feb 4, 2008

This weekend I went on a little trip down memory lane, and read a bunch of my college papers. They weren't as bad as I remembered them!

Although I remember yawning my way through any number of incredibly dry historical texts, I was surprised at the number of historical reference materials that I kept and continued to read, time and time again, over the years.

These are the ones that I have kept. The ones that were so intelligent and well written that I have been unable to part with them. When outstanding scholarship and excellent writing skills come together, the result is something pretty spectacular.

Barbara Tuchman - "The Guns of August" and "A Distant Mirror".

Natalie Zemon Davis - "Society and Culture in Early Modern France" and "The Return of Martin Guerre".

Norman Cohn - "The Pursuit of the Millenium".

Jonathan Spence - "God's Chinese Son" and "The Death of Woman Wang". (Incredibly, the latter is a history text that actually moved me to tears.)

Fernand Braudel - "The Structures of Everyday Life".

I have a birthday coming up, and I'd love to add some outstanding texts to my library. So, who are YOUR favorite historians? And what are your favorite works by them?

donroc · Feb 4, 2008

Definitely Barbara Tuchman and currently Simon Schama.

Zelenka · Feb 4, 2008

Peter Stein - 'Roman Law in European Legal History'
Tristram Hunt - 'The English Civil War at First Hand'
Stephen Smith - 'Underground London'

Those are the ones I can see from here that I particularly like. If I think or find anything else I'll add it.

Doogs · Feb 4, 2008

Hmm...

Richard Fletcher - "The Quest for El-Cid"
Adrian Goldsworthy - "The Punic Wars"
Norman F Cantor - "Civilization of the Middle Ages" (not the most in-depth, I know, but this book got me hooked on Medieval History, and I still have a soft spot for it).

Also...maybe not a historian...but I have to give a shout out to the "Barrington Atlas of the Greek and Roman World". It's pricey. Very pricey. But hands down, without a doubt the best atlas of the classical world I have ever encountered. If the house were on fire and I could only save one book, it would be the atlas, hands down.

dolores haze · Feb 4, 2008

Doogs said:
"Barrington Atlas of the Greek and Roman World". It's pricey. Very pricey. But hands down, without a doubt the best atlas of the classical world I have ever encountered. If the house were on fire and I could only save one book, it would be the atlas, hands down.

Wow. The cheapest copy I found was a very used edition for $170. I wish I could afford it. I'm ever so slightly drooling.

Doogs · Feb 4, 2008

My wife bought it for me a few years back as a show of support for my writing. I found it so useful (not only for place names, but for getting a feel for the geography and terrain) that I snapped pics of the most relevant pages with a high-megapixel digital camera and dumped them into a folder onto a thumb drive so I can consult them when I'm writing from the coffee shop.

Homewrecker · Feb 4, 2008

The London Hanged: Crime and Civil Society in the Eighteenth Century by Peter Linebaugh
The Many-Headed Hydra: The Hidden History of the Revolutionary Atlantic by Peter Linebaugh and Marcus Rediker

By the Bomb's Early Light: American Thought and Culture at the Dawn of the Atomic Age and When Time Shall Be No More: Prophecy Belief in Modern American Culture both by Paul Boyer

And George MacDonald Fraser was on my list but then I learned that Flashman was fiction. (Ah, to be 17 again!)

Cheers

Zelenka · Feb 4, 2008

Homewrecker said:
The London Hanged: Crime and Civil Society in the Eighteenth Century by Peter Linebaugh
The Many-Headed Hydra: The Hidden History of the Revolutionary Atlantic by Peter Linebaugh and Marcus Rediker

By the Bomb's Early Light: American Thought and Culture at the Dawn of the Atomic Age and When Time Shall Be No More: Prophecy Belief in Modern American Culture both by Paul Boyer

And George MacDonald Fraser was on my list but then I learned that Flashman was fiction. (Ah, to be 17 again!)

Cheers

MacDonald Fraser wrote some non fiction historical books as well. I have a very good one of his on the raiders and guards along the Scottish borders in the 18th century, 'The Steel Bonnets'. So he counts!

dolores haze · Feb 4, 2008

Homewrecker said:
The London Hanged: Crime and Civil Society in the Eighteenth Century by Peter Linebaugh
The Many-Headed Hydra: The Hidden History of the Revolutionary Atlantic by Peter Linebaugh and Marcus Rediker

By the Bomb's Early Light: American Thought and Culture at the Dawn of the Atomic Age and When Time Shall Be No More: Prophecy Belief in Modern American Culture both by Paul Boyer

And George MacDonald Fraser was on my list but then I learned that Flashman was fiction. (Ah, to be 17 again!)

Cheers

Crime, Revolution, Prophecy, and Flashman. You've got me pegged. Thanks. I'll check 'em out.

dolores haze · Feb 4, 2008

JessRamage said:
MacDonald Fraser wrote some non fiction historical books as well. I have a very good one of his on the raiders and guards along the Scottish borders in the 18th century, 'The Steel Bonnets'. So he counts!

Ooh, that sounds good, too!

shakeysix · Feb 4, 2008

dr. charles eastman--not only did he do "indian boyhood" but he has written several short thumbnails on some of the great indian leaders. you can find them online. frances parkman. black elk. --they lived it.

ColoradoGuy · Feb 4, 2008

David Hackett Fischer's Albion's Seed--best new "big idea" approach to American History, written by a major historian who writes very well.

Homewrecker · Feb 4, 2008

JessRamage said:
MacDonald Fraser wrote some non fiction historical books as well. I have a very good one of his on the raiders and guards along the Scottish borders in the 18th century, 'The Steel Bonnets'. So he counts!

I still have to give that one a read. Was very sad to read of his passing. His book, the Pyrates was accurately described as the best pirate movie never filmed and his screenplay of the 3 & 4 Musketeers is still my favorite adaptation of the Dumas book.

Cheers

Homewrecker · Feb 4, 2008

ColoradoGuy said:
David Hackett Fischer's Albion's Seed--best new "big idea" approach to American History, written by a major historian who writes very well.

Will have to check that out as well. Might just be tired, CG, but what is a "big idea" approach?

Cheers,

rugcat · Feb 4, 2008

Though not strictly a historian, at least not an academic, I would suggest Alan Moorehead. A brilliant writer, and eminently readable, he specialized in clashes of culture and ideas, and every single one of his books is fascinating and accurate. I particularly recommend The White Nile and The Blue Nile, about the search for the source of the Nile and Napoleon's invasion of Egypt, respectively.

One of my favorite writers in any genre, he died way too young.

dolores haze · Feb 5, 2008

shakeysix said:
dr. charles eastman--not only did he do "indian boyhood" but he has written several short thumbnails on some of the great indian leaders. you can find them online. frances parkman. black elk. --they lived it.

ColoradoGuy said:
David Hackett Fischer's Albion's Seed--best new "big idea" approach to American History, written by a major historian who writes very well.

rugcat said:
Though not strictly a historian, at least not an academic, I would suggest Alan Moorehead. A brilliant writer, and eminently readable, he specialized in clashes of culture and ideas, and every single one of his books is fascinating and accurate. I particularly recommend The White Nile and The Blue Nile, about the search for the source of the Nile and Napoleon's invasion of Egypt, respectively.

One of my favorite writers in any genre, he died way too young.

Great suggestions! I'm gonna be having a very nice birthday. A lot of the books suggested are available online for very reasonable prices.

dolores haze · Feb 5, 2008

rugcat said:
Though not strictly a historian, at least not an academic, I would suggest Alan Moorehead. A brilliant writer, and eminently readable, he specialized in clashes of culture and ideas, and every single one of his books is fascinating and accurate. I particularly recommend The White Nile and The Blue Nile, about the search for the source of the Nile and Napoleon's invasion of Egypt, respectively.

One of my favorite writers in any genre, he died way too young.

I'd never heard of this guy, so I looked him up. What an interesting life and career. I'm definitely gonna give him a try. Thanks.

ColoradoGuy · Feb 5, 2008

Homewrecker said:
Might just be tired, CG, but what is a "big idea" approach?

He interprets white American culture as the result of the particular folkways of four immigrant groups: English Puritans to Massachusetts Bay, Quakers and other Nonconformists to the Middle Colonies, Southern English to the Chesapeake Bay area, and Ulster Scotch-Irish to the colonial backcountry. It's an intriguing and interesting way to look at it and is very "big idea" in its audacity. He's written several good books (Paul Revere's Ride is also excellent), but Albion's Seed is his best, I think.

Homewrecker · Feb 5, 2008

ah so. thank you!

veinglory · Feb 5, 2008

I love the historian of psychology Edwin G Boring. Not only for his name but I love that too.

pdr · Feb 5, 2008

Too many, but since...

people seem to mention men, I'd like to suggest some excellent women historians.
C.V. Wedgewood for the best, all round, disinterested books about the 17thC English Civil War, two of which are: 'The King's War' and 'The King's Peace'.

And Antonia Fraser for her 'Cromwell' and 'The Weaker Vessel'

Zelenka · Feb 5, 2008

pdr said:
people seem to mention men, I'd like to suggest some excellent women historians.
C.V. Wedgewood for the best, all round, disinterested books about the 17thC English Civil War, two of which are: 'The King's War' and 'The King's Peace'.

And Antonia Fraser for her 'Cromwell' and 'The Weaker Vessel'

I was going to say Antonia Fraser (both those books are within grabbing distance at the moment, in fact) but I've never been that keen on her style to be honest. She is, though, very comprehensive.

Not really a 'historian' but for a general introduction to eras, I also like the 'Oxford Illustrated History of...' series.

I also quite like Liza Picard's series on London History.

Jess (confused, as there were CV Wedgewood books lying in the pile when I typed the first answer to this post, as I remember thinking about adding that too, but now I can't see them. Perhaps it is time to tidy up in here).

Doogs · Feb 6, 2008

Well, I've got a half-day of job interviews coming up in about an hour, and digging out a few more historians seems about the best way I can think of to pass the time and keep myself from getting too stressed out.

Let's see...

Joseph O'Callaghan - "History of Medieval Spain" - one of those very dense, but ridiculously informative works.

Robert Drews - "The End of the Bronze Age" - I had Drews as a professor during my years at Vanderbilt, and he's an awesome guy. Very intelligent, with a wry sense of humor. His book reflects his personality very well.

Robert K. Massie - "Castles of Steel" - Fantastic complement to "The Guns of August".

Joseph & Francis Gies - "Cathedral, Forge, and Waterwheel: Technology and Invention in the Middle Ages"

Kenny · Feb 6, 2008

I don't have any particular person who I say is my favourite historian. Though I say Francis Pryor would be somewhere on the list.

julie thorpe · Feb 6, 2008

I too have enjoyed Albion's Seed. Ditto Fraser's The Weaker Vessel, Lisa Picard's Elizabeth's London. I have also had a great deal of enjoyment from Alice Morse Earle's various treatments of colonial New England's material culture - not strictly an historian in academic terms, but great reading. Also enjoyed David McCullogh's John Adams. Perry Miller and Samual Eliot Morison were the big names in American colonial history when I was at grad school, and are still good value, very readable.

Favorite Historians?

international guttersnipe

Historicals and Horror rule

Going home!

international guttersnipe

Intranational Mystery Woman

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international guttersnipe

international guttersnipe

blue eyed floozy

I've seen worse.

Intranational Mystery Woman

Intranational Mystery Woman

Lost in the Fog

international guttersnipe

international guttersnipe

I've seen worse.

Intranational Mystery Woman

volitare nequeo

Going home!