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George R
climber
The Gray Area
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I liked "How The Irish Saved Civilization" by Thomas Cahill.
Not in the must read catagory, but definitely an interesting and worthwhile book.
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jbaker
Trad climber
Redwood City, CA
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Wow. Some of my favorites are already mentioned:
Guns, Germs and Steel (Collapse isn't as amazing but is important).
Guns of August
People's History of the United States
The Abridged Journals of Lewis and Clark
Herodotus
Mountains Beyond Mountains by Tracy Kidder
Other good ones:
Prince of the Marshes by Rory Stewart (his time governing in Iraq, I'm reading it now)
The Places in Between by Rory Stewart (his walk across Afghanistan)
Two Years Before the Mast by Charles Henry Dana (more of a memoir, but a great view of early California)
How the Irish Became White (pretty eye-opening for this Irish-American)
Most anything by Gary Wills
Captain Sir Richard Francis Burton by Edward Rice (a biography, but a great look at the era)
Thucydides
Njal's Saga (not really history, but..)
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brochbonar
Social climber
boulder
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anything by Gore Vidal
-B
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Banzai
Trad climber
Montreal
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Apr 10, 2007 - 01:06am PT
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As mentioned earlier, The Making of the Atomic Bomb by Richard Rhodes is an amazing book. Covers not only the physics but the human and political aspects as well. If you enjoy it, then you will also appreciate its sequel: The Making of the Hydrogen Bomb, by the same author.
Another history book about science that I read recently was The Measure of All Things by Ken Adler, about the invention of the metric system. Pretty good too.
F.
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Conrad
climber
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Apr 10, 2007 - 02:08am PT
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To add a few:
"Maus" Art Spiegelman - technically a narrative, good insight into the brutal yet human aspect of the Holocaust
"The Discoverers - A History of man's Search to Know His World and Himself" Daniel Boorstin - a history of knowledge, if you will.
"From Beruit to Jerusalem" Thomas Friedman
Thanks for the thread. New books to ponder, just have to find the time.
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Sparky
Trad climber
vagabon movin on
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Apr 10, 2007 - 03:36am PT
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Here the latest one:
"Don't Know Much About History" by Kenneth C. Davis on audio CD
Really enjoyed this for the 11hr drive from GJ, CO. to Cali.
BTW, agree with previously stated Guns, Germs, and Steel being excellent and Collapse being not as good but important.
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Staples10
climber
Jeffrey City, WY
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Apr 10, 2007 - 09:09am PT
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"Peter the Great" by Massie. One of the best written books I've ever read, and by far, the best history book. Exhaustively researched, colorfully narrated, it was clearly a labor of love.
"A Bright Shining Lie" by Sheehan. About the Vietnam War, the press, the military, and why we lost that war.
"Vietnam and the United States: Origins and Legacy of War" by Gary Hess is the best short narrative of the war I've read, and I've read most of the narrative histories.
"Bearing the Cross" by Garrow is massive, but worth it. Probably the best narrative of the US civil rights era.
"Army at Dawn" Atkinson, this is part one of trilogy, it's about the US fighting in WWII in North Africa, and it's really good.
"Contending Visions of the Middle East: The History and Politics of Orientalism" by Lockman. While this book isn't very long, I had to take small bites in order to digest. This book provides the factual, historical, cultural, and religious context for how we think (and shouldn't think) about the Middle East. Absolutely worth the reading effort.
I echo the sentiments of previous posters who mentioned "Truman" (a valentine to the man, but a well written one), Manchester's series on Churchill, and B. Tuchman. The last two authors are prone to bloviate more than the other writers I've mentioned.
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quietpartner
Trad climber
Moantannah
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Apr 11, 2007 - 11:44am PT
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"The Looming Tower" by Lawrence Wright.
I know, it's too recent to qualify as "history", but it gives fantastic insights into the beginnings of Al-Quaeda, Osama, etc.
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