Book recommendation/request thread

[jollypillager]

I found a several of these and bought them / bookmarked the online versions...looks to be what I wanted and should keep me busy for a few weeks at least. Thanks for the assistance

[Feil]

edit - I removed this because I was apparently off-topic. My mistake.

[Skywalker_T-65]

Anyone know of a good book on the Battle of Midway? Currently doing a Semester Project on it, and I figure it would help to get a good book.

[phongn]

Anyone know of a good book on the Battle of Midway? Currently doing a Semester Project on it, and I figure it would help to get a good book.

See this list. Try to use more than one source! You might also want to do a bit of work looking at aspects like the American cryptological success leading up to the battle, too.

[Skywalker_T-65]

Thanks!

And I have a fairly decent grounding in the Battle already, but it can't hurt to learn more. The cryptological part is something I'm planning on researching a good deal since most people concentrate on the battle itself.

[Blayne]

Not quite a book, but a very extensive webpage on the Great Patriotic War that I enjoyed very much if anyone is interested; I don't recall if I ever linked it here before so apologies if I have long long time ago. Its full of interviews, trivia, background information and some music from the war as well as I think a running tally of surviving veterans. The list is getting smaller :(

I think this site is notable for me for being the first time I ever realized just how late in the game D-Day ultimately was, Operation Bagration I think was only 3-6 weeks away. I get the distinct impression that even if you took 80% of the numbers the Germans actively had in the Western front and Italy it wouldn't make much of a difference all else being the same.

[Panzersharkcat]

Would you say Warren Treadgold is any good on the Byzantine Empire? I'm currently reading through his Concise History of Byzantium and he mentions he wrote a more detailed book earlier, along with a companion book on the Byzantine military. (He also says, if I remember correctly, that Ostrogorsky's work is a bit outdated, even if it's still good.) The book on the Byzantine military is what I'm really interested in since I'm trying to learn more on how the Byzantine military was structured for a dossier on a fictional empire I'm writing, who base themselves on the Byzantines but adapt their ways for modern firearms.

[Coop D'etat]

Would you say Warren Treadgold is any good on the Byzantine Empire? I'm currently reading through his Concise History of Byzantium and he mentions he wrote a more detailed book earlier, along with a companion book on the Byzantine military. (He also says, if I remember correctly, that Ostrogorsky's work is a bit outdated, even if it's still good.) The book on the Byzantine military is what I'm really interested in since I'm trying to learn more on how the Byzantine military was structured for a dossier on a fictional empire I'm writing, who base themselves on the Byzantines but adapt their ways for modern firearms.

I'd also be also curious on how well Ostrogorsky's work in general holds up. I did a paper for an undergraduate class on a specific area of Byzantine history (economic growth in the Kommenian period) and found his position on the matter to be completely super-ceded by latter scholarship which built a case for a polar opposite opinion on the matter.

[Thanas]

Ostrogrosky and Treadgold are both very good. The problem really is that there has not been a general introductory work of Ostrogorsky's detail and conciseness since he published his. I can probably give more detail if you ask about a specific matter.

[ray245]

Is there any good book regarding the Industrial revolution?

[Thanas]

I can't speak to that as that is not my speciality. Back then we worked a lot with Sidney Pollard, Phyllis Dean, Toni Pierenkemper and Jürgen Osterhammel. The last two are German authors. Of these, Osterhammel's book probably was the best regarding a broad overall history of the 19th century, but I do not know if it has been translated into English. Probably not.

[Aaron MkII]

I'm not sure if this is the place for this, so apologies in advance.

Does anyone know of any books of first hand experiances by Soviet soldiers in Afghanistan? Translated to English, of course.

[Stark]

If you want a really ground-level memoir style thing, 'Afghanistan A Russian Soldiers Story' might be for you.

[thejester]

I'm not sure if this is the place for this, so apologies in advance.

Does anyone know of any books of first hand experiances by Soviet soldiers in Afghanistan? Translated to English, of course.

It doesn't fit the exact bill but Afgantsy has a lot of first-hand testimony woven into it. Well worth a read.

[Aaron MkII]

If you want a really ground-level memoir style thing, 'Afghanistan A Russian Soldiers Story' might be for you.

Well, I'm looking for the experiences of the average soldier. Be it infantryman, tanker or a supply tech in whatever the Soviet equivalent of a FOB is.

[Scrib]

Does anyone have a good book on the life of Justinian and Belisarius? The more detailed on the historical situation the better, since I'm pretty much lost when it comes to that period of Roman history.

And are there any good books on either Imperial Roman administration or later Byzantine administration and general social structure? I've heard that AHM Jones' The Later Roman Empire is good, even if it's outdated and relies too much on certain sources but finding it is just a pain. You find one volume that is reasonably priced but won't find it's pair, or it'll not be in hardcover yet too expensive etc.

[spaceviking]

Not really a book request, as I would prefer an article.

Does anyone know any articles about Latin as an evolving language, like the differences in how it was spoken in the early republic versus the Empire. The effect of roman conquests and absorption of non latin speakers on the language.

[ray245]

And are there any good books on either Imperial Roman administration or later Byzantine administration and general social structure? I've heard that AHM Jones' The Later Roman Empire is good, even if it's outdated and relies too much on certain sources but finding it is just a pain. You find one volume that is reasonably priced but won't find it's pair, or it'll not be in hardcover yet too expensive etc.

You can always use Amazon to buy the paperback version. I've gotten mine via amazon, and the price seems reasonable for the sheer amount of information it provides. It's not like any other books that cover late roman administration is that much cheaper than AHM Jones' book.

[Scrib]

And are there any good books on either Imperial Roman administration or later Byzantine administration and general social structure? I've heard that AHM Jones' The Later Roman Empire is good, even if it's outdated and relies too much on certain sources but finding it is just a pain. You find one volume that is reasonably priced but won't find it's pair, or it'll not be in hardcover yet too expensive etc.

You can always use Amazon to buy the paperback version. I've gotten mine via amazon, and the price seems reasonable for the sheer amount of information it provides. It's not like any other books that cover late roman administration is that much cheaper than AHM Jones' book.

The cheapness of the paperback...varies.I don't recall it being that different from the hardcover price-wise but I saw a good deal at $45 recently though so I might jump on it anyway.

I know this thread seems dead but another request: Does anyone have any good articles/sources on the Justinian plague and it's effects?

[spaceviking]

Not a book, but started watching The Teaching Companies' Early Roman History. Pretty good for someone as deficient in Roman history as myself.

[ray245]

Is there any good book on the Gothic war? A more in-depth study of the war would be greatly appreciated.

[Thanas]

Is there any good book on the Gothic war? A more in-depth study of the war would be greatly appreciated.

Which gothic war?

[ray245]

Justinian's gothic war

[Lolpah]

Could anyone suggest any good books about Medieval European warfare, specifically during the High and Late Middle ages in the Feudal Kingdoms? It seems quite hard to find anything useful online about this subject, at least about the tactics employed and army composition.

[Fire Fly]

I'm trying to find a good history book on German unification during the 19th century. Does anyone have any book recommendations?