I'm not sure how well you know ancient Egypt. Nicholas Reeves' biography of Akhenaten is fantastic, but it presumes some knowledge. The Oxford History of Ancient Egypt, edited by Ian Shaw, is a good thorough work but may be a bit dry. Gardiner's history hasn't weathered the developments as well as I would have hoped, but he still is a gold standard in Egyptology. Toby Wilkinson's Lives of the Ancient Egyptians is a good sociological history for beginners. If you're looking for more specialized works I could recommend dozens of good books that are more in-depth in particular periods. If I hadn't become a lawyer (or perhaps a Russian history Ph.D.), I would have become an Egyptologist, so my Egypt library is huge.
My Ancient Egyptian knowledge is rather thin, which is why I'm hoping to beef it up a little at some point. The Wilkinson might be a good place to start, and I'll look into the Shaw. Even the Reeves might not be a step too far, depending on how much knowledge it assumes. This gives me a few ideas for places to start, at any rate. Thanks! It's possible I might pester you for some of those more in-depth books in the future if I find myself interested in any particular area.
Gibbon, of course, if you want later history. Despite its age it is remarkable in its insight. I would also recommend Mommsen for the early (pre-Imperial) history, though he has a distaste for democracy as he was pro-Prussian. The great thing about Rome, though, is that there are plenty of classical writers that you can read - Suetonius, Tacitus, Josephus (for the Jewish part), or for the pre-Imperial history, Livy. Caesar's memoirs of the Gallic and civil wars are great.
I attempted to read Gibbon at one point and found it fairly uninspiring, actually. But in fairness I didn't get very far. This could be due to what I mentioned to Ghavrel, that for some reason I find myself bored with the Romans, but given their huge role in history that really should not be so. Perhaps my problem is that I'm reading things that are too general, and skip over the interesting details.
Fairbank's history is pretty good, Gernet is exhaustive. Li Zhisui's book Private Life of Chairman Mao is wonderful for that portion of history, and there are tons of specialized books.
More good places to start digging. Thank you!
Warder to starry_nite
Chapterfish — Nate's Writing Blog
http://chapterfish.wordpress.com
Chapterfish — Nate's Writing Blog
http://chapterfish.wordpress.com
I'm looking for some history recommendations.
- 13/12/2011 06:02:35 PM
1388 Views
What are you looking for in "Roman Empire"?
- 13/12/2011 06:38:34 PM
1046 Views
Something fairly broad to start.
- 13/12/2011 06:45:32 PM
930 Views
Frances Yates
- 14/12/2011 08:05:17 PM
847 Views
Alas.
- 15/12/2011 03:26:56 PM
877 Views
Re: Alas.
- 15/12/2011 04:28:55 PM
885 Views
Are you saying a woman can't be a fellow? That's awfully sexist of you.
- 15/12/2011 04:53:11 PM
980 Views
Some suggestions
- 14/12/2011 10:48:37 PM
952 Views
Re: Some suggestions
- 15/12/2011 03:37:31 PM
841 Views