OT: History of the world

[sjbraun]

As I travel around the UK this summer, I’m embarrassed by my meager understanding of world history. We saw the Roman baths at Bath today. Their engineering skills were amazing. So I wonder, how did Rome come to be such a power? What was happening in China when the Romans conquered the British Isles? Or how did Neolithic peoples haul massive stones hundreds of miles to build circle at Avebury. I don’t expect a single book to encompass all of human development, but I’m the sage members of this forum will be able to suggest a book or two that will help me better understand our past.

[yinzerniner]

Originally Posted by sjbraun

As I travel around the UK this summer, I’m embarrassed by my meager understanding of world history. We saw the Roman baths at Bath today. Their engineering skills were amazing. So I wonder, how did Rome come to be such a power? What was happening in China when the Romans conquered the British Isles? Or how did Neolithic peoples haul massive stones hundreds of miles to build circle at Avebury. I don’t expect a single book to encompass all of human development, but I’m the sage members of this forum will be able to suggest a book or two that will help me better understand our past.

I love listening to the "Fall of Civililizations" podcasts and Youtube replays. Really help in contextualizing empires of past eras, and non-Western ones as well.

https://fallofcivilizationspodcast.com/

[steelbikerider]

A Western Civilization Textbook is a good place to start. I'm a History major from the last century so my personal library is some 40 years old but here is what I pulled off the shelf
A Short History of Western Civilization - Harrison /Sullivan (college text)
The Making of England 55 B.C. to 1399 - Hollister (vol. 1 of set)
A History of Civiizations - Fernand Braudel.

This will get you started. I recommend browsing through instead of reading straight through. If its British history, The Making of England is a good start, Braudel briefly covers everything after the 5th century

[verticaldoug]

You can download the BBC Iplayer to your phone, ipad, Fire or computer while you are in England. The iplayer will give you a library of shows from BBC in the History section. Prof. Alice Roberts has a series called digging for Britian which has a lot of interesting history on various digs and discoveries across Britian.
You should take a look.

Avebury is a cool area. Near there is Silbury Hill which is probably the last neolithic mound (its the largest) built in ancient England. It kind of marks the edge of the neolithic to Bronze age.

Sampling the DNA of bones found in graves is leading to a revision on how and when people migrated in ancient times. I forget the show on BBC, but the oldest Bronze metal worker found in Britian looks like he originated in Switzerland and then migrated to Britian. Ancient Britian was interesting to outsiders because of the availability of tin and copper.

You can go down to Winchester on the southern end of the downs, and see the history of Alfred the Great who fought the Vikings, and really started what is modern England. Or you can go down to Pevensey near the coast in Sussex, this is where both the Roman's landed and the spot William the Conqueror landed in 1066. In fact, William the Conqueror built is fort on the ruins of the old Roman fort found in Pevensy.



I do know the BBC has a show on the iplayer now about the Bayuex Tapestry which tells the story of the Norman Conquest in 1066 which has a bit of everything- England, Vikings, and the Normans....

For China, 200 BC was Qin dynasty which gives China its name. The 13,000 terracotta warriors are from this time period. This is also when they started the great wall.

[Toeclips]

History buff here

History of the World - John Roberts
The Western Heritage - Donald Kagan

Those two books gave me a foundation and then found other books at thrift stores and Barnes and Noble

YouTube history videos and go down the rabbit hole as well

One thing I've learned is that I dont know much, gotta keep on reading I guess

[peanutgallery]

Americans, sometimes I'm a bit embarrassed how clueless we can collectively be on this subject

[d_douglas]

A great book called “Guns Germs and Steel” was written be Jared Diamond on this subject and it’s a great read. Check it out!

[Likes2ridefar]

Originally Posted by peanutgallery

Americans, sometimes I'm a bit embarrassed how clueless we can collectively be on this subject

My wife makes me feel it every time we dig on the subject. Her Czech education gave her such great depth in culture and history compared to my Midwest USA..

Great thread going to try the podcasts linked first

[paredown]

I posted in the 'what are you reading'--I quite liked "The Verge"--a popular history that tells some of the key changes that made Europe the economic powerhouse by looking at some key individuals--it's a good introduction to the Reformation/Renaissance/Age of Exploration. It's by no means the whole story, but he tells it well by focusing on 10 key individuals (like Christopher Columbus) to make his points:
https://www.amazon.com/Verge-Reforma...ps%2C74&sr=8-1

The other one that I passed around in my circle of non-historian friends (who liked it) "The Swerve"--was written by one of the great Shakespearean scholars currently working, Stephen Greenblatt. Again, it is "popular" history--well-written and compelling, covering some of the same period and answering the question--what did it mean to recover classical texts, and why was it so important? It's a quest story, but really gets what that recovery meant for the modern world:

https://www.amazon.com/Swerve-Became...ps%2C64&sr=8-2

The third one (older) and probably more for dipping than reading cover to cover--is the story of the Dutch republic--I'll add the title when it floats back up. They were England before England, and the 'why' is also what made the modern world. Ah, and it indeed floated up--Simon Schama, 'Embarrassment of Riches: An Interpretation of Dutch Culture in the Golden Age"
https://www.amazon.com/Embarrassment.../dp/0679781242

(FWIW, I'm skeptical of people like Jared Diamond...)

[verticaldoug]

Originally Posted by paredown

I posted in the 'what are you reading'--I quite liked "The Verge"--a popular history that tells some of the key changes that made Europe the economic powerhouse by looking at some key individuals--it's a good introduction to the Reformation/Renaissance/Age of Exploration. It's by no means the whole story, but he tells it well by focusing on 10 key individuals (like Christopher Columbus) to make his points:
https://www.amazon.com/Verge-Reforma...ps%2C74&sr=8-1

The other one that I passed around in my circle of non-historian friends (who liked it) was written by one of the great Shakespearean scholars currently working. Again, it is "popular" history--well-written and compelling, covering some of the same period and answering the question--what did it mean to recover classical texts, and why was it so important. It's a quest story, but really gets what that recovery meant for the modern world:

https://www.amazon.com/Swerve-Became...ps%2C64&sr=8-2

The third one (older) and probably more for dipping than reading cover to cover--is the story of the Dutch republic--I'll add the title when it floats back up. They were England before England, and the 'why' is also what made the modern world.

(FWIW, I'm skeptical of people like Jared Diamond...)

I'm pretty sure the modern world is a result of Henry Eight being a horny glutton. Think about it.

[C40_guy]

Bill Bryson's A Short History of Nearly Everything covers everything.

[joosttx]

Originally Posted by Toeclips

History buff here

History of the World - John Roberts
The Western Heritage - Donald Kagan

Those two books gave me a foundation and then found other books at thrift stores and Barnes and Noble

YouTube history videos and go down the rabbit hole as well

One thing I've learned is that I dont know much, gotta keep on reading I guess

I second John Robert’s book. And will give Kagans a read.

[paredown]

Originally Posted by verticaldoug

I'm pretty sure the modern world is a result of Henry Eight being a horny glutton. Think about it.

As a professional historian, I think that argument is only a small part of the story.

[Toeclips]

Originally Posted by joosttx

I second John Robert’s book. And will give Kagans a read.

Very cool
Kagan's books are now split into volumes, they are
kinda academic but very informative

[Toeclips]

One of my favorite attractions to cycling is how much history the pro peloton rides ontop of and passes by historical architecture as back drops