8. A microhistory

[Kerry]

Does a book on the Titanic fit this category?

[Aly]

Kerry wrote: "Does a book on the Titanic fit this category?"

I don't see why not! It's a very specific historical and cultural event

[Kerry]

Thanks! I can use 1 of the 5 books I've read on it. LOL

[Cendaquenta]

Would Literary London fit this prompt?

[Tytti]

Megan wrote: "I highly recommend The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society, it was just a good story, well rounded!"

How is it microhistory? It's a novel.

[Ann]

http://librarybooklists.org/nonfictio...
A great list of microhistories
So sorry, the last time I viewed this link all of the links worked!

[Ann]

http://www.librarything.com/tag/micro...
lots of ideas

[Rilly]

Does Hard Choices by Hillary Rodham Clintoncount as microhistory? Or is it a bit of a stretch?

[Jackie]

Rilly wrote: "Does Hard Choices by Hillary Rodham Clintoncount as microhistory? Or is it a bit of a stretch?"

It depends. I personally distinguish memoirs and microhistories as being separate genres, but many people don't. If you don't care that it's a memoir, I would say that the topic and scope are right for this prompt.

[Crumb]

I just finished Bachelor Nation: Inside the World of America's Favorite Guilty Pleasure by Amy Kaufman. If you are a Bachelor fan.. this is a must!
This book would work perfectly for this prompt. It takes a large genre, reality T.V. , and focuses on the history behind one show, namely The Bachelor.
My review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

[Tina]

Linda wrote: "I would assume this book would work? Has anyone here read it? Thoughts?
The Radium Girls: The Dark Story of America's Shining Women"

Oh, good idea! I already had that on my to-read list. Didn't even occur to me for this prompt, so that's perfect.

[Katzi]

Would The Unwomanly Face of War: An Oral History of Women in World War II work? In the broadest sense...

[The Reading Raccoon]

Into Thin Air: A Personal Account of the Mount Everest Disaster

This has been shelved 7 times as a micro history and I already own it. Do you guys think it will work?

[Abbie]

Tina wrote: "Linda wrote: "I would assume this book would work? Has anyone here read it? Thoughts?
The Radium Girls: The Dark Story of America's Shining Women"

Oh, good idea! I already had th..."

I read this for a different prompt and loved it, it's very moving! I think it would definitely work as a microhistory, it's very well researched but since it focuses on the individual women it has a very narrative style.

[Ami]

I read Them: Adventures with Extremists earlier this year. Does it qualify as a Microhistory?

[Jackie]

...maybe? It's hard to tell from the description but this seems more like contemporary nonfiction than history.

[Jessica]

I listened to the audiobook of The Return of Martin Guerre for this.
It was an interesting story. But, I would say it was probably written as more of a scholarly thing than for laymen. It was short though, the audiobook was less than 4 hours.

[Roxanne]

Hawaii’s story by Hawaii’s Queen- author Queen Lili’uokalani.

A short history of Hawaii’s Monarchy and the steps leading to its overthrow and eventual annexation to the U.S.; from Hawaii’s last Queens point of view.

[Sally]

Currently reading Fever by Mary Beth Keane. A novel about Typhoid Mary, which I hope fits this prompt.

[Deb]

I am reading for this challenge. It was already on my bookshelf in the hall when I signed up for popsugar, it was good to have a motivator to get around to it.

Now I am an incurable History geek and Marine Biology geek, so I may be a bit biased. But so far, this is a beautifully written, fascinating book about how the Herring fisheries influenced the history of Europe, written by a man with a fascinating history of his own. He has also traveled widely around Britain with the Herring Exhibition. I never knew that there was such a thing as a Herring Exhibition, I found my mind boggled, slightly.

Every chapter starts with a recipe for cooking Herring, which I am not (so far) game to try, not being a natural fish eater at the best of times.

Anyhow, loving this prompt!

[Darlene]

Does this book fit for this prompt?

A History of the World in 6 Glasses

[Johanne]

Darlene wrote: "Does this book fit for this prompt?

A History of the World in 6 Glasses"

Yes, I would say so. I´m planning to read a related book, namely A Short History of Drunkenness.

[Darlene]

Johanne wrote: "Darlene wrote: "Does this book fit for this prompt?

A History of the World in 6 Glasses"

Yes, I would say so. I´m planning to read a related book, namely [book:A Short History of Drun..."

That one sounds good, too!

[Johanne]

Darlene wrote: "Johanne wrote: "Darlene wrote: "Does this book fit for this prompt?

A History of the World in 6 Glasses"

Yes, I would say so. I´m planning to read a related book, namely [book:A Short..."

My husband is reading it at the moment. The verdict so far is "funny and interesting".

[Pixie]

I need a ruling on whether or not Once Upon a Time: A Short History of Fairy Tale would be considered a microhistory. It's the history of fairy tales and folklore, but it spans multiple cultures because it's more like the conventions of the same. Thoughts?

[Jess]

Leah wrote: "I need a ruling on whether or not Once Upon a Time: A Short History of Fairy Tale would be considered a microhistory. It's the history of fairy tales and folklore, but it spans mult..."

I would say yes because it's focused on a specific topic.

[Deb]

Darlene wrote: "Does this book fit for this prompt?

A History of the World in 6 Glasses"
There may be a crossover from your book to mine: Apparently the herring fishermen of Scotland used to get their wages in whisky....

[Elisabeth]

I'm currently reading Wonder Woman Unbound: The Curious History of the World's Most Famous Heroine - Would this book work for this prompt?

[[deleted user]]

Melissa Willard wrote: "I randomly picked up Argo by Antonio Mendez - it could have fit into the "book made into a movie you've already seen", except I haven't seen it. Those who have read this book, do you think it fits ..."

Absolutely! It's about a tiny bit of history most people don't even know. Great Choice.

[Jackie]

Elisabeth wrote: "I'm currently reading Wonder Woman Unbound: The Curious History of the World's Most Famous Heroine - Would this book work for this prompt?"

Yes definitely!

[Lyor]

Sapiens: a brief history of humankind

[Dana]

I read A Brief History of Vice: How Bad Behavior Built Civilization for this prompt, hope it counts :) I had quite a lot of fun with it :)

[David]

Linda wrote: "I would assume this book would work? Has anyone here read it? Thoughts?
The Radium Girls: The Dark Story of America's Shining Women"

I just came in to ask this very question! Glad to see people are in favour of it.

[Rachelnyc]

I'm still a bit confused about what fits into this category.

Would this book on woman's suffrage work? The Woman's Hour: The Great Fight to Win the Vote

[Nadine in NY]

Rachel, I admit to be a little confused too, but I think that book would work perfectly.

[Rachelnyc]

Nadine wrote: "Rachel, I admit to be a little confused too, but I think that book would work perfectly."

Thanks Nadine! I think so too but I wanted a little reassurance.

[Sneha]

I started The Silk Roads: A New History of the World in early 2018 and still only one-thirds into it, because I am slow with non-fic, or it didn't fit any categories in PC2018, or just found other exciting books to read. Now I see this fits the prompt on microhistory, what do you guys think?
Or else I will pick up The Gene: An Intimate History
I also had started Homo Deus: A Brief History of Tomorrow and Guns, Germs, and Steel: The Fates of Human Societies
Suddenly spoilt for choices.. but cannot fit too many categories with these ones

[Teri]

I would think that several books by Alan Brennert would work for anyone who wants something that reads more like a novel but is non-fiction. The two books of his that I have read and recommend are:

Moloka'i about the leprosy colony on the Hawaiian island of Moloka'i. Fascinating.

Palisades Park about the former amusement park in New Jersey. It is a very entertaining read about a family who were part of the park's history. If you love amusement parks, you'll love this one.

[Teri]

I finished The Boys in the Boat: Nine Americans and Their Epic Quest for Gold at the 1936 Berlin Olympics by Daniel James Brown a few days ago and thought it was too bad it didn't fit into any of my remaining categories. A couple of days later it occurred to me that it is a microhistory. Duh!

[Rachel]

Does this book fit this prompt?

I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings

[Heather]

I think I'm going to read 102 Minutes: The Untold Story of the Fight to Survive Inside the Twin Towers. A friend just read it and said that it was incredible! Seems fitting to share the recommendation today.

[Tracy]

Im thinking Grunt: The Curious Science of Humans at War, although I'd be happy reading anything by Mary Roach

[Tracy]

Heather wrote: "I think I'm going to read 102 Minutes: The Untold Story of the Fight to Survive Inside the Twin Towers. A friend just read it and said that it was incredible! Seems fitting to share t..."

I just added this, although I'm not sure how I'll get through it. Being the anniversary some videos came up on my Facebook feed today and i was sobbing. I'll never forget it.

[SadieReadsAgain]

I read The Gatsby Affair: Scott, Zelda, and the Betrayal That Shaped an American Classic for this.

I'll get my moan out of the way first - the title is a bit misleading. This book isn't a study of an affair and its impact on a novel, which is actually why I chose it for this prompt. I don't think it is a spoiler to say that details of the affair itself are not fleshed out, because they are not really known beyond the people involved. I was also left a bit longing for more discussion around how Fitzgerald's writing was shaped by Zelda's betrayal. The book did go in to this, and it is evident that it wasn't just one of his works which picked the affair apart. But I guess I just wanted more depth in that respect.

But actually, I'm glad that the scope of the book was more than it promised at first. This is a examination of a damaged and damaging relationship, of a couple who hurt one another because they felt hurt by one another. It strips away any pretence of romance or glamour, and shows just how toxic the wrong combination of people can be for all around them. I found it fascinating to learn just how heavily both of them borrowed from their lives in their writing, and the power struggle of two creative but very broken people. In my mind, Fitzgerald was very much the villain of the piece, but Taylor gives the reader space to make their own judgement.

It's not as micro a history as the title suggests, but I'm still counting it.

[[deleted user]]

Jen wrote: "Would "In the Heart of the Sea" count?"

I would say yes.

[Sue]

I read Two Sisters by Asne Seierstad. It is about two Somali girls from Norway who left their loving family to join Islamic State in Syria. Most of the book is about their father's desperate efforts to bring them home. Fascinating.

[Robin]

This is a tough one for me. Would the Tatooist of Auschwitz fit?

[Kelly]

Though I have some other micro histories on my shelf, I am debating if The World of Lore by Aaron Mahnke qualifies for this category. It has really captured my imagination. Thoughts?

[Alicia]

Robin wrote: "This is a tough one for me. Would the Tatooist of Auschwitz fit?"

Microhistories are non-fiction. There is a huge list of them that people have shared above. (This is the last book needed for me, I can't decide on one.)

[Lawrence]

I've just finished reading British Poetry and the Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars: Visions of Conflict and I'm trying to persuade myself I can count it here... but it just doesn't seem "micro" enough. It covers English poetry from 1790-1828, looking mainly at seven major poets but touching on others. Too broad, right? Or not??

What about Imagining the King's Death: Figurative Treason, Fantasies of Regicide, 1793-1796? It covers the French regicide in 1793 through the British treason trials of 1794–95, but this is all essentially about one "event". Narrow enough to be a "microhistory"?

I'd like to find something that is already on my to-read list for my dissertation research, but maybe I need to branch out...