History: Actual, Fictional and Legendary discussion
Getting Started: Introduce Yourself
Yes, either this edition or the Penguin edition is probably fine. I used Diaz's account extensively in my section about Cortes and the conquest of Mexico which is in the beginning of my book "North to California." The other fascinating personality in this epic is Cortes' Indian mistress Marina. And you can also go back and read Prescott's classic "Conquest of Mexico." I used Prescott a lot also since it is very vivid, perceptive, and tells you a lot about Cortes. Cortes was probably one of the dozen most capable men in the last thousand years, half Bill Clinton, half Napoleon. Paul A. Myers
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Thanks for the invite. In answer to all your questions I've listed out my all time favorites per sub-category.ADVENTURE
Classic: The Endurance, Heart of/the Sea, Kabloona
BIOGRAPHYS / Politicia
Classic: Benjamin Franklyn, Contemp: Taking Charge
NATURAL SCIENCE:
Classic: Guns Germs & Steel, Fatal Shore, Contemp: Short History of Everything
NATURAL SCIENCE: Natural Disasters
Classic: Johnstown Flood, Contemp.: Crack at the Edge of the World
NATURAL SCIENCE: Evolution
Classic: The Reluctant Mr. Darwin, Contemp: Greatest Show on Earth
HISTORY / Inventions
Classic: Nothing Like It In The World, The Great Bridge, Contemp.: Rocket Men
HISTORY: WAR
Classic: Gulag Archipelago, Contemp.: The Things They Carried
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ADVENTURE
Classic: The Endurance, Heart of/the Sea, Kabloona
BIOGRAPHYS / Politicia ..."
Welcome, Dave.
Wow! We sure have a lot of overlap, though I doubt if I would list your favorites as mine. I notice you are a Simon Winchester fan. I've only read The Meaning of Everything: The Story of the Oxford English Dictionary but I've got most of his stuff on my wishlist.
Hi, I am new to this group and what a great find when you're home on sick leave! Unfortunately medication side effects like blurred vision and inability to focus on an entire sentence, make reading nearly impossible, but I keep trying. Before my illness I finsished ab older but brilliantbook by one of my favorite historians, Fernand Braudel, entitled Memory and the Mediterranean. Beautifully written by a major Annales writer.
Cool post, Dave! I know some of your faves, and am excited by how many I don't know.Ed, good idea about a favorites topic. I think it'd be fun.
Lucinda, welcome! I'm so sorry about your side effects; like many of us, I bet, I sometimes perversely fantasize about being sick so I could just read, but when I'm actually sick, it never works out that way.
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Ed, good idea about a favorites topic. I think it'd be fun.
Lucinda, welcome! I'm so sorry about your side effects; like many of us, I bet, I sometimes perversely fantasize about being sick so I could just read, but when I'm actually sick, it never works out that way.
"
As one of my New Age teachers suggested, "People who call in sick may be more honest than those who actually get sick."
Ed wrote: "Alex wrote: "Cool post, Dave! I know some of your faves, and am excited by how many I don't know.Ed, good idea about a favorites topic. I think it'd be fun.
Lucinda, welcome! I'm so sorry abou..."
Thanks for good wishes! But sometimes memories of books are just as pleasant, as are chats like this which means "to read" list are growing. Also discussions of old faves are a huge pleasure!
Hello everyone! My name is Sonia.I basically love history themed books of all sorts, whether they are historical fiction, memoirs, or just plain history books :)
My favorite time periods I enjoy reading/discussing about include 19th century, WWII, the Warsaw Uprising (which falls under WWII, but its my special favorite, so I'm putting it in separately ;) ), and the Cold War
Nice to meet you all! I'm looking forward to being in this group!
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I basically love history themed books of all sorts, whether they are historical fiction, memoirs, or just plain history books :)
My favorite time periods I enjoy reading/discussing about include 19th century, WWII, the Warsaw Uprising (which falls under WWII, but its my special favorite, so I'm putting it in separately ;) ), and the Cold War..."
Welcome!
I'm hoping we'll get to WW II as a discussion in the not too distant future.
We usually ask people what they want to discuss and then we vote.
Hi folks....I am interested in most historical time periods from ancient Rome to modern, both fiction and non fiction. Some areas I have particular interest in are Ancient Greece and Rome, Medival England (I'm also a member of the SCA) Victorian England, Revolutionary America, the Civil War, and most modern American history since the Great Depression.
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Welcome!
A true Renaissance Historian. Lots of topics to discuss now and in the future.
Greetings.New to the group but recognise many from other groups I'm in. Hello again.
My main interests are probably Scots and Irish Hx...from Skara Brae and Newgrange onwards.
On a big Arthurian read just now. Will revisit the classics next (Herodotus etc).
I tend to go off on tangents.
I go off on tangents a lot also...when I get on a particular person or period i read back thru everything I have on them. I have a fondness for supporting cast people in history, ones who arent main charecter but are involved in everything. My favorite person is William Marshal, who served 4 Plantagenet Kings (5 if you count young Henry) and ended up REgent of England. I just reread Sidney Painters bio of him, now I'm reading Georges Duby's bio. Then I'll probably strart reading stuff on the other plantagenets again. I guess you'd say I free associate.
Hi everyone, I'm Pam.I didn't know this group existed until Stacie asked to be a friend and I saw a link shown in her profile.
I have read about history, fact and fiction, for as long as I can remember. My main interest is in Welsh history. Secondary, is English history.
I publish as P. L. Crompton. My novel The Last Druid is set in Roman-occupied Wales. I feel I know that time period as well as I know today. Recently, Druidry has been accepted as a religion in Britain. I read several of their articles and I'm pleased to say my novel included all the relevant details, including human sacrifice.
My collection of short stories Land of My Fathers is also set in Wales during the 1930s and 40s, so it can be considered historical.
Great to be here!
Pam
Hey Barbarossa, what're you reading on this Arthurian kick?
Pam wrote: "My novel The Last Druid is set in Roman-occupied Wales. I feel I know that time period as well as I know today. Recently, Druidry has been accepted as a religion in Britain. I read several of their articles and I'm pleased to say my novel included all the relevant details, including human sacrifice..."Will look out for it. I read Imperial Governor: The Great Novel of Boudicca's Revolt a wee while back and enjoyed it. Interested in the period.
Alex wrote: "Hey Barbarossa, what're you reading on this Arthurian kick?"Started a while back re-reading old stuff, trans of the Welsh tales (well, he was from the Forth-Clyde valley from my point of view and they'd have been speaking the lingo there before the sasunnachs and gaels turned up), now stuck on the early medieval books...keep thinking, oh just one more then...like sweets...or wee glasses of Highland Park. Currently reading Arthurian Romances and enjoying it, as well as being a good trans it has very good notes.
Thank you. On Amazon.com there's a Look Inside feature you might enjoy. I suggest not looking at the last pages as it might colour your view of the whole novel. Those who have read it loved the surprise ending after they thought it would go in a different direction. http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_nos...I recently watched Warrior Queen on DVD, the story of Boadicea. Brutal but very true to what I know of that period of history. Certainly not for the faint of heart.
Hi Barbarossa. Now you're talking! I speak Welsh, if that's of any help to you. I come from Dyfed, the area of Wales said to be where the Celtic language and heritage emerged to spread across Wales after the Romans left. The Demetae (tribe of Dyfed) didn't openly fight the Romans. They coexisted until the Romans headed home to defend Rome against the Goth.
Interesting stuff, Barbarossa. I read The Mabinogi this past year. Smashing stuff. The Romances sound great.
Pam wrote: "I recently watched Warrior Queen on DVD, the story of Boadicea. Brutal but very true to what I know of that period of history. Certainly not for the faint of heart..."Aye, Imperial Governor: The Great Novel of Boudicca's Revolt doesn't shy away from the horrors. OK, it's from the Roman viewpoint but it doesn't avoid the carnage carried out by them either.
These Britons aren't the tree hugging hippys some books portray them as, they are like a wind of knives.
Those Britons were more likely to use the trees for target practice. One of those goldmines mentioned is in the area where my novel is set for the most part. It takes place 300 years after Boadicea's time but she is remembered. Celts didn't write down their history, it was all word of mouth, so story telling was an art.
Pam wrote: "I speak Welsh, if that's of any help to you. I come from Dyfed..."Kingdom Of Strathclyde originally myself. I used to be able to quote parts of Y Gododdin (sure, wasn't Aneirin a local boy?) bit rusty now, doesn't come up in conversation much.
Ever see or hear the Brith Gof version of it?
I remember reading Y Gododdin when I was at school, but I don't remember much about it. I used Aneurin as the name of a novice in my novel. It seems odd to see it written as Aneirin.Brith Gof? Can't say I've heard of that.
Wee taster of it: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6gjZ-b...Brith Gof and Test Dept toured with show based round the poem.
Many thanks for the link. An interesting slant. Although some of the words were lost beneath the drumming, I think I got it.
I am new here. I joined this group because I love reading about History, especially when it is intwined with a little fiction!
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Hello everyone, I am Cody, I am 14 years old, I am a Karate-Ka, and I love medieval History specifically the 3rd crusades.
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Welcome! Too bad you missed our Crusader discussion. Well you can contribute on that topic if you wish. People may respond.
Hello, I just joined your group. I am an avid lifelong reader and historical books--fiction and non fiction are among my favorites.
I also like science fiction, mysteries and young adult books.
For history, American history from about 1920's on is a particular interest because it covers so much that shaped us--the Great Depression; the Second World War; the many societal changes of the 1960's. etc etc.
But I will try just about anything once. Be warend however--my TBR pile is already huge, so I may not be able to read your favorite suggestion right away.
A speical interest of mine is the history of word origins. I love to see where words came from and how language has changed and so on.
Mary, just to start overwhelming your book list right away: have you read The Professor and the Madman: A Tale of Murder, Insanity, and the Making of the Oxford English Dictionary? Haven't read it yet myself, but a bunch of friends loved it and it looks fascinating.
NOt yet, Alex but it does sound good.
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Hi Im Fran ,interested in history, now im searching a good historical and political biography of Otto Von Bismark . any sugestions? thanks a lot. Fran
Hi everyone,Just wanted to introduce myself. I've an historical fiction author who has just published my debut novel The Marlowe Conspiracy. It's set in Elizabethan England, and features Christopher Marlowe teaming-up with William Shakespeare to expose a high-level government conspiracy.
I've been interested in history and historical fiction for a long time. Probably comes from the fact that I grew-up in England surrounded by a wealth of historical buildings and culture.
Anyway, it's nice to meet you!
I like many different aspects of history, but my main interest is in British History. I love a good historical biography and fiction with Medieval or Renaissance locales. I have a special fondness for murder mysteries set in past eras, such as the novels by Edward Marston, Ellis Peters and Peter Tremayne.
I also write a little history into my own books of fantasy fiction.
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I love a good historical biography and fiction with Medieval or Renaissance locales. I have a special fondn..."
Welcome, A.F.!
I like Peters a lot myself. I also enjoy the Didius Falco by Lindsey Davis and Gordianus the Finder Series by Steven Saylor. Both series take place in Rome.
Ed wrote: "A. F. wrote: "I like many different aspects of history, but my main interest is in British History. I love a good historical biography and fiction with Medieval or Renaissance locales. I have a ..."
I read some of the books by Steven Saylor; I didn't really connect with them, but they were well-written.
Hi, I am Tim and I love historical fiction. My favorite authors include Dan Simmons, Larry McMurtry, Patrick O'Brian, Brian Cornwell, Conn Iggulden, and Colleen McCullough, among quite a few others. I also hope to discover "new" authors through this group.
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Welcome, Tim,
I recognized all the authors except Simmons. Will follow up soon. Hate to think I might have missed someone good.
While I like most of your list, I am not a fan of Iggulden. Find his stuff is too simple.
If you are interested in more Roman history check out Steven Saylor, especially his two volume semi fictional history of Rome.
Ed wrote: "I recognized all the authors except Simmons. Will follow up soon. Hate to think I might have missed someone good."
Ed, Simmons writes both historical fiction and science fiction, even sometimes combining both. In the historical vein, I highly recommend Black Hills, Drood, and The Terror. Black Hills is one of the best books I have ever read.
In the science fiction genre, I loved Ilium and Olympos. I haven't read any of his others, yet.
Ed, Simmons writes both historical fiction and science fiction, even sometimes combining both. In the historical vein, I highly recommend Black Hills, Drood, and The Terror. Black Hills is one of the best books I have ever read.
In the science fiction genre, I loved Ilium and Olympos. I haven't read any of his others, yet.
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Tim wrote: "Hi, I am Tim and I love historical fiction. My favorite authors include Dan Simmons, Larry McMurtry, Patrick O'Brian, Brian Cornwell, Conn Iggulden, and Colleen McCullough, among quite a few others..."Hi Tim,
I love historical fiction, too. For my novel "The Last Druid" I had to call it historical fantasy becauses of the Druid element, but it is heavy on the history side. Doing the research was a lot of fun. It's set in Cambria during Roman occupation, in the place where I come from.
I write as P L Crompton and my books are around all over the place. I believe Smashwords gives the most pages as a preview, but Amazon's Look Inside isn't far behind. I don't know if I'm allowed to post a link, but here goes http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_nos...
Pam
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Hi Pam,
Since you were responding to a previous message, mentioning your own work is O.K.
Ordinarily, though, we have an Author's Corner for authors and their readers to discuss members' writings with or without links.
History: Actual, Fictional and Legendary
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I am a new member to the group invited by Ed.
I read A LOT. Some of my favorite areas are speculative fiction (alternate history especially), history (real and fictional), and religious/cult..."
Welcome Chris,
The "Didius Falco" books are not only interesting they are humorous.
I also recommend Steven Saylor. His main character is Gordianus, the Finder. It takes place during the last days of the Republic. Saylor has also written two Fictional Histories of Rome, one from 1000 BC to the end of the Republic and the other covers the Empire. They are actually a series of short stories involving the same families.
Long but very worthwhile reading.