We have a required reading thread up but I want to know what

The Peloponnesian War - Donald Kagan

Very enjoyable so far. Nice to see different interpretations rather than just knowing Thucydides'.

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Going through Susan Bauer's 'history of the world' series, currently on the second book.

>>519429
How has the series been so far?

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My first book on WWII. I'm about half way through and thoroughly enjoying it.

It focuses mostly on the decisions of the Nazi's that led to their loss rather than that of the Allies decisions that led to their victory.

>>519453
Really good. Writing style is informative but still flows really well.

The chapter are about 10 pages long and will cover about 50 years of a certain civilization, with a comparative timeline at the end of each chapter to summarize all the rulers and big events of the past few chapters.

Goebbels by Peter longerich
>1000 pages pretty fucking in depth

Snorre's king sagas, but it's a struggle to get through.

>>519412

You ever listen to Kagans Yale Lecture?

Its up for free on youtube.

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had to read this for a module, pretty interesting, fills in basic gaps about China

also reading some Chomsky, which is always fun, and a few books about US politcs

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Honestly? I fucking love almost all The Great Courses stuff I have. I pirated a ton of it, but I also bought a bunch off of Audible when they had a big sale.

Also, there are some good history audiobooks out there. I listened to History of the Peloponnesian Wars on audio and had a great time. Currently listening to Napoleon: A Life.

i dont see a required reading thread

>>520735
Are you illiterate or visually impaired? >>508462

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>>519407
Could you share it?
I'm currently reading pic related.

>>521274
How is that? I've heard the title is inaccurate, as they aren't the earliest texts, but aside from that, you enjoying it?

>>520666
Where did you pirate them from?

>>521274
I got it through Audible. As far as I'm concerned getting out a copy to upload wouldn't be easy.

>>522421
There was a surprising number of torrents on pirate bay, but I don't know where to find them now that that is down. Check various torrent sites.

>>524603
kat.cr has some but too few for a lot of audiobooks I look for.

>>519407
This is a pretty god-tier great course. Every lecture is clear an concise and the content builds logically. Very easy listening, way better than most Great Courses material.

I've got this and then I've also got the Fall and Rise of China so I'll get a good overview of ancient and modern Chinese history just from these two audiobooks.

Also, pro-tip: listen to this shit at 2x speed. You can blaze through a book in 6 hours and your brain adjusts in a matter of minutes to the new speed so you don't even lose anything.


The Introduction to Greek Philosophy lecture series is also fantastic.

>>527431
>Also, pro-tip: listen to this shit at 2x speed.
I considered this for a while since I often listen to books while at work and driving, and the main annoyance has been how slow everyone talks.

And like you said, I am loving how each lecture flows. It manages to cover many different subjects while linking them back to the their importance in the current dynasty. My only complaint in that each lecture leaves me wishing for more information but considering the amount these lectures have to cover I can't fault them for not delving in deep.

>>520666

Is the Napoopan book good? I have lots of credits but after listening to six Ww2 books straight i want a change.

I listened to

Rise and Fall of the Third Reich
Band of Brothers
The Coming of the Third Reich / Third Reich in Power / Third Reich at war (technically 3 books)
Helmet for my Pillow
Rising Sun: the Decline of the Japanese Empire
Panzer Commander, memoirs of Hans von Luck

All good. Some are dryer than others tho.
Also reading Karl Koller's diary covering the final days in Europe. Before that read the memoirs of a norweigan SS soldier.

>>524603

What makes you think the Pirate bay is down?
Its never been down for more than a number of hours.

Just put .se or .jp at the end.

The Ego and His Own

I know I'm late to the party

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Figured it was worth a read before I started with the bible.

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>>527588
I'm enjoying it quite a bit. It's got the reputation of being pretty pro-Napoleon and revisionist compared to the 19-20th century view of being an egotistical villain, and it does come off that way. But he backs his portrayal of events with enough evidence that it doesn't seem pushy about it. I'm only 1/3rd the way through, but it's very detailed and pretty much everything I wanted from a book about Napoleon.

started reading herodotus histories dont know what I am getting into. Never really read a history book before should I take most of it with a grain of salt?

Reading the aeneis and ta eis heauton (meditations) both the original. These books are so much better if they're not translated and altered by someone to convey their politics and to make them normie friendly.

I'm reading a Foreign Policy article by Stephen Walt that revisits realism's place in contemporary world affairs. I've always liked reading about IR theory, and I'm a huge realist.

>>519407
Love the great courses. working on world religions right now.

>>531760
link please

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Reading pic related.

I've developed an unusual fascination for Central Asia over the past few years and I wanted to read a book that sets a good foundation of that area's history (at least by looking at the Mongols). It's been great so far and it isn't too dry at all. Just got to the part where Genghis Khan begins forming his empire.

I believe this book goes all the way to the fall of the successor khanates like the Golden Horde and the Yuan dynasty.

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>Currently reading:
A History of the English-Speaking Peoples - Winston Churchill (unabridged)
Alaska - James Michener
>On the back burner
A Short History of Byzantium - J. J. Norwich (abridged)
Complete Writings of Thucydides
Canada - Steven Leacock
Republic - Plato

>>533959
>A History of the English-Speaking Peoples - Winston Churchill (unabridged)
How is that? I've wanted to read it but it seems like a struggle being 3 volumes long

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Currently reading The Moral Basis of a Backward Society by Edward Banfield (1958).

In this work, Banfield stays in a Southern Italian town for a few months and proposes the sociological theory of "amoral familism". Amoral familism basically categorises the type of society that Southern Italian families find themselves in. A society of suspicion for authority, paranoia and jealousy of other families.

I highly recommend it.

Under Pagan Banner by Artur Szrejter

>>534243
it's very good so far. I would definitely recommend it as a great summation of English history with nice commentary. but there's also nothing wrong with reading the shorter version, I just found the sexy box set of the thing for 15 bucks and i enjoy longer reads anyway.

>>519407
I'm currently reading The Story of Music. Got Wolf Hall and Things Fall Apart coming up, then I might jump into a book on the Plantagnets I've had sitting around for a while.

Does anyone know any good books on the Saxon kings of England?

>>527588
Not him but yes, Andrew Roberts is a pretty good historian even if he does get a bit over excited sometimes.

Its a cosy as fuck read.

>>527588
I loved Andrew Roberts' Napoleon book. The '100 days' section had me so pumped

>>519407
Careful with those. Some of them have very minority opinionated scholars teaching them. Many are good, but try and find out first.

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Hard mode: Judeo-Arabic.

>>534539
>minority opinionated scholars
what is this

>>534563
Like, they don't have anyone who's totally a quack, but they have some people that don't have the majority view of things in their field. In other words, they teach these basic classes like they would at their university, not just as some generic introduction to the subject. There's nothing wrong with that, it's just that sometimes people end up finding out after the fact that they learned something that's controversial/not as widely accepted as anything else. This happens all the time in academia, I just think it's weird for mass marketed intro class subject matter.

>>534563
ayyyy

War and Piece.

Confusing as fuck to keep track of all the russian names but once you manage it pretty nice desu.
Right now I'm at the first battle between Napoleon and the Russians.

>>536126
>War and Piece.
>Piece
Never heard of that one.

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This because glorious nippon steel