I have become interested in learning about the history of this region, but do not have much of a background in it or in history in general. I am looking for something that is not as dry as a textbook, but a book that is comprehensive and engaging. English is my second language, and I don't know where to start. In particular, I would love to better understand the sociological, political, and ideological development of western society. Any suggestion? Also, feel free to include any interesting snippets of European history in the thread.
>>1265985
What's your first language?
>>1265985
Read a book about Ancient Rome if you want to learn a lot about European history. Focus on imperial period and the rise of Christianity. Also a a book about Ancient Greece is also good.
>>1266047
Spanish
any other notorious historical figures like this guy?
He had 8 closed loops in 5 generations
>>1265284
yeah pretty gross
Guys remember that battle that was won thanks to axemen?
Me neither.
Axes were so fucking dog shit no one can even tell any military unit who used them
>inb4 muh vikings
who also happened to use fucking spears besides every weapon is good when you're against unarmed people.
>>1264556
Battle of Moria
Didn't the Varangian Guard use two-handed axes to some extent?
>>1264556
you have your own thread going on about spears mate, why do you need this?
Spears shit all over other melee weapons (aside from pikes aka even longer spears)
>b-but what if you run past the pointy end like in my anime :(
shortening the grip is not rocket science and spear was long to prevent people from closing the distance to begin with also when used with both hands it's fast as fuck so good luck with it and if the guy used it with a shield it meant he was standing right next to other guys with shields and spears so that would be some Nightcrawler tier bypass
fuck swords
fuck maces
fuck axes
>>1264482
There is a weapons board
>>1264482
>not halberds
OP is fag
>>1264482
t. Peasant
What is the prevailing legacy of Franco in Spain? Was he a net good for the country, or would the country have been better off with the Republicans controlling it?
>>1264263
Every Spaniard I've ever met hates Franco.
However I also heard that the Civil War is something you should never talk about in Spain, so I imagine he must have some support.
>>1264263
My high school Spanish teacher grew up under Franco and had nothing but good things to say about him. If you can say one good thing about him, he kept Spain out of WWII and mostly uninvolved in the Cold War.
As far as I understand, the leftwing in Spain hates him and the rightwing loves him.
Can this be seen as an accurate descrpition of what happend ?
>>1264239
serbshits
>>1264239
The eternal ***
>>1264239
yo mama
would Caesar be a better emperor than his successors if he hadn't been assasinated?
>>1263947
Define better? Caesar claimed he killed about 1,000,000 gauls and enslaved another million (no doubt exaggerated).
He was a complete sociopath who was mad with power, so I'd imagine he'd be similar to Nero albeit a better conqueror. his treatment of the native populations of conquered territories would probably only spawn more rebellions, so in my opinion not that gr8 m8
>>1263947
well had caesar lived, he wouldn't have been an emperor. the emperors only came about due to and after his death. if caesar live he would have continued to be dictator for life and there is some evidence that he may have wanted to be diefied.
>>1263976
caesar would definitely not have been a Nero before there was even a Nero. caesar actually treated the Gauls and other tribes he conquered rather well considering how many ancients would have. he showed clemency towards them and made alliances with them too.
>threads about religion
>threads about communism
>threads about nazism
Why the fuck is this board so shit? It should be just about fucking history before WWII
>>1263807
If it were restricted to pre-WWII history it would just be
>threads about Rome
At least this way there's a few different types of posts at once.
>>1263807
American hours.
That's /pol/ for ya, bud
So Mike Duncan is compiling and publishing all the transcripts from the History of Rome Podcast in a four-volume set. http://www.revolutionspodcast.com/2016/06/the-history-of-rome-vol-i-the-republic.html
He's also writing "The Storm Before The Storm" about what led to the conditions that allowed Augustus to turn the world's most famous anti-monarchist republic into a monarchy. [spoiler]It's also doing some classic historical writing and trying to place America somewhere along the timeline of Roman history, to see what the possible future might be[/spoiler]
http://www.adweek.com/galleycat/podcast-host-mike-duncan-inks-book-deal/110975
Has he crossed the line into 'actual historian' yet, or at least 'more respected than Dan Carlin'? Also, general hype. For all the errors in the first episodes (which are being corrected in the book) I thought he did a good job of moving at a respectable speed through centuries of history and drawing out some important lessons.
>>1263511
Historians are not describers of the past. Historians do research. They try to explain the past according to the surviving evidence. Some historians do create textbooks and descriptive non fiction works about the past, but creating these kind of works does not make one their author an historian. Therefore, Mike Duncan is not an historian.
>>1263950
So Hans Delbrück is not a historian because he draws conclusions?
Historiography of any scope shows far more people taking in data, interpreting it, and demonstrating conclusions (especially trying to apply past situations to present events) than it shows academic machines who put out bland paste without offering some sort if interpretation (and that many who try still fall prey to their own inherent biases).
>>1263511
He's crossed over into the Tom Holland or John Julius Norwich level of "popular writer of history" but not a historian.
How did the general standard of living change during his rule?
Dramatic decline for anyone who wasn't a government official
>>1263423
being a government official during stalin's regime was a 50/50 chance of ending up with a bullet in your head
>>1263423
In fact, almost the opposite. Standards improved greatly though they were (necessarily) substandard compared to the already advanced capitalist nations of the time.
What the fuck went so wrong?
>>1263348
Liscence Raj and later liberalization.
But how did a really poorly-run formally Communist China, beat India 1990-present?
>>1263348
China just keeps spamming local governments to increase their GDP to keep them in check
>>1263348
Open defection and the ensuing infant diseases.
Is the number 4 real?
This 4 is real.
>>1263329
Are these dubs real?
Numbers aren't real, they're just made up, like the rules of chess
what makes something funny?
It's dangerous but harmless.
If it's lol
""""""""social construct""""""""
Name a memey-er country
Belgium and it's not even close.
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>
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What is the /his/ consensus on pic related?
not drunk but seriously drunk
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/northamerica/usa/6216594/Drunk-Boris-Yeltsin-tried-to-hail-taxi-outside-White-House-in-underpants.html
>>1263131
Bloviating useless drunkard.
The real destroyer instead of Gorby