What history books are you currently reading or have recenly read?

[lord of the mark]

The Pacific War, by John Costello.


One volume on Pacific theater of ww2, including brief history of strategic rivalries from 1890 or so up to the war.

[chequita guevara]

The Gnostic Gospels, which is essentially a history of early Chrisitianity and its heresies.

[lord of the mark]

Originally posted by chegitz guevara
The Gnostic Gospels, which is essentially a history of early Chrisitianity and its heresies.

Elaine Pagels? Influenced Harold Bloom, who claims to be a Gnostic.

[Sirotnikov]

War and Strategy a very lengthy book by Joshafat Harcabi. It tells a whole lot about the history of warfare, morality of warfare, strategy and what not.

The Tank Fisco of 1941 by Vladimir Beshanov. About the history leading to the russian tank fiasco and generally about world war 2.

[chequita guevara]

Originally posted by lord of the mark
Elaine Pagels? Influenced Harold Bloom, who claims to be a Gnostic.

Yep.

I'm also reading From Velvets to Voidoids: A Pre-punk history for a post-punk generation. It's quite interesting, and I get to find out about bands I'd never heard of which influence the music we listen to today, and then look up their music on KaZaA. The thing about revolutionary music is that it doesn't sound very revolutionary 30-40 years later. Think about that, punk music is more than 30 years old.

Also a collection of reviews by Lester Bangs, not so much an actual history but certainly an historical document.

[JCG]

The Third Reich: a New History, by Michael Burleigh.

A one volume history of the Nazi regime, from pre-war to post-war.

Reviews in general are quite positive, though its length (800+ pgs) and use of scholarly/academic terms may possibly be a bother. Evidently his bias is anti-Nazi, too (one of the few "PC" biases).

[lord of the mark]

Originally posted by chegitz guevara


Yep.

So does Ms. Pagels seem to know much about Rabbinic Judaism? (or pharisaic to be less anachronistic, though i dislike the associations)

[chequita guevara]

She doesn't deal much with it in The Gnostic Gospels, but she touched on it in The Origins of Satan. She argues there that the Christian concept of Satan arises out of Judaism's "failure" to recognize the divinity of Christ. Concepts of sin and evil are a result of the struggle of ideology between the orthodox Chrisitans, the gnostics, and the Jews. I didn't finish that book, and it's been at least two or three years since I read it.

In TGG she deals more with the idelogy of the gnostics (which seems to be highly Eastern influenced) and the struggle between the orthodox and gnostics over the beliefs of Christianity.

[The Templar]

The Judicial Power of the United States: the Eleventh Amendment in American History by John Orth. Great, if depressing, stuff.

[Ramo]

I'm reading a history of American socialism (and its possible future). Arghh.. forgot what it was called. It's a decent book, but it doesn't mention enough about anarchism or syndicalism (which is ok for me, but not for the uninitiated).

[chequita guevara]

Face it Ramo, anarchism, outside of Chicago, wasn't very important in the US. And the Chicago anarchists weren't what we'd call anarchists today. Most of them were communists, but anarchist is the label that stuck and since it scared the local elite, they wore it happily.

[Stuie]

Crusade in Europe by Dwight D. Eisenhower.

Somehow I ended up with all my dad's old WW2 books when we settle the estate, and this one ended up on my desk at work. So I read it during lunch when I forget to bring the book I'm really reading with me to work.

[Ramo]

Face it Ramo, anarchism, outside of Chicago, wasn't very important in the US.

True, but I would've liked to see more than 10 or so pages about anarchism/syndicalism out of a 300 page book.

Most of them were communists, but anarchist is the label that stuck and since it scared the local elite, they wore it happily.

Anarchism in the 1880's was a lot closer to communism in the 1880's in general than it is today. It's tough to make clear distinctions.

[Chemical Ollie]

"Black Hawk Down" by American journalist Mark Bowden
"Stalins Hämnd" (Stalin's Revenge) by Swedish journalist Niclas Sennerteg
"Berlin" by British historian Antony Beevor

I recommend them all, in that they are (seemingly) non-biased, full of never before published first-hand reports, detailed in references, and last but not least exciting and liveful. You can follow both the strategic overview and the fate and struggle of individual grunts and innocent civilians. Not as dry and technical as other history books tend to be.

[lord of the mark]

Originally posted by Ramo
I'm reading a history of American socialism (and its possible future). Arghh.. forgot what it was called. It's a decent book, but it doesn't mention enough about anarchism or syndicalism (which is ok for me, but not for the uninitiated).

Ive read "Marxian Socialism in the United States" by Daniel Bell, which i suspect you and Mr Guevera wouldn't quite approve of (given that Bell was close to being a neo-con). Besides its dated, and certainly (given the title) didnt focus much on anarchism or syndicalism.