Anyone Know Any Good History Books About These Topics?

Incanian

Incanian

So, I wanted to learn about a few historical subjects, and I think Books are some of the best ways to do so. If you could help me with the topics I'd like to learn more about in the form of books, it would be heavily appreciated, and if you guys think the thread isn't appropriate here, tell me, and I'll take it down.

These are the book topics I'd like to see. (They can also be any other type of good source)

Qajar Dynasty/Persia in 19th century
Subtopic- 1800 Russo-Persian Wars

Qing Dynasty

Austria-Hungary or Austrian Empire

Mughal Empire

Brazilian Empire or Pedro II

Ottoman Empire

British Empire
Subtopic- British Raj and Indian Sepoy rebellion 1857

Abyssinia

Napoleons Invasion of Egypt

Muhammad Ali's Egypt or Ismail Pasha

Greek War for Independence

Ogaden War

Crimean War

Anglo-Burmese War or the Burmese empire

Balkan Wars

Great Game

Bulgaria in ww1 book

German Empire or Prussia

Italian unification

Tokugawa Shogunate or Boshin War

Basmachi revolt

Chinese Civil War

Crimean War

Fireburn Danish West Indies revolt

Kongo Kingdom

Zulu Empire

Moroccan Crisis

Siamese Empire

Russian Empire

Tipu Sultan/Mysore

Paraguayan war

Russo-Turkish War 1877

Nicholas I

Japanese Empire
Sub topic- Taisho period

Aceh Sultanate

If any of you guys know any good books on these subjects, I encourage you to say.

I know it's a long list, but if you want to contribute, please do.
 
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Captain Jack

History? Awful subject, don’t waste your time with it. :openedeyewink:

I can give recommendations for a couple of those topics now, and a couple more later when I have a chance to double check some titles- it’s been a while since I read some of these. Also, what kind of access do you have? Are you looking for things you'll be able to get through your local library or are you using an academic library? Similarly, how much depth do you want? Plenty of academic books just aren't very accessible or useful unless you already have the interest and background to know where they pick up.


Ottoman Empire:
A Brief History of the Late Ottoman Empire, by M. Sukru Hanioglu
Ottoman Wars, 1700-1870: An Empire Besieged, by Virginia Aksan

Balkan Wars:
The Balkan Wars: 1912-1913, by Richard Hall

Russian Empire:
Village Life in Late Tsarist Russia, by Olga Tian-Shanskaia

Also, are you interested in more general books that would have a couple of chapters on some of the above topics.
 
Incanian

Incanian

Captain Jack said:
History? Awful subject, don’t waste your time with it. :openedeyewink:

I can give recommendations for a couple of those topics now, and a couple more later when I have a chance to double check some titles- it’s been a while since I read some of these. Also, what kind of access do you have? Are you looking for things you'll be able to get through your local library or are you using an academic library? Similarly, how much depth do you want? Plenty of academic books just aren't very accessible or useful unless you already have the interest and background to know where they pick up.


Ottoman Empire:
A Brief History of the Late Ottoman Empire, by M. Sukru Hanioglu
Ottoman Wars, 1700-1870: An Empire Besieged, by Virginia Aksan

Balkan Wars:
The Balkan Wars: 1912-1913, by Richard Hall

Russian Empire:
Village Life in Late Tsarist Russia, by Olga Tian-Shanskaia

Also, are you interested in more general books that would have a couple of chapters on some of the above topics.
Click to expand...

I know right? History is so bland and useless, can't believe people actually like it.

I don't have much access, I am mainly looking for books on Amazon and whatnot, as I'd prefer if I could simply buy the book instead of checking my time left on a books rent.

As for depth, I want the most amount of depth, as I prefer in-depth histories, rather than quick histories. I do have much background, and intrest in many of the subjects, and I'm especially looking for books on the Qing (particularly late Qing) and Qajar Persia/ 1800s Persia, as I'm very interested in Persia in that interesting time period.
 

Tanc49

Haven't checked in details but the Cambridge History series are recognized as very good.
For the Kongo kingdom, the UN History of Africa is also quite good (and free)
 
Incanian

Incanian

Tanc49 said:
Haven't checked in details but the Cambridge History series are recognized as very good.
For the Kongo kingdom, the UN History of Africa is also quite good (and free)
Click to expand...

I've seen a Cambridge series on the Qing Dynasty, both books are $100, and I was considering buying them for a well-detailed picture of the early, and late Qing dynasty. Do you think the books would be good?
 

CountPeter

Genghis Khan and the Making of the modern world.

Its by Jack Weatherford who may be the best authority there is on Genghis Khan and his descendants (to the point where he was given an award by the Mongolian president) and it dispells a lot of the commonly accepted narratives surrounding the Mongol empire.
 

dandan_noodles

Incanian said:
I've seen a Cambridge series on the Qing Dynasty, both books are $100, and I was considering buying them for a well-detailed picture of the early, and late Qing dynasty. Do you think the books would be good?
Click to expand...
Do you have access to a university library, or any form of ILL?
 

Tyler96

Just to cast a look at my bookcase and throw a bunch of titles at you.

Indian Mutiny
  • Saul David's The Indian Mutiny: 1857.
  • William Dalrymple's The Last Mughal (focusing on Bahadur Shah II and stuff in Delhi).
Great Game
  • Peter Hopkirk's The Great Game.
  • Maybe William Dalrymple's The Return of the King (about the first Anglo-Afghan War).
Late Qing/Chinese Civil War- most of the stuff I've read deals with Western involvement.
  • David Silbey's The Boxer Rebellion and the Great Game in China.
  • Shanghai Fury- about Australian involvement in China from the late nineteenth century through to 1949.
  • Robert Bicker's Foreign Devils in the Qing Empire 1832-1914.
  • The Reporter and the Warlords- a biography of Australian journalist Bill Donald, who interacted with Sun Yat-Sen, Chiang Kai-Shek and Zhang Xueliang.
  • There's also a rather dubious biography of Dowager Empress Cixi by Jung Chang.
  • I think Pu Yi wrote an autobiography? Could be worth a look.
  • When America First Met China by Eric Jay Dolin- about American involvement in the China trade.
  • The China Mirage by James Bradley- which charts American involvement in China from the time of Warren Delano as an opium merchant to the presidency of his grandson FDR, looks at American misconceptions about China (particularly regarding missionary efforts), and also examines how this interaction contributed to tensions with Japan and the buildup to WW2.
When you say 'Russian Empire' do you mean stuff dealing with the Tsars (and with a focus on Europe), or stuff focusing on the territorial growth of the empire across the steppe/into Central Asia and colonial enterprises in the Americas?
 

Little Horus

Tyler96 said:
Just to cast a look at my bookcase and throw a bunch of titles at you.

Indian Mutiny
  • Saul David's The Indian Mutiny: 1857.
  • William Dalrymple's The Last Mughal (focusing on Bahadur Shah II and stuff in Delhi).
Great Game
  • Peter Hopkirk's The Great Game.
  • Maybe William Dalrymple's The Return of the King (about the first Anglo-Afghan War).
Late Qing/Chinese Civil War- most of the stuff I've read deals with Western involvement.
  • David Silbey's The Boxer Rebellion and the Great Game in China.
  • Shanghai Fury- about Australian involvement in China from the late nineteenth century through to 1949.
  • Robert Bicker's Foreign Devils in the Qing Empire 1832-1914.
  • The Reporter and the Warlords- a biography of Australian journalist Bill Donald, who interacted with Sun Yat-Sen, Chiang Kai-Shek and Zhang Xueliang.
  • There's also a rather dubious biography of Dowager Empress Cixi by Jung Chang.
  • I think Pu Yi wrote an autobiography? Could be worth a look.
  • When America First Met China by Eric Jay Dolin- about American involvement in the China trade.
  • The China Mirage by James Bradley- which charts American involvement in China from the time of Warren Delano as an opium merchant to the presidency of his grandson FDR, looks at American misconceptions about China (particularly regarding missionary efforts), and also examines how this interaction contributed to tensions with Japan and the buildup to WW2.
When you say 'Russian Empire' do you mean stuff dealing with the Tsars (and with a focus on Europe), or stuff focusing on the territorial growth of the empire across the steppe/into Central Asia and colonial enterprises in the Americas?
Click to expand...
Absolutely second the poster above’s reccomendation of the Great Game by Peter Hopkirk. It’s a history that reads more like a well written adventure story while still providing a wealth of information. Beyond that, I can suggest the Crysanthemum and the Sword by Ruth Benedict and Sources in Japanese History by Theodore de Bary as two essential works on Japan. For general Chinese history(with the associated coverage of Qing Dynasty), I recommend Sources in Chinese History by De Bary(again) and John Fairbank’s A New History Of China.
 
Incanian

Incanian

Tyler96 said:
Just to cast a look at my bookcase and throw a bunch of titles at you.

Indian Mutiny
  • Saul David's The Indian Mutiny: 1857.
  • William Dalrymple's The Last Mughal (focusing on Bahadur Shah II and stuff in Delhi).
Great Game
  • Peter Hopkirk's The Great Game.
  • Maybe William Dalrymple's The Return of the King (about the first Anglo-Afghan War).
Late Qing/Chinese Civil War- most of the stuff I've read deals with Western involvement.
  • David Silbey's The Boxer Rebellion and the Great Game in China.
  • Shanghai Fury- about Australian involvement in China from the late nineteenth century through to 1949.
  • Robert Bicker's Foreign Devils in the Qing Empire 1832-1914.
  • The Reporter and the Warlords- a biography of Australian journalist Bill Donald, who interacted with Sun Yat-Sen, Chiang Kai-Shek and Zhang Xueliang.
  • There's also a rather dubious biography of Dowager Empress Cixi by Jung Chang.
  • I think Pu Yi wrote an autobiography? Could be worth a look.
  • When America First Met China by Eric Jay Dolin- about American involvement in the China trade.
  • The China Mirage by James Bradley- which charts American involvement in China from the time of Warren Delano as an opium merchant to the presidency of his grandson FDR, looks at American misconceptions about China (particularly regarding missionary efforts), and also examines how this interaction contributed to tensions with Japan and the buildup to WW2.
When you say 'Russian Empire' do you mean stuff dealing with the Tsars (and with a focus on Europe), or stuff focusing on the territorial growth of the empire across the steppe/into Central Asia and colonial enterprises in the Americas?
Click to expand...


I'm very interested in the Indian Mutiny, and I also created this thread, because I'll soon start a historical youtube channel, and I need the highest quality books to get the best research, so this is a great help.

Do you have any Mughal Books? I am very invested in learning about the Mughals as well.

And do you think this is a good Indian Mutiny book to get?
https://www.amazon.com/Great-Mutiny...&qid=1531062292&sr=1-3&keywords=indian+mutiny
https://www.amazon.com/Indian-Mutin...&qid=1531062292&sr=1-4&keywords=indian+mutiny


I'm not really sure about the Qing books. I'm mainly interested in the domestic Chinese house, and a bit about the West, but I don't want them to be Eurocentric.

By Russian Empire, I mean anything revolving around the Russian Empire. I just want as many high-quality books as possible.
 

Tyler96

Incanian said:
Snip
Click to expand...

I don't really have anything focusing on the Mughals per se- just some stuff about Englishmen bumbling about more provincial Indian courts (e.g. William Dalrymple's The White Mughals, focusing on the career of James Fitzpatrick Resident of Hyderabad, and his marriage to a local Muslim woman; Ferdinand Mount's Tears of the Rajas, about his family's exploits in India). I would have thought there'd be individual biographies on some of the more noteworthy Mughal emperors but I haven't read any.

Haven't read either of those Mutiny books.

Russia

  • For coverage of the entire Romanov dynasty maybe look at Simon Sebag Montefiore's The Romanovs. His book on Catherine and Potemkin is also sitting in my "to read" pile.
  • There's plenty of individual biographies floating about- e.g. Robert K. Massie's works on Peter the Great (which is pretty comprehensive) and Nicholas and Alexandra (which is also sitting in my "to read" pile... I have a pretty big "to read" pile).
  • For colonial exploits, there's Owen Matthew's Glorious Misadventures- which focuses on Nikolai Rezanov and his mission to California, but IIRC also includes background information on Russian penetration into Siberia and Alaska.
 

UCB79

For the Austrian empire:

THE FALL OF THE HOUSE OF HAPSBURG by
Edward Crankshaw- History of roughly the last 75 years of the Austrian empire.

THE LONG FUSE by Laurence Lafore. Although a history- & an explanation- of why
WWI broke out, this work nonetheless is
splendid @ putting the Austrian empire in
a larger, European context & explaining just
exactly why the empire was unique & how
it worked. In fact I would read this book be-
fore tackling Crankshaw.

For the Russian Empire:

Two works that, while not specifically on said
empire, are nonetheless good, most interest-
ing general histories of Russia which will
@ least enable you to get your feet wet on
this subject:

EMPIRES APART by Brian Landers- How both the Russian & American empires came into
being & grew.

THE ROMANOVS: AUTOCRATS OF ALL RUSSIA by W Bruce Lincoln. The history of
the family that ruled- or should one say
MIS-ruled?- Russia for more than 300 years.

Re The Crimean War:

THE REASON WHY by Cecil Woodham-Smith.
Classic book re the infamous Charge of The
Light Brigade.
 
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Brodydaboss

For the balkan wars, I would recommend "The Balkan Wars, 1912-13: The War Correspondence of Leon Trotsky" its mostly is a series of letters and essays of his experiences during the balkan wars and it has lots of good interviews with layman and their perspective.
 
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