Hi everyone!
What are your favorite books that use time travel as a means of writing fiction about history?
I'll start. Two of mine are
The Doomsday Book by Connie Willis
The House on the Strand by Daphne du Maurier
I'd love to hear yours!
I am just starting to get interested in history after loathing it in school classes. I realized that it can actually be interesting when it's not just facts and dates but stories of real things that happened to real people.
I'm looking for some recommendations for some non-fiction books that are relatively short (not kids' picture books but also not giant anthologies) about some different periods in American history that I don't know much about but would like to know more about. I want books that read more like a novel and less like a textbook. But I want good, true history as well. They don't have to be overarching and completely encompassing the whole period or war, because those are generally not detailed enough to be interesting. However, I want more than just "this woman's story," because those stories tend to not be connected enough to the event itself. I'm interested in things like why events happened or were important. I'd rather read four really great short and well-written novels about battles that George Washington led in the Revolutionary War, the drafting of the declaration of independence, what role women had in the war, and how the British fighting style was used against them, then one long book that encompasses all that in a dry and boring style.
The periods I'm interested in reading more about are both World Wars, the revolutionary war, the Korean conflict, and the Great Depression.
Thank you in advance for any recommendations. I'm sorry if I sound really specific but I figure the more specific I was the more likely I was to get recommendations that I would enjoy.
Cross posted to two other communities.
So I got the second one in this series from my brother in law for Christmas, which meant I had to go and buy the first one - this one. I just finished reading it. It's a fictionalised account of Julius Caesar's life. Starts off with he and his friend Marcus growing up on a little estate... learning about how to be good Romans... he's called Gaius, and that's all, until about page 440 (it's a bit over 600 pages long); he then finally gets called Gaius Julius Caesar - I was impressed that the author (Conn Iggulden) had managed to do that, actually (Marcus' full name isn't revealed until the very last page).
It's very well-written, and extremely readable. If you are a really serious fan of Roman history and take exception to any sort of poetic licence, don't read it: he takes a great deal of liberty when dealing with the interactions between Marius and Sulla, for the sake of the story (he says; he cuts it down to just one big armed confrontation). Overall, though, I thought he did a great job - the characters are believable (and for someone who has only really heard bad things about Cornelia, she's actually ok... so far), the dialogue isn't forced, and I have the second one right here, ready to start (I think there are now four or five in the series).
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- Current Music
- Mighty Rearranger, by Robert Plant and the Strange Sensation
I don't know if this is entirely relevant, but I just watched Jim Henson's Storyteller series, doing the Greek Myths. (Hi, I'm new; I love historical fiction!) If you haven't seen this, it's very good. The myths are those of Perseus, Theseus, Orpheus and Daedalus. Michael Gambon as the storyteller is captivating, and something interesting is that most of the actors aren't beautiful - they're just ordinary (although Derek Jacobi as Daedalus was great). Anyway - a plug for a great series!
The other thing that I have recently read is David Gemmell's _Lion of Macedon_ - just the first one so far. It's an interesting take on Alexander, with a slight fantasy element that isn't too overt.
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"Under the rule of man entirely great, the pen is mightier then the sword"
What do you think this quote means in a historical aspect?
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What are the events, trends, movements, migrations significant personages that evolved in 3000 B.C. to 1000 A.D in countries and cultures?
Was there a downside of all of this or more of an upside to civilization?
And who is Clayton Bulwar - Litton?
Hey! I'm new here. My name is Julia and I'm from Chicago. I read constantly... and I read all kinds of things.
Recently, I've become very interested in African American history. What books would you recommend for me to read? I'd prefer well-written nonfiction, but historical fiction would be all right as well. Pretty much any time from when slaves were first brought to the USA from Africa to the 1980s would be interesting to me.
Thank you!!
creative