tonero

History Generally

History, including biography, is to me more interesting and exciting than reading a novel. Provided it is well researched and written, of course.

This page is intended to list some of those books that have given me the greatest pleasure to read.

One book leads to another. Picking up Roy Jenkins' book about Gladstone in a bookshop I realised how little I know about that period in British politics. This led on to Douglas Hurd's book on Disraeli and Richard Aldous' unkind (but probably justifiable) biography on both entitled The Lion and the Unicorn. (If you thought bad behaviour in parliament was new this will cure you). Douglas Hurd's book led me on to his book about Robert Peel, prime minister at the time they entered parliament. I'll be listing my favourites in this area soon.

Another engrossing read on another topic is William Dalrymple's Return of a King, the Battle for Afghanistan Bloomsbury Publishing 2014. Couldn't put it down!

Some great books about German History.

• Iron Kingdom; The rise & downfall of Prussia 1600-1947 (Preußen, in Germany)
  • Christopher Clark, Penguin, 2007
  • Clear, balanced history which is becoming an authoritative classic; eminently readable

  Dreadnought; Britain, Germany and the coming of the great war

  • Robert K Massie, Vintage, 2007
  • Not just about the arms race leading up to WW1 but much personal detail of people of influence and their activities in both Britain and Germany

  The Three Emperors: Three cousins, three empires and the road to World War One

  • Miranda Carter, Penguin, 2010
  • A real hoot from start to finish; couldn't put it down

Title	Author	Publisher	Date
Iron Kingdom; The rise & downfall of Prussia 1600-1947 (Preußen, in Germany)	Christopher Clark	Penguin	2007
Unbeatable clear, balanced history which is becoming an authoritative classic; eminently readable
Dreadnought; Britain, Germany and the coming of the great war	Robert K Massie	Vintage	2007
Not just about the arms race leading up to WW1 but much personal detail of people of influence and their activities in both Britain and Germany
The Three Emperors: Three cousins, three empires and the road to World War One	Miranda Carter	Penguin	2010
A real hoot from start to finish; couldn't put it down
The coming of the Third Reich	Richard J Evans	Penguin	2004
The best book I know that tracks the events in Germany leading to Hitler's rise to power in 1933
Evening in the Palace of Reason, Bach meets Frederick the Great in the age of enlightenment	James gaines	Harper	2005
Portraits of Bach and Frederick in great detail
Bismark, A life	Jonathan Steinberg	Oxford	2011
A detailed study of Bismark. The depth of the detail means it isn't the easiest read but it is masterfully researched and written.
Bismarck The Man and the Statesman	AJP Taylor	Vintage	1967
Direct and accessible this old classic requires some prior knowledge on the subject
The Sleepwalkers, how Europe went to war in 1941	Christopher Clark	Penguin	2014
opening with the assassination of the unpopular royal family of Serbia in 1903, shows how the responsibility for 1st WW is shared among many nations, not all obvious; little detail about Germany, which is available in his other books
Englanders and Huns: The culture clash which led to the First World War	James Hawes	Simon&Schuster	2015
Interesting to say the least. Some fascinating facts about the German navy and the effects of newspapers on public opinion
The Deluge The great war and the remaking of Global Order	Adam Tooze	Penguin History	2015
Perhaps a book more about the United States than Germany. A mammoth book well worth the effort if you can get past the introduction
The War that Ended Peace	Margaret MacMillan	Profile Books	2014
The Perfect Nazi	Martin Davidson	Penguin	2010
An insight into how a man developed into a Nazi from the time of the 1st World War
Towards The Flame	Dominic Lieven	Penguin	2015
Insights into the origins of the First World War from the Russian Perspective. The later part of the book is facinating
The German War A nation under Arms 1939-45	Nicholas Stargardt	Vintage	2016
Following the 2nd World War from the writings of Germans at arms and at home. What they really thought - an eye-opener

Some recent readable paperback books on British History

Title	Author	Publisher	Date
The King's Assassin, The fatal affair of George Villiersand James I	Benjamin Wooley	Macmillan	2017
Detailed research, eloquently told
The White King, The tragedy of Charles I	Leander de Lisle	Vintage	2018
Set to become the definitive work, setting the record straight
The King and the Catholics, The fight for rights 1829	Antonia Fraser	W & N	2018
Vintage Fraser, eminently readable