history book to read

[tinnitus]

Absolutely PLOWING through the iPhone audiobook of Bill O'Reilley's "Killing the Mob." Concise and engaging.

[Highroller]

Originally Posted by JCook1

"Dead Wake," by Erik Larson, is a great book about the sinking of the Lusitania. It shows the points of view of the passengers, the captain, and the captain and crew of the Uboat that sank it. Excellent writing. Don't know if it's on Kindel, but look for it.

Jack

Erik Larson's always a good read. "Non-fiction novels" is what they call them. It's a genre Truman Capote (more or less) invented in 1966 with the publication of In Cold Blood, which to this day is one of creepiest books you'll ever read.

Larson's book about the hurricane that destroyed Galveston Texas in 1900 is something you'll never forget either. Issac's Storm. Highly recommend it.

And then there's Devil in the White City, a book that manages to tell the story of both serial killer HH Holmes and the 1893 Worlds Fair in a single volume. Great read, couldn't put it down.

These are all best sellers, should be readily available on Kindle and other platforms.

[Bob Womack]

Probably the most gripping book of American Revolutionary War history I've read is The Day the American Revolution Began: 19 April 1775 by William Hallahan. It starts with the very first pitched battle of the Revolution, the Battle of Lexington and Concord outside Boston, and then follows and shows the consequences as the news travels to capitals throughout the Colonies and eventually across the ocean to Europe. I got my copy at he bookstore in Colonial Williamsburg, VA, but you can get it at AMAZON.

Bob

[Gdjjr]

It's a novel based on the draught in the late 40's early 50's, in Texas- the author
Elmer Kelton, grew up on a ranch in far west Texas and incorporated a composite of the ranchers he knew- it was an eye opener for me. I vaguely remember the adults talking about it, the draught, but being a kid (born in 47) I had no idea what was really going on- it is historically accurate- the characters are fiction.

[Gdjjr]

Originally Posted by ghostnote

A book I read last year and enjoyed very much is Empire of the Summer Moon, by S.C. Gwynne. It's the story of the Commanche nation's rise and fall, and if you're at all interested in Native American history, it's a great read. One thing I liked about it is that it's not full of revisionist history or romanticized versions of the times. He doesn't take sides, he just presents the story warts and all. And there are plenty of warts to go around in this history.

Indeed! I used to read a lot of westerns- I learned that most of the authors (and even current ones on current events) do a lot of research on the topic they're writing about- they have to, to make the stories plausible- I've read many westerns that incorporate actual history into their story- for instance, did you know, that Larry McMurtry actually wrote Lonesome Dove to dispel the myth about the west?

And in a later post here, I called out Elmer Kelton- he's written a lot of historically accurate novels- and on the Comanche theme, Mike Blakely did a really good one: Comanhce Dawn- it's mostly fiction but, it's a good one that tells the story of how the Comanche came to be the best horsemen on the Plains- there are a lot of good western authors-

[Gdjjr]

Originally Posted by Slothead56

There’s some deeper readers on this thread! I’m a bit more pedestrian when it comes to history.

Anything by David McCollough is excellent. I particularly enjoyed The Great Bridge and 1776.

Also entertaining is any book in the Killing series by Bill O’Reilly. These books are historically based but written more like novels. Some may argue it’s not “real” history, but you can tell the research is there. O’Reilly doesn’t pull any punches. Killing Jesus, Killing the SS and Killing the Rising Sun were brutal in parts but important to the story.

I've not read any of his books, but, I agree about the research- I've learned over they years all good authors put in a lot of time researching their projects- they have to in order to make them plausible which is what makes them good-

[Gdjjr]

It's heartening to see there are numerous readers on this message board!