Books and history: English, European, American and World, ancient and modern, and some literature, probably with a little philosophy, if it seems sensible!
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I have come across the Oxford version in bad condition and in good condition at lots of money... etc. It was kind of a nice redemption of patience, restraint and stubbornness!
Interesting books, at excellent prices. I find many geopolitics, history, philosophy, and other niche itersts are often in good condition, if you are lucky.
Got to be a joke about you crossing the Rubicon to get the book back. The colonialism narrative being pushed is just one element of anti western cultural ideas. Let's hope it results in utopia this time! Great cover on The Old Man and the Sea. I think you are going to be dealing with lots of layers of nostalgia. The first being the characters own feeling of nostalgia over their lives. Second wave looking back at the moment in time of society that has passed. The third, your own memories of reading it at twelve. Best wishes.
It was deceiving in many ways. She never explains that to vote you needed to a citizen and to be a citizen you needed to pick up arms and fight for the state. Instead we get a lukewarm feminist statement--women couldn't vote. Honestly, she had an agenda. Her whole argument is that an open-door immigration policy was the reason for their success. It might've one of the reasons but she never mentions the whole story. But she really lost me because she was disrespectful to modern citizens of Rome for absolutely no good reason--weird.
She does say (267) that those without property could not fight in the legions - and Marius changed that rule. And that citizens could vote but had only a limited voice in decision the making process, and yet, we are confidently told that it was the people, no less, that voted for Marius to lead the Roman army into the Jugurthan War! It may be she never explicitly makes the connection known to the average reader between voting, fighting _and citizenship_ at all.
@@richarddelanet I would love to hear your thoughts on a book called Hypatia of Alexandria by a Polish historian called Maria Dzielska. Do you know it?
@@TheLinguistsLibrary Alas I have not heard of it. It was published in the U.S. so isn't generally available here in England. It sounds very interesting for no other reason than the subsequent uses and abuses of her story.
Enjoyed your discussion on covers, I agree some publishers put more thought than others and some overdo it for different reasons and some don't seem to bother much at all lol
@richarddelanet I remember it being pretty good but it was quite a few years ago. I think he discussed tradional oral storytelling cultures past and present quite well from what I remember.
@@TriumphalReads I have heard it said verbal culture is a neglected area of history or at least potential history, hearsay even? That was via the TV however. So you pays your money, or spends ya time.
@@richarddelanet yes, another project. I have a notebook full of them, but will I live that long? I think to read a conventional good history of the renaissance alongside this would be interesting. I wonder which would win us over.
Haven't read much on Tudor anything so thanks for pointing this one out to watch out for. There seem to be lot of daily or 24 hour guide style histories as well recently for some reason I've noticed.
I have Dan Jones _Magna Carta_ out of my local library (we have our very own). Maybe I can reserve judgement until next year Q2 - and its comparison to the Nicholas Vincent versions?
I appreciate the comment. It is not always a straightforward task to resolve opinion when we know perfectly well someone is... how can I put this ... being economical with the evidence. The purchase and encounter with such volumes is however part of the entire picture; it takes everyone to make up the fullest version of historiography.
I did a course about Johnson's Rasselas. It's the first mention I've seen on RU-vid. At least we have both read it. I like Dr. Johnson and wish he was read more today. Another excellent video, Richard, thank you. I recently bought several Camus books, I ought to get to them.
Richard, I have lots of Arnold Bennett, the Clayhanger series is great. I think he was a smoker, and you have to remember, although used in the war, antibiotics were still crude and when I was given them for a bad case of Scarlet Fever I got worst. This was in 1952. I think you may find 1970s reissues, if you have no objectio to secondhand books. Another really good short video. Thanks.
Arnold Bennett died after drinking tap-water, in France in January 1931, and was how he contracted typhoid. Alas. He was 63 of course. Medical advances have been extraordinary over the last 50-100 years. Penicillin was the first antibiotic, 1928. Its all been advance Britannia since then! Although of course the Victorian public sewage systems did so much good in eradicating typhoid amongst other horrors. Typhoid was still quite well know in America in 1920 for example.
@@richarddelanet I'd forgotten that. In fact it was penicillin that I was allergic to. I know his chest wasn't good because of smoking heavily since it is mentioned in his journals. Typhoid was a real killer at various periods. It seems to come and go through history.
@@richarddelanet wasn't the fact that it was waterborne the reason it ultimately died out in London when better hygiene regulations came in? I wonder why it lasted in the US until the 1920s.
You sent me to my bookshelves. I feel sure I have an Arnold Bennett hidden in there somewhere ... yes. Whom God Hath Joined. Have you read it? Wonder if I can fit that into my schedule soonish
I just did an internet search and turned up _Whom God Hath Joined_ as the 4th episode of Upstairs, Downstairs. Lol. I haven't read it alas, I have only read the two books appearing in the video. But audiobooks may exist!
Well, that’s a shame. I’m not necessarily drawn to the subjects he’s covered thus far, but it’s always disappointing to find that an author doesn’t live up to his hype.
Marketing and PR is a perennial issue that we are required to reckon with from time to time, but yes I appreciate your sentiment. When all sorts? have been vaunting whatever it may be, Peter Wilson in this instance, the plot has thickened!
Thanks for the recs, q3 is the one I need them rhe most haha. The one most interesting to me you showed would be the Robert Hooke one for sure with the natural.history elements.
Micrographia was the word I was after in the video. Hooke was a contemporary of and worked with Wren. Amongst other things he was the first Curator of Experiments of the Royal Society!
Loved the video Richard. David Hamilton, Liza Pecard and the Lisa Hardin books are all musts, either this or next year. I really will definitely read the book on Samuel Johnson this year and hopefully a couple of the others. Thanks for great suggestions.
@@battybibliophile-Clare Wow. I'm pleased you liked the video(s) and will get plenty of positive from it. And moreover, it is interesting telling the truth, is really quite a simple easy thing to do. I don't have any trouble with it at least. Lol. Meantime I look forward to further video uploads. 🤗
Interesting. But around here, tea is usually only served ice cold with loads of sugar. Some would probably consider this a crime against civilization. 😊
Nice video. My formal education was heavy in science and mathematics, and I've been trying to make up for my personal deficits in history and literature. There's still a long way to go. Surprisingly, despite having read a great deal of science fiction and fantasy, I still haven't tackled Dune. I enjoyed the old film of The Good Earth and would like to read the novel. I've read and enjoyed some Hemingway, but I haven't gotten to that title yet. As a God Might Be, Middlemarch, and Nelson are all books I would very much like to read. Dostoevsky is probably my favorite of all the "literary" writers I've tried so far. Several people have told me Tolstoy is better. Hopefully I'll find out soon. 😁
I had a period of time over recent years when I thought Nobel Prize winners of Literature must be a good thing to explore, so I read some Hemingway, Toni Morrison, V S Naipaul, Pearl Buck, plus others like Orwell. Pearl Buck's _The Good Earth_ is easily my number one pick.
Glad you enjoyed! Here are the questions: 1. Actions speak louder than words. A book that wasn't or couldn't be better than the film. 2. The grass is always greener on the other side. A rags to riches, or a riches to rags, story. 3. The apple doesn't fall far from the tree. A parent-child relationship you loved. 4. You can't judge a book by its cover. A great book that NEEDS a better cover. 5. You can't please everyone. A book you hated/loved that everyone else loves/hates. 6. What doesn't kill you makes you stronger. A book you are a better person for having read. 7. Love is blind. A book with a disabled character, or actual "blind love." 8. Ignorance is bliss. A book you know is bad but don't want to admit it, or a book you don't want to read in case it's bad. 9. There is no time like the present. Your favorite contemporary book. 10. Better safe than sorry. A book you don't want to read in case it's bad, or vice versa.
Really enjoyed this tag and most of it's questions. I plan on trying to read some classics at some point, hopefully soon haha, like Hemingway that you mentioned. That 2 volume Nelson looks interesting. I'll definitely be looking into it as that era is one that I haven't read or learned much about.
Yes the Nelson biography out of the however-many there are is apparently the best there is - though that is perhaps a bit of a near thing. It is certainly another good book that I hope to review at some point via historathon-Q3?
@@TriumphalReads Yes I noticed your reading of _The Pursuit of Power_ recently. That is one I have yet to find at a good price. I am also a twinge thin in the c.18th. But historathon may provide, yet! Lol.
I always feel a need to listen to your videos twice to be sure I caught everything. I say that approvingly. "Although narrative history has not always been fashionable, the facts sometimes explain themselves better than any analysis of them could possibly do." Love that Sumption line.
Thanks Bryan. It's good to hear your feedback and as a fellow enthusiast for history! Funnily enough, I am enjoying making these things more than I had anticipated. Meantime I look forward to having a proper crack at the Sumption. I managed the first 150 pages so far, of the Cambridge History. I am guessing of course, you will see why that appears to provide a natural break in the text. Lol.
Arguments about the advantages and drawbacks of civilization and the alternatives often drift slightly over my head, but what I can grasp is always interesting. And what is this "pur...pose?" 😁 Very substantive and enjoyable commentary!
Thinking about barbarians, the military side of things, defense of the realm etc very quickly and naturally sprang to mind. American films have an awful lot of heroes that end up having to seek and obtain justice as individuals. The Henry Fonda film broadens that approach.
The court room scene is from the Old Bailey. The Henry Fonda picture is from the film _Twelve Angry Men_ (very recommended if you haven't ever seen). I have tagged the two booktubers that also appear.
Looks like a couple of good books there. I've totally forgotten about those Cambridge Histories. Ill have to check out what topics and titles are available
Hey, waving a dismissive tyrant hand over something sounds like fun! 😁 Nah, nice thoughts on the importance of ancient history. And invocations of Lucretius always get my attention. Your Q2 reading looks interesting. I've collected six entries from that Cambridge History of China series so far. They're very nice volumes, but they tend to be pricey. Hope you enjoy!
Evidently it is easily done: the tyrant hand... A couple of RU-vid videos said pretty well as mentioned, which didn't seem right somehow, and got me thinking. My strategy with respect to books like the Cambridge History of China is to wait until they are affordable. I have two. The other one includes some surprisingly interesting details about imperial taxation and Shanghai during the c.19th. Perhaps that era is more relevant first time round? Lol.
Nice, I have the same edition. Didn't realize they were moving more online versions. Didn't Eben know there was a companion book. I've found it helpful quite a few times
Q1 was a busy reading time for me. And what turned out a terrific introduction, to the whole ancient and classical period. I hope I did the various books at least some justice in this and previous vids.
Roman technology and influences reaches all the way to the 20th century and determined the size of the booster rockets on the space shuttles. How? The components of the boosters were made in California and transported to either Houston or Cape Canaveral by train through tunnels in the Rocky Mountains. The rockets were made just small enough to fit through the tunnels. The size of the tunnels was determined by the railroad gauge - 4 feet 8-1/2 inches. That odd width came from the railroads in Europe. Those railroads were based on the width of the Roman roads and wagon track width which came from the chariots and wagons used by the Romans. That track width was based on the width of 2 horses side by side. So, one of the greatest accomplishments in travel came from two horses bums. Or so I've heard.
I'm not in any way sure what you are saying Mr Willis: Roman technology is not so good as I think it is? Roman technology is far inferior to present day American technology? Roman roads were too narrow for two carriages, and the British railway gauge was also narrow compared to wider gauge? You're a Christian national-chauvinist? There are these possible meanings but nothing definite, nothing overt or explicit, nothing like a meaning at all except some muddle and timidity.
Books concerning the USSR will most likely feature later in the year - Q4, so I was thinking I might say something at that time, with the right books in front of me...?!!
Some interesting books here, Richard. I really liked your chat too. I have read Don Quixote several times, it gets better with each reread. You are in for a treat. I always think the second part is less good but still a wonderful read.
Thanks Clare. Glad you liked the books. I ought to have mentioned Jeff Rich with respect to highlighting the _Civilisations_ book, see @theburningarchive for more. The Lisa Jardine mention links to her terrific books.
Yeah the tag seems to have happened on booktube three years ago and only re-surfaced this year. Confucius is very economical in his word count and his references can be very contemporary.
I have several of Robin Lane Fox's books and I like their clarity and ease of reading.. I hadn't thought of rereading his Classical World, but will do so in March. I want the Oxford too. Thanks for the brief but very useful review.
Yes, clarity and ease, completely agree. I saw him talking on a RU-vid chat-thing and he was clearly so entirely involved in his subject. The idea of conveying all that any old way seemed pretty antithetical. Times change however, or is that fashions? I'm glad you gained some value out of it. I had been thinking about possible attention spans?? maybe generational or genuinely interested by contrast the otherwise.
@@richarddelanet yes, I like long books, but I'm as old as the Greeks., and don't have a short attention span. You said what you wanted and didn't pad it out. It's padding out in books and videos I don't like. War and Peace and Middlemarch are favourite novels, so not averse to the king form. As for history, what is better than a long, well written text? One that one can lose oneself in.
I remember reading most of the Oxford History of Greece and the Hellenistic World back in college. I'm sure there's quite a bit of overlap. Can't remember if I read the Michael Grant one. I have it and I may have but can't fully remember tbh lol. The Robin Lane Fox one I haven't yet but it's on my Folio Society list of titles to get. Nice to see some ancient Greek history!
It is neat when these guys add something to what is all ready existing. The Lane Fox seems like an ideal start point. He says all sorts of good things about Athenian democracy. It has set things up for me.
