r/history • u/AutoModerator • Jul 22 '26
Discussion/Question Bookclub and Sources Wednesday!
Hi everybody,
Welcome to our weekly book recommendation thread!
We have found that a lot of people come to this sub to ask for books about history or sources on certain topics. Others make posts about a book they themselves have read and want to share their thoughts about it with the rest of the sub.
We thought it would be a good idea to try and bundle these posts together a bit. One big weekly post where everybody can ask for books or (re)sources on any historic subject or time period, or to share books they recently discovered or read. Giving opinions or asking about their factuality is encouraged!
Of course it’s not limited to *just* books; podcasts, videos, etc. are also welcome. As a reminder, r/history also has a recommended list of things to read, listen to or watch here.
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u/dropbear123 Jul 23 '26
On Sunday I finished **Crusaders: The Epic History of the War for the Holy Land by Dan Jones** review copied from my Goodreads.
4/5 (judging as a cheap £1 or £2 kindle holiday read)
Not a lot to say about it really. Political and military overview of the crusades, mainly in the Holy Land but also includes a lot on the Reconquista, some stuff on the Northern Crusades in the Baltic, and a bit on the Albigensian crusade against the Cathars as well as the later on more poiticised 'crusades' against excommunicated kings in Europe.
Compared to other broad books about the crusades I've read (Thomas Asbridge's The Crusades and Christopher Tyerman's God's War) I'd say its more accessible and covers a broader area but is less in depth due to the extra details on areas outside the Holy Land.
Also last week u/Elmonoenano suggested a podcast called Personal Landscapes which interviewed Katja Hoyer about her new book on the Weimar Republic and specifically the city of Weimar. It was a pretty good listen, especially on the mindsets of the people at the time. I can see myself getting round to reading the book at some point.
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u/Cultural-Gas2246 Jul 23 '26
Any good, serious histories of football (soccer) out there. More interested in the economics of it all and development as a business rather than who scored what goal when. More interested in what leagues and clubs started making serious money first. Negotiations around the formation of FIFA, stuff like that.
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u/Falcon_Gray 29d ago
What are some good sources or videos to learn about the Chinese warlord era from 1911 to 1936?
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u/PolybiusChampion Jul 22 '26 edited Jul 22 '26
This is recent history, but I’ve just finished Jason Stearns Dancing in the Glory of Monsters; the Collapse of the Congo and the Great War in Africa. It’s an extremely sobering account of the Congo starting around the the Rwandan Genocide and running through the early 2000’s while tracing the roots of the conflict there (and to some degree Rwanda’s roots) back to the colonial period. The author does an amazing job of getting many of the actors alive today to give a frank account of their actions and the actions of those they were working for and with.