Book Recommendations

[Stargrunt6]

I want to learn more about Ancient Rome, both Republic and Empire.  I also want to learn about the Byzantine Empire as well. What books does the Grate Site recommend?

[sunday]

8 minutes ago, Stargrunt6 said:

I want to learn more about Ancient Rome, both Republic and Empire.  I also want to learn about the Byzantine Empire as well. What books does the Grate Site recommend?

For Rome I would recommend Indro Montanelli's book, but it looks  like there is no English translation.

If you want a funny version that is also almost instructive, have a look to this YT channel: https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=+yter+dovahatty

Edited May 31, 2024 by sunday

[Skywalkre]

Ancient Greece and Rome were my focus in college and fifteen years ago the gold standard of authors on anything Roman military was Adrian Goldsworthy.  From looking over his published works he seems to be quite the prolific writer.  He has several books that appear to cover a more general history of Rome throughout its history.  If the rest of his work is as good as his works about the Roman military you can't go wrong with him.

[Tim the Tank Nut]

the most important thing you must know is that "Rome is your fweind!"

Once you know that everything else is just window dressing.  Years ago I did a dive into Byzantine history and it really was byzantine.  I can certainly see how the phrase came into use.  I also found it pretty depressing.  They had so much going for them and by rights should've remained the center of the known world but bad decision followed bad decision by questionable leadership took its toll.  In a way it is reminiscent of current times.

[NickM]

4 hours ago, Tim the Tank Nut said:

the most important thing you must know is that "Rome is your fweind!"

Once you know that everything else is just window dressing.  Years ago I did a dive into Byzantine history and it really was byzantine.  I can certainly see how the phrase came into use.  I also found it pretty depressing.  They had so much going for them and by rights should've remained the center of the known world but bad decision followed bad decision by questionable leadership took its toll.  In a way it is reminiscent of current times.

With the same enemies waiting to put a scimitar to the west's throat as back then

[Rick]

I've heard that this author is pretty good, though the price for this serious  study maybe somewhat of a deterrence  

https://www.burnsiderarebooks.com/pages/books/160730004/edward-gibbon/the-history-of-the-decline-and-fall-of-the-roman-empire

Edited June 1, 2024 by Rick

[sunday]

5 hours ago, Rick said:

I've heard that this author is pretty good, though the price for this serious  study maybe somewhat of a deterrence  

https://www.burnsiderarebooks.com/pages/books/160730004/edward-gibbon/the-history-of-the-decline-and-fall-of-the-roman-empire

Gibbon is pretty Antichristian, a product of his time.

[Harold Jones]

The acoup blog has some good stuff in the book section https://acoup.blog/book-recommendation-list/

[Ivanhoe]

[17thfabn]

On 5/31/2024 at 2:35 PM, Tim the Tank Nut said:

Years ago I did a dive into Byzantine history and it really was byzantine.  I can certainly see how the phrase came into use.  I also found it pretty depressing.  They had so much going for them and by rights should've remained the center of the known world but bad decision followed bad decision by questionable leadership took its toll. 

I read a good general history about the Byzantine / Eastern Roman / or just plain Late Roman Empire. Around 800 pages. The people of the "Byzantine Empire" would be confused by the term "Byzantine Empire". They thought of them selves as Romans.

I read it about 30 years ago. My take away was there was continuing back stabbing and flipping of kings in certain eras.

They fought among themselves over some remarkably unimportant things. Should churches have iconography or not. 

When did the Roman Empire fall? Three classic answers:

476 when the Germanic Odoacer took over.

Almost a thousand years latter, 1453 when Constantinople fell to the Turks.

It never fell. The Roman Catholic church is the continuation of the Western Roman Empire.

[Ivanhoe]

An oversimplified way I tend to think of European history in the Middle Ages and Renaissance is that it was a sad sequence on focusing on local squabbles rather than the existential threats from the east and south.

Not unique to Europe, of course. The history of the Hebrews has the same recurring theme.

 

[Ivanhoe]

[Rick]

 

: ) {this is my black and white photo.}

Rick

Member of the Grate Site.