
The Best History Books 2018 - benbreen
https://www.historytoday.com/history-today/best-history-books-2018
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kaycebasques
Off-topic: I majored in history for my BA. For the first year out of college,
I struggled to find work, and was worried that I had made a terrible choice. 8
years on, after supplementing my studies with essentially an Associate’s in
CS, my view has changed significantly. Here are the most useful skills that
I’ve gained from my study of history:

* There’s a phrase among historians that writing history is like drinking in an oceanful of information and pissing out a cup. As a technical writer, this is obviously highly relevant to my work. But I’d venture that this skill will resonate with any “knowledge worker.”

* Towards the end of the major you start thinking about historiography, which is the study of writing history. You question what kinds of primary sources writers are basing their arguments on, and what kinds of biases (or “perspectives” to use a more neutral term) these writers are bringing to their analyses. A relevant skill in this age of “fake news.”

* History professors place a lot of value on concise writing. It’s obvious to me now why that would be the case, but at the time I didn’t make the connection.

* I went into the major with a vague desire to learn more about how society works. In that regard the field definitely does not disappoint. I enjoyed how open-ended the field of inquiry was. Yet at the same time you have to stay somewhat grounded in reality. I.e. when you write about a topic you have to provide primary sources that validate your argument.

Anyways, I don’t have any major agenda for writing all of this, other than the
fact that it’s Saturday morning and I’m hyped on coffee and I figured someone
might enjoy considering how studying history is still relevant to the modern
workforce.

~~~
twblalock
I have an MA in history and now I'm a software engineer. I agree with pretty
much everything you said.

However, when people who plan to major in history ask me for advice I tell
them to major in something more marketable and make history their minor. I
would recommend the same thing to any prospective humanities major. The
humanities are wonderful but you can be exposed to them while pursuing a
marketable major that will make your life after college a lot easier.

~~~
kaycebasques
> I tell them to major in something more marketable and make history their
> minor.

I agree with the gist of this. As I said earlier, my job prospects really
opened up once I had an Associate’s in CS. So I don’t know if you necessarily
_must_ major in the marketable field and minor in the humanities. Majoring in
the humanities and minoring in the marketable field worked out fine for me.
But your approach is probably the safer strategy.

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douglaswlance
Anyone have a suggestion for American history? I am looking for something that
focuses on how America grew into the leading world power in such a short
amount of time comparatively.

~~~
imperialWicket
Pairing _A Patriot 's History_ and _A People 's History_ makes for some
interesting perspective. They don't really offer explicit
points/counterpoints, but they certainly frame things differently over similar
time periods (which cover America's coming of age to a powerful world
presence).

[https://www.amazon.com/Patriots-History%C2%AE-United-
States-...](https://www.amazon.com/Patriots-History%C2%AE-United-States-
Columbuss/dp/1595230017)

[https://www.amazon.com/Peoples-History-United-
States/dp/0062...](https://www.amazon.com/Peoples-History-United-
States/dp/0062397346)

~~~
tejinderss
I know these books are great but do you know any book which is shorter read,
sitting around 1000 pages each those are quite heavy reads

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SeanBoocock
A People’s History is ~800 pages and clips along at a good pace. I don’t know
that you can go much shorter with an overview of such a long period without
sacrificing a lot of substance. I’d highly recommend making the investment
into A People’s History - easily one of the most significant histories of
America - and Howard Zinn’s other work if you end up appreciating it.

~~~
UncleSlacky
You can read it online at the link below if you want to dip in without too
much commitment. It's quite an easy read, targeted at high-school level, which
you may or may not find annoying:
[http://historyisaweapon.com/zinnapeopleshistory.html](http://historyisaweapon.com/zinnapeopleshistory.html)

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bmer
Tom Holland is a historian? heh

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bitxbit
Jill Lepore’s These Truths was the best history book this year. Perhaps this
decade.

~~~
kashyapc
When you make such extraordinary subjective claims, please also bother write a
small blurb as to _what_ you found so enthralling about it. Because from I
read, people are calling out this book out for its terrible bloopers and the
author not doing his homework on facts.

~~~
bobwaycott
The author, Jill Lepore, has been called out for not doing _her_ homework on
facts.

~~~
evtothedev
You should give the book a shot. It's received some pretty[0] killer[1]
reviews[2] from sources more authoritative than an Amazon rando. And even if
you go pretty far right[3], the reviews stay largely positive.

[0] [https://www.nybooks.com/articles/2018/11/08/jill-lepore-
amer...](https://www.nybooks.com/articles/2018/11/08/jill-lepore-american-
revolutions/)

[1] [https://www.nytimes.com/2018/09/14/books/review/jill-
lepore-...](https://www.nytimes.com/2018/09/14/books/review/jill-lepore-these-
truths.html)

[2] [https://www.chicagotribune.com/lifestyles/books/sc-books-
the...](https://www.chicagotribune.com/lifestyles/books/sc-books-these-truths-
jill-lepore-0912-story.html)

[3]
[https://www.nationalreview.com/magazine/2018/11/17/liberal-h...](https://www.nationalreview.com/magazine/2018/11/17/liberal-
history-of-the-u-s/)

~~~
bobwaycott
You appear to be alleging there is no value or merit in the pointing out of
blatant factual errors by an “Amazon rando”. Lepore is well-known. It is
unsurprising there would be “killer reviews” of her latest work in various
publications. I’m a former—undergraduate and graduate—student of history. That
Lepore’s latest work contains argument based on factual errors is a problem
for a _history_. That there are effusive reviews does little to negate calling
out factual errors and omissions. That an “Amazon rando” is one of many
individuals citing the factual errors provides little insight into which
review is more authoritative. In history, the facts themselves are
authoritative—and far more so than the sweeping prose within which one writes
about or reviews them. If a history can’t get simple facts right, the work
starts to look lazy—despite its page count. When there’s a trend of factual
errors and omissions—especially when the analysis and interpretation of
history is built upon such errors and omissions—it severely weakens
credibility. That’s not to say the book isn’t a delightful romp through the
past, but a history demands diligent care with facts.

~~~
evtothedev
But how do you know the rando is right? As in, aren't his corrections just as
likely to factually mistaken as the original? The Amazon reviewer doesn't site
sourcse.

Since I'm not a history, I don't feel comfortable judging accuracy. Instead, I
would trust a historian's peers writing reviews in trusted publications.

