[dakine]

The Roosevelt Myth by John T. Flynn.

A must read...

[yarddog]

I have picked up around fifteen full sets of Encyclopedia Britannica, World Book, etc. for around 10 dollars per set. These contain thousands of very good even if brief biographies and historical references.

These old Encyclpedias are generall written by some of the foremost authorities on each subject.

I would suggest the older the better as far as history is concerned. They are far less Politically Correct than most newer ones.

BTW I once got a full set of Britannica in almost new condition for free. They were at a thrift shop and was missing one volume. When I asked for the price, the clerk said I could just have them. The next day I picked up that missing volume for a quarter at goodwill where they had a large number of loose volumns.

I make book cases for them and they look pretty nice in the living room, den, and even bedrooms.

Even with the internet, I think encyclopedias are a very under-rated source of info.

[Gritty]

Here's a great link to a lot of great historical reading:

The American Colonist's Library--A Treasury of Primary Documents

[Neanderthal]

Francis Parkman's France and England in North America covers the struggle between those two powers starting in the 1500's and ending with the fall of Quebec in 1759. It is a 7 volume work starting with and ending with Montcalm and Wolfe. Volume 2 covers The Jesuits in North America and volume 3 covers LaSalle and the Discovery of the Great West.

Parkman wrote this over 130 years ago and there is not a single word of PC in it. In particular, you will learn what it was like to fight the eastern indians, who made the western indians of the cowboy movies look like a bunch of wusses.

[Aquinasfan]

Paul Johnson's "Modern Times" and "Birth of the Modern." Can't say I've read many other history books though.

[nicmarlo]

I have The Harper American Literature, Vol. 1, which takes you from the beginnings of America through the late 1800's. Although it is toward a literary bent, there's lots of historical pieces in this volume, written by "important" people such as William Bradford ("Of Plymouth Plantation," "The Mayflower Compact," the First Thanksgiving), John Winthrop, Anne Bradstreet, Mary Rowlandson ("A Narrative of the Captivity and Restoratin of Mrs. Mary Rowlandson," a tale about her abduction by Indians), Samuel Sewall, Cotton Mather, Robert Beverley, Jonathan Edwards, Benjamin Franklin, Phillis Wheatley, Thomas Jefferson, John Adams, Abigail Adams, Thomas Paine, Noah Webster, John Ridge ("Essay on Cherokee Civilization"), Washington Irving ("A Tour of the Prairies"), James Fenimore Cooper (i.e., "Advantages of a Democracy"), William Gilmore Simms ("The Wigwam and the Cabin: Life in America"). Most of the early writings were not fiction, as such. American writers were new writers, and had important matters to disseminiate to the new American Colonists....much of their writings, therefore, focused on their new ways of life, their ambitions for society, their goals (immediate and long-term), etc. One of those kinds of compilations might be a good start, only because it gives you a flavor of the many writers (relative unknowns, in some cases), and their own perspectives.

Of course, there's the French writer, Alexis de Tocqueville, who journeyed through the new Americas. He has been hailed as a fine writer, on many accounts (accuracy and observations).

[fifteendogs]

Go to a used bookstore and buy anything printed prior to 1952. The last 50 years of history aren't worth knowing about, it's just liberal BS.

[Chancellor Palpatine]

For WWII history, as an overview, I like Robert Leckie's "Delivered From Evil" - which will give you a good basic background. It'll take a while to get through, but you'll be familiar with dates and seminal events. I'd also suggest Shirer's "The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich". After you get done with those, you can subscribe to the Military Book Club - they offer many titles which are pretty daggone good.

For American History, I can't say as any single tome fits.

[AnAmericanMother]

I would look out for back numbers of American Heritage magazine in hardcover. About the time they went soft cover (mid 70s) is when they went all PC and stupid on us. But prior to that time, ANY area of American history you are interested in, AH will have an informative, well-written article with tons of good illustrations, written by either a prominent historian in the field OR a very competent amateur (and sometimes they do a better job than the professional historians - I should know, I've published a couple of articles in history magazines myself, and I NEVER worked harder on anything I ever wrote, precisely because I was out of my field and trying to do my best.)

Bruce Catton the Civil War historian was editor of American Heritage during its "good" period, and he wrote some excellent books on the Civil War, with an eye to the personal touch and the striking anecdote. His three volume set on the Army of the Potomac is first-class. (He's a Yankee, but we forgive him.) Another good Civil War historian is Douglas Southall Freeman, you can't beat ANY of his books. My favorite is Lee's Lieutenants (in 3 vols.) but that's just my opinion. Any of his books will well repay reading.

Also, the matching volumes "The Life of Johnny Reb" and "The Life of Billy Yank" by Bell Wiley are charmers - the life of the private soldier on both sides.

I cannot say enough good things about Winston Churchill (remember he was half American). Fine writer, good analyst, although his WWI history has a little too much of "why I didn't foul up Gallipoli" - his WWII volumes and History of the English Speaking Peoples are wonderful.

I don't like survey volumes very much because they leave too much out, and the study of history is so fragmented now that no single historian has a grasp of the entire panorama, so to speak. I would stick to a good encyclopedia for an overview - and NOTHING comes up to Britannica. Get a pre-1940 edition if you can, history doesn't change but historians do.

[KriegerGeist]

"The Patriot's Handbook" (A Citizenship Primer For A New Generation of Americans) by George Grant. ISBN: 1888952032. $14.95

This book has all the American documents and speeches and papers for a small paperback book.

[Publius]

Go to Amazon and order everything written by Forrest McDonald. States' Rights and the Union is a masterpiece.

[vigilo]

Start with everything by Clarence Carson.
Gary DeMar also has a good series called "God and Government". Oh, btw, did I mention Clarence Carson, aka. Clarence B. Carson?

[Petronski]

William Shirer's series on World War II is considered definitive, and although he worked for CBS, he is a fair historian and is exhaustively thorough. Try any of these three:

The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich * Berlin Diaries * The Collapse of the Third Republic

Also, regarding Nazi Germany, Klaus P. Fischer is excellent, in two volumes:

Nazi Germany: A New History * History of an Obsession

[x]

Plenty of free ebooks and etexts here and here and also here.

[KriegerGeist]

Coral Ridge Ministries also has great Christian American History books like "America's Heritage" by Gary DeMar or "Original Intent" by David Barton:

Link to Coral Ridge Ministries books

[justshutupandtakeit]

For the philosophic underpining of the Revolution: Novus Ordus Seculorum by Forrest McDonald. It is not an easy read though very deep. His biography of Alexander Hamilton is also excellent as well as the Presidency of George Washington and the Persidency of Thomas Jefferson.

You must be wary of old books as well for they tend to worship Jefferson and refrain from telling the truth about him, his ideas and his conscious sabotage of the Washington administration.

[seamus]

While not considered a "scholarly" book, Benson Bobrick's "Angel in the Whirlwind" is a well-researched and written account of the American Revolution. Bobrick spends about 100 pages setting up what life was like in colonial times. He covers the important political issues of the day, and covers the war from both sides of the Atlantic (though, naturally, mostly from the Colonial side).

I'd call it a history of the revolution from the ground up, instead of from the top (the leaders) down. You get a great sense of what it was like to be just a regular joe in Colonial America at the time of the Revolution. And Bobrick's narrative is sharp and compelling, so it's a very fun and fascinating read. I highly recommend it. You might find it easier to get through than many of the more hefty "scholarly tomes," and is actually a good place to start learning about early American history.

[rednekelmo]

for a good over view of world history I like Isaac Asimov's Cronoligical history of the World.he breaks history up and helps your understnding of who what when and were of history

[Teacher317]

Balint Vazsonyi's "America's Thirty Years War" is an excellent comparison between the current liberal/progressive movement in America and the Marxist movement in Eastern Europe. It also details how each philosophical line started in England and France (Rousseau et al), and how tiny differences in basic founding beliefs can make HUGE differences in the after-effects a few generations later on.

[bert]

Since all the past is prelude, like Janes Mitchner, you have to start at the beginning.

Therefore, Will Durant is the place to go. "The Story of Civilazation" is in 11 volumes but tells you in plain but elegant prose why we are here today. They are cheap in used book stores. It all matters.