Best History Book Reviews

A modern approach to history eschews the kings and battles style of classical history to take a broader look. It seeks to to describe and track religious,cultural, economic or historical trends over many centuries.

Fernand Braudel -- was one of the fathers of this style of writing, and still the best example.
Civilization and Capitalism 15th-18th Century These are not always easy reading. They can be heavy - both mentally and physically but your effort will be well worth it. Braudel's range and scope are amazing. He treats extensive details across centuries of history and many different civilizations. The books include well designed, and relevant maps, illustrations, drawings and charts that further illustrate Braudel's ideas. Period pictures add to the examples.

Vol. I - The Structures of Everyday Life -- Aptly described, this book covers all facets of the quotidian world as ordinary poeople lived uit before modern industry. Why were some crops like corn better than wheat? What was the influence iof beer and brewing? How did market economies get started?

Vol. II - The Wheels of Commerce - This second volume explores the basic evolution of of capitalism and its various effect on history. Brauderl moves from an examination of the machinery of exchange as a whole, to a detailoed look at the progression from barter to the various forms of capitalism extant today. After surveying the instruments of exchange,Braudel then moves on to look how markets direct o the economy. Eventually, Braudel demonstrates that traders cease to be just transporters of goods from one place to another, but start to build storage and then production facilities in foreign places.
Vol. III - The Perspective of the World This final volume synthesizes all the work of the prvious volumes

Braudel's books are not for everyone, but they make excellent background reading for anyone interested in historical novels or detailed surveys of how life once was.. Braudel also wrote The Mediterranean in the Time of Philip II and was applying his methods to a multi volume study called the Identity of France: People and Production.

Fiction writers have used Braudel's work. Dorothy Dunnett wrote 2 series of historical novels, the Lymond & Nicollo cycles. She shows a profound understanding of the rise of mercantilism that Braudel describes, along with the start of modern capitalism.

Neal Stephenson - Baroque Cycle -

• Quicksilver (The Baroque Cycle, Vol. 1)
• The Confusion (The Baroque Cycle, Vol. 2)
• The System of the World (The Baroque Cycle, Vol. 3)

These books occur during the end off the 17th century, and include historical characters like Louis XIV, Newton, Leibnitz and Hobbes. His canvas spreads from the Turkish invasions of Hungary to the New Wrorld, focusing on the inventors and discoverers.

William McNeill has written many books on these themes, among them are:

• Plagues and Peoples
• Keeping Together in Time: Dance and Drill in Human History
• The Global Condition
• The Pursuit of Power
  The Human Web

Jared Diamond in Guns, Germs and Steel presents a more popularized version of McNeill's ideas. In Plagues and Peoples , as in Guns, Germs, the authors claim that much of domination of the world by Western civilization has roots in biological causes. One of the many interesting arguments is the discussion of east-west versus north-south and how geophysical alignments and how these have changed the course of history.

The Shield of Achilles - War, Peace and the Course of History - Philip Bobbitt
Another solid read, Bobbitt traces the evolution of various forms of government from Princely and Kingly territories to the modern 'market state' . In Wolf Hall, Hillary Mantel shows how Thomas masterminds the transition of England from a princely state to a nation state. Combining military history, diplomacy and international law, Bobbitt displays how modern states developed during a series of 'long wars' followed by intenrational treaties and consolidations. .

In his latest book, Terror and Consent: The Wars for the Twenty-first Century, moving to market states, Bobbitt posits 'terror market states', but pushes his argument a bit too much. He mentions various types of pirates and insurrectionists in previous constitutional eras – but now for first time, the ‘terrorists’ have become the main antagonist? We really can’t compare to nation states competing among fascism, democracy & communism. These had defined wars and settlements and it seems like a stretch to be forcing his concept to fit contemporary conditions. Certainly those in 1914 couldn’t have any idea the long war would end with the cold war collapse of USSR

Much of his argument seems to be justification of George Bush's pre emptive war doctrines. Bobbitt defines terror states as needing to provide outlets for their subjects – but without a defined territory who are those subjects? He assumes what Bin Laden’s goal is – establishment of new caliph and sharia worldwide.

The Rise and Fall of the Great Powers - Paul Kennedy - Describing the decline and falls of the Dutch, Spanish and British empires, Kennedy traces similar and contrary ideas in America's rise. Written just before the fall of the Soviet Union, Kennedy shows that there are basic currents that can be traced back for hundreds of years.