Given what I do, I’m constantly receiving books from publishers. And they’re almost all about contemporary politics. All I really read though is history. And in most cases as far from anything contemporary as I can get. (I’m actually going to try to start doing reviews of some of these like I used to on the site.) Right now I’m reading 1453: The Holy War for Constantinople and the Clash of Islam and the West. Admittedly, you know how it’s going to end. So that eliminates a certain element of dramatic tension. But I’m finding it a pretty good read. Peter Heather’s new Fall of the Roman Empire was also quite good, though again, you sort of know how it’s going to end. And I’m also going back and reading C.V. Wedgwood’s Thirty Years War.
But I’m going to need a few good books to read soon. So I’m looking for some recommendations. Good thick works of history, compelling narratives, distant places or the distant past. If you’ve got a good book to recommend, please let me know.
