Hi fellow readers! I have always been a fiction reader, and a lover of fantastical fantasy. However, I watched the revenant for the first time last night (I know it is not entirely accurate) but I had an epiphany, that I know barely anything about history, minus major historical events. Then after the movie ended I found myself going down a history rabbit hole on Google.
What are some non-fiction books about history that you would reccomend as good beginner books? I’m particularly interested in the start of the new world, WWI and II, and native American history.
Antony Beevor and Max Hastings are two excellent WWII historians, The Second World War and Inferno are their respective books covering the whole war.
For a book covering WWI there are quite a few options but I forget how difficult of a read they are. John Keegan, Peter Hart, Martin Gilbert, G.J. Meyer. If your interest is strong I don’t think any of them should be a problem.
For the world wars I’ve found it useful to read a book covering the whole war first and then branch off from there. Also worth circling back around for another overarching account after you know more details.
For a Native American history Pekka Hamalainan is worth a look, I own but haven’t read his books.
Mayflower by Nathaniel Philbrick (probably any of his books that are of interest)