I have combined January and Decemeber to give myself a break over xmas. However it turns out that there was not much out in December anyway and a much greater number in January so it worked out well. A few that caught my eye are:
-
Exit Stalin: The Soviet Union As a Civilization, 1953-1991, by Mark B. Smith. Charting the attempt to fulfill the promise of socialism, this looks like a balanced and insightful account.
-
First Kings: Forged by Vikings in England and Norway, by R. A. J. Waddingham. The second history book written by my now retired ex-boss: I watch his progress with considerable interest. Is it any good? I hope so!
-
Surviving Rome: The Economic Lives of the Ninety Percent, by Kim Bowes. I'm always curious about the Roman have-nots, and the have-not-muches - what was life really like?
-
Becoming Arab: The Formation of Arab Identity in the Medieval Middle East, by Yossef Rapoport. This book addresses a question I have never really been able to get a handle on - what does it mean to be Arab and when did people switch over from what it was they indentified as previously?
Click the book covers to see a zoomed in image and links to Amazon if you like to buy your books there.
The full list:
- ๐ The Six Loves of James I
- ๐ Money and the Making of the American Revolution
- ๐ The Desire for Syria in Medieval England
- ๐ The Indian Caliphate: Exiled Ottomans and the Billionaire Prince
- ๐ Exit Stalin: The Soviet Union As a Civilization, 1953-1991
- ๐ A Shellshocked Nation: Britain Between the Wars
- ๐ The Oak and the Larch: A Forest History of Russia and Its Empires
- ๐ The Black Cross: A History of the Baltic Crusades
- ๐ Worlds of Islam: A Global History
- ๐ First Kings: Forged by Vikings in England and Norway
- ๐ Surviving Rome: The Economic Lives of the Ninety Percent
- ๐ The Killing Age: How Violence Made the Modern World
- ๐ The Man Who Stopped the Sultan: Gabriele Tadino and the Defence of Europe
- ๐ Prague: The Heart of Europe
- ๐ Becoming Arab: The Formation of Arab Identity in the Medieval Middle East
- ๐ Berenice: Queen in Roman Judea
- ๐ Borneo: The History of an Enigma