Hi, I am Asian and didn't learn European history in school or as I grew up. My only knowledge of it come from sources online like youtube, podcast and wikipedia. Information online are extensive of course but I am often clueless about many names and places and why things were/happened the way they did. What would be recommended for beginner like me to get a more complete picture? In Chinese history, there is this work which chronicles many dynasties over 1000+ years (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zizhi_Tongjian)
Modern summary of it makes for a nice starting point to get an overview. I was wondering if there is something similar in European History.
I learnt about the Thirty Years War on youtube and it seems with all the fluctuating fortunes and complicated circumstances/events, it's an equally interesting time period as the Napoleonic era. If someone can recommend a beginner friendly way to learn more about it, that would be great. Thank you.
Very difficult there all European nations have a different view about their history.
In case anybody has a suggestion, be it in German, French or English, let me know.
A quick overview of the Napoleonic period could be found online in the Youtube site Epic History at https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLUOc2qodFHp-mOphKW9RzQLsFTt-IV9RY
There is no single work that quite captures the scope of the Zizhi Tongjian with respect to western European history. In some cases the Napoleonic period appears as concise as say, the Sui Dynasty, or as extensive as the Tang. However, you cannot fully understand either in isolation, only in the context of what came before and possible what came after. In some cases, to understand the events of 1807 and what happens to the Duchy of Hanover, you need awareness of events a hundred years earlier, such as how German Dukes become the Kings of Great Britain.
However, there is collaborative scholarship in the, Cambridge Modern History. In particular volumes;
VI. The Eighteenth Century
VIII. The French Revolution
IX. Napoleon
X. The Restoration
Each volume is divided into chapters with a leading scholar of that period or theme in history was selected. Each chapter is then being intended to be read in isolation to those before and after. The work is quite dated as it was completed over 100 years ago. However, it gives an introduction to the issues of the period. So in volume VI you can select just those sections on Frederick the Great as background before dealing with the French Revolution. Later you can come back and pick up on the sections on Poland, Catharine the Great of Russia or the Seven Years war as they become relevant to understanding events during the Revolution and French Empire.
Other suggested titles are
Geyl, Pieter (1949) Napoleon: For and Against - this analyses the pro and anti stances on Napoleon and enables a quicker insight into the potential biases of many of the authors.
Chandler, David (1966) The Campaigns of Napoleon
Then from these books' biography, you would be well able to identify the topics which most interest.
Regards
Scott Sutherland
Thank you! :D
If you're interested in warfare in general, War Through the Ages by Lynn Montross is excellent. It begins with the ancients and goes forward to the 1950s.
I read the book in high school (longer ago than I care to remember) and it sparked my interest in the Gustavus Adolphus, Turenne, and the Eastern Romans (they were not the Byzantines) and others. I highly recommend it.
It is an excellent start, warts and all.
War Through the Ages (Revised and Enlarged ): Montross, Lynn: 9780060130008: Amazon.com: Books
"Europe: A History" by Norman Davies is a recent, easy to read overview of the last thousand years or so. Should be easy to find a low-priced copy.