#any history book recs?

[slav-every-day]

[deadpanwalking]

I’m… neither of the previous anons, but— twentieth century history, if you would?

Still way too broad, but I don't have any fight left in me. The Warmth of Other Suns: The Epic Story of America's Great Migration by Isabel Wilkerson is one of the best history books of the past few decades. If it had just been the sum total of fifteen years of oral histories (over a thousand, iirc) and rigorous archival research—dayenu!—it would have still impressed, but Wilkerson took all those interviews and distilled them into the personal narratives of three different African Americans who left the South during the Great Migration; if she had only given us their stories and presented the research and historical perspective in the context of this barely recognized 70 year migration of six million people—dayenu!—it would have still been a massive achievement; but Wilkerson also put the Great Migration into larger contexts, constantly reflecting the way it shapes the present and future.

[sforzesco]

Mazarin and d'Artagnan! like. listen. I'm reading Charles Samaran's book on d'Artagnan, and 'Colbert a dit que d'Artagnan fut une créature de Mazarin; rien n'est plus vrai,' sure was a sentence to read.

D'Artagnan, Capitaine des mousquetaires du roi, histoire véridique d'un héros de roman, Charles Samaran

society6 | ko-fi | redbubble | twitter (pillowfort, cohost) | deviantart

[piratecaptainscaptainpirates]

I'm so sorry this is so random but you mentioned being a pirate historian once and I'm curious: what even IS the golden age of piracy? When did it end? Feel free to ignore, sorry again!

Okay you have to know that this question literally made my day! Yes, I'm a historian (PhD student right now 🤘🏾) and the golden age of piracy has always been a huge special interest of mine!

So, what the fuck even is the golden age of piracy? That's simply the name for the period during which the most pirates were active in European-controlled waters in the Atlantic and Indian Oceans. Thousands of pirates were active during the golden age and the sheer amount of valuable items being shipped to and from Europe made it a very lucrative profession for a hot minute. Piracy was still not an easy job; pirates typically lived for only a year or two in the business (the real Stede Bonnet and Blackbeard were not exceptions to this rule).

The golden age, depending on who you ask, is generally dated from 1650-1730, about 80 years. Again, though, that depends on who you ask; some historians only consider the "real" golden age to start around 1690. There's debate because it can be split into distinct sections based on pirate behaviors, but generally its agreed the last section, from around 1715-1726, was the most active because of many sailors being left unemployed as various naval wars began and ended and falling into piracy as a result.

The end of the golden age corresponds to the end of piracy itself as a major Thing in European-controlled waters. The golden age ended in little steps and stages between 1710-1730, and yes there's overlap with some of the most prominant pirate activity there, but that's because this was a very slow death. The golden age ended because imperial powers started to crack down very hard on piracy as colonial empires established stronger local governments which just made it harder to slip under the radar, privateering (legal piracy, essentially) was made illegal pretty much everywhere, piracy was slowly becoming less and less profitable as it was harder to capture ships thanks to a bigger naval presence, and offers such as the Act of Grace (which was a real thing!) were pretty common and allowed pirates to leave piracy and immediately get a job.

[silvreflames]

you'll never guess what i did (made nesta a goodreads account)

[stevethehairington]

alright besties, just knocked out moby dick so you know what time it is: help me pick my next book to read. well, my next next book. i've decided to read the bell jar next since it's so short but AFTER THAT (since i'll likely finish it this weekend)...

[telling-tragedy]

Hello! I’ve been tagged by @citrusgothic to share nine of my favorite books! so, in no particular order:

The Secret History by Donna Tartt

These Violent Delights by Micah Nemerever

Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen

The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald

Red, White, and Royal Blue by Casey McQuiston

Carry On by Rainbow Rowell

Maurice by E.M. Forster

The Book Thief by Markus Zusak

Les Miserables by Victor Hugo

I’m no-pressure tagging @blackcapez and @papenathys but if anybody else sees this and wants to do it go ahead!! consider urself tagged :)

[waters-and-the-wilde]

oh hey guys I've just started reading The Adventures of Amina Al-Sirafi by Shannon Chakraborty and i am already so fuckign enamored, like the premise was already extremely solid but the voice and the narrative framing and the prose come together to make it really compelling right off the bat. recommended to me by a member of my household and I'm still very early in but by chapter 3 i was like OKAY YEAH YOU WERE RIGHT I DO LIKE THIS. THIS ALREADY SLAPS

i do assume most of you who go here to my blog usually like pirates or storytelling or both so if you wanna read about a 12th century retired Muslim pirate queen on one last job to rescue a kidnapped girl you should give this a look

[visenyaism]

time to get started on this for real this time🫡

[madqueenalanna]

i just learned yesterday that the winter that caused the franklin expedition's boats to freeze, eventually leading to their deaths, was the same winter that stranded the donner party, 1846. what a horrible year to have been alive

[bittenlit]

Help me choose the order for my Black History Month reads?

Feel free to suggest things also, these are just the audiobooks I know I can get through my libraries. I've already picked out my first one (GHOST BOYS by Jewell Parker Rhodes).

[dullahandyke]

been thikning abt it and actually yeah i COULDNT give less of a fuck abt british politics unless it's the news that the british empire has been dissolved. ring me when the wikipedia page for the northern irish government doesnt begin with 'the government of northern ireland is generally whatever political body rules northern ireland' because at current its not even viable to Pretend that there is any sort of cohesive governmental structure in NI.

[ophthalmotropy]

I could switch majors.

[deluludiaz]

me anytime i find a politically charged 300k+ historical fiction fic of one of my ships

[reef-sys]

i am in desperate need of queer history book recs about the 1960s

(help im hyperfixating on gay washington in the 60s)

[spock-smokes-weed]

I’m in an American history class rn (and I’m a history major who wants to focus on American history) and the more I learn about Native American culture and beliefs, and well as what European settlers did to them, the more I believe there’s no good argument against Land Back.

I love where I live and what American capitalism has done to the land is disgusting and unforgivable. What this country has done to indigenous people is disgusting and unforgivable.

As a settler descendent I think the best way forward is to give the keys back to the people who were here first. They’ve been here for thousands of years and deserve to steward their land.