United States History
Recommended Readings Pending
AP World History
Fiction –Period 6 - 1900 to present - BOOKS FOR FIRST SEMESTER
Anil's Ghost by Michael Ondaatje; A book about the recent past in Sri Lanka. It concerns a young forensic anthropologist returning to the land of her birth as an investigator for a human rights organization.
Beneath a Sky of Porphyry by Aïcha Lemsine. Describes life in an Algerian village before, during & after the war of liberation against French.
Beneath the Lion‟s Gaze by Maaza Mengiste. Describes events in Ethiopia leading up to and beyond the revolution that toppled Haile Selaisse. Includes some rather graphic scenes.
Bitter Grounds by Sandra Benítez; story of several generations of women in El Salvador in the city & countryside.
Black Mamba Boy by Nadifa Mohamed. Story of a boy‟s wandering around East Africa in 1935.
Burmese Days by George Orwell; White man's rule in Upper Burma and India before WWII.
The Cairo Trilogy: Palace Walk or Palace of Desire (You only need to read one) by Najib Mahfuz (or Naguib Mahfouz, Nobel Prize winner) Story of a family living in Cairo. The first introduces the family and the different forces that affect it after WWI. The second shows the conflicts of the 1920s.
Darkness at Noon by Arthur Koestler. Man interrogated during the Soviet Union's treason trials of the 1930s. in Oyo, an ancient Yoruba city of Nigeria, in 1946, when the king dies.
Death in the Andes by Mario Vargas Llosa. Start of Sendero Luminoso Movement (Shining Path) in Peru.
Nakazawa, Keiji. Barefoot Gen: The Day After. A semi-autobiographical account of Keiji Nakazawa's life growing up in Hiroshima, Japan during and after WWII. Incredibly graphic and violent.
Death and the King's Horseman by Wole Soyinka. (Nobel Prize winner). tragic story of traditional African culture
Fiction –Period 6 - 1900 to present - BOOKS FOR FIRST SEMESTER (continued)
Destination Biafra by Buchi Emecheta. Tells the story of Nigeria during the Biafran war.
Four Reigns by Kukrit Pramoj. Looks at the reigns of four Thai kings, and the social and political changes in Bangkok from the end of the 19th C to WWII
The Glass Palace by Amitav Ghosh. Describes life in Burma and for Burmese Indians during the British conquest, WWII and up to the imprisonment of Aung San Suu Kyi.
God's Bits of Wood by Ousmane Sembene. 1947 strike on the Dakar-Niger railway in colonial Senegal.
Grain of Wheat by Ngugi W. Thiong'o; Independence struggle in Kenya against British rule during the 50s Heart of Redness by Zakes Mda. Shows some the conflicts facing traditional villages in South Africa and the struggle between “modernity” and “traditionalist” stemming back to the Xhosa Cattle Killing Movement.
House of Spirits – Isabel Allende. Chile leading up to the military overthrow of President Allende.*** Imagining Argentina by Lawrence Thornton. Argentina when thousands disappeared in the late 1970s.
Lost Names: Scenes from a Korean Boyhood by Richard E. Kim. Korean family‟s experiences during Japanese occupation.
Of Love and Shadows by Isabel Allende. Describes life under the Chilean dictator Pinochet.
Once Were Warriors by Alan Duff. A couple battle entrenched poverty, racism and other ills that overwhelm their traditional Maori culture and children in a Maori ghetto of urban New Zealand.
Paradise of the Blind by Duong Thu Huong. Effects of the Vietnamese revolution on a particular family.
Pillars of Salt by Fadia Faqir.Stories exchanged by two wives in a mental hospital whose experiences typify Jordanian experience during the British Mandate.
The River Between by Ngugi wa Thiong'o. Colonial splits among Kenyans and the issue of female circumcision.
Sabriya: A Novelby Ulfat Idlibi. Story of a Damascene woman's beleaguered life, from her country‟s revolt against the French in the 1920s in an oppressively patriarchal society.
Shadow Lines by Amitav Ghosh; Recent Indian political history especially partition and violence in Bengal. her life and the double standards for men and women.
A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Hosseini. Story of the lives of two women in living in Afghanistan during its turbulent years (war against the Soviets, warlord battles, Taliban rule and then life after the US invasion).
*** Tree of Red Stars by Tessa Bridal. Tells the story of a young upper class woman and those close to her in Uruguay in the 1960's, as their democracy is gradually taken over by a military dictatorship.
*** The Underdogs (Los de Abajo) by Mariano Azuela. Tells the story of the Mexican Revolution.
War in the Land of Egypt by Yusuf al Qa‟id. Events in the 1973 war with Israel in Egypt from various angles.
War of the Rats by David Robbins. Stalingrad snipers during WWII.
Weep Not, Child by Ngugi wa Thiong‟o. Story of a young boy, as he grows up amidst the Mau Mau war and the conflict between the African natives and the British colonial rulers and the Indian merchants.
When Rain Clouds Gather by Bessie Head. Botswana in the 1960s during independence versus South Africa‟s oppression of its black population.
Women of Algiers in Their Apartment by Assia Djebar. Collection of stories (denounced in Algeria) about urban Algerian women freed from colonialism to face a regime that subjugates them as it celebrates the liberation of men.
In the Time of Butterflies by Julia Alvarez. Story of four Dominican sisters' struggle against Trujillo. ***
Joys of Motherhood by Buchi Emecheta. Nigerian girl dealing with the transition from childhood to motherhood.
So Long a Letter by Mariama Ba. Short story consisting of a widow‟s letter during her period of mourning after her husband‟s death.
Fiction - Period 1 - 8000 BCE to 600 BCE – BOOKS FOR FIRST SEMESTER
Day of the False King: A Novel of Murder in Ancient Babylon by Brad Geagley. Sequel to Year of the Hyenas set in ancient Babylon. happy childhood in Mesopotamia through her years in Canaan and death in Egypt.
*** Sarum by Edward Rutherfurd. Traces the entire turbulent course of English history (over 10,000 years) through the lives of five families that reflect the changing face of Britain.
F-2 Fiction - Period 2 - 600 BCE to 600 CE – BOOKS FOR FIRST SEMESTER
The Gardens of Light by Amin Maalouf
Dorothy S. Blair. Recreates the life of Mani, Persian mystic who founded the Manichaean religion and was eventually executed on the grounds of heresy.
Mahabharata; R. K. Narayan, trans. Story of the “cousin‟s war” of Prince Arjuna. Sanskrit tale that illustrates the principle beliefs of most Hindus.
Rome's tumultuous period from Republic to Empire. Followed by: Arms of Nemesis, Catalina‟s Riddle, The Venus Throw
A Murder on the Appian Way, Rubicon: A Novel of Ancient Rome, Last Seen in Massilia, A Mist of Prophecies, The Judgment of Caesar. Any and all can be read for the summer project.
*** Siddhartha by Herman Hesse. Introduction to Buddhism and life of Siddhartha (later known as the Buddha).
Three Kingdoms: Chinese Classics (Classic Novel in 4-Volumes) by Luo Guanzhong, Moss Roberts (Translator). Martial epic of a long drawn out battle in China.
F-3 Fiction - Period 3 - 600 CE –1450 - BOOKS FOR FIRST SEMESTER
The Book of Saladin: A Novel by Tariq Ali. Fictional memoir of Saladin, the Kurdish liberator of Jerusalem. ***
Classical Chinese detective stories; reveal ancient Chinese society, culture and government. *** Dante's Daughter by Kimberley Burton Heuston. Story of Dante, his daughter and their times. Daughter of Time by Josephine Tey. Mystery novel about Richard III and the deaths of his two nephews. An excellent look at how history is written.*** In an Antique Land by Amitav Ghosh. An Indian student does research on a mysterious slave of a Jewish merchant working the Indian Ocean trade routes; also examines life in postcolonial Egypt. Monkey (part of a longer piece called Journey to the West), Arthur Waley trans.; Tang Chinese folk tales (written in the Ming dynasty) that cover some of the basic principles of Taoism and Buddhism. Samarkand by Amin Maalouf. Story of Omar Khayyam, a poet, mathematician, and astronomer; and fanatical cult leader Hassan, who commands an invincible army of assassins. *** A Sultan in Palermo by Tariq Ali. Story of Muhammed al-Idrisi‟s (Muslim cartographer) in 12th C Sicily where Arab, Norman and Christian culture clash.
Ishmael by Daniel Quinn. Unique reexamination of early history. Really makes you think. ***
The Red Tent by Anita Diamant. Re-creation of the life of Dinah, daughter of Leah and Jacob, from her birth and
Year of the Hyenas: A Novel of Murder in Ancient Egypt by Brad Geagley. A mystery set in Ancient Egypt.
Roman Blood – by Steven Saylor. First in a series of mysteries set in Ancient Rome, chronicling real life events in
The Celebrated Cases of Judge Dee, The Chinese Nail Murders, or any of Robert van Gulik's Judge Dee novels.
Sundiata, an Epic of Old Mali translated by D.T. Niane. Oral epic of the founder of the kingdom of Mali.
Tusk and Stone by Malcolm Bosse. A young Brahmin book in 7th C India is kidnapped, sold, becomes a soldier,then
a mahout and then a stone carver. ***
The Walking Drum by Louis L‟Amour. A young man‟s travel throughout Christian & Islamic Europe & Western
Asia. Not great literature, attitudes towards gender are troubling, but good on cultural exchanges. ***
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F-4 Fiction –Period 4 - 1450 CE –1750 CE BOOKS FOR SECOND SEMESTER
Aztec by Gary Jennings. Long, gripping tale of Mexico before and during the arrival of Spanish. Sexual content. ***
Inca Moon by Patrick Carmichael. Mystery set in the Inca Empire under the reign of Thupa Inka (Topa Inca) The Incas: A Novel by Daniel J. Peters. Fabulous story of the Incas. Sexual content. *** Ines of My Soul: A Novel by Isabel Allende. Story of the founding of Chile. Lady and the Unicorn by Tracy Chevalier. Tells the story of how tapestries were created in 15th C Europe. Leo Africanus by Amin Maalouf. Adventures of real-life Hassan al-Wazzan from his birth in Spain, to North Africa, Timbuktu, Cairo and finally to Rome of Pope Leo X. ***
My Name Is Red by Orhan Pamuk. Story about 16th century Istanbul and imperial illustrators. The Samurai by Shusaku Endo. Samurai trip to the Philippines, Mexico, Spain, Rome and back with a priest. Taiko by Eiji Yoshikawa. Look at the period of unification in Japan under Tokugawa, Nobunaga and Hideyoshi.
, could also
read the sequel – Feast of Roses Year of Wonders-A novel of the Plague by Geraldine Brooks. The story of a young woman and village in which she lives when the plague arrives in 1666. Sexual content.
F-5 Fiction - 1750 CE –1900 CE - BOOKS FOR SECOND SEMESTER
All Souls‟ Rising by Madison Smartt Bell. A very violent read on the Haitian Revolution, 1791-1804.
perspective of a small Anatolian town of Eskibahce and the life and career of Mustafa Kemal Ataturk.
rush with a Chinese friend. Some adult content. The Dawning: A Novel by Milkwa Bajic-Poderegin, translated by Nadja Poderegin. Follows four generations of a family in Bosnia-Herzegovina. Focuses on nationalism, religion, class and gender issues facing the family. Fantasia: An Algerian Cavalcade by Assia Djebar. Story of a girl, Algeria, and occupation by the French. The Glassblowers by Daphne DuMaurier. Story told by a family split by the French revolution. Grandfather‟s Tale by Ulfat Idlibi. Follows a Dagestani family into Syria and back into the soon to be Russia. Hadji Murat by Leo Tolstoy. Tells of 19th C Russian encounter with its Muslim neighbors and then inhabitants. Island Beneath the Sea: A Novel by Isabel Allende, tells the story of a slave at the time of the Haitian Revolution. Land: A Novel by Pak Kyong-Ni. Tells the story of Korea from the late 18th to the present. Middle Passage by Charles Johnson. Life of a freed African American slave in New Orleans who ends up on a slave clipper and helps the slaves stage a revolt. Morenga by Uwe Timm. A historical novel set in the early 20th Century, about a black African leader and a bloody civil war in German-occupied Southwest Africa.
Red Earth and Pouring Rain: A Novel by Vikram Chandra. Various stories from India including 18th and 19th C Mogul India, but also earlier and later. The Rock of Tanios by Amin Maalouf. Depiction of social and political turmoil in Lebanon during the 1880s. Segu by Maryse Conde. Chronicles a family near present-day Mali (and beyond) in the 18th C as their traditions are challenged by the slave trade and Islam.***
generations, starting in the 1800s and going until the present. Explicit sexual content. *** The Two Hearts of Kwasi Boachi, by Arthur Japin. Novel based on the true story of two Ashante princes, who are sent to Holland in 1837 which expose them to the slave trade, life in Holland and in Indonesia. This Earth of Mankind by Parmoedya Ananta Toer. Tells the tale of Dutch Java and colonialism and modernity. The novel was dictated by Toer while in prison to others who passed it out for transcription.
The Examination by Malcolm Bosse. Two brothers in 16th C China travel to the capital for an examination
whilenavigating various challenges in strife-filled China.
The Twentieth Wife by Indu Sundaresan – Love story about the emperor and empress of Mughal India
Birds Without Wings by Louis de Bernieres. Tells the story of the decline of the Ottoman Empire from the
***
Cloud of Sparrows by Takashi Matsuoka. Gripping fictional account of Japanese contact with the West. ***
Daughter of Fortune by Isabel Allende. Tells the story of a Chilean woman traveling to California during the gold
Rebels of the Heavenly Kingdom by Katherine Patterson. Describes China during the Taiping Rebellion.
Shark Dialogues by Kiana Davenport. Follows the women of a matriarchal Hawaiian family through multiple
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NONFICTION READINGS NF-6 NONFICTION - Period 6 - 1900 to present - BOOKS FOR FIRST SEMESTER
globalization.
against the Taliban in Afghanistan. 256p.
digital advances, led often not by corporations, but also individuals.
Rwanda. Tales of genocide in Rwanda. Is incredibly depressing and moving. Hoffer, Eric. The True Believer. Nature of mass movements, a key aspect of the 20th and 21st century. Huntington, Samuel The Clash of Civilizations and the Remaking of World Order. Discusses increasing threat of violence from renewed conflicts between cultures that base traditions on religious faith and dogma. Keylor, William. The Twentieth-Century World. Big structures of diplomacy, alliances, & trade in the century. Kinser, Stephen. A Thousand Hills: Rwanda's Rebirth and the Man Who Dreamed It. Balanced look at events leading up to the 1994 genocide (and earlier "practice" ones) and life after it in Rwanda.
around the world, as far apart as the US and Poland, were interconnected.
MacMillan, Margaret. Paris 1919: Six Months that Changed the War. Fascinating look at events during the conference that ended WWI. Presents a different hypothesis on causes leading to WWII. Mernissi, Fatima. Beyond the Veil: Male-Female Dynamics in a Modern Muslim Society. Muslim women‟s lives in Morocco.
McNeill,John. SomethingNewUndertheSun:AnEnvironmentalHistoryofthe20thCentury.Prizewinning book about the dramatic changes in the world‟s environment in the last century. Roberts, J. M. Twentieth Century. One of the best one-volume accounts on the past century.
Wolff, Eric. Peasant Wars of the Twentieth Century. Notes parallels in the Chinese, Russian, and other revolutions. Wong, Jan. Red China Blues. Canadian-Chinese student at end of Cultural Revolution. Good account of Tiananmen Square. Wrong, Michela. I Didn't Do It for You: How the World Betrayed a Small African Nation. Compelling account of the recent history of Eritrea (since the turn of the century) and its neighbors and colonizers. ***
NF-1 NONFICTION - Period 1 - 8000 BCE to 600 BCE BOOKS FOR FIRST SEMESTER
Lerner, Gerda. Creation of Patriarchy. Multi-causal theory to explain development of the patriarchal system. Teresi, Dick. Lost Discoveries: The Ancient Roots of Modern Science--from the Babylonians to the Maya, Traces technology and science in Foundations period (and a little beyond). Math and science heavy.
NF-2 NONFICTION - Period 2 - 600 BCE to 600 CE BOOKS FOR FIRST SEMESTER
Armstrong, Karen. The Great Transformation. Fascinating look at the changes in major belief systems in India, China and the Middle East from 900 BCE to 200 BCE. Bentley, Jerry. Old World Encounters: Cross-Cultural Contacts & Exchanges in Pre-Modern Times.A look at early societies trading patterns and the exchanges that occurred culturally as well.
Diamond, Jared. Guns, Germs, and Steel: the Fates of Human Societies. One theory for European dominance, skip Part 4.
Barber, Benjamin. Jihad vs. McWorld: How Globalism and Tribalism Are Reshaping the World, A look at
Beah, Ishmael. A Long Way Gone: Memoirs of a Boy Soldier. True story of a boy soldier in Sierra Leone. 240 p.
Chang, Jung Wild Swans: Three Daughters of China. Fabulous story of 3 generations of women in China. ***
Follain, John. Zoya's Story: An Afghan Woman's Struggle for Freedom. Tells of a woman‟s clandestine resistance
Friedman, Tom, The World is Flat. Shows how interconnected the world has become with new technology and
***
Gourevitch, Philip. We Wish to Inform You That Tomorrow We Will Be Killed with Our Families: Stories from
***
Kurlansky, Mark. 1968: The Year That Changed the World. An engaging look at life in 1968 and how events
***
Sacco,Joe.SafeAreaGorazde:TheWarinEasternBosnia1992-1995. ExamineslifeinwartornBosniaduring
the early 1990s and the break up of the region. Graphic novel.
Palestine. Looks at life in Israel and the Occupied Territories during the first Intifada (also cartoon).
Satrapi, Marjane. Persepolis. A brief memoir in pictures (cartoon) about growing up in 1980s Tehran.
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NF-3 NONFICTION - Period 3 - 600 CE –1450 CE BOOKS FOR FIRST SEMESTER
Abu-Lughod, Janet L. Before European Hegemony: The World System A.D. 1250-1350. One theory of world systems and the existence of a world trading system before 1450. Bovill, Edward W., and Hallett, Robin. The Golden Trade of the Moors: West African Kingdoms in the Fourteenth Century. Looks at the gold and salt trade of the Islamic Kingdoms of West Africa.
Chambers, James. The Devil's Horsemen: The Mongol Invasion of Europe. Excellent. *** Chaudhuri, K.N. Asia before Europe: Economy and Civilization of the Indian Ocean from the Rise of Islam to 1750. Explores the interactions in the regions around and beyond the Indian Ocean. Coe, Michael. Mexico: From the Olmecs to the Aztecs. Great source from the premier researcher on this region. Dunn, Ross E. The Adventures of Ibn Battuta: A Muslim Traveler of the 14th Century. An excellent review of the world up to 1400, especially Dar al Islam. Can also read for a shorter version. Fagan, Brian. The Great Warming: Climate Change and the Rise and Fall of Civilizations. Looks at the period from 800-1300 when temperatures rose dramatically, and its impact. Gabrieli, Francesco. Arab Historians of the Crusades. Arab sources without filters. Gies, Frances and Joseph. Cathedral, Forge, and Waterwheel: Technology and Invention in the Middle Ages. Discusses Europe's rise to technological leadership and their non-European sources of many of their inventions. Gordon, Stewart. When Asia Was the World: Traveling Merchants, Scholars, Warriors, and Monks Who Created the "Riches of the "East." Entertaining tales of various travelers (some well-known) from 700-1500 in Asia. Levathes, Louise, When China Ruled the Seas: The Treasure Fleet of the Dragon Throne 1405-1433 The tale of Chinese emperor and his admiral‟s seven major naval expeditions to India, Indonesia, and Africa. Weatherford, Jack. Genghis Khan and the Making of the Modern World. The Mongols and their legacy.
Ibn Battuta in Black Africa
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NF-4 NONFICTION - Period 4 - 1450 CE –1750 CE BOOKS FOR SECOND SEMESTER
Barendse, Rene J. The Arabian Seas: The Indian Ocean World of the Seventeenth Century. Focuses on trade. Braudel, Fernand. The Mediterranean and the Mediterranean World in the Age of Philip II. The Mediterranean in the 1500s, explaining the environment‟s role in rise of the Ottomans, how Egyptians made iced drinks, etc. Brook, Timothy. Vermeer‟s Hat: The Seventeenth Century and the Dawn of the Global World. A look at intercultural connections in the Age of Vermeer via Vermeer‟s paintings. Butler Greenfield, Amy. A Perfect Red: Empire, Espionage and the Quest for the Color of Desire. An interesting look at how artists and tailors got red, including a look at cochineal and its impact on the world. Crosby, Alfred. The Colombian Exchange: Biological and Cultural Consequences of 1492. Ultimate work on this event. Discusses the exchange of foods, diseases and ideas between the Americas and Europe. *** Curtin, Philip D. The Atlantic Slave Trade: A Census. Seminal work on the Atlantic slave trade.
The Rise and Fall of the Plantation Complex. Pioneering study of plantation societies in the Americas.
Fernandez-Armesto, Felipe. 1492: They Year the World Began. An examination of the world-wide events leading up to and beyond Columbus' voyage to the Americas. Leon-Portillo, Miguel. Mann, Charles. 1491. Great read on new findings about pre-Colombian America. ***
Milton, Giles. Samurai William. A English sailor rises to prominence in the court of the reigning Shogun, Ieyasu. Northrup, David. Africa's Discovery of Europe 1450-1850. African view on encounters with Europeans. Pagden, Anthony. Lords of All the World: Ideologies of Empire in Spain, Britain and France C.1500-C. 1800. Describes different theories colonial powers used to justify seizure & subjugation of aboriginal lands & peoples. Thornton, John. Africa and Africans in the Making of the Atlantic World, 1400 - 1800. Offers an Afrocentric perspective on the Atlantic world and the slave trade.
Weatherford, Jack. Indian Givers: How the Indians of the Americas Transformed the World. Compelling read on the legacy of Native Americans. Willis, John. 1688. Entertaining read about this time period around the world.
The World from 1450 to 1700. Interesting read about the world during this time, focusing on key themes.
NF- 5 NONFICTION - Period 5 - 1750 CE –1900 CE - BOOKS FOR SECOND SEMESTER
Brown, L. Carl ed. Imperial Legacy: The Ottoman Imprint on the Balkans and the Middle East. Good book on Ottomans. Chaudhuri, Nupur and Margaret Strobel. Western Women and Imperialism: Complicity and Resistance. Examines the role of women in imperialism.
Cocker,Mark. RiversofBlood,RiversofGold:Europe'sConquestofIndigenousPeoples. Impactofimperialism in Mexico, Tasmania, the land of the Apaches, and the tribes of southwest Africa.
Empire. Case studies of the interaction of Western societies of Europe & America with others around the world. Africa Remembered: Narratives by West Africans from the Era of the Slave Trade. Slave trade from a non- European perspective.
Davis, Michael. Late Victorian Holocausts: El Nino Famines and the Making of the Third World – Sad tale of the connection between El Niño, famines and imperialism. ***
examination of the technologies that made imperialism possible and how those technologies came about. 221 pgs TentaclesofProgress:TechnologyTransferintheAgeofImperialism. Impactoftechnologytransfer.
count of megalomaniac King of Belgium, his cruelty and those who fought him after unexpectedly finding themselves witnesses to a holocaust.
Loewen, James W. Lies My Teacher Told Me: Everything Your American History Textbook Got Wrong. Only read this one if US history is vague for you. Discusses revisionism. Meyer, Karl E. The Race for Mastery in the Asian Heartland Political history of Central Asia
Broken Spears. Short and plainly written account of the Aztec view of the conquest.
1493. Also a good read on new (and old) findings about the Columbian Exchange and its global impacts.
Curtin, Philip D. The World and the West: The European Challenge and the Overseas Response in the Age of
Getz, Trevor and Liz Clarke. Abina and the Important Men. Graphic novel about an 1876 court case.
Headrick,DanielR.TheToolsofEmpire:Technology&EuropeanImperialisminthe19thCentury; An
Hochschild, Adam. King Leopold's Ghost. Ac
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BOOKS FOR EITHER SEMESTER NF-7 NONFICTION - Cross Era Histories (Generally focused on one region or theme)
Ahmed, Leila. Women and Gender in Islam. Thorough treatment of women in Islam throughout history. *** Anderson, Benedict. Imagined Communities: Reflections on the Origin and Spread of Nationalism - a bit slow but has useful information on nationalism and its spread. Armstrong, Karen. Islam: A Short History. Interesting look at the development of Islam & societies that adopted it. Bender, Thomas. Rethinking American History in a Global Age. US history from a global perspective. Benton, Lauren. Law and Colonial Cultures: Legal Regimes in World History, 1400-1900. Discusses how legal regimes shaped modern imperialism and the international order. Black, Edwin. Banking on Baghdad: Inside Iraq‟s 7,000-year History of War, Profit, and Conflict. Weak on the first 5000 years; has a strong opinion on why we are in Iraq. On the Air Force reading list on the Middle East.
Latin American history from Conquest to the present. Crosby, Alfred. Ecological Imperialism: The Biological Expansion of Europe, 900-1900. Examines world history during from an environmental perspective, trying to explain why Europe dominated the world. *** Curtin, Philip, et al. African History: From Earliest Times to Independence. Survey of African history. Davies, Norman. Europe: A History. History of the continent from pre-history to the end of the Soviet Union. Diamond, Jared. Collapse: How Societies Choose to Fail or Succeed. Environmental theory on why societies fail. Ehret, Christopher. The Civilizations of Africa: A History to 1800. Pre-colonial history of Africa. Ewans, Martin. Afghanistan: A Short History of Its People and Politics. Written in 2002, looks at Afghanistan‟s history, leading up to events after 9/11. Another book on the Air Force reading list. Fernandez-Armesto, Felipe. Millennium: A History of the Last Thousand Years. History of the world from the 10th century to the present. Examines the West's domination of global affairs, its inevitability and future. Figes, Orlando. Natasha's Dance: A Cultural History of Russia. Russian culture and things that influenced it. Grove, Richard. Green Imperialism: Colonial Expansion, Tropical Island Edens and the Origins of Environmentalism, 1600-1860.Origins of environmentalism in European colonial policy & practice. Hoerder, Dick. Cultures in Contact: World Migrations in the Second Millennium. History of migrations. Lewis, Bernard. The Muslim Discovery of Europe. Covers contact between Europe and the Muslim world.
What Went Wrong: Western Impact and Middle Eastern Response. Controversial interpretation and survey
of how Islamic civilization fell from worldwide leadership to its condition today. Lieberman, Victor. Strange Parallels: Volume 1, Integration on the Mainland: Southeast Asia in Global Context, c. 800-1830. Connects Southeast Asia‟s development to that of the world. Lovejoy, Paul E. Transformations in Slavery: A History of Slavery in Africa. Discusses the often-ignored Islamic African slave trade, as well as other slavery within and without Africa.
Mottahedeh, Roy. The Mantle of the Prophet: Religion and Politics in Iran. Historical examination of Iran – leading up to the Islamic Revolution and a little beyond. Pearson, Michael. Port Cities and Intruders: The Swahili Coast, India, and Portugal in the Early Modern Era. A thorough study of the interactions of these areas and peoples. Pomeranz,Kenneth.TheGreatDivergence:Europe,ChinaandtheMakingoftheModernWorld. Original perspectives on the origin of the world market and the industrial revolution.
Reader, John. Africa: A Biography of the Continent. A great survey that uses vignettes about Africa! Record, Jeffrey. Beating Goliath: Why Insurgencies Win. Air Force reading list book - examines case studies. Waley-Cohen, Joanna. Sextants of Beijing: Global Currents in Chinese History. An enjoyable and accessible, book that puts to rest the myth that China was unchanging and cut off from the rest of the world. *** Watson, Andrew. Agricultural Innovation in the Early Islamic World. Discusses the “Islamic Exchange” across Eurasia and the Americas, including citrus fruits, rice, cotton, sugar and improved irrigation.
Wolff, Eric. Europe and the People without History. Different perspective on history, favored by AP. *** 240pp
Chasteen, John Charles. Born in Blood and Fire: A Concise History of Latin America. An interesting view of
McNeill, J. R. Mosquito Empires: Ecology and War in the Greater Caribbean, 1620-1914. Compelling read on the
role ecology & disease had in the conquest and independence of the Caribbean and how diseases were vanquished.
Wilson, Samuel M. The Emperor's Giraffe and Other Stories of Cultures in Contact. Historical contact stories.
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BOOKS FOR EITHER SEMESTER NF-8 NONFICTION - World Histories
Armstrong,Karen.AHistoryofGod:The4,000-YearQuestofJudaism,ChristianityandIslam. Thehistoryof how people have perceived and experienced God from the time of Abraham to the present. Bray, R. S. Armies of Pestilence: The Effects of Pandemics on History. Looks at pandemics and their impact. Christian, David. This Fleeting World: A Short History of Humanity. A brief but sweeping view of human history, focus on the part discussing 8000 BCE to the present (The Agrarian Era).
Crosby, Alfred. Throwing Fire: Projectile Technology through History. Look at hard, accurate throwing and the manipulation of fire as unique human capabilities. 218 p.
Children of the Sun: A History of Humanity's Unappeasable Appetite for Energy . A look at society‟s use of
energy and how dwindling resource should give us pause, but also hope with our adaptability. Curtin, Philip. Cross-Cultural trade in World History. A single theme is pursued in this book - the trade between peoples of differing cultures through world history Fernandez-Armesto, Felipe. Civilizations: Culture, Ambition, and the Transformation of Nature. Explaining success & failure in environmental adaptation.
Pathfinders: A Global History of Exploration. Looks at human exploration around the world along with
scientific, technological, political and economic implications. Findley, Carter. Turks. Looks at the Turkic peoples of Central Asia and their impact on world history. Keay, John. India: A History. History of India from 3000 BCE to 1998. Keegan, John. A History of Warfare. World history of warfare including technology. Kurlansky,Mark.Cod:AHistoryofaFishthatChangedtheWorld Historyofcod.***
Nonviolence:25LessonsfromtheHistoryofaDangerousIdea. Looksatnonviolence(ormissed opportunities for the practice it) throughout history. Salt: A World History. History of salt and its by-products. You‟ll get hungry! ***
Edition if possible). Brief examination of reasons for European domination, alternative to Diamond. *** McClellan, James and Harold Dorn. Science and Technology in World History. Good worldwide examination. McNeill, William. Plagues and Peoples Study of role of disease in world history by one of the first world historians. McNeill, William and McNeill J. R. (Father and son). The Human Web: A Bird‟s Eye View of World History. Exploration of the connections that have drawn humans together since earliest times by two leading historians.
Pendergrast, Mark. Uncommon Grounds: The History of Coffee and How it Transformed the World – interesting account of coffee, linking it to many dictatorships around the world. Pomeranz, Kenneth and Topik, Steven. The World that Trade Created: Society, Culture, & the World Economy Great short stories about economics, trade, and history. ***
Ponting,Clive. AGreenHistoryoftheWorld:TheEnvironmentandtheCollapseofGreatCivilizations. Discusses world history through an environmental lens.
Stearns, Peter. Cultures in Motion. Brief examination of cross-cultural interactions and exchanges in world history, including major religions, migrations, nationalism, imperialism and consumerism. Neat maps. Toussaint-Samat, Maguelonne. The History of Food. Comprehensive (i.e. long) look at the history of gathering, hunting, meat, dairy products, sugar, chocolate, sugar, coffee, tea, etc. Each major food has its own chapter. Worster, Donald. The Ends of the Earth: Perspectives on Modern Environmental History Looks at history with an environmental lens.
Wright, Donald. The World and a Very Small Place in Africa. Engaging study of the expanding global economy as it affects one town and surrounding villages in West Africa. Excellent for APWH. *** Yergin, Daniel. Prize: The Epic Quest for Oil, Money, And Power. Traces the history of oil.