June HistoryCAT: Historians

A bust of Herodotos, often called the father of historiography. (Courtsey of MMA and Wikimedia, CC0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=115708819)

The first German to be awarded a Nobel Prize for Literature was Theodor Mommsen, a historian, laureated for his writing style, especially in his monumental Römische Geschichte. Writing a book in which they present the quintessence of their studies, showing their view of the past to an audience, is the culmination of their work. Writing clearly and engagingly is not given to all, but there have been many historians who have succeeded at this.

The book usually comes a long time after finding, organising, studying, analysing and summarising their material. So there is a wide range of possible book choices for you this month:
You could read a book about pioneering archaeologists who discover lost civilisations, or about the advances modern science has offered to archaeology, teaching us things about the past that were unimaginable only a few years ago.
You could go on a hunt for ancient manuscripts, decipher forgotten scripts and languages, translate and edit the written legacy of long-lost empires, find forgotten treasure troves of oral history in the sound archives of national libraries, or help preserve important items for the future.
You could read a classic of historiography from antiquity, about the rediscovery of their texts during the Renaissance, or about the development of the discipline as the focus shifts from kings and captains of war to the lives and cares of ordinary people.
You could read a book from the lists of the Wolfson Prize for History https://www.wolfsonhistoryprize.org.uk/ or the Pulitzer Prize for History https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pulitzer_Prize_for_History.

And last, but not least, many historians take their passion for the past into the realm of fiction. Some of these are Alison Weir, Harry Sidebottom, Ian Mortimer, Chantal Thomas, C. Northcote Parkinson, Dan Jones

Enjoy your reading, and if you’re so inclined, you can add it to the wiki: https://wiki.librarything.com/index.php/2024_HistoryCAT#June:_Historians

I will probably go for Outlandish Knight by Minoo Dinshaw, a biography of the historian Steven Runciman

I will probably read Valley Forge by Newt Gingrich. Before becoming a politician, Gingrich was a history professor.

I'll be reading Babel, a novel about Robert Koldewey digging up Babylon in 1913.

I really enjoy Tom Holland and Dominic Sandbrook's podcast, The Rest Is History(they are both historians). So I will read their book, The Rest Is History: History's Most Curious Questions Answered.

I'm planning to read An Unfinished Love Story: A Personal History of the 1960s by historian Doris Kearns Goodwin.

Since we can read one of the winners of the Pulitzer Prize for History for this challenge, I will be reading Founding Brothers. That one has been sitting on my shelves for a while now, waiting around for me to get to it.

>7 atozgrl: I'm also thinking about reading Founding Brothers. In addition I have the audiobook for another book by Joseph Ellis, Revolutionary Summer. I really enjoyed His Excellency by Ellis, about George Washington, so I'm looking forward to another book by Ellis.

>8 kac522: I read Revolutionary Summer last year and I liked it a lot. I really enjoyed Ellis' writing style. I'll have to check out His Excellency some day.

>9 atozgrl: Yep, gave me a whole new perspective on old George.

So, I have a nonfiction book by a historian... well, this was the easy one to find since it has a "historian" tag. :-) As long as my library has it, I'll probably read:
The Wars of the Roses: The Fall of the Plantagenets and the Rise of the Tudors / Dan Jones

>11 LibraryCin: Oh, I should add him as one of those historians who also write fiction, as in his Essex Dogs.

>12 MissWatson: I've not read anything else by him, fiction or non. He is new to me!

>13 LibraryCin: Neither have I, but he's on my watchlist.

Hmmm. I think After the Conquest will be the perfect book on my TBR shelves for this challenge. Not that I don't have others, you understand; just that I started reading it and am finding it very engaging. Plus, history.

>14 MissWatson: Ugh! And I can't get it at my library, so I may need to rethink. I could attempt and ILL, but that can take weeks!

Ok, I've just been looking up historians who are also authors and, though there isn't anything by him on my tbr, this Canadian historian has written about Arctic exploration, so that's enticing. I'll see if my library has one of these:

Fatal Passage
Lady Franklin's Revenge
Race to the Polar Sea

All by Ken McCoogan.

>17 LibraryCin: - Although they don't appeal to me, I'm writing these down as potential gifts for my husband.

>18 dudes22: I didn't even check the ratings of them here, but the subject matter is certainly of interest to me. I assume that is the case with your husband, as well. Hope he likes them if you decide to pick them (or one of them) up for him!

I've started listening to Revolutionary Summer: The Birth of American Independence by historian Joseph Ellis and narrated by Stefan Rudnicki.

Already I'm hooked by the great writing style and the narrow focus: Ellis is concentrating on March 1776 through October 1776, and how the events and decisions in those pivotal months would lay the groundwork for independence.

>20 kac522: I read that one last year and it was a standout for me. I agree completely about his writing style. I hope you continue to enjoy it!

>21 atozgrl: I'm enjoying the audio enough that I stopped at the library today to pick up the hardcover copy, so I can re-read and re-think passages (and study the maps)!

I have finished Babel, where Robert Koldewey sits in his study on the Babylon digsite and reflects on his work, his team, the demands made on him by his funders in Berlin, the political situation, rival archaelogists and and and. The subject matter is fascinating, the writing was a slog.

ETA: The mention of various other archaeologists sent me to re-read Im Lande Ur which relates the discovery of Mesopotamia for youngsters and offers some texts from the ancient tablets.

I'm catching up on what other folks are reading for this challenge; I had not realized that it's a thread for reading historians who are authors.

So I did some digging into Teresa Cole, the author for the book I chose for this month; she was a teacher and a lawyer before becoming an author of British history. And the fact that she has delved into the period of the Norman conquest with 3 of her books is helping me feel confident that After the Conquest is a good choice for this month. It certainly pulls in all of the machinations that happened after the death of William of Normandy, who his sons were, and how they vied for the throne that their father had established.