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51st Georgia

Second Lieutenant
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Dec 24, 2011
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I am playing the demo and really like the look and fell of the game. I don;t know ALL that much about the detail of the period (such things as laws, church relations, etc). Can anyone recommend a book or books that would be good for the general reader? I have a Master in history but my concentration is US.
 
It's not technically historical, but I've enjoyed Sharon Kay Penman's Plantagenet series so far.

There's really quite a bit to learn from them even if they are technically fictional.
 
While it focuses on only a part of the period in time and place, it gives a good feel for the entire period, I think: John Julius Norwich's history of the de Hauteville's in Sicily and southern Italy. There's a good reason so many here like playing as the de Hauteville's, the "other" Normans were interesting and successful. It might well be in your local library, mine had the two-volume version of the books.

For bonus points, do what I did - read the two volumes in the wrong order (book one was unavailable). Then there's a happy ending!
 
Steven Runciman: A history of the Crusades.

And my fothcoming book: "The fall of the Ali Baba empires. The end of muslim reign in the holy Land and the rise of the Kingdom of Heaven. :cool::p
 
Medieval Europe: A Short History by C. Warren Hollister and Judith Bennett (Topical, yet precise enough to allow a fairly good understanding without getting too specific on any one thing).

Also, if you happen to have a Goodwill Outlet store nearby, you can often find old history books discarded there for cheap. The one near where I live sells books by the pound, and I picked up five extremely good historical texts for about two dollars.
 
Currently reading: 'The Normans. The history of a dynasty' by David Crouch. It is a very readable, entertaining book about the history of the 'de Normandie' dynasty from Rollo the first duke of Normandy to king Stephen of England.

Another good IMO is Barbara Tuchmann's 'A Distant Mirror'.
 
His history of Venice and the Middle Sea are also excellent, you really can't go wrong with John J. Norwich.
 
If you like the Iberians (and who doesn't :p), try Felipe Fernandez-Armesto's Before Columbus, where you can read about the Reconquista in various parts of the Peninsula, Italian merchant outposts throughout the Mediterranean, and Aragonese dreams of conquering Jerusalem.
 
Steven Runciman: A history of the Crusades.

And my fothcoming book: "The fall of the Ali Baba empires. The end of muslim reign in the holy Land and the rise of the Kingdom of Heaven. :cool::p

I can't stress how great Runciman is in detailing the medieval world. Took me awhile to find a complete volume set; but, it was well worth it. Moreover, his writings on the Byzantine Empire are par-excellence!
 
Tome IV, V and VI of the Universal History of Cesare Cantù.

>^.^<
 
A highly-readable and well-written slim book by David Howarth, "1066: the Year of the Conquest," really puts you in the world at the start of the CKII timeframe.