Historian here but lacking in world view during this period. Pretty sharp on US but vague on the big picture and the Great Powers. Anyone recommend some good books?
Noob Question: What books should I be reading to get the flavor for this period?
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I read a history book called "Queen Victoria's little wars" a great book that told of all the small scale colonial wars that the UK waged around the world. Alot of the events in the game I read about. This book made me want to play Victoria 2 again after a year of exile.
Paul Kennedy's Rise and Fall of the Great Powers is the standard text I think. It's a great read, and covers the big demographic shifts happening in Europe/USA/Japan/China from 1815 to 1985 I believe. Right before the break-up of the USSR, which is a shame. I'm sure he's written more material on the break up.
I also just bought a book called A World On Fire, which covers British influence in the ACW. I haven't read it, but I'm looking forward to doing so; the reviews are all quite good.
I also just bought a book called A World On Fire, which covers British influence in the ACW. I haven't read it, but I'm looking forward to doing so; the reviews are all quite good.
All Adam Smith and Karl Marx books. Anything about Bismark, Garibaldi or Lenin. Definitely ground yourself in a solid understanding of the Congress of Vienna and repealing the Corn Laws. Manifest Destiny and the Meiji Restoration add a lot of flair about up and comers as well. I wish I had books, I have too much general information.
I think he wants to play the game some time this year...
Edit: Oh wait, New Years Eve... next year, then
I quite enjoyed Miranda Carter's "The Three Emperors", it delves in the relations between Germany-Russia-UK during this time.
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Taylor's The Struggle for Mastery in Europe 1848-1914 Great book on great power diplomacy. Makes you crave for a expansion that will actually boost the diplomacy system.
Contemporary Europe: A History by H. Stuart Huges and James Wilkinson provides a very good basic understanding on the "end-game": the politics leading up to WW1 and the results, including the whole liberalism vs. socialism vs. conservatism concepts pre-and post-war. It also goes into detail about a lot of subjects of the era, even goes deep into the 20th century if you're also interested.
The Great Game: the Struggle for Empire in Central Asia by Peter Hopkirk: one of the most interesting and best written history books I've ever read. You'll get not only the facts, but the flavour of the era too
The Rise & Fall of the British Empire by Lawrence James starts two centuries in advance of Victorian era, with the British colonisation of the Americas, but the latter half is dedicated to the late 19th and early 20th centuries. It makes the interesting argument that Britain's imperial acquisitions were actually a sign of decline and weakness, since before, the British were able to control those territories through informal empire - exerting influence via proconsuls and missionary networks - but, as the other Great Powers began to catch up, the Empire was forced to annex swathes of Africa to maintain control of their markets and defend them against outside influence. It really explores the colonialist mindset and reveals how the pace of expansion was set and why it became necessary for the Great Powers.
Other recommended reading:
The Scramble for China by Robert Bickers, for an in-depth coverage of the decline of the Qing Empire and its subsequent exploitation at the hands of the Great Powers.
The Habsburg Monarchy, 1809-1918 by A.J.P. Taylor (again), which is more country-specific (being concerned only with the Austrian Empire), but which reveals why the Great Power of 1815 became the joke of 1918, and also incidentally shows how the European balance of power collapsed over the course of the 19th century, leading to the events of the early 20th century.
Other recommended reading:
The Scramble for China by Robert Bickers, for an in-depth coverage of the decline of the Qing Empire and its subsequent exploitation at the hands of the Great Powers.
The Habsburg Monarchy, 1809-1918 by A.J.P. Taylor (again), which is more country-specific (being concerned only with the Austrian Empire), but which reveals why the Great Power of 1815 became the joke of 1918, and also incidentally shows how the European balance of power collapsed over the course of the 19th century, leading to the events of the early 20th century.
As far as fiction goes this is about the 3rd time I have recommended 'The Siege of Krishnapur' by JG Farrell, which captures the spirit of the age to a T. Anything by Conrad is worth reading.
Barbara Tuchman The Proud Tower: A Portrait of the World Before the War, 1890-1914
Robert K. Massie Dreadnought, Britain, Germany and the coming of the Great War
Geoffrey Wawro The Austro-Prussian War, Austria's war with Prussia and Italy in 1866
Geoffrey Wawro The Franco-Prussian War, The German conquest of France in 1870-1871
Robert K. Massie Dreadnought, Britain, Germany and the coming of the Great War
Geoffrey Wawro The Austro-Prussian War, Austria's war with Prussia and Italy in 1866
Geoffrey Wawro The Franco-Prussian War, The German conquest of France in 1870-1871
James M. McPherson Battle Cry of Freedom is an excellent book about the American Civil War, if you want to brush up for the AHD expansion. A big book, but a very easy read and tremendously interesting. Covers all of the aspects of the war, but avoids getting bogged down with too much detail.
Hobsbawm's 3 part 'Age of...' series (Age ofRevolution, Age of Capital, Age of Empire)
Anderson's The Ascendancy of Europe 1815-1914
Bayly's The Birth of the Modern World, 1780-1914
The second volume of Merriman's A History of Modern Europe (From the French Revolution to the Present)
Bridge & Bullen's The Great Powers and the European States System
Rich's, Great power Diplomacy 1814-1914
Holbraad's, The concert of Europe: A Study in German and British international theory
Carrie's 'The concert of Europe'
Schenk's The aftermath of the Napoleonic Wars. The concert of Europe - An experiment
Bridge & Bullen's, The Great Powers and the European States System 1814–1914
Kennedy's The rise and fall of great powers. Economic change and military conflict from 1800 to 2000
That's more of a reading list than a casual flick through the period for flavour, but then again, if you can get your hands on a few of these books from your library just a gentle skim of 2-3 of them should suffice and give you a reasonable amount of knowledge on the period
Anderson's The Ascendancy of Europe 1815-1914
Bayly's The Birth of the Modern World, 1780-1914
The second volume of Merriman's A History of Modern Europe (From the French Revolution to the Present)
Bridge & Bullen's The Great Powers and the European States System
Rich's, Great power Diplomacy 1814-1914
Holbraad's, The concert of Europe: A Study in German and British international theory
Carrie's 'The concert of Europe'
Schenk's The aftermath of the Napoleonic Wars. The concert of Europe - An experiment
Bridge & Bullen's, The Great Powers and the European States System 1814–1914
Kennedy's The rise and fall of great powers. Economic change and military conflict from 1800 to 2000
That's more of a reading list than a casual flick through the period for flavour, but then again, if you can get your hands on a few of these books from your library just a gentle skim of 2-3 of them should suffice and give you a reasonable amount of knowledge on the period
http://www.archive.org/stream/germanyweldingof00schi#page/n3/mode/2up
"Germany: Welding of an Empire" was written during this period and describes the administration of the German empire.
I enjoyed the read.
"Germany: Welding of an Empire" was written during this period and describes the administration of the German empire.
I enjoyed the read.
The Great Game: the Struggle for Empire in Central Asia by Peter Hopkirk: one of the most interesting and best written history books I've ever read. You'll get not only the facts, but the flavour of the era too
I'v heard good things about that one myself, but not read it yet