Historical Non-Fiction Books

[Pablo]

Ben McIntyre's Operation Mincemeat, Agent Zig-zag and Double Cross. I found them interesting and well written.

[SteveEisenberg]

Sounds trite, but if you liked Escape from Camp 14, you should love Coming Out of the Ice: An Unexpected Life by Victor Herman. However, the latter is not an eBook, and a check of the Abu Dhabi National Library fails to find a copy.

Highly recommended and popular historical non-fiction authors who wrote when I was younger include sometimes collaborators Larry Collins and Dominique Lapierre. I only found one of their English books in my Abu Dhabi catalog search, but you might come across them almost anywhere.

[Gazella]

Originally Posted by SteveEisenberg

Sounds trite, but if you liked Escape from Camp 14, you should love Coming Out of the Ice: An Unexpected Life by Victor Herman. However, the latter is not an eBook, and a check of the Abu Dhabi National Library fails to find a copy.

Highly recommended and popular historical non-fiction authors who wrote when I was younger include sometimes collaborators Larry Collins and Dominique Lapierre. I only found one of their English books in my Abu Dhabi catalog search, but you might come across them almost anywhere.

I mostly buy my books, either online in an eBook format or from a bookstore. I rarely go to a library. Thanks for your recommendations.

[NickyWithNook]

There's a book I really liked called The Boy Who Harnessed The Wind, written by a kid who made a wind generator out of scrap bits and odds and ends in Malawi, Africa, at the age of 14. It talks about his family, growing up, living through a horrible famine, and his ingenuity and perserverence in making this generator. It was really good.

[AlexBell]

Originally Posted by Gazella20

Thank you!
This is completely irrelevant to the thread topic. My first language is Arabic and I can't help but comment on your avatar, it looks really cool. I noticed the word (سلام) in your avatar (the green writing), which means peace in Arabic, did you know that? And what's the other language? The one on the top, I'm assuming it's Peace written in a language I don't recognize.

Thanks for your comments. The avatar is in the Public Domain, and has the word 'Peace' in English, Arabic, and Hebrew. I chose it for that reason.

[cassidym]

I highly recommend Jeff and Michael Shaara. Michael Shaara wrote The Killer Angels and excellent history of the battle of Gettysburg and his son, Jeff, wrote a great history of WW2. Technically the books are fiction but are very accurate and well written.

Similarly, I recommend the Flashman series by George MacDonald Fraser. These focus on Victorian Britain and, although they are fiction as well, are very historically accurate and a real pleasure to read.

[Gazella]

Anyone read The Saxon Chronicles by Bernard Cornwell? Yes, I know they're historical fiction books

Anyway, for those who have read it, is the series any good?

[Apache]

Originally Posted by Gazella20

Anyone read The Saxon Chronicles by Bernard Cornwell? Yes, I know they're historical fiction books

Anyway, for those who have read it, is the series any good?

Excellent as is most of Bernard Cornwell's Books.
Try The Sharpe Series too. You will not regret it.
Apache

[Gazella]

Originally Posted by Apache

Excellent as is most of Bernard Cornwell's Books.
Try The Sharpe Series too. You will not regret it.
Apache

Do you suggest that I start with The Saxon Series or The Sharpe?

[Apache]

I like both. Right now the Saxon Series is shorter with only 6 books. The Sharpe Series has 24.
Apache

[purple_fishy]

Have you read anything by David McCullough? I just bought John Adams and 1776 and both got really good reviews. He has lots of books about famous historical figures and events.

[Apache]

I read 1776 in Hardback and enjoyed it. I have John Adams on my TBR, but have not gotten to it yet.
Another good one is Six Frigates: The Epic History of the Founding of the U.S. Navy by Ian W. Toll.
Apache

[Gazella]

Originally Posted by purple_fishy

Have you read anything by David McCullough? I just bought John Adams and 1776 and both got really good reviews. He has lots of books about famous historical figures and events.

To be honest, I haven't read anything by David McCullough. I've actually been wanting to read John Adams for quite some time but never got around to reading it. I've heard a lot of people say that it's one of the best biographies they've ever read. So I'm extremely interested and will definitely be reading it sometime.

Originally Posted by Apache

I read 1776 in Hardback and enjoyed it. I have John Adams on my TBR, but have not gotten to it yet.
Another good one is Six Frigates: The Epic History of the Founding of the U.S. Navy by Ian W. Toll.
Apache

[Apache]

United States Destroyer Operations in World War II by Theodore Roscoe

detailed account of the operations of U.S. destroyers in World War II, prepared from personal narratives and official records.

This is the most detailed book about destroyers and destroyer operations in WWII. Detailed maps with time lines for most major battles. A well written and fascinating account of the destroyer crews and what they endured. The book also contains a list of every WWII Destroyer and their Commanders. My best friends father is in this book for his actions during the Normandy invasion and action against German Z Boats in the Mediterranean.
I have it in HB and have read it three times over the years. Unfortunately it is not available as an ebook.
Apache

[jgaiser]

Originally Posted by purple_fishy

Have you read anything by David McCullough? I just bought John Adams and 1776 and both got really good reviews. He has lots of books about famous historical figures and events.

McCullough is a great writer, though his books tend to be huge. Truly loved "Truman" and have "John Adams" on my history TBR pile.