History Books > U History Books > Graham Hancock

Advantages: groundbreaking theories
Disadvantages: lots of reading

Graham Hancock is becoming the leading light of popular alternative archaeology. I use the term alternative archaeology as he works in an area that tends to upset the mainstream academics, its a subject that is not very open to small changes let alone the radical re-thinks that would be needed to take Hancocks work on board. The books was written along side the TV series Lost Kingdoms of the Ice Age , and anyone who saw that must be prepared to cover ...
...The basic premise of the book is this. 1. The sea levels have been gradually rising since the end of the last Ice Age. 2. Early civilivations tend to first establish themselves on coastal, estuary and river locations. 3.Much of the old coastlines are now under water due to the sea level rise. 4. The oldest remains of settlement in the world are now to be found underwater Quite straight forward when you think about it. Once you get that in your ... Read review

Advantages: Very emotional and truthful book - with accounts, extra context and pictures
Disadvantages: Can get very emotipanl and rather painful to read at times - the truth can hurt

...is extremely emotional and shocking. Forgotten voices of the great war: A history of ww1 in the words of men and women who were there. I was given this book as a Christmas present last year and at first it did not look as appealing as a traditional textbook, but after beginning to read it i was instantly attached to it and found myself enthralled in the true stories and facts about what was meant to be"the war to end all wars". When reading this ...
...feel as if you are actually here and experiencing this dreadful time. The book is split into several different sections and follows in chronological order through the years of 1914 to 1918. It includes extracts and "voices" from hundreds of different people involved in the war, be it men or women of all ages. There is also some context around the accounts which indicates what particular part of the war they are to do with and makes them much more ... Read review

Advantages: Fantastic book and very interesting
Disadvantages: Rather long

This book was written by Laurence Rees, who is a highly acclaimed author and broadcaster. The book essentially accompanies the major TV series. The book was published to coincide with the sixtieth anniversary of the liberation of the Auschwitz concentration camp. It does provide a definitive history of the most notorious Nazi institution of them all- Auschwitz. 'Auschwitz' covers the growth of the camp and how it evolved from a concentration camp ...
...mass murder in history, where around a million Jews were exterminated. Rees does examine the Holocaust in its broader context too, and argues that the camp played a uniquely important role as a institution in the Nazi state, which cumulminated in such a vital role in the Final Solution. The book does examine the mentality and motivations of some of the key Nazi decision makers and many of the actual perpertrators provide their views and give insight ... Read review

Advantages: Captivating, informative, heart-renching
Disadvantages: Alot of information to take in.

War Junkie By Jon Steele ISBN- 0552149845 Price- £6.99 Published- Orginally published in Great Britain by Bantam Press a division of Transworld publishers in 2002. Later Corgi edition published in 2003. Found at- www.booksattransworld.co.uk War novels has always intrested me but War Junkie particularly caught my eye as it is very different from normal war stories. As i did not have alot of prior knowledge of modern war times this book was very ...
...make it enjoyable. War Junkie is written as a biography through the eyes of a camera man rather than an actual soldier. I found this intriguing having the story told by a cameraman gave the advantage of having all angles of the distrubances covered. It also tells you how cameramen and journalists also risk their lifes at the stake of capturing the horror and tell their story to the world. Jon Steele became a ITN cameraman in 1982 and has established ... Read review

Advantages: A gripping and extraordinary episode in history
Disadvantages: You need a good interest in WW2

...combatants and civillians. Stalingrad was perhaps the most important turning point of the second World War. Hitler's mad obsession with capturing the city named after his Soviet rival eventually cost the Germans the 250,000 men of the Sixth Army. Their remaining forces never recovered their balance and were soon in a rapid retreat all along the Eastern front. The first section of 'Stalingrad' deals with launch of the invasion of the Soviet Union. ...
...knew the Soviet counter-attack at Stalingrad destroyed the Roumanian 'satellite' armies fighting with the Germans in Russia I'd never really read much about it. Beevor takes time to dwell on the Roumanians and how they felt about the Germans and the war. So I felt I learnt new things from 'Stalingrad' throughout. The accounts of life in Stalingrad during the campaign are vivid and haunting. Red Army troops are boated in over the Volga river. This ... Read review