Any other history buff's on the forum?

[Dwayne Brown]

Hi all, for a long time now I have been an avid fan of history. And I am wondering if there are any other fans of it on this forum. If you don't mind could you share your favorite periods in history and what you find truly fascinating about it.  

My favorite time period in history is probably the 1790s-1946. I am A big fan of the Napoleonic wars, and it is truly fascinating how ww1 and ww2 changed how wars were fought. I love the fact that with a lot of history it can seem like your reading a fictional book but all of the crazy stuff actually happened. 

I will never understand people who say history is boring. 

[DSH OUTDOORS]

Although I'm a math major history is way more fun and exciting!

My favorite time period would encompass the frontier days of the United States and Canada.  My favorite resource for this time period are books authored by Allen W. Eckert.  They read like fiction but when written they were historically accurate and follow individuals through their days on the frontier.

A close second would be the time just after the civil war to the end of World War II.  Which was basically a time on earth where countries played whos is bigger for 60 - 70 years with drastic outcomes.

[HH Morant]

I love history. I don't know if there is a particular period I like. Anything from the French Revolution forward, I guess.

I have always been fascinated by the Civil War, the most traumatic time in the history of the United States.

Historically accurate books and movies fascinate me. Historically inaccurate ones drive me crazy.

[Daniel]

I like history of science or history of technology. First book I read in the genera was 'The Pencil' by Petroski.

It was about a million times more interesting than I thought it would be! Did you know Henry David Thoreau started off as a pencil maker? Me either.

I just finished 'The Dream Machine'. In 1967 a good 10 years before Xerox Parc ,J. C. R. Licklider and Douglas Engelbart were showcasing windows, hypertext, graphics, video conferencing, the computer mouse, word processing, etc. in the Mother of All Demos. Its funny for the 1960s to be history, but it laid the ground work for today's world, including this forum.

[Dwayne Brown]

On 8/16/2021 at 11:52 AM, DSH OUTDOORS said:

Although I'm a math major history is way more fun and exciting!

My favorite time period would encompass the frontier days of the United States and Canada.  My favorite resource for this time period are books authored by Allen W. Eckert.  They read like fiction but when written they were historically accurate and follow individuals through their days on the frontier.

A close second would be the time just after the civil war to the end of World War II.  Which was basically a time on earth where countries played whos is bigger for 60 - 70 years with drastic outcomes.

I love the period of american expansion as well! I live in washington state and have always been fascinated by our local history. One interesting piece of historical info from this corner of america . Is that we were the sight of the so called "pig war" which occurred on the san juan islands in washington. Basically the border between the U.S. and canada was being disputed, this was because of the many islands that were in the straight of juan de fuca (I will include a map) But what started the altercation was that a canadian pig wandered onto an americans land. the american then shot and probably ate the pig, the canadian owner of the pig wanted some kind of reimbursement for it which he did not receive. Then all of this somehow made its way to an american general (I forget his name) but he sent around 60 troops to the island and did not remove them even when some British ships were sent to patrol the island. However no actual "war" was fought as the U.S. removed the general and a lot of his troops and both sides agreed to jointly occupy the island. 

Sorry for the long story but I cant resist sharing historical knowledge. 

heres a link to the national park website that I remember reading about it on. https://www.nps.gov/sajh/learn/historyculture/the-pig-war.htm

[Dwayne Brown]

On 8/16/2021 at 1:59 PM, HH Morant said:

I love history. I don't know if there is a particular period I like. Anything from the French Revolution forward, I guess.

I have always been fascinated by the Civil War, the most traumatic time in the history of the United States.

Historically accurate books and movies fascinate me. Historically inaccurate ones drive me crazy.

I also hate the historical inaccurate movies, what are your favorite historically accurate movies and books? I am a fan of the book "Napoleon a life" I found his rise to power and military genius truly fascinating. I also enjoy watching some of the historical youtube channels like "kings and generals" and the podcasts, like dan carlin, and our fake history (all of which I would really recommend to anyone interested in history) The civil war was actually one of the reasons I started learning about history. Some of my family are from mississippi and oklahoma. but I was never able to find much info about them because of the practice of slavery. That eventually led me to wonder what role slavery played in the U.S. during that period. I find the power dynamics  in the decades leading up to the civil war very interesting, such as the kansas-missouri act, and other things like it. 

[Dwayne Brown]

On 8/16/2021 at 2:54 PM, Daniel said:

I like history of science or history of technology. First book I read in the genera was 'The Pencil' by Petroski.

It was about a million times more interesting than I thought it would be! Did you know Henry David Thoreau started off as a pencil maker? Me either.

I just finished 'The Dream Machine'. In 1967 a good 10 years before Xerox Parc ,J. C. R. Licklider and Douglas Engelbart were showcasing windows, hypertext, graphics, video conferencing, the computer mouse, word processing, etc. in the Mother of All Demos. Its funny for the 1960s to be history, but it laid the ground work for today's world, including this forum.

I had no idea thoreau was a pencil maker! I also am a fan of technological history especially the rapid advancements during the industrial revolution and after ww1. 

 

I'll have to check out that book thanks for sharing!

[Patrick_G]

I’m really interested in the cultural history of the US. It’s fun to explore the cultural niches. This summer we took a trip to New Mexico and Southern Colorado to explore the Ancestral Puebloan sites. It’s amazing how different a place like Santa Fe is from a place like Savanna Ga or New Orleans. 
 

I’m also fascinated by the history of food. Especially how much the great cuisines of the world are influenced by American ingredients. Can you imagine Italian food without tomatoes, Indian food without Chilis or the Irish without potatoes?  

[Dwayne Brown]

@DSH OUTDOORS By the way what type of fish is that on your profile pic. I love fishing but I cant seem to be able to tell exactly what it is. 

[Dwayne Brown]

On 8/16/2021 at 3:28 PM, Patrick_G said:

I’m really interested in the cultural history of the US. It’s fun to explore the cultural niches. This summer we took a trip to New Mexico and Southern Colorado to explore the Ancestral Puebloan sites. It’s amazing how different a place like Santa Fe is from a place like Savanna Ga or New Orleans. 
 

I’m also fascinated by the history of food. Especially how much the great cuisines of the world are influenced by American ingredients. Can you imagine Italian food without tomatoes, Indian food without Chilis or the Irish without potatoes?  

Cool I have alwayse wanted to see those puebloan sites. I am guilty however of having very little historical knowledge of north american indigenous peoples, something that I hope to change soon! 

 

The history of food is super cool as well. I like to learn about  the evolutionary changes that humans made to different types of food. such as maize to corn, bitter melon? to watermelon. Also the domestication of animals is something I am very into right now. I first came across how important of an advancement it was in "guns germs and steel" and I truly believe that it changed human history.

[lefty o]

U.S. military history. from WWI through vietnam is my main obsession.

[HH Morant]

On 8/16/2021 at 5:16 PM, Dwayne Brown said:

I also hate the historical inaccurate movies, what are your favorite historically accurate movies and books? I 

For movies, I like Glory and Shenandoah for the Civil War (and guilty pleasure Outlaw Josey Wales), Breaker Morant (Boer War), 1917 and All Quiet on the Western Front. I tend to like movies that show ordinary people swept up in the events and how they coped. How about Schindler's List and The Pianist? But I also enjoy movies about charismatic leaders, like Patton.

For books, Carnage and Culture by Victor Davis Hanson; Shelby Foote's 3-volume The Civil War; Gulag, by Anne Applebaum; Team of Rivals, by Doris Kearns Goodwin (about Lincoln and his cabinet); Mao, The Unknown Story by Jung Chang and Jon Halliday.

And a lot more, but that's enough. Maybe too much already.

[HH Morant]

On 8/16/2021 at 5:06 PM, Dwayne Brown said:

Basically the border between the U.S. and canada was being disputed ... But what started the altercation was that a canadian pig wandered onto an americans land. the american then shot and probably ate the pig, the canadian owner of the pig wanted some kind of reimbursement for it which he did not receive.

So that was the start of "Canadian Bacon!"

[DSH OUTDOORS]

On 8/16/2021 at 5:28 PM, Dwayne Brown said:

@DSH OUTDOORS By the way what type of fish is that on your profile pic. I love fishing but I cant seem to be able to tell exactly what it is. 

That would be a delicious northern Minnesota Walleye. Caught in 4 feet of water over a sandbar just after dark on a full moon. It seems the shiners like to spawn there under those conditions and the walleyes take advantage, as do I 😉

And another one, different lake, different time and too big to eat that went back in the water.

 

[DSH OUTDOORS]

Actually, to stay on topic. That picture is actually from Lake of the Woods. The Canadian border as part of the Indiana Territory was supposed to intersect at the Mississippi river and the 49th parallel. As we all know now the Mississippi doesn't go that far north. So they followed the rainy river from lake superior and the agreed upon line between the great lakes all the way through Lake of the Woods to a point directly north of the Mississippi head waters.

And that is why Minnesota has that little notch in it, and why I was able to catch my personnel best 28" Walleye in the USA instead of Canada.

[lefty o]

On 8/16/2021 at 7:43 PM, DSH OUTDOORS said:

That would be a delicious northern Minnesota Walleye. Caught in 4 feet of water over a sandbar just after dark on a full moon. It seems the shiners like to spawn there under those conditions and the walleyes take advantage, as do I 😉

And another one, different lake, different time and too big to eat that went back in the water.

 

arent slot limits fun?!😈

[lefty o]

On 8/16/2021 at 7:31 PM, HH Morant said:

For movies, I like Glory and Shenandoah for the Civil War (and guilty pleasure Outlaw Josey Wales), Breaker Morant (Boer War), 1917 and All Quiet on the Western Front. I tend to like movies that show ordinary people swept up in the events and how they coped. How about Schindler's List and The Pianist? But I also enjoy movies about charismatic leaders, like Patton.

For books, Carnage and Culture by Victor Davis Hanson; Shelby Foote's 3-volume The Civil War; Gulag, by Anne Applebaum; Team of Rivals, by Doris Kearns Goodwin (about Lincoln and his cabinet); Mao, The Unknown Story by Jung Chang and Jon Halliday.

And a lot more, but that's enough. Maybe too much already.

all quiet on the western front is a great movie.

[Hobbit]

I used to be big into writing fantasy novels (maybe I’ll get back into it one day) and I found an awesome YouTuber called Modern History. The name makes it sound like it’s going to have all kinds of historical eras on it, but really it’s just about the medieval period. The reason I like it is the channel host basically tries to live a good chunk of his life like a medieval knight, so he actually demonstrates much of the history he’s describing. My favorites are the ones that have to do with his horses. 😁 Here’s a non-horse video:

I really enjoy any sort of experimental anthropology, anything that gets down to the nitty gritty of how people lived. Like this series from Absolute History where they visited a place in France where they’re building a medieval castle using only medieval building methods.

That same channel has a series where they recreated the surroundings and living conditions of the Victorian poor, and then forced minor celebrities to live like Victorians for six episodes. It’s basically a historical reality TV show. It was awesome. 😆

[JettsPapa]

On 8/16/2021 at 1:52 PM, DSH OUTDOORS said:

Although I'm a math major history is way more fun and exciting!

My favorite time period would encompass the frontier days of the United States and Canada.  My favorite resource for this time period are books authored by Allen W. Eckert.  They read like fiction but when written they were historically accurate and follow individuals through their days on the frontier.

A close second would be the time just after the civil war to the end of World War II.  Which was basically a time on earth where countries played whos is bigger for 60 - 70 years with drastic outcomes.

I feel the same way about Elmer Kelton's books.  If you go to your local book store you'll find his work in the Westerns section (if they have any), but in my opinion they're historically accurate novels that just happen to be set mostly in Texas from the early part of the 19th century up until the turn of the 20th century, though one of his better known books was set in the 1950's.

He grew up on a working ranch hearing stories from people who either lived through that period or knew people who had.  Unlike most Western novels, his characters are mostly just ordinary people dealing with life and real situations, instead of being 7' tall and invincible.

[HH Morant]

For entertaining fiction painted on a historically accurate canvas, the Flashman series by George MacDonald Fraser is hard to beat. I am not sure how many books there are. I have 11.  The books are set in the 1830s and 1840s. Flashman, the anti-hero, is an English officer/gentleman who is actually a scoundrel, a coward, and a shameless womanizer. Yet somehow, in his adventures all over the world he is perceived as a hero.

 Flashman, of course, is a fiction, but many historically accurate characters make appearances in the books.

 The books are both hilarious and educational.

[ARMYVET]

On 8/16/2021 at 6:28 PM, Patrick_G said:

history of food

DId somebody say FOOD?   No you all have my attention!!😋

 

I am most interested in the military weapons thru history and how they have evolved. From the bow to the trebuchet to modern warfare.   I am particulary a fan of tanks and planes WWI and WWII. And an avid modeler of said tanks and airplanes.

[Dwayne Brown]

On 8/16/2021 at 5:31 PM, HH Morant said:

For movies, I like Glory and Shenandoah for the Civil War (and guilty pleasure Outlaw Josey Wales), Breaker Morant (Boer War), 1917 and All Quiet on the Western Front. I tend to like movies that show ordinary people swept up in the events and how they coped. How about Schindler's List and The Pianist? But I also enjoy movies about charismatic leaders, like Patton.

For books, Carnage and Culture by Victor Davis Hanson; Shelby Foote's 3-volume The Civil War; Gulag, by Anne Applebaum; Team of Rivals, by Doris Kearns Goodwin (about Lincoln and his cabinet); Mao, The Unknown Story by Jung Chang and Jon Halliday.

And a lot more, but that's enough. Maybe too much already.

I loved 1917, the cinematics were beautiful and the accuracy of the movie historically speaking was incredible. Although not as historically accurate I thought Dunkirk was also pretty good. 

[Dwayne Brown]

On 8/16/2021 at 5:43 PM, DSH OUTDOORS said:

That would be a delicious northern Minnesota Walleye. Caught in 4 feet of water over a sandbar just after dark on a full moon. It seems the shiners like to spawn there under those conditions and the walleyes take advantage, as do I 😉

And another one, different lake, different time and too big to eat that went back in the water.

 

I've always wanted to catch walleye. Maybe we should start a thread for recreational fishers 🙂. 

 

 

[Dwayne Brown]

On 8/17/2021 at 7:18 AM, ARMYVET said:

DId somebody say FOOD?   No you all have my attention!!😋

 

I am most interested in the military weapons thru history and how they have evolved. From the bow to the trebuchet to modern warfare.   I am particulary a fan of tanks and planes WWI and WWII. And an avid modeler of said tanks and airplanes.

I love the history of ww2 planes, and have numerous books about all of the different ones. My favorites are the P-25 lightning (I love the design of it) I also love the F6F hellcat as it was really the first american plane that could compete with the Mitsubishi zero.

I also like the b-17 bomber and the b-29 super fortresses. apparently during the war Boeing had a few factories in Washington state that they used to produce the bombers. I remember reading that a factory in Renton Washington built around 5 superfortesses a day. And that in seattle about 7,00 b17s were built. sadly those factories are no longer their for us interested in seeing them, but luckily someone did take some photos during the war of them. 

 

Here you can see a boeing factory in seattle that they camouflaged by building a fake neighborhood on top of. 

[PineSong]

I love reading history and have several favorite periods and topics.

History of individual foods and how they were introduced, spread, and impacted cultures, e.g. "Sugar: a bittersweet history" by Elizabeth Abbott.

History of medicine, e.g. "Scurvy: how a surgeon, a mariner and a gentleman solved the greatest medical mystery in the age of sail" by Stephen Bown

Historical mutinies/shipwrecks/mysteries, e.g. "Island of the Lost" by Joan Druett and "Ghost Ship: the true story of the Mary Celeste and her missing crew" by Brian Hicks

Women's History, e.g. "Good Wives" by Laurel Thatcher Ulrich 

My favorite time period is the medieval period in Europe, and I'd love to visit it but only if I was sure I could come back without the plague and with all my teeth!