# Other History Nerds Out There?



## Loveabull (Mar 19, 2015)

If I hadn't been an English major the second choice of interest would have been history. I have volumes of books on any number of topics particularly Lincoln, the Civil War, WWII, the Roosevelt's, the Kennedys, 9/11 and it's aftermath. A book I'm rereading right now with much pleasure is "Confederates in the Attic" by Tony Horwitz. The author travels through the modern day South. From truck stops to Civil War re-enactments he explores the lasting impact of the war between the states. I was born and raised in the North and consider myself a tree hugging, yet free thinking liberal. 

But in our family tree we had our very own Confederates in the attic. An uncle by marriage, Uncle John looked and talked like Kermit the frog. Quiet, easygoing, devoutly Baptist...when cousins cleaned his parent's house out there were the robes packed away. Catawissa Pennsylvania still maintains one of the largest Klan memberships in the nation...Ferguson...some people don't learn from history.


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## InstituteMan (Mar 19, 2015)

I haven't read the book, but it's a fascinating topic. 

My ancestors were almost assuredly pro-Union in the Civil War, although our records and recollections back that far are sketchy. Almost all the hillbillies in the Missouri Ozarks (where I grew up)were pro-Union, unlike the areas along the Missouri and Mississippi Rivers. Since those days, though, Dixie has crept over most of my hills, at least in a cultural sense. 

There just aren't many old school hillbillies left. The slowly moving after-skirmishes of the Civil War displaced the hillbilly culture starting with cable television in the 80's. Now most folks in the hills consider themselves Southern. I've nothing against contemporary Southerners, I even married one, but it makes me sad when I go back and find so few true hillbillies. 

My grandmother is still all hillbilly, but she's near 90. I have a cousin in her 30s who, improbably, hasn't become all Southern. The rest of my family is now less hillbilly and more Southern. I look at the culture in the hills and even here in Kansas, and sometimes I think the South won the peace even if it lost the War.


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## midnightpoet (Mar 19, 2015)

I love history, although by the stuff we learned in school it's no wonder many find it dull.  I just finished a historical mystery novel set in ancient Rome.  Read another about the history of the Vikings.  I have a lot of ideas about historical novels I'd like to write but probably won't.  What school did do was peak my curiosity, so i was a library hound from the time I learned how to read.  My family came to Texas in the 1860's, and I believe both my great-grandfathers fought for the confederacy.  
Unfortunately, many have still not learned the lessons of history and seem to be blind to their own folly.  When you mistreat people badly, there will be consequences.


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## Loveabull (Mar 20, 2015)

Somebody interesting profiled in the current book is author Shelby Foote. I have his biography as well, talk about a conflicted writer. Ideally he wanted to be a genteel old Southern gentleman without the slavery. He grew up in Mississippi. Eventually he would spend many years writing his Civil war manuscripts by hand. I've skimmed through them. They cover almost the day to day of the entire conflict...He also wrote "Shiloh" and other works of fiction in between. He was also featured on the Ken Burn's series. From what I understand Ken Burns just turned on the camera and let him talk. He was actually a very private soul. When the Confederate author tries open ended questions the answers were rather abrupt. But when he could just talk...why the rebel flag was indeed sacred until it was bastardized to a symbol of hate. That he was staunchly against segregation. Proudly Southern but at the same time opposing Southern ideals. One thing that embittered him was being denied the Pulitzer Prize for the Civil War series, understandable for the years he put into it.

But yes Midnight, I agree that the way history has been taught...well historically...that many students want nothing to do with it when they get out of school. I was in grade school during the 1960's. Do you think any instructors dared discuss the events happening right out our front door? Of course not...Columbus was a great guy, the cowboys won over the savages, and the Cold War was well just sort of still going on. It wasn't until I went back to college in the 1990's did I find Poli Science classes that really made you rethink history. One instructor who had been in 'Nam yet encouraged us to write term papers supporting our own opinions. There's another great author I discovered David Maraniss. '"They Marched into Sunlight" was the ambush of a Blackhawk squad. But he's written a bunch of other great books as well.


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## BurntMason84 (Mar 21, 2015)

Loveabull said:


> But yes Midnight, I agree that the way history has been taught...well historically...that many students want nothing to do with it when they get out of school. I was in grade school during the 1960's. Do you think any instructors dared discuss the events happening right out our front door? Of course not...Columbus was a great guy, the cowboys won over the savages, and the Cold War was well just sort of still going on. It wasn't until I went back to college in the 1990's did I find Poli Science classes that really made you rethink history. One instructor who had been in 'Nam yet encouraged us to write term papers supporting our own opinions. There's another great author I discovered David Maraniss. '"They Marched into Sunlight" was the ambush of a Blackhawk squad. But he's written a bunch of other great books as well.



I'm completely with you, in discovering about history that we might not now about or might have been misinterpreted, maybe even misrepresented due to the times and ramifications.  Personally, I've always been infatuated with the Soviet Union and the Cold War.  I remember being a kid and my dad picking me up from school when he had heard about the attempted coup with Gorbachev.  Kind of even more fueled with Putin in power; not that he has the same political mindset as he did in the USSR, but he has that aggressive, totalitarian mindset which Stalin was known for.  Thought it was sad when my friends didn't know how big of a deal it was that Russia invaded Ukraine; totally oblivious of Russia's capabilities still.


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## Plasticweld (Mar 21, 2015)

Interesting points about history and the power that it has, to shape our reality and our awareness.  I find most people seem to care less about history or it significance.  

What is amazing is how un-informed most are about current events and how history plays a role in the every day happenings around the world. 

I am admitted new junkie and history buff.  I am honestly astounded at how few seem to even make the effort to be aware of the political and business  news around the world.  We are today living in a time that is volatile and many of todays actions and non-actions are going to be the catalyst for the next major world event. 


It is hard to be knowledgeable about  history and fail to see the same dynamics in place, that lead to World War One and Two. hard not to see the similarities between leaders who denied what was going on then and the consequences,  those  same types of things seem to be happening "today" yet very few seem able to connect the dots.


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## SMScoles (Mar 21, 2015)

I don't know that I'd consider myself a history nerd, but I have read a lot on a couple different subjects/periods.

World War 2 - This is the one I'm probably deepest into. It's pretty wild when you read biographies of, say, Churchill, FDR, and Truman and see how different their perspectives were on various events. How they'd come out of meetings with each other and have wildly varying views of what just happened, even what they had agreed to. I just started "An Army at Dawn: The War in North Africa, 1942-1943" the first book in the Liberation Trilogy by Rick Atkinson. I'm about half through and it's phenomenal.

Samurai and the Edo period of Japan. - I actually recently finished "Hirohito and the Making of Modern Japan" by Herbert Bix, which sort of tied the very tail end of the transition of Japan from Samurai to Western culture and goes right through WWII.

To a lesser extent WWI.

It's amazing how many layers there are to 'the truth', depending on who's telling it and why.

EDIT: Speaking of WWII, any chance any of you guys have read a good bio of Stalin? I'm looking to round out my WWII leaders reading.

Also, the Hardcore History podcast by Dan Carlin is absolutely spectacular. I urge anyone who hasn't checked it out to do so pronto.


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## voltigeur (Apr 21, 2015)

I'm writing a historical thriller that involves tons of historical research. I'm not reading history books, but more first source documents. I have downloaded Military manuals, Senate Intelligence reports, Presidential letters and the like. Much more fascinating than high school.


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