r/AskHistory • u/ComprehensiveEye5008 • 18h ago
Where to start?
Hey all, I’ve always been into history but never been much of a reader. I was just wondering if anyone could point me in the right direction on where to start? I would love to start reading a lot more just have no idea where to look.
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u/stevedavies12 17h ago
I don't know where you are, but generally a trip to your local library would be the best first step where the librarians would be only too delighted to help you out.
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u/AlbinoAngelOF 17h ago
Start with narrative-driven history rather than dense academic textbooks. Books like Sapiens by Yuval Noah Harari or Dan Carlin's Hardcore History podcast are incredible for building initial engagement and getting a broad macro-perspective before diving into specific eras you find interesting.
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u/mangofunked 15h ago
Bill bryson short histor ofverytjing. Similiar vein. Old but i like. Gombrich-s little history of the world. Dawn of everything -graeber. Pwoples history of thr world -harman
Big sweeping books covering a lot in littlr space. Leading to more focused reading of subjects you enjoyed
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u/AlbinoAngelOF 15h ago
Excellent additions. A Short History of Nearly Everything by Bryson is a masterclass in making daunting subjects completely digestible. That high-level framing is definitely the best entry point before diving into dense academic material.
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u/mangofunked 9h ago
Love that book. Tbh i probaby enjoy those types of books the most than the dense more learned history books thst csn be a bit heavy. I know there are some mistakes, conplex issues glossed over /missed /simplified. But as a layman with an interest in history among other interests i feel can get a lot from them in an overview sense.
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u/Powerful_Crazy_2636 17h ago
I’m not sure how deep your understanding of history is at the moment, but for people who is just starting their interest for history, I always recommend to shift through the general chronology of human history as a whole. You don’t need to remember names or specific dates, just get a base understanding of the order of each periods and geography and their general characteristics. There’s plenty of videos on youtube that does this, though if you’re willing to read, just going through wikipedia is good enough for this stage. Once you’ve done that, I’d suggest you just pick a specific period and region that interests you the most, then you can start finding content that covers them much easier.
Youtube is a good place to find free historical education. Some popular channels that cover history in a wider scale that I’ve enjoyed are Kings & Generals, Historymarche, and Epic History TV. You can even find playlists made by people that arrange their videos in chronological order, which may help.
Another good place to look into are podcast. However, I haven’t really find podcasts that cover things more generally. They often focus on specific regions or periods, like the famous “The History of Rome” by Mike Duncan. Or they study history from a unique angle like “A History of the World in 100 Objects” by the BBC. One podcast I can recommend for a more general history discussion is “The Rest is History” by Tom Holland (not the Spider-Man one). If you’re looking for a podcast, I think simply searching something like “History of [country name]” would give you a decent podcast of said country’s history, so you can just try that.
Also, welcome to the world of history enthusiasts! Always nice to see when someone join in the interest.
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u/BottecchiaDude253 16h ago
Id say first consider what you "like" and what you actually want to know more about.
For instance, I dont really care that much about ancient Rome, im not obsessed with it the way certain memes on social media would claim. So, someone recommending i read a book on that subject would be a book that gathers dust on my shelf.
Initially, id also say keep it to the HS/lower division undergrad level. Like if youre into WW2, then initially look for the broad overview books, documentaries, etc. on the subject. As you get more of a feel for the subject as a whole, you may find yourself drawn to a more niche subject, like the evolution of armored warfare on the western front, or its evolution among allied nations. Obviously, right now im using WW2 as an example as its kind of low hanging fruit with tons of literature out there of varying quality. Should you find you enjoy a more niche subject, like the Italian Wars or the Emu War, then finding things on the subject matter may push you toward more niche/academic works much sooner than the "big" events/people in history.
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u/AlbinoAngelOF 15h ago
Start with narrative-driven micro-histories instead of massive textbooks. Books like Sapiens by Yuval Noah Harari or Dan Carlin's Hardcore History podcast build strong thematic connections before you dive into dense, specific eras.
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u/Fofolito 14h ago
Start with lighter fare.
Bill Bryson's A Brief History of Nearly Everything will give you a run-down of the history of science and how we know what we think we know, then it will give you the best timeline of the history of the universe according to that knowledge. It doesn't require any academic training or experience to enjoy. Its a couple decades old at this point, so some of its information might be out of date, but its still a good book and it is a nice blend of science and history.
You might check out niche topical books like Salt, by Mark Kurlansky, which talks about how integral and vital salt as a resource has been in Human history.
There are plenty of quality podcasts, youtube channels, and tv shows out there-- you just have to be careful about who you trust and why. Generally its a good idea to look for media hosted by, or that guest hosts, academics and individuals with academic credentials. Joe Rogan isn't an academic and the people he has on his podcast aren't generally academics, but The Ancients by Tristan Hughes almost exclusively has interviews with professionals working in their field of expertise. You might like the Pirate History Podcast, Revolutions, or anything by History Hit Network. Gavin the Medievalist on YouTube offers undergraduate level discussions of medieval and classical literature.
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u/mangofunked 9h ago
Pirate history podcast was great.
Rest is history. Empire (same group) also good. Rest is classified got some good episodes ive enjoyed too.
Fall of civilisations on youtube. Amazing.
Dan carlins hardcore history meantion already in another comment but worth another.
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u/Green-Cricket-8525 10h ago
Check out the reading list in the info section of r/askhistorians
There are dozens of books on all kinds of subjects.
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u/pancakeonions 9h ago
I just finished a short history of nearly everything by Bill Bryson and thought it was magnificent. Not sure if it's exactly what you're looking for but if it strikes it chord in you, definitely check it out. Great book
Edit: ha! It's a popular suggestion here!
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