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The Conquest of Gaul (Penguin Classics)
Julius Caesar
Penguin Classics, 1983
De Bello Gallico
This was the first translation of the Gallic War I read, and it is still my favorite. The index with all the tribes, forts, etc. is particularly useful (a lot of translations don't have one, and to my knowledge none have as comprehensive of one).
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The Conquest of Happiness
Bertrand Russell
Liveright Publishing Corporation, 1996
gloriously obvious
Essentially a self-help book written by the hypereminent philosopher Bertrand Russell. I have not read any other self-help books I don't think but from what I know this one is completely different: well-thought out, insightful and completely lacking in poppy answers. ...
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The Great Arab Conquests: How the Spread of Islam Changed the World We Live In
Hugh Kennedy
Da Capo Press, 2007
Superb history of Islamic expansion
In 680, an Iraqi monk asked (I am paraphrasing) "How is it the Arabs created such an enormous empire (by 744 it would stretch from the Pyrenees to the Hindu-Kush) so quickly?" Hugh Kennedy answers this in _The Great Arab Conquests_. His conclusions may surprise you.
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Blood and Thunder: The Epic Story of Kit Carson and the Conquest of the American West
Hampton Sides
Anchor, 2007
Great Blood a lot of Thunder
I have enjoyed this book as much as John Adams. Preconcieved ideas of history are put to rest. For the most part this is a part of history that has not been well documented for me. There was Lewis and Clark and then a big gap. This fills in the gap and is a must read.
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Conquistador: Hernan Cortes, King Montezuma, and the Last Stand of the Aztecs
Buddy Levy
Bantam, 2008
An Excellent Read
"Men of God and men of war have strange affinities" Levy quotes Cormac McCarthy at the outset of this fascinating narrative of Hernàn Cortés and Montezuma. The quote could hardly be more appropriate, since both men were undoubtedly, each in their own way, exactly that: ...
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The Last Days of the Incas
Kim MacQuarrie
Simon & Schuster, 2008
Last Days of The Incas
Last Days of the Incas is a splendid book, a complex story well told. Readable and compelling. What I particularly enjoyed: bookending the narrative of fall of the Inca empire with the 20th century hunt for Machu Picchu, Vilcabama, and other Inca sites; inspired ...
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The Eagle's Conquest: A Novel
Simon Scarrow
St. Martin's Griffin, 2004
Second Book in the Series
The author, Simon Scarrow teaches at a leading Sixth Form College. He has run a Roman History programme taking parties of students to a number of ruins and museums across Britain. This is the first in a series of books about Quintus Licinius Cato, Optio (second in ...
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The Great War for Civilisation: The Conquest of the Middle East
Robert Fisk
Vintage, 2007
well worth the weight
I opened this one Christmas, and thought, here's one that I'll never get to.
That is until I actually opened it and started reading. Like many "journalistic" histories this book does jump around a bit, and there were sections I "blip-read", but this is the first ...
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Conquest: Sexual Violence and American Indian Genocide
Andrea Smith
South End Press, 2005
Transcends mainstream understandings of sexual violence
Smith's groundbreaking book should be required reading for all rape crisis advocates in North America. Not only does she provide a scholarly examination of the link between colonial genocide and sexual violence, Smith also provides context for contemporary activism ...
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The Conquest of New Spain (Penguin Classics)
Bernal Diaz del Castillo
Penguin Classics, 1963
Great Eyewitness account
Diaz was one of the soldiers who accompanied Cortez to invade the Aztec Empire. His account is one of the best we have of the whole affair. It is not written with much bias and was written to discount historical myths after the invasion had taken place. It is very ...
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The Broken Spears: The Aztec Account of the Conquest of Mexico
Miguel Leon-Portillo
Beacon Press, 2007
Exceedingly Sweet action!!!
I got this book because I find pre-columbian Mesoamerica fascinating, and I also enjoy the vivid clash of cultures which occured when the Spaniards arrived there. This book describes the conflict between the Aztecs and Spaniards superbly! This book is somewhat unique ...
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The Harvest of Sorrow: Soviet Collectivization and the Terror-Famine
Robert Conquest
Oxford University Press, USA, 1987
What Conquest's power is over the unknowing.
Years ago I attended a 2 yr. technical school, which required taking a speech class in addition to electronics classes. The text of my 15 minute speech was extracts from 'Harvest of Sorrow.' I knew the speech was having an effect of sorts, for a class full of fidgety ...
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Exploration and Conquest: The Americas After Columbus: 1500-1620 (The American Story)
Betsy Maestro
HarperTrophy, 1997
Good picture book for middle grades history course
This text is lengthier than the Constitution book. I believe it can still be easily read and discussed in two class periods. The text can be easily separated between the Conquistadors and other French & English explorers. This book covers quite a few explorers so, a ...
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Edge of Victory I: Conquest (Star Wars: The New Jedi Order, Book 7)
Greg Keyes
Del Rey, 2001
Key chapter in the New Jedi Order saga
Conquest is the seventh volume in the massive New Jedi Order series, and is the first book in author Greg Keyes' Edge of Victory duology. If found Edge of Victory an interesting title choice for this series-within-a-series, since by the end of Conquest I was still ...
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The Scramble for Africa: White Man's Conquest of the Dark Continent from 1876-1912
Thomas Pakenham
Avon Books, 1992
The Dark Continent's Darkest Chapter
It would be an understatement to write that Thomas Pakenham embraced an ambitious project in crafting a comprehensive, single-volume history of the European colonization of Africa over the course of some four decades a century ago. Few authors could have succeeded ...
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