Today’s weekly Friday LBC blog post topic was suggested by me and there is a bit of history attached to that choice. Originally, the topic was something else recommended by another LBC blogger who decided not to be one any more and also insisted that the topics recommended by her be removed. At short notice, I had to replace all those topics till the end of this year with my own at considerable frustration. History came to mind as one of the topics as I was then reading a book on history about which I shall write later in this post.
All of us have studied some history or the other in school and perhaps even during higher studies. We also are capable of coming up with our own history and perhaps even histories of some others! In fact, many of the LBC posts end up producing some kind of history or the other even when deliberately not trying to do so. Our lives are so tied up with our histories that it is indeed difficult not to talk about the past when we are talking about the present or the future.
Coming to the book that inspired this topic, it is a very unusual book by an Israeli historian called “Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind” by Yuval Noah Harari. It surveys the history of humankind from the evolution of archaic human species in the Stone Age up to the twenty-first century. Rather than talk more about it here, I request that you go to the link given and get a good idea about it.
I personally found it fascinating and very unputdownable. If you are interested in learning about us human beings with a historic perspective, I strongly recommend your reading it.
It is a book that is bound to be highly stimulating reading.
The other book that influenced this topic is “Gods, Sages And Kings” by David Frawley. This is a book about the Vedic secrets of India’s ancient civilisation. It makes for heavy reading even for someone interested in the topic like me and unless you are seriously interested in India, Vedas etc, it is best to leave it alone. The author‘s is a fascinating story and you might like to explore that at leisure.
Among my reading interests, history is almost at the top along with philosophy and Indian authors, but this book is a very unusual choice even for me.
I too love history – it is second on my reading list. I also believe you can get a very accurate depiction of the human condition and historical events via fiction. I also firmly that history should be viewed in multiple contexts – not just that recorded by the “winners”.
shackman recently posted..History LBC 08/05/2016
I agree.
oh thank you rummy. i am also a history buff.
but the person most likely to read and savor ‘sapiens’ is the marine.
we will both read it and then enjoy visiting about it over our shared meals when we dine out. that is part of the fun. we have wonderful discussions. and he’s a student of human nature. so it will be wonderful fodder for us.
and
i will dip into ‘gods sages and kings’ if i can find it. the ancients are of great interest to me. in all civilizations really. i don’t know how far i’d get with it … but i’d like to try.
tammy j recently posted..the experts
While you are sure to enjoy the former, as I had said in the blog, the latter is very heavy going. But do give it a shot.
I’ve never been interested in history as such. Not sure why. But I am interested in how ordinary people lived in past centuries – the very different daily lives and social conventions and ideas. The spartan and often filthy living conditions make me appreciate all the mod cons and luxuries of modern life that it’s easy to take for granted.
nick recently posted..Feet of clay
You will find Sapiens quite interesting.
I’m sorta like Nick, I like history, not so much about Kings and conquerors, but everyday people. More so about my ancestors and how they lived and why they chose the life they lived. Good post.
Judy Harper recently posted..Memoirs: First Memories
Thank you.
I got hooked on history and biographies when I was in high school. Human nature in action. It’s usually not pretty, but it puts today’s great changes in perspective.
Cheerful Monk recently posted..More Miscommunication
That it does.
I like reading historical fiction. But I sometimes get in trouble when I have trouble separating the history from the fiction. 🙂
I also enjoy visiting living history sites and learning about how things used to be done. One of my favorites was a guy getting kids to help him make rope. He then turned the rope into jump ropes and gave them to the kids who helped. I suspect those kids will remember that forever.
Separating history from fiction when one reads historical fiction is always difficult.
first before we get into the topic – I have unsubscribed and resubscribed to see if I can beat the problem I was having with the tick box, that I inadvertently ticked…
I have learnt a great of history, especially of the Southern Hemisphere which makes sometimes rather sad reading through to great joy. Especially since these islands were colonized by the Europeans, but also the Pacific peoples who navigated their way to the southern seas…
How the 2 distinct people came together – either in a good way or a bad way…and so on
I hope that the unsubscribing and resubscribing works.
I have not read anything about the history of the Southern hemisphere. Will try and get some material soon.