History of the world in 5 paragraphs
History has to be the snooziest lesson that the compulsory world of schooling ever forces us into. As a result the mere mention of the past gives us all a cold shudder as our date-crammed heads get turned around all over again. Here’s the big secret though, history is absolutely fascinating . As a writer and culture vulture I am absolutely obsessed with history of all types, so I figured I would give you some hot tips on some of the way cool history books I have read recently. Mythos By Stephen Fry is the place I would start, it retells all the Greek myths in a funny and entertaining style that will have you reading all his others and he has written a bunch of them. Emperor of Rome by Mary Beard is my next tip. All her books are fabulous, as are her TV shows on ancient Rome. This book and SPQR are my two favorites. The #1 bestseller The Silk Roads by Peter Frankopan is an absolute swashbuckling classic which ties a whole lot os historical strands together and is widely acknowledged as a masterpiece. If like me you are obsessed with art then you must read The Medici by Paul Strathern this book covers who the Medici were from start to finish but also explains how the greatest artistic genius’ of all time came to work for them.
Moving into the modern age, many of you will have come across the work of Erik Larson, Dead Wake, his absolutely amazingly researched book on the sinking of the Lusitania is as horrifying as it is enthralling, it will have you compulsively flipping pages until the very end. Tamara Lempicka is one of my favorite artists, and her biography by Laura Claridge lays out the triumph and tragedy of her life in intimate detail. This is a tough book to get in America, but well worth the price if you have to mail one from the UK. Talking of the UK, The Secret Life of the Savoy by Olivia Williams is an electrifying and elegantly crafted investigation of the Hotel and The D’Oyly Carte family who founded it. It is also a star studded account of those who stayed there from Oscar Wilde, and Monet to Marylin, Noël Coward and many more. The book also covers The rise and fall of Gilbert & Sullivan the light opera creators with whom Richard D’Oyly Carte the founder of the Savoy was so intimately involved.
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