[geeks] History book suggestions?

[Charles Shannon Hendrix]

Wed, 19 Apr 2006 @ 11:26 -0400, William Enestvedt said:

> I love the Anchor Atlas of World History, two small paperback volumes which
> show a map on each lefthand page facing two columns of tiny, dense text on
> the righthand page.

I'm a fan of naval battle history, a neglected part of western history from
3000BC until the American Civil War.

For a really obscure battle, make sure to read about the Battle of
Navarino.

A very wierd battle, the last fought under sail in 1827, with the oddest mix
of allies imaginable, especially considering the time period.

It was England newly allied with France (remember, not long after Trafalgar,
and the trade route fighting from Europe to the Pacific) and Russia, against
the Turks, to help win Greek independence!

Know one knows what led to the battle or who fired first, and the battle was
so confusing no one has ever managed to draw out a battle plan to describe it
in detail.

The allies won, but it isn't clear what they won.

After the battle, Greece sent privateers to attack English, French, and
Russian cargo vessels, their recent allies and saviors.

A very strange but also interesting battle.

Also very important:

	The Minoans controlled the Mediterranean absolutely from 3400BC
	until 1200BC.  Their cities on Crete had no walls or defenses,
	so sure were they that no one could touch them.  1200BC marked
	their downfall, and began the first major period of ancient naval
	warfare as the power vacuum filled.

	Roman Navy: first in history to use marines.  They built a device
	called the corvus specifically to grapple with enemy ships and use
	their superior soldiers to fight instead of fighting by ramming.

	Battle of Mylae, first Roman victory at sea over Carthage.  After
	this, Rome surpassed Carthage at sea, and this is why Hannibal
	attacked across land: to change the nature of the war.

	Rome's battles against Carthage: first naval battles to use marines,
	and the first to force a naval battles to ground as a tactic.
	Especially important, the Battle of Aegates Islands, where Rome
	decisively defeated the Carthaginian Navy.  241 BC.  Last fall,
	the first artifacts from the battle were discovered.

	Battle of Ecnomus, 256BC.  Largest naval battle.  330 Roman ships
	against 350 Carthaginian ships, and 140K soldiers on both sides.

	The Rhodian Navy: used a computer to move at night and outwit its
	enemies.  The computer is the oldest in the world, at over 2200
	years old.  Accurately calculates navigation timing to within 12
	seconds per year.  Still not fully understood, with the primary
	researcher studying it since the 1950s.  Good article in National
	Geographic.

	The Battle of Lepanto, seldom talked about, but history-changing
	critical to Europe and the middle east.  1571.

You can use up a lot of time studying history.




-- 
shannon "AT" widomaker.com -- ["Star Wars Moral Number 17: Teddy bears are
dangerous in herds."]