Who's your favorite history writer?

Mine is Arnold Toynbee, with Jared Diamond comming a close second.

A History of the English Speaking Peoples.

An interpretation that holds nothing sacred.

that Churchill was an ass - an imperial "dead-ender", if you will. Admitting, however, that such a man was required to avoid the WWII surrender of Britain to Germany, and that I do have most of his works on my shelf. My point would be that he has passed into history, and has little to say to this generation beyond the interest of his historical perspective. As might be said of Petrarch, or Dante, or many others.

A Peoples History of The United States.

I haven't read Diamond's yet, but have it waiting.

I didn't learn in school. He gets my vote too. :)

I've read six of his books, both historical and political. He is one of my all time favorite authors.

It's about the beginnings of World War I. Really interesting, the way she (the author) wrote of it.

The Guns of August, The Proud Tower, The First Salute, A Distant Mirror - all worth reading and enjoying.

"John Adams" and "1776" are both wonderful, evocative vividly written and impeccably researched. :toast:

and I think "Path between the Seas" is one of best books I've ever read. The Apollo program of it's time.

The man is a sadly underappreciated genius.

I wish more people would read his fiction- he has some very intriguing interpretations of American history in his "American Chronicle" series.

What novel is next? My hubby has them all (while in college the library he worked at had a giant book sale and he got some of their extra copies of Gore Vidal hardbacks, beautiful condition! I didn't know if I could get into this one, but I am hooked. Burr sounds like such an intriguing character. And man, Vidal is downright scathing in his portrayal of George Washington. His wide ass, his carbunkles, his teeth blackened, the powder from his wig dripping down his face mixed with sweat... ugh. Martha fairs no better, with her unstylish big hats and her constant head bobbing. Gotta love his style!

This is a six-volume opus by a journalist who witnessed and commented on American history, politics, and society 1900-1925. It is very readable although the books are very thick. I learned so much about what really happened leading up to World War I and how the Paris Peace Conference debacle has affected the foreign policy of this country up to this day.

http://www.americanheritage.com/articles/magazine/ah/1996/3/1996_3_48.shtml

Founding Brothers

I keep coming back to The Source once every couple of years.

Gore Vidal-----

who took the cobwebs out of my mind.

read "A necessary Evil"

but reading Fernand Braudel's The Structure of Everyday Life was a unique and eye-opening experience.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fernand_Braudel

Berlin: The Downfall 1945 is one of the best histories I have ever read. Stalingrad is also fabulous.

I haven't read much history in a while, but I finished reading the First Volume of Churchill's The Second World War, and that was a good read. Churchill has a fluid, captivating way of describing events that is more narrative than descriptive.

Norman F. Cantor is another author I enjoy, espcially since I enjoy reading about Medieval history.

If you like Howard Zinn, you really need to read Hofstadter. Zinn is more derivative. Hofstadter is more of a "new school" theorist that laid the foundation upon which much could be derived.

C. Vann Woodward is another favorite.

Angie Debo and Barbara Tuchman have probably inspired me more than any other writers of history, Debo more than Tuchman simply because her subjects were so incredibly controversial at the time she wrote, such as her exposing the fact that Native Americans in what became Oklahoma, even under the terms of enforced treaties, were swindled out of pretty much everything and forced into poverty.

Among the more traditional historians, someone like Eric Foner is a favorite, although not for his style. Mediocre writer with excellent ideas and examinations.

I love and have read everything ever written by George Frederickson. Leon Litwack is also a favorite. (_North of Slavery_ and _Been in the Storm So Long_ are exceptional.)

Among more recent writers who have done groundbreaking work, Joanne Freeman, especially her _Affairs of Honor_, should not be forgotten.

William Piston is good, but not prolific. He was, however responsible for a major turning point in the study of various historical characters. I admire Thomas Connelly, Piston's inspiration, for similar reasons.

I have many favorites, depending on the subject, and so cannot single anyone out.

I do note you asked about "history writers," which would appear to include non-historians, but I must admit I am perplexed about a couple of the choices presented in this thread. Vidal, for example, while incredibly intelligent and a masterful essayist hardly strikes me as a "history writer" in the context of this group. He did a couple notable things that could truly be called "history writing," but they were novels, not something I'd think would fit with a non-fiction group. I get incredibly annoyed at those who think his _Lincoln_ is the gospel of Lincoln's life. (His depiction of Mary Todd is, to be kind, flawed, and the portions revolving around Booth are largely fantasy, which is fine for a *novel* of course.) Vidal's essays draw on history, but the essays themselves tend to be more contemporary in focus or message, and like many of those who critique his work, I think that's where he really shines.

I think he is probably one of the most important historians of the 20th century. I'm also quite fond of Joseph Ellis (his books on the Revolution era are great) as well as David McCullough, he really humanized John Adams for me. You could tell that McCullough really liked him and by the end of the book I felt sorry for Adams just by the way he has been snubbed by history.

Perhaps not so dedicated to controversy or the unvieling of unknowns as many an author, but she finds the commonality of men in all ages. "A Distant Mirror" looks at the disastrous european fourteenth century from scant records and little evidence, and finds a world of living men...I still think at times of Coucy after the Battle of Nicopolis - like a long medieval dream brought to waking, as a captive in a foriegn land.

He actually 'gets' Eleanor better than most.

Rexford Tugwell's "The Democratic Roosevelt" is an excellent one volume FDR bio.

I'm just finishing Dick O'Kane's "Clear the Bridge!" A good memoir of a great sub skipper.