I have been a lurker for a considerable amount of time but have finally gotten around to making an account.
By trade I am a software engineer, primarily interested in PL, type systems, and formal verification.
I am currently attempting to strengthen my historical knowledge of pre-facist regimes with a focus on 1920s/30s Germany & Italy. I would greatly appreciate either specific book recommendations or reading lists for this topic—while I approach this topic from a distinctly “not a facist” viewpoint, I am interested in books from both sides to attempt to build as authentic an understanding of the period as possible.
I also would be interested in reading on post-soviet to modern-day Russia. I think many, including myself, would not characterise it as a facist regime, but I have a suspicion it is the most useful contemporary comparison point. I am very open and interested in anyone disagreeing with this
I have some background in history, though mostly this is from my own study.
There are some big ones on Nazi Germany in particular. William L Shirer’s “The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich” is an obvious choice. Worth bearing in mind that his background was journalism and his thesis of Sonderweg (the idea that German history very specifically had an authoritarian tendency that inevitably prefigured the Nazis) is not considered convincing by most of the great historians.
Anything by Richard J Evans is highly recommended, particuarly his trilogy on the Third Reich. He also regularly appears on many documentaries on the Nazis.
As regards to Russia you would have to ask someone else. Serhii Plokhy is well regarded though he mostly focuses on Ukraine and the Soviet period.
Hi everyone,
I have been a lurker for a considerable amount of time but have finally gotten around to making an account.
By trade I am a software engineer, primarily interested in PL, type systems, and formal verification.
I am currently attempting to strengthen my historical knowledge of pre-facist regimes with a focus on 1920s/30s Germany & Italy. I would greatly appreciate either specific book recommendations or reading lists for this topic—while I approach this topic from a distinctly “not a facist” viewpoint, I am interested in books from both sides to attempt to build as authentic an understanding of the period as possible.
I also would be interested in reading on post-soviet to modern-day Russia. I think many, including myself, would not characterise it as a facist regime, but I have a suspicion it is the most useful contemporary comparison point. I am very open and interested in anyone disagreeing with this
Thanks
Hi there,
I have some background in history, though mostly this is from my own study.
There are some big ones on Nazi Germany in particular. William L Shirer’s “The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich” is an obvious choice. Worth bearing in mind that his background was journalism and his thesis of Sonderweg (the idea that German history very specifically had an authoritarian tendency that inevitably prefigured the Nazis) is not considered convincing by most of the great historians.
Anything by Richard J Evans is highly recommended, particuarly his trilogy on the Third Reich. He also regularly appears on many documentaries on the Nazis.
As regards to Russia you would have to ask someone else. Serhii Plokhy is well regarded though he mostly focuses on Ukraine and the Soviet period.