Favourite non-fiction historical book(s)?

[Westmarcher]

Quote from the "Favourite Historical Film?" topic -

I do have books etc that I constantly return to. Are they favourites?

Me, too. Two of the books that spring to my mind are - 

Fusiliers by Mark Urban - fascinating study of progressive thinking within the British Army which adapted to a new style of warfare, blowing away the myth that it was a plodding, linear 18th Century army composed of automatons.
Robert Bruce: And the Community of the Realm of Scotland by G W S Barrow - another fascinating book, detailing the crisis in Scotland that developed after the death of Alexander III, the predatory machinations of Edward I, the occupation of Scotland and the rise of Wallace and Bruce that led to Scotland regaining its independence. Not only is it a particularly stirring story (especially if you are a Scot) but also a fascinating insight into the medieval mindset (a bit like The Godfather, in my mind!).

What books do you find yourself returning to?

[IF POSSIBLE, PLEASE RESTRICT TO YOUR TOP TWO OR THREE ONLY]

[cameronian]

Evelyn Waugh, Sword of Honour
FM Slim Defeat into Victory


BTW I love Fusiliers too, cracking read, then there's BC's Mud blood and Poppycock, and and and  ...

[fsn]

"Waterloo: A Near Run Thing" by David Howarth
"Firepower" by Brig B P Hughes
"Napoleon's Great Adversaries" by Rothenberg


"A Bridge too Far" and "The Longest Day" by Cornelius Ryan

I'm also a sucker for any of the books called "... Army Handbook" - I have the British, US, Red, Japanese and German.

Also Jane's aircraft and Conway's naval reference books - and most of the Osprey lines.

To be honest, I'm a bit "meh" about most campaign narratives. Give me technical and tactical any day!

[d_Guy]

Being simple-minded I like History written as narrative (which may be on the fringe of non-fiction).
In this catagory my all time favorite is Allan Eckert's Winning of America series. Well researched but some may consider his conjectured dialogs and interior thoughts as taking too much license. For those starting in FIW, Pontiac's Rebellion, AWI or the westward expansion, however, these books are a great starting point.

[FierceKitty]

The Heike Monogotari.

[Leman]

I keep coming back to F L Taylor's  The Art of War in Italy 1494-1529. As a book solely devoted to the Italian Wars I don't think it has been bettered even though it was written 95 years ago.

[cameronian]

The Heike Monogotari.

Entire or abridged, in English or Japanese, original version or modern ?

[slugbalancer]

Keeping it to just two...
Go Strong Into The Desert: The Mahdist Uprising In Sudan 1881-85 by Mike Snook  Great book on this part of the conflicts in Sudan.
War Diaries, 1939-1945 by Alex Danchev Alanbrookes as CIGS dealing with Churchill and others.  Fascinating.

Plus any book on FM Slim.

[mollinary]

Peter Young's Battle of Edgehill.   Got it when it came out, and it just blew me away with its logical approach, level of detail, and collection of original sources included in the book. I still have that copy, and consult it regularly.

Mollinary

[shireman]

"The Roman Revolution" by Sir Ronald Syme. Brilliant account of the end of the republic and rise of Augustus, first read at St Andrews in second year Ancient History and read frequently since.

"From the Dreadnought to Scapa Flow" by Arthur Marder. Magnificent. The Jutland volume is a thrilling read.

[NTM]

Kershaw 'It never snows in September'
Russell 'No triumphant procession'
Hofschroer 'The Waterloo campaign'

[Ithoriel]

Currently,

"Warfare In The Ancient Near East to 1600BC: Holy Warriors At The Dawn Of History" by WJ Hamblin

and

"Bronze Age Military Equipment" by Dan Howard

[cameronian]

Bollox - completely forgot, Roth's 'The Radetzky March' - fin de siecle novel about the end of empire (Austro Hungarian of course), beautifully written in a magnificent translation (Hoffman).

[Leman]

Non-fiction? Deserving of another bollocks methinks.

[Roy]

I can only offer Ritter, Shaka Zulu.

And I keep going back to it for reference for a PBM rpg.