I'm reading 1491 right now. It's pretty good but there is a lot of criticism out there and he says things like "supposedly" and "scholars debate this" a lot but it certainly is interesting.

A book recommended by one of his critics on Amazon was The First America: The Spanish Monarchy, Creole Patriots and the Liberal State 1492-1867. I haven't read it but it does seem interesting if incredibly pricey.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/052144 ... r_asin_lnk

Yeah... um... what's become of these allegedly listed sources?

You just have to click on the "Description And Show Notes" link/tag now to see them

I know...seems silly, but we are making some changes that make it easier for people to search Google and whatnot and find us. There are a lot of little tweaks we are implementing that should help us in that regard (it's all about being bot-friendly ), and one is to create seperate pages for each show episode. So the show notes have been moved to the individual episode page that they deal with.

Ooooooooooo, I see.

Thanks for having that link. I already have some of those, but I went ahead and got the Shotter book. Hopefully you get your cut. I bought the kindle version of the book, but I would hope that doesn't make a difference. Hum, do you also get a cut of purchases made following links from the original purchase? I also bought Lost to the West, which was linked as a "people who bought this book, also bought..." book.

Thanks. Listened while recovering from surgery this week and thoroughly enjoyed it!

Dan,

I am interested in learning more about the Soviet Generals from WWII. I was surprised when you noted that they the best commanders in the War and that along with Montgomery were better than the US Generals but then realized I had this reaction because of how little I know about the Soviet leaders. I'd like to read about this; can you point to the specific sources that hit on this issue?

Hmmm, did I include Montgomery in that list? That's not the British general from WW2 that I would choose if I wanted to highlight the best the Brits had to offer in that war (though he certainly got a lot of press).

I am not sure specificially which single book I should refer you to for this info (since it is not a single chapter or anything...these are comments made along the way in several books...)

First off, a good book to read if you really want to get an idea of the Eastern Front from a military situation, read Lost Victories by Manstein. Obviously you get a very German perspective with that one (and at times, perhaps a bit of a self-serving one as well). I think a very good one to try is "When Titans Clashed" http://www.amazon.com/When-Titans-Clash ... 282&sr=1-1

Let me know if you need more than that.

Dan, you probably already own it but I thought I would suggest it: Besieged: Siege Warfare in the Ancient World, Duncan B. Cambell. He has an entire chapter on siege warfare during the times of Marius and Sulla. There also are interesting details about the shipborne siege towers. My only complaint is that he dedicated this huge chapter to Marius and Sulla but half a chapter to Caesar who, as far as I know, was absolutely brilliant at siegecraft and sapping.

He mentions Sulla employing the Sambuca and that it was sometimes mounted between two ships but I cannot find references to that. It is something I am curious about due to my own interests in Syracuse and Archimedes.

Some of these details might be interesting in your podcast episodes. For instance, you mentioned how Marius radically altered the character of the Roman legion but there is quite a lot of changes to kit and equipment that made them so much better equipped to march across Europe in later generations and build forts wherever they decided to camp.

Four other books I own which add the little details to get a better sense of the living through the Civil Wars are:

Food in Antiquity: a Survey of the Diet of Early Peoples, Brothwell and Brothwell
Food was for the Roman war machine what oil is for our war machine. It's impossible to understand a people if you don't understand how they eat, what they eat, and how they cultivate crops and which domesticated animals they utilize.

Religion in the Roman Empire, James Rives
It's early to late empire so it might not be adequate for the Civil Wars. It does however go into detail of how religion and the polis are interwoven and how that impacted warfare and society in general.

The Gods of Ancient Rome, Robert Turcan
Not sure if this is the best source I could have found but I wasn't looking for particularly scholarly when I picked it up. However... this book is packed with stories. It will make you love Clodius that much more when you get the full context of his "crime against the gods".

Prostitutes and Courtesans in the Ancient World, edited by Faraone, McClure
Yes, yes, I know I have a dirty mind. But this also is an essential part of the ancient world that you need to understand. Sex was a political tool most people today don't understand. There are only a few papers in this book that specifically refer to the times in the vicinity of the Civil Wars but it still gives some context.

I find the first sources to obviously be the most useful. But it's these other books derived from historical and archeological research that make this period a living place for me. I love this period in history. I could easily see myself rolling with Clodius or marching with Caesar in that time. I can't imagine a more interesting time in history to live (as long as you don't plan to have children anyway).

Dan,
It would help me if you specify which of the sources is available as audiobook,
since if I want to dig deeper into one of the history shows - audio is the only possible way for my busy schedule.

Thanks.

Wow...this would be hard for me to do. As much as I love audible (and I do) I don't have the time for audio books! They go too slowly for me (plus I like to re-read some things and skip over other things, etc.).

I wouldn't know what books were, or were not available in audio form (but I bet you could find out by searching the titles I gave you. When Titans Clashed is possible...but Manstein's book won't be in audio form. That's part of the problem: these titles are obscure enough to make them a bad investment for someone to make them into audio books )

My apologies!

The best history books I own definitely do not have audiobook versions. Some of them are so expensive now you have to pay hundreds because of limited supply. It sucks to lack the time to read books outside of your occupation though. I am sorry it is like that for you.

Thanks,
I see I had beginners luck when I started from the right corner of
http://www.dancarlin.com/disp.php/hharc ... rius-Sulla

directly to Tom Hollands Rubicon - audiobook hit!

The rest so far - I did not found .

I would have to rely mostly on your history shows...

Holland's book is great though. You'll enjoy it.

Holland's _Persian Fire_ is pretty good, also.