An Unofficial 'The Rest Is History' Reading List

1. Greatness

November 02, 2020

Description

How did certain people come to be called ‘the Great’? Is the notion of great men and women outmoded? Can anyone today be reckoned ‘great’? Historians Tom Holland and Dominic Sandbrook take a wide...
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Books Referenced

Biography of Frederick the Great

Author: Thomas Carlyle

Context:

Discussed in the context of Hitler's admiration for great men - Tom mentions that 'Hitler in the bunker is, I think I'm right in saying has Carlyle's biography of Frederick the Great' and that Carlyle was one of Hitler's favourite authors.

Horrible Histories

Author: Terry Deary

Context:

Mentioned when discussing children's history books at Waterstones - Dominic says 'if we went into Waterstones now, to the children's section, to the history section, I mean, they have the horrible histories'

Quotations from Chairman Mao (Little Red Book)

Author: Mao Zedong

Context:

Referenced in passing when discussing Mao's cult of personality - 'all those people, you know, waving their little red books' in the context of discussing whether communist leaders can be considered 'great'