1001 Nonfiction Books That D&Ders will want to read.

[Buttercup]

I was reading the thread about starting a smithing business, and someone recommended a few books. So I thought, why not make a thread where we can all recommend nonfiction books that will be of interest to DMs and players? I'll start.

1. Civilization & Capitalism by Fernand Braudel
1a Volume I, The Structures of Everyday Life
1b Volume II, The Wheels of Commerce
1c Volume III, The Perspective of the World

2. Food in History by Reay Tannahill

3. Medieval Combat by Hans Talhoffer

4. Domesday: A Search for the Roots of England by Michael Wood

5. History of Pedlars in Europe by Laurence Fontaine

6. Life in a Medieval Castle by Joseph and Frances Gies

7. Cathedral, Forge & Waterwheel: Technology & Invention in the Middle ages by Joseph and Frances Gies

8. Any of the other books by Frances and Joseph Gies (There are bunches.)

9. The Sacred Cow and the Abominable Pig by Marvin Harris

10. Medieval Panorama edited by Robert Bartlett


over to you....

 

[Tiefling]

11. Guns, Germs, and Steel by Jared Diamond.

 

[barsoomcore]

12. The Western Way of War, by Victor Davis Hanson

13. The Peloponnesian War, by Thuycidides

A starter.

 

[dreamthief]

14. The Mummy Congress : Science, Obsession, and the Everlasting Dead
by Heather Pringle

 

[EricNoah]

15. Castle
by David MacAulay

16. Gemstones
(Eyewitness Handbooks series)

17. The Druids
by Peter Berresford Ellis

 

[mythusmage]

18. Inventing the Middle Ages: Norman F. Cantor
How major figures in the field of Medieval Studies have shaped our perception of the Middle Ages. Includes a chapter on Lewis and Tolkein of the Inklings.

 

[cybertalus]

19. The Hero with a Thousand Faces by Joseph Campbell
20. An Encyclopedia of Faeries by Katherine Briggs
21. A History of Britain : At the Edge of the World, 3500 B.C.-1603 A.D by Simon Schama

edit: whoops, never was good with that counting thing.

 

[Buttercup]

Cool suggestions, everyone!

Cybertalus, can you edit your post to include the numbers, please?

 

[StalkingBlue]

3. Medieval Combat by Hans Talhoffer

Ha! I was going to recommend that.



20. The Military Campaigns of the Wars of the Roses,
by Philip A. Haigh

21. The Prince,
by Niccoló Machiavelli

22. Telling Lies,
by Paul Ekman

23. Forensic Pathology,
by Vincent J.M. DiMaio and Suzanna E. Dana

(edit to update numbers - grumble)

 

[Wicht]

An Encyclopedia of Faeries by Katherine Briggs

No fair, that was gonna be my suggestion. A great read!