Books whose title is a specific year?
August 24, 2008 4:04 PM Subscribe
Looking for popular history books whose title is or starts with a specific year - 1776, 1491, 69 A.D., etc. A subtitle after the year is fine, but the title needs to start with a specific date. Thanks!
London 1945 doesn't quite fit, since it doesn't start with a year, but something like The Year 1000 and April 1865 are borderline ok. So far I've found 1215, 1421, 1434, 1453, and 1700.
London 1945 doesn't quite fit, since it doesn't start with a year, but something like The Year 1000 and April 1865 are borderline ok. So far I've found 1215, 1421, 1434, 1453, and 1700.
Best answer: To make up, I'll offer
1066 & All That (there's quite a few starting with 1066)
1939: Baseball's tipping point (sport history)
and
1914, a history of the British Expeditionary Force
posted by ArkhanJG at 4:20 PM on August 24, 2008
1066 & All That (there's quite a few starting with 1066)
1939: Baseball's tipping point (sport history)
and
1914, a history of the British Expeditionary Force
posted by ArkhanJG at 4:20 PM on August 24, 2008
Best answer: 1599: A Year in the Life of William Shakespeare
posted by little apollo at 4:21 PM on August 24, 2008
posted by little apollo at 4:21 PM on August 24, 2008
Best answer: 1920: The Year of Six Presidents and 1960: LBJ vs. JFK vs. Nixon, both by David Pietrusza. I've read the first one, a good read.
posted by TPIRman at 4:23 PM on August 24, 2008
posted by TPIRman at 4:23 PM on August 24, 2008
Best answer: There's 1916 but it's not a very good book. Neither is its follow-up, 1921. See also 1916: The Easter Rising and so forth.
posted by jamesonandwater at 4:27 PM on August 24, 2008
posted by jamesonandwater at 4:27 PM on August 24, 2008
1491: New Revelations of the Americas Before Columbus. Very interesting book, too.
posted by librarina at 4:39 PM on August 24, 2008
posted by librarina at 4:39 PM on August 24, 2008
2001: A Space Odyssey
what? 2001 was 7 years ago, it's history!
posted by jozxyqk at 4:46 PM on August 24, 2008 [1 favorite]
what? 2001 was 7 years ago, it's history!
posted by jozxyqk at 4:46 PM on August 24, 2008 [1 favorite]
historical fiction? 1919 by John Dos Passos is one of my favorite books
posted by jus7brea7he at 5:30 PM on August 24, 2008
posted by jus7brea7he at 5:30 PM on August 24, 2008
Response by poster: These are great. Just nonfiction history, though, no fiction. Thanks again!
posted by mediareport at 5:42 PM on August 24, 2008
posted by mediareport at 5:42 PM on August 24, 2008
Best answer: Masur, Louis P. 1831: Year of Eclipse. Hill and Wang, 2002.
posted by k8lin at 5:43 PM on August 24, 2008
posted by k8lin at 5:43 PM on August 24, 2008
1421 and 1434 are popular books, but they are not popular history books.
posted by Flunkie at 6:02 PM on August 24, 2008
posted by Flunkie at 6:02 PM on August 24, 2008
Best answer: 1587: A Year of No Significance by Ray Huang on the decline of the Ming Dynasty is highly acclaimed (though I haven't read it myself yet).
posted by Abiezer at 7:21 PM on August 24, 2008 [1 favorite]
posted by Abiezer at 7:21 PM on August 24, 2008 [1 favorite]
Response by poster: Thanks for the pointer about the ridiculous nature of Menzies' books, Flunkie. I'd only seen the covers and never tried to find out more about them; good to know they're pure crap.
posted by mediareport at 7:53 PM on August 24, 2008
posted by mediareport at 7:53 PM on August 24, 2008
I actually own a copy of 1421 (was a present) and it's quite an interesting read. It is however about as factual as a Dan Brown book.
posted by ArkhanJG at 11:43 PM on August 24, 2008
posted by ArkhanJG at 11:43 PM on August 24, 2008
Best answer: 1915: the Death of Innocence and 1898: the Birth of the American Century.
posted by marxchivist at 9:37 AM on August 25, 2008
posted by marxchivist at 9:37 AM on August 25, 2008
Best answer: 1912: Wilson, Roosevelt, Taft and Debs--The Election that Changed the Country
posted by fancypants at 10:10 AM on August 25, 2008
posted by fancypants at 10:10 AM on August 25, 2008
Best answer: OK... here are some from my own bookshelves...
1066 - The Year of the Three Battles by Frank McLynn
1688 - A Global History by John E Willis
1914 by Lyn MacDonald
1915 - The Death of Innocence by Lyn MacDonald
War 1914 - Punishing the Serbs, Uncovered Edition
August 1914 by Aleksandr Solzhenitzyn
Route 66AD - On the Trail of Ancient Roman Tourists by Tony Perrottet
1776 - America & Britain at War by David McCullough
And, at a push, you could include these:
Millennium by Felipe Fernandez-Armetso
The Year of Salamis by Peter Green
These are just what I have in the living room. I'm sure there are a great many more.
posted by Mephisto at 9:00 PM on August 25, 2008
1066 - The Year of the Three Battles by Frank McLynn
1688 - A Global History by John E Willis
1914 by Lyn MacDonald
1915 - The Death of Innocence by Lyn MacDonald
War 1914 - Punishing the Serbs, Uncovered Edition
August 1914 by Aleksandr Solzhenitzyn
Route 66AD - On the Trail of Ancient Roman Tourists by Tony Perrottet
1776 - America & Britain at War by David McCullough
And, at a push, you could include these:
Millennium by Felipe Fernandez-Armetso
The Year of Salamis by Peter Green
These are just what I have in the living room. I'm sure there are a great many more.
posted by Mephisto at 9:00 PM on August 25, 2008
Best answer: Ah, nuts. Now I see you already had 1215. OK, 1973 Nervous Breakdown: Watergate, Warhol, and the Birth of Post-Sixties America, 1979: The Year that Shaped the Modern Middle East, 1759: The Year Britain Became Master of the World.
Mind if I ask why? 'cause they'd look cool next to each other as a chronological history of (select topics in) the world?
posted by Zed_Lopez at 8:25 AM on August 26, 2008
Mind if I ask why? 'cause they'd look cool next to each other as a chronological history of (select topics in) the world?
posted by Zed_Lopez at 8:25 AM on August 26, 2008
Response by poster: 'cause they'd look cool next to each other as a chronological history of (select topics in) the world?
Yeah, it's a possible gift idea - a group of good history books that also look fun on the shelf together. I may do it in my own living room, too, if I can find enough that I want to read. :) Thanks for the additions to the list. I've found some others nosing around Amazon (I should have realized pretty much every year of WW's I and II would work); I'll keep looking and post whatever else I find here.
posted by mediareport at 3:38 PM on August 26, 2008
Yeah, it's a possible gift idea - a group of good history books that also look fun on the shelf together. I may do it in my own living room, too, if I can find enough that I want to read. :) Thanks for the additions to the list. I've found some others nosing around Amazon (I should have realized pretty much every year of WW's I and II would work); I'll keep looking and post whatever else I find here.
posted by mediareport at 3:38 PM on August 26, 2008
Rats! Shows me for skimming the thread. Sorry.
posted by lilac girl at 8:09 PM on August 26, 2008
posted by lilac girl at 8:09 PM on August 26, 2008
Best answer: 1942 : Australia's Greatest Peril by Bob Wurth
posted by goshling at 7:02 PM on August 28, 2008
posted by goshling at 7:02 PM on August 28, 2008
This thread is closed to new comments.
posted by ArkhanJG at 4:11 PM on August 24, 2008