I will admit, I slept thru most of history in school and haven't paid much attention since. I know that in order to get the most out of a trip to Europe, knowledge of history in the region is important.
So, any recommendations for a quick study? What book (besides a travel guide) best prepared you for your travels?

Which region?

Ah, that would help, eh?
Specifically Western Europe. Italy, France, Spain and places in between. I'm just trying to find a jumping off place to help peak my son's interest and help plan an itenerary.

The internet is a great start - Wikipedia will give you a short version of a city's history. From there, you can find what period or event interests you most and do more specific research in those areas. As far as books that have prepared me for travel, I find that novels are a great way to prepare for a trip - "Sun Also Rises" for Spain/Paris, "A Moveable Feast" for Paris, "Bleak House" for London, etc.

considring you slept through history classes, I would suggest it difficult to make up for what was probably close to 8 semesters of material that you missed. That being said and to avoid "history lite", I would suggest you find a novel or abiography of a person associated with the city, region or country that you wish to visit. For example, I had read some Hemingway before I went to Spain. It peaked my interest in the Spanish Civil war. I went to the library and found some books on the Spanish Civil War. Before I went to Scotland, I read Antonia Fraser's bio. of Mary Queen of Scots..then hit the history books. I don't think I would have coped with the history books (or would have wanted to) unless I had read the bios or novels first..

Thank you Travelbunny. I appreciate the recommendations, and the credit for higher learning.
Unfortuately, it was only High School history I slept thru and never took the opportunity to take History as part of my undergrad studies.
I have read Hemmingway, though long ago. Perhaps I should pick him up again!

I read of a lot of "historical fiction" - books that use historical fact (sometimes a bit loosely, but nevertheless) and built a fictional story around it...
Some of the ones I've enjoyed are:
Michael Crichton's "Out of Time" (set in the Dordogne in France), London, Prices of Ireland and The Forest by Edward Rutherford, Jack White's books on the Arthurian cycle.
I've found books on anything other than English history a bit tough to find, but there are few about the 100-years war in France (ie "A Brief History of the Hundred Years War" by Desmond Seward), a few about medieval europe that aren't bad although slightly textbookish.
If you're really feeling adventurous, you could tackle the classic "The History of The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire" by Edward Gibbons, or many of the more accessible and readable books that deal with ancient Rome...
I've also really enjoyed reading a lot of "Literary Travel" books - by authors such as Peter Mayle, Bill Bryson, Carol Drinkwater...the list of those goes on and on...

..a few more of my introductory favorites.."London- A Biography"; "Pillars of the Earth", a novel in which the leading character is a master builder of cathedrals...I had taken an art history course and remembered (very vaguely..I too sleep through that one- great subject poor lecturer) trying to memorize trancept, flying butresses, direction of the main door ect. This book made me interested and I actually found some of my old texts. Mitford's bio The Sun King..loved Georgiana Dutchess of Devonshire- reading this really brought Regency London alive. similarly a bio of Nellie Gwyn(ne) (?sp) for restoration England ect..4 years of Latin was great for Rome but I am not sure I would wish that on anyone!!

Hi W,

>...Italy, France, Spain and places in between.<

You also want to brush up on your geography.

Those countries are contiguous.

How far back in history do you want to go?

You could start with the Roman annexation of Spain (200 BC), or perhaps Caeser's conquest of Gaul (60 BC) for something more modern.

Ira,
If you refer to the Iberian Province of the Roman Empire it's more correct to call it Hispania.

Hey I slept thru History too. But I've made up for it. I borrowed a college text for Intro to Western Civ and actually read it cover to cover. As I didn't HAVE to read it, I ended up finding it fascinating. The one I borrowed was quite "lite" - only a couple of hundred pages (as oppossed to most college texts which are around 1000 pages). I don't know how old you are, but college text books have improved considerably since I was in college. I now teach college level (though not history) and really, if the books aren't readable (at least at the 101 level) the students won't read them. So try the used book section of amazon or B&N.com for a used history text.

And at the risk of being slammed by the anti-Rick crowd - Rick Steves has a quite decent book called Europe 101 which is a nice easy summary of European history.

Easy to read but VERY compendious is Norman Davies's "Europe". It has a central narrative history but lots of details separated out if you wish to look up particular themes, places or incidents. However, it looks dauntingly large.

I suggest a good guidebook to decide which areas you're interested in first, and then follow up on individual countries later.

For an overview of history, a guide book can be a good introduction. As someone mentioned above, and encyclopedia or the wikipedia would also be a good olace to start. But the vast reaches of time and space you're working with make one book recommendations difficult.

I think you might do well to focus on some of the more colorful personalities and dramatic events. Pick a few of these: Hannibal, the destruction of Pompeii. civil war and assassination of Caesar, chariot races, gladiator fights, Moorish invasions, El Cid, Roland, Charles Martell, castles, jousting (knighthood in general), Joan of Arc, Crecy and Agincourt, Leonardo da Vinci, Michelangelo painting the Sistine Chapel, the French Revolution and Napoleon, and the World Wars. These are all good bets, and you can find age-appropriate history, biographies and/or novels on most of them.

Learning a few key stories is a lot easier and more interesting than trying to master the grand sweep of history, although it may lead a kid to do just that.

for rome and italy read Colleen McCullogh's masters of rome series. They are novels based on history. Some of the best books i have read.

Well to pique your son;s interest - every country guidebook usually has a brief chapter on the history and culture of the country. Web sites usually have the same - but in an abbreviated form.

Is that the kind of quick study you have in mind (8 to 10 pages per country) - but it really can;t make up for missing the two years of world history in high school.

I liked the Rick Steves book - Europe 101 - also. Nice high level overview and quick/easy to read.

One thing I regret: that I didn't read certain books BEFORE I travelled so much. One that comes to mind was "Ironfire" by David Ball, I think. A magnificant novel that brings the history of Malta and the Knights Templar vividly alive. Also, the rise of modern Turkey is covered wonderfully in "Bird Without Wings", and again, I wish I had read it before we travelled extensively in Turkey and Greece. It would have made so much difference, and piqued my interest in learning more. I think a really good historical novel can change the way we look at history.

I would highly recommend Rick Steves "Europe 101". It's an easy, enjoyable read and for me was very benefical.

Cheers, the turnip

Hi lobo_mau
>If you refer to the Iberian Province of the Roman Empire it's more correct to call it Hispania. <

That you for the correction.

Pausanias, thank you very much for the key-word style list of events. I think that's what I needed to kick start my search.
All of the book recommendations will be taken to heart - as I am an avid reader and love historical novels.

IRA, thanks for the geography lesson! However, they are only contiguous if you take the direct right, ci? ;-)

Thanks everyone, I've got homework to do now!