Best historical study & teaching books according to redditors

For a long time, I've been interested about the teaching of fabricated history in Pakistani schools. There is a book on the topic - What Shall We Tell the Children?: International Perspectives on School History Textbooks. It has a chapter dedicated to Pakistan.

The Pakistani Studies curriculum was hurriedly introduced in 1972, a year after the loss of East Pakistan. With the aftermath of a disastrous war with India, a frenzy of panic gripped the nation and the powers that be in Pakistan feared that its raison d'etre was crumbling. Teaching contorted and fabricated history to impressionable children is their attempt at nation-building.

Here are some excerpts -
_
1) Introduction

All students in Pakistan are required to take courses called Pakistan Studies
and must pass standardized tests. There are numerous textbooks published
under this title for the 9th class to the BA level. The curriculum
is a composite of patriotic discourses, justification of the Two-Nation Theory,
hagiographies of Muslim heroes, and, endemic in the discourse,
polemics about the superiority of Islamic principals over Hinduism. The
rubric in these textbooks must be learned by rote in order for students to
pass the examination.

The social studies curriculum in Pakistan, as both product
and propagator of the “Ideology of Pakistan,” derives its legitimacy
from a narrow set of directives. The textbooks authored and altered during
the eleven years of General Zia-ul-Haq’s military rule between 1977 and
1988, are still in use in most schools—they are decidedly anti-democratic
and inclined to dogmatic tirades and are characterized by internal contradictions.

In the thirty years since the “fall of Dhaka” the government controlled
curriculum still does not include a historically circumspect version of the
causes of the civil war that dismembered the nation. It is no wonder that
during and in the aftermath of the Kargil crisis in the summer of 1999,
newspapers ran stories referring to the occupation of the heights above
Kargil as “revenge for 1971.” There is a chronic shortage of objective information
available to the majority of Pakistani citizens that can adequately
explain the actual events that led to the three wars with India. Kashmir in
1948, the war with India in 1965, and the Bangladesh War of Independence
have become national metaphors for betrayal within and a
reminder of the constant threat looming from Hindu India. The split-up of
the nation and the creation of Bangladesh remains a potent symbol of
Pakistan’s disempowerment and a constant reminder of what will happen if
the Muslim ummah does not remain vigilant.

During the war-like situation in the summer of 1999 at the Line of Control
near Kargil, the Pakistani government claimed that the Mujahideen
were not physically supported by Pakistan, that the combatants were indigenous
Kashmiri freedom fighters. However, the presence of satellite television,
the internet, and newspapers that are now more connected to
international media sources, offered the possibility of broader exposure
than during the two previous wars fought over Kashmir. Perhaps there is at
least one positive outcome of the tragic Kargil crisis where hundreds of
young men lost their lives; in the aftermath there was an outpouring of
newspaper and magazine articles in Pakistan that attempted to analyze the
brinkmanship from various angles.

Although some of the essays in Pakistani newspapers prophetically
called for the military to take over the government in the wake of Nawaz
Sharif’s sell out to Clinton, most of the discussions were more circumspect
and many authors looked at the Kargil debacle through a lens of history,
trying to understand the cause of Pakistan's repeated failures arising from
military brinkmanship. Many of the observations made after Kargil, such as the inadequacy of Pakistan’s international diplomatic missions, are interestingly,
also cited in Pakistan Studies textbooks regarding India's perceived
manipulation of world opinion during the 1971 war and Pakistan's inability
to counter it.

2) Manipulation by omission

Pakistani textbooks are particularly prone to historical narratives manipulated
by omission, according to Avril Powell, professor of history at the
University of London, such erasure can have its long-term negative repercussions.

Another example of this is the manner in which the Indo-Pak
War of 1965 is discussed in Pakistani textbooks. In standard narrations of
the 1965 War there is no mention of Operation Gibraltar, even after four
decades. In fact, several university level history professors whom I interviewed
claimed never to have heard of Operation Gibraltar and the repercussions
of that ill-planned military adventurism which resulted in India's
attack on Lahore.

In Pakistani textbooks the story is told that “the Indian
army, unprovoked, inexplicably attacked Lahore” and that “one Pakistani
jawan (soldier) equals ten Indian soldiers,” who, upon seeing the fierce
Pakistanis, “drop their banduks (rifles) and run away.” Many people in Pakistan
still think like this, and several mentioned this assumed cowardice of
the Indian army in discussions with me while the fighting was raging in
Kargil. The nation is elated by the valiant victories on the battlefield, as
reported in the newspapers, then shocked and dismayed when their country
is humiliated at the negotiating table. Because they were not fully
informed about the adventurism of their military leaders, they can only
feel betrayed that somehow Pakistani politicians once again “grabbed diplomatic
defeat from the jaws of military victory.” Operation Gibraltar, the
recent debacle in Kargil, and especially the tragic lessons that could have
been learned from the Bangladesh War are products of the same myopic
processes. The Kargil crisis was a legacy of the lack of information that citizens
have had about the real history of their country.

3) Fabrication of geography

Pakistani textbooks have a particular problem when defining geographical
space. The terms South Asia and Subcontinent have partially helped to
solve this problem of the geo-historical identity of the area formally known
as British India. However, it is quite difficult for Pakistani textbook writers
to ignore the land now known as India when they discuss Islamic heroes
and Muslim architectural monuments in the Subcontinent. This reticence
to recognize anything of importance in India, which is almost always
referred to as “Bharat” in both English and Urdu versions of textbooks,
creates a difficult dilemma for historians writing about the Moghul Dynasties.
It is interesting to note that M.A. Jinnah strongly protested the Congress’
appropriation of the appellation “India,” but his arguments were
dismissed by Mountbattan. Because Pakistani textbook writers are constrained
by the imperative to represent all facts and events in the historical
record of South Asia so as to prove the inevitability of the Two Nation Theory, there are, by necessity of this agenda, numerous misrepresentations.
Geography also falls prey to this ideological orientation, as can be seen in
this quote from one of the many textbooks titled, Pakistani Studies:

> During the 12th century the shape of Pakistan was more or less the same as it
is today. Under the Khiljis, Pakistan moved further south-ward to include a
greater part of Central India and the Deccan. In retrospect it may be said
that during the 16th century “Hindustan” disappeared and was completely
absorbed in “Pakistan.”

4) Editing political narratives on the fly

Another recent example of alterations made in textbooks to conform
the narrative to the current political jargon can be seen by comparing two
editions of the textbook Pakistan Studies for Secondary Classes, published by
the Punjab Textbook Board. First, the 1997 edition states on page 206-207:

> India is very advanced in its nuclear energy program and has performed an
atomic test in 1974. To divert world attention from its nuclear plans, Bharat
launched a propaganda campaign against Pakistan to the effect that Pakistan
was manufacturing nuclear weapons. Pakistan categorically contradicted
these baseless allegations and proposed that both the countries should adopt
such limitations with mutual consent as may be acceptable at international
level, putting an end to the possibility of proliferation of nuclear arms in
South Asia. Bharat is not prepared to accept any restriction in this respect and desires
that Pakistan should give up its peaceful nuclear energy program. Obviously this is an
unrealistic demand.

After the nuclear tests in May of 1998, pages 206-207 of this textbook
were changed in the 1999 imprint and the substituted comments added in
a different font:

> India is very advanced in its nuclear energy program and has performed an
atomic test in 1974. To divert world attention from its nuclear plans, Bharat launched a propaganda campaign against Pakistan to the effect that Pakistan
was manufacturing nuclear weapons. Pakistan categorically contradicted
these baseless allegations and proposed non-proliferation of nuclear arms in
South Asia. On May 11 and 13, 1998 India detonated five nuclear explosions and
threatened the strategic and security balance in the region. Pakistan was compelled to
respond in the same language and it conducted its six nuclear explosions on May 28
and 30 of 1998 at Chagai.

The day following the nuclear tests, public servants in Pakistan, without
their consent, were docked a day’s pay to help offset the cost of exploding
nuclear devices. Subsequently, Yome Takhbeer Day is celebrated in Pakistan on May 28. The revised curriculum guide suggests that school children draw posters and march in parades to mark the date of Pakistan’s
ascendancy to nuclear status.
_
Edit: Improved the formatting to make it easier to read.

I challenge you to reconsider that pendulum idea!

The more history I actually read, I start to see how small moments change everything.

I highly recommend this Canadian historian, it is a short great book on the subject: https://www.amazon.ca/Uses-Abuses-History-Margaret-MacMillan/dp/0143054783

https://www.amazon.com/Children-International-Perspectives-History-Textbooks/dp/1593115091

The History of Freethought free on Kindle.

http://www.amazon.com/A-History-Freedom-Thought-ebook/dp/B00840247K/ref=tmm_kin_title_0?ie=UTF8&qid=1344122661&sr=8-1

I believe this is the book Penn mentions.

!

You'll want to have a look at this book then

Read this book which has a map very similar to this one and which provides an answer to your question. From what I recall it was something along the lines of JudahMaccabee's answer: The indigenous Australian / Papua New Guinean population could not be so easily replaced as, say, indigenous phillipinos because they were more adapted to the very peculiar environment than the Austronesians, whose food production package was not that suitable for the Australian mainland / New Guinean highlands.

I am by no means an expert, but in college we read Side by Side, written by a group of Israeli and Palestinian teachers in 2000.

The book has a really unique structure-- all of the pages on the left (imagine you're looking at an open book) present history from an Israeli perspective, and all the pages on the right present history from a Palestinian perspective.

Apologies if some don't consider it objective, I know how sensitive this issue is. At the very least, it's an interesting and unique literary exercise.

Side by Side: Parallel Histories of Israel-Palestine

I think this book does a great job of preventing both perspectives. Hope this helps :)

As a APWH teacher, I tell my students that it's pretty difficult, but it's doable.

They key is to be prepared for how to answer MC questions when the answer isn't obvious (if it's obvious, read it again - it's probably a trap), have a solid overview of history, and know how to earn points on the writing.

Of course, difficulty is relative. What is hard for some people is easy for others and vice versa. Perhaps you're just naturally good at taking tests and won't have any issues. I've seen students that don't put any work in get 5s and I've seen students that work their asses off get 2s.

That being said... the lack of stuying is concerning. I'd recommend getting an APWH Study Book (I like AMSCO or Crash Course World History) and putting in some extra effort over the next month to make sure you've got it down.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/German_Faith_Movement
http://thecensureofdemocracy.150m.com/text18.htm
I originally came across it in this book http://www.amazon.co.uk/GCSE-Modern-World-History-Students/dp/0719577136/ref=sr_1_9?ie=UTF8&qid=1335458014&sr=8-9

I agree with /u/_Hunyadi that orthographies tend to evolve as they're written more (simplified characters, or finding characters too similar and modifying them).

For the type of paper, I think this would depend on what you're trying to accomplish and what type of writing system you're trying to develop. For a rough draft, blank might be fine - but if you'll be writing your language mostly with lined paper, take that into consideration on how characters will interact with the lines. Blank paper is good for the initial run to just draw out shapes, though. Once you have some ideas, then maybe switch to lined paper.

I highly recommend taking a look through some books or websites about different writing systems. I have this book. It's not a very detailed book, but does serve as a very brief overview if you're not familiar with different writing systems. Wikipedia is also a good source, with quite a bit more information.

Every history book is slightly different. I believe one of the books we used was this one.

The book that my school's curriculum follows isAMSCO's World History AP Edition Book.

I would read that and probably just get Barron's or Princeton's review book to make sure you're learning from two sources. I honestly don't know if I would bother with watching Crash Course because the questions we get on our tests are almost completely stimulus based (and the tests are fucking hard).

​

Really, I'd say do a lot of practice tests and FRQs/LEQs to make sure you're actually learning the correct way for the exam.

Princeton is good, but do keep in mind that these are just review books. Took the exam this year with the Princeton review book and it was very helpful. Reading it from the actual textbook is better, because it omitts out the detailed parts and the review books summarize it. That being said, I've heard that from r/APstudents, the Amsco book is really good. Haven't bought it or seen anything in it, but I've heard a lot about in r/APstudents. I would read the text from the textbook they provide you(do reply the textbook), so you could learn more than what this books tell you. Also the curriculum of AP world is now different, so it could vary. There are now 2 AP world courses, which one you are taking?

Start out with CLEP courses. These cost about $90 and after taking the test grant you a full three credits for about an hours worth of work. Each subject has corresponding study material (These brand are the best I've found. They usually run under $20 per subject.)

For studying a few nights prior and one hour of your time you can knock out entire courses, saving both time and money. Be CERTAIN that you check whatever school you plan to attend accepts which tests, as it varies from school to school.

Next, attend community college for as many credits as you can. These are incredible deals money wise, and then you often get classrooms as small as 10 people and lots of one on one time with very competent and passionate professionals. You're much more likely to appreciate the help you get in that tough math class or the required foreign language class from a community college professor than from a TA trying to balance their PHD work with teaching for the first time at a very large university. Again, plan ahead and be CERTAIN that all the courses you're taking transfer (go to the school you wish to attend and search for transfer equivalents. They will normally have a page directly for your community college. Then just plug and play with each course. Plot out your whole degree plan and work your ass off.

Then when you've exhausted everything at the CC, apply to your dream school and attend for 1.5-2 years at the higher rate. You'll have gained a lot of credits, proper study habits for college (much different than HS) and now you can kick ass at your favorite school of choice. While there, network the hell out of the best professors you find. Sign up for your schools career fairs and job services programs, if applicable.

TL;DR You can save money all over the place in college and still have the education you deserve.

Here are the materials I used to pass US History I:

• CrashCourse's US History Series
  
  
• REA's Test Prep Book
  
  
• The "Official" CLEP book that you mentioned
  
  Honestly, I thought that CrashCourse US History was the best resource. I watched every video (up until 1877 year range) and made notecards of the notable facts.
  Good luck! :)
  
  Edit: I would recommend saving some cash and purchasing an older edition of REA's test prep- I used an edition from 2007 and it worked just fine for me

This book gives a good parallel primary on Israeli and Palestinian histories. It's really telling what each history omits. Both of them tell the truth. Just different truths and different sins of omission.

Won't get you much about Egypt, but it's probably necessary context.

I'm currently studying history and hoping to becoming a trainee teacher. I have most of what I need, but could use a good writing pen to help me back to cool . Books such as - thiswould also be helpful with the teaching part!

Thanks for the contest!

Try the book "Side by Side" - it describes the history of the conflcit, but half is written by an Israeli historian, and the other half by a Palestinian historian. https://www.amazon.com/Side-Parallel-Histories-Israel-Palestine/dp/1595586830/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1497407590&sr=1-1&keywords=side+by+side+israel

Here's a good place to start on the broader topic of genocide:

https://www.amazon.com/Outlawing-Genocide-Denial-Dilemmas-Historical/dp/1607813726

By a Jew who fought the Nazis.

History of the World in Six Glasses https://www.amazon.com/History-World-6-Glasses-ebook/dp/B002STNBRK/ref=sr_1_1?keywords=history+of+the+world+in+six+glasses&qid=1554425816&s=gateway&sr=8-1

\^\^\^ A few of us use this for summer assignment/reading. I've used this in both AP and on-level classes to supplement textbook reading.

​

Chris Peek wrote two amazing "Mastering AP World History" guides as well. Here's the teacher one (he has a student centered version too). https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1722350997/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o02_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

The Student's Friend Concise World History by Mike Maxwell is surprisingly good.

THIS BOOK helped me out immensely. I can't recommend it enough. I should have bought the whole series, but inherited a bunch of other specialized books from my sister that suited my needs. I wish they were all as effective as this one.