I have always been a big fan of history.. be it the Hundred Year War, War of the Roses, the Roman Empire, the Holy Roman Empire, Japan's Sengoku Period, the Golden Age of Piracy, middle ages, the Renaissance..

you name it, and i probably find it interesting



what Historical periods do you find the most interesting?

Late-medieval to early-modern Europe (including those parts of North Africa and Arabia/Mesopotamia that were very much of central importance to Europe during the era) - I like to see the diverse and often bizarre ways which the institutions and events of the past have shaped our present. It's for similar reasons that I've also got an interest in the Roman empire, and also in particular in the history of Christianity* through the ages

I try to expand my knowledge of all sorts of historical eras though - recently I've been reading a little about ancient China and Japan, watching documentaries about pre-Colombian America, and I've been planning to find a decent, readable book on Persia for a while now (any suggestions would be appreciated).


*that is absolutely the last I will mention the dreaded C word in this thread - don't fret, moderators!

The Pax Romana. I absolutely love that period in Roman history.

I too love history, and in fact am currently (re) reading Barbara Tuchman's "A Distant Mirror: The calamitous 14th Century". I don't know that I can single out any one era as an ultimate favorite. I do have a special fascination with Troy and matters connected with the Trojan War. But I could say much the same for a great many historic periods from before the dawn of civilization up to the industrial revolution and beyond.

I started out as a fan of the American Civil War, as many a lad born in the early 1950s would have been. The Centennial began the year I turned nine, and was treated as a big deal by much of the nation. Heck, a handful of ancient veterans still lived when I was born. In fact I believe the last confederate veterans reunion was held that year. (Those few who survived past then were considered too frail to attend such events.) I own small (?) bookcase full of books related to the American Civil War, and one of equal size to house all other histories. (The majority of my print library is fantasy.)

I have a fascination with and love for early cinema, and own a too small library of silent films on disk, and an even smaller library of books on that era. (There is a wonderful Thames series on American Silent Film that can sometimes be found at YouTube. Alas, for royalty reasons it is not allowed to be sold on disk, at least not in the States.)

World War 2.

After reading the entire Master & Commander series I think it would I could fit in the early 1800's. Very tough life if your not an officer though.

My answer is similar to MutantPenguin's: the late Medieval and Renaissance periods of European history. Especially the Tudor period of English history. But it is fascinating only from a distance of several centuries. I would never wish to live during that period.

Mid - late American 1800's for me. I've always been drawn to that time. I find it a very interesting period in history.

Having an internal shift on that actually.
Used to be more into ancient and medieval History.

Now I am more into Modern history. Mostly the 20th century, particularly the first 80 years or so.

Anything and everything up to, and including, WW1. Anything after that is too modern and was 'done to death' during social studies at school.