Modern History Reading/Resource Guide

[sudodds]

Hey hey hey!
As many of you know (or should know!) a huge part of doing well in Modern History is wide reading of different historians, perspectives and sources. Though the importance of including historiography within a modern essay is overinflated (it’s definitely possible to write a band 6 essay with little to no quotes at all!), that doesn’t negate the fact that reading the works of experts can help to inform and shape your understanding and judgements upon a particular historical issue (+ even though it’s not essential a good quote or two is still never a negative ) Thus, I decided to make your job a little easier you're welcome  compiling an organised list of readings and resources that I found super useful last year while studying Modern, including textbooks, historians works, documentaries/videos and webpages. I have organised them by topic/option. If you have any others post them below and I’ll add them to the list (particularly for some of the other options for the national/international/personality study)!

Before purchasing any of these take a look in your local library or see if there are any PDF’s online! A lot of these, though super helpful, are also super expensive, so shop smart

Also! Please do not feel like you need to read all of these (or even the entirety of one of these) in order to do well! I definitely didn't do this, but I did make sure to read quite a few extracts and chapters from a variety of different sources, just so that I had a well rounded and thorough understanding of the topics. I was lucky and my teacher was really on the ball when it came to providing us with readings.
GENERAL RESOURCES

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These should be helpful no matter what options you are studying, and even cover a lot of the options themselves (unless they're really really obscure - sorry 'Australia 1945–1983' you're on your own (I'm also praying for you because I can't imagine studying anything more boring than another year of Menzies domestic policies ahaha))

- ATARNotes Modern History Notes by moi 
- Key Features of Modern History by Bruce Dennett and Stephen Dixon
- Cambridge Checkpoints HSC Modern History
- Johndclare.net - for GCSE students in the UK, but still really useful for HSC!
- Alphahistory.com
- HTA NSW YouTube Channel

THE CORE: WORLD WAR I

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- 1914 - 1918: The History of the First World War by David Stevenson
- Changing Attitudes Towards War: The Impact of the First World War by J. Mueller
- The Age of Empire: 1875–1914 by Eric Hobsbawm
- War and Peace in the 20th Century by Eric Hobsbawm
- Poems by Siegfried Sassoon
- Poems by Wilfred Owen - lucky Standard English kids a lot of you have probably already studied these!
- The Great War by McAndrew, Thomas and Cummins

NATIONAL STUDY OPTION C: GERMANY 1918 - 1939

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- The Coming of the Third Reich by Richard Evans
- The Hitler Myth by Ian Kershaw
- The Third Reich in Power byRichard Evans
- The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich by Shirer
- The Dark Charisma of Adolf Hitler by Laurence Rees.

NATIONAL STUDY OPTION G: RUSSIA AND THE SOVIET UNION 1917 - 1941

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- The Communist Manifesto by Marx and Engles
- Lenin: A Biography by David Shub
- Stalin by Isaac Deutscher
- Lenin by Robert Service (disagree with about everything he has to say but oh well right wing capitalists what are ya gonna do )
- Lenin by Christopher Read
- The Russian Revolution by Sheila Fitzpatrick
- Lenin and Trotsky: what they really stood for by Alan Wood
- Bolshevism: the Road to Revolution by Alan Wood
- Stalin and Stalinism Alan Wood
- Stalin and Stalinism by Martin McCauley
- The Origins of the Russian Revolution by Anthony Wood
- Lenin and the Russian Revolution by C. Hill

PERSONALITY STUDY 11: ALEXANDRA KOLLONTAI

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- Alexandra Kollontai by Tom Condit (neat overview of her life)

PERSONALITY STUDY 19: LENI RIEFENSTAHL

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- The Triumph of Will by Leni Riefenstahl, one of her most famous film. Can be found on YouTube (see link)
- A Memoir by Leni Riefenstahl
- The Terry Lane Interviews: The Triumph of Leni by Terry Lane (podcast)
- A Portrait of Leni Riefenstahl by Audrey Salkeld

PERSONALITY STUDY 21: ALBERT SPEER

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- Conversations with Hitler's Architect by Joachim Fest
- Albert Speer: His Battle with the Truth by Gitta Sereny
- Hitler's Henchmen - Albert Speer the Architect by the BBC

PERSONALITY STUDY 24: LEON TROTSKY

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- My Life by Leon Trotsky
- 1905 by Leon Trotsky
- The Prophet Series by Isaac Deutscher (including The Prophet Armed, the Prophet Unarmed and The Prophet Outcast
- Trotsky: A Biography by Robert Service (as I said earlier I 100% disagree with him on most things but that is the beauty of history and It’s important to expose yourself to different perspectives)
- Lenin and Trotsky: what they really stood for by Alan Wood
- Christopher Hitchens and Robert Service on Trotsky can be found on YouTube here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ex9bCF1drXU
- Lenin and the Russian Revolution by C. Hill
- Heretics and Renegades by Isaac Deutscher

INTERNATIONAL STUDY IN PEACE AND CONFLICT OPTION C: CONFLICT IN INDOCHINA 1954 - 1979

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Where the Domino Fell by James S Olson.
The Killing Fields by Roland Joffe

INTERNATIONAL STUDY IN PEACE AND CONFLICT OPTION F: THE COLD WAR 1945 - 1991

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- The Cold War Documentary Can be found on YouTube here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iHcN5Qif1hc&list=PLPJ9LLQi9QhP3X73RLUl9SS_RfWSFzvMI
- The Cold War: A New History by John Lewis Gaddis
- We Now Know. Rethinking the Cold War by John Lewis Gaddis
- Strategies of Containment by John Lewis Gaddis
- The United States and the End of the Cold War John Lewis Gaddis
- The End of the Cold War 1985-1991 by Robert Service
- Age of Extremes by Eric Hobsbawm - a really good read!
- Origins of the Cold War 1941 - 1949 by Martin McCauley
- The Cold War, an International History by Simon J. Ball

THE ANTI-LIST

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Resources you should definitely (in the subjective opinion of sudodds pls don't sue me) not buy/use, mainly because they either a) offer an overly simplified version of the events b) present a very one sided view of an issue c) are just pretty bad at showing you how to construct a sophisticated argument/thesis. Again this is just my opinion (i'm a poor uni student i can't afford legal fees pls spare me)

- Excel HSC Modern History Study Guide
- Anything written by Ken Webb (this one goes out to the extension students too!)

FUN/INTERESTING

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These are just resources that aren't necessarily going to help you write the best modern history essay ever, but are just some fun, interesting and unique books/videos/websites that will hopefully make history more enjoyable

- Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind by Yuval Noah Harari (one of the best books in existence I'm not willing to debate this sorry)
- Crash Course World History hosted by John Green on YouTube
- Anything Epic Rap Battles of History produces Russia students do yourself a favour and watch Rasputin vs. Stalin you're welcome. Extension students check out Eastern Philosophers vs. Western Philosophers.
- Anything created by Horrible Histories Legit a top notch show. Technically for kids, but it still won a British Comedy Award for the Best Sketch Show
- ‘Every Day I Spend 14 Hours Arguing With Liam About Whether Trotsky Had It Coming’: 5 Questions With Harry Styles

*PS I'll probably update this every so often as I continue to read up on this stuff (yes I know I'm a massive nerd) + people send suggestions (please send suggestions  ) so check back here every so often to see if there is anything new

[bowiemily]

Sudodds, this is a fantastic idea! I know how much time I spent scouring the web for my own Modern reading, so thank you for starting this!

For those doing Germany, here are some of the readings I used:
The Coming of the Third Reich - Richard Evans
The Hitler Myth - Ian Kershaw (a god amongst us all. Anything you find of his will be useful
The Third Reich in Power - Richard Evans
The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich - Shirer
The Dark Charisma of Adolf Hitler - Laurence Rees.

Albert Speer:
Conversations with Hitler's Architect - Joachim Fest
Albert Speer: His Battle with the Truth - Gitta Sereny
Hitler's Henchmen - Albert Speer the Architect - BBC

Indochina:
Where the Domino Fell - James S Olson. This was my lifeline during my HSC. I loved it so much my school library actually bought a copy of it for me. If you're going to read anything, read this!
The Killing Fields - Roland Joffe

[sudodds]

Sudodds, this is a fantastic idea! I know how much time I spent scouring the web for my own Modern reading, so thank you for starting this!

For those doing Germany, here are some of the readings I used:
The Coming of the Third Reich - Richard Evans
The Hitler Myth - Ian Kershaw (a god amongst us all. Anything you find of his will be useful
The Third Reich in Power - Richard Evans
The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich - Shirer
The Dark Charisma of Adolf Hitler - Laurence Rees.

Albert Speer:
Conversations with Hitler's Architect - Joachim Fest
Albert Speer: His Battle with the Truth - Gitta Sereny
Hitler's Henchmen - Albert Speer the Architect - BBC

Indochina:
Where the Domino Fell - James S Olson. This was my lifeline during my HSC. I loved it so much my school library actually bought a copy of it for me. If you're going to read anything, read this!
The Killing Fields - Roland Joffe

YAY EM! Awesome I'll add these too the post 

[diesxel]

These are amazing!! So glad to see both my option topic (Russia) and personality study (Trotsky) on here.

Can't wait to get researching 

[sudodds]

These are amazing!! So glad to see both my option topic (Russia) and personality study (Trotsky) on here.

Can't wait to get researching 

Always happy to help a fellow comrade 
Good luck! If you find any other resources while researching please let me know and I'll add them to the list

[sophiemacpherso]

So helpful thankyou !!

[sudodds]

So helpful thankyou !!

So glad you found it useful! If you have any texts that you have found beneficial during your study of America for the national study, please let me know and I'll add a new section

[elysepopplewell]

I didn't know anything about this topic at all, but if you love to read widely about Hitler and the Nazis, maybe this will interest you. Drugs and Nazism[/url] isn't something I ever looked into, but I suppose Hitler isn't so vegetarian after all if he "mainlined pigs’ liver extracts and swallowed capsules filled with bulls’ testicles."

The article here. It looks to the full novel if you're super interested and want to read more as well.

[sudodds]

I didn't know anything about this topic at all, but if you love to read widely about Hitler and the Nazis, maybe this will interest you. Drugs and Nazism[/url] isn't something I ever looked into, but I suppose Hitler isn't so vegetarian after all if he "mainlined pigs’ liver extracts and swallowed capsules filled with bulls’ testicles."

The article here. It looks to the full novel if you're super interested and want to read more as well.

Ooo super interesting! Could definitely see this being useful to history extension students as well Some great discussion on methodologies, and this gem of a quote: "I have learned that nonfiction can be quite adventurous, even rebellious, to write. And is this not the very essence of literature?"

[sudodds]

Mentioned this in the Question Thread, but think it deserves a mention here as well:

‘Every Day I Spend 14 Hours Arguing With Liam About Whether Trotsky Had It Coming’: 5 Questions With Harry Styles

For anyone currently fretting over how they're going to answer the Personality Study Part B for Trotsky, might be comforting to know that at least you and Harry Styles have something in common (he unfortunately doesn't delve into his opinions too much come onnnn harry)

[Rasika]

Omg this is so good! Thank you!

[sudodds]

Omg this is so good! Thank you!

Glad you found it useful! If you find any other resources that you feel deserve a shout out let me know and I'll add them to the list

[herb123]

hey @sudodds
i couldnt help but notice you put anything by Ken webb on the anti-list
I havent read any of his works but i heard him speak at the HTA study day and thought he was pretty good
are his textbooks just bad ahahah

[sudodds]

hey @sudodds
i couldnt help but notice you put anything by Ken webb on the anti-list
I havent read any of his works but i heard him speak at the HTA study day and thought he was pretty good
are his textbooks just bad ahahah

Okay so content wise, Ken Webb is fine. Like he's not giving you the wrong timeline of events, the wrong dates or the wrong statistics. However is doing well in Modern about that? Hardly. Doing well in Modern is knowing how to APPLY this content, and in my opinion (and the opinion of my teachers and other students I know, some of whom did really well in Modern History) Kenn Webb's books just fail to translate that. Using Ken Webb alone you will not learn how to construct and sustain a thesis, make a critical, nuanced judgement or form a sophisticated source analysis - this is were a band 6 lies. Along with this I found the structure of his textbooks confusing (ie. strays away from the syllabus often, or doesn't explicitly specify which section the content is pertinent too), and many of the activities utterly useless. However, remember that this is just my opinion - other students have used and enjoyed his textbooks and that is great! More power too them, but if you want my recommendation I'd skip Ken Webb and go straight to 'Key Features of Modern History' by Bruce Dennett, that's were it's really at

Can't comment too much on his lectures, as I personally have not attended any due to not doing any of the subjects that he lectured (and also because my teacher would probably disown me). Maybe it has changed, but from what I have been told by previous Germany students who attended the HTA study day last year it was pretty much just a content drop - which is fine, but again you need to go a lot further as a student if you want to score those top band marks.

Susie

[jakesilove]

Okay so content wise, Ken Webb is fine. Like he's not giving you the wrong timeline of events, the wrong dates or the wrong statistics. However is doing well in Modern about that? Hardly. Doing well in Modern is knowing how to APPLY this content, and in my opinion (and the opinion of my teachers and other students I know, some of whom did really well in Modern History) Kenn Webb's books just fail to translate that. Using Ken Webb alone you will not learn how to construct and sustain a thesis, make a critical, nuanced judgement or form a sophisticated source analysis - this is were a band 6 lies. Along with this I found the structure of his textbooks confusing (ie. strays away from the syllabus often, or doesn't explicitly specify which section the content is pertinent too), and many of the activities utterly useless. However, remember that this is just my opinion - other students have used and enjoyed his textbooks and that is great! More power too them, but if you want my recommendation I'd skip Ken Webb and go straight to 'Key Features of Modern History' by Bruce Dennett, that's were it's really at

Can't comment too much on his lectures, as I personally have not attended any due to not doing any of the subjects that he lectured (and also because my teacher would probably disown me). Maybe it has changed, but from what I have been told by previous Germany students who attended the HTA study day last year it was pretty much just a content drop - which is fine, but again you need to go a lot further as a student if you want to score those top band marks.

Susie

Definitely support the sentiment outlined by Susie above. Personally, I tried to develop my own, nuanced thesis', rather than relying too heavily on information he published.