Book suggestions for world's toughest exam..

In My Humble Opinion
1

Hi there,

So a few years ago I was invited to sit the All Souls exam. This year is my last chance, so I’m gonna give her a crack. I have this summer to prepare.

I’m not too worried about my specialist subject (philosophy) - I mean, I won’t get elected or anything, but I should go down fighting. No, as you can see, the general paper is where the action is.

General Paper II seems to consist of questions culled from other specialist papers. So, I’d like to get a good general grounding in economics (nothing too quantitative) and history. Can you suggest me 4 or 5 books in each discipline (academic, but not too tough - undergraduate level, perhaps) that I should read?

For history, I’m re-reading AJP Taylor’s ‘Origins of WW2’ and some Tudor history. That’s about it so far.

And as for the essay … heaven save me.

tokaido-hokuriku

2

Try “A History of the Modern World” by Palmer, Colton and Kramer. Great, thorough stuff.

3

Thanks for the tip, that looks well worth reading. Pricey, though, and none of the libraries near me seem to have it … oh well!

t-h

4

I’ve just had a gander at the Classics and General questions and they seemed quite interesting.

You’ve got Gibbon’s Decline and Fall on your list, haven’t you?

5

Funnily enough I was just looking at bookstores!

I read it many years ago, but only the abridged version. Definitely time for a reread, I wonder whether to quixotically go for the unabridged… hmm.

t-h

6

At your level, go for the unabridged.

7

Just got it from the library… what a beast!

My summer reading bookshelf is groaning. Still, shoot for the stars and you might hit the moon, as they say.

t-h

8

Sometimes you can find one on eBay for not quite so much. :slight_smile:

9

I suggest you try and find some books on modern British political questions - each paper has several questions of semi-current topics (the House of Lords, the West Lothian Question, etc). You could also try reading magazines like the Spectator or Tribune or the on-line versions of the quality papers - Times, Guardian, Independent…

As for history books - difficult to pick a period. The classical world keeps coming up but Greece as often as Rome. I wouldn’t say the the history questions (the only ones I am at all competent to talk about!) are culled from the history paper. Looking at the General Paper the questions, including the history related ones, are more of an open ended, discussion of ideas type. I assume they are trying to see how you think - not how much historic knowledge you have. There is a distinct difference between:

and

Anyway - really good luck and happy studying. :slight_smile:

10

You’re welcome. It’s the standard introductory work for history students as Oslo University, and my go-to book for just about anything. It’s big, but well written and very accesible.

Be aware that this one is considered somewhat outdated by modern scientific standards. I’d complement it with a modern work or a commentary.

If I had to recomend just one book on roman history, it would be The Roman World: Sources and Interpretations by D. Brendan Nagle. It’s a slim little book which basically contains translations of various ancient texts, along with a running commentary and discussion.