Wednesday, November 14, 2012

Historical Non Fiction Books And Famous Figures From The Past

By Dianne Crane


Historical non fiction books are a great way of exploring the past. There is great benefit in knowing about what happened in times past; as Henry Ford put it, those who do not know about their history are bound to repeat it. Studying the choices, successes and failures of people from the past is a great way of building perspective, and humility.

Napoleon Bonaparte is known as one if the best strategists in history; his war tactics are studied in a large number of military academies. He is known for attaining decisive victories even when he was outnumbered. The Napoleonic Code, a set of civil laws that he developed still forms part of many modern constitutions. In his heyday, Bonaparte controlled a large swathe of Europe.

Cleopatra remains a popular part of Western culture, a mythical woman of stunning beauty. The truth is a bit different; she was actually a Pharaoh, and there were no more after her. Her relationship with Mark Antony is well known; not many people know that she also had an affair with Caesar, and that they had a son who was named Little Caesar. She is said to have killed herself by allowing an Egyptian cobra to bite her.

Caesar, Cleopatra's lover, also remains a popular figure, even though he died hundreds of years ago. He is known for his military conquests, and for his political and social reforms. He introduced the Julian calendar, an innovation that is still used by some contemporary religious denominations. Despite his power and achievements, Caesar never managed to fully quell political dissent in Rome, and he was eventually killed by jealous rivals 44 years before Christ.

Not many generals can claim the honor of remaining undefeated in the course of their military careers, but Alexander the Great did. He was extremely successful, creating one of the largest empires in ancient history. This covered what is now Greece, Egypt, Turkey, parts of Saudi Arabia, Iran, Iraq, Kuwait, India and Nepal. He was Aristotle's pupil until the age of sixteen.

Like Alexander, Genghis Khan created a huge empire through military conquest. By his death, his territories stretched from what is now Mongolia to modern China and Korea. After his death, his sons took over, maintaining a pattern of war and diplomatic agreements that eventually stretched the empire all the way to parts of Eastern Europe.

Shaka was a Zulu king who rose to prominence in the nineteenth century. He was a brilliant military strategist, and as a result, he carved out a large empire in much of Southern Africa. According to archaeologists, he was born illegitimately; this goes to prove that one can succeed in spite of an adverse background. He is credited with introducing a number of reforms to his armies, making them more effective in their campaigns.

Thankfully, not everyone rose to fame for their actions on the battlefield; on the contrary, there are those who have risen to prominence because of their attempts to prevent war. Jesus Christ, Buddha and many others fall into this category. Oddly enough, these figures have created empires grounded in people's hearts, something no general can achieve, no matter how brilliant they are. More information on such people can be found in historical non fiction books.




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