Secret Edinburgh book is very good. Bought it a while back and l found new things…(not related or even know the author).
Secret Edinburgh: An Unusual Guide (Secret Guides) https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/2361953633/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_glt_fabc_04G7D8ZM5ZRMMXB5SBCE
In Europe by Geert Mak (Amazon)
It is written as a trip trough Europe in which he tells the story of Europe through small personal stories of people he meets along the way.
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It is not exactly what you are looking for but it is still one of the best books on the history of Europe.
Go to your local library and look at their travel books to see if there is a recent one that covers the areas you would like to see.
Or buy a book like this on Amazon.
I second everything everyone else is saying. Another thing I would add is, especially since you're a Catholic, to get a copy of the Latin Vulgate. There are a lot of paper copies and your priests can easily tell you where to get one. Just so you know, this version on Amazon (which is basically the only listing for 'Vulgate' on the site) is a copy of the Stuttgart version, which is an academic rather than devotional version and will read different than what they read in Mass.
I recommend you get a good copy because you'll be killing multiple birds with one stone. Use these other tools like Lingua Latina to start to get the basic grammar and vocabulary. Then you can use the Vulgate to see how the grammar is used in a sentence. I'm doing the same thing right now and it's helping a lot. Beyond that, you'll get used to the language of the Vulgate, which will then help you when you're in Mass.
Fluent for me means without Dutch accent. Plus I probably use a ton of "undutchables" - Dutch expressions directly translated to English. But I can say most of what I want to say.
balkan ghosts is very good.
I think bill clinton recommended it too
Gonna be honest with you OP, I have lived all my live (27) in the Netherlands and in Amsterdam (bijlmer area) as a native Dutch from Dutch descent.
There will always be dumb and ignorant people, sadly they got a racist representative in politics (Geert Wilders), whom I have strong opinions on.
But luckily for you Amsterdam, Rotterdam, the Hague, and Utrecht (a combined area known as the Randstad) is super multi cultural, and more open minded on a whole.
As long as you try to integrate into dutch society and respect everyone's culture, roots, etc you will absolutely love it here.
May I recommend you the book "The Undutchables: An Observation of the Netherlands, Its Culture and Its Inhabitants" it is a great read, funny, and very insightful into our weird and quirky cultural norms, values, and habits.
Link: https://www.amazon.com/Undutchables-Observation-Netherlands-Culture-Inhabitants/dp/188858047X
Ps: always happy to make new friends, so pm me if you want to know some of the best restaurants in town. ☺️
OK, so it's only because you haven't yet read them. Thanks so much for responding.
It may be a year or two before I read them. I have something like 20 books ahead of them. But I've printed out your request and stuck it on the final page of the second book.
Possibly related: I'm reading a book by a different author with a similar anecdotal approach to history that I find completely engrossing (aside from the occasional translation error): In Europe by Geert Mak.
I heard about this book before. Probably read it
Balkan Ghosts: A Journey Through History https://www.amazon.com/dp/0312424930/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_glt_fabc_RQ7V8D80ANAA3BPBBNF3?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1
You can get one for $55 on Amazon. Or, for much less, you could get the one linked above printed and spiral bound (maybe in three volumes?) at your local Kinko's, etc.
You already know the global language of travel, you'll be fine. If any signs or announcements are in a second language, it'll be English. More important when traveling in Germany is to carry some cold hard euros, as there are still plenty of places that don't accept cards.
I will also second the Rick Steves recommendation, his Europe Through The Backdoor guide will answer tons of questions you didn't know you had.
Also, Seat61 will tell you how to get connect any 2 places in Europe by train.
First off, go ahead and order your passports, which is extremely easy.
Second, since you mention Europe, an excellent book to help you would be <em>Rick Steves' Europe Through The Backdoor</em> which has a lot of advice on how to plan a trip and build an itinerary.
Third, if you don't think you can save for a trip, then that's what "make it a priority" means. Make a budget and find other places to spend less money in order to save for a trip. As for reducing the cost of the trip, then where in Europe you go can have a huge impact. As a general rule London, Switzerland, and the Nordic countries are the most expensive and Europe gets cheaper as you move South and East.
Fourth, as for safety I just use the same common sense I use at home. You're more like to die in traffic accident than a terrorist attack, but you probably still drive to work every day.
We had an idea of everywhere we wanted to go, like, region-wise. We would ask locals on our way there what they recommended and cross check it with this lonely planet iceland book and things I researched in /r/backpacking /r/travel and here. I think with 10 days you have enough time to do everything we did except for the west fjords. Or you can do the westfjords, west iceland, south iceland, and a little bit of the east/eastfjords. i really liked the north though. and if you cut out the west fjords you can still just go around the country vs going up the the fjords then back down. you cant miss the south....it is the most touristy but theres a lot of cool shit down there that you just gotta see.
The Latin Vulgate. This is a great edition. It has both versions of the Psalms that Jerome translated as well. Very good quality.
https://www.amazon.com/Biblia-Sacra-Vulgata-Vulgate-Bible/dp/1598561782
Ah, good for you! Where/What are you studying?
Few things:
EDIT: Added #5
Looking for a book to read about whisky? Try Iain Banks' Raw Spirit - it's as much about driving around Scotland and other stuff as it is whisky.
Oh golly... only 16 left in stock (example of a 4.5 star dud a friend of mine wrote - it's possible, somehow)
I'd actually steer clear of Aberlour A'Bunadh, or at least the 60% stuff. It's just too much and was christened 'gut rot' by popular acclaim the next morning.
As most people here suggest, I'd get an Islay malt, although probably not Laphroaig - something like Ardbeg or Bunnahabhain are better in my opinion.
It might also be worth getting hold of Iain Banks "Raw Spirit" book, which are him driving round scotland, drinking Whisky. Not the Culture, but an entertaining way to learn something of the distilleries.
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Raw-Spirit-Search-Perfect-Dram/dp/0099460270
Is this real? Or is it some kind of avant garde comedy?
Either way, it's hilarious.
EDIT:
It seems that it is sincere. The book is real. Some of the reviews are almost as funny as the video.
I'm currently reading In Europe by Geert Mak, a history of Europe's 20th century. By no means exhaustive, but very interesting, many eyewitness accounts, a lot of stress on ties and influences between the events (as you asked) and it reads like a novel! I'm learning a lot of things reading it and quite often I'm asking myself 'why didn't they tell me that in school???'
By the way, they made a - really interesting - television series about it as well. Only 6 episodes with English subtitles though (so far?): In Europe - TV Series