As a layman, I love history. I love hearing the stories of people in extraordinary circumstances. I get the same feeling from fiction, but with history? I know

As a layman, I love history. I love hearing the stories of people in extraordinary circumstances. I get the same feeling from fiction, but with history? I know these things really happened. It's not all just in some author's mind. Having said that, I get tired of military history, and I understand how many people view it as a gun-nut, testosterone-fueled endeavor. It's a bad rap, but it can look that way from the outside. I think the problem here is drama. So much of human drama revolves around one bunch of people being violent to another. That sucks, but if you want incredible stories that make you question your values and wonder what you would do, most of the time you're listening to some kind of story involving battles. Assuming no danger, I'd love to have been with Edison at times, or Teller. I would love to have listened to Jefferson giving the first State of the Union speech, in person. Anne Frank still makes me shiver. But in terms of over-the-top, how-the-hell-would-you-handle-those-emotions, can you imagine being on the first boats ashore on D-Day, as we saw in "Saving Private Ryan"? Watching a fully-equipped Roman legion go into battle, as was in "Gladiator"? Being in Constantinople and seeing the First Crusade approach? Seeing the Mongols raise the flag outside your city? Being part of Pickett's Charge? In a lot of ways I like the other stories much better. They make for great long-form novels. But the military and battle stories can punch you in the gut without any prep. If you love history, it's extremely difficult to stay away from them.