Any good history books about Germanic Tribes?

Thanks, I'll definitely look into that. I've heard though that Tacitus' information may be a little outdated or biased, and therefore not fully correct.

Hasn't this question already been posted?

I have an interest in Vercingetorix and his leadership of the Germanic tribes against Julius Caesar. If you don’t mind historical fiction, The Druid King by Norman Spinrad has some pretty good info from the Germanic rather than Roman perspective

Vercingetorix is a Gaul (Celt) of the Avernian tribe.
Great warrior king is the meaning of his name. Many good books on him and the Gauls out there. The Gauls come from the line of Gomer and were every where from Turkey to northern Africa to Britain.

I have the new book on the Franks coming soon from amazon called Conquerors of the Roman Empire: The Franks.

Books on the German tribes are harder to come by in English, in German there are a number of them out there, including back to the times when the German tribes where on the steps of Russia.

Tacitus will not give you an accurate account of the Germanic tribes.

I listen to podcasts on Germanic history, and honestly, the best ones I've found focus on the German language instead of the geographic region. The evolution and spread of the language will give you a better understanding of how these tribes migrated across Europe.

Well, I did some more extensive searching, and I have my reading cut out for me. It's amazing how cheap a used paperback book is. Here's a list for anyone interested:


1. A History of the Ostrogoths by Thomas Burns

2. The Goths by Peter Heather

3. History of the Goths by Herwig Wolfram

4. The Franks (The Peoples of Europe) by Edward James

5.The Germanic People: Their Origin, Expansion And Culture by Francis Owin

6. A Brief History of the Anglo-Saxons by Geoffrey Hindley

7. The Vandals: The History and Legacy of Antiquity's Most Famous Barbarians by Charles River Editors

8. The Story of the Goths (Illustrated) by Henry Bradley

9. A History of the Vandals by Torsten Cumberland Jacobsen

10. History of the Anglo-Saxons (illustrated): From the Earliest Period to the Norman Conquest; Second Edition by Thomas Miller

11. The Sea Wolves: A History of the Vikings by Lars Brownworth

12. Ragnar Lothbrok and a History of the Vikings: Viking Warriors including Rollo, Norsemen, Norse Mythology, Quests in America, England, France, Scotland, Ireland and Russia [3rd Edition] by Noah Brown

13. Saxons, Vikings, and Celts: The Genetic Roots of Britain and Ireland by Bryan Sykes

14. A History of the Germanic Empire: All Volumes by S.A. Dunham

15. The Early Germans (The Peoples of Europe) by Malcolm Todd


shite. I think that just about covers all of the most major tribes in Germanic history.

Although fiction, The Iron Hand of Mars by Lindsey Davis is well researched and blends fiction with history.