I'm looking for a good book, preferably still in print, on the entirety of the Seven Years' War. As long as it's under 2000 pages I don't mind the length, and while I do read a lot of history I'm not too well-acquainted with this period. It seems to be quite a complex war, with lots of different sides. Is there even a single good book on it? Obviously preferably I'd like one that isn't too unreadable. Thanks.

I know it's a recurring theme in stories of demons, but can only assume it draws from fairy folklore by way of stories like Rumplestiltzkin. Does that tradition draw from stories like that of Odysseus, or do these beliefs end up, like, spontaneously generating across different cultures?

edit: (I'm not sure how this flagged to the week's theme! Is there any way to change that?)

I've been reading Marc Morris' A Great and Terrible King, and he mentions that Edward called up for service anyone who had lands that brought in 20 pounds per year. Is there some way to visualize how big of a piece of land that was? Are we talking a few acres or vast areas?

What was the logic behind it? Weren't there better options?

I’ve read that it’s more about the preservation than the restoration, but wouldn’t it be amazing to see a place that’s been completely destroyed like the lighthouse at Alexandria or the colossus of rodes? To rebuild something that modern people have not laid eyes upon? If I became super rich, that’s what I’d do with the money at least.

I have a friend whose father was a surgeon in WW2. Like many veterans they did not discuss their experience with friends/family, but I was hoping someone might know of a book/text/biography that shares the experience.

Thank you.

So I'm not asking if anyone really did magic or communed with the devil in unholy sabbaths or rode broomsticks through the air or had cauldrons etc. But is there any account of a person or persons who existed during the early modern period when witch hunts were at their peak that actually identified as such without being forced to confess or otherwise? If such a person existed, what did a "witch" actually do?

What makes an empire an Empire? Furthermore, has the United States been an empire since the end of World War II?

Ran across a few people on reddit, and in my own life, saying that this was a thing. My own research didn't find too much in hard references, as I'm unfamiliar with the historical researching side of things as opposed to the scientific databases. Any insights would be great! I'd love to learn more.

Did workshops slowly shrink over time before going out of business or were there tipping points when certain workshops went out of business quickly? Do we know of any that switched to make other wares to stay in business?

I have been looking into the history of photography recently, and have found much detail (of a fascinating nature) about the first photos taken, of the first person photographed, of the first war photographer, etc.

But what I want to know is: when was the first time somebody took a photo of a tortoise? And for what purpose was the photo taken?

I have not been able to locate the information. I would be greatly intrigued to know if the photo was taken at a zoo (more likely?) or out in the wild, and who the photographer was and if he had an interest in the nature of tortoise-ways or if it was to him just an interesting photo, and if the purpose of the photo was intended for publication, and where, and why, and basically every fact there is to know about the first photo of a tortoise (and he or she who photographed it).

Has anyone here a knowledge of such details?

Thank you kindly.

Looking at that rare primary source (unique really, since I imagine we can gather from it some precise statistical data), what does it tell us about the impact of the Plague?

I remember reading somewhere that the rise in mortality began before the arrival of the Plague, and the church records of Givry showed this. But I can't find the source again, and I may be misremembering. Do the Givry records show something unexpected?

Perception is everything... No running water... No electricity... No (modern) firearms... Living in a castle... Writing manuscripts with a quill and ink... Medieval choruses and instruments....

I just can't comprehend it, what wouldn't been completely normal to a Medieval person....and it is an obsession of mine.

During the Qing there was standardized system of Chinese measurements, before metrication. During the Taiping Rebellion, did the Taiping try and change the system to be less 'Manchu' or did they create a new system all together?

In addition, has there been a marked difference in reception to 'Western' types (homeopathy, chiropractic etc.) v.s. 'Eastern' ones (reiki, TCM), such as in terms of popularity or clientele?

Hello guys I have a question and hopefully you can help me! I am looking for primary sources written by Europeans from the Age of Discovery up until the very end of most European colonial empires. So basically anything from the 1400's to the late 1900's. It doesn't matter which continent it's from, I'm interested in anything! Americas, Africa, Asia, Middle-East, Oceania and so on.

So far I have gathered:

• "How I found Dr. Livingstone", Henry M. Stanley.
• "The conquest of New Spain", Bernal Diaz Del Castillo.
• "Chronicle of the Narvaez Expedition", Alvar Nunez Cabeza De Vaca.
• "A Short Account of the Destruction of the Indies", Bartolome de Las Casas.
• "Five Letters of Cortes to the Emperor", Hernando Cortes.
• "The four voyages of Christopher Columbus", Christopher Columbus.