I've always had some vague idea of a crusaders arriving in the Middle East to conquer, merchants are involved also. Somehow they acquire this knowledge and return back to Europe. But I'd like a clearer idea of what was going on. Or were the Crusades a coincidence and normal trade was what spread the books and teachings?

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I'm looking for a comprehensive as can be book or short series about the US presidents, from #1 up to and including Obama, but not necessarily, since I understand he's not quite history yet, just a few short months removed from office. While I understand it would take a doctoral degree, involving reading dozens of books, primary sources etc to have a complete understanding of each president, I'm looking for something that's a bit easier to digest. Whether it's a single book or a short series, I'm looking for something in the order of several hundred to a couple thousand pages.

To clarify, I'm most interested in their political careers, much moreso than their personal lives, though that is definitely a requirement as well. I don't want to read trimmed-down biographies of these people, detailing how they grew up etc. I want to understand how their administrations worked, what challenges they faced, what they accomplished, I want that to be the meat of the book, while of course also getting personal information to contextualize it all.

To end a rather long-winded post, I'm not interested in reading about presidents from a conservative/liberal point of view. Though I'm as liberal as they come, I don't believe that's a good way to learn about history. I'm definitely looking for something with a more neutral perspective, though some author analysis is certainly welcome if it's along the established thinking.

And lastly, as far as reading level, I actually was a history major so I don't necessarily have a problem reading scholarly work. I specialized in roman history (wrote my thesis on Constantine's "conversion" to Christianity), so I just didn't get the time to focus on US politics. Anyway, while I'm not scared of that kind of dense reading, of course i'm open to lighter, coffee-table sort of reading as well, or anything in the middle.

EDIT: I'm bad at math and made a fatal error. Obviously I need more of an anthology vs one or two books.

I am writing a paper on the weaponry of pirate past and present. its been a bit difficult finding credible sources for my information. I specifically need sources for information on flintlock pistols. I really need something I can cite. So historians, can you aid me in my search for credible informations on the internets?

There is quite a lot of discussion and documentation around what taxation was in ancient Judea and whether it was/wasn't biblical/just/sinful, but there isn't a lot as to what the actual rate of taxation was. What I'm looking for is to understand what a normal middle-class person would pay in taxes per year and what the effective tax rate would be.

I'm also somewhat interested in whether there were progressive taxation rates or whether the Roman Empire operated on a flat/consumption tax model.

The feudal system in Poland seemed to linger on longer than most European countries. Many have cited the "Golden Freedom" and liberatum veto of the Polish nobility as factors that, along with bribes from foreign powers, prevented any real unity and lead to the partition. How much power did the Gentry regain after Poland was re-established after WWI and did the communist period finally stamp it out for good?

I'm listening to The History of Rome and as I move into the 3rd century and Rome, as a city, becomes less and less important to the Roman Empire the question popped into my head. If I were to walk up to someone on the outskirts of the Empire in say the late 200's and asked them where they live would they, as part of their answer, say "The Roman Empire"? What did an everyman living under Roman rule call / consider it?

I am looking for a decent documentary to watch to get a general overview of the first three crusades and the kingdom of Jerusalem. So far I have only found conspiracy theories about the Knights Templer courtesy of the "history" channel on YouTube.

England and Sicily were conquered by the Normans around the same time in the 1060s and 1070s, and for a century + we had Norman kingdoms in both. Is there evidence that they had some kind of special relationship between them? The pointed arch appears in England before becoming an iconic element of French Gothic architecture, did the idea come from Norman Sicily? According to a book I was reading, food in early Norman England was more similar to Italian food of the same era than to the much closer northern French cuisine. Is this because Normans built a special trading and cultural relationship between the two kingdoms?

I've seen this claimed at times. I guess leaders have done stranger things due to religious zeal, but it sounds more like something that might have happened once, to boost morale.

Is there any truth to the claim?

So I was always taught tha guilds were a medieval phenomenon that often held considerable power in feudal society.

I was wondering though, why wouldn't there be something similar in the Roman empire or the Greek city states? Especially considering the high degree of urbanization there was.