Why did the Nazis use gas chambers instead of other means? Bullets would have been just as easy or no?

The Japanese got European-styled cuirasses (nanban-do) as well as arquebuses (tanegashima), but did the European powers ever change any of their armor/weapon styles into those modeled after their Japanese variations?

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As far as I can gather it seems to me like these camps would be massive resource drains and would be inefficient in war time. What exactly were his reasons for not delaying it until after the war?

Seeing as how adamant they were to never recognize Messene's independence, did they ever try to retake it?

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You never hear about it nowadays, at least I don't. But things like the ice cream cone, Eiffel tower, and many more are all due to the worlds fair. What happened?

It seems like most wars during this time were over who got to rule an area. It seems like if I'm just some person in a village during this time my life is pretty much the same no matter who's ruling me, right? How much would I have even known about the complexities behind the war?

I've often heard about the importance of the U.S. in rebuilding these countries after WWII, but always have really wondered to what degree it really contributed to their recovery. It sounds reasonable, but I'm always skeptical especially when it comes to stuff like this where patriotic fervor can cloud historical fact. Thanks in advance to anyone who can help shed some light on this topic!

About a month ago I read "The Second World War" by Anthony Beevor, and I think it is a very complete book and I learned quite a bit.

Now I'm interested in the cold war and would like to know what book (or books) is the best to learn about that period. So if you know about any book that may help me I would appreciate it.

Would ships have had catapults or archers on them, or would the fighting consist more of ramming and boarding enemy ships?

It seems that it used to be normal to castrate some boys for the purpose of making them servants....when did practice start seeming immoral to people and when did they stop doing it? Obviously we don't make mutilate the genitalia of little boys today...

In 1977 the NRA have changed from a sports-focused association to a forceful lobbying organization and changed the USA political landscape. Who or what was funding this huge effort?

During the 1960s, America saw a unique shift in youth thinking with the earlier "beatnik" movement in the east and the later "hippie" movement centered along the west coast. Songs like David Bowie's "Space Oddity" show an obvious inspiration from American endeavors in space during the era. How did the moon landing affect these movements? What were the movement's leaders saying about this event? How did it inspire changes in the emerging drug culture and folk/ rock music during this period?

I'm also wondering if there was any sort of entertainment between the main events, if there were food stalls, and anything else we might recognise from our current big sports events and stadiums.

Thanks for your time!

With Christian and Islamic conquests, you can see similarities in their treatment of the local faiths on the recently conquered. The Sphinx lost its nose because of a local Emir, enraged at the local people performing rites to it and so defaced it. Christians also destroyed many statues of Greco-Roman gods as they gained influence throughout the Roman Empire considering such works 'idolatrous'. In Britain, Scandinavia and Eastern Europe, they curiously absorbed local legends and faiths into their narrative. For example, in Wales we have several springs and other local curiosities attributed to "saints" when they were actually originally local heroes and stories pre dating Christianity. In Scandinavia, part of what helped the conversion of the population was the church's somewhat relaxed rules on its interpretation of Christianity to ease the locals into it. A Norwegian crucifix would typically feature a more muscly, indomitable Christ on the cross rather than a sagging, defeated Jesus as is more commonly illustrated.

What I want to know, however, was what was the Vikings attitude to the faiths of people it conquered? I know we get the popular images of monks slaughtered and churches burned, but wasn't that just because they were in the way of raiders and treasure? To my knowledge, there weren't really any fanatical Vikings seeking to wipe Christianity off the face of the earth. Were there any efforts to convert the Christian peoples under their control to the worship of the Norse pantheon? Did they try to at least suppress Christianity to prevent revolts in the areas under their control? Or did Viking conquerors maintain an uneasy tolerance of those foreign faiths in areas under their control because they were a newly arrived minority?

I know that a lot of the concept comes from ancient Greece and Hippocrates, but is there evidence that it was an older idea perhaps connected to Egypt or Mesopotamia?

Between America and the Soviet Union, do you think one nation was more aggressive towards the other and the other nation was just reacting to its policies? Or do you think both were aggressive?

I think in all probability, there were some Japanese that would've aligned themselves more with US policy rather than that of Showa-led Imperial Japan. But I don't really have any sort of confirmation. I mean, I did see some anti-Showa stuff at the Osaka firebombing museum - I think there was even a photo of a US solider giving an apple to a Japanese civilian. In both of these cases, I am wondering if this is a legitimate sentiment held by Japanese citizens, or if it was wedged in by US involvement in the postwar period, such as with the MacArthur Constitution.

Hi all,

As the title implies I'm looking for books about the history of space travel. Two books I have enjoyed are 'Ignition! An informal history of liquid rocket propulsion' by John D. Clark and 'Russia in space' by Anatoly Zak (only read excerpts so far, but it's definitely on the order list)

I'm mostly looking for books about the technical side of things or books about interesting, lesser known aspects of space travel (ignition! fits both these categories)

What I'm not looking for are astronaut biographies or books about the role of the space race in the cold war. It's no problem at all if these elements are featured as long as they're not the main focus.

Finally, I'm an engineer, so I'm mostly looking for books with at least some entertainment value. Either through interesting writing (again, Ignition! is an excellent example) or featuring some pictures/diagrams.

I hope my request isn't too restrictive. If you have any suggestions that you consider must-reads, even if they don't really correspond to what I'm looking for, let me know either way.

Thank you all in advance, and thanks to all the contributors of this lovely sub for all the reading pleasure.