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Saturday Reading and Research will focus on exactly that: the history you have been reading this week and the research you've been working on. It's also the prime thread for requesting books on a particular subject. As with all our weekly features, this thread will be lightly moderated.

So, encountered a recent biography of Stalin that revealed all about his addiction to ragtime piano? Delved into a horrendous piece of presentist and sexist psycho-evolutionary mumbo-jumbo and want to tell us about how bad it was? Need help finding the right book to give the historian in your family? Then this is the thread for you!

http://www.amazon.com/dp/0300160054/ref=wl_it_dp_o_pC_nS_ttl?_encoding=UTF8&colid=2FQVU2B66T4AU&coliid=I1RWAJ2965U2B7

Now I'm unsure of the quality of this book. I tried to see if it was written by a fringe historian or something along those lines. It says the author has done a lot of work with the history channel, which sounds pretty bad.

Can anyone tell me if the book is bad or if the author is a quack?

In a recent post on 300, he talked about the uncertain origins of the formation a bit more:

One strand of modern scholarship (championed by Peter Krentz) argues that the homogenous hoplite phalanx was first used by the Athenians at Marathon, to overcome the particular challenge of fighting Persians. It proved so effective that it soon started to spread across Greece, though the technical terms we associate with it took a bit longer to appear. Herodotos' description of Thermopylai (cited above) suggests that the Spartans may not have been on board the phalanx train by the time of Xerxes' invasion. However, it's all a bit ambiguous, since they do insist on the importance of keeping one's place in the line at Plataia.

Staying in a line seems a pretty universal characteristic of heavy infantry in ancient battle, though. It's more a characteristic of general discipline than any specific formation.

That all leads into two questions:

• What, according to modern scholarship, distinguishes the Greek Phalanx from a "normal" shield-wall or battle-line?
• And what, according to said self-same scholarship, did the Greek Hoplite Phalanx evolve from?

In these posts u/Iphikrates explained about organisation and state control. The general gist I gathered is that the phalanx was more organised than previous formations, with a set number of ranks and (in the case of the Spartans at least) a division in sub-units with their own commanders.

On the face of it, I'd expect such an organised shield-wall would evolve from a less organised shield-wall, where people just clump up next to their friends and neighbours without real attempts to array and subdivide the formation. Then, when it becomes formalised into a formation of X by Y ranks, it gets called a phalanx.

Is there more to it than that? Is that what Krentz thinks happens, or is he saying the Greeks adapted the formation from a much looser, more individual or heroic style of fighting?

^Edit: Clarity of phrasing and a very crucial missing linebreak.

Ok, so originally I posted this question on reddit history without much expectation that I would get a response. But, low and behold to my surprise I found that 140 people commented on my post and quite a few referred me here to get a more in depth response on what I'd hoped /r/history would have supplied.

So, what is the context/history behind this picture? Why is Benito Mussolini's head on the building and why is the word Si written without interruption in the background?

For anyone interested in what has already been said, user PineDabple had posted the following in my original post

The building in the picture is Palazzo Braschi in Roma, where was located the HQ of the Rome Fascist Party Federation (the local, not national Party HQ). The "SI SI ..." lettereing (meaning "Yes Yes ...) are propaganda for one of the two "plebiscite" elections held during the Fascist Regime, where electors didn't vote for individual parties - there wasn't any but the Fascist one! - neither for single candidates, but just voted "Yes" or "Not" to a single list of candidates presented by the Duce himself. Edit: This building is still standing to this day. It is now a museum Edit. Holy crap. My most up voted comment ever

Link to music video timestamped to 1:42: Steve Baker- "John Brown" (Bob Dylan cover)

The song is great by the way, one of my favourite Dylan songs. It's fascinating to hear how he keeps the song fresh with new ways to sing it throughout his career.

Here is one of his earliest renditions (from 1963): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zbLldlwYXRY

Here is one of a much later date: Bob Dylan in concert 1998 - John Brown

The last one is not of the greatest quality, but shows yet another shift of tempo and tone. It lacks the intensity and nerve from his earlier days: Bob Dylan - Liverpool, 1996

EDIT: Just some spelling and grammar.