I have read a lot about how he had very strong convictions but at the same time they drove him to commit crimes against humanity. I also wonder if he knew or was happy about the increasingly tyrannical regime of Castro in Cuba that he played a major role in forming?

Historical events that come to mind are World War II and the story of Esther in the Bible where King Xerxes' assistant Haman issued a decree to wipe out the Jews in Babylon.

They even get their own word for the ongoing prejudice: anti-semitism.

Hi, a couple of months ago I read a very interesting book called "Cicero: The Life and Times of Rome's Greatest Politician" by Anthony Everitt. The book mostly concerned itself with what Cicero did during his life and his motivations, but there wasn't a lot about his overall effects on history. Wikipedia says that Cicero's influence was so great that "His influence on the Latin language was so immense that the subsequent history of prose in not only Latin but European languages up to the 19th century was said to be either a reaction against or a return to his style."

Is it true that Cicero remained so influential for over 2000 years after his death, or is there some exaggeration to it? It's hard to believe that one man could have such an impact on the entirety of European languages like it says he did.

Thank you!

I'm fairly interested by this time period (specifically Buccaneering in the 17th century), can someone here provide a decent list on books that are focused on this subject in particular? Thanks.

Hello everyone,

As title states, my grandpa and I are staking out on our own and doing a grand tour of Mount Vernon, Monticello, Montpelier, and maybe several other historical stops if we have the time. I'm hoping to take him through DC to the WWII Museum and the Korean War Memorial (he's never visited, despite serving in the war). Also, if you have any recommendations for other destinations around the aforementioned areas please let me know.

In terms of requests, I'm just wondering if there's any podcasts/listening materials I can snag for us to listen to on the way down. It'd be great if they related to Jefferson/Washington/Madison, but it's definitely not required. As a side note, my Grandpa absolutely loves studying and reading about the civil war, so if there's anything related to that out there, that would be fantastic.

Thanks so much in advance!

I'm curious what actually happened, as obviously both sides have probably embellished the books a little at least/

My understanding is that when Croatian nationalists (namely Franjo Tuđman) came to power in 1989, they insisted on using the Croatian Coat of Arms.

This inflamed the Serbian minority living within Croatia, as they saw this emblem as the sign of the fascist group, the Ustaše. Considering this group was well-documented for torturing and murdering Serbian civilians because they were "racially impure", their reaction was no surprise. It would be similar to a Nazi Swatiska or the Confederate flag in the US.

Why did Tuđman and his cohorts insist on this symbol? Did Tuđman et al knowingly provoke the Serbs within their borders? Why is this symbol still used today on the Croatian national flag?

Furthermore, what did Josip Broz Tito think of this symbol?

Any more information is appreciated.

I see characters in kung fu and samurai movies put money in their sleeves, or take money out of their sleeves. Was there a pocket or a pouch hidden up there?

What I mean is do we know that he truly believed in this ideology of antisemitism? There are examples of religious leaders just taking advantage of a situation and not really believing their message. Is there anything to suggest he did the same?

It's edible, you can spin its fibers for cloth, you can make oils with it. So why did people (by and large, I know it is still grown today, but it's hardly ubiquitous.) drop it in favour of other things?

I'm currently reading "The Republic of Pirates" by Colin Woodard that was referenced in a thread about pirates a while back here (it's very well written, I highly recommend it). In the book they describe how escaped African slaves often joined pirate crews or created their own communities in places like Jamaica. Are there any written accounts of escaped slaves integrating into native American communities or any books you would recommend on the topic?

There's a stereotype around WWI that the officers and higher ranks were all taken from public schools rather than due to experience, which is why so many stupid decisions were made. If this is true, are there any known diaries or letters recording these officers as admitting / realising they had no idea what they were doing?

If so, is it known whether they stepped down or carried on with what they were doing?

Also, why was this this not recognised and the officers replaced with experienced soldiers regardless of class as the war went on? where there any attempts to or examples of actually doing that?

Was there any indication let's say 10-20 years prior to WWI that there would be a war or rising tension between European countries?

I am currently reading Charles Mann's 1493. There and elsewhere I've seen the claim that the Europeans and Native Americans practiced slavery, but it was not like the system that later came about in the American South. So what was it like then?

I assume they probably could tell something big was being planned, but did the leaders tell the lower ranking soldiers what was going to happen, were they kept in the dark, or were they fed false information?