I'm looking to do some research for a personal project, and while I'm not a student of history, I would like it to be as grounded in historical fact as possible. So I need some books focusing on Russia/the Soviet Union, Asia (especially China and Mongolia, as well as what is now Kazakhstan), and the Middle East from about 1920-1990, with a firmer focus on the post-WW2 world. Pretty much anything from that time period, including but not limited to:

• Military campaigns and histories (I don't want a huge focus on WW2 but a few things will be helpful).
• The Cold War and international relations in general.
• Asia and the Middle East post-WW2.
• The formation and eventual dissolution of the Soviet Union.
• The rise of other dictatorships in these regions.
• Books on everyday life in these regions and time periods, not solely having to do with sweeping historical events.

Additionally, I'm interested in:

• Biographies of Stalin
• At least one or two books about the European side of WW2.

Please keep in my though, while I'm an avid reader, I'm not vastly accustomed to reading dry, purely informative text. Not to imply that all history text must be dry, I wouldn't know, but I would appreciate it if you could suggest things that are accessible to a layman. I'd also really appreciate if you could explain a bit about why you recommend a certain book, or why you agree with another poster's suggestion.

Thanks so much for any help!

I posted this on /r/asklaw but this sub is much more popular and I'm impatient. I remember doing a report on the Salem Witch Trials. I think I read somewhere that in the aftermath it was declared that you could not punish a suspect based on witnessess' alone (regarding those girls claiming they were possessed) Is this true? I tried searching through google and found nothing.

I was triggered to do some research after an offhanded comment while watching the West Wing.

Some basic googling has shown that the then-small Library of Congress was lost with its 4000 volumes and that White House staff were able to save some key documents like the Declaration of Independence and letters from GW.

While it likely was no Lighthouse of Alexandria, did the British looters and raging fires destroy or disappear any important historical artifacts?

I've seen it mentioned that Beethoven often performed before a live audience. What were these shows like? Did he strictly play rote renditions of his compositons, or did he sometimes improvise or even "jam"? Did he cover other composers' works or stick to his own material? How big was the crowd? What sort of people attended? Was he alone on stage, or was he accompanied by other musicians or singers? Where did he play? Churches? Concert halls? Private residences?

I recently finished reading 'The Fall of Giants' by Ken Follet and I'm interested in viewing some documtaries about WWI. Any suggestions would be appreciated.

I theorized that it may have some origin in the nature of night versus day, but certainly many usages of black as a color of evil have racial connections (or at least connotations). Before the 'discovery' of Africa by Europeans (and certainly before its colonization/enslavement), was black used similarly to mean evil? Or does the racial origin predate even that supposed starting point? I know this question may well be impossible to answer definitively, but I thought I should ask the experts.

When researching World War One I often end up reading about the Czechoslovak Legion, and that lead me to an interest in Czechs in the Austrian Army. However I can't seem to find any information on them. Ergo, how many were there? Where did they fight? Did they have any great successes? And of course, were can I find more information on them myself?

Hi guys, long time lurker first time poster.

So I've been reading "Hitlers Panzers" by Dennis Showalter. And earlier in the book he briefly mentions Rommel.

Quote is: "there was only one Rommel, who in the 1940 campaign would deliver arguably the most outstanding division-level command performance in modern military history"

The book is focused more on overall armoured development so it left me with only that tantalizing tid bit about Rommel.

Can anyone expand on this for me? What made Rommel such a amazing commander?

Tl;dr why was Rommel such a tactical/strategic badass?

I just booted up my xbox arcade game Toy Soldiers (insanely fun game btw, give it a try), and the loading screen mentioned that at the beginning of the war, opposing pilots "could merely exchange a wink and a smile," implying that early planes weren't equipped with guns and such, however soon pistols and other small weapons started being used.

Since its coming from a non-historical video game, how accurate is this? At what point did the opposing sides start equipping airplanes with mounted weapons?

Recently with the Saudi bombings of Houthti rebels on Yemen I've seen a lot of media coverage of a Saudi-Iranian proxy war. What is the historical background to this?

Note: I'm not asking for an analysis of the current conflict but am abiding by the subreddit rule and asking about the historical context and the events that occurred in the 1970'2, 80'2 and 90's.

My understanding of the Waffen-SS is that they were the elite military force in Nazi Germany and didn't like to be confused with the regular army. Was it generally accepted that the SS were above the army, who were one of the highest establishments in Germany, and just how elite were they and why? Did they have more rigorous training? Or did war vets from WW1 in the army see them as jumped up upstarts?

On the surface, it seems reasonable to expect it. Hitler and Mussolini had both supplied him with arms during the Spanish Civil War, and he ruled under a Fascist dictatorship. I understand that Hitler and Mussolini were allied after the break down of the Stresa Front & Anschluss, but why would they exclude Franco from the war?

Would Franco not be eager to return the thanks to the two leaders who's rule he mimicked and who got him to power initially?

2-pounders used on the crusaders and 17 pounders on the Sherman fireflys. Why aren't they refered to by their caliber like the German 88 or the American 75s

So if christains believe stuff in the old testament, why dint they celebrate the Jewish holidays?