Dear Reddit, My SO is taking a college exam in Central European History in a couple of weeks. I am wondering if there are any documentaries you know of that could help her study on her "down-time"? Anything regarding Poland, Hungary and Czechoslovakia (Bohemia) ranging from the Middle Ages until 1989 would be greatly appreciated.

I'm writing a book set at the turn of the sixteenth century spanning the years 1480-1530 and I would be very grateful for advice on good detailed history books to help my research. It's a transition period that falls at the end of most medieval histories and too early for most early modern histories so it usually gets a little neglected. I'm not looking for general overviews of the political events of the period, but I want to get a deeper understanding of how the people of the period lived, thought, worked, and fought. What did they wear, what did they eat, what did they believe? I want to move away from anglo-centric history, and look at the clash of different cultures. I am also very interested in the wars of religion, and the disputes of the early reformation, up to and including the wide-scale devestation of the Thirty Years War (even though it occurs after my specific period of interest).

I'm primarily looking for the best microhistory and ground-level histories to help me understand what it was like to be in this fascinating time when the medieval world was just ending and the modern world was still on the horizon. Any advice greatly appreciated.

Supposedly they used a lottery until James I stopped it which forced The Virginia Company into receivership. This allowed him to take over the colony and make it a royal colony in 1624.

How could Kennedy have been considered a good president if he began to fail in his foreign diplomacy within the first few months of his presidency (Bay of Pigs/Vienna summit 1961)?

I started thinking about this in a medieval context, but I guess I'm overall wanting to know how it's been dealt with over time. Thanks!

When Ian Smith declared independence why didn't the UK attempt to take back Southern Rhodesia? It seems like it would've been fairly popular amongst the international community (especially newly independent African states) and it would've been a good move in the context of the Cold War by lessening the likelihood of Chinese and Soviet supported revolutionaries like Mugabe and Nkomo being able to turn Rhodesia/Zimbabwe into a single party Communist state. I know that Britain was obviously in some serious economic troubles at the time but are there any other reasons?

It may not be a creative question but what was history's most renowned power hungry, megalomaniac murderer like in private? Was he a cold, intimidating, impersonal, spaced out weirdo? In other words, if I was to sit down for some schnitzel with him would he seem like a normal bloke or would he be a first-class dick?

For my year 12 modern History assignment I've chosen to research the Chinese Civil war after WW2. I was wondering if any of you guys knew of any really good sources on this. Specifically about US involvement and what lead to communist victory.

Follow-up questions:

• My understanding (please correct if necessary) is that feral (modern) horses found their way to North America by way of the Spanish in the early 1500s and were re-domesticated by native populations. Did those people primarily live on the edges of the Plains and subsequently take advantage of this new "tool" to move there permanently? Or were they already permanently settled on the Plains?

• I gather some tribes like the Lakota were more or less pushed onto the Plains by other tribes, who were themselves pushed westward by advances of European colonists, and subsequently became full-time Plains-dwellers after learning to use the horse. Correct?

• How did native peoples hunt or otherwise take advantage of the Great Plains before the horse, whether or not they lived there year-round?

• Was farming ever a "serious" venture for natives on the Plains before colonial advances?

I did look through the FAQ, and while I learned quite a bit, did not see answers or comments that helped with these specific questions.

Apologies if I simply missed what I was looking for.

To the mods, please let me know if it is more appropriate to ask my follow-up questions as separate posts.

Thank you all in advance!

EDITS for grammar, spelling, clarity ...

I've been reading Barbara Tuchman's "A Distant Mirror," and I'm not sure what I should take at face value and what I should take with a grain of salt. I've read in various places that this is not an academic work of history, and I'm wondering how this should affect my reading of it.