I have an assignment were we chose a historical figure, and are supposed to look through the person's eyes in his own historical environment.

I've rounded up a few questions i hope you can answer, as of till now my sources have been abit unclear.

-How was the life of a general like Zhukov before WW2? was it mainly political?

-What was the military philosophy in Soviet? as i've read, many generals was convinced that WW2 would be won on horseback, and that tank were, well, stupid.

-What kind of pressure was generals like Zhukov under?

• relationship to Stalin? As i've understood, Stalin was afraid of Zhukov after his deeds during the war. Stalin was known for being a paranoid dictator, and i was wondering what his relationship to Zhukov was

Thanks in advance. If you can't answer the questions -- no problem!

I was just pondering the work that went into my wine glass and wondered at what point such a thing stopped being a high prestige good and more something anyone could go out and purchase at a decent price.

If they did go to work, was it handled by the community, the government, or the employer? Please elaborate as much as you would like. I've never once heard anything about this that I can recall.

In the past hundred years there's been major, rapid technological and societal overhaul. So the time we live in is very different from our parents, which was very difference from their parents.

But historic periods gets clumped together in major multi-century periods where it's hard to imagine that A man born in 1200 AD is going to be so "out of touch" which his son born in 1230 AD.

But I have to imagine that at least to some degree, children grew apart from their parents. But how much? How many "back in my day"'s could there have been prior to, say, the 1800s? I suppose there was the renaissance that changed music, and there would have been friction there. But before that?

I recently found out these epic poems were originally sung. Obviously we don't have the sheet music for it or anything, but are there videos or CDs of similar works that give us an idea of what the Iliad and Odyssey sounded like? Did the singers sing the whole thing or did they sing one part, leave, and come back the next day to sing the next part?

I grew up in Canada and we were taught that the BNA won, but recently I've learned that the issue is much more contentious than a clear winner/loser outcome. So who really won, and what evidence is there supporting their victory?

What were the arguments? Was there a significant women's suffrage movement? Cultural issues?

Many historical sources a full of mythological lands, peoples, and events. At what point do miraculous and fantastic stories render a historical text unreliable?

Also was Hitlers purpose in the Battle of Britain to bomb the Royal Navy until it's threat was gone?

When I read about the Fourth Crusades' attack on Constantinople, I have an idea of how Rome was responding: first the excommunication of the crusaders, then gradual accommodation to the idea of Latin rule over the former Byzantine territories. As Nicaean Empire regained control over their territories, Rome was trying to negotiate the unification of the Eastern and Western churches, but was keeping the idea of a crusade (Charles of Anjou's plan) as a threat if the reunification didn't work.

I don't know anything about how the Northern Crusades worked as far as Rome's attitude, though. How did they view the fact that the Teutonic Knights had gone outside of their mission of subduing the Baltic pagans to attack Orthodox Christians? Did Rome attempt to negotiate some sort of "if you come into communion with Rome, we'll tell the Teutonic Knights to knock it off under threat of excommunication" ultimatum? By this point, had they come to regard the invasion of Orthodox states as no more problematic than the invasion of Pagan states, since it was about a generation after the Fourth Crusade?

Can anyone give me any stats or figures of fraudulently claimed outdoor relief, which was stated as an excuse to get rid of the old poor law.

I came across a post yesterday, which, sadly, I cannot find now, that claims that Basque and Celtiberian were spoken in Spain even after the Western Roman Empire collapsed. Latin only became commonly spoken after the Arab invasion, with the remaining Visigothic nobles imposing the Latin language on the commoners. I have a strong suspicion that this post was wrong, but I want someone with knowledge to shed some light on the subject.

And why male version is not popular?

any ideas? need some help with this idea. im just wondering if you guys have any good sites or links that could bring me into the right direction. or some themes that are important

Hello AskHistorians!

A warning up front: this is a homework question. I'm looking for some direction, help in finding information.

I'm writing a paper that explains the historical context of the short story "Everyday Use" by Alice Walker, and I'm having trouble finding some strong sources to back up the apparent message of the story. The story is essentially dealing with the notion that many African-Americans were seeking to replace their history/heritage (of slavery and oppression) by going further back and rediscovering, identifying, and aligning themselves with traditional African cultural ideas and traditions. The idea I get from this is that many felt as though it was a fresh start, with a clean slate, and as a result they didn't want to be held back by what is clearly a terrible and oppressive past. As a result of this, there's a sense of forgetting where they came from, and attempting to cast out the reality of their family's heritage and past, which should not be forgotten or cast aside, no matter how painful.

Now, I'm not necessarily looking for something that outright says this was happening. I am looking for interesting observations, comparisons, and studies about the way that African-American mindsets, sense of self, and cultural values may have changed in the wake of the Civil Rights Movement.