I've found studies of the bible that are based on studies of the text. With this analysis some things about the origin of the bible could be said. I thought this was called close reading, but by my inability to find much on that subject, I'm guessing that it's not the most common name.

Anyway I wondered if there were similar studies of the Quran, and if so where to find them.

It seems odd to me that Asia has such a high population when humans arrived there relatively late in their migration.

Is it simply a matter of greater carrying capacity of the land?

Less disease?

Fewer wars?

Lower infant mortality?

Or am I mistaken, and a high Asian population is a much more recent phenomenon? I suppose it doesn't take many generations to reach a massive population, if everyone starts having a lot more children.

My friend and I have spent a few hours researching on our own and have come up... not necessarily empty-handed, but grasping straws with new age woo where authors impose their ignorance on the reader as if it's fact. We are curious about the overall history of Tarot cards and their function/purpose in history. I apologize for the rather broad question. We are also open to book recommendations! Thank you!

I've heard him being accused of this and read some quotes that sound racist by him and Engels, and I was wondering if there was any validity to this.

edit: spelling

From Washington on to Bush, I'm curious about how active past presidents are in the current presidents' administrations, and also the relationship dynamics between presidents of history.

What was the situation in the USSR regarding non-political foreign books or movies such as say Lord of the Rings or well known Sci-fi books. What about explicitly political work that criticised aspects of Western Society but came from the west. Was it permitted and if so how widespread was it? I realise that you would not be able to legally read something like 1984 but how about Tolkien or Asimov?

Not sure if this is the right place to ask, since I imagine it would be pre-historic and more of an archeological question.

I am thinking about military ranks or government offices mainly. For example, in the fantastic movie Joyeux Noel (spoilers!) one of the German captains turned out to be a Jew. Was that a thing during WWI?

I was reading thorugh Wikipedia and found that the life of Buddha (so to speak) wasn't written down until several centuries after his death. But I do know that Ashoka mentions Buddha in his rock edicts. So I was wondering what is the first historical mention of Buddha.

Thanks.

I hear a lot that American history is pretty young compared to, say, British or Chinese history. But what about when the US was really, really young, say in the first half of the 1800s? What was the focus of history classes with such little going on as of then? Did they just learn English history?

I realize this seems like a very broad question.

In particular, I'm interested in the development of ancient Chinese philosophy; Taoism, Confucianism, Mohism, Legalism and how they relate to the civilization out of which they sprang. Of course, this means I will need to understand ancient China itself, so I'm looking for any suggestions as to works which discuss the development of Chinese civilization up to and including the Warring States period.

Currently I'm looking at the following books:

• China: A New History (John King Fairbank)
• Chinese Civilization: A Sourcebook (Patricia Buckley Ebrey)
• The Cambridge Illustrated History of China (Patricia Buckley Ebrey)

Hopefully I'm on the right track. I am not a scholar, but am greatly interest in this topic, so I don't mind having to do a bit of research or read several books to understand. Any suggestions ranging from introductory to scholarly are appreciated.

I'm curious about this and American war crimes committed during World War Two. The wikipedia article on the subjects appears to have been hijacked by revisionists (on both sides) and is in conflict with itself. Does anyone have any reliable sources that can shed light on the conditions of the POWs and how American soldiers acted during the war?

This was brought up watching Bloodsport. I know, shitty 80's movie, But it hold a place in my heart, and watching the crowd with such diversity, It made me ask myself this question.