I just started Unbroken by Laura Hillebrand. This is the story of Louis Zamperini, long distance runner, WWII bomber pilot, POW, and survivor. Anyone read this? Is it worth the read? It certainly has a popular following, but is it good history?

Not a book, but a review article. For a class on the history of WWI we had to read Hew Strachan, "The origins of the First World War", International affairs, 90/2, 2014, 429-439. and I found it a very stimulating view on recently published books like Sleepwalkers and the new Cambridge History of the First World War. Especially its criticism of the lack of focus on the economic goals of the war. In reference to a book by Soutou, L'or et le sang: les buts de guerre économiques de la Première Guerre mondiale, he asks the question why Germany would want a war that would restrict its economic space to Mitteleuropa, far from the Atlantic centre of the world trade and economy.

It's also the prime thread for requesting books on a particular subject.

I'm taking this as permission to ask the question that I've been having trouble with for like a month:

Are there any good, interesting books about the edo period in English? I'm not looking for anything particularly academic, just a general history would be fine. The searches I've come up with have left me scratching my head.

I’ve been reading a lot of fiction lately so I haven’t had much of anything decent to review here, but here’s a review of one respectable thing I’ve read recently:

• Mao's Little Red Book: A Global History edited by Alexander C. Cook

This is a thematic essay collection.The book is based around the idea of the little red books as an export product: as a tangible, digestible symbol of Maoism that other groups and nations could get their teeth into, to promote or to ban.

The first four chapters of the book are essays on the book’s function inside of China, I was particularly interested to read how Mao felt about the book (apparently he had mixed feelings about this Snickers Fun Size version of his philosophies), as well as how the book was at sometimes promoted abroad, but the then also exporting it was sometimes suppressed in favor of more complete versions of Mao’s writings. The rest of the chapters focus on specific communism movements inside other countries and how they related to the little red book and by extension Chinese communism, including America.

I haven’t studied modern Chinese history since undergrad, and I had no trouble following it, so if you’re interested in labor or political history this is a nice pick. (Cambridge University Press’s books are more modestly priced than other academic books as well, on par with your standard bookstore hardcover.)

(Review copy provided by the publisher because I’m a librarian. The FTC requires you mention this when you review a free book, but all the books I get from the library are free anyway soooo doesn’t impact my review.)

Anyone have any experience using scrivener? I have a ton of research notes on evernote that I could carry over to scrivener but no idea where to put them!

Anyone have a suggestion for a good book on the history and archaeology of the Central Asian steppes that doesn't just focus on the Mongols?

I've just got hold of "Napoleon's Greatest Adversary: Archduke Charles and the Austrian Army 1792-1814" and have made a start in my efforts to diversify my areas of expertise a little (I figure that Punic War study is probably pretty saturated, and I live in Austria and would have easier access to primary sources, so... an option). I've had a bit of a look around and there doesn't seem to be a great deal of literature for that period focusing on Austria (or on Habsburg Austria in general, apart from its fall)- does anyone know of anything good? "Napoleon's Greatest Adversary" was originally written in the 80s, after all.

I'm looking for a good recent history of the Dutch war of independence and any good books on the legal history/ constitution of the Holy Roman Empire? I've read Peter Wilson's book, which is good, but I really want to get into the legal realities of the Early Modern Empire.

I've not really read anything interesting. At work (a small museum in England) I've been reading documents surrounding the 1930s slum clearances. Its an interesting story, lost in the events surrounding post-WW2 reconstruction and the 1960s misadventure with tower blocks. It always shocks me just how bad most pre-1950s housing was. Anyway, soon a small summery and research note will be filed, so at least they can be found by future researchers.

Not sure the rules here, as this is my first post in this sub, but I'm an amateur historian (by that I mean simply that I enjoy history, and it was actually one of my favorite subjects throughout high school and undergrad).

While I typically find myself drawn toward American Civil War history, recently I started reading His Excellency by Joseph Ellis. I'm not quite half through the book, and it's already given me some great insight into the character of George Washington. I have to say, I only really knew the mythology of his character prior to opening this book. This book has been my first look at what really drove him as a person, and it's been illuminating, to say the least. Perhaps (if I've done this post correctly), I'll check in here on another Saturday with a full review.

Anyone else have thoughts on that particular book? Or any other Revolutionary era books? I have a few others by Joseph Ellis, some I've read and others not, and I really enjoy his writing style.

This isn't really scholarly, but a relative of mine was downsizing his collection of Jewish liturgical books, as he and his wife are moving into an assisted living facility.

Among them were several prayer books, as well as a Haggadah and a Tanach, all bound using metal covers with hinges on the spines. I've seen this style occasionally before, but never so many in one collection. I'll post pics when I get a chance.

The Haggadah is a lithographic reproduction of the famous Szyk Haggadah published in the 1930s. The inscription says it was given to him as gift 52 years ago.

Do we have any Jewish studies scholars or bibliophiles who might shed light on the practice of using metal covers instead of wood or leather?

Would anyone happen to know a good research book centred on factors which lead to Napoleon taking power in France both the first and second time?