Started up The Internal Enemy: Slavery and War in Virginia 1772-1832. It's decent, but it's also my third or fourth book in slavery politics in the early Republic this year, and comes right on the heels of another one. Probably time to shift the timeline or subject matter for a break.

Also found out last night that the William & Mary Quarterly has an android and IOS app that offers up a few free backissues and selections from the back catalog. The ad copy implies that the collection changes and there's no way I found inside to save the things, but at present the curation is good. Some dead white guys stuff, some slavery, some Indian history, some women. And, of course, you can buy digital issues in-app. The software's a bit clunky, but it gets the job done and you can't argue with free.

Any recommended books on ancient China, specifically in the eras around the Warring States and the unification of China under Shih Quang Di?

I'm very interested in Chinese armour, and also on Chinese customs of the era (e.g., why do they do the "fist clasped in palm" thing? What does it signify? Why does Guan Yu and Zhang Fei have such luxurious beards? Is that common for young men? Etc. etc.).

Bonus points if said material is accessible to the layman, I'm not an expert, just trying to broaden my horizons.

I've been reading Fabricating Women: The Seamstresses of Old Regime France, 1675-1791, by Clare Haru Crowston. There've been a few times when I think she's made weird terminology choices, but overall I LOVE IT. It's already helped me with some of my translation (eg "Community Body" = guild).

Edit: As I progress, I'm becoming a little put off by the fact that Crowston appears to buy the factual nature of early 18th century criticism of stays as well as modern assumptions about them ... so I'm trying to skim through those bits and go for the commercial history.

My search continues! I'm still looking for recommendations for books or other sources on the LRDG, the early SAS, and the SAS in Ireland. Any suggestions are much appreciated.

Just finished the next-to-final draft of my thesis. Next step will be editing a few typos if any and cleaning up citations, then done.

What's a good overview book on the history of feminism?

Like I went to the r/feminism FAQ and they list a bunch of authors, many of whom have multiple books. Is there a good single book to give an overview of the history of the subject?

Anyone here have some experience with the Valley of the Shadow project? Any tips for a newcomer? Find Imboden a fascinating character, though apparently he never mastered the subtle art of the paragraph break.

I'm looking for new books, and I'm wondering what is the best history writing people have enjoyed recently.

I'm finishing History: A Very Short Introduction by John H. Arnold from Oxford's Very Short Introduction series.

I'm almost finished with Ingo Muller's Hitler's Justice: The Courts of the Third Reich. Muller describes how the German judicial system was almost universally conservative, from the Empire through the Weimar Republic (whose laws they repeatedly twisted and all but rewrote on the basis of traditionalist political theory) and into the Nazi era, which they accepted enthusiastically. Postwar, he tells a disturbing tale of how the Nazi judges retained office or resumed it after very brief dismissals, to continue quietly rewriting laws in favor of the far right, this time on the excuse of "higher law."

How has Muller's work been received? I know very little about German legal history, Muller hasn't contradicted the few bits I do know, and his credentials as a law professor in Germany lend credence to his work. However, his tale's so chilling that I can't but hope he's wrong somewhere.

I want to read about the Indian freedom struggle. Any recommended books?