Today:
Saturday Reading and Research will focus on exactly that: the history you have been reading this week and the research you've been working on. It's also the prime thread for requesting books on a particular subject. As with all our weekly features, this thread will be lightly moderated.
So, encountered a recent biography of Stalin that revealed all about his addiction to ragtime piano? Delved into a horrendous piece of presentist and sexist psycho-evolutionary mumbo-jumbo and want to tell us about how bad it was? Need help finding the right book to give the historian in your family? Then this is the thread for you!
Put up Reading the Man half-finished. I'll come back, but I was seduced away by the chance to do a group read of Foner's Reconstruction.
Late to the party, but does anyone have any recommendations for a good theoretical/methodological work on Material Culture and how to study and contextualize objects as part of history? I have learned a lot about how to study armour specifically but I'd like a broader theoretical grounding.
I have been increasingly interested in the Cold War period and what lead up to it. Usually I'm more into subjects a little further in the past but it has really intrigued me for a while.
I'm not a historian so I sometimes have trouble finding the right books or sources on particular subjects and that's why I have come here.
When I delve into a new subject (I do have basic knowledge about the cold war), I always like to start with a comprehensive book about the whole period that outlines the main events and the basic timeline. Any suggestions for books (in English or Dutch) about the main events and global outlines of the Cold War?
Once I know the basics I usually try to learn about specific details, for example things that interest me now are the rise and inner workings of the Soviet Union, McCarthyism and espionage/state security.
Can anyone help me out with some sources on these subjects?
Thanks in advance, I love this subreddit. Although I even never felt knowledgeable enough to contribute, I really enjoy reading.
I've been researching the Early Roman Empire, from Augustus to Commodus. Trying to become educated in what each emperor did, including the numerous buildings attributed to them, policies they implemented, and how they interacted with the Senate.
Recentley, I've been particularly interested with Hadrian, my favorite emporer. He was truly a Renaissance man before the Renaissance, being a skilled architect, accepting that the empire was big enough, and being less crazy than his other emperors.
Really having to research through the Freedmen's Bureau Records to study reconstruction in my region. It is more unique than other areas of the cotton and tobacco region.