An abiding interest of mine is how and when some Native Americans of NW California escaped the reservation system soon after it was established in the 1860-70s. A number of natives from my area, what anthropologists here would call a sub-tribe, were placed in a single community on what was to become the reservation shortly following contact in 1850. They escaped and moved back to their homeland shortly following formal establishment in the early 1870s.

I have been tracking the natives' movement using genealogies, censuses and family histories for years. I just hit a goldmine. I found a set of maps (Real Estate Abstracts) that show residences and family names in the area from 1886, and there is a buttload of new names and confirmation of some really good stuff. It has made me feel like History/Anthropology will alway be there for me. It's one of those things I can hold on to when I'm convinced the world is falling apart, which is frequently.

I got the chance to present a paper at the Missouri Valley History Conference today. It went extremely well considering it was my first conference, and I luckily received a few questions at the end.

Unqualified Victims of Tactical Necessity: The U.S. Army’s World War II Replacement System

The U.S. Army’s personnel replacement system used during World War II was strategically well-suited to the war the United States had to fight, but fundamental problems at home both before and during the war doomed its successful implementation overseas. Some modern scholars consider the replacement system, even if not exactly ideal, a necessary ingredient to American success in World War II. Others lambast it, contending that it turned men into “orphans” and reduced combat effectiveness. Few pay significant attention to how the U.S. Army’s personnel management practices affected the building and training of a wartime Army and molded the way the replacement system had to operate overseas, where most contemporary criticism has been laid.

Using period documentation, including official military sources as well as testimony from men who experienced the replacement system from the inside, I will discuss how criticisms should not all be directed at the final result, but also at how it was conceived and operated in the United States.

Misunderstandings of the modern way of war nearly derailed the replacement system before it even got off the ground. Many of the brightest and strongest men were diverted into the Army Air and Service Forces and college training programs during the period of greatest expansion, leaving the “scraps” for combat positions. The War Department was forced to hurriedly compensate once it realized it had made serious mistakes. Officer trainees, aviation cadets, clerks, and laborers were in some cases given only a few weeks of retraining before being hurried to the front lines; others had even less, if any at all. Older men and men not capable of prolonged exertion were forced to be used as replacements in increasing numbers, and succumbed quickly to the rigors of battle. These practices cost many men their lives.

I've been reading Reel Bad Arabs and it's pretty good. While not exactly a history book it gives insight on the history of anti-Arab depictions in movies and also give reviews on 200 or so movies he had watched, including historical ones (which led me to discover pretty good and somewhat accurate movies like Khartoum). I wish there are more of this kind of book

I've been doing research in newspaper archives about events in the early 1900s commemorating the Pilgrims' voyage to America (1920 marked 300 years since the Plymouth Colony was established). Events took place in the United States, the United Kingdom (specifically England), and the Netherlands. In one Dutch-American newspaper, which was calling for Dutch-Americans to put together their own event, I read this quote:

It should be widely known how the world everywhere is indebted to the Dutch and their matchless civilization.

As an American of Dutch ancestry, it's nice to see that our saying, "if you ain't Dutch, you ain't much," is not without precedent!

How different did respective accents (of any example region or language) sound 200 years ago?

Please give me history book recommendations for books that are about a certain person's life that gives insight into a certain period/country. Can be about any period that interests you.

No overview works please, I want to read about the everyday life, interactions, culture, environment they either live in or come into contact with.

Bit vague, but I hope you understand me. Thusfar I've mainly read about entire era's, wars or periods, but I'd simply like to gain insight into how life was on different places in time.

Not sure if this warrants its own thread, but can point out how medieval armies recruited/conscripted soldiers?

When did planes overtake ships as the primary mode of travel across the Atlantic?

What would be a reasonable price for a painted portrait in 1920's Britain from a well respected portrait artist?

I answered an old question here by u/RobertSage) about 18th century warfare by telling them about early 19th century warfare in New Zealand. Obviously not quite what was asked, but a lot of primary sources about people shooting each other if anyone else is interested.