Thursday Reading and Recommendations is intended as bookish free-for-all, for the discussion and recommendation of all books historical, or tangentially so. Suggested topics include, but are by no means limited to:
Asking for book recommendations on specific topics or periods of history
Newly published books and articles you're dying to read
Recent book releases, old book reviews, reading recommendations, or just talking about what you're reading now
Historiographical discussions, debates, and disputes
...And so on!
Regular participants in the Thursday threads should just keep doing what they've been doing; newcomers should take notice that this thread is meant for open discussion of history and books, not just anything you like -- we'll have a thread on Friday for that, as usual.
Any recommended English-language books on Cossackdom? It's a subject we never get good answers for, so probably not, but I may as well ask.
Has there been any recent nice survey of Imperial German history? I'm thinking of something like Pieter Judson's *The Habsburg Empire*, e.g. a relatively detailed survey that pushes a new interpretation of the subject matter and can serve as a guide for further reading. I've read Blackbourn's *History of Germany, 1780-1918*, but it's a bit old now (published in 1997, with a 2002 second edition that I think just modifies the bibliography a bit).
I recently stole stumbled upon my dad’s 1970s edition of RJ Shafer’s Guide to Historical Method, presumably from when he was in college. Is it worth reading now, or does it not hold up today?
I have recently finished reading Seven Ages of Paris by Alistair Horne. It focuses on the urban development of Paris - and the city's love-and-hate relationships with the French leaders - throughout various phases of French history. Much is spent on culture and politics, but surprisingly, doesn't tackle the French Revolution in more detail.
Yesterday, I also started reading Cataclysm: The First World War as Political Tragedy by David Stevenson. Still on the first chapter, so I can't say much about it yet. So far I find it good, but reads slowly.