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.
Book I like: Weber's The Spanish Frontier in North America, which is an excellent history of the parts of the Spanish Empire that are today within the bounds of the continental United States
Book I'm reading: I hate myself enough to be reading Sir Thomas More's Utopia at the moment.
Does anyone know of any historical atlases that are on the scale or quality of the Barrington Atlas of the Greek and Roman World? I'm interested in any region or period — thanks!
Anyone have any good book suggestions on the impeachment of andrew Johnson? Looking for a research paper
Anyone have any good recommendations for a history of Constantinople, particularly during the early Byzantine period? I'm particularly interested in reading about Justinian's rule and the Nike Revolt.
I’m interested in learning more about pre-colonial North America. Can anyone recommend a book (or other resource) on Native American culture and history before the rest of the world landed?
I'd like recommendations on at least moderately readable books on political parties -- Tammany Hall! The Bolsheviks! The SPD! The Minseito! Political parties or organizations broadly speaking (maybe more sociological or political sciencey than history, but no "deriving theory from first principles" kind of thing, something based on reality and history). Last winter I picked up a book at the library from the 80s called "Political Parties in the American Mold" by Leon Epstein and it was just brick-wall reading, I couldn't get anywhere.
For where I'm coming from, I'm an anarchist with no faith whatever in electoralism but who would really love to believe it can work. I just want to understand and I feel like there is such a veil of weird ideology (like the oft expressed belief, from George Washington to today, that political parties should be forbidden) thrown over politics and parties that makes it impossible for me to see the truth. And actually, as someone getting more involved in her tenant union, I'd like to know about the history of non-electoral political groups as well, if they can be called parties or not.
Any recommendations for a history of the Italian Wars?