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.
Hi all,
I'm interested in reading about the social context in which the Buddha lived. I am very interested in the Pali language, and various theories about how it came about, whether the Buddha spoke it or not, and so forth. But I feel like I don't really have any sense of how groups interacted during that time period; there were lots of people speaking a lot of fairly closely related languages in the same area, but what was the society like?
I came to this subreddit for book suggestions, so it's cool to see you guys already have a thread for it!
I'm looking for suggestions related to civil wars in general. Common causes, decisive factors that determined the victorious parties, parallels between different wars, et al.. I'm sure I could easily find books on specific wars (American Civil War, Spanish Civil War, English Civil War, Marius v Sulla, etc.), but I was hoping there was a good macro look at the concept of historical (and future?) Civil Wars.
I’m interested in reading about Lithuania from 1800 to post-WW2. Mostly ww1 to ww2. Any good book suggestions? Ones for that general area of the world would be great, too. Doesn’t have to be Lithuania specific. Thanks.
I'm interested in reading about the Mongol empire. Complete beginner but saw a TV show where they talked about it and it piqued my interest to learn more
I finished 'What is History?' by E. H. Carr and it is a fascinating book! Opened up History as an entirely different discipline to me than I imagined.
Hi I am looking for good books about the history of Ghana/Mali/Songhay region and Ethiopia. Thanks for the help!
Hi there. I'm very interested in late medieval religious culture, especially where it intersects with magic and sexuality, so any recs there would be greatly appreciated. I'm also particularly interested in the idea of "holy knight," whether the fictional paladins of Charlemagne or the actual knights templar. Where can I read about the theological/sociopolitical contexts from which these sprang? Were there holy warriors outside of Christianity at the time, and where might I read about them? I so appreciate your suggestions--this has quickly become my favorite sub.
Hello, I would like to have some recommendations on the Holocaust, specifically how the Slavs and Romani were targeted and persecuted. I would also like for the text to have in depth explanations as to why nazi leadership believed in superiority over any of the races they sought to exterminate, and if possible, the distinctions they forged between them. Another related topic I would be interested in would be how the allies of nazi germany cooperated with the nazi extermination program, and to what degree were they complicit. Thank you!
Hi, does anyone have any recommendations for books that discuss why countries industrialised at different rates? I’m particularly interested in the UK, France, Russia, Japan and China.
Also, could you please recommend any books that discuss colonialism and its drivers into the 20th Century?
Basically, I’m interested in learning about how industrialisation and colonialism shape the world we live in today. Thank you for any suggestions.