Hey there! I just want to preface this by saying I checked the book recommendations on this reddit and couldn't find one quite matching what I'm looking.
Essentially, I am looking for a present for a tutor who was at my school for over 30 years, transformed the lives of dozens of people, and has been forced to retire due to the COVID 19 pandemic. He was an expert in languages, graduating from Oxford, and erudite on German history. Essentially, the book can be in English, French or German and ought to be more than a balanced general book and more of an academic text.
He had a niche interest in Medieval German history, in particular Holy Roman Emperor Frederick II. Do any historians here who are proficient in Holy Roman Imperial history have any recommended books on this person? I ask here as, since he is an academic, he would likely benefit most from an academic's recommendation. I'm a theologian so other than Church histories not sure where would be best to start for a proper text on this person.
u/y_sengaku and I gave a few suggestions a few months ago:
Those are the best ones in English; Kantorowicz's original German book would also work, but I'm honestly not sure if there is a better, more recent work in German.
If you are looking for a biography in German, I just make a note that the most recent (detailed) version by Rader has been re-issued as [a paperback] (https://www.chbeck.de/rader-b-friedrich-ii-/product/27648461) last year.
In addition to Rader's ones, Hubert Houben is a famed specialist in the Normans in southern Italy and he also authored a shorter biography on Frederick II, Kaiser Friedrich II. (1194-1250): Herrscher, Mensch, Mythos, Stuttgart: Kohlhammer, 2008. (Here you can see the short review of this second biography in English).
Both are still easily available and able to be shipped out of Germany in some internet bookstores, I suppose.
Alternatively, I just wondered at first whether any short book or facsimiles on Frederick's famous the book of falconry is easily available either in English or in German, but unfortunately all of such books have been out of print.