Today:
You know the drill: this is the thread for all your history-related outpourings that are not necessarily questions. Minor questions that you feel don't need or merit their own threads are welcome too. Discovered a great new book, documentary, article or blog? Has your Ph.D. application been successful? Have you made an archaeological discovery in your back yard? Did you find an anecdote about the Doge of Venice telling a joke to Michel Foucault? Tell us all about it.
As usual, moderation in this thread will be relatively non-existent -- jokes, anecdotes and light-hearted banter are welcome.
Having trouble coming up with the perfect question to ask?
Don't worry, problem solved. Use one of these:
#Find an insightful question to ask
^^^But ^^^seriously ^^^I ^^^will ^^^temp ^^^ban ^^^anyone ^^^who ^^^posts ^^^one ^^^of ^^^these ^^^questions ^^^on ^^^the ^^^sub.
Any recent pop history books that do a good job of introducing readers to its subject matter?
Can any of you recommend some really good historical fiction? Stuff that's both (as best we know) relatively historically accurate (minor quibbles okay, massive inaccuracies unacceptable) but also a REALLY GOOD READ.
Example of something unacceptable: I started reading one book about Julius Cesar. Early on in the book, Julius' Dad was killed when he was young by invaders or barbarians or marauders or something (I don't quite remember), at their country farm. I ambled over to Wikipedia to find out that Julius Cesar's dad did not, in fact, die in this fashion, and actually died of natural causes at a respectable age. That put me off the book immediately. That is the kind of book I want to avoid. I don't want historical lies even if they do make the story better. (They don't make it better for me, they make it unreadable.)
I'm not too fussy about era. Whether it's colonial India or Ancient Sumeria I'm pretty interested. I just don't want to read a book that is categorically wrong about historical facts and figures. I'd love to read ones that really bring to life (as best we know) life in various eras, but that are also just cracking good reads.
Hello all-
After a long hiatus, I've gotten around to posting a video again. Those so inclined can now check out my short virtual tour (well-intentioned but indifferently edited) of the House of Menander in Pompeii. As always, questions and comments are welcome!
Have a good weekend
Randomish discussion question: How accurately does a show like Time Team show archaeology work? It's a hugely influential show as well, did it have much of an impact on you/the field?
I'm kind of curious as well about what you folks think about more technical, hands on history shows like this. Good way of getting people into history? Any downsides?
Hi! My husband's birthday is coming up and I'm looking to get him a really great audio book about WWI and/or WWII. He's always been interested in that era of history and can identify pretty much every aircraft or gun used. He's watched Band of Brothers and The Pacific so many times he can probably quote whole episodes.
He also really loves learning about the Revolutionary War and that era. He recently read a book about the first spy (Culpepper, I think) and was all jazzed about it.
I've never been interested in war, it makes my heart hurt. He took me on a date to watch 1917 and I sobbed for 3 hours and had nightmares for weeks afterwards. I have no idea what I'm doing when it comes to picking war related literature, but I know it makes him happy, and an audio book would allow him to use headphones or listen on his way to work so I won't get traumatized!
I don't know if this is applicable at all, but he's a chef, so if there's a good one about food or cooks or whatever please let me know!
I’ve never actually gotten to read any answers to any of the questions on ask askhistorians. The mods have deleted anything that had been written.
Are there any posts on ask historians that you allow to have comments?
In Man in the High Castle, the Imperial Japan is more merciful to the Americans than Nazi Germany, partly because a lot of Japanese became fans of American culture. Did a lot of people in Imperial Japan in real life become fans of the cultures of the nations they invaded?
Your Weekly /r/askhistorians Recap
Friday, March 05 - Thursday, March 11
###Top 10 Posts
| score | comments | title & link |
|---|---|---|
| 4,990 | 653 comments | [Meta] Can someone explain why this sub was temporarily banned today? What made some dumbass admin decide to terminate an active sub with 1.3 million users? |
| 4,823 | 97 comments | Why did the USSR build such grandiose designs and ornate decorations in the Moscow Metro stations as opposed to the usual bland brutalism of Soviet architecture? |
| 3,716 | 123 comments | [Great Question!] In the original Star Wars: A New Hope, Obi-Wan Kenobi instructs R2-D2 to connect to the Imperial network to gain access to the whole system. Did the concept of an interconnected vast computer network exist in 1977? What were the largest government and corporate computer systems used for in 1977? |
| 3,275 | 51 comments | [Medicine] An estimated 70-95% of polio cases were asymptomatic. Was this understood by the general public during polio outbreaks? Were asymptomatic people quarantined? Did people dismiss polio as "most cases have no symptoms"? |
| 3,275 | 52 comments | In the 1950’s section of WandaVision, no one is bothered by Wanda’s (fictional) Sokovian nationality; while this episode was based on sitcom logic, how would Suburban Americans actually have reacted to an Eastern European immigrant? |
| 3,097 | 61 comments | Margaret Thatcher criticized the gov of Argentina for being a military junta during the Falklands War, yet she received support from Chile, which was also being run by a military dictatorship at the time. How did that work? |
| 3,090 | 45 comments | [Women's History] The Sumerian king list contains a single woman as ruler, a former alewife called Kubaba. Do we know how this was interpreted by Ancient Mesopotamian societies? And what significance did an alewife have? |
| 2,949 | 100 comments | Why are ancient and medieval recipes so vague? Often lacking amounts, instructions, or times, they seem quite vague. Were they intended to be some sort of inspiration, rather than direct instructions? |
| 2,777 | 57 comments | I'm having difficulty finding Native American folklore that isn't directed at kids - are there any comprehensive sources of information regarding Native American culture heroes/folklore/spirituality on a tribe-by-tribe level? |
| 2,728 | 260 comments | [AMA] I am Dr. Michael Taylor, historian of the Roman Republic and author of Soldiers and Silver: Mobilizing Resources in the Age of Roman Conquest; expert on Roman warfare and imperialism--AMA! |
###Top 10 Comments
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