This past week I read Robin Hood by Jim Bradbury. Overall I think it's a very good introduction to the evidence and main arguments about the origins and development of the Robin Hood story and whether he really existed or not. It's a fairly dry book, Bradbury writes clearly but I wouldn't call it particularly engaging, so I probably wouldn't recommend it for someone with only a passing interest in Robin Hood. However, someone really interested in the subject could do far worse for an introductory text covering the main evidence and arguments of the field of Robin Hood studies.

After reading a bunch of positive reviews about it, but not really having the time to actually read it, I bought the audiobook of David Graeber and David Wengrow's The Dawn of Everything, which so far I've enjoyed quite a bit (the reading performance is decent; I listen to things like this when I'm walking the dog, which adds up over time). It's a very interesting argument about prehistoric humans and the ways in which we've arguably mis-imagined them and their culture, and its relationship to our modern society. I'm enjoying it so far; if you're looking for 24 hours of content (including blistering and well-argued take-downs of Steven Pinker and Jared Diamond as dilettantes, which I'm always here for), I'd recommend it.

Got a chance to read How to Slay a Dragon: A Fantasy Hero's Guide to the Real Middle Ages, which was written by former mod here /u/sunagainstgold. It definitely follows her style of writing here, and was a neat read, informative and interesting, and really just feels like reading a series of AskHistorians posts, in a good way. If you're looking for a unique look at how people in the Middle Ages lived, I'd suggest giving it a read.

Hello. I’m looking for anything that has to do with non hierarchical societies throughout history. I follow some anarchist pages on Twitter and some of their tweets are about how societies organized horizontally rather than vertically have existed and thrived. I would like to know more specifics, maybe not about every single one, but at least about the most well-known ones or most “successful”. Thank you for reading

Looking for recommendations of books regarding the Italian city states in the late 1400s-1500s, especially around the time of the Italian wars

I'm looking for an introductory book on the nomadic peoples of the Eurasian Steppe throughout history, ideally something that covers as broad a stretch of time as possible. I realize that this is a massive region and length of time, and if there isn't a reputable book that covers all this in one go, I would also be interested in more specific books about more narrow areas and time periods, especially the bronze/early iron age and the decline of the nomadic steppe peoples in the early modern era. I'm also interested in the interactions between the nomadic cultures of the steppes and sedentary cultures they neighbored.

Would like recommendations on the development of railroads, with some emphasis on political economy. I know it's a big topic but I'm curious both how they developed technically, and how the industry expanded and sought profitability along the way.