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:
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.
Any book recommendations for the Great Famine?
I already have Atlas of the Irish Famine and I’m reading through ‘The Great Famine: Ireland’s Agony 1845-1852’, but the more the better.
I'm about halfway through England, France and Aquitaine : From Victory to Defeat in the Hundred Years War by Richard Ballard and I'm struggling a bit with it. It's not particularly complex, on its surface it's basically Juliet Barker's Conquest but for Aquitaine but without the same depth, but Ballard's writing is...challenging. The book doesn't flow, points are raised, dropped, and brought up again without a clear through line. It feels a lot like someone dictating a story where we points are made as they occur to the author. In theory this should be a relatively introductory book but it does such a poor job introducing major historical figures that I can't imagine reading it if you weren't already very familiar with the end of the Hundred Years War.
There's very few books on this particular subject so I'll keep reading it, but I'm pretty disappointed in it so far.
I recently finished reading 1491 (Second Edition) by Charles C. Mann and was wondering if anybody could recommend any books about indigenous cultures in the Americas prior to 1491. Or link any sites or lists of books by historians covering that topic.
Also, does anybody have any book recommendations which focuses on a gender analysis of the Protestant Reformation? During my undergrad, I came across The Short Chronicle by Jeanne de Jussie, a firsthand account of the Reformation's effect on her town and convent.
Looking for reading material on parchment/vellum making and the history of manuscripts.
Books on regular citizens experiences in Nazi Germany?
Been reading Andrew Robert’s biography of Napoleon and the man is an exceptionally gifted writer. Can create the most vibrant intrigue out of the most mundane, obscure politics. Any good, particularly interesting books about the history of Istanbul? I’ve also been recently interested in ancient colonial efforts (especially Greek and Roman, but open to any!), anything cool in that regard?
looking for books on the late austrian/ austro-hungarian empire mostly looking for stuff post hungarian revolt but stuff before that is fine as well.
Looking for a book discussing women's art and the struggles female artists faced. Something discussing how something like knitting and embroidery is considered crafts and domestic work, whereas painting and sculpture (typically male dominated) is considered fine art.
Im looking for a readable but reliable book on the history of monarchy. Either in general, or in Britain specifically.
I'd like a recommendation on Japan's post-WW2 reconstruction period if possible.