Have you read an informative, engaging book on German history? If so, what is it? [more inside]
posted by bluishorange on Nov 10, 2009 - 1 answer

What are some good books about the history of China, up to say the Qing dynasty? I am particularly interested in the Warring States period up to the first empire. Extra credit for discussions of the spread of Buddhism.
posted by shothotbot on Nov 8, 2009 - 7 answers

Long-lost childhood books: a history book printed after one of the World Wars. I don't know the title or author, but I'll tell you everything I remember. Hivemind, please help me find it! [more inside]
posted by cmyk on Oct 8, 2009 - 5 answers

What are your favorite books or websites about Philadelphia or heavily involving Philadelphia? Both historical or modern.
posted by LaszloKv on Sep 22, 2009 - 7 answers

How many books are there in the world? [more inside]
posted by kandinski on Sep 8, 2009 - 6 answers

What resources (films, books, websites) can I share with my 13 y/o daughter who has expressed a recent keen admiration and care for the American soldier from the Vietnam War era to the present? [more inside]
posted by keith0718 on Sep 3, 2009 - 22 answers

Suggestions for books on Maine history and culture, non fiction preferred but not a necessity. This would be for a person traveling to Maine in the near future, will be spending time on the coast and in the great north woods.
posted by flummox on Aug 31, 2009 - 15 answers

Book identification filter: Help me find a WWII history book with a bright orange cover. [more inside]
posted by snowleopard on Aug 26, 2009 - 5 answers

What inventions/societal changes besides cell phones have effectively "ruined" plot devices for stories in movies, TV, books, and so forth? [more inside]
posted by ckolderup on Aug 5, 2009 - 50 answers

What are some good recent military history books? [more inside]
posted by mkb on Aug 5, 2009 - 18 answers

Having devoured "The Discovery of France", where should I look next? [more inside]
posted by doiheartwentyone on Jul 17, 2009 - 4 answers

Any recommendations for books giving a general history of any of the natural sciences, with a particular attention to how the great biologists, botanists, and zoologists, etc. approached problems of classification and conceptualization of their phenomena (e.g. like how Linnaeus came up with his taxonomy)? Not looking for great technical detail so much as how these scientists thought and responded to each others' thoughts.
posted by shivohum on Jul 12, 2009 - 17 answers

Can anyone recommend good books about the interaction of Italian City-States during the Renaissance? My brother is writing a 200 page paper over the next three years, and his topic is Rome, Venice, Florence, and Milan and how their interactions shaped the Italian Renaissance. He doesn't have any good books to go on, and I'm at a loss to help him (I'm not a history person) Any help would be appreciated.
posted by nickhb on Jul 3, 2009 - 18 answers

What are the best nonfiction sources about the atrocities surrounding the Mexican-American War and related Native American wars? [more inside]
posted by Bookhouse on Jun 29, 2009 - 12 answers

What are some great books about history? [more inside]
posted by zennoshinjou on Jun 16, 2009 - 43 answers

What are the best books on World War II? [more inside]
posted by lullaby on Jun 9, 2009 - 40 answers

In order to pass an English competitive examination in France, I need reference (but not too long) books on two history subjects. [more inside]
posted by nicolin on Jun 4, 2009 - 2 answers

If you were building a library collection around the history of business—guilds, apprenticeships, royal charter companies, corporations, and so on—what books would you select?
posted by sonic meat machine on May 25, 2009 - 13 answers

What are the best "grand theory" books and essays purporting to explain generally how the world works - at the macro, economic/political/historical/sociological/foreign policy scale - written in or after the 20th century?
posted by shivohum on May 12, 2009 - 24 answers

Is there a book in the same vein as Bryson's A Short History of Nearly Everything, only covering history instead of science? [more inside]
posted by wordsmith on Apr 24, 2009 - 16 answers

So, it seems I'm changing vectors slightly, and taking up the challenge of getting a PhD in history. The problem? I did very little actual history classes as an undergrad and graduate student. I have until August to patch holes in my knowledge....help! [more inside]
posted by strixus on Apr 21, 2009 - 9 answers

I'm looking for a good book or two surveying the major topics in European history up through the unification of Germany and Italy in the late 1800s. Ideally, the book would have a level of detail similar to what would be covered in an AP European History class or a lower-division undergraduate European history course. Bonus points if the book has a good bibliography for further reading on specific events/time periods.
posted by philosophygeek on Feb 24, 2009 - 9 answers

Can you please recommend some books on daily life, home life, and general society in the UK and the US in the 1840s - 1880s for me? I already have What Jane Austen Ate, and What Charles Dickens Knew and An Elegant Madness. It doesn't have to be specifically on daily life- creative nonfiction like Larson's The Devil in the White City or Johnson's The Ghost Map are awesome, too.
posted by headspace on Feb 16, 2009 - 13 answers

I am looking for writings on mimesis in regards new, digital, hypertext and hypermedial technologies and cultures. [more inside]
posted by 0bvious on Feb 16, 2009 - 7 answers

Help me identity this 1910s/20s/30s British poet (from precious little information). [more inside]
posted by taramosalata on Feb 14, 2009 - 3 answers

Seeking relatively well-known, canon-caliber fictional accounts of imaginary encounters between actual, historically significant figures -- especially encounters that could well have taken place, but which we know did not or remain undocumented. Philip Levine's poem "On the Meeting of Garcia Lorca and Hart Crane" typifies what I'm looking for. Mark Twain's _A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court_ does not (respectable evidence out there of a historical Arthur notwithstanding). The literary field is rife with examples, I know -- say, some novel casting Charles Lindbergh and Adolf Hitler into a tete-a-tete. But, ack, I'm drawing a blank. [more inside]
posted by taramosalata on Feb 5, 2009 - 31 answers

Some good, interesting historical nonfiction? [more inside]
posted by btkuhn on Nov 28, 2008 - 55 answers

Has anyone recommend any excellent books or articles analyzing why (and how) dictatorship can maintain itself some places, but is successfully challenged and overthrown by more democratic forces elsewhere?
posted by shivohum on Nov 11, 2008 - 9 answers

Looking for books comparing and contrasting history as it rhymes but doesn't repeat. [more inside]
posted by IndigoJones on Nov 9, 2008 - 0 answers

I want to know what my apartment looked like when my great-grandparents' generation was living in it! I'm looking for web-based answers and pictures rather than wordy descriptions that would require a library visit if possible. [more inside]
posted by purplecurlygirl on Nov 7, 2008 - 13 answers

Can you recommend good books about Los Angeles? Non-fiction preferred but fiction as well. [more inside]
posted by jeremias on Oct 29, 2008 - 25 answers

Looking for popular history books whose title is or starts with a specific year - 1776, 1491, 69 A.D., etc. A subtitle after the year is fine, but the title needs to start with a specific date. Thanks! [more inside]
posted by mediareport on Aug 24, 2008 - 28 answers

Care package ideas for a new journalism grad student and New Yorker- [more inside]
posted by greta simone on Aug 14, 2008 - 12 answers

Recent poetry, fiction, histories re: Cork, Ireland? The question title says it all, except maybe to clarify: not looking for authors from Cork so much as stories about or set in Cork. Even better if it's something that is likely to be on the shelves at a book store in the US. Thanks.
posted by quarterframer on Aug 7, 2008 - 3 answers

Please recommend me some great books about the home front during WWI or WWII. [more inside]
posted by booksandlibretti on Jul 21, 2008 - 26 answers

Looking for good books on the history of technologies. [more inside]
posted by pombe on Jul 16, 2008 - 17 answers

I want to a read a book about the domestication, Western discovery, spread and eventual assimilation of New World foods. I'm interested in how these crops were transported to and received by different cultures, and how certain New World foods became synonymous with particular Old World cuisines. [more inside]
posted by nev on Jul 4, 2008 - 13 answers

I love history, and I love adventure. What real-life historical adventurers were awesome, and have books written about them worth reading? [more inside]
posted by WidgetAlley on May 5, 2008 - 40 answers

I'm interested in learning more about Canadian history, and two things I'd like to start with (because I learned damn near NOTHING about them in school) are the Acadians and the Great Explusion, and the October Crisis and the FLQ. Can anyone recommend some books?
posted by Imperfect on Apr 15, 2008 - 8 answers

How does visible light damage ancient documents? [more inside]
posted by wilful on Apr 8, 2008 - 8 answers

I am looking for writings on the infinity of definition. [more inside]
posted by 0bvious on Mar 13, 2008 - 32 answers

What are some good books on calendars, chronology and the division and measurement of time? I'm interested in the history, physics and especially mathematics of it all. A giant encyclopedic reference tome would be excellent. Thanks!
posted by hoverboards don't work on water on Mar 2, 2008 - 10 answers

Looking for a good book that gives an overview of the African American experience in the United States. It should be readable, engaging, but also informative. [more inside]
posted by allthewhile on Feb 18, 2008 - 12 answers

Can anyone reccomend good books, or documentaries, about Australia (history, culture, politics) written by people from outside Australia? [more inside]
posted by Jimbob on Feb 7, 2008 - 11 answers

I'm looking for book suggestions for a radical reading group. [more inside]
posted by arcadia on Jan 29, 2008 - 24 answers

How famous could you really get as an author before the printing press? [more inside]
posted by absalom on Dec 7, 2007 - 26 answers

My dad has mentioned that he would like a history book for Christmas. Help me find one that will really knock his socks off! [more inside]
posted by Metroid Baby on Dec 3, 2007 - 45 answers

Can you recommend some good books about places? [more inside]
posted by ersatzkat on Nov 29, 2007 - 23 answers

Can you recommend any great, scholarly books about the Napoleonic era in Europe? [more inside]
posted by Neilopolis on Nov 25, 2007 - 10 answers

What are the best history of science books for the intelligent layperson? Some examples along these lines include Richard Rhodes' "The Making of the Atomic Bomb", David Bodanis' "E=mc2" and Dava Sobel's "Longitude"; books which mix equally well the explanation of scientific concepts with historical/biographical storytelling, and are not intended for practitioners of the field. In addition to general suggestions, specific recommendations about the history of probability & statistics and the history of science in the ancient/medieval world would be appreciated. Thanks in advance!
posted by lorenzism on Sep 22, 2007 - 37 answers