Recommend some cookbooks that are also history books. [more inside]
posted by Kurichina on Dec 21, 2009 - 27 answers

I'd like to buy a book or books for someone who really liked 1776, by David McCullough, but who now wants to know more about the Revolutionary War. [more inside]
posted by kingjoeshmoe on Dec 17, 2009 - 10 answers

I was talking with a friend about the "graveyard of empires," b*tching about politics, and we both realized that we knew pretty much nothing about the British experience in Afghanistan in the 19th century. (I have a vague recollection about it being background for some Sherlock Holmes stories. She remembered some Kipling.) What books would you recommend for getting a good understanding of that period of history? Bonus points for an engaging writing style and for not being the length of an encyclopedia. Thanks!
posted by epersonae on Nov 13, 2009 - 18 answers

I'm looking for books about Italy, specifically Rome and Venice, and also books set in Rome and/or Venice. What would you recommend? [more inside]
posted by garlic on Aug 24, 2009 - 19 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

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

I've been tasked (by myself and others) with compiling an extensive history of my extended family on one side. More than a family tree, we're compiling stories, photos, everything we can gather about my weirdo relatives. What tools should I use to compile it? [more inside]
posted by tmcw on Mar 27, 2009 - 7 answers

Book filter -- Back in 1978, in grade school, our history teacher wanted to know that history could be personal and he read to us the autobiography of a Russian in an orphanage or juvenile detention when he was 12 years old. I thought that it was Solzhenitsyn but I may be wrong because I can't find that anywhere. Help
posted by notned on Feb 17, 2009 - 11 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

Looking for recommendations on films (documentary or dramatic) or books (nonficiton or novel) about Agitprop or Agitprop Theater, specifically as it was practiced in Boshevist Russia/USSR. [more inside]
posted by brain cloud on Nov 15, 2008 - 1 answer

In short, What are the best books (especially books), movies or other media about Vietnam that you know of? (Including the French War.) [more inside]
posted by MasonDixon on Sep 22, 2008 - 33 answers

Tété-Michel Kpomassie: where is he now? Whatever happened to him? I can't find other books by him after An African in Greenland; I've read he eventually received French citizenship and lives there now - but what does he do? He must have written other books or articles, right? Anyone know?
posted by luriete on Sep 3, 2008 - 3 answers

I'm thinking of buying a book like this as a gift. Anyone have any personal experience with this "Our Name in History" series of books? Are they any good?
posted by flapjax at midnite on Jul 28, 2008 - 12 answers

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

I'd like to broaden my horizons by getting a better understanding of life in different cultures and time periods. Please recommend great books or films (fiction or non-fiction) which paint a broad, immersive, reasonably accurate picture of a place and time. [more inside]
posted by MetaMonkey on Jul 12, 2008 - 29 answers

My mom wants a book on French Indochina, and I'd like to find a good one for her. Preferably non-fiction, but good fiction with some insight into history and culture would work, too. The exact historical time range is flexible, but she's mostly interested in the area pre-Vietnam War.
posted by bookish on Apr 30, 2008 - 9 answers

What is the one book should I read about Alexander the Great? [more inside]
posted by broady on Mar 18, 2008 - 12 answers

Books about anthropology, psychology, sociology, modern rituals...I think. Can you point me in the right direction? [more inside]
posted by lhall on Dec 20, 2007 - 11 answers

Help me find a specific type of time travel novel. [more inside]
posted by OpinioNate on Dec 10, 2007 - 20 answers

Bookfilter: Recommend a good book on Leon Trotsky and Trotskyism. [more inside]
posted by boubelium on Jul 10, 2007 - 6 answers

Can you help me find a book which traverses Russian history from, well, as far back as possible up to the Russian Revolution of 1917? [more inside]
posted by The Great Big Mulp on Dec 17, 2006 - 10 answers

Could you suggest good visionary (realized or unrealized) architecture and urbanism books ? I'd be interested in well illustrated books. I can afford a 50 to 150 dollars book on that topic. I'd like to find things like that.
posted by vincentm on Jul 21, 2006 - 18 answers

Bibliophiles: I want to read a book on every US president for my summer reading project. Recommendations? [more inside]
posted by state fxn on May 24, 2006 - 17 answers

I recently came into possession of a book called Archeology of the Florida Gulf Coast by Gordon R. Willey with a copyright of 1949. I would like to know what it's worth. It is in good condition - not great, but good. Googling allowed me to find a reprint edition from 1973 priced at $85.00, but I can't find the value of an original 1949 copy. [more inside]
posted by wsg on Nov 5, 2005 - 6 answers

I'm looking to buy a book on history to read for pleasure. My interest is mainly in American history and especially Lincoln, but I'm open to suggestions on other areas too. Does anyone have a good suggestion or two?
posted by flexxer on May 20, 2005 - 23 answers

Any good books to suggest on the US-Mexico War of 1846-48? I've recently read (and found very interesting) To the Halls of the Montezumas and Eisenhower's son book. Any other suggestions will be appreciated. Thanks.
posted by matteo on Nov 8, 2004 - 4 answers

My wife and I are going to London soon. I've lived there before, but it will be her first time. What are some good books that will bring the city's history and landmarks alive for her? Fiction and non-fiction are fine, as long as they are good reads (not dry or academic). I'm looking for the type of thing that will really make you appreciate the Tower or Camden Town or whatever when you're there.
posted by grumblebee on Mar 9, 2004 - 23 answers

My girlfriend fiance (thanks, AskMefi!) has managed to make it through high school, college, and now grad school without taking a course in European history. She is looking for a objective, broad, but intelligent survey of the post-Renaissance period. Any book recommendations?
posted by PrinceValium on Jan 5, 2004 - 7 answers