I'm looking for examples of rants by historical figures, preferably pre-twentieth century, the more unhinged and colorful the better.
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posted by Ritchie
on Mar 30, 2012 -
28 answers
My late grandfather painted
an interpretation of one of Maurice Utrillo's depictions of the "Maquis" of Montmartre, in Utrillo's time a very poor
area of the well-known Paris neighbourhood. Which Utrillo work did my granddad use as a blueprint, and where exactly was Utrillo's vantage point?
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posted by goodnewsfortheinsane
on Mar 26, 2012 -
12 answers
I saw
Cave Of Forgotten Dreams and loved it. Now I want to read more about early human history. Please recommend some good books on the beginnings of human art in particular and the emergence of human society and the beginnings of conciousness in general. I'm not a scientist and I'm not looking for a textbook, but I'm not afraid of a challenging read, either.
posted by vibrotronica
on Mar 26, 2012 -
16 answers
I'm looking for a crash-course in modern-day counter-cultures around the world that have come about as a response to a crisis of capitalism or materialism. For example the recent Occupy movement but also more nascent and lesser known ones.
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posted by scrm
on Mar 25, 2012 -
2 answers
My dad is turning 67, and he's a rather eccentric guy. I want to get him something unique for his birthday. Help me find a gift for him! Details inside.
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posted by oxfordcomma
on Mar 24, 2012 -
24 answers
Historical brain fart -- help me remember the name of this English custom!!
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posted by mibo
on Mar 24, 2012 -
5 answers
How many soldiers (if any?) survived the entirety of the fighting of either the western or eastern front of World War I?
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posted by curious nu
on Mar 23, 2012 -
9 answers
What are the best blogs, online periodicals, or discussion groups that address the history and consumption of food in an intelligent and critical way? (In other words, not just a place to swap recipes.) I would love to know where people find the most engaging ideas about food.
posted by tnygard
on Mar 17, 2012 -
6 answers
I’m looking for resources for information about Manhattan, NYC in the 1920s. I would especially love anything that goes by neighborhoods. The information I’m seeking is the detail of every day life- what areas were desirable or dangerous, who lived there, what kind of businesses were common, where people socialized.
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posted by Blisterlips
on Mar 13, 2012 -
13 answers
Does anyone know the history of mining towns and/or horse ranching in the Rocky Mountains, or where to go to research it?
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posted by trollnystan
on Mar 11, 2012 -
17 answers
I want to draw my friend a "Beware the Ides of March" greeting card. Please help me compose an epic depiction of this event that will fit in a 3" x 5" canvas.
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posted by baniak
on Mar 9, 2012 -
12 answers
I have a research project in mind. It involves the use of statistics. I am a typical humanities grad with no real background in the quantitative social sciences, and need some guidance. What I'm interested in is: tracking, tallying, and correlating some of the everyday events recorded in personal diaries from a particular historical period.
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posted by Sonny Jim
on Mar 9, 2012 -
12 answers
What Would Have Happened if an American President-Elect Had Died *BEFORE* the 20th Amendment Was Ratified?
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posted by Buddy-Rey
on Mar 7, 2012 -
3 answers
Right now, you're a college freshman. In ten years, you want to be a high school history teacher, probably somewhere in the northeast U.S. What path are you going to take to get there?
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posted by amy lecteur
on Mar 7, 2012 -
17 answers
History of ram: How far back would you have to go before 912 GB ram was more than all the ram in the world? A follow up question: is there a graph or something that shows how much ram exists throughout history?
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posted by rebent
on Mar 6, 2012 -
7 answers
I want to learn about major historical events through documentaries (not miniseries). What are your favorites? (I know, broad).
posted by sandmanwv
on Mar 5, 2012 -
22 answers
Does anyone know any details about the real-life event in naval history that Robert Heinlein's
Starman Jones is based on?
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posted by sineala
on Mar 2, 2012 -
1 answer
DC-area-history-filter! I'm about to move back to the US, where I will be either in DC or North Virginia (working in Ashburn, specifically). I like having a sense of the history that contributed to the physical environment around me. Why is this town here, who built what building, why, and what does the allegory in the decoration mean. Things like that. What books, articles, or whatever should I read to understand these qualities about my upcoming home?
posted by Schismatic
on Mar 1, 2012 -
16 answers
Know of any books that look at the effects of technology on the delivery of education?
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posted by drzz
on Mar 1, 2012 -
2 answers
I need recommendations for histories of ancient India, with particular emphasis on the role/influence of the Hellenic states, development of Buddhism, what might have happened to the Indo-Greeks in the longer term, etc.
Also, it would be interesting to read about Alexander's invasion and its aftermath from the Indian viewpoint, i.e, by Indian scholars using Indian sources.
posted by justcorbly
on Mar 1, 2012 -
2 answers
What is going on right now, that in fifty or a hundred years, people will be saying "damn, I wish I was part of that"?
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posted by jayder
on Feb 29, 2012 -
51 answers
I've watched almost all of Terry Jones's history documentaries--what next? What I like about them and what I'm looking for is mainly the humor (enthusiastic but lighthearted, not taking itself too seriously) and the element of looking at things from a different angle. Many of Jones's docs look at the lives of "regular people" in periods of history where most people are familiar with the rich and famous, and others look at civilizations that are overlooked. Sort of the way Mythbusters approaches science, and I'm also a large fan of QI. Recommendations? (I'm looking especially but not exclusively for history.)
posted by sarahkeebs
on Feb 28, 2012 -
14 answers
Help me find resources for elementary age children regarding the modern Native American experience.
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posted by RajahKing
on Feb 27, 2012 -
13 answers
How and when did manicure rituals begin? I understand anyone might want to trim their nails, but I mean the rest of it.
posted by MidSouthern Mouth
on Feb 25, 2012 -
9 answers
If an alien located on a planet 100 light years from here was to switch on a big, multi-frequency radio receiver, and record all the noises coming from outer space for the
next hundred years, on all frequencies, how many soap operas, advertisements and new broadcasts would they pick up from Earth? Would a mass-market radio, similar to our Earthly equivalents, pick up anything? Over time, as the number of Earth transmissions increases exponentially, would the alien pick up a cacophony or a damp fizzle?
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posted by 0bvious
on Feb 23, 2012 -
10 answers
Are there any good novels that use Greek trade in or around the 6th c. BC as a way of exploring ancient cultures? Also, how far did Greeks travel during that time? Did they make into India? To the British Isles?
posted by jwhite1979
on Feb 20, 2012 -
17 answers
What books, blogs, online journals, etc. would be good reads in order to get a behind the scenes, nuts and bolts look at the television industry?
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posted by roosterboy
on Feb 17, 2012 -
7 answers
Recently, I found out that a now deceased family member worked at a 'gay hotel' in Provincetown MA in the 1940's. I'm trying to find out more about what 'gay hotels' were like in Provincetown, and just generally more about gay life in Cape Cod during that time. Can someone point me toward some good resources? I'm particularly interested in the sexual identities of the men who lived and stayed in Provincetown.
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posted by shushufindi
on Feb 17, 2012 -
5 answers
LateImperialRussianHistoryFilter: What penalties under the law might a Russian man or woman in 1890 face for adultery?
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posted by Pallas Athena
on Feb 15, 2012 -
4 answers
To what extent do cultural values affect foreign policy making between U.S. and China?
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posted by espada0
on Feb 14, 2012 -
11 answers
How do I do a better job of teaching Art History in a way that will engage my students and feel meaningful to me (are the two antithetical)?
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posted by segatakai
on Feb 3, 2012 -
26 answers
Reading about the Great Awakening (first or second) and history of American religion?
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posted by j1950
on Feb 3, 2012 -
11 answers
Looking for affordable posters or other decorative artifacts, with a history-of-technology or retro-futuristic theme, for the stairwell and walls of our small elementary/middle school computer lab.
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posted by unregistered_animagus
on Feb 2, 2012 -
5 answers
How common were 200GB hard drives in the mid-1980s? Would institutions like the USGS have had access to them? Would general readers even have understood the term?
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posted by col_pogo
on Feb 1, 2012 -
38 answers
So
this (US union staffer returning to London and looking for a job) was me. Since then I've found a job opening that's absolutely perfect... but I need to fill out a UK style application form, and having spent my whole career in the US, I need some advice.
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posted by crabintheocean
on Jan 31, 2012 -
17 answers
I want to track down the AP US History textbook I had in the 2001-2002 school year because I want to re-read it. How do I figure out what it was?
posted by anthropomorphic
on Jan 25, 2012 -
19 answers
I am trying to read more 'classics' this year and find I am continually running to Wikipedia for background on things the authors assume I should know. What books can I read to round out my general education somewhat and fill in some of these gaps?
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posted by JoannaC
on Jan 24, 2012 -
20 answers
Where can I find me a copy of the 1876 Johnson's New Universal Cyclopaedia? If you're a librarian, please hope me!
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posted by RedEmma
on Jan 24, 2012 -
7 answers
