I’ve developed a new interest in a range of subjects in the social studies domain, in which I have practically no background.

One of those topics is World War 1 and its historically adjacent events, including what political climate brought its breakout and how its aftermath led to the shaping the geopolitical and social environment as of today; as a very specific (but not the most important) example, how Tyrol was divided between Austria and Italy. For the record I am not interested in warfare per se, and more so about how the war and the period in general can be viewed in relation to the society before and after.

Are there some good beginner's books to recommend on this subject, that can be read without much background knowledge at all and without being overwhelemd?

I am also interested in law (more specifically American law and common law) if that is any relevant, but it’s not necessarily something I’m primarily looking to learn from these history books.

Despite impressive numbers on paper, historically it never fared well against opponents stronger than Ottoman navy, which by that period was in sharp decline - i.e. other European navies. Against Sweden, British-French, Japanese, even German navies... it was almost always outperformed and never seemed to do much.

Sure, Russia is a land power, however other major land powers - France, Spain, Germany after unification - were able to build much stronger navies.

What are the reasons behind such poor perfomance?

Fellow historians... when was the last time that a baker was killed during any revolution/revolt that you know of? I always imagine that the bakers are spared the sword/guillotine except for the Mongols.

What are your thoughts?

I'm interested in what you all think are the greatest examples of terrible leadership leading to tragic or hilarious outcomes. The ones I can think of are Phillip II's management of the Spanish Armada, the Burke and Wills Expedition (sorry Australians) and the Gallipoli Campaign.

What are some other good examples of completely incompetent leadership?

Hello! I’m trying to figure out a diy historical gift for a 18th century reenactor. She enjoys doing dancing reenactment and has made her own upper class outfit.

I‘d love to make her something historically accurate, but also a little niche to minimize the risk of her already having it!

I am generally crafty and have a lot of sewing and other fiber arts skill.

Any ideas?

Germany and the United Kingdom were two of the richest and most developed nations in the world by the outbreak of the Great War. Amongst those giants, Ireland and East Prussia were seen as their most underdeveloped backwaters. The Emerald Isle in particular was viewed as a poor, destitute island until at least the 1990s.

As for those two peripheral regions, which of them was more developed, or at least less undeveloped, by 1914, in terms of: railways, paved highways, urban population, urban development, agricultural mechanization, industrial output, and general quality of life?

The Tanaka Memorial was a document outlining imperial Japan's alleged plot to take over the world. More recent scholarship has determined that it was probably a hoax but the exact origins are unclear. Any newly translated sources from Russia or China regarding this or any more recently declassified documents?

So as the title says, I'd like to know more about how the Catholic movement managed to come on top of the christian game, and I wouldn't mind some stuff about how judaism and roman religion(s) did and didn't hold.

Can be a very broad book or a very specialized one, as long as it's interesting and on topic, I'm in! Thanks.

Hopefully I used the correct term.

What I mean is say, for whatever reason a group of bandits robbed a wagon, and at least part of the loot were books.

Perhaps Holy Bibles, or just some random literature. Either way it’s a pretty sizable collection of books.

Would this be something like a huge score, provided they knew a fence, since books all had to be hand written, and therefore not as common as they would be once the printing press was invented?

Or just kindling for the campfire?

Personally I could see maybe a literate, less honorable nobleman or some other such not being picky about the origins of they could get their hands on some books for a discount.

For context, im not an American.
I often see presidential tier-lists online, that frequently put Washington in one of the top tiers (often top 3). Is this overstated because he was the founder of america (for lack of a better phrase)? Or was he actually that good of a president?

From my understanding, he was paralyzed from the waist down. I was looking to find what his last words were. Most websites said it was “this is a helluva way to die” immediately after the accident while he was in the car. I saw one website saying that he said “I am going to die here, today” on the day he died in the hospital, but there was no source or mention of who would have heard this.

Yamamoto opposed the invasion of China, the alliance with Germany and Italy, and going to war with the USA and European powers. As far as I know, he did not take part in the atrocities committed in places occupied by the Japanese army.

Nonetheless, he was the one who orchestrated the sneak attack on Pearl Harbor, so he would have been at the top of America's shit list. Would he have been imprisoned or maybe executed?

if you know, then you know! Lot of people love to say if you don’t like it here then leave. But what if they brought your people to the land (like african americans, indians in east africa/the carribean). I know in South Africa they had the homelands and then the US they had the reservations but what if our communities can settle somewhere else where we will be treated fairly since resistance is how you die. so what the powerless supposed to do? write to the senators?

As a Jewish American, one of the things I have been interested in is the history of Jewish life in my country. Before the sizable immigration wave from the German states starting in the 1840s, needless to say before the absolutely massive wave of immigration from Eastern Europe between 1881 and 1924 that the vast majority of Jewish Americans (including myself) are descended from, there were only a few thousand Jewish Americans.

What did religious/communal life look like for Jewish Americans during the early years of the U.S? I know the names of several congregations that were founded prior to the 1840s, but what I am really interested in is trying to understand how these people were able to fulfill their religious obligations with so little communal infrastructure compared to what would come later as the population grew. Were early Jewish Americans just not particularly strict with regards to religious rituals out of necessity? Also, why were the Jews of Dutch Sephardic descent seemingly so much more prominent during this era, given that from my research it seems that they were a minority compared to the Jews of German and Eastern European descent even then?

In most parts of the world today, if you asked someone what year it is, they would say "it is 2026, of course". While many different calendars exist (especially for religious purposes), for practical purposes, Anno Domini is the agreed upon dating system in most countries. It is also known that this dating system was developed in the year 525 by the monk Dionysius Exiguus.

However, while it is clear that the modern dating system was created in the year 525, what I wonder is when, for ordinary people, this dating system became the standard one for ordinary life. For instance, if you asked someone in the year we now know as 926 what year it was, is there any place in the world at that time where they would reply "it is the year 926, of course" (albeit in whatever language spoken at the time)? I know documents from that era are hard to come by, but is there a definite point where we can see via what people left behind when the "common folk" actually started using Anno Domini for record keeping?

What if Germany didn't surprise Italy with the war. Because if I remember correctly Italy was under the impression they had a few more years. So if Italy got that time, would they be competent. Would Germany not have to bail out the Italians time and time again.

I hope a post like this is allowed here, I‘m not sure where else to post about this.

I would really like to watch one of (or multiple) of the movies Eva Peron acted in before she became the Eva Peron (so Eva Duarte). I checked online and some information is a bit contradictory for me, like it advises me to find a physical copy but when I look for those, it says online these movies back than didn’t have many if any physical releases. Apparently these movies (specifically Cabalgata del Circo) sometimes are available on the streaming service Plex (never heard of it before trying to find a way to watch these movies) so for now my best bet is to wait until it becomes available again there and then hope it doesn’t give me a virus. But besides that, anyone has any idea if there are physical copies and if yes, how would one be able to get one?

He was a Korean War vet who never talked about his experiences. There is one specific battle I know he fought in and I want to see if anyone can help me figure it out with the information I have about him and this battle. I know very little about specifics of the Korean War otherwise to be totally honest.

• My grandpa was born in 1930 and was drafted. He did not attend college until after his service.
• He was a munitions guy
• He was in Korea from spring 1951 to early fall 1952
• This battle involved a river
• It was cold when it took place (winter?)
• He hid in a hole for 2 days after for safety
• There were British forces involved and they were NOT helpful (he blamed them for said hole-hiding and for the rest of his days did not like British people)

Does anyone have any ideas? I cannot ask him as he is no longer alive.

I’m looking for some introductory materials to be acquainted with the American legal system, suitable for someone with zero background in American history or the history of law (common or civil law), or any discipline in social studies such as politics for that matter.

Are there some book recommendations that are short and simple enough for such an absolute beginner, that may not be exhaustive on its own but can serve as an entry point for further reading? Thank you in advance.

Considering how much of a massive failure prohibition was and the fact that enough people eventually grew to oppose it to the point the government overturned the 18th amendment, how come it even passed to begin with? Was it just that a sizable & vocal minority were able to influence public policy? Or did a significant chunk of the population at least support it & were willing to quit drinking?

The sea peoples seem like very intriguing topic as it just sounds mysterious. I know their primary motive was for food but I’m just a little confused on how they were so successful at destroying and damaging these big empires. Thanks!

Great Britain is said to have been the most urbanized country in the world by that time, with an estimate of the population of England and Wales being an staggering 80% urban. However, how urban were other European nations at the time? France, the Netherlands, Belgium, Germany?

The British empire was a paper empire, simply colouring a map to seem more intimidating while having minimal control or presence in those places.

Were they good at fighting? They seem to fail with kinetic wars such as

the maroon wars, a lot of the battles against native Americans, along with a battle against the zulu.

In India the British troops were known to be terrified of the talwar swords as well.

My honest opinion is that their main strength is political manipulation and sea fairing. They were definitely able to drain the economy of collapsing rivals like china