AskHistorians
1–20 of 44 results
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Introduction to Folklore: Traditional Studies in Europe and Elsewhere
4031I often see in fantasy a person being “x moons old” or “x summers old”. Has this ever been the case in real life? When did it become standard to refer to someone as “x years old”?
Folklore! The very word captures the imagination and sends the mind on flights of fancy. Dragons, ogres, witches, elves, and heroes and heroines, all featured in legend and folktales, known to anyone who had a story read to them as a child or who saw a film adapted from these tales. And yet, oral traditions and the beliefs they reflect, as well as the customs and magical practices of pre-industrial Europe, are poorly understood by many because this is the realm of the folk, removed from the w… more about book… -
State of War: The Violent Order of Fourteenth-Century Japan (Michigan Monograph Series in Japanes…
3527In the movie Seven Samurai, a character accuses the samurai (all of them, as a caste of society) of destroying villages, raping women, and stealing from poor farmers. Samurai are usually portrayed as lawful — is there any legitimacy to this accusation?
Book by Conlan, Thomas Donald more about book… -
Virginia City: Secrets of a Western Past (Historical Archaeology of the American West)
2268
Spent cartridges. The pieces of an original Tabasco Pepper Sauce bottle. Shards of a ceramic pot, stained red. For archaeologists each of the thousands of artifacts uncovered at a site tells a story. For noted Comstock authority Ronald M. James, it is a story resulting from decades of research and excavation at one of the largest National Historic Landmarks in America, the Nevada town that, with the discovery of the Comstock Lode, became a boomtown microcosm of the American West.Drawing on th… more about book… -
Stalin in Power: The Revolution from Above, 1928-1941
2224How critical was the capture of Moscow during WWII? Were the Germans really 1 mile away from essentially destroying the Soviet Union?
This book forms the second volume of Tucker’s biography of Stalin, the first volume of which, “Stalin as Revolutionary”, was recently reissued by Norton in the United Kingdom. Robert Tucker shows that Stalin was a Bolshevik of the radical right whose revolution cast the country deep into its imperial, autocratic past. In 1929 Stalin plunged Soviet Russia into a coercive “revolution from above”, a decade long effort to amass military-industrial power for a new war. He forced 25 million peasant… more about book… -
The Rescue Artist: A True Story of Art, Thieves, and the Hunt for a Missing Masterpiece
2200When thieves steal a painting by cutting it out of the frame, what does the gallery do with the bit of painting that remains with the frame?
In the predawn hours of a gloomy February day in 1994, two thieves entered the National Gallery in Oslo and made off with one of the world’s most famous paintings, Edvard Munch’s Scream. It was a brazen crime committed while the whole world was watching the opening ceremonies of the Winter Olympics in Lillehammer. Baffled and humiliated, the Norwegian police turned to the one man they believed could help: a half English, half American undercover cop named Charley Hill, the world’s greatest ar… more about book… -
Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee: An Indian History of the American West
1697Many Russian historians do not except the widespread rape of German women by the Red army, despite western consensus . Many Turkish historians do not accept the Armenian genocide happened, despite western consensus. What events do western historians not accept – despite non-western consensus?
Immediately recognized as a revelatory and enormously controversial book since its first publication in 1971, Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee is universally recognized as one of those rare books that forever changes the way its subject is perceived. Now repackaged with a new introduction from bestselling author Hampton Sides to coincide with a major HBO dramatic film of the book, Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee.Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee is Dee Brown’s classic, eloquent, meticulously documente… more about book… -
The New Tsar: The Rise and Reign of Vladimir Putin
1634Vladimir Putin served in the KGB until 1991. Do we know of any operations or activities he was involved in, and their effects?
“A riveting, immensely detailed biography of Putin that explains in full-bodied, almost Shakespearian fashion why he acts the way he does.” –Robert D. Kaplan The New Tsar is the book to read if you want to understand how Vladimir Putin sees the world and why he has become one of the gravest threats to American security.The epic tale of the rise to power of Russia’s current president—the only complete biography in English – that fully captures his emergence from shrouded obscurity and depriv… more about book… -
Tipping: An American Social History of Gratuities
1604When did the “tipping culture” in the US originate? Was there ever “mandatory” tipping prior to that in other countries?
Though the history of tipping can be traced to the Middle Ages, the practice did not become widespread until the late 19th century. Initially, Americans reviled the custom, branding it un-American and undemocratic. The opposition gradually faded and tipping became an American institution. From its beginnings in Europe to its development as a quintessentially American trait, this work provides a social history of tipping customs and how the United States became a nation of tippers. more about book… -
Murder Rap: The Untold Story of the Biggie Smalls & Tupac Shakur Murder Investigations by the Det…
1545Twenty years ago today, Tupac Shakur was shot and fatally wounded. At the time, it was implicated that the Notorious B.I.G. was involved in his death. What evidence do we have now? Was Biggie to blame?
Two of the most notorious unsolved cases in the annals of American crime, the murders of Tupac Shakur and Biggie Smalls have been the subject of exhaustive investigations, relentless speculation and a tangled web of rampant rumors, crackpot conspiracies and dark secrets. Now, for the first time, the truth behind these sensational cases is laid bare in Murder Rap, a raw and riveting account of how a dedicated and driven police detective spearheaded the task force that finally exposed the shock… more about book… -
Genghis Khan and the Making of the Modern World
1345Most misrepresented figures in human history?
The Mongol army led by Genghis Khan subjugated more lands and people in twenty-five years than the Romans did in four hundred. In nearly every country the Mongols conquered, they brought an unprecedented rise in cultural communication, expanded trade, and a blossoming of civilization. Vastly more progressive than his European or Asian counterparts, Genghis Khan abolished torture, granted universal religious freedom, and smashed feudal systems of aristocratic privilege. From the story of his r… more about book… -
Language of the Third Reich: LTI: Lingua Tertii Imperii
1303What happened to the children of the Hitler Youth? How did the Nazi influence on their childhood affect them post-1945 and how have they responded to the Holocaust and the Nazis in adulthood?
Victor Klemperer (18811960) was Professor of French Literature at Dresden University. As a Jew, he was removed from his university post in 1935, only surviving thanks to his marriage to an Aryan. First published in 1957, The Language of the Third Reich arose from Klemperer’s conviction that the language of the Third Reich helped to create its culture. As Klemperer writes: ‘It isn’t only Nazi actions that have to vanish, but also the Nazi cast of mind, the typical Nazi way of thinking, and it… more about book… -
Mig Pilot: The Final Escape of Lt. Belenko
1119An amazed Boris Yeltsin doing his unscheduled visit to a Randall’s supermarket in Houston, Texas, 1990. [1024 × 639]
I was so blown away by this book I had to meet Viktor in person and now count him as a personal friend. The book is factual in every respect and is difficult to put down once started. John Barron is an excellent author and did a first class job of writing Viktor’s story. In addition to an exciting escape story it reveals why the Soviet Union had to collapse of its own ineptitude, deceit, and corruption. It details humorous incidents such as army pilots’ mess-hall riots due to bad food. Mig Pi… more about book… -
Cold War Civil Rights: Race and the Image of American Democracy (Politics and Society in Modern A…
1060We’ve all heard about how the CIA meddles in foreign countries’ politics, but let’s flip that around. How have foreign intelligence agencies influenced US politics?
In 1958, an African-American handyman named Jimmy Wilson was sentenced to die in Alabama for stealing two dollars. Shocking as this sentence was, it was overturned only after intense international attention and the interference of an embarrassed John Foster Dulles. Soon after the United States’ segregated military defeated a racist regime in World War II, American racism was a major concern of U.S. allies, a chief Soviet propaganda theme, and an obstacle to American Cold War goals throughout … more about book… -
Pompeii: A Sourcebook (Routledge Sourcebooks for the Ancient World)
1034What was the Roman Empire’s reaction to the destruction of Pompeii?
This book presents translations of a wide selection of written records which survived the eruption of Mount Vesuvius in AD 79, giving a vivid impression of what life was like in the town. From the labels on wine jars to scribbled insults, and from advertisements for gladiatorial contests to love poetry, the individual chapters explore the early history of Pompeii, its destruction, leisure pursuits, politics, commerce and religion, plus early reports of its excavation. Information about the c… more about book… -
Little X: Growing Up In The Nation Of Islam
1005Islam and African American identity were highly intertwined in the 1960-80’s, especially radical activist culture. Today, Islam seems to play little role black activism. Did Islam decline in black culture, and if so, why?
In Little X, Sonsyrea Tate reveals, through the acute vision and engaging voice of a curious child, the practices and policies of the mysterious organization most know only through media portrayals of its controversial leaders Elijah Muhammad, Malcolm X, and Louis Farrakhan. First published in 1997, Little X chronicles the multigenerational experience of Tate’s family, who broke from the traditional black church in the 1950s to join the radical Nation of Islam, then struggled to remai… more about book… -
1491: New Revelations of the Americas Before Columbus
986
In this groundbreaking work of science, history, and archaeology, Charles C. Mann radically alters our understanding of the Americas before the arrival of Columbus in 1492. Contrary to what so many Americans learn in school, the pre-Columbian Indians were not sparsely settled in a pristine wilderness; rather, there were huge numbers of Indians who actively molded and influenced the land around them. The astonishing Aztec capital of Tenochtitlan had running water and immaculately clean streets… more about book… -
The War Behind Me: Vietnam Veterans Confront the Truth about U.S. War Crimes
978In Stanley Kubrick’s “Full Metal Jacket”, an American soldier indiscriminately guns down Vietnamese civilians from the helicopter. Did this kind of blatant killing of civilians happen in the war? Was this scene accurate?
In 2005, Deborah Nelson joined forces with military historian Nick Turse to investigate an extraordinary archive: the largest compilation of records on Vietnam-era war crimes ever to surface. The declassified Army papers were erroneously released and have since been pulled from public circulation. Few civilians have seen the documents.The files contain reports of more than 300 confirmed atrocities, and 500 other cases the Army either couldn’t prove or didn’t investigate. The archive has lette… more about book… -
The Cleanest Race: How North Koreans See Themselves and Why It Matters
970How come Vietnam didn’t become more like North Korea is now?
Understanding North Korea through its propaganda: A newly revised and updated edition that includes a consideration of Kim Jung Il’s successor, Kim Jong-Un What do the North Koreans really believe? How do they see themselves and the world around them? Here B.R. Myers, a North Korea analyst and a contributing editor of The Atlantic, presents the first full-length study of the North Korean worldview. Drawing on extensive research into the regime’s domestic propaganda, including films, rom… more about book… -
Q
965Friday Free-for-All | June 27, 2014
In 1517, Martin Luther nails his ninety-five theses to the door of Wittenburg Cathedral, and a dance of death begins between a radical Anabaptist with many names and a loyal papal spy known mysteriously as “Q.” In this brilliantly conceived literary thriller set in the chaos of the Reformation-an age devastated by wars of religion-a young theology student adopts the cause of heretics and the disinherited and finds himself pursued by a relentless papal informer and heretic hunter. What begins … more about book… -
Ladies and Gentlemen, the Bronx Is Burning: 1977, Baseball, Politics, and the Battle for the Soul…
945Was New York of the 1970s the shithole movies make it out to be?
A passionate and dramatic account of a year in the life of a city, when baseball and crime reigned supreme, and when several remarkable figures emerged to steer New York clear of one of its most harrowing periods.By early 1977, the metropolis was in the grip of hysteria caused by a murderer dubbed “Son of Sam.” And on a sweltering night in July, a citywide power outage touched off an orgy of looting and arson that led to the largest mass arrest in New York’s history. As the turbulent year wor… more about book…