For those of you not familiar with the Thirty Years War (aka, the most interesting war), it took place for 1618-1648 and involved almost all of Europe, though mainly what was Central Europe of the time, or the Holy Roman Empire (not quite Germany, but including lots of what would become Germany). Continue reading
The central arc of the story is about the millennium and the fears / expectation of the second coming of Christ, even though official doctrine (from Augustine) said that it couldn’t be predicated. Continue reading
It was a really quick read and gives short descriptions of different women, throughout the whole life of the bicycle. It’s definitely not an in-depth history, and that is really it’s main fault. I wanted to know so much more than the one or two women every few decades who did something interesting. Continue reading
This felt very much like the companion to Battling the Gods, but rather than talking about non-religious beliefs it is about the crushing wave of Christian thought drowning out pagan beliefs Continue reading
What I appreciated from a historian’s point of view is where he pointed out “we don’t really know” or where there were competing historical interpretations Continue reading
So the full title is Village Atheists: How America’s Unbelievers made their way in a a Godly Nation, and while it’s more academic in scope, it’s still so entirely readable. Continue reading
In short, the book looks at the period of Central Asian history of greatest scientific and other enquiry, taking us on an amazing voyage across a huge breadth of time and geography. Continue reading
It’s not a chronological history, but tells stories about particular fights in the UK to advance the rights of women. I even knew some of the stories as they intersected with my PhD (like Marie Stopes being…eccentric). Continue reading
The central premise rejects the claims that the women were all prostitutes, but more importantly it was to actually give space for their lives to be told. And they are just such heartbreaking stories: domestic abuse, infidelity, alcoholism, bereavement. Continue reading
The Silk Roads by Peter Frankopan was a really fascinating read and I enjoyed so many aspects of the book. Continue reading
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