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PaperclipPerfector  11mo ago (text post)   3318 thread views

Small-Scale Question Sunday for December 17, 2023

Do you have a dumb question that you're kind of embarrassed to ask in the main thread? Is there something you're just not sure about?

This is your opportunity to ask questions. No question too simple or too silly.

Culture war topics are accepted, and proposals for a better intro post are appreciated.

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I'm in the middle of From Third World to First on my tablet, still plugging away at The Dawn of Everything on my bedside table, and listening to The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich. Overall, I guess it cashes out to a 3 credit college course on authoritarianism. All three are fantastic, well written, insightful works.

I enjoyed Rise and Fall, but also found it a bit…un-journalistic. If you have the chance, I really recommend Ian Kershaws one-volume Hitler Biography. I still maintain that is the best biography I’ve ever read. It focuses not just on Hitlers life, but the world context that allowed him to gain power. The parts on 1920s Germany and the power, influence, and independence of the German generals is particularly interesting.

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