Interested if anyone's read Hamalainen's The Comanche Empire, in which he argues persuasively (and with a truly formidable armada of sources) that the Comanche were in fact rulers of an empire in the Southern Plains of the US.
As a side note, Russian use of cavalry in WWII was surprisingly effective, arguably far more so than their use of armor. Fast little steppe horses proved to be quite useful to overcome near-crippling deficits in fuel, logistics, and communications, especially in the early days of the war.
I have not though I read Indigenous Continent and greatly enjoyed it. That claim about the Comaches does align with their dominance of the Southwest for an era until the railroad upended everything.
I'm enjoying the first bit of Raiders, Rulers, and Traders.
A book on my to-read pile that might make a good Contraptions read: The Genius of the System: Hollywood Filmmaking in the Studio era. One might worry that it Great Man mythologizes the movie moguls, however my understanding is the book's thesis is that the studios worked well because they were machines. Thesis right there in the title.
Wow that steppe video is awesome! Like literally in the sense of engendering awe. It's given me a lot of FOMO and wanderlust. In college, a friend floated the idea of going to Mongolia for a month one summer. I was too focused on internships and career and silly stuff like that. Ah the paths not taken! Anywho perhaps I will find myself there in the future. I knew a river guide that did trips there. It might be fun to do an expedition there with my daughter when she's older.
Anyway that's a late night off topic ramble. The first book was great and I'm excited for the second. I have a sixteenth baked zany conjecture that the steppe peoples upend civilization every half millennium and with that we're due. Perhaps the horse inspired digital nomads will refactor things some how, some way... Certainly seems as things get crazier and the Byzantine-esque core crumbles that alt options will have the chance to prove themselves.
It takes place in the Zagros Mountains instead of the Steppes, but Grass: A Nation’s Battle for Life, gives stimulating visuals of a nomadic people’s migration.
There are plenty of movies staring great warriors on horseback, there are fewer images of the logistics required to move entire families across infrastructure free terrain.
Interested if anyone's read Hamalainen's The Comanche Empire, in which he argues persuasively (and with a truly formidable armada of sources) that the Comanche were in fact rulers of an empire in the Southern Plains of the US.
As a side note, Russian use of cavalry in WWII was surprisingly effective, arguably far more so than their use of armor. Fast little steppe horses proved to be quite useful to overcome near-crippling deficits in fuel, logistics, and communications, especially in the early days of the war.
I have not though I read Indigenous Continent and greatly enjoyed it. That claim about the Comaches does align with their dominance of the Southwest for an era until the railroad upended everything.
I'm enjoying the first bit of Raiders, Rulers, and Traders.
A book on my to-read pile that might make a good Contraptions read: The Genius of the System: Hollywood Filmmaking in the Studio era. One might worry that it Great Man mythologizes the movie moguls, however my understanding is the book's thesis is that the studios worked well because they were machines. Thesis right there in the title.
Wow that steppe video is awesome! Like literally in the sense of engendering awe. It's given me a lot of FOMO and wanderlust. In college, a friend floated the idea of going to Mongolia for a month one summer. I was too focused on internships and career and silly stuff like that. Ah the paths not taken! Anywho perhaps I will find myself there in the future. I knew a river guide that did trips there. It might be fun to do an expedition there with my daughter when she's older.
Anyway that's a late night off topic ramble. The first book was great and I'm excited for the second. I have a sixteenth baked zany conjecture that the steppe peoples upend civilization every half millennium and with that we're due. Perhaps the horse inspired digital nomads will refactor things some how, some way... Certainly seems as things get crazier and the Byzantine-esque core crumbles that alt options will have the chance to prove themselves.
It takes place in the Zagros Mountains instead of the Steppes, but Grass: A Nation’s Battle for Life, gives stimulating visuals of a nomadic people’s migration.
There are plenty of movies staring great warriors on horseback, there are fewer images of the logistics required to move entire families across infrastructure free terrain.
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=0fVftguHwFc