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  • Ilse Koch: The Skin Harvester of Buchenwald December 21, 2015

    Author: Beach Combing | in : Contemporary
    Ilse Koch: The Skin Harvester of Buchenwald

    Ilse Koch, ‘the bitch of Buchenwald’, seems to have been an unpleasant human being. She was a sadist, and she was, as a matter of record, – something almost as serious in the 1940s and 1950s when her reputation was made – ‘promiscuous’: she had opportunities to sate both desires as the wife of the […]

    New History Books: The Spies of Lanikai December 20, 2015

    Author: Beach Combing | in : New History Books
    New History Books: The Spies of Lanikai

    Donald Crandell, The Spies of Lanikai This book covers the question of pre 11 Dec spying for Pearl Harbor. Always been curious about this. Read a couple of bad chapters elsewhere… Hope this fills the gap.

    ‘God, I Hate That Field’ December 20, 2015

    Author: Beach Combing | in : Medieval, Modern
    ‘God, I Hate That Field’

    You are a modest farmer in one of the English shires and you have twenty fields to your name. Note that these fields are not the ‘quarters’ of the North American prairies, from Manitoba to Iowa. These are the irregularly shaped bits (often very small bits) of arable land begged from the landscape and from […]

    New History Books: Mummies, Cannibals and Vampires December 19, 2015

    Author: Beach Combing | in : New History Books
    New History Books: Mummies, Cannibals and Vampires

    This is the book I’m most excited by this month. Richard Sugg (who was planning a book on poltergeists?) Mummies, Cannibals and Vampires  

    Pre Dating Naked Emma in the Pool December 19, 2015

    Author: Beach Combing | in : Modern
    Pre Dating Naked Emma in the Pool

    This description from Judge, Some West Surrey Villages, 34, introduces us to the ghost of the Silent Pool at Albury near Guildford (Surrey, Southern England) and also some of the problem associated with it. When we quit Albury Park and the old church, we are within a few yards of the Silent Pool, which is said […]

    Daily History Picture: Tea Drinking Brit Soldier December 18, 2015

    Author: Beach Combing | in : Historical Pictures
    Daily History Picture: Tea Drinking Brit Soldier

    British soldier fighting south in Burma

    Morris Dancers from Hell December 18, 2015

    Author: Beach Combing | in : Contemporary, Modern
    Morris Dancers from Hell

    Imagine that you have a problem in your west African village. A witch is believed to be among you, or worse still someone has been indulging in cannibalism. How do you deal with such miscreants: there is no police force with the resources, and the local chief is at the end of his tether. Well, […]

    Daily History Picture: Squirrel Love December 17, 2015

    Author: Beach Combing | in : Historical Pictures
    Daily History Picture: Squirrel Love

    Marvellous illuminated squirrels…

    Daily History Picture: Time Square December 16, 2015

    Author: Beach Combing | in : Historical Pictures
    Daily History Picture: Time Square

    Time Square with wires….

    Review: Atlas of Countries that Don’t Exist December 16, 2015

    Author: Beach Combing | in : Contemporary, Modern
    Review: Atlas of Countries that Don't Exist

    ***Thanks to Ricardo for sending this one in*** One of the most heart-breaking aspects of the rise of ISIL/ISIS/DAESH is the way the Daeshites have butchered their way through the brilliantly coloured mosaic of ethnic, linguistic and, of course, religious tiles, in northern Iraq. In twenty years when the Caliphate has been consigned to the […]

    Daily History Picture: The Phallus Tree December 15, 2015

    Author: Beach Combing | in : Historical Pictures
    Daily History Picture: The Phallus Tree

    Interesting folklore here… A phallus nest or a phallus tree? Usually connected with witchcraft not nuns…

    Black Rock Knocking Ghost December 15, 2015

    Author: Beach Combing | in : Modern
    Black Rock Knocking Ghost

    Lots of ghosts knock, but this one was monotonous in technique and timetable. We are in Black Rock just outside Dublin. During the last four or five weeks, the residents in Blackrock have been kept state of excitement the constant nocturnal visitations of a rival of the ancient spectral denizen of Cock Lane. The place […]

    Daily History Picture: Waiting in the Trenches December 14, 2015

    Author: Beach Combing | in : Historical Pictures
    Daily History Picture: Waiting in the Trenches

    Aussies at Gallipoli

    History, Ignorance and American University Students December 14, 2015

    Author: Beach Combing | in : Actualite
    History, Ignorance and American University Students

    How well do American and European secondary schools train children in history? Beach is a world-weary type and so is rarely surprised by just how badly his students do: but he does sometimes find himself wondering whether we couldn’t do better. Here is a nice example of the low levels of general knowledge among university […]

    New History Books: In Search of Japanese Christians December 13, 2015

    Author: Beach Combing | in : New History Books
    New History Books: In Search of Japanese Christians

    Ok a re-release but I somehow missed this… John Dougill, In Search of Japan’s Hidden Christians