I was aware of the access in Illinois, but I didn't think that would give the kind of quantity that might allow export as far as, say, modern Nebraska?

Thanks, I'll check those out.

Did the Native Americans in the Great Lakes and Plains regions have access to salt?

If you liked it, check out Children of Ash and Elm by Neil Price. I believe he referenced it in the podcast, and it's one of the best books I've read on the period.

If you're willing to do memoirs, Grant's are fantastic. Same with Caesar's war dispatches. March of the Ten Thousand is also a classic. Arrian's Campaigns of Alexander the Great has what you're looking for.

Unfortunately, I wouldn't call any of those niche topics. By rule, the more famous the commander, campaign or battle, the lesson niche it's probably going to be. I also tend to like the classics, so if you're looking for an overview, someone else probably has better recommendations.

The UK doesn't actually have a written Constitution. Their Constitution is basically precedent. Arguably the entire government is more of a norms/customs thing and has evolved through English History.

If you have an audible account, I can recommend the various Great Courses on English History. An interesting sub theme of all of them is the evolution of the English government based on evolving norms and customs. I'm not aware of any good source that focuses on the topic, but I'm sure something exists, and now I might ask for one on Book Club Wednesday.

Thanks! That matches what I remember, but it's been a long time since I read anything about that front and I didn't want to make a claim I couldn't substantiate.

If the Japanese managed to keep the rest of China in a perpetual civil war, maybe.

If the rest of China managed to consolidate, unlikely.

The scenario is complicated by the fact that the mere presence of the Japanese served as somewhat of a unifying presence. And if I remember correctly, the Chinese at the time actively worked to keep Japan from sitting back and consolidating. I think I recall hearing somewhere that the Nationalists hit the Japanese in Shanghai specifically to overextend them, but if someone can speak to that with more authority I would appreciate it.

The Soviets didn't have the type of Air Force that the Western Powers did. That said, they weren't very shy about hitting cities with artillery, or sacking them the old-fashioned way.

One thing people forget about naval warfare is that the ocean is really big. Technologies like radar only really came into their own during WWII, and a huge part of every admiral's job was actually finding the enemy fleet. It's one of the reasons why the Allies' code breaking advantage was so important.

Furthermore, the U-boat was a strategic weapon that was generally used to raid merchant shipping. If surface vessels could find U-boats, they were generally capable of winning the tactical engagement. Especially because the Western vessels often operated in flotillas that included weapons specifically designed to counter submersibles.

Edit: spelling.