The Friday Digest brings you the best of the week's history news gathered from the experts:
* November 22 marks the fiftieth anniversary of the assassination of John Fitzgerald Kennedy, the thirty-fifth President of the United States, an event which remains one of the defining moments of the twentieth century. Dallas Morning News reporter Hugh Aynesworth inadvertently became an eyewitness to one of the biggest turning points in history and he shares his account of the event with History Extra.
* ABC Fact Check have shared 10 unusual facts about the JFK assassination whilst History Extra have been asking where you were fifty years ago when you heard that JFK had been assassinated.
* History News Network ask would we still have had 'the sixties' if Kennedy had lived?
* History Press author Tony Le Tissier featured on BBC's Panorama last night, sharing his memories of the NI conflict.
* Meet Sarah Chrisman, a woman who, for the last four years, has been living a Victorian-era life. She has had mixed reviews regarding her lifestyle choice, especially regarding the wearing of a corset, but Sarah loves it declaring that ‘A corset is liberating!’
* This map by Sebastian Munster, published in 1540, was the first to show America as a continent.
* Writing about topics you are unfamiliar with can lead to confusion and in many cases errors. J.D. Davies' article outlines some of his frustrations with recent reporting and 'The Journalist’s Guide To Writing About The Royal Navy' is a good starting point for anyone interested in writing about naval matters.
* Archaeologists in Turkey have found the guardians of the 'Gate to Hell' - two unique marble statues which once warned of a deadly cave in the ancient Phrygian city of Hierapolis, near Pamukkale. One statue depicts a snake rolled onto itself, a clear symbol of the underworld. The other shows Kerberos, or Cerberus, the three-headed watchdog of hell in Greek mythology
* A rare Jewish manuscript, created for the Oppenheimer banking dynasty, that was found in a garage is expected to fetch £500,000 when it goes to auction.
* Author Peter James claims that if Shakespeare were alive today, he would be a crime fiction writer. Do you agree?
* The intriguing story of the Countess Margaret of Henneberg and her 365 children...
* The 19 November marked the 150th anniversary of the 'Gettysburg Address'. Out of the five copies of the address in Abraham Lincoln's handwriting (all a little different), this version named after Col. Alexander Bliss, has been the most reproduced in the 150 years since Lincoln signed and dated it, according to abrahamlincolnonline.org.
* The Telegraph shares 10 great meals in literature but which ones have they missed off the list?
* Tributes have been paid to the 'astonishing' work of Mavis Batey, a Bletchley Park codebreaker who has died, aged 92.
* Grace Jones, the last Briton born in the 1800s, has died at the age of 113.
* 'Histagrams' Tumblr imagines history as told through Instagram - the Trojan horse one is probably my favourite, but which is yours?
* A painting depicting Richard III at the battle of Bosworth has been brought out of hiding and is on display in Leicester. This is the first time the painting has been on view to the public in many years.
* The original Poohsticks drawing from E.H. Shepard is to be sold later this year. The 220mm by 141mm sketch (9in by 5in), entitled For A Long Time They Looked At The River Beneath Them... is expected to fetch more than £50,000 when it is sold on 10 December.
* Poohsticks may not be a dangerous game (unless you lose your balance and fall into the water) but these toys and games that killed in Tudor England certainly are!
* What your favourite 'Harry Potter' character says about you.
* I was lucky enough to attend the Futurebook conference in London yesterday (you can see the highlights of the day by following #fbook13 on Twitter) and as you would expect, there was a lot of talk about the changing nature of publishing and the 'big ideas' and changes that publishers need to make to survive. After reading back over my notes, this piece on the success of Italy's Masterpiece TV Competition for Writers seemed particularly apt, as did this post on combining the television and publishing mindset.
Where do you think publishing has to go next?
* Leena's posts on what readers want from book-centric media are great, definitely go and have a read (Part 1 and Part 2)
* British Nobel Prize-winning author Doris Lessing died aged 94 this week. This article from the Spectator blog pays homage to her genius.
* The 'big issue' of publishing salaries: survey finds entry-level jobs are the worst
* The Guardian First Book Prize Shortlist has just been announced this week, with women dominating the selection.
* Spectator writers pick their books of the year, and they have some really brilliant choices- keep an eye out for a 'splendidly vivid' book from the History Press too!
* Publishing Perspectives asks, what is the key to solving the 'book discoverability problem'?
Which history and publishing stories have you enjoyed reading this week?