You have to be careful. I don't like or recommend most cheap laptops. You really do get what you pay for.
My nephew and I both got $500 laptops at the same time, about two years ago. He got an HP, I got a refurbished Dell. His laptop died over a year ago, mine is still chugging along like it it did when it was new.
I got mine from http://www.dellauctions.com You can get a nice laptop with a one year warranty for well under $500. They've been used before, mostly by companies that leased them and returned them after the lease was over, and they were restored and reconditioned by Dell employees. I've bought 2 laptops from this site before, and they last for years.
I cant really gove you an answer,but what I can give you is a way to a solution, that is you have to find the anglde that you relate to or peaks your interest. A good paper is one that people get drawn into because it reaches them ln some way.As for me WW11 to me, I think of the holocaust and the effect it had on the survivors, their families and those who stood by and did nothing until it was too late.