European history: medieval period, middle ages Books

Book SynopsisJohannes Kepler (1571-1630) was one of the most admired astronomers who ever lived and a key figure in the scientific revolution. A defender of Copernicus s sun-centred universe, he famously discovered that planets move in ellipses, and defined the three laws of planetary motion. Perhaps less well known is that in 1615, when Kepler was at the height of his career, his widowed mother Katharina was accused of witchcraft. The proceedings led to a criminal trial that lasted six years, with Kepler conducting his mother''s defence. In The Astronomer and the Witch, Ulinka Rublack pieces together the tale of this extraordinary episode in Kepler''s life, one which takes us to the heart of his changing world. First and foremost an intense family drama, the story brings to life the world of a small Lutheran community in the centre of Europe at a time of deep religious and political turmoil - a century after the Reformation, and on the threshold of the Thirty Years'' War.Kepler''s defence of his mother also offers us a fascinating glimpse into the great astronomer''s world view, on the cusp between Reformation and scientific revolution. While advancing rational explanations for the phenomena which his mother''s accusers attributed to witchcraft, Kepler nevertheless did not call into question the existence of magic and witches. On the contrary, he clearly believed in them. And, as the story unfolds, it appears that there were moments when even Katharina''s children wondered whether their mother really did have nothing to hide...Trade ReviewCompelling. * Hannah Murphy, Isis Review *Ulinka Rublack shows wonderful sensitivity about mothers, old age, and female struggles, as she unpicks the trial of Johannes Kepler's mother for witchcraft. * Marina Warner, Book of the Year 2015, Observer *An enthralling book. * Jennifer Rampling, Nature *Excellent ... meticulously researched and wonderfully readable. * John Banville, Literary Review *Ulinka Rublack's book about Katharina Kepler, and her sons extraordinary defence of her, is fine-grained microhistory, but it's also revealing of the larger ideas that framed their world ... Superstition and science, rather than being successive stages in the ascent of reason, co-existed so closely and dynamically that the definition of neither is reliable. The Astronomer and the Witch illustrates this complexity, and its transitions, with agility and sensitivity. * Malcolm Gaskill, London Review of Books *[an] important new book ... [which] offers an extended meditation on family relationships, and in particular that indelible but intangible bond between a mother and her son. * Jan Machielsen, Times Literary Supplement *[A] superb study ... The author wanted her book to provide a "better understanding of individuals, but also of families, a community, and an age". It succeeds triumphantly. * Jonathan Wright, Catholic Herald *Rublack tells [this] story with a novelist's panache. Even if you know what happened, it's a compelling book. She sketches the vivid details that make the time, place and characters come to life ... The Tale of the Witch and the Mathematician - unmissable. * Mark Greener, Fortean Times *In 1615, an illiterate widow is accused of witchcraft in a German town. Her son, the famous astronomer Johannes Kepler, conducts her defence in a trial that drags on for six years. In this enthralling book, Ulinka Rublack reconstructs the struggle over Katharina Kepler's fate. We enter a small-town world of rivalries, friendships, deference, power and vulnerability, a world in which religious faith, scientific knowledge and folk belief are dangerously intertwined. Vividly drawn and subtly observed, The Astronomer and the Witch opens a window onto the inner life of a past that is strange and remote, but also unsettlingly familiar. * Christopher Clark *Table of ContentsTIMELINE OF JOHANNES KEPLER'S LIFE, 1571-1620; NOTE ON DATES; LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS; LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS; MAPS; PROLOGUE; NOTES; FURTHER READING AND VIEWING; ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS; INDEX

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Book SynopsisThe Enlightenment that Failed explores the growing rift between those Enlightenment trends and initiatives that appealed exclusively to elites and those aspiring to enlighten all of society by raising mankind''s awareness, freedoms, and educational level generally. Jonathan I. Israel explains why the democratic and radical secularizing tendency of the Western Enlightenment, after gaining some notable successes during the revolutionary era (1775-1820) in numerous countries, especially in Europe, North America, and Spanish America, ultimately failed. He argues that a populist, Robespierriste tendency, sharply at odds with democratic values and freedom of expression, gained an ideological advantage in France, and that the negative reaction this generally provoked caused a more general anti-Enlightenment reaction, a surging anti-intellectualism combined with forms of religious revival that largely undermined the longings of the deprived, underprivileged, and disadvantaged, and ended by helping, albeit often unwittingly, conservative anti-Enlightenment ideologies to dominate the scene. The Enlightenment that Failed relates both the American and the French revolutions to the Enlightenment in a markedly different fashion from how this is usually done, showing how both great revolutions were fundamentally split between bitterly opposed and utterly incompatible ideological tendencies. Radical Enlightenment, which had been an effective ideological challenge to the prevailing monarchical-aristocratic status quo, was weakened, then almost entirely derailed and displaced from the Western consciousness, in the 1830s and 1840s by the rise of Marxism and other forms of socialism.Trade Review...brilliant... * Stewart J. Brown, Intellectual History Review *It is a credit to Israel's scholarship that the book is far broader than polemics ... he prose is precise throughout, and Israel's commitment to intellectual history -- his conviction that ideas are primary movers of history -- is compelling * Luke Nicastro, The University Bookman *Table of Contents1: Introduction: Radical Enlightenment and 'Modernity' Part I: The Origins of Democratic Modernity 2: The Rise of Democratic Republicanism 3: From Radical Renaissance to Radical Enlightenment 4: From Radical Reformation to the Cercle Spinoziste 5: English 'Deism' and its pre-1700 Roots 6: Great 'Moderates' and the Temptations of the Radical: Montesquieu and the Forbidden 7: D'Holbach against Voltaire and Rousseau: a triangular battle of Political Thought Systems 8: Revolution without Violence: The Nordic Model Part II: Human Rights and Revolution (1770-1830) 9: Parallel Revolutions: America and France (1774-1793) 10: General Will' and The Invention of Universal and Equal Human Rights (1750-1789) 11: Emancipating Women: Marriage, Equality, and Female Citizenship (1775-1815) 12: From Classical Economics to post-Classical redistributive Economics (1775-1820) 13: Reforming Europe's Law Codes 14: Unity of Humanity: Race Theory and the Equality of Peoples 15: Unity of Humanity: Property, Class, and the Emancipation of Man Part III: Revolution and Competing Revolutionary Ideologies (1789-1830) 16: Robespierre anti-philosophe, Or, the Battle of Ideologies during the French Revolution 17: The Swiss Revolution and the Hard Climb to Democratic Republicanism (1782-1848) 18: The Belgian Revolution (1787-1794) 19: Enlightening against Robespierre (and Napoleon): the Écoles centrales (1792-1804) 20: Revolution and the Universities: Germany's 'Philosophy Wars' (1780-1820) 21: Radicalism and Repression in the Anglo-American World (1775-1815) 22: The American Connection 23: The Spanish Revolution (1808-1823) 24: Black Emancipation, Universal Emancipation and the Haïtian Revolution (1775-1825) Part IV: The Enlightenment that Failed 25: Reaction and Radicalism: Germany and the Low Countries (1814-1830) 26: British Philosophical Radicalism (1814-1830) 27: Failed Restoration in France (1814-1830) 28: Bolívar and Spinoza 29: Karl Marx and the Left's Turn from Radical Enlightenment to Socialism (1838-1848) 30: Conclusion: The 'Radical Enlightenment Thesis' and Its Critics

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Book SynopsisThe vexed and sometimes shocking story of Martin Luther, one of the most important figures in modern European history, and his increasingly vitriolic attitudes towards the Jews - as well as the ominous legacy of Luther's anti-semitism for the future of Germany in the centuries to comeTrade ReviewThis is a learned, well-written, and carefully argued examination of Martin Luther's writings and the place of anti-Jewish motifs and arguments in many of these works. * Scott Ury, Tel Aviv University, Religious Studies Review *This book is a remarkable and timely volume that is the result of the confluence of a number of important lines of inquiry in epistemology, philosophy of religion and theology. . . this text provides helpful standalone essays that can accompany units on standard issues within the theology curriculum. . . the constructive systematician will find in many of these essays valuable guidance regarding how to go about constructive work in a manner that is epistemically responsible. . . This volume excels as such a cardinal text and will be a required resource for any wishing to make a future contribution to theological topics that touch in any way on epistemic issues. * International Journal of Systematic Theology *As this short, scholarly, and brilliantly-illuminating study shows, the line between anti-Judaism and anti-Semitism is both blurry and easily breached... No one is better able to make sense of Luthers views than Kaufmann, who has been working on the subject for the best part of 40 years. With a complete mastery of Luthers writings and the context in which he wrote, he uncovers the particular prompts that led Luther to sound so contradictory, while he also reveals the continuities in his thought. * William Whyte, Church Times *Scrupulously fair, crisply translated and surprisingly relevant. * Tom Moriarty, The Irish Times *Excellent * Peter Marshall, Tablet *An immaculately scrupulous and compelling study * Edward Pearce, Tribune *By showing the depth of Luther's anti-Judaism, and his commitment to early-modern anti-Semitism, Kaufmann hopes to break the reverence Protestants have for Luther, for this has retarded their efforts to come to terms with their relationship to the Jews after the Holocaust (151). Kaufmann does not hold Luther directly responsible for the Holocaust, but he insists that he was a factor in helping to make it possible. Hence, the only way forward is to accept 'that we can no more put our faith blindly in Luther's theology than responsible 21st century adults would voluntarily place themselves in the hands of a 16th-century surgeon' (11). * Reading Religion *Table of ContentsIntroduction: 'Luther's Jews' - an unavoidable topic 1: Neighbours yet strangers - Jews on the fringes of Luther's world 2: The Church's Enemies - Luther's early theological position on the Jews 3: The Jews' Friend? Luther's 'Reformation' of Attitudes towards the Jews 4: Hopes disappointed, expectations fulfilled: The late 1520s and the 1530s 5: The Final Battle for the Bible: Luther's Vicious Writings 6: Mixed Responses: The History of the Reception of Luther's Attitude to the Jews from the 16th to the 20th Century Conclusion: A Fallible Human Being Sources and bibliography Index

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Book SynopsisIn this penetrating analysis of the role of political leadership in the Cold War''s ending, Archie Brown shows why the popular view that Western economic and military strength left the Soviet Union with no alternative but to admit defeat is wrong. To understand the significance of the parts played by Mikhail Gorbachev, Ronald Reagan and Margaret Thatcher in East-West relations in the second half of the 1980s, Brown addresses several specific questions: What were the values and assumptions of these leaders, and how did their perceptions evolve? What were the major influences on them? To what extent were they reflecting the views of their own political establishment or challenging them? How important for ending the East-West standoff were their interrelations? Would any of the realistically alternative leaders of their countries at that time have pursued approximately the same policies? The Cold War got colder in the early 1980s and the relationship between the two military superpowers, Trade ReviewThe Human Factor is in many respects the culmination of Archie Brown's long and distinguished career as a scholar and writer. It is full of a lifetime's achievement of wisdom and thought. * Fiona Hill, Brookings Institution, Washington DC *Brown's book is a superb achievement, a balanced, judicious and authoritative account of a foundation event of our contemporary world * Christopher Read, Diplomacy and Statecraft *A fascinating and instructive read ... Everybody will learn something from this first-class book. * Dominic Sandbrook, The Sunday Times *A masterly survey of the end of the cold war and the roles played in it by Gorbachev, Ronald Reagan and Margaret Thatcher. * Tony Barber, The Financial Times *Lucidly written and scholarly. * The Spectator *Browns narrative is peppered with anecdotes that add texture to our knowledge of the period. At times he injects great humour. At others, as in his retelling of the failed coup against Gorbachev and the eventual collapse of the Soviet Union, he infuses the narrative with drama and gripping suspense * , English Historical Review *In The Human Factor, Brown zooms out from analyzing Soviet decision-making and asks a broader question about why the Cold War ended. Scholars have proposed multiple explanations for the Cold War's end... but Brown encourages readers to focus on the personalities at the top of both the Soviet party-state and Western governments. * Chris Miller, The Russian Review *It is often a challenge for historians to find the right balance between the human factor and the historical forces at play. The value of Archie Brown's study [...] is that it does precisely that. * Christopher Coker, Literary Review *What The Human Factor does do, and does so well, is provide a fascinating new perspective on already well-trodden ground. * All About History *Brown devotes several fine-grained biographical chapters to the "making" of Gorbachev, the "rise" of Reagan, and the "moulding" of the "Iron Lady", and then traces the three leaders interactions... The result is a compelling picture of what led [them] to act as they did and how the difference each one made differed from the impact of the others. * William Taubman, The Political Quarterly *... magisterial work... based on a wealth of sources in Russian and English... The Human Factor is as much a fine work of foreign policy analysis as it is Cold War history... a fascinating, close-structured narrative. * Christopher Hill, Cold War History *Brown's narrative is peppered with anecdotes that add texture to our knowledge of the period. At times... he injects great humour. At others, as in his retelling of the failed coup against Gorbachev and the eventual collapse of the Soviet Union, he infuses the narrative with drama and gripping suspense... * English Historical Review *... splendid new book...The Human Factor makes a major contribution to scholarship and policy analysis. * Bruce Parrott, Journal of Cold War Studies *...a thought-provoking book...I highly recommend this book to readers. Brown is right to highlight the human factor in the ending of the Cold War...the sharpness of many of Browns insights, condensed with commendable crispness in this 500-page [make the book an], eminently readable foray into a highly contentious subject. * Sergey Radchenko, Slavic Review *The book is crammed with information, is well-written, and shows that Brown has a dry sense of humour. * SCRSS Newsletter *Here and elsewhere, as he once did for the leaders about whom he now writes, Archie Brown's scholarship can provide wisdom and hope. * James Graham Wilson, H-DIPLO *Another tour de force from Archie Brown: detailed scholarship, elegant prose and a clear argument. Read this book to find why we should not ignore the human factor underpinning great historical shifts. A fascinating account of how the Cold War ended, explored through the personal interactions between three world leaders - Gorbachev, Reagan and Thatcher. * Bridget Kendall MBE, former BBC Diplomatic Moscow and Washington Correspondent *Table of ContentsIntroduction PART 1 1: The Cold War and its Dangers 2: The Making of Mikhail Gorbachev 3: Gorbachev's Widening Horizons 4: The Rise of Ronald Reagan 5: Reagan's First Term 6: Margaret Thatcher: The Moulding of the 'Iron Lady' 7: Thatcher and the Turn to Engagement with Communist Europe PART 2 8: Breaking the ice (1985) 9: Nuclear Fallout: Chernobyl and Reykjavik (1986 10: Building trust (1987) 11: The End of the Ideological Divide (1988) 12: The End of the Cold War (1989) 13: Why the Cold War Ended When it Did 14: Unintended Consequences (1990) 15: Final Year - of the USSR and of Gorbachev's Power (1991) 16: Political Leadership and the End of the Cold War: Concluding Reflections Notes Index

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Book SynopsisWinston Churchill spent his early childhood in Ireland, had close Irish relatives, and was himself much involved in Irish political issues for a large part of his career. He took Ireland very seriously -- and not only because of its significance in the Anglo-American relationship. Churchill, in fact, probably took Ireland more seriously than Ireland took Churchill. Yet, in the fifty years since Churchill''s death, there has not been a single major book on his relationship to Ireland. It is the most neglected part of his legacy, on both sides of the Irish Sea. Distinguished historian of Ireland Paul Bew now, at long last, puts this right. Churchill and Ireland tells the full story of Churchill''s lifelong engagement with Ireland and the Irish, from his early years as a child in Dublin, through his central role in the Home Rule crisis of 1912-14 and in the war leading up to the Anglo-Irish Treaty of 1922, to his bitter disappointment at Irish neutrality in the Second World War and gradual rapprochement with his old enemy Eamon de Valera towards the end of his life. As this long overdue book reminds us, Churchill learnt his earliest rudimentary political lessons in Ireland. It was the first piece in the Churchill jigsaw and, in some respects, the last.Trade ReviewPaul Bew's book attempts to explain the almost unexplainable - Churchill's twists and turns in reguard to Ireland. It is a thoughtful and engaging exegesis... This book, first published in hardback in 2016, is now happily re-issued in paperback for a wider readership. * Ian d'Alton, The Irish Catholic *Bew's elegant, meticulous study of his [Churchill's] role in Irish history is filled with surprises, and gives nuance to Churchill's fiery rhetoric, particularly on Ireland's neutral stance in the Second World War. * Daily Telegraph *[An] informed, balanced study ... As a distinguished Irish historian, Bew brings much knowledge of the Irish background. * Roland Quinault, History Today *brings the methodology of a scrupulous historian to his task * Peter Clarke, Times Literary Supplement *The book provides excellent coverage of the 1916-22, and establishes a solid basis for understanding the later period. * Ryle Dwyer, Irish Examiner *[A] succinct and challenging overview of Winston Churchill's complex relationship with Ireland. * Diarmaid Ferriter, Irish Times *Lord Bew's outstanding, sharply written account sets out, for the first time, how Winston Churchill's intellect, wit and, at times, deviousness, shaped the relationship between Britain and Ireland. [...] Paul Bew alters our perception of the great man by showing for the first time that he determined the shape of the relationship between and within the two islands more than any other British politician. In doing this, he confirms his reputation as one of the foremost Irish historians of his generation. * Lord Lexden, The House Magazine *a short but absorbing book ... Surprisingly, this is the first major study on a relationship which was literally central to Churchill's family, life and political career. * Keith Simpson, Iain Dale's blog *Lord Bew is a measured historian of notable experience ... [he] makes a real effort here to paint a well-rounded view of Churchill's relationship with Ireland, warts and all. * JP O'Malley, Irish Independent *Paul Bew has achieved the near impossible: he has somehow written a book on an important aspect of Winston Churchill's statecraft that is totally comprehensive, genuinely ground-breaking and yet capable of being read in an afternoon. In a life that has been trawled over literally thousands of times by historians, Churchill's relations with Ireland have not received anything like the attention they deserve, despite the significant role he played in Irish history and Ireland's equally significant role in his own career. That historiographical gap has now been definitively filled by Bew's scholarly, highly readable and fascinating book. * Andrew Roberts, Literary Review *Utterly compelling ... This is a provocative and fascinating book, all the more enjoyable for the energy and charm of its singular focus. * Eamon Delaney, Irish Independent *A well researched and elegantly written book ... Paul Bew is one of Irelands most interesting and important political historians. * Eion Ó Broin, Sunday Business Post *[A] fascinating book. * Evening Echo *The most balanced, and best informed, account I have read of the allegedly poisonous relationship between the arch-imperialist, Winston Churchill, and the benighted, traduced, occupied, exploited, mocked and murdered people of Ireland... * Ian Mitchell's Ireland-related book reviews *scholarly, readable and enjoyable ... As a study of a political chameleon and Ireland, this book can be highly recommended. * Robert McNamara, The Irish News *The most balanced and best informed account I have read... Smooth, and with enough "human interest" to bring the subject alive - history as it should be written, but so seldom is these days... * Ian Mitchell's Book Recommendations *Table of ContentsIntroduction 1: A Father's Legacy 2: The Making of a Home Ruler 3: Churchill in Belfast 4: The 'Plot Against Ulster' 5: Ireland at the Front 6: War in Ireland 7: The Making and Breaking of the Treaty Settlement 8: The Disintegration of Churchill's Irish Legacy 9: Churchill and Irish Neutrality 10: 'Saving them from themselves' Conclusion Notes Index

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Book SynopsisVenice''s Secret Service is the untold and arresting story of the world''s earliest centrally-organised state intelligence service. Long before the inception of SIS and the CIA, in the period of the Renaissance, the Republic of Venice had masterminded a remarkable centrally-organised state intelligence organisation that played a pivotal role in the defence of the Venetian empire. Housed in the imposing Doge''s Palace and under the direction of the Council of Ten, the notorious governmental committee that acted as Venice''s spy chiefs, this ''proto-modern'' organisation served prominent intelligence functions including operations (intelligence and covert action), analysis, cryptography and steganography, cryptanalysis, and even the development of lethal substances. Official informants and amateur spies were shipped across Europe, Anatolia, and Northern Africa, conducting Venice''s stealthy intelligence operations. Revealing a plethora of secrets, their keepers, and their seekers, Venice''s Secret Service explores the social and managerial processes that enabled their existence and that furnished the foundation for an extraordinary intelligence organisation created by one of the early modern world''s most cosmopolitan states.Trade ReviewThis book includes many of the kinds of stories one hopes to find in a history of espionage: state-ordered poisonings; letter interceptions and invisible ink ... This is an intriguing twist on recent works. * Rosa Salzberg, Jahrbuch für Kommunikationsgeschichte *I found much to admire in this work, and I expect I will find myself returning to it repeatedly. Iordanou has done a great service to the field in parsing the complexity of the Venetian intelligence system. * Eric R. Dursteler, Journal of Modern History *This is a book that will fascinate anyone interested in intelligence services, the history of information management, the development of cryptography, or the history of Venice. * Professor Tom Wilson, Information Research *Table of ContentsIntroduction 1: Venice and Venetian Intelligence in the European Panorama 2: State Secrecy, a Venetian Virtue 3: Renaissance Venice's Intelligence Organisation 4: Venice's Department of Cryptology 5: Venice's Secret Agents 6: Extraordinary Measures Epilogue: Venice's Secret Service: An Evaluation

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Book SynopsisThe sugar planter Simon Taylor, who claimed ownership of over 2,248 enslaved people in Jamaica at the point of his death in 1813, was one of the wealthiest slaveholders ever to have lived in the British empire.Slavery was central to the eighteenth-century empire. Between the seventeenth and the nineteenth centuries, hundreds of thousands of enslaved people were brought from Africa to the Caribbean to toil and die within the brutal slave regime of the region, most of them destined for a life of labour on large sugar plantations. Their forced labour provided the basis for the immense fortunes of plantation owners like Taylor; it also produced wealth that poured into Britain. However, a tumultuous period that saw the American, French, and Haitian Revolutions, as well as the rise of the abolitionist movement, witnessed new attacks on slavery and challenged the power of a once-confident slaveholder elite.In White Fury, Christer Petley uses Taylor''s rich and expressive letters to allow us aTrade ReviewWhite Fury tells a highly readable complete story... the volume is thoroughly researched and it is well-illustrated. * Robert Davis, New York Review of Books *[A]n exceptional book that will become a major point of reference for historians of the 18th-century Caribbean and scholars investigating the sudden abolition of the British slave trade in 1807... White Fury is a powerful contribution to scholarship on the British Atlantic in the age of revolutions, and it deserves to be widely read. * Reviews in History *Petleys brilliant biography of [Simon] Taylor (17401813)... not only describes the complicated feelings of a patriotic planter whose warm regard for his British heritage was increasingly not reciprocated by a Britain coming to think of planters as evil and retrograde but also captures the many challenges and opportunities available within the plantation economy during the tumultuous years of the French Revolution. * , Reviews in American History *Petley mines hundreds of extant letters written by Taylor, as well as a wide range of printed sources, to craft a highly readable account of the aspirations, everyday realities and crises faced by Jamaica's richest sugar planter... Petley has produced a smart, accessible biography of one of the most important slaveholders in the eighteenth-century British empire. * Brooke Newman, Journal of Eighteenth Century Studies *A subtle, sensitive and marvellously evocative biography of Jamaica's richest and most powerful planter, bringing powerfully to life the brutal but highly productive slave system which undergirded the success of the British Empire in the late eighteenth century. * Trevor Burnard, University of Melbourne *A revealing and persuasive account of one man's life at the centre of Britains slave empire in the Caribbean. In subtly tracing Simon Taylor's 'white fury' provoked by the movement for abolition Petley offers an original and provocative account of British slavery as it entered its death throes. * James Walvin, author of A Short History of Slavery *[A]n exceptional book that will become a major point of reference for historians of the 18th-century Caribbean and scholars investigating the sudden abolition of the British slave trade in 1807... White Fury is a powerful contribution to scholarship on the British Atlantic in the age of revolutions, and it deserves to be widely read. * Reviews in History *Table of ContentsIntroductionPart I: Foundations and Aspiration1: A West Indian Life2: Slave Empire3: Sugar and StrifePart II: Crises and Frustration4: The American Revolution5: Reactions6: New Revolutions7: War and AbolitionConclusions and LegaciesNotesFurther ReadingIndex

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Book SynopsisBetween the winter of 1936 and the autumn of 1938, approximately three quarters of a million Soviet citizens were subject to summary execution. More than a million others were sentenced to lengthy terms in labour camps. Commonly known as ''Stalin''s Great Terror'', it is also among the most misunderstood moments in the history of the twentieth century. The Terror gutted the ranks of factory directors and engineers after three years in which all major plan targets were met. It raged through the armed forces on the eve of the Nazi invasion. The wholesale slaughter of party and state officials was in danger of making the Soviet state ungovernable. The majority of these victims of state repression in this period were accused of participating in counter-revolutionary conspiracies. Almost without exception, there was no substance to the claims and no material evidence to support them. By the time the terror was brought to a close, most of its victims were ordinary Soviet citizens for whom ''Trade ReviewHarris does an admirable job of bringing the major fears and concerns of the Soviet leadership into focus, from the rise of Nazi Germany to Japan's incursions deep into China to resentment of the regime among peasants. * Robert W. Thurston, Journal of Modern History *One can only applaud him [Harris] for tackling the most vexing and morally charged issues in Soviet history, and for doing so in a crisply, succinctly written volume ... A brief review such as this cannot do justice to Harris's nuanced argument and careful use of sources. The volume is not only a valuable contribution to the literature but also a book that, because of its coverage and readability, will work well in undergraduate classes. * William J. Chase, The Russian Review *[a] well-researched and tightly argued study ... [Harris] has produced the most important book we have on the origins of the great purges. But in the process he has done more than that. The chapters tracing the story up to the perfect storm of 1937 are in themselves a very attractive general survey of the first two decades of Soviet history. This clearly written book will be required reading for specialists in the field; general readers will find it useful as a compact survey of the state of the field. * Arch Getty, History *The Great Fear presents a nuanced reading of history drawing on a number of primary sources; its strength is to see the Great Terror in the context of world and Russian events which contribute to the structure of society and mindset of the people in power, rather than as the result of one's man's paranoia or capriciousness ... for those with a keen interest in Soviet history, this excellent book is a must for the light it throws on a dramatic and appalling period of the regime's history. * Kaggsy's Bookish Ramblings blog *sparkles with learning * Andre van Loon, The Australian *Table of ContentsIntroduction 1: Fear and Violence 2: Peace and Insecurity 3: The Uncertain Dictatorship 4: The Great Break 5: Relaxation? 6: Tensions Mount 7: The Perfect Storm Conclusion Bibliography

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Book SynopsisFor three hundred years the ghetto defined Jewish culture in the late medieval and early modern period in Western Europe. In the nineteenth-century it was a free-floating concept which travelled to Eastern Europe and the United States. Eastern European ghettos, which enabled genocide, were crudely rehabilitated by the Nazis during World War Two as if they were part of a benign medieval tradition. In the United States, the word ghetto was routinely applied to endemic black ghettoization which has lasted from 1920 until the present. Outside of America the ghetto has been universalized as the incarnation of class difference, or colonialism, or apartheid, and has been applied to segregated cities and countries throughout the world. In this Very Short Introduction Bryan Cheyette unpicks the extraordinarily complex layers of contrasting meanings that have accrued over five hundred years to ghettos, considering their different settings across the globe. He considers core questions of why and when urban, racial, and colonial ghettos have appeared, and who they contain. Exploring their various identities, he shows how different ghettos interrelate, or are contrasted, across time and space, or even in the same place.ABOUT THE SERIES: The Very Short Introductions series from Oxford University Press contains hundreds of titles in almost every subject area. These pocket-sized books are the perfect way to get ahead in a new subject quickly. Our expert authors combine facts, analysis, perspective, new ideas, and enthusiasm to make interesting and challenging topics highly readable.Trade ReviewThis overview of the changing meaning of the ghetto across the globe and through time is highly recommended for readers new to the subject, as well as for those who wish to deepen their knowledge through its excellent bibliography. * Laura Vaughan, LSE Review of Books *Bryan Cheyette has vigorously met the challenge of looking at ghettos in history and literature from 16th-century Italy to present-day America. * David Abulafia, Jewish Renaissance *Revealing new details and insights on almost every page. * Howard Cooper, Jewish Chronicle *Table of ContentsPreface and Acknowledgments List of illustrations 1: Why ghetto? 2: The age of the ghetto 3: Ghettos of the Imagination 4: Nazism and the ghetto 5: The americanization of the ghetto 6: Global ghettos References Further reading Publishers acknowledgements

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Book SynopsisDays after the assassination of his prime minister in the middle of Rome in November 1848, Pope Pius IX found himself a virtual prisoner in his own palace. The wave of revolution that had swept through Europe now seemed poised to put an end to the popes'' thousand-year reign over the Papal States, if not indeed to the papacy itself. Disguising himself as a simple parish priest, Pius escaped through a back door. Climbing inside the Bavarian ambassador''s carriage, he embarked on a journey into a fateful exile.Only two years earlier Pius''s election had triggered a wave of optimism across Italy. After the repressive reign of the dour Pope Gregory XVI, Italians saw the youthful, benevolent new pope as the man who would at last bring the Papal States into modern times and help create a new, unified Italian nation. But Pius found himself caught between a desire to please his subjects and a fear--stoked by the cardinals--that heeding the people''s pleas would destroy the church. The resultinTrade ReviewGrippingly written, pageturning and scholarly, this book is an immense achievement which few can hope to equal. This is a magni?cent book; analysis and narrative at their ?nest. * Ambrogio A. Caiani, Journal Of Ecclesiastical History *Table of ContentsProloguePart 1: The Beloved1: The Conclave2: The Fox and the Crow3: An Impossible Dilemma4: Papal Magic5: The Tide Turns6: Fending Off Disaster7: The Assassination8: The EscapePart II: The Reviled9: The Reactionary Turn10: Revolution11: Pressuring the Pope12: The Friendly Army13: The French Attack14: Negotiating in Bad Faith15: Battling For Rome16: The Conquest17: The OccupationPart III: The Feared18: Applying the Brakes19: Louis Napoleon and The Pope20: The Unpopular Pope21: "Those Wicked Enemies of God"22: Returning to RomeEpilogueNotesIndex

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Book SynopsisWhat did British citizens really feel about the political system, their role in it, and the people who represented them? Everyday Politics, Ordinary Lives examines British democracy from below, investigating how electors understood politics and how they viewed its relationship to their lives, from the establishment of a near democracy with the Representation of the People Act 1918 up until the rise of the internet and 24-hour news channels in the early 1990s. It focuses on the everyday political opinions, discussions, and interactions of ordinary British voters in the period, and pays attention to the ways in which women, young people, and minoritized groups related to a political system dominated by men.Adrian Bingham incorporates material from a broad and diverse range of sources, from pioneering social surveys conducted after the First World War, through the mid-century qualitative research of Mass-Observation and early political scientists, up to the data-driven work of the British Election Study and modern pollsters such as Gallup and MORI. The book also draws extensively on the archives of the Conservative and Labour parties, as they sought to understand the attitudes of the voters they were trying to attract, and content from the media, memoirs, diaries, and life-writing. Everyday Politics, Ordinary Lives argues that most people, across the period, felt remote from politics and sceptical of politicians. But this reflected the perception that the world of parliamentary debates and party intrigue was distant, insular, and rather impenetrable, not that people did not care about political issues or have a desire to improve their position. Britain was home to plenty of everyday political thinking and conversation, and the amount and quality of this activity tended to increase and improve over the period as people became better educated, had access to more information through the media, and the power of the democratic ideal grew in strength over the period. The author maps these changing patterns of political support to deeper social and cultural developments, and thereby produce a new and distinctive history of British democracy that challenges some of the simplistic narratives that underpin contemporary political debate.

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Book SynopsisA new edition of this best-selling history of Britain, from Roman times, now updated to cover the first decade of the 21st century.The Oxford History of Britain tells the story of Britain and its people over two thousand years, from the coming of the Roman legions to the present day. Encompassing political, social, economic, and cultural developments throughout the British Isles, the dramatic narrative is taken up in turn by ten leading historians who offer the fruits of the best modern scholarship to the general reader in an authoritative form. A vivid, sometimes surprising picture emerges of a continuous turmoil of change in every period, and the wider social context of political and economic tension is made clear. But consensus, no less than conflict, is a part of the story: in focusing on elements of continuity down the centuries, the authors bring out that special awareness of identity which has been such a distinctive feature of British society. By relating both these factors in the British experience, and by exploring the many ways in which Britain has shaped and been shaped by contact with Europe and the wider world, this landmark work brings the reader face to face with the past, and the foundations of modern British society. This updated new edition (by the original editor) adds great richness by taking the story down from the economic crisis of 2008 to the conflict over Europe at the present day.Table of ContentsForward to the new edition 1: Peter Salway: Roman Britain (c. 55 BC - c. AD 440) 2: John Blair: The Anglo-Saxon Period (c. 440-1066) 3: John Gillingham: The Early Middle Ages (1066-1290) 4: Ralph A. Griffiths: The Later Middle Ages (1290-1485) 5: John Guy: The Tudor Age (1485-1603) 6: John Morrill: The Stuarts (1603-1688) 7: Paul Langford: The Eighteenth Century (1688-1789) 8: Christopher Harvie: Revolution and the Rule of Law (1789-1851) 9: H. C. G. Matthew: The Liberal Age (1851-1914) 10: Kenneth O. Morgan: The Twentieth Century (1914-2000) 11: Kenneth O. Morgan: A New Millennium (2000-2008) 12: From Crash to Brexit (2008-2020) Further Reading Chronology Genealogies of Royal Lines Prime Ministers 1721-2019 Index Foreword to the new edition 1: Peter Salway: Roman Britain (c.55 BC - c. AD 440) 2: John Blair: The Anglo-Saxon Period (c. 440-1066) 3: John Gillingham: The Early Middle Ages (1066-1290) 4: Ralph A. Griffiths: The Later Middle Ages (1290-1485) 5: John Guy: The Tudor Age (1485-1603) 6: John Morrill: The Stuarts (1603-1688) 7: Paul Langford: The Eighteenth Century (1688-1789) 8: Christopher Harvie: Revolution and the Rule of Law (1789-1851) 9: H. C. G. Matthew: The Liberal Age (1851-1914) 10: Kenneth O. Morgan: The Twentieth Century (1914-2000) Kenneth O. Morgan: Epilogue (2000-2010) Further Reading Chronology Genealogies of Royal Lines Prime Ministers 1721-2010 Index

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Book SynopsisThe police are constantly under scrutiny. They are criticized for failings, praised for successes, and hailed as heroes for their sacrifices. Starting from the premise that every society has norms and ways of dealing with transgressors, A Short History of Police and Policing traces the evolution of the multiple forms of ''policing'' that existed in the past. It examines the historical development of the various bodies, individuals, and officials who carried these out in different societies, in Europe and European colonies, but also with reference to countries such as ancient Egypt, China, and the USA. By demonstrating that policing was never the exclusive dominion of the police, and that the institution of the police, as we know it today, is a relatively recent creation, Professor Emsley explores the idea and reality of policing, and shows how an institution we now call ''the police'' came to be virtually universal in our modern world.Table of ContentsIntroduction: What's in a Name 1: From the Classical World to the Medieval 2: Monks, Bailiffs, Constables, and Others 3: Frome Concepts to Institutions 4: Shaping Institutions 5: Patrolmen, Detectives, and Policing by the Community 6: Beyond Europe 7: International Policing, Wartime, and Innovations 8: Another War; Another Peace Conclusion

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Book SynopsisRussia today is as prominent in international affairs as it was at the height of the Cold War. Yet the role that the economy plays in supporting Russia''s position as a ''great power'' on the international stage is poorly understood. For many, Russia''s political influence far exceeds its weight in the global economy. However, Russia is one of the largest economies in the world; it is not only one of the world''s most important exporters of oil and gas, but also of other natural resources, such as diamonds and gold. Its status as one of the largest wheat and grain exporters shapes commodity prices across the globe, while Russia''s enormous arms industry, second only to the United States, provides it with the means to pursue an increasingly assertive foreign policy. All this means that Russia''s economy is crucial in serving the country''s political objectives, both within Russia and across the world. Russia today has a distinctly political type of economy that is neither the planned economy of the Soviet era, nor a market-based economy of the Euro-Atlantic variety. Instead, its economic system is characterised by a unique blend of state and market; control and freedom; and natural resources alongside human ingenuity. The Russian Economy: A Very Short Introduction introduces readers to the dimensions of the Russian economy that are often ignored by the media and public figures, or exaggerated and misunderstood. In doing so, it shows how Russia''s economy is one of global significance, and helps explain why many of Russia''s enduring features, such as the heavy hand of the state and the emphasis on military-industrial production, have persisted despite the immense changes that took place after the disintegration of the Soviet Union in 1991.ABOUT THE SERIES: The Very Short Introductions series from Oxford University Press contains hundreds of titles in almost every subject area. These pocket-sized books are the perfect way to get ahead in a new subject quickly. Our expert authors combine facts, analysis, perspective, new ideas, and enthusiasm to make interesting and challenging topics highly readable.Trade ReviewPresents an overview of the Russian economy over the last 500 years, chronicling its developments and characteristics from the first emergence of the Russian empire to the twenty-first-century regime of Vladimir Putin. * Journal of Economic Literature (Volume 59, no. 1) *Table of ContentsAcknowledgments List of illustrations 1: Factors shaping Russian economic development 2: The Soviet planned economy 3: The creation of a market 4: The reassertion of the state 5: From modernisation to isolation 6: Russia in the global economy 7: Whither the Russian economy? References Further reading Index

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Book SynopsisA history of Russian emotional culture of the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries, as told through the story of the life and death of Andrei Turgenev (1781-1803), the author of a confessional diary, a gifted poet, and an early Russian Romantic who failed to live up to the principles and models he cherished.Trade ReviewThe Emergence of a Hero first appeared in Russian in 2016, and remains every bit as fine a work of scholarship in Leo Shtutin's welcome and accomplished translation. In minute detail and with finesse, Andrei Zorin portrays a precocious talent who grasped at the dawn of the Romantic age that a new type of personality was coming into being - a personality prone to melancholy and disillusionment but also idealistic, inclined to self-sacrifice and capable of delighting in love, friendship, philosophy, music and poetry. * Derek Offord, TLS *Table of ContentsIntroduction: Individual experience as a problem of cultural history 1: The emotional culture of the Russian nobility of the second half of the eighteenth century 2: The Prodigal Son (A Youthful Rebellion and the Dramas of Schiller) 3: Three Sisters (Strategies of Love and The New Heloise) 4: The New Abelard (A Thirst for Self-Destruction and The Sorrows of Young Werther) Conclusion

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Book SynopsisIn 1998, Chief Historian of the Foreign Office Gill Bennett was commissioned by Foreign Secretary Robin Cook to get to the bottom of a mystery that had haunted the Labour Partyand British politics more generallyfor over seventy years. This is the story of what she discovered.Trade ReviewA suspenseful and illuminating peek behind the veiled layers of secrecy underlying Western and Soviet intelligence operations * FOREWORD Reviews *Authoritative, absorbing, scrupulously researched. * Tony Barber, The Financial Times *In her vivid account of her bid to ascertain the real origins of the Zinoviev epistle, Gill Bennett provides many fascinating new details of this tangled episode. * The Economist *In an age of "fake news", when the Zinoviev Letter continues to be used as shorthand for establishment skulduggery, historians have an important role in separating myth from fact, even if many of those facts are, frustratingly, far from clear. This book is a timely addition to that cause. * Giles Udy, The Times *A well-written, scrupulously researched and argued account of an enduring mystery that neatly illustrates the haphazard interactions of politics, bureaucracy and history. In the absence of further new evidence, this book is as close as we're likely to get to a definitive account. * Alan Judd, The Spectator *[A] superb book, a compelling mixture of history, anecdote and historiography ... Bennett tells a story that could have been a plot from an Ealing comedy, featuring a motley crew of retired services types and chancers, cynical Foreign Office mandarins, inept politicians, intriguing Bolsheviks and dispossessed White Russians ... [a] careful and scrupulous study. * Simon Heffer, Literary Review *A fascinating book. * Paul Donnelley, The Express *Bennett does an excellent job of weaving the complicated subplots, scandals and tales of incompetence into an engrossing narrative. * Dan Lomas, International Affairs *This is an excellent analysis of a subject of perennial interest. It repays the attention of anyone interested in interwar British politics and intelligence, as well as the wider, fascinating, and occasionally murky world of the postrevolutionary Russian diaspora. It is a significant work. * Andrew Thorpe, Journal of Modern History *Bennett's story is fascinating. * Duncan Bowie, Chartist *This is a substantial and authoritative history of one of the most controversial and long-lasting items of "fake news" ever published. * Ian Mitchell's Book Recommendations *Did Gill Bennett, the Miss Marple of secret service archives, have a premonition when setting out to write this fascinating book, that current events would shape its market? The Zinoviev Letter has the lot - possible subversion of a Western democratic election, forged documents, fake news, clandestine networks and an array of characters straight out of Central Casting. The ultimate mystery of who wrote the 1924 letter, which was read round the world, still remains. But Gill Bennett's account is the closest we have got so far to finding out who did what, with what and for whom. * Lord Peter Hennessy *A brilliant, gripping dissection of the most famous 'fake news' in twentieth-century Britain and its dramatic impact on relations with Russia, British politics, and the intelligence services. * Christopher Andrew, Emeritus Professor of Modern and Contemporary History, University of Cambridge, and author of The Secret World: A History of Intelligence *Table of ContentsList of Illustrations List of Abbreviations Introduction: The Impact of the Zinoviev Letter on British Politics 1: One Version of the Truth 2: In Search of the Red Letter 3: Enquiries and investigations, 1924-1925 4: The Plot Thickens, 1928-1929 5: The Philby Effect, 1960-1970 6: New Labour, New Investigation, 1998-1999 7: So Who Wrote the Zinoviev Letter, and Does it Matter? Conclusion: Good Conspiracy Theories Never Die Appendix: The Text of the Zinoviev Letter Notes Note on Archival Sources and Bibliography Picture Acknowledgements Index

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Book SynopsisIn London in 1984 two very different cities came into conflict, one rooted in radical politics and the other shaped by Margaret Thatcher and the Conservative government. This was a city poised between two eras and identities, remoulded in conflicting ways by social democracy and neoliberalism. Using a wide array of sources, many of which have never been used before, London, 1984 explores the radical history of the capital in this tumultuous era, from a major anti-apartheid march in central London to an alternative childcare centre in Dalston, from a protest staged on the Thames against Docklands development to tensions on housing estates in the East End and Tottenham around racial violence and policing, from a raid on a gay bookshop in Bloomsbury to the Greater London Council''s attempt to build a challenge to Thatcherism from County Hall, Lambeth, and from controversial and well-known historical actors, such as Ken Livingstone and Margaret Thatcher, to the compelling stories of numeroTable of ContentsIntroduction 1: GLC London, 1981-4 2: Anti-Racist Year 3: Capital City? People's Armadas, Pop, and Planning 4: A City for Women? 5: Gay's the Word 6: Dalston Children's Centre 7: The Anti-Apartheid March 8: Lincoln Estate 9: Westminster and Broadwater Farm Conclusion Bibliography Index

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Book SynopsisIreland has long been regarded as a ''land of saints and scholars''. Yet the Irish experience of Christianity has never been simple or uncomplicated. The Rise and Fall of Christian Ireland describes the emergence, long dominance, sudden division, and recent decline of Ireland''s most important religion, as a way of telling the history of the island and its peoples. Throughout its long history, Christianity in Ireland has lurched from crisis to crisis. Surviving the hostility of earlier religious cultures and the depredations of Vikings, evolving in the face of Gregorian reformation in the 11th and 12th centuries and more radical protestant renewal from the 16th century, Christianity has shaped in foundational ways how the Irish have understood themselves and their place in the world. And the Irish have shaped Christianity, too. Their churches have staffed some of the religion''s most important institutions and developed some of its most popular ideas. But the Irish church, like the islTrade ReviewGribben the historian dons the mantle of a prophet, a good reminder that historical reflection can and should lead to wise action. * Michael A.G. Haykin, The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, Louisville, Kentucky, USA, Brill *This is a book I will be reading again and no doubt referencing often. * Aaron Dunlop, The Krapf Project, Maghaberry, Northern Ireland, Evangelical Quarterly *Crawford Gribben has produced a fascinating history of Christian Ireland from its promising beginnings, in the age following the fall of the Roman Empire, to its dramatic decline in recent decades...the book pays considerable attention to the history of Ireland's more obscure Protestant communities. On the other hand, the book also gives ample attention to Ireland's pre Reformation era. * Piers Shepherd, Chronicles *Outstanding... Rarely have I found a book so compelling. * Jim Sayers, Evangelicals Now *a fascinating history, clearly communicated. It will no doubt fuel discussion and presage further illuminating analysis. * Brendan McNamara, Numen *the author's mastery of his subject... But the general reader should not to be intimidated, for the book is written in a very accessible style. * Raymond Blair, Evangelical Times *A remarkable book. * JP O'Malley, Irish Independent *An erudite, important and detailed account of the major developments in Irish religious history from the earliest times until the present day... This is an eminently readable book, and the author has a page-turning clarity which too few academics possess. * Alf McCreary, Belfast Telegraph *Admirable and scholarly. * Mary Kenny, History Ireland *A book of remarkable ambition... The attempt to tell the whole story from Celtic times through to the astonishingly rapid secularisation of today is what makes this book so special and important. * David Chillingworth, Church Times *A broad, sweeping, readable and concise history of the interplay of religion, politics and society in Ireland from pre-Christian times until the present. * David Quinn, Catholic Herald *A readable and impressive work of scholarship...The book is thought-provoking and rich in personalities and comment, which encourages the reader to return to the text. * Thomas Morrissey SJ, Irish Catholic *I'd recommend [the book] strongly to anyone who wants to understand recent upheavals on our island. * Ruth Dudley Edwards, News Letter *This fine volume, by a distinguished historian, meets a long-standing need for an overview of Christianity in Ireland... the book is written in a very accessible style. * Raymond Blair, Evangelical Times *Crawford Gribben's sweeping history surveys Ireland's grand past - and its importance for Western Christianity. * Jeremiah Rood, Foreword Reviews *A remarkable read... Gribben covers a vast amount of ground in a relatively concise text. His achievement is to provide much needed perspective on where Irish Christianity came from and where it may be headed. * Gladys Ganiel, Slugger O'Toole *[Gribben's] wide reading is very evident and anyone seeking a one volume survey of "Christian Ireland" will find this an admirable guide. * Dr Fergus O'Ferrall, Methodist Recorder *This thorough, explanatory and altogether credible book is a point-blank look and assessment of what its title purports to address...Vivid and readable, David Marx: Book ReviewsCrawford Gribben has produced an outstanding contribution to understanding the complex tapestry that is Ireland, and all its people, from earliest history to the present day... it's a book that anybody interested in the evolution of the island of Ireland and all its people national and international, should read and have on their bookshelf. * Enda Kenny, Taoiseach, Ireland, 2011/2017 *valuable and moving history... For anyone who wants to consider the role of Christianity in the West, the test case of Ireland is as fascinating as it is instructive. * Professor D. G. Hart, New Horizons in the Orthodox Presbyterian Church *If ever there was a lesson of church history, it may be that whenever an earthly state claims to be Christendom, the church will become repressive and corrupt. Ireland has long been heralded as the "land of saints and scholars," and indeed its role in the spread of Christianity in northern Europe was significant. Gribben argues that any form of "Christian Ireland" has clearly ended in the twenty-first century. This book offers a solid survey for a general reading public, and although it cannot cover all topics, it has clearly used the latest research when assessing many significant turning points and debatable areas. * John B. Roney, Sacred Heart University *The book's conclusion also includes Gribben's reflections on the future of Christianity in Ireland... this book is remarkably clear, comprehensive, balanced, and well-written. * David Carroll Cochran, Church History *Table of ContentsPreface Timeline Introduction 1: Conversions 2: Foundations 3: Reform 4: Revivals 5: Troubles Conclusion: Losing faith in Ireland? Bibliography

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Book SynopsisThe untold story of how Winston Churchill and the Conservative Party envisioned Britain''s post-war futureWe think we know all there is to know about Britain''s Second World War. We don''t. This radical re-interpretation of British history and British Conservatism between 1939 and 1945 reveals the bold, at times utopian, plans British Conservatives drew up for Britain and the post-war world. From proposals for world government to a more united Empire via dreams of a new Christian elite and a move back-to-the-land, Blue Jerusalem reveals how Conservatives were every bit as imaginative and courageous as their Labour and left-wing opponents in their wartime plans for a post-war world.Bringing these alternative visions of Britain''s post-war future back to life, Blue Jerusalem restores politics to the centre of the story of Britain''s war. It demonstrates how everything from the weapons Britain fought with, to the theatres in which the fighting took place and the allies Britain chose were the product of political decisions about the different futures Conservatives wanted to make. Rejecting notions of a ''people''s war'' that continue to cloud how we think of World War II, it explores how the Tories used their control of the home and battle front to fight a deeply Conservative war and build the martial, imperial, and Christian nation of which many of a conservative disposition had long dreamed.A study of political thinking as well as political manoeuvre, Blue Jerusalem goes beyond an examination of the usual suspects - such as Winston Churchill and Neville Chamberlain - to reveal a hitherto lost world of British Conservativism and a set of forgotten futures that continue to shape our world.

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Book SynopsisThe first volume of the definitive political history of Northern Ireland.Trade ReviewThis three-volume set is quite the remarkable achievement...I will continue to spend time with these volumes, which will not be surpassed anytime soon. Unlike in so many history books, O'Leary is always trying to explain what happened, or what did not. * Tyler Cowen, Marginal Revolution *O'Leary colors his work throughout with lively writing, moving past equivocation and pulling no punches in his assessments of participants or previous scholarship. He sees the disputatious state of Northern Ireland as the result of attempts to instill an Irish or British national identity among its residents....Although the cumulative length of this work might be daunting, the author has thoughtfully structured his books and chapters in a way that is accessible to both non-experts and specialists. Whatever the audience, this is a work of canonical importance for understanding Northern Ireland. * M. J. O'Brien, Franciscan University of Steubenvill, CHOICE *The detailed coverage is astonishing, the range immense. The book exemplifies best practice in social science and history, combining both disciplines, asking analytic questions of the historical record and widening the remit of social science - above all by looking carefully both at political calculations and the details of constitutional arrangements. It is important to stress that he offers us an analytic history of Ireland as a whole, paying special attention to developments in the Irish Free State and to the Republic thereafter. * John A Hall, McGill University in Montreal, Dublin Review of Books *The most prolific, perceptive and powerfully analytical writer on the north in the last 35 years, Brendan O'Leary, has just produced his magnum opus. * Brian Feeney, Irish News *Table of ContentsVolume 1: Colonialism The Shackles of the State and Hereditary Animosities List of Figures List of Maps List of Tables List of Boxes Abbreviations and Glossary Terminology 1: An Audit of Violence after 1966 2: Conceptual Conspectus: Colonialism 3: Wild and Bitter Fruits and His Majesty's Royal Pains: Colonial Triangles and Trilemmas, 1603-1800 4: Overlooked by the Tall Kingdom before Dying of Political Economy: Ireland under the Union, 1801-1857 5: Crying Aloud for Vengeance and the Power of a Colonial Caste: Toward Union's End, 1858-1914 6: "'Twas better to die 'neath an Irish sky than at Suvla or Sud-El-Bar": Revolution and Counter-Revolution, 1914-1922 7: Scratches across the Heart: Comparing Ireland's Partition Acknowledgments Notes Bibliography Index

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Book SynopsisThe story of the British army, from its inception in the late seventeenth century to the present.This new concise history by one of Britain''s leading military historians explores the British army from the creation of a permanent standing army in the seventeenth century to the present. It sets the institutional development of the British army, and its often ambiguous relationship with state and society, as well as the army''s wider political, social, economic, and cultural role within international, imperial, national, regional, and local contexts. An army exists to fight, however, and the British army''s story cannot be separated from those wars and conflicts that have punctuated its evolution. Consequently, attention is also paid to the army''s commanders, operations, and battlefields from the Wars of the Three Kingdoms in the seventeenth century to Iraq and Afghanistan in the twenty-first. Beckett traces the army''s evolution through five chronological phases: the standing army of tTrade ReviewAn impressive account of a key force not only in British but also in world history. * Jeremy Black, Emeritus Professor *Beckett has provided an intellectual treat. * Edward M. Spiers, Emeritus Professor *Table of ContentsAbbreviations Introduction 1: A Standing Army 2: A National Army 3: An Imperial Army 4: A People's Army 5: A Global Army Appendix: Major Wars and Campaigns since 1661

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Book SynopsisRecognised on its first appearance as the most comprehensive single-volume guide to The Canterbury Tales yet produced, this third edition brings the Tales up to date in relation both to recent criticism and to the changing expectations of modern readers. The Guide provide tale-by-tale information on textual variations and sources, together with a readable commentary on thematic issues, structure, style, generic affiliations, and the contribution of each tale to the work as a whole. It concludes with a survey of the many imitations of the tales down to the early seventeenth century. This new edition also takes account of the latest scholarship, theory, and criticism and new interpretations of the tales, including such matters as gender identity, consent, and racial and religious difference.The book is the most comprehensive single-volume guide to the Tales yet produced, bringing together a wide range of disparate material and providing a readable commentary on all aspects of the work. ITrade ReviewReview from previous edition 'marked by wit, learning, intelligence, and that rarest of critical virtues, good judgement...a genuine guide whose abundant information and good sense make it a sure foundation for series work on The Canterbury Tales. Although especially useful for those, on any level, studying Chaucer for the first time, experienced Chaucerians will find it a helpful companion to The Riverside Chaucer. For teaching or research this is now the first book on The Canterbury Tales to consult after reading the text itself.' * Studies in the Age of Chaucer *'Cooper's guide is a more powerful book than any previous aid or introduction to Chaucer's Canterbury Tales. It presents the lively generous mind of a serious scholar and a sensitive reader.' * Notes & Queries *'This is a major book with many virtues...a book with much to offer its reader.' * Review of English Studies *'a well-written and reliable guide through a mass of material that largely transcends the limitations of its form to offer critical analysis of lasting value.' * Archiv für das Stadium der neueren Sprachan und Literaturen *

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Book Synopsis''Colonization through a process of affection'', wrote the London-based Barbadian novelist George Lamming in 1960, was ''the worst form of colonization''. Lamming''s London was marked by the violent currents of racismsome seen, many disavowed. But the operations of race, the putting-in-place of its hierarchies, the destructions of the self that its logics entailed, exceeded only expressions of violence and hatred. It was in ''affection'', too, that colonialism''s racial visions operated. It was not only among the illiberals, but among the liberals, that colonization continued its hold on metropolitan culture. This was colonization, as Lamming would also put it, by humanity.Colonized by Humanity is a study of racial liberalism at the end of empire. It uncovers the projects to cultivate racial integration developed in the two decades between the arrival of the Empire Windrush and the passage of the first Race Relations Act. These were the years that integrationism took hold as a social p

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Book SynopsisThere were tens of thousands of different local law-courts in late-medieval England, providing the most common forums for the working out of disputes and the making of decisions about local governance. While historians have long studied these institutions, there have been very few attempts to understand this complex institutional form of ''legal pluralism''. Law in Common provides a way of understanding this complexity by drawing out broader patterns of legal engagement. Tom Johnson first explores four ''local legal cultures''—in the countryside, in forests, in towns and cities, and in the maritime world—that grew up around legal institutions, landscapes, and forms of socio-economic practice in these places, and produced distinctive senses of law. Johnson then turns to examine ''common legalities'', widespread forms of social practice that emerge across these different localities, through which people aimed to invoke the power of law. Through studies of the physical landscape, the production of legitimate knowledge, the emergence of English as a legal vernacular, and the proliferation of legal documents, the volume offers a new way to understand how common people engaged with law in the course of their everyday lives.Drawing on a huge body of archival research from the plenitude of different local institutions, Law in Common offers a new social history of law that aims to explain how common people negotiated the transformational changes of the long fifteenth century with, and through, legality.

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Book Synopsis''I am doing your Majesty some service here, whilst I am preparing the story of your sufferings; that posterity may know by whose default the nation was even overwhelmed with calamities, and by whose virtue it was redeemed.''Clarendon''s massive History has since its first publication in 1702-4 dominated our images of the English Civil War. Written by a man who for over a quarter of a century was one of the closest advisers to Charles I and Charles II, it contains a remarkably frank account of the inadequacies of royalist policy-making as well as an astute analysis of the principles and practice of government. Clarendon chronicles in absorbing detail the factions and intrigues, the rise of Cromwell and the death of Charles I, the bloody battles and the eventual Restoration of the monarchy in 1660 after the Interregnum. He brings to life the key players in a series of brilliant character portraits, and his account is admired as much for its literary quality as its historical value. This

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Book SynopsisThis is a survey of European history, from the coup d'etat of Napoleon, to the assassination of Archduke Ferdinand at Sarajevo. It concentrates on the twin themes of revolution and nationalism, which often combined, but which increasingly became rival creeds.Trade ReviewReview from previous edition From the first edition:A brilliant blend of synthesis and original insight. * T.C.W. Blanning *. . . includes an impressive amount of detailed information, a good deal of it not to be found in its more obvious competitors. * M.S. Anderson, Times Literary Supplement *This is a most complete and comprehensive study of 19th century Europe. It is scholarly yet readable and will be invaluable in the teaching of undergraduates for this period. It will be placed on the 'highly recommended' reading list. * Professor Paul Preston, Queen Mary College *An invaluable overview which gives full justice to 'history in the broad' for this important period. We have long needed an up-to-date treatment of the 19th Century which integrates new work with the long-established themes. * Dr J Stevenson, Department of History, University of Sheffield *Thoroughly first class effort at comprehensive interpretation - particularly impressive I think on cultural-intellectual aspect. * R T Shannon, University of Swansea *. . . a formidable achievement . . . the coverage is succinct and clear . . . the detailed treatment of particular themes is as satisfactory as the general arrangement of the work . . . the overwhelming impression is of a subtle intelligence at work and the result is an excellent and comprehensive study. * Jeremy Black, Times Higher Educational Supplement *From the second edition:This is by far the best general text on C19th Curope, rich in detail, clear in structure and with a useful bibliography. The new edition is far more attractive that its predecessor. * Dr David Laven, Lecturer, University of Reading *As well as discussing the necessary political events of the century, the book has much to say about cultural changes, education, urbanisation, and economic change. * Contemporary Review, 29/11/1996 *Table of ContentsPART I: EUROPE 1800-1850; PART II: EUROPE 1850-1880; PART III: EUROPE 1880-1914

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Book SynopsisThe history of National Socialism as movement and regime remains one of the most compelling and intensively studied aspects of twentieth-century history, and one whose significance extends far beyond Germany or even Europe alone. This volume presents an up-to-date and authoritative introduction to the history of Nazi Germany, with ten chapters on the most important themes, each by an expert in the field. Following an introduction which sets out the challenges this period of history has posed to historians since 1945, contributors explain how Nazism emerged as ideology and political movement; how Hitler and his party took power and remade the German state; and how the Nazi ''national community'' was organized around a radical and eventually lethal distinction between the ''included'' and the ''excluded''. Further chapters discuss the complex relationship between Nazism and Germany''s religious faiths; the perverse economic rationality of the regime; the path to war laid down by Hitler''Trade ReviewExcellent...work of exceptional quality. It is difficult to think of a better guide to Nazi Germany (even in German). It should gain an immediate place at the top of all reading lists. * Joachim Whaley, Journal of European Studies *In a brief format it provides a broad, state-of-the-art picture of Nazi Germany. The editor and the authors deserve credit for this service to scholars and teachers of the field. * Moritz Follmer, English Historical Review. *Jane Caplan's book encompasses overviews on the most important topics on an up-to-date level by experts who have established reputations from major research publications on their area...in their effort to combine precise information with balanced reflection of historical perspectives, most of those chapters achieve a remarkably high level of density while still being readable. This is no small achievement. * Magnus Brechtken, Times Higher Education Supplement *Caplan and her team of authors have succeeded in producing an extremely useful volume, which will definitely become standard reading for all university courses on National Socialism. * Patrick Bernhard, European History Quarterly. *Table of ContentsIntroduction ; 1. The Emergence of Nazi Ideology ; 2. The NSDAP, 1919-34: From Fringe Politics to the Seizure of Power ; 3. Hitler and the Nazi State: Leadership, Hierarchy, and Power ; 4. Inclusion: Building the National Community in Propaganda and Practice ; 5. The Policy of Exclusion: Repression in the Nazi State, 1933-9 ; 6. Religion and the Churches ; 7. The Economic History of the Nazi Regime ; 8. Foreign Policy in Peace and War ; 9. Occupation, Imperialism and Genocide, 1939-45 ; 10. The Third Reich in Postwar German Memory ; Further Reading ; Chronology ; Maps

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Book Synopsis''An ancient and ever-altering constitution is like an old man who still wears with attached fondness clothes in the fashion of his youth: what you see of him is the same; what you do not see is wholly altered.''Walter Bagehot''s The English Constitution (1867) is the best account of the history and working of the British political system ever written. As arguments raged in mid-Victorian Britain about giving the working man the vote, and democracies overseas were pitched into despotism and civil war, Bagehot took a long, cool look at the ''dignified'' and ''efficient'' elements which made the English system the envy of the world. His analysis of the monarchy, the role of the prime minister and cabinet, and comparisons with the American presidential system are astute and timeless, and pertinent to current discussions surrounding devolution and electoral reform.Combining the wit and panache of a journalist with the wisdom of a man of letters steeped in evolutionary ideas and historical kTrade ReviewI can still recall the excitement as a student in discoering a book that analysed how our political system worked. Dated it may be; worth reading it remains. * Mervyn King, Waitrose Weekend *

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Book SynopsisThis beautifully illustrated volume tells the story of Britain and its people over two thousand years, from the coming of the Roman legions to the present day. Encompassing political, social, economic, and cultural developments throughout the British Isles, the dramatic narrative is taken up in turn by ten leading historians who offer the fruits of the best modern scholarship to the general reader in an authoritative form, illuminating their text with carefully chosen pictures and maps. A vivid, sometimes surprising picture emerges of a continuous turmoil of change in every period, and the wider social context of political and economic tension is made clear. But consensus, no less than conflict, is a part of the story: in focusing on elements of continuity down the centuries, the authors bring out that special awareness of identity which has been such a distinctive feature of British society. By relating both these factors in the British experience, and by exploring the many ways in whTrade ReviewReview from previous edition belongs in every school satchel, on every student's desk, in every library's catalogue... on everyone's coffee table... wherever readers have a real curiosity to discover, in words and pictures, the current stage of historical inquiry in the field of British history * Peter Clarke, History Today *Here is a book to intrigue the mind and gladden the eye * Max Beloff, Art International *A lively and stimulating overview by a selection of our best historians, scholarly but very readable * John Kenyon, Observer *All ten authors... embody the very qualities Kenneth Morgan hopes his quite exceptional history will instil in its readers: clarity, subtlety, enthusiasm and even affection * TES *An essential part of the high culture of our times, something which every educated person will be expected to have read * Vernon Bogdanor, Encounter *For those who want a one-volume history of Britain this is ideal and with the superb illustrations a bargain * Glasgow Herald *Table of ContentsForeword to the new edition ; 1. Roman Britain (c.55 BC - c. AD 440) ; 2. The Anglo-Saxon Period (c. 440-1066) ; 3. The Early Middle Ages (1066-1290) ; 4. The Later Middle Ages (1290-1485) ; 5. The Tudor Age (1485-1603) ; 6. The Stuarts (1603-1688) ; 7. The Eighteenth Century (1688-1789) ; 8. Revolution and the Rule of Law (1789-1851) ; 9. The Liberal Age (1851-1914) ; 10. The Twentieth Century (1914-2000) ; Epilogue (the years since 2000) ; Further Reading ; Chronology ; Genealogies of Royal Lines ; Prime Ministers 1721-2008 ; Index

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Book SynopsisThis introduction presents Martin Luther as historians now see him. Instead of singling him out as a modern hero, the book emphasizes the context in which Luther worked, the colleagues who supported him, and the opponents who adamantly opposed his agenda for change. Scott H. Hendrix explains the religious reformation and Luther''s importance, without ignoring the political and cultural forces that led the reformation down paths Luther could neither foresee nor influence. This Very Short Introduction pays tribute to Luther''s genius, but also recognizes the self-righteous attitude that alienated contemporaries, offering a unique explanation for that behaviour.ABOUT THE SERIES: The Very Short Introductions series from Oxford University Press contains hundreds of titles in almost every subject area. These pocket-sized books are the perfect way to get ahead in a new subject quickly. Our expert authors combine facts, analysis, perspective, new ideas, and enthusiasm to make interesting and challenging topics highly readable.Trade ReviewA useful new book. * Scott Hendrix, The Daily Telegraph *This is a great addition to OUP's 'Very Short Introductions' series of books, which manages to pack a huge amount of fascinating and useful material into just over a hundred small pages. ... The author is clearly aware of a vast amount of scholarly discussion and secondary literature on Luther and has an enviable ability to summarise and critique it in short compass, and he does a good job of helping us appreciate the historical distance between us and Luther. * Lee Gatiss, Churchman *Table of ContentsForeword ; 1. Luther and the reformation ; 2. Becoming a reformer ; 3. The labours of reform ; 4. Luther's Bible ; 5. The new Christianity ; 6. The political reformation ; 7. From monk to family man ; 8. Angels and demons ; Afterword ; Chronology ; Glossary ; Further reading

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Book SynopsisHerodotus has come to be respected by most scholars as a responsible and important historian. Herodotus was both a critical thinker and a lively storyteller, a traveller who was both tourist and anthropologist. Like Homer, he set out to memorialize great deeds in words; more narrowly, he determined to discover the causes of the wars between Greece and Persia and to explain them to his fellow Greeks. In his hands, the Greeks'' unforeseeable defeat of the Persian kings Darius and Xerxes, with their vast hosts, made for fascinating storytelling. Influenced by the work of the natural scientists and philosophers of his own and earlier eras, Herodotus also brought his literary talents to bear on a vast, unruly mass of information gathered from many interviews throughout his travels and left behind him the longest work that had ever been written in Greek - the first work of history, and one which continues to be read with enjoyment today. Herodotus: A Very Short Introduction introduces readers to what little is known of Herodotus''s life and goes on to discuss all aspects of his work, including his fascination with his origins; his travels; his view of the world in relation to boundaries and their transgressions; and his interest in seeing the world and learning about non-Greek civilizations. We also explore the recurring themes of his work, his beliefs in dreams, oracles, and omens, the prominence of women in his work, and his account of the battles of the Persian Wars. ABOUT THE SERIES: The Very Short Introductions series from Oxford University Press contains hundreds of titles in almost every subject area. These pocket-sized books are the perfect way to get ahead in a new subject quickly. Our expert authors combine facts, analysis, perspective, new ideas, and enthusiasm to make interesting and challenging topics highly readable.Table of ContentsIntroduction ; 1. The world of Herodotus ; 2. Origins and the historian ; 3. Greeks and Persians at war ; 4. Herodotus as Ethnographer ; 5. Women in history, women in the histories ; 6. Herodotus and the divine ; 7. Herodotus as storyteller ; 8. Herodotus as historian

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Book SynopsisThe Reformation was a seismic event in history, whose consequences are still working themselves out in Europe and across the world. The protests against the marketing of indulgences staged by the German monk Martin Luther in 1517 belonged to a long-standing pattern of calls for internal reform and renewal in the Christian Church. But they rapidly took a radical and unexpected turn, engulfing first Germany and then Europe as a whole in furious arguments about how God''s will was to be ''saved''.However, these debates did not remain confined to a narrow sphere of theology. They came to reshape politics and international relations; social, cultural, and artistic developments; relations between the sexes; and the patterns and performances of everyday life. They were also the stimulus for Christianity''s transformation into a truly global religion, as agents of the Roman Catholic Church sought to compensate for losses in Europe with new conversions in Asia and the Americas. Covering both PrTrade Review...a scintillating state-of-the-art survey of the Reformation... a marvellous collection of essays. * Henry A. Jefferies, Iris h Historical Studies *The Oxford Illustrated History of the Reformation is a beautifully presented single volume overview of the Reformation, including sections devoted to its medieval background and contemporary legacy. Its seven chapters, authored by leading reformation scholars, are lavishly adorned with reproductions of books, maps, paintings, statues, and relics that bring the text to life. The book is learned, although unencumbered by footnotes, being cognizant of the latest developments in reformation research, and sometimes challenging them...the resulting work is informative, readable, and authoritative. * Benjamin B. Saunders, Reading Religion *The illustrations are fascinating. * Robert Tanitch, Mature Times *Very well illustrated with vivid and relevant images. * The Irish Catholic *This is a fine book, beautifully produced, providing an easily accessible distillation of some of the best recent scholarship of the Reformation. A work of this kind is a vital resource for anyone concerned to understand what ideas, events and convictions compelled the sea changes in Christianity that took place in the sixteenth century, and, no less important, to understand the repercussions of these changes which are still felt today. * Anne Dillon, Times Literary Supplement *This short volume does a magnificent job in providing a birds eye view of the Protestant Reformation, including appropriate maps. and illustrations that grip the historical imagination. * Mark Greengrass, University of Sheffield, Huguenot Society Journal *This book does a fine job of unfolding the intricately decorated and richly textured fabric of this extraordinary era... a scintillating collection of essays that challenges conventional views of the Reformation. * Lucy Wooding, The Tablet *Expert essays * Theology, Diarmaird MacCulloch *An outstanding work of church history * Church of England Newspaper *Splendid book * Catholic Herald *Compelling collection...Brilliantly assembled by Peter Marshall * Literary Review, Paul Lay *it bears comparison with the very best studies and compendia... a a hearty 'bravo' is in order * Herald, Jonathan Wright *Wonderful... It's a huge achievement by Marshall, and by OUP, that cleverly gets the ball rolling head of the 500th anniversary of Luther's posting of his Ninety-five Theses * Oxford Today *This is a classic Illustrated Oxford History volume: its wealth of pictures forms an instructive rather than merely decorative complement to a text from some of the leading experts in the field, who present a fine panorama of current thinking on this formative era for the modern West. * Diarmaid MacCulloch, University of Oxford, and author of A History of Christianity: The First Three Thousand Years *An outstanding work of church history. * Paul Richardson, Church of England Newspaper *Table of ContentsEditor's Foreword 1: Bruce Gordon: Late Medieval Christianity 2: Lyndal Roper: Martin Luther 3: Carlos Eire: Calvinism and the Reform of the Reformation 4: Brad S. Gregory: The Radical Reformation 5: Simon Ditchfield: Catholic Reformation and Renewal 6: Peter Marshall: Britain's Reformations 7: Alexandra Walsham: Reformation Legacies Further Reading Chronology Picture Acknowledgements Index

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Book SynopsisA comprehensive history of the Nazi persecution and murder of European Jews, paying detailed attention to an unrivalled range sources. Focusing clearly on the perpetrators and exploring closely the process of decision making, Longerich argues that anti-Semitism was not a mere by-product of the Nazis'' political mobilization or an attempt to deflect the attention of the masses, but that anti-Jewish policy was a central tenet of the Nazi movement''s attempts to implement, disseminate, and secure National Socialist rule - and one which crucially shaped Nazi policy decisions, from their earliest days in power through to the invasion of the Soviet Union and the Final Solution. As Longerich shows, the ''disappearance'' of Jews was designed as a first step towards a racially homogeneous society - first within the ''Reich'', later in the whole of a German-dominated Europe.Trade ReviewThe most thorough and reliable account...deserves to be in the library of everyone interested in the history of the greatest genocide in history. * Richard J Evans, Times Literary Supplement. *Table of ContentsPART I: RACIAL PERSECUTION, 1933-1939; PART II: THE PERSECUTION OF THE JEWS, 1939-1941; PART III: MASS EXECUTIONS OF JEWS IN THE OCCUPIED SOVIET ZONES, 1941; PART IV: GENESIS OF THE FINAL SOLUTION ON A EUROPEAN SCALE, 1941; PART V: THE EXTERMINATION OF THE EUROPEAN JEWS, 1942-1945

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Book SynopsisThe dazzling new biography of one of history''s most misunderstood queensElizabeth Stuart is one the most misrepresented - and underestimated - figures of the seventeenth century. Labelled a spendthrift more interested in the theatre and her pet monkeys than politics or her children, and long pitied as ''The Winter Queen'', the direct ancestor of Elizabeth II was widely misunderstood. Nadine Akkerman''s biography reveals an altogether different woman, painting a vivid picture of a queen forged in the white heat of European conflict.Elizabeth Stuart, daughter of James VI and I, was married to Frederick V, Elector Palatine in 1613. The couple were crowned King and Queen of Bohemia in 1619, only to be deposed and exiled to the Dutch Republic in 1620. Elizabeth then found herself at the epicentre of the Thirty Years'' War and the Civil Wars, political and military struggles that defined seventeenth-century Europe. Following her husband''s death in 1632, Elizabeth fostered a cult of widowhoTrade Reviewthis new biography surpasses all earlier studies of Elizabeth Stuart * Thomas Pert, The Seventeenth Century *An extraordinary biography of a much-maligned and much-forgotten queen... Akkerman knows her archive as few have ever done, and demonstrates how to resurrect an early modern woman. * Suzannah Lipscomb, Books of the Year 2021, BBC History Magazine *As a political biography, and as a sensitive exploration of the position of a royal woman, Nadine Akkermans book is excellent. * Jean Wilson, Times Literary Supplement *[A] masterful transformative biography * Noel Malcolm, The Daily Telegraph *Akkerman situates astonishingly comprehensive research against an even more complicated background, rooting her account in diplomatic reports, Elizabeth's own correspondence and numerous illustrations... [Her] erudite, pacey narration of the frustrations, downturns and highlights of Elizabeth's life make for compelling reading. I was gripped. * Anna Groundwater, Literary Review *[A] masterful transformative biography * 5 Star Review, Noel Malcolm, Daily Telegraph *After all the macho chevaliers who served her in life, this Elizabeth has found a superb and sisterly champion in death. * Kate Maltby, The Spectator *Akkermans sensitivity to literary and cultural symbolism deeply enriches this biography ... After all the macho chevaliers who served her in life, this Elizabeth has found a superb and sisterly champion in death. * Kate Maltby, The Spectator *This excellent book sheds light on a part of Scottish history – and European history – that is too little known. It is also a reclamation of a figure of genuine significance and strength. * Stuart Kelly, The Scotsman *[Akkerman's book] comprises both personal and political history in which, seamlessly, Elizabeth's reported giggles at her wedding to Frederick of the Palatinate and her dislike of purgatives keep company with – and are as well handled as – Count Mansfeld's military advances on Breda. * Steven Veerapen, Aspects of History *A goldmine for the Stuart enthusiast who wants to know everything about the fascinating and often misleadingly depicted Elizabeth Stuart, British princess and titular queen of Bohemia, and the times she lived in. * Eva Bonde, Historiskan *This is a scholarly and fascinating account of both an extraordinary woman and of the time in which she lived. Using original source materials, much of which has not been seen before, Dr Akkerman is particularly skilled at showing how easily women can be misrepresented or erased from history. * Kate Mosse *In Queen of Hearts, Nadine Akkerman combines matchless archival expertise with a story-teller's instinct to give new life to one of the seventeenth century's most misunderstood women. A gripping tale. * Natalie Zemon Davis *This is an important scholarly biography, of interest to those who work on British and European political, cultural, and religious history; court culture; and women's history; plus, it is readily accessible to anyone who enjoys a good, historical read. * Georgianna Ziegler, Folger Shakespeare Library (Emerita), Early Modern Women *Table of ContentsIntroduction: A Winter Queen? Prologue Part I: 1596-1612 1: A Family Reunion 2: Periwigs and Powder Plots 3: Protestant Unions 4: The Marriage of Thames and Rhine Part II: 1613-1620 5: Heidelberg - The Eye of the Storm 6: In the Service of the Electress 7: Queen of Bohemia 8: Troubles in Prague Escalate Part III: 1621-1632 9: A Republican Queen 10: Military Manoeuvres 11: Unseverable Ties with Austria and Spain 12: 'I can send you nothing but deaths' 13: An 'Evil State' 14: Losing Champions Part IV: 1632-1642 15: A Widow's Weeds 16: Unlikely Bedfellows 17: The Archbishop Strikes Back Part V: 1642-1662 18: Obeisance to His Majesty and Love to the Parliament 19: Undesirable Matches, Unfortunate Endings 20: Three Widows Epilogue: Turn Out the Lights

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Book SynopsisExplores the Enlightenment as a geographical phenomenon and the place of geography in the Enlightenment. From disciplinary perspectives, the text considers the ways in which the world of the 18th century was brought to view and shaped through map and text, and exploration and argument.

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Book SynopsisAcross early modern Europe, men and women from all ranks gathered medical, culinary, and food preservation recipes from family and friends, experts and practitioners, and a wide array of printed materials. Recipes were tested, assessed, and modified by teams of householders, including masters and servants, husbands and wives, mothers and daughters, and fathers and sons. This much-sought know-how was written into notebooks of various shapes and sizes forming treasuries for health, each personalized to suit the whims and needs of individual communities. In Recipes and Everyday Knowledge, Elaine Leong situates recipe knowledge and practices among larger questions of gender and cultural history, the history of the printed word, and the history of science, medicine, and technology. The production of recipes and recipe books, she argues, were at the heart of quotidian investigations of the natural world or household science. She shows how English homes acted as vibrant spaces for knowled

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Book SynopsisOffers an insider's view of the Chechen War conflict. This work focuses her attention on those caught in the crossfire. It recounts the everyday horrors of living in the midst of war, examines how the Chechen war has damaged Russian society, and takes a look at the ways people on both sides profited from it.Trade Review"[A Small Corner of Hell] skips harrowingly from year to year and place to place. The arch-villains are the Russian death squads, venal and brutal, and the complacent, lying politicians and generals who profit from the illegal trade in booty, oil, and captives. Her heroes are not the Chechen resistance - a gangsterish and ill-fed lot - but the long-suffering civilian population, whose natural grit and solidarity has gradually dissolved under the relentless brutality of daily life." - Economist "A personal, unblinking stare at the casualties of war." - Jonathan Kaplan, Los Angeles Times "The silencing of a voice so commonsensical and so courageous should make the new.... Her work mattered worldwide because it was true democracy in action: because, unlike so many politicians in her own country and elsewhere, she genuinely put her life at risk to speak for the little people whose interests are all too often ignored." - Evening Standard (UK) "Anna Politkovskaya... dedicated her career to covering what other parts of the Russian media either ignored or misreported. She told the stories of people, in Chechnya and the Caucasus, who had experienced the horrors and privations of two brutal wars, and a 'peace' that was just as cruel." - Times (UK)"

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Book SynopsisDe Tocqueville's great meditation on the origins and meanings of the French revolution remains one of the most profound and influential studies of this pivotal period.

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Book SynopsisTrade Review "In the great tradition of Studs Terkel and Is Paris Burning?, Mary Louise Roberts uses the diaries and memoirs of French civilians to narrate a history of the French at D-Day that has for too long been occluded by the mythology of the allied landing. Students approaching WWII history for the first time will now be able to go beyond the beachhead and think deeply about the French-American encounter in all its complexity. For the French, liberation meant American heroes--demigods packing Hershey’s chocolate and chouine gomme--and it also meant the destruction of property and the loss of life, the violent end to years of waiting. The switch of point of view from American to French is an exercise in empathy that renews history at the core. What a great idea and what a gripping and artful book!" -- Alice Kaplan, author of Dreaming in French"A moving examination of how French civilians experienced the fighting." * Telegraph *"Roberts's work is commendable, finally, because her work reminds readers that D-Day was not only a positive event that reestablished freedom, but that its cost was tragically high for all concerned." * New York Journal of Books *"The author shows great skill in allowing these eyewitnesses to 'speak for themselves,' vividly evoking their experiences of the tragedy, the brutality, the destruction, the joy, and the fear that the invasion brought. . . . In its treatment of an often neglected aspect of military history, this will be an attractive acquisition for all libraries." * Choice *Table of ContentsIntroduction 1: The Night of All Nights 2: The Paras 3: Devastation 4: The First Glimpse 5: Sharing a Battlefield 6: Making Friends Conclusion Acknowledgments Notes Bibliography Index

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Book Synopsis''The most honest attempt yet to tell how the Battle of Britain really was'' Andrew Wilson, ObserverHistory is swamped by patriotic myths about the aerial combat fought between the RAF and the Luftwaffe over the summer of 1940. In his gripping history of the Battle of Britain, Len Deighton drew on a decade of research and his own wartime experiences to puncture these myths and point towards a more objective, and even more inspiring, truth.''Revolutionised thinking about the Battle of Britain in a way that has not been seriously challenged since'' The TimesTrade ReviewRevolutionised thinking about the Battle of Britain in a way that has not been seriously challenged since. -- Robert Dawson Scott * The Times *Must surely rank as the most honest attempt yet to tell how the Battle of Britain really was. -- Andrew Wilson * Observer *The research was so meticulous that his conclusions, chiefly that the Few were very brave but their leaders were daft, could not easily be set aside. Indeed, they are now part of the orthodoxy. * The Independent *The best, most dispassionate story of the battle I have read and I say that even though the book destroyed many of my illusions and, indeed, attacks the validity of some of what I wrote as an eyewitness. -- Drew Middleton * New York Times Book Review *[We learn] that British anti-aircraft fire was ineffective, that some R.A.F. ground personnel fled under fire, that the Admiralty provoked costly skirmishes ...The book resounds with exploded myths. -- Leonard Bushkoff * Washington Post *Deighton has shown himself to be the most protean of British best-sellers. -- John Sutherland * London Review of Books *

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Book SynopsisAndy Beckett writes for the Guardian. He has also written for the Economist, The New York Times magazine, the London Review of Books and the Independent on Sunday. His previous books are When the Lights Went Out and Pinochet in Piccadilly.Trade ReviewAn anthology of an age . . . A book that offers so much pleasure and insight -- Ian Jack * Guardian *Austin Metros and Chariots of Fire, cricket balls and petrol bombs, Sloane Rangers and Boys from the Blackstuff . . . Andy Beckett's lively and even-handed account of two years in the life of modern Britons is bracingly anti-nostalgic. Focusing sharply on key players and events, he teases out the paradoxes of those sharp-elbowed and irony-free times, and leaves the reader with provoking questions about how we got here from there -- Hilary MantelPromised You a Miracle is intelligent, entertaining, readable, convincing and timely. It is history well told and properly done -- Daniel Finkelstein * The Times *Beckett is a lucid, focussed writer . . . There is a wry, shrewd humanity to his historical interests -- Richard Davenport-Hines * Observer *A breezy and very intelligent anatomy of the years 1980-82 . . . This is not conventional political history - and is all the better for it. Beckett is as interested in the flowering of independent television production companies and the regeneration of London's Docklands as he is in monetarism, the Falklands War and the assault on the trade unions -- Jonathan Derbyshire * Prospect *[A] gripping mixture of contemporary history and vivid reportage -- John Campbell * Independent *Those who lived through the early eighties - who spent all that time wondering what the hell was going to happen next - will enjoy Beckett's work because it validates what at times seemed like a waking dream, or sometimes a waking nightmare. For those too young, the book is valuable as a reminder that there were other times in recent history when it seemed everything was beginning to slide -- Jamie Kenny * Big Issue *Beckett has a fine eye for detail -- Andrew Neather * Evening Standard *[Beckett] mixes history, journalism and autobiography. He has a strong sense of place -- Richard Vinen * Literary Review *The appeal of Beckett's book is that he succeeds in showing rather than merely telling us why his chosen period was pivotal in the life of the nation. For those who lived through all the turbulence, as I did, it reawakens memories and helps reconnect you with the person you once were. For those who did not, or who cannot remember, it recounts well how an old nation roused itself from slumber and dared to change the course on which it seemed set -- Jason Cowley * New Statesman *

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Book SynopsisTHE SUNDAY TIMES TOP 10 BESTSELLER''A timely re-appraisal . . . a masterpiece'' General Lord Richard DannattThe Third Battle of Ypres was a ''lost victory'' for the British Army in 1917. Between July and November 1917, in a small corner of Belgium, more than 500,000 men were killed or maimed, gassed or drowned - and many of the bodies were never found. The Ypres offensive represents the modern impression of the First World War: splintered trees, water-filled craters, muddy shell-holes.The climax was one of the worst battles of both world wars: Passchendaele. The village fell eventually, only for the whole offensive to be called off. But, as Nick Lloyd shows, notably through previously overlooked German archive material, it is striking how close the British came to forcing the German Army to make a major retreat in Belgium in October 1917. Far from being a pointless and futile waste of men, the battle was a startling illustration ofTrade ReviewA timely re-appraisal . . . a masterpiece -- General Lord Richard DannattSweeps aside mythology and provides a rational explanation and cool description of what took place -- Max Hastings * The Sunday Times *Nick Lloyd has unearthed a mass of new material for this harrowing account of one of the most infamous engagements of the Great War -- Ian Thomson * The Guardian *Meticulously researched . . . A harrowing and important history -- PD Smith * The Guardian *With clean, clear and often eviscerating writing, Nick Lloyd compels us to re-evaluate Passchendaele and all that word conjures -- Paul Gross, director and star of the film 'Passchendaele'Rigorously researched . . . one of the great features of this excellent book, absent from too many less rigorous histories of events in the First World War, is a clear account of how things were on the German side, and how the British attack not only gained ground, but devastated German morale . . . Lloyd's research is superb; the book is well-illustrated with photographs and maps; he brings the battle and its political context vividly to life . . . this is in almost every respect a model of what a work of military history should be, and is now perhaps the definitive account of this phase of the war on the Western Front -- Simon Heffer * The Telegraph *I thought it both precise and compassionate - a properly definitive history, with clear sightlines from the strategic planning, to the horror of the battle itself from both sides, through to its consequences for the war as it entered its complex final phase -- Dr Emily MayhewA fresh and thorough examination of the events of July to November 1917 is definitely needed. Dr Nick Lloyd has achieved this in his book Passchendaele: A New History, an account that is both scholarly and gripping. -- Glyn Harper, Professor of War Studies, Massey UniversityConfirms his position among the best young scholars of WWI in this comprehensively researched, convincingly presented analysis of the still-controversial 1917 battle of Passchendaele . . .Lloyd's thesis is controversial, but his scholarship makes it impossible to dismiss * Publishers Weekly *His narrative of the campaign is superb and written with clarity and dispassion. He teaches military history at King's College London and has done his research thoroughly in German and Allied archives. It is fascinating to know the preoccupations, hopes and plans of the Kaiser ("The English must be made to grovel") and his generals, and to hear the voices of German frontline soldiers -- Lawrence James * The Times *'An eloquent retelling of one of the First World War's most mismanaged battles. Lloyd movingly recounts the ordeal of German and British infantry in the mud and blood of Passchendaele -- Professor Alexander WatsonDid Passchendaele mark the moment when German morale collapsed on the Western Front? Nick Lloyd makes a compelling case . . . both as narrative and analysis, this book is masterly -- Allan Massie * Scotsman *Masterly . . . He argues convincingly -- Allan Mallinson * The Times Literary Supplement *

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Book SynopsisA brilliant collection of short stories from Leonora Brito exploring race, identity, and love''Magical, enigmatic, distinctive, accomplished and haunting . . . Brito was ahead of her time'' BERNARDINE EVARISTO, FROM THE INTRODUCTIONLeonora Brito was a writer of exceptional stories. In Dat''s Love, she soaks up the sights, sounds and colours of Cardiff to boldly explore race and history.With each electric story, Brito introduces a unique cast of characters, vibrantly elevating their everyday lives. From 59-year-old Dorothy taking up nude modelling to black aristocrat Dido Elizabeth Belle absconding her uncle''s estate, from the assassination of JFK to what''s going down at the Blue Bayou bar, Brito blends the surreal and the mundane to redress history and immerse the reader in a vibrantly painted world.Containing an unusual exactness and sense of place, Brito''s stories are unique in Welsh fiction in presenting an insider''s perspective oTrade ReviewScintillating . . . Dat’s Love conjures into being a vivid and vital picture of life in Cardiff’s Tiger Bay . . . Brito’s communicable zest for language fizzes like a seltzer . . . a high-water mark in Welsh fiction, with stories that have a real sense of a real place and stand proud on the shelf * Nation Cymru *Outstanding . . . Leonora Brito shares stirring social observations that cut to the core of the human condition through intimate portraits of a diverse cast of characters. These are stories that stir the soul, quiver the heart, and quicken the brain * LoveReading *Leonora Brito's perspective is utterly unique and her voice is remarkable. I feel incredibly lucky to have discovered this book and to have made this connection to her legacy -- Orla Mackey, author of MOUTHINGA collection that is sometimes funny and always highly original. Brito's narrators and characters are freetalkers and freethinkers with strikingly singular perspectives * Publishers Weekly *The themes of race, community, a sense of place, history and identity (and specifically a Welsh identity) explored in Brito's writing are timeless and relevant as ever, making Dat's Love a must-read for everyone * Wales Arts Review *

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Book SynopsisThis colourful travelogue takes the reader on a journey into some of the foundational stories and enigmatic places that have shaped Britain's sacred landscape.Trade Review‘Nick Mayhew-Smith takes us on a journey through labyrinths of ancient texts into lost worlds of living and believing. This book is an invitation to encounter the God of all creation in the raw and naked majesty of nature, and to recognize in that encounter an ancient and forgotten faith calling to us from the depths of our wounded planet.’ * Professor Tina Beattie, Digby Stuart Centre for Religion, Society and Human Flourishing, University of Roehampton *‘The author of Britain’s Holiest Places has done us all a favour in this new book. Mayhew-Smith invites us to celebrate the riches of our spiritual heritage. He does so, uninhibitedly, nakedly! Prepare for full immersion into chilly realities around the Celtic soul. Expect to come out quickened to the marrow.’ * Professor Alastair McIntosh, author of Soil and Soul and Poacher’s Pilgrimage *‘I want to thank Nick for writing this book. I am with him every step of the way as we feel together the enormous power of the planet, channelled through one man’s drive to understand the connection between people, nature and God. And I also want to thank him for doing so with such humility and humour, for making me laugh and marvel in equal measure. It is a wonderful book.’ * Mary Colwell, television producer and author of Curlew Moon *

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