European history: medieval period, middle ages Books

Book Synopsis''A wonderfully quirky history'' SUNDAY TIMES''The perfect read while you wait for your summer holiday to begin'' MAIL ON SUNDAY''Quippy anecdotes are woven with historical reference and geographical context to give full colour'' IRISH TIMESA bulwark against invasion, a conduit for exchange and a challenge to be conquered, the English Channel - 21 miles wide at its narrowest point - represents much more than a conductor of goods and people. Criss-crossing the Channel, Charlie Connelly collects its stories and brings them vividly to life, from tailing Oscar Wilde''s shadow through the dark streets of Dieppe to unearthing Britain''s first beauty pageant at the end of Folkestone pier. We learn that Louis Bleriot was actually a terrible pilot, the tragic fate of the first successful Channel swimmer, and that if a man with a buttered head and pigs'' bladders attached to his trousers hadn''t fought off an attack by dogfish we might never have had a ChaTrade ReviewPerfect entertainment for grim times -- Andrew HolgateA wonderfully quirky history . . . funny, sweet-tempered and skips along like a skiff in a fresh breeze . . . A classic of its small, comic kind * Sunday Times *Entertaining ... Bright, breezy, and seasoned with a beguiling poignancy, The Channel is the perfect read while you wait for your summer holiday to begin -- Michael Simkins * MAIL ON SUNDAY *Broadcaster and swimmer Charlie Connelly immerses us in a lively history/travel memoir to tell the story of our island bulwark, from when it was rolling hills to the building of the tunnel. We visit coastal towns and chalk-ridge churches, meet a cast of fascinating characters and learn about the antics of swimmers, pilots and balloonists * COUNTRY LIFE *From Dunkirk, to the English occupation of Calais, to Matthew Webb's great scarlet swimming trunks, the English Channel is brimming with stories. The rich history of this body of water is captured by Charlie Connelly, amateur swimmer, broadcaster and all-round funny fella. Quippy anecdotes are woven with historical reference and geographical context to give full colour ... Connelly's enthusiasm brings each story to life' -- Brigid O'Dea * IRISH TIMES *

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Book SynopsisIn this compelling military and political history of the Anglo-Saxon kingdom, Paul Hill explores England's birth amidst the devastation and fury of the Danish invasions of the ninth century. He provides insight into the English response to the new challenges of warfare in these years of turbulence and danger. Alfred the Great, youngest son of King thelwulf, took control of the last surviving Anglo-Saxon kingdom, bringing Wessex and the English' parts of Mercia together into a new Kingdom of the Anglo-Saxons'. This is a story of betrayal and of vengeance, of turncoat oath-breakers and loyal commanders, of battles fought and won against the odds. But above all, this is the story of how England came into being. Warfare in Alfred's England changed from attritional set-piece battles to a grander strategic concern. This is explored, demonstrating how defence-in-depth fortification networks were built across the resurgent kingdom in the wake of Alfred's victory at Edington in 878\. The arrival of new Danish armies into England in the 890s would lead to campaigns quite unlike those of the Great Heathen Army of the previous generation. This is a human, as well as a military story: how a king demonstrated his right to rule was important. Alfred sought to secure the succession on his son Edward, who led his own forces as a young man in the 890s. But not everybody was happy in Alfred's England. Despite the ever-present threat from the Danes, the greatest challenge facing Alfred arose from his own kin, centred deep in the heart of ancient Wessex. Alfred knew very well that his was not the only branch of the family who claimed a right to rule.

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Book SynopsisSuperbly illustrated with photographs, paintings, maps and etchings from the county's museums and art collections, Lost Devonprovides a fascinating insight into Devon's history, as Felicity Goodall explores what little remains of the past and discusses the events which have formed the county as it is today.

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Book SynopsisThe buildings which stood in the way of what was deemed progress are the heritage of Lost Edinburgh. In this informative and stimulating book. Hamish Coghill sets out to trace many of the lost buildings and find out why they were doomed. Lavishly illustrated,Lost Edinburghis a fascinating insight into an ever-changing cityscape.

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Book SynopsisShortlisted for the Saltire Society Scottish History Book of the Year Award James VI and I was arguably the most successful ruler of the Stewart Dynasty in Scotland, and the first king of a united Great Britain. His ableness as a monarch, it has been argued, stemmed largely from his Scottish upbringing. This book is the first in-depth scholarly study of those formative years. It tries to understand exactly when in James' 'long apprenticeship' he seized political power and retraces the incremental steps he took along the way. It also poses new answers to key questions about this process. What relationship did he have with his mother Mary Queen of Scots? Why did he favour his kinsman Esmé Stuart, ultimately Duke of Lennox, to such an extent that it endangered his own throne? And was there a discernible pattern of intent to the alliances he made with the various factions at court between 1578 and 1585? This book also analyses James’ early reign as an important case study of the impact of the Reformation on the monarchy of early modern Europe, and examines the cultural activity at James' early court.Trade Review'A very fine, original study of the first part (1567–1585) of the reign of King James VI that fills what has been a gaping hole in the scholarship on early modern Scotland. It is the first part of a radical new study that will transform the understanding of James’ reign before the union of the crowns in 1603' -- Professor Jane Dawson, University of Edinburgh'This book is the only extensive and scholarly account of the first decades of James VI’s life and of the politics of his emergence from minority to adult monarch. Drawing upon wideranging sources – including under-exploited documents – it presents an original, detailed, readable and compelling interpretation of its subject . . . This will be the key reference work on this period for scholars of Jacobean kingship and politics for many years to come' -- Dr Alexander Courtney, Associate Fellow Royal Historical Society'An intimate and detailed history of young James, the political contexts in which he was brought up, and his character, objectives and practices. No one has written yet about James in such intimate and sustained terms' -- Dr Anna Groundwater, National Museums Scotland'I am greatly looking forward to Professor Steven Reid's The Early Life of James VI' -- Allan Massie * The Scotsman *'Much has been written about James in maturity, but this new book deals with his formative years in Scotland… What a story!' -- Jackie Bird * National Trust for Scotland *'Steven Reid’s rich and scholarly study of King James VI’s early years gives us a remarkable account of this most turbulent era in Scotland’s history' * The Saltire Society *

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Book SynopsisEmperor Maximilian I (1459-1519) treated the spectacle of his tournaments, hastiludes, and mummeries as an art form unto itself. One of modern Europe’s most important sovereigns, he shaped the continent’s political map well into the 20th century, not least due to his keen awareness of the power of a good public display towards diplomacy and networking. From 1512 to 1515, Maximilian commissioned a massive, exquisitely detailed and illustrated manuscript of the 64 tournaments. The 255 elaborately gilt and silvered miniatures were more than just a collection of jousting scenes from the Habsburg court—from the grand melee and tilting at the lists to foot combat and closing ceremonies—they were an allegorical epic telling the story of an intrepid hero, a knight errant who is no other than Maximilian himself. In the guise of his literary alter ego “Freydal”, the Emperor jousted to prove his love for a noble lady. The story ends with the lady agreeing to marry him—she is no other than Mary of Burgundy, whom Maximilian wed in 1477 at Ghent.Produced under the direct supervision of Maximilian himself, Freydal is an invaluable record of late-medieval chivalry, one which introduces us to the jousts that the Emperor revived and even invented—such as the spectacular Rennen mit geschifften Tartschen, where shields would be catapulted into the sky and disintegrated into metal wedges. To this day, it remains the largest extant tournament book from the Late Middle Ages and the essential source on European courtly festivities of the early modern era. Much too fragile to be on permanent display, the miniatures are safely locked away in the vaults of the Kunsthistorisches Museum in Vienna. To commemorate the fifth centenary of Emperor Maximilian I’s death, TASCHEN reproduces the complete 255 miniatures in full-color photographs, making the unique manuscript accessible to all for the very first time. The astounding collection is introduced by Stefan Krause, director of the Kunsthistorisches Museum’s Imperial Armoury, who tells its fascinating story.Trade Review”Freydal conveys the thrill of two metalcovered men colliding at 80 miles per hour.” * The Telegraph *

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Book SynopsisInvestigates the matters of state in late 19th and early 20th century Indonesia, particularly the critical role played by sexual arrangements and affective attachments in creating colonial categories and distinguishing the ruler from the ruled. This work argues that social classification is not a benign cultural act but a potent political one.Trade Review"Comprehensive, erudite, and compelling." * Journal of Modern History *Table of ContentsPreface to the 2010 Edition: Zones of the Intimate in Imperial Formations Acknowledgments Note on Illustrations 1. GENEALOGIES OF THE INTIMATE: MOVEMENTS IN COLONIAL STUDIES 2. RETHINKING COLONIAL CATEGORIES: EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES AND THE BOUNDARIES OF THE RULE 3. CARNAL KNOWLEDGE AND IMPERIAL POWER: GENDER AND MORALITY IN THE MAKING OF RACE 4. SEXUAL AFFRONTS AND RACIAL FRONTIERS: CULTURAL COMPETENCE AND THE DANGERS OF METISSAGE 5. A SENTIMENTAL EDUCATION: CHILDREN ON THE IMPERIAL DIVIDE 6. A COLONIAL READING OF FOUCAULT: BOURGEOIS BODIES AND RACIAL SELVES 7. MEMORY-WORK IN JAVA: A CAUTIONARY TALE EPILOGUE. CAVEATS ON COMFORT ZONES AND COMPARATIVE FRAMES Notes Bibliography Index

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Book SynopsisSocial anthropology was at the forefront of debates about culture, society, and economic development in the British Empire. This book explores the discipline's rise in the interwar period, crisis amid decolonization, and ironic reemergence in the postwar metropole. Across the humanities and social sciences, activists and scholars used anthropological concepts forged in empire to rethink British society at midcentury. Participant Observers shows how colonial anthropology helped define the social imagination of postimperial Britain. Part institutional history of the discipline's formation, part cultural history of its impact, this is the first account of social anthropology's pivotal role in Britain's intellectual culture.Table of ContentsContents Map Acknowledgments Abbreviations Introduction 1. Islands and Institutions Anthropology in Britain and the British Empire in the First Decades of the Twentieth Century 2. Philanthropists and Imperialists Indirect Rule, the Rockefeller Foundation and the Rise of LSE Anthropology 3. Pencils, Schemes and Letters Fieldwork and Pedagogy in 1930s Social Anthropology 4. Popularising the Field Interwar Anthropologists on the Radio and in Literary Culture 5. From Kinship Studies to Community Studies ‘Race Relations’, the ‘Traditional Working-Class Neighbourhood’ and the ‘Social Network’ in Post-war British Sociology 6. The Development Decades The African Survey, the CSSRC and Three Approaches to Social Anthropology in the British Empire, 1935–1955 7. From Development Economics to the ‘Moral Economy’ At the Margins of Anthropology, Economics and Social History in the 1950s and 1960s Epilogue Notes Bibliography Index

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Book SynopsisBruni (1370-1444) was the best-selling author of the 15th century, and this book is generally considered the first modern work of history. This volume concludes the edition, the first in English translation. It includes Bruni’s Memoirs, an autobiographical account of the events of his lifetime, and cumulative indexes to the complete work.

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Book SynopsisFrom the ashes of empire, the nation rose on a wave of idealism. That, at least, is the standard tale. Dominique Reill argues that empire retained many supporters after 1919. Investigating the post-WWI crisis in multicultural, urbane Fiume, she finds that the stories of empire’s cosmopolitans have been overwritten by the triumph of nationalism.Trade Review[An] excellent example of how modern historians are adding texture to our understanding of 20th-century Europe…The colorful story of Fiume has indeed been told before, but never with so many fresh and fascinating insights as Reill provides. -- Tony Barber * Financial Times *Reill’s depiction of the local, enriched by massive research in Rijeka’s archives (and some at the Vittoriale [degli Italiani]), is a delight…One of the pleasures of Reill’s work is its inclusion of period photographs…Throughout the book, Reill paints deft portraits of people and events. -- R. J. B. Bosworth * Literary Review *So important…By looking at the ways in which the grandiose D’Annunizian rhetorical flourishes were translated into pragmatic everyday life solutions, Reill opens up an important conversation on What Is History and Who Gets to Write It…With the rigor of a scholar and the artistry of a bard, she finds not just a story to represent the complexities of speaking local problems into a larger global conversation. She finds the story, the case study, the Martin Guerre who articulates a worldview. -- Aliza Wong * Los Angeles Review of Books *An important addition to a hitherto neglected area of Habsburg studies, by helping to disrupt the common wisdom…Brilliantly written…A path-breaking contribution in reconsidering the imperial transitions in twentieth-century Europe. -- Marco Bresciani * H-Net Reviews *As this impeccably researched and engagingly written book demonstrates, the Habsburg monarchy’s afterlife is often as interesting as its proper history. -- Ian D. Armour * History Today *A superb book, smartly conceived and beautifully written. With a genius for unearthing fascinating stories of local people, then using them to illuminate larger issues, Reill forces us to reconsider in profound ways how we conceive the history of the immediate postwar period in Europe. This history from below questions stale nationalist certainties and depicts vividly how communities worked to create their own options in a challenging postwar world. -- Pieter Judson, author of The Habsburg Empire: A New HistoryThe Fiume Crisis offers a fundamentally new way of thinking about war and postwar rebuilding. By zooming in to a specific city at the crossroads of many different pasts and multiple possible futures, Reill provides a fresh perspective on who makes history happen—bilingual cabbage sellers and young schoolteachers, emigré lawyers and seductive dockworkers—all those who tried to create a city that could escape the ravages of war and economic devastation. Their creativity and vision, triumphs and failures come alive in this breathtaking story. -- Alison Frank Johnson, author of Oil Empire: Visions of Prosperity in Austrian GaliciaIn this fascinating and important book Reill transforms our understanding of both the Fiume crisis and the whole geopolitical metamorphosis of Europe that followed World War I. She shows that the struggle over the city between Italy and Yugoslavia reflected a much deeper and more complex history of Adriatic identities in a Habsburg and post-Habsburg context. -- Larry Wolff, author of Woodrow Wilson and the Reimagining of Eastern EuropeA magisterial account of everyday life in the multi-ethnic city of Fiume after the end of the Great War. Moving well beyond the familiar story of the soldier-poet Gabriele D’Annunzio and his occupation of Fiume, Reill succeeds in telling the fascinating story of how a city of considerable cultural complexity dealt with the challenges of being a small successor state in a post-imperial world. -- Robert Gerwarth, author of November 1918: The German RevolutionA brilliant reevaluation of the nationalist myths and legends that have grown up around the history of Fiume under Gabriele D’Annunzio. Shifting our gaze away from his charismatic personality to the experiences of the citizens of Fiume, Reill demonstrates the persistence of imperial loyalties underpinning their quest for greater autonomy. This book forces us to question what we think we know about the relationship between nationalism and empire in the aftermath of the First World War. -- Tara Zahra, author of The Great Departure: Mass Migration from Eastern Europe and the Making of the Free WorldIn this gem of a book, Reill peels away the sensational stories that made Fiume notorious as both a diplomatic thorn in Woodrow Wilson’s peacemaking and the prancing ground of proto-fascist Gabriele D’Annunzio, revealing a more thrilling, politically meaningful history. In the plucky polyglot city’s colliding authorities, crazy quilt laws, and contradictory wants, Reill vividly captures the human comedy as well as the shoals on which hopes for the Great Peace to follow the Great War foundered. -- Victoria de Grazia, author of The Perfect Fascist: A Story of Love, Power, and Morality in Mussolini’s ItalyReill offers a new interpretation of Fiume…Will surely be one of the most, if not the most influential monograph on Fiume in years to come…Impressive in its thoroughness. -- Ágnes Ordasi * Hungarian Historical Review *Reill seeks to show how ordinary Fiumians navigated this period of crisis in the history of their city…Her research reveals their pragmatism as they tried to make the best of their new position as an isolated city-state in the age of nations. -- Liam Hoare * Metropole *[A] crucial new study…A thorough and convincing portrait of a city striving to come to terms with the breakup of the Austro-Hungarian empire and find its way in an evolving political landscape…Reill has produced a compelling analysis of how fundamental day-to-day issues such as currency, legal codes, citizenship, and school curriculums were dealt with in the city. This is a scrupulous, sober, history from below that is essential in a context such as d’Annunzio’s Fiume, which was all about imposing an image from above. -- Aidan O’Malley * Dublin Review of Books *Engaging…Readers will finish this book enthusiastic about Fiume. But they will also come away with new insights into the creative ways that Europeans tackled the aftermath of World War I on the ground…Reill highlights the importance of considering both the imperial and the local if we want to understand the end of World War I or the mapping of interwar Europe. -- Caitlin E. Murdock * Canadian-American Slavic Studies *Particularly relevant to historians of Habsburg Europe, while challenging standard accounts of modern Italian history. The history of interwar Fiume is much more than an Italian story, more than the prehistory of Italian Fascism. Extremely erudite, well-written, and illustrated with many astonishing photographs. -- Axel Körner * Austrian History Yearbook *An important contribution to the burgeoning literature on post-1918 Europe and the debate on continuities between empires and nation-states…This accomplished study invites further discussion and research on a key moment in European history. -- Laurence Cole * Journal of Modern History *

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Book SynopsisThe Old English Pastoral Care, a ninth-century translation from Latin of Pope Gregory the Great’s guide for aspiring bishops that advises on what sort of spiritual guidance bishops should provide, was aimed at revitalizing the English Church. This new edition and translation into modern English is the first to appear in a century and a half.Trade ReviewFulk’s new translation of the Pastoral Care renders this often-overlooked text far more accessible for a whole range of readers…It is to be hoped that students, teachers, and researchers use Fulk’s new edition to go beyond the prefaces and epilogues, and turn their meticulous attention to the main text of this important and understudied Old English translation. -- Amy Faulkner * Medieval Review *

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Book SynopsisWhat do Germans mean when they say “never again”? Andrew Port examines German responses to the genocides in Cambodia, Bosnia, and Rwanda, showing how these events transformed the meaning of the Holocaust in Germany, inspired partial remilitarization, and changed the country’s relationship to refugees fleeing war-torn regions.Trade ReviewAmbitious, original and richly evidenced…Port offers an innovative contribution in the atrophied terrain of ‘memory studies.’ Never Again implies that Walter Benjamin’s ‘Angel of History’ is, at last, turning away from sentimental memorials and sentimental solemnity—and looking forward. -- Christopher Hale * History Today *Never Again thoroughly examines the German response to three genocides that took place elsewhere in the world after the Second World War—in Cambodia, Bosnia and Rwanda—and considers, in particular, the role that the Nazi past and the Holocaust played in debates about them. -- Hans Kundnani * Times Literary Supplement *Port’s meticulously researched book is a well-written account of Germans struggling to do the right thing—whether on the political or personal level—against the backdrop of their own history…An important contribution. -- Gisela Dachs * Israel Journal of Foreign Affairs *A thrilling accomplishment. Ingeniously conceived and intrepidly executed, Never Again explores how German mastery of the Holocaust past proceeded through reflection on foreign atrocities, first in the postcolonial world and then in Europe itself. This is the most important study of memory, politics, and the ongoing construction of public norms written in a long time. -- Samuel Moyn, author of Humane: How the United States Abandoned Peace and Reinvented WarGermans, in the communist East, the democratic West, and the reunified nation, cannot deal with atrocities in other countries without being haunted by their own dark history. How they have negotiated these dangerous political challenges, sometimes successfully, sometimes not, is the subject of Port’s fascinating, elegant, subtle, and always fair-minded book. -- Ian Buruma, author of The Collaborators: Three Stories of Deception and Survival in World War IIA fascinating, carefully crafted look at how the powerful and dynamic factor of German memory of the Second World War and the Holocaust affected German foreign policy on the genocides in Cambodia, Bosnia, and Rwanda. Port’s nuanced and suggestive analysis also contributes in important ways to our understanding of the making of Berlin’s zigzag policies on Ukraine today. -- Norman M. Naimark, author of Stalin and the Fate of Europe: The Postwar Struggle for SovereigntyThis deeply researched book tells the story of how, by embracing human rights and engaging in humanitarian actions, Germany rejoined ‘the community of nations as a peaceful member.’ Port illuminates the highly topical question of how Germany’s past both shapes and constrains its responses to contemporary bloodshed. -- M. E. Sarotte, author of Not One Inch: America, Russia, and the Making of Post–Cold War StalemateA highly original work, sensitive both to domestic debates and to far broader transnational and international considerations. By exploring how a concern with their own genocidal past informed German reactions to later genocides, Port illuminates not only the German responses to events elsewhere in the world but also the ways in which, in an increasingly mobile and globalizing society, German society was and is itself changing. -- Mary Fulbrook, author of Reckonings: Legacies of Nazi Persecution and the Quest for JusticeA brilliant new perspective on postwar German history. Even with hundreds of books written on attempts to cope with the Nazi past, the political consequences of shifting memory culture have seldom been discussed. In exploring how the Holocaust became an argument in German foreign policy, humanitarian aid, and military interventions, Port offers a wealth of insight—not only on Germany, but also on its global context. -- Frank Bösch, author of Mass Media and Historical Change: Germany in International Perspective, 1400 to the PresentFascinating reading. With Russia’s war on Ukraine, Germany faces its biggest crisis yet in its understanding of how the Holocaust and World War II should influence its military policy. Port’s timely book shows that this is not the first time Germans grappled with this issue. Examining earlier debates about the proper response to atrocities in Cambodia, Bosnia, and Rwanda, Never Again provides essential historical context for the contemporary dilemma of how to address Russian aggression. -- Hope M. Harrison, author of After the Berlin Wall: Memory and the Making of the New Germany, 1989 to the PresentA splendid…brilliant study… [Port] builds a bridge between the emergence of a Holocaust-related culture of remembrance and a history of humanitarianism before and after the fall of the Berlin Wall. His book also addresses the contemporary problem of how society deals with mass violence in distant regions. Not least due to recent global political developments, this requires more than ever a competent classification by the specialist disciplines. -- Annette Weinke * Süddeutsche Zeitung *

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Book SynopsisThe Old English History of the World, produced around the year 900, is an anonymous translation and adaptation of Paulus Orosius’s immensely popular Latin history known as the Seven Books of History against the Pagans. This volume offers a new edition and modern translation of an Anglo-Saxon perspective on the ancient world.Trade ReviewThe greatest virtue of this volume is that it takes this important account of the history of world—a vital text to those scholars who work in the field of Anglo-Saxon studies, but which until now has remained relatively obscure to students and the wider public—and makes it far more accessible than it has been for more than a century. -- Benjamin A. Saltzman * Speculum *

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Book SynopsisThe post–WWI crisis of statelessness induced creative legal thinking, as officials and jurists debated cosmopolitan citizenship beyond the borders of sovereigns. But by midcentury the state won out as the lone site of citizenship. Mira Siegelberg uncovers the ideological roots of this transformation and its impact on the international order.Trade ReviewIlluminating and rich…Over 10 million people are stateless today, and governments seem hell-bent on increasing their numbers…Siegelberg’s account offers a sober corrective to dewy-eyed stories in which the formation of postwar international institutions like the U.N. curtailed state-inflicted cruelties. -- Udi Greenberg * New Republic *Siegelberg’s book is the first to consider the evolution of statelessness as a legal, humanitarian, and philosophical matter. It’s an essential contribution to scholarship on the subject, and it could not appear at a more fitting time. -- Atossa Araxia Abrahamian * New York Review of Books *Drawing on a wide variety of archival sources…she documents how the problem of statelessness informed theories of human rights and sovereignty…A comprehensive overview of international perspectives and experiences concerning statelessness and the modern state’s power to exclude. -- Laura van Waas and Natalie Brinham * Project Syndicate *Demonstrate[s] just how late the conceptual and legal borders of our political world map were drawn…Statelessness concerns the ways in which international lawyers and political scientists have responded to the modern phenomenon of exclusion and displacement that characterized much of the twentieth century and that forced new ways of thinking about the role of borders and boundaries of membership. -- Ruth Balint * Australian Book Review *Compelling…This is an impressive work that shows the impact of legal thought on social reality and the significance of possessing a (legal) identity—both at the beginning of the twentieth century and today…Siegelberg’s text is an important contribution, as she makes the understudied topic of statelessness intelligible and, on top of that, demonstrates how it intertwines with other foundational political concepts, such as sovereignty, citizenship, and human rights. -- Isadora Dullaert * LSE Review of Books *A necessary exploration of the development of statelessness as a Western philosophical and jurisprudential concept in the early and mid-twentieth century…A must-read for scholars and legal professionals studying citizenship and/or working on immigration, political theory, and human rights as it provides a needed engagement with statelessness as a contentious concept…A fascinating and important read. -- Brittany Lehman * EuropeNow *Mira Siegelberg demonstrates that the question of statelessness, now a relatively minor aspect of a larger refugee crisis, in fact lies at the heart of the transformations in legal consciousness that produced the fragile and often ambiguous postwar international rights regime. Statelessness is an important book and a magnificent achievement. -- Mark Mazower, author of Dark Continent: Europe’s Twentieth CenturyA book equal parts compelling and sobering, Statelessness lives up to the importance of its topic. Siegelberg writes conceptual history for our twenty-first-century world. -- Stefan-Ludwig Hoffmann, University of California, BerkeleyMira Siegelberg’s relentless and imaginative exploration of statelessness in the twentieth century ranges across several disciplines, languages, and legal traditions. Along the way, she manages to recast core episodes in the history of modern political and legal thought. And, even more, she models an ambitious approach to a critical history of international law. -- Hendrik Hartog, Princeton UniversityThis insightful and well-written work opens up a new perspective on the formation of our present international order and the place of individuals within it. With mass migration caused by wars and, in the future, by climate change, the problem of statelessness is not going to go away. In a moment when we need to think again about the relationship between states and individuals, this book is a good place from which to start. -- Martti Koskenniemi, author of The Gentle Civilizer of Nations: The Rise and Fall of International Law, 1870–1960[An] important study. -- Francis Wade * The Baffler *A fine-grained history of statelessness. -- James H. McDonald * New York Journal of Books *

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Book SynopsisIt is commonly believed that international law originated in respectful relations among free and equal European states. But as Jennifer Pitts shows, international law was forged as much through Europeans’ domineering relations with non-European states and empires, leaving a legacy visible in the unequal structures of today’s international order.Trade ReviewIlluminat[es] the ways in which international law was an artifact of empire, a system for organizing the world so as to perpetuate Western dominance. -- G. John Ikenberry * Foreign Affairs *Boundaries of the International adds much nuance to existing literature, and challenges some of the past analytics through which the history of international legal thought has been written. A first-class book by a recognized leader in the field of history of international political and legal thought. -- Martti Koskenniemi, University of HelsinkiAn outstanding history of international law and its entanglement with empire from one of the leading historians of political thought in the world today. -- Andrew Fitzmaurice, University of SydneyIn this masterful study, Jennifer Pitts examines universalist claims about the law of nations alongside rising European global power, uncovering a set of linked contradictions within eighteenth- and nineteenth-century political thought. A tour de force of interpretation and historical analysis, this subtle and persuasive book places the problem of empire at the very center of the history of international law—where it will now surely stay. -- Lauren Benton, Vanderbilt University

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Book SynopsisThis volume presents translations from the Greek of two crucial primary sources published together for the first time—Michael Panaretos’s On the Emperors of Trebizond and Bessarion’s Encomium on Trebizond—providing enlightening perspectives on Byzantine identity and illuminating views of this major trading hub along the Silk Road.

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Book SynopsisDuring the spring of 1933, Stalin's police rounded up nearly one hundred thousand people as part of the Soviet regime's "cleansing" of Moscow and Leningrad and deported them to Siberia. This work weaves this episode into a broader story about the Soviet frenzy in the 1930s to purge society of all those deemed to be unfit.Trade ReviewReview of the original French edition: "The mind-blowing story of a bureaucratic utopia that turned into carnage. A 'micro-history' that forms a representative example in a country where the inconceivable became the norm."--Thomas Wieder, Le Monde "[An] absorbing new book... After detailing the lead-up to the deportation of the 'socially harmful elements' and the political situation surrounding it, Mr. Werth zeroes in on the Nazino affair to illustrate the policy's devastating effect."--Martha Mercer, New York Sun "Few books have captured the human tragedy of Stalin's bloody reign so succinctly or with such force."--Douglas Smith, Seattle Times "Cannibal Island is a grim tale of ten thousand 'anti-social elements' deposited on an empty Siberian island in the Ob river in the 1930s. But, more than that, it is a story of how the brutal purge machinery was oiled and run at its lowest level."--Paul E. Richardson, Russian Life Magazine "Nicolas Werth's excellent history of the Nazino gulag is a portrait of a place that went from terrible to unimaginable... In a strong field, Cannibal Island is one of the grisliest and most unpleasant accounts of gulag life... This one ranks as one of the more memorable exhibits in the gallery of horrors."--Graeme Wood, Weekly Standard "This is an utterly harrowing account of the 'bloody implementation of a utopia' and an exemplary analysis of the Soviet state, with its 'number culture' and 'pseudocategorizations' -- all of this underpinned, of course, by the most spectacular cruelty."--Richard King, Sydney Morning Herald "Often the details in a single instance sear more deeply than the most gruesome tally of large numbers...Werth describes in rich detail the transformation of the vast western Siberian wilderness into the dumping ground for millions of 'de-kulakized' peasants, minority groups from the borderlands, the socially marginal, criminals, and the utterly innocent...These 'special settlements' are a part of the gulag's least-known history. Werth corrects that in plain and clear language, leaving the story to convey its own excruciating eloquence."--Robert Levgold, Foreign Affairs "Nicolas Werth's book is the stuff of nightmares. It recounts the fate of 6,000 'special settlers', rounded up in Moscow and Leningrad in 1933 and sent to the island of Nazino in the Ob River in Western Siberia."--Carla King, Irish Times "[A] chilling piece of historical reconstruction"--London Review Bookshop "The author demonstrates encyclopedic erudition and provides nuanced explanations. Ample quotations from reports and letters of government officials give the book its sense of immediacy. In other words, the volume is both scholarly and absorbing, which is a rare combination."--Michael Jakobson, Slavic Review "In short, this remarkable case study of dysfunction and terror makes a valuable contribution to our understanding of Stalinism."--JeffreyS.Hardy, H-Net Reviews "[This book] mark[s] a quantitative leap forward in data now available in English on these important and complex problems that had previously been much neglected."-- Stephen G. Wheatcroft, American Historical Review "Werth's meticulous approach to the study of social order and administrative norms in the Stalin era is likely to be of real interest to specialists in GULAG studies, camp memoirs, and Soviet culture in general. Clearly and forcefully argued, Cannibal Island does an excellent job of reconstructing the way in which Soviet officials and institutions operated in the 1930s. Readable enough to serve as a good source for undergraduates working on research papers in Soviet history and culture, this volume would make a good addition to even the most modest university library collections."--Emily D. Johnson, Slavic and East European Journal "Cannibal Island is a valuable addition to emerging Gulag scholarship in so far as it demonstrates how, in the early 1930s, this network of labour camps and settlements also began serving as a dumping ground for those elderly, destitute, and physically and mentally disabled 'elements' the regime expunged from urban centres."--Andrew A. Gentes, European History Quarterly "This short yet extraordinarily rich account of Stalinist politics and Soviet life should be read widely."--Hiroaki Kuromiya, Slavonic and East European ReviewTable of ContentsForeword by Jan T. Gross ix Preface xiii Glossary xxi CHAPTER 1: A "grandiose plan" 1 CHAPTER 2: Western Siberia, a Land of Deportation 23 CHAPTER 3: Negotiations and Preparations 59 CHAPTER 4: In the Tomsk Transit Camp 86 CHAPTER 5: Nazino 121 Conclusion 171 Epilogue, 1933-37 181 Acknowledgments 194 Notes 195

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Book SynopsisTrade Review"Winner of the Ralph Gomory Prize, Business History Conference""Finalist for the PROSE Award in European History, Association of American Publishers""[A] sweeping economic, social and cultural history of central Europe. . . . unorthodox and engaging."---Marc Levinson, Wall Street Journal"A wide-ranging and thorough study. . . . this is a riveting story, well told . . . by Marchand, who illuminates so much in an original and entertaining way."---Tim Blanning, Literary Review"As Suzanne Marchand shows in her meticulous new book, porcelain has been integral to German life since its reinvention in Saxony in 1708." * The Economist *"As an economic-business history, Marchand's work is a landmark achievement. . . . Porcelain is a monumental achievement in scope and breadth in illuminating porcelain's European beginnings and its increasingly fragile position in the markets of the present."---Megan Brandow-Faller, Central European History"Marchand paints a colourful picture of the day-to-day life of porcelain factories."---Caroline McCaffrey-Howarth, Apollo"To weave together cultural, economic, and social history so masterfully takes great historiographical experience and skill. All those who are interested in nineteenth-century German intellectual history admire Suzanne Marchand’s books on the reception of classical antiquity and orientalism. Now she has surprised us with something completely new"---Jürgen Osterhammel, Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung"Marchand, a specialist in German history, writes with clarity."---Norma Clarke, Times Literary Supplement"The remarkable achievement of Suzanne Marchand’s new book, Porcelain, which focuses especially on Germany, is that she moves beyond the celebrated age of discovery in the eighteenth century...to explore modern manufacture and diffusion across a broader consumer society in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries .... While Meissen lies at the center of Marchand’s book, one of its great strengths is the broader survey of German porcelain manufacturing."---Larry Wolff, Journal of Modern History"N/A"---Monika Poettinger, Austrian History Yearbook

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Book SynopsisTrade Review"Winner of the Historians of British Art Book Prize, Pre-1600""Shortlisted for the 2019 Wolfson History Prize, Wolfson Foundation""One of History Today's Best Books of 2018""A cutting-edge survey of how England came literally to be built. Beautifully illustrated and possessed of a panoramic sweep, it integrates archaeology, topography and textual studies to ground-breaking effect. The origins and early history of places across England are brought alive as rarely before."---Tom Holland, History Today"The most stimulating book I’ve read this year. . . . This magnificent work draws together a wealth of archaeological, artistic and written evidence to offer a new picture of the inhabited landscapes of early medieval England. . . . Beautifully written and generously illustrated, this book is essential reading for anyone who wants to understand how the Anglo-Saxons saw and interacted with the places in which they lived."---Eleanor Parker, History Today"Beautifully presented and richly illustrated. . . . A panoramic view, providing new insights into Anglo-Saxon architecture and a new way of understanding the Anglo-Saxon world."---William Whyte, Church Times"This is a book that should be read by most scholars and students working on this period. It embodies much personal research and will undoubtedly lead on to many further discussions."---Della Hooke, Medieval Archaeology"Perceptively and compellingly constructed, and richly furnished with illustrations, maps and plans throughout, it again represents a hugely important contribution from a most luminary scholar."---Duncan W. Wright, Early Medieval Europe"A welcome change to some more traditional history books that focus on the information gleaned from the written word, this work takes advantage of some of the most recent archaeological discoveries, some of which are from unpublished sources." * Local History Society Newsletter *"There appears to be some basis for the theory of a freer Saxon England, and if the period is of deeper interest to you, then you’ll well be rewarded by this book."---Stewart Rayment, interLib

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Book SynopsisTrade Review"Kalman tells the story of the Bacris and the Busnachs with verve and a certain wry panache, liberally quoting from primary sources which can be entertainingly theatrical."---Peter Gordon, Asian Review of Books

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Book SynopsisA unique anthology of Race Today (1973-88), featuring original contributions from C. L. R. James, Linton Kwesi Johnson and Darcus HoweTrade Review'[I am] grateful for this anthology of the writings of the Race Today Collective ... It comes from the heart of black British struggle ... I could have really done with this when I was writing [my book]' -- Reni Eddo-Lodge, author of 'Why I'm No Longer Talking to White People about Race''Those people inspired me - there was Darcus Howe, Linton Kwesi Johnson, the Race Today Collective, that inspired me...' -- Benjamin Zephaniah, Poet'required reading for any black activist of the time...' -- Diane Abbott MP'The radical journal Race Today...was hugely influential in black political movements in the 1970s' -- Kehinde Andrews, author of 'Back to Black: Retelling Black Radicalism for the 21st Century''a serious black journal that was both politically and theoretically nuanced' -- Denise Noble, author of 'Decolonizing and Feminizing Freedom''A beacon for anyone interested in race in Britain' -- New SocialistTable of ContentsList of Figures Acknowledgements Introduction - Leila Hassan, Robin Bunce and Paul Field 1. Race Today and British Politics 2. Black Youth in Revolt 3. Sex, Race and Class 4. Asian Communities, Asian Workers and Race Today I: THE ASIAN SELF DEFENCE MOVEMENT II: TIGER STRIKES: BHAG AND THE STRUGGLE FOR HOUSING III ASIAN WORKERS FIGHT FOR JUSTICE 5. Challenging British (In)Justice 6. ‘Creation For Liberation’: Race Today and Culture 7. For Black and Third World Liberation 8. Legacies Notes on Contributors Index

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Book SynopsisA concise people's history of Europe spanning from the First World War to todayTrade Review'A vivid and passionate fresco of a century of tumultuous European social history' -- Pietro Basso, Ca' Foscari University of Venice'Raquel Varela succeeds in explaining the disasters of European neoliberalism, without ever romanticising the social pact that went before it. In a work with a rich sense of historical possibility, she shows how every inch of social progress had to be fought for and how little it ever had to do with the European institutions' -- David Broder, 'Jacobin'Table of ContentsPreface 1. The War of the Wars, the Revolution of Revolutions, 1917 2. The Controlling Man of the Universe: The Crisis of 1929, the Revolutions of the 1930s and Nazism 3. "Midnight" in the Century: The Second World War 4. The 1945 European Social Pact 5. Anticolonial Revolutions 6. Crisis and Revolution: from May 1968 to the Carnation Revolution 7. The End of the Social Pact (1981-2018) Conclusion

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Book SynopsisThe classic history of the French Revolution by the assassinated socialist leader, Jean JaurèsTrade Review'Tantalizing prose... The lively sense of being 'inside' the Assembly or the meetings of the Paris City Council leaps from the page' -- 'Times Literary Supplement''The death of a single human being can mean a great battle lost for all humanity: the murder of Jaurès was one such disaster' -- Romain Rolland'We can say today that every revolutionary party, every oppressed people, every oppressed working class can claim Jaures, his memory, his example, and his person, for our own' -- Leon Trotsky'Jaurès' brilliant analysis is as refreshing and controversial today as it was over a century ago. It resonates with the passion and eloquence of this great political leader while at the same time sustaining a rigourous Marxist analysis of the social and economic forces behind the Revolution. Its appearance in this edition is to be warmly welcomed' -- Peter McPhee, Emeritus Professor, University of Melbourne'A classic of historical writing which laid the foundations for so many later accounts of the French Revolution. Jaurès vividly depicts the drama of the Revolution, the triumphs and the setbacks, the bloodshed and the hope, but always with an eye to the future, to how the Revolution opened the way to human emancipation' -- Ian Birchall, historian and author of The Spectre of BabeufTable of ContentsIntroduction by Henry Heller Translator’s Note 1. Introduction 2. The Causes of the Revolution 3. July 14, 1789 4. National Lands 5. The Revolutionary 'Journées' 6. The Flight to Varennes 7. The Insurrection of August 10, 1792 8. The September Massacres 9. The Battle of Valmy 10. The Trial of the King 11. The Enragés against the High Cost of Living 12. The Revolution of May 31 and June 2, 1793 13. Marat’s Assassination 14. Dechristianization 15. The Dictatorship of Public Safety and the Fight against the Factions 16. The Terror and Fall of Robespierre 17. How Should We Judge the Revolutionaries? Index

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Book SynopsisExplores the long history of Black people in Britain, with an emphasis on women, queer projects and political activismTrade Review'A forceful revolt against Eurocentric history and imperialist nostalgia, this sweeping collection illuminates the everyday lives and interconnected freedom struggles of generations of Black people in Britain, particularly Black women. An indispensable resource and gift to students, scholars and activists alike.' -- W. Chris Johnson, University of Toronto'An extensive collection grounded in African and Caribbean historical agency over centuries. Contributors offer nuanced and probing narratives investigating the many issues (freedom and bondage, citizenship, migration, local activism, political Blackness, Black Power) animating Black British histories.' -- James Cantres, author of 'Blackening Britain: Caribbean Radicalism from Windrush to Decolonization''Unveils outstanding scholarship capturing the nature and dynamics of Black British History. A diverse and inclusive narrative that is not one-dimensional in understanding Black Diaspora community.' -- Dr Christopher Roy Zembe, History Department, De Montfort University'A kaleidoscopic collection that is both a wonderful showcase of the most exciting work happening in Black British History right now and a rousing call to action. Essential reading!' -- Christienna Fryar, historian of Britain and the Caribbean'An important collection that brings together new and established voices of Black History in Britain, spanning early modern to contemporary history, rural and urban Black lives, radical politics and Black feminist organising.' -- Dr Rochelle Rowe, Lecturer in Black British History, University of Edinburgh'They can destroy our landing cards, but they’ll never erase our history! Packed with lucid, rigorous and ground-breaking new research, this collection will be essential reading for students and the general reader alike.' -- Kevin Searle, editorial board, History Matters'Essential reading for anyone interested in learning about the lives of African and Caribbean people in Britain. A book that reflects a range of voices who are transforming the study of Britain’s Black histories.' -- Kennetta Hammond Perry, author of 'London is the Place For Me: Black Britons, Citizenship and the Politics of Race''This valuable book enriches our understanding of the contribution of African and Caribbean people across British cities and towns from the 17th century to contemporary times, as well as their transnational connections and commitments to the Caribbean and Africa.' -- Dr Ama Biney, lecturer in Black British history, University of LiverpoolTable of ContentsAbout the contributors Introduction by Hakim Adi 1. ‘A Diamond in the Dirt’: The Experiences of Anne Sancho in Eighteenth-Century London - Montaz Marché 2. Out in the English Countryside: Black People in Eighteenth-Century Warwickshire - Annabelle Gilmore 3. Chasing shadows: Conducting a regional Black history of Falmouth and Penryn during the Packet Boat Years of 1688 to 1850 - Kate Bernstock 4. ‘Comrade Algerine Sankoh of West Africa’ – Pan-Africanist and Britain’s first Black revolutionary socialist? - Christian Høgsbjerg 5. Dusé Mohamed Ali, the African Times and Orient Review and the British Government - Rey Bowen 6. Dark Lovers and Desdemonas: Gender, Race and Pan-Africanism in Britain, 1935-1945 - Theo Williams 7. A Luta Continua: The political journey of Manchester’s Black women activists, 1945-1980 - A.S. Francis 8. How West Indian students and migrants cooperated in fighting racialised injustices in Britain 1950s-1970s - Claudia Tomlinson 9. ‘The Black Power Desk’: The Response of the State to the British Black Power Movement - Perry Blankson 10. Black Power in Britain and the Caribbean: establishing connections, 1968-1973 - Elanor Kramer-Taylor 11. ‘The enemy in our midst’: Caribbean women and the protection of community in Leeds - Olivia Wyatt 12. Moving through Britain with Rastafari Women: Resistance & Unity in Babylon - Aleema Gray 13. The Black Parents’ Movement - Hannah Francis 14. Mollie Hunte: Educational Psychologist, Educator and Activist: What archival collections can tell us - Rebecca Adams 15. ‘Black Footprints’ – A trio of experiences - Zainab Abbas, Tony Soares, Ansel Wong

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Book SynopsisMedieval Spain is brilliantly recreated, in all its variety and richness, in this comprehensive survey.Trade ReviewJoseph F. O'Callaghan has met a major, long-felt need with a clearly written, balanced, thorough survey that belongs in every history collection. His Spain is the entire peninsula—Islamic, Jewish, Christian, Portuguese, and Catalonian as well as Castilian. A substantial political narrative is followed by chapters on government, social and economic developments, and religion and culture. The author even-handedly represents the major sides in disputed issues, for his aim is to present the current state of scholarship in a simple narrative form. He has succeeded admirably. * Library Journal *Joseph O'Callaghan has now given us, for the first time, a solid and in-depth survey in English on the peninsular kingdoms, drawing together the myriad recent contributions, with the expertise of a recognized scholar in the field and the practicality of a long-time teacher of the topic.... Competence, thorough inclusiveness, clear organization, and solidity are the qualifiers which best sum O’Callaghan’s accomplishment. * The History Teacher *O'Callaghan's A History of Medieval Spain is indispensable to the medievalist and to the Latin-Americanist alike. It is encyclopedic in nature, making it a valuable reference tool.... On the whole, it represents considerable familiarity with the sources of information and learned condensation of that material. The chapters on society, economy, and culture give the reader a wider view than a skeletal political history of medieval Spain. * Southeastern Latin Americanist *There is no existing substitute for this volume in English for the undergraduate or graduate student seeking a reliable orientation to medieval peninsular history. * Choice *This book is a comprehensive narrative history based on an impressively wide reading in the sources and secondary literature. It should prove useful to teachers, students, and general readers in European history.... Soundly traditional in its organization, it gives primacy to political events without neglecting institutional, social, and cultural matters. * American Historical Review *Table of ContentsPreface Abbreviations for Citations HispaniaPART I: THE VISIGOTH ERA, 415-711 1. The Visigothic Kingdom 2. Visigothic Government 3. Visigothic Society and CulturePART II. THE ASCENDANCY OF ISLAM, 711-1031 4. The Emirate of Córdoba 5. The Caliphate of Córdoba 6. Government, Society, and Culture in al-Andalus, 711-1031 7. Government, Society, and Culture in Christian Spain, 711-1035PART III. A BALANCE OF POWER, FROM THE FALL OF THE CALIPHATE TO LAS NAVAS DE TOLOSA, 1031-1212 8. Alfonso VI, the Taifas, and the Almoravids 9. Alfonso VII and the Leonese Empire 10. The Duel with the Almohads 11. Government, 1031-1212 12. Society and the Economy, 1031-1212 13. Religion and Culture, 1031-1212PART IV. THE GREAT RECONQUEST AND THE BEGINNINGS OF OVERSEAS EXPANSION, 1212-1369 14. The Great Reconquest 15. Alfonso X and the Lure of Empire 16. The Overseas Expansion of the Crown of Aragon 17. The Straits, the Mediterranean, and Civil War 18. Government, 1212-1369 19. Society and the Economy, 1212-1369 20. Religion and Culture, 1212-1369PART V. THE STRUGGLE FOR PENINSULAR UNION, 1369-1479 21. The Early Trastámaras 22. The Hegemony of the Trastámaras 23. Government, 1369-1479 24. Society and the Economy, 1369-1479 25. Religion and Culture, 1369-1479EPILOGUE The Catholic Kings and the Perfect PrinceGENEALOGICAL CHARTS 1. Umayyad Emirs and Caliphs of Córdoba, 756-1031 2. Kings of Asturias-León to 1037 3. Rulers of Navarre, Aragon, and Barcelona to 1035 4. Rulers of Portugal, León, and Castile, 1035-1214 5. Rulers of Navarre, Aragon, Catalonia, and Provence, 1035-1214 6. Kings of Navarre, 1194-1512 7. Kings of León-Castile, 1214-1504 8. Kings of Portugal, 1211-1521 9. Kings of Aragon, 1213-1516 10. The Nasrid Kings of Granada, 1232-1492BIBLIOGRAPHY Abbreviations General Works Part I: The Visigothic Era Part II: The Ascendancy of Islam Part III: A Balance of Power, from the Fall of the Caliphate to Las Navas de Tolosa Part IV: The Great Reconquest and the Beginnings of Overseas Expansion Part V: The Struggle for Peninsular Union Epilogue: The Catholic Kings and the Perfect PrinceINDEX

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Book SynopsisIn Three Centuries of Girls'' Education, Mary Anne O''Neil offers both an examination and the first English translation of Les Règlemens des religieuses Ursulines de la Congrégation de Paris. Published in 1705, Regulations is the first pedagogical system explicitly designed for the education of girls. It is also one of the few surviving documents describing the day-to-day operations of early Ursuline schools. O''Neil traces the history of the document from the writings of the Italian foundress of the Ursulines, to the establishment of the religious order in Paris in 1612, to the changes in the organization of Ursuline schools in nineteenth-century France, and, finally, to Mother Marie de St. Jean Martin''s spirited defense of the traditional French Ursuline method after World War II. In the eighteenth century, New Orleans Ursulines used the Regulations as a guide to establish their schools and teaching methods. Overall, O''Neil''s history and transl

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Book SynopsisJeffrey Jerome Cohen reminds us in Stone, that what is often assumed to be the most lifeless of substances is, in its own time, restless and forever in motion. Cohen seamlessly brings together a wide range of topics and invites us to apprehend the world both in geological time and in other than human terms. Trade Review"A poignant and poetic book, Stone is a provocative contribution to anthropocene studies. Rather than naming humans as agents endowed with geologic force, Jeffrey Jerome Cohen contemplates our anxious collaboration with lithic matter that outlasts and eludes us. Stone is a must-read for anyone interested in rethinking the anthropocene within the geologic turn in literary and cultural studies." —Stephanie LeMenager, University of Oregon"If our historic engagement with stone is the story of cave painting, toolmaking, and home building, Cohen wants to recover a secret history that moves beyond such utilitarian domination. His version is about collaboration and gregarious commingling between humans and stones."—Los Angeles Review of Books"A gorgeous lovesong to lithic form, narrative endurance, and the urgent need to connect."—The Bookfish:Thalassology, Shakespeare, and Swimming"Rendered eloquently, Cohen’s text is a useful attempt at crafting a unique theoretical framework for challenging assumptions about the differences between humans and nature."—CHOICE"Ranging between the poetic and the pedantic, heroically imagining beyond its academic constraints, Stone: An Ecology of the Inhuman presents a unique history that is central to some of our most urgent ecological concerns."—The Goose: A Journal of Arts, Environment, and Culture in Canada"An elegantly structured, stylistically-rich study in theory and criticism."—SubStance"Stone is a beautifully written book that moves from scholarly engagement with medieval texts to more contemporary issues and ideas, as well as a deal of personal material, and etymological musings."—The Year’s Work in Critical and Cultural Theory"Jeffrey Jerome Cohen offers a poetically charged account of stone as uncannily lively substance, the necessary ground for any articulation of ecological (and ethical) figures."—Symploke 24"a profound exploration of a fascinating topic, one that helps me in my own thinking on ecology and materiality, and one that may well stand the test of lithic time."—KronoScope"Renders a usually inanimate and unchanging world both vivid and vibrant."—Environmental History Table of ContentsContentsIntroduction: Stories of Stone Geophilia: The Love of StoneExcursus: The Weight of the PastTime: The Insistence of StoneExcursus: A Heart UnknownForce: The Adventure of StoneExcursus: GeologicSoul: The Life of StoneAfterword: IcelandAcknowledgmentsNotesBibliographyIndex

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Book SynopsisThe medieval kitchen revealed; facilities, seasonal foods, strictures of the church, and the interweaving of foodstuffs with medical theory.The master cook who worked in the noble kitchens of the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries had to be both practical and knowledgeable. His apprenticeship acquainted him with a range of culinary skills and a wide repertoireof seasonal dishes, but he was also required to understand the inherent qualities of the foodstuffs he handled, as determined by contemporary medical theories, and to know the lean-day strictures of the Church. Research in original manuscript sources makes this a fascinating and authoritative study where little hard fact had previously existed.Trade Review[An] excellent reference work [it] puts this fascinating subject in context for expert and lay reader alike. A useful tool for re-enactors. ... Worth every penny. * HISTORICAL NOVELS REVIEW *A compendium on practically all aspects of the art of cooking and dining... Because of the author's familiarity with all aspects of the subject we are offered this rara avis: a book which interests the specialist and the general reader; which allies common sense with scholarship; and which presents the theory and practice of medieval cooking for the scholar and the practitioner... has its place on the shelves of the practical cook as well as on those of the scholar: both can feed on it! * HISTORY *Table of ContentsSimilarities in medieval foods and cooking; the theoretical bases for medieval food and cookery; the distinctive nature of medieval foods and cookery; medieval dining; beverages; the table and table manners; foods for the sick; international foods and regional favorites; conclusion - the cook, the cookery and the food.

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Book SynopsisLooks at the ways that disparate groups used Irish famine relief in the 1840s to advance their own political agendasFamine brought ruin to the Irish countryside in the nineteenth century. In response, people around the world and from myriad social, ethnic, and religious backgrounds became involved in Irish famine relief. They included enslaved Black people in Virginia, poor tenant farmers in rural New York, and members of the Cherokee and Choctaw nations, as well as plantation owners in the US south, abolitionists in Pennsylvania, and, politicians in England and Ireland. Most of these people had no personal connection to Ireland. For many, the famine was their first time participating in distant philanthropy.Aiding Ireland investigates the Irish famine as a foundational moment for normalizing international giving. Anelise Hanson Shrout argues that these diverse men and women found famine relief to be politically useful. Shrout takes readers from Ireland to Trade ReviewAn important addition to famine historiography. Shrout has produced a rigorous and excellent analysis of the complex relationship between international philanthropy and the Irish famine. -- Christine Kinealy, Emmy-award winner of The Great Hunger and the Irish DiasporaIn this elegant, meticulously-researched book, Anelise Shrout uncovers the ways in which international charitable responses to a nineteenth-century catastrophe in Ireland were rooted in local concerns and anxieties. Aiding Ireland is landmark work on the birth pains of global philanthropy. -- Cian T. McMahon, author of The Coffin Ship: Life and Death at Sea during the Great Irish FamineAiding Ireland is an important contribution to the growing literature on the history of philanthropy. It not only examines a significant chapter in transnational giving, but also explores the underlying agendas that surrounded donations by groups such as slaves and Native Americans, broadening our understanding of the breadth and uses of philanthropy in the United States. -- Kathleen McCarthy, author of American Creed: Philanthropy and the Rise of Civil SocietyAn impressive and valuable contribution to both Irish history as well as the history of international philanthropy. -- David Gleeson, Northumbria University, NewcastleIn Aiding Ireland, historian Anelise Hanson Shrout addresses [the motivations behind humanitarian aid] in relation to the transnational philanthropic response to the Great Famine. Her convincing study explores why people from so many places and backgrounds donated, and reveals their underlying agendas. Without minimising the generosity of donors, she complicates prevalent and often simplistic narratives about famine-era philanthropy … a well-argued and highly welcome monograph that offers a compelling account of the political and ideological dimensions of humanitarian aid during the Famine. * The Irish Times *

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Book SynopsisRussian Liberalism charts the development of liberal ideas and political organizations in Russia as well as the implementation of liberal reforms by the Russian and Soviet governments at various points in time. Paul Robinson''s comprehensive survey covers the entire period from the late eighteenth century to the present day.Robinson demonstrates that liberalism has always lacked strong roots in the Russian population, being largely espoused by a narrow group of intellectuals whose culture it has reflected, and has tended toward a form of historical determinism that sees Russia as destined to become like the West. Many see the current political struggle between Russia and the West as being in part a conflict between the liberal West and an illiberal Russia. By explaining the historical causes of liberalism''s failure in that country, Russian Liberalism offers an understanding of a significant aspect of contemporary international affairs. After Putin''s February 2022 invasion of Ukraine, understanding Russian political thought is a matter of considerable importance.

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Book SynopsisIlluminated manuscripts and illustrated or decorated books - like today's museums - preserve a rich array of information about how premodern peoples conceived of and perceived the world, its many cultures and everyone's place in it. Often a Eurocentric field of study, manuscripts are prisms through which we can glimpse the interconnected global history of humanity. 'Toward a Global Middle Ages: Encountering the World through Illuminated Manuscripts' is the first publication to examine decorated books produced across the globe during the period traditionally known as medieval. Through essays and case studies, the volume's multidisciplinary contributors expand the historiography, chronology, and geography of manuscript studies to embrace a diversity of objects, individuals, narratives and materials from Africa, Asia, Australasia and the Americas - an approach that both engages with and contributes to the emerging field of scholarly inquiry known as the Global Middle Ages. Featuring over 160 colour illustrations, this wide-ranging and provocative collection is intended for all who are interested in engaging in a dialogue about how books and other textual objects contributed to world-making strategies from about 400 to 1600.

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Book SynopsisInglorious Artists traces the origins of the image of the starving artist to late eighteenth- and early nineteenth-century France, where practicing and aspiring visual artists mobilized the emerging genre of graphic satire to publish hundreds of satirical images that satirized the Paris art world.By examining many of theseimages, which have never before been studied or published, this book provides a new social history of the status of the artist, revealing the ways in which the starving artist trope was used to protest the emergence of an early capitalist art market and to distinguish artists and their work from an increasingly commercial world. During this period, a series of political revolutions brought the possibility of radical change in the French art world. Parisian artists struggled to keep pace with the emergence of modern financial speculative capitalism, transitioning away from an art system dominated by guild and corporate interest. We have neglected the complaints visual artists made about these changes, expressed in the medium most accessible to them: the graphic image. In examining this imagery for the first time, Inglorious Artists reveals that the emergence of our modern conception of the artist is far more conflicted than has been considered. This book is also freely available online as an open access digital edition.

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Book SynopsisA detailed study of the Teutonic Knights in the Holy Land, covering both their military and administrative affairs. The Teutonic Order was founded in 1190 to provide medical care for crusaders in the kingdom of Jerusalem. In time, it assumed a military role and played an important part in the defence of the Christian territories in the EasternMediterranean and in the Baltic regions of Prussia and Livonia; in the Levant, it fought against the neighbouring Islamic powers, whilst managing their turbulent relations with their patrons in the papacy and the German Empire. Asthe Order grew, it colonised territories in Prussia and Livonia, forcing it to address how it distributed its resources between its geographically-spread communities. Similarly, the brethren also needed to develop an organisational framework that could support the conduct of war on frontiers that were divided by hundreds of miles. This book - the first comprehensive analysis of the Order in the Holy Land - explores the formative years of this powerful international institution and places its deeds in the Levant within the context of the wider Christian, pagan and Islamic world. It examines the challenges that shaped its identity and the masters who planned its policies. Dr NICHOLAS MORTON is Lecturer in History at Nottingham Trent University.Trade ReviewMorton's detailed monograph is a most welcome addition to the paucity of Anglophone studies on this important military order. . Morton's book has gone a long way to reclaiming the Teutonic Knights' rightful place as one of 'the three houses' that so influenced events in the thirteenth-century Holy Land. * MEDIAEVISTIK *A very useful guide to the politics of the kingdom of Jerusalem in the thirteenth century, [which] will fill gaps in many a reading list. * ENGLISH HISTORICAL REVIEW *An extremely impressive study offering a number of new insights. [Its] thoroughness is impressive. The appendices, which list masters, properties, crops, marshals, and grand commanders, are especially helpful. Grounded in the sources and informed by perceptive analysis, this is a rare work that delivers everything that its title promises. For students of the military orders, it is an extremely valuable contribution. * SPECULUM *Morton is a sure-footed and reliable guide. His grasp of the issues is sound and his familiarity with both sources and bibliography hard to fault. [...] Well-organised, comprehensive and judicious, Morton's book is a welcome addition to the literature on the military orders. * JOURNAL OF ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY *A scholarly analysis [and] a very thorough history. * MIDWEST BOOK REVIEW *Table of ContentsIntroduction The Foundation of the Order 1190-1215 The Fifth Crusade and the development of the Teutonic Knights 1216-1223 The Preparations for the expedition of Frederick II From the Crusade of Emperor Frederick II to the death of Herman von Salza 1227 - 1239 Conrad von Thüringen, the Barons' Crusade and a change of policy Dependence and Independence The Division of Resources between the Holy Land and the Baltic The Politics of the Levant The Military Organisation of the Teutonic Knights in the Holy Land Control, Co-ordination and Supply Conclusion Appendices Bibliography

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Book SynopsisThe best new research on medieval clothing and textiles, drawing from a variety of angles and approaches. The essays here take us from the eleventh century, with an exploration of the Bayeux Tapestry, into an examination and reconstruction of an extant thirteenth-century sleeve in France which provides a rare and early example of medieval quilted armour, and finally on to late medieval Sweden and the reconstruction of gilt-leather intarsia coverlets. A study of construction techniques and the evolution of form of gable and French hoods in the late medieval and the early modern periods follows; and the volume also includes a study of the Great Wardrobe under Edward I of England, and what it can tell us about textiles at the time.Table of ContentsPreface Embroidered Beasts: Animals in the Bayeux Tapestry - Gale R. Owen-Crocker The Sleeve from Bussy-Saint-Martin: A Rare Example of Medieval Quilted Armor - Catherine Besson-Lagier The Administration of Cloth and Clothing in the Great Wardrobe of Edward I - Charles Farris Hanging Together: Furnishing Textiles in a Fifteenth-Century Book of Hours - Anne Kirkham Gilt-leather Embroideries from Medieval Sweden and Finland -Amica Sundström and Maria Neijman From Hennin to Hood: An Analysis of the Evolution of the English Hood Compared to the Evolution of the French Hood -Karen Margrethe Høskuldsson

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Book SynopsisAn illuminating exploration of the surprisingly familiar sex lives of ordinary medieval people. The medieval humoral system of medicine suggested that it was possible to die from having too much-or too little-sex, while the Roman Catholic Church taught that virginity was the ideal state. Holy men and women committed themselves to lifelong abstinence in the name of religion. Everyone was forced to conform to restrictive rules about who they could have sex with, in what way, how often, and even when, and could be harshly punished for getting it wrong. Other experiences are more familiar. Like us, medieval people faced challenges in finding a suitable partner or trying to get pregnant (or trying not to). They also struggled with many of the same social issues, such as whether prostitution should be legalized. Above all, they shared our fondness for dirty jokes and erotic images. By exploring their sex lives, the book brings ordinary medieval people to life, revealing details of their most personal thoughts and experiences. Ultimately, it provides us with an important and intimate connection to the past.Trade Review"A lively and readable account rooted in a deep knowledge of the scholarly literature on sexuality in medieval western Europe. Harvey's specialism in the history of medicine provides particular depth, and is integrated with legal and cultural material to create a sparkling and convincing whole." -- Ruth Mazo Karras, Trinity College Dublin "Masterful. There is no better guide to what occurs betwixt the sheets of the medieval bedroom than Harvey. The Fires of Lust-an absolute triumph." -- Kate Lister, author of "A Curious History of Sex and Harlots, Whores & Hackabouts" "With unabashed directness, a delicate touch of wit, and constant humanity, Harvey surveys the world of medieval sex and sexuality. Throughout The Fires of Lust she situates the twin themes of morality and medicine in the social and material world that medieval people inhabited. What those people thought, felt, feared, and hoped for all play a part, alongside the pronouncements of theologians, lawmakers, and intellectuals. Here, in its messy complexity, is medieval life-life laid bare, but always with respect and care. A triumph." -- John H. Arnold, Professor of Medieval History, University of Cambridge, author of "Belief and Unbelief in the Middle Ages" "Learned, fun, and full of surprises-a fascinating, wide-ranging guide to medieval sexual attitudes and experiences." -- Fara Dabhoiwala, author of "The Origins of Sex: A History of the First Sexual Revolution"

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Book SynopsisLynette Mitchell is Senior Lecturer in Classics and Ancient History at the University of Exeter. She has published widely on Greek history of the archaic and classical periods, including Greeks Bearing Gifts (1997). She has also edited, with P.J. Rhodes, The Development of the Polis in Archaic Greece (1997).

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Book Synopsis

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