European history: medieval period, middle ages Books

Book SynopsisWritten in 1936 and published the following year, this brilliant and profound evaluation of Stalinism from the Marxist standpoint prophesied the collapse of the Soviet Union. Trotsky employs facts, figures, and statistics to show how Stalinist policies rejected the enormous productive potential of the nationalized planned economy engendered by the October Revolution.

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Book SynopsisThe hidden story of a little-known but transformative period in the formation of England as a nation. The Viking Great Army that swept through England between AD 865 and 878 altered the course of British history. Since the late 8th century, Viking raids on the British Isles had been a regular feature of life, but the winter of 865 saw a fundamental shift that would change the political, economic and social landscape forever. Instead of making quick smash-and-grab summer raids for silver and slaves, Vikings now remained in England for the winter and became immersed in its communities. Some settled permanently, acquiring land and forming a new hybrid Anglo-Scandinavian culture. The Viking army was here to stay. Its presence was a catalyst for new towns and new industries, while transformations in power politics would ultimately see the rise of King Alfred the Great and make Wessex the pre-eminent kingdom of Anglo-Saxon England. Drawing on the most up-to-date discoveries and tTrade Review'Exciting ... describes stunning new archaeological discoveries that totally rewrite our view of what happened ... Unmissable for anyone interested in early medieval history and who finds the Viking Age one of the most dramatic, violent, yet formative epochs in British history' - Michael Wood, Historian and author of 'The Story of China' and 'In Search of the Dark Ages''A detailed yet enjoyable read, and a timely stock-take of this pivotal point in the history of England. It is a story that could never before have been told as fully as it can now' - Cat Jarman, Current Archaeology'A superbly well-written synthesis, combining historical overview, archaeological analysis, and insightful interpretation' - Neil Faulkner, The Past'Impressive ... an essential addition to the shelves of those with an interest in the Viking Age and the events that would shape the political development of England' - British Archaeology'Highly readable … replete with maps and illustrations helping to bring this vital period convincingly to life' - Yorkshire Life'Fascinating' - Archaeology & Conservation in Derbyshire'An important, useful, and enjoyable book … a remarkable achievement' - The History TeacherTable of ContentsPrologue: Heroes and Villains Part I: The Vikings and their World 1. Warrior-Chiefs and Kings 2. The Raids Begin Part Part II: The Viking Great Army 3. A Pivotal Decade 4. The Winter of AD 872–3 and the Camp at Torksey 5. Beyond the Winter Camps 6. The Army’s Dead 7. Raiders to Settlers 8. York and the Viking Camp at Aldwark Part III: The Making of a Nation 9. Wessex Fights Back and the Origins of England 10 The First Industrial Revolution Epilogue: Immigrants and Artisans

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Book SynopsisItaly: A Short History is a concise but comprehensive account of Italian history from the Ice Age to the present day. It is intended for both students of Italian history and culture and the general reader, whether tourist, business-person or traveller, with an interest in Italian affairs. Harry Hearder places the main political developments in Italian history in their economic and social context, and shows how these related to the great moments of artistic and cultural endeavour. Amongst key events, he analyses the growth and decline of the Roman Empire, the remarkable cultural achievements of the Renaissance, Italian unification and the contradictions of the fascist dictatorship of Mussolini. Jonathan Morris brings the work up to the present day with an authoritative but colourful history of the corruption scandals that brought down the post-war Italian political system in the 1990s and the new political forces that have emerged in its place.Trade Review'There is a fine introduction to the culture of the Renaissance and an equally positive account of the Risorgimento on which Hearder was such an expert … another well produced and illustrated book.' Robert Pearce, History Today'… there are few English historians of Italy who write with the same ease and clarity as Hearder. Equally, there are few who would be able to manage the trick, as Hearder does, of condensing 3,000 years of history into one slim volume while still providing the reader with a detailed narrative of events and personalities, and a sense of historical perspective. it is for these reasons that Italy: A Short History deserves a second outing.' HistoryTable of Contents1. Italy in the classical world; 2. The early Middle Ages; 3. The high Middle Ages; 4. The Renaissance; 5. The political and cultural eclipse of Italy; 6. The Risorgimento, 1790–1861; 7. From Unification to Fascism, 1861–1922; 8. The Fascist disaster, 1922–45; 9. Italy since the Second World War, 1945–2000.

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Book SynopsisThe production, acquisition, and use of consumer goods defines our daily lives, and yet consumerism is seen as increasingly controversial. Movements for sustainable and ethical consumerism are gaining momentum alongside an awareness of how our choices in the marketplace can affect public issues. How did we get here? This volume advances a bold new interpretation of the ''consumer revolution'' of the eighteenth century, when European elites, middling classes, and even certain labourers purchased unprecedented quantities of clothing, household goods, and colonial products. Michael Kwass adopts a global perspective that incorporates the expansion of European empires, the development of world trade, and the rise of plantation slavery in the Americas. Kwass analyses the emergence of Enlightenment material cultures, contentious philosophical debates on the morality of consumption, and new forms of consumer activism to offer a fresh interpretation of the politics of consumption in the age of Trade Review'The Consumer Revolution, 1650-1800 is a well-written and well-conceived book that presents an up-to-date account of scholarship on the Consumer Revolution alongside an expert's critical account of that scholarship and where it needs to go in the future. Students and scholars will surely appreciate the overview of the field provided and the suggestions for more specialized reading.' Clare Crowston, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign'For many years now, Michael Kwass has been one of the most innovative contributors to debates on consumer culture in early modern France. Now, his The Consumer Revolution provides a superbly comprehensive and intelligently nuanced account of the global impact of western consumerism before the industrial age, that remains nicely alert to comparisons with our own society.' Colin Jones, author of The Great Nation: France 1715-99'Kwass's The Consumer Revolution brilliantly charts the remarkable economic, cultural, and political consequences of new consumer practices in this era of skyrocketing global trade, from the rise of calicoes, sugar, or tobacco to the shifting politics of fashion in the age of revolutions. Comprehensive, imaginative, and a pleasure to read.' William Sewell, University of ChicagoTable of ContentsIntroduction; 1. Consumer revolution; 2. The globalization of European consumption; 3. Going shopping; 4. The cultural meanings of consumption; 5. Consuming enlightenment; 6. The luxury debate; 7. The politics of consumption in the age of revolution; Conclusion.

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Book SynopsisA History of Portugal and the Portuguese Empire offers readers a comprehensive overview and reinterpretation of the history of Portugal and its empire up to the start of the nineteenth century. Volume 2 concentrates on the history of Portugal's empire, which extended into North, West, and East Africa; the Atlantic islands; maritime Asia; and Brazil.Trade Review'This trenchant second volume sets a new standard for reflecting on the Portuguese world empire during the early modern period. Covering the Lusitanian presence on five continents, it pays attention simultaneously to political decisions of opposing court factions in Portugal, to the leading role of noble captains and agents working inside and outside formal colonial institutions, and to their involvement in a variety of local cultures. As a result, Anthony Disney is able to emphasize the centrality of Portuguese colonial situations as cultural hybrids.' Diogo Ramada Curto, European University Institute, Florence and Universidade Nova de Lisboa'Anthony Disney has provided in this impressive two-volume survey of the history of Portugal and its overseas empire to the beginning of the nineteenth century a work of synthesis that has long been needed. Up-to-date in its scholarship, lucid and coherent in its exposition, his account, skillfully blending narrative and analysis, will immediately take its place as the essential starting-point for all those interested in the origins and character of the first truly global empire in world history.' Sir John Elliott, Regius Professor Emeritus of Modern History, University of Oxford'The history of the Portuguese world is barnacled with accretions: traditional errors, apparently ineradicable myths, partisan controversies, irrational passions. Anthony Disney has scraped the bottom and set the ship to rights. His book is sober but engaging, meticulous but well paced, comprehensive but concise: a monument of scholarship and discernment, which everyone interested in the subject will want to hand.' Felipe Fernandez-Armesto, Tufts University'This book provides a comprehensive and stimulating view of the history of the early modern Portuguese Empire. Without losing sight of chronology and geography, political projects and economic trends, Disney skillfully elaborates on key issues of the social history of Overseas Portugal, such as the nature of colonial societies or the relevance of informal settlements. The author masters an impressive range of primary sources and secondary materials and builds on them to offer a refreshing global history of the Portuguese Empire that will undoubtedly stand as reference in the field for many years to come.' Jorge Flores, Brown University'Disney's volume provides a full economic and political outline of a truly global maritime enterprise. It is the most accessible and up to date history of the Portuguese Empire available in English.' Stuart Schwartz, Yale University'This long-awaited volume by Anthony Disney possesses all the qualities we have come to expect of his scholarship. It is balanced, sober and written with clarity of vision and purpose. Four decades after Charles Boxer's classic work on the Portuguese seaborne empire, we at last have another elegant synthesis that takes on the whole of the Portuguese overseas enterprise from 1400 to 1800 armed with the fruits of the latest research. Imperial historians of a comparative bent will be obliged to read this work, and students of European expansion and the Iberian world will certainly find it on their reading lists. It is unlikely to be replaced for another generation.' Sanjay Subrahmanyam, Professor of History, UCLA'A remarkable achievement, combining rigour with lucidity and offering expert guidance across a complex and varied historical terrain.' The Times Literary SupplementTable of Contents1. North Africa; 2. Exploring the coasts of Atlantic Africa; 3. Engaging with Atlantic Africa; 4. The Atlantic islands and fisheries; 5. Breakthrough to maritime Asia; 6. Empire in the East; 7. Informal presence in the East; 8. Brazil: seizing and keeping possession; 9. Formation of colonial Brazil; 10. Late colonial Brazil; 11. Holding on in India: the late seventeenth and eighteenth centuries; 12. Eastern empire in the late colonial era: peripheries.

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Book SynopsisThis book is a regional study of what is now northern Lorraine during the period between the end of the Roman Empire and the accession of Charlemagne. Integrating historical and archaeological evidence, it argues that early medieval society was not stagnant but diverse and subject to constant change.Trade Review"This is a beautifully produced book, written with great clarity and founded upon a broad and scrupulous familiarity with its sources....This book ought to generate detailed critiques of the evidence and stimulate new debate." Bailey K. Young, American Jourbal of Archaeology"Settlement and Social Organization^i will be used by Mervingian historians and others for a long time to come." Steven Muhlberger, Speculum"This is an informative and important book. It is one of the few comprehensive discussions of the textual and archaeological evidence from early medieval Europe, and one of the very few in English. The book should be required reading for archaeologists and historians of the early Middle Ages, and will be useful for all historical archaeologists. For any archaeologist grappling with problems of social organization, this synthesis of a well developed context of text-aided archaeology will be very instructive. Halsall has done an excellent job with a complex interdisciplinary topic." Peter S. Wells, Journal of Field ArchaeologyTable of Contents1. Introduction; Part I. Social Organization: 2. Social organization: descriptive analysis of the documentary evidence; 3. Creating a model: cemeteries of the Merovingian civitas of Metz; 4. Testing the model: cemeteries outside the civitas of Metz; Part II. Settlement: 5. Rural settlement; 6. Intermediate settlement: Castra, vici, palaces and monasteries; 7. Urbanism in Metz; Part III. Conclusions: 8. Town and country, c. 450–c. 600; 9. The later Merovingian period; Bibliography; Index.

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Book SynopsisThis 1991 book makes an important contribution to the evaluation of the origins of Stalinism. Dr Hughes presents an in depth examination of the crisis of the New Economic Policy from the regional perspective of Siberia and analyses the events and pressures 'from below', at the grassroots level of Soviet society.Trade Review"...Hughes has provided the best discussion of the grain procurement crisis and campaign available in English....this book is an extremely valuable contribution to our understanding of the political, social and economic underpinnings of the NEP crisis, as well as a landmark in Soviet regional history in the West." Lynne Viola, Russian ReviewTable of ContentsList of tables; Preface; Note on transliteration and dates; Weights and measures; Map of Siberia in 1928; Introduction; 1. The Siberian peasant utopia; 2. The party and the peasantry; 3. Who was the Siberian kulak?; 4. The crisis of NEP; 5. The end of NEP; 6. The emergency measures; 7. The 'Irkutsk affair'; Conclusion; Appendix; Glossary; Notes; Bibliography; Index.

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Book SynopsisThis is the 2005 second edition of a comprehensive study of the French wars of religion. Focusing on the social history of religion, it argues that this conflict was fomented by religious tensions among the population at large. The text has been updated and the 'Suggestions for further reading' entirely re-written.Trade Review'This book is the first comprehensive study of the wars to appear for over twenty years … it succeeds admirably in steering the reader through the confusing morass that is the history of the French Wars of Religion and provides the reader with a concise summary of current academic thinking on the matter … it would provide those members wishing to learn more about the ones with an excellent starting point.' Arquebusier 24:3'Using brief biographies of the main actors of that time, figures, maps and an index, this book deals with a great amount of facts, questions, and ideas in a limited number of pages. Well written and carefully presented, it is a good and useful synthesis which gives an excellent overview of a deeply controversial period.' Bulletin de la Société d'Histoire Moderne et Contemporaine 3-4'A skillful weaver of narrative and analysis... Holt .... offer[s] [a] masterful probing of complex and fascinating issues.' Renaissance and Reformation'Holt... develops both a comprehensive narrative of the wars and an important synthesis of the scholarly literature... The book is balanced and extremely enjoyable to read.' Sixteenth Century JournalTable of ContentsIntroduction; Chronological table of events; 1. Prologue: Gallicanism and reform in the sixteenth century; 2. 'The beginning of a tragedy': the early wars of religion, 1562–70; 3. Popular disorder and religious tensions: the making of a massacre, 1570–4; 4. The rhetoric of resistance: the unmaking of the body politic, 1574–84; 5. Godly warriors: the crisis of the league, 1584–93; 6. Henry IV and the edict of Nantes: the remaking of Gallicanism; 7. Epilogue: the last war of religion, 1610–29; 8. Conclusions: economic impact, social change and absolutism; Short biographies; Genealogical charts; Suggestions for further reading.

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Book SynopsisRelations between town and country are central to Europe's long-term economic, political and social evolution. This 2001 book surveys and re-interprets these relations in particular countries and regions in the light of the most recent debates on state formation, urbanisation, proto-industrialisation, and the regional character of pre-modern economic growth. Thirteen specially commissioned chapters, ranging chronologically from the Black Death to the Enlightenment, give a comprehensive coverage of Europe, from Spain to Sweden and England, and from the Polish Commonwealth to Holland and Italy. Each chapter offers a self-contained analysis of its country or region and provides a basis for systematic comparison. The Introduction (by S. R. Epstein) discusses the historiographical and theoretical framework for the regional chapters, emphasising how evolving political configurations changed the balance between 'coercive' and 'market-based' solutions to town-country relations and set countrieTrade Review"The dozen essays in this well-edited volume provide a well-balanced and geographically extensive introduction to the current state of scholarship on the relation between town and country in late medieval and early modern Europe." Renaissance and Reformation"The essays are imformed by current historiographical thinking and are highly readable." CHOICE Jan 2002"This volume is one of the freshest and fullest treatments of scholarship about town and country relations in premodern European urban history, and deserves a wide and appreciative reading. This is shrewd economic history that details, complicates, and therefore advances our understanding of a central theme of urban history." Journal of Interdisciplinary History"This is an important and thought-provoking collection..." Canadian Journal of HistoryTable of Contents1. Introduction: town and country in Europe, 1300–1800 S. R. Epstein; 2. Town and country in Sweden, 1450–1650 Robert Sandberg; 3. Town and country in Holland, 1300–1550 Peter Hoppenbrouwers; 4. Town and country in the Dutch Republic, 1550–1800 Marjolein 't Hart; 5. Town and country in England, 1300–1570 James A. Galloway; 6. Town and country in England, 1570–1750 Paul Glennie; 7. Town and country in the Polish Commonwealth, 1350–1650 Andrzej Janeczek; 8. Town and country in the Austrian and Czech Lands, 1450–1750 Markus Cerman and Herbert Knittler; 9. Town and country in Germany, 1350–1600 Tom Scott; 10. Town and country in Switzerland, 1450–1750 Martin Körner; 11. Town and country in France, 1550–1750 Thomas Brennan; 12. Town and country in Castile, 1400–1650 Pablo Sánchez Léon; 13. Town and country in central and northern Italy, 1500–1750 Carlo Maria Belfanti; 14. Town and country in the Kingdom of Naples, 1500–1750 Brigitte Marin.

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Book SynopsisThis textbook summarises the history of British trade unions between 1933 and 2000. The book discusses the key themes and controversies surrounding trade unions, including their economic impact and their influence on government. It gives students a lucid introduction to the recent history of British trade unionism.Trade Review'… a very clear factual introduction to the topic … The style throughout is judicious and empirical, in the spirit of British industrial relations, using well-marshalled evidence to burst the bubble of political bias or dogmatic economic theory … a very useful historical text …'. Labour History ReviewTable of Contents1. Introduction; 2. Economic recovery and war, 1933–45; 3. Trade union development, 1945–2000; 4. Strikes, 1945–2000; 5. Incomes policies, 1948–79; 6. Trade union legislation, 1945–2000; 7. What trade unions have done.

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Book SynopsisThis is a history of the Austro-Prussian-Italian War of 1866, which paved the way for German and Italian unification. It is based upon extensive new research in the state and military archives of Austria, Germany, and Italy. Geoffrey Wawro describes Prussia's successful invasion of Habsburg Venetia, and the wretched collapse of the Austrian army in July 1866. Although the book gives a thorough accounting of both the Prussian and Italian war efforts, it is most notable for the light it sheds on the Austrians. Through painstaking archival research, Wawro reconstructs the Austrian campaign, blow-by-blow, hour-by-hour. Blending military and social history, he describes the terror and panic that overtook Austria's regiments of the line in each clash with the Prussians. He reveals the unconscionable blundering of the Austrian commandant and his chief deputies who fumbled away key strategic advantages and ultimately lost a war - crucial to the fortunes of the Habsburg Monarchy - that most EurTrade Review"The Franco-Prussian War of 1870-1871 started the modern Hundred Years' War that did not end until 1945. Professor Geoff Wawro's book is the most comprehensive treatment of the subject. Thoughtful and well written, it is a major contribution to an understanding of history." Henry Kissinger"The Austro-Prussian War is an outstanding work, illustrating once again that operational military history can make important and enjoyable contributions to understanding the past. A must for undergraduate, graduate, and specialist collections." Choice"The Austro-Prussian War is an outstanding work, illustrating once again that operational military history can make important and enjoyable contributions to understanding the past. A must for undergraduate, graduate, and specialist collections." Choice"Geoffrey Wawro's lively and insightful new study offers the reader a view of the familiar events of the Königgrätz campaign from the relatively unfamiliar perspective of the AustrianFeldzeugmeisterLudwig Benedek's headquarters." German Studies Review"Wawro's discussion of the strategic plans and dispositions of the three major belligerents and Austria's lesser allies is excellent. The simple maps aid understanding of the deployment and mofvements of widely separated forces on terrain unfamiliar to most American readers." SFC John T. Broom, Military Reviews"Comprehensive, erudite, balanced, and clearly written, we have here the best work on this war in any language." J. Arden Bucholz, Central European History"...offers a curious mixture of historical writing. ...Wawro presents excellent campaign history, particularly of the little-covered events in the Italian theater of operations. ...truly valuable for its narrative of events in the Italian theater." Scott W. Lackey, Historian"This is an extraordinarily luminous book about not only a war but also a continent and a century. Written with verve and wit, The Franco-Prussian War harnesses scholarship and story-telling to wonderful effect. Geoffrey Wawro has given us a magnificent yarn." Rick Atkinson, author of An Army at Dawn and winner of the Pulitzer Prize"As the author of a history of the Franco-Prussian War that has held the field for some forty years, I was deeply apprehensive when I learned that Dr. Wawro was at work on another. I had good cause to be. His work is magnificent. The research is both wide and deep, the operational analysis masterly, and there is not a dull page in the book. Dr. Wawro has established himself as one of the leading military historians of his generation." Sir Michael Howard"A lively narrative history, based on an abundance of new research." MacGregor Knox, The London School of EconomicsTable of Contents1. Strategy and tactics in 1866; 2. Origins of the Austro-Prussian War; 3. War plans and mobilization; 4. Italy declares war; 5. Custoza; 6. Podol, Vysokov, and Trautenau; 7. Münchengrätz, Burkersdorf and Skalice; 8. Jicin and Benedek's flight to Könnigrätz; 9. Könnigratz: Benedek's stand in the 'Bystrice Pocket'; 10. Könnigratz: Moltke's envelopment; 11. Aftermath: the peace and Europe, 1866–1914.

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Book SynopsisFirst published in 1978, Reading Greek has become a best-selling one-year introductory course in ancient Greek for students and adults. It combines the best of modern and traditional language-learning techniques and is used widely in schools, summer schools and universities across the world. It has also been translated into several foreign languages. This volume contains a narrative adapted entirely from ancient authors, including Herodotus, Euripides, Aristophanes and Demosthenes, in order to encourage students rapidly to develop their reading skills. Generous support is provided with vocabulary. At the same time, through the texts and numerous illustrations, students will receive a good introduction to Greek culture, and especially that of Classical Athens. The accompanying Grammar and Exercises volume provides full grammatical support together with numerous exercises at different levels, Greek-English and English-Greek vocabularies, a substantial reference grammar and language survTrade Review'… a comprehensive guide to learning ancient Greek … Moreover, the book is accessible to independent learners and those on distance-learning courses.' The Journal of Classics TeachingTable of ContentsPart I. Athens at Sea: Section 1. A-J. The insurance scam; Section 2. A-D. The glorious past; Section 3. A-E. Athens and Sparta; Part II. Moral Decay?: Section 4. A-D. Lawlessness in Athenian life; Section 5. A-D; Section 6. A-D. 'Socrates corrupts the young'; Section 7. A-H. Socrates and intellectual inquiry; Part III. Athens through the Comic Poet's Eyes: Section 8. A-C. Aristophanes' Birds and visions of Utopia; Section 9. A-J. Aristophanes' Wasps; Section 10. A-E. Aristophanes' Lysistrata; Section 11. A-C. Aristophanes' Akharnians; Part IV. Women in Athenian Society: Sections 12–14. The Prosecution of Neaira: Section 12. A-I. Neaira as slave; Section 13. A-I. Neaira as married woman; Section 14. A-F. Guarding a woman's purity; Section 15. A-C. Alkestis in Euripides' play; Part V. Athenian Views of Justice: Sections 16–17. Official and Private Justice: Section 16. A-H. Official justice, ships, state and individuals; Section 17. A-E. Private justice: trouble down at the farm; Section 18. A-E. How Zeus gave justice to men; Part VI. Gods, Fate and Man: Section 19. A-F. The story of Adrastos; Part VII. Homeric Hero and Heroine: Section 20. A-G. Odysseus and Nausikaa; A total Greek-English vocabulary of all words to be learnt.

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Book SynopsisHow did medieval Europeans use and change their environments, think about the natural world, and handle the natural forces affecting their lives? This is a pioneering survey of medieval relations with the natural world which integrates approaches from social and economic history and environmental studies.Trade Review'Contains the wisdom, and embodies the experience, gained from a career spent presenting this most interdisciplinary of subjects to classes of humanities students shy of science and nervous of numbers. The result is an accessible, readable and thought-provoking book with which any historian, environmental or otherwise, ought to be able to engage.' Bruce M. S. Campbell, The English Historical Review'… [Richard Hoffman] has provided a rich overview of medieval daily life and thought with regard to the natural environment. He does not only focus on the interaction between nature and humans, but also contextualizes his findings in a larger framework of economic and social history, and the histories of law and mentalities. The book will serve as a readable introduction for students and scholars of medieval history, as well as enable specialists in environmental history to build on his work … an essential book and a work to use as a reference for all medievalists and environmental historians.' Christian Rohr, SpeculumTable of ContentsIntroduction: thinking about medieval Europeans in their natural world; 1. Long no wilderness; 2. Intersecting instabilities: culture and nature at medieval beginnings (c.400–900); 3. Humankind and God's creation in medieval minds; 4. Medieval land use and the formation of traditional European landscapes; 5. Medieval use, management, and sustainability of local ecosystems 1: primary biological production sectors; 6. Medieval use, management, and sustainability of local ecosystems 2: interactions with the non-living environment; 7. 'This belongs to me …'; 8. Suffering the uncomprehended: disease as a natural agent; 9. An inconstant planet, seen and unseen, under foot and overhead; 10. A slow end of medieval environmental relations; Afterword.

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Book SynopsisThis book examines the ways in which the Swiss defined their national identity in the long nineteenth century, in the face of a changing domestic and international background. Its narrative begins in 1761, when the first Swiss patriotic society of national significance was founded, and ends in 1891, when the Swiss celebrated their 600-year existence as a nation in a monumental national festival. While conceding that the creation of a nation-state in 1848 marked a watershed in the history of Swiss nation-formation, the author does not focus one-sidedly - as many others have done - on the activities of the nationalizing state. Instead, he attributes a key role to the competitive and contentious struggles over the shaping of public institutions and over the symbolic representation of the nation. These struggles, to which the nation-state and civil society contributed in equal measure, were framed increasingly along national lines.Trade Review'There are many strengths here, alongside the relative uniqueness of the subject. Zimmer's work is soundly based on historical, political and sociological theories of nation development. ... This is supplemented by extensive work in Swiss archives and historiography. And all is set in a helpful comparative perspective … Zimmer makes [a] … real contribution to our understanding of Swiss identity, then and now.' English Historical Review'… a very illuminating assessment not only of Swiss nationalism, but also of theoretical questions arising from the recent literature on nation formation. Zimmer's thorough reading across the theoretical canon makes A Contested Nation a highly relevant text not just for scholars interested in Switzerland, but for anybody working within the broader domains of nation formation.' H-Net: Humanities and Social Sciences Online'A Contested Nation brilliantly illustrates the often-messy process of nationalization … [The book] is both accessible to advanced undergraduates and vital reading for established scholars. It is a detailed, readable, and balanced addition to the nationalism literature.' The Nationalism Project'A Contested Nation is an impressive book.' Jonathan Steinberg University of Pennsylvania, Nations and Nationalism'Zimmer enters into the tangled discussions of nationalism and nation-building with confidence and flair … His book represents a model of close historical research into the political and social conflicts of a state, linked to careful linguistic analysis of participants' statements. It is a model that future scholars of nationalism would do well to emulate.' Celia Applegate, Journal of Interdisciplinary History'This book is a major contribution to scholarship on nineteenth-century European nationalism. It challenges simplistic approaches and instead asks the reader to pay close attention to the interplay and overlap of various national discourses.' Thomas Kiihne, Social HistoryTable of ContentsList of illustrations; List of tables; Preface; Introduction: history, memory and the politics of national identity; 1. Confederate identity before nationalism - events, politics, symbols; Part I. Towards the Cult of the Nation: 2. Dreaming of the wider fatherland - the nation of the patriots; 3. Contentious unity - the rise and fall of an indivisible nation; 4. 'The nation has had her say at last'; Part II. The Birth of the Modern Mass Nation: 5. 'We have become a people'; 6. Competing visions of the nation's past; Afterword; Bibliography; Index.

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Book SynopsisThis essential survey traces the history of three Baltic peoples - Estonians, Latvians and Lithuanians - from their origins as tribal societies to their transformation into dominant national populations in separate states. Focusing especially on recent centuries, the book integrates the histories of the recently formed nations to highlight their common features.Trade Review'A masterful survey of the history of the eastern Baltic littoral by one of the leading authorities in the field. Plakans' book provides the most accessible account to date of the rise of modern nationhood and of the commonalities of fate that have bound the peoples of the region during the modern era. Essential reading for anyone interested in understanding contemporary Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania.' David J. Smith, University of Glasgow'A tour de force of concise and yet comprehensive history - probably the most complete and nuanced in any language. Plakans traces the footsteps of hunter-gatherers and farmers moving north with retreating glaciers to the struggles of contemporary Estonians, Latvians, and Lithuanians as they labor to maintain their national identities amid globalized interdependence. He discerns no simple patterns and notes the distinct trajectories of each people. The author underscores what is not known, particularly about earlier times, but weaves abundant factual information into the narrative.' Walter C. Clemens, Jr, Boston UniversityTable of Contents1. The peoples of the Eastern Baltic Littoral; 2. The new order, 1200–1500; 3. The new order reconfigured, 1500–1710; 4. Installing hegemony: the Littoral and Tsarist Russia, 1710–1800; 5. Reforming and controlling the Baltic Littoral, 1800–55; 6. Five decades of transformations, 1855–1905; 7. Statehood in troubled times, 1905–40; 8. The return of empires, 1940–91; 9. Reentering Europe: 1991; Suggested readings.

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a huge range and FREE tracked UK delivery on ALL orders.

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a huge range and FREE tracked UK delivery on ALL orders.

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a huge range and FREE tracked UK delivery on ALL orders.

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Book SynopsisThe real story of how Winston Churchill and the British mastered deception to defeat the Nazis - by conning the Kaiser, hoaxing Hitler and using brains to outwit brawn. By June 1940, most of Europe had fallen to the Nazis and Britain stood alone. So, with Winston Churchill in charge the British bluffed their way out of trouble, drawing on the trickery which had helped them win the First World War. They broadcast outrageous British propaganda on pretend German radio stations, broke German secret codes and eavesdropped on their messages. Every German spy in Britain was captured and many were used to send back false information to their controllers. Forged documents misled their intelligence. Bogus wireless traffic from entire phantom armies, dummy airfields with model planes, disguised ships and inflatable rubber tanks created a vital illusion of strength. Culminating in the spectacular misdirection that was so essential to the success of D-Day in 1944, Churchill''s Wizards: The British Genius for Deception 1914-1945 is a thrilling work of popular military history filled with almost unbelievable stories of bravery, creativity and deception. Nicholas Rankin is the author of Dead Man''s Chest, Telegram From Guernica and Ian Fleming''s Commandos. ''This is a story clamouring to be told. We could not have imagined the scope of the inventiveness, the daring of these people''s imaginations . . . I could not stop reading this book.'' Doris Lessing

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Book SynopsisAlready famous throughout Europe for his theories of planetary motion and gravity, Isaac Newton decided to take on the job of running the Royal Mint. And there, Newton became drawn into a battle with William Chaloner, the most skilful of counterfeiters, a man who not only got away with faking His Majesty''s coins (a crime that the law equated with treason), but was trying to take over the Mint itself. But Chaloner had no idea who he was taking on. Newton pursued his enemy with the cold, implacable logic that he brought to his scientific research. Set against the backdrop of early eighteenth-century London with its sewers running down the middle of the streets, its fetid rivers, its packed houses, smoke and fog, its industries and its great port, this dark tale of obsession and revenge transforms our image of Britain''s greatest scientist.

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Book SynopsisAny assessment of Philip II's rule assumes the appearance of a paradox. In analysing the nature and impact of Philip II's rule and government, the author seeks to examine the extent of the changes in royal finance, the economic and social issues, the impact of religion -- both within Spain and throughout its Empire -- and the aims and motives behind the king's foreign policy.Table of ContentsPART ONE: THE BACKGROUND 1. Charles V's Legacy 2. Philip II's Character PART TWO: DESCRIPTIVE ANALYSIS 3. Government and Administration 4. Finances 5. The Economy 6. Religion and Religious Affairs 7. Domestic Rebellions 8. Foreign Policy PART THREE: ASSESSMENT 9. How Absolute was Philip II? 10. Success or failure? Spain in the 1590's PART FOUR: DOCUMENTS Genealogy: Philip II's family Glossary Bibliography Index

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Book SynopsisIn The Dutch Wars of Independence, Marjolein ât Hart assesses the success of the Dutch in establishing their independence through their eighty years struggle with Spain - one of the most remarkable achievements of the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. Other rebellions troubled mighty powers of this epoch, but none resulted in the establishment of an independent, republican state. This book: tells the story of the Eighty Years War and its aftermath, including the three Anglo-Dutch Wars and the Guerre de Hollande (1570-1680). explores the interrelation between war, economy and society, explaining how the Dutch could turn their wars into commercial successes. illustrates how war could trigger and sustain innovations in the field of economy and state formation ; the new ways of organization of Dutch military institutions favoured a high degree of commercialized warfare. shows how other state rulers tried to copy the Dutch way of commercialized warfare, in particular in taking up the protection for capital accumulation. As such, the book unravels one of the unknown pillars of European state formation (and of capitalism). The volume investigates thoroughly the economic profitability of warfare in the early modern period and shows how smaller, commercialized states could sustain prolonged war violence common to that period. It moves beyond traditional explanations of Dutch success in warfare focusing on geography, religion, diplomacy while presenting an up-to-date overview and interpretation of the Dutch Revolt, the Anglo-Dutch Wars and the Guerre de Hollande.

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Book SynopsisDaughter of a mayor of King's Lynn, wife of a burgess there and mother of fourteen children, Margery Kempe (c. 1373-post 1438) was also a religious mystic and hysteric, who dictated her 'autobiography' to a scribe at the end of her life. In this history of her life, Anthony Goodman examines The Book, to reconstruct as much of her conventional biography as the materials allow. Including her spiritual experiences, but focusing most particularly on her day-to-day life, he builds an intriguing picture of bourgeois society in late medieval Lynn, and the wider world of late medieval towns in England and Europe more generally.Trade Review'Goodman's book is for readers who want to know what The Book of Margery Kempe has to offer by way of social and political historical information.''Anyone who does not wish to work his or her way through the whole of Margery's confusing and effusive text will be grateful.'Livia Visser-Fuchs, The Ricardian XVI, 2006'Margery Kempe and Her World is not the same old Margery. It is far more creative, interesting, and sensible, and makes a valuable contribution to an increasingly overcrowded field.''Goodman succeeds both in offering new and plausible interpretations of Kempe's intriguing work...''...an excellent introductory text. Students who read it will learn a great deal about important aspects of life in late medieval England.'Raymond A. Powell, The Catholic Historical Review, April 2006Table of Contents1. Introduction 2. Lynn and the Brunham Family 3. Margery and Urban Gender Roles 4. Ecclesiastical Authority and Religious Culture in Lynn 5. The Piety of The Book of Margery Kempe 6. English Travels and Contexts 7. A Wider World 8. Great Cities and Sacred Soil 9. Conclusion Notes Select Bibliography Index

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Book SynopsisThis eagerly awaited volume, the first of its kind by western scholars, describes the development amongst the diverse inhabitants of the immense landmass between the Carpathians and Urals of a political, economic and social nexus (underpinned by a common culture and, eventually, a common faith), out of which would emerge the future Russia, Ukraine and Belarus. The authors explore every aspect of life in Rus, using evidence and the fruits of post-Soviet historiography. They describe the rise of a polity centred on Kiev, the coming of Christianity, and the increasing prosperity of the region even as, with the proliferation of new dynastic centres, the balance of power shifted northwards and westwards. Fractured, violent and transitory though it often is, this is a story of growth and achievement - and a masterly piece of historical synthesis.Trade Review 'The overwhelming impression left by this book is of its scholarship, multilingual and discriminating: it is also readable, evocative and witty.' Times Higher Education SupplementTable of ContentsIntroduction. Part I: Roots and Routes. 1. The Silver Seekers From the North (c. 750-900). 2. Turning South.3. The Dnieper Rus: Organise or Die. 4. U-Turns and Conversion (c.960-1015). Part II: Kiev and Rus. 5. Martyers and Mercenaries (c. 1015-1036). 6. Cracked Facades (1036-1054). 7. The Inner Circle (1054-c.1113).8.The Prince and the City (c.1070- c1120). Part III: The Rise of the Regions. 9 Integration and Diffusion (c. 1130-c. 1170). 10 Prospect and Retrospect: 1185 and After. Maps. Select Bibliography. Index

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Book SynopsisThe Road to CrÃcy tells the story of the English expedition to France in 1346 which climaxed with the battle of CrÃcy. On 26 August 1346 on a low ridge outside the village of CrÃcy-en-Ponthieu in northwestern France, an English army of perhaps 12,000 men under the command of King Edward III faced a combined French and German force five times their number under Edward's rival King Philip VI. The result, on the part of the French at least, was seen as a foregone conclusion. The English army, largely composed of foot soldiers and tired after days of marching and fighting, would be ridden down and overwhelmed by the armoured knights of France, then universally regarded as the finest fighting men in Europe. A few hours later, all was over. Thousands of French knights and auxiliary troops lay dead or dying on the slopes of the ridge, shot down as they advanced by English and Welsh archers. King Philip, wounded twice by enemy arrows, had fled the field. The events of those few hours had changed the course of the Hundred Years War, the balance of military power in Western Europe, and the nature of warfare itself. Trade Review'An excellent read...For the general reader this book has great drama...For the Historian there is careful research and diligent reconstruction well presented. For the soldiers there are issues of leadership, engineering and logistics to contemplate. Something for everyone.'The British Army ReviewTable of Contents1 The Road to War 2 The Antagonists 3 Preparations 4 St-Vaast to Carentan 5 Carentan to Caen 6 Caen to Elbeuf 7 Elbeuf to Poissy 8 Poissy to Airaines 9 The Somme 10 Crécy-en-Ponthieu 11 Aftermath Appendix Bibliography

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Book Synopsis

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Book Synopsis

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Book Synopsis

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Book SynopsisFestivals and the French Revolution—the subject conjures up visions of goddesses of Liberty, strange celebrations of Reason, and the oddly pretentious cult of the Supreme Being. Every history of the period includes some mention of festivals; Ozouf shows us that they were much more than bizarre marginalia to the revolutionary process.Trade ReviewOne of the most brilliant books about the French Revolution written in recent years. In a dazzling analysis of revolutionary festivals, Mona Ozouf takes up the question of why revolutionaries of all stripes seemed so obsessed with public celebration… An unusually powerful and readable work of serious history. -- Edward Berenson * Los Angeles Times Book Review *Brilliantly conceived, cogently argued and a pleasure to read…this volume…was recognized at once as a work to reckon with, and Alan Sheridan’s luminous translation now makes it available in English. -- Eugen Weber * New York Times Book Review *Ozouf’s remarkable insights into the festivals and the revolution…offer fresh ways of understanding the immense effort the revolutionaries made both to destroy the ancien régime and to perpetuate an emerging secular, liberal order. -- Charles Rearick * American Historical Review *One of the most magisterial and original contributions to the interpretation of the French Revolution to appear in this decade. -- Carla Hesse * Eighteenth-Century Studies *Table of ContentsForeword by Lynn Hunt The Republican Calendar Brief Chronology of the French Revolution Introduction I. The History of the Revolutionary Festival The Revolution as Festival History of the Festivals, History of the Sects Boredom and Disgust II. The Festival of the Federation: Model and Reality Riot and Festival: The "Wild" Federations The Federative Festivals The Paris Federation A New Festival? The Festival of All the French? III. The Festival above the Parties: 1792 The Norm and the Exception Two Antagonistic Festivals? The Unity of Tragedy IV. Mockery and Revolution: 1793-1794 The "Other" Festival Where, When, with Whom? Reasonable Reason Violence and the Festival V. Return to the Enlightenment: 1794-1799 The "Happy Nation" The System of Brumaire, Year IV VI. The Festival and Space Space without Qualities The Symbolic Mapping-Out The Renovation of a Ceremonial Space: The Example of Caen The Resistance of Paris The Space-Time of the Revolution VII. The Festival and Time Beginning Dividing Up Commemorating Ending VIII. The Future of the Festival: Festival and Pedagogy "The Schools of the Mature Man" The Power of Images The Correct Use of Images Nothing Goes without Saying IX. Popular Life and the Revolutionary Festival A Shameful Ethnology History of a Failure Revolutionary Symbolism and Peasant Tradition The Mai sauvage A Pedagogical Tree From the Maypole to the Tree A Break X. The Revolutionary Festival: A Transfer of Sacrality Horror vacui The Meaning of a Few Borrowings The Meaning of Purging Abbreviations Notes Bibliography Index

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Book SynopsisModernity was an inescapable fact of life for the first generation to come of age in the German Empire. Even the most extreme political opponents saw the chaotic transformation of all spheres of life in the wake of industrial capitalism as the central problem facing young men and women at the fin de siècle. This fresh look at Wilhelmine perceptions of modernity challenges both the traditional emphasis on anti-modernism as a peculiarly German response that led to the rise of National Socialism, and the more recent post-Foucauldian studies on the pathologies of modernity, which point instead to an unreflective faith in science and efficiency on the part of German progressives. Shifting the focus away from radical extremes on either side, Kevin Repp explores the more moderate agendas of hundreds of mainstream intellectuals and activists from diverse social backgrounds who sought to surmount the human costs of industrialization without relinquishing its positive potential. Repp combines detailed case studies of Adolf Damaschke, Gertrud Bäumer, and Werner Sombart with an innovative prosopography of their milieu to show how leading reformers enlisted familiar tropes of popular nationalism, eugenics, and cultural pessimism in formulating pragmatic solutions that would be at once modern and humane. Easily obscured by radical voices on right and left, this quiet search for alternatives nevertheless succeeded in building a nationwide network of educational centers, associative ties, and institutions that substantially altered the landscape of Wilhelmine political culture in the decades before the First World War.

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Book Synopsis

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Book Synopsis

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Book SynopsisBeginning with the restoration of the Bourbon monarchy in 1875 and ending with the death of General Francisco Franco in 1975, this book explores the intersection of education and nationalism in Spain. It is suitable for scholars with interests in modern European cultural politics, processes of state consolidation, and the history of education.Trade ReviewOne of Choice's Outstanding Academic Titles for 1998Table of ContentsList of IllustrationsAbbreviations Used in the Text and the NotesPrefaceCh. 1The Spanish Educational System and Its Critics, 1857-19003Ch. 2National Regeneration and Educational Reform, 1898-192341Ch. 3History Invented: History Education and the Liberal State65Ch. 4History Remembered: Catholic Integrism and the Sacralization of the National Past99Ch. 5History Recovered: Rafael Altamira and National Regeneration122Ch. 6The Primo de Rivera Dictatorship, 1923-1930: The Origins of "National Catholicism"165Ch. 7History and the Creation of a Republican Civic Culture, 1931-1936194Ch. 8History as Therapy: The Franquist Dictatorship, 1936-1953232Ch. 9Historical Amnesia: The Franco Regime, 1953-1975273Conclusion: History and National Identity302Bibliography309Index349

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Book SynopsisTraditionally, the legitimists of early Third Republican Prance have been dismissed as historical anachronisms. To arrive at a fuller understanding of these men, Robert R. Locke has used French public archives, libraries, and previously ignored private sources to investigate the divine right monarchists and the nature of their protest. Professor Locke concentrates on two hundred legitimists in the National Assembly of 1871. He identifies the legitimists socially and occupationally, and evaluates their response to such problems of modernization as industrialization, urbanization, bureaucratization. and democratization. The author analyzes legitimist ideas within the context of the immediate historical situation, and contrasts the social-economic background and mentality of the legitimists with that of other French and European monarchists. Far from being anachronisms, the legitimists of Professor Locke''s study emerge as men of diverse social-economic origins who freqTable of Contents*Frontmatter, pg. i*CONTENTS, pg. vii*ACKNOWLEDGMENTS, pg. ix*INTRODUCTION, pg. 1*Chapter One. THE LEGITIMISTS IN 1871: A PROBLEM IN IDENTIFICATION, pg. 10*Chapter Two. THE LEGITIMISTS: SOCIAL BACKGROUND, pg. 54*Chapter Three. THE LEGITIMISTS: ECONOMIC BACKGROUND, pg. 98*Chapter Four. THE SOCIOLOGY OF MORAL ORDER, pg. 140*Chapter Five. AGAINST THE GRAIN, pg. 181*Chapter Six. THE ELECTORAL DEFEAT OF 1876, pg. 224*Chapter Seven. CONCLUSION, pg. 262*APPENDIX, pg. 271*BIBLIOGRAPHY, pg. 278*INDEX, pg. 309

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Book SynopsisGeoffrey of Monmouth, a twelfth-century cleric, was the first person to compose a detailed and continuous history of Britain from its origins to the domination of the Anglo-Saxons. This book illustrates the close ties between Geoffrey's notion of British and Arthurian society and other materials from medieval Wales and Ireland.

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Book SynopsisOriginally published in weekly instalments, Nine Suitcases is the Hungarian writer Béla Zsolt''s harrowing memoir of his experiences in the ghetto of Nagyvarad and as a forced labourer in the Ukraine. Written with exceptional freshness and a devastating blend of angry despair and cool detachment, Zsolt - one of the earliest writers on the Holocaust - provides not only a rare insight into Hungarian fascism, but a shocking exposure of the cruelty, indifference, selfishness, cowardice and betrayal of which human beings - the victims no less than the perpetrators - are capable in extreme circumstances. Interspersed with moments of grotesque farce, grim irony and occasional memories of human kindness, Zsolt''s nightmarish but meticulously realistic chronicle of smaller and larger crimes against humanity is as riveting as it is horrifying.Trade Review[A] heartbreaking memoir... Unbearably immediate -- Laurence Phelan * Independent on Sunday *A sombre yet strangely beautiful account, devoid of sentimentality...the recent publication of his work in English is long overdue -- Phil Baker * Sunday Times *Remarkable...exceptional -- Caroline Moorehead * Times Literary Supplement *This is by far the best book I've come across on the subject of the extermination of Hungary's Jews -- Tibor Fischer * Guardian *Very, very rarely you read something that knocks the breath out of you... This masterpiece does -- Carole Angier * Literary Review *

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Book SynopsisThe Nazi regime was essentially a religious cult, relying on the hypnotic personality of one man, Adolf Hitler, and it was fated to die with him. It focuses on the three Nazi paladins closest to Hitler - Goring, Goebbels and Himmler - with their nearest rivals - Bormann, Speer and Ribbentrop in close attendance.Trade ReviewA pacy, elegant book. * Guardian *It is of paramount importance that well-researched, authoritative accounts of the Nazi era continue to be written. Anthony Read's study of Hitler's inner circle is just such one. -- Michael Arditti * Daily Express *

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Book SynopsisNo war has caused greater human suffering than the Second World War on Germany''s Eastern Front. Victory in the war cost the Red Army over 29 million casualties, whose collective fate is only now being properly documented. Among the many millions of soldiers who made up that gruesome toll were an unprecedented number of Red Army general officers. Many of these perished on the battlefield or in prison camps at the hands of their German tormentors. Others fell victim to equally terrifying Stalinist repression. Together these generals personify the faceless nature of the war of the Eastern Front - the legions of forgotten souls who perished in the war. Covered up for decades, the saga of these victims of war can now be told and in this volume, A A Maslov begins the difficult process of memorializing these warrior casualties. Using formerly secret Soviet archival materials and personal interviews with the families of the officers, he painstakingly documents the fate of Red Army genTable of ContentsCol. French L. MacLean, "Slavic Military Studies", Vol. 12, No. 1, March 99"Reading "Fallen Soviet Generals" was an extremely rewarding and informative experience ... This is an outstanding work. Well-researched, with appropriate endnotes, and well-written, it contains information found nowhere else. If you are a student of World War II and are interested in the Russo-German war from either side"s porspective, then this book is a must for your library and an extremely good read."The Journal of Military History- Walter S.Dunn,Jr., Elkhorn, Wisconsin- " this collection of biographical essays provides a valuable insight into the composition of the Red Army during the Great Patriotic War...The author is to be commended for his subjective interpretations of the events in each operation...The book is well worth reading.

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Book SynopsisT.M. Devine (OBE) is University Research Professor and Director of the Research Institute of Irish and Scottish Studies at the University of Aberdeen.Trade ReviewMagnificent ... a high achievement, a history of modern Scotland which, rarely for the subject, endows with sweep and power the changes that have created the country we live in -- Michael Fry * Herald *Devine's scholarship is state of the art ... if you are after answers to the big questions of Scottish history, Devine is your man -- Niall FergusonI think this book takes its place among the greatest accounts of Scotland's history available today -- Alex Salmond * New Statesman BOOKS OF THE YEAR *

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