General and world history Books

Book SynopsisReading across archives, canons, and continents, Lisa Lowe examines the relationships between Europe, Asia, and the Americas in the late eighteenth- and early nineteenth- centuries. She argues that Western liberal ideology, African slavery, Asian indentured labor, colonialism and trade must be understood as being mutually constitutive.Trade Review"This is a challenging book, which should be read by all those interested in the history of capitalism and the formation of the social sciences. ...There is much to enjoy in each of these chapters, especially, the dialectical interweaving of liberal conceptions and their negation, and the careful delineation of context and claim. Ultimately, however, the book is a dissection of liberalism and its fractured and fracturing presence in the modern world." -- John Holmwood * Theory, Culture & Society *"Lisa Lowe’s ambitious new book is a reminder of the deft footwork now required of anyone attempting to negotiate this tricky terrain. In The Intimacies of Four Continents she aligns herself with postcolonial scholars like Ann Laura Stoler, Antoinette Burton, or Nayan Shah who have each provided a distinctive take on how ‘the “intimate” sphere of sexual, reproductive, or household relations’ served as ‘a site of empire’.” -- David Glover * New Formations *"[An] important asset to anyone interested in not just themes of colonialism, labour, trade, and slavery, and of Chinese Canadian prairie history respectively, but also critical methodologies—of how to read intimately for relations between people and communities and in relation across time and space—in order to grasp the possibilities of knowing that lie among what has been assumed unknowable, erased, or forgotten." -- Stephanie Fung * Canadian Literature *"Among the many fascinating contributions of the book, I found one of the most arresting to be Lowe’s suggestion in her voluminous discursive footnotes that contemporary neoliberalism, with its emphasis on 'human capital' around the world, needs to be linked with its prehistory of racialized commodification of people. For that insight alone, Lowe’s panoramic study is more than worth reading." -- Samuel Moyn * Canadian Journal of History *"Reading The Intimacies of Four Continents will change the way we look at global (and national) histories forever." -- Etsuko Taketani * Journal of American History *"The Intimacies of Four Continents will undoubtedly remain a touchstone text for those working...and struggling against those operations that continue to pronounce colonial divisions of humanity at once globally and in their local, regional, and differential instantiations." -- Hossein Ayazi * Qui Parle *"[A] work crucial for thinking not only about the history of modernity and empire but also about our enduring and decisive enterprise as readers." -- Harrod J Suarez * MELUS *Table of Contents1. The Intimacies of Four Continents 1 2. Autobiography Out of Empire 43 3. A Fetishism of Colonial Commodities 73 4. The Ruses of Liberty 101 5. Freedoms Yet to Come 135 Acknowledgments 177 Notes 181 References 269 Index 305

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Book SynopsisFernández-Armesto''s rich vision of the 1490s is unlike any other world historians have given us. He has performed an amazing feat of portraying the world as one place before it had yet become one place ... This is popular history at its best: grounded in research, insightfully critical, and written with grace'' Literary ReviewFilled with marvels and sensations rich in description and replete with anecdote ... A compendium of delights'' The TimesThe world would end in 1492 - so the prophets, soothsayers and stargazers said. They were right. Their world did end. But ours began. In search of the origins of the modern world, 1492 takes readers on a journey around the globe of the time, in the company of real-life travellers, drawing together the threads that began to bind the planet: from the way power and wealth are distributed around the globe to the way major religions and civilizations divide the world.Events that began in 1492 even transformed the whole ecTrade Review‘Filled with marvels and sensations rich in description and replete with anecdote ... A compendium of delights' * Peter Ackroyd, The Times *‘Fernández-Armesto's chapters on the western Mediterranean are models of how to write popular history: accessible, provocative and full of telling detail' **** * Mail on Sunday *‘Fernández-Armesto's rich vision of the 1490s is unlike any other world historians have given us. He has performed an amazing feat of portraying the world as one place before it had yet become one place ... This is popular history at its best: grounded in research, insightfully critical, and written with grace' * Literary Review *‘Engrossing' * Daily Telegraph *

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Book SynopsisSince ancient times, the pundits have lamented young people's lack of historical knowledge and warned that ignorance of the past surely condemns humanity to repeating its mistakes. In the contemporary United States, this dire outlook drives a contentious debate about what key events, nations, and people are essential for history students. Sam Wineburg says that we are asking the wrong questions. This book demolishes the conventional notion that there is one true history and one best way to teach it. Although most of us think of history -- and learn it -- as a conglomeration of facts, dates, and key figures, for professional historians it is a way of knowing, a method for developing and understanding about the relationships of peoples and events in the past. A cognitive psychologist, Wineburg has been engaged in studying what is intrinsic to historical thinking, how it might be taught, and why most students still adhere to the \u0022one damned thing after another\u0022 concept of history. Whether he is comparing how students and historians interpret documentary evidence or analyzing children's drawings, Wineburg's essays offer \u0022rough maps of how ordinary people think about the past and use it to understand the present.\u0022 Arguing that we all absorb lessons about history in many settings -- in kitchen table conversations, at the movies, or on the world-wide web, for instance -- these essays acknowledge the role of collective memory in filtering what we learn in school and shaping our historical thinking.Trade Review"Sam Wineburg has not merely contributed to our understanding of how history is created, taught and learned; he has nearly singlehandedly forged a distinctive field of research and a new educational literature. This volume brings together a decade-long record of conceptual invention and methodological creativity." -Lee S. Shulman, President, The Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching, and Charles E. Ducommun Professor of Education Emeritus, Stanford University "With this volume, Sam Wineburg firmly established his place as the pre-eminent North American researcher in history education. His chapters range from insightful scholarly mediations to innovative empirical studies. He examines the knowledge and practices of historians, history teachers, and young people, as well as the vibrant field of research that has recently developed around these issues. Historical Thinking makes a vitally important contribution to our understanding of how we think and learn about the past." -Peter Seixas, Professor and Canada Research Chair in Education, University of Brutish Columbia "Historical Thinking is intellectually substantive, integrative, and timely. In the midst of all the talk about new technologies, distance learning, and standardized testing, his fine-grained inquiries into learning and knowledge are a sobering reminder that educators have a lot to learn about learning." -Randy Bass, Center for New Designs in Learning and Scholarship, Georgetown University "This is a wide-ranging and at times inspirational work." -History of Education "Arguing that we all absorb lessons about history in many settings-in kitchen table conversations, at the movies, or on the world-wide-web, for instance-these essays acknowledge the role of collective memory in filtering what we learn in school and shaping our historical thinking." -New York Review of Books "Historians, especially academic historians, who normally avoid the literature on history education for its banality, thin research base, or ideological cant will overlook this book at their peril. Sam Wineburg brings both a burning concern for the state of history instruction and a wide knowledge of history to his research agenda." -The Journal of American History "The author of this collection is passionate about the teaching of history. ...students are encouraged to put themselves into the shoes of the people whose actions they are studying in order to arrive at their own understanding of what they had done." -The Historian "For Wineburg the study of history commends itself as a unique and complex way of knowing the world that must, if it is to realize its full potential as a humanistic discipline, embrace a paradox: that of seeing the past as at one and the same time familiar and strange. -The Community College EnterpriseTable of ContentsIntroduction: Understanding Historical Understanding Part I: Why Study History? 1. Historical Thinking and Other Unnatural Acts 2. The Psychology of Teaching and Learning History Part II: Challenges for the Student 3. On the Reading of Historical Texts: Notes on the Breach Between School and Academy 4. Reading Abraham Lincoln: A Case Study in Contextualized Thinking 5. Picturing the Past Part III: Challenges for the Teacher 6. Peering at History Through Different Lenses: The Role of Disciplinary Perspectives in Teaching History 7. Models of Wisdom in the Teaching of History 8. Wrinkles in Time and Place: Using Performance Assessments to Understand the Knowledge of History Teachers Part IV: History as National Memory 9. Lost in Words: Moral Ambiguity in the History Classroom 10. Making (Historical) Sense in the New Millennium

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Book SynopsisFerdinand Mount has been fascinated by the great thinkers and politicians who have shaped human history over the past two millennia In this fascinating, and provocative book, he examines the proposals for a political theory from a number of widely different historical figures. Twelve key people, from the great orator and statesman of Ancient Greece (Pericles) to the inspiration of the founding of the state of Pakistan (Muhammad Iqbal) we take a colourful and rip-roaring journey through the historical figures who have both inspired and provoked Mount in equal measure. The lives of men such as Jesus Christ, Rousseau, Adam Smith, Edmund Burke, and Thomas Jefferson are discussed and comparisons are drawn between the various approaches each figure promoted in their works – whether philosophical, or political theories.   For those wishing to be guided by Mount’s choices and be swept along by Trade Review‘Like many of his books, this one works because he writes so beautifully and with such an appealing personality … In our polarized times there is something to be said for his temperate open-mindedness, and certainly for his sense of humour.’ -- Jeffrey Collins * Times Literary Supplement *‘Mount’s idea is to map the stars in the firmament of political thought … Thought is the point here, rather than biography, but Prime Movers shines best when the dense intellectual filleting takes a back seat to quirky life story … a beautifully efficient writer.’ -- Hugo Rifkind * The Times *‘One of the finest essayists in the English language. Mount assesses 12 great political thinkers from Pericles and Jesus to Marx and Gandhi. His book encourages us to go back and read the originals again.’ -- Chris Patten * The Tablet *‘An engaging collection of extended essays on a disparate bunch of thinkers. Ferdinand Mount is an accomplished writer, he has the knack of summarising complex ideas without giving the reader indigestion, and he contrives to be opinionated without being overly obtrusive.’ * The Oldie *‘The book surveys in extraordinary detail, and with exceptional insight, the ideas of 12 “Prime Movers”… conservative-minded readers should expect the unexpected.’ * Spectator *‘Mount has an ability not to be over-impressed by greatness, but at the same time to delight in it – an unusual combination of qualities… These 12 essays need not be read together; are so rich that they are best read separately, each serving as an introduction, or reintroduction, to the thinker under discussion.’ * Conservative Home *

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Book SynopsisThe Men Who Would Be Kings is a set of rules designed for fighting historical or Hollywood colonial battles in the mid- to late-Nineteenth Century, from the Indian Mutiny to the Boxer Rebellion. Large scale colonial clashes tended to be one-sided affairs, but there are countless reports of brief, frantic skirmishes in every colonial war--where either side could be victorious--and these are the battles that The Men Who Would Be Kings seeks to recreate. Although focusing on the British colonial wars against the Zulus, Maoris, and others, these rules will also permit players to explore the empires of France, Germany, and other nations, as well as allowing for battles between rival native factions. Gameplay is very simple, and is driven by the quality of the officers leading your units, in the true spirit of Victorian derring-do and adventure, where larger than life characters such as the (real) Fred Burnaby and the (fictional) Harry Flashman led their troops to glory and medTable of ContentsOverview/ Understanding the basics/ Playing the game/ Army lists/ Strategies and tactics/ Sample armies/ Scenarios/ Campaigns

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Book SynopsisWhat is the definition of assassination? Robert Baer's boss at the CIA once told him, 'It's a bullet with a man's name on it.' Sometimes assassination is the senseless act of a psychotic, a bloodletting without social value. Other times, it can be the sanest and most humane way to change the course of conflict: one bullet, one death, case closed. Assassination has been dramatised by literature and politicised by infamous murders throughout history, and for Robert Baer, one of the most accomplished agents ever to work for the CIA, it's a source of endless fascination. Over several decades, Baer served as an operative, from Iraq to India and beyond. In THE PERFECT KILL, he takes us on a wildly entertaining narrative adventure through a history of political murder, interweaving his first-hand experience and his decades-long cat-and-mouse hunt for the greatest assassin of the modern age. A true maverick with an undeniably captivating personal story, Baer pulls back the curtain to give a glimpse of the underbelly of world politics, and the quiet murderers who operate on the fringe of our society.Trade ReviewThe Perfect Kill is a meditation on the art of political murder. Baer knows his subject -- ED CAESAR * SUNDAY TIMES *This potted history of assassination, with its carefully worded anecdotes and sense of absolute authenticity is intriguing, terrifying and occasionally lightened by the author's drily black sense of humour -- Russel D McLean * GLASGOW HERALD *riveting and insightful * BIGNEWSNETWORK.COM *

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Book SynopsisThis wide-ranging dictionary contains a wealth of information on all aspects of history, from prehistory right up to the present day. Over 4,000 clear, concise entries include biographies of key figures in world history (living and dead), separate entries for every country in the world (summarising key historical events), and in-depth entries on religious and political movements, international organizations, and major conflicts and events and their after-effects. For this new edition, existing entries have been revised and updated to reflect the very latest global events including changes in leadership, wars, political situations, and the statistical information given for each country (population counts, currency, languages, religions). New entries have been included for key figures who have recently come to prominence and world events. The book also contains twenty-five detailed maps linked to key historical events and topics. These include the African slave trade, the Black Death, anTrade ReviewIn these days, when a quick search on the web brings up much of this information, there is still room for a reference book, especially one as inexpensive as this, to provide corroboration and, sometimes, correction of unauthenticated postings. * Chris Green, Suffolk & Norfolk Life *packed with concise facts but just the rigt kind of detail

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Book SynopsisDiscover inspiring stories of heroism, adventure, endurance and survival from throughout history. Captain Robert Falcon Scott didn''t start out life as a hero. In fact, as a boy he was considered small, frail and shy. So what was it that turned this ordinary man into a legend? Through his gripping account of how this modest naval officer became Scott of the Antarctic, Neil Oliver vividly relates the awe-inspiring tales of brave men that inspired Britain''s greatest hero, including Nelson, Sir John Moore, and the Demons of Camerone. And alongside these epic stories of courage, fortitude and sacrifice, Oliver recounts how the spirit of Scott lives on - from Neil Armstrong and the Apollo 13 mission, to the SAS and the Battle of Mirbat. Young and old alike will enjoy reading these brave stories of men who understood - as Scott always did - that it was more important to die a hero than live a coward''s life.________ ''A joy from sta

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Book SynopsisIn 1322 Sir John Mandeville left England on a pilgrimage to Jerusalem. Thirty-four years later, he returned, claiming to have visited not only Jerusalem, but India, China, Java, Sumatra and Borneo as well.His book about that voyage, THE TRAVELS, was heralded as the most important book of the Middle Ages as Mandeville claimed his voyage proved it was possible to circumnavigate the globe.In the nineteenth century sceptics questioned his voyage, and even doubted he had left England.THE RIDDLE AND THE KNIGHT sets out to discover whether Mandeville really could have made his voyage or whether, as is claimed, THE TRAVELS was a work of imaginative fiction. Bestselling historian Giles Milton unearths clues about the journey and reveals that THE TRAVELS is built upon a series of riddles which have, until now, remained unsolved.Trade ReviewMilton is a great storyteller ... he sets about filling in the historical gaps with relish, using his considerable imagination to conjure mood from dry parchment * Sunday Express *Grippingly told true adventure story * Daily Mail *'Milton has a terrific eye for the kind of detail that can bring the past vividly to life'. * The Spectator *

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Book Synopsis"An Armchair Traveller's History of Apulia" is the story of the heel of Italy - Puglia - as told by past and present day travellers. It has beautiful landscapes, cave towns and frescoed grotto churches, wonderful old cities with Romanesque cathedrals, Gothic castles and a wealth of Baroque architecture. And yet, while far from inaccessible, until quite recently it was seldom visited by tourists. This portrait of Apulia concentrates on the Apulian people down the ages. Conquerors, whether Messapians, Greeks, Romans, Arabs, Lombards, Byzantines, Normans, Angevins, Germans or Spaniards, have all left their mark on the region in a cultural palimpsest that at first sight bewilders, but which hugely repays investigation. This title is arranged in short chapters, the narrative travels from north to south, making it an ideal companion for exploring Apulia by car. The Gazetteer, which is cross-referenced to the main text, highlights cities, churches, cathedrals, castles and sites of historical importance to the visitor. For travellers on the ground or students at their desks, this elegant, cloth-bound book will prove invaluable.

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Book SynopsisA panoramic reinterpretation of global history, this title traces the emergence and development of the modern world from the sixteenth to the twentieth century.Trade Review"However one casts up the balance-sheet on Wallerstein’s second volume, his effort commands respect and justifies interest in the volumes to follow." * Society *"An exciting and highly intelligent book. . . . The staggering pace at which Wallerstein moves over different levels of explanation, and skillfully combines them into his argument, deserves admiration." * History *"In this age of high specialization, Wallerstein's ambitious but judicious synthesis will command the respect of any scholar who has tried to grapple with the peculiarly intractable problems of this period. . . . the book is shot through with shrewd and often stimulating comment." * Journal of Modern History *Table of ContentsList of Illustrations Acknowledgments Prologue to the 2011 Edition Introduction: Crisis of the seventeenth century? 1. The b-phase 2. Dutch hegemony in the world economy 3. Struggle in the core—phase i: 1651–1689 4. Peripheries in an era of slow growth 5. Semipheripheries at the crossroads 6. Struggle in the core—phase ii: 1689–1763 Bibliography Index

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Book SynopsisA masterful narrative of the Middle Ages, when religion became a weapon for kings all over the world.

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Book SynopsisThe networks of roads throughout the Roman Empire were vital to the expansion of Roman culture, power and influence across the world. This book details the planning, construction and maintenance of these road networks, and discusses the different types of Roman road found in areas of Britain, and their uses.

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Book SynopsisOn fire for God—a sweeping history of puritanism in England and AmericaTrade Review“Hot Protestants is a fine work of scholarship, written in a gracefully understated style, and is among the fairest and most readable accounts of the glorious failure that was trans-Atlantic Puritanism.”—Barton Swaim, Wall Street Journal“Exhilarating popular history...convincingly captures in one bold retelling decades of scholarship on Puritanism’s origins, developments and characteristics”—Johanna Harris, Times Literary Supplement“The rise and fall of transatlantic puritanism is told through political, theological, and personal conflict in this exceptional history. . . . With a clear narrative tied together with helpful clarifications, Winship’s cogent work nicely lays out the history of how puritans emerged from Protestantism.”—Publishers Weekly, starred review“Hold on to your hats. Michael Winship has written one of the finest and most challenging studies of early modern Puritanism—and this in a field replete with gifted scholars.”—Jonathan Wright, Catholic Herald“Michael P. Winship tells an ocean-spanning story with a light touch and an ear for compelling vignettes.”—Alec Ryrie, BBC History Magazine“Puritanism was inescapable: it led to vicious conflict, rebellion, and civil war on both sides of the Atlantic from the 1540s onwards. Michael P. Winship has written an admirable and fascinating survey of this movement, learned and full of insight”—Jonathan Clark, Church Times“The scope and comprehension of all aspects of Puritanism in Hot Protestants is remarkable."—Glenn A. Moots, Journal of Religious History “An immensely enjoyable and informative read.”—Pierre Lurbe, Cercles “A sweeping and cogently argued survey of Puritan political ambitions in the Atlantic world…Winship is right that Puritanism changed due to fragmentation and the loss of power in Old and New England, and most modern Protestants baulk at their rigid views on matters of church, state and the habits of godliness.”—Matthew Rowley, Bunyan Studies Listed on Choice's Outstanding Academic Titles List for 2019 “A fresh retelling of the ups and downs of the Puritan movement in England and New England, a story conveyed through vignettes that capture its dynamics in unusually insightful ways.”—David D. Hall, author of A Reforming People“An important work by one of our leading scholars of puritanism, placing the movement in its proper Atlantic context and offering valuable insights in a way accessible to all readers.”—Francis J. Bremer, author of First Founders"A compelling read. This is the only genuinely trans-Atlantic history of puritanism, taking in the full sweep of the story from the 1540s to the 1690s. Throughout, Winship displays an unmatched command of the field, astute judgment, and independence of mind. Hot Protestants is a tremendous achievement."—John Coffey, author of Exodus and Liberation“A long needed study of the transatlantic Puritan movement, knitting together its disparate elements into a coherent whole. Winship's mastery of the subject on both sides of the Atlantic is unparalleled, and his forceful account, told in vigorous and lucid prose, will remind readers why Puritanism had a powerful influence in shaping the modern world.”—Mark A. Peterson, author of The Price of Redemption

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Book SynopsisIn Jihād in West Africa during the Age of Revolutions, a preeminent historian of Africa argues that scholars of the Americas and the Atlantic world have not given Africa its due consideration as part of either the Atlantic world or the age of revolutions.Trade Review“This book represents … a career-spanning synthesis of Lovejoy’s most influential work, as well as a challenging and original argument about the importance of ‘mainstreaming’ the history of the West African jihadist movements of the eighteenth and nineteenth century into broader accounts of the ‘Age of Revolutions’ in the Atlantic world.…Jihād in West Africa During the Age of Revolutions will undoubtedly become the standard reference in the field.” * Journal of Islamic Studies *“Jihād in West Africa is a hugely compelling book, prompting Africanists, Atlanticists and specialists of revolutionary Europe and the Americas to reconsider established paradigms and break from the silos imposed by a mixture of cultural divides, rigid geographic parameters and different linguistic specializations.” * Journal of Global Slavery *“Paul Lovejoy makes an original and important contribution to several major historiographies—of Africa, Islam, the Atlantic World, the Atlantic slave trade, slavery in the Americas, and the comparative history of slavery. Jihād in West Africa during the Age of Revolutions is grounded in deep research in both primary and secondary sources, and perhaps most importantly, in a professional lifetime spent thinking deeply and creatively about these topics.”

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Book SynopsisTrade Review"One of BBC History Magazine's Best Books of 2020""A bracing stringency is one of the virtues of The Decline and Rise of Democracy. It sweeps across the globe in command of recent scholarship. . . . It shows how complex democracy’s patterns are and, on the evidence, how simpler accounts of its past and prospects stumble." * The Economist *"An outstanding volume that analyses the development of democracy and autocracy in a refreshing and relevant way."---Simon Sebag Montefiore, BBC History Magazine"Democracy is a naturally occurring condition in humanity societies. This single idea sets Stasavage apart from so many theorists who look to the past."---Justin Kempf, Democracy Paradox"I opened The Decline and Rise of Democracy: A Global History from Antiquity to Today, by David Stasavage (Princeton, 2020), hoping to find insights on the prospects for democracy in Russia, and China. And so I did. I closed the book with a better understanding of American democracy as well."---David Warsh, Economic Principals"A rich and coherent account of democracy’s evolution over millennia and across diverse geographical and environmental settings, "a deep history". . . . This volume helps us look into the future, and one might be unsettled by what can be seen."---Varghese K. George, The Hindu"This book’s optimism and wide-eyed wonder sprouts like T.S. Eliot’s lilac through the dead earth of current Western declinism."---David Muir, The American Interest"A fascinating voyage through time and place."---Pierre Lemieux, Regulation"David Stasavage offers a rich, international overview on the origins of democracy and the conditions under which democracy flourishes (or doesn’t). . . . an outstanding piece of scholarly writing not just because of the theory it develops, but how it does so: In clear, concise, and forceful prose — the rarest of combinations, which makes this book all the more enjoyable."---Felix Simon, Medium"[Stasavage's] approach is refreshing and inspiring."---Wim Blockmans, Parliaments, Estates, and Representation"Stasavage has written an excellent analysis of the concept of democracy that gives hope and a better understanding of how this concept can be salvaged from the threats that are rising and the challenges that lie ahead."---John M. Bublic, The European Legacy"A piece of remarkable scholarship."---George Tridimas, Constitutional Political Economy

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Book SynopsisIn the decades since the end of the Second World War, it has been widely assumed that the western model of liberal democracy and free trade is the way the world should be governed. However, events in the early years of the twenty-first century – first, the 2003 war with Iraq and its chaotic aftermath and, second, the financial crash of 2008 – have threatened the general acceptance that continued progress under the benign (or sometimes not so benign) gaze of the western powers is the only way forwards. And as America turns inwards and Europe is beset by austerity politics and populist nationalism, the post-war consensus looks less and less secure. But is this really the worst of times? In a forensic examination of the world we now live in, acclaimed historian Michael Burleigh sets out to answer that question. Who could have imagined that China would champion globalization and lead the battle on climate change? Or that post-Soviet Russia might present a greater threat to the world’s stability than ISIS? And while we may be on the cusp of still more dramatic change, perhaps the risks will – in time – bring not only change but a wholly positive transformation.Incisive, robust and always insightful, The Best of Times, The Worst of Times by Michael Burleigh is both a dazzling tour d’horizon of the world as it is today and a surprisingly optimistic vision of the world as it might become.Trade ReviewA robust and unsentimental guide to global power politics * The Times *Burleigh has always had an eye for compelling hard detail * Sunday Times *Bracing … refreshingly pessimistic * Observer *In this wide-ranging book Michael Burleigh demonstrates a mastery of global affairs that would put most experts in any one of his chosen chapter headings to shame … quite brilliant. * Mail on Sunday *Brilliant, fact-packed, judicious and above all debunking … The Best of Times, the Worst of Times will not leave its readers cheered, but they will at least be superbly informed about the dramas to come. * Daily Telegraph *Swashbuckling … a breakneck geopolitical gallop across the globe in the hands of a historian and commentator at the peak of his powers. * Evening Standard *[A] trenchant and galloping account of the opening years of the century … ruthlessly impolite * Irish Examiner *A history of the modern world, set out clearly, with trenchant scholarship and wit * Daily Telegraph Books of the Year *Incisive and compelling. His style is always trenchant and sometimes blistering -- Piers Brendon * Literary Review *

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Book SynopsisTrade Review"A Spectator Book of the Year""A Prospect Best History Book of the Year""A FiveBooks Best Economic History Book of the Year""Finalist for the PROSE Award in European History, Association of American Publishers""Shortlisted for the Wolfson History Prize""An Australian Most Anticipated Book""A fantastic display of scholarship."---Talha Burki, The Lancet"[A] sweeping revisionist history. . . . Rich in erudition and startling new insights, this fresh look at the impact of the Black Death upon world history is a must for history lovers and plague aficionados alike." * Library Journal *"A provocative and impressive history of an earth-shattering event." * Publishers Weekly *"[A] bold, tremendously researched work."---Jordan Michael Smith, Undark"The World the Plague Made is worth reading simply as a narrative of these extraordinary events by a historian who combines command of detail with a grandiose vision of factors driving human expansion. Belich is sweeping in his range, provocative in his assertions and ambitious in his conceptions. His writing is full of colourful metaphors, unexpected turns of phrase and elegant put-downs of the many scholars who lack the imagination to share his insights."---Jonathan Sumption, Literary Review"Sweeping, ambitious."---Peter Frankopan, The Spectator"There is much to learn from this carefully considered book."---Peter Sarris, The Critic"The World the Plague Made convincingly demonstrates that the Black Death influenced many aspects of human life. In short, it is global history."---Okori Uneke, International Social Science Review"Belich draws on a vast array of bang-up-to-date material with the latest historical research, from plague pathogens to the role of war in centralising the early modern and modern state. The ride is a provocative and often exhilarating one. . . . Belich asks profound questions and does so with considerable elan."---Peter Frankopan, Prospect"Terribly interesting and educational. . . . [A] fascinating book. It obviously comes recommended to students of the history of infectious disease, but also to readers receptive to the idea that history can be decisively shaped by curveballs thrown by nature."---Leon Vlieger, Inquisitive Biologist"Packed with extensive and detailed information. . . .The World the Plague Made is a monumental book that will be required reading for anyone interested in the transition to modernity and it offers much food for thought about the methodology of ‘global history’ and history over a longue durée."---Justine Firnhaber-Baker, History Today"Deeply-researched and erudite."---Sheldon Kirshner, The Times of Israel"James Belich is one of our absolutely necessary historians; his lens is wide as the world itself."---Geordie Williamson, The Australian

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Book SynopsisRed Flag is the world's premier air-to-air combat exercise. Run by the US Air Force from Nellis Air Force Base in Nevada, its aim is to provide aircrew with a safe environment in which to take part in interview air combat sorties. It takes place over the vast Nevada Test and Training Range and is attended by participants from allied nations around the world, with 29 countries having taken part with the US since 1975. These visitors bring with them their own variety of aircraft, adding to the diverse array gracing the skies over Las Vegas. Illustrated with over 140 full-colour photographs, this stunning collection looks at the many aircraft involved in Red Flag, including firefighters such as the Eagle, Super Hornet, and Raptor; support aircraft such as the Stratotanker and Sentry; helicopters such as the Black Hawk and Apache; and a multitude of other aircraft from both sides of the Atlantic. Also included are 'Red Force' fighters, with their unique paint schemes, which aim to replicate the look and tactics of potential adversaries. 140 illustrations

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Book SynopsisHayden White is widely considered to be the most influential historical theorist of the twentieth century. The Ethics of Narrative brings together nearly all of White''s uncollected essays from the last two decades of his life, revealing a lesser-known side of White: that of the public intellectual. From modern patriotism and European identity to Hannah Arendt''s writings on totalitarianism, from the idea of the historical museum and the theme of melancholy in art history to trenchant readings of Leo Tolstoy and Primo Levi, the first volume of The Ethics of Narrative shows White at his most engaging, topical, and capacious.Expertly introduced by editor Robert Doran, who lucidly explains the major themes, sources, and frames of reference of White''s thought, this volume features five previously unpublished lectures, as well as more complete versions of several published essays, thereby giving the reader unique access to White''s late thought. In addition tTrade ReviewThe Ethics of Narrative is a significant posthumous collection of Hayden White's writings. Those of us who care about White will be grateful to Doran for so conscientiously undertaking this legacy groundwork. * American Literary History *Table of ContentsIntroduction: Hayden White, History, and the Ethics of Narrative 1. The Problem with Modern Patriotism 2. Symbols and Allegories of Temporality 3. The Discourse of Europe and the Search for a European Identity 4. Catastrophe, Communal Memory, and Mythic Discourse: The Uses of Myth in the Reconstruction of Society 5. Figura and Historical Subalternation 6. The Westernization of World History 7. On Transcommunality and Models of Community 8. Anomalies of the Historical Museum or, History as Utopian Space 9. Figural Realism in Witness Literature: On Primo Levi's Se questo è un uomo 10. The Elements of Totalitarianism: On Hannah Arendt 11. The Metaphysics of Western Historiography: Cosmos, Chaos, and Sequence in Historiological Representation 12. Historicality as a Trope of Political Discourse: Rhetoric, Ethics, Politics 13. Exile and Abjection 14. The Dark Side of Art History: On Melancholy 15. Against Historical Realism: A Reading of Leo Tolstoy's War and Peace

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Book SynopsisGetting to grips with the overlapping geopolitical, economic, and political crises faced by Western democratic societies in the 2020s. The 21st century has brought a powerful tide of geopolitical, economic, and democratic shocks. Their fallout has led central banks to create over $25 trillion of new money, brought about a new age of geopolitical competition, destabilised the Middle East, ruptured the European Union, and exposed old political fault lines in the United States.Disorder: Hard Times in the 21st Century is a long history of this present political moment. It recounts three histories - one about geopolitics, one about the world economy, and one about western democracies - and explains how in the years of political disorder prior to the pandemic the disruption in each became one big story. It shows how much of this turbulence originated in problems generated by fossil-fuel energies, and it explains why as the green transition takes place the long-standing predicaments energy inTrade ReviewBrilliant * Steven Poole, The Guardian *majestic * Neal Lawson, The Observer *Thompson's analysis of the West is complete, compact and an indispensable reference for International Relations scholars and those with an interest in the political tensions of the modern system. The book offers a unique detailed review of the current circumstances rather than a prescriptive text. Thompson's work exhibits the best traditions of British academic historical inquiry: observation without doctrinal attachments, description without meandering thematic focus and a dry warning of dire consequences. * Shane McLorrain, American University of Paris, France, International Affairs *The best eight politics books of the year - "Helen Thompson expertly joins the dots between debt, energy prices, inflation and political instability." * Eoin O'Malley *Startlingly Relevant * Michael Laver, Society *Helen Thompson's book stands tallest among the recent titles that attempt to make sense of our age of crises. Disorder is a singular work owing to the skill with which Thompson maps the intersecting relationships between energy, global monetary policy, and the state of liberal democracy. * New Statesman *Excellent * Dominic Sandbrook, Daily Mail *Fascinating * Simon Nixon, The Times *A stimulating read. * Howard Davies, Literary Review *Exceptional * Gavin Jacobson, New Statesman *Excellent. * Peter Franklin, Unherd *Bold and brilliant, studded with insights...one of the year's most essential books. * Christopher Bray, The Tablet *A powerful guide to modern Hard Times...any reader will finish it with a deeper understanding of our contemporary challenges. * Paschal Donohoe, Irish Times *Most of us struggle to keep up [with the news], but not Helen Thompson - she doesn't merely grip each strand, but ties them together. * Tom Clark, Prospect *Bursting with ideas. * James Barr, The Critic *[Disorder is] as disturbing as it is thought-provoking. * Martin Wolf, Financial Times, Summer Books 2022: Economics *If you are looking for a well-developed and convincing theory of our time, I advise you to start here. * Gilles Gressani, Le Grand Continent, 'What to read this summer' *Stimulating * Luuk van Middelaar, NRC Handelsblad *We are on the verge of a fascinating epoch that Thompson might write about in a second volume, but that doesnt invalidate her first. Instead, it underscores her larger point that energy and finance are often at the heart of geopolitics. * Tony Yates,Chatham House *Disorder is a brilliant extended essay on the troubles of the era in terms of energy, global finance, governance and democracy...So much of this tortuously fascinating book gives the background to the global crisis now upon us, specifically in energy and governance. * Robert Fox, Reaction *If you want to understand why Russia invaded Ukraine then this book will help. * Richard Lofthouse, QUAD *Readers will understand the world better once they have finished reading Disorder. * Michael Laver, Society *Deftly weaving together the history of energy, economics, and politics, Disorder restores depth to contemporary history. Refusing familiar stereotypes, Thompson offers a truly eye-opening account of our current predicament and points the way to a deeper understanding of the energy transition that lies ahead. Challenging and essential reading. * Adam Tooze, Kathryn and Shelby Cullom Davis Professor of History, Director of the European Institute, Columbia University *A remarkable history of the complex ways in which the global energy economy has shaped the wealth and politics of nations. Helen Thompson's command of her subject is second to none. Disorder is revelatory, sobering, and indispensable. * Gary Gerstle, author of The Rise and Fall of the Neoliberal Order: America and the World during the Free Market Era *To read Thompson on the history of the past century is to see it in a sudden sharp definition. It is akin to looking through glass after the window-cleaner has been. * Tom Holland, bestselling author and co-host of The Rest is History podcast *There could be no better guide than Helen Thompson to the turbulence of the 21st century, with its successive disruptions, from financial crisis to energy transition, from Brexit to emerging geopolitical conflicts. When history seems to have come for us with a vengeance since the turn of the millennium, this magisterial book brings into focus the key structural forces driving, not only recent events, but also the inevitable changes still to come. * Diane Coyle, Bennett Professor of Public Policy, University of Cambridge *In this absorbing and wide-ranging study Helen Thompson unravels the complex intersections of oil, money, and democracy for understanding the politics of the last century. She provides an indispensable and illuminating guide to our current predicaments. * Andrew Gamble, Professor of Politics, University of Sheffield *Thompson's conceptual work is...elaborate...full of revelations. * Thomas König, Austrian Journal of Political Science *Table of ContentsIntroduction: Disruption I: Geopolitics 1: Eurasian limits 2: The impossible oil guarantee 3: Eurasia remade II: Economy 4: Our currencies, your problem 5: Made in China, need dollars 6: We are not in Kansas any more III: Democratic politics 7: Democratic time 8: The democratic tax state 9: Whither reform Conclusions: The more things change Index

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Book SynopsisAntoinette Burton is Professor of History at the University of Illinois, USA. Her recent publications include An ABC of Queen Victoria's Empire: Or a Primer of Conquest, Dissent and Disruption (Bloomsbury, 2017) and How Empire Shaped Us (Bloomsbury, 2016).Tony Ballantyne is Professor of History at the University of Otago, New Zealand. His recent publications include Entanglements of empire: Missionaries, Maori, and the question of the body (2014) and co-edited with Antoinette Burton Empires and the reach of the global: 1870-1945 (2009).Trade ReviewPraise for the first edition: 'Most of the chapters in this fine collection would work very well in the undergraduate classroom … Each chapter chooses a small group of examples or moments to focus on, with brief mention of others, so students won't get buried in a mass of names and dates. The book as a whole could be assigned in thematic upper-level or graduate courses, both for its content and for the examples that the chapters provide about how to write comparative and world/global history on a specific topic in a research-paper length format. Because many of its examples are not ones often discussed, more advanced scholars of world history would gain by reading the book as well.' * World History Connected *Antoinette Burton and Tony Ballantyne present a highly readable collection of essays that will challenge both scholars and students to rethink traditional approaches to world history ... Ambitious in scope but meticulous in detail, this collection functions equally well as a primer for undergraduate students or as a resource for advanced scholars seeking to draw wider transnational connections with their work ... The essays included in this volume present an impressively coherent narrative when read together but also function well as stand-alone pieces. * Journal of Colonialism and Colonial History *“This collection of essays goes a long way toward “localizing” global history and at the same time “de-nationalizing” the study of the past. Whereas globalization has tended to be understood in terms of transnational movements of people, goods, and ideas, the contributors here examine these phenomena in local contexts. At the same time, they analyze how seemingly disparate developments in various parts of the world have also been shared across national boundaries, thus fostering a world of hybridity in which we live. The volume should serve as an excellent starting point for the understanding of the closely interconnected and at the same time intensely localized world that exists today.” * Akira Iriye, Charles Warren Professor of American History, Emeritus, Harvard University, USA *“An essential introduction to the study of world/global history, this book builds upon the best of recent research to develop original and suggestive approaches that emphasize history from "the bottom up,” that is, the real-life struggles of ordinary people across the world to maintain and reshape their lives.” * Lynn Hunt, Distinguished Research Professor of History, University of California Los Angeles, USA *This revised collection of essays proposes ways of understanding world histories by focusing on how common people mobilized, challenged, and negotiated power across time and place. World Histories From Below is filled with innovative scholarship on the Global South that provides convincing alternatives to national-colonial and Western narratives. * Sharon Block, Professor of History, University of California, Irvine, USA *World Histories From Below charts new directions for students of world history. Its insistent focus on the perspective of the marginalized makes the narrative of world history newly available for the imagining of radical futures within and beyond the classroom. This is the book for teaching world history that we have been long awaiting. * Mrinalini Sinha, Alice Freeman Palmer Professor of History, University of Michigan, USA *With welcome new material, the second edition of this superb essay collection offers an outstanding introduction to the approaches, challenges, and insights of World History. There's complementarity between the thematic chapters and contributors' analyses tease out the global patterns, complexities, and consequences of human interaction, from revolutionary protest to environmental change. * Martin Thomas, Professor of Imperial History, University of Exeter, UK *Table of ContentsList of Illustrations Notes on Contributors Introduction: Keywords: "World History," "Below," and "Dissent and Disruption", Antoinette Burton and Tony Ballantyne 1. Modern Political Revolutions: Connecting Grassroots Political Dissent and Global Historical Transformations, M.J. Maynes and Ann Waltner 2. International and Global Anti-Colonial Movements, Heather Streets-Salter 3. Insurgent Citizenship: Armed Rebellions and Everyday Acts of Resistance in the Global South, Eileen M. Ford 4. Indigeneity, Movement, and Disrupting the Global Nineteenth Century, T. J. Tallie 5. Body Politics, Sexualities, and the "Modern Family" in Global History, Durba Ghosh 6. The Persistence of the Gods: Religion in the Modern World, Tony Ballantyne 7. Global Mobilities, Clare Anderson 8. The Anthropocene from Below, Nancy J. Jacobs, Danielle Johnstone and Christopher Kelly 9. The Anthropocene’s “Belows”: Nature and Power in Global History, Robert Rouphail

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Book SynopsisIn the bestselling tradition of The Swerve and A Distant Mirror, THE VERGE tells the story of a period that marked a decisive turning point for both European and world history. Here, author Patrick Wyman examines two complementary and contradictory sides of the same historical coin: the world-altering implications of the developments of printed mass media, extreme taxation, exploitative globalization, humanistic learning, gunpowder warfare, and mass religious conflict in the long term, and their intensely disruptive consequences in the short-term.As told through the lives of ten real people -- from famous figures like Christopher Columbus and wealthy banker Jakob Fugger to a ruthless small-time merchant and a one-armed mercenary captain -- THE VERGE illustrates how their lives, and the times in which they lived, set the stage for an unprecedented globalized future.Over an intense forty-year period, the seeds for the so-called "Great Divergence" between Western Europe and the rest of the globe would be planted. From Columbus's voyage across the Atlantic to Martin Luther's sparking the Protestant Reformation, the foundations of our own, recognizably modern world came into being.For the past 500 years, historians, economists, and the policy-oriented have argued which of these individual developments best explains the West's rise from backwater periphery to global dominance. As THE VERGE presents it, however, the answer is far more nuanced.

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Book SynopsisAs Napoleon himself once said, 'History is a version of past events that people have decided to agree upon.' Noted down in historical documents, copied and widely repeated, it doesn't take long for a version of the truth to become accepted as fact. But who invents these false accounts in the first place, and why do they gain traction so quickly? Far from concerning the obscure and insignificant parts of our history, these fundamental inaccuracies and downright lies colour the depiction of many of those pivotal characters and events we learnt about at school. Cleopatra, Marco Polo, Captain Cook, Joan of Arc; most of us could reel off a fact or two about each. But as this intriguing book reveals, a closer examination of these core parts of our social and political history shows that often all was not as it seemed, and that the agendas of those responsible for recording these events had a huge impact on what was reported and what was covered up.

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Book SynopsisINQUISITION is the latest thrilling novel from Sunday Times bestselling author David Gibbins. Jack Howard will be tested to his limits on the trail of the fabled Holy Grail. ''[The] Da Vinci Code of the deep sea'' Daily Express258As the blood of martyred Christians runs through Rome''s catacombs, Pope Sixtus entrusts their most sacred object to a devoted follower. Soon after, the Holy Grail disappears into the darkness of time. 1684 While overseeing the evacuation of the English colony of Tangier, Samuel Pepys attempts to retrieve a treasure which has resurfaced after more than a thousand years. Meanwhile, a Jewish merchant is tortured by the Altamanus, a secret group determined to locate the Grail. PRESENT DAYA wreck off the Cornish coast reveals clues to a mystery that marine archaeologist Jack Howard had thought beyond solving. He embarks on an epic quest that takes him to the sunken ruins of the pirate citTrade ReviewPraise for David Gibbins - -What do you get if you cross Indiana Jones with Dan Brown? Answer: David Gibbins - MirrorFascinating... [The] Da Vinci Code of the deep sea - Daily ExpressThe diving sequences are marvellous... there isn't another thriller hero like Jack Howard and I treasure him - For Winter NightsA brilliantly written thriller that remains in the believable and yet rides the edge of the fantastical, the boundaries of exploration... and expectation - Parmenion Books

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Book SynopsisTrade Review"In its comprehensive sweep, deep probing and acute critical analysis, Finkelstein’s study stands alone.” * Noam Chomsky *"Readers with fixed positions, either in agreement or disagreement with Finkelstein, will find much to engage with here." * Publishers Weekly *"No one who ventures an opinion on Gaza . . . is entitled to do so without taking into account the evidence in this book. For that, at least, the people of Gaza owe a debt to Norman Finkelstein. . . . Offers what may well be the definitive history of one of the most horrifying and sustained campaigns of collective punishment in modern world history."" * The Intercept *"Norman Finkelstein has the moral gravity of an Old Testament prophet, the scrupulous attention to detail of a Talmudic scholar, and the mordant sense of humor of a Yiddish novelist. All these attributes are on display in Gaza: An Inquest Into its Martyrdom. . . . The cumulative impact of Finkelstein’s meticulously-documented 408-page chronicle is devastating, and it will leave the reader stunned that the worldwide reaction is so muted." * Mondoweiss *“Recommended . . . for a review of the evidence of Israel’s wrongdoing that is buried or downplayed.” * Current Affairs *“Gaza is a tour de force. Finkelstein unravels the facade that Israel and its allies aim to create, exposing the double standards of the US government, the UN and even human rights organisations." -- Neve Gordon, * Times Higher Education *"Finkelstein’s book is a stark reminder of the facets which have incarcerated Gaza to an extent that its political voice has been rendered irrelevant by the international community. The unravelling of misrepresentation and collaboration to ensure Israel’s impunity at an international level are brought together as referenced, detailed facts. Finkelstein’s demolition of colonial and international propaganda vindicates his objective 'to refute that Big Lie by exposing each of the little lies." * Middle East Monitor *"The factual record compiled here will be of interest to future historians on all sides." * CHOICE *“One would be hard pressed to find such crucial analysis in the US press, or the wider western media for that matter. . . . For both seasoned and newer readers of the conflict, Gaza is a must read; a serious commitment to revealing hard truths in their rawest form.” * New Arab *"Anyone who chooses to read Gaza: An Inquest into its Martyrdom bears witness to the harrowing Truth and preserves it in the collective memory." * Palestine Chronicle *"A meticulous 440-page study of international law, of Israel’s sustained attacks against Gaza and its people and offers what may well be the definitive history of one of the most horrifying and sustained campaigns of collective punishment in modern world history." * The Intercept *"An extraordinary book." * Bullet *“Its passionate and painstaking attempt to counter Israeli deception deserves our close attention.” * CounterFire *"His research and his precise inquest into Israel’s wars on Gaza raises many questions about not only the vicious right-wing nature of successive Israeligovernments, but also the failure of international law, the human rights industry and the UN to be anything other than bystanders . . . Finkelstein’s systematic and analytical exposé is a necessary read." * Socialist Lawyer *"Gaza: An Inquest into Its Martyrdom is a powerful call to intensify our campaign to bring about justice for the Palestinian people which has been denied them for so long . . . It is a work of exacting and thorough scholarship, encyclopedic in its coverage of the detail of the terrible treatment of the Palestinians of Gaza, and stands both as a reference guide to the subject and an appeal for justice." * Spokesman: Journal of the Bertrand Russell Peace Foundation *Table of ContentsPreface Acknowledgments PART ONE OPERATION CAST LEAD 1 • Self-Defense 2 • Deterring Arabs, Deterring Peace 3 • Spin Control 4 • Human Shields PART TWO THE GOLDSTONE REPORT 5 • A Zionist Bears Witness 6 • The Star Witness Recants PART THREE THE MAVI MARMARA 7 • Murder on the High Seas 8 • Whitewash I: The Turkel Report 9 • Whitewash II: The UN Panel Report PART FOUR OPERATION PROTECTIVE EDGE 10 • Stalled Juggernaut 11 • Israel Has the Right to Defend Itself 12 • Betrayal I: Amnesty International 13 • Betrayal II: UN Human Rights Council Conclusion Appendix: Is the Occupation Legal? Index

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Book SynopsisThe new, fully-updated edition of the acclaimed textbook covering 200 years of African history A History of Modern Africa explores two centuries of the continent's political, economic, and social history. This thorough yet accessible text help readers to understand key concepts, recognize significant themes, and identify the processes that shaped the modern history of Africa. Emphasis is placed on the consequences of colonial rule, and the links between the precolonial and postcolonial eras. Author Richard Reid, a prominent scholar and historian on the subject, argues that Africa's struggle for economic and political stability in the nineteenth century escalated and intensified through the twentieth century, the effects of which are still felt in the present day. The new third edition offers substantial updates and revisions that consider recent events and historiography. Greater emphasis is placed on African agency, particularly during the colonial perioTable of ContentsList of Maps xiv List of Plates xv Acknowledgements for the Third Edition Acknowledgments for the Second Edition xvii Acknowledgments xviii 1 Introduction: Understanding the Contours of Africa's Past 1 A Brief History of the Study of Africa 5 Land 8 People 12 Part I Polity, Society, and Economy: Ingenuity and Violence in the Nineteenth Century 17 2 Western Transitions: Slave Trade and "Legitimate" Commerce in Atlantic Africa 23 States and Societies during the Atlantic Slave Trade 24 "Illegal" Traffic: The Nineteenth-Century Slave Trade 28 Mineral and Vegetable: "Legitimate" Commerce 32 Change and Continuity in Forest and Savannah 35 3 Eastern Intrusions: Slaves and Ivory in Eastern Africa 42 Commercial Horizons: Slaves and Ivory 43 Maritime Empire: Zanzibar 48 Statehood, Conflict, and Trade (1): The Lacustrine Zone 52 Statehood, Conflict, and Trade (2): Northeastern Africa 59 4 Southern Frontiers: Colony and Revolution in Southern Africa 65 African State and Society to around 1800 65 War, Revolution, and the Zulu Impact 67 Cape Colonialism: White Settlement and the “Native Question” 71 Voortrekkers: White Communities in the Interior 74 Balances of Power to around 1870 75 Part II Africa and Islam: Revival and Reform in the Nineteenth Century 77 5 Revival and Reaction: North African Islam 81 Old and New Identities: Brotherhoods of the Desert 81 Trade and Conflict in the Mediterranean World: Ottoman and European Frontiers 82 Changing Society (1): The Maghreb 86 Changing Society (2): Egypt 89 6 Jihad: Revolutions in Western Africa 94 Islam in Western Africa to the Eighteenth Century 94 The Wandering Fulani 96 Prophets and Warriors 97 7 The Eastern Crescent: The Islamic Frontier in Eastern Africa 103 Swahili Islam: Coastal Frontiers in the Nineteenth Century 103 Islam in the Central East African Interior 105 Cross and Crescent in Northeast Africa 106 Islam on the Nile 108 Part III Africa and Europe: Commerce, Conflict and Co-option, to c.1920 113 8 The Compass and the Cross 119 Interested Gentlemen and Learned Bodies: Explorers and Exploration 119 Creeping Hegemony and the Invention of Africa 123 European Missionary Activity in Africa to around 1800 125 Evangelical Humanitarians: Missionary Revival 126 The Christian Impact on Culture, State, and Society 129 Mission and Empire 134 9 "Whatever Happens …": Towards the Scramble 139 Africa and Theories of Imperialism 140 Race and Culture 142 Disorder and Civilizing Violence: Political and Economic Justifications 145 10 Africans Adapting: Conquest and Partition 150 Explaining the "Conquest" 150 Spears and Water: Violent Resistance 155 Histories Old and New: Colonialism and Historical "Knowledge" 165 Realities Old and New: Colonialism and Political "Knowledge" 168 Bush Wars and Distant Shadows: Africa in Global War 175 Part IV Colonialisms 183 11 "Pax Colonia"? Empires of Soil and Service 189 Monopolies on Violence 190 Slaves and Labor 193 Cash Crops 194 White Settlement 199 Industry 201 Social Change and Emergent Crisis 204 Hearts and Minds 207 Environment and Medicine 210 12 Hard Times: Protest, Identity, and Depression 218 Making Tribes 218 Emergent Protest in the Islamic World 221 Salvation and Resistance: The African Church 223 Class and Tribe: The Industrial Complex 224 Cash Crops, Rural Crises, and Peasant Protest 227 Other Voices 230 13 Battles Home and Away: Africa in Global War (Again) 236 The War in the Continent 236 Shifts in Politics and Society 241 Part V The Dissolution of Empire 245 14 The Beached Whale: Colonial Strategies in the Postwar World 251 Postwar Africa and the International Climate 252 Economic Policies and Visions, c. 1945–50 253 Political Plans, c. 1945–50 256 15 Conceiving and Producing Nations 259 The Widening Horizons of Belonging 260 Tensions and Transitions: From Political Consciousness to Political Parties 261 Irresistible Force and Immovable Object: Nationalists and Settlers 268 A Time of Contrasts 273 16 Compromising Conflict: Routes to Independence 276 Debate and Debacle: "Constitutional" Transfers of Power 276 Violence: Growth, Form, and Impact 286 From Suez to Sharpeville, and Beyond: The End of High Imperialism 291 Part VI Legacies, New Beginnings, and Unfinished Business 297 17 Unsafe Foundations: Challenges of Independence 303 Building the Nation (1): Economy and Society 303 Building the Nation (2): Polity 310 Political Stability and Islam 316 Crowded House: Africa and the Cold War 320 18 Violence and the Militarization of Political Culture 328 The Military in African Politics 328 The Politics and Cultures of Insurgency 332 New Wars, Old Problems, and Expanding Military Horizons 337 19 Rectification, Redemption, and Reality: Issues and Trends in Contemporary Africa 339 Africa and the Contemporary World 339 Democracy and Authoritarianism: Trends in Governance 343 Body and Mind 352 Contemporary Economics: Assessing "development" and "growth"” 355 Further Reading 363 Index 365

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Book SynopsisThis rugged new translation--the first entirely new English translation in half a century and the only one based on the most recent critical edition of the Guatemalan MS--allows Diaz to recount, in his own battle-weary and often cynical voice, the achievements, stratagems, and frequent cruelty of Hernando Cortes and his men as they set out to overthrow Moctezuma's Aztec kingdom and establish a Spanish empire in the New World.The concise contextual introduction to this volume traces the origins, history, and methods of the Spanish enterprise in the Americas; it also discusses the nature of the conflict between the Spanish and the Aztecs in Mexico, and compares Diaz's version of events to those of other contemporary chroniclers. Editorial glosses summarize omitted portions, and substantial footnotes explain those terms, names, and cultural references in Diaz's text that may be unfamiliar to modern readers. A chronology of the Conquest is included, as are a guide to major figures, a select bibliography, and three maps.Trade ReviewBernal Diaz's True History of the Conquest of New Spain, the chronicle of an 'ordinary' soldier in Hernando Cortes's army, is the only complete account (other than Cortes's own) that we have of the Spanish conquest of ancient Mexico. Although it is neither so 'true' nor so unassumingly direct as its author would have us believe, it is unmistakably the voice of the often unruly, undisciplined body of untrained freebooters who, in less than three years, succeeded against all apparent odds, in bringing down the once mighty ‘Aztec Empire.’ It makes for consistently fascinating reading, and Ted Humphrey and Janet Burke have provided the best, and the most engaging, translation ever to have appeared in English. --Anthony Pagden, UCLAReaders interested in the early period of Spanish American history will welcome the publication of this new abridged edition of the classic account by Bernal Diaz del Castillo, True History of the Conquest of New Spain. An observer of and participant in the momentous conquest of central Mexico by the Spaniards and their indigenous allies, Bernal Diaz wrote his chronicle many decades later, at least partially in response to the claims and biases of other writers. This excellent and highly readable translation by Janet Burke and Ted Humphrey remains faithful to the straightforward and unadorned prose that Díaz uses to describe the events as well as his understanding of their significance. The useful introduction, notes and epilogue further enhance the volume's accessibility. This edition is highly recommended for both students and a more general audience. --Ida Altman, University of FloridaA reliable modern translation of one of the great historical narratives. While faithful to the original text, [Humphrey and Burke's] translation takes full advantage of the best scholarship of the last fifty years, providing useful context and interpretation for the non-specialist. The result is a highly readable, engaging book that will prove a valuable teaching tool in a variety of classroom settings. --Lyman Johnson, University of North Carolina, Charlotte

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Book SynopsisIn this riveting true story, Dr. George Ritchie shares some of the most stunning and detailed descriptions of life after death ever recorded. You'll encounter other non-physical beings, travel through different dimensions of time and space, discover a series of worlds, and witness his transformational meeting with the Light of the world, the Son of God.

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Book SynopsisIndulge in this collection of the best astronomy books from the past 800 years. The Astronomers' Library is a rich history of astronomy (and astrology) publishing across Europe. This is a carefully selected arrangement of publications from all over the continent – Germany, France, Italy, Netherlands, Spain, and the UK. And of course, as the original world leader in astrology, the middle east is featured, with multiple books from Persia. Humankind has looked to the heavens since the dawn of time, wondering what is out there, as well as how everything works and (originally) who was responsible for it. Every tribe, race and civilization has wondered about our place in the universe and what lies beyond and what lies within it, below our feet. Lately, attention has turned to the origins of the universe. From the turn of the millennium, knowledge and ideas were recorded, first on tablets or rock, then in the form of si

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Book SynopsisExplores the transformations of the notion of 'the people' from the late Ottoman to current Turkish political discourses

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Book SynopsisLandnámabók, thought to have been first compiled in the twelfth century, documents the settlement of Iceland through accounts of some 430 settlers, their families and descendants. It was copied repeatedly throughout the Middle Ages and later, and survives in several redactions, all more or less fragmentary. This new translation is based on the version made by Haukr Erlendsson in the early fourteenth century, never before translated into English. The translator, Matthias Egeler, gives special attention to the texts sense of place, as conveyed in the place names bestowed on the land by the settlers and in the anecdotes told about them. The book is illustrated by numerous black and white photographs taken by the translator. It includes an introduction and an index of primary settlers, showing the relationship of the Hauksbók recension to that of Sturlubók.

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Book SynopsisIt can seem as though the Cold War division of Europe was inevitable. But Stalin was more open to a settlement on the continent than is assumed. In this powerful reassessment of the postwar order, Norman Naimark returns to the four years after WWII to illuminate European leaders’ efforts to secure national sovereignty amid dominating powers.Trade ReviewNaimark selects seven case studies to illustrate the complexity of Stalin’s aims in Europe, as he brings his superlative knowledge of the Soviet leader to bear on present-day realities…Naimark has few peers as a scholar of Stalinism, the Soviet Union and 20th-century Europe, and his latest work Stalin and the Fate of Europe is one of his most original and interesting. * Financial Times *Details the negotiations, the intrigues, and the showdowns that dominated the febrile politics of the postwar years…Those endeavoring to defend the independence of their territories and governments today would do well to look to the pragmatism, dexterity and resourcefulness of the politicians of the late 1940s. The book is a timely and instructive account not merely of our own history but also of our fractious, unsettling present. -- Daniel Beer * The Guardian *[Naimark’s] archival research and reading of the scholarly literature here adds shades of nuance and intricacy to ‘the well-honed dark images and paradigms of traditional Cold War history.’ -- Joshua Rubenstein * Wall Street Journal *The narrative of the early years of the Cold War has long since grown stale through repeated retellings of US–Soviet confrontations. Naimark, citing sources in six different languages, Europeanizes the story…Stalin and the Fate of Europe exemplifies the best qualities of Cold War history-writing. It is also, I think, a book for our time. -- Lewis H. Siegelbaum * Times Literary Supplement *Norman Naimark adds an abundance of fresh knowledge to a time and place that we think we know, clarifying the contours of Soviet–American conflict by skillfully enriching the history of postwar Europe. -- Timothy Snyder, author of On TyrannyThrough case studies ranging from Denmark to Italy and Finland to Albania, Naimark shows us just how open and contested European politics was in the immediate postwar years—and how European leaders pushed back for sovereignty even against Stalin. An important contribution to both Cold War and European history. -- Timothy Garton Ash, author of In Europe’s NameThis original, provocative, and revisionist work on the origins of the Cold War demonstrates the dynamic tension between Stalin’s surprisingly flexible view of Soviet aims and the complex internal politics of several European countries striving to maintain their sovereignty in an international context not yet divided into two camps. -- Alfred J. Rieber, author of Stalin and the Struggle for Supremacy in EurasiaAre the United States and China fated to clash? For an answer look to Norman Naimark’s wonderfully surprising Stalin and the Fate of Europe, which reexamines the onset of the original Cold War. Naimark’s splendidly judicious book restores the partial open-endedness of 1945 to 1949, and demonstrates that statesmanship or the lack thereof was decisive in shaping the world that emerged. The achievement of a lifetime. -- Stephen Kotkin, author of StalinExcavates the hidden histories of Stalin’s shifting policies in postwar Europe, undermining conventional understandings of Soviet ambitions and showing Stalin to have been more cautious and pragmatic in his foreign policy than earlier accounts proposed. Naimark is a probing analyst, balanced in his judgments, as well as a masterful storyteller. -- Ronald Grigor Suny, author of The Soviet ExperimentA masterful account of Stalin’s European policies in the first postwar years; by far the best study of this central issue for understanding the Cold War in Europe. -- Odd Arne Westad, author of The Cold WarNorman Naimark is one of the foremost authorities on Soviet history and the reign of Joseph Stalin…The book is the culmination of many years of research and is destined to become a point of reference for many years to come. -- Silvio Pons * Inference *

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Book SynopsisThe Middle Ages, in our cultural imagination, are besieged with ideas of wars, tournaments, plagues, saints and kings, knights, lords and ladies. In his era-defining work, Inventing the Middle Ages, Norman Cantor shows that these presuppositions are in fact constructs of the twentieth century. Through close study of the lives and works of twenty of the twentieth century''s most prominent medievalists, Cantor examines how the genesis of this fantasy arose in the scholars'' spiritual and emotional outlooks, which influenced their portrayals of the Middle Ages. In the course of this vigorous scrutiny of their scholarship, he navigates the strong personalities and creative minds involved with deft skill.Written with both students and the general public in mind, Inventing the Middle Ages provided an alternative framework for the teaching of the humanities. Revealing the interconnection between medieval civilisation, the culture of the twentieth century and our own assumptions, Cantor providTable of ContentsPreface and Acknowledgements Credo 1. The Quest for the Middle Ages 2. Law and Society: Frederick William Maitland 3. The Nazi Twins: Percy Ernst Schramm and Ernst Hartwig Kantorowicz 4. The French Jews: Louis Halphen and Marc Bloch 5. The Formalists: Erwin Panofsky and Ernst Robert Curtius 6. The Oxford Fantasists: Clive Stephen Lewis, John Ronal Revel Tolkien, and Frederick Maurice Powicke 7. American Pie: Charles Homer Haskins and Joseph Reese Strayer 8. After the Fall: Michael David Knowles and Étienne Henry Gilson 9. The Once and Future King: Richard William Southern 10. Outriders: Johan Huizinga, Eileen Edna Power, Michael MoisseyPostan, Carl Erdmann, and Theodor Ernst Mommsen Notes A Core Bibliography in Medieval Studies Index

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Book SynopsisDrawing on newly-declassified government documents and international archives in Spain and beyond, this book explores the many ways in which Scots responded to the Spanish Civil War (1936-9).

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Book SynopsisInspired by Charles Mackay's 19th-century classic Memoirs of Extraordinary Popular Delusions and the Madness of Crowds, William Bernstein engages with mass delusion with the same curiosity and passion, but armed with the latest scientific research that explains the biological, evolutionary and psychosocial roots of human irrationality. Bernstein tells the stories of dramatic religious and financial mania in Western society over the last 500 years - from the Anabaptist Madness that afflicted the Low Countries in the 1530s to the dangerous end-times beliefs that animate ISIS and pervade today's polarised nations; and from the South Sea Bubble to the Enron scandal and dot com bubbles of recent years. Through Bernstein's supple prose, the participants are as colourful as their motivation, invariably 'the desire to improve one's well-being in this life or the next.'As revealing about human nature as they are historically significant, Bernstein's chronicles reveal the huge cost and alarming implications of mass mania as he observes that if we can absorb the history and biology of mass delusion, we can recognise it more readily in our own time and avoid its frequently dire impact.Trade ReviewFascinating...Bernstein is an entertaining chronicler and analyst * The Times *Table of Contents1: Joachim's Children 2: Believers and Rogues 3: Briefly Rich 4: George Hudson, Capitalist Hero 5: Miller's Run 6: Winston Churchill's Excellent Adventure in Monetary Policy 7: Sunshine Charlie Misses the Point 8: Apocalypse Cow 9: God's Sword 10: Entrepreneurs of the Apocalypse 11: Dispensationalist Catastrophes: Potential and Real 12: Rapture Fiction 13: Capitalism's Philanthropists 14: Hucksters of the Digital Age 15: Mahdis and Caliphs

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Book SynopsisSanjay Subrahmanyam is becoming well known for the same sort of reasons that attach to Fernand Braudel and Carlo Ginzburg, as the proponent of a new kind of history - in his case, not longue durée or micro-history, but 'connected history': connected cross-culturally, and spanning regions, subjects and archives that are conventionally treated alone. Not a research paradigm, he insists, it is more of an oppositionswissenschaft, a way of trying to constantly break the moulds of historical objects. The essays collected here, some quite polemical - as in the lead text on the notion of India-as-civilization, or another, assessing such a literary totem as V. S. Naipaul - illustrate the breadth of Subrahmanyam's concerns, as well as the quality of his writing. Connected History considers what, exactly, is an empire, the rise of 'the West' (less of a place than an idea or ideology, he insists), Churchill and the Great Man theory of history, the reception of world literature and the itinerary of subaltern studies, in addition to personal recollections of life and work in Delhi, Paris and Lisbon, and concluding remarks on the practice of early-modern history and the framing of historical enquiry.Trade ReviewAn acerbic but highly respected historian. These essays are an absolute delight -- T. C. A. Srinivasa-Raghavan * Business Standard, New Delhi *A riveting read -- Srinath Raghavan * Caravan *The most brilliant promoter of the new history. Heretical and highly stimulating. * Books and Ideas *Subrahmanyam reminds us of the need for different prisms. * Times Literary Supplement *Subrahmanyam is an exemplary scholar. His knowledge of the subject is unsurpassed * Sunday Times (for The Career and Legend of Vasco da Gama) *Subrahmanyam reminds us of the need for different prisms. His lucid insights deserve to be far better known -- Elizabeth Buettner * Times Literary Supplement (for Europe's India) *Covering an impressive geographical area and chronological span, this is an extraordinarily elegant study of individuals who lived at the intersection of cultures, religions, and political systems -- Laura Nenzi * American Historical Review (for Three Ways to Be Alien) *

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Book SynopsisGifts have been part of international relations since ancient times. They can serve as tokens of friendship, apology or authority; as taunts, bribes, boasts or tricks. They can also go wrong: Mali’s 2013 gift of a camel to French President François Hollande was reported to have ended up in a tagine. Exploring fifty diplomatic gifts given through the ages, Brummell explains the great complexity of this political art—an exercise in brand-building for the giver, via an item that must suit the recipient’s own interests and character. Byzantine emperors sent fragments of the True Cross to fellow Christian rulers around Europe; Kings Louis XV and XVI of France used Sèvres porcelain, while the Ottoman sultans favoured robes of honour. In some cases, recipients have made no secret of the gift they would want. The Amarna Letters, dating to around 1350 BCE, record a communication from Hittite Prince Zita to the Egyptian Pharaoh, offering sixteen men—and hinting rather heavily that he would like some gold in return. From the Trojan Horse to Cleopatra’s Needle to the Statue of Liberty, this rich history offers a new take on both the curious detail and the grand spectacle of global politics.Trade Review'[A] jaunty and instructive book [that] takes the reader through an enchanting … range of gifts made by one nation (or its ruler) to another.' -- The Wall Street Journal'Engaging.' -- The Canberra Times‘We’ve all wrestled with the problem of what to give someone who has everything. In this book, my dear friend Paul illustrates how diplomatic gifts are intended to send subtle or sometimes not-so-subtle messages of power, friendship and, of course, diplomacy. A wonderful gift to all who enjoy exploring history, presented in a highly entertaining and informative way.’ -- Baroness Floella Benjamin, actress, writer, presenter, and Chair of the Windrush Commemoration Committee‘Enchanting. A delight from beginning to end, as funny as it is perceptive. Brummell shows that the best gifts are imaginative, memorable and personalised but, above all, inanimate: animals—from the Trojan Horse to Maksat the Turkmen stallion—spell trouble for the recipient. Read and enjoy.’ -- Lord Simon McDonald, former Permanent Under-Secretary and Head of the Diplomatic Service at the Foreign and Commonwealth Office‘This engaging, impressively researched book shows how objects can help us understand the people and the emotions that drove diplomatic exchanges in the past—and still drive them today. An insightful and deeply enjoyable work.’ -- Zoltán Biedermann, Professor of Early Modern History, University College London, and co-editor of Global Gifts: the Material Culture of Diplomacy in Early Modern Eurasia‘A gem of a book. Easy reading. Witty. A brilliantly told collection of fifty short stories that together reveal the complex history of global diplomacy.’ -- Stevie Spring, CBE, Chairman, British Council

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Book SynopsisThe first comprehensive guide to Elizabethan ideas about the mindTrade Review“An outstanding achievement: broad-ranging, intelligently synthetic and written in unflaggingly lucid prose. . . . Helen Hackett shows us over and again that the inability of the Elizabethans to know themselves as fully as they wanted to mattered to them a great deal. Discomfited though this state of affairs could leave them feeling, it explains why their literature still matters to us today.”—Rhodri Lewis, Times Literary Supplement“Hackett reads a breathtaking diversity of literature with great sensitivity. . . . The Elizabethan Mind . . . is an impressive achievement.”—P. Kishore Saval, Australian Book Review“This enthralling study captures the changing ways in which the mind was understood, and the thought processes of a society that continues to captivate today.”—BBC History Revealed“Hackett callipers her subject with shrewd delicacy, arranging interventions and insights along a line of recognisable topoi—the role of women, attitudes towards race, Shakespeare, demonic possession.”—Madoc Cairns, The Tablet“Hackett’s extraordinary achievement in The Elizabethan Mind combines learning and empathy as she ranges across cognitive, emotional, spiritual, and physiological approaches. Come for Hamlet, stay for female complaint, Catholic poetics, sonnets, psychomachia, and much more.”—Emma Smith, author of This is Shakespeare“Hackett has synthesized an extraordinary range of books to illuminate aspects of the Elizabethan mind. She offers excellent readings of familiar works such as Shakespeare’s tragedies as well as little-known gems such as women’s translations of the Psalms. Readers will come away equipped to read Shakespeare and his contemporaries with renewed understanding.”—Jonathan Bate, author of Soul of the Age: The Life, Mind and World of William Shakespeare“Wonderfully perceptive and illuminating. If you want to understand how the Elizabethans viewed themselves, each other, and the world, read this book.”—Elizabeth Goldring, author of Nicholas Hilliard: Life of an Artist

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Book SynopsisA TLS Book of the Year. 'Erudite and urgent, Ian Thomson's Dante's Divine Comedy is another book that everyone ought to read' Spectator. 'Succinct but wide-ranging, Ian Thomson's richly illustrated exploration of Dante's masterpiece is... fun... ingenious... fascinating' Observer. 'A book worth savouring as a chunky, chatty, richly illustrated guide that brings Dante and his world within our reach' Evening Standard. A lively and wide-ranging exploration of a literary masterwork and its influence on writers, poets, artists and film-makers up to our own time. Dante has no equal as he sings of other-worldly horror and celestial beatitude alike. Yet for all our distance from medieval theology, the Florentine poet's allegorical journey through hell, purgatory and paradise remains one of the essential works of world literature. At least fifty English language versions of the Inferno – the first part of Dante's poem – appeared in the twentieth century alone. If Dante's Divine Comedy speaks to our present condition, it is because it tells the story of Everyman who sets out in search of salvation in this world. Dante composed his great poem in the spoken Italian of his time. He wrote about suffering bodies and human weakness, and about divine ecstasy, in words that have resonated with readers and writers for the last seven hundred years.Trade ReviewErudite and urgent, Ian Thomson's Dante's Divine Comedy is another book that everyone ought to read * Spectator *[A] book worth savouring as a chunky, chatty, richly illustrated guide that brings Dante and his world within our reach * Evening Standard *Succinct but wide-ranging, Ian Thomson's richly illustrated exploration of Dante's masterpiece [is] fun... ingenious... Fascinating' * Observer *This book is an object of great beauty... Thomson's aim, triumphantly realised, is to remind us why Dante's great poem is a 'landmark' * Tablet *[A] lively new book... It has become a cliché to refer to critics as Virgil, but it would be hard to think of any more appropriate way to describe what Ian Thomson offers here' * Catholic Herald *Thomson teases readers into wanting to find out their own answers. He'll lead you back to that neglected copy on your book shelf. And this time you'll pick it up * Financial Times *Encapsulates everything we need for the ultimate poetic voyage from Hell to Paradise by way of Purgatory * TLS, Books of the Year *Thomson's elegant, intelligent guide views the epic poem as a kind of recovery programme for those who have lost their way, and in turn leads you back to that neglected original on your bookshelf * Financial Times, Books of the Year *Ian Thomson is a travel writer, and here he attempts the most ambitious journey of all in the company of Dante – "to hell and back", as he puts it * Church Times. *

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Book SynopsisDrawn from greater Syria, northern Mesopotamia, and Egypt, the sources in this anthology—many of which are translated into English for the first time here--provide eyewitness and contemporary historical accounts of what unfolded in the eastern Mediterranean and the Near East between the eleventh and fourteenth centuries. In providing representative examples of the many disparate types of Muslim sources, this volume opens a window onto life in the Islamic Near East during the Crusader period and the interactions between Franks and Muslims in the broader context of Islamic history. Ideally suited for use in undergraduate courses on the Crusades or the pre-modern Islamic Near East, this anthology will also appeal to any readers seeking a better understanding of the Islamic response to the Crusades and the general history of the Near East in this period.Trade Review"In the last century, many of the main Arabic chronicles of the crusading period have been made available in English translations and are now well-known. This volume, however, gives us a whole wide range of materials, only a few of which are accessible to non-Arabists. The collection includes not just little-known narrative historians, like the lively and original Ibn Wasil, but also letters, sermons, and inscriptions. Each section is followed by a few questions, ideal essay subjects for advanced students and thought provoking for general readers. Among the many strengths of this collection is that it gives due weight to thirteenth-century writings, often neglected but often interesting. Another strength is that the translations are, in all cases, the authors' own work, giving fresh and interesting versions of such well-known classics as the Rihla of Ibn Jubayr. This is a new and exciting collection which will open new horizons for students and teachers alike." —Hugh Kennedy, SOAS, University of London"Historians and instructors alike will enthusiastically greet this book, which presents in a student-friendly manner Islamic sources relating to the crusades that are not otherwise available to persons who lack a working knowledge of Arabic and its rich literary treasury." —Alfred J. Andrea, Emeritus Professor of History, The University of Vermont"This is a superb collection, covering nearly every aspect of the Crusader entanglement with the Islamic Near East as expressed in Arabic sources, in clear, readable English translations. The editors are to be thanked for including texts from multiple genres--not just chronicles, but travel literature, memoirs, biographies, poetry, epistles, treaties, and orations. Nor is this collection limited to literary texts, as it also includes evidence from inscriptions--a revealing source for understanding the public propaganda of the age. The informative appendices, maps, and thoughtful discussion questions will make this anthology a breeze to use in teaching, and I can't wait to get started using it." —Paul M. Cobb, University of Pennsylvania"This is an outstanding collection of translations of Levantine Muslim sources from the crusading period. Lindsay and Mourad have assembled a wide-ranging and informative set of texts, most of which have not been translated into English previously, from a broad range of genres including not only chronicles, but also a range of other works such as geographies, biographies, treaties and inscriptions. In the process they have effectively demonstrated the multifaceted nature of Christian-Muslim encounters in the Levant during this period. "The collection is enhanced by invaluable supporting materials including (but not limited to) a bibliographic overview of the major Muslim sources for the period, a glossary, and a list of honorific titles and names. These make the book highly accessible for non-experts interested in the content. "This book will appeal to students and scholars alike, and I highly recommend it for university and college courses on the crusades." —Dr. Niall Christie, Instructor in History and Department Chair, Department of History, Latin and Political Science, Langara College"[An] invaluable primary resource for scholars and general readers alike. . . . This anthology does reinforce the case that sources written by Muslims, and the existing inhabitants of the Middle East in general, are vital to a fuller understanding of the reality of the Crusades which continues to be distorted for political gain by both the Western far-right and Muslim extremists. The questions posed by the editors at the end of each source also highlight important points and challenge the unconscious biases of Western readers and students. . . . Lindsay and Mourad's translations are . . . clear and up-to-date. This then, largely, allows the sources to speak for themselves in terms of their interest and accessibility for the reader and their publication constitutes a valuable addition to the primary material available in English."—Charles Ough, in Oxford Middle East Review"This anthology shows that the crusades, however defined, did not constantly preoccupy the Islamic world. . . . The volume is innovative and immensely informative. It is also accessible, readable, and easy to use. . . . Muslim Sources of the Crusader Period: An Anthology merits recognition for outstanding content put together by James Lindsay and Suleiman Mourad and for its excellent presentation, layout, and formatting. . . . I learned a lot from this volume and can imagine how much it will benefit its readership, students and researchers in particular." —Bogdan Smarandache, in Al-ʿUṣūr al-Wusṭā: The Journal of Middle East Medievalists

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Book SynopsisThe first major history of Germany in a generation, a work that presents a five-hundred-year narrative that challenges our traditional perceptions of Germany’s conflicted past.Trade Review"Drawing on cartography, literature, travel narratives, and the history of politics, warfare, science, religion, and art, Helmut Walser Smith constructs a magisterial account of the German nation as a history of constant transformation and reinvention. Beautifully written and richly textured, it is essential reading for everyone interested in Germany's past, present, and future." -- Sir Christopher Clark, University of Cambridge"Helmut Walser Smith's Germany is an encompassing history of German efforts to define their nation in all its stunning contradictions through five centuries — pastoral, productive, exalted, for a time murderous, for longer civic, always complex." -- Charles Maier, Harvard University

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Book SynopsisThe closest thing to total war before World War One, the Seven Years' War was fought in North America, Europe, the Caribbean and India with major consequences for all parties involved. This fascinating book is the first to truly review the grand strategies of the combatants and examine the differing styles of warfare used in the many campaigns. These ranged from the large-scale battles and sieges of the European front to the ambush and skirmish tactics used in the forests of North America. Daniel Marston's engaging narrative is supported by official war papers, personal diaries and memoirs, and official reports.Table of ContentsIntroduction and chronology; Background to war; Warring sides; Outbreak; The fighting; Portrait of a soldier; The world around war; Portrait of a civilian; How the war ended; Conclusion and consequences

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Book SynopsisReinterprets the making of the Turkish-Syrian-Iraqi borderlands from a decentred and connected perspective

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Book SynopsisIn this extraordinary volume, Kumar provides readers with a brilliant tour of some of history's most important empires, demonstrating the critical importance of imperial ideas and ideologies for understanding their modalities of rule and the conflicts that beset them.Trade Review"Co-Winner of the 2018 Barrington Moore Book Award, Comparative and Historical Sociology Section of the American Sociological Association""Winner of the 2018 Ab Imperio Award, KRES Poliskola"

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