General and world history Books

Book SynopsisWINNER OF THE STANFORD DOLMAN TRAVEL WRITING AWARD 2019One third of the earth's land surface is desert, much of it desolate and inhospitable. What is it about this harsh environment that has captivated humankind throughout history? Travelling to five continents over three years, William Atkins discovers a realm that is as much internal as physical. From the contested borderlands of the USA to Australia's nuclear test zones, via Nevada's riotous Burning Man festival and the ancient monasteries of Egypt, he illuminates the people, history, nature and symbolism of these remarkable but often volatile places.

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Book SynopsisEmpire of Guns expertly brings to life a bustling industrial society with a human story at its heart to offer a radically new understanding of a critical historical moment and all that followed from it.Trade Review'A fascinating study of the centrality of militarism in 18th-century British life, and how imperial expansion and arms went hand in hand... This book is a triumph' Guardian'A fascinating and important glimpse into how violence fueled the industrial revolution, Priya Satia's book stuns with deep scholarship and sparkling prose' Siddhartha Mukherjee, Pulitzer Prize-winning author of The Emperor of All Maladies'Satia's detailed retelling of the Industrial Revolution and Britain's relentless empire expansion notably contradicts simple free market narratives... She argues convincingly that the expansion of the armaments industry and the government's role in it is inseparable from the rise of innumerable associated industries from finance to mining... Fascinating' New York Times'Satia marshals an overwhelming amount of evidence to show, comprehensively, that guns had a place at the center of every conventional tale historians have so far told about the origins of the modern, industrialized world... This book leaves us with the disquieting notion that guns - whether the slow and inaccurate weapons of the eighteenth century or today's models - do more than alternately cloak or explore human inclination towards violence. They also shape it' New Republic'A richly researched and probing historical narrative that challenges our understanding of the engines that drove Britain’s industrial revolution. With this book, Priya Satia... affirms her place as a deeply captivating and thought-provoking historian' Caroline Elkins, Pulitzer Prize winner for Imperial Reckoning'An important revisionist account of the industrial revolution... a revelatory book' Sven Beckert, finalist for the Pulitzer Prize for Empire of Cotton

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Book SynopsisA compact guide to the Napoleonic Wars. Table of ContentsIntroduction: The Age of Napoleon • The Revolutionary Background • The Making of a Reputation • Artillery • The Italian Campaign • Infantry • Egypt and Syria • Brumaire and Marengo • Ruler and Lawgiver • Ulm and Austerlitz • War at Sea • Napoleon's Art of War • The Jena Campaign • Grande Armée • Berlin to Tilsit • Cavalry • Napoleon in Spain • Napoleon's Family • The Wagram Campaign • The Spanish Ulcer 1809-11 • The • Imperial Court • The War of 1812 • Russia: The Niemen to Moscow • Russia: Fire and Snow • Military Medicine • The Spanish Ulcer 1812-14 • The Home Front: Napoleonic France • The Battle of the Nations • Napoleon's Greatest Adversaries • The Champagne Campaign • The Congress of Vienna • The Hundred Days: Return and Attack • The Imperial Guard • The Hundred Days: Waterloo • Imperial Twilight: St Helena • Napoleon's Legacy.

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Book SynopsisThis new edition of The Essential Guide to Western Civilization provides a succinct and engaging overview of European history for students.With wide chronological coverage, from early humans and the first civilizations to the present, this book provides a narrative of key events in the West with insightful analysis to further contextualize the relationship of the West to the wider world. The second edition has been fully updated, with increased coverage of women, slavery, colonization, economics and finance, and concurrent developments in the non-Western world. It engages with recent scholarship and includes updated suggested readings to offer a more comprehensive view of Western civilization. To further aid student understanding, the book includes review questions at the end of each section, key terms and definitions for each chapter, discussion questions at the end of every chapter, and maps and images to illustrate important concepts.Ideal for undergraduates

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Book SynopsisThe first three editions of this bestselling book have established A Social History of the Media as a classic, providing a masterful overview of communication media and of the social and cultural contexts within which they emerged and evolved over time.This fourth edition has been revised and updated throughout to reflect the latest developments in the field. Additionally, an expanded introduction explores the wide range of secondary literature and theory that inform the study of media history today, and a new eighth chapter surveys the revolutionary media developments of the twenty-first century, including in particular the rise of social and participatory media and the penetration of these technologies into every sphere of social and private life.Avoiding technological determinism and rejecting assumptions of straightforward evolutionary progress, this book brings out the rich and varied histories of communication media. In an age of fast-paced media developments, a thorough understanding of media history is more important than ever, and this text will continue to be the first choice for students and scholars across the world.Table of ContentsList of Illustrations Preface 1 Introduction 2 Printing in its Contexts 3 The Media and the Public Sphere in Early Modern Europe 4 Technologies and Revolutions 5 New Processes and Patterns 6 Information, Education, Entertainment 7 Media Convergences 8 The Return of the Social Chronology Further Reading Index

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Book SynopsisFrom the author of Masters and Commanders, Andrew Roberts'' The Storm of War: A New History of the Second World War has been hailed as the finest single-volume account of this epic conflict. The Second World War lasted for 2,174 days and claimed the lives of over 50 million people. Why did it take the course that it did? Why did the Axis lose? And could they, with a different strategy, have won? Ranging from the Western front to North Africa, from the Baltic to the Far East, he brings the story of the war - and those who fought it - into focus as never before. ''One of the greatest historians of our time ... His masterpiece''   Oliver Marre, Observer ''An undoubted triumph. This, simply, is the best one-volume history of the Second World War currently available''  Laurence Rees ''Magnificent ... Stylish penmanship, gritty research and lucid reasoning, coupled with poignant and hTrade ReviewRoberts's populist approach makes for a rollicking good read and never comes at the expense of accuracy. His mastery of the huge variety of subjects is truly impressive and his ability to marshal these subjects into a single compelling narrative stunning -- Keith Lowe * Daily Telegraph *

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Book SynopsisWINNER OF THE BRITISH ACADEMY BOOK PRIZE FOR GLOBAL CULTURAL UNDERSTANDINGSHORTLISTED FOR THE PEN-HESSEL TILTMAN PRIZE 2021LONGLISTED FOR THE CUNDILL HISTORY PRIZE 2021Helps re-centre how we look at the world' PETER FRANKOPANGlobal history at its finest' SUNIL AMRITHA master class' OLIVETTE OTELE''Fascinating'' FINANCIAL TIMESStarting from the ocean and from the forgotten histories of ocean-facing communities, this is a new history of the making of our world.After revolutions in America and France, a wave of tumult coursed the globe from 1790 to 1850. It was a moment of unprecedented change and violence especially for indigenous peoples. By 1850 vibrant public debate between colonised communities had exploded in port cities. Yet in the midst of all of this, Britain struck out by sea and established its supremacy over the Indian and Pacific Oceans, overtaking the French and Dutch as well as other rivals.Cambridge historian Sujit Sivasundaram brings together his work in far-flung archiveTrade Review‘Fresh, sparkling and ground-breaking, Waves Across the South helps re-centre how we look at the world and opens up new perspectives on how we can look at regions, peoples and places that have been left to one side of traditional histories for far too long’PETER FRANKOPAN ‘A magisterial intervention in world history’MARGOT FINN, PRESIDENT OF THE ROYAL HISTORICAL SOCIETY ‘A breathtaking book. Sujit Sivasundaram takes the familiar story of the “age of revolutions” and turns it upside down, putting the voices, the hopes and the struggles of the seafaring peoples of the Indian and Pacific oceans at the heart of his account of how the modern world was forged … Global history at its finest: eloquent, surprising, and deeply moving’SUNIL AMRITH, AUTHOR OF UNRULY WATERS ‘Challenges our understanding of colonial history … [The] outstanding volume takes us on a gripping journey across the globe … [This] magisterial book brings to light a world history that has so far been cast aside by many world historians … A master class in history writing’OLIVETTE OTELE, PROFESSOR OF HISTORY OF SLAVERY AT BRISTOL UNIVERSITY ‘[There are] many fascinating stories in this rich and stimulating new history … Turns conventional wisdom upside down, and invites us to follow the making of the modern world from the Pacific instead … This is big history’SPECTATOR 'Fascinating … Brings to life the “surge of indigenous politics” that marked this era'FINANCIAL TIMES 'Brilliantly reconstructs how empire was made through voyages across oceans … An exemplar of historical writing'BBC HISTORY MAGAZINE ‘He follows little-known voyages across the southern oceans accomplished by multi-ethnic crews … He deftly outlines the singularity of the British Empire… As Sivasundaram convincingly argues in the global South this revolutionary age was defined by the way indigenous peoples responded to Western invasion'LITERARY REVIEW

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Book SynopsisAn urgent examination of the great wave of change breaking over today's world from the Pulitzer Prize-winning critic and New York Times bestselling author of The Death of TruthA profoundly inspiring and prophetic perspective on the contemporary world' Ai WeiweiIn the twenty-first century, a wave of political, cultural and technological change has capsized our old certainties and assumptions, creating both opportunity and danger.As people lose their faith in old institutions and elites, radical voices at the margins and the grassroots are disrupting the status quo. This is the time of the outsider the protester, the populist, the hacker. Some of these outsiders have sown chaos, like Donald Trump, and others have provided inspirational leadership, like Volodymyr Zelensky. But all have grasped this precarious moment to make something new.Writing with a critic's incisive understanding of cultural trends, Michiko Kakutani outlines the consequences of these new asymmetries of power, and lo

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Book SynopsisAcclaimed author Max Arthur specialises in first hand recollections of historical events. Previous titles include The Manchester United Air Crash; Above All Courage; Northern Ireland Soldiers Talking; Men of the Red Beret;, There Shall Be Wings: The RAF 1918 to the Present; The True Glory: The Royal Navy 1914 to Present.Trade ReviewAn extraordinary and immensely moving book -- Stephen FryThis extraordinary book is crammed with details, conjuring up the atmosphere of war as vividly as the frequent descriptions of appalling violence * Daily Telegraph *The words of the soldiers are as fresh as if they were written yesterday ... extraordinary * Mail on Sunday *These stories are so harrowing, and their witness so precise and devastating * The Times *The stories of these now long-dead vets simply jump off the page * FHM *

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Book SynopsisFrom the end of 1941 to 1945 a pivotal but often overlooked conflict was being fought in the South-East Asian Theatre of World War 2 - the Burma Campaign.In 1941 the Allies fought in a disastrous retreat across Burma against the Japanese - an enemy more prepared, better organised and more powerful than anyone had imagined. Yet in 1944, following key battles at Kohima and Imphal, and daring operations behind enemy lines by the Chindits, the Commonwealth army were back, retaking lost ground one bloody battle at a time.Fighting in dense jungle and open paddy field, this brutal campaign was the longest fought by the British Commonwealth in the Second World War. But the troops taking part were a forgotten army, and the story of their remarkable feats and their courage remains largely untold to this day.The Fourteenth Army in Burma became one of the largest and most diverse armies of the Second World War. British, West African, Ghurkha and Indian regiments fought aTrade ReviewGripping reading and a valuable history ... Excellent * Pennant *

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Book SynopsisDid the Trojan War really happen?Spectacular new archaeological evidence suggests that it did. Recent excavations and newly translated Hittite texts reveal that Troy was a large, wealthy city allied with the Hittite Empire. Located at the strategic entrance to the Dardanelles, the link between the Aegean and Black Sea, it was a tempting target for marauding Greeks, the Vikings of the Bronze Age. The Trojan War may have been the inevitable consequence of expanding Greek maritime commerce.Written by a leading expert on ancient military history, the true story of the most famous battle in history is every bit as compelling as Homer''s epic account - and confirms many of its details. In The Trojan War, master storyteller Barry Strauss puts legend into its historical context, without losing its poetry and grandeur.Trade ReviewImaginative, sympathetic and plausible -- Bettany HughesAn exciting tale written in a lively style that brings Homer's heroes and the world in which they lived to vibrant and colourful life -- Donald KaganStrauss's brilliant interweaving of the mythic and the modern archaeological records makes for exhilarating [...] reading * The Scotsman *Consumed in one of those burning-the-midnight-oil situations... I really enjoyed it -- Michael WoodA military epic of the first order, weaving together fact and fiction in a beguiling tapestry of blood, guts, gore - and terrible feminine beauty -- Paul Cartledge, professor of Greek History, Cambridge University

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Book SynopsisAlex Kershaw is the author of seven previous books, including the bestsellers The Bedford Boys and The Longest Winter. He has written for several British newspapers, including the Guardian, Independent and Sunday Times. Born in York, England, he now lives in America with his wife and son.Trade ReviewExceptional... A worthy addition to vibrant classics of small-unit history like Stephen Ambrose’s Band of Brothers. * Wall Street Journal *Gripping… Kershaw has produced another gem, with vivid combat scenes and an admirable character in the leading role. * Express *A poignant war story that culminates in the liberation of the Nazi concentration camp of Dachau… [A] fast-paced examination of a dedicated officer navigating – and somehow surviving – World War II. * Washington Post *

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Book SynopsisWe are an astonishing species. Over the past millennium of plagues and exploration, revolution and scientific discovery, woman's rights and technological advances, human society has changed beyond recognition.Sweeping through the last thousand years of human development, Human Race is a treasure chest of the lunar leaps and lightbulb moments that, for better or worse, have sent humanity swerving down a path that no one could ever have predicted.But which of the last ten centuries saw the greatest changes in human history?History's greatest tour guide, Ian Mortimer, knows what answer he would give. But what's yours?Trade ReviewMortimer is an entertaining guide on this superb time-travel journey of human innovations -- Julia Richardson * Daily Mail *An ambitious study of the last millennium * Evening Standard *An excellent romp through the past millennium of British (and particularly English) history… Highly entertaining, well written and packed with lively characters and surprising facts. -- Ian Morris * BBC History Magazine *I loved this book... It will enable you to understand your past, your place in it and that of your ancestors as never before. A modern classic -- FIVE STARS, James Delingpole * Mail on Sunday *Provocative and enjoyable... Almost every page of this engaging book sets your mind racing -- Dominic Sandbrook * Sunday Times *

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Book SynopsisThis dazzling overview of a turbulent century explores both dramatic events and underlying trends. Despite a terrible two-stage ''European civil war'' and the traumatic rise and fall of communism, wealth has increased dramatically alongside a four-fold leap in population, women''s lives have been transformed, America has assumed undisputed political and cultural leadership. The Penguin History of the Twentieth Century is powerful, international and definitive.Trade ReviewA book that deserves the widest reading. (The New York Times Book Review)Table of ContentsThe Penguin History of the Twentieth CenturyList of MapsForewordBook 1: The World of 1901: Inheritances1. By Way of IntroductionOur Century — The weight of the past — The different pasts of 1901 — The 'civilized' world — Culture and hegemony — 'One-half of the human species' — Ideas with a future — The scientific legacy — Movers and shakers2. StructuresHuman numbers — The world's wealth —Commerce — States and governments — Monarchy — Non-western government — Islamic empires — The Unites States of America — Latin America — The international order: power and great powers — Potential for change3. The White Man's WorldEmpires and imperialism — The European empires — Idealism, interests and imagination — Settlers and natives — Imperialism and international relations: the 'Scramble for Africa' — Asian and Pacific empire — The imperial Unites States — The South African war4. Shapes of Things to ComeLong-term demography — The divisions of humanity — A century of growing wealth — An industrializing world — New technology — Medical science — Communication — Mass communication — Changing mentalities — Acceleration and integrationBook 2: The Last Years of the European Ascendancy5. European ExceptionalismEuropeans — Privilege and unrest — Socialism — Mass politics and nationalism — Constitutional governments — The German empire — Dynasticism — Religion in European life — Tensions and strains — Women in Europe6. Europe as a System of PowerInternational order — Alliances and entanglements — The dissatisfied and dangerous — The appearance of security — New alignments — Deepening divisions — Young Turks — Russia's changing stance — Agadir and after — The Balkan wars7. Challenges and Challengers in the MakingChange and perceptions of change in Asia — The new Japan — The end of the Chinese empire — The European empires in the Far East — Indo-China and Indonesia — India under the Raj — India enters the twentieth century — Egypt and the other end of Ottoman Africa — Ottoman empire east of Suez — New actors in the imperial drama8. The Great War and the Beginning of the Twentieth-century RevolutionThe last crisis — The end of an age — The Great War — The changing world — 1917 — Revolutionary war — Triumphs of nationality — The Ottoman collapse — The end of the first German warBook 3: The End Of The Old World Order9. A Revolutionary PeaceThe basis of settlement — The League — The international economy — Economic disorder in Europe — Democracy and nationality — Revolution and counter-revolution — The new Germany — International communism — The new Russian empire — A new autocracy — A world divided10. Years of IllusionA last flourish of empire — Kemal Atatürk — Iran — New currents in Europe's politics — An authoritarian wave — New uncertainties — The optimistic years — Locarno and after — An eastern enigma — The United StatesBook 4: World Revolution11. An Emerging Global HistoryThe world depression — Asia in the era of European civil war — The sequel to the Chinese revolution — Japan — The peace settlements and Asia — Chinese communism — Japanese dynamism — Civil war in China — The turning tide in India — The United States — Latin America12. The Path to World WarThe approach to the abyss — The Manchurian crisis — The China 'incident' — Indo-China and Indonesia between the wars — The German problem — Adolf Hitler — The German revolution — The crumbling balance of power — Ideology's contamination of international affairs — Towards a new German war: the Spanish Civil War — Hitler moves beyond the German lands13. The Second World WarFrom Blitzkrieg to Barbarossa — German Europe — World war — The conflation of wars — Global conflict 1941-5 — The meaning of victoryBook Five: A New World14. Appearance and RealityEurope: amid the ruins — The framework of recovery — Reconstruction — Great power realities — Friction — The Truman doctrine and the Marshall Plan15. The Cold War UnrollsRoots of conflict — The Berlin crisis and NATO — New nations: the beginnings of decolonization — Indian independence — The last throes of the Chinese revolution — Imperial realities in 1945 — Indo-China — The running sore of the Ottoman Succession — Cold and hot war in Asia: Korea — Stalin's legacy — A divided Europe in a dividing world16. East Asia ReshapedAfter empire — The Indian sub-continent — The 'Third World' — Indonesia — The new China — China's re-emergence as a world power — The great steersman — Resurgent Japan17. Africa and the Near East: Old and New ProblemsPast history, new facts — Pre-independence Africa — The independence process in Black Africa — South Africa and Rhodesia — Disapppointment and disillusion — Arab and Jew — The Egyptian revolution and after — Algerian independenceBook 6: Shifting Foundations18. Changing MindsNew ways of seeing the world — The management of the natural world — Power — Communications and information technology — The life sciences — Medical science — Space and the public imagination — Promise and misgiving — Facing new issues19. New Economic and Social WorldsIn the long run — Europe's 'golden age' — Eastern Europe — World contrasts — Changing lifestyles — The oil crisis and after — Structural changes — Cultural consequences in a wealthier world — Globalization20. Authority and Its New ChallengersA liberating century — Dissolving certainty — Religion in the later twentieth century — Government, democracy and nationalism — Challenges to the state — Women — The Pill — New waves — Women in the non-western world — YouthBook 7. A Changing World Balance21. The Cold War at Its HeightAfter Stalin — The second Berlin crisis — Latin America enters world politics — Cuba — The aftermath in Latin America — The changing USSR — The changing United States22. Vietnam and AfterThe American entanglement — The changing Asian context — Oil and the Israel problem — The Iranian revolution — Islam in international affairs — An uneasy Latin America23. The Reshaping of EuropeSeeds of unity — The division of Europe — National interests — Ostpolitik — The path to Helsinki — The British crisisBook 8: The End Of An Era24. A World in EvolutionThe last years of Chairman Mao — New patterns — Japan: the new world power — The Indian democracy — Africa's enduring problems25. Crumbling CertaintiesSeeds of doubt — American misgivings — Disordered Islam — The last phase of Cold War — Changing eastern Europe — Polish revolution — The crumbling of the Soviet system — A new Germany26. Post Cold War RealitiesThe Gulf War — Persisting dangers — The end of the Soviet Union — A new Russia — New European security problems — The end of Yugoslavia — Nationality and ethnicity in the new Europe — European integration — Qualified re-orientation: the United Kingdom — Changes in China — Tiananmen27. Fin-de-siècleProblems of peacekeeping — Europe after Maastricht — A common currency — Enlarging Europe — A troubled Far East — The Indian sub-continent — The United States at the end of the century — Pax Americana28. RetrospectHistorical importance — The great upheavals — The mythology of human happiness — Mastery of the material world — The first world civilization — Today's political world — ConclusionAppendix: The Exploration of SpaceIndex

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Book SynopsisModern history shows that a nation''s success largely depends on the way it manages its money. But where do money and politics meet? From 1700 to the present day, Niall Ferguson offers a bold and original analysis of the evolution of today''s economic and political landscape. Far from being driven by the profit motive alone, our recent history, as Ferguson makes brilliantly clear, has also been made by potent and often conflicting human impulses - sex, violence and the desire for power. In this dazzling, powerful and controversial explanation of modern world history and the fundamental force that lurks behind it all, Niall Ferguson answers the big questions about finance and its crucial place in bringing happiness and despair, warfare and welfare, boom and crash to nations buffeted by the onward march of history. ''A marvellous combination of persuasion and provocation ... The Cash Nexus has enough ideas for a dozen books'' Martin Daunton, History Today ''The Cash Nexus is ... packed with intriguing arguments and controversial propositions ... [an] outstanding book'' Frank McLynn, Independent ''Ferguson is one of the most technically accomplished historians writing today ... The Cash Nexus offers an important corrective to the naïve story of economic growth'' Robert Skidelsky, New York Review of BooksTable of ContentsPart 1 Spending and taxing: the rise and fall of the warfare state; "hateful taxes"; the Commons and the castle -representation and administration. Part 2 Promises to pay: mountains of the moon - public debts; the money printers - default and debasement; of interest. Part 3 Economic politics: dead weights and tax-eaters - the social history of finance; the myth of the feelgood factor; the Silverbridge syndrome - electoral economics. Part 4 Global power: masters and plankton - financial globalization; golden fetters, paper chains - international monetary regimes; the American wave - democracy's flow and ebb; fractured unities; understretch - the limits of economic power; conclusion.

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Book SynopsisThe Penguin Atlas of Ancient History illustrates in a chronological series of maps, the evolution and flux of races in Europe, the Mediterranean area and the Near East. From 50,000 B.C. to the fourth century A.D., it is one of the most successful of the bestselling historical atlas series.Table of ContentsThe New Penguin Atlas of Ancient HistoryLiteracy 2250 BC1275 BC670 BC415 BCTowns and trade routes 2250 BC1275 BC670 BC415 BC192 BCAD 14AD 362Population 415 BCAD 362Christendom AD 362Appendices 1. Roman provinces2. Notes on the construction of the mapsIndex Index Map AIndex Map B

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Book SynopsisSaul David is Professor of War Studies at the University of Buckingham and the author of several critically acclaimed books, including The Indian Mutiny: 1857, Zulu and, most recently, Victoria's Wars: The Rise of Empire. He recently presented 'Bullets, Boots and Bandages' for BBC 4 and is a regular contributor to Radio 4.Trade ReviewSplendid . . . a terrific treasure-chest of anecdotes . . . a splendidly brisk, cool and judicious narrator * Daily Telegraph *Incisive and acute . . . thorough and occasionally revelatory, [David] always finds a telling phrase, an eye-catching detail or a human story * Sunday Times *Incisive and acute . . . thorough and occasionally revelatory, [David] always finds a telling phrase, an eye-catching detail or a human story * Sunday Times *

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Book SynopsisFrom Eduardo Galeano, one of Latin America''s greatest living writers, author of the Memory of Fire trilogy, comes Children of the Days, a new kind of history that shows us how to remember and how to liveThis book is shaped like a calendar. Each day brings with it a story: a journey, feast or tragedy that really happened on that date, from all possible years and all corners of the world. From Abdul Kassem Ismail, the tenth-century Persian who never went anywhere without his library - all seventeen thousand books of it, on four hundred camels; to the Brazilian city of Sorocaba, which on February 8 1980 responded to the outlawing of public kissing by becoming one huge kissodrome; to July 1 2008, the day the US government decided to remove Nelson Mandela''s name from its list of dangerous terrorists, Children of the Days takes aim at the pretensions of official history and illuminates moments and heroes that we have all but forgotten. Through this shTrade ReviewGaleano's condensed history is, like life, at once dark and fascinating -- Mina Holland * Observer *A kind of epigrammatic excavation, uprooting stories that have been mislaid or misappropriated, and presenting them in their full glory, horror or absurdity . . . with a wry and scathing wit -- Gary Younge * Guardian *Deeply humane . . . he has produced literature that will endure, monuments to the imagination -- Toby Green * Independent *Wonderful, glittering, remarkable * Financial Times *Marries meticulous journalistic detail with lyrical flair ... his inner Stephen Fry can point out that for Mayas, Jews, Arabs, the Chinese and others, January 1st doesn't herald the New Year at all, before adding the optimistic kicker that given the transience of time, this day is as good as any other "to be bright and joyous as the colours of an outdoor market" * The Times *

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Book SynopsisHuman history is a tale not just of constant change, but of perpetual restlessness. In Beneath Another Sky the esteemed historian Norman Davies embarks upon a journey round the world to show the layers of experience that underpin our present - and brilliantly complicate our view of the past. ''If you are someone, or know someone, who is romanced by stamps, or maps, or names, or journeys, or plaques, then I recommend this book to you. I loved it. It deserves a shelf of its own'' David Aaronovitch, The Times''Rich, thought-stirring and deeply engaging'' John Gray, New Statesman''Gripping, enthralling, a great read ... a fragrant stew of history, literature and travel spiced with digression, detective work and dabs of humour'' Sarah Wheeler, ObserverTrade ReviewIf you are someone, or know someone, who is romanced by stamps, or maps, or names, or journeys, or plaques - someone whose head is always popping up from the papers or a Radio 4 documentary with the words "did you know?" then I recommend this book to you. I loved it. It deserves a shelf of its own -- David Aaronovitch * The Times *A rich, thought-stirring and deeply engaging blend of travelogue, memoir and historical investigation -- John Gray * New Statesman *A performance that resists easy compartmentalisation ... This is clever and informative entertainment. -- Joad Raymond * BBC History Magazine *

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Book SynopsisTrade ReviewA brilliant writer with a polymathic range. With The Anxious Triumph, he has produced a magnum opus, an accessible and genuinely global history of the transformative but unstable capitalist phenomenon. ... This is a book for today and tomorrow. -- Harold James * Financial Times *It is hugely erudite: everyone can learn from it. -- Paul Collier * New Statesman *Sassoon offers us a sprawling map, studded with fascinating details. ... It is quirkily brilliant -- Adam Tooze * Guardian *He is no apologist. His comprehensive account of the origins of modern capitalism make clear the human cost of a system of institutionalised greed -- Iain Macwhirter * Herald *

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Book SynopsisSince the release of the documentary Blackfish in 2013, millions around the world have focused on the plight of the orca, the most profitable and controversial display animal in history. Yet, until now, no historical account has explained how we came to care about killer whales in the first place. Drawing on interviews, official records, private archives, and his own family history, Jason M. Colby tells the exhilarating and often heartbreaking story of how people came to love the ocean''s greatest predator. Historically reviled as dangerous pests, killer whales were dying by the hundreds, even thousands, by the 1950s--the victims of whalers, fishermen, and even the US military. In the Pacific Northwest, fishermen shot them, scientists harpooned them, and the Canadian government mounted a machine gun to eliminate them. But that all changed in 1965, when Seattle entrepreneur Ted Griffin became the first person to swim and perform with a captive killer whale. The show proved wildly popular, and he began capturing and selling others, including Sea World''s first Shamu.Over the following decade, live display transformed views of Orcinus orca. The public embraced killer whales as charismatic and friendly, while scientists enjoyed their first access to live orcas. In the Pacific Northwest, these captive encounters reshaped regional values and helped drive environmental activism, including Greenpeace''s anti-whaling campaigns. Yet even as Northwesterners taught the world to love whales, they came to oppose their captivity and to fight for the freedom of a marine predator that had become a regional icon. This is the definitive history of how the feared and despised killer became the beloved orca--and what that has meant for our relationship with the ocean and its creatures.Trade ReviewDetailed, determinedly even-handed and often fascinating. * Lucy Atkins, Times Literary Supplement *Jason Colby's Orca...left me with feelings of gratitude for his hard work, admiration and envy for his skills as a historian and storyteller, and also some new hopes about the possibilities of writing about animals and history.....The characters, human and cetacean, are drawn with extraordinary empathy and care, and their experiences, hopes, and worries, as told by Colby, are powerful....The photographs, of which there are more than forty, are both exceptional and thoughtfully curated. * Nigel Rothfels, Humanimalia *Timely ... Over forty oral history interviews, added to substantial archival and secondary research, allow Colby to weave a history that highlights the agency and complexities of orca capture and captivity ... This engaging book should garner a wide audience of academics and orca enthusiasts. The clear narrative and interesting stories moreover make it suitable for undergraduate courses in both Pacific Northwest history and environmental history * Jen Corrinne Brown, American Historical Review *Colby is an easy and engaging writer... He utilizes extensive interviews he conducted with many of the most colorful and important people involved in the story: those who captured whales, the promoters, fishermen, scientists, and the citizens and politicians who became involved in the fight to halt the capture. * Carmel Finley, Journal of American History *This is an affecting book, personal and political all at once, and written by a scholar who has worked hard to recover and relay painful tales of the wild orcas that encountered humans and the humans that did the encountering. Nearly all those meetings began in panic and pain, most of it the whales', though some of it that of the men who came to believe they were doing the wrong thing wresting these breathtaking animals from their world, to deliver them to our own, which has been changed by the resulting episodes of captivity and captivation. * D. Graham Burnett, author of The Sounding of the Whale *This fascinating history reveals what happens when humans became captivated by captive orcas. Colby poignantly locates the very origins of conservation in the tense, tender, and tragic relationships between humans and cetaceans. This finely textured social history of the Pacific Northwest opens up the story of how 'killer whales', once cast as deadly pests * became popular attractions and emotional, intelligent 'orcas'.Daniel Bender, author of The Animal Game: Searching for Wildness at the American Zoo *With Orca, Jason Colby takes readers on a riveting journey. In a matter of decades, the Pacific Northwest's killer whales traveled from despised vermin to regional sweethearts. Their emotional passage revealed the true wildcard of wildlife management: navigating the swirling opinions of human populations. A timely book, Orca brings history to bear on a fraught relationship between two apex predators. Colby traces the rise in human affection for the whales but also the emergence of a cruel realization as audiences cheered captives' performances in aquariums across the globe. Love and fandom could kill and maim as efficiently as fear and contempt. In the end, it's unclear whether orcas benefited from the connection they forged with people. * Jon Coleman, author of Vicious: Wolves and Men in America *Killer whales, or orcas, the apex marine predators, were once widely feared as dangerous vermin and were shot on sight. Yet over the past fifty years, a sea change in attitudes towards this remarkable animal took place, and today the species is a revered and cherished global icon of the wild marine environment. In this compelling book, Jason Colby chronicles this transition in our relationship with the killer whale and tells an enthralling story complete with drama and excitement. It is sure to be an important addition to the libraries of natural historians and whale enthusiasts alike. * John Ford, Pacific Biological Station, Fisheries and Oceans Canada *Colby shines a light on how little we understand of these magnificent creatures. His book gives a glimpse into a mysterious yet strangely familiar world, brought to life in a story that's tragic, heartbreaking, and finally hopeful. * Foreword Reviews (starred review) *A good choice for serious fans of Pacific Northwest and marine history. * Kirkus *A revealing look at how the human view of orcas has changed... Colby persuasively contends that, despite legitimate concerns popularized by the 2013 documentary Blackfish, about the effects of captivity on orcas, the animals avoided extinction because their presence in accessible public venues enabled people to relate to them... Colby has produced an originally argued and accessibly jargon-free consideration of a hot-button animal conservation issue. * Publishers Weekly *Killer whales, also known as orcas, are idolized, loved, and even revered. Such sentiments, however, have not always been held toward this species, as historian Jason Colby reveals in his new book, Orca... Colby does an excellent job of framing these events within the larger environmental movement of the time, as well as placing them within the context of the nationalism that was spreading on both sides of the U.S.-Canadian border at the time." * Robin W. Baird, Science *[Told] with the depth and passion the topic deserves. * Lynda V. Mapes, Seattle Times *Immersive and dramatic... Colby demonstrates the speed at which societal attitudes can also shift the baseline of our expectations. In this age of extinction, with ongoing changes in ocean chemistry and physics, it is the potential for a sea change in public attitude that presents hope. * Sascha Hooker, Nature *An exceptional book and a significant contribution to the conservation of killer whales, Orca brings together a wealth of information and tells the stories of the captive whales and the people who pursued, cared for, and studied them - and ultimately fought for their freedom... It instantly takes its place as one of the best books ever written about the interactions between killer whales and settler society on the coastlines of B.C. and Washington State. It should be read by every whale enthusiast, naturalist, fishing guide, graduate student, researcher, marine resource manager, and politician on the Pacific coast. * Anna Hall, Ormsby Review *It is a story not just of the orca business, but also of the evolution of Americans' relationship to the oceans and marine life-the growth of marine parks parallels the shift from an extractive approach to the ocean, as mainly a source of fish, to a recreational one. It intersects, too, with the birth of the modern environmental movement in the 1960s and 70s. * Rachel Riederer, New Republic *[Colby] has produced an exhaustive, nuanced, essential account of the captures, unearthing a forgotten bit of Northwest history. * Nancy Macdonald, Literary Review of Canada *A riveting behind-the-scenes 'tell all,' told from the perspectives of the individuals that witnessed this important period in our history. This book is a historical account of how an industry formed, nearly destroying the very commodity on which it depended, coupled with an infusion of science that helped us to better understand killer whale life history. Colby retells a tragic yet sobering story of the good and dark sides of the delicate relationship between humans and other sentient beings. * Eric L. Walters, Journal of Mammalogy *An exhaustively researched and well-written account. * Paul Brown, Resurgence & Ecologist *An engaging but in-depth history...Orca is an exciting new offering at the intersection between histories of the display of live cetaceans, which generally focus on the environmental movement and its pushback against keeping captive dolphins and orcas, and histories of the modern commercial whaling industry, which generally focus purely on the harvesting of larger whales….The book is both an intensely local history of the Pacific Northwest in the late twentieth century and also a more global history of human relationships with large predators and animals in captivity.….Colby provides an exhaustive account of changing perceptions of killer whales and how this related to the development of the environmental movement into which they were embedded, all over the span of just a couple of decades. * Jakobina Arch, Environmental History *Table of ContentsIntroduction 1. "The Most Terrible Jaws Afloat" 2. The Old Northwest 3. Griffin's Quest 4. Murray Newman and Moby Doll 5. Namu's Journey 6. A Boy and His Whale 7. Fishing for Orcas 8. Skana and the Hippie 9. The Scores at Pender Harbor 10. Supply and Demand 11. The White Whale 12. Penn Cove Roundup 13. Whaling in the New Northwest 14. Big Government and Big Business 15. The Legend of Mike Bigg 16. "All hell broke loose" 17. New Frontiers 18. Haida's Song 19. The Legacy of Capture Epilogue Acknowledgements Notes Bibliography Index

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Book SynopsisWhen Lee Kuan Yew died recently, the world media turned its attention to the nation he led for decades: Singapore. Lee Kuan Yew''s revolutionary transformation of Singapore from a poor and corrupt colonial backwater into an economic powerhouse renowned for its wealth, order, and rectitude is one of the great--and most surprising--stories of modern era. In Singapore: Unlikely Power, John Perry provides an evenhanded and authoritative history of the island nation that ranges from its Malay origins to the present day. Blessed with a natural deepwater port that is shielded by mountain ranges from oceanic storms and which sits along one of the most strategic straits in the world, Singapore has served as a major shipping entrepot throughout modern history. The first great naval power to exploit the island''s strategic location was China, and during the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries thousands of Chinese emigrated to Singapore. The most famous colonizer, though, was Britain, which ruled Singapore until the 1960s except for when the Japanese occupied it during World War Two. From the early nineteenth century onward, Singapore was a vital node in the global economy, which relied on oceanic shipping and the protection of the British Navy. Perry covers all of this before turning to the era of independence, which began in the 1960s. Plagued with the usual assortment of ills that former colonies in the tropics suffered from--corruption, inequality, lack of an educated population--Singapore improbably vaulted from essentially third-world status into a first world dynamo over the course of three decades. In the process, longtime leader Lee Kuan Yew did many things that other post-colonial leaders shunned. He embraced the colonial past, established close ties with its World War Two tormentor (Japan), and adopted a resolutely pragmatist approach to economic development rather than following any one fashionable ideological program. Today, it is one of the wealthiest and best educated countries in the world, and it is a model regime for states looking to develop rapidly but which are relatively unconcerned with freedom or democracy (although Singapore itself is a democracy). In sum, this is an accessible, comprehensive, and indeed colorful overview of a city-state that has perfected one of the most influential political-economic models in the world.Trade Review"John Perry, a maritime and diplomatic historian, provides a unique perspective on Singapore, a remarkable port city that, like Hong Kong and Bahrain, was a British colony and became the business, service, and intellectual headquarters for a region. He traces here how Singapore, a multi-racial, multi-cultural city, has developed unique social policies and officials who provide world-class leadership in the councils of the world." --Ezra Vogel, Henry Ford II Professor of the Social Sciences, emeritus, Harvard University; author of Deng Xiaoping and the Transformation of China "The story of Singapore is the story of the 21st century: asymmetric and creative approaches to foreign policy that provide opportunity, stability, and multicultural engagement. There is so much to learn from the City of Lions, and John Curtis Perry is the perfect guide. This is a profoundly important book for anyone studying international relations." --Admiral James Stavridis, USN (Ret), NATO Supreme Allied Commander 2009-2013, and Dean, The Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy, Tufts University "For narrative, perfection of pace; for description, a lively eye; for scholarship, tenacity and depth; breadth for the delineation of context and comparisons; insight in character-depiction, and provocation in judgement: John Perry has the qualities to make enlightening work of his study of 'the Singapore grip': the city-state's stunning story of response to daunting challenges." --Felipe Fernandez-Armesto, William P. Reynolds Professor of History, University of Notre Dame "John Perry's brisk and engaging Singapore: Unlikely Power situates the Southeast Asian city-state in its historical context, and shows convincingly how over the course of two centuries visionary leaders have fused political will and geographic advantage to create a globalized economic powerhouse." --Lincoln Paine, author of The Sea and Civilization: A Maritime History of the World "Meticulously researched and holistic in approach, Perry's narrative seamlessly balances insights and perspectives on the past, present and future of the island and region. An ideal read for anyone who has wondered about the global forces that created the modern commercial city-state-and why it exists where it does." --Daniel Finamore, Russell W. Knight Curator of, Maritime Art and History, Peabody Essex MuseumTable of ContentsI. ORIGINS; II. WINGS OF CANVAS; III. "QUEEN OF THE FURTHER EAST"; IV. EMPIRE AT ZENITH; V. CLOUDS, THUNDER, AND STORM, 1918-42; VI. "WALKING ON A RAZORS EDGE," 1945-65; VII. "TURFED OUT"; VIII. COMING TO THE PRESENT; IX. GLOBAL HINGE?

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Book SynopsisAs the threat of global climate change becomes a reality, many look to the Arctic Ocean to predict coming environmental phenomena. There, the consequences of Earth''s warming trend are most immediately observable in the multi-year and perennial ice that has begun to melt, which threatens ice-dependent microorganisms and, eventually, will disrupt all of Arctic life. In The Arctic: What Everyone Needs to Know, Klaus Dodds and Mark Nuttall offer a concise introduction to the circumpolar North, focusing on its peoples, environment, resource development, conservation, and politics to provide critical information about how changes there can and will affect our entire globe and all of its inhabitants. Dodds and Nuttall shed light on how the Arctic''s importance has grown over time, the region''s role during the Cold War, indigenous communities and their history, and the past and future of the Arctic''s governance, among other crucial topics. The Arctic is an essential primer for those seeking information about one of the most important regions in the world today.Table of ContentsForeword Chapter One: One Arctic, Many Arctic(s) Chapter Two: Placing the Arctic Chapter Three: Land, Sea and Ice Chapter Four: From Colonialism to Collaboration Chapter Five: Warming Arctic Chapter Six: Resourceful Arctic Chapter Seven: Global Arctic

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Book SynopsisThe American President is an enthralling account of American presidential actions from the assassination of William McKinley in 1901 to Bill Clinton''s last night in office in January 2001. William Leuchtenburg, one of the great presidential historians of the century, portrays each of the presidents in a chronicle sparkling with anecdote and wit.Leuchtenburg offers a nuanced assessment of their conduct in office, preoccupations, and temperament. His book presents countless moments of high drama: FDR hurling defiance at the economic royalists who exploited the poor; ratcheting tension for JFK as Soviet vessels approach an American naval blockade; a grievously wounded Reagan joking with nurses while fighting for his life.This book charts the enormous growth of presidential power from its lowly state in the late nineteenth century to the imperial presidency of the twentieth. That striking change was manifested both at home in periods of progressive reform and abroad, notably in two world Trade Review[T]he author presents a highly readable and informative history of the twentieth century....Leuchtenburg has written a wonderful book. * Daryl A. Carter, The Journal of Southern History *A top-notch historian brings together recondite research with felicitous prose. An excellent choice for students of 20th-century American history. * Kirkus Review *Wow! What an achievement by this 93-year-old historian...At 70, I am in awe of what William Leuchtenburg has accomplished in this doorstopper of a book. He is perhaps today's greatest presidential historian, and not of the presidency as some insular realm, but as it intersected with national life, which makes this book also a history of the nation in the 20th century." -Michael Sherry, American ScholarMr. Leuchtenburg's books are known for original research, effective writing and persuasive analysis. For the "capstone" of a lifetime of publishing important works Mr. Leuchtenburg has assembled a compelling study. This is not a book to be devoured at one sitting. But surely Mr. Leuchtenburg has earned the right to deal with the presidents as seems best to him, given his rich research, abundant insights and distinguished career. Mr. Leuchtenburg hits his stride in 20 artful essays that capture what each president did and how their tenure impacted the office. As current presidential candidates woo Iowa caucus-goers, tramp through the snows of New Hampshire, and eventually turn south for Super Tuesday, they each could benefit from reading Mr. Leuchtenburg's informed and wise treatments of men who once held the office they now seek with such ardor." -Lewis Gould, Wall Street JournalThis is a riveting narrative, written by someone with a deep knowledge of the Presidents and our complicated country. It seems an almost effortless work, but, of course, it's not. William Leuchtenburg has spent the better part of a century studying the mechanics of this Republic and the men (so far) charged with leading it. The result here is a fast-paced, dramatic literary achievement that will be around and used for centuries."-Ken Burns, filmmakerA rare gift, The American President is the unique product of more than seven decades of research and close observation of one of the twentieth century's most important political developments: the growth of the American presidency. This is a magisterial work, the perfect match of subject and author. Few historians today can write with authority on even two or three presidencies; Leuchtenburg alone can expound fluently on the institution across an entire century. This is narrative history at its finest." -Russell L. Riley, Co-chair, Presidential Oral History Program, The Miller Center, University of VirginiaBased on decades of study in countess archival collections and a wide array of published volumes, William Leuchtenburg's The American President brilliantly captures the central role of America's twentieth-century presidents in shaping the nation's domestic and foreign affairs. His book will join a very short list of essential studies of the modern presidency, the men who shaped the office, and American life in the more than the hundred years since Teddy Roosevelt entered the White House. The book is a compelling refutation of the argument that the 'imperial presidency' has become an 'imperiled' institution. It is above all a lucid portrayal of the seventeen men from Teddy Roosevelt to Clinton who occupied the country's highest office and led the country through its many challenges." -Robert Dallek, author of presidential studies of Franklin D. Roosevelt, Harry S. Truman, John F. Kennedy, Lyndon B. Johnson, Richard Nixon, and Ronald ReaganTable of ContentsPreface to the New Edition Prologue Chapter 1: Theodore Roosevelt and William Howard Taft Chapter 2: Woodrow Wilson Chapter 3: Intermezzo: Warren Harding, Calvin Coolidge, Herbert Hoover Chapter 4: Franklin Delano Roosevelt Chapter 5: Harry Truman Chapter 6: Dwight D. Eisenhower Chapter 7: John F. Kennedy Chapter 8: Lyndon B. Johnson Chapter 9: Richard Nixon Chapter 10: The President at Bay: Gerald Ford and Jimmy Carter Chapter 11: Ronald Reagan Chapter 12: George H. W. Bush Chapter 13: Bill Clinton Bibliography

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Book SynopsisAn utterly splendid book, quite the most brilliantly written, balanced, and explanative general work on the Vikings ever to appear in English or in any language.'' Scandinavian StudiesThe subject of this book is the Viking realms, Denmark, Sweden, and Norway, their civilization and culture, and their many sided achievements at home and abroad. A highly readable narrative follows the development of these Northern peoples - the Nordmenn - from their origins and the legendary pre-history to the military triumphs of Canute and the defeat of Harald Hardrádi at Stamford Bridge in 1066, which symbolically ended the Viking age. The book recounts the Vikings'' exploits in war, trade, and colonization: the assault on Western Christendom; the trading and military ventures to the Slav and Muslim worlds and to Byzantium; and the western voyages of discovery and settlement to Greenland, Iceland, and America. Numerous photographs, maps, and drawings contribute to Gwyn Jones''s rounded portrait of Viking civilization and vividly evoke the importance in their culture of religion, art, and seafaring.Trade ReviewWhat a superb book this is! Wise, well-informed, judicious and infinitely readable. * Magnus Magnusson, Scotsman *an utterly splendid book, quite the most brilliantly written, balanced and explanative general work on the Vikings ever to appear in English or...in any language. * Erik Wahlgren, Scandinavian Studies *A highly readable history. * Oxford Time *no better book on the Vikings has ever been written, and it is one which every educated person with any interest in history should know about ... Readers will be delighted to discover the eloquent and sparkling prose of a natural Welsh bard and storyteller who was one of the shining lights of University College, Cardiff. The man writes beautifully. There are not many history books one can pick up and start reading anywhere just for the sheer enjoyment of literary craftsmanship and even fewer as authoritative as this. * Lloyds List 13/04/1994 *Table of ContentsPART 1 - THE NORTHERN PEOPLES TO AD 700; 1. THE SCANDINAVIAN COMMUNITY, I: DIVERSITY AND UNITY; PART 3 - THE VIKING MOVEMENT OVERSEAS; PART 4 - THE VIKING AGE ENDS

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Book SynopsisThis is a compact but comprehensive and absorbing history of the Second World War. It examines the causes of the war, how it was won and lost, and its far-reaching consequences for humanity.Trade ReviewReview from previous edition Based on a matchless knowledge of the documents, he provides an authoritative treatment of military, diplomatic, and economic aspects, written with great force and insight. As a one-volume survey, it is unlikely to be surpassed... a magnificent achievement, a tour de force. * Kenneth O. Morgan, New Statesman and Society *a miracle of compression compared with the rest of the horde of general histories. * Guardian *Parker alights unerringly on the salient campaigns and issues, and considers them with consistent style and insight. * Times Educational Supplement *The most balanced view of the causes and courses of the Second World War. * Field Marshal Lord Carver, Times Literary Supplement *written in clear and elegant English ... a masterful account of the Second World War in all its different spheres. It is scrupulously fair, illuminated by an engaging sense of humour ... and gives an entirely balanced view of the varying contributions of the different powers engaged. * Richard Cobb, The Spectator *Faced with volume after volume of books about the Second World War, R.A.C. Parker's Short History comes as a breath of fresh air ... it is refreshing to read such a modest-sized yet absorbing history of the years between 1939 and 1945 and what happened before and afer. A Short History is both concise and absorbing - an "introduction" to anyone wanting to know more about the war and an example of how a taut history book can be captivating. * Madeleine Burton, Herts Adverstiser (St Albans Edition) *Table of ContentsPreface ; Contents ; List of Plates ; List of Maps ; 1. Hitler, Germany, and the origins of the European war ; 2. German conquest of Poland, Norway, the Low Countries, and France ; 3. Britain alone ; 4. Operation BARBAROSSA: the German attack on the Soviet Union ; 5. The United States enters the war: the origins of the Japanese attack ; 6. Japanese victories and disappointments: December 1941 to August 1942 ; 7. The end of German expansion: the Atlantic, North Africa, and Russia, 1942-1943 ; 8. Anglo-American strategies for victory ; 9. Economies at war ; 10. Strategic bombing ; 11. Morale ; 12. Driving back the Germans: North Africa, Italy, and Russia ; 13. D-Day and victory in Europe ; 14. The defeat of Japan and the atom bomb ; 15. From war to peace: Anglo-American relations ; 16. From alliance to Cold War: the Soviet Union and the West ; 17. The impact of war: the murder of the European Jews ; 18. The impact of war: casualties, crisis, and change ; Note on quotations ; Book list ; Index

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Book SynopsisThe British experience in India began in earnest over four hundred years ago, during the reign of Queen Elizabeth I. For many years the English interlopers and traders who made contact with the subcontinent were viewed by Indians as little more than pirates and potentially troublesome conquering barbarians. After a series of titanic struggles against the French and various local rulers during the eighteenth century, by the end of the Napoleonic Wars Britain had gained mastery of the subcontinent. This period, and the century and a half that followed, saw two powerful cultures locked in an often bloody battle over political control, land, trade, and a way of life.Denis Judd tells the fascinating story of the remarkable British impact upon India. All aspects of this long and controversial relationship are discussed, such as the first tentative contacts between East and West, the foundation of the East India Company in 1600, the Victorian Raj in all its pomp and splendour, Gandhi''s revolTable of ContentsEPILOGUE; CHRONOLOGY; SOURCES FOR QUOTATIONS; BIBLIOGRAPHY; INDEX

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Book SynopsisWere the Vikings, as contemporary description had it, a ''valiant, wrathful, foreign, purely pagan people'' who swept in from the sea to plunder and slaughter? Or in the words of a Manx folksong ''ware-wolves keen in hungry quest'', who lived and died by the sea and the sword. Or were they unusually successful merchants, extortionists, and pioneer explorers? This book, by leading international scholars, considers the latest research and presents a compelling picture of the Vikings and their age. Excavations as far apart as Dublin and Newfoundland, York and Kiev, provide fascinating archaeological evidence, expertly interpreted in this extensively illustrated book.Trade Reviewthe volume will indeed be a treasury for pictorial sources, and the illustrations to more off-the-beaten-track chapters (especially Noonan's, on European Russia) are correspondingly unusual. * Guy Halsall, War in History, 8, 3, 2001 *the truest picture yet of the Vikings and their age. * Publishing News *Table of ContentsList of Colour Plates ; List of Maps ; Notes on Contributors ; 1. The Age of the Vikings and Before ; 2. The Frankish Empire ; 3. The Vikings in England, ic./i790-1016 ; 4. Ireland, Wales, Man, and the Hebrides ; 5. The Atlantic Islands ; 6. Scandinavians in European Russia ; 7. The Danish Empire and the End of the Viking Age ; 8. Ships and Seamanship ; 9. Religions Old and New ; 10. The Vikings in History and Legend ; 11. The Viking Legacy ; Further Reading ; Chronology ; Index

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Book SynopsisTwo questions guide this seven-year project: First, how can we approach the phenomenon, representation, and interpretation of total solar eclipses? Second, how can we heal the historical divide separating the natural sciences from the humanities, arts, history, and theology? The result of this interdisciplinary investigation into eclipses is an exciting look behind the scenes - into labs, archives, and museums, as well as around fieldwork in astronomy, meteorology, animal behaviour, and ecophysiology.Carefully prepared for readers from all backgrounds, these voices invite us to imagine a liberated mode of discovery, perception, creativity, and knowledge-production across the traditional academic divisions. A uniquely prismatic representation of total solar eclipses emerges, itself rising to a model of communal thinking, together, across disciplinary borders. This book is Tom McLeish''s final project and scholarly testament. Dedicated to him and to astrophysicist Jay M. Pasachoff (contrTrade ReviewWonderful and wonder-full! This splendidly illustrated book explores total solar eclipses and their effect on us through art, music and words. * Dame Jocelyn Bell Burnell DBE FRS FRSE FRAS FInstP, Astrophysics, University of Oxford *A courtside seat to watch scientists, scholars, artists, and musicians toss ideas right (awesome!) and wrong (interesting!) back and forth over centuries of wonder. Nothing as real and completely out of human control or influence as the total solar eclipse has been so endlessly fascinating, provocative, and compelling; get your ticket here. * Michael O'Hare, Professor of the Graduate School at the University of California and Goldman School of Public Policy *Superb! This book touched my soul! Fabulous stuff and the first of its kind! So rich in thought with delectable prose on the history, art and science of the ages that surround eclipses. Henrike Lange and Tom McLeish have done something extraordinary: From one momentary cosmic event they virtuously generated lasting inspiration to chase knowledge and wisdom... Even the most experienced eclipse chasers will feel enriched and further enlightened by an eclipse after delving into this book... A true tome on the total solar eclipse. * Mike Kentrianakis, American Astronomical Society 2017 Total Solar Eclipse Project Manager, Amateur Astronomers Association of New York, IAU's Working Group on Solar Eclipses *I enjoyed the book... I emerged with my over 30 eclipse experiences freshly anchored in mysticism, history, and legend while clothed in new garments of art, music and literature. For both the scientist and the artist, Eclipse and Revelation gives view of the "other side"... The work becomes a tapestry that stitches history, passion, nature, weather, art, and music with a thread of mysticism and wonder. This ambitious volume welds so many dissimilar views of a shared experience: One chapter explains the physics behind the glow of the corona; another, Dante's eclipse muse. Ancient and medieval history... blend with the magnificence of art and poetry; animal and atmosphere respond in muted sympathy, all bound by the glory of the total eclipse. * Jay Anderson, Canadian meteorologist and eclipse chaser *A total solar eclipse is a spectacle without equal. Henrike Christiane Lange and Tom McLeish study the human and cultural impact of totality. Every human culture has a mythology about solar eclipses. These stories should be told and this book is an excellent survey of many cultures across the continents and throughout the centuries. I especially enjoyed the excerpts from Tom McLeish's travel diary from August 2017 which capture the thrill of the chase and the allure of the corona in the co-authored Introduction. Chapter 2 by my late friend Jay Pasachoff on the solar corona is a masterclass in science communication. I highly recommend Eclipse & Revelation to anyone interested in solar eclipses and their many interactions with humanity. * Michael Zeiler, Cartographer and Eclipse Chaser *Genius! Truly marvelous and relevant work, beautifully illustrated and delivered: an utterly brilliant new take on interdisciplinary collaborations between the arts, humanities, and sciences exploring a gripping natural phenomenon across human history. Unlike any other, this book includes fascinating perspectives and early science from ancient Asia, Assyria, Babylonia, India, China, Greece and Rome, the scientific revolution to the present... - all topped off with the latest meteorological methods and a conclusion that creates a poetic awareness of the entire cosmos... Lange and McLeish deliver a passionate defence of the liberal arts and a delightful account of the perpetual curiosity, excitement, joy, and enduring love of wisdom at the core of the scientific and scholarly life. * Andrew Stewart, Professor emeritus, History of Art and Classics at the University of California, Berkeley *Table of ContentsHenrike Christiane Lange (University of California, Berkeley) & Tom McLeish (University of York): Preface - "Cosmos" is for Harmony Henrike Christiane Lange (University of California, Berkeley) & Tom McLeish (University of York): Introduction - Chasing the Total Solar Eclipse: On the Road and in the Archive PART I - COSMOS 1: Tom McLeish (University of York) and Mike Frost (British Astronomical Association): The Cosmic Clockwork: The How and When of Total Solar Eclipses 2: Jay Pasachoff (Williams College): The Unveiling of the Corona 3: Philipp Nothaft (All Souls College Oxford): Pre-Modern Astronomies of Eclipses in the Near-East and Europe 4: Mike Frost (British Astronomical Association): From Science to Story: Testimony of an Eclipse Chaser PART II - HISTORY AND RELIGION 5: John Steele (Brown University): Solar Eclipses Across Early Asia 6: Giles Gasper (Durham University): 'The Face of the World Was Wretched, Horrifying, Black, Remarkable: Solar Eclipses in the Middle Ages 7: Anna Marie Roos (University of Lincoln): Annus Tenebrosus: Black Monday, Faith, and Political Fervour in Early Modern England 8: David Bentley Hart (NDIAS): Signs and Portents: Reflections on the History of Solar Eclipses PART III - ARTS AND LITERATURE 9: Alison Cornish (New York University): Dante's Total Eclipses 10: Roberta J.M. Olson (Wheaton College, Massachusetts, and The New-York Historical Society Museum & Library): Eclipsed? The Nineteenth-Century Quest to Capture Solar Eclipses in Art, Science, and Technology 11: Henrike Christiane Lange (University of California, Berkeley): Total Eclipse of the Art: Vision, Occlusion, Representation 12: Elaine Stratton Hild (Universität Würzburg): When Words Fail: Eclipse, Music, and Sound PART IV - ANIMALS, WEATHER, ENVIRONMENT 13: Steven Portugal (Royal Holloway): Animal Behaviour and Eclipse 14: Giles Harrison (Department of Meteorology, University of Reading): Weather and the Solar Eclipse: Nature's Meteorological Experiment Henrike Christiane Lange (University of California, Berkeley) and Tom McLeish (University of York): Conclusion - The Moon and the Sun in the Afternoon Mike Frost (British Astronomical Association): APPENDIX - The Eclipse Chaser's Toolkit

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Book SynopsisThe first biography of Elizabeth Wiskemann - historian, journalist, intelligence agent - delving into her lives in 1920s Cambridge, Nazi-era Germany and Eastern Europe, and post-war European reconstruction in Italy and West Germany, as a female pioneer in the male-dominated spheres of journalism, government service, and academia.Table of ContentsIntroduction 1: Becoming a Journalist: From Cambridge to Berlin 2: Czechoslovakia and the Nazi 'Drang nach Osten' 3: Secret Agent in Wartime Switzerland 4: 'Dear Mr. Dulles': A Special Relationship 5: Starting Over in Postwar Europe 6: The Academic Life and After

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Book SynopsisHistories you can trust.The first part of the book tells the story of science in both East and West from antiquity to the Enlightenment: from the ancient Mediterranean world to ancient China; from the exchanges between Islamic and Christian scholars in the Middle Ages to the Chinese invention of gunpowder, paper, and the printing press; from the Scientific Revolution of sixteenth and seventeenth century Europe to the intellectual ferment of the eighteenth century.The chapters that follow focus on the increasingly specialized story of science since end of the eighteenth century, covering experimental science in the laboratory from Michael Faraday to CERN; the exploration of nature, from intrepid Victorian explorers to twentieth century primatologists; the mapping of the universe, from the discovery of Uranus to Big Bang theory; the impact of evolutionary ideas, from Lamarck, Darwin, and Wallace to DNA; and the story of theoretical physics, from James Clark Maxwell to Quantum Theory and beyond. A concluding chapter reflects on how scientists have communicated their work to a wider public, from the Great Exhibition of 1851 to the internet in the early twenty-first century.Trade ReviewA fabulous series of essays from more than a dozen science historians that show science interacting with and being influenced by culture and society. Morus and company succeed in showing science as a product of human culture, not a phenomenon apart from it. * Publishers Weekly *This book successfully shows for a general audience that science is culture and that "science"-singular-has never existed...chapeau for a beautiful andnuanced comprehensive history of science. * Floor Haalboom, Erasmus M C Rotterdam andUtrecht Univ, Isis Journal of the History of Science Society *This book is both conventional and not, sweeping yet focused, and really fun to read as both a reference source and as a piece of world history. * New Books in Science podcast *Table of Contents1: James Evans: Science in the Ancient Mediterranean World 2: Donald Harper: Science in Ancient China 3: Sonja Brentjes: Medieval Science in the West and Middle East 4: Dagmar Schaefer: Science in the Medieval East 5: John Henry: The Scientific Revolution 6: Jan Golinski: Enlightenment Science 7: Iwan Rhys Morus: Experimental Cultures 8: Amanda Rees: Exploring Nature 9: Robert Smith: Mapping the Universe 10: Peter Bowler: The Meaning of Life 11: Matthew Stanley: Theoretical Visions 12: Charlotte Sleigh: Communicating Nature

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Book SynopsisWhen precisely did the ideas, symbols and metaphors of patriarchy take hold of Western civilization? When were women, so central to the creation of society, moved on to the sidelines? Where is the evidence to support the notion that male dominance over women is a natural state of things? Gerda Lerner''s radical review of Western civilization shows that male dominance over women has nothing to do with biology, and everything to do with cultural and historical habits. Dr Lerner draws her evidence from a host of archaeological, literary, and artistic sources, using them to pinpoint the critical turning points in the allocation of women''s roles in society. She draws especially on archaeological evidence of the cultures of ancient Hebrew and Mesopotamian societies, cultures from which modern Western civilization has largely derived. This approach enables her to trace the ways in which men and women have been classified as essentially separate creatures - from ancient Greek philosophy onwards - and also to examine ways in which their experience of society differs, through the structures and symbols of class and religion. Most of all, by showing patriarchy as the result of an historical process, Lerner produces an irresistable argument that it can be altered, and ended, by similar means.Trade Review`A valuable contribution to history and women's studies.' BooklistTable of ContentsIntroduction 1. Origins 2. A Working Hypothesis 3. The Stand-in Wife and the Pawn 4. The Woman Slave 5. The Wife and the Concubine 6. Veiling the Woman 7. The Goddesses 8. THe Patriarchs 9. Teh Covenant 10. Symbols 11. The Creation of Patriarchy Appendix: Definitions Notes Bibliography Index

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Book SynopsisThe belligerent country that literally started the First World War, the Habsburg Empire suffered grievously during the global conflict. At the end of the war, it was estimated that 1.2 million soldiers, out of 8 million men and 100,000 women mobilized from an empire of 52 million, perished in service. Among those who lived, the wounded, the disabled, and their dependents constituted at least several million people whose survival was endangered both during and after the war. How did the Habsburg Empire confront the scale of the casualties brought about by the First World War? What care and support were offered to disabled soldiers and dead soldiers'' surviving dependents? Victims'' State offers the first integrated account of how the Austrian half of the empire and the successor Austrian Republic responded to the needs of citizen-soldiers and their families from the nineteenth century to the interwar years. Ke-Chin Hsia traces the policies, ideas, and administrative practices developed Trade ReviewAn exciting new interpretation of welfare practices in Habsburg Central Europe that spans the Imperial and Republican periods. Hsia's pioneering arguments demonstrate that innovative welfare practices rarely came solely from the state but developed as much from claims by socially diverse groups of actors and interest groups from below. Readers may be surprised to learn that in the multinational Habsburg empire, when it came to popular demands for welfare programs, nationalist concerns apparently took a back seat to more pressing social, economic, and regional interests. * Pieter M. Judson, European University Institute *An impressive, original study of the neglected history of the emergence of the Austrian welfare state out of World War I and its centrality to the transition from the elite Habsburg Empire to the cohesive, democratic Austrian Republic, permanently transforming its politics and culture, an experience more similar to other European states than is usually recognized. Thoroughly researched and accessibly written, it is a major contribution to the history of Austria and of European welfare states. * Pat Thane, author of The Foundations of the Welfare State *This meticulously researched study offers a new and compelling interpretation of wartime and postwar politics. Centering social welfare as an integral part of total war, Ke-Chin Hsia reconceptualizes links between imperial Austria and the postwar republic. He reveals continuities in late Habsburg and early republican welfare policies without defaulting to the nationalities prism. As such, the book is a pioneering 'next generation' work that extends the recent historiographical re-examination of the significance of 1918 in Austrian history. * Maureen Healy, author of Vienna and the Fall of the Habsburg Empire *Ke-Chin Hsia's excellent book energetically addresses these strands of scholarship, as he explores the ebbs and flows of the making and unmaking of Austria's welfare mechanisms vis-à-vis war victims. [This study] is an ideal example of this tight and mutually informing and reinforcing relationship between state and society, as he pays attention to the war victims' own leverage in welfare reform-making. * Doina Anca Cretu, CEU Review of Books *Without a doubt, Hsia's book pushes for further reflection on the story of welfare,...the book lives up to the promise outlined in the title and in its introduction. * Doina Anca Cretu, CEU Review of Books *Table of ContentsAcknowledgments Introduction Chapter 1 Government Poverty and Incentive Pensions in the Nineteenth Century Chapter 2 The Emergence of the War Welfare Field from Peace to War Chapter 3 A Social Offensive on the Home Front Chapter 4 The Last-Ditch Effort to Save the Monarchy Chapter 5 War Victims as a New Power Factor Chapter 6 A Republic with "the Correct National and Social Sensibilities" Chapter 7 "The Public's Interest in Invalids Has Waned" Conclusion Notes Bibliography Index

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Book SynopsisDonald A. Ritchie, a congressional historian for forty years , takes readers on a fascinating, behind-the-scenes tour of Capitol Hill, pointing out the key players, explaining their behavior, and translating parliamentary language into plain English. He also explores the essential necessity of compromise to accomplish anything significant in the legislative arena. However, recent events show that political polarization has hardened and produced gridlock, as Ritchie explains in this new edition. The 2020 election also produced a more diverse membership in terms of gender, ethnicity, religion, and ideology, with primary elections resulting in the defeat of moderate candidates by opponents ranging from socialists on the left to conspiracy theorists on the right, making bipartisan compromise harder to achieve. Among the most significant events since the last edition, the Senate ignored President Obama''s last nomination to the Supreme Court and then adopted a nuclear option to streamline future Supreme Court confirmations. The House also twice impeached President Trump, processes that starkly expose the differences between the majority-rule requirements of the House and the super-majority requirements of the Senate. This new edition explains how the parties have changed in light of the unprecedented politics of the past four years, culminating in the mob attack on the U.S. Capitol on January 6, 2021, and how this development has affected both the House and the Senate.Trade ReviewThis book will take you on a historical and political tour of the Capitol, what goes on there, and along the way you will learn the meaning of representative democracy." - Ray Smock, Director of the Robert C. Byrd Center for Congressional History and EducationTable of ContentsPreface 1 The great compromise 2 Campaigns and constituents 3 In committee 4 On the floor 5 Checks and balances 6 The Capitol complex References Further reading Index

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Book SynopsisAn engaging and original historical portrait of eight of the most influential political figures of the twentieth century: Woodrow Wilson, Lenin, Hitler, Churchill, FDR, Gandhi, David Ben-Gurion, and Mao.The Titans of the Twentieth Century addresses an age-old question: what is the impact of individuals on history? The first half of the twentieth century offered political leaders enormous scope for changing the world. This book consists of essays about eight who, for better and for worse, did just that.Woodrow Wilson had a vision for a cooperative world order that failed after the First World War but gained in influence after the Second.Vladimir Ilich Lenin founded the totalitarian communist political system that controlled a large part of the planet for much of the twentieth century.Adolf Hitler started history''s worst war and presided over history''s worst atrocity, the Holocaust.Winston Churchill provided inspiring leadership to Great Britain, which made it possible to defeat Nazi G

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Book SynopsisDrive critical, engaged learning and advanced skills development. Enabling comprehensive, rounded understanding, the student-centred approach actively develops the sophisticated skills key to performance in Paper 2. Developed directly with the IB for the 2015 syllabus, this Course Book fully supports the new comparative approach to learning.Table of Contents1. Algerian War 1954-1962 ; 2. Falklands/Malvinas War 1982 ; 3. Indo-China War 1946-1954 ; 4. Spanish Civil War 1936-1939 ; 5. First World War 1914-1918 ; 6. Second World War: Europe and North Africa 1937-1945 ; 7. Second World War: The Pacific 1937-1945

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Book SynopsisThe end of the Cold War makes it possible, for the first time, to begin writing its history from a truly international perspective, one reflecting Soviet, East European, and Chinese as well as American and West European viewpoints. In a major departure from his earlier scholarship, John Lewis Gaddis, the pre-eminent American authority on the United States and the Cold War, has written a comprehensive comparative history of that conflict from its origins through to its most dangerous moment, the Cuban missile crisis. We Now Know is packed with new information drawn from previously unavailable sources; it also reflects the findings of a new generation of Cold War historians. It contains striking new insights into the role of ideology, democracy, economics, alliances, and nuclear weapons, as well as major reinterpretations of Stalin, Truman, Khrushchev, Mao, Eisenhower, and Kennedy. It suggests solutions to long-standing puzzles: Did the Soviet Union want world revolution? Why was GermanyTrade Review'A masterly review of the early phases of the conflict between the United States, Russia, China and their respective allies...it is clear, thorough and judicious; in short, magnificent.' * The Economist Review *'A new narrative of the first half of the Cold War up to the Cuban missile crisis...We Know Now is an important book. It deserves a wide readership.' * Taylor Downing, The Observer *Table of Contents1. Dividing the World ; 2. Cold War Empires: Europe ; 3. Cold War Empires: Asia ; 4. Nuclear Weapons and the Early Cold War ; 5. The German Question ; 6. The Third World ; 7. Economics, Ideology, and Alliance Solidarity ; 8. Nuclear Weapons and the Escalation of the Cold War ; 9. The Cuban Missile Crisis ; 10. The New Cold War History: First Impressions ; Notes, Bibliography, Index

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Book SynopsisFor thousands of years bloodlines have been held as virtually unassailable credentials for leadership, with supreme political power perceived as a family affair across the globe and throughout history. At the heart of royal dynasties, kings were inflated to superhuman proportions, yet their status came at a price: whilst they may have reigned, they were very often ruled by others who sheltered behind the ruler''s proclaimed omnipotence. Descent through the female line also occurred, subverting our common view of dynasty as built on father-son succession. Everywhere, women were important as mothers of boy-kings, and could even rule in their own right in some places.In this Very Short Introduction Jeroen Duindam connects the earliest history of kings and queens to contemporary examples of family-based leadership. His sweeping overview of five millennia of dynastic rule brings to light recurring predicaments of families on the throne. Examining persistent family conflict and the dilemmas of leadership, he shows how the challenge of governing the family was balanced by the necessity of family scions, close or distant, for the survival of dynasties. Tensions between ageing fathers and eager sons can be found among ancient kings as well as in modern business empires. Guidebooks for rulers throughout history provided counsel that will appear strikingly familiar to contemporary leaders. The thoughts and confessions of rulers added a more personal touch to these rules of thumb. Throughout, Duindam sheds light not only on similarities, but also on divergence and change in dynastic practice. ABOUT THE SERIES: The Very Short Introductions series from Oxford University Press contains hundreds of titles in almost every subject area. These pocket-sized books are the perfect way to get ahead in a new subject quickly. Our expert authors combine facts, analysis, perspective, new ideas, and enthusiasm to make interesting and challenging topics highly readable.Table of Contents1: Dynasties past and present 2: Shaping the family 3: Paterfamilias: its hard to be the boss 4: Women and dynastic power 5: Embedding the family 6: Persistence and change 7: The dynastic impulse in the modern world 8: Epilogue All in the family: conclusions Further reading Index

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Book SynopsisImperial Boredom offers a radical reconsideration of the British Empire during its heyday in the nineteenth century. Challenging the long-established view that the Empire was about adventure and excitement, with heroic men and intrepid women eagerly spreading commerce and civilization around the globe, this thoroughly researched, engagingly written, and lavishly illustrated account suggests instead that boredom was central to the experience of Empire. This volume looks at what it was actually like to sail to Australia, to serve as a soldier in South Africa, or to accompany a colonial official to the hill stations of India, and agrues that for numerous men and women, from governors to convicts, explorers to tourists, the Victorian Empire was dull and disappointing. Drawing on diaries, letters, memoirs, and travelogues, it demonstrates that all across the empire, men and women found the landscapes monotonous, the physical and psychological distance from home debilitating, the routines of everyday life wearisome, and their work unfulfilling. Ocean voyages were tedious; colonial rule was bureaucratic; warfare was infrequent; economic opportunity was limited; and indigenous people were largely invisible. The seventeenth-century Empire may have been about wonder and marvel, but the Victorian Empire was a far less exciting project.Trade ReviewAuerbach builds his case on a remarkable compilation of primary visual and textual materials ... what the book does offer, beyond interesting examples from archives around the world, is an approach that remains unusual in imperial history, moving away from the "spoked wheel" understanding of colonial influence. * Elleke Boehmer, Times Literary Supplement *Imperial Boredom calls attention to the potent combination of imperial nostalgia and propaganda. A timely study of imperial subjectivity, it is much to Auerbach's credit that a book on boredom is one of the most readable scholarly monographs I have encountered in recent years. * Andrew Griffiths, Open University, Victorian Studies *stimulating and thought-provoking ... provides a novel and illuminating lens through which to examine the mind-set of men and women working and living in empire * Andrew Hillier, Reviews in History *Jeffrey A. Auerbach takes boredom to a new level in this fascinating study. * Joanna Lewis, Times Higher Education *Auerbach succeeds in capturing the texture of everyday imperialist life as few historians have. * Erik Linstrum, History Today *Auerbach's research ... is filled with a surprising amount of zingers ... a rich contribution to colonial history. * Josh Gaybert-Doyon, Hong Kong Review of Books *Rich new book ... Auerbach writes in a clear and polished style. He is sensitive in his readings of the many dozen of manuscript diaries and letters of various bored imperial officers * Padriac Scanlon, The New Inquiry *Table of ContentsIntroduction 1: Voyages 2: Landscapes 3: Governors 4: Soldiers 5: Settlers Conclusion Bibliography

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Book SynopsisThe era of liberal interventionism is over, and the prevailing international discourse is once again about defending state borders and putting up walls. This broad re-assertion of sovereignty and non-intervention---often considered the normative foundation of the BRICS countries, of the Non-Aligned Movement, of Bandung, of the Westphalian South---raises a series of difficult questions, not least about the management of challenges shared by all. How are we to make sense of re-organisations of intervention and non-intervention in global order? Recently the dominant way of approaching these issues has been through the lens of cosmopolitan or liberal-solidarist duties, including the Responsibility to Protect. Yet it seems doubtful that this framework is still capable of posing the right questions or generating the right sorts of answers. This volume offers a new approach that provincializes the conventional debate, de-naturalises what it takes as universal or given, and lays out a series o

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Book SynopsisThis work studies the history of imperial hunting and conservation in colonial India from the end of the eighteenth century to the middle of the twentieth century. It analyses early colonial hunting during the Company period going on to survey, in depth, different aspects of hunting during the high imperial decades. Based on original, printed, and secondary sources, it examines hunting at various social and ethnic levels, and also in different geographical contexts. In doing so, the author covers vast ground, including about the rituals, the variety of prey, the hierarchies of animals shot and hunted, the technology of firearms, the forms of hunting on horseback, and the introduction of hunting with hounds.Table of ContentsList of Illustrations Foreword Preface Acknowledgements List of Abbreviations Introduction 1 Imperial Culture and Hunting in Colonial India 2 Nimrods on the Hills - Hunting, Environment and its Fauna: A History of Neglected Histories 3 Hunting as 'Sport' in Colonial India: Codes of Sportsmanship, Firearms, Race and Class in Hunting 4 Shikar in the Princely Reserves: Power, Privilege, and Protocol 5 The Raj and the Paradoxes of Wildlife Conservation: British Attitudes and Expediencies 6 Hunters-turned-Conservationists: Jim Corbett and Colonel Burton Epilogue Bibliography Glossary Index About the Author

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Book SynopsisIn this Very Short Introduction Kenneth Morgan provides a wide-ranging and thematic introduction to modern Australia. He examines the main features of its history, geography, and culture since the beginning of the white settlement in New South Wales in 1788. Drawing attention to the distinctive features of Australian life he places contemporary developments in a historical perspective, highlighting the importance of Australia''s indigenous culture and making connections between Australia and the wider word. Balancing the successful growth of Australian institutions and democratic traditions, he considers the struggles that occurred in the making of modern Australia. ABOUT THE SERIES: The Very Short Introductions series from Oxford University Press contains hundreds of titles in almost every subject area. These pocket-sized books are the perfect way to get ahead in a new subject quickly. Our expert authors combine facts, analysis, perspective, new ideas, and enthusiasm to make interesting and challenging topics highly readable.Table of Contents1. The Antipodes ; 2. Shaping the Continent ; 3. Governing Australia ; 4. Body and Soul ; 5. Australia and the World ; Further reading

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Book SynopsisEgypt, Greece, and Rome is regarded as one of the best general histories of the ancient world, having sold more than 80,000 copies in its first two editions. It is written for the general reader and the student coming to the subject for the first time and provides a reliable and highly accessible point of entry to the period. Beginning with the early Middle Eastern civilizations of Sumer, and continuing right through to the Islamic invasions and the birth of modern Europe after the collapse of the Roman empire, the book ranges beyond political history to cover art and architecture, philosophy, literature, society, and economy. A wide range of maps, illustrations, and photographs complements the text.This third edition has been extensively revised to appeal to the general reader with several chapters completely rewritten and a great deal of new material added, including a new selection of images.Trade ReviewCharles Freeman is my favourite universal historian of the ancient world, which he interprets in the broadest geographical and temporal senses ... This new edition of Egypt, Greece, and Rome cannot be recommended too highly as the one-stop shop for all historically curious travellers in these eternally and endlessly fascinating lands. * Professor Paul Cartledge, Cambridge University *Freeman's survey of the ancient world is a remarkable achievement ... The book is written in a clear and approachable style ideally suited to the target audience, which is defined as the general reader and students in need of a foundation text to guide them into the study of the great and important cultures of antiquity. This new edition will certainly ensure that Freeman's study will continue to hold its place as a classic introduction to the ancient world in all its aspects. * Professor Alan B. Lloyd, President of the Egypt Exploration Society *This admirably ambitious work provides a very useful introduction to three of the great civilizations of the Ancient World: Egypt, Greece, and Rome. Charles Freeman should be applauded for having taken on this gargantuan task. * Professor Richard Miles, University of Sydney *Charles Freeman's work on updating this, the third edition of Egypt, Greece and Rome, has ensured this book continues to be a must-read, offering clear insights into the latest thinking and discoveries about the ancient Mediterranean world in an engaging and thought-provoking manner. * Dr Michael Scott, University of Warwick *an enormously ambitious book ... The text is approachable and readable. It can be used both for sustained study as well as for idle browsing and dipping into. It is informative, succinct. There are no tedious digressions or woolly bits. It offers an opinion where an opinion is useful but does not dogmatically press an agenda. For the general reader, it is difficult to imagine how it could have been better done. * Annabel Barber, Blue Guides *Freeman is to be commended for the scope and detail of the work ... [it] is beautifully illustrated and written in clear and clever prose. Freeman writes with the authority not only of a historian, but also an archaeologist ... and a traveler who has trod the well-worn paths of our ancient forebears. His rigorous approach ensures that the book will continue to be an authoritative survey of the history and culture of the Mediterranean and Middle Eastern regions. * Carrie L. Sulosky Weaver, The Classical Journal Online *Table of ContentsDEDICATION; FOREWORD TO THE THIRD EDITION; AUTHOR'S PREFACE; ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS; LIST OF PLATES; LIST OF MAPS; LIST OF FIGURES; WHAT TO READ NEXT; DATE CHART; LIST OF EVENTS; INDEX

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