General and world history Books

Book SynopsisPaints the Old West in all its terrible glory, where desperadoes tangle with crooked detectives, bloodthirsty posses, and sultry seductresses. Throughout it all, the protagonist keeps up a breakneck speed, committing hundreds of crimes before his love for a treacherous woman and his own violent nature lead him to a fitting climax.Trade ReviewEnthralling and intriguing. . . . Readers interested in crime drama and the history of the American West will find the book appealing."—Jerry D. Thompson, author of Wrecked Lives and Lost Souls: Joe Lynch Davis and the Last of the Oklahoma OutlawsTable of Contents Maps Acknowledgments Prologue. Shadow ManPart One. Sowing the Wind Chapter 1. The Mortimer Gang in Virginia City Chapter 2. Mortimer at Large Chapter 3. The Wiggin Affair Chapter 4. Highwayman Chapter 5. Gilchrist's Scheme Chapter 6. Lovestruck Chapter 7. The Santa Cruz Treasury Job Chapter 8. Ringers IllustrationsPart Two. Reaping the Whirlwind Chapter 9. The Murder of Caroline Prenel Chapter 10. The Fall Guy Chapter 11. The Murder of Mary Gibson Chapter 12. Red-Handed Chapter 13. Captain Lees's Secret Plan Chapter 14. The Ides of March Chapter 15. Scalawag Chapter 16. The Far West Chapter 17. Thicker Than Water Chapter 18. Hanging Charley Flinn Epilogue. "Rather Have a Rattlesnake"Glossary of Criminal Slang Notes Bibliography Index

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Book SynopsisEssays provide evidence for the vigour and involvement of religious orders in the years immediately prior to the reformation.It continues to be assumed in some quarters that England's monasteries and mendicant convents fell into a headlong decline - pursuing high living and low morals - long before Henry VIII set out to destroy them at the Dissolution.The essays in this book add to the growing body of scholarly enquiry which challenges this view. Drawing on some of the most recent research by British and American scholars, they offer a wide-ranging reassessment of the religiousorders on the eve of the Reformation. They consider not only the condition of their communities and the character of life within them, but also their wider contribution - spiritual, intellectual and economic - to English societyat large. What emerges is the impression that the years leading up to the Dissolution were neither as dark nor as difficult for the regular religious as many earlier histories have led us to believe. It was a period of institutional and religious reform, and, for the Benedictines at least, a period of marked intellectual revival. Many religious houses also continued to enjoy close relations with the lay communities living beyond their precinct walls. Whiletheir role in the devotions of many ordinary lay folk may have diminished, they still had a significant part to play in the local economy, in education and in a wide range of social and cultural activities. Contributors:JEREMY CATTO, JAMES G. CLARK, GLYN COPPACK, CLAIRE CROSS, PETER CUNICH, VINCENT GILLESPIE, JOAN GREATEX, BARBARA HARVEY, F. DONALD LOGAN, MARILYN OLIVA, MICHAEL ROBSON, R.N. SWANSON, BENJAMIN THOMPSON.Trade ReviewIn their variety of subjects and approaches [these essays] provide revealing insights into the current directions of scholarly thinking about the last century of the religious orders in medieval England....The impression left is of the vitality of current research. * CATHOLIC HISTORICAL REVIEW *I recommend this book. It helps shed light on one of the greatest social changes that occurred in England during the 16th century. But, by the same token, it reminds us how much more work needs to be done before one can even begin to understand the origins of the modern world in which we live. * COLLOQUIUM *A highly valuable contribution to a debate which still deserves further attention. * SOUTHERN HISTORY 25 *Table of ContentsIntroduction: The Religious Orders in Pre-Reformation England - James G. Clark After Knowles: Recent Perspectives in Monastic History - Joan Greatrex A Novice's Life at Westminster Abbey in the Century before the Dissolution - Barbara Harvey Syon and the New Learning - Vincent Gillespie Franciscan Learning, 1450-1540 - Jeremy Catto The Friars Minor in York, 1450-1540 - Michael Robson Mendicants and Confraternity - Robert N Swanson Yorkshire Nunneries in the Early Tudor Period - Claire Cross Patterns of Patronage to Female Monasteries in the Late Middle Ages - Marilyn Oliva Monasteries, Society and Reform in Late Medieval England - Benjamin Thompson The Planning of Cistercian Monasteries in the Later Middle Ages: the evidence from Fountains, Rievaulx, Sawley and Rushen - Glyn Coppack Departure from the Religious Life During the Royal Visitation of the Monasteries, 1535-36 - F. Donald Logan The Ex-Religious in Post-Dissolution Society: Symptoms of Post- Traumatic Stress Disorder? - Peter Cunich

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Book SynopsisIn The Politics of Decolonial Investigations Walter D. Mignolo provides a sweeping examination of how coloniality has operated around the world in its myriad forms from the sixteenth century to the twenty-first. Decolonial border thinking allows Mignolo to outline how the combination of the self-fashioned narratives of Western civilization and the hegemony of Eurocentric thought served to eradicate all knowledges in non-European languages and praxes of living and being. Mignolo also traces the geopolitical origins of racialized and gendered classifications, modernity, globalization, and cosmopolitanism, placing them all within the framework of coloniality. Drawing on the work of theorists and decolonial practitioners from the Global South and the Global East, Mignolo shows how coloniality has provoked the emergence of decolonial politics initiated by delinking from all forms of Western knowledge and subjectivities. The urgent task, Mignolo stresses, is the epistemic reconstitutiTrade Review“Even regular readers of Walter D. Mignolo will find a wealth of new insights, analyses, and topics as he brilliantly considers some of decolonial theory's current controversies and new applications. With his hard-hitting insistence on the problems of Eurocentrism, Mignolo's spirited explanation and defense of decolonial theory is illuminating.” -- Linda Martín Alcoff, author of * Rape and Resistance *“Walter Mignolo's oeuvre fiercely demands that we need to move beyond an engagement with the Euro American prison house of concepts and forge a theoretical vocabulary that is not merely an inheritance of colonialism. The decolonial option is premised on transcending amnesia—the manifestation of the colonial wound—toward traditions of intellection from the Global South. This new book shows yet again his uncompromising and ardent delineation of emancipatory landscapes of thought.” -- Dilip M. Menon, Mellon Chair in Indian Studies, University of the Witwatersrand"Mignolo’s book collects a significant contribution into various key issues around decoloniality and the ongoing movement beyond Eurocentric modernity. . . . A powerful intervention developing decolonial thought in thinking paths forward and alternative futures rather than fixating or being limited to critique." -- Ali Kassem * Ethnic and Racial Studies *"A hugely provocative, far-reaching, comprehensive and accessible book for scholars engaged across disciplines, geopolitical focuses, and languages. It proposes a particularly valuable provocation for scholars of European languages, especially challenging those of us for whom the jumping-off point for our analysis is so deeply situated in Modern Languages’ Eurocentric knowing and its attendant tactics of domination as factors to be taken for granted. It challenges and rewards the reader through its significant contributions to theory and the routes it offers to decolonial futures." -- Rebecca Ogden * Modern Language Review *"Mignolo is at his best in his analysis of the nation-state and the limitations of Western political theories. . . . Mignolo’s magnum opus The Politics of Decolonial Investigations is a sober description of the history of the world of the last five hundred years, its atrocities, and injustices, but it also gives us hope by describing the world that is emerging from underneath the ruins of Western civilization." -- Breny Mendoza * Society for U.S. Intellectual History *"The Politics of Decolonial Investigations constitutes an essential point of entry for all readers interested in decolonization. Thanks to its ability to synthesize complex problems within the field and Mignolo's constant reflection on how to exercise epistemic rebellion in the face of the colonial power matrix driven by coloniality, this is undoubtedly a book that will guide the new generation of researchers into the distant future." (translated from Spanish) -- Omar Osorio Amoretti * Spanish and Portuguese Review *Table of ContentsPreface ix Acknowledgments xxiii Introduction 1 Part I. Geopolitics, Social Classification, and Border Thinking 1. Racism as We Sense It Today 85 2. Islamaphobia/Hispanophobia 99 3. Dispensable and Bare Lives 127 4. Decolonizing the Nation-State 154 Part II. Cosmopolitanism, Decoloniality, and Rights 5. The Many Faces of Cosmo-polis 183 6. Cosmopolitanism and the Decolonial Option 229 7. From "Human" to "Living" Rights 254 Part III. The Geopolitics of the Modern/Colonial World Order 8. Decolonial Reflections on Hemispheric Partitions 287 9. Delinking, Decoloniality, and De-Westernization 314 10. The South of the North and the West of the East 349 Part IV. Geopolitics of Knowing, the Question of the Human, and the Third Nomos of the Earth 11. Mariátegui and Gramsci in "Latin" America 381 12. Sylvia Wynter: What Does It Mean to Be Human? 420 13. Decoloniality and Phenomenology 458 14. The Rise of the Third Nomes of the Earth 483 Epilogue. Yes, We Can: Border Thinking, Pluriversality, and Colonial Differentials 531 Notes 563 Bibliography 641 Index 685

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Book SynopsisJodi Kim examines how the United States extends its sovereignty across Asia and the Pacific in the post-World War II era through a militarist settler imperialism that is leveraged on debt.Trade Review“Settler Garrison is a stunning, magisterial work that provides an entirely original definition of US empire as predicated on the production of its legitimation to wield power. Jodi Kim frames spaces heretofore deemed anomalous or marginal—the camptown, the POW camp, and the unincorporated territory—as the very sites where US empire establishes its authority to rule. In the process of redefining and reframing US empire, Kim offers a unique and sorely needed relational methodology for understanding the connection between its various modes, in particular between military empire and settler colonialism." -- Grace Kyungwon Hong, author of * Death beyond Disavowal: The Impossible Politics of Difference *Table of ContentsIntroduction. US Exceptionalisms, Metapolitical Authority, and the Aesthetics of Settler Imperial Failure 1 1. Perverse Temporalities: Primitive Accumulation and the Settler Colonial Foundations of Debt Imperialism 39 2. The Military Base and Camptown: Seizing Land "by Bulldozer and Bayonet" and the Transpacific Masculinist Compact 62 3. The POW Camp: Waging Psychological Warfare and a New Settler Frontier 113 4. The Unincorporated Territory: Constituting Indefinite Deferral and "No Page Is Ever Terra Nullius" 138 Epilogue. Climate Change, Climate Debt, Climate Imperialism 174 Acknowledgments 185 Notes 189 Bibliography 229 Index 249

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Book SynopsisAll regions and places are unique in their own way, but the Ozarks have an enduring place in American culture. Studying the Ozarks offers the ability to explore American life through the lens of one of the last remaining cultural frontiers in American society. Perhaps because the Ozarks were relatively isolated from mainstream American society, or were at least relegated to the margins of it, their identity and culture are liminal and oftentimes counter to mainstream culture. Whatever the case, looking at the Ozarks offers insights into changing ideas about what it means to be an American and, more specifically, a special type of southerner. In Where Misfits Fit: Counterculture and Influence in the Ozarks, Thomas Michael Kersen explores the people who made a home in the Ozarks and the ways they contributed to American popular culture. Drawing on a wide variety of sources, Kersen argues the area attracts and even nurtures people and groups on the margins of the mainstream. T

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Book SynopsisA petroleum geologist, Alan Cockrell provides an insider's account of the science of oil hunting, the political processes that help or hinder it, and the advances in technology that make it all possible. The book documents the ways in which wars, foreign competition, governmental regulation, and new business models affect oil exploration.Trade ReviewDrilling Ahead is a highly accessible, often colorful, account of oil exploration and development in Mississippi, Alabama, and northwest Florida, in the post-World War II period." - Evan R. Ward, The Journal of Southern History"Drilling Ahead is a valuable addition to the history of the petroleum industry." - Diana Davids Hinton Technology and Culture"This book is extremely informative and well researched. It also tells about the colorful characters who developed much of the oil and gas industry in the Southeast, especially Mississippi and Alabama. Chesley Pruet would be the most intriguing character of all, and he was well respected. In addition, this is a good read." - Robert Mosbacher, Mosbacher Energy, Inc. Secretary of Commerce, 1989-1992"Alan Cockrell has captured the excitement of oil booms in the southeastern states which flourished during the last half of the twentieth century. A valuable history is preserved of key individuals and companies that drilled the hundreds of oil and gas wells in Mississippi, Alabama, and Florida to bring new wealth to these states." - Dudley J. Hughes, author of Oil in the Deep South: A History of the Oil Business in Mississippi, Alabama, and Florida, 1859-1945

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Book Synopsis"I too am not a bit tamed—I too am untranslatable / I sound my barbaric yawp over the roofs of the world."—Walt Whitman, "Song of Myself," Leaves of Grass The American Yawp is a free, online, collaboratively built American history textbook. Over 300 historians joined together to create the book they wanted for their own students—an accessible, synthetic narrative that reflects the best of recent historical scholarship and provides a jumping-off point for discussions in the U.S. history classroom and beyond. Long before Whitman and long after, Americans have sung something collectively amid the deafening roar of their many individual voices. The Yawp highlights the dynamism and conflict inherent in the history of the United States, while also looking for the common threads that help us make sense of the past. Without losing sight of politics and power, The American Yawp incorporates transnational perspectives, integrates diverse voices, recovers narratives of resistance, and explores the complex process of cultural creation. It looks for America in crowded slave cabins, bustling markets, congested tenements, and marbled halls. It navigates between maternity wards, prisons, streets, bars, and boardrooms. The fully peer-reviewed edition of The American Yawp will be available in two print volumes designed for the U.S. history survey. Volume II opens in the Gilded Age, before moving through the twentieth century as the country reckoned with economic crises, world wars, and social, cultural, and political upheaval at home. Bringing the narrative up to the present,The American Yawp enables students to ask their own questions about how the past informs the problems and opportunities we confront today.Trade Review"The American Yawp makes it possible for undergraduates to access the best, most recent, and most expansive range of scholarly work currently available. It breaks down boundaries of geography and allows college students to get a real sense of the intellectual cutting-edge. The Yawp is a real contribution." —Hasia Diner, New York University"Where The American Yawp really stands out from most other textbooks is in the authors' absolute respect for the reader. It's the perfect blend of breadth and depth, and it keeps undergrads and others current on all the latest developments in the historiography. The primary source companion's texts—and the numerous images—challenge students to think more critically, creatively, and expansively." —Woody Holton, University of South Carolina"As a collaborative historical enterprise, The American Yawp stands out for the breadth of its synthesis, the range of its sources, and the accessibility of its content. Taking inspiration for its title from Whitman, the text travels through the nation's multitudinous history with a verve and variety befitting the poet's free-flowing verse." —Leigh E. Schmidt, Washington University in St. Louis"The American Yawp is a minor miracle: a clear, straightforward, accessible, reasonably-priced American history text written by smart, ambitious, young scholars with an eye to the latest research. This survey should put the clunky, expensive books by big names out of business." —Jefferson Cowie, Vanderbilt University"The American Yawp is remarkable not only for how it was put together, with impressive contributions from a diverse assembly of historians, but also by the final result, which is greater than the sum of its parts. Here is a thorough, compelling introduction to American history that can be used in virtually any course, well designed with illustrations and covering the full spectrum of America's communities and cultures." —Dan Cohen, Northeastern University"The American Yawp is a game changer—a cutting edge survey text that is accessible and engaging. I have used the free and online version for a variety of courses, from surveys to seminars. Students get coverage of essential themes across all of American history without having to pay an exorbitant sum, and I get to assign a range of other books and texts on the areas I want to focus on. The American Yawp makes tremendous sense as a course option because its accessibility allows you to give students both options—a survey text and monographs. The images, documents, and extra material add further value. But the real deal is the text itself, which offers up-to-date coverage of a host of themes and topics and allows students to get both context and depth. The editors should be proud. Finally a textbook for the digital age!"—Richard S. Newman, Rochester Institute of Technology

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Book SynopsisFar from always having been an isolated nation and a pariah state in the international community, North Korea exercised significant influence among Third World nations during the Cold War era. With one foot in the socialist Second World and the other in the anticolonial Third World, North Korea occupied a unique position as both a postcolonial nation and a Soviet client state, and sent advisors to assist African liberation movements, trained anti-imperialist guerilla fighters, and completed building projects in developing countries. State-run media coverage of events in the Third World shaped the worldview of many North Koreans and helped them imagine a unified anti-imperialist front that stretched from the boulevards of Pyongyang to the streets of the Gaza Strip and the beaches of Cuba. This book tells the story of North Korea's transformation in the Third World from model developmental state to reckless terrorist nation, and how Pyongyang's actions, both in the Third World and on the Korean peninsula, ultimately backfired against the Kim family regime's foreign policy goals. Based on multinational and multi-archival research, this book examines the intersection of North Korea's domestic and foreign policies and the ways in which North Korea's developmental model appealed to the decolonizing world.Trade Review"By calling attention to relations with the Third World as a critical component of North Korea's developing national identity, Guns, Guerillas, and the Great Leader offers a significant and refreshing contribution to understanding the historical development of North Korea that moves beyond the familiar narrative of an emerging state situated amongst China and the Soviet Union in the Cold War context." —Hanmee Kim, Wheaton College"Benjamin R. Young's book is beautifully written, thoroughly researched, and absolutely eye-opening. Guns, Guerillas, and the Great Leader provides an unprecedented look into the causes and consequences of North Korea's struggle for international influence." —Mitchell Lerner, Ohio State University"North Korea has been an isolated nation since the 1990s, but interestingly Young points out odd relics of a time the so-called Hermit Kingdom reached out to the world, such as Kim Il Sung Avenue in Mozambique's capital Maputo. For the casual Korea watcher this book is a surprise: it shows the country's story hasn't been all bad."—Frank Beyer, Asian Review of Books"This is a serious work of history, not a light read, but it's really well researched. More importantly, it manages to say something new and interesting about North Korea, which frankly is rare. Young shows how North Korea was once extremely active in the Third World, building movements against western imperialism that today look militantly quixotic but at the time had revolutionary potential. The dense networks of exchange and patronage that North Korea forged, across the Third World but in Africa especially, added to its own sense of purpose and informed its vision of unification of the Korean Peninsula."—Van Jackson, The Duck of Minerva"Today, the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), or North Korea, is widely viewed as a dangerous rogue state that is irrationally pursuing nuclear weapons despite international condemnation and the crushing poverty of its own people... Benjamin Young's Guns, Guerillas, and the Great Leader turns this picture on its head by taking the reader back to a time when North Korea was competing with the world's superpowers by presenting itself as an alternative model of development for Third World audiences."—Daniel Connolly, The Middle Ground Journal"Guns, Guerrillas and the Great Leader rightly underlines the North as the Cold War success story. In the long post war liberation struggles and the aftermath with the sweet success of victory there were appreciations for solidarity and quests for new maps. The North had provided the first home and away."—Glyn Ford, Asian Affairs"[Young's] monograph is a valuable contribution to North Korean, Cold War, and Third World studies, as it provides detailed factual information on Pyongyang's interactions with over twenty Third World states. Its colourful description of the heavy-handed methods of North Korean diplomacy makes it easier to understand why many non-aligned countries, having initially embraced the DPRK, soon became disillusioned with its behaviour. At the same time, the author also demonstrates that North Korea did manage to retain a foothold in certain developing countries even after a series of regime changes, precisely because of the same opportunistic pragmatism that repulsed some other Third World leaders."—Balázs Szalontai, Pacific Affairs"Guns, Guerillas, and the Great Leader is a gem among several new books on North Korean diplomacy and leadership. The book is also very accessible to a wider general audience. Despite the book's weighty subject matter, its title alludes to some of the fascinating anecdotes that fill its pages, thus making Young's first monograph a thoroughly enjoyable read."—Andrew Yeo, H-Diplo"The book is fascinating as it sets out in readable form that inter-Korean legitimacy battle in the early decades of the two states, an era when literally any sovereign territorywith a vote in the UNbecame a sought-after target for both North and South, all the way down to small island chains in the waters of the Caribbean and Pacific."—Christopher Green, H-Diplo"Young has written a compelling and thoughtful book on a subject that has received little attention until now. Given readers' seemingly inexhaustible curiosity about all things North Korea, this is no small feat for a first book. I look forward to reading what comes next."—Bridget Coggins, H-DiploTable of ContentsIntroduction 1. Building a Reputation, 1956–1967 2. Kimilsungism beyond North Korean Borders, 1968–1971 3. Kim Il Sung's "Korea First" Policy, 1972–1979 4. Kim Jong Il's World and Revolutionary Violence, 1980–1983 5. Survival by Any Means Necessary, 1984–1989 Conclusion

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

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

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Book SynopsisSince its first publication in 2007, John H. Arnold’s What is Medieval History? has established itself as the leading introduction to the craft of the medieval historian. What is it that medieval historians do? How – and why – do they do it? Arnold discusses the creation of medieval history as a field, the nature of its sources, the intellectual tools used by medievalists, and some key areas of thematic importance from the fall of the Roman Empire to the Reformation. The fascinating case studies include a magical plot against a medieval pope, a fourteenth-century insurrection, and the importance of a kiss exchanged between two tenth-century noblemen. Throughout the book, readers are shown not only what medieval history is, but the cultural and political contexts in which it has been written. This anticipated second edition includes further exploration of the interdisciplinary techniques that can aid medieval historians, such as dialogue with scientists and archaeologists, and addresses some of the challenges – both medieval and modern – of the idea of a ‘global middle ages’. What is Medieval History? continues to demonstrate why the pursuit of medieval history is important not only to the present, but to the future. It is an invaluable guide for students, teachers, researchers and interested general readers.Trade Review�John Arnold explains why medieval history matters urgently in the twenty-first century: historians of all periods and places as well as anyone interested in the Middle Ages should make it essential reading.�Julia Smith, University of Oxford �A tour-de-force that demonstrates what medieval history is in conception and practice. Arnold evokes the world of the Middle Ages from a vast array of sources – documentary, material, scientific and imaginative – and shows how methodological innovations and political changes in the globalized present offer a renewed call for undertaking the craft of medieval history.�Anne E. Lester, Johns Hopkins University

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Book SynopsisLife in Space explores the many aspects and outcomes of NASA’s research in life sciences, a little-understood endeavor that has often been overlooked in histories of the space agency. Maura Mackowski details NASA’s work in this field from spectacular promises made during the Reagan era to the major new directions set by George W. Bush’s Vision for Space Exploration in the early twenty-first century.At the first flight of NASA’s space shuttle in 1981, hopes ran high for the shuttle program to achieve its potential of regularly transporting humans, cargo, and scientific experiments between Earth and the International Space Station. Mackowski describes different programs, projects, and policies initiated across NASA centers and headquarters in the following decades to advance research into human safety and habitation, plant and animal biology, and commercial biomaterials. Mackowski illuminates these ventures in fascinating detail by drawing on rare archival sources, oral histories, interviews, and site visits.While highlighting significant achievements and innovations such as space radiation research and the Neurolab Spacelab Mission, Mackowski reveals frustrations—lost opportunities, stagnation, and dead ends—stemming from frequent changes in presidential administrations and policies. For today’s dreams of lunar outposts or long-term spaceflight to become reality, Mackowski argues, a robust program in space life sciences is essential, and the history in this book offers lessons to help prevent leaving more expectations unfulfilled.Table of Contents List of Abbreviations and Acronyms ix Acknowledgments xv Introduction 1 1.Everyone’s a Scientist: Students, Industry, and Partners in Space 8 2. Working in the Space Environment 42 3. Safety, Science, and Operational Medicine: Shuttle and Station in the 1980s and 1990s 75 4. Science and Scientists: Peer Review, the Extended Duration Orbiter Medical Project, Neurolab, and a Station Centrifuge 108 5. Organizing in the 1980s–1990s: Ethics, Institutes, and Biological Modeling 143 6. Radiation and the Science of Risk Reduction 172 7. Design and Redesign: The Many Space Stations of NASA 193 8. The Cold War and Its Aftermath: Scientific Exchange, Social Change 214 9. More People, Less Science, Less NASA? International Participants, Centrifuge, and Nongovernmental Organizations 236 10. The Vision for Space Exploration 260 Parting Thoughts 271 Notes 275 Selected Bibliography 351 Index 359

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Book SynopsisContains detailed, eyewitness accounts of the most memorable exploits of a man fit to be memorialised as a model of ideal knighthood.

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Book SynopsisThe scandalous history of tabloid journalism, from 16th century to the Sidebar of Shame.

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Book SynopsisExplores how a distinctively British model of sociability developed through appropriation, emulation and resistance to what was happening in Europe.

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Book SynopsisReveals how Enlightened writers in England, both lay and clerical, proclaimed public support for Christianity by transforming it into a civil religion.

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Book SynopsisAn investigation into how Antioch maintained itself as an independent principality during a period of considerable challenges.

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Book SynopsisFirst full-length history of the Oromo 1300-1700; explains their key part in the medieval Christian kingdom and demonstrates their importance in shaping Ethiopian history. This revisionary account of the Oromo people and the Christian kingdom of Ethiopia transforms our perception of the country's development, rebutting the common depiction of the Oromo as no more than a destructive force and demonstrating their significant role in shaping the course of Ethiopian history. Tracing the early history of the Oromo as part of the Cushitic language speaking family of peoples, it establishes that they were neither foreigners nor newcomers to Ethiopia, but have been an integral part of the indigenous population since at least the first half of the 14th century. The massive 16th-century pastoral Oromo population movement revolutionized relations between the Christians and the Oromo. During the long process of assimilation that followed, with periods of both war and peace in central and southern Ethiopia, Oromo society was able to absorb and assimilate Cushitic and Semitic languagespeakers and Oromize them through the open, democratic and egalitarian Gada system; while in northern Ethiopia the Oromo themselves were absorbed into Christian Amhara society. Mohammed Hassen is Associate Professor in the Department of History, Georgia State University. His books include The Oromo of Ethiopia: A History, 1570 to 1860 (Cambridge University Press, 1990). He is a Contributing Editor of The Journal of Oromo Studies and The Horn of Africa journal.Trade ReviewIt is a fascinating attempt to write the history of a people who have for far too long only been viewed from the perspective of and in the shadow of a dominant Christian polity. * JOURNAL OF ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY *Hassen offers a history of Ethiopia that has a far different point of view than what other historians, both contemporary and modern, have presented. It is one seen through the eyes of the Oromo. * CHOICE *Table of ContentsEarly Interactions among the Oromo, Christian and Muslim Peoples: Traditions and Institutions Oromo Peoples in the Medieval Christian Kingdom of Ethiopia before 1500 The Homelands of the Pastoral Oromo before 1500 The Pastoral Oromo Confront the Christian Kingdom c.1440s-1559 Movements of Pastoral Oromo into the Christian Kingdom 1559-1600 Abba Bahrey's Zenahu Le Galla and its Impact on Emperor Za-Dengel's War against the Oromo 1603-1604 The Oromo and the Christian Kingdom 1600-1618 Oromo Christianization, Conflict and Identity 1618-1700 Epilogue

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Book SynopsisAn in-depth historical study of the Cotswold market town of Chipping Norton and of half a dozen surrounding rural parishes, including Hook Norton and the Rollrights.

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Book SynopsisThe Unseen Leader delivers one simple but immensely powerful point: we need to radically rethink how we discuss leadership. In this book, American historian Martin Gutmann passionately challenges the received wisdom that history's great leaders were individuals with a proclivity for action and brash words. Drawing on extensive historical scholarship and contemporary leadership theory, Gutmann delves into the journeys of four unknown or misunderstood leaders who achieved remarkable successes in vastly different environments—the Polar North, the deserts of Arabia, the sugar plantations of the Caribbean, and Second World War London. What emerges is an entirely new narrative on leadership. Contrary to the perception of heroic protagonists forging ahead boldly, history's truly great leaders were often precisely those who didn't need to generate excessive noise or activity. Instead, they skillfully minimized dramatic circumstances. Their stories challenge our present-day conception of leadership and can inspire the leaders of tomorrow. Table of ContentsIntroduction: History and Leadership.- Towards a New Leadership Story: The Polar Explorer, the Desert Fox, and the Action Fallacy.- History's Unseen Leaders: Holiday Trips in the Polar Wastelands. Roald Amundsen.- Napoleon's Thorn. Toussaint Louverture.- "If the Women of the English Are Like Her, the Men Must Be Like Lions." Gertude Bell.- The Myth of the Phoenix and the British Bulldog. Winston Churchill.- Rethinking Leadership: The Story We Tell.

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Book SynopsisMany histories of science have been written, but A New History of the Humanities offers the first overarching history of the humanities from Antiquity to the present. There are already historical studies of musicology, logic, art history, linguistics, and historiography, but this volume gathers these, and many other humanities disciplines, into a single coherent account. Its central theme is the way in which scholars throughout the ages and in virtually all civilizations have sought to identify patterns in texts, art, music, languages, literature, and the past. What rules can we apply if we wish to determine whether a tale about the past is trustworthy? By what criteria are we to distinguish consonant from dissonant musical intervals? What rules jointly describe all possible grammatical sentences in a language? How can modern digital methods enhance pattern-seeking in the humanities? Rens Bod contends that the hallowed opposition between the sciences (mathematical, experimental, dominated by universal laws) and the humanities (allegedly concerned with unique events and hermeneutic methods) is a mistake born of a myopic failure to appreciate the pattern-seeking that lies at the heart of this inquiry. A New History of the Humanities amounts to a persuasive plea to give Panini, Valla, Bopp, and countless other often overlooked intellectual giants their rightful place next to the likes of Galileo, Newton, and Einstein.Trade ReviewA New History of the Humanities amounts to a persuasive plea to give Panini, Valla, Bopp, and countless other often overlooked intellectual giants their rightful place next to the likes of Galileo, Newton, and Einstein. * Morteza Hajizadeh, New Books Network *an extraordinarily ambitious undertaking... What Bod has written is not just a "new" history. It is the first ever history of its kind. * Noel Malcolm, The Times Literary Supplement *The telos of his book is not just to write a story, but to make a case for the humanities as a discipline of progress * Seth Lehrer, Postmedieval: a journal of medieval cultural studies *Bod's work did create a big sensation not only in the academic scene but also in the public and major newspapers in the Netherlands, England, and more generally Western Europe. Not only did he accomplish something that has not been done before, namely, a written history of the humanities, but he also takes a perspective to this enterprise that redefines the role of the humanities especially in relation to the natural sciences. * Oliver Glanz, Seminary Studies *Bod's book is designed as an opening salvo in a grand project to develop the history of the humanities as a subfield on par with (and potentially in close alliance with) the history of science, with a view to building a history of knowledge-making more generally ... Bod's energetic initiatives are a fine example of the shifting categories of research * Ann Blair, American Historical Review *Too often humanities scholars believe that they are moving toward science when they use empirical methods, Bod reflected. They are wrong: humanities scholars using empirical methods are returning to their own historical roots in the studia humanitatis of the 15th century, when the empirical approach was first invented. * Michael Shermer, Scientific American *Bod convincingly shows that since antiquity there have existed lines of humanistic investigation that have pursued the search for general laws governing the functioning of language, of texts or of history, very similar to the natural sciences. * Andrea Bonaccorsi, Il Sole 24 Ore *Bod takes the humanities back to their rightful place in the family tree of sciences. * Frederik Stjernfelt, Weekendavisen, Copenhagen [translated] *Bod's effort has become a reason for debate and interdisciplinary encounters among different scholars who agree that the 'disunity' of the sciences, which is commonplace in the post-positivist epistemological era, does not necessarily mean disunity of culture. * Alesssandro Pagnini, Domenica24 [translated] *The current handwringing and doomsaying in academia concerning the study of humanities and its support, especially in the United States, makes Rens Bod's book not only an interesting read, but also timely and ambitious. * Dustin Mengelkoch, Renaissance Quarterly *In case anyone reading this review is not yet impressed, the author takes care, under each heading, to discuss developments not just in Europe but also (when appropriate) in India, China, and the civilization of Islam. The result is undeniably impressive -- and hugely informative. * John Henry, Isis *Table of ContentsPreface ; 1. Introduction: The Quest for Principles and Patterns ; 2. Antiquity: The Dawn of the 'Humanities' ; 3. Middle Ages: The Universal and the Particular ; 4. Early Modern Era: The Unity of the Humanities ; 5. Modern Era: The Humanities Renewed ; 6. Conclusions: Insights from the Humanities that Changed the World ; Appendix A. A Note about Method ; Appendix B. Most Important Chinese Dynasties

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Book SynopsisA companion volume to his bestselling Armageddon', Max Hastings' account of the battle for Japan is a masterful military history.Featuring the most remarkable cast of commanders the world has ever seen, the dramatic battle for Japan of 194445 was acted out across the vast stage of Asia: Imphal and Kohima, Leyte Gulf and Iwo Jima, Okinawa and the Soviet assault on Manchuria.In this gripping narrative, Max Hastings weaves together the complex strands of an epic war, exploring the military tactics behind some of the most triumphant and most horrific scenes of the twentieth century. The result is a masterpiece that balances the story of command decisions, rivalries and follies with the experiences of soldiers, sailors and airmen of all sides as only Max Hastings can.Trade Review‘A monumental achievement…compassionate but unsparing in its judgements.’ Sunday Times ‘An outstandingly gripping and authoritative account of the battle for Japan, and a monument to human bravery and savagery.’ Daily Telegraph ‘Absolutely excellent.’ John Simpson, Observer ‘Magisterial…it is truly cathartic to reach the end of the Second World War in Hastings’s company.’ The Times ‘Brilliantly though Hastings lays out the strategic context, his real talent lies in his account of the “terrible human experience” that it involved…This is a book for anyone who wants to understand what happened in half the world during one of the bloodiest periods of the blood-soaked 20th century.’ Spectator ‘Spectacular…Hastings makes important points about the war in the East that have been all too rarely heard…excellent…compelling…searingly powerful.’ Sunday Telegraph ‘As Hastings brilliantly describes, conditions for fighting men on both sides were appalling…the fire-bombing of Tokyo and the decision to drop the atomic bombs were influenced by the urge to 'get this business over with', but the argument, as Hastings explains so well with his usual exemplary judgement, is far more complex.’ Financial Times

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Book SynopsisTrade Review“[A] richly detailed study that aims not only to recast our understanding of the modern Jewish predicament but of the modern predicament as a whole.”—Daniel Lazare, The Nation“To come across a daring, original, sweeping work of history in this age of narrow specialization is not just a welcome event; it is almost a sensation.”—Walter Laqueur, Los Angeles Times“Brilliant. . . . The Jewish Century is history on a majestic scale. . . . The clarity of analysis is extraordinary.”—Noah Efron, Jerusalem Report“Fascinating. . . . One of the most innovative and intellectually stimulating books in Jewish studies in years.”—Publishers Weekly“Brilliant and provocative.”—Rachel Polonsky, Standpoint “A masterly work.”—Marc Dollinger, Journal of American History

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Book SynopsisTrade Review“Woods is a knowledgeable and entertaining guide.”—Caleb Crain, The Guardian -- Caleb Crain * Guardian *"Without letting the purveyors of clichés about cliquish homosexuals off the hook, this lively history turns those stereotypes on their heads, taking seriously the queer networks that were central to modernism. Richly literary and attentive to networks of both men and women, Homintern also has a wide geographical range. Russian, Scandinavian and South American texts are thoughtfully integrated with accounts of New York, London, Berlin, Paris and their Mediterranean outposts. Gregory Woods writes with an insider’s flair, but does not sugarcoat the histories he tells. Frank about self-destructive behavior, he is also sensitive to divisions among sexual minorities along lines of ideology, class and generation."—Christopher Reed, author of Art and Homosexuality: A History of Ideas -- Christopher Reed"A well-researched, compelling study of how countless gay men have affected, influenced, and restructured the cultural climate for more than a hundred years. . . . An information-heavy book that provides a wonderful resource for those interested in learning about the rise of gay poetics at the onset of the twentieth century."—Kirkus Reviews, Starred Review * Kirkus Reviews *"Woods is a born storyteller, and he tells the story of the interlocking, international gay and lesbian networks in an unflaggingly lively way. This is a book that needs to be published."—David Bergman, author of The Violet Hour and Gay American Autobiography: Writings from Whitman to Sedaris -- David Bergman“Woods’ history of the ‘homintern’ is in turn hilarious and horrifying… documents shocking levels of persecution. Homophobia was pervasive and vicious… But this is not a gloomy book. Woods lovingly presents a range of gloriously outrageous gay and lesbian individuals and couples.”—Joanna Bourke, BBC History -- Joanna Bourke * BBC History Magazine *"Woods regales the reader with an avalanche of stories, ribald gossip, and lengthy asides that collectively confirm the book’s central thesis: gay culture, or at least gays and lesbians, did indeed liberate the modern world."—Brian Kenney, Booklist -- Brian Kenney * Booklist *“Homintern shines a fascinating spotlight on the diverse and informal networks of people who made up the gay communities worldwide which helped to shape art in its many forms over the decades, involving poets, dancers, actors, artists, designers, composers, politicians and spies. . . . This is a book which throws unreasonable prejudice in the trash can where it belongs, clears up misleading myths about gay people, and should be on the reading list of every fresher starting a university degree.”—Richard Edmonds, Hiskind -- Richard Edmonds * Hiskind *"Delicious, satisfying reading. Even readers knowledgeable about post-Oscar Wilde gay culture are unlikely to read more than a paragraph or two without learning something they did not know, and I cheerfully confess that my most frequent margin note was '!!!' . . . The range and depth of Woods' scholarship are remarkable, but the power of Homintern owes as much to the unabated vitality of his writing."—Tim Pfaff, Bay Area Reporter -- Tim Pfaff * Bay Area Reporter *"Gregory Woods’ Homintern is not just a first-rate work of literary and historical scholarship but a deeply moving narrative in its own right. In its global reach, it has no precedent, yet Woods never sacrifices intimacy for grandeur. In the future I have no doubt that scholars and readers will look to this as an essential text, one of those rare books that make other books possible."—David Leavitt, author of The Man Who Knew Too Much: Alan Turing and the Invention of the Computer -- David LeavittFinalist for the Lambda Literary Awards in the LGBTQ Studies category. -- Lambda Literary Awards * Lambda Literary Foundation *

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Book SynopsisExplores the social, cultural, legal and religious changes that occurred in Oman during the reign of Sultan Qaboos

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Book SynopsisTrade Review"Thoughtful and elegant. . . . Were the book to simply chart the use of human shields in warfare and situations of political upheaval, it would be a valuable enough contribution to the literature – Gordon and Perugini write in a lucid and persuasive style, employing still photographs effectively throughout the text to illustrate their thesis. What elevates the book is its theoretical framework of inclusion and exclusion –through this prism, the book is able to examine and interrogate a number of fascinating theoretical and practical questions, using unusual and innovative examples to further explore their thesis.” * Journal of the History of International Law *“Gives the issue of human shields the roots of the term and re-narrates their manifestation in major historical moments and contemporary sites.” * Al-Akhbar *“A startling new take on the history of war, morality, and law” * Humanity *“A thoroughly engaging text, a tour de force that will stand the test of time and ought to be a mainstay for those with a healthy dose of scepticism when it comes to appraising international law’s emancipatory potential. . . . A model on how academic work should be written and conceived of moving forward.” * Journal of Holy Land and Palestine Studies *“A wide-ranging, accessible book that focuses on the ethical and legal dilemmas connected with a practice that blurs the distinction between combatants and noncombatants. . . . An invaluable tool for courses on conflict and human rights, especially because it provides relevant evidence and arguments, without offering an easy resolution to the dilemmas posed.” * CHOICE *"The human shield faces us; we are its audience. The key contribution of this timely book is to elucidate that speech acts about human shielding authorize some forms of action and enable particular constellations of actors while delegitimizing and disabling others." * Los Angeles Review of Books *"Through analysing the contradictions, evolutions, and the legal ambiguity surrounding human shields, they contend convincingly that ‘humanity’ is not a politically neutral category." * Political Studies Review *"Fascinating . . . . Although Human Shields is rich with historical texture, it does more than simply document instances where these shields have been deployed. The book makes an important contribution to debates about how international humanitarian law works to enable the violence inflicted on the battlefield by legitimizing the harm caused to civilians. . . . Like most great books, Human Shields provokes more questions than it resolves." * Perspectives on Politics *"Outstanding and thought-provoking. . . . Exposes, at times hauntingly, the frailty of the human condition and the precarity of life." * H-Diplo *"Contributes to public education from the evolving, global experience with human shields, which now include civilian movements to protest government actions." * Quaker Universalist Voice *“A compelling, thoughtful, and ambitious book, which successfully takes a novel – if troubling– micro-issue of conflict and explores it through a macro multi-disciplinary lens." * Peace & Change *"Excellent analysis of shielding in international humanitarian law. . . . While by far the best analysis of the subject so far, their book should inspire other scholars to think even more deeply about the humanization of human shielding at a time of global fracture." * International Politics Reviews *“Human Shields provides a critical new addition to the literature on international law. The book demonstrates the ways in which powerful states have continued to utilize IHL as a tool for aggression against marginalized communities” * Journal of Palestine Studies *"Whilst the breadth and depth of Human Shields are astonishingly exhaustive, another virtue of the book is its timing. . . . The authors’ compelling narrative and absorbing study may not draw glib and comforting conclusions, but it does offer a thoroughly researched answer to some of today’s persistent questions regarding the past, present and future conduct of war, the ethics of humane violence and the legal status of civilians in war zones." * LSE Review of Books *"Neve Gordon and Nicola Perugini have written a terrifying book about how international law enables war’s violence despite the fact it purports to do the opposite." * New Mexico Historical Review *Table of ContentsList of Illustrations Introduction 1 • Civil War Humane Warfare in the United States 2 • Irregulars The Franco-German War and the Legal Use of Human Shields 3 • Settlers The Second Boer War and the Limits of Liberal Humanitarianism 4 • Reports World War I and the German use of Human Screens 5 • Peace Army International Pacifism and Voluntary Shielding during the Sino-Japanese War 6 • Emblem The Italo-Ethiopian War and Red Cross Medical Facilities 7 • Nuremberg Nazi Human Shielding and the Lack of Civilian Protections 8 • Codification The Geneva Conventions and the Passive Civilian 9 • People’s War Casting Vietnamese Resistance as Human Shielding 10 • Environment Green Human Shielding 11 • Resistance Antimilitary Activism in Iraq and Palestine 12 • Humanitarian Crimes The International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia 13 • Manuals Military Handbooks as Lawmaking Tools 14 • Scale Human Shielding in Sri Lanka and the Principle of Proportionality 15 • Hospitals The Use of Medical Facilities as Shields 16 • Proximity Civilians Trapped in the Midst of the War on ISIS 17 • Info-War The Gaza Wars and Social Media 18 • Posthuman Shielding Drone Warfare and New Surveillance Technologies 19 • Women and Children Gender, Passivity, and Human Shields 20 • Spectacle Viral Images That Dehumanize or Humanize Shields 21 • Computer Games Human Shields in Virtual Wars 22 • Protest Civil Disobedience as an Act of War Acknowledgments Notes References Index

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Book SynopsisTrade Review"This book is a must read for anyone interested in the Middle East’s present and who might be hopeful for the region’s future." * Middle East Journal *"Seeking to counter contemporary perceptions of the Middle East as a region riven by sectarian strife, Makdisi examines the ‘culture of coexistence’ which he believes prevailed in the Ottoman Empire and in the post-Ottoman Arab world, despite its religious diversity." * Survival: Global Politics and Strategy *"An outstanding study with insight about the agency of Arab intellectuals, thinkers and people at large who, despite twentieth-century local and global violence, persist in struggling for a better world. This is a must- read for all scholars and students of Middle East and cultural studies." * Arab Studies Quarterly *"A hugely important corrective to widespread stereotypes about relations between Muslims, Christians and Jews before Israel's creation." * Peter Beinart *"Beyond the excellent historical work in which Makdisi engages, his profound rewriting of narratives of sectarianism and coexistence will have a great impact on readers’ understanding of the modern Middle East. . . . Offers hope for an existence that does not distinguish between Muslim and non-Muslim or Jew and non-Jew but aims to humanize those who have been seen as inferior." * Islam and Christian–Muslim Relations *"One of the salient contributions of the Age of Coexistence is how Makdisi writes a history that the existing scholarship has either taken for granted or failed to critically examine. . . . Indispensable reading for graduate students entering the field of Middle Eastern history." * Bustan: The Middle East Book Review *"This is clearly an essential book. . . . There are many lessons to learn from this study with regard to how regions and their peoples, their ethno-religious identities, and their politics are approached, investigated, and narrated." * Journal of Historical Geography *"What Makdisi has accomplished here is truly impressive. . . .It is my hope that as it spreads in classrooms and in public discourse, The Age of Coexistence will serve the final blow to Western-based stereotypes of a Middle East rife with senseless violence, authoritarianism, and strict religious rule." * International Journal of Middle East Studies *"Offers a fresh look at the making of the modern Arab world. Given the plethora of studies that focus on contemporary wars and sectarian violence, this well-researched study employs Arabic and Western resources that challenge the prevailing perceptions about the region and its people. . . . An outstanding study with insight about the agency of Arab intellectuals, thinkers and people at large who, despite twentieth-century local and global violence, persist in struggling for a better world. This is a must-read for all scholars and students of Middle East and cultural studies." * Arab Studies Quarterly *"A major achievement. . . . This is historical analysis whose reframing of the past genuinely helps to offer possibilities for imagining future forms of coexistence." * World History Connected *Table of ContentsList of Maps Acknowledgments Note on Transliteration Introduction: The Ecumenical Frame Part I 1. Religious Difference in an Imperial Age 2. The Crucible of Sectarian Violence 3. Coexistence in an Age of Genocide Part II 4. Colonial Pluralism 5. Sectarianism and Antisectarianism in the Post-Ottoman Arab World 6. Breaking the Ecumenical Frame: Arab and Jew in Palestine Epilogue Notes Works Cited Index

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Book SynopsisThe second volume of The Ethics of Narrative completes the project of bringing together nearly all of Hayden White''s uncollected essays from the last two decades of his life, including articles, essays, and previously unpublished lectures. As in the first volume, volume 2 features White''s trenchant articulations of his influential theories, as well as his explorations of a wide range of ideas and authors at the frontiers of critical theory, literature, and historical studies. These include the concept of utopia in history, modernism and postmodernism, constructivism, the conceptualization of historical periods such as the Sixties and the Enlightenment, the representation of the Holocaust in scholarly and literary writing, as well as essays on Frank Kermode, Saul Friedländer, and Krzysztof Pomian.

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Book SynopsisIn the years between 1776 and 1815, grand square-rigged sailing ships dominated warfare on the high seas. Fighting Sail is a tabletop wargame of fleet battles in this age of canvas, cannon, and timbers. Players take on the roles of fleet admirals from one of eight different national fleets: America, Britain, France, Spain, The Netherlands, Portugal, Russia and Sweden in battles ranging from the American War of Independence to the Napoleonic Wars and the War of 1812. Each fleet has access to different ships, tactics, and command personalities - each with its own strengths and weaknesses. Offering a unique blend between detail and simplicity, the scenarios included enable the recreation of historic actions or ''what-if'' scenarios. Join the battle and experience the adventurous age of the fighting sail!Table of ContentsIntroduction/ Basic Rules/ Optional Rules/ Fleet Lists/ Scenarios/ Counters

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Book SynopsisTrade Review"Provocative. . . . A useful corrective to the pervasive and misleading Europe-bashing that often occupies the global press."---Andrew Moravcsik, Foreign Affairs

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Book SynopsisFascism, communism, genocide, slavery, racism, and imperialism - the West has no shortage of reasons for guilt. And, indeed, since the Holocaust and the end of World War II, Europeans in particular have been consumed by remorse. This title argues that obsessive guilt has obscured important realities.Trade Review"The Tyranny of Guilt is one of the landmark books of our time. With humour, depth, breadth, restraint and great insight Bruckner diagnoses an infuriating era... Pascal Bruckner's short book is one of the most vital published in recent years. If the civilisation which it explains survives then I suspect his book will have played as important a part as any piece of writing could in determining that outcome."--Douglas Murray, Literary Review "That Bruckner's talents defy classification might help to account for the relatively understated reception of his work on this side of the Atlantic. This situation is likely to change soon: along with The Tyranny of Guilt, Princeton University Press will also publish Perpetual Euphoria... Bruckner is a bold and eloquent and important thinker."--Richard Wolin, New Republic "[The Tyranny of Guilt] is a work of bracing lucidity and exhilarating perception... Europe needs to rethink its attitude towards its past if it is to build a more inclusive and dynamic future. As this exceptional book so emphatically shows, guilt is a luxury we can no longer afford."--Andrew Anthony, The Observer "When it comes to the sweaty metabolism of guilt, Bruckner is perhaps the most accomplished anatomist since Nietzsche. (He is also, like Nietzsche, an extraordinary stylist, commanding a sinewy, memorably epigrammatic prose.) ... Ferociously intelligent, passionately argued, stylistically brilliant."--Roger Kimball, National Review "As a result of his literary background and immersion in the fiery French essayist tradition, he writes in a sparkling prose, captured well here by his translator, Steven Rendall. The resulting tone is redolent for Anglo-Saxon readers of an earlier era, when social critics like Marx or Nietzsche conveyed their ideas with combative gravitas. Beneath Bruckner's eloquence is a serious message: we remain prisoners of a white guilt whose victim is its supposed beneficiary... [T]his is a stirring and important book."--Eric Kaufmann, Prospect "Mr. Bruckner cites literary figures, journalists and intellectuals throughout the Western world making the case that whatever punishment the West has been made to suffer--e.g., the horrors of 9/11--are merely well deserved."--Wall Street Journal "Bruckner's book is controversial at times, but he does a wonderful job of combining passionate writing with a well-argued critique of modern Europe."--Library Journal "[Pascal Bruckner's] angry book could change a whole civilization's opinion, if only that civilization had sense enough to pay attention."--Robert Fulford, National Post "In the end, Bruckner's real theme is something deeper and broader: Western guilt and the resulting lack of self-belief. Again, he sees the origins of this in a guilty conscience, and there is an echo here of debates sixty or more years ago over Communism."--Geoffrey Wheatcroft, National Interest "[M]agnificent."--Standpoint Magazine "These provocative statements undergird Bruckner's brilliant polemic arguing that European remorse for the sins of imperialism, fascism, and racism has gripped the continent to the point of stifling its creativity, destroying its self-confidence, and depleting its optimism."--Daniel Pipes, National Review Online "Bruckner shows how selective we are about teaching history and how our media is obsessed with only one struggle (Israel/Palestine) while ignoring others (Sudan/Darfur). The essay, translated into clear American English, is provocative, scholarly and accessible."--Julia Pascal, The Independent "In Pascal Bruckner's recent essay The Tyranny of Guilt, we finally get an argument that should move those ready away from the masochistic acceptance of blame for every bad thing in the world."--Stanley Crouch, Daily Beast "Bruckner's originality lies in taking the narcissism of Western guilt and using the old distinction between repentance, where one resolves to find absolution by doing better, and remorse, where one wallows in perpetual penitence, to create a synthesis of great explanatory power."--Nick Cohen, The Australian "As the Obama administration and congressional Democrats work to make the United States a more European-style society, The Tyranny of Guilt arrives at the right time (and kudos to Princeton University Press for publishing such a bracing, politically incorrect book). Pascal Bruckner, who remains a man of the left in some sense, recognizes the true genius of the West--and the capacity of its brightest minds to forget that genius or, worse, condemn it."--Brian Anderson, New Criterion "[Bruckner's] basic thesis is that the entire western world is addicted to wallowing in guilt about the past, and that the root of it all is roughly religious--stemming from the notion of original sin. Bruckner's most vivid illustration of our addiction to guilt is that so many thinkers and commentators could greet the murder of 3,000 people on September 11, 2001, with cries of 'we had it coming.'"--Irish Independent "Bruckner, a French intellectual, argues brilliantly if controversially it's high time the West lighten up, bring historical perspective to itself, celebrate its more prosperous institutions, and stop hamstringing its relations with other groups."--Miriam Cosic, Australian "It's no put-down of Pascal Bruckner's latest book to say I enjoyed it in the same way I enjoyed the Daily Express, although his canvas is bigger and his style more literary and erudite... In this work, [Bruckner] has many shrewd insights into contemporary Europe."--Tara McCormack, Spiked "Pascal Bruckner has written a passionate meditation that many, especially on the Left, will find provocative. One might even hope that this little book will awaken European thinkers from their dogmatic slumber and lead them to consider the advantages and disadvantages of history for European civic life."--Daniel DiSalvo, SocietyTable of ContentsIntroduction 1 Chapter One: Guilt Peddlers 5 The Irremediable and Despondency 6 The Ideology That Stammers 9 The Self-Flagellants of the Western World 13 A Thirst for Punishment 22 Chapter Two: The Pathologies of Debt 27 Placing the Enemy in One's Heart 28 The Vanities of Self-Hatred 33 One-Way Repentance 40 The False Quarrel over Islamophobia 47 Chapter Three: Innocence Recovered 57 How Central Is the Near East? 59 "Zionism, the Criminal DNA of Humanity" 62 Unmasking the Usurper 67 A Delicate Arbitrage 74 America Doubly Damned 80 Chapter Four: The Fanaticism of Modesty 87 A Tardy Conversion to Virtue 88 The Empire of Emptiness 90 The Pacification of the Past 93 The Guilty Imagination 96 Recovering Self-Esteem 100 The Twofold Lesson 106 Chapter Five: The Second Golgotha 111 Misinterpretations of Auschwitz 113 Hitlerizing History 117 The Twofold Colonial Nostalgia 127 Chapter Six: Listen to My Suffering 139 On Victimization as a Career 140 Protect Minorities or Emancipate the Individual? 148 What Duty of Memory? 157 Chapter Seven: Depression in Paradise: France, a Symptom and Caricature of Europe 167 A Universal Victim? 168 The Wild Ass's Skin 176 Who Are the Reactionaries? 179 The Triumph of Fear 183 Metamorphosis or Decline? 186 Chapter Eight: Doubt and Faith: The Quarrel between Europe and the United States 193 To Be or to Have 194 The Troublemakers in History 199 The Archaism of the Soldier 203 The Swaggering Colossus 207 Conclusion 215 Postscript to the English Translation 223 Index 229

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Book SynopsisA major new assessment of the “vanished kingdom” of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth—one which recognizes its achievements before its destructionTrade Review“This astonishing and brilliant revival of independence and creative energy is the subject of Richard Butterwick’s book . . . [which] goes into the details not only of high politics but of people and processes. . . . Butterwick makes a vivid narrative.”—Neal Ascherson, London Review of Books“A brilliantly constructed and complete synthesis. . . . Different threads combine, interweave and result from one another, giving a rich picture of the reality of the time. . . . Probably the first historical synthesis of this epoch in which the author has followed so closely the political situation in this part of Europe, and at the same time shown that, without this knowledge, it is impossible to understand the internal political activities of a state deprived of sovereignty.”—Anna Grześkowiak-Krwawicz, Polish History Museum“Butterwick offers a very valuable and impressively comprehensive account of the important final decades in the history of the Commonwealth.”—Larry Wolff, Slavonic and East European Review“Butterwick is a good narrator, but he manages to transcend mere storytelling. It is no small feat that he explains the complexities of the Commonwealth and its constituent parts, the changing social and economic landscape as well as the complicated confessional issues without ever being dry.”—Orsolya Szakály, European Review of History“A captivating history of the last decades of one of the largest and yet most unknown state structures in Europe. . . . [Butterwick] is able brilliantly to refute the common notion that the history of the Polish-Lithuanian state in the eighteenth century can only be reduced to its decay.”—Ruth Leiserowitz, Historische Zeitschrift“Richard Butterwick . . . has handled this task perfectly. We have a new, conceptual book revealing to readers the complex history of the Polish-Lithuanian state, or more precisely its final stage, lit up not just by the bright aura of the Age of Enlightenment, but also ablaze with ideas of freedom, equality, democracy and constitutionalism just before the state was extinguished. . . . It is also an excellent guide helping readers understand the underlying reasons for geopolitical processes in the context of Russia’s intervention in the sovereign Ukrainian state.”—Ramunė Šmigelskytė-Stukienė, Lithuanian Historical Studies“Brilliant. . . . This is an archivally-rich book that successfully captures the developing destruction of a still-vibrant polity. An important work indeed not only for those interested in Polish history but also in the Enlightenment as practice.”—Jeremy Black, The Critic“One of the many virtues of Butterwick’s book is that . . . on the basis of deep and up-to-date research, the work will facilitate the teaching of eighteenth-century Poland-Lithuania to Anglophone students. . . . It is written with verve and color. . . . An outstanding achievement.”—Robert Frost FBA, The Middle Ground JournalWinner of the Polish Historical Society’s Pro Historia Polonorum prizeFirst distinction in the competition of the Polish Ministry of Foreign Affairs for the best foreign-language book promoting the history of PolandWinner of the 2021 Oskar Halecki Polish History Award, sponsored by the Polish Institute of Arts and Sciences of America“Masterly. Butterwick’s authoritative and notably well-written account is a major contribution to Polish and European history. As a study of the high politics of the last six decades of Poland-Lithuania’s independent existence, it would be difficult to better.”—Hamish Scott, FBA, Jesus College, University of Oxford“Both scholarly and entertaining, this enthralling account of the decline and fall of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth is a major contribution to the history of Europe in the eighteenth century.”—Tim Blanning, author of The Pursuit of Glory: Europe 1648–1815“Butterwick has succeeded admirably. . . . This compelling history weaves political, ecclesiastical, and international affairs together, demonstrating how the principles of Enlightenment shaped a reforming state and society as they faced the Partitions.”—Frank E. Sysyn, University of Alberta

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Book SynopsisThe power of the Roman Empire was at its peak in the second century AD but in fact it started in 753 BC when Rome was founded and only faded in 476 AD.

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Book SynopsisChapter 1: Introduction: Locating K-Pop in K-Wave and Organization.- Part I: K-Pop: A Historical Analysis.- Chapter 2: A Short History of K-pop: Five Generations.- Chapter 3: The Glocalization of K-Pop: Hybridizing the Global and the Local.- Part II: BTS: A Literary Analysis.- Chapter 4: BTS, the Outsiders: They Had a Blog.- Chapter 5: BTS, the Outliers: They Had a Message.- Chapter 6: They Had an Army: Reimagining Fan Culture.

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Book SynopsisEmpires and Barbarians presents a fresh, provocative look at how a recognizable Europe came into being in the first millennium AD. With sharp analytic insight, Peter Heather explores the dynamics of migration and social and economic interaction that changed two vastly different worlds--the undeveloped barbarian world and the sophisticated Roman Empire--into remarkably similar societies and states. The book''s vivid narrative begins at the time of Christ, when the Mediterranean circle, newly united under the Romans, hosted a politically sophisticated, economically advanced, and culturally developed civilization--one with philosophy, banking, professional armies, literature, stunning architecture, even garbage collection. The rest of Europe, meanwhile, was home to subsistence farmers living in small groups, dominated largely by Germanic speakers. Although having some iron tools and weapons, these mostly illiterate peoples worked mainly in wood and never built in stone. The farther east oTrade ReviewAn amiable and learned companion through the centuries of migrations."-Library JournalAn awesomely ambitious work: an attempt, in the heroic tradition of Pirenne, to make sense of nothing less than the reshaping of antiquity, and the origins of modern Europe.... Heather is a wonderfully fluent writer, with a consistent ability to grab hold of his reader's attention.... The result is a book which richly merits reading by those interested in the future of Europe as well as its past. * Tom Holland, BBC History Magazine *Most immediately impressive is Heather's easy command of detail. A jaunty, man of the people prose style masks a sure and scholarly grip on the history and archaeology of the first millenniem A.D. One of Heather's most attractive strengths is his eye for comparision. He neatly sets his thinking about first-millennium migration against modern experiences of the lure of the New World or the desperate flight of Kosovar or Rwandan refugees. * Christopher Kelly, Literary Review *Peter Heather's book is an important contribution to the field -- the first up-to-date book that compares the Germanic and the Slav migrations of the early middle ages. It is lucid and it has a complex argument, but it is grippingly written. * Chris Wickham, author of The Inheritance of Rome: Illuminating the Dark Ages, 400-1000 *This is a major work on the political and ethnic shaping of Europe during the first millennium A.D., embracing not just the Germanic and sub-Roman peoples, but also the Slavs and the Vikings. No one interested in the formation of European states and identities will be able to ignore this book. * Bryan Ward-Perkins, author of The Fall of Rome and the End of Civilization *Impressive in its ambition and its scope."-The New YorkerHeather manages to robustly balance the need for both breadth and depth. A superior piece of scholarship."-DiscoverMagazine.comWhile ambitious in scope, one of the delightful aspects of this hefty volume is its eminent readability. Heather's writing is often playful in style. This conversational and sometimes humorous tone, combined with a knack for explaining complex ideas clearly, belies the complexity of his argument and the sheer amount of information conveyed." -Laura Wangerin, World History BulletinIn addition to offering a new way of looking at the broad trends of European history, Heather also makes a major contribution to a long-standing debate about the role of migration in the first millennium…[Empire and Barbarians'] range, its highly important themes, and the boldness and clarity of its writing should stimulate argument and advance debate for years to come." -Edward James, American Historical ReviewEmpires and Barbarians is a significant accomplishment and a welcome gateway for the curious as well as the deeply informed." * HNN.com *Table of ContentsPreface ; Prologue ; Ch 1: Migrants and Barbarians ; Ch 2: Globalization and the Germans ; Ch 3: All Roads Lead to Rome? ; Ch 4: Migration and Frontier Collapse ; Ch 5: Huns on the Run ; Ch 6: Franks and Anglo-Saxons: Elite Transfer or Volkerwanderung? ; Ch 7: A New Europe ; Ch 8: The Creation of Slavic Europe ; Ch 9: Viking Diasporas ; Ch 10: The First European Union ; Ch 11: The End of Migration and the Birth of Europe ; Notes ; Primary Sources/ Bibliography

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Book SynopsisThe definitive biography of the world''s most important body of water the Atlantic.One hundred and ninety million years ago, the shifting of two of the world''s tectonic plates led to the creation of an immense chasm. This giant gash in the flanks of the planet slowly opened up and eventually evolved into the most important and most travelled ocean in our world.In this utterly original biography, Simon Winchester explores the life of the Atlantic; it''s birth, its relationship with mankind, and what lies in store for it once man has left the stage. He charts the development of the first settlements by the Oceanside the communities of Celts and Vikings and whose lives depended on the sea and delves into the age of exploration, venturing to forgotten worlds. The building of some of the world''s most beautiful port cities London, Rio de Janeiro, New York, Casablanca is also examined, along with the creation of settlements and colonies in and around the sea.Completely unique and highlTrade Review'Winchester unfolds this epic narrative with admirable simplicity: his prose style is conversational, and crackles with strange images. He marries even-handed scholarship with a gift for storytelling, neither dumbing down nor assuming any specific knowledge in his readership. This is from start to finish an enthralling book, and one that does justice to the magnitude of its subject' Edmund Gordon, Sunday Times 'Illuminating…a] wonderful, encyclopaedic book, pinpointing key moments in the narrative of an entire ocean and our relationship to it' Philip Hoare, Sunday Telegraph ‘[A] fabulous book’ Scotsman ‘An engaging account’ Mail on Sunday ‘[Winchester] is maddeningly gifted … a rollicking ride’ Washington Post ‘Enjoyable and richly informative’ Telegraph

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Book SynopsisA panoramic reinterpretation of global history, this title traces the emergence and development of the modern world from the sixteenth to the twentieth century.Trade Review"A work in the grand historical tradition...bold in its thrust....many readers will find this a contentious and unsettling work. But it is contentious and unsettling in ways healthful for the normal practice of economic history." * Journal of Economic History *"Wallerstein's work is one of those rare examples of an intellectual project that transforms the scholarly map. That anthropology, sociology, history, and political science in their present forms cannot be discussed without reference to the project remains Wallerstein's greatest achievement." * American Anthropologist *"From the first page we are engaged by a formidable intellect and relentless researcher. He is someone to take very seriously on details as well as on the generality. He has a strong sense of international interconnectedness (which he virtually invented in our era). . . . Compared to the provincialism of so many historians, Wallerstein's breadth of vision is compellingly appropriate." * Contemporary Sociology *Table of ContentsList of Illustrations Acknowledgments Prologue to the 2011 Edition 1. Industry and bourgeoisie 2. Struggle in the core—phase iii: 1763–1815 3. The incorporation of vast new zones into the world-economy: 1750–1850 4. The settler decolonization of the Americas: 1763–1833 Bibliography Index

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