Historiography Books

Book SynopsisFully updated and carefully revised, this new 2nd edition of History by Numbers stands alone as the only textbook on quantitative methods suitable for students of history. Even the numerically challenged will find inspiration. Taking a problem-solving approach and using authentic historical data, it describes each method in turn, including its origin, purpose, usefulness and associated pitfalls. The problems are developed gradually and with narrative skill, allowing readers to experience the moment of discovery for each of the interpretative outcomes. Quantitative methods are essential for the modern historian, and this lively and accessible text will prove an invaluable guide for anyone entering the discipline.Trade ReviewThe chapters are structured clearly and accessibly; they also include useful exercises which are based on real research work ... A useful book, well-structured and with great pedagogical value. * Lectures (Bloomsbury translation) *History by Numbers is a perfect introduction to those unfamiliar with, or uncertain about, quantitative approaches to the study of the past. Written in an accessible and engaging style, even those who lack confidence with numbers, graphs and statistics will find themselves enlightened as the authors carefully guide them through a variety of quantitative historical methodologies, describe how they have been used, and what their advantages and shortcomings might be for historical researchers. * Hannah Barker, University of Manchester, UK *Scared of numbers no more! In a world in which we are constantly asked to make sense of data in the form of graphs and tables, how can we address history without much sense of magnitude, scale and trends over time? In History by Numbers Hudson and Ishizu guide the reader step by step into the world of quantities, and percentages, as well as the mysteries of sampling and causation. Without numerical literacy, it is impossible to tackle key issues such as migration, consumption, urbanisation and indeed cultural and political change. * Giorgio Riello, University of Warwick, UK *This is the text book for the next generation of quantitative historians. The brilliantly crafted new edition is written for those who are knowledgeable in history but still skip over the graphs and tables. Chapters convey the evolving need for quantitative study, then lead readers smoothly through all the key quantitative principles. Early chapters show how to read and assess quantitative history; concluding chapters provide effective guidelines on conducting quantitative research. The images and tables, updated and beautifully documented, illustrate concretely the principles. Hudson and Ishizu have overcome the mechanical approaches of their competitors: at every step, a lively historiographical discussion accompanies their clear statement of quantitative principles, emphasizing the balance of technique and critical historical review of the past. Students will be elevated as well as informed; senior scholars will read this book with profit as a review of principles and as a guide to teaching. * Patrick Manning, University of Pittsburg, USA and President, American Historical Association *Ever wondered about that Gini they talk about? If you have scratched your head over debates about income inequality, puzzled over long-run trends, or perhaps pondered on what son-preference in India did to men’s chances of marrying, then History by Numbers is for you. This book gently teaches how to think with statistics, using wide-ranging examples from recent historical literature. Statistical concepts are crystal clear. The authors also examine why historians want to quantify, and how research is changing in the digital age. Big Data means everyone needs to understand numbers. Hudson and Ishizu offer an at once practical and engaging introductory text. * Deborah Oxley, University of Oxford, UK *This is the best English handbook on quantitative methods for history students. * Maarten Van Dijck, Erasmus University Rotterdam, The Netherlands *This is a great introduction to quantitative history. It is clear and accessible and makes the topic appealing to students. * Michael Goodrum, Canterbury Christ Church University, UK *Table of ContentsForeword 1. The Prospects and Pitfalls of History by Numbers 2. The Origins and Nature of Quantitative Thinking 3. Arranging, Rearranging and Displaying Data 4. Summarising Data: Averages and Distributions 5. Time Series and Indices 6. Relationships Between Variables 7. Sampling and Significance Testing 8. Modelling History 9. Computing, the Internet and History Glossary Index

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Book SynopsisMenocchio's 500-year-old challenge to authority remains evocative and vital today.Trade ReviewA wonderful book... Ginzburg is a historian with an insatiable curiosity, who pursues even the faintest of clues with all the zest of a born detective until every fragment of evidence can be fitted into place. The work of reconstruction is brilliant, the writing superbly readable, and by the end of the book the reader who has followed Dr. Ginzburg in his wanderings through the labyrinthine mind of the miller of the Friuli will take leave of this strange and quirky old man with genuine regret. -- J. H. Elliott New York Review of Books Ginzburg has excavated a marvelous and melancholy tale. Lay readers know that historical work of this order requires formidable skills and dogged research... Ginzburg's discovery of Menocchio is a dazzling entry into the historical world of popular culture. -- Lauro Martines Washington Post Why should we reread the story of Menocchio thirty-eight years after its publication? First, this new edition is a timely update. Ginzburg has penned a new preface and bibliographical information has been augmented. Second, because it is a work of rare scholarship that no student should forget, despite the fact that the context in which this book was crafted has significantly changed. -- Cristiano Zanetti Sixteenth Century JournalTable of ContentsPreface to the 2013 EditionTranslators' NotePreface to the English EditionPreface to the Italian EditionAcknowledgments1. Menocchio2. The town3. First interrogation4. "Possessed?"5. From Concordia to Portogruaro6. "To speak out against his superiors"7. An archaic society8. "They oppress the poor"9. "Lutherans" and Anabaptists10. A miller, a painter, a buffoon11. "My opinions came out of my head"12. The books13. Readers of the town14. Printed pages and "fantastic opinions"15. Blind alley?16. The temple of the virgins17. The funeral of the Madonna18. The father of Christ19. Judgment day20. Mandeville21. Pigmies and cannibals22. "God of nature"23. The three rings24. Written culture and oral culture25. Chaos26. Dialogue27. Mythical cheeses and real cheeses28. The monopoly over knowledge29. The words of the Fioretto30. The function of metaphors31. "Master," "steward," and "workers"32. An hypothesis33. Peasant religion34. The soul35. "I don't know"36. Two spirits, seven souls, four elements37. The flight of an idea38. Contradictions39. Paradise40. A new "way of life"41. "To kill priests"42. A "new world"43. End of the interrogations44. Letter to the judges45. Rhetorical figures46. First sentence47. Prison48. Return to the town49. Denunciations50. Nocturnal dialogue with the Jew51. Second trial52. "Fantasies"53. "Vanities and dreams"54. "Oh great, omnipotent, and holy God . . ."55. "If only I had died when I was fifteen"56. Second sentence57. Torture58. Scolio59. Pellegrino Baroni60. Two millers61. Dominant culture and subordinate culture62. Letters from RomeNotesIndex of Names

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Book SynopsisFrom Herodotus to H-Net: The Story of Historiography, Second Edition, offers a concise but comprehensive and up-to-date account of the many ways history has been studied and recounted, from the ancient world to the new universe of the Internet. Clearly written and organized, it shows how the same issues that historians debate today were already recognized in past centuries, and how the efforts of historians in the past remain relevant today. Balanced and fair-minded, the book covers the development of modern academic scholarship, but also helps students appreciate the contributions of popular historians and of the many forms of publichistory. Often drawing on what historians from Edward Gibbon to Natalie Zemon Davis have written about their own careers, From Herodotus to H-Net, Second Edition, brings the discipline of history alive for students and general readers.Trade Review"Characterized by scholarly command of the most relevant literature, thorough and clear discussion of those sources, and an impassioned endorsement of the contributions of the field of history, From Herodotus to H-Net is resoundingly successful in achieving Popkin's stated aims."--H-Net Reviews "This is a wonderful book; it clearly explains the development of the study of history from ancient times to the present. Also, unlike other books on the subject, it introduces students to the world of academia and how it functions. The book not only clearly explains the history of history in a clear and accessible manner, it also includes a section on what it takes to earn a PhD in history and pursue an academic career."--Patricia Kollander, Florida Atlantic University "From Herodotus to H-Net offers a superb introduction to historiography on a global scale, with up-to-date analyses of the most recent approaches, a thoughtful discussion of the process of becoming a historian, and a judicious overview of the rapid changes occurring within the profession even now."--David S. Karr, Columbia College, MissouriTable of ContentsPreface About the Author PART ONE. HISTORIOGRAPHY FROM HERODOTUS TO THE TWENTIETH CENTURY Chapter 1. What Is Historiography? The Concerns of Historiography This Book and Its Author Justifying the Study of the Past A Short Field Guide to the Varieties of History Chapter 2. History in Ancient and Medieval Times Herodotus and Thucydides History-Writing in the Hellenistic and Roman Worlds The Origins of Chinese Historiography History, Judaism, and Christianity History in an Age of Belief History in the Chinese and Islamic Worlds The Late Middle Ages in Europe Chapter 3. The Historiographical Revolution of the Early Modern Era The Renaissance Revolution in Historiography Historians in a New World The Age of Print History in the Age of the Enlightenment Chapter 4. The Rise of Academic Scholarship and National History The Revolutionary Era and the Development of Historical Consciousness Ranke and His "Revolution" Nationalism and Historical Scholarship History and the Sciences of Society A Historical Civilization Chapter 5. Scientific History in an Era of Conflict Critiques of Scientific History World War I and the Understanding of History The Founding of the "Annales" School History and World War II Social History in the Postwar Period History in the Cold War World PART TWO. HISTORIOGRAPHY IN THE CONTEMPORARY WORLD Chapter 6. From Objectivity to the "Culture Wars": Historiography from the 1960s to the End of the Millennium The Challenges of the 1960s Searching for a New History New Paradigms for History Women's History and the History of Gender Relations Contesting Eurocentrism The History of Memory "History Wars" Chapter 7. History and Historians in a New Millennium A Historical Controversy to End the Millennium History in the Internet Era History beyond the Printed Page New Directions in Historical Scholarship Chapter 8. Historians at Work The Graduate School Experience Searching for a Job in History The Quest for Tenure Professors' Work Is There Life after Tenure? History Careers beyond Academia Chapter 9. Conclusion Suggestions for Further Reading Index

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Book Synopsis'Should be read by anyone who cares about the past and the way we think and write about it' Independent on Sunday At a time when fact and historical truth are under unprecedented assault, historian Richard Evans shows us why history is necessary. Taking us into the historians' workshop to show us just how good history gets written, he demolishes the wilder claims of postmodern historians, who deny the possibility of any realistic grasp of the subject. In one of the most important lessons for today he explains the deadly political dangers of losing a historical perspective on the way we live our lives. With wit, wisdom and incisive insight, this is a book to inspire faith in the practice of historians and the worth of learning from the past. In Defence of History is the definitive argument for the craft of history and the vital worth of historians to civilization. 'A subtle, engaged, brilliantly barbed and often amusing case for historical truth...' Sunday Times 'Brilliantly readable' Antonia Fraser 'Arguably the most talented social historian of his generation' Niall Ferguson 'An excellent primer... A model of lucid and intelligent historiographical analysis' GuardianTrade ReviewA magisterial polemic * Independent *Arguably the most talented social historian of his generation -- Niall FergusonAn excellent primer on central issues of historical practice ... exemplary in his handling of sensitive episodes...a model of lucid and intelligent historiographical analysis * Guardian *A subtle, engaged, brilliantly barbed and often amusing case for historical truth * Sunday Times *Brilliantly readable -- Antonia FraserThis is a wise and sensible book, which should be read by anyone who cares about the past and the way we think and write about it * Independent on Sunday *Richard Evans offers a spirited and elegant defence of the discipline...while demonstrating with wit and acumen that historians have never been quite so credulous as is sometimes suggested * Times *

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Book SynopsisA delightful compendium of the kind of facts you immediately want to share with anyone you encounter' New York TimesAn ebullient, irrepressible spirit invests this book. It is erudite and sprightly'Sunday TimesFrom the creation of the first encyclopedia to Wikipedia, from ancient museums to modern kindergarten classeshere is award-winning writer Simon Winchester's brilliant and all-encompassing look at how humans acquire, retain, and pass on information and data, and how technology continues to change our lives and our minds.With the advent of the internet, any topic we want to know about is instantly available with the touch of a smartphone button. With so much knowledge at our fingertips, what is there left for our brains to do? At a time when we seem to be stripping all value from the idea of knowing things no need for maths, no need for map reading, no need for memorisation are we risking our ability to think? As we empty our minds, will we one day be incapable of thoughtfulness?Addressing these questions, Simon Winchester explores how humans have attained, stored and disseminated knowledge. Examining such disciplines as education, journalism, encyclopedia creation, museum curation, photography and broadcasting, he looks at a whole range of knowledge diffusion from the cuneiform writings of Babylon to the machine-made genius of artificial intelligence, by way of Gutenberg, Google and Wikipedia to the huge Victorian assemblage of the Mundaneum, the collection of everything ever known, currently stored in a damp basement in northern Belgium.Studded with strange and fascinating details, Knowing What We Know is a deep dive into learning and the human mind. Throughout this fascinating tour, Winchester forces us to ponder what rational humans are becoming. What good is all this knowledge if it leads to lack of thought? What is information without wisdom? Does René Descartes' Cogito, ergo sum'''I think, therefore I am', the foundation for human knowledge widely accepted since the Enlightenmentstill hold?And what will the world be like if no one in it is wise?

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Book SynopsisAn updated edition of this accessible critical reader, with additional chapters including an introduction that contextualises the rise of each theoretical perspective and draw links between them. -- .Table of Contents1. Introduction2. The empiricists3. Marxist historians4. Psychoanalysis and history 5. The Annales6. Historical sociology7. Quantitative history8. Anthropology and ethnohistorians9. The question of narrative10. Gender and history11. The challenge of poststructuralism/postmodernism12. Postcolonial perspectives13. Public history14. Oral history15. History of emotions16. ConclusionIndex

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Book SynopsisWe justify our actions in the present through our understanding of the past. But we live in a time when politicians lie brazenly about historical facts and meddle with the content of history books, while media differ wildly in their reporting of the same event. Frequently, new discoveries force us to re-evaluate everything we thought we knew about the past. So how can any certainty about history be established, and why does it matter? Lynn Hunt shows why the search for truth about the past, as a continual process of discovery, is vital for our societies. History has an essential role to play in ensuring honest presentation of evidence. In this way, it can foster humility about our present-day concerns, a critical attitude toward chauvinism, and an openness to other peoples and cultures. History, Hunt argues, is our best defense against tyranny. Introducing Polity's Why It Matters series; in these short and lively books, world-leading thinkers make the case for the importance of their subjects and aim to inspire a new generation of students.Trade Review"A smart, pithy, and frankly essential statement of the origins, aims, and methods of historical study. E.H. Carr's What is History—for the twenty-first century."—Jill Lepore, Harvard University and author of These Truths: A History of the United States "What is history now, why does it matter now, who are the people writing it, and who are they writing for? In this bracing and timely book, Lynn Hunt not only shows why these questions matter, but also answers them brilliantly and provocatively."—Sir David Cannadine, President of the British Academy "Confronted by the thickening miasma of lies seeping from the White House and Fox News, what's a historian to do? In fact, given the present circumstances, does it matter that we do anything at all? According to Lynn Hunt, it does. As the Distinguished Research Professor at UCLA, Hunt has, over a long and brilliant career, earned the right to make that claim."—Los Angeles Review of Books "A timely reconsideration of the value of History... A brief and lively call to arms"—Amy Murrell Taylor, Times Literary SupplementTable of Contents1. Now More Than Ever 2. Truth in History 3. History's Politics 4. History's Future Further Reading Index

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Book SynopsisThe United States is in the grip of a crisis of bad history. Distortions of the past promoted in the conservative media have led large numbers of Americans to believe in fictions over facts, making constructive dialogue impossible and imperilling our democracy. In Myth America, Kevin M. Kruse and Julian E. Zelizer have assembled an all-star team of fellow historians to push back against this misinformation. The contributors debunk narratives that portray the New Deal and Great Society as failures, immigrants as hostile invaders, and feminists as anti-family warriors-among numerous other partisan lies. Based on a firm foundation of historical scholarship, their findings revitalize our understanding of American history. Replacing myths with research and reality, Myth America is essential reading amid today's heated debates about our nation's past. With Essays ByAkhil Reed Amar Kathleen Belew Carol Anderson Kevin Kruse Erika Lee Daniel Immerwahr Elizabeth Hinton Naomi Oreskes Erik M. Conway Ari Kelman Geraldo Cadava David A. Bell Joshua Zeitz Sarah Churchwell Michael Kazin Karen L. Cox Eric Rauchway Glenda Gilmore Natalia Mehlman Petrzela Lawrence B. Glickman Julian E. Zelizer

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Book Synopsis''Not only our most distinguished historian but also one of the most valuable contributors to historical theory'' SpectatorIn answering the question, ''what is history?'', E. H. Carr''s acclaimed and influential bestseller shows that the facts of history are simply those which the historian selects for scrutiny. His fluent and hugely wide-ranging account of the nature of history and the role of the historian argues that all history is to some degree subjective, written by individuals who are above all people of their own time. ''Lively and controversial, full of wit and humour, E. H. Carr''s What Is History? played a central role in the historiographical revolution in the 1960s'' Richard J. EvansWith an introduction by Richard J. Evans, author of the Third Reich trilogy.

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Book SynopsisSaladin represents the best kind of biography—a portrait of a man who is said to have made an age, and the most complete account we have to date of an age that made the man. The result is a unique view of the Crusades from an Arab perspective, and an erudite biography of a political figure whose image was layered in myth with the passage of time.Trade ReviewOriginally published in France in 2008, this splendid [book] will now have a wider international readership thanks to this fluent translation by Jane Marie Todd… [Saladin is] so filled with lively anecdote and a thoughtful, balanced analysis of the points at issue, as to be eminently readable for a wide audience… The book is a powerful reminder…of the full range of Saladin’s concerns across the Middle East. At times we are so drawn towards his epic struggle with the Christians that we lose sight of the Sultan’s need to engage in near-constant negotiation, bluff, warfare and propaganda with his co-religionists, processes that absorbed the majority of his time and energy. These matters are superbly well drawn out, but Eddé offers much more. There exists a wealth of evidence in the form of poetry, in medical, financial and military treatises, in religious and judicial material, and in architectural studies, that she has utilized to illuminate the more day-to-day aspects of his rule and the environment in which he operated… Anne-Marie Eddé has drawn a charismatic figure in a richly colored environment, to produce a refreshing, enjoyable and valuable book. -- Jonathan Phillips * Times Literary Supplement *Profound and impressive… As an analysis of the ‘discourse’ surrounding Saladin, Eddé’s account can hardly be bettered… Eddé convincingly shows the heterogeneous nature of 12th-century Near Eastern society, in which a multifaith indigenous population was controlled by competing forces from outside: Turks, Kurds, Greeks, Armenians and western Europeans. Any notion of a Manichaean clash of civilizations is unsustainable here. This is as important for Near Eastern sensibilities as it is for Western perceptions. Eddé’s richly textured account not only offers the prospect of non-polemical research but suggests perhaps the beginnings of an Arab Spring in historical scholarship, a fresh intellectual openness that, if sustained, cannot but color the burgeoning political diversity in the region it studies. -- Christopher Tyerman * Wall Street Journal *Eddé’s book portrays Saladin amid a medieval world in motion: He dispatches sons and nephews to what is now Yemen, Syria, Iraq, and Egypt; crusaders from France, England, Scandinavia, and Germany arrive in a multi-ethnic, multi-religious Holy Land… Less a conventional biography than an exploration of how Saladin came to be cited, by Dante and Sir Walter Scott, as a sort of ideal prince, and why his name is still a rallying cry. * New Yorker *How, asks medieval historian Anne-Marie Eddé, did a ‘relentless jihad fighter’ ultimately come to be identified as a ‘valiant, generous, and magnanimous’ figure among his former foes? Her comprehensive biography, Saladin, examines the birth and elaboration of a legend that casts a shadow even into the present day. In it, she highlights the conflict that can arise when our quest for historical truth runs up against the carefully constructed image that people of the past wanted us to see… The Saladin of legend is a palimpsest on which the agendas and concerns of whoever invoked him were inscribed. Eddé untangles the concrete facts from the endless revisions and reinterpretations that turned Saladin into a larger-than-life icon over the ages. -- Michael Patrick Brady * Boston Globe *An impressive biography of Saladin…supported by a multiplicity of sources, known or previously unknown: chronicles, travel narratives, letters, poems, administrative treatises… Although [Eddé] is intent on placing that extraordinary figure within his context, on understanding his conception of power and how he founded his dynasty, she endeavors above all to analyze the discourses of which he has been the object from the Middle Ages to the present, discourses serving to fashion his myth. The result of that exacting and rigorous undertaking is at once accessible to the non-specialist and compelling, allowing us to rediscover a Saladin richer and more complex than his Western or Eastern legend. -- Georgia Makhlouf * Le Jour *This fastidious and superbly well researched book is, in some ways, the biography of an idea. We don’t know all that much about the historical Saladin, and next to nothing about him personally—not even what he looked like… Eddé’s account of Saladin’s life…is always lucid and sensible, and instills complete confidence in the reader… Above all, this book is valuable for giving us a sense of what the Crusades looked like from the other side. -- Sam Leith * Spectator *Eddé mines below the official rhetoric of Saladin’s secretaries and administrators to develop a historical account independent of the many mythologies surrounding his biography… Extensive research creates a picture readily distinguishable from the many Saladin myths. * Kirkus Reviews *Eddé does an admirable job of showing all [Saladin’s] complexity, from human, religious, and cultural standpoints, wading through the mythology and hagiography surrounding him to present a more balanced view of this historical figure who was so well suited to his times. -- John Sandstrom * Library Journal *In this insightful biography, the Muslim hero who impressed even his Christian adversaries personifies the complex religious and cultural dynamics of the crusading era… Eddé…picks carefully through tendentious, often hagiographic medieval sources to assemble an objective portrait of Saladin, and sifts the legends surrounding him—many of them self-generated—for clues to the ideologies of his day; presented by himself and others as the defender of a sacred community against a cruel, impious, animalistic Christian Other, he was even to Europeans the mirror image of the Crusader. Eddé’s shrewd and informative, if stolid, biography shows us how much two clashing civilizations had in common. * Publishers Weekly *A central figure in the history of the Crusades, an enlightened sovereign, a reunifier of the Muslim world, Saladin…is more than an icon in the East, he is the greatest figure of its glorious past and the model of the ruler par excellence. Profoundly attached to Arab values, he is awash with unparalleled glory and respect from the time of his reign until the present, and from his own territories to Europe. That cannot fail to raise problems when it comes to writing his biography. In fact, between hagiographical accounts emerging directly from his close circle and hostile criticism from his fiercest detractors, there was no objective middle course. This book constitutes the first step on that path: rigorous without being academic, resituating the man within his context and noting the influences exerted on him, it proposes to discover, beyond the usual panegyrics, the hidden face of Saladin, a portrait in light and shadow. -- Chrysostome Gourio, Libraire Le Comptoir des Mots

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Book SynopsisWhat is history and how should it be written? This important new anthology, translated and edited by Professor John Marincola, contains all the seminal texts that relate to the writing of history in the ancient world.The study of history was invented in the classical world. Treading uncharted waters, writers such as Plutarch and Lucian grappled with big questions such as how history should be written, how it differs from poetry and oratory, and what its purpose really is. This book includes complete essays by Dionysius, Plutarch and Lucian, as well as shorter pieces by Pliny the Younger, Cicero and others, and will be an essential resource for anyone studying history and the ancient world.Runner-up in the 13th Aldo and Jeanne Scaglione Prize for a Translation of a Scholarly Study of Literature.an excellent tool for the study of ancient historiography at all levels, and it is bound to become a standard point of reference in the future Bryn Mawr Classical ReviewTrade Reviewan excellent tool for the study of ancient historiography at all levels, and it is bound to become a standard point of reference in the future -- Lisa Irene Hau * Bryn Mawr Classical Review *

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Book SynopsisWhy aren't ordinary Russians more outraged by Putin's invasion of Ukraine? Inside the Kremlin's own historical propaganda narratives, Russia's invasion of Ukraine makes complete sense. From its World War II cult to anti-Western conspiracy theories, the Kremlin has long used myth and memory to legitimize repression at home and imperialism abroad, its patriotic history resonating with and persuading large swathes of the Russian population. In Memory Makers, Russia analyst Jade McGlynn takes us into the depths of Russian historical propaganda, revealing the chilling web of nationwide narratives and practices perforating everyday life, from after-school patriotic history clubs to tower block World War II murals. The use of history to manifest a particular Russian identity has had grotesque, even gruesome, consequences, but it belongs to a global political pattern where one's view of history is the ultimate marker of political loyalty, patriotism and national belonging. Memory MTrade ReviewWith authority and skill … McGlynn gives what now ranks as the most reliable, up-to-date account of the use and misuse of history and memory in post-Soviet Russia. -- Tony Barber * Financial Times *McGlynn presents a powerful and disturbing case that the invasion had a convincing historical logic to it, for Vladimir Putin and for Russians more generally. . . . As if to prove McGlynn’s point, historically based justifications for Russian policy and alleged plots by the West form terrifyingly explicit parts of Russia’s most recent National Security Strategy. Her insightful and creative analysis suggests that we are in for a long conflict not just over the fate of Ukraine, but also over how differing memories of the past will continue to shape the future. * Washington Post *McGlynn’s informative study of Russia’s “memory wars” shows just how easily performance, media narratives and cultural priming can slip into real violence. -- Bradley A. Gorski * Times Literary Supplement *Memory Makers makes for fascinating reading … [It] should be required reading for anyone wishing to engage in Russian politics, scholars, journalists, policy-makers alike. -- Usman Butt * Middle East Monitor *Pithy and tightly argued. -- Christopher Silvester * The Critic *Scholarly, revelatory and deeply unsettling … Dr McGlynn’s brilliant, remorseless study inculpates almost the entire Russian nation. -- Allan Mallinson * Country Life *History is back - armed with artillery and with a commitment to genocide. Jade McGlynn’s highly timely study shows how Putin weaponises the past to destroy the future * Peter Pomerantsev, Author of 'This is Not Propaganda' *As Vladimir Putin presents his imperial adventure in Ukraine as a twenty-first century re-run of the Great Patriotic War against the Nazis, it has never been more crucial to understand the degree to which his regime seeks to legitimise itself by the rewriting of history, and Jade McGlynn provides a deeply-argued and nuanced analysis of this pernicious process. * Mark Galeotti, Author of 'A Short History of Russia' *Jade McGlynn explains why Russians back the senseless war on Ukraine - because of the state's abuse of history as a tool to legitimate Russia's return to empire. * Keir Giles, Author of 'Russia’s War on Everybody' *McGlynn’s fascinating study shows how Russian memory politics does much more than evoke memories of World War Two. Its particular propaganda form is to replay and conflate the past and the present. Events in Ukraine in 2014 are not just said to echo those of the 1940s, footage and commentary are literately spliced together; Russia’s intervention in Syria is depicted as the Cold War that wasn’t, with Moscow victorious. * Andrew Wilson, University College London, author of 'Ukraine Crisis: What it Means for the West' *McGlynn delivers a timely, well-researched account of how memory politics are playing out in Russia today, where history also functions as ideology. This book is excellent for those interested in discovering how Russians understand their recent history, and why they have come to view it as they do. * Todd H. Nelson, Cleveland State University, Author of 'Bringing Stalin Back In: Memory Politics and the Creation of a Useable Past in Putin’s Russia' *Painstakingly dissects the genesis, defining features and aims of the Kremlin’s manyfold (ab)uses of history in the last decade...Jade McGlynn’s book is much-needed reading for scholars who want to dig deeper into the discourse underpinning Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine and the political use of history in today’s world more generally. Through thorough and painstaking analysis, the author engages with this narrative very seriously, dissecting its key tenets, examining where it comes from – and, sadly, where it is leading Russia and its people. * The International Spectator *Table of ContentsAcknowledgements Note on Transliteration, Translation and Citation Style List of Abbreviations 1. Taking Back Control of History 2. The Kremlin’s Memory Policies 3. Past as Present: The Historical Framing of Ukraine, Sanctions and Syria 4. Amplifying the Call to History 5. Living Forms of Patriotism 6. Attaining Cultural Consciousness 7. The Endlessness of History References Index

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Book SynopsisA delightful compendium of the kind of facts you immediately want to share with anyone you encounter' New York TimesAn ebullient, irrepressible spirit invests this book. It is erudite and sprightly'Sunday TimesFrom the creation of the first encyclopedia to Wikipedia, from ancient museums to modern kindergarten classeshere is award-winning writer Simon Winchester's brilliant and all-encompassing look at how humans acquire, retain, and pass on information and data, and how technology continues to change our lives and our minds.With the advent of the internet, any topic we want to know about is instantly available with the touch of a smartphone button. With so much knowledge at our fingertips, what is there left for our brains to do? At a time when we seem to be stripping all value from the idea of knowing things no need for maths, no need for map reading, no need for memorisation are we risking our ability to think? As we empty our minds, will we one day be incapable of thoughtfulness?Trade Review PRAISE FOR KNOWING WHAT WE KNOW: ‘An ebullient, irrepressible spirit invests this book. It is erudite and sprightly in a way that will be familiar to anyone who has read Winchester’s wonderful histories of the Krakatoa eruption, the origins of the Oxford English Dictionary and the Atlantic (among others)’ Sunday Times ‘A book about transmitting knowledge by someone who has made his name by doing just that in the most erudite and entertaining way possible . . . a delightful compendium of the kind of facts you immediately want to share with anyone you encounter . . . Simon Winchester has firmly earned his place in history . . . as a promulgator of knowledge of every variety, perhaps the last of the famous explorers who crisscrossed the now-vanished British Empire and reported what they found to an astonished world’ New York Times ‘From schoolhouses in ancient Sumeria and Aboriginal “songlines” to GPS, Wikipedia, Google and beyond, Winchester traverses the human history of information storage and transmission in a pageant of colourful, eloquent tableaux… Don’t pigeonhole Knowing What We Know as “information science”. Rather, think of it as an intellectual autobiography: one richly stocked, ever-curious mind’s account of the multiple ways in which stored knowledge may open the road to understanding’ Financial Times ‘Winchester is a knowledge keeper for our times, and he does us all a service by writing it down’ Wall Street Journal ‘[Winchester] might be appropriately dubbed the One-Man Society for the Diffusion of Useful Knowledge of our own era. Whatever his subject, Winchester leavens deep research and the crisp factual writing of a reporter . . . with an abundance of curious anecdotes, footnotes and digressions. His prose is always clear, but it is also invigorated with pleasingly elegant diction … Informative and entertaining throughout’ Washington Post

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Book SynopsisFrom the author of Fake History, Otto English, comes a shocking yet hilarious look at ten of the greatest liars from our past, examining these previously unquestioned idols and exposing what they were trying to hide.'A brilliant book.' James O'BrienWas Che Guevara really a revolutionary hero?Should Mother Teresa be honoured as a saint?Is Henry V actually England's greatest king?And why does JFK's legend continue to grow?Having exposed some of the greatest lies ever told in Fake History, journalist Otto English turns his attention to some of history's biggest (and most beloved) figures.Whether it's virtuous leaders in just wars, martyrs sacrificing all for a cause, or innovators changing the world for the better, down the centuries supposedly great men and women have risen to become household names, saints and heroes. But just how deserving are they of their reputations?Exploring everything from Captain Scott's reckless hunt for glory and Andy Warhol's flagrant thievery to Coco Chanel's murky Nazi past, Otto English dives into the hidden lives of some of history's most recognisable names. Scrutinising figures from the worlds of art, politics, business, religion and royalty, he brings to light the murkier truths they would rather have kept buried away, at the same time as celebrating the unsung heroes lost to time.Fake Heroes exposes the truth of the past and helps us understand why that matters today.Trade Review'A fascinating mixture of subjects and lots of offbeat information ... Eye-opening' -- Andrew Lownie'A brilliant book' -- James O'Brien'The most controversial book of the year' * Daily Express *'A fascinating and humorous look at some of the seminal characters of our recent histories ... An uproarious narrative' -- Iain MacGregor, Aspects of History

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Book SynopsisThis book introduces students and professional historians to the main areas of concern in the history of emotions and its intersection with emotion research in other disciplines. It discusses how the emotions intersect with other lines of historical research relating to power, practice, society and morality. The revised and fully updated second edition of the book demonstrates the field’s centrality to historiographical practice, as well as the importance of this kind of historical work for general interdisciplinary understandings of the value and the meaning of human experience.Table of ContentsPreface to the second editionIntroduction1 Historians and emotions2 Words and concepts3 Communities, regimes and styles4 Power, politics and violence5 Practice and expression6 Experience, senses and the brain7 Spaces, places and objects8 MoralityConclusionIndex

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Book Synopsis Reinhart Koselleck (1923–2006) was one of most imposing and influential European intellectual historians in the twentieth century. Constantly probing and transgressing the boundaries of mainstream historical writing, he created numerous highly innovative approaches, absorbing influences from other academic disciplines as represented in the work of philosophers and political thinkers like Hans Georg Gadamer and Carl Schmitt and that of internationally renowned scholars such as Hayden White, Michel Foucault, and Quentin Skinner. An advocate of “grand theory,” Koselleck was an inspiration to many scholars and helped move the discipline into new directions (such as conceptual history, theories of historical times and memory) and across disciplinary and national boundaries. He thus achieved a degree of international fame that was unusual for a German historian after 1945. This book not only presents the life and work of a “great thinker” and European intellectual, it also contributes to our understanding of complex theoretical and methodological issues in the cultural sciences and to our knowledge of the history of political, historical, and cultural thought in Germany from the 1950s to the present.Trade Review “…the first profound comprehensive evaluation of Reinhart Koselleck’s work. It is a remarkable achievement in that it analyses Koselleck’s major publications and his work at the “Geschichtliche Grundbegriffe” in great detail and integrates them into the overall context of his work.” • German Studies Review “Befitting its subject, this book is a methodologically sound and theoretically sophisticated piece of scholarship. Niklas Olsen has done the English-speaking world a profound service by situating the work of Reinhart Koselleck—one of the most compelling theorists of history of recent memory—back into the many contexts out of which it emerged and which it eventually helped to transform over the course of a distinguished career…Koselleck’s meditations on the multi-faceted natures of both historical time and historical writing are more relevant than ever. And to these profound meditations History in the Plural will no doubt remain a trustworthy guide.” • American Historical Review “[Olsen] has an encyclopedic grasp of all of Koselleck’s published writings. Commendably, [he] has also mastered the vast secondary literature on Koselleck and includes hundreds of intriguing references for his readers to explore.” • Central European History “All those with an interest in social sciences, and particularly in historical semantics, the theory of history and intellectual history, have every reason to welcome this book and congratulate the author for this splendid accomplishment.. It is essential reading for all those interested in conceptual history, the theory of history, the study of historiography and memory, and in social sciences in general, not only traces the career of that great European intellectual, Reinhart Koselleck, but also, in doing so, offers a broad panorama of some of the crucial theoretical and methodological debates of the past sixty years, while also touching on certain aspects of German political and social life from the post–World War II period.” • Contributions to the History of Concepts “[This] groundbreaking study of Koselleck, his works and the contexts in which he developed his thoughts [is] a welcome contribution to our knowledge of one of the most vital and pertinent historical theorists of the twentieth century. History in the Pluralcontributes to the on-going historiographical discussions about German intellectuals in the twentieth century, and…is a valuable contribution to the reception of Koselleck’s work in non-German speaking academic traditions.” • European Review of History—Revue européenne d’histoire “Given the widespread appreciation of Koselleck’s work, especially by his contemporaries and disciples, it was not an easy task for Niklas Olsen to be the first to deliver a comprehensive overview of his multifaceted œuvre. The author succeeded in this, and it is his achievement to present Reinhart Koselleck to the English-language professional public as one of the most important German historians of the postwar period.” • H-Soz-u-Kult “This is the first intellectual biography, in any language, on post-war Germany’s greatest theorist of history, Reinhart Koselleck. It not only illuminates Koselleck’s role in founding conceptual history, but also introduces his important accounts of historical time, of historical anthropology, and of political iconology. Both students of post-war German intellectual history and, broadly speaking, of philosophies of history will find this an immensely rich and stimulating volume.” • Jan-Werner Müller, Professor of Politics and Founding Director, Project in the History of Political Thought, Princeton University “This is a very thorough and, at the same time, original take on Reinhard Koselleck’s work…As the major representative of German Begriffsgeschichte, he deserves to be better known in the English-speaking world, and this volume will go a long way to achieve this aim…It is an excellent contribution to historical theory and the history of historiography.” • Stefan Berger, University of Manchester “…an impressive book, especially in the way in which the author succeeds in integrating biographical, historical, and philosophical elements in an elegant and lucid way—something achieved by only the best introductions to Western thinkers and intellectuals.” • Helge Jordheim, University of OsloTable of Contents Acknowledgements Introduction Chapter 1. Family - war - university: the various educations of Reinhart Koselleck Chapter 2. Explaining, criticizing and revising modern political thought Chapter 3. Social history between reform and revolution Chapter 4. Program - project - straight jacket: the Geschichtliche Grundbegriffe Chapter 5. Theorizing historical time and historical writing Chapter 6. Commemorating the dead: experience, understanding, identity Chapter 7. The foundations and the future of Koselleck’s scholarly program Bibliography Index

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Book SynopsisTrade Review"One of Times Higher Education's Best Books of 2018""One of the Financial Times' Summer Books of 2019: History"

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Book SynopsisEdward Gibbon''s History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire, published in three instalments from 1776 to 1788, is widely regarded as the greatest work of history in the English language. Starting with the accession of the Roman Emperor Commodus in the late second century CE, Gibbon''s work traverses thirteen centuries, encompassing the rise of Christianity and of Islam, the collapse of the Roman Empire in the West, and the fall of the Byzantine Empire in 1453. This Companion provides a comprehensive overview of the intellectual roots, contemporary European contexts, literary style and thematic scale of Gibbon''s achievement. Alongside the History, it gives an introduction to Gibbon''s other works, including the Memoirs he left unfinished at his death and previously unpublished material. Leading international scholars in the fields of classics, geography, history and literature provide a comprehensive account of Gibbon''s monumental account of decline, fall and global historicaTable of ContentsChronology; Introduction Karen O'Brien; 1. An overview of The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire J. G. A. Pocock; 2. Gibbon's geographies Robert Mayhew; 3. Gibbon and the city of Rome Catharine Edwards; 4. Do Byzantine historians sill read Gibbon? Mark Whittow; 5. Gibbon among the Barbarians George Woudhuysen; 6. Gibbon and enlightenment history in eighteenth-century Britain Tim Stuart-Buttle; 7. Gibbon and republicanism Béla Kapossy and Richard Whatmore; 8. Gibbon and Catholicism B. W. Young; 9. Gibbon's Style in The Decline and Fall Fred Parker; 10. Gibbon's mind and libraries Robert Mankin; 11. The Memoirs and Character of the Historian Charlotte Roberts; 12. Afterword: a new Gibbon manuscript David Womersley.

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Book SynopsisOffers a methodological and analytic opening to the affective registers of imperial governance and the political content of archival forms. This title identifies the social epistemologies that guided perception and practice, revealing the problematic racial ontologies of that confused epistemic space.Trade Review"[E]legance, energy, and perspicuity has long been a hallmark of Stoler's scholarship, but in this book, Stoler's aim is particularly true... Along the Archival Grain is a call to arms from one of the most forceful practitioners of our discipline. The passions that haunt are of more than passing interest: they have done much to shape our contemporary world. In facing up to this reality, Ann Stoler has provided us with a new way of conceptualizing what students of the colonial can and should do."--Danilyn Rutherford, Journal of Colonialism and Colonial History "Along the Archival Grain ... sheds new light on the nature of the colonial state... Stoler takes the lessons of colonial discourse analysis first opened by Edward Said to new heights... Along the Archival Grain is also an indispensable and innovative ethnography of the colonial state that dismantles the state's epistemic power and self-representation."--Julian Go, Pacific Affairs "This book has raised the benchmark for archival investigation and established a powerful model for new cultural geographies of colonialism that deserves to be read and debated by those beyond the fields of colonial studies and historical research methodology and theory."--Stephen Legg, Environment and Planning "The author presents a nuanced and meticulous reading of official nineteenth- and twentieth-century Dutch colonial archives and decenters how postcolonial scholars, feminist scholars, and historians have characteristically approached colonial texts."--Meredith Reifschneider, Current Anthropology "Stoler's historical examples are both fascinating and choice... Scholars of Dutch colonialism will naturally need to read [this book], but its significance and appeal will matter to nearly everyone working in postcolonial studies and provide an important retort to those 'students of colonialism' (in Stoler's stern phrase) who treat the colonial as an unproblematic term or a given."--John Mcleod, Interventions "As a significant contribution to the historiography of affect, this monograph will find places of honor in colleagues' bookcases, on research library shelves, and amid graduate seminar reading lists. Beyond the academy, thoughtful readers will find its insights valuable in considering personhood in the new digital age."--Elizabeth Bishop, Ab Imperio QuarterlyTable of ContentsList of Illustrations ix Appreciations xi Chapter One: Prologue in Two Parts 1 Chapter Two: The Pulse of the Archive 17 Part I: Colonial Archives and Their Affective States 55 Chapter Three: Habits of a Colonial Heart 57 Chapter Four: Developing Historical Negatives 105 Chapter Five: Commissions and Their Storied Edges 141 Part II: Watermarks in Colonial History 179 Chapter Six: Hierarchies of Credibility 181 Chapter Seven: Imperial Dispositions of Disregard 237 Appendix 1: Colonial Chronologies 279 Appendix 2: Governors-General in the Netherlands Indies, 1830-1930 285 Bibliography 287 Index 309

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Book SynopsisAn updated edition of this unique, bestselling history of the IRA, now including behind-the-scenes information on the recent advances made in the peace process.Tim Pat Coogan's classic The IRA provides the only fair-minded, comprehensive history of the organization that has transformed the Irish nationalist movement this century. With clarity and detachment, Coogan examines the IRA's origins, its foreign links, the bombing campaigns, hunger strikes and sectarian violence, and now their role in the latest attempt to bring peace to Northern Ireland.Meticulously researched, and backed up by interviews with past and present members of the organization, Tim Pat Coogan's book is an authoritative and compelling account of modern Irish history from the point of view of one of its most controversial major participants.Trade Review‘No student of Irish history can afford to ignore this book. No scholar is likely to improve upon it… A fascinating book, of the greatest possible value to us all’TLS ‘A very sensible and fair-minded assessment of a uniquely controversial organization’The Times ‘Remarkably comprehensive’Economist

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Book SynopsisIn A Sextet on the Great War, Perry Anderson picks out from the highly charged historiography on the First World War one leading historian from each of the major powers that survived the conflagration: Fritz Fischer, famous historian of German war-guilt; Pierre Renouvin, a disabled serviceman and preeminent authority on the conflict in France; Luigi Albertini, the Italian newspaper tycoon who unlike any other scholar on the Grear War was himself a leading actor in pitching his country into it; Paul W. Schroeder, the American expert on the system of European interstate relations and its breakdown in 1914; Keith Wilson, the one radical deviant from a patriotic consensus in Britain about the country’s role in the outbreak of the fighting; and, from Australia (a dominion dragooned into the Great War by the British), Christopher Clark, acclaimed author of The Sleepwalkers and Revolutionary Spring. A Sextet on the Great War is a compelling analytical

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Book SynopsisMaking Domesday presents a fresh interpretation of William the Conqueror''s survey of England, made possible by a major collaborative study and a new online edition of Exon Domesday, the earliest of the three original manuscripts to survive from the Domesday survey. The book addresses big questions about pre-modern government, written records, and the use of intelligence in both senses: the minds behind the planning and execution of Domesday, and the information about England that Domesday gathered. It characterizes Exon as the surviving part of the ''working papers'' of one of the writing offices that over a period of ten weeks in summer 1086 dealt with all seven ''circuits'' (regional groupings of shires) of the Domesday survey. The circuit offices had the task of recasting the manorial descriptions assembled in an earlier stage of the survey into an interim form intended for further redaction as Great Domesday Book by rearrangement, rewording, and abbreviation. A new deep understand

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Book SynopsisA magisterial, one-volume history of political thought from Herodotus to the present, Ancient Athens to modern democracy - from author and professor Alan RyanThis is a book about the answers that historians, philosophers, theologians, practising politicians and would-be revolutionaries have given to one question: how should human beings best govern themselves? Almost every modern government claims to be democratic; but is democracy really the best way of organising our political life? Can we manage our own affairs at all? Should we even try? In the west, do we actually live in democracies? In this extraordinary book Alan Ryan engages with the great thinkers of the past to show us how vividly their ideas speak to us in today''s uncertain world.ALAN RYAN was born in London in 1940 and taught for many years at Oxford, where he was a Fellow of New College and Reader in Politics. He was Professor of Politics at Princeton from 1988 to 1996, when he reTrade Review[A] magnificent piece of work, clear (even when the ideas he's exploring are obscure) and engaging (even when the theory is forbidding) ... It's a remarkable experience -- Jeremy Waldron * New York Review of Books *A brave and clever book ... crammed with smart observations and wise advice -- John Keane * Financial Times *Concise, lucid ... despite covering huge intellectual terrain, On Politics is a delight both when it explores detail and also when it draws conclusions of a broader perspective -- Justin Champion * BBC History Magazine *

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Book SynopsisOffers the best essays from the acclaimed collection originally published in French. This monumental work examines how and why events and figures become a part of a people's collective memory, how rewriting history can forge new paradigms of cultural identity, and how the meaning attached to an event can become as significant as the event itself.Trade ReviewThis is an indispensable guide to understanding France and the French. As usual, Arthur Goldhammer's translation is superb. Foreign Affairs This unusual book deals fascinatingly with everything from the creation of the rousing anthem "La Marseillaise" to the changing role of Joan of Arc in France's collective memory. Even the Eiffel Tower shines forth in surprising new facets. Chicago Tribune Provides arresting genealogies of a number of the major cleavages in French history, with chapters on the embattled relationship of Jews to the French republic, the peculiar affinities of Gaulism and Communism, and... Paris' haughty condescension toward la province... Without resorting to polemics, the volume reminds us that the image of the French past is confected as much out of amnesia as out of memory. Lingua Franca A magisterial attempt to define what it is to be French. Times Literary Supplement A magnificent achievement... [The essays included] are the high-carat jewels of the project. The New RepublicTable of ContentsIntroduction, by Pierre Nora Part I: Emblems 1. The Three Colors: Neither White nor Red, by Raoul Girardet 2. La Marseillaise: War or Peace, by Michel Vovelle 3. Liberty, Equality, Fraternity, by Mona Ozouf 4. Bastille Day: From Dies Irae to Holiday, by Christian Almavi Part II: Major Sites 1. Lascaux, by Jean-Paul Demoule 2. Reims, City of Coronation, by Jacques Le Goff 3. The Louvre, Royal Residence and Temple of the Arts, by Jean-Pierre Babelon 4. Versailles, the Image of the Sovereign, by Edouard Pommier 5. The Pantheon, The Ecole Normale of the Dead, by Mona Ozouf 6. The Eiffel Tower, by Henry Loyette 7. Verdun, by Antoine Prost Part III: Identifications 1. The Gallic Cock, by Michael Pastoureau 2. Joan of Arc, by Michael Winock 3. Descartes, by Francois Azouvi 4. Paris, A Traversal from East to West, by Maurice Agulhon 5. The Genius of the French Language, by Marc Fumaroli 6. The Era of Commemoration, by Pierre Nora Notes Index of Names Index of Subjects

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Book SynopsisHow does excavation enable the archaeologist to reconstruct the past? Victor Ambrus, who has been the Channel 4 Time Team artist since the programme''s inception in 1994, has selected some of the key excavations from the many series to show how it has been possible to recreate snapshots of the past.

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Book SynopsisReinhart Koselleck is regarded as one of the most important theorists of history and historiography of the late 20th century, and is an exponent and practitioner of "Begriffsgeschichte". The 18 essays in this volume illustrate the four theses of Koselleck's concept of history.Table of Contents1 On the Need for Theory in the Discipline of History 2 Social History and Conceptual History 20 3 Introduction to Hayden White's Tropics ofDiscourse 38 4 Transformations of Experience and Methodological Change: A Historical-Anthropological Essay 45 5 The Temporalization of Utopia 84 6 Time and History 100 7 Concepts of Historical Time and Social History 125 8 The Unknown Future and the Art of Prognosis 131 9 Remarks on the Revolutionary Calendar and Neue Zeit 148 10 The Eighteenth Century as the Beginning of Modernity 154 11 On the Anthropological and Semantic Structure of Bildung I70 12 Three biirgerliche Worlds? Preliminary Theoretical-Historical Remarks on the Comparative Semantics of Civil Society in Germany, England, and France 208 13 "Progress" and "Decline": An Appendix to the History of Two Concepts 218 14 Some Questions Regarding the Conceptual History of"Crisis" 236 15 The Limits of Emancipation: A Conceptual-Historical Sketch 248 16 Daumier and Death 265 17 War Memorials: Identity Formations of the Survivors 285 18 Afterword to Charlotte Beradt's The Third Reich of Dreams 327

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Book SynopsisEnlightenment thinkers, searching for ancient models to understand contemporary affairs, were the first to critically interpret Alexander the Great's achievements. As Pierre Briant shows, in their minds Alexander was the first European: an empire builder who welcomed trade with the Orient and brought Western civilization to its oppressed peoples.Trade ReviewIn this important work, a great historian of classical antiquity returns to the European ‘long eighteenth century’ and its reconsideration of the crucial figure of Alexander as a forerunner of its own imperial ambitions and projects. With its vast erudition, and careful attention to minor as well as major figures from Montesquieu to Droysen and beyond, Pierre Briant’s book is nothing less than a tour de force, both as a contribution to the intellectual history of the Enlightenment in its global dimensions, as well as to the complex dialogue between ‘Moderns’ and ‘Ancients.’ It confirms once more that the life-trajectory of the Macedonian conqueror remains an inexhaustible cultural resource, whether in the Christian or indeed the Islamic world, from the Atlantic and Mediterranean to Bengal and the Malay Peninsula. This is a significant and weighty contribution to a real global intellectual history. -- Sanjay Subrahmanyam, University of California, Los AngelesThe First European is a work of exceptional quality and interest. Briant’s patient disentanglement of the relationship between Alexander the Great, Enlightenment historical thought and European imperialism in India and the Middle East sheds dramatic new light on all three fields…This is a truly remarkable forgotten chapter of European intellectual history, laid out with passion and integrity. Neither Alexander nor Napoleon will ever look quite the same again. -- Peter Thonemann * Wall Street Journal *

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Book SynopsisA historical investigation of the exclusion of Africa and Asia from modern histories of philosophy. Winner of the 2016 Frantz Fanon Prize for Outstanding Book in Caribbean Thought presented by the Caribbean Philosophical Association In this provocative historiography, Peter K. J. Park provides a penetrating account of a crucial period in the development of philosophy as an academic discipline. During these decades, a number of European philosophers influenced by Immanuel Kant began to formulate the history of philosophy as a march of progress from the Greeks to Kant-a genealogy that supplanted existing accounts beginning in Egypt or Western Asia and at a time when European interest in Sanskrit and Persian literature was flourishing. Not without debate, these traditions were ultimately deemed outside the scope of philosophy and relegated to the study of religion. Park uncovers this debate and recounts the development of an exclusionary canon of philosophy in the decades of the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries. To what extent was this exclusion of Africa and Asia a result of the scientization of philosophy? To what extent was it a result of racism?This book includes the most extensive description available anywhere of Joseph-Marie de Gérando's Histoire comparée des systèmes de philosophie, Friedrich Schlegel's lectures on the history of philosophy, Friedrich Ast's and Thaddä Anselm Rixner's systematic integration of Africa and Asia into the history of philosophy, and the controversy between G. W. F. Hegel and the theologian August Tholuck over "pantheism."

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Book SynopsisIt is unlikely that a clearer, more stimulating account of the Russians' extraordinary period of imperial history will be written.' Philip Marsden, SpectatorGeoffrey Hosking's landmark book provides us with a new prism through which to view Russian history by posing the apparently simple question: what is Russia's national identity?Hosking answers this with brilliant originality: his thesis is that the needs of Russia's empire prevented the creation of a Russian nation. The Tsars, and before them the Grand Dukes of Moscow, were empire builders rather than nation builders and, as consequence, profoundly alienated ordinary Russians.Trade Review‘Hosking’s book is a tour de force of historical argument, vividly written [and] courageously argumentative.’ Michael Ignatieff, Observer ‘Brilliant…an elegantly written, humane and rigorous work of empirical history.’ Michael Burleigh, Independent on Sunday ‘“Russia: People and Empire” is the most interesting and authoritative account of Russian imperial history in English. It is a masterful synthesis, intelligent and lucid, passionately argumentative, but always fair, which should be read by everyone who wants to understand the origins of Russia’s predicament today.’ Orlando Figes, The Times

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Book SynopsisWhat difference do individuals make to history? Are we all swept up in the great forces like industrialisation or globalisation, or is the world we inhabit shaped just as much by real people - leaders for example - and the decisions that they make? For better or for worse, the personalities of the powerful can affect millions of people and the future of countries: it matters who is in the driving seat, and who is making plans. Equally important: how is history itself made by those who keep the records? In History's People Margaret Macmillan explores the lives of the great and lesser-known figures of the past: men, women, explorers, rulers, dreamers, politicians, observers, campaigners. She looks at the concept of leadership, from Bismarck to Franklin Delano Roosevelt, but also at the role of observers such as Babur, first Mughal emperor of India, and asks how explorers and visionaries such as Fanny Parkes and Elizabeth Simcoe managed to defy or ignore the constraints of their own societies. And, in doing so, she uncovers the important and complex relationship between biography and history, and between individuals and their times. Like all the best history, this book will change the way you see the past, as well as your own times - and perhaps introduce you to some people you didn't know.Trade ReviewIrreverent and highly enjoyable * Observer *Combines erudition and enthusiasm * Independent *As entertaining and illuminating a work of popular history as one could possibly wish for * Prospect *She yet again shows that she is not only a consummate storyteller; she is also a brilliant historian * New Statesman *A wise and necessary book * The Times *Her enthusiasm ... really shines through. * Financial Times *Exhilarating * Guardian *

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Book SynopsisExamines the body of work on the intellectual, social and cultural origins of early modern science. Cohen surveys a wide range of scholarship since the 19th century, offering new perspectives on how the Scientific Revolution changed the way we understand the natural world and our place in it.Table of ContentsPart 1 Defining the Nature of the Scientific Revolution: The Great Tradition - Concepts and approaches in studying the Scientific Revolution; The New Science in a Wider Setting - The cultural, social and historical context of the new science. Part 2 The Search for Causes of the Scientific Revolution: The Emergence of Early Modern Science from Previous Western Thought on Nature - Why the Scientific Revolution did not take place in Ancient Greece and how early modern science emerged from Renaissance thought; The Emergence of Early Modern Science from Events in the History of Western Europe; the Nonemergence of Early Modern Science Outside Western Europe. Part 3 Summary and Conclusions: the Scientific Revolution - 50 Years in the Life of a Concept; the Structure of the Scientific Revolution.

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Book SynopsisTrade Review"Deep Maps and Spatial Narratives sets out to describe 'deep mapping,' an enhanced environment of data from widely distributed sources used to create a contextual view of a place, a network of social aspects, and environment, as the next step forward in the use of geo-referenced information. It spells out the state-of-the art in the use of new technology in mapping and geo-registration and its ramifications for history, geography, social sciences, cultural studies, environment research, and the humanities. The articles are filled with suggestions and viewpoints that are stimulating [and] the questions raised numerous and complex." -Lewis Lancaster, University of California BerkeleyTable of ContentsIntroduction. Between Matter and Meaning: Deep Maps and the Spatial Humanities1. Narrating Space and Place / David J. Bodenhamer2. Deep Geography—Deep Mapping: Spatial Storytelling and a Sense of Place / Trevor M. Harris3. Genealogies of Emplacement / John Corrigan4. Inscribing the Past: Depth as Narrative in Historical Spacetime / Philip Ethington and Nobuko Toyosawa5. Quelling Imperious Urges: Deep Emotional Mappings and the Ethnopoetics of Space / Stuart C. Aitken6. Deep Mapping and Neogeography / Barney Warf7. Spatializing and Analysing Digital Texts: Corpora, GIS and Places / Ian Gregory, David Cooper, Andrew Hardie, and Paul Rayson8. GIS as a Narrative Generation Platform / May Yuan, Grant DeLozier, and John McIntosh9. Warp and Weft on the Loom of Lat/Long / Worthy Martin Conclusion: Engaging Deep MapsNotesContributorsIndex

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Book SynopsisThis book should stimulate work and thought rather than impose a new orthodoxy. Its combination of iconoclasm with questioning gives it an interest that is relatively rare in recent English historiography.

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Book SynopsisNew Princeton paperback printing, with a new foreword by J.R. McNeill.Trade Review"A remarkable tour de force ... An elegant, intelligent and scholarly essay."--J. H. Hexter, New York Times Book Review "A brilliant new interpretation of world history."--David Graber, Los Angeles Times Book Review "There is virtually no one in the profession who can match McNeill as a synthesizer--or, for that matter, as an interdisciplinary historian... There is more insight in this volume than in others of double or triple the length."--David Courtwright, Journal of Interdisciplinary History "How refreshing in this era of foreboding to read an informed analysis of human prospects ending on a positive note that we are the creators rather than the creatures of our destiny."--L.S. Stavrianos, Journal of World HistoryTable of ContentsForeword vii Preface xvii I The Great Frontier: Freedom and Hierarchy in Modern Times Acknowledgements 3 Lecture I: To 1750 5 Lecture II: From 1750 33 II The Human Condition: An Ecological and Historical View Acknowledgements 67 Microparasitism, Macroparasitism, and the Urban Transmutation 69 Microparasitism, Macroparasitism, and the commercial transmutation 100 III Control and Catastrophe in Human Affairs 133 Notes 151 Index 161

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