History and Archaeology Books

What can the great crises of the past teach us about contemporary revolutions? Jack Goldstone shows the important role of population changes, youth bulges, urbanization, elite divisions, and fiscal crises in creating major political crises. Goldstone shows how state breakdowns in both western monarchies and Asian empires followed the same patterns, triggered when inflexible political, economic, and social institutions were overwhelmed by cumulative changes in population structure that collided with popular aspirations and state-elite relations. Examining the great revolutions of Europethe English and French Revolutionsand the great rebellions of Asia, which shattered dynasties in Ottoman Turkey, China, and Japan, he shows how long cycles of revolutionary crises and stability similarly shaped politics in Europe and Asia, but led to different outcomes.In this 25th anniversary edition, Goldstone reflects on the history of revolutions in the last twenty-five years, from the Phili

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Book SynopsisMethodism played an important part in the spread of Christianity from its European heartlands to the Americas, Asia, Africa and the Pacific. From John Wesley's initial reluctance, via haphazard ventures and over-ambitious targets, a well-organized and supported Wesleyan Society developed. Smaller branches of British Methodism undertook their own foreign missions. This book, together with a companion volume on the 20th century, offers an account of the overseas mission activity of British and Irish Methodists, its roots and fruits. John Pritchard explores many aspects of mission, ranging from Labrador to New Zealand and from Sierra Leone to Sri Lanka, from open air preaching to political engagement, from the isolation of early pioneers to the creation of self-governing churches. Tracing the nineteenth-century missionary work of the Churches with Wesleyan roots which went on to unite in 1932, Pritchard explores the shifting theologies and attitudes of missionaries who crossed cultural aTrade Review’There has long been a need for a concise and comprehensive account of British Methodism's engagement in world mission. John Pritchard's volume admirably meets that need and will be essential reading for any student of Methodism.’ Brian E. Beck, former President and Secretary of the Methodist Conference '... a very important, readable history of a wonderful story where British and Irish missionaries, alongside local converts, migrants and those in the colonial world, established Methodism across the planet. A denomination of 80 million people needs to remember where it came from so that it can help determine its future. This text, and its companion volume, will be a major contribution to this.' Irish Methodist Newsletter 'John Pritchard has spent most of his ministry in mission and mission affairs for the Methodist Church and this work is informed by all of that, but it is primarily a carefully researched and thoughtful analysis of the vast canvas of mission the Methodist in all of their denominational manifestations undertook over 140 years. John is to be congratulated and I, for one, await keenly the second volume covering the twentieth century which is hinted at in the conclusion.' Proceedings of the Wesley Historical Society ’John Pritchard has written a very satisfying book that is likely to serve for a good time as the standard work on Methodist mission activity before 1900. Along with [the] companion volume ...scholars and general readers are now equipped with two excellent accounts of the work of the Methodist missionary societies.’ Wesley and Methodist StudiesTable of ContentsAbbreviations; Glossary; Place-Names; Preface; Chapter 1 Beginning with Wesley; Chapter 2 Coke’s World Parish; Chapter 3 1813; Chapter 4 Colonies and Dominions; Chapter 5 Pioneers; Chapter 6 Gospel and Justice; Chapter 7 The WMMS: The First Fifty Years; Chapter 8 Into India; Chapter 9 The Challenge of China; Chapter 10 Advance in Africa; Chapter 11 Islands in the Sun; Chapter 12 Parallel Missions; Chapter 13 The Century in Retrospect; Chapter 14 The Life of the Missionary; Chapter 15 Women Workers; Chapter 16 Missionary Martyrs of the Nineteenth Century; Conclusion A New Century;

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Book SynopsisPosing a challenge to more traditional approaches to the history of education, this interdisciplinary collection examines the complex web of beliefs and methods by which culture was transmitted to young people in the long eighteenth century. Expanding the definition of education exposes the shaky ground on which some historical assumptions rest. For example, studying conventional pedagogical texts and practices used for girls'' home education alongside evidence gleaned from women''s diaries and letters suggests domestic settings were the loci for far more rigorous intellectual training than has previously been acknowledged. Contributors cast a wide net, engaging with debates between private and public education, the educational agenda of Hannah More, women schoolteachers, the role of diplomats in educating boys embarked on the Grand Tour, English Jesuit education, eighteenth-century print culture and education in Ireland, the role of the print trades in the use of teaching aids in earlTrade Review'This book is an outstanding contribution to the silent revolution that is placing education at the heart of the cultural history of the "long eighteenth century". The editors set out to redefine education as a cultural, rather than a political, social or purely instructive practice. The editors and contributors demonstrate convincingly the innovative work that is possible outside conventional disciplinary boundaries in the conceptual space constituted through education. This is a book that sets agendas for future research and debate as it sheds light on "new ways of seeing" in the history of education. It is a book with the potential to reconfigure both history and education.' Joyce Goodman, University of Winchester, UK 'A first-rate volume that is of considerable value, both for content and for methodology.' Enlightenment and DissentTable of ContentsContents: Introduction, Mary Hilton and Jill Shefrin; 'O miserable and most ruinous measure': the debate between private and public education in Britain, 1760-1800, Sophia Woodley; Evangelicalism and enlightenment: the educational agenda of Hannah More, Anne Stott; Marketing religious identity: female educators, Methodist culture, and 18th-century childhood, Mary Clare Martin; Learning and virtue: English grammar and the 18th-century girls' school, Carol Percy; ' Familiar conversation': the role of the 'familiar format' in education in 18th- and 19th-century England, Michèle Cohen; Hosting the Grand Tour: civility, enlightenment and culture, c. 1740-1790, Jennifer Mori; 'Superior to the rudest shocks of adversity': English Jesuit education and culture in the long 18th century, 1688-1832, Maurice Whitehead; Colonising the mind: the use of English writers in the education of the Irish poor, c 1750-1850, Deirdre Raftery; 'Adapted for and used in infants' schools, nurseries, &c.': booksellers and the infant school market, Jill Shefrin; Delightful instruction? Assessing children's use of educational books in the long 18th century, M.O. Grenby; Bibliography; Index.

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Book SynopsisThis volume casts a fresh look at the multifaceted expressions of diachronic Hellenisms. A distinguished group of historians, classicists, anthropologists, ethnographers, cultural studies, and comparative literature scholars contribute essays exploring the variegated mantles of Greek ethnicity, and the legacy of Greek culture for the ancient and modern Greeks in the homeland and the diaspora, as well as for the ancient Romans and the modern Europeans. Given the scarcity of books on diachronic Hellenism in the English-speaking world, the publication of this volume represents nothing less than a breakthrough. The book provides a valuable forum to reflect on Hellenism, and is certain to generate further academic interest in the topic. The specific contribution of this volume lies in the fact that it problematizes the fluidity of Hellenism and offers a much-needed public dialogue between disparate viewpoints, in the process making a case for the existence and viability of such a polyphony.Trade Review'This volume offers a penetrating and multifaceted analysis of Hellenic identity from antiquity to the present day. It includes contributions from some of the world's leading scholars and ranges across fields as diverse as history, literature, anthropology, psychoanalysis, cinema, and diaspora studies. This is a fascinating exploration of how Greeks, past and present, at home and abroad, have employed language, religion, cultural memories, folkways, intellectual discourses, conceptions of time, and ethnographic self-representations to proclaim an identity that has had to respond and adapt to the varying conditions of imperialism, conquest, displacement, as well as to the perceived status of Greece within the European and global imagination.' Jonathan M. Hall, University of Chicago, USA 'Although the permutations of Hellenism have been a deeply influential aspect of Western history and culture, usually they have been approached in a geographically and chronologically limited way and by relatively traditional methods. This volume breaks new ground by exploring Hellenic identities more broadly in their richly multifaceted versions through time, and by drawing on some of the most exciting innovations in cultural studies, literary and historical disciplines, anthropology, and other fields. Five chapters trace the development of Hellenisms from antiquity to the Middle Ages, four follow the emergence of Hellenism and Philhellenism in modern Greece and Europe, and the last five investigate the impact of Hellenism on Greece and the Greek diaspora. This is a book which will be of enormous interest not only to specialists of all Greek periods but also to scholars analyzing the transmission and reception of cultural models through history. As a whole, it argues convincingly that the study of the Greeks and of Hellenisms should be intertwined.' Vassilis Lambropoulos, University of Michigan, USATable of ContentsContents: Preface; Introduction, Katerina Zacharia; Part I Hellenic Culture and Identity from Antiquity to Byzantium: Herodotus' 4 markers of Greek identity, Katerina Zacharia; Greek identity in the archaic and classical periods, Simon Hornblower; Greek identity in the Hellenistic period, Stanley Burstein; Graecia capta: the confrontation between Greek and Roman identity, Ronald Mellor; Hellenic identity, Romanitas and Christianity in Byzantium, Claudia Rapp. Part II Cultural Legacies: Travelling Hellenisms: Mediterranean Antiquity, European Legacies and Modern Greece: Philhellenism, cosmopolitanism, nationalism, Glenn Most; Philhellenic promises and Hellenic visions: Korais and the discourses of the enlightenment, Olga Augustinos; Hellenism and the making of modern Greece: time language, space, Antonis Liakos; The quest for Hellenism: religion, nationalism and collective identities in Greece, 1453-1913, Dimitris Livanios. Part III Ethnic Identity: Places, Contexts, Movement. Facets of Hellenism: Hellas, Europe, Modern Greece, Diaspora: Dreams of treasure: temporality, historicization, and the unconscious, Charles Stewart; Cultural difference as national identity in modern Greece, Peter Mackridge; 'Reel' Hellenisms: perceptions of Greece in Greek cinema, Katerina Zacharia; Against cultural loss: immigration, life history, and the enduring 'vernacular', Yiorgos Anagnostou; Greek-American identity: what women's handwork tells us, Artemis Leontis; Bibliography; Select glossary; Index.

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Book SynopsisThe studies collected here deal with social and cultural changes in Polish lands during the early phases of industrialisation, i.e. the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Attention is first given to the stabilisation of urban agglomerations and workers'' communities, and the accompanying transformations in social status, family structure, and collective life and culture of the workers. An especial focus is the cultural transformations which occurred at the time of the 1905-1907 revolution in the Kingdom of Poland, incorporating it into tsarist Russia. In parallel with this, Professor Zarnowska has been concerned to examine the gender-determined inequalities of the life opportunities of women and men, and how these altered as social modernisation in Poland progressed. She looks at the changing legal and social status of women and their life chances, as well as the emergence of new social models of women''s roles. Several studies are also devoted to the impact exerted by urban civilisTable of ContentsContents: Preface; Part 1 The Working Class and Social Change in Poland in the Final Decades of the 19th Century and in the Early 20th Century - The Working Class Culture: La classe ouvrière polonaise à la charnière des XIXe et XXe ss.: integration et differenciation; Die soziale Herkunft des städtischen Proletariats im Königreich Polen; Probleme der Herausbildung und politischen Formierung der Arbeiterklasse. Ost-mitteleuropäische Besonderheiten; Rural immigrants and their adaptation to the working-class community in Warsaw; Working-class culture or workers' culture? The problem of working-class culture in Poland at the turn of the 20th century; Religion and politics: Polish workers c. 1900; Education of working-class women in the Polish kingdom (the 19th century - beginning of the 20th century). Part 2 The Political Culture of Society Early in the 20th Century - The Revolution of 1905-07 in the Polish Kingdom: Determinants of the political activity of the working class in the Polish territories on the turn of the 19th century; Some aspects of the democratization of political life in congress Poland at the beginning of the 20th century; Revolution of 1905-07 and the political activation of the working class in the Polish kingdom; Die Genese der Spaltung in der Polnischen Sozialistischen Partei im 1906. Part 3 The Changing Family and the Socio-Cultural Position of Women: Working family in the kingdom of Poland at the end of the 19th century; Women in working class families in the Congress kingdom (the Russian zone of Poland) at the turn of the 19th century; Changes in the occupation and social status of women in Poland since the Industrial Revolution till 1939; Family and public life: barriers and interpenetration - women in Poland at the turn of the century; Social change, women, and the family in the era of industrialization: recent Polish research; Index.

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Book SynopsisDividing the nation and causing massive political change, the English Civil War remains one of the most decisive and dramatic conflicts of English history. Lawrence Stone''s account of the factors leading up to the deposition of Charles I in 1642 is widely regarded as a classic in the field. Brilliantly synthesising the historical, political and sociological interpretations of the seventeeth century, Stone explores theories of revolution and traces the social and economic change that led to this period of instability. The picture that emerges is one where historical interpretation is enriched but not determined by grand theories in the social sciences and, as Stone elegantly argues, one where the upheavals of the seventeenth century are central to the very story of modernity.This Routledge Classics edition includes a new foreword by Clare Jackson, Trinity Hall, Cambridge.Trade Review‘Much the best all-round analysis of the causes of the English Revolution that we have.’ Times Literary Supplement‘He was that rare person among the academic species, both a historians' historian and a popular one.' Michael Thompson, The Guardian‘Lawrence Stone belonged to a remarkable generation of British historians who dominated and defined their subject for nearly half a century, and which included Christopher Hill, G.R. Elton, Asa Briggs, J.H. Plumb, Eric Hobsbawm and Edward Thompson. They all wrote widely and well, and reached a large audience in universities and far beyond. But in many ways, Stone was the most creative - and the most controversial - of them all.’ David Cannadine, The IndependentTable of ContentsAcknowledgmentsForeword to the Routledge Classics Edition – Clare JacksonPrefacePreface to the second editionPart I HistoriographyChapter 1 Theories of revolutionChapter 2 The social origins of the English RevolutionPart II InterpretationChapter 3 The causes of the English Revolution Presuppositions The preconditions 1529-1629 The precipitants, 1629-39 The triggers, 1640-2 Conclusion Chapter 4 Second thoughts in 1985Index

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Book SynopsisThe medieval monster is a slippery construct, and its referents include a range of religious, racial, and corporeal aberrations. In this study, Miller argues that one incarnation of monstrosity in the Middle Agesthe female bodyexists in special relation to medieval teratology insofar as it resists the customary marginalization that defined most other monstrous groups in the Middle Ages. Though medieval maps located the monstrous races on the distant margins of the civilized world, the monstrous female body took the form of mother, sister, wife, and daughter. It was, therefore, pervasive, proximate, and necessary on social, sexual, and reproductive grounds. Miller considers several significant texts representing authoritative discourses on female monstrosity in the Middle Ages: the Pseudo-Ovidian poem, De vetula (The Old Woman); a treatise on human generation erroneously attributed to Albert the Great, De secretis mulierum (On the Secrets of Women), and Julian of NoTrade Review"This is a fine, stimulating book which constructs a subtle, complex argument not only about monsters, but the theorizing of men and women in the thirteenth and fourtteenth centuries."-- The Medieval Review"Makes a significant contribution to our understanding of the complex workings of medieval teratological discourse, its constructive and deconstructive capacities, and its role within the formation of medieval socioreligious material and textual identities."- Journal of British StudiesTable of ContentsAcknowledgments Introduction: The Monstrous Borders of the Female Body 1: Ovidian Poetry, Virgins, Mothers, and Monsters: Ovidian and Pseudo-Ovidian Bodies 2: Gynecology, Gynecological Secrets: Blood, Seed, and Monstrous Births in De secretis mulierum 3: Mystical Theology, Monstrous Love: The Permeable Body of Christ in Julian of Norwich’s Showings Conclusion: The Monstrous Borders of the Self Notes Bibliography Index

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Book SynopsisCapetian France 9871328 is an authoritative overview of the country's development across four centuries, with a focus on changes to the political, religious, social and cultural climate during this period. When Hugh Capet took the throne of France in 987, his powers were weak and insignificant, but from an inauspicious beginning he founded a dynasty that was to last over 300 years and that came to dominate western Europe. This carefully updated third edition draws extensively on new scholarship that has emerged since the previous edition. It contains images, maps, family trees and a discussion of key sources, allowing the reader to develop a strong contextual knowledge as well as a greater connection with the material world of the period.Maintaining a balance between a compelling narrative and an in-depth examination of central themes of the age, Capetian France 9871328 provides a comprehensive account of this significant era within FranTable of ContentsChapter 1: French Society in the Tenth and Eleventh Centuries; Chapter 2: Politics and Society: A Regional View; Chapter 3: The Early Capetians, 987–1108; Chapter 4: The Revival of Royal Power, 1108–1226; Chapter 5: Louis IX: The Consolidation of Royal Power, 1226–70; Chapter 6: The Last Capetians, 1270–1328: The Apogee of Royal Power; Chapter 7: Epilogue; Select Bibliography; Index

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Book SynopsisThis volume, first published in 1977, brings together eleven studies of crime and the administration of the criminal law in England during the early modern period. They represent a variety of approaches legal, historical and sociological to the study of historical crime. The initial essay in this study, which is written from a legal standpoint, is the first coordinated account of the structure of criminal law administration in this formative period. It is followed by investigations into the nature and incidence of crime, court appearance and punishment, separate studies of witchcraft, infanticide and poaching, and an account of conditions in eighteenth-century Newgate. This book will be of particular interest to students of criminology and history. Table of ContentsNotes on Contributors; List of Abbreviations; Preface; Introduction: Crime and the Historian; 1. Criminal Courts and Procedure at Common Law 1550-1800 2. The Nature and Incidence of Crime in England 1559-1625: A Preliminary Survey 3. Witchcraft in Tudor and Stewart Essex 4. Crime and Delinquency in an Essex Parish 1600-1640 5. Communities and Courts: Law and Disorder in Early-Seventeenth-Century Wiltshire 6. Quarter Sessions Appearances and their Background: A Seventeenth-Century Regional Study 7. Crime and the Courts in Surrey 1736-1753 8. Infanticide in the Eighteenth Century 9. The Game Laws in Wiltshire 1750-1800 10. Finding Solace in Eighteenth-Century Newgate 11. The Ordinary of Newgate and His Account; Crime and Criminal Justice: A Critical Bibliography; Notes; Index

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Book SynopsisUsing gender analysis and focusing on previously unexamined testimonies of women rebels, political scientist Lorraine Bayard de Volo shatters the prevailing masculine narrative of the Cuban Revolution. Contrary to the Cuban War story''s mythology of an insurrection single-handedly won by bearded guerrillas, Bayard de Volo shows that revolutions are not won and lost only by bullets and battlefield heroics. Focusing on women''s multiple forms of participation in the insurrection, especially those that occurred off the battlefield, such as smuggling messages, hiding weapons, and distributing propaganda, Bayard de Volo explores how gender - both masculinity and femininity - were deployed as tactics in the important though largely unexamined battle for the ''hearts and minds'' of the Cuban people. Drawing on extensive, rarely-examined archives including interviews and oral histories, this author offers an entirely new interpretation of one of the Cold War''s most significant events.Trade Review'Drawing upon impressive research, Lorraine Bayard de Volo has written a fascinating new history of the Cuban insurrection: a history from below. She convincingly shows that earlier political histories, with their focus on strategy and bullets, obscure the equally, or more, important story of ideas - efforts to capture hearts and minds - without which the revolutionaries would not have come to power.' Karen Kampwirth, Knox College, Illinois'The Cuban revolution will never look the same after one reads Lorraine Bayard de Volvo's deeply researched, surprising account. She has made me look afresh at women's revolutionary activism outside the mountains, at Castro's tactical gender equity, and at Che Guevara's commitment to militarized masculinity. Everyone interested in war, revolution and feminist research will have their eyes opened by this new book. That's a promise.' Cynthia Enloe, author of The Big Push: Exposing and Challenging the Persistence of Patriarchy'Women and the Cuban Insurrection: How Gender Shaped Castro's Victory centers on women who heretofore were rarely acknowledged but whose contribution makes this text a very inclusive history of the mid-twentieth-century Cuban insurrection. Bayard de Volo provides a rich and detailed account of the political activities of women from the 1930s onward that in fact shaped and facilitated Castro's success when he entered Havana on January 1, 1959. In doing so, Bayard de Volo recounts the thirty-year struggle from an intersectional perspective, using gender, class, age, region, and race as key points of her examination.' A. Lynn Bolles, American Historical ReviewTable of Contents1. Revolution retold: what a gender lens tells us about the Cuban insurrection; 2. 'How can men tire when women are tireless': women rebels before Moncada; 3. A movement is born: military defeat and political victory at Moncada; 4. Abeyance and resurgence: sustaining rebellion in prison and exile; 5. Gendered rebels: barriers and privileges; 6. War stories celebrated and silenced: tactical femininity, bombing, and sexual assault in the urban underground; 7. 'Stop the murders of our children': mothers and the battle for hearts and minds; 8. Gendered rebels: the Guerrilla war of ideas; 9. Women noncombatants: multiple paths and contributions; 10. Las Marianas: even the women in arms; 11. Past is prologue: victory and consolidation.

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Book SynopsisIn a radical reappraisal of Iran''s modern history, Ervand Abrahamian traces the country''s traumatic journey from the mid-nineteenth century to the present day, through the discovery of oil, imperial interventions, the rule of the Pahlavis, and the birth of the Islamic Republic. The first edition was named the Choice Outstanding Academic Title in 2009. This second edition brings the narrative up to date, with the Green uprisings of 2009, the second Ahmadinejad administration, the election of Rouhani, and the Iran nuclear deal. Ervand Abrahamian, who is one of the most distinguished historians writing on Iran today, is a compassionate expositor, and at the heart of the book is the people of Iran, who have endured and survived a century of war and revolution.Trade Review'The book's greatest achievement is that it helps the reader to straightforwardly navigate historical events since late nineteenth century that have shaped today's Iran. [It] unquestionably is a distinguished reference for those looking for a beautifully written narrative of contemporary history of Iran.' Seyed Ali Alavi, School of Oriental and African Studies, University of LondonTable of ContentsIntroduction, 1. 'Royal despots': state and society under the Qajars; 2. Reform, revolution, and the Great War; 3. The iron fist of Reza Shah; 4. The nationalist interregnum; 5. Muhammad Reza Shah's White Revolution; 6. The Islamic Republic; Notes; Bibliography; Further reading; Index.

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Book SynopsisThe Business of Beauty is a unique exploration of the history of beauty, consumption, and business in Victorian and Edwardian London. Illuminating national and cultural contingencies specific to London as a global metropolis, it makes an important intervention by challenging the view of those wholike their historical contemporariesperceive the 19th and early 20th centuries as devoid of beauty praxis, let alone a commercial beauty culture.Contrary to this perception, The Business of Beauty reveals that Victorian and Edwardian women and men developed a number of tacit strategies to transform their looks including the purchase of new goods and services from a heterogeneous group of urban entrepreneurs: hairdressers, barbers, perfumers, wigmakers, complexion specialists, hair-restorers, manicurists, and beauty culturists. Mining trade journals, census data, periodical print, and advice literature, Jessica P. Clark takes us on a journey through Victorian and Edwardian London'sTrade ReviewClark’s study is an elegant one, rich in detail with a sophisticated argument that compellingly encapsulates an important element of the beauty scene in a major global city ... Debates over beauty—currently a multibillion-dollar global industry incorporate and reveal issues of business, law, the body, morality, and labour in Britain and beyond, making The Business of Beauty a timely and important contribution. * Histoire sociale/Social History *[T]his text complements existing work around fashion and modernity in London, with a timely focus on the impact that colonialism, nationalism, and gender based conventions in the nineteenth century have had on so many aspects of life. * Journal of Dress History *Clark’s fascinating study of beauty entrepreneurship in 19th-century London provides wonderful insights not only into Victorian and Edwardian business and marketing practices but also into the history of gender, self-fashioning, national identities, and urban cosmopolitanism. Through careful research, the author has unearthed a wide array of intriguing source material that will surprise and delight. * Paul R. Deslandes, University of Vermont, USA *In this lively and imaginative new study, Jessica Clark demonstrates how the Victorians invented a major beauty industry in the center of their capital city. By focusing on hairdressers and other beauty experts, Clark’s fascinating and entertaining new book establishes how London became the center of a new type of consumer culture, in which consumers who could afford it could transform their bodies and identities. This is a must-read for anyone interested in the history of London, gender and capitalism. * Erika Rappaport, University of California, Santa Barbara, USA *Table of ContentsList of Plates List of Figures List of Maps Acknowledgments 1. Introduction 2. ’Backmewsy’ Beauty: Agnes Headman and Aimée Lloyd 3. Upstarts and Outliers: Sarah “Madame Rachel” Leverson 4. Mobilizing Men: Robert Douglas and H.P. Truefitt 5. Professionalizing Perfumery: Eugène Rimmel 6. Female Enterprise at the Fin-de-Siècle: Jeannette Pomeroy 7. From Beauty Culturist to Beauty Magnate: Helena Rubinstein Epilogue Appendix I Appendix II Notes Select Bibliography Index

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Book SynopsisFranciscans in sixteenth-century New Spain were deeply ambivalent about their mission work. Fray Juan de Zumà rraga, the first archbishop of Mexico, begged the king to find someone else to do his job so that he could go home. Fray Juan de Ribas, one of the original twelve 'apostles of Mexico' and a founding pillar of the church in New Spain, later fled with eleven other friars into the wilderness to escape the demands of building that church. Fray Jerà nimo de Mendieta, having returned from an important preaching tour in New Spain, wrote to his superior that he did not want to enlist again, and that the only way he would return to the mission field was if God dragged him by the hair. This discontent was widespread, grew stronger with time, and carried important consequences for the friars' interactions with indigenous peoples, their Catholic co-laborers, and colonial society at large. This book examines that discontent and seeks to explain why the exhilaration of joining such a 'gloTrade Review''Franciscan Spirituality's strengths lie in its explication of the transformation of the Franciscan Order in the Americas in the sixteenth century, its focus on the tension between spirituality and mission, and its ability to migrate between two scales of analysis: the history of individual Franciscans and the history of the order. Turley makes good use of Pierre Bourdieu's notion of habitus to assist his approach. This conceptual framework and the coherence and consistency of these three themes make the book a concise and original contribution to the history of the Franciscan order.' Sixteenth Century Journal ’Turley provides a well-written account that demonstrates the impact missionary work had on the spiritual life of the Franciscans. Employing well-known sources and events in new ways to expose diversity and conflict, Turley’s work encourages readers to consider the impacts of evangelization beyond the natives to include the Franciscans charged with their conversion.’ American Historical Review 'Franciscan Spirituality and Mission in New Spain contributes a vital facet to the study of Franciscan missionaries in early colonial Mexico, and presents an essential chapter in the global history of the Franciscan order. Turley’s insightful and well-researched study provides valuable insight into the spiritual conflicts that framed the Franciscan attitudes toward the mission enterprise. As a study of how Franciscan spirituality influenced mission politics at both a colonial and imperial level, it will be of particular interest to scholars of sixteenth-century Mexico, early modern missions, and Franciscan history.' Renaissance QuarterlyTable of ContentsContents: Introduction; Medieval precedents of missionary spirituality, 1209-1523; The eremitic ideal of the mission pioneers, 1524-1548; The difficult reality of the mission practitioners, 1524-1548; Flight and fight in the missionary Church, 1549-1574; Eremitic retreat and a new missiology in the Church, 1549-1574; Crisis and renewal in the maturing Church, 1574-1599; Peninsular repercussions of the mission enterprise; Conclusions; Bibliography; Index.

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Book SynopsisThe true story of 'The King's Curse'; the extraordinary life of Margaret Pole, niece of Richard III, loyal servant of the Tudors.Trade Review‘At last, a biography of one of the most powerful and fascinating women of the Tudor period: the tragic and dramatic story of Margaret Pole, the last Plantagenet, has too long been overlooked’ -- Leanda de Lisle, author of Tudors: The Family Story‘Carefully written … serious and judicious’ -- Hilary Mantel

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Book SynopsisMirsad Hadžkadic never planned for a life in politics. Yet, in 2018, he decided to run for the Bosniak presidential council seat in Bosnia and Herzegovina. Mirsad made the life-changing decision to run, despite the fact that he had a successful, thirty-year career as a professor at the University of North Carolina.

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Book SynopsisNo written source is entirely without literary artifice, but the letters sent from Asia Minor, Syria and Palestine in the high middle ages come closest to recording the real feelings of those who lived in and visited the crusader states. They are not, of course, reflective pieces, but they do convey the immediacy of circumstances which were frequently dramatic and often life-threatening. Those settled in the East faced crises all the time, while crusaders and pilgrims knew they were experiencing defining moments in their lives. There are accounts of all the great events from the triumph of the capture of Jerusalem in 1099 to the disasters of Hattin in 1187 and the loss of Acre in 1291. These had an impact on the lives of all Latin Christians, but at the same time individuals felt impelled to describe both their own personal achievements and disappointments and the wonders and horrors of what they had seen. Moreover, the representatives of the military and monastic orders used lettersTrade Review'... in crusader studies, these letters will help to shed light on the feelings, motivations, and beliefs of the writers, which are not usually evident in the chronicles. This will be particularly relevant for teaching, as the material presented here is an anthology of sorts, which students at undergraduate and postgraduate level will find extremely useful for their research. The valuable work by Ashgate thus continues, and other volumes in the series are eagerly awaited.' Islam and Christian-Muslim Relations 'Altogether, this book is an important contribution to research, and especially to teaching, about the crusading movement.' The Medieval Review 'This excellent and very useful collection... The book is now essential reading for any course in crusade history and takes a proud place in a distinguished publication series.' Edward Peters, Catholic Historical Review 'The great strength of the collection is its scope... [a] fascinating and accessible contribution to the growing body of literature on the crusades.' Parergon 'The translations are readable without compromising on accuracy ... The collection’s strength is in its potential contribution to a fully realised undergraduate reading-list, providing a source type often neglected and inaccessible, to be read alongside more familiar accounts.' English Historical ReviewTable of ContentsContents: Preface; Maps; Chronology of events; Introduction; Contents; Letters from the East; Sources; Sources in translation containing letters from the East; Index.

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Book SynopsisOutremer: Faith and Blood is a 28mm skirmish wargame featuring small groups of warriors fighting in Outremer during the Crusades. While suitable for one-off skirmish encounters the focus of the game is a structured and progressive campaign setting in which they are able to watch their force grow and develop over a series of scenarios and encounters from a small party of five or so soldiers into a powerful warband a score strong. Character development is key, and a wide range of troop options and factions allows a high degree of individuality and personalization. Players will also be able to recruit mercenaries and agents such as Hashashin and Varangian survivors to bolster their forces--potent but expensive additions that will add a distinct flavor to each encounter.Table of ContentsIntroduction The Rules Building a Warband The Campaign Scenarios

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Book SynopsisExamining a single broad tribal identity al-Azd from the immediate pre-Islamic period into the early Abbasid era, this book notes the ways it was continually refashioned over that time.

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Book SynopsisAsia After Versailles addresses an important watershed for Asian nations - the response to the Paris Peace Conference of 1919. It marked the end of a conflict which, although intrinsically European, had globalized the world on many levels and stood at the beginning of a new order that saw the power centre shift towards the US and Asia.

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Book Synopsis The 13th Century was a fascinating era in world history. Genghis Khan established the largest contiguous land empire in history. The Magna Carta was drafted. Marco Polo travelled through Asia and trade expanded across the Indian Ocean and Baltic Sea, setting the stage for greater expansion in the 15th century. The Native Americans of Cahokia, Mesoamerica and the Chimor State flourishedwhile Mali, Ethiopia and Great Zimbabwe throve in Sub-Saharan Africa. This world history chronicles the important events in this pivotal century, while exploring many of the relevant figures of the era, including King John of England, St. Francis of Assisi, Balban of India and many others.

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Book SynopsisCrusading kings such as Louis IX of France and Richard I of England exert a unique hold on our historical imagination. For this reason, it can be easy to forget that European rulers were not always eager participants in holy war. The First Crusade was launched in 1095, and yet the first monarch did not join the movement until 1146, when the French king Louis VII took the cross to lead the Second Crusade. One contemporary went so far as to compare the crusades to 'Creation and man's redemption on the cross', so what impact did fifty years of non-participation have on the image and practice of European kingship and the parameters of cultural development? This book considers this question by examining the challenge to political authority that confronted the French kings and their family members as a direct result of their failure to join the early crusades, and their less-than-impressive involvement in later ones.Trade Review‘Constructing Kingship is a valuable book which engages seriously with a theme, the impact of the crusades on royal action and ideology, which has been, as Naus points out (pp. 6-7), overlooked for far too long. Its central thesis is a stimulating argument which will hopefully inspire further research on this topic, and throughout the book Naus highlights many fascinating links between the crusades and the Capetian monarchy which are rarely considered together. The highlight of the book is undoubtedly the third chapter’s marvellous textual analysis of Suger’s Gesta Ludovici Grossi, which sheds important new light on one of 12th-century France’s most important narrative sources.’Mr Niall Ó Súilleabháin, Trinity College Dublin, Reviews in History‘Naus has put his stamp on this most critical topic, and his book will now serve as a starting point for discussion of it.’Jay Rubenstein, University of Tennessee-Knoxville, H-France Review Vol. 17 (February 2017), No. 34‘A book that will be of use to students of kingship, holy war, and the cultural tumult of the central Middle Ages.’ Matthew Gabriele, Virginia Tech, Medieval Review‘Naus has produced a work for which there has been a sore need, which is engaging, well written, and thought-provoking.’Stephen Donnachie, Royal Studies Journal'Overall, one will find this book an intelligently well written study, which is to serve as basis/groundwork for further research on this subject.'Boris Gübele, Göttingen, Historischen Zeitschrift Heft 309/1 -- .Table of ContentsIntroductionPart I: Crisis1 Framing the Capetian Miracle2 The First Crusade and the new economy of status, 1095-1110Part II: Response 3 Suger of Saint-Denis and the ideology of crusade4 Louis VII and the failure of crusade5 Philip Augustus, political circumstance and crusadeIndex

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Book SynopsisThis study is the first in-depth analysis of the Fulbright exchange program in a single country. Drawing on previously unexplored archives and oral history, the authors investigate the educational, political and diplomatic dimensions of a complex bi-national program as experienced by Australian and American scholars. The book begins with the postwar context of the scheme’s origins, moves through its difficult Australian establishment during the early Cold War, the challenges posed by the Vietnam War, and the impacts of civil rights and gender parity movements and late 20th century economic belt-tightening. How the program’s goal of ‘mutual understanding’ was understood and enacted across six decades lies at the heart of the book, which weaves institutional and individual experiences together with broader geopolitical issues. Bringing a complex and nuanced analysis to the Australia-US relationship, the authors offer fresh insights into the global significance of the Fulbright ProgramTable of ContentsIntroduction 1 ‘Free gift’ or ‘infiltration’? Negotiating the Fulbright Agreement2 ‘A steady stream of new problems’: Politics and teething issues3 ‘Bright scientific moles’ v. ‘goodwill ambassador extroverts’: Choosing a Fulbright scholar 4 ‘Mutual benefit’ v. ‘the needs of the country’: Programming academic fields5 ‘Meeting [our] domestic Communism problem’: Cold War governance and the public university6 Education, or ‘part of our foreign policy’? At war in Vietnam7 ‘Experience is the only teacher’: Academic ambassadors interpret ‘mutual understanding’8 ‘Just because one is a woman’: Forging careers and changing the gender landscape9 From ‘White Australia’ to ‘the race question in America’: Confronting racial diversity10 ‘In the climate of continuing financial restraint’: Finding a sustainable future in the neo-liberal universityConclusionBibliographyIndex

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Book SynopsisThis volume offers a stimulating new perspective on the history of historical studies. Through the prism of ‘scholarly personae’, it explores why historians care about attitudes or dispositions that they consider necessary for studying the past, yet often disagree about what virtues, skills, or competencies are most important. More specifically, the volume explains why models of virtue known as ‘personae’ have always been contested, yet also can prove remarkably stable, especially with regard to their race, class, and gender assumptions. Covering historical studies across Europe, North America, Africa, and East Asia, How to be a historian will appeal not only to historians of historiography, but to all historians who occasionally wonder: What kind of a historian do I want to be?Trade Review'Historians’ identities form the subject matter of this geographically wide-ranging, well-researched and theoretically framed collection of essays.'R. C. Richardson, University of Winchester, Times Higher Education, July 2019 -- .Table of ContentsNotes on contributorsIntroduction. Scholarly personae: what they are and why theymatter – Herman Paul1 The contested persona of the historian: on the origins of apermanent conflict – Ian Hunter2 Ranke vs Schlosser: pairs of personae in nineteenth-centuryGerman historiography – Herman Paul3 Fixing genius: the Romantic man of letters in the universityera – Travis E. Ross4 Generational continuities and composite personae: Frenchhistoriography from the 1870s to the 1950s – Camille Creyghton5 Pasha and his historic harem: Edward A. Freeman, EdithThompson and the gendered personae of late-Victorianhistorians – Elise Garritzen6 Interpretative and investigative: the emergence andcharacteristics of modern scholarly personae in China,1900–30 – Q. Edward Wang7 Coalescence and conflict: historians and their personae in thePortuguese New State – António da Silva Rêgo8 The emergence of the English Marxist historian’s scholarlypersona: the English Revolution debate of 1940–41 – SinaTalachian9 Of communism, compromise and Central Europe: the scholarlypersona under authoritarianism – Monika Baár10 What is an African historian? Negotiating scholarly personae inUNESCO’s General History of Africa – Larissa Schulte Nordholt11 The finitude of personae: Bryce Lyon, François Louis Ganshofand the biography of Pirenne – Henning TrüperIndex

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Book SynopsisThis book recounts a little-known history of the estimated 2,000 babies born to black GIs and white British women in the second world war. The African-American press named these children 'brown babies'; the British called them 'half-castes'. Black GIs, in this segregated army, were forbidden to marry their white girl-friends. Nearly half of the children were given up to children's homes but few were adopted, thought 'too hard to place'. There has been minimal study of these children and the difficulties they faced, such as racism in a (then) very white Britain, lack of family or a clear identity. The book will present the stories of over fifty of these children, their stories contextualised in terms of government policy and attitudes of the time. Accessibly written, with stories both heart-breaking and uplifting, the book is illustrated throughout with photographs. -- .Trade Review'Lucy Bland's stories of Britain's Brown Babies evoke a potent mix of rage, tears, joy and thankfulness: rage at everyday racisms, both institutional and individual, tears for the cruelties suffered, joy at the love and care that some found and thankfulness that we can hear these voices.' Catherine Hall, Emerita Professor of History, UCL 'Using oral histories as well as revealing analyses of governmental policies and the politics of racially warped institutions, Lucy Bland's wonderful book lays out in no uncertain terms how the stigma of illegitimacy coupled with racism shaped the experiences of children born to white British women and African American G.I.s during and in the aftermath of World War II.' Sonya O. Rose, Professor Emerita of History, Sociology and Women's Studies, University of Michigan 'In this thoughtful and poignant work, Lucy Bland not only meticulously details the history of Britain's 'brown babies' but, by placing their voices at the very centre of her scholarship, offers invaluable fresh perspectives. Bland's compassionate and insightful foregrounding of these moving memories of racial mixing and mixedness can't be applauded strongly enough. An outstanding achievement.' Dr Chamion Caballero, Goldsmiths, University of London -- .Table of ContentsIntroduction 1. British women meet black GIs 2. Keeping the 'brown babies' 3. 'Brown babies' relinquished: experiences of children's homes 4. Adoption, fostering and attempts to send the babies to the US 5. Secrets and lies: searching for mothers and fathers 6. After the war and beyond Appendix: the case study 'brown babies' Bibliography Index -- .

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Book SynopsisThis book recounts a little-known history of the estimated 2,000 babies born to black GIs and white British women in the second world war. The African-American press named these children ‘brown babies’; the British called them ‘half-castes’. Black GIs, in this segregated army, were forbidden to marry their white girl-friends. Nearly half of the children were given up to children’s homes but few were adopted, thought ‘too hard to place’. There has been minimal study of these children and the difficulties they faced, such as racism in a (then) very white Britain, lack of family or a clear identity. The book will present the stories of over fifty of these children, their stories contextualised in terms of government policy and attitudes of the time. Accessibly written, with stories both heart-breaking and uplifting, the book is illustrated throughout with photographs.Trade Review'In this thoughtful and poignant work, Lucy Bland not only meticulously details the history of Britain's 'brown babies' but, by placing their voices at the very centre of her scholarship, offers invaluable fresh perspectives. Bland's compassionate and insightful foregrounding of these moving memories of racial mixing and mixedness can't be applauded strongly enough. An outstanding achievement.'Chamion Caballero, Goldsmiths, University of London‘Lucy Bland’s stories of Britain’s Brown Babies evoke a potent mix of rage, tears, joy and thankfulness: rage at everyday racisms, both institutional and individual, tears for the cruelties suffered, joy at the love and care that some found and thankfulness that we can hear these voices.’Catherine Hall, Emerita Professor of History, UCL‘Using oral histories as well as revealing analyses of governmental policies and the politics of racially warped institutions, Lucy Bland’s wonderful book lays out in no uncertain terms how the stigma of illegitimacy coupled with racism shaped the experiences of children born to white British women and African American G.I.s during and in the aftermath of World War II.’Sonya O. Rose, Professor Emerita of History, Sociology and Women's Studies, University of Michigan'Lucy Bland’s book beautifully and carefully recovers the intimate, painful and sometimes joyous stories of Britain’s ‘brown babies’. […] Throughout Bland writes with sensitivity, care and an astute sense of her positionality as interviewer, offering an exemplar of undertaking this essential oral history research. […] Her meticulous attention to the ways in which these children navigated their own sense of belonging and difference – at home, in the care system, in British society and with their American families – is a tremendous achievement, with important findings for historians of migration, Black Britain, childhood and family alike.'Women's History'An important advancement of the historio-graphy and, due to its clear style and unique source material, is ideally suited for use in the classroom, as well. Graduate students will benefit in particular from Bland’s careful discussion of her methodology ; for undergraduates and graduate students alike, Bland’s skillful use of oral history and biographical material makes her book highly accessible and engaging.'Res Militaris'[...] Professor Bland seamlessly weaves the stories of more than forty of these children for whom she has obtained in-depth interview material and who form the core of the book. The result is a work of substantial scholarship, accompanied by forty pages of notes and an extensive bibliography. The story appears close to the author’s heart which also makes it a humane and compelling narrative that is written with lucidity and precision.'Peter J. Aspinall (2021), Ethnic and Racial Studies'Meticulously researched and sensitively handled, Britain’s 'Brown Babies' not only makes a major contribution to the history of black people in Britain, but through it, shines a light on attitudes to illegitimacy and, in particular, race in the 1940s and 1950s – attitudes which are shockingly familiar to us still today.'History Workshop Journal -- .Table of ContentsIntroduction 1. British women meet black GIs 2. Keeping the ‘brown babies’ 3. ‘Brown babies’ relinquished: experiences of children’s homes 4. Adoption, fostering and attempts to send the babies to the US 5. Secrets and lies: searching for mothers and fathers 6. After the war and beyond Appendix: the case study 'brown babies' Bibliography Index

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Book SynopsisBohemond of Taranto, Lord of Antioch, unofficial leader of the First Crusade, was a man of boundless ambition and inexhaustible energy - he was, in the words of Romuald of Salerno, 'always seeking the impossible'. While he failed in his quest to secure the Byzantine throne, he succeeded in founding the most enduring of all the crusader states. Yet few substantial accounts of the life of this remarkable warrior have been written and none have been published in English for over a century - and that is why this absorbing new study by Georgios Theotokis is of such value. He concentrates on Bohemond as a soldier and commander, covering his contribution to the crusades but focusing in particular on his military achievements in Italy, Sicily, the Balkans and Anatolia. Since medieval commanders generally receive little credit for their strategic understanding, he examines Bohemond's war-plans in his many campaigns, describes how he adapted his battle-tactics when facing different opponents and considers whether his approach to waging war was typical of the Norman commanders of his time.

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Book SynopsisMost people have always been interested in sex, love and marriage. Now, this entertaining and informative book explores the surprisingly varied and energetic sex and love lives of the women and men of Queen Elizabeth's England. A range of writers, from the famous, such as Shakespeare, John Donne and Ben Jonson, and lesser-known figures popular in their time, provide, in their witty stories, poems and plays, vivid pictures of Elizabethan sexual attitudes and experiences, while sober reports from the church courts tell of seductions, adulteries and rapes. Here we also encounter private journals and scenes from ordinary marriages, with complaints of women's fashions, bossy wives and domineering husbands. Besides this, there are accounts of the busy whores of London brothels, homosexual activity and the Court's amorous carousel of predatory aristocrats, promiscuous ladies and hopeful maids of honour. We conclude with the frustrations of The Virgin Queen herself. This lively review of Elizabethan sexuality, in its various forms, much of it brought together for the first time, should intrigue and amuse anyone with an interest in history, and how love used to be lived, 'in good Queen Bess's golden days'.

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Book SynopsisThe history of women in medieval Wales before the English conquest of 1282 is one largely shrouded in mystery. For the Age of Princes, an era defined by ever-increased threats of foreign hegemony, internal dynastic strife and constant warfare, the comings and goings of women are little noted in sources. This misfortune touches even the most well-known royal woman of the time, Joan of England (d. 1237), the wife of Llywelyn the Great of Gwynedd, illegitimate daughter of King John and half-sister to Henry III. With evidence of her hand in thwarting a full scale English invasion of Wales to a notorious scandal that ended with the public execution of her supposed lover by her husband and her own imprisonment, Joan's is a known, but little-told or understood story defined by family turmoil, divided loyalties and political intrigue. From the time her hand was promised in marriage as the result of the first Welsh-English alliance in 1201 to the end of her life, Joan's place in the political wranglings between England and the Welsh kingdom of Gwynedd was a fundamental one. As the first woman to be designated Lady of Wales, her role as a political diplomat in early thirteenth-century Anglo-Welsh relations was instrumental. This first-ever account of Siwan, as she was known to the Welsh, interweaves the details of her life and relationships with a gendered re-assessment of Anglo-Welsh politics by highlighting her involvement in affairs, discussing events in which she may well have been involved but have gone unrecorded and her overall deployment of royal female agency.

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Book SynopsisBetween the years 1550 and 1650, Italy's Jewish intellectuals created a unique and enduring synthesis of the great literary and philosophical heritage of the Andalusian Jews and the Renaissance`s renewal of perspective. While remaining faithful to the beliefs, behaviours, and language of their tradition, Italian Jews proved themselves open to a rapidly evolving world of great richness. The crisis of Aristotelianism (which progressively touched upon all fields of knowledge), religious fractures and unrest, the scientific revolution, and the new perception of reality expressed through a transformation of the visual arts: these are some of the changes experienced by Italian Jews which they were affected by in their own particular way. This book explores the complex relations between Jews and the world that surrounded them during a critical period of European civilisation. The relations were rich, problematic, and in some cases strained, alternating between opposition and dialogue, osmosis and distinction.Trade Review“Nine momentous essays in intellectual history of Italian Jewry in the Early Modern Period, by one of the most skilled specialists of the field. Topics deal with a wide range of issues, such as philosophy, Kabbalah, humanism, politics, allegorical representations of space, and others. Although deeply scholarly, the well-designed approach of the author will undoubtedly fascinate many broadminded ordinary readers.” — Robert Bonfil, Emeritus Professor of Jewish History, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem|“Alessandro Guetta is one of the leading scholars of the cultural history of Italian Jewry in early modern times today. Italian Jewry in the Early Modern Era brings together a fine collection of papers published over the last ten years, some of which were originally published in Italian and French, and now reproduced in an English translation. These nine studies, covering the period from the late fifteenth century to the early nineteenth century, focus on the diverse aspects of the process of modernization of Italian Jewish culture from the Renaissance until the Jewish Enlightenment.” — Abraham Melamed, Professor of Jewish History and Thought, University of Haifa

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Book SynopsisA case history on the vitality of organised labour in the twentieth century.

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Book SynopsisThis book captures the story of the Taratuta family and their struggle to flee the hardships of the USSR and repatriate to Israel in the late twentieth century. The narrative follows the lives of three family members, Aba, his wife Ida, and their son Misha, as they endure countless struggles throughout their journey to freedom. Tense moments ensue as the refuseniks print copies of forbidden Zionist literature and textbooks, publicly support those detained in prison and the Gulag, organize scientific and legal seminars in their apartment, receive Western visitors, and secretly partake in weekly Hebrew lessons. Well-recognized in the West as central players in the Soviet Jewish movement in Leningrad throughout the 1970s and 1980s, the Taratutas underwent constant surveillance by the KGB until they were finally able to repatriate to Israel. In spite of their hardships, the family attempted to live a life of normalcy and to cherish moments of happiness and togetherness.Table of Contents From the Academic Editor, Michael Beizer, From the Authors 1. Grandmother Ida 2. Grandfather Aba 3. Father Misha 4. Hebrew, Leonid Fridkin: How I Studied Hebrew 5. Samizdat (Underground Literature) 6. Demonstrations: December 24, 1975 7. Telephone 8. Seminars 9. Unsanctioned Exhibition 10. Pesach 1977 11. Warning 12. Visits to Places of Detention 13. Search 14. Interrogation in the Prosecutor’s Office 15. Jewish Library 16. KGB Interrogation, 1982 17. Burglary 18. Contacts with the West 19. Three Demonstrations in 1987 20. Not by Zionism Alone… 21. Israel Afterword, Appendix Index

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Book SynopsisDefining Documents in World History: Renaissance & Early Modern Era explores vital documents from important world figures from the 15th and 16th centuries, including Thomas Aquinas, Giovanni Boccaccio, Marco Polo, and many more. This new addition to the Defining Documents series offers in-depth analysis of a broad range of historical documents and historic events that shaped these documents and the authors behind them. This text closely studies more than forty primary source documents to deliver a thorough examination of various peoples and events throughout history.Renaissance & Early Modern Era provides detailed, thought-provoking analysis of: Thomas Aquinas: Summa Theologiae Leon Alberti: On Painting Giovanni Boccaccio: The Decameron Ibn Battuta: Travels in Asia and Africa Marco Polo: Description of Hangzhou . Articles begin by introducing readers to the historical context surrounding the document, followed by a description of the author's life and circumstances in which the document was written. Next, a detailed analysis of the document provides an in-depth examination of the issues surrounding the document and its historical significance. An historical timeline and bibliography of supplemental readings will suport readers in understanding the broader historical events and subjects in the period.

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Book SynopsisThe Highland Clearances stands out as one of the most emotive chapters in the history of Scotland. This book traces the origins of the Clearances from the eighteenth century to their culmination in the crofting legislation of the 1880s. In considering both the terrible suffering of the Highland people as well as the stark choices that faced landowners during a period of rapid economic change, it shows how the Clearances were one of many 'attempted' solutions to the problem of how to maintain a population on marginal and infertile land, and were, in fact, part of a wider European movement of rural depopulation. In drawing attention away from the mythology to the hard facts of what actually happened, The Highland Clearances offers a balanced analysis of events which created a terrible scar on the Highland and Gaelic imagination.Trade Review'required reading ... not to be missed for its fearless and comprehensive grasp of the past and its relevance for today' * Ileach *'Eric Richards is a fluent, lucid writer' * Herald *

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Book SynopsisDavid Lloyd George is widely regarded as one of the most effective British prime ministers of the twentieth century. A dynamic speaker and committed social reformer, he led Britain successfully through the devastation of World War I and had a powerful impact on international politics. In the post-war peace treaties, he sought a just, rather than a vengeful, settlement for the defeated powers in an attempt to preserve a peaceful international order. Whilst Lloyd George's achievements were undoubtedly substantial, his political record was not entirely without blemish and, in his personal life, he was a fascinating and complex character. Renowned as a womaniser, after 1913 he retained two separate households - one with his wife and one with his mistress, his former private secretary. Based on extensive research, Travis L. Crosby provides a fresh appraisal of the life of one of Britain's most conflicted politicians.Trade Review'This book provides a new assessment of a somewhat enigmatic figure. Travis Crosby cuts through the thicket of views and suggests persuasive explanations of Lloyd George's behaviour. In the process the Lloyd George laid bare is neither an opportunist nor an ideologue; instead, he is shown to be someone who calculated and responded to situations and sought to produce resolutions.' Peter Catterall, Reader in History, University of Westminster 'This is a deeply considered, vivid, lucid and genuinely illuminating book that deals as frankly and comprehensively with Lloyd George's capacity to encounter and foment conflict in his public life as with his tendency to take similar risks in his private affairs.' - Denis Judd, author of Empire: The British Imperial Experience 1765 to the PresentTable of ContentsIntroduction The Education of a Statesman To England, To Parliament With Radical Intent? In the Cabinet Robbing the Hen Roost Triumph Scandal and Failure Imperial Matters and Foreign Affairs Nightmare ‘The Righteousness That Exalteth a Nation’ Prime Minister in War Prime Minister in Peace Reconstruction and Resistance The Irish Revolution ‘To Straighten Ragged Edges’ The Long Good-Bye 18. Return to Wales

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Book SynopsisInternational History: A Cultural Approach offers an innovative history of modern international relations that stresses cultural themes. In place of the usual focus on great-power rivalries, diplomatic negotiations, military conflict, and other phenomena in which sovereign nations are the key players, this book focuses on intercultural relations as individuals, races, religions, and non-state actors interact across national boundaries, to provide a fresh perspective on modern international history. Among the themes covered are: - Nationalism and cosmopolitanism - Migration - Cross-cultural encounters - Consumerism and youth cultures - Environmental transformations - Economic and technological globalization Akira Iriye and Petra Goedde's approach offers a deeper understanding of international history, focusing on people and their cultures rather than just state level interactions.Trade ReviewA brilliantly conceived book that reshapes the field of international history. Incisively illuminating a breathtaking array of international developments across the world over two centuries, this tour-de-force decisively demonstrates that culture is not an adjunct to international relations but is always constituent of it. * Barbara Keys, Author of Reclaiming American Virtue: The Human Rights Revolution of the 1970s *This is an excellent overview of the cultural dimensions of international history. Exploring the emergence of transnationalism as a key feature of the modern world, Goedde and Iriye demonstrate that understanding culture is vital if we are to explain how that world came to be. * Andrew Priest, Senior Lecturer, University of Essex, UK *Table of ContentsAcknowledgements List of Acronyms List of Illustrations Introduction Part I The Rise of the Modern 1. Dialectics of Nationalism and Internationalism 2. Cross-Cultural Encounter 3. Imagined Communities 4. Modern Consciousness Part II Movement and Empire 5. Movements 6. Imperial cultures 7. Racial Formations 8. Cultural Internationalism Part III Global Cultures 9. Visions of Modernity 10. Modernity in Crisis 11. Cold War Cultures 12. Challenging the Cold War Consensus Part IV Transnational Connections 13. Cultural Globalization, 1970-1990 14. The Growth of Non-State Actors 15. The Post-Cold War World 16. The World Today Conclusion Further Readings Notes Index

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Book SynopsisJonas of Bobbio was an Italian monk, author, and abbot, active in Lombard Italy and Merovingian Gaul during the seventh century. He is best known as the author of the Life of Columbanus and His Disciples, one of the most important works of hagiography from the early medieval period, that charts the remarkable journey of the Irish exile and monastic founder, Columbanus (d. 615), through Western Europe, as well as the monastic movement initiated by him and his Frankish successors in the Merovingian kingdoms. In the years following Columbanus’s death numerous new monasteries were built by his successors and their elite patrons in Francia that decisively transformed the inter-relationship between monasteries and secular authorities in the Early Middle Ages. Jonas also wrote two other, occasional works set in the late fifth and sixth centuries: the Life of John, the abbot and founder of the monastery of Réomé in Burgundy, and the Life of Vedast, the first bishop of Arras and a contemporary of Clovis. Both works provide perspectives on how the past Gallic monastic tradition, the role of bishops, and the Christianization of the Franks were perceived in Jonas’s time. Jonas’s hagiography also provides important evidence for the reception of classical and late antique texts as well as the works of Gregory the Great and Gregory of Tours.This volume presents the first complete English translation of all of Jonas of Bobbio’s saints’ Lives with detailed notes and scholarly introduction that will be of value to all those interested in this period.Trade ReviewReviews 'There is a richness to the material which O'Hara and Wood have done us a great service in making more accessible.' Jamie Kreiner, The Medieval Review'This book is a timely and meaningful contribution to the scholarship on Merovingian Gaul. It is important not only for its accessible translation of a large and difficult corpus of works set against a complicated historical and textual background, but also for its clear synthesis of current scholarship. Finally, it elegantly succeeds in navigating the “Irish” vs. “Frankish” controversy, which seems to have reawakened of late.' Yaniv Fox, Speculum'This very welcome new translation is also a highly sophisticated scholarly edition. It is particularly rich in bibliography, with an extensive listing of virtually all the secondary literature on Columban and his times.' Terrence Kardong, American Benedictine Review 'This very welcome addition to Liverpool University Press’s Translated Texts for Historians more than lives up to expectations for this esteemed book series [...] Alexander O’Hara and Ian Wood’s volume will be an essential companion for its valuable introduction, detailed footnotes, half-dozen appendices, up-to-date bibliography, and, not least of all, high-quality translation of Jonas’s often challenging Latin. [...] In sum, this is an important book, not only for the early medieval texts it makes available to a much wider potential readership but also for the exceptional scholarship that went into the presentation and translation of those texts.'Westley Follett, Eolas: The Journal of the American Society of Irish Medieval Studies‘Whatever the final outcome of contemporary debates about Columbanus, ‘Columbanian Monasticism’, and the influence of the Irish in continental Europe in the early Middle Ages, this volume will provide invaluable evidence (for both sides!) for many years to come.’ Dáibhí Ó Cróinín, Early Medieval Europe'The publication of an erudite, readable, and heavily annotated translation of Jonas of Bobbio’s hagiographical corpus is a cause for celebration. Although one of the recognized classics of seventh-century hagiography, Jonas’s Vita Columbani until now has not been available in an unabridged English translation, while the comparatively brief lives of John of Réomé and Vedast appear for the very first time in English. [...] O’Hara and Wood thus have produced not only an invaluable teaching resource, but a significant contribution to the new wave of Columbanian studies.' Gregory I. Halfond, The Mediæval JournalTable of ContentsPrefaceAbbreviationsIntroduction1. The works of Jonas of Bobbio.2. Francia in the Days of Columbanus.3. The Gallic Church of the Late Sixth Century.4. Columbanus and his ascetic exile to the continent.5. Columbanus’s legacy.6. Jonas of Bobbio: an Italian monk in Merovingian Gaul.7. The manuscripts of the Life of Columbanus and the structure of the text.8. Jonas the hagiographer and his Christian sources.9. The Second Book of the Life of Columbanus and his Disciples.10. Language and Style.11. Jonas’s Life of John.12. The Life of Vedast of Arras. Author and text.13. Conclusion - the influence of Jonas’s hagiography.14. A note on the text and translations of the Life of Columbanus.Jonas, The Life of Columbanus. Book I. Verses and Hymn. Book II.Jonas, The Life of John.Jonas (?), The Life of Vedast.Appendices1. Textual Variants.2. Distribution of Biblical Quotations.3. Parallels between Regula cuiusdam ad virgines and Jonas’s hagiographical works.4. Three diplomas associated with Bobbio and Faremoutiers in the time of Jonas.BibliographyMaps1. Ireland in the Days of Columbanus,2. Francia, c. 590.3. Burgundy c. 590-610.4. Luxeuil and its environs.5. Francia, c.610.6. Early Columbanian foundations.7. The World of Jonas.8. The World of the Life of Vedast.9. Arras in the Merovingian period.

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Book SynopsisThis book draws on a lengthy experience of teaching graduates how to approach medieval books. It leads the reader through the stages of the editorial process, using part of Richard Rolle's Commentary on the Song of Songs as the working exemplar. In the humane sciences, the need for texts is ubiquitous; they provide the regular objects of study. But far less prevalent than editions is any discussion of the premises underlying these objects, or the mechanisms by which they have been constructed. This volume takes up both challenges. First, in a preliminary chapter, it discusses what is at stake in any edition one might read; the persistent argument is that these represent products of modern scholarly decision-making, the imposition of various kinds of unity on the extremely diverse evidence medieval books offer for any literary work. This chapter also explains broadly various options for the presentation of texts – and the difficulties inherent in them all. The remainder of the volume is given over to a step-by-step guide to the process of editing (and eventually to a finished presentation of) a heretofore unpublished medieval text. The discussion seeks to exemplify the decisions editors routinely face, and to suggest ways of addressing them.Trade ReviewReviews ‘In this smart handbook, Ralph Hanna shares his insights about the process of creating an edition of a medieval Latin text, based on his extensive experience editing English vernacular poetry of the later Middle Ages. This is a book for beginners. It provides a clear and thoughtful introduction to the steps necessary to progress from an unedited text in a premodern manuscript to the formal presentation of a textual edition. One of the virtues of this book is its practical approach; Hanna walks the reader through his preparation of an edition of a small portion of a straightforward Latin prose text: Richard Rolle's commentary on the biblical Song of Songs, composed in the 1330s. Reading over Hanna's shoulder, scholars can follow the reasoning behind his editorial decisions and pick up a great deal of practical knowledge about scribal practice in the process.’ The Medieval ReviewTable of ContentsForewordPreliminary: On Editions 1 Collecting the Witnesses 2 Finding a Copy-text and Transcribing it 3 Comparing the Witnesses, or Collation 4 The Examination of the Variants 5 AnnotationRichard Rolle, ‘Super Canticum’ 4: Edition, Collation, and TranslationAppendix: Additional Manuscript Descriptions; the Manuscripts and the TextNotesIndex

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Book SynopsisA lavishly illustrated account of the buildings of the friars in the Middle Ages, bringing them vividly to life. with contributions from Ian M. Betts, Jens Röhrkasten, Mark Samuel, and Christian Steer. Nominated for the Current Archaeology Book of the Year Award 2019 The friaries of medieval London formed an important partof the city's physical and spiritual landscape between the thirteenth and sixteenth centuries. These urban monasteries housed 300 or more preacher-monks who lived an enclosed religious life and went out into the city to preach. The most important orders were the Dominican Black friars and the Franciscan Grey friars but London also had houses of Augustine, Carmelite and Crossed friars, and, in the thirteenth century, Sack and Pied friars. This book offers an illustrated interdisciplinary study of these religious houses, combining archaeological, documentary, cartographic and architectural evidence to reconstruct the layout and organisation of nine priories. After analysing anddescribing the great churches and cloisters, and their precincts with burial grounds and gardens, it moves on to examine more general historical themes, including the spiritual life of the friars, their links to living and dead Londoners, and the role of the urban monastery. The closure of these friaries in the 1530s is also discussed, along with a brief revival of one friary in the reign of Mary. NICK HOLDER is a historian and archaeologist atEnglish Heritage and the University of Exeter. He has written extensively on medieval and early modern London. IAN M. BETTS is a building materials specialist at Museum of London Archaeology; JENS ROHRKASTEN was Lecturerin Medieval History at the University of Birmingham; MARK SAMUEL is an independent architectural historian; CHRISTIAN STEER is an independent historian, specialising in burials in medieval churches.Trade ReviewSure to be the main resource on the subject for the foreseeable future. * SPAB MAGAZINE *[A] splendid survey. * CHURCH MONUMENTS *The volume is handsomely produced by Boydell and Brewer and its primary contribution is an examination of the traces of the conventual complexes once occupied by the Blackfriars, Greyfriars, Whitefriars, Austin Friars and the Crossed Friars. * HISTORY *An original, well-researched and readable account.extremely well designed and illustrated. * MEDIEVAL ARCHAEOLOGY *Nick Holder has given scholars and those interested in the religious life of medieval England, in particuliar London, a valuable resource. Using maps, architecture, archeological discoveries, and written records, he has produced a valuable study of London friaries and their numerous influences on the city's population. * AMERICAN BENEDICTINE REVIEW *[An] important study. [The author has] done a considerable service to monastic studies in London, and nationally, with this fine, clear and eminently readable book. * CURRENT ARCHAEOLOGY *Table of ContentsIntroduction The First Black Friars in Holborn, c. 1223-1286 The Second Black Friars, 1275-1538 The Third Black Friars at St Bartholomew's, 1556-1559 Grey Friars, 1225-1538 White Friars, c. 1247-1538 Austin Friars, c. 1265-1538 Crossed Friars, c. 1268-1538 Sack Friars, c. 1270-1305 Pied Friars, 1267-1317 Churches Precincts and the use of space Architecture and architectural fragments of the London friaries [Mark Samuel] Floor tiles and building materials from the London friaries [Ian Betts] Water supply Economy Spiritual life and education in the London friaries [Jens Röhrkasten] Burial and commemoration in the London friaries [Christian Steer] London friars and Londoners Dissolution Conclusions Bibliography

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Book SynopsisInterrogates the standard view of turbulent and violent town-abbey relations through a combination of traditional and new research techniques. The power of the medieval Church stretched far beyond the religious sphere. Bishops and monasteries held lordship over vast areas of the realm, often wielding political and judicial powers beyond those of secular lords. Early twentieth-century scholarship tended to view towns with monastic lords as highly distinctive, characterised by robust lordship and violent town-abbey relations, and though subsequent studies have done much to modify this view of relationships between towns and their monastic lords, the shadow of this dramatic interpretation still colours our understanding of these situations. Conversely, through a detailed examination of the governmental, guild, parish, and testamentary records of Reading, one of the more populous monastic towns of the period, this book presents a view of town-abbey relations as largely non-violent, thus problematising the more traditional characterisation and interrogating its universality. Uncovering a remarkably swift transition from monastic lordship to self-government, it illuminates how urban society functioned under two very different regimes, both before and after the dissolution of the monasteries. By combining traditional research methods with Social Network Analysis, the author moves beyond a focus on the political elites and institutionalised bodies, such as the corporation, to look at lower-status members of society and how they interacted with the successive governing authorities. In particular, it investigates what continuities and changes to local governance they experienced during this turbulent period.Table of ContentsIntroduction 1. Setting and Society 2. Political Life 3. Economic Life 4. Religious Life Conclusions and Outlook Appendices A: Social Network Analysis Datasets and Forms of Analysis B: Trades Categorised by Status C: Trades Categorised by Sector Timeline Bibliography Index

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Book Synopsis By and large, the histories of East and West Germany have been studied in relative isolation. And yet, for all their differences, the historical trajectories of both nations were interrelated in complex ways, shaped by economic crises, social and cultural changes, protest movements, and other phenomena so diffuse that they could hardly be contained by the Iron Curtain. Accordingly, A History Shared and Divided offers a collective portrait of the two Germanies that is both broad and deep. It brings together comprehensive thematic surveys by specialists in social history, media, education, the environment, and similar topics to assemble a monumental account of both nations from the crises of the 1970s to—and beyond—the reunification era.Trade Review “…the range and rigour make this handbook a useful point of entry for specialists and students alike interested in understanding the transformation of Germany in the last half century.” • European History Quarterly “[The volume] provides over 500 pages of stimulating reading. It will be of interest to scholars researching in relevant fields and to graduate students embarking on doctoral work. It would also be excellent for a postgraduate seminar.” • Journal of European StudiesTable of Contents List of Illustrations Acknowledgements List of Abbreviations Introduction: Divided and Connected: Perspectives on German History since the 1970s Frank Bösch Chapter 1. Political Transformations in East and West Frank Bösch and Jens Gieseke Chapter 2. Economic Crises, Structural Change, and International Entanglements Ralf Ahrens and André Steiner Chapter 3. Entangled Ecologies: Outlines of a Green History of Two or More Germanys Frank Uekötter Chapter 4. Social Security, Social Inequality, and the Welfare State in East and West Germany Winfried Süß Chapter 5. Rationalization, Automation, and Digitalization: Transformations in Work Rüdiger Hachtmann Chapter 6. The Individualization of Everyday Life: Consumption, Domestic Culture, and Family Structures Christopher Neumaier and Andreas Ludwig Chapter 7. Paths to Digital Modernity: Computerization as Social Change Jürgen Danyel and Annette Schuhmann Chapter 8. Educational Rivalries: The Transition from a German-German Contest to an International Competition Emmanuel Droit and Wilfried Rudloff Chapter 9. Mobility and Migration in Divided Germany Maren Möhring Chapter 10. Sports and Society in the Rivalry between East and West Jutta Braun Chapter 11. Bridge over Troubled Water? Mass Media in Divided Germany Frank Bösch and Christoph Classen Index

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Book SynopsisWhen Muhammad Ali died, many mourned the life of the greatest sportsman the world had ever seen. In Redemption Song, Mike Marqusee argues that Ali was not just a boxer but a remarkable political figure in a decade of tumultuous change. Playful, popular, always confrontational, Ali refashioned the role of a political activist and was central, alongside figures such as Malcolm X and Martin Luther King, to the black liberation and the anti-war movements. Marqusee shows that sport and politics were always intertwined, and this is the reason why Ali remained an international beacon of hope, long after he had left the ring.Trade ReviewA beautiful book. -- Arundhati RoyAmong the slew of recent Ali books, here's one that returns the political sting to 'The Greatest' ... As Marqusee portrays him, Ali is still the righteous outlaw, as badass as ever and still in the eye of a global storm. * Time Out *A thrilling book about a true and enduring hero ... Mike Marqusee has done him, and us, proud. -- John PilgerExcellent ... Reminds us just how explosive and divisive a figure Ali was. * Independent on Sunday *Fascinating, well-written, entertaining and significant. Redemption Songprovides rare and important insights into Muhammad Ali and his immense global impact on a turbulent and ground-breaking era. -- Leon GastAs Marqusee charts how Ali helped create a global consciousness, he succeeds in knocking Ali off the respectable pedestal on which American culture had placed him, resurrecting him as the radical figure he truly was ... a vibrant historical essay. * Publishers Weekly *

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Book SynopsisLenin's originality and importance as a revolutionary leader is most often associated with the seizure of power in 1917. But, Zizek argues in his new study and collection of original texts, Lenin's true greatness can be better grasped in the very last couple of years of his political life. Russia had survived foreign invasion, embargo and a terrifying civil war, as well as internal revolts such as at Kronstadt in 1921. But the new state was exhausted, isolated and disorientated in the face of the world revolution that seemed to be receding. New paths had to be sought, almost from scratch, for the Soviet state to survive and imagine some alternative route to the future. With his characteristic brio and provocative insight, Zizek suggests that Lenin's courage as a thinker can be found in his willingness to face this reality of retreat lucidly and frontally.Trade ReviewScience & Society -- Alan Shandro

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Book SynopsisAt the start of the twentieth century in China, the Hans were married in an elaborate ceremony before they were even born. While their future was arranged by their families, this couple had much to be grateful for. Not only did they come from similar backgrounds – and as such were recognized as a good match - they also had a shared passion in their deep love of ancient Chinese poetry. They went on to have nine children and chose colours portrayed in some of their favourite poems as nicknames for them - Red, Cyan, Orange, Yellow, Green, Ginger, Violet, Blue and Rainbow. Fate, and the sweep of twentieth century history would later divide these children into three groups: three went to America or Hong Kong to protect the family line from the communists; three were married to revolutionaries having come of age as China turned red; while three suffered tragic early deaths. With her trademark wisdom and warmth, Xinran describes the lives and loves of this extraordinary family over four generations. What emerges is not only a moving, beautifully-written and engaging story of four people and their lives, but a crucial portrait of social change in China. Xinran begins with the magic and tragedy of one young couples wedding night in 1950, and goes on to tell personal experiences of loss, grief and hardship through China’s extraordinary century. In doing so she tells a bigger story – how traditional Chinese values have been slowly eroded by the tide of modernity and how their outlooks on love, and the choices they've made in life, have been all been affected by the great upheavals of Chinese history. A spell-binding and magical narrative, this is the story of modern China through the people who lived through it, and the story of their love and loss.Trade ReviewReporting on four generations of one Chinese family and their diverging paths, Xinran shows how the country’s social norms have changed through politics and the rise of modernity. * New York Times *Xinran Xue is a gifted storyteller and The Promise reads like an unputdownable novel. William Spence’s translation from Chinese into English cannot be over-praised. * Washington BookReview *[A] graceful work that restores a lost generation to history. * Kirkus Review *‘An absorbing, often startling, always persuasive exploration of contemporary China.’ -- Hilary Spurling on 'Buy Me The Sky' * The Spectator *One would have to have a heart of stone not to be moved. * The Economist on 'Message from an Unknown Chinese Mother' *Groundbreaking… This intimate record reads like an act of defiance, and the unvarnished prose allows each story to stand as testimony. * The New Yorker on 'The Good Women of China' *‘Right here we see the red lines that many Chinese still draw for themselves in public discourse, or even privately, the boundaries they dare not cross even today. No other style of storytelling could have exhibited them with more clarity or greater rawness.’ -- Oliver August on 'China Witness' * THE TIMES *Exploring love and loss in modern China is a big job but it is in simplifying the overwhelming that Xinran excels. And in the introduction to this compelling and moving book, the author clarifies just how she has managed the task...In these carefully told vignettes, Xinran takes the reader through a century of tumult and change in China, her writing beautifully reflecting the intimate and honest voices of the women whose stories of love she tells. * The Weekend Australian *'Xinran writes with a fine balance of economy, compassion and wisdom, and manages to be at once proud, critical, forward-looking, nostalgic, sad, angry and hopeful.’ * The New Statesman *‘Xinran evokes the multiple, layered cultures and customs of modern China with bright, memorable detail and empathy for her characters.’ * The Guardian on 'Miss Chopsticks' *Xinran’s The Promise is an epical account depicting the emotional life of four generations of a Chinese family. It is an important book that paints a multi-faceted portrait of a society undergoing radical social transition. This book cracks the code of love, loneliness, and belonging of contemporary China. -- Xiaolu Guo, author of 'I Am China'A brilliant storyteller -- Hilary SpurlingTable of ContentsPromises and ‘talking love’: my inspirations for this book Map of China Key Dates Introduction Note on the Text Part I. A Love Coloured by Wars and Political Movements First sister, Red Part II. A Communist Family Tree Second sister, Green Part III. A Bird’s Love during the Cultural Revolution Green’s daughter, Crane Part IV. Diverse ‘Lovers’ The 3D Generation: Lili, Yoyo, Wuhen Afterword: In and Out the Door of Life Author’s Heartfelt Thanks

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Book SynopsisThe key to understanding technology lies not in the future--but in the past. That's the contention of Lizzie O'Shea's Future Histories, a grand tour through past and present to explore the practical--and sometimes revolutionary--possibilities of our digital age.Searching for new ways to think about our networked world, O'Shea asks what the Paris Commune can tell us about the ethics of the Internet and finds inspiration in the revolutionary works of Thomas Paine and Frantz Fanon. She examines Elon Musk's futuristic visions only to find them mired in a musty Victorian-era utopianism. Instead of current-day capitalist visionaries, O'Shea returns us to the Romantic age of wonder, when art and science were as yet undivided, narrating the collaboration between Ada Lovelace--the brilliant daughter of Lord and Lady Byron--and polymath Charles Babbage, who together designed the world's first computer. In our brave new world of increased surveillance, biased algorithms, and fears of job automation, O'Shea weaves a usable past we can employ in the service of emancipating our digital tomorrows.Trade Review"There has never been a better time to pull the politics of platform capitalism into the foreground where it belongs. Lizzie O'Shea brings a hacker's curiosity, a historian's reach and a lawyer's precision to bear on our digitally saturated present, emerging with a compelling argument that a better world is there for the taking. " -- Scott LudlamA potent, timely, and unrepentantly radical reminder of history's creative potential. Lizzie O'Shea's Future Histories should be required reading for anyone planning on surviving-and even repairing-our grim technological moment. -- Claire L. EvansThere has never been a better time to pull the politics of platform capitalism into the foreground where they belong. Lizzie O'Shea brings a hacker's curiosity, a historian's reach, and a lawyer's precision to bear on our digitally saturated present, emerging with a compelling argument that a better world is there for the taking. -- Scott Ludlam, Australian Greens * endorsement *In this splendid and entertaining book, arrestingly subtitled 'what Ada Lovelace, Tom Paine and the Paris Commune can teach us about digital technology', Lizzie O'Shea sets out to construct what she calls a 'usable past' in order to better understand our digital present and the head-spinning future which technology is devising for us. This 're-purposing' of history is not, O'Shea explains, simply an alternative interpretation of facts, rather it is an argument about what the future could be, based on 'what kinds of traditions are worth valuing and which moments are worth remembering.'In setting out her case, the author deftly defines the iniquities of the digital age; a dystopia of corporate control, data-mining, face recognition software and ubiquitous monitoring by security agencies. In other words, 'surveillance capitalism'; our modern world in which we are not the user but the product. In the context, O'Shea suggests 'smart' means 'Surveillance Marketed As Revolutionary Technology.' If Future Histories did no more than anatomize our present digital entanglement, it would merely be a useful addition to an established area of inquiry. It is the yoking together of technological advancement and progressive social movements that makes this book truly valuable. In viewing our networked world through the prism of the long (and ongoing) struggle for human rights, O'Shea has given us usable tools in the struggle to wrest control of the digital world from the likes of Mark Zuckerberg and Elon Musk. As the old Trade Union slogan has it; 'The Past we inherit, the Future we build.' -- Peter Whittaker * The New Internationalist *

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