History and Archaeology Books

Book SynopsisWINNER OF THE RATHBONES FOLIO PRIZE BOOK OF THE YEAR 2023 FROM THE PULITZER PRIZE-WINNING CRITIC AND ACCLAIMED AUTHOR OF NEGROLAND 'This is one of the most imaginative - and therefore moving - memoirs I have ever read' - Vivian Gornick, author of Fierce Attachments Margo Jefferson boldly and brilliantly fuses cultural analysis and memoir to probe race, class, family and art. Taking in the jazz and blues icons whom Jefferson idolised as a child in the 1950s, ideas of what the female body could be - as incarnated by trailblazing Black dancers and athletes - Harriet Beecher Stowe's Topsy reimagined in the artworks of Kara Walker, white supremacy in the novels of Willa Cather, and more, this breathtakingly eloquent account is both a critique and a vindication of the constructed self. 'Margo Jefferson's Constructing a Nervous System is as electric as its title suggests. It takes vital risks, tosses away rungs of the ladder as it climbs, and offers an indispensable, rollicking account of the enchantments, pleasures, costs, and complexities of "imagin[ing] and interpret[ing] what had not imagined you' - Maggie Nelson, author of The Argonauts 'If you want to know who we are and where we've been, read Margo Jefferson' - Edmund White, author of A Previous Life 'This is a moving portrait of the life of a brilliant African American woman's mind. Margo Jefferson is so real, her sensibility so literary, her learning such a joy. The gifts of reading her are many' - Darryl Pinckney, author of Sold and GoneTrade ReviewElectric [Jefferson] takes vital risks, tosses away rungs of the ladder as it climbs, and offers an indispensable, rollicking account of the enchantments, pleasures, costs, and complexities of "imagin[ing] and interpret[ing] what had not imagined you -- Maggie Nelson * author of The Argonauts *Margo Jefferson has created a startling and digressive form of auto-analysis... an intimate view of the aesthetic and political landscape of American culture and the secrets, longing, withholding and disavowal necessary to imagine oneself inside it and ward off its damage -- Saidiya Hartman * author of Wayward Lives, Beautiful Experiments *She knows everything and has felt it all deeply. If you want to know who we are and where we've been, read Margo Jefferson -- Edmund White * author of A Previous Life *Margo Jefferson is one of our most nuanced thinkers on the intersections of race, class, and feminism. Her latest Constructing a Nervous System is especially alive is both spiky and supple; jagged -- Cathy Park Hong * New York Times bestselling author of Minor Feelings *This is one of the most imaginative-and therefore moving-memoirs I have ever read -- Vivian Gornick * author of Fierce Attachments *Jefferson is as precise and sensitive as ever, nonpareil in her scope and ability to synthesize the circus of traditions, arcs, and performances that make up a life -- Most Anticipated Books of 2022 * Vulture *This is a moving portrait of the life of a brilliant African American woman's mind. Margo Jefferson is so real, her sensibility so literary, her learning such a joy. The gifts of reading her are many -- Darryl Pickney * author of Sold and Gone *A tour-de-force of personal narrative -- Keziah Weir * Vanity Fair *Margo Jefferson is the rare memoirist who is always daring the reader to keep up... It is impossible not to be stirred by her odes to fellow black American strivers of excellence * Observer *Constructing a Nervous System compresses memoir and cultural criticism into one slim, explosive volume, and in doing so the Pulitzer Prize-winning author makes both forms new. Hers is a wry, intimate portrayal of a passionate and intellectual woman coming to maturity... Jefferson has that rare ability to make her reader see things anew. -- Margie Orford * Spectator *Part autobiography, part cultural criticism, [Margo Jefferson] reminds us that the rules for how we structure memory, and how we tell our stories, are not immutable. -- Enuma Okoro * Financial Times *Lithe and always surprising... [Jefferson] paints a remarkable portrait of herself as a singular kind of performer * New Statesman *

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Book SynopsisThe Great British Dig brings history and archaeology closer to home than ever before. Each week a team of archaeologists (led by presenter Hugh Dennis) descend on streets and gardens the length and breadth of the country to discover the treasures we have been living right on top of without realising. In this official tie-in book, on-screen expert Dr Chloë Duckworth digs deeper into the sites the show visited, as well as giving practical tips and advice for anyone who wants to have a go themselves. Uncovering a lost world of human stories just a few shovelfuls beneath our feet, Chloë explores the team’s techniques in fascinating detail, offering new insights and explanations about the discoveries made. As well as revealing the actual frontier of the Roman Empire in Britain, the Tudor palace of an Elizabethan spymaster, a revolutionary Victorian prison, a Second World War military base, and a prehistoric village under a school playing field, Chloë includes lots of information for anyone wanting to give it a go themselves. The book is packed with features, tip boxes and practical advice about digging in your own back garden, researching your local area for clues about what might have been there centuries ago, and dating things you may find. Highly illustrated, the book includes images never seen on screen, as well as archive photos and illustrations that bring history to life, and identification guides to bones, pottery, tools, coins and other things you might come across yourself. Foreword by Hugh Dennis, presenter of The Great British Dig.Trade ReviewA beautiful book, bursting with accounts of archaeological digs, practical information and rich historical context. It will be treasured by fans of history and archaeology. * Dan Snow, historian and TV presenter *My first brush with the wonderful world of archaeology was, as a child, discovering tiny pieces of pottery in my own back garden. With excavations in gardens all over the UK, this book reveals the astonishing breadth of British archaeology – in a brilliantly accessible way. * Professor Alice Roberts, anthropologist, author and TV presenter *This book gives a brilliant blow-by blow account of how archaeologists approach excavations. By using a combination of science, interpretation and research it clearly shows how the process of archaeological digging actually happens – and doubles up as a ‘how-to’ guide. * Raksha Dave, President of the Council for British Archaeology *BOOK OF THE MONTH - With fascinating explorations of sites from the show and advice on your own findings, The Great British Dig will help you to explore the fascinating history that can be found close to home. * Countryside magazine *A joy to read. Beautifully presented and crammed with colour photos. Duckworth’s brightly conversational prose zips along, offering behind-the-scenes insights and dashes of humour. * Current Archaeology *An accessible and engaging introductory handbook - a no-nonsense guide that is bound to get you thinking like an archaeologist and make you want to dive into some muddy detective work in no time. * Minerva *An engaging, accessible introduction to practical archaeology, and arms the home enthusiast with the knowledge to start their own dig. * Who Do You Think You Are? magazine *A good archaeological primer. * British Archaeology *Visually splendid. Enthusiastically written. Easy to follow. Lots of practical advice. Ground-breaking stuff. * Best of British *Practical advice… a must-read for fans of the series. * This England *This book acts as a great reminder of why many of us fall for archaeology in the first place…an accessible and engaging introductory handbook * Minerva *Table of ContentsForeword by Hugh Dennis Introduction DIG 1: Cosmopolitan Romans (Benwell, Newcastle Upon Tyne) Identification guide: Roman and prehistoric ceramics Practical guide 1: Gathering your tools DIG 2: Medieval Life and Death (Masham, Yorkshire) Practical guide 2: Researching your local area DIG 3: Rebellious Monks (Lenton, Nottingham) DIG 4: War and Peace (Trow Point, South Shields) Identification guide: Coins Practical guide 3: Digging legally and safely DIG 5: From Mill to POW Camp (Oldham, Greater Manchester) Identification guide: Porcelain and its imitations DIG 6: The Final Frontier (Falkirk, Stirlingshire) Identification guide: Glass bottles Practical guide 4: Laying out your trench DIG 7: The Conquerors’ Castle (West Derby, Liverpool) Identification guide: Medieval ceramics Practical guide 5: All about soil DIG 8: Gardens of Power (Beningbrough, York) Identification guide: Metal small finds Practical guide 6: Excavating finds and features DIG 9: Poverty and Redemption (Oswestry, Shropshire) Identification guide: Clay pipes DIG 10: Out on the Grange (Biggin Hall, Coventry) DIG 11: Crime and Punishment (Devizes, Wiltshire) Practical guide 7: Recording your findings DIG 12: Royalists and Parliamentarians (King’s Lynn, Norfolk) Identification guide: Animal bones DIG 13: The Spymaster’s House (Odiham, Hampshire) Practical guide 8: Caring for finds DIG 14: Prehistoric Mysteries (Stretton, East Staffordshire) Practical guide 9: Carry on digging!

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Book SynopsisBorn in Limerick in 1891, John Edward or 'Ned' Daly was the only son in a family of nine. Ned's father, Edward, an ardent Fenian, died before his son was born, but Ned's Uncle John, also a radical Fenian, was a formative influence. John Daly was prepared to use physical force to win Ireland's freedom and was imprisoned for twelve years for his activities. Ned's sister Kathleen married Tom Clarke, a key figure of the Easter Rising. Nationalism was in the Daly blood. Yet young Ned was seen as frivolous and unmotivated, interested only in his appearance and his social life. How Edward Daly became a professional Volunteer soldier, dedicated to freeing his country from foreign rule, forms the core of this biography. Drawing on family memories and archives, Edward Daly's grandniece Helen Litton uncovers the untold story of Edward Daly, providing an insight into one of the more enigmatic figures of the Easter Rising. As commandant during the Rising, Ned controlled the Four Courts area. On 4 May 1916, Commandant Edward Daly was executed for his part in the Easter Rising. Ned was twenty-five years old. His body was consigned to a mass grave.Trade Reviewsuccinct and articulate -- Books Irelandintimate and insightful -- Books Ireland

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Book SynopsisFrom the Early Neolithic farm at Knap of Howar to the flamboyant chapel built by Italian prisoners of war in the 1940s, the Orkney Islands are amazingly rich in historic and prehistoric sites. At their centre is a cluster of spectacular Neolithic monuments - domestic, ceremonial and burial - now inscribed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Orkney later became a flourishing Norse centre, with St Magnus Cathedral in Kirkwall as its striking centrepiece. The palaces of the notorious Stewart earls also survive as a relic of Renaissance grandeur; while later periods have left evidence of industry, war and worship. In this extensively illustrated guide, Orkney-based archaeologist Caroline Wickham-Jones introduces more than 60 monuments in concise and accessible terms, set in context by a brief history of the islands. A site location directory is also included.

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Book SynopsisThe Northern Ireland conflict was one of the most bloody, protracted, and bitter campaigns of terrorist violence in modern history. Rooted in the partition of Ireland in 1921, over 50,000 people were killed or seriously injured because of the hostilities between Catholic nationalists and Protestant unionists. Despite the landmark Good Friday Agreement in 1998, violent incidents are still rife and new paramilitary groups are becoming ever more emboldened. This landmark introduction uses the latest archival material to chart the history of “The Troubles” and to examine the possible factors behind the political compromise of Sinn Fein and the DUP. Exploring the legacy of sectarian violence and inconsistent British intervention, the authors assert that, unfortunately, Northern Ireland is perhaps as fiercely segregated as ever.

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Book SynopsisSHORTLISTED FOR THE CWA INTERNATIONAL DAGGER AWARD 2016'Undoubtedly the most powerful work of crime fiction I have read this year' Independent'Vivid and harrowing' Sunday Times'Police procedural, romance, thriller The Murderer in Ruins has a bit of everything and it's one hell of a read.' BücherHamburg, 1947A ruined city occupied by the British, who bombed it, experiencing the coldest winter in living memory. Food and supplies are rationed; refugees and the homeless are crammed into concrete bunkers and ramshackle huts; trade on the black market is rife. A killer is on the loose, and all attempts to find him or her have failed. Plagued with worry about his missing son, Frank Stave is a career policeman with a tragedy in his past that is driving his determination to find the killer. With frustration and anger mounting in an already tense city, Stave is under increasing pressure to find out why - in the wake of a wave of atrocity, the grim Nazi past and the bleak attempts by his German countrymen to recreate a country from the apocalypse - someone still has the stomach for murder. The first of a trilogy, The Murderer in Ruins vividly describes a poignant moment in British-German history, with a riveting plot that culminates in a shocking denouement.Translated from ther German by Peter MillarTrade ReviewUndoubtedly the most powerful work of crime fiction I have read this year * Independent *Vivid and harrowing * Sunday Times *

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Book SynopsisThe Highland Clearances are a well-documented episode in Scotland’s past but they were not unique. The process began in the Scottish Lowlands nearly a century before, when tens of thousands of people – significantly more than were later exiled form the Highlands – were moved from the land by estate owners who replaced them with livestock or enclosed fields of crops. These Clearances undeniably shaped the appearance of the Scottish landscape as it is today as they swept aside a traditional way of life, causing immense upheaval for rural dwellers, many of whom moved to the new towns and cities or emigrated. Based on pioneering historical research, this book tells the story of the Lowland Clearances, establishing them as a wider part of the process of Clearance which affected the whole country and changed the face of Scotland forever.

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Book SynopsisLargely a facsimile edition of the original 1991 publication with revised preliminary pages, including a new Foreword by the editor and translator. In Greek and English.

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The mainstays of the RAF's bomber force in the 1970s and '80s were the distinctive Avro Vulcan and the slightly less well-known Blackburn Buccaneer. The Buccaneer came into service in 1962 and flew with just five RAF and six RN squadrons before being retired in 1994. The Vulcan came into service in 1956 and was retired after the Falklands War in 1982, having flown operationally with nine RAF squadron. Illustrated with 180 photographs, this book details the much-loved Buccaneer and Vulcan and the part they played in the latter stages of the Cold War. AUTHOR: Having retired from the RAF with the rank of Wing Commander, Chris Goss is a regular and highly respected contributor to major aviation publications in the UK, France and Germany. 180 illustrations

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Book SynopsisIn 1599, during the period when the Portuguese crown was united to the crowns of Castile and Aragon, the Portuguese master-at-arms Domingo Luis Godinho wrote a manuscript in Spanish entitled Arte de Esgrima (The Art of Fencing). Although his life is largely a mystery and Godinho’s text was never published in his lifetime, today his manuscript is of utmost relevance in the study of Renaissance Iberian fencing. It is the only complete treatise discovered so far describing the 'Common' or 'Vulgar' style of Iberian fencing, first documented in the fifteenth century, but by Godinho's day, displaced by the new system of La Verdadera Destreza (the true skill). The work includes instructions for the single sword, a long-bladed, cut & thrust weapon taught alone and with the use of the shield, buckler, dagger, and cape, as well as paired with a second sword. Godinho's instructions also included the longest known text on the use of the montante, or two-handed sword, a devastating weapon that was used by soldiers and body-guards, in duels and battlefields, in crowded streets and aboard galleys. Translator Tim Rivera provides a detailed introduction that explains Godinho's relationship to earlier masters of the 'Common School' of swordsmanship, and a short primer on the various weapons, guards, parries, footwork and terminology of the tradition. Trade Review Table of ContentsForeword Introduction Godinho's Art of Fencing Part One: Sword Alone Part Two: Sword and Shield Part Three: Sword and Buckler Part Four: Two Swords Part Five: Sword and Dagger Part Six: The Two-Handed Sword Part Seven: Sword and Cloak Part Eight: Self-Defense and Tricks Part Nine: General Advice Part Ten: Sword Alone, Continued Notes Appendix A: Pacheco's Thirty Vulgar Tretas Appendix B: Glossary Blbiography Endnotes

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Book SynopsisA walking tour of Oxford and Cambridge, showing the main Reformation sites. Includes a Timeline, helpful introduction, and Appendices. It is a unique publication, giving users a good grasp of one of the most pivotal periods in English history.

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Book SynopsisThe Cambridge Spies continue to fascinate - but one of them, John Cairncross, has always been more of an enigma than the others. He worked alone and was driven by his hostility to Fascism rather than to the promotion of Communism. During his war-time work at Bletchley Park, he passed documents to the Soviets which went on to influence the Battle of Kursk. Geoff Andrews gained exclusive access to the Cairncross papers and secrets, and has spoken to friends, relatives and former colleagues. In his portrait, a complex individual emerges a scholar as well as a spy whose motivations have often been misunderstood. After his resignation from the Civil Service, Cairncross moved to Italy and there he rebuilt his life as a foreign correspondent, editor and university professor. This gave him new circles and friendships which included the writer Graham Greene while he always lived with the fear that his earlier espionage would come to light. The full account of Cairncross's spying, his confTrade ReviewExtremely well-researched ... Both fascinating and exciting in equal measure. * The Wee Review *Compelling… Geoff Andrews’s research is extensive and exemplary. * Morning Star *[Cairncross] lived in a sort of self-imposed exile on the Continent, eking out an existence as a jobbing writer and translator. When he was finally unmasked as the Fifth Man, nobody really seemed to care. [Andrews] has set out to remedy this. * Mail on Sunday *Andrews rightly emphasizes the range of Cairncross's literary talents. He would have made a successful, though highly argumentative, full-time academic, and was a formidable linguist. * Times Literary Supplement *In Agent Molière, respected historian Geoff Andrews provides a well-researched and absorbing account of Cairncross’s life from his passing on of secret documents to the Russians during World War II to his later life as a university professor in Italy and his eventual unveiling as the ‘fifth man’. A must for all armchair spies. -- Jeff Popple * Canberra Weekly *Geoff Andrews, an Open University politics lecturer, throws new light on this mystery [of how John Cairncross found himself in the pay of Moscow's spy masters]. * The New European *Geoff Andrews brilliantly captures the essence of the unlikely “fifth man” in the notorious Cambridge spy ring, exploding the myths surrounding John Cairncross. His meticulous research paints a picture of an exceptional scholar from a humble background uncomfortable in the corridors of the Whitehall establishment. As Andrews astutely comments, Cairncross was “incapable of subscribing to any kind of orthodoxy”. Agent Molière is a refreshing and most welcome biography which blows away the cobwebs left by traditional spy writers. * Richard Norton-Taylor, author of The State of Secrecy *A thorough and thoughtful exploration of the complex life and personality of John Cairncross. This is the book we have been waiting for that rounds off the epic story of the Cambridge Spies. * Roland Philipps, Author of A Spy Named Orphan: The Enigma of Donald Maclean *Table of ContentsPrologue: 'The Chase' Chapter 1: A Scottish Education Chapter 2: From Glasgow to Germany Chapter 3: A Political Awakening Chapter 4: Cambridge Chapter 5: The Foreign Office Chapter 6: Agent Moliere Chapter 7: Appeasement Chapter 8: A Political Career Begins Chapter 9: Bletchley Park Chapter 10: Enter Graham Greene Chapter 11: Cold War and Resignation Chapter 12: An Italian Escape Chapter 13: Professor Cairncross Chapter 14: Confession and Exile (Again) Chapter 15: Hot Autumn Chapter 16: The ‘Fifth Man’ Chapter 17: The Human Factor Epilogue: 'Fact and Fiction in the Life of John Cairncross'

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Book SynopsisThrough most of eight hundred years, Somerled of Argyll has been variously denounced as an intractable rebel against his rightful king and esteemed as the honoured ancestor of the later medieval Lord of the Isles, but he can be recognised now as a much more complex figure of major prominence in twelfth-century Scotland and of truly landmark significance in the long history of the Gael. In this book individual chapters investigate his emergence in the forefront of the Gaelic-Norse aristocracy of the western seaboard, his part in Gaeldom's challenge to the Canmore kings of Scots, his war on the Manx king of the Isles, his importance for the church on Iona, and his extraordinary invasion of the Clyde which was cut short by his violent death at Renfrew in 1164. Perhaps most impressive is the book's demonstration of how almost everything that is known of or has been claimed for Somerled reflects the same characteristic fusion of Norse and Celt which binds the cultural roots of Gaeldom. It is this recognition which has led its author to his proposal of Somerled's wider historical importance as the personality who most represents the first fully-fledged emergence of the medieval Celtic-Scandinavian cultural province from which is directly descended the Gaelic Scotland of today.

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Book SynopsisWriting on a small island in the Firth of Forth in the 1440s, Walter Bower set out to tell the whole story of the Scottish nation in a single huge book, the Scotichronicon - 'a history book for Scots'. It begins with the mythical voyage of Scota, the Pharaoh's daughter, from Egypt with the Stone of Destiny. The land that her sons discovered in the Western Ocean was named after her: Scotland. It goes on to describe the turbulent events that followed, among them the wars of the Scots and the Picts (begun by a quarrel over a dog); the poisoning of King Fergus by his wife; Macbeth's usurpation and uneasy reign; the good deeds of Margaret, queen and saint; Bruce's murder of the Red Comyn; the founding of Scotland's first university at St Andrews; the 'Burnt Candlemas'; and the endless troubles between Scotland and England. Weaving in and out of the events of Bower's factual history, like a wonderful pageant, are other subjects that fascinated him: harrowing visions of hell and purgatory, extraordinary miracles; the exploits of knights and beggars, merchants and monks; the ravages of flood and fire; the terrors of the plague; and the answers to such puzzling questions as what makes a good king, and why Englishmen have tails. In 1998 Donald Watt and his team of scholars completed the first modern edition and translation of Scotichronicon in nine volumes. It has been described as 'a massive achievement for Scottish cultural history' (Sally Mapstone) and 'an open invitation to join a voyage of discovery' (Books in Scotland). This selection from the whole of Scotichronicon puts Bower's epic of Scotland into the hands of the general reader. It is a marvellous and unforgettable story. Perhaps its importance is best summed up by Bower himself, who wrote at the end of it: Non Scotus est Christe cui liber non placet iste - Christ! He is not a Scot who is not pleased with this book! A History Book for Scots is selected from the complete edition of Scotichronicon by Walter Bower, edited by D E R Watt and a team of scholars, in nine volumes. This monumental work of scholarship, in which the original Latin text appears side by side with a translation in modern English, was completed in 1998. Extensive introductory material and notes guide the reader through the complexities of Bower's history and its background.Trade Review'A superlatively good edition' - G W S Barrow, Books in Scotland

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Book SynopsisThis book traces the history of relations between the kingdom of Strathclyde and Anglo-Saxon England in the Viking period of the ninth to eleventh centuries AD. It puts the spotlight on the North Britons or 'Cumbrians', an ancient people whose kings ruled from a power-base at Govan on the western side of present-day Glasgow. In the tenth century, these kings extended their rule southward from Clydesdale to the southern shore of the Solway Firth, bringing their language and culture to a region that had been in English hands for more than two hundred years. They played a key role in many of the great political events of the time, whether leading their armies in battle or forging treaties to preserve a fragile peace. Their extensive realm, which was also known as 'Cumbria', was eventually conquered by the Scots, but is still remembered today in the name of an English county. How this county acquired the name of a long-vanished kingdom centred on the River Clyde is one of the topics covered in this book.It is part of a wider history that forms an important chapter in the story of how England and Scotland emerged from the early medieval period or 'Dark Ages' as the countries we know today.Trade Review'A must for anyone interested in medieval history' * Scots Magazine *

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Book SynopsisFor most of human history, states and regions were connected by long-distance commerce and war, yet they developed essentially separately. The century after 1750 marked a major shift. An Emerging Modern World, fourth in the six-volume series A History of the World, charts this transformative period outside the West.Trade ReviewErudite and expansive…An excellent resource for global historians. * Choice *The authors of this book all display not only the extraordinary range of erudition required to read, master, and summarize [world history] literature but a talent for synthesis and communication as well…The Harvard series in general and the volume under review in particular signal that world history has come of age. -- Patrick O’Brien * Journal of Modern History *

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Book SynopsisAt a time when a lasting peace between Palestinians and Israelis seems virtually unattainable, understanding the roots of the longest-running conflict in the Middle East is an essential step in restoring hope to the region. In The Iron Cage, Rashid Khalidi, one of the most respected historians and political observers of the Middle East, examines the Palestinian’s struggle for statehood, presenting a succinct and insightful history of the people and their leadership throughout the twentieth century. Ranging from the Palestinian struggle against colonial rule and the establishment of the State of Israel to the current rivalry between Hamas and Fatah, this is an unflinching and sobering critique of the Palestinian failure to achieve statehood, as well as a balanced account of the odds ranged against them. Lucid yet challenging, Rashid Khalidi’s engrossing narrative of this tortuous history is required reading for anyone concerned about peace in the Middle East.Trade Review"A work of forceful historical analysis written in a spirit of self-examination . . . 'The Iron Cage' compels us to reflect more deeply on the problems that continue to bedevil the Palistinain movement." * The Nation *"the book will delight everyone sick to death of following the minutiae of the "peace process" and the inevitable apportioning of blame for its failure. Equally, it is a godsend for those new to the subject, as it presents a strong analysis within a frameworkd that is comparable across colonized peoples." * International History Review *"'The Iron Cage' is a patient and eloquent work, ranging over the whole of modern Palestinian history from World War I to the death of Yasser Arafat. Reorienting the Palestinain narrative around the attitudes and tactics of the Palestinians themselves, Khalidi lends a remarkable illumination to a story so wearily familiar it is often hard to believe anything new can be found within." Jonathan Shainin * Salon *"Khalidi asks crucial questions regarding the state of Palestinian identity and viability that no other historians or political analysts have covered with such depth." Alejandra Ju * Political Affairs *"Khalidi's book is no exercise in victimology. He is tough on the British, the Israelis, and the Americans, but she is scarcely less hard-hitting in appraising the Palestinians. The final chapter provides an excellent critique of the Palestine Liberation Organization's labored moves toward the recognition of Israel and the idea, increasingly bruited, that a two-state solution is no longer feasible." L. Carl Brown * Foreign Affairs *"A must-read historical and political study of the national Palestinian movement . . . Supporters of the Palestinians and of Israel will read this book in different ways and with different eyes, but both will find Khalidi's presentation richly illuminating." Neil Caplan * The Middle East Journal *"[Khalidi's] most accomplished effort to date . . . Magesterial in scope, meticulous in its attention to detail, and decidedly dispassionate in its analysis, 'The Iron Cage' is destined to be a benchmark of its genre." Joel Schalit * Tikkun *"A first-rate and up-to-date historical and political analaysis of the Palestinian predicament." * Publishers Weekly *"A lucid and compelling examination of the Palestinian dilemma by 'arguably the foremost US historian of the modern Middle East'." Warren I. Cohen * Los Angeles Times Book Review *"Khalidi, tackling ‘historical amnesia,’ brilliantly analyses the structural handicap which hobbled the Palestinians throughout 30 years of British rule . . . Khalidi restores the Palestinians to something more than victims, acknowledging that for all their disadvantages, they have played their role and can (and must) still do so to determine their own fate." * The Guardian *"Khalid [has] done much to provide a Palestinian narrative rooted in personal histories but disciplined by the standards of Western scholarship." * The New York Times *"Khalidi, tackling ‘historical amnesia,’ brilliantly analyses the structural handicap which hobbled the Palestinians throughout 30 years of British rule . . . restor[ing] the Palestinians to something more than victims." * The Guardian *"Khalidi [has] done much to provide a Palestinian narrative rooted in personal histories but disciplined by the standards of Western scholarship." * The New York Times *Table of ContentsIntroduction: Writing Middle Eastern History in a Time of Historical Amnesia 1. Arab Society in Mandatory Palestine 2. The Palestinians and the British Mandate 3. A Failure of Leadership 4. The Revolt, 1948, and Afterwards 5. Fateh, the PLO, and the PA: The Palestinian Para-State 6. Stateless in Palestine

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Book SynopsisThe Making of Mr Gray's Anatomy tells the story of one of the most iconic scientific books ever published: a textbook of anatomy that is still a household name 150 years since its first edition. It is the story of the remarkable and dedicated characters who created it, of poverty, class, and science and society in Victorian London.Trade ReviewFascinating. * Christopher Hirst, The Independent *Table of ContentsIntroduction ; 1. The Words: Mr Gray of Belgravia ; 2. The Pictures: Dr Carter of Scarborough ; 3. The Enterprise: J.W.Parker & Son of West Strand ; 4. The Process of Creation: Person or Persons Unknown ; 5. The Raw Material: The Friendless Poor of London ; 6. The Process of Creation ; 7. The Process of Production ; 8. 1858: The Book Appears ; 9. Calamity ; 10. Futurity ; Acknowledgements ; References ; Bibliography ; Index

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Book SynopsisTrade Review"What does it mean to say a painting thinks? The central claim of this invigorating book is not that a painting can show thought happening, as in depictions of melancholics musing, head on hand; nor that it can illustrate philosophical concepts. Nor does Hanneke Grootenboer want to argue that a painting is a way of working out a philosophical conundrum; nor even that it can prompt theorisation about the nature of reality, artifice and representation. She argues, instead, for something weirder–and more suggestive. . . . she asks: 'Do we, as viewers, find ourselves pondering these things, or is the painting as such pensive?' Grootenboer wants to affirm the latter." -- Kathryn Murphy * Apollo *"Ideas in Grootenboer’s sense are arresting, Benjaminian, and, therefore, fit for the still medium of painting, where, in her beautiful examples, they crystallize into dangling ribbons, inverted flowers, sliding dewdrops, and teetering gooseberries. . . . Though this book is full of beauty and pleasure, the adjective “pensive” is not, finally, the happiest to attach to the thinking subject—a person or work of art. In Grootenboer’s own words, the pensive image gives rise to an 'uneasy and indeterminate state of openness that allows for the unthought to surface.' As such, the pensive image extends an invitation to take a hard look at things." -- Amy Knight Powell * CAA Reviews *"This deeply thoughtful and compact book, like a self-aware image, also stimulates in its own right, prompting a reader toward unpredictable, wide-ranging pathways during engagement with it. Every sentence, every reference, gives pause, leading to other thoughts or thinkers about art, including contemporary art." -- Larry Silver * Sixteenth Century Journal *"Grootenboer opens up innumerable possible directions in which the reader’s mind could fruitfully err, juxtaposing different viewpoints and insights whose encounters incessantly ignite exciting intellectual sparks . . . one is then mesmerized by the exquisite profundity of some paintings, by the beauty of thinking crystallized into images and then 'melting' once again into a stream of contemplation, and by the lofty level of thinking attained through the collaboration, over centuries and continents, between a few brilliant artists and an attentive, insightful viewer who chose to work as an art historian, transforming visual thought into fine discursive language." -- Itay Sapir * Inquiries into Art, Art History, and the Visual *“Grootenboer’s book provides an accessible, clear, and innovating means of thinking about being by revealing a new philosophical subject: artworks.” * Phenomenological Reviews *“Is there a kind of thinking that painting, or photography, can do, which ‘thinking in words’ cannot? What kind of realm do viewers enter when they go somewhere with an image? Are there pictures that are especially good to think with? These are the questions of Grootenboer’s unflinching, generous book, and her conclusion is pungent: ‘Philosophy . . . needs art to say what it cannot say.’” -- T. J. Clark, author of Heaven on Earth: Painting and the Life to Come“Thinking with Grootenboer is an unequivocal delight. The Pensive Image recuperates the vibrant invitations to contemplate and reflect that lurk in the quiet corners of Dutch art. Grootenboer’s philosophical insight and deft eye for the unexamined detail meld in a book that is refreshingly original and truly engaging at every turn.” -- Marisa Bass, author of Insect Artifice: Nature and Art in the Dutch Revolt“It’s wonderful to finally have this book. For nearly a century now, the history and philosophy of art have been gathering ideas about how pictures seem to embody thought, rather than simply announce narratives or messages. The literature on this subject is bewilderingly diverse, and this is the first book to bring together compatible insights from writers as diverse as Diderot, Winckelmann, Merleau-Ponty, Heidegger, Damisch, Deleuze, Clark, Rancière, Marin, Mitchell, and Barthes. The result is a coherent account of the thought that sounds in ‘stilled images’ of all kinds.” -- James Elkins, coauthor of Visual Worlds: Looking, Images, Visual DisciplinesTable of ContentsArt as a Form of Thinking Part I | Defining the Pensive Image Chapter 1 | Theorizing Stillness Chapter 2 | Tracing the Denkbild Part II | Painting as Philosophical Reflection Chapter 3 | Room for Reflection: Interior and Interiority Chapter 4 | The Profundity of Still Life Chapter 5 |Painting as a Space for Thought Painting’s Wonder Acknowledgments Notes Bibliography Index

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Book SynopsisIt would be easy for the modern reader to conclude that women had no place in the world of early modern espionage, with a few seventeenth-century women spies identified and then relegated to the footnotes of history. If even the espionage carried out by Susan Hyde, sister of Edward Hyde, Earl of Clarendon, during the turbulent decades of civil strife in Britain can escape the historiographer''s gaze, then how many more like her lurk in the archives? Nadine Akkerman''s search for an answer to this question has led to the writing of Invisible Agents, the very first study to analyse the role of early modern women spies, demonstrating that the allegedly-male world of the spy was more than merely infiltrated by women. This compelling and ground-breaking contribution to the history of espionage details a series of case studies in which women -- from playwright to postmistress, from lady-in-waiting to laundry woman -- acted as spies, sourcing and passing on confidential information on account of political and religious convictions or to obtain money or power. The struggle of the She-Intelligencers to construct credibility in their own time is mirrored in their invisibility in modern historiography. Akkerman has immersed herself in archives, libraries, and private collections, transcribing hundreds of letters, breaking cipher codes and their keys, studying invisible inks, and interpreting riddles, acting as a modern-day Spymistress to unearth plots and conspiracies that have long remained hidden by history.Trade ReviewAkkerman has a knack for telling a good story, and her vignettes of strong, independent, and clever women paint a lively picture of seventeenth-century female spies. What distinguishes her book from most other academic monographs, however, is her very personal approach, which more traditional scholars might frown upon...Most of all, however, the book is proof that there is no excuse any more for excluding women from the narratives of mid-seventeenth-century political activism either on the royalist or parliamentarian side. * Gaby Mahlberg, Journal of Modern History *Revelatory. * Simon Heffer, Books of the Year 2018: History, The Daily Telegraph *A history book that will surely inspire future fiction. A work of deep scholarship and clever detective work. * Leanda de Lisle, Books of the Year 2018, BBC History Magazine *A dense, hugely researched and admirably learned history of women spies during the Civil War. * Dominic Sandbrook, The Sunday Times *A brilliant book. * Noel Malcolm, The Sunday Telegraph *A triumph of scholarly rigour, original thinking and crisp prose. It is, in every sense, a cracking book. * Jessie Childs, The Daily Telegraph *Invisible Agents is a work of deep scholarship that suggests Akkerman would have made an excellent spy catcher. * Leanda de Lisle, The Times *Brimming with fascinating detail ... Akkerman's archival dissections admirably emulate the painstaking vigilance of early modern spy masters. * Clare Jackson, The Times Literary Supplement *Pioneering ... a most valuable book, highlighting women's contribution to the conspiratorial world of mid-17th-century Britain, while also offering a thought provoking exercise in gender and historical methods. * Ann Hughes, BBC History Magazine *An intriguing book ... [Akkerman's] own remarkable ability to ferret out secrets is often as great as that of the spies she writes about. Time after time, women whose lives, careers and even names have been forgotten or misread spring into stealthy, double-dealing life on the page. * Adrian Tinniswood, Literary Review *Invisible Agents breaks significant new ground in its focus on the special roles of Royalist and Parliamentarian 'she-intelligencers' and their hidden world. This is a model monograph, meticulously researched and relentlessly questioning, which succeeds admirably in uncovering closely guarded secrets. * R. C. Richardson, Times Higher Education *immensely readable...Akkerman has a knack for telling a good story, and her vignettes of strong, independent, and clever women paint a lively picture of seventeenth-century female spies. * Gaby Mahlberg, Journal of Modern History *Richly illustrated, scrupulously researched. * Frances E. Dolan, Renaissance Quarterly *This is a book full of rich and engaging details...this is a testament to the thoroughness of her academic practice. Ultimately, Invisible Agents is a text that serves as an invaluable starting point for the re-situation of women into narratives of early modern spying, and political history, offering readers across disciplines a varied and voluminous history of women's roles in seventeenth-century espionage. * Rose Hilton, AC Review of Books *A ground-breaking book looking at a previously unexplored aspect of the world of espionage ... Founded on work in a wide variety of archives, many of them previously undiscovered, Akkerman shines a light on one of the dark corners of the world of spies. * Military History Monthly *For a serious examination of the role of women in intelligence, turn to Nadine Akkerman's Invisible Agents. Doubly invisible, both as agents and in historical records, these women were at the heart of the intelligence network, yet they have never hitherto received the 'glory of Martyrs'. * Teresa Levonian Cole, Country Life *Fascinating and insightful ... Akkerman lifts the veil not only on a number of individual she-intelligencers, but also on the complex and varied business of female espionage in mid-seventeenth-century Britain. * Lena Steveker, English Studies *Akkerman deftly handles the challenges of writing about [female spies], assembling fragments of evidence where she can, acknowledging gaps where she must. Her book has much to teach us not only about espionage but about the creation of historical narratives. * Rachel Weil, American Historical Review *A dazzling study of a truly neglected subject, which ably demonstrates the gendered dimension of early modern spy-craft, and the unique ways in which women were able to operate. It is written by one of the foremost early modern textual-historical scholars of her generation and marshals an almost unmatched expertise in working with an impressive range of European and international archives of the period. The book delivers a series of fascinating case studies - including Charles I's prison correspondence, Secretary Thurloe, as well as female practitioners Susan Hyde, Elizabeth Murray, Elizabeth Carey, Anne Halkett, and Aphra Behn - all of which rest on a remarkable and overwhelming weight of archival research. This is an important book that will be widely read and cited, and which will have significant impact on many fields not least those of early modern gender and women's writing, but also political and diplomatic history. * Professor James Daybell, University of Plymouth *Table of ContentsIntroduction: Invisible Agents, She-Intelligencers, or Spies Invisible by Birth 1. Ciphered Pillow Talk with Charles I in Prison, 1646-1649: 'intrigues, which at that time could be best managed and carried on by ladies' 2. The Credibility and Archival Silence of She-Intelligencers: Women on the Council of State's Payroll 3. Susan Hyde. a Spy's Gendered Fate Punishment: Hide and Seek the Sealed Knot 4.I Elizabeth Murray, Loyal Subject, Lover or Double Agent?: Rumour, Hearsay and the Sins of the Father 4.II Elizabeth Murray's Continental Foray: Incompetence, Invisible Inks, and Internal Wrangling 5. Elizabeth Carey, Lady Mordaunt: The 'Enigma' of the Great Trust 6. Anne, Lady Halkett's 'True Accountt': A Married Woman Is Never to Blame 7. Aphra Behn's Letters from Antwerp, July 1666-April 1667: Intelligence Reports or Epistolary Fiction? Epilogue: Invisibility and Blanck Marshall, the Nameless and Genderless Agent Bibliography Index

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Book SynopsisTrade Review[A] monumental history…Pandora’s Box is a major contribution to the historiography of the war, the best large-scale synthesis in any language of what we currently know and understand about this multidimensional, cataclysmic conflict…Leonhard has a rare gift for critical, intelligent narrative…A detailed, judicious and virtually comprehensive account of the war, its origins, its history and its consequences. -- Richard J. Evans * Times Literary Supplement *[An] epic and magnificent work—unquestionably, for me, the best single-volume history of the war I have ever read…It is the most formidable attempt to make the war to end all wars comprehensible as a whole. -- Simon Heffer * The Spectator *Extremely readable, lucidly structured, focused, and dynamic, Pandora’s Box shows that the world that emerges from the First World War is utterly transformed by the experience. Leonhard’s analysis is enlivened by a sharp eye for concrete situations and an ear for the voices that best convey the meaning of change for the people and societies undergoing it. -- Christopher Clark, University of Cambridge, author of The Sleepwalkers: How Europe Went to War in 1914A library of books were published to mark the centenary of the Great War, but none of them are as good as Jörn Leonhard’s gracefully written, deeply researched, and constantly illuminating account. This is a wonderful book, filled with new information and fresh insights. -- James Sheehan, Stanford University, author of Where Have All the Soldiers Gone? The Transformation of Modern Europe[A] great book on the Great War… Leonhard succeeds in being comprehensive without falling prey to the temptation of being encyclopedic. He writes fluently and judiciously. Footnotes are limited to the essentials. This is, one is tempted to say, a German history in the British style. -- Adam Tooze * Die Zeit *This is probably the meatiest and most comprehensive WWI book yet published… It is consistently intelligent and thoughtful. -- Tyler Cowen * Marginal Revolution *What makes it so compelling is the analysis of events after the peace agreement of 1918, complete with a political map of the world and a stark look at the intense violence that persisted in Europe. -- Shelby Blackley * Globe and Mail *Pandora’s Box stands out as the most comprehensive recent book on the First World War in any language. Leonhard provides us with a narrative analysis that combines intellectual precision and thematic focus with multiple perspectives. From the microcosm of the trenches to the home fronts, from the big battles in the East and the West to violent upheavals after 1918, Leonhard’s treatment of the war is wide-ranging while also giving ample space to the different layers of war experiences. -- Robert Gerwarth, University College Dublin, author of The Vanquished: Why the First World War Failed to EndA brilliant history of what people thought about the First World War—before, during and after. -- Beatrice Heuser * Times Higher Education *[A] very readable history of the war; thankfully, it is far more than a list of battles, but a thoughtful consideration of the epic destructive event in all its varied ramifications…There are more books on the First World War than anyone (even enthusiasts) could read, but Leonhard’s is an honorable addition, a large and weighty volume, literally and metaphorically, that is well worth the time dipping into. Well researched and detailed, Pandora’s Box never tosses the reader into a roiling overload of facts and figures, but looks at the horrors of WWI from many different, illuminating angles. -- Thomas Filbin * Arts Fuse *[Leonhard] presents a stunningly broad and detailed survey of the cataclysm that began the 20th century by first tracing its deep roots in the 19th century and searching out the conflict’s furthest ripples… The reading experience is…thrilling, particularly as the facts accumulate and gradually create a crushing realization of how fundamentally the war changed the world… [Leonhard] puts the whole conflict in a broader context than any historian has managed in a single volume in well over a generation… [An] enormously impressive undertaking… Readers…will be richly rewarded. -- Steve Donoghue * Open Letters Review *Leonhard sets out not simply to write a history of events, but to help his reader understand the greater meaning of the war for the participants…and to us in the twenty-first century…Far more comprehensive in its discussion of national attitudes than virtually all of the recent avalanche of studies on this the centennial of the Great War. * The Bridge *Provides a sweeping account of the war, one that incorporates its political, social, and cultural dimensions into a description of the campaigns on the various battlefields…The best single-volume history of the war yet written. * Choice *

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Book SynopsisThe confrontation between German and Soviet forces at Stalingrad was a titanic clash of armies on an unprecedented scale - a campaign that was both a turning point in WWII and a lasting symbol of that war's power and devastation. This book provides an account of the opening phase of this iconic Eastern Front campaign.Trade ReviewFifteen years ago the late John Erickson wrote that the research of Glantz and house reflected an 'encyclopaedic knowledge' of the Nazi-Soviet war and constituted a benchmark for excellence in the field. The Stalingrad trilogy reflects the fact that they maintain that standard, while bringing to light a new understanding of many old questions.""- War in History;""Glantz is the world's top scholar of the Soviet-German War.""- Journal of Military History;""No previous work matches, or even approaches, the accuracy, detail, and fresh interpretation offered in this book. The trilogy is an essential addition to the library of any institution whose students study World War II. It is indeed a monumental work.""- Slavic Review;""I strongly recommend this book to serious World War II students; it certainly provides readers with a far greater understanding of this phase of history's greatest land war.""- Armor;""A very important addition to all World War II collections. Highly recommended.""- Choice;""The combination of David Glantz's accrued knowledge of the war on the Eastern Front during World War II and the rich source material in the extensive notes makes this book arguably the most authoritative operational study of the initial phases of the Stalingrad campaign ever published in English, or any language for that matter.""- Parameters;""Although he offers a deeply detailed, comprehensive operational history, Glantz nonetheless steps back just enough to offer cogent analysis and interpretation. . . . Glantz has made good use of the most recent Soviet and German sources and historiography to craft a nitty-gritty of the key 1942 summer campaign in Russia. As always, his information is substantial and his judgments are sound.""- H-Net Reviews;""A magisterial new survey that draws on a wealth of previously inaccessible Red Army records and will be indispensable reading for all serious students of the battle.""- Michael K. Jones, author of Stalingrad: How the Red Army Triumphed;""In a way never before attempted, Glantz reveals how the battle proceeded through the step-by-step, day-by-day efforts of leaders to plan, supervise, and conduct combat operations amidst the fog of war.""- Roger R. Reese, author of Red Commanders""Glantz is the world's top scholar of the Soviet-German War.""- Journal of Military History

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Book SynopsisMaximos the Confessor is one of the most challenging and original Christian thinkers of all time. The Ambigua is his greatest philosophical and doctrinal work, in which daring originality, prodigious talent for speculative thinking, and analytical acumen are on lavish display. The result is a labyrinthine map of the mind’s journey to God.

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Book SynopsisMaximos the Confessor is one of the most challenging and original Christian thinkers of all time. The Ambigua is his greatest philosophical and doctrinal work, in which daring originality, prodigious talent for speculative thinking, and analytical acumen are on lavish display. The result is a labyrinthine map of the mind’s journey to God.

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Book SynopsisThe aim of this book is to explore the characteristics of the medieval dragon and discuss the different and sometimes differing views found in the relevant medieval text types. This study is based on an intimate knowledge of the primary texts and presents new interpretations of well-known literary works and also takes into consideration paintings and other depictions of these beasts. Dragons were designed not only to frighten, but also to fire the imagination, and provide a suitably huge and evil creature for the hero to overcome - yet there is far more to them than reptilian adversaries. This book introduces the medieval dragon via brief, accurate and clear chapters on its natural history, religion, literature and folklore, and concludes with how the dragon is constantly revived - from Beowulf to Tolkien, Disney and Potter.Table of ContentsPreface List of illustrations Introduction The Dragon and Medieval Scholarship The Dragon and Medieval Religion The Medieval Dragon and Folklore The Dragon and Medieval Literature Outlook and Conclusion Endnotes Further reading Bibliography Index

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Book SynopsisAn international bestseller, this intimate biography vividly brings to life the story of an exceptional and courageous woman, well ahead of her time, who lived through a remarkable period in Turkish history.Trade Review`Rich, surprising and profound' Orhan Pamuk; `A daring biography' Independent; `Latife played a pivotal role in shaping the new Turkey - an acknowledgement of her contribution is long overdue.' New Internationalist; `This fascinating retelling highlights an important moment in the struggle for women's suffrage ... Poignant' The Lady; `A shining example of how history can and should be written' The Jordan Times

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Book SynopsisTrade Review"A Seminary Co-Op Notable Book of the Year""A Choice Outstanding Academic Title of the Year""A vital reconsideration of world history." * Publishers Weekly *"Ehret provides a vital new perspective on Africa’s significant role in the ancient world. This is an essential book on early African history that uses several types of evidence to demonstrate how different groups in Africa impacted each other and eventually the world." * Library Journal *"Ehret charts the many pathways of interconnection between Africa and the world. . . . At a time when people seem more divided than ever, it’s refreshing and rather moving to read a book which humanely reminds us of how much we all have in common."---Toby Green, Daily Telegraph"Although the ancestors of all human beings alive today lived in Africa, the continent and the history of its peoples occupy remarkably little space in histories of the ancient world. Ancient Africa goes a long way toward rectifying that. . . . This masterful, accessible summary of a brilliant historian's life's work will appeal to everyone interested in ancient world history." * Choice Reviews *"Ancient Africa: A Global History, to 300 CE is a passionate, provocative, engaging, and eye-opening account that has swept away any preconceived notions I had of a part of the world that is certainly deserving of more attention." * Ancient History *

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Book SynopsisThis series is for the Cambridge International AS History syllabus (9489) for examination from 2021. Written by an experienced author team that includes examiners, a practising teacher and trainer, this coursebook supports the Cambridge International AS History syllabus. With increased depth of coverage, this coursebook helps build confidence and understanding in language, essay-writing and evaluation skills. It develops students'' conceptual understanding of history with the five new ''Key concepts'', for example exploring similarity and difference in the aims/achievements of Witte and Stolypin. In addition, it encourages individuals to make substantiated judgments and reflect on their learning. Students can consolidate their skills though exam-style questions with source material and sample responses.Table of ContentsHow to use this book; Introduction; Chapter 1. France, 1774-1814; Chapter 2.The Industrial Revolution in Britain, 1750–1850; Chapter 3. Liberalism and Nationalism in Germany, 1815–1871; Chapter 4. The Russian Revolution, 1894-1921; Chapter 5. Preparing for Assessment; Index.

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Book SynopsisThis highly original book is both a study of emotional discourse in the Early Middle Ages and a contribution to the debates among historians and social scientists about the nature of human emotions.Trade Review"This is a landmark book, not only for the early middle ages but also for the emerging field of the history of emotions. Barbara H. Rosenwein evaluates with superb intelligence the strengths and weaknesses of the various methods that have been applied in this field, and fashions an approach of her own that will serve as a useful model for many other researchers. Using this carefully constructed method, she is able to bring to life for us, as no other scholar has, the emotional communities whose existence is implied in the scattered texts and epigraphs of the sixth, seventh, and eighth centuries. A real tour de force." -- William M. Reddy, William T. Laprade Professor of History and Professor of Cultural Anthropology, Duke University"Thoroughly discrediting the view of many scholars that medieval people, in contrast to modern ones, were 'emotionally childish, impulsive, and unrestrained,' Barbara H. Rosenwein ably develops and deploys the concept of 'emotional communities' to investigate several groups in early Medieval Europe whose members adhered to 'the same norms of emotional expression and valued—or devalued—the same or related emotions.'." -- Stephen D. White, Candler Professor of Medieval History, Emory University"What did people 1400 years ago mean when they told a woman that they 'were moved by her tears,' or found an event 'hell raising'? Historians have always been puzzled by medieval descriptions of emotions. They interpreted them in simplistic terms, or at best explained displays of emotion as ritual performances quite unconnected to what people really felt. Barbara H. Rosenwein, using recent psychological theory, opens doors to a completely new understanding of past emotions. Instead of a general and necessarily blurred picture of a 'typical' medieval set of emotions, she subtly reconstructs feelings and attitudes,'emotives' and passions shared by specific 'emotional communities.' Various languages of emotion connected stereotypes and metaphors with inner feelings. The book opens fascinating new ways of access to a 'dark age,' and should be read not only by medieval historians but also by anyone interested in the study of emotions past or present." -- Walter Pohl, Professor of Medieval History, University of Vienna, and Director, Institute for Medieval Research, Austrian Academy of Sciences"With her original book, Emotional Communities in the Early Middle Ages, Barbara H. Rosenwein opens new perspectives on the history of emotions. This includes a persuasive critique of Norbert Elias's influential notion of the civilizing process. Proposing that people lived (and live) in emotional communities, each having its own particular norms and emotional expressions, Rosenwein has written a groundbreaking book that is highly important to historians as well as to social scientists working on the history of emotions." -- Ingrid Kasten, Freie Universitët Berlin"With this book Barbara Rosenwein has made the emotions an essential component of our approach to the changing social history." -- Jacques Le GoffTable of ContentsIntroduction1. The Ancient Legacy2. Confronting Death3. Passions and Power4. The Poet and the Bishop5. Courtly Discipline6. Reveling in RancorConclusionSelected BibliographyIndex

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Book SynopsisThe Mary Rose was one of King Henry VIII''s favourite warships until she sank during an engagement with the French fleet on 19 July 1545. Her rediscovery and raising were seminal events in the history of nautical archaeology. Apart from the Captain and the Vice Admiral, nothing is known about the crew of the Mary Rose - the only evidence about her complement of 415 men rests with their skeletal remains. In The Men of the Mary Rose A.J. Stirland uses archaeological and skeletal evidence to give the reader a welcome insight into the soldiers of the Mary Rose, from their ages and height to their health, diet and physical condition.This book examines the building, sinking and raising of the Mary Rose and her historical context, before moving on to the examination of what the remain of the crew can reveal to us about the fighting men of that period. Many new findings have been made through analysis of their bones, including the effects of some activities and occup

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Book SynopsisRelive everything car-related in Britain in the 1980s with Giles Chapman.

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Book SynopsisThis fascinating selection of photographs illustrates the extraordinary transformation that has taken place in Hull during the 20th century. The book offers an insight into the daily lives and living conditions of local people and gives the reader glimpses and details of familiar places during a century of unprecedented change. Many aspects of Hull''s recent history are covered, famous occasions and individuals are remembered and the impact of national and international events is witnessed. The book provides a striking account of the changes that have so altered Hull''s appearance and records the process of transformation. Drawing on detailed local knowledge of the community, and illustrated with a wealth of black-and-white photographs, this book recalls what Hull has lost in terms of buildings, traditions and ways of life. It also acknowledges the regeneration that has taken place and celebrates the character and energy of local people as they move through the first years of this new century.

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Book SynopsisNow a major TV series starring Julianne Moore and Nicholas GalitzineThe rise of George Villiers from minor gentry to royal power seemed to defy gravity. Becoming gentleman of the royal bedchamber in 1615, the young gallant enraptured James, Britain’s first Stuart king, royal adoration reaching such an intensity that the king declared he wanted the courtier to become his ‘wife’. For a decade, Villiers was at the king’s side – at court, on state occasions and in bed, right up to James’s death in March 1625.Almost immediately, Villiers’ many enemies accused him of poisoning the king. A parliamentary investigation was launched, and scurrilous pamphlets and ballads circulated London’s streets. But the charges came to nothing, and were relegated to a historical footnote.Now, new historical scholarship suggests that a deadly combination of hubris and vulnerability did indeed drive Villiers to kill the man who made him. It may have been by accident – the application of a quack remedy while the king was weakened by a malarial attack. But there is compelling evidence that Villiers, overcome by ambition and frustrated by James’s passive approach to government, poisoned him.In The King’s Assassin, acclaimed author Benjamin Wooley examines this remarkable, even tragic story. Combining vivid characterization and a strong narrative with historical scholarship and forensic investigation, Woolley tells the story of King James’s death, and of the captivating figure at its centre. What emerges is a compelling portrait of a royal favourite whose charisma overwhelmed those around him and, ultimately, himself.Trade ReviewColourful * The Times *A fascinating portrait of a flawed and complex man, demonstrating how Buckingham achieved greatness but lacked the substance to retain it. It is an utterly gripping read, vivid with incidental detail and dark Jacobean politics, that offers a ringside seat for the spectacle of a powerful man, very publicly, sowing the seeds of his owndemise . . . I devoured it. -- Elizabeth Fremantle, author of Queen’s Gambit and The Girl in the Glass Tower

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Book SynopsisThis study explores the history of the western seaboard of Scotland (the Hebrides, Argyll and the Isle of Man) in a formative but often neglected era: the central middle ages, from the mightly Somerled to his descendant John MacDonald, the first Lord of the Isles (c. 1336). Drawing on a variety of sources, this very readable narrative deals with three major and closely interrelated themes: first, the existence of the Isles and coastal mainland as a kingdom from c.1100 to 1266; second, the rulers of the region, Somerled and his descendants, the MacDougalls, MacDonalds and MacRuaris; and third, the often complex relations among the Isles, Scotland, Norway and England. A fully rounded history emerges, which transcends national viewpoints. While political history predominates, the changing nature of society in the isles is emphasised throughout, and separate chapters address the church and monasticism as well as the monuments – the castles, monasteries, churches and chapels that form an enduring legacy.

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Book SynopsisTranslated into English for the first time, this book includes a valuable and extensive technical introduction, with illustrations from both original sources and modern photographs. Antonio Manciolino's instructions are easy to follow, sword-in-hand, even by beginners, while providing years of training for veteran martial artists.Trade Review Table of ContentsForeword Author's Preface Acknowledgements Introduction Martial Arts in Renaissance Italy Martial Arts and the Italian Renaissance: What They Were, Who Taught Them, Who Learned Them Tackling Manciolino's Opera Nova: A Primer of Bolognese Swordsmanship Lines, Measure, Tempo and Stances The Guards (Guardie) Footwork (Passeggiare) The Attacks (Offese): Moving Between the Guards Defense (Difese): Parries and the Role of the Buckler Other Actions and Definitions The Assalto and the Main Parts of the Play Attitude and Mental Disposition In Bolognese Swordsmanship Giovanni dalle Bande Nere, the Great Devil: A Portrait of a Famous Swordsman of the Bolognese Style A Note on Language, the Translation, and on Editorial Decisions Opera Nova OPERA NOVA TO LEARN How to Fight and Defend with any Sort of Arms, Written by Antonio Manciolino, Bolognese HERE BEGIN A FEW Main Rules or Explanations on the Valiant Art of Arms The Complete Renaissance Swordsman OF COMBAT AND FENCING WITH ALL SORTS OF WEAPONS IN SIX BOOKS BOOK ONE BOOK TWO BOOK THREE BOOK FOUR BOOK FIVE BOOK SIX

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Book SynopsisA captivating exploration of the role in which Queen Victoria exerted most international power and influence: her role as matchmaking grandmother. In the late nineteenth century, Queen Victoria had over thirty surviving grandchildren. To maintain power in Europe, she hoped to manoeuvre them into dynastic marriages with royalty across the world. Yet her grandchildren often had plans of their own, fuelled by strong wills and romantic hearts. Her matchmaking plans were further complicated by tumultuous international upheavals; revolution was in the air and after her death, her most carefully laid plans fell to ruin. Queen Victoria's Matchmaking travels through the glittering palaces of Russia and Europe, weaving in scandals, political machinations and family tensions, to enthralling effect. It is at once an intimate portrait of the royal family and an examination of the conflict caused by the power, love and duty that shaped the marriages that Queen Victoria arranged. At tTrade ReviewWonderfully compelling and packed with new material - a gripping story beautifully told -- Jane RidleyCadbury is an adroit storyteller. Her lively, colourfully written book, Queen Victoria’s Matchmaking, recounts the courtships and marriages of a handful of the Queen’s grandchildren … a panoramic family saga, its players by turns pragmatic and romantic, wilful, dutiful, misguided and, occasionally, tragic … Cadbury writes with verve -- Matthew Dennison * Daily Telegraph *[An] absorbing book ... The fall of the Romanovs occupies the superb last pages of Cadbury’s book ... Dynastic mergers, we may deduce from Deborah Cadbury’s account, offer no defence against the whims of history. This catastrophe-laced slice of royal history offers a ripping read -- Miranda Seymour * Observer *Engrossing … Cadbury engagingly presents [Queen Victoria] as a mesmerising Mrs Bennet, summoning her children and then her grandchildren to Balmoral ... The stories of [Queen Victoria’s] descendants are mesmerising and often stranger than fiction … From the pen of a writer of skill and style, this surprising narrative leaves you wanting more -- Paula Byrne * The Times *A skilfully woven account -- Stephan Halliday * Times Higher Education Supplement *Cadbury’s account of Victoria’s attempts to bend her unruly grandchildren to her matrimonial will is the stuff of melodrama … covered with verve and insight by Deborah Cadbury in her new history -- Daisy Goodwin * Sunday Times *An entertaining, well-written and well-conceived book … perceptive and revealing in the light it throws on the mind and attitudes of Victoria. Cadbury has consulted sources in numerous archives, including the Royal Archives at Windsor, and has chosen her quotations with skill * Literary Review *In this enjoyable story for fans of royal machinations, Cadbury ably shows not just the successes, but also the damage inflicted by Victoria's single-mindedness. An instructive European history * Kirkus *Impeccably researched, and written with all the brio and understanding of a major historical novel, Princes at War takes us intimately and even shockingly into the human dynamics of a barely functional family at the time of our greatest peril -- Praise for 'Princes at War', David Kynaston, author of 'Austerity Britain'One of the most riveting tales of the nonfiction season, rendered with novelistic drama but deliberate detachment. The inner tensions of the palace during wartime and the inner tensions of a remarkable family make for one of the best, and ultimately most uplifting, stories of the war years -- Praise for 'Princes at War' * Boston Globe *A moving and deeply researched account ... Her story is gripping, illuminating and generous in its recognition of the central, dramatic role of the monarchy in Britain's finest years -- Praise for 'Princes at War', William ShawcrossDeborah Cadbury combines the family drama against the backdrop of the war with terrific narrative verve -- Praise for 'Princes at War', Daisy Goodwin * The Times *Fascinating, fresh insights into a story of four brothers -- Praise for 'Princes at War', Stephen Halliday * Times Higher Education Supplement *

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Book SynopsisMichael Fisher holds the Robert S. Danforth Chair in History at Oberlin College and in 2007 was awarded the Teaching Excellence Award for Social Sciences by Oberlin.Table of ContentsIntroduction 1. From Central Asia into the Alien Land of India 2. Establishment of the Mughal Indian Empire 3. Efflorescence of the Imperial Court 4. Building up the Empire 5. Expanding the Frontiers and Facing Challenges 6. Hollowing Out the Imperial System 7. Vestiges of Imperium 8. Contested Meanings of the Mughal Empire Conclusion Bibliography

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Book SynopsisAll they wanted was land: land for crofting and land on which to build a house. In 1908, ten desperate men from the islands of Barra and Mingulay in the Western Isles were imprisoned in Edinburgh for refusing to leave the island of Vatersay, where they had built huts and planted potatoes without permission. The case caused an outcry throughout Scotland, and led eventually to the purchase of the island by the government for crofting. This book, the first about Vatersay, tells the remarkable story of the raiders and their struggle to escape from the poverty which the policies of an absentee landowner forced them to endure. The Vatersay Raiders documents not only these events, which had enormous significance in the history of crofting, but also the fascinating earlier history of Vatersay and its now-deserted neighbour Sandray. An outline of more recent developments brings the account up to date.

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Book SynopsisThe first full-scale biography of Robert Welch, who founded the John Birch Society and planted some of modern conservatism's most insidious seeds. Though you may not know his name, Robert Welch (1899-1985)founder of the John Birch Societyis easily one of the most significant architects of our current political moment. In A Conspiratorial Life, the first full-scale biography of Welch, Edward H. Miller delves deep into the life of an overlooked figure whose ideas nevertheless reshaped the American right. A child prodigy who entered college at age 12, Welch became an unlikely candy magnate, founding the company that created Sugar Daddies, Junior Mints, and other famed confections. In 1958, he funneled his wealth into establishing the organization that would define his legacy and change the face of American politics: the John Birch Society. Though the group's paranoiac right-wing nativism was dismissed by conservative thinkers like William F. Buckley, its ideas gradually moved from the far-right fringe into the mainstream. By exploring the development of Welch's political worldview, A Conspiratorial Life shows how the John Birch Society's rabid libertarianismand its highly effective grassroots networkingbecame a profound, yet often ignored or derided influence on the modern Republican Party. Miller convincingly connects the accusatory conservatism of the midcentury John Birch Society to the inflammatory rhetoric of the Tea Party, the Trump administration, Q, and more. As this book makes clear, whether or not you know his name or what he accomplished, it's hard to deny that we're living in Robert Welch's America. Trade Review“In this highly readable, insightful biography of Robert Welch, Miller uses his unique access into Welch's papers to reveal a man much more important to modern American conservatism than we have previously understood. Miller shows how, far from being marginalized to the fringes of the movement, Welch was central to creating the destructive conspiratorial worldview that now dominates our politics.” * Heather Cox Richardson, author of “Letters from an American” *“[A] terrific biography. . . In Miller’s hands, the story of Robert Welch shows that there was no real dividing line between the responsible and radical right.” * Times Literary Supplement *"The rise of Trump, Q-anon, and a Republican Party seemingly allergic to the ordinary canons of decency and expertise, has led historians to a reexamination of brands of American conservatism previously considered too extreme to be relevant to understanding the present. This work demands a rare combination of talents: an ability to empathize with ways of thinking from which reason recoils, and a moral sense that refuses to normalize it. Miller possesses both in abundance, which is what makes this groundbreaking biography of Robert Welch of the John Birch Society so very valuable." * Rick Perlstein, author of Reaganland: America's Right Turn, 1976-1980 *“In this immersive biography, Miller traces the roots of today’s right-wing conspiracy theories to John Birch Society founder Robert Welch . . . Scrupulously researched and lucidly written, this is an enlightening study of an overlooked yet influential figure in American politics.” * Publishers Weekly *“Miller’s study of Robert Welch, the founder of the John Birch Society, presents a plausible account of America’s slow descent from the 1950s into the abyss of post-truth politics.” * London Review of Books *"Traces the origins and history of the John Birch Society and, in the process, provides historical perspective on the far-right populism of the Trump era. . . . On the whole, as Miller’s book makes clear, Republican politicians of the early 1960s were more eager to court the John Birch Society than to distance themselves from it." * New York Review of Books *“A Conspiratorial Life is the first comprehensive biography of Robert Welch. It is revelatory about his role in the development of modern American conservatism.” * Foreword Reviews *"Offers a good angle from which to appraise the fractured state of American conservatism." * Financial Times *“[An] impressively researched and nuanced reconsideration of the modern American right. . . Miller makes a provocative and persuasive case that Welch was a vanguard figure rather than a retrograde one.” * The New Republic *“A reminder that outlandish conspiracism has a long history on the right.” * Los Angeles Review of Books *"Miller makes an important contribution to understanding how conspiracy theories have altered American politics in this biography of Robert Welch (1899–1985) . . . Although Welch died in 1985, Miller argues that his use of the “Big Lie” still resonates today, manifesting in the Tea Party's xenophobic anger; Donald Trump's election as president in 2016; and the aftermath of the 2020 presidential election, which culminated in the January 6 insurrection. Recommended." * Choice *“Miller has undertaken the definitive biography of John Birch Society founder Robert Welch, and he has succeeded. A Conspiratorial Life is incredibly thorough, carefully researched and written, and enlivened by energetic prose.” * Heather Hendershot, author of Open to Debate: How William F. Buckley Put Liberal America on the Firing Line *"A welcome contribution to the history of modern right-wing politics at its extremes." * Kirkus Reviews *“[An] eye-opener of a biography." -- Robert Siegel * Moment Magazine *"In the standard origin story of the modern US right, today's conservative movement was born with an excommunication: when William F. Buckley, the erudite, upper-crust founder of the National Review, turned on his onetime ally, Robert Welch of the John Birch Society, driving Welch and the rest of the conspiracy-hunting "Birchers" out of the respectable right. The truth, as always, is much messier, as Edward H. Miller demonstrates in his new book. . . The deeper imperative of the book, Miller writes, is to correct historians' long-standing misapprehensions about conservatism, and what the field has missed by dismissing the darker, stranger corners of the right, and how its apparent losers may have won the long game." * Salon *"An eye-opening look at the deep roots of rightwing politics in the United States. Sweeping in scope, the book takes a deep dive into the fears at the heart of the John Birch Society . . . [Miller] provides a deep, thoughtful, and accessible account of Welch’s lasting hold on U.S. politics." * The Progressive *"An engaging and penetrating dive into the enduring influence of the John Birch Society and the group’s founder Robert Welch." * Political Research Associates *"Most accounts of the rise of conservatism in the twentieth century follow a familiar set of characters: William F. Buckley, Barry Goldwater, Ronald Reagan. Historian Edward Miller suggests an alternative leading man: Robert Welch. His new biography of the founder and leader of the John Birch Society, the anticommunist grass-roots organization founded in 1958, makes the case that the scholarly focus on the politically respectable right has led to a distorted understanding of the history of conservatism—one that is especially problematic given the prevalence of loony conspiracy theories on the right today." -- Kim Phillips-Fein * Society for US Intellectual History *"A comprehensive account. . . Miller’s central contention that Welch 'paved the way for the conservatism of the twentieth century, shaped events in the twentieth-first century, and will continue to do so far into the future' is as disturbing as it is compelling." * The Review of Politics *"Miller’s contribution to this revisionist historiography constitutes a cleverly written, finely textured, and badly needed study of a pivotal and too-often marginalized figure in the development of the modern American Right." * Journal of Southern History *Table of ContentsIntroduction 1 Chowan County, North Carolina 1700–1899 2 Stockton, 1899–1910 3 Elizabeth City, Raleigh, Annapolis, 1910–1919 4 The Candyman, 1919–1927 5 Professional Breakdown and the Great Depression, 1928–1940 6 America First, 1940–1945 7 Postwar Dreams and Delusions, 1946–1950 8 The Candidate, 1950 9 May God Forgive Us, 1951–1952 10 There’s Just Something about Ike, 1952 11 A Republican Looks at His President, 1953–1954 12 The Saga of John Birch, 1954 13 Adventures in the Far East, 1954–1955 14 Arrivals and Departures, 1955–1958 15 The Indy Eleven, 1957–1959 16 Revelations, 1959–1960 17 Goldwater in ’60, 1960 18 Staccato Jabs, 1961–1962 19 Succession? 1961–1962 20 “Where Were You in ’62?,” 1962 21 Revolution in the Streets and the Paranoid Style in Belmont, 1963 22 Two Novembers, 1963–1964 23 Nadir, 1965–1966 24 Avenging the Insiders, 1966–1968 25 The Fifty-Foot Cabin Cruiser, 1969–1975 26 Bunker, 1970–1978 27 Making Morning in America . . . , 1970–1985 Epilogue Acknowledgments Notes Index

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Book SynopsisIn the much-anticipated conclusion to his masterful trilogy chronicling the wartime career of Franklin Delano Roosevelt, renowned military and political biographer Nigel Hamilton aligns triumph with tragedy to show how FDR was the architect of a victorious peace that he would not live to witness. Providing the definitive account of the events in Normandy on 6 June 1944, Hamilton also reveals the fraught nature of the relationship between the greatest wartime leaders of the Allied forces. Using hitherto unpublished documents and interviews to counter the famous narrative of World War II strategy given by Winston Churchill in his memoirs, Hamilton highlights the true significance of FDR’s leadership. Seventy-five years after the D-Day landings, we finally see, close up and in dramatic detail, who was responsible for rescuing – and insisting upon – the great American-led invasion of France in June 1944, and exactly why that invasion was orchestrated by Eisenhower. War and Peace is the rousing final installment in one of the most important historical biographies of the twenty-first century, which demonstrates how FDR’s failing health only spurred him on in his efforts to build a US-backed post-war world order. In this stirring account of the life of one of the most celebrated political leaders of our time, Hamilton hails the President as the sole person capable of anticipating the requirements of peace in order to bring an end to the war.

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Book SynopsisThese are Anthony Burgess''s candid confessions: he was seduced at the age of nine by an older woman; whilst serving in Gibraltar in World War II he was thrown into jail on VE Day for calling Franco names; he once taught a group of Nazi socialites that the English equivalent of ''heil'' was ''sod'' and had them crying ''Sod Hitler''. Little Wilson and Big God moves from Moss Side to Malaya recalling Burgess''s time as an education officer in the tropics, his tempestuous first marriage, his struggles with Catholicism and the beginning of his prolific writing life. Wise, self-deprecating and bristling with incident, this is a first-class memoir.Trade ReviewPacked, provocative and masterly -- Sebastian FaulksLike the best of Burgess' novels, the book has terrific pace and vivacity... It is the story of a sort of Unlucky Jim * LA Times *

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Book SynopsisOstensibly written by an English knight, the Travels purport to relate his experiences in the Holy Land, Egypt, India and China. Mandeville claims to have served in the Great Khan's army, and to have travelled in 'the lands beyond' - countries populated by dog-headed men, cannibals, Amazons and Pygmies. Although Marco Polo's slightly earlier narrative ultimately proved more factually accurate, Mandeville's was widely known, used by Columbus, Leonardo da Vinci and Martin Frobisher, and inspiring writers as diverse as Swift, Defoe and Coleridge. This intriguing blend of fact, exaggeration and absurdity offers both fascinating insight into and subtle criticism of fourteenth-century conceptions of the world.For more than seventy years, Penguin has been the leading publisher of classic literature in the English-speaking world. With more than 1,700 titles, Penguin Classics represents a global bookshelf of the best works throughout history and across genres and disciplines. Readers tr

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Book SynopsisThe First World War did not end in Central Europe in November 1918. The armistices marked the creation of the Second Polish Republic and the first shot of the Central European Civil War which raged from 1918 to 1921. The fallen German, Russian, and Austrian Empires left in their wake lands with peoples of mixed nationalities and ethnicities. These lands soon became battle grounds and the ethno-political violence that ensued forced those living within them to decide on their national identity. Civil War in Central Europe seeks to challenge previous notions that such conflicts which occurred between the First and Second World Wars were isolated incidents and argues that they should be considered as part of a European war; a war which transformed Poland into a nation.Trade Review...[T]he book is definitely very important and valuable: it shows the formation of the Polish state in a new light that undermines traditional nationalist historiography and popular ideas...The book allows us to go beyond nationalist conventional wisdom. * Krzysztof Jaskulowski, SWPS University of Social Sciences and Humanities, Nationalities Papers *[an] intriguing and thought-provoking study ... There is no doubt that this book will find a well-deserved place in the growing body of historical works on East and Central Europe. It challenges the nationally oriented narrative of nation-making, and offers a fresh perspective, which invites us to rethink the role of violence in the creation of nation-states in the post-imperial era. * Tomas Balkelis, Lithuanian Historical Studies *The author regarded it as crucial not to look for new facts, but to find a balance between the facts already presented and to consolidate them. He did it brilliantly. Thanks to the author, the reader is presented with a synthesis of secondary literature, and thus also by a holistic historical narrative, which was hitherto lacking ... The book serves as a signpost, providing the necessary historiographic overview ... By means of source diversity the author is able to sketch a hitherto unpresented picture of violent excesses. The book is written very legibly, which will certainly be welcomed by both the lay and professional public ... The study helps to understand the interbellum and subsequent crimes of the Second World War, the origin of which is often found in the wrongs of the violent period following the First World War. * Jan Kutílek, Slovanský p%rehled [translated] *The last chapter finally deals with "Violence and Crimes Beyond the Battlefields", with Böhler also relying on archive finds and diaries ... In this chapter, Böhler focuses on the regional level, where political goals were often of secondary importance. In the countryside, small paramilitary groups were masters of life and death. As reports from the high command and local authorities show, in 1919 and 1920, crime, corruption and banditry were the order of the day. Pogroms against Jews were particularly perpetrated by soldiers, led by officers with little experience and close ties to the national democracy. With the successful formation of the state, the violence subsided ... Böhler has succeeded in shedding more light on a dark chapter in Polish history. * Detlev Brandes, Historische Zeitschrift [translated] *This book contributes not just to rising scholarship on European paramilitary violence at the war's end, but to wider areas, such as the social history of warfare in twentieth-century Europe, nationalism and "national indifference," border studies, and transnational history, in addition to the interwar history of Poland and Central and Eastern Europe. * Peter Polak-Springer, Qatar University, Journal of Modern History *Böhler's work successfully challenges both established and mythical narratives of Polish nation-building, revealing the contingent and violent nature of Poland's struggle for land and loyalty after World War I. * Brendan Karch, Louisiana State University, Central European History *Jochen Böhler's book is, without a doubt, important. Any scholar of twentieth-century European history will find it worth reading, and particularly useful when considering the question of the reconstruction and re-emergence of Central European nation-states after the Great War. * Pawel Markiewicz, Slavonic and East European Review *According to Böhler, "self-determination" was an unsuitable recipe for structuring a multi-ethnic region. This becomes particularly clear in his fourth chapter "Violence and Crimes Beyond the Battlefields", in which Böhler draws a panorama where anti-Semitic pogroms, skirmishes, violent oppression of the rural population and death blend into each other. Hunger, disease and other hardships plagued the country. [...] Böhler has presented a differentiated description of these violence scenarios, largely reconstructed on the base of a variety of sources. * Jost Dulffer, editor of Peace, War and Gender from Antiquity to the Present. Cross-cultural Perspectives *Table of ContentsList of Illustrations and Maps Introduction 1: Nations, States, and Conflicts in Central Europe 2: How to Mobilize the Polish Nation 3: The Central European Civil War 4: Violence and Crimes Beyond the Battlefields Conclusion Epilogue

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