History of ideas Books

Book SynopsisChosen as a Book of the Year by The Times, Daily Telegraph, TLS, BBC History Magazine and Tablet''Compulsive, brilliantly clear and superbly well-written, it''s a charismatic evocation of another world'' Ian Mortimer, author of The Time Traveller''s Guide to Medieval EnglandThe Middle Ages were a time of wonder. They gave us the first universities, the first eyeglasses and the first mechanical clocks as medieval thinkers sought to understand the world around them, from the passing of the seasons to the stars in the sky. In this book, we walk the path of medieval science with a real-life guide, a fourteenth-century monk named John of Westwyk - inventor, astrologer, crusader - who was educated in England''s grandest monastery and exiled to a clifftop priory. Following the traces of his life, we learn to see the natural world through Brother John''s eyes: navigating by the stars, multiplying Roman numerals, curing disease and tTrade ReviewStunning: both exquisitely written and so very clever. By following the life of one little-known monk, John of Westwyk, Falk opens up for us the sophisticated and utterly different ways in which people in the Middle Ages thought and makes us question our assumptions about the medieval past. -- Suzannah Lipscomb * BBC History Magazine Books of the Year *Turns our understanding of medieval science on its head ... Falk shows how scientific inquiries central to the Renaissance actually began generations earlier than we thought, and despite our perception of the church as the enemy of science, those intellectual pioneers were often monks * The Telegraph Books of the Year *As fascinating as it is exquisitely written . . . the range of mathematics, astronomy, and engineering is impressive. More impressive still is the elegance with which Falk tells the tale -- Tom Whipple * Times Books of the Year *Remarkable ... a book that illuminates not just the visionaries of the past but also the troubled state of anti-intellectualism in the modern world * Financial Times *"Might it change minds?" is my criterion. The Light Ages might. Seb Falk's dazzling study of a late-medieval scientist is an uncontainably tentacular monograph, reaching from a windswept cell at Tynemouth, where John of Westwyck built an astrolabe, to penetrate unexplored recesses of the history and philosophy of science, and extending across Christendom into the cultures that surrounded and informed it. Falk excises errors about the Middle Ages without filleting their enchantment -- Felipe Fernández-Armesto * TLS Books of the Year *Unambiguously and successfully an antidote to the cliché of the 'Dark Ages' as a millennium of stagnation and regression . . . Falk's approach is to explain the things we share with our medieval forebears and the things we differ on: to reveal how they saw the universe * Literary Review *Riveting. . . a brilliant study of medieval astronomy and learning . . . I agree with Falk. We need to give more respect to the giants of the Middle Ages on whose shoulders we stand * Spectator *Fascinating . . . the Dark Ages were anything but dark; Falk's book is a lucid and eloquent reproof to anyone who says otherwise * Prospect *Seb Falk lays out the wonders of medieval science. . . The mechanical clock, spectacles, advances in navigation, a grasp of tides and currents - these were among the achievements of the Middle Ages * The Economist *A wonderful book, as at home bringing to life the obscure details of a Hertfordshire monk as it is explicating the infinite reaches of space and time. Required reading for anyone who thinks that the Middle Ages were a dark age -- Tom Holland, author of DominionCompulsive, brilliantly clear, and superbly well-written, The Light Ages is more than just a very good book on medieval science: it's a charismatic evocation of another world. Seb Falk uses the monk John of Westwyk to weld us into the medieval ways of imagining as well as thinking. And there are surprises galore for everyone, no matter how knowledgeable they may think they are. I can't recommend it highly enough -- Ian Mortimer, author of The Time Traveler’s Guide to Medieval EnglandIf you think the term 'medieval science' is a contradiction then you should read this hugely enlightening and important book -- Jim Al-Khalili, Author of The World According to PhysicsLike a fictional scientist cloning dinosaurs from wisps of DNA, Seb Falk takes barely surviving fragments of evidence about an almost forgotten astronomer in a storm-chilled, clifftop cell to conjure the vast, teeming world of scientific research, practice and invention in the late Middle Ages. Profoundly scholarly, wonderfully lucid and grippingly vivid, The Light Ages will awe the pedants and delight the public -- Felipe Fernández-Armesto, author of Out of Our MindsSeb Falk has framed a fascinating book around his personal quest to understand how scientific thinking flourished. The Light Ages reveals the intellectual sophistication that flourished against a backdrop of ritual and liturgy. It offers for most of us a novel perspective on a 'dark' historical era, and should fascinate a wide readership -- Lord Martin Rees, author of On the FutureLong before the word 'scientist' was coined, John of Westwyk devised a precision instrument to explore the universe and our place in it. Falk recreates the schooling of this ordinary (if gadget-obsessed) medieval monk in loving detail. There's a world of science on every page -- Nancy Marie Brown, author of The Abacus and the Cross

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Book SynopsisTrade Reviewsuperb ... Wooldridge, the political editor of The Economist, quite brilliantly evokes the values and manners of the pluto-meritocrats at the top of society ... They would do well to read Wooldridge's erudite, thoughtful and magnificently entertaining book. They will find many uncomfortable truths in it. -- James Marriott * The Times *Adrian Wooldridge's extraordinary and irresistible history of meritocracy, The Aristocracy of Talent, describes the repeated efforts over the centuries to persuade peoples all over the world to accept the principle and compel society to organize itself on lines where merit alone, not bloodlines or bank balances, decides who rules and gets top dollar. ... Throughout, Wooldridge never loses faith in the principle of meritocracy as the key driver of modernity ... The Aristocracy of Talent is a serious treat from first to last. Not the least of its pleasures are the possibilities of disagreement that it provokes. -- Ferdinand Mount * Times Literary Supplement *This is a blistering and provocative defence of meritocracy - the single word almost all democratic politicians swear by, but never debate. Wooldridge, the Economist's political editor, provides an erudite survey of many cultures over several centuries to remind us how meritocracy's core idea - that your place in society should be a reflect of talent and effort, not determined by birth - is both revolutionary and recent. He sees meritocracy as an organising ideal rather than something that has been satisfactorily achieved, and rails against the ability of the privileged to purchase educational advantage for their children. He deplores too, outbursts of arrogance from meritocracy's winners. -- Books of the Year * New Statesman *The Aristocracy of Talent is finely constructed: fluent insights include the importance of Plato's distrust of democracy, on the grounds that it tended to lead to tyranny, and his insistence on the need for a leadership of experts. -- John Lloyd * Financial Times *In The Aristocracy of Talent, the Economist writer Adrian Wooldridge defends the meritocratic ideal. The book offers a sweeping account of the history of meritocracy, from the elaborate exams required to join the Chinese civil service to the problems with our dysfunctional present version of meritocracy, which Wooldridge says might be better called "pluto-meritocracy". Essential reading for anyone who wants to understand one of the important problems facing rich nations. -- James Marriott * The Times Book of the Year *This masterly book offers a robust defence of meritocracy. -- Lord Willetts * Economist *hugely stimulating ... a spirited defence ... of meritocracy itself, made with cogent arguments ... a valuable, thought-provoking book -- Noel Malcolm * Daily Telegraph *a timely book that is a reminder that meritocracy, for all its flaws, may well be, like the democracy it has sometimes served, better than the alternatives ... told with a wealth of erudition in brisk and readable prose -- Darrin M McMahon * Literary Review *There are few terms whose origins are more misunderstood than "meritocracy". So Adrian Wooldridge has performed a public service with his latest book, The Aristocracy of Talent. -- Dominic Lawson * Sunday Times *Adrian Wooldridge sees meritocracy as a revolutionary idea worth improving, not abandoning. He ranges across two and a half thousand years of history, surveying many societies and cultures, to remind us that until relatively recently the talented were almost always a matter of no interest to the rulers - not only unrewarded but undiscovered ... [a] rich stew of a book. Alongside the philosophers are innumerable politicians, theologians, scientists, academics, authors and campaigners. He has dug up a priceless array of quotes from all perspectives on how to define the best people, how to seek them out, how to educate them, how to test them, how to give them power, even how they should behave. -- Mark Damazer * New Statesman *In this elegant historical and philosophical defence of the notion that people should advance according to talent rather than birth, Wooldridge argues that the idea that ruled the world by the late 20th century has become corrupted. This "golden ticket to prosperity" needs restoring in order to revive social mobility. -- Andrew Hill * Financial Times * an omniscient and impassioned polemic ... Some of us have been waiting a long time for someone to do what Wooldridge has done: nail the lie that there is something shameful about success honestly earned -- Daniel Johnson * The Critic *The Aristocracy of Talent is both an exhaustively researched history of an idea and a many-sided examination of the impacts of its imperfect execution. -- Mike Jakeman * Strategy + Business *A worthy successor to the 1958 classic The Rise of the Meritocracy, this sparkling study shows how much less meritocratic our society has become since then -- Vernon Bogdanor * Daily Telegraph Books of the Year *Wooldridge has written one of the great books of the decade. Here, meticulously researched and in arresting prose, are definitive accounts of Plato's authoritarian philosophy and the way later generations interpreted it, of China's mandarinate, of the rise of IQ tests and much else. -- Lord Hannan * Conservative Home *with its remorseless erudition ... in his new book, Adrian Wooldridge tries to salvage meritocracy from the ossified over-class that Aldous Huxley foresaw. -- Janan Ganesh * Financial Times *Adrian Wooldridge relabels the system "pluto-meritocracy" to expose its sham ideology -- Philip Aldrick * The Times *readable and wide-ranging...Wooldridge maintains that meritocracy is revolutionary and egalitarian -- Peter Mandler * BBC History Magazine *Every page, there's an intriguing nugget of information. -- Robbie Millenkudos to Adrian Wooldridge... for producing a full-throated defence of the principle -- Toby Young * Spectator *An elegant defence of talent. * The Week *

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Book Synopsis“Immensely rich and exciting . . . Christopher Hill has that supreme gift of being able to show us the seventeenth-century world from the inside.”—Arthur Marwick in New Society Within the English revolution of the mid-seventeenth century which resulted in the triumph of the protestant ethic—the ideology of the propertied class—there threatened another, quite different, revolution. Its success “might have established communal property, a far wider democracy in political and legal institutions, might have disestablished the state church and rejected the protestant ethic.” In The World Turned Upside Down Christopher Hill studies the beliefs of such radical groups as the Diggers, the Ranters, the Levellers, and others, and the social and emotional impulses that gave rise to them. The relations between rich and poor classes, the part played by wandering “master-less” men, the outbursts of sexual freedom

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Book SynopsisA timely history of the interplay between politics and military operations, ''Command is the history of our time'' (Guardian)Military command has been reconstructed and revolutionized since the Second World War by nuclear warfare, small-scale guerrilla land operations and cyber interference. Freedman takes a global perspective, systematically investigating its practice and politics since 1945 through a wide range of conflicts from the French Colonial Wars, the Cuban Missile Crisis and the Bangladesh Liberation War to North Vietnam''s Easter Offensive of 1972, the Falklands War, the Iraq War and Russia''s wars in Chechnya and Ukraine. By highlighting the political nature of strategy, Freedman shows that military decision-making cannot be separated from civilian priorities and that commanders must now have the sensibility to navigate politics as well as warfare.Trade ReviewLawrence Freedman is the dominant academic authority in Britain and the English-speaking world on the way modern wars have been fought. Rational, liberal-minded, clear-sighted, he has drawn on a lifetime of experience for his new book. ... Command is the history of our time, told through war. It's a wonderful, idiosyncratic feat of storytelling as well as an essential account of how the modern world's wars have been fought, written by someone whose grasp of complex detail is as strong and effective as the clarity of his style. I shall read it again and again. -- John Simpson * The Guardian *superb study of high command and civil-military relations ... It is simply one of the finest books I have read in ages, and full of lessons for contemporary leaders. Highly recommended! -- Mick Ryanwise ... insightful ... masterly ... One suspects that this well-researched, well-written and thought-provoking book will soon be required reading for any Nato officer hoping to exercise high command -- Andrew Roberts * BBC History Magazine *Freedman offers excellent concise summaries of some of the world's main clashes since 1950 ... The author makes an encouraging point when he concludes this useful book: "The advantages of democratic systems lie not in their ability to avoid bad decisions, either by governments or commanders . . . The advantage lies in their ability to recognise these mistakes, learn and adapt. Closed systems, in which subordinates dare not ask awkward questions . . . will suffer operationally." -- Max Hastings * Sunday Times *Lawrence Freedman is one of our most distinguished military historians. In this thoughtful book, drawing on decades of study, he looks at the marriage of authorities that takes place in the running of wars since 1945: where political power meets military expertise, and who ends up having the final say. ... sumptuous ... this should be the standard text in staff colleges around the world, and for military-history studies. -- Simon Heffer * Daily Telegraph *It is incredibly insightful, occasionally moving and profoundly wise. -- Andrew Roberts * Times Literary Supplement Books of the Year *In this broad survey of command in war since 1945, Lawrence Freedman brings to bear his extensive knowledge to explain the many complexities commanders at the highest level must now face, from grasping new ways of warfare to managing military organisation and supply and, above all, coping with the mercurial behaviour of their political masters. If there is a theme to Freedman's book, which ranges from the Korean War to Putin's 'special military operation' in Ukraine, it is to be found in the tensions and conflicts between military leaders and the politicians who call the shots that he documents. How often must a supreme commander have wished he were free to do what he wanted? Usually, politics has to be factored in. ... One of the revelations of Freedman's detailed and well-informed book is how difficult the management of conflict has become ... [an] invaluable panorama of the challenges of modern command -- Richard Overy * Literary Review *Command is arguably his finest book - fluently written and convincingly argued - into which he distils a lifetime of study into the nature and practice of war. -- Saul David * The Times *Sir Lawrence Freedman, Britain's most distinguished scholar of war, surveys 15 different battles and campaigns ... The lesson is that good command looks both ways, sensitive to the politics raging above while remaining in touch with the war being fought below. * Economist *comfortably the book of the year. It is a reminder of the human factor as a central component of the so-called correlations of forces in war. -- John Bew * New Statesman Books of the Year *Freedman's mastery of the subject of civil and military leadership in time of war is peerless ... a fascinating study of the psychological and political characteristics that determine success or failure in leadership in war. -- Tom Clonan * The Irish Times *The most brilliant critique of the Ukraine war has just appeared in Command by veteran strategist Professor Sir Lawrence Freedman. The book is about the tangles of command, politicians playing soldiers and soldiers playing politician in nine wars of this century. -- Robert Fox * Evening Standard *Freedman's brilliant insights help us understand the dynamics of a modern military catastrophe. This is a "how to" book for politicians and generals alike. The Kremlin library deserves an urgent copy. -- Financial Times * George Robertson *admirable ... what really makes this study special is that he reminds us that command is about people, both politicians and military men, with all their fears and flaws, vanities and preconceptions. -- Barney White-Spunner * Aspects of History *this fascinating account of how wars are won - and lost - by overmighty and insubordinate generals in democracies and dictatorships alike. Ukraine, Chechnya, the Falklands, Lebanon and Suez are among the conflicts whose triumphs and disasters are laid bare in extensive detail - just don't expect Putin, Lawrence Freedman warns, to heed the lessons. -- Patrick Maguire * Times Books of the Year *Command, by Lawrence Freedman is a real page-turner, as various conflicts post-1945 are analysed from both a military and political standpoint. A must-read. -- Oliver Webb-Carter * Aspects of History Books of the Year *admirable ... what really makes this study special is that he reminds us that command is about people, both politicians and military men, with all their fears and flaws, vanities and preconceptions ... It is an important book - really first class - and timely. -- Barney White-Spunner * Aspects of History Books of the Year *In this historical and geographical tour de force, Freedman cogently examines the interplay of politics and command-the balance of decision-making by civilian leaders and their military counterparts. His account ranges from the end of World War II to the present, and across Africa, Asia, Europe, and Latin America assessing the record of a host of important civilian and military officials who were in positions of command during times of war and peace. One of the critical questions Freedman explores is what military officers should do when civilian leaders demand actions that are illegal or contradict core national or professional values-and, conversely, what civilian commanders should do when generals refuse to follow orders. During wartime, it is not just the contest of civil and military authorities that complicate command but also the clashing imperatives of politics, expertise, resources, and individual egos. Freedman's book is a must-read, and even more so today, as it sheds light on the dynamics of Russia's invasion of Ukraine, which challenges the very core of the postwar international order. -- Monica Duffy Toft * Foreign Affairs *

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Book SynopsisA collection of writings by a groundbreaking political thinker, including excerpts from The Origins of Totalitarianism and Eichmann in Jerusalem She was a Jew born in Germany in the early twentieth century, and she studied with the greatest German minds of her day—Martin Heidegger and Karl Jaspers among them. After the rise of the Nazis, she emigrated to America where she proceeded to write some of the most searching, hard-hitting reflections on the agonizing issues of the time: totalitarianism in both Nazi and Stalinist garb; Zionism and the legacy of the Holocaust; federally mandated school desegregation and civil rights in the United States; and the nature of evil.   The Portable Hannah Arendt offers substantial excerpts from the three works that ensured her international and enduring stature: The Origins of Totalitarianism, The Human Condition, and Eichmann in Jerusalem. Additionally, this volume incluTable of ContentsThe Portable Hannah ArendtEditor's IntroductionPrincipal DatesBibliographical NotesAcknowledgmentsI. Overview: What Remains?What Remains? The Language Remains: A Conversation with Günter GausII. Stateless PersonsThat "Infinitely Complex Red-tape Exixtence"From a Letter to Karl JaspersThe Perplexities of the RIghts of ManThe Jewish Army-The Beginning of a Jewish Politics?Jewess and Shlemihl (1771-1795)Writing Rahel Varnhagen. From a Letter to Karl JaspersIII. TotalitarianismThe Jews and SocietyExpansionTotal DominationOrganized Guilt and Universal ResponsibilityA Reply to Eric VoegelinIV. The Vita ActivaLabor, Work, ActionThe Public and the Private RealmReflections on Little RockThe Social QuestionThe Concept of History: Ancient and ModernV. Banality and Conscience: The Eichmann Trial and its ImplicationsFrom Eichmann in JerusalemAn Expert on the Jewish QuestionThe Final Solution: KillingThe Wannasee Conference, or Pontious PilateExecusionEpiloguePostscriptHoles of Oblivion: The Eichmann Trial and Totalitarianism. From a Letter to Mary McCarthyA Daughter of Out PeopleA Response to Gershom ScholemFrom The Life of the Mind (volume 1)The Answer of SocratesThe Two-in-OneVI. RevolutionRosa Luxemburg (1871-1919)What Is Freedom?What Is Authority?The Revolutionary Tradition and Its Lost TreasureVII. Of Truth and TrapsHeidegger the FoxTruth and PoliticsPermissions

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Book Synopsis

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Book SynopsisPopulism, on both the right and the left, has spread like wildfire throughout Europe and the United States and is making inroads in other parts of the world. In simplest terms, populism is a political ideology that vilifies elites, minorities and foreigners while lionizing the people. It reached its apogee in the U.S. with the election of Donald Trump but has been a force in Europe since the Great Recession and the refugee crisis. We now see the rise of leaders with populist tendencies everywhere from Brazil to Turkey.In The Populist Temptation, Barry Eichengreen places this global resurgence of populism in its historical context. Populists have always thrived, he observes, in times of poor economic performance. Populism feeds on rising inequality, which augments the ranks of those left behind and fans dissatisfaction with the economic status quo. It responds to rapid economic change that heightens insecurity. These economic developments, Eichengreen shows, give rise to populist reactions when they highlight the divergent interests of the people and the elite. Banking and financial crises are a case in point: the financiers who are the precipitating agents of such crises are card-carrying members of the elite, and are seen as profiting at the expense of the people.But populism is also a protest against the declining influence of the traditions, beliefs and community of once-dominant groups. It is a reaction against the challenge posed by immigrants and minorities to the people as a homogeneous, well-defined entity. Populists capitalizing on these feelings appeal to a glorious, mythologized past grounded in the collective traditions of that once-dominant majority. They invoke nationalism and criticize politicians who embrace diversity, open borders and equal rights. Populism has particular appeal, Eichengreen shows, when these identity politics and economic grievances come together.There is no magic solution to these concerns, but Eichengreen points to a starting place: strengthening welfare state policies that make for greater equality of opportunity and social cohesion. Comparing Europe with the United States, he shows that America''s patchwork welfare state is less well equipped to deal with the fallout from globalization and technical change and the growing distance between social groups. This reality will be hard to change, since America''s limited welfare state reflects the country''s historically-rooted suspicion of big government. It is therefore in the United States, Eichengreen concludes, where the siren song of populism is most alluring--and dangerous.Trade ReviewBarry Eichengreen is the world leader in distilling the lessons of economic history for the policy makers of today. This important book is the best we yet have on populism and the antidotes it demands. * Lawrence H. Summers, President Emeritus and Charles W. Eliot University Professor, Harvard University *No one makes economic history relevant to today while doing justice to the past like Barry Eichengreen. The Populist Temptation is the best of American and European perspectives on the worst of current EU and US politics. Sobering and sensible, this is a necessary interpretative guide to our times. * Adam S. Posen, President, Peterson Institute for International Economics *Finally, a superb book that places populism in its proper historical context. And who better to write it than Barry Eichengreen, a master at shedding light on our contemporary economic problems from a historical perspective? Eichengreen brilliantly describes the backlash unleashed by economic difficulties and dislocation periodically throughout history, and the varying success of political regimes to rise to the challenge. Historical treatments with their focus on deeply rooted processes can be fatalistic. Eichengreen nicely sidesteps that trap, with a hopeful, constructive message pointing the way forward. * Dani Rodrik, Harvard University *In The Populist Temptation, Barry Eichengreen, amongst the foremost international economists today, explains why we are seeing an outburst of populist movements across the industrial world, and how they mirror similar movements from history. He argues that while the populists have genuine grievances, the solutions their leaders propose are unlikely to work. Eichengreen is skeptical that populists' concerns can be addressed easily. However, his insightful analysis is an essential starting point for anyone who wants to understand one of the most important developments of our times. * Raghuram G. Rajan, Katherine Dusak Miller Distinguished Service Professor of Finance, University of Chicago *Barry Eichengreen has written a characteristically lucid book on the contemporary threat of populism." - Financial TimesTable of ContentsPreface Chapter 1. The Populist Archetype Chapter 2. American Panorama Chapter 3. Luddites and Laborers Chapter 4. Voyage of the Bismarck Chapter 5. The Associationalist Way Chapter 6. Unemployment and Reaction Chapter 7. The Age of Moderation Chapter 8. Things Come Apart Chapter 9. Trumped Up Chapter 10. Breaking Point Chapter 11. Containment Chapter 12. Au Revoir Europe? Chapter 13. Prospects

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Book SynopsisExploring the lives of their earliest exponents, Christina Morina's book shows how Karl Marx's ideas were read, debated, adapted, and adopted in socialist movements across Europe in the years after his death, and how a theory of capitalisn grew into a political philosophy that shaped the history of the 20th century.

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Book SynopsisOut of Time explores a bold idea: that western art music of the last four hundred years is better understood through the idea of musical modernity than by the usual periodizations of music history.Trade ReviewIncluding many musical examples and a wealth of references to literature on modernity and music, this refreshing exploration of "modern music" goes backward and forward, and surrounds music in the present. * B. L. Eden, CHOICE *Table of ContentsIntroduction ; Mapping musical modernity ; 1. Being Late ; Looking back ; Brokenness ; Remembering ; 2. Being Early ; Pushing forwards ; The temporality of desire ; Sounding utopia ; 3. The Precarious Present ; Simultaneity ; Boredom ; Historicism as modernism ; 4. Being Everywhere ; The space of music ; Labyrinths ; Technologies of the musical body ; 5. Being Elsewhere ; Music as transport ; The metaphysics of restlessness ; Re-enchantment ; 6. Placing the Self ; Being nowhere ; Hypersubjectivity ; Staging the self ; 7. Like a Language ; Disclosure ; Discourse ; Music as self-critique ; 8. Le corps sonore ; The return of the repressed ; Bodies of sound ; The grammar of dreams ; Bibliography

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Book Synopsis''Unto thy seed I have given this land.'' From the moment of God''s covenant with Abraham in the Old Testament, the idea that a people are chosen by God has had a central role in shaping national identity. Chosen Peoples argues powerfully that sacred belief remains central to national identity, even in an increasingly secular, globalized modern world. In this important new study, Anthony D. Smith goes in search of the deep Judeo-Christian roots of the many manifestations of national identity.This rich and timely contribution to current debates about nationalism explains the complex historical reasons behind often violent modern conflicts around issues of land, culture, religion, and politics. Tracing the development of individual nations over many centuries, it offers fascinating insights into the religious and cultural foundations of countries such as Great Britain, the United States, Israel, France, and Germany. The argument draws on a wide range of examples from historic landscapes Trade ReviewOnce again, Anthony Smith has succeeded in thinking 'outside the box' of fashionable critical theory while, at the same time, engaging with it on its own terms. * Mary Anne Perkins, Journal of the American Academy of Religion *This book is like Jacob's coat of many colours: rich and varied in ideas and insights that should appeal to European historians and social scientists. * THES *a lucid and wide-ranging study * Karen Armstrong, The Independent Review *The range of the book is huge not only in its geographical, ethnic, and cultured sweep. It brings together political and religious history in the context of the history of ideas, exploring powerful traditions, sacred texts, paintings and monuments, myths and legends, and drawing on the writings of great literary figures. * Mary Anne Perkins, Journal of the American Academy of Religion *The book's content spans nationalist models and mythologies from Welsh to Siamese, and its chronological scope ranges from biblical times to the twentieth century. Yet the breadth is matched by depth, and the scholarship is never comprised. * Mary Anne Perkins, Journal of the Amercian Academy of Religion *Table of ContentsIntroduction ; 1. Nationalism and Religion ; 2. The Nation as a Sacred Communion ; 3. Election and Covenant ; 4. Peoples of the Covenant ; 5. Missionary Peoples ; 6. Sacred Homelands ; 7. Ethno history and the Golden Age ; 8. Nationalism and Golden Ages ; 9. The Glorious Dead ; Conclusion ; Notes ; Bibliography ; Index

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Book SynopsisOne of the most profound thinkers of modern history, Jean-Jacques Rousseau (1712-78) was a central figure of the European Enlightenment. He was also its most formidable critic, condemning the political, economic, theological, and sexual trappings of civilization along lines that would excite the enthusiasm of romantic individualists and radical revolutionaries alike. In this study of Rousseau''s life and works Robert Wokler shows how his philosophy of history, his theories of music and politics, his fiction, educational and religious writings, and even his botany, were all inspired by visionary ideals of mankind''s self-realization in a condition of unfettered freedom. He explains how, in regressing to classical republicanism, ancient mythology, direct communion with God, and solitude, Rousseau anticipated some post-modernist rejections of the Enlightenment as well.ABOUT THE SERIES: The Very Short Introductions series from Oxford University Press contains hundreds of titles in almost every subject area. These pocket-sized books are the perfect way to get ahead in a new subject quickly. Our expert authors combine facts, analysis, perspective, new ideas, and enthusiasm to make interesting and challenging topics highly readable.Table of Contents1. Life and times of a citizen of Geneva ; 2. Culture, music, and the Corruption of Morals ; 3. Human nature and civil society ; 4. Liberty, virtue and citizenship ; 5. Religion, education, and sexuality ; 6. Vagabond reverie ; Further reading, Index

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Book SynopsisSchopenhauer is the most readable of German philosophers. This book gives a succinct explanation of his metaphysical system, concentrating on the original aspects of his thought, which inspired many artists and thinkers including Nietzsche, Wagner, Freud, and Wittgenstein. Schopenhauer''s central notion is that of the will - a blind, irrational force that he uses to interpret both the human mind and the whole of nature. Seeing human behaviour as that of a natural organism governed by the will to life, Schopenhauer developed radical insights concerning the unconscious and sexuality which influenced both psychologists and philosophers.ABOUT THE SERIES: The Very Short Introductions series from Oxford University Press contains hundreds of titles in almost every subject area. These pocket-sized books are the perfect way to get ahead in a new subject quickly. Our expert authors combine facts, analysis, perspective, new ideas, and enthusiasm to make interesting and challenging topics highly readable.Trade Reviewan excellent brief introduction to Schopenhauer's thought - well-written, concise, and pitched at just the right level. * Christopher Norris, University of Wales *Table of Contents1. Schopenhauer's life and works ; 2. Within and beyond appearance ; 3. The world as will and representation ; 4. Will, body, and the self ; 5. Character, sex, and the unconscious ; 6. Art and ideas ; 7. Ethics: seeing the world aright ; 8. Existence and pessimism ; 9. Schopenhauer's influence ; Further reading

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Book SynopsisSimon Critchley''s Very Short Introduction shows that Continental philosophy encompasses a distinct set of philosophical traditions and practices, with a compelling range of problems all too often ignored by the analytic tradition. He discusses the ideas and approaches of philosophers such as Kant, Hegel, Nietzsche, Husserl, Heidegger, Sartre, Habermas, Foucault, and Derrida, and introduces key concepts such as existentialism, nihilism, and phenomenology by explaining their place in the Continental tradition.ABOUT THE SERIES: The Very Short Introductions series from Oxford University Press contains hundreds of titles in almost every subject area. These pocket-sized books are the perfect way to get ahead in a new subject quickly. Our expert authors combine facts, analysis, perspective, new ideas, and enthusiasm to make interesting and challenging topics highly readable.Table of ContentsList of Illustrations ; Introduction ; 1. The gap between knowledge and wisdom ; 2. Origins of Continental Philosophy - How to get from Kant to German Idealism ; 3. Two Cultures in Philosophy - the need for both spectacles and eyes to see with ; 4. Can philosophy change the world? Critique, praxis, emancipation ; 5. What is to be done? How to respond to nihilism ; 6. A case study in misunderstanding: Heidegger and Carnap ; 7. Scientism versus obscurantism: avoiding the traditional predicament in philosophy ; 8. Sapere aude - the exhaustion of theory and the promise of philosophy ; Further Reading ; References ; Index

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Book SynopsisG. E. R. Lloyd considers how we can resolve the tension that exists between an appreciation of the cognitive capacities that all humans share, and a recognition of the great variety in their manifestations in different individuals and groups--while avoiding the imposition of prior Western assumptions and concepts.Trade ReviewLloyd presents a lucid, insightful examination of human intelligence and cross-cultural understanding... Recommended. All readers. * S. Satris, Clemson University *

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Book SynopsisOxford Studies in Medieval Philosophy showcases the best new scholarly work on philosophy from the end of antiquity into the Renaissance. OSMP combines historical scholarship with philosophical acuteness, and will be an essential resource for anyone working in the area.Table of ContentsArticles Christina Van Dyke: 'Lewd, Feeble, and Frail': Humility Formulae, Medieval Women, and Authority Daniel Davies and Alexander Lamprakis: Al-FārābĪ's Commentary on the Eighth Book of Aristotle's Topics in Ṭodros Ṭodrosi's Philosophical Anthology (Introduction, Edition of the Text, and Annotated Translation) Reginald Mary Chua: Aquinas, Analogy and the Trinity Can Laurens Löwe: Super-Causes, Super-Grounds, and the Flow of Powers: Three Medieval Views on Natural Kinds and Kind-Specific Powers John Morrison: Three Medieval Aristotelians on Numerical Identity and Time Boaz Faraday Schuman: Multiple Generality in Scholastic Logic Critical Notices Nicolas Faucher: A Review of David Piché, Épistémologie et psychologie de la foi dans la pensée scolastique (1250-1350) Sonja Schierbaum: A Dance with the Rebel Angels: Tobias Hoffmann's View on the Free Will Debate Briefly Noted

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Book SynopsisThe Renaissance has long been recognized as a brilliant moment in the development of Western civilization. However, little attention has been devoted to the distinct contributions of philosophy to Renaissance culture. This volume introduces the reader to the philosophy written, read, taught, and debated during the period traditionally credited with the `revival of learning''. The authors examine the relation of Renaissance philosophy to humanism and the universities, the impact of rediscovered ancient sources, the recovery of Plato and the Neoplatonists, and the evolving ascendancy of Aristotle. Renaissance Philosophy also explores the original contributions of major figures including Bruni, Valla, Ficino, Pico della Mirandola, Pomponazzi, Machiavelli, More, Vitoria, Montaigne, Bruno, and Campanella. Renaissance Philosophy demonstrates the uses of ancient and medieval philosophy by Renaissance thinkers, and throws light on the early modern origins of modern philosophy.Trade ReviewFor those, philosophers and historians of ideas alike, who wish to enlarge their understanding of these complex patterns of influence, Renaissance Philosophy provides a comprehensive and richly documented guide. * TLS *a brilliantly successful piece of work * Renaissance Philosophy *the wealth of information in this book is amazing * THES *Table of Contents1. The Historical Context of Renaissance Philosophy ; 2. Aristotelianism ; 3. Platonism ; 4. Stoics, Sceptics, Epicureans, and Other Innovators ; 5. Nature against Authority: Breaking Away from the Classics ; 6. Renaissance Philosophy and Modern Memory ; Bibliography; Index

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Book SynopsisWhat if the American experiment is twofold, encompassing both democracy and tyranny? That is the question at the core of this book, which traces some of ways that Americans across the nineteenth century understood the perversions tyranny introduced into both their polity and society. While some informed their thinking with reference to classical texts, which comprehensively consider tyranny''s dangers, most drew on a more contemporary source--Napoleon Bonaparte, the century''s most famous man and its most notorious tyrant. Because Napoleon defined tyranny around the nineteenth-century Atlantic world--its features and emergence, its relationship to democratic institutions, its effects on persons and peoples--he provides a way for nineteenth-century Americans to explore the parameters of tyranny and their complicity in its cruelties. Napoleon helps us see the decidedly plural forms of tyranny in the US, bringing their fictions into focus. At the same time, however, there are distinctly American modes of tyranny. From the tyrannical style of the American imagination to the usurping potential of American individualism, Elizabeth Duquette shows that tyranny is as American as democracy.Trade ReviewElizabeth Duquette has written an ambitious, monumental book that proposes a fundamental reframing of the nineteenth century as the long age of Napoleon. Dislodging "democracy" as the nation's mythic political basis and putting "tyranny" in its place, Duquette amasses a substantial archive of America's obsession with Napoleon Bonaparte to develop a thoroughly convincing account of the multiple tyrannies that stand at the foundation of US political culture-from the actual oppression of slavery to those purported incursions on the liberty of aggrieved elites that form the "tyrannical style" of nineteenth-century political discourse. * Jennifer Greiman, Wake Forest University *Table of ContentsAcknowledgments Dispatches Introduction: Seeing Tyranny 1: Tyranny in America, or David Walker 2: The Tyrannical Style of American Politics 3: Raking Imperial Muck 4: The Bedazzler 5: Napoleonic Codes 6: Séjour's Spectacles 7: Young Men From the Provinces Coda: Napoleon Complex, or Mad About Napoleon Bibliography Notes Index

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Book SynopsisFully illustrated, this volume provides a provocative analysis of the unprecedented eruption of misogyny at the turn of the 20th century in the works of the key artists of the age.Trade Review'a fascinating and alarming study ... A staggering number of pictures are reproduced, many of them completely unfamiliar to scholars of the period. The overall thesis of Idols of Perversity is deadly serious, and its relevance for the world we live in is enormous' Review of English Studies'Dijkstra is exhilarating when he gets down to description and denunciation' Los Angeles Times Book Review'This is a superb and rewarding book.' Sunday Times'An astonishing and profusely illustrated encyclopaedia of misogyny, proving once more that men always love the thing they kill.' Observer'Dijkstra writes with verve and humour ... This is a deeply unsettling book, which no-one interested in the birthright of 20th-century social values should ignore.' Patricia Morison, Sunday Telegraph'Profusely illustrated' Books'provocative treasure-house of research' Oxford Times'An astonishing and profusely illustrated encyclopaedia of misogyny, proving once more that men always love the thing they kill.' Observer'Extensive scholarly and pictorial research makes this study of the causes and effects of virulent misogyny in fin-de-siecle art an important contribution to our understanding of modern sexuality and culture. This is a superb and rewarding book.' Sunday Times'A book of value not just to feminists but to sociologists and those interested in painting ... It is a fount of insight into humanity and art.' Day by Day''A provocative treasure-house of research' Oxford Times'a scholarly volume' The Times

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Book SynopsisThe work of leading scholar Terry Castle, called by the New York Times always engaging...consistently fascinating, has helped to revolutionize thinking about lesbian studies and eighteenth-century literature. Reenvisioning the era as peculiarly alive with complexity, in which gender, sexuality, and culture are in constant flux, she offers provocative new theories on culture and sexual identity. This collection offers several of Castle''s liveliest essays on female identity from the eighteenth century to the early twentieth century. Throughout the book are woven themes which are constant in Castle''s work: fantasy, hallucination, travesty, transgression, and sexual ambiguity. Like the mythical thermometer of the title, which was purported to measure female lasciviousness, literature is filled with devices for quantifying elements of women''s nature and sexuality which are hard to define--or uncomfortable to confront. Looking at images that mask or mystify female nature, like the masquerTrade ReviewThe Female Thermometer is filled with incisive observations that make us re-examine the broad preconceptions we hold about the 18th century and reassess some of its specific cultural artifacts. * The New York Times *

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Book Synopsis`This is a most persuasive book on a most important subject. I recommend it highly.'' Saul Bellow With scholarship and clarity, Arthur Zajonc takes us on an epic journey into scientific history. Yet Catching the Light is not just about science; it is a book of ideas that blends science with literature, religion, philosophy, and morality and tries to answer the question that has mystified humanity from pre-history to the present day: what is light?Trade Review`a multi-levelled history about virtually everything that human beings have thought about light and seeing in the last three thousand years... ...I have not enjoyed a book so much for a long time. Oliver Sacks`a small gem of a book' James Gleik, Washington Post

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Book SynopsisUncommon Sense is an innovative and lively examination of science and its historical development as an unnatural mode of thought. This book looks at why science developed in the West and what its implications have been for our society. This book will also challenge many assumptions about the nature and role of science in our world. Professor of Physics, Alan Cromer, examines not only the history of science and its unique mode of thought but also the way that science is taught and suggests ways of restructuring the curriculum.Uncommon Sense is an illuminating look at science, filled with provocative observations. Whether challenging Thomas Kuhn''s theory of scientific revolutions, or extolling the virtues of Euclid''s Elements, Alan Cromer is always insightful, outspoken, and refreshingly original.Trade Review... this book is a healthy antidote to all the deconstructing of the remarkable achievements of Western science that is going on in modern academic life. * Harold Morowitz, Nature *Table of ContentsAspects of Science; Mind and Magic; From Apes to Agriculture; Prophets and Poets; Theorems and Planets; Sages and Scholars; Towns and Gowns; Science and Nonsense; Are we Alone?; Education for an Age of Science; Appendix A: Hindu Trigonometry; Appendix B: An Integrated Science Course.

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Book SynopsisProvides an account of the relationship between mathematical advances of the 17th century and the philosophy of mathematics of the period. Starting with the Renaissance debates on the certainty of mathematics, the book explores the issues raised by the emergence of these mathematical techniques.Trade ReviewStudents of the history of mathematics and philosophers of mathematics will find this a valuable addition to the literature. * Choice *Mancosu's book shows philosophical acumen as well as high technical competence--and it makes good reading even as it explores abstruse notions or involved technicalities. For historians of early modern mathematics, it is essential reading. * Isis *Mancosu tells the story well and is good at bringing out significant points. * International Philosophical Quarterly *This is a very carefully researched and documented analysis of the rich relationship between philosophy of mathematics and mathematical practice during the 17th century. * Mathematical Reviews *Mancosu's scholarly book is very carefully researched, but it is also clearly written and fascinating to read. It is not to be missed by anyone with a serious interest in philosophy of mathematics. * Philosophia Mathematica *Table of Contents1. Philosophy of Mathematics and Mathematical Practice in the Early Seventeenth Century 1.1: The Quaestio de Certitudine Mathematicarum 1.2: The Quaestio in the Seventeenth Century 1.3: The Quaestio and Mathematical Practice 2. Cavalieri's Geometry of Indivisibles and Guldin's Centers of Gravity 2.1: Magnitudes, Ratios, and the Method of Exhaustion 2.2: Cavalieri's Two Methods of Indivisibles 2.3: Guldin's Objections to Cavalieri's Geometry of Indivisibles 2.4: Guldin's Centrobaryca and Cavalieri's Objections 3. Descartes' Géométrie 3.1: Descartes' Géométrie 3.2: The Algebraization of Mathematics 4. The Problem of Continuity 4.1: Motion and Genetic Definitions 4.2: The "Casual" Theories in Arnauld and Bolzano 4.3: Proofs by Contradiction from Kant to the Present 5. Paradoxes of the Infinite 5.1: Indivisibles and Infinitely Small Quantities 5.2: The Infinitely Large 6. Leibniz's Differential Calculus and Its Opponents 6.1: Leibniz's Nova Methodus and L'Hôpital's Alalyse des Infiniment Petits 6.2: Early Debates with Clüver and Nieuwentijt 6.3: The Foundational Debate in the Paris Academy of Sciences Appendix: Giuseppe Biancani's De Mathematicarum Natura, Translated by Gyula Klima Notes References Index

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Book SynopsisHistorical studies of white racial thought focus exclusively on white ideas about the Negroes. Bay''s study is the first to examine the reverse -- black ideas about whites, and, consequently, black understandings of race and racial categories. Bay examines African-American ideas about white racial character and destiny in the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. In examining black racial thought, this work also explores the extent to which black Americans accepted or rejected 19th century notions about innate racial characteristics.Trade ReviewThis is a meticulous and thought-provoking study of a hitherto neglected topic. It will deservedly take its place alongside the best recent scholarship on the enduring problem of race in American history * American Nineteenth Century History *An important and timely investigation of African American conceptions of race from the Revolutionary era to the 1920s ... Its scope is also considerably broader than just a consideration of African American ideas about whites, the author having much to say about white racism, self-conceptions of black identity, and race relations in general * American Nineteenth Century History *Table of ContentsIntroduction: 1. Desegregating American Racial Thought 2. Overview Part I: White People in Black Ethnology Chapter 1: "Of One Blood God Created All The Nations Of Men": African-Americans Respond to the Rise of Ideological Racism, 1789-1830 Chapter 2: The Redeemer Race and the Angry Saxon: Race, Gender, and White People in Antebellum Black Ethnology Chapter 3: "What Shall We Do With The White People?": Whites in Postbellum Black Thought Part II: The Racial Thought of the Slaves Introduction to Part II Chapter 4: "Us Is Human Flesh": The Racial Thought of the Slaves Chapter 5: "Devils and Good People Walking De Road At De Same Time": White People in Black Folk Thought Part III: New Negroes, New Whites: Black Racial Thought in the Twentieth Century Chapter 6: "A New Negro For A New Country": Black Racial Ideology, 1900-1925 Conclusion Notes Index

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Book SynopsisConfucius is one of the most influential figures--as historical individual and as symbol--in world history; and the Analects, the sayings attributed to Confucius and his disciples, is a classic of world literature. Nonetheless, how to understand both figure and text is constantly under dispute. Surprisingly, this volume is the first and only anthology on these topics in English. Here, contributors apply a variety of different methodologies (including philosophical, philological, and religious) and address a number of important topics, from Confucius and Western virtue ethics to Confucius'' attitude toward women to the historical composition of the text of the Analects. Scholars will appreciate the rigor of these essays, while students and beginners will find them accessible and engaging.Trade ReviewProviding a collection of sophisticated new essays in various perspectives on the primal father of Chinese thought and values, Confucius and the Analects: New Essays is a highly anticipated and worthwhile contribution to Confucian studies. This text will remain a standard work in the field that belongs on the desk of every dedicated sinologist. At the same time, it manifests an opening sally, and one hopes that this text will stir others in the field to respond to the issues raised in the common quest for a more authentic understanding and deeper appreciation of Confucius and his thought. * Journal of the American Academy of Religion *... may be the most important of several books published in this field during the past few years. Bryan W. Van Norden's rich but concise introduction is one of the most important resources available in this anthology. * The Journal of Asian Studies *... this volume preserves unity without sacrificing diversity and introduces readers to central issues in the study of early Chinese thought without imposing a uniform or systematic interpretation. * The Journal of Asian Studies *

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Book SynopsisTeeming with creatures, both real and imagined, this encyclopedic study in cultural history illuminates the hidden web of connections between the Victorian fascination with fairies and their lore and the dominant preoccupations of Victorian culture at large. Carole Silver here draws on sources ranging from the anthropological, folkloric, and occult to the legal, historical, and medical. She is the first to anatomize a world peopled by strange beings who have infiltrated both the literary and visual masterpieces and the minor works of the writers and painters of that era. Examining the period of 1798 to 1923, Strange and Secret Peoples focuses not only on such popular literary figures as Charles Dickens and William Butler Yeats, but on writers as diverse as Thomas Carlyle, Arthur Conan Doyle, and Charlotte Mew; on artists as varied as mad Richard Dadd, Aubrey Beardsley, and Sir Joseph Noel Paton; and on artifacts ranging from fossil skulls to photographs and vases. Silver demonstratesTrade Review"While Silver presents a mainly academic approach, it is highly readable and fascinating material to anyone who loves this literary period."--Michigan Alumnus Magazine"[A] fascinating account...Silver, a literature professor, provides a generally valuable service in integrating anthropological, linguistic, and folkloric materials into her discussion of Victorian conceptions of alternative worlds of existence. Recommended especially for Victorian specialists and sophisticated readers of fairy tales."--Choice"This is an entertaining and informative study of Victorian culture....Provides some of the most original reading on the subject we have."--The New York Times Book Review"Highly accessible....This is essential for academic libraries, and highly recommended for public libraries as well."--Library Journal"[Features] the choicest discoveries...Silver has culled from her vast reading in fairy lore and the Victorian folklorists....Handsomely illustrated."--Studies in English Literature"Silver's superb study of the Victorian fascination with fairylore and folklore reveals how pervasive and significant the belief in fairies was and still may be in British culture. Silver traces the evolution of fairy images throughout the nineteenth century and convincingly demonstrates how they provide important commentary on changing tastes and attitudes of the British, who took the fairies very seriously. Her book is filled with fascinating case studies of changelings, fairy brides, goblins, and banshei, transformed into representative figures of Victorian beliefs in discourses about utilitarianism, race, gender, and industrialism. Not only does she deal with the intertextuality of fairylore in society and literature, but she also discusses painting, music, ballet, theater, and folklore. This book is required reading--and delightful reading--for anyone interested in the 'secret people' who captivated the Victorians throughout the nineteenth century."--Jack Zipes, University of Minnesota"Strange and Secret Peoples is concerned not with eminent Victorians, but with the 'little people'--fairies, elves, mermaids and the like--in whom those eminent Victorians believed. With cogency, clarity, and learning, Carole Silver maps the intricacies of nineteenth-century faith in fairy lore, a faith perhaps more vital in British life than official, organized religion. [This book] is a scintillating work that will appeal to everyone interested in nineteenth-century England, in odd gods and folk beliefs, and, of course, to all readers who believe in fairies."--Nina Auerbach, University of Pennsylvania

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Book SynopsisUpdated and revised to include theoretical and other developments, bibliographical additions, new photographs and illustrations, and expanded name and subject indexes, the fourth edition of All Possible Worlds: A History of Geographical Ideas is the most complete and comprehensive book of its kind. The text also features a layout and readability that make the material easy to navigate and understand. The book investigates the ways in which the subject of geography has been recognized, perceived, and evaluated, from its early acknowledgment in ancient Greece to its disciplined form in today''s world of shared ideas and mass communication. Strong continuities knit the Classical Period to the Age of Exploration, then carry students on through Varenius to Humboldt and Ritter--revealing the emergence of the new geography of the Modern Period. The history of American geography--developed in seven of the twenty chapters--is strongly emphasized pursuant to the formal origins of geography in Trade Review"Since its first appearance in 1972, All Possible Worlds has become an indispensable reference text for courses in the history of geography. Offering a broad historical sweep of the scholarly record from classical, medieval, and modern times, it also affords succinct summary accounts of twentieth-century geography and geographers in North America and in a wide range of countries. This new edition, carefully revised and updated by Geoffrey Martin, with its ample illustrations and expanded index, promises a welcome maintenance of this highly laudable contribution to cross-cultural understanding in the practice of geography internationally."--Anne Buttimer, President of the International Geographical Union, 2000-2004"What a pleasure! All Possible Worlds is back. Geoffrey Martin's work is a wonderful 'tour de force'-a clear panorama of the evolution of geography from Greece to the present with a fair view on its emerging trends both in the English-speaking world and elsewhere."--Paul Claval, University of Paris, Sorbonne"This book--a study in the history of geographical thought--sweeps majestically from the ancient Greeks to the present. It has been published in four languages other then English and has been the most comprehensive work on the subject since its inception in 1972 when I first used it as the text in my 'Nature of Geography' course. This is essential reading for all geographers."--Peter Nash, University of Waterloo, Canada"After thirty-odd years, All Possible Worlds remains without peer: a uniquely valuable treasure for anyone curious about the evolution of geographic thought and achievement throughout the world from ancient times to a troubled present. Perhaps what is most remarkable about this chronicle is the judicious manner with which the author deals with endlessly contentious philosophies and methodologies. We have here an essential item for the library of every serious geographer."--Wilbur Zelinsky, The Pennsylvanuia State UniversityTable of ContentsPREFACE; PART ONE: CLASSICAL; PART TWO: MODERN

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Book SynopsisIn Inventing Temperature, Chang takes a historical and philosophical approach to examine how scientists were able to use scientific method to test the reliability of thermometers; how they measured temperature beyond the reach of thermometers; and how they came to measure the reliability and accuracy of these instruments without a circular reliance on the instruments themselves. Chang discusses simple epistemic and technical questions about these instruments, which in turn lead to more complex issues about the solutions that were developed.Trade Reviewthe most important book on this subject since Bridgman's classic work of 1927... Chang's book should become mandatory reading for anyone who wants to pursue the problem of measurement further. * Donald Gillies, The British Journal for the Philosophy of Science *[A] fascinating study * David Knight, BJHS, Vol. 39/4 *Table of ContentsChronology: 1: Keeping the Fixed Points Fixed 2: Spirit, Air, and Quicksilver 3: To Go Beyond 4: Theory, Measurement, and Absolute Temperature 5: Measurement, Justification, and Scientific Progress

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Book SynopsisWhat is temperature, and how can we measure it correctly? These may seem like simple questions, but the most renowned scientists struggled with them throughout the 18th and 19th centuries. In Inventing Temperature, Chang examines how scientists first created thermometers; how they measured temperature beyond the reach of standard thermometers; and how they managed to assess the reliability and accuracy of these instruments without a circular reliance on the instruments themselves. In a discussion that brings together the history of science with the philosophy of science, Chang presents the simple yet challenging epistemic and technical questions about these instruments, and the complex web of abstract philosophical issues surrounding them. Chang''s book shows that many items of knowledge that we take for granted now are in fact spectacular achievements, obtained only after a great deal of innovative thinking, painstaking experiments, bold conjectures, and controversy. Lurking behind these achievements are some very important philosophical questions about how and when people accept the authority of science.Trade Reviewthe most important book on this subject since Bridgman's classic work of 1927... Chang's book should become mandatory reading for anyone who wants to pursue the problem of measurement further. * Donald Gillies, The British Journal for the Philosophy of Science *Table of Contents1. Keeping the Fixed Points Fixed ; 2. Spirit, Air, and Quicksilver ; 3. To Go Beyond ; 4. Theory, Measurement, and Absolute Temperature ; 5. Measurement, Justification, and Scientific Progress

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Book Synopsis''History is past politics, politics is present history.'' Thus observed Edward Augustus Freeman, 19th-century historian and public intellectual. He was an idiosyncratic and imaginative thinker who saw past and present as interwoven and had a way of collapsing barriers of time - a gift for making the reader feel part of history, rather than merely its student. Freeman''s interests ranged widely beyond history, however, and this volume provides a biographical as well as intellectual survey of his activities. Thus chapters intersect with historical episodes such as Tractarianism, Liberal Anglicanism and the Gothic Revival, cutting across the divides that traditionally separate architectural, political, church and imperial history. New influences and nemeses emerge from this consideration of the 1830s to 1850s, providing context and added depth to the familiar view of the mature Freeman: to his historical writing as well as to the personal feuds (e.g. with Froude) for which he was equallyTrade Review[an] entertaining and illuminating volume of essays * Michael Hall, The Victorian *Table of ContentsI INTRODUCTION; II FAITH IN HISTORY; III TRAVELLING THROUGH TIME; IV THE FABRIC OF HISTORY; V RACE AND EMPIRE; VI THE SCIENCE OF HISTORY; VII CONCLUSION

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Book SynopsisInternational Relations theory assumes that the struggle for power is not only ahistorical but that international politics is necessarily the realm of a perpetual struggle for power between states. However, by looking beyond the state, the study of global politics may itself reveal the importance of alternative imaginaries just as historically salient as that of the state system. In particular, this book argues that a specific racial imaginary has, over the past two centuries, cut across politically defined state boundaries to legitimate practices of genocidal violence against so-called enemy races.In Global Race War, Alexander D. Barder shows how the very idea of global order was based on racial hierarchy and difference. Barder traces the emergence of this global racial hierarchy from the early 19th century to the present to explain how a historical racial global order unraveled over the first half of the 20th century, continued during the Cold War, and reemerged during the Global War on Terror. As Barder shows, imperial, racial, and geopolitical orders intersected over time in ways that violently tore apart the imperial and sovereign state system and continue to haunt politics today.Examining global politics in terms of race and racial violence reveals a different spatial topology across domestic and global politics. Moreover, global histories of racial hierarchy and violence have important implications for understanding the continued salience of race within Western polities. Global Race War revisits two centuries of international history to show the important consequences of a global racial imaginary that continues to reverberate across time and space.Trade ReviewGlobal Race War shows how the modern international order is founded upon a pervasive, persistent, and powerful 'racial imaginary.' In so doing, it exposes the frightening global reach and lasting impact of white supremacist ideas. Everyone interested in international relations and racial thought needs to read this revelatory work of passionate scholarship. * Julian Go, author of Postcolonial Thought and Social Theory *This is an ambitious and wide-ranging book on a topic of vital significance for understanding the development of the modern world system. Ranging from the Haitian Revolution to the present, Barder shows how a pervasive yet contested racial imaginary has legitimated global hierarchies and generated persistent violence. Global Race War is a valuable contribution to scholarship on the history and theory of international order. * Duncan Bell, University of Cambridge *Alexander Barder's Global Race War proves Public Enemy right: Geopolitics turns on a White West's fear of a Black Planet. * Robert Vitalis, author of White World Order, Black Power Politics: The Birth of American International Relations *Table of ContentsIntroduction: Race War and the Global Racial Imaginary Chapter One: Interpreting the Haitian Revolution: Global Racial Hierarchy and War in the 19th Century Chapter Two: Scientific Racism, Social Darwinism and Global Racial Order Chapter Three: Global Racial Violence: Settler Colonialism and the American Indian Wars Chapter Four: Race Annihilation, War and the Global Imperial Order: The Armenian Genocide of 1915 Chapter Five: Nazi Grand Strategy, Genocide and Dismantlement of the State-System, 1941-1945 Chapter Six: The "Yellow Peril" and the Asia-Pacific War Chapter Seven: Racial Violence in the Global South: Vietnam and the Crisis of the American Liberal Order Chapter Eight: Civilizational Conflict as Race War: From the 1990s to the Global War on Terror Chapter Nine: The "Great Replacement": Racial War in the Twenty-First Century

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Book SynopsisIn The Inner Life of Catholic Reform, Ulrich Lehner offers a longue durée overview of the sentiments and spiritual ideas of the 250-year long time span following the Council of Trent, known as Catholic Reform. While there have been many studies of the so-called Counter-Reformation, the political side of Catholic Reform, and of its institutional and social history, the sentiments, motivations and religious practices of Catholic Reform--what Lehner calls the inner life--have been mostly neglected. Reform, Lehner argues, was not something that occurred merely through institutional changes, new laws, and social control. For early modern Catholics, church reform began with personal reform and attempts to live in a state of grace. Lehner seeks to take these religious commitments seriously and understand them on their own terms. The central question he asks is What did Catholics do to obtain salvation, to make themselves pleasing to God? Lehner examines how the spiritual ideas that emerged from attempts to wrestle with the question of the salvation of souls changed the Catholic view of the world.Drawing on a plethora of published and unpublished sources and a wide array of secondary literature--with an emphasis on Europe, but integrating material from Africa, America, and Asia--Lehner documents this transformative period in history, when Catholicism became a world religion.Trade ReviewUlrich Lehner's book is a masterpiece of sympathetic understanding of the religious aspirations of the Catholic Reform...His scholarship and sympathetic openness to the aspirations of the Reform, while recognising its limitations, equips him to give the reader a particularly helpful portrait of this period of Catholic history. * Robert Gascoigne, Journal of Religious History *Lehner's book successfully addresses the historiographical gaps of the Catholic Enlightenment from the lenses of theology and history. Due to its brevity, topics such as controversies that shook Catholicism as well as early modern authors and works, information about popes, and religious orders are left out. This gives readers space to simultaneously study Lehner's book with other scholarship on these topics. This book is ideal for undergraduate and graduate students of history, philosophy, and theology as well as those who are interested in learning more about the history of the Catholic Church during the early modern period. * Kyra Sanchez Clapper, World History Encyclopedia *This book is ideal for undergraduate and graduate students of history, philosophy, and theology as well as those who are interested in learning more about the history of the Catholic Church during the early modern period. * World History Encyclopedia *Ulrich Lehner unfolds a rich new vision of early modern Catholicism. Doctrine could not change, but practices could, and the Catholic Church devised effective ways, many of them new, to instruct and engage, frighten and console parishioners across the world. Most of the faithful were poor, many were illiterate, but through preaching and confession, prayer and catechism, the Church tried to reach them all. * Anthony Grafton, Henry Putnam University Professor of History, Princeton University *The Inner Life of Catholic Reform charts a history that is significant for ecumenical discussions of early modern period and insists, for then and now, that the reform of the church is about the care of souls. * Christine Helmer, Peter B. Ritzma Chair of Humanities, Professor of German and Religious Studies, Northwestern University *A distinguished authority on Catholic enlightenment and "outer reform," Ulrich Lehner focuses here on the much-neglected issue of "inner reform," namely those central practices that aimed not at correct belief but at the sanctification of the individual and community. The result is a brief, readable, and exceptionally rich account that uncovers an array of pious practices central to the self-understanding of Catholics in the early modern period—and that touch upon something abiding and central to Catholic identity to this day. * Kevin Madigan, Winn Professor of Ecclesiastical History, Harvard University *Although Roman Catholicism is known for its profuse material culture and visible institutional presence, Lehner demonstrates his nuanced mastery of its richly multifaceted interior life from the sixteenth through the eighteenth centuries. The pervasive emphasis on Catholics' inner reform animated the Church's exuberant external expressions and established its global footprint between the Middle Ages and the modern era. * Brad S. Gregory, author of The Unintended Reformation: How a Religious Revolution Secularized Society *Presenting a picture of reformed orthodoxy that reads remarkably like a manual, almost a catechism, for present-day Catholics, he (Lehner) has succeeded in recovering a way of living the faith that has been largely obscured by the conflicts of the Reformation era. * Victor Houliston, Heythrop Journal *The Inner Life of Catholic Reform: From the Council of Trent to the Enlightenment is a welcome and enlightening book...Lehner's work is a welcome addition to the field and should be required reading in courses on early modern Catholicism. * Christian D. Washburn, University of St. Thomas, St. Paul, MN, USA *This text would be useful for studying spirituality as well as the history of this largely unknown time period...Recommended. Lower-division undergraduates through faculty; professionals; general readers. * Choice *Lehner's very readable book is a hybrid between a monograph and a textbook. * Moshe Sluhovsky, Church History *Ulrich Lehner's book presents a detailed description of early modern Catholic devotional theology and the various methods 'charismatic church reformers' advocated to support the spiritual renewal of individual believers...The book is thorough and deeply erudite while remaining clear and accessible. * Marc R.Forster, Journal of Ecclesiastical History *

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Book SynopsisThis book is about four cornerstones of modern thought that were put in place by people living in the ancient Mediterranean world. It covers approximately 2,000 years in time (from ca. 1000 BCE to 1000 CE) and spatially moves from the Tigris and Euphrates rivers in Mesopotamia (roughly, modern Iraq), through Greece and Rome, to the new Germanic states growing in what is now western Europe. The four ideas, as author H. A. Drake proposes, are monotheism, the idea that there is only one god, not many; individual rights, the idea that there is a limit to what the state can order us to do; naturalized citizenship, the idea that the full rights and privileges of citizenship can be extended to people who have no birthright to them; and creation of a standard by which to judge the performance of states. It is easy, now, to take these ideas for granted. For believers, it seems obvious that only a singular, omnipotent deity can account for the splendour of the universe. Similarly, the common n

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Book SynopsisThis text looks at printed commonplace-books and the structuring of Renaissance thought. It should be of interest to scholars and students of Renaissance literature, cultural history, rhetoric, theology and philosophy.Trade Reviewhighly stimulating ... very welcome. ... Moss analyses and compares many books which have barely been mentioned by previous scholars. ... With extraordinary bibliographical thoroughness and exemplary clarity Moss has produced an indispensable survey of the theory and practice of the printed commonplace-book. ... embellished with precious scholarly insights * Peter Mack, University of Warwick, Renaissance Studies, Vol 15, No 1 *she has produced a lively and learned history of Renaissance Europe's primary text-processing tool * Times Literary Supplement *This book provides us at last with a meticulously detailed account of the origins, flowering, and decline of the commonplace-book in early modern Europe. Ann Moss is always sensitive to confessional or pedogogical differences ... Ann Moss offers a generous supply of materials and possible leads which one may follow up according to one's preferences and priorities as a reader of the early modern. Whatever one's perspective ... no one who is seriously interested in early modern culture, the history of pedagogy, or the history of ideas can afford to neglect this major contribution. * Terence Cave, Rhetoria 15.3 *Not just a study of commonplace books but of though (Latin locus, Greek topos, English commonplace), of testimony of quotation, this is a magisterial work. It is impossible to reduce Moss's detailed survey to generalizations. L.E. Maguire. The Yearbook of English Studies 1999.Ann Moss provides a learned historical account of the rise and fall of the Renaissance commonplace book ... Moss has read and analyzed a very large number of original sources from the Middle Ages through the seventeenth century ... this is an excellent book: it will become required reading for anyone interested in rhetoric, Latin education, and the broader intellectual world of northern Europe during the Renaissance. * Paul F. Grendler, Renaissance Quarterly *

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Book SynopsisGervase of Tilbury's Otia Imperialia was written in the early thirteenth century for his patron, the Holy Roman Emperor Otto IV. This is the first English translation of this major medieval text which is both learned and entertaining, full of scientific and theological speculation and a wealth of accounts of folklore and popular belief.Trade Reviewa massive work of fine scholarship * A. D. Carr, Folk Life *S.E. Banks and J.W. Binns, with their bilingual edition, broad introduction, and excellent commentary, have fulfilled a demand long put forward in scholarship. This new edition does justice to Gervais of Tilbury, one of the intellectuals who was most well-read, versatile and open to the world at the turn of the twelfth century; without a doubt it will facilitate further research on this unusual personality and his very interesting work. ... eminently readable ... As a guide to the world view of an educated and well-travelled man of affairs at the beginning of the thirteenth century, this is a fascinating piece ... Whether it cheered up the Emperor Otto is not recorded, but it should certainly prove highly entertaining for any modern medievalist. * Medium Aevum *Not only have the editors provided a wholly readable translation, but also the annotation is extremely full and helpful, including a wide-ranging modern bibliography. * English Historical Review *Post-Classical Latin is now the great lost literature of Europe. Editions like this one bring it back to life. * Tom Shippey, Times Literary Supplement *... a complete and reliable text and translation. * Tom Shippey, Times Literary Supplement *Table of ContentsIntroduction ; List of Sigla ; Text and Translation ; Appendices ; Indexes

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Book SynopsisThis is a study of magic in western Europe in the early Middle Ages. Valerie Flint explores its practice and belief in Christian society, and examines the problems raised by so-called `pagan survivals'' and superstition''. She unravels the complex processes at work in the early medieval Christian church to show how the rejection of non-Christian magic came to be tempered by a more accommodating attitude: confrontation was replaced by negotiation, and certain practices previously condemned were not merely accepted, but actively encouraged. The forms of magic which were retained, as well as those the church set out to obliterate, are carefully analysed. The `superstitions'' condemned at the Reformation are shown to be, in origin, rational and intelligent concessions intended to reconcile coexisting cultures.Dr Flint explores the sophisticated cultural and religious compromise achieved by the church in this period. This is a scholarly and challenging book, which makes a major contributionTrade ReviewFlint's thesis is both significant and provocative ... a big, beautifully written, and wonderfully learned book. * The Higher *Table of ContentsPART I. INTRODUCTION: THE SCOPE OF THE STUDY ; PART II. THE MAGIC OF THE HEAVENS ; PART III. THE MAGIC OF THE EARTH ; PART IV. THE MAGUS

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Book SynopsisNations and nationalism remain powerful phenomena in the contemporary world. Why do they continue to inspire such passion and attachments? Myths and Memories of the Nation explores the roots of nationalism by examining the myths, symbols and memories of the nation through a ''ethno-symbolic'' approach. The book reveals the continuing power of myth and memory to mobilise, define and shape people and their destinies. It examines the variety and durability of ethnic attachments and national identities, and assesses the contemporary revival of ethnic conflicts and nationalism. The book analyses the depth of ethnic attachments and the persistence of nations to this day.Trade Review'Why is it that so many people remain so deeply attached to their ethnic communities and nations at the close of the second millennium? Why do myths, memories, and symbols of the nation command such widespread loyalty and devotion?' These are the central questions answered eloquently and convincingly by Professor Smith in his latest work. * Nations and Nationalism *Myths and Memories of the Nation is a great collection of articles that concern nations and nationalism, and it raises many compelling questions while provoking thought and debate ... this is a book that can be especially valuable for those who will use it as an introduction to Smith's work, for those who are interested in a broad overview of issues concerning national identities, and for those who enjoy Smith's work but have been unable to trace it in the different journals where it appeared in the last decade. * The Global Review of Ethnopolitics *A complex yet lucid framework for understanding issues concerning nations and nationalism ... interesting insights and pithy articulations ... there are some gems to be found in every article. * The Global Review of Ethnopolitics *Anthony Smith is a great categorizer and analyst, with remarkable historical knowledge. * Ethnic and Racial Studies *Fine collection of essays ... a rich and thought-provoking work. * Political Studies *Table of ContentsPART I - ETHNO-HISTORY AND NATIONAL IDENTITY ; PART II - MYTHS AND MEMORIES OF MODERN NATIONS

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Book SynopsisJames Anthony Froude remains one of the most commonly referenced and frequently cited of Victorian public intellectuals. Known to intellectual historians as the author of a monumental History of England in the sixteenth century and as a key exponent of Victorian religious doubt, he is also frequently referenced as the author of a series of scandalously provocative novels and of a hugely controversial biography of Thomas Carlyle. Historians of the British Empire and of Ireland have frequently been compelled to address his sometimes outrageous (but often representative) historical writings. Scholars of mid-Victorian politics have no less often turned to Froude as a typical representative of Victorian fears of democracy, while more recently students of political thought have identified him as an early representative of a new form of Commonwealth civic republicanism.Yet for all that Froude remains a strangely marginalised, fragmented, and neglected figure. Ciaran Brady now addresses this rTrade ReviewBrady is to be commended for bringing such conceptual unity and clarity to Froude's very complex and contradictory set of writings, from the fictional and confessional to the historical and religious, from the political and the personal to the autobiographical and biographical. * Ian Hesketh, Irish Studies Review *Review from previous editionBrady writes about even the most difficult material with consistent clarity and energy, and with a cool but generous relish for all aspects of Froude's enormous output. Froude's often outré, sometimes absurb and occasionally repellent political opinions and activities are expounded with insight and sympathy, and the portrait of the complex, gifted and exasperating individual that emerges is entirely pursuasive. * Eamon Duffy, Times Literary Supplement *a rich slice of intellectual history as well as a memorable portrait of an impressive, if intermittently appalling, personality who left an enduring mark on Irish historiography, Carlylean biography and much else. * Roy Foster, The Times Literary Supplement *Brady has mastered not only Froude's own prodigious body of writing but also a vast, demanding literature on Victorian intellectual history. The result is an erudite and absorbing study, a masterclass of scholarly exegesis and lucid analysis. Brady's study may not make Froude any more appealing, nor his many offensive views and prejudices any more palatable, than they have hitherto been considered. But the work triumphantly renders Froude, the public historian and sage, more intelligible and infinitely more interesting than we may have assumed and, in the process, illumines large swathes of the intellectual landscape of Victorian England. * The Irish Times *[Froude's] unpublished autobiography should have been called Disappointment. There is nothing disappointing, however, in this elegant biography. * History Today *With consummate skill and erudition Brady traces the intricate course of Froude's thinking through his work... * Literary Review *[Froude's] fate is a puzzle, and Brady's exhaustive investigation is the first to give it the attention it deserves. * John Pemble, London Review of Books *Absorbing * John-Paul McCarthy, Sunday Independent (Ireland) *Mr. Brady ... has written a shrewd, vigilant inquiry into biography and literary ethics * The Wall Street Journal *this book could not be more timely, or more useful in elucidating the roots of a prophetic vocation * Julia Stapleton, American Historical Review *In sum, this is the first thoroughly comprehensive intellectual biography of its subject (with due respect to Julia Markus's 2005 literary biography), and it offers a sophisticated and integrated picture of Froude's thought and writings. * Rosemary Mitchell, History *an immensely rewarding read ... Brady has painted the most vivid picture yet of his thought processes and rationale in the context of an era of political uncertainty. This book must be ranked as one of the great modern achievements in nineteenth-century intellectual history. * Colin W. Reid, English Historical Review *Table of Contents1. Froude's Voices ; 2. Shadows of the Froudes, 1818-36 ; 3. Independence: Oxford and Ireland, 1836-42 ; 4. Newman, St Neot, and St Patrick, 1843-46 ; 5. Experiments: Critical and Fictional 1845-49 ; 6. Road to Recovery: From Philosophy to History: 1849-56 ; 7. The Promise of England's Past: Writing the History of England, 1854-70 ; 8. The Problems of England's Present: Editing Fraser's, Changing voices, 1860-74 ; 9. The Challenge of England's future: Ireland, 1862-77 ; 10. The Challenge of England's Future: South Africa and Bulgaria, 1874-80 ; 11. Heroes and Historical Change in the Modern and Ancient Worlds, 1871-80 ; 12. Writing the (Auto)Biography of Carlyle, 1876- 84 ; 13. Educating Carlyle's Orphans: Space, 1884-88 ; 14. Educating Carlyle's Orphans: Time, 1889-94 ; 15. Sincerity, prophecy, responsibility

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