History Books

Book SynopsisThe term 'medieval martial arts' conjures images of armoured knights wielding sword, lance and axe. While the image is correct, at the foundation of knightly combat was a sophisticated form of close quarter combat, centred on fighting with - and against - the dagger, a deadly weapon of both self-defense and last resort. In Mastering the Art of Arms, Volume One: The Medieval Dagger, Guy Windsor presents a complete guide to the principles and practice of Italian dagger combat, as set down in Il Fior di Battaglia a manuscript written in 1410. Readers are guided step-by-step through the process of mastering this six hundred year old art, from choosing a dagger to striking with it; from guard positions to steps and turns; from disarms to locks and takedowns; from safe falling practice to formal drills, and finally pressure testing their skills with sparring. Both a primer on the art and a methodology for on-going training, this book will give the complete novice a solid starting point, while providing useful drills and ideas for advanced martial artists. Those who study other traditional knife arts, and modern military combatives, will find many familiar techniques present in this ancient system. Trade Review Table of ContentsIntroduction to the Mastering the Art of Arms Series Introduction to Volume 1 The Medieval Dagger Chapter One: Fundamental Principle Chapter Two: Foundations from Fiore Chapter Three: Mechanics and Movement Chapter Four: Falling Free Chapter Five: Is This a Dagger which I See Before Me? Chapter Six: Grips, Strikes and Breaks Chapter Seven: Remedy Masters: Control the Weapon Chapter Eight: The System in Brief Chapter Nine: Counter-Remedies Chapter Ten: Dealing with the Backhand Chapter Eleven: When in Doubt, Use Both Hands! Chapter Twelve: The Low Blow Chapter Thirteen: Defense Against the Grab-and-Stab Chapter Fourteen: A Knife for a Knife: Defense with the Dagger Chapter Fifteen: A Dagger Disarm Flowdrill Chapter Sixteen: Armoured Combat Chapter Seventeen: Expanding Your Skills Chapter Eighteen: One System, Many Weapons Chapter Nineteen: Sword vs Dagger Acknowledgments Bibliography Glossary

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Book SynopsisIt traces their persistence from medical guidebooks of the past to current health fads, from the testimonies of medical doctors to the theories of scientists, physicians, and philosophers.Trade Review"...this persistent [humoural] theory...has much to teach us..." -- New York Sun "Passions and Tempers may excite the passions and tempers...as a good work of intellectual history should." -- Washington Post "...a stimulating work that shows the Western mind nobly grappling with the inscrutable nature of the human body." -- Publishers Weekly "To Arikha's immense credit, she provides a thoroughly documented account..." -- New York Times Book Review "...a fine job..." -- New York Times Book Review "Fascinating...[Passions and Tempers] challenges us to consider the value, and the meaning, of a discredited theory." -- Salon.com

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Book SynopsisTrying to understand the wonders and mysteries of the natural world has been a human preoccupation since the earliest times. Myriad myths and legends have subsequently evolved to explain the existence and power of our fertile planet. At the same time, the knowledge of which plants to use as essential foods, remedies, and for construction was of obvious importance, not only to learn but also to pass on and remember. It is therefore hardly surprising that from all corners of the globe a wealth of stories, myths and legends about plants has been passed down to us, gathered together in this fascinating volume. Here you will discover sound principles in some of the traditional advice, and wisdom in many of the observations of the plant world. However there are also highly fanciful superstitions, intriguing tales and amusing anecdotes, which any plant lover will truly relish. Discover which trees are believed to have healing powers? How, in legend, the white rose turn red? Why the lily is a symbol of purity? Any why is it considered unlucky to bring some flowers indoors? Table of Contents1 Introduction 8 2 The wonder of flowers 12 3 Modesty and chastity: floral virtues 14 4 Degrees of passion - the language of flowers 15 5 Flowers and their meanings 16 6 Flower 'mania' 18 7 Cherry blossom beauty 19 8 Faces to the sun 20 9 The rose of love 21 10 The pure lily 22 11 Flowers arranged 24 12 Flowers that tell the time 25 13 Petal power 27 14 Liquid roses 28 15 The poppy of oblivion 29 16 Foxglove to strengthen the heart 31 17 Efficacious chamomile 32 18 The May, a flower of mixed fortunes 33 19 Flowers of fate 34 20 Bringing home the May 35 21 Floral pick-me-ups 36 22 Flowers of St John's Eve 37 23 Dreams of flowers 38 24 Fairy flowers 39 25 The lotus: flower of creation 40 26 In floral form 41 27 The lore of trees 42 28 The wild wood 44 29 The apple of immortality 45 30 The powerful divining rod 46 31 The prophetic oak 48 32 The ash: tree of life 49 33 Wand of wood - and magic 50 34 Branches in flight 51 35 Branches of the gallows tree 52 36 Trees of wisdom and curiosity 53 37 The mysterious upside-down tree 54 38 The immortal olive 55 39 Victory bay and palm 56 40 The useful coconut 57 41 The precious vine 58 42 Tree cures 60 43 Healing branches 61 44 Remedies from bark 62 45 Fruits for fertility 64 46 Around the maypole 65 47 O Christmas tree! 67 48 Trees of the graveyard 68 49 Trees of immortality 69 50 In the form of trees 70 51 The power of plants 72 52 The green, green grass 74 53 The wonder of wheat 75 54 Precious rice grains 77 55 Potato lore 78 56 Mystery maize 80 57 Harvest time 81 58 Witches' plants 82 59 Deadly insect-eaters 84 60 Tobacco smoke - wafting up to heaven 86 61 Mind-changing hemp 87 62 Sacred fungi 88 63 Plants of remembrance 89 64 Painting with plants 91 65 Plant music 92 66 The garden of delights 93 67 The story of incense 94 68 What's in a name? 95 69 The living pharmacy 97 70 Soothing seeds 98 71 Root cures: ginger and liquorice 100 72 Herbs for a better night's sleep 101 73 Full of (coffee) beans 102 74 Tea: the cup that heals 104 75 The blessed garlic bulb 105 76 Plant purges - nasty medicine 106 77 Healing essences 108 78 Easing the toothache 110 79 Against the gout 111 80 Hair tomorrow? 112 81 Pain from plants 113 82 Deadly vegetation 114 83 Nature's pick-me-ups 116 84 Passing water 118 85 Against unwelcome warts 120 86 For problem skin 121 87 To cool a burn 122 88 Better memories 123 89 Coping with alcohol 124 90 Safe at home 125 91 Lucky leaves 126 92 Reading the leaves 128 93 Ensuring conception 130 94 Who'll be my love? 131 95 Nature at Halloween 132 96 Christmas evergreens 134 97 New Year, new start 136 98 Index 138

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Book Synopsis More extraordinary but true stories from London’s history. In this fascinating follow-up to his bestselling London’s Strangest Tales, Tom Quinn makes a further foray into the weirder side of the capital, bringing us a splendiforous collection of bizarre-but-true stories that explore a thousand years of London’s history. Discover the ghosts that stalk West End theatres, the mysterious mummy who lives in a City church cupboard, and secret tunnels under the Thames. Find out why there’s a TARDIS at Earl’s Court, why frogs once rained from the skies, and why the mulberry tree in the gardens at Buckingham Palace isn’t quite what it was supposed to be. A dip-in-and-outable treasure trove of London lore, London’s Truly Strangest Tales is both an ideal gift for dyed-in-the-wool Londoners who want to find out more about the great city they live in, and the perfect souvenir for people just passing through. Word count: 58,000

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Book SynopsisTHE INSPIRATION BEHIND THE BBC DRAMA THE CRIMSON FIELD''On the face of it,'' writes Lyn Macdonald, ''no one could have been less equipped for the job than these gently nurtured girls who walked straight out of Edwardian drawing rooms into the manifest horrors of the First World War ...'' Yet the volunteer nurses rose magnificently to the occasion. In leaking tents and draughty huts they fought another war, a war against agony and death, as men lay suffering from the pain of unimaginable wounds or diseases we can now cure almost instantly. It was here that young doctors frantically forged new medical techniques - of blood transfusion, dentistry, psychiatry and plastic surgery - in the attempt to save soldiers shattered in body or spirit. And it was here that women achieved a quiet but permanent revolution, by proving beyond question they could do anything. All this is superbly captured in The Roses of No Man''s Land, a panorama of hardship, disillTrade ReviewThe tale is allowed to tell itself without any frontal assault on the emotions, and is all the more stirring thereby * Observer *

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Book SynopsisOBSERVER BOOKS OF THE YEAR 2015TIMES LITERARY SUPPLEMENT BOOKS OF THE YEAR and OBSERVER BOOKS OF THE YEAR 2014WINNER OF THE AMERICAN HISTORICAL ASSOCIATION''S MORRIS D. FORKOSCH PRIZE 2016''The most complete and plausible exploration of the roots of the 1916 Rebellion... essential reading'' Colm TóibínVivid Faces surveys the lives and beliefs of the people who made the Irish Revolution: linked together by youth, radicalism, subversive activities, enthusiasm and love. Determined to reconstruct the world and defining themselves against their parents, they were in several senses a revolutionary generation.The Ireland that eventually emerged bore little relation to the brave new world they had conjured up in student societies, agit-prop theatre groups, vegetarian restaurants, feminist collectives, volunteer militias, Irish-language summer schools, and radical newspaper offices. Roy Foster''Trade ReviewTerrific . . . It is a measure of his literary skill, as well as his expertise as a historian, that he is able to counterpoint so many life stories without sinking into confusion . . . Foster's prose is urbanely precise and he can pin down character as memorably as Yeats . . . Foster has the alertness of an Edwardian novelist to the nuances of class and location . . . depicted with masterly economy in all its brutality, confusion and courage . . . Patient, analytical, articulate, this is a book that counts because it avoids the Irish vice of replacing history with commemoration -- John Kerrigan * Guardian *This book . . . reveals a rich and assorted cast of characters with a diversity of views and preoccupations - feminism, socialism, religious diversity, sexual liberalism, the works . . . The beauty of Vivid Faces is that it is squarely based on the testimonies of the characters themselves - letters, diaries, articles, books and later memories - and shows them as they were, not in the light of what they became, especially those revolutionaries sanctified in the selective historical memory of the Irish Republic . . . There are very funny accounts here of how summer schools in the Irish-speaking west of Ireland were an opportunity for unchaperoned young people enthusiastically to pair off . . . There can be few better accounts of [these] people . . . than this book. Foster writes with unconcealed delight about the foibles of these wonderful individuals as well as their achievements . . . There will be any number of accounts of the Easter Rising and its genesis in the run up to the centenary, but few will be as enjoyable as this -- Melanie McDonagh * Spectator *Foster has managed to produce the most complete and plausible exploration of the roots of the 1916 Rebellion and the power it subsequently exerted over the public imagination. As the centenary approaches, his book will be essential reading for anyone who wishes to follow the argument about the Irish revolutionary generation -- Colm Tóibín * New Statesman *A significant accomplishment that makes a serious case for the concept of 'generations' in exploring the origins of the Rising . . . Through personal diaries, letters and journals, [Foster] allows us to see how these young people lived. What follows is a portrait of an Ireland that bears little resemblance to the country that emerged after 1922 . . . Foster's book, in unmatchable prose, is a must-read -- Niamh Gallagher * Times Higher Education *Powerful and absorbing . . . [Foster] draws on decades of engagement with cultural history to bring an original, lively and learned analysis to a fascinating generation . . . Judicious and empathetic, with no attempt to hide his admiration for their idealism, he does not fall into the trap of assessing them acerbically through the lens of the present but allows their own words to breathe. Much of his account is riveting and skilfully woven together, with the analysis enlivened by Foster's customary sparkling prose . . . [he] does a lot to balance male-dominated accounts of the period . . . Crucially, this is not a book built on reductive hindsight; instead it gives us a deep and textured awareness of that "enclosed, self-referencing, hectic world" where the thinkers lived, worked, reflected and dreamed -- Diarmaid Ferriter * Irish Times *Roy Foster . . . has achieved what few have managed: an account of the Irish revolution that captures its quixotic ardour without succumbing to it . . . Vivid Faces is a wonderful book about revolution - both the specific and the general. I read it in the aftermath of Scotland's abortive revolution by referendum and found Foster's analysis painfully wise -- Gerard DeGroot * The Times *Written by a master-historian, this superbly orchestrated group portrait of Ireland's 'revolutionary generation' from 1890 to 1923 shows how the independence movement drew its ideas, tactics and personnel not from peasant outsiders but metropolitan, middle-class insiders . . . Foster highlights refreshing new perspectives -- Boyd Tonkin * Independent *Extraordinary personal journeys outlined in Foster's richly detailed evocation of a period of Irish history in which idealism, bohemianism and artistic creativity went with a resurgence of militant nationalism and what Foster calls 'the cult of the gun' . . . Foster's exhaustively researched history delineates the various streams of cultural and social radicalism that converged in the two decades leading up to the Irish revolution -- Sean O'Hagan * Observer *Sometimes a history book prompts one to reflect on the past and present alike. R F Foster, professor of Irish history at Oxford University, has just published such a text . . . Foster writes so compellingly -- Martin Kettle * Guardian *Written with a stern sense of authority, but simultaneously leaving room for suggestion, interpretation, debate and nuance, Vivid Faces is an immensely important analysis of Irish history that will be used again and again as a reference point for generations to come: continuing a much-needed healthy debate about what exactly Irish Republicanism stands for? -- J P O'Malley * Independent *It is a relief to read such a study, which takes for granted that the world is incorrigibly plural, and which immerses itself in the stuff of passionate human histories -- Neil Hegarty * Telegraph *The book itself is a valuable collection of a broad range of views of participants that publishers dared not mention for decades. It dissects the propaganda to provide an insightful look at the real contemporary thinking . . . invaluable historical record -- Ryle Dwyer * Irish Examiner *Generous, humane and stylish -- Jonathan Keates * Times Literary Supplement BOOKS OF THE YEAR *

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Book SynopsisFor most of western history, all sex outside marriage was illegal, with the church and state punishing any dissent. Between 1600 and 1800, this entire world-view was shattered by revolutionary new ideas - that consenting adults have the freedom to do what they like with their own bodies, and morality cannot be imposed by force. This groundbreaking book shows that the creation of this modern culture of sex - broadcasted and debated in a rapidly expanding universe of public media - was a central part of the Enlightenment, and helped create a new model of western civilization whose principles of equality, privacy and individual freedom last to this day.Trade ReviewPath-breaking ... touching ... This is a marvellously rich and thought-provoking book, written with clarity and humanity, and drawing on a huge range of materials, from sermons to pornography to social statistics -- Noel Malcolm * Sunday Telegraph *The Origins of Sex overturns the conventional wisdom that the sexual revolution began in the Sixties ... baby boomers will be shocked and, I suspect, a little upset -- Cosmo Landesman * Sunday Times *A revelation ... The book is not simply a finely crafted work of history, but a study that will reshape the way its readers understand the most intimate level of their lives.It may even bring some sanity to modern debates about sexuality -- Diarmaid MacCulloch[A] sumptuously rich, learned and enlightening debut ... What makes Dabhoiwala's book so gloriously enjoyable is its happy blend of provocative ideas with splendidly rich historical anecdotes ... [a] lucidly written, densely researched and thoroughly persuasive book -- Dominic Sandbrook * Sunday Times *An extraordinary kind of sex book [from] one of Oxford's brightest stars. His fat tome, The Orgins of Sex, took 20 years of historical research and is garnering the kind of "magisterial" reviews that cast Dabhoiwala in the role of the younger, cuter, Simon Schama -- Helen Rumbelow * The Times *Faramerz Dabhoiwala's The Origins of Sex, an enthralling history of changing ideas about sexual freedom and desire from 1600 to 1800, interestingly blends progressivist and circular approaches. He shows us a Western world (mainly England) emerging from medieval sexual morality and enjoying 200 years of relative freedom, but he also shows it sliding back into repression and denial in the 19th century. The future remains a question mark... his book [is] inspiring as well as provocative -- Sarah Bakewell * The Independent *In The Origins of Sex, Faramerz Dabhoiwala does for the history of sexual attitudes what Lawrence Stone did for the history of sex and the family. Rigorously academic in his approach, Dabhoiwala focuses on intellectual and social currents to trace the grand sweep of sexual attitudes between 1600 and 1800. His aim "is not primarily to enter into the bedrooms and between the sheets of the past", but to examine sex as a public, rather than private, preoccupation. It needed a writer as erudite as Faramerz Dabhoiwala to knit together established theories of changes in the Enlightenment and weave in the primary sources to show how sex figures in the bigger picture. The book is packed with information and peppered with fascinating examples. It will delight students of social and sexual history, and anyone interested in the history of ideas -- Times Literary Supplement * Julie Peakman *

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Book SynopsisWhich river has half the distilleries in Scotland found along its length and in its surrounding glens? Why were monks at the forefront of developing whisky? Which Speyside distillery has an annual migration of toads? How did Glenrothes distillery expel its ghost?Robin Laing - singer-songwriter, author of The Whisky Muse, and chair of the Scotch Malt Whisky Society's Tasting Panel - set out to visit every distillery in the Speyside area, from Benromach to Tomintoul, and presents a guide to each of them here. There are descriptions of over 50 distilleries in Speyside, including The Macallan, The Glenlivet, Cardhu, Aberlour, Glenfiddich and Glengrant.Each entry is part history, part travelogue and part commentary on the changes in the whisky industry. Includes personal musings by the author, stories associated with the distillery and snippets of poetry and song. Laing's 'spirit' guide in his journey is Alfred Barnard, author of 1887's The Whisky Distilleries of the United Kingdom. Barnard visited many of the same distilleries that Laing visits now and similarly left his impressions of the state of the facilities and the beauty of the surroundings. Much of this present book compares what Barnard found with what exists now, and the differences - and similarities - are often fascinating.Trade ReviewThe author-singer-songwriter of The Whisky Muse and chairperson of the Scotch Malt Whisky Society’s Tasting Panel – set out to visit every distillery in the Speyside area, and presents his guide to each in this 206 page paperback. Over 50 distilleries are described, including Cardhu, Aberlour and Glen Grant. Each entry is part history, part travelogue and part commentary. Illustrated by Bob Dewer. - THE SCOTS MAGAZINE Robin Laing’s The Whisky River is the kind of book I immediately fall in love with, even before reading the first line. It brings together two passions of mine, whisky and song. […] This is essential reading for the whisky connoisseur. There might be other guide books about Scotland in general and Speyside in particular, there might be other books about Scottish whisky – but forget them, you only need this guide to the heartbeat of a small country in the North West of Europe. Slainte! - FOLKWORLD

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Book SynopsisFrom the two-time Pulitzer Prize finalist, bestselling historian, and author of Our First Civil War?and the rare academic historian who can write like a bestselling novelist (USA Today)?comes an irresistible portrait of an underestimated politician whose pragmatic leadership and steadfast vision transformed the nation.In his magisterial new biography, H. W. Brands brilliantly establishes Ronald Reagan as one of the two great presidents of the twentieth century, a true peer to Franklin Roosevelt. Reagan conveys with sweep and vigor how the confident force of Reagan?s personality and the unwavering nature of his beliefs enabled him to engineer a conservative revolution in American politics and play a crucial role in ending communism in the Soviet Union. Reagan shut down the age of liberalism, Brands shows, and ushered in the age of Reagan, whose defining principles are still powerfully felt today.Employing archival sources not available to previous biographers and drawing on dozens of interviews with surviving members of Reagan?s administration, Brands has crafted a richly detailed and fascinating narrative of the presidential years. He offers new insights into Reagan?s remote management style and fractious West Wing staff, his deft handling of public sentiment to transform thetax code, and his deeply misunderstood relationship with Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev, on which nothing less than the fate of the world turned.Look for H.W. Brands''s other biographies: THE FIRST AMERICAN (Benjamin Franklin), ANDREW JACKSON, THE MAN WHO SAVED THE UNION (Ulysses S. Grant), and TRAITOR TO HIS CLASS (Franklin Roosevelt).

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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 SynopsisFor more than two centuries, our political life has been divided between a party of progress and a party of conservation. In The Great Debate , Yuval Levin explores the origins of the left/right divide by examining the views of the men who best represented each side of that debate at its outset: Edmund Burke and Thomas Paine. In a ground-breaking exploration of the roots of our political order, Levin shows that American partisanship originated in the debates over the French Revolution, fueled by the fiery rhetoric of these ideological titans. Levin masterfully shows how Burke''s and Paine''s differing views, a reforming conservatism and a restoring progressivism, continue to shape our current political discourse,on issues ranging from abortion to welfare, education, economics, and beyond. Essential reading for anyone seeking to understand Washington''s often acrimonious rifts, The Great Debate offers a profound examination of what conservatism, liberalism, and the debate between them truly amount to.Trade Review"Yuval Levin, whose sharp thinking was honed at the University of Chicago's Committee on Social Thought...is one of conservatism's most sophisticated and measured explicators." -George F. Will, Washington Post "The Great Debate's architecture is clever and intellectually persuasive... A thoughtful introduction to this famous paradigmatic opposition." -Washington Post "Levin enters into another great debate that riles academia: between historians insisting upon the uniqueness and specificity of events, which defy abstractions and generalizations, and philosophers impatient with the ephemera and contingency of events, which do not rise to the level of truth and certainty. Here too he rises to the occasion, satisfying the scruples of historians and philosophers alike. From a debate raged about an event centuries ago, he deduces truths that illuminate some of our most vexing political and social problems today." -Weekly Standard "A judicious, nuanced, and accessible precis that reveals both Burke and Paine to be complicated and compelling thinkers. This sympathetic treatment of the two men, in turn, allows Levin to paint an intellectual picture of right and left that is more gray than black and white, something all too rare today." -Democracy Journal "[Has] potential to have long-lasting impact on a reader... Levin's book forces the reader to stop and create space for thought and reflection, and does not spoon-feed easy answers or applications to today's politics. It does, however, raise serious questions about whether the new obsession with 'data-based' decision-making, the Nate Silver-ization of journalism and politics, could be taken too far if we come to believe that everything in public life can be answered by the scientific method. It also poses significant queries worth grappling with for those rightly concerned about the growing gap between rich and poor. Levin echoes Burke's challenge to reformers to proceed with caution, and with humility." -Huffington Post "The Great Debate's excellent writing about 18th-century history and political theory will inform and educate readers." -Washington Independent Review of Books "In this rigorous yet accessible work, Levin contextualizes the positions of British philosopher Edmund Burke, who has been viewed as both the founder of modern conservatism and an example of classical liberalism, and Thomas Paine, the author of several classic political texts, including Common Sense and The Rights of Man." -Shelf Awareness "Levin's critique of liberalism is powerful and to be expected. But what makes his book much more interesting is his truly trenchant critique of his fellow conservatives as well. And it is a critique well-taken. I'd be much tougher on them, but this book is a tonic for a new discourse." -Andrew Sullivan, The Dish "Must-read primer on America's ideological faultline...[a] wonderful new book...a readable intellectual history that fairly crackles with contemporary relevance. The must-read book of the year for conservatives--especially those conservatives who are profoundly and genuinely baffled by the declining popularity of the GOP as a national party." -American Conservative's State of the Union Blog "Mr. Levin, the editor of the journal National Affairs and a former aide to both Speaker Gingrich and President George W. Bush, provides a valuable service by dusting off the writings of Burke and Paine and by clearly, concisely, and accessibly summarizing them in a way that highlights their relevance to contemporary politics and policy... The monarchist Burke and the religious skeptic Paine, an early supporter of the bloody French revolution, would seem to be unlikely models for today's American politicians of either party. But Mr. Levin has made a convincing case that, 200 years later, we can still learn from both men." -New York Sun "Two seminal thinkers anticipate the modern split between progressives and conservatives in this insightful study of 18th-century political theory. National Affairs editor Levin presents a lucid analysis of the ideological confrontation between Paine...and Burke...he succeeds in establishing the continued relevance of Burke's thought and prescient critique of revolutionary excesses." --Publishers Weekly "Making intricate contrasts between Paine and Burke throughout, Levin perceptively demonstrates the philosophical routes to liberalism and conservatism for politics-minded readers." --Booklist "The Great Debate brilliantly brings out the richness of the tradition underlying our politics. It reminds us that politics is an intellectually serious thing that deserves better than the shallowness and cynicism that fills our political conversations. It reminds us that the right and left are each rooted in a desire to see politics serve the cause of human flourishing, even if they understand that cause very differently. And by the way, Burke was right." --Peggy Noonan, columnist, The Wall Street Journal "Yuval Levin's lucid and learned investigation of our origins is not only a study in the history of ideas, it is also a summons to first principles. Like Burke and Paine, Levin believes that philosophies are buried in the shabbiness of politics. His book is both clarifying and complicating: he writes sympathetically about both sides of the heroic disputation that he describes, and so his book will have the salutary effect of shattering ideological complacence. In our infamously polarized climate, The Great Debate may even be a public service." --Leon Wieseltier "The Great Debate is an exciting, narrative adventure in the contest of ideas. With two world-shaking revolutions as background, Levin brilliantly explains how two great minds shaped the broad debate between left and right that still governs our political debates today." --William J. Bennett, former Secretary of Education and author of America: The Last Best Hope "The polarized character of contemporary American politics is widely noted, yet the intellectual origins of the division between right and left remain obscure. In his deeply historically informed and elegantly argued book, Yuval Levin casts a brilliant light on the matter. It is a work of lasting significance that will instruct liberals and conservatives alike on their intellectual heritage." --Robert P. George, McCormick Professor of Jurisprudence and Director of the James Madison Program in American Ideals and Institutions, Princeton UniversityTable of ContentsOne. Two Lives in the Arena Two. Nature and History Three. Justice and Order Four. Choice and Obligation Five. Reason and Prescription Six. Revolution and Reform Seven. Generations and the Living

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Book SynopsisCritical acclaim for The Last Great Frenchman This is a splendid popular biography . . . recounted with verveand anecdotal warmth, along with fresh appraisals of de Gaulle''scareer as soldier, politician, and head of state. --PublishersWeekly. Highly readable. . . . It is to Williams'' credit that he is ableto get so close to such a prickly personality. --San FranciscoChronicle Charles Williams has matched a great subject by something near toa great book. --Daily Telegraph (London) Marvelous vignettes. . . . Williams tells his story with pace andskill. --Martin GilbertTable of ContentsPartial table of contents: CHILD. A Parisian Boy from Lille. The Steps of St Ignatius. SOLDIER. The Army of the Republic. A War to End Wars. Polish Interlude. Petain's Chicken. A Toe in Political Waters. The Cut of the Sickle. Is He a New Napoleon? EXILE. Laying the Corner Stone. Afric's Sunny Fountains. Who is Fighting Whom? The Eagle and the Bear Join the Party. Resistance on All Fronts. Mediterranean Storms. The Darlan Deal. From Anfa to Algiers. Waiting for Overlord. HERO. A Parisian Summer. Government Must Govern. POLITICIAN. With Peace Comes Politics. The Gamble that Failed. PHILOSOPHER. A Certain Idea of France. On Public and Private Life. HEAD OF STATE. The New Agenda. Baiting Uncle Sam. The Ides of May. Epilogue: Return to Colombey. Notes. Select Bibliography. Acknowledgements. Index.

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Book SynopsisIn The Last Resort, journalist Douglas Rogers tells the eye-opening, harrowing and, at times, surprisingly funny story of his parents' struggle for survival in war-torn Zimbabwe.Trade ReviewThis vibrant, tragic and surprisingly funny book is the best account yet of ordinary life - for blacks and whites - under Mugabe's dictatorship. * New York Times *So do we really need another memoir by a white Zimbabwean? The surprising answer is yes, if it's as good as Douglas Rogers' The Last Resort. A ripping yarn, for sure. But it is in the nuance Rogers brings to Zimbabwe that he truly excels. It moves beyond memoir to become a chronicle of a nation. There is black and white, yes, but much more in the shades and tones of their mix - and it is in exploring them that Rogers, too, finds his art. * Time Magazine *A gorgeous, open-hearted book. Rogers manages to do the vital work of taking race out of Zimbabwe's story and putting the heart and humanity back into it. A must read for anyone who really wants to understand the extraordinary decency of ordinary ZimbabweansThe man who taught me how to breathe.'

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Book SynopsisInterviews and excerpts from diaries, letters, biographies, memoirs, speeches, and other firsthand accounts shed much light on the origins of a system that provided aid to fugitive slaves. 46 black-and-white illustrations.

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Book SynopsisThis seventh edition of Ireland History of a Nation explains Irish history from pre-historic times to the present day with fact boxes, photos and a chronology of events. This book is helpful for students for a background, clear history as well as for readers looking for a history told as it affects the Irish people. Fact windows highlight noteworthy aspects of Irish history, with a chronology of events that give an overview of Ireland's most major cultural, political and religious events. The book is a good revision aid or presentation of events for the history student. Tells the story of the Irish people who have maintained a very clear identity for generations. Published in 2020 and goes up to 2019.

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Book SynopsisConfucius is one of the most humane, rational, and lucid of moral teachers, concerned not with arcane metaphysics, but with practical issues of life and conduct. What is virtue? What sort of life is most conducive to happiness? How should the state be ruled? What is the proper relationship between human beings and their environment? In this classic translation by Arthur Waley, the questions Confucius addressed two and a half millennia ago remain as relevant as ever.

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Book SynopsisA panoramic reinterpretation of global history, this title traces the emergence and development of the modern world from the sixteenth to the twentieth century.Trade Review"However one casts up the balance-sheet on Wallerstein’s second volume, his effort commands respect and justifies interest in the volumes to follow." * Society *"An exciting and highly intelligent book. . . . The staggering pace at which Wallerstein moves over different levels of explanation, and skillfully combines them into his argument, deserves admiration." * History *"In this age of high specialization, Wallerstein's ambitious but judicious synthesis will command the respect of any scholar who has tried to grapple with the peculiarly intractable problems of this period. . . . the book is shot through with shrewd and often stimulating comment." * Journal of Modern History *Table of ContentsList of Illustrations Acknowledgments Prologue to the 2011 Edition Introduction: Crisis of the seventeenth century? 1. The b-phase 2. Dutch hegemony in the world economy 3. Struggle in the core—phase i: 1651–1689 4. Peripheries in an era of slow growth 5. Semipheripheries at the crossroads 6. Struggle in the core—phase ii: 1689–1763 Bibliography Index

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

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Book SynopsisTraces the emergence and development of the modern world from the sixteenth to the twentieth century. This title encompasses the nineteenth century from the revolutionary era of 1789 to the First World War.Trade Review"Wallerstein offers a timely topic that answers our dilemmas about modern society and the historical sense of the Western civilization." Theory & Society "In this new volume [Wallerstein] answers critics who complain that he pays little attention to culture... Definitely worth reading." Choice "A fresh look at global history ... tracing the evolution of contemporary political ideologies from the 18th to the 20th centuries." -- Benjamin W. Gittelson Columbia College Today "Provocative... Radically original." -- Jennifer Pitts New Left ReviewTable of ContentsList of Illustrations Preface: On Writing about the Modern World-System 1. Centrist Liberalism as Ideology 2. Constructing the Liberal State, 1815--1830 3. The Liberal State and Class Conflict, 1830--1875 4. The Citizen in a Liberal State 5. Liberalism as Social Science 6. The Argument Restated Bibliography Index

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Book SynopsisIn 1500 few Europeans regarded nature as a subject worthy of inquiry. Yet years later the first museums of natural history had appeared in Italy, dedicated to the marvels of nature. Drawing on archives of visitors' books, letters, and pleas for patronage, this title reconstructs the lost social world of Renaissance and Baroque museums.

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Book SynopsisFamily and Local Historians frequently encounter the challenge posed by the writing, and sometimes the translation, of the records which might most enable them to make further progress with their research. Many pamphlets, booklets and even books have been produced over the past century to help with old handwriting and abbreviations, but this new work, written by an author who has for years run courses on the subject, is the most practical and comprehensive yet for family and local historians. Based on some fifty facsimile reproductions of documents of graduated difficulty, culled from many useful sources, it provides transcripts, and translations where appropriate, together with advice on methods of transcribing. The alphabet, with commentary, of the numerous types of letter to be found in the examples (many being in the secretary and court hands which so often cause problems), and illustrations of forms of abbreviation will greatly help to unravel the difficulties of reading. Many documents before 1733 were written in Latin and the author includes an outline of the differences between classical and medieval usage and a vocabulary to cover the section in Latin. There are examples, from the 1400s to the 1700s, of a wide range of hands found in the most usual categories of record used by family historians, such as parish registers, wills and court rolls, and in many others which disclose helpful information on families and localities. Those who use this book will not need to be persuaded of the great enjoyment to be derived from pursuing research into family or local history and the pleasures of piecing together evidence to throw new light on old times. They may also find great enjoyment in the deciphering of documents, the means to that end. For the solitary searcher or a member of a class or local society, this will be the standard work upon which to rely for many decades to come.

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Book SynopsisOn 21 October 1966, 116 children and 28 adults died when a mountainside coal tip collapsed, engulfing homes and part of a school in the village of Aberfan below. It is a moment that will be forever etched in the memories of many people in Wales and beyond. Aberfan - Government & Disaster is widely recognised as the definitive study of the disaster. Following meticulous research of public records - kept confidential by the UK Government’s 30-year rule - the authors, in this revised second edition, explain how and why the disaster happened and why nobody was held responsible. Iain McLean and Martin Johnes reveal how the National Coal Board, civil servants, and government ministers, who should have protected the public interest, and specifically the interests of the people of Aberfan, failed to do so. The authors also consider what has been learned or ignored from Aberfan such as the understanding of psychological trauma and the law concerning ‘corporate manslaughter’. Aberfan - Government & Disaster is the revised and updated second edition of Iain McLean and Martin Johnes’ acclaimed study published in 2000, which now solely focuses on Aberfan.Trade Review'The full truth about Aberfan' The Guardian; 'The research is outstanding...the investigation is substantial, balanced and authoritative...this is certainly the definitive book on the subject...Meticulous.' John R. Davis, Journal of Contemporary British History; 'Excellent...thorough and sympathetic.' Headway 2000 (Aberfan's Community Newspaper); 'Definitive...authoritative...anyone who wants to understand the process of government and its obsession with secrecy should read this book.' Ron Davies, Secretary of State for Wales 1997-1998; 'Intelligent and moving' PlanetTable of ContentsForeword Preface 1. The Last Day before Half-term 2. On Moles and the Habits of Birds: The Unpolitics of Aberfan 3. Uneasy Relationships: The Aberfan Disaster, Merthyr Tydfil County Borough Council and Local Politics 4. The Management of Trauma 5. Regulating and Raiding Gifts of Generosity: The Aberfan Disaster Fund 6. Aberfan Then and Now Bibliography

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Book SynopsisIt was a massive, yet little-known landmark in modern history: in 1923, after a long war over the future of the Ottoman world, nearly 2 million citizens of Turkey or Greece were moved across the Aegean, expelled from their homes because they were of the 'wrong' religion. Orthodox Christians were deported from Turkey to Greece, Muslims from Greece to Turkey. At the time, world statesmen hailed the transfer as a solution to the problem of minorities who could not coexist. Both governments saw the exchange as a chance to create societies where a single culture prevailed. But how did the people who crossed the Aegean feel about this exercise in ethnic engineering? Bruce Clark's fascinating account of these turbulent events draws on new archival research in Greece and Turkey and interviews with some of the surviving refugees, allowing them to speak for themselves for the first time.Trade ReviewTwice a Stranger is a book that needed to be written, and Bruce Clark has achieved it superbly. Anyone with an interest in Greece or Turkey ought to read it * Daily Telegraph *[A] wise new book ... fascinating * Sunday Times *

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Book SynopsisThe Great Famine is possibly the most pivotal event/experience in modern Irish history. Its global reach and implications cannot be underestimated. In terms of mortality, it is now widely accepted that over a million people perished between the years 1845-1852 and at least one million and a quarter fled the country, the great majority to North America, some to Australia and a significant minority ((0.3 million) to British cities. Ireland had been afflicted by famine before the events of the 1840s; however the Great Famine is marked by both its absolute scale and its longevity. It is also better remembered because it was the most recent and best documented famine. This atlas comprising over fifty individual chapters and case studies will provide readers with a broad range of perspectives and relevant insights into this tragic event. The atlas begins by acknowledging the impossibility of adequately representing the Great Famine or any major world famine. Yet by exploring a number of themes from a reconstruction of pre-Famine Ireland onwards to an exploration of present-day modes of remembering; by the use of over 150 highly original computer generated parish maps of population decline, social transformation and other key themes between the census years 1841 and 1851: and through the use of poetry, contemporary paintings and accounts, illustrations and modern photography, what this atlas seeks to a achieve is a greater understanding of the event and its impact and legacy. This atlas seeks to try and bear witness to the thousands and thousands of people who died and are buried in mass Famine pits or in fields and ditches, with little or nothing to remind us of their going. The centrality of the Famine workhouse as a place of destitution is also examined in depth. Likewise the atlas seeks to represent and understand the conditions and experiences of the many thousands who emigrated from Ireland in those desperate years. Included are case studies of famine emigrants in cities such as Liverpool, Glasgow, New York and Toronto. A central concern of the atlas is to seek to understand why a famine of this scale should occur in a nineteenth-century European country, albeit a country which was subject to imperial rule. In addition, it seeks to reveal in detail the working-out and varying consequences of the Famine across the island. To this end, apart from presenting an overall island-wide picture, Famine experiences and patterns will be presented separately for the four provinces. These provincial explorations will be accompanied by intimate case studies of conditions in particular localities across the provinces. The atlas also seeks to situate the Great Irish Famine in the context of a number of world famines. To achieve these goals and understandings, the atlas includes contributions from a wide range of scholars who are experts in their fields - from the arts, folklore, geography, history, archaeology, Irish and English languages and literatures.Trade ReviewCork University Press has established an enviably high reputation in producing atlases. The latest - of the Great Irish Famine - maintains and enhances this record. Not only are the maps themselves innovative and attractive to look at, but they communicate clearly an abundance of information, often unfamiliar. The cartography is accompanied by a wealth of other images, sometimes strikingly beautiful, and also hauntingly distressful. In addition, a starry cast of experts provides incisive and illuminating commentary on all aspects of the disaster. All in all, this is likely to prove one of the most original and enduring studies of the grievous famine. Toby Barnard, History, Oxford University This monumental work is far more than an Atlas, it is the definitive summary of all aspects of the Great Irish Famine. The many maps are accompanied by accessible yet scientifically sound texts. The demographics and geography are surveyed with unequaled detail and care, yet the historical background, the politics, and the economics of the Famine are discussed at an equally high scholarly level. Lavishly illustrated and scholarly immaculate, written by the best scholars in the field, this volume belongs in the library of everyone interested in the greatest natural disaster of the modern age - Joel Mokyr, Robert H. Strotz Professor of Arts and Sciences, Department of Economics, Northwestern University, USA This Atlas offers a powerful, unflinching and coherent understanding of the Irish Famine as the defining event in Irish history. It balances sweeping survey with minute details, while always attending to the surprising diversity of this small island in the mid nineteenth century. Its unparalleled assemblage of new maps, old images and extensive documentation offers a brilliant teaching aid for the history of Ireland and of the Irish diaspora. Firmly rooted in recent research, saturated in meticulous scholarship, and interdisciplinary in the best sense, it is unafraid to draw the necessary trenchant conclusions. Its broad synthesis offers the best overview we have ever had of this traumatic and defining episode-Professor Kevin Whelan, Keough Naughton Notre Dame Centre, Dublin.Table of ContentsAtlas of the Great Irish Famine 1845-52 Editors: John Crowley, William J. Smyth, Mike Murphy Preface President Mary McAleese* Poem by Eavan Boland Introduction: John Crowley ,William J. Smyth, Mike Murphy Section 1 Ireland before and after the Great Famine (Double page spread) Chapter 1The tragedy of the Great Famine (W. J. Smyth) * Chapter 2 Mapping the people: the growth and distribution of the population (W. J. Smyth)* Case study: 1741 Famine (David Dickson)* Chapter 3 The failure of the potato and the Famine (John Feehan)* Case study: The Failure of the potato: Baunreagh, Co. Laois (John Feehan)* Case study - Pre-Famine diet (Regina Sexton)* Section II The Great Hunger Chapter 4 The longue duree - imperial Britain and colonial Ireland (W. J. Smyth)* Chapter 5 The colonial dimensions of the Great Irish Famine (David Nally)* Chapter 6 British relief measures (Peter Gray)* Box: Sir Charles Trevelyan (Peter Gray)* Chapter 7 The Operation of the Poor Law during the Famine (Christine Kinealy)* Case study: Queen Victoria and the Famine (Christine Kinealy)* Box: Burying and resurrecting the Past (John Crowley)* Chapter 8: 'The largest amount of good': Quaker relief efforts (Helen Hatton)* Chapter 9 'Born astride a grave': the geography of the dead (W. J. Smyth)* Section III The Workhouse Chapter 10 The creation of the workhouse system (W. J. Smyth) Chapter 11 Classify, Confine, Discipline and Punish - the Roscrea Union: A Microgeography of the Workhouse System during the Famine (W. J. Smyth)* Case Study: Famine and workhouse clothing (Hilary O'Kelly)* Case study: The Cork workhouse (Michelle O'Mahony)* Chapter : 12 Ulster workhouses-ideological geometry and conflict (Liz Thomas)* Case study: Lurgan/Portadown workhouse during the Famine (Gerard Mac Atasney)* Section IV Population Decline and Social Transformation Chapter 13 Mortality (Cormac O Grada)* Chapter 14 'Variations in vulnerability': understanding where and why people died (W. J. Smyth)* Chapter 15 Medical relief and the Great Famine (Laurence Geary)* Case study: Report upon the recent epidemic fever in Ireland': the evidence from Co. Cork (Laurence Geary)* Chapter 16 Emigration in the Era of the Great Famine, 1845-1855(Kerby Miller)* Chapter 17 The cities and towns of Ireland 1841-1851 (Kevin Hourihan)* Chapter 18 The roles of cities and towns before and during the Great Famine (William J. Smyth) Chapter 19 Women and the Great Irish Famine (Dympna McLoughlin)* Chapter 20 Their 'Undoubted and Most Sacred Right': The behaviour of the landed classes during the Great Irish Famine (David Butler)* Box: 'Turned out...thrown down': Evictions in the townlands of Bunkilla and Monavanshare, Donoughmore, Co. Cork (John O'Connell)* Connacht Introduction Case study: Clifden Union, Connemara, Co. Galway (Kathleen Villiers-Tuthill)* Case study: In the shadow of Sliabh an Iarann, Co. Leitrim (Gerard Mac Atasney)* Case study: The Famine in Co. Roscommon (Mary Kelly)* Case study: Ballykilcline, Co. Roscommon (Charles Orser)* Leinster Introduction Case study: Co. Meath during the Famine (Peter Connell)* Case study: Burying the Famine dead: Kilkenny Workhouse (Jonny Geber)* Case study: Co. Offaly during the Famine (Ciaran Reilly) Munster Introduction Case study: The Mizen Peninsula (Patrick Hickey)* Case study: The Famine in the County Tipperary parish of Shanrahan (William J. Smyth)* Case study: The Dingle Peninsula (Kieran Foley)* Case study: Cobh/Queenstown (Marita Foster)* Box: Visit of Queen Victoria to Cove, August 1849 (Marita Foster)* Ulster Introduction Case study The Great Famine and Religious Demography in mid-nineteenth century Ulster (Kerby A. Miller, Brian Gurrin and Liam Kennedy)* Case study: Belfast's hidden famine (Christine Kinealy* and Gerard Mac Tasney*) Case study: Mapping the Famine in Monaghan (Paddy Duffy)* Case study: The management of Famine in Donegal in the hungry forties (Jim MacLaughlin)* Section V Witnessing the Famine Chapter 21 The Famine in Gaelic manuscripts (Neil Buttimer)* Case study: James Mahony (c.1816-c.1859) (Julian Campbell)* Chapter 22 Asenath Nicholson's Famine narrative (Lorraine Chadwick)* Chapter 23 Carlyle's journey through Famine Ireland (John Crowley)* Case study: French response to the Great Famine (Grace Neville)* Section VI The Scattering Chapter 24 Exodus from Ireland - patterns of emigration (William J. Smyth) Chapter 25 Black 47' in Liverpool (Patrick Nugent and Carmen Tunney)* Box: The Fidelia (Patrick Nugent and Carmen Tunney)* Chapter 26: Glasgow, the Famine and the emergence of Glasgow Celtic (John Reid)* Case study: London's Famine burial site (Natasha Powers)* Chapter 27 Toronto and the Irish Famine Migration (Mark McGowan)* Box: Gross Ile (Mark McGowan)* Chapter 28 The Famine and New York (Anelise H. Shrout)* Box: New York's Famine memorial (Joe Lee)* Chapter 29 The Famine and Australia (Thomas Keneally)* Chapter 30 'Week after week, the eviction and the Exodus: Ireland and Moreton Bay, 1848-51 (Jennifer Harrison)* Section VII Legacy Chapter 31 The Irish Diaspora (Piaras MacEinri)* Chapter 32 Post-Famine Ireland (Willie Nolan)* Chapter 33 The Irish language (Mairead Nic Craith) Section VIII Remembering the Famine Chapter: 34 Folklore and memory (Cathal Poirteir)* Box: Na Pratai Dubha Case study: Tadhg O Murchu (1842-1928) (Cathal Poirteir)* Chapter: 35 New Sites of memory (J Crowley)* Box: Memory and Music (M. Ingoldsby)* Chapter 36 'Strokestown Park House and the National Famine Museum as a site of memory'(Terence Dooley)* Box: A Great Famine Discovery of Viking Gold: Vesnoy, Strokestown, Co. Roscommon (John Sheehan)* Chapter 37 Art and the Famine (Catherine Marshall)* Box: Remembering (Anet Hennessey)* Chapter 38 Literature and the Famine (Chris Morash)* Section IX Hunger and Famine Today Chapter 39 The Great Famine and today's Famines (Cormac O Grada)* Chapter 40 Famine, food security or food sovereignty? (Colin Sage)* Case study: Imaging Famine: Whose Hunger? (Luke Dodd)* Chapter 41 Fighting Hunger: Ireland's role (Connell Foley, Policy Director, Concern)* ENDNOTES BIBLIOGRAPHY

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Book SynopsisBertrand Russell was regarded as one of the twentieth centuryâs greatest minds. Well known for his profound knowledge and controversial approach to a myriad of different issues and subjects, his prolific works also exhibited great intellectual wit and humour. Bertrand Russellâs Best is a collection of Russellâs wittiest and most pungent writings. First published in 1958, this delightfully funny and entertaining book is a striking testament to the remarkable life, work and wit of Bertrand Russell. Trade Review‘…the cream of the great man’s satire, witty, pungent quotes from a variety of writings.’ – Evening News‘…pungent quotations that underlie Lord Russell’s views on dogmatic authority as one of the greatest obstacles to human advancement.’ – The Times Educational SupplementTable of ContentsPreface by Bertrand Russell; Preface by the Editor; Introduction; Meaning of Symbols 1. Psychology 2. Religion 3. Sex and Marriage 4. Education 5. Politics 6. Ethics Epilogue Acknowledgements

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Book SynopsisFrom the middle of the eighth century to the tenth century, almost all non-literary and non-historical secular Greek books, including such diverse topics as astrology, alchemy, physics, botany and medicine, that were not available throughout the eastern Byzantine Empire and the Near East, were translated into Arabic.Greek Thought, Arabic Culture explores the major social, political and ideological factors that occasioned the unprecedented translation movement from Greek into Arabic in Baghdad, the newly founded capital of the Arab dynasty of the ''Abbasids'', during the first two centuries of their rule. Dimitri Gutas draws upon the preceding historical and philological scholarship in Greco-Arabic studies and the study of medieval translations of secular Greek works into Arabic and analyses the social and historical reasons for this phenomenon.Dimitri Gutas provides a stimulating, erudite and well-documented survey of this key movement in the transmission of ancient GrTrade Review'important for any classicist interested in the legacy and transmission of Greek culture and provides excellent comparative material for those working on the interaction of all ancient cultures, including especially the development of greek thought at Rome.' - Simon Swain, The Classicla Review'A remarkable work. It has all the makings of a classic.' - Remke Kruk, Boekbesprekingen'Gutas' book is a most welcome tool for classicists and oreintalists...Gutas' informative book arouses the curiosity of specialists as well as of a broader public.' - Hans Daiber, Classical World, Winter 2001.Table of ContentsIntroduction; Part 1 Translation and Empire; Chapter 1 The Background of the Translation Movement; Chapter 2 Al-Man??r; Chapter 3 Al-Mahd? and his Sons; Chapter 4 Al-Ma’m?n; Part 2 Translation and Society; Chapter 5 Translation in the Service of Applied and Theoretical Knowledge; Chapter 6 Patrons, Translators, Translations; Chapter 7 Translation and History; Chapter 8 Epilogue;

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Book SynopsisThe definitive guide to the life of the first woman to play a major role in Greek political history, this is the first modern biography of Olympias.Presenting a critical assessment of a fascinating and wholly misunderstood figure, Elizabeth Carney penetrates myth, fiction and sexual politics and conducts a close examination of Olympias through historical and literary sources, and brings her to life as she places the figure in the context of her own ancient, brutal political world.Individual examinations look at: the role of Greek religion in Olympias'' life literary and artistic traditions about Olympias found throughout the later ancient periods varying representations of Olympias found in the major ancient sources. An absolutely compelling read for students, scholars, and anyone with an interest in Greek, Classical, or women's history.Table of ContentsPreface. Significant Events. Aeacid Family Tree. Argead Family Tree. Abbreviations. Introduction 1. Olympias the Molossian 2. Olympias, Wife of Philip II 3. Olympias, Mother of the King, Alexander the Great 4. Olympias on Her Own, 323–316 5. Olympias and Religion 6. Olympias' Afterlife. Appendix: Olympias and the Sources. Glossary. Notes. Bibliography. Index

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Book SynopsisThis epic poem concerns Dionysus’ earthly career from birth at Thebes to reception on Olympus. In a poem full of mythology, astrology, and magic, Nonnos relates the god’s conquest of the East and also, sensually and explicitly, his amorous adventures.

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Book SynopsisThe Routledge Dictionary of Egyptian Gods and Goddesses contains one of the most comprehensive listings and descriptions of Egyptian deities. Now in its second edition, it provides: a new introduction updated entries and four new entries on deities names of the deities as Hieroglyphs a survey of gods and goddesses as they appear in classical literature an expanded chronology and updated bibliography, together with a list of relevant websites drawings of the gods and emblems of each district a map of ancient Egypt and a time chart Presenting a vivid picture of the complexity and richness of imagery in Egyptian mythology, students studying Ancient Egypt, travelers, visitors to museums and all those interested in mythology will find this an invaluable resource.

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Book SynopsisGreek mathematics from the sixth century BC to the fourth century AD is represented by works of Pythagoras, Proclus, Thales, Democritus, Hippocrates of Chios, Theaetetus, Plato, Eudoxus of Cnidus, Aristotle, Euclid, Eratosthenes, Apollonius, Ptolemy, Heron of Alexandria, Diophantus, and Pappus.

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Book SynopsisTrade ReviewWinner of a 2017 Distinguished Book Award, Society of Military History "[An] enlightening new history."--Alex Monro, Times Literary Supplement "The Gunpowder Ageis a boldly argued, prodigiously researched and gracefully written work. This book has much to offer general readers, especially those with a passion for military history, as well as specialists."--Wall Street Journal "An excellent book."--Tyler Cowen, Marginal Revolution "A vigorous military history of China."--Kirkus "In Tonio Andrade's well-researched, balanced and comparative history of military innovation in Asia and the West, he challenges the traditional notion - compellingly set forth by Victor Davis Hanson in Carnage and Culture and Niall Ferguson in Civilization--that Western culture largely explains Western global predominance in the post-medieval world."--South China Morning Post "Tonio Andrade wipes out the conviction held by many ... in the field of Chinese history that it was Confucianism that kept China from adopting military technology... Andrade is not the first scholar to make such claims, but he leads us deeper in these directions than any scholar to date. The case he makes here will encourage new publications along those lines and will certainly make teaching more interesting."--Jonathan Mirsky, Times Higher Education "In this well-constructed new book, each chapter of which reads like an approachably paced lecture, Tonio Andrade sets this entire history on a new footing."--Timothy Brook, Literary Review "One of the best books I've read in awhile."--Thomas Ricks, Foreign Policy Blog "[The Gunpowder Age] challenges the traditional historiography and will spark debates among scholars."--Choice "An important, consistently interesting, accessible, and well-written work... Andrade is much to be congratulated for a stimulating book, one that greatly moves the field along, and one, moreover, that ably makes the case for the need to consider military history as part of the history of China, and Chinese military history as a key element of military history."--Jeremy Black, World History Connected "Tonio Andrade offers fresh insights into the perennially interesting 'great divergence' between Europe and Asia."--Pankaj Mishra, BBC History Magazine "Covering no less than a thousand years of history, marshaling a staggering array of evidence from multiple languages and disciplines, and offering sustained comparative analysis with other parts of the Western world, this is a big book in every sense of the word... Not only does Andrade significantly expand the geographical boundaries of conventional military histories to attend to global patterns, but he also offers a powerful reminder that the study of war offers insight into so much more than battles won and lost... Anyone interested in the long view of the co-evolution of war and society--and what this means for the big questions of world history--would do well to pick up this book."--David Fedman, Journal of Asian StudiesTable of ContentsIntroduction - The Military Pattern of the Chinese Past 1 PART I: CHINESE BEGINNINGS Chapter 1 The Crucible: The Song Warring States Period 15 Chapter 2 Early Gunpowder Warfare 29 Chapter 3 The Mongol Wars and the Evolution of the Gun 44 Chapter 4 Great Martiality: The Gunpowder Emperor 55 PART II: EUROPE GETS THE GUN Chapter 5 The Medieval Gun 75 Chapter 6 Big Guns: Why Western Europe and Not China Developed Gunpowder Artillery 88 Chapter 7 The Development of the Classic Gun in Europe 103 Chapter 8 The Gunpowder Age in Europe 115 Chapter 9 Cannibals with Cannons: The Sino-Portuguese Clashes of 1521-1522 124 PART III: AN AGE OF PARITY Chapter 10 The Frankish Cannon 135 Chapter 11 Drill, Discipline, and the Rise of the West 144 Chapter 12 The Musket in East Asia 166 Chapter 13 The Seventeenth Century: An Age of Parity? 188 Chapter 14 A European Naval Advantage 196 Chapter 15 The Renaissance Fortress: An Agent of European Expansion? 211 PART IV: THE GREAT MILITARY DIVERGENCE Chapter 16 The Opium War and the Great Divergence 237 Chapter 17 A Modernizing Moment: Opium War Reforms 257 Chapter 18 China's Modernization and the End of the Gunpowder Age 273 Conclusions - A New Warring States Period? 297 Acknowledgments 307 Appendix 1: Timeline 311 Appendix 2: Datasets 312 Abbreviations 317 Notes 319 Bibliography 379 Index 421

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Book SynopsisWinner of THE HW FISHER BEST FIRST BIOGRAPHY PRIZESPECTATOR, SUNDAY TIMES, DAILY TELEGRAPH, TLS, FINANCIAL TIMES, GUARDIAN, DAILY MAIL and SUNDAY TELEGRAPH BOOKS OF THE YEAR''Imagine Wolf Hall rewritten by John le Carré ... gripping ... a rare achievement'' Tom Holland, GuardianIt is 1501. Henry VII has won the throne of England through luck, guile and ruthlessness. But for many he remains a usurper. Now, his elder son is to marry, in a wedding upon which the fate of the country, and the entire Tudor dynasty, will hang ...''A masterpiece. Rich, resonant and utterly compelling'' Helen Castor, Sunday Telegraph, Books of the Year''Gripping ... brilliant ... The enigmatic Henry is brought thrillingly to life as one of the most unlikely but tenacious kings ever to wear the English crown'' Dan Jones, Daily Telegraph, Books of the Year''Thrilling and sinister'' Simon Sebag Montefiore, Daily Trade ReviewA brilliant debut ... this impressive book will certainly become the definitive study of our strangest, most mysterious, king -- Desmond Seward * BBC History Magazine *Stunning ... effortlessly vivid prose ... a revelation. [Penn's] focus is on the last, fear-filled decade of [Henry VII's] reign, but his sinuously coiling chapters seamlessly unfold the past as well as the present of his protagonists ... [He] has pulled off a rare feat: a brilliant and haunting evocation of the Tudor world, with irresistible echoes of the age of fear in which we now live -- Helen Castor * Telegraph *[A] brilliant mash-up of gothic horror and political biography ... a tour de force: both scholarly and a pleasure to read, covering the breadth of the European political scene, while providing the details that allow us to feel intimately the terror at home * Spectator *Remarkable ... Penn brilliantly recreates the sterile atmosphere suffocating Henry's England. His eye for time, circumstance and the telling anecdote is keen. Winter King offers us the fullest, deepest, most compelling insight into the warped psychology of the Tudor dynasty's founder to have appeared since Bacon wrote * Financial Times *[Thomas Penn] is a superb teller of a tale, a reveller in dodgy deeds, a keen observer of the febrile, dissimulating characters of court and embassy, and a splendid limner of the great jousts and entertainments of the age ... with a sharp eye for detail and adroit use of a gifted historical imagination, ... he lets us hear the creak of oars and the scratch of pens, as well as the tubercular king fighting for every breath ... Vigorous and thoroughly enjoyable * Economist *I feel like I've been waiting to read this book a long time ... a fluent and compelling account ... The level of detail is fascinating and beautifully judged ... I think that, for the first time, a writer has made me feel what contemporaries felt as Henry VII's reign drew to an end; the relief, the hope, the sudden buoyancy -- Hilary Mantel, author of 'Wolf Hall'Succeeds brilliantly ... [a] finely drawn portrait ... Penn's deft turn of phrase superbly re-creates the drama and personalities of the court -- Tracy Borman * Sunday Times *An exceptionally stylish literary debut. Henry VII may be the most unlikely person ever to have occupied the throne of England, and his biographers have rarely conveyed just what a weird man he was. Thomas Penn does this triumphantly, and in the process manages to place his subject in a vividly realised landscape. His book should be the first port of call for anyone trying to understand England's most flagrant usurper since William the Conqueror -- Diarmaid MacCullochA definitive and accessible account of the reign of Henry VII that will alter our view not just of Henry, but of the country he dominated and corrupted, and of the dynasty he founded ... [Penn's] point is to show that this is not the "merrie England" of the Tudor myth, but a country forced under the rule of a new king, spied on and policed for any sign of disloyalty, and tyrannised by the use of ancient half-forgotten fines and taxes -- Philippa Gregory * Observer *[Penn] achieves the remarkable feat of making the reign of Henry VII seem more interesting than that of his son. Winter King is well titled: the fingers of the first Tudor king, in Penn's account of his final years, are icy to the touch, and probe into every nook and cranny of the kingdom ... gripping and unexpected -- Tom Holland * Guardian *Penn's scholarly and engrossing life of Henry VII ... gives a complex and exact sense of how power worked in early modern England -- Sam Leith * Spectator (Books of the Year 2012) *

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Book SynopsisOperation Rolling Thunder was the campaign that was meant to keep South Vietnam secure, and dissuade the North from arming and supplying the Viet Cong. It pitted the world's strongest air forces against the MiGs and missiles of a small Soviet client state. But the US airmen who flew Rolling Thunder missions were crippled by a badly thought-out strategy, rampant political interference in operational matters, and aircraft optimised for Cold War nuclear strikes rather than conventional warfare.Ironically, Rolling Thunder was one of the most influential episodes of the Cold War its failure spurring the 1970s US renaissance in professionalism, fighter design, and combat pilot training. Dr Richard P. Hallion, one of America's most eminent air power experts, explains how Rolling Thunder was conceived and fought, and why it became shorthand for how not to fight an air campaign.Table of ContentsIntroduction /Chronology /Attackers' Capabilities /Defenders' Capabilities /Campaign Objectives /The Campaign /Analysis and Conclusion /Bibliography /Index

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Book Synopsis''What a compelling read! Nancy Goldstone has brought to life the four female Stuarts in all their tragic glory'' Amanda ForemanValentine''s Day, 1613. Elizabeth Stuart, the sixteen-year-old granddaughter of Mary, Queen of Scots, marries Frederick V, a German count and ally of her father, James I of England. In just five years a terrible betrayal will ruin ''the Winter Queen'', as Elizabeth will forever be known, imperil the lives of those she loves and launch a war that lasts thirty years.In a sweeping narrative encompassing political intrigue, illicit love affairs and even a murder mystery, Nancy Goldstone tells the riveting story of a queen in exile, and of her four defiant daughters.Trade ReviewWhat a compelling read! Nancy Goldstone has brought to life the four female Stuarts in all their tragic glory -- Amanda Foreman, author of Georgiana, Duchess of DevonshireGoldstone is a master juggler. She tells a good story, always with a delightfully light touch. In the process, extraordinary women are given the attention they deserve. Goldstone brings them to prominence in a way that preserves their femininity while highlighting their strength. This is a feminist history without ever trying to be one -- Gerard DeGroot * The Times *The political intrigues of 17th-century Europe are brought vividly to life in this biography of Elizabeth of Bohemia and her daughters ... this is an enjoyable book, a good piece of popular history - that is, the kind of history that people read for pleasure -- Alan Massie * The Scotsman *Extremely entertaining and immersive -- Minoo Dinshaw * The Oldie *Daughters of the Winter Queen flows beautifully from one chapter to the next, making it difficult to put down. Goldstone's immersive style of writing is also a winner ... the book is remarkably balanced considering that Goldstone had five intelligent women to discuss ... Daughters of the Winter Queen is a wonderfully compelling read that will interest anyone who is into royal history. Engaging, accessible, fascinating * All About History *'An engaging narrative... vivid and convincing... Goldstone is used to managing the reins of a multi-faceted royal narrative - and, once again, she does it with consummate skill -- Sarah Gristwood * BBC HISTORY MAGAZINE *Goldstone weaves her way through a turbulent century of civil war, regicide, and revolution to show us, in the search for a Protestant successor to the eventually childless Queen Anne, how Scottish Mary's feisty great-granddaughter Sophia almost became the Queen of England ... Goldstone's forthright and often witty asides keep this complicated story bowling along at a terrific pace ... Lively and well-researched, Daughters of the Winter Queen offers a timely introduction to a turbulent period in Britain's past relations with Europe * New York Times Book Review *Nancy Goldstone presents a fascinating look at the family of Elizabeth Stuart. The tentacles of this extensive family reached across Europe, and the children of the Winter Queen were involved in many of the major events of the seventeenth century. Goldstone skillfully brings to the forefront the central role marriage politics played among noble and royal dynasties, and the granddaughter and great-granddaughters of Mary Queen of Scots emerge as ambitious and skilled negotiators -- Johanna Luthman, author of Love, Madness, and Scandal: The Life of Frances Coke Villiers, Viscountess PurbeckThis rich and complex story of a seventeenth-century queen who lost her throne, and her four defiant daughters, is compulsively readable. Combining rigorous research with a vivid writing style, Nancy Goldstone illuminates the women who have often been left in the shadows of history, and reminds us that fascination with royalty is nothing new -- Charlotte Gray, author of Gold Diggers: Striking It Rich in the KlondikeThe story of how one remarkable woman's drive to survive secured the succession of the British crown to this day ... A great book for history fans seeking illumination on the connections of European royalty * Kirkus Reviews *Ms Goldstone ... is a thrilling narrator of this complicated history. Yet the achievement of a work like this is not merely its command of a vast and dense web of the past, but also its incredible literary merit. Daughters of the Winter Queen is nothing short of page-turning, an exceptional work of scholarship that reads like a favorite novel filled with political intrigue, romantic scandal, and more than one dark-of-night escape. If you are ... desperately awaiting season three of The Crown, you might at least avail yourself in the meantime of this fascinating account of where the queen's royal line began -- Neil J. Young * East Hampton Star *A compulsively readable account of an otherwise unfamiliar royal family. Goldstone writes with knowledge, humour and ease - a masterly storyteller who steers clear of overly academic language. Ideal for amateur Tudor historians who wish to be introduced to a lesser-known yet equally fascinating royal family * Library Journal, starred review *Goldstone relates the eminently readable tale of Elizabeth Stuart, dubbed the Winter Queen, and her four lovely, talented daughters ... The story of these five women, each remarkable for individual reasons and in her own right, both illuminates and is offset by Goldstone's vividly rendered European backdrop * Booklist *This lively, well-researched group biography focuses as much on the mother as on her more famous daughters ... [Goldstone] clearly presents a captivating story with empathy and humour in a relaxed, entertaining, modern voice * Publisher's Weekly *

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Book SynopsisA terrific, lavishly illustrated look at the fascinating world of American roadside signs.

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Book SynopsisFrom a two-time Pulitzer Prize winner, a fresh, authoritative history that recasts thinking about America’s founding period.Trade Review"Excellent . . . deserves high praise. Mr. Taylor conveys this sprawling continental history with economy, clarity, and vividness." -- The Wall Street Journal"Alan Taylor’s remarkable and magnificent ‘continental history’... is indeed the history of the American Revolution for our times... In short, it is a towering achievement." -- Family and Community History Journal

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Book SynopsisA masterful narrative of the Middle Ages, when religion became a weapon for kings all over the world.

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Book SynopsisAn innovative approach to early Chinese history, now updated and expanded up to 1800.

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Book SynopsisA social history of everyday family life in the Ottoman Empire, this book offers a groundbreaking examination of the relations between and transformations of family, property, and gender regimes. In addition to offering an analysis of a wide variety of sources, it also challenges prevailing assumptions about modern Middle Eastern societies.Trade Review'Beshara Doumani's Family Life in the Ottoman Mediterranean is a mature work built on painstaking scholarship that breaks conventions in both family and legal history; moreover, it covers a period for which documentation is difficult and historiographic cliché abundant. Doumani combines control of juridical doctrine (the rules of the game) with longitudinal case material from the shariʿa court records to describe contrasting patterns of family life and property devolution in two major provincial towns - Tripoli and Nablus. The research tackles radical questions: how to explain major divergence in patterns of women's entitlement under the same legal tradition, and how to document and to conceptualize political economies of family-property in such a way as to explain real difference under the law?' Martha Mundy, Professor Emeritus, London School of Economics and Political Science'In his superb social history of the differing property strategies pursued by Muslim families in contrasting Levantine settings, Beshara Doumani, our leading reader of the essential sources - the litigation records, wills and contracts preserved in the registers of the shariʿa courts - addresses pre-modern forms of estate planning based on the venerable Islamic legal institution of the private, or family endowment, and also makes important new observations concerning the agency of women.' Brinkley Messick, Columbia University, New York'Brilliantly capturing the determined will of women to master their own fate, control family property, and live comfortable lives, Beshara Doumani's comparative study of waqf and property devolution in Nablus and Tripoli from the seventeenth to the nineteenth centuries breaks through court cases to reveal how micro struggles over kinship and power expose the macro foundations of law and society of that period - and lay the foundation for the tools of modern state governance.' Suad Joseph, Distinguished Professor, University of California, Davis'… an outstanding contribution to Ottoman and Middle Eastern social history. It is also a testimony to the intellectual gains that come from painstaking and labor intensive research … This book is essential, and delightful, reading for anyone interested in the history of the family, of gender and of property regimes in the Middle East, as well as the social history of the Ottoman Empire.' Molly Greene, Middle East Journal'This book is the starting point for researchers interested in Sharia court records in Greater Syria (1650–1850). Numerous charts, genealogical tables, maps, photos, and an appendix that discusses and indexes the court records of Tripoli and Nablus enrich the text. This sophisticated, fine-grained study is meant for advanced students and specialists. Recommended.' J. Tallon, Choice'Doumani's tightly knit argument for the historical dynamism and flexibility of Islamic legal traditions and against monolithic and unchanging notions of family and gender in the Ottoman Mediterranean is a remarkable achievement.' Najwa al-Qattan, The Journal of Interdisciplinary History'The book is a significant contribution to the newly emerging field in Middle Eastern studies that examines the political economy of family and household formation through long-term comparative analysis of demographic and legal resources … The rich and diverse bibliography and extensive notes make the book essential for students of family, gender and legal history.' Efe Erünal, Continuity and Change'… it makes a significant contribution to the historiography on law in the Ottoman domains.' Guy Burak, Comparative Studies of South Asia, Africa and the Middle East'… Doumani's study makes crucial contributions to the study of the family and kinship in the Eastern Mediterranean and beyond … Doumani's book opens space for further use of these records, especially to learn more about Islamic legal history and the relation of sharia, state, and community.' Nada Moumtaz, Comparative Studies of South Asia, Africa and the Middle East'… the beauty of Doumani's book is that he insists on the productive labor of both quantitative and qualitative methods … The success of his book stands as a reminder of the cost of one-size-fits-all PhD timelines and evaluation standards that emphasize quantity over quality.' Julia Stephens, Comparative Studies of South Asia, Africa and the Middle East'Doumani's book is extremely insightful … constitutes a significant landmark in the family and social histories of the Ottoman Middle East.' Iris Agmon, Journal of Levantine StudiesTable of Contents1. Maryam's final word; 2. Hamida's children come of age: the shariʿa court and its archives; 3. The different designs of Husayn and ʿAbd al-Wahid: the waqf as a family charter; 4. Good deeds: the family waqf as a social act; 5. Who's in? Who's out? The waqf as a boundary marker; 6. Property and gender: the political economy of difference; 7. Fatima's determination; Bibliography; Index.

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Book SynopsisThe Scandinavians are regarded as Europe's most tolerant and peace-loving people. So how was it that one of the worst acts of political terror ever witnessed on this continent was committed by a Norwegian - against his fellow countrymen? Scandinavia is the epitome of cool: we fill our homes with cheap but stylish Nordic furniture; we envy their health-giving outdoor lifestyle; we glut ourselves on their crime fiction; even their strangely attractive melancholia seems to express a stoic, common-sensical acceptance of life's many vicissitudes. But how valid is this outsider's view of Scandinavia, and how accurate our picture of life in Scandinavia today? Robert Ferguson digs down through two millennia of history to tell stories of extraordinary events, people and objects - from Norwegian Death Metal to Vidkun Quisling, from Agnetha Fältskog to Greta Garbo, from Lurpak butter to the Old Norse rune stones - that richly illuminate our understanding of modern Scandinavia, its society, politics, culture and temperament.Trade ReviewA charming and enhancing yet critical guide to Scandinavia's history and society * The Times *Bringing the varied stories of the Nordic people vividly to life * Irish Times *Affectionate and at times wondering survey of this little-known collective culture * TLS *A terrific read... [It] reads like many 19th-century travel books, which also combined wonderful narrative description with bright speculation... It's this approach that makes the book so thoroughly enjoyable' * Literary Review *A fascinating blend of social commentary and cultural analysis... Scandinavians asks a lot of very interesting questions' * The Big Issue *A leisurely and digressive account, full of personality... When Ferguson quotes from a Norwegian novel: "History isn't always what you think it was," it's a summary of his own impressive book' * All About Health *Aside from its stated aim of examining Scandinavian identity, this is a handy introduction to the history of a region which [...] we know nothing about * Sunday Herald *Discursive, meandering, sometimes beautifully written, it presents a historical narrative punctuated by reminiscences, conversations retold, snatches of autobiography, fragments of biography and stories added, one suspects, solely for their strangeness * Wall Street Journal *

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Book SynopsisAn award-winning pastry chef’s foolproof recipes and fresh take on the history of American desserts, from chocolate chip cookies to toaster pastries.Trade Review"This is not everyday baking – nor does it celebrate an everyday occasion – but the whisking of egg whites to make the marshmallow icing (inspiration for which I thank the ever-illuminating, ever-inspiring American baker-sleuth Stella Parks, author of the compendious BraveTart)..." -- Nigella Lawson - Observer Food Monthly"Fans of American desserts need look no further than this book." -- Choice

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Book SynopsisThe surviving works of the Roman Emperor Julian “the Apostate” (AD 331 or 332–363) include eight Orations; Misopogon (Beard-hater), assailing the morals of the people of Antioch; more than eighty Letters; and fragments of Against the Galileans, written mainly to show that the Old Testament lacks evidence for the idea of Christianity.

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