History Books

Book SynopsisThis book reviews and analyses the modern history of Kuwait by telling the story of Abd al-Aziz Sa'ud al-Babtain (b. 1936), a businessman, philanthropist, and poet whose own story closely interweaves with the history of the state. 'The Poet and Businessman' takes a uniquely wide-ranging view of this history and is a rare study of an individual from a generation in the Gulf who experienced it firsthand and witnessed the benefits of the discovery of oil. It was this discovery, which came with costs alongside the many benefits, that has played a crucial part in the socio-economic and cultural development of Kuwait and across the wider Gulf region. Constructing an overview of the modern history of Kuwait in parallel with the life of Abd al-Aziz Sa'ud al-Babtain, Stenberg succeeds in filling a lacuna in contemporary scholarship on the Middle East, especially on a neglected area of Arabian history. The result is a balanced account of the state of Kuwait enriched by the story of a remarkable and influential individual.Trade Review‘Poet and Businessman provides a wonderful insight into the tremendous change that has gripped the Gulf region, and Kuwait in particular, over the past 70 years. The book is an invaluable contribution to our understanding of the political and social changes in a country that only became independent in 1961. A significant addition to the existing literature.’ Dr Christian Koch, Director of Research, Gulf Research Center; ‘Stenberg offers an illuminating lens on the history of modern Kuwait in the life of the founder of one of the country’s most successful and influential family-owned holding companies. A resourceful entrepreneur and a keen advocate of Arabic poetry and culture, al-Babtain is older than Kuwait itself and his story exemplifies the role his generation of business magnates and philanthropists have had on the country’s path to a national identity and economic prosperity.’ Lisa Anderson, School of International and Public Affairs, Columbia University; ‘This is an engaging and illuminating work on a period of history in the Gulf region that remains overlooked. A key aspect of Stenberg’s discussion is an analysis of Kuwait’s post-invasion transformations, shedding light on the hopes and struggles of its leadership and its people, citizens and residents, women and men. Al-Babtain’s career captures nuances of, and relationships between,Islam, Arabism, capitalism and culture, both state and popular.’ Dr Amal Ghazal, Doha Institute for Graduate Studies and Simon Fraser University

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Book SynopsisIn 50 Things About Us, Mark Thomas combines his trademark mix of storytelling, stand-up, mischief and really, really well-researched material to examine how we have come to inhabit this divided wasteland that some of us call the United Kingdom. Based on his latest show, 50 Things About Us, Mark picks through the myths, historical facts and current figures of our national identities to ask: who do we think we are?

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Book SynopsisA Daily Express Book of the Year ‘Engrossing … grips you and doesn’t let go.’ The Spectator ‘Waterdrinker’s gift for savage comedy and his war correspondent’s eye have few contemporary equivalents.’ The Times A thrilling escapade through the Soviet Union of the ’90s and early 2000s by a tour guide turned smuggler turned novelist, that tells the unputdownable story of modern Russia. One day, in 1988, a priest knocks on Pieter Waterdrinker’s door with an unusual request: will he smuggle seven thousand bibles into the Soviet Union? Pieter agrees, and soon finds himself living in the midst of one of the biggest social and cultural revolutions of our time, working as a tour operator ... with a sideline in contraband. During the next thirty years, he witnesses, and is sometimes part of, the seismic changes that transform Russia into the modern state we know it as today. This riveting blend of memoir and history provides startling insight into the emergence of one of the world’s most powerful and dangerous countries, as well as telling a nail-biting, laugh-out-loud adventure story that will leave you on the edge of your seat.Trade Review‘Waterdrinker’s gift for savage comedy and his war correspondent’s eye have few contemporary equivalents.’ -- Simon Ings * The Times *‘A gripping memoir by one of Holland’s most admired novelists … a valuable historical document of the era.’ -- Rupert Christiansen * The Telegraph *‘Engrossing … grips you and doesn’t let go.’ -- Matthew Janney * The Spectator *‘A disarming, erudite, shocking, laugh-out-loud Dutch bestseller.’ -- Rory Maclean * TLS *‘A wonderful, page-turning narrative … fascinating and endlessly readable … Waterdrinker is a gifted storyteller.’ -- Donal O’Keeffe * Irish Examiner *‘The recreations of revolutionary Russia are vivid (including his hatred of the Tsar, Lenin, and Stalin) as is the daily reality of living in glasnost Russia. There are some positively Dostoevskian characters, and his portrait of Russia caught at twin moments of upheaval (1917, 1988) is an epic tale told with deceptive simplicity.’ -- Giselle Au-Nhien Nguyen * The Sydney Morning Herald *‘A remarkable, sly blend of memoir and history, past and present, amusement and bemusement. How the memoir of a Dutch writer selling bibles in Russia also becomes the story of our past century is beyond me. But in Waterdrinker’s masterful hands, it does. The Long Song of Tchaikovsky Street is a spectacular tale, and a towering achievement.’ -- Shalom Auslander, author of Mother for Dinner‘Russia’s recent history has been inspirational and unpredictable, tragic and bizarre, and it takes a quirky literary autobiography like this to capture that. From showing the Russian president’s wife through Amsterdam’s red-light district to wheeling and dealing in the dying days of the USSR, Waterdrinker offers up an eminently readable and critically affectionate vision of a Russia constantly in the throes of reinvention.’ -- Professor Mark Galeotti, author of A Short History of Russia‘An evocative personal history of smuggling and surviving.’ * Foyles *‘I really enjoyed it … it spoke to my own experiences.’ -- Mark Galeotti * The Spectator TV *‘Peter Waterdrinker’s experiences of Russia over the past quarter century are undoubtedly worth telling … his descriptions are evocative.’ -- Owen Matthews * Catholic Herald *‘In this compelling memoir … Waterdrinker recounts the awful and at the same time great decades that gave Russians a radically redefined role on the world stage … An intensely personal perspective on geopolitical transformation.’ -- Bryce Christensen * Booklist, starred review *‘[Waterdrinker] interweaves memoir and history in this impressionistic account of Russia from the 1917 Bolshevik Revolution to the present day … [he] incisively captures the beauty and terror of his adopted country … Russophiles will savour this iconoclastic portrait of modern Russia.’ * Publishers Weekly *‘An octogenarian aristocrat cooped up in a decrepit Soviet madhouse, doctors requiring bribes before even considering treating patients, the wife of a Russian president touring Amsterdam’s red-light district, lust-driven physicists embezzling foreign aid programs, the mad monk Rasputin. These are just a handful of the memorable characters Pieter Waterdrinker draws in his idiosyncratic, darkly humorous, captivating blend of memoir, history, and reportage that spans Russia’s last century. It’s a terrific read that will engage and inform in equal measure.’ -- Gordon Peake * The Canberra Times *‘Compelling.’ * The Herald *‘Words by Waterdrinker are as amazing as a superior circus.’ * Elsevier *‘How evocatively Waterdrinker can write! A hundred years after the Russian Revolution, he makes this violent period of history shine once again.’ * Zin *

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Book SynopsisPalestine, 1850: a backwater of the Ottoman Empire, but soon to become the focus of intense jealousies. Locally Arabs and Jews became increasingly polarised, internationally the vacuum left by the demise of the Ottoman Empire was filled with the rivalries of Western nations.This book is a vivid account, told through oral history and a wealth of photographs from the time, never previously published. They add new dimensions to our understanding of the history, the geography, and the human reality of Palestine.

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Book SynopsisA powerful personal testimony and an urgent call for Israel to change direction, from an unexpected source: the former director of the internal security service, Shin Bet. Raised on a kibbutz by parents who had fled the Holocaust, Ami Ayalon’s life exemplified the Zionist dream. His commitment to his country propelled a meteoric career, culminating in being named commander of the navy and receiving the Medal of Valour, Israel’s highest military decoration. All the time, he remained a staunch supporter of his country’s policies. Then he was appointed director of the Shin Bet, Israel’s internal security service, and the unexpected happened. Forced to try and understand the lives and motivations of Palestinians for the first time, he gained empathy for ‘the enemy’ and learned that when Israel carries out anti-terrorist operations in a political context of hopelessness, the Palestinian public will support violence, because they have nothing to lose. He came to understand that his patriotic life had blinded him to the self-defeating nature of policies that have undermined Israel’s civil society while heaping humiliation upon its neighbours. In this deeply personal journey of discovery, Ami Ayalon seeks input and perspectives from Palestinians and Israelis whose experiences differ from his own, and draws radical conclusions about what Israel must do to achieve relative peace and security.Trade Review‘How can a staunch Zionist who was raised on one of Israel’s earliest settlements and trained as a kill-or-be-killed elite commando spearhead a campaign for peace with his enemies? The answer, in Ami Ayalon’s captivating narrative, is an eye-opener for Palestinians and Israelis alike.’ -- Sari Nusseibeh, author of Once Upon a Country: a Palestinian life, former president of the Al-Quds University and former Palestinian National Authority representative in Jerusalem‘Remarkable.’ -- Andrew Mueller * Monocle *‘Fascinating and well-written.’ -- Ahron Bregman * Jewish Chronicle *‘[Friendly Fire] is a personal, intellectual and philosophical journey.’ -- Yossi Melman * Haaretz *‘[Ayalon’s] aims and accomplishments are … undeniably impressive … Hope finds a prominent presence in what so many think is a hopeless, endless conflict.’ * Kirkus Reviews *‘Ami Ayalon discusses how he came to see a two-state solution with the Palestinians as the best way to ensure Israel's security, not just through analysing numbers and statistics, but through a humanistic approach. He discusses … how his humanist paradigm not only allowed him to see how the Palestinians’ grievances and aspirations are intertwined with Israel’s security, but also how he still acknowledges and sympathises with the narratives of those in Israel whom he may disagree with.’ -- Jonah Naghi * The Times of Israel *‘Friendly Fire is not simply a critique, but a strong mandate for a complete overhaul of Israel's policy toward countering Palestinian terrorism — with clear lessons for counterterrorism policy far beyond the region … [A] powerful critique of the Israeli politicians on both the left and right … [A] story of immense bravery: bravery to speak truth to power; bravery to speak out against injustice — even when it is committed on one’s behalf and in one's name; bravery to acknowledge one’s own participation in and responsibility for such injustice; and, finally, bravery to demand accountability from oneself and from others.’ -- Molly Ellenberg, Modern War Institute‘Friendly Fire is full of fascinating anecdotes from a life lived on the sidelines of some of the most momentous events in the recent history of the Middle East.’ -- TJ Collins * Dubbo Mailbox Shopper *‘[A] compact, compelling memoir … [S]moothly written … [A]fter Ayalon retired as head of Shin Bet he decided almost everything he had done as a soldier and a supervisor of secret agents had actually reduced the prospects for peace and security.’ -- Charles Kaiser * The Guardian *‘[A]n idealistic, yet sober and realistic, vision of what is needed to advance the prospects of peace.’ -- Sheldon Kirshner * The Times of Israel *‘Reading Ayalon’s revealing book, one can see that he has come a long way. Perhaps his most commendable conclusion is that Israel will never achieve peace until “we change the narrative about the past and admit to ourselves that the Palestinians have a right to their own country alongside Israel, and on land we claim as ours”.’ -- Raja Shehadeh * The Nation *

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Book SynopsisBehind the world's most iconic front door lies the core of British political power: the Prime Minister's home and office. Designed over three centuries ago as an ordinary residence, 10 Downing Street (or 'No. 10') has undergone a challenging metamorphosis, with continuous adaptation and renovation allowing successive occupants to make their mark on this evolving, surprising and in some places crumbling building. No. 10's first-ever Researcher in Residence, Jack Brown, has used unprecedented access to people and papers to uncover intimate stories of Downing Street's post-war residents, staff and visitors, revealing how those in power have shaped the building - and been shaped by it in return. This is a fascinating account of unexplored corners of one of the nation's best-known buildings, from the minutiae of decoration and diplomacy to the drama of terrorist bombs and political bombshells.Trade Review'Serious analysis of government and its processes... but the human element is there, too' -Daily Mail; 'Everything you could want to know about Downing Street is here' -TLS; 'A fascinating biography of one of the great political survivors: Downing Street. A must-read for anyone who has wondered what life is like behind that famous black door' -Matt Chorley, The Times; '...full of such gems which make it a delight to read' -Civil Service World; 'the book is indispensable...' -LSE Review of Books

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Book SynopsisThe passion and emotion felt about the partition of Ireland has not dissipated in the 100 years since and, as the disorders occurred in Northern Ireland in the Spring 2021 show, it is as controversial now as it was then. To mark the centenary of partition, this much-acclaimed concise introductory history explains clearly and objectively why and how two states were created on the island.Trade Review‘An excellent exposition of how the border came into existence… a short, very readable and clear overview.’—Times Literary Supplement; ‘…notable for [its] attention to detail.’ —Financial Times; ‘an accessible, well-written concise history of partition’ –History Ireland.

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Book SynopsisHitler's tyranny is still difficult to understand today. In this book, Ralf Georg Reuth examines ten aspects of this catastrophe. Among other things, he asks: Was anti-Semitism more pronounced in Germany than elsewhere? Was Versailles responsible for Hitler's rise, and why did the Germans follow a racial fanatic like him? How did his war differ from all others before it? The disturbing answers provide an overall picture that shows: Hitler was not just the consequence of German history, but the result of chance, deception, and seduction. This thought-provoking new study takes aim at several of the 'sacred cows' of Hitler scholarship from the past forty years. Reuth interrogates and challenges a range of orthodox views on such topics as how mainstream politicians facilitated Hitler's rise to power, the Fuhrer's infamous pact with Stalin, and the complicity of ordinary Germans in his genocidal tyranny. Eschewing a conventional chronological approach in favour of a forensic analysis of Adolf Hitler's mainsprings of action both as chancellor and military commander, Reuth portrays Hitler as the apotheosis of a specifically German strain of militarism and imperialism, shifting the focus firmly back on to the mindset and modus operandi of Hitler himself. The portrait that emerges is one of a murderous fantasist and political opportunist driven by an all-embracing ideology of racial superiority. Reuth's account courts controversy on a few points but offers a fascinating counterpoint to much recent scholarship.Trade Review‘An urgent reminder of what happened the last time the world mistook a psychotic warmonger for a rational, power-hungry politician.’ James Hawes, author of The Shortest History of Germany; ‘...provides an intriguing perspective on Hitler from one of Germany's foremost experts on the subject.’ Brendan Simms, author of Hitler's American Gamble

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Book SynopsisEmperor Maximilian I (1459-1519) treated the spectacle of his tournaments, hastiludes, and mummeries as an art form unto itself. One of modern Europe’s most important sovereigns, he shaped the continent’s political map well into the 20th century, not least due to his keen awareness of the power of a good public display towards diplomacy and networking. From 1512 to 1515, Maximilian commissioned a massive, exquisitely detailed and illustrated manuscript of the 64 tournaments. The 255 elaborately gilt and silvered miniatures were more than just a collection of jousting scenes from the Habsburg court—from the grand melee and tilting at the lists to foot combat and closing ceremonies—they were an allegorical epic telling the story of an intrepid hero, a knight errant who is no other than Maximilian himself. In the guise of his literary alter ego “Freydal”, the Emperor jousted to prove his love for a noble lady. The story ends with the lady agreeing to marry him—she is no other than Mary of Burgundy, whom Maximilian wed in 1477 at Ghent.Produced under the direct supervision of Maximilian himself, Freydal is an invaluable record of late-medieval chivalry, one which introduces us to the jousts that the Emperor revived and even invented—such as the spectacular Rennen mit geschifften Tartschen, where shields would be catapulted into the sky and disintegrated into metal wedges. To this day, it remains the largest extant tournament book from the Late Middle Ages and the essential source on European courtly festivities of the early modern era. Much too fragile to be on permanent display, the miniatures are safely locked away in the vaults of the Kunsthistorisches Museum in Vienna. To commemorate the fifth centenary of Emperor Maximilian I’s death, TASCHEN reproduces the complete 255 miniatures in full-color photographs, making the unique manuscript accessible to all for the very first time. The astounding collection is introduced by Stefan Krause, director of the Kunsthistorisches Museum’s Imperial Armoury, who tells its fascinating story.Trade Review”Freydal conveys the thrill of two metalcovered men colliding at 80 miles per hour.” * The Telegraph *

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Book SynopsisWritten for a non-specialist audience, Northern Ireland in the UK Constitution is a comprehensive yet accessible introduction for those who want to understand Northern Ireland as a constitutional entity.

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Book SynopsisAn investigation of the cultures and technologies of early radio and how a generation of cultural operators—with Schoen at the center—addressed crisis and adversity.Dials, knobs, microphones, clocks; heads, hands, breath, voices. Ernst Schoen joined Frankfurt Radio in the 1920s as programmer and accelerated the potentials of this collision of bodies and technologies. As with others of his generation, Schoen experienced crisis after crisis, from the violence of war, the suicide of friends, economic collapse, and a brief episode of permitted experimentalism under the Weimar Republic for those who would foster aesthetic, technical, and political revolution. The counterreaction was Nazism—and Schoen and his milieux fell victim to it, found ways out of it, or hit against it with all their might.Dissonant Waves tracks the life of Ernst Schoen—poet, composer, radio programmer, theorist, and best friend of Walter Benjamin from childhood—as he moves between Frankfurt, Berlin, Paris, and London. It casts radio history and practice into concrete spaces, into networks of friends and institutions, into political exigencies and domestic plights, and into broader aesthetic discussions of the politicization of art and the aestheticization of politics. Through friendship and comradeship, a position in state-backed radio, imprisonment, exile, networking in a new country, re-emigration, ill-treatment, neglect, Schoen suffers the century and articulates its broken promises.An exploration of the ripples of radio waves, the circuits of experimentation and friendship, and the proposals that half-found a route into the world—and might yet spark political-technical experimentation.

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Book SynopsisMapping Bali is the creation of artist Bruce Granquist to record his visual relationship to the island which has been his home for over 30 years. Originally conceived as a straightforward mapping project which produced a detailed large-format topographic of the island, the scope of the project soon dived deep into the essence of the Balinese island soul. This homage to Balinese people and culture encompasses the unique characteristics that makes the island so special; topography, architecture, heritage sites, unusual landscapes, cultural traditions and spirits. Through shared stories with the people he meets in villages throughout the island, this original and intriguing book describes through images and words a personal and deeply felt celebration of the Balinese people.Contents include: Water and Fire Rocks and Water Villages Mapping the Balinese Soul Rituals of Identity North Bali Urban Bali Mapping Today, Mapping Tomorrow

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Book SynopsisAs Britain entered lockdown in the spring of 2020, drawings, paintings and messages proliferated in windows and gardens across the country: signs of the eternal human desire to communicate, even as face-to-face contact became impossible. When restrictions temporarily eased, writer James Attlee began ringing doorbells in his hometown of Oxford. On doorsteps and park benches, on council estates and amid genteel terraces, he recorded the voices of those briefly emerging from isolation, winning the trust of rainbow painters and anti-vaxxers, a Covid nurse, an LGBTQ+ artist, a VE Day celebrator, Black Lives Matter protesters, as well as frontline workers in a bakery and a supermarket. Their words, Attlee's pithy observations and sixteen pages of his photographs make Under the Rainbow a unique record of an extraordinary year, and a tribute to creativity and resilience in desperate times.Trade Review‘A unique book that is a travel guide of sorts, and a fascinating collection of reflections and revelations, with Attlee’s fine mind pulling it together, Under The Rainbow is a brilliant read.’ Mab Jones, Buzz Magazine----'Attlee's form of attention shows us a sensitive way of caring and relating and recognising the lives of others: by attending to messages, gestures, signals in the surrounding streets, by inviting neighbours' stories and explanations, he has assembled a searching portrait of the time of Covid.' Marina Warner ----'Under the Rainbow refracts the pandemic into a prism of colours, revealing it not just as a public health crisis but as one that touches issues from racial injustice to the climate emergency. Beyond the statistics and political statements, Attlee helps us make sense of living through the shared moments of a global catastrophe.' Roman Krznaric ----'Attlee captures an intense moment of national self-reckoning by letting those who speak to him from their doorsteps really speak. The result is a carefully curated form of polyphony, sometimes interjected with personal support, but more often with real sympathy, that carries him back to reflections upon poetry and art.' Sally Bayley ----'Full of warmth, wit and eloquence, and a rare, refreshing combination of modesty and conviction, Under the Rainbow is a supple investigation of familiar symbols. I loved the careful anthropological questioning of the complex world on our doorsteps.' Alexandra Harris ----'Attlee's intrepid enquiring sympathetically explores the anxieties and hopes of summer 2020.' Patrick Keiller ----'Observant, enquiring, contemplative, James Attlee has carried out a deft investigation of a city in lockdown. I love the way he listens to people, thinks about what they've said, and lets it lead him to some relevant allusion or philosophical notion.' Tim Pears ---- Praise for James Attlee's Isolarion ----'Unique and very special.' Geoff Dyer, The Guardian ----'A new Oxford that no guidebook has yet captured.' New York Times

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Book SynopsisLondon 1988: Agata grew up in post-war Prague and believes that her mother was the only member of her family to survive the Holocaust.But not everyone died. Agata's search for her ‘lost’ family, set against the background of revolutions in Eastern Europe, threatens to tear apart not only the family she already has, but her own identity.

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Book SynopsisIn August 1934, young Cyril L. wrote to his friend Billy about all the exciting men he had met, the swinging nightclubs he had visited, and the vibrant new life he had forged for himself in the big city. He wrote, I have only been queer since I came to London about two years ago, before then I knew nothing about it. London, for Cyril, meant boundless opportunities to explore his newfound sexuality. But his freedom was limite: he was soon arrested, simply for being in a club frequented by queer men. Cyril's story is Matt Houlbrook's point of entry into the queer worlds of early twentieth-century London. Drawing on previously unknown sources, from police reports and newspaper exposés to personal letters, diaries, and the first queer guidebook ever written, Houlbrook here explores the relationship between queer sexualities and modern urban culture that we take for granted today. He revisits the diverse queer lives that took hold in London's parks and streets; its restaurants, pubs, and

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Book SynopsisGerman Jerusalem is a story of a culturally distinctive community, and a fascinating biography of those who lived and worked in Jerusalem since the beginning of 1920.

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Book SynopsisAn analysis of the 1923 Treaty of Lausanne from multiple historical, economic, and social perspectives. The last of the post-World War One peace settlements, the 1923 Treaty of Lausanne departed from methods used in the Treaty of Versailles and took on a new peace-making initiative: a forced population exchange that affected one and a half million people. Like its German and Austro-Hungarian allies, the defeated Ottoman Empire had initially been presented with a dictated peace in 1920. In just two years, however, the Kemalist insurgency enabled Turkey to become the first sovereign state in the Middle East, while the Greeks, Armenians, Arabs, Egyptians, Kurds, and other communities previously under the Ottoman Empire sought their own forms of sovereignty. Featuring historical analysis from multiple perspectives, They All Made Peace, What is Peace? considers the Lausanne Treaty and its legacy. Chapters investigate British, Turkish, and Soviet designs in the post-Ottoman world, situate th

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Book SynopsisCited by politicians as diverse as Hillary Clinton and John McCain, this title focuses on the incongruity between personal ideals and political reality which is both an indictment of American moral complacency and a warning against the arrogance of virtue.Trade Review"[Niebuhr] is one of my favorite philosophers. I take away [from his works] the compelling idea that there's serious evil in the world, and hardship and pain. And we should be humble and modest in our belief we can eliminate those things. But we shouldn't use that as an excuse for cynicism and inaction. I take away...the sense we have to make these efforts knowing they are hard." - Senator Barack Obama "The supreme American theologian of the twentieth century." - Arthur Schlesinger Jr., New York Times "Niebuhr is important for the left today precisely because he warned about America's tendency - including the left's tendency - to do bad things in the name of idealism. His thought offers a much better understanding of where the Bush administration went wrong in Iraq." - Kevin Mattson, The Good Society "Irony provides the master key to understanding the myths and delusions that underpin American statecraft.... The most important book ever written on U.S. foreign policy." - Andrew J. Bacevich, from the Introduction"

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Book SynopsisAn investigation into the mystery of Kaspar Hauser (1812-1833)

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Book SynopsisThe “Middle East” has long been an indispensable and ubiquitous term in discussing world affairs, yet its history remains curiously underexplored. In Inventing the Middle East Guillemette Crouzet charts the spatial, political, and cultural emergence of the Middle East, not in the twentieth century but in the nineteenth.Trade Review“A welcome reassessment that not only shows how Britain’s empire in the Middle East began and ended in the Persian Gulf but reminds us of the violence and contestation of that colonial relationship. Meticulously researched and rigorously argued – an outstanding book.” Eugene Rogan, University of Oxford and author of The Arabs: A History “Deeply researched and elegantly written, Crouzet’s Inventing the Middle East offers a major intervention in historical analysis of Britain’s conception of the nineteenth-century Persian Gulf. Taking archaeologists, cartographers, colonial bureaucrats, pearl fishers, slave traders, steam technologists, and Wahhabis into her capacious purview, Crouzet expertly anatomizes the emergence of the Gulf.” Margot Finn, University College London“Crouzet re-centres the Gulf in early globalizing flows and provides a welcome antidote to more conventional accounts that treat the region as peripheral to world history prior to the discovery and extraction of oil.” International Affairs“Crouzet provides an “aquatic and amphibious history” of the region, primarily through the prism of British records [and] delivers a highly readable and methodologically sound account of how the British envisioned and shaped the Gulf from the 1780s to the early 20th century. The book carefully deconstructs the hybrid political and legal architecture that resulted from the interactions between the most powerful empire of the late 19th century and local stakeholders.” *International Journal of Middle Eastern Studies *

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Book SynopsisAn award-winning historian on the transformative year in the sixties that continues to reverberate in our lives and politics—for readers of Heather Cox Richardson.If 1968 marked a turning point in a pivotal decade, 1964—or rather, the long 1964, from JFK’s assassination in November 1963 to mid-1965—was the time when the sixties truly arrived. It was then that the United States began a radical shift toward a much more inclusive definition of “American,” with a greater degree of equality and a government actively involved in social and economic improvement.It was a radical shift accompanied by a cultural revolution. The same month Bob Dylan released his iconic ballad “The Times They Are a-Changin’,” January 1964, President Lyndon Johnson announced his War on Poverty. Spurred by the civil rights movement and a generation pushing for change, the Civil Rights Act, the Voting Rights Act, and the Immigration and Nationality Act were passed during this period. This was a time of competing definitions of freedom. Freedom from racism, freedom from poverty. White youth sought freedoms they associated with black culture, captured imperfectly in the phrase “sex, drugs, and rock ’n’ roll.” Along with freedom from racist oppression, black Americans sought the opportunities associated with the white middle class: “white freedom.” Women challenged rigid gender roles. And in response to these freedoms, the changing mores, and youth culture, the contrary impulse found political expression in such figures as Barry Goldwater and Ronald Reagan, proponents of what was presented as freedom from government interference. Meanwhile, a nonevent in the Tonkin Gulf would accelerate the nation's plunge into the Vietnam tragedy.In narrating 1964’s moment of reckoning, when American identity began to be reimagined, McElvaine ties those past battles to their legacy today. Throughout, he captures the changing consciousness of the period through its vibrant music, film, literature, and personalities.Trade ReviewMississippi Institute of Arts and Letters Nonfiction Book of the Year“Illuminating, provocative, and entertaining . . . The book shines when serving as a reminder of why the public remains infatuated with the decade. The 1960s, McElvaine explains, ‘still define the political, social, cultural, and economic battle lines along which Americans contend today.’”—Washington Post“The Times They Were a-Changin’ is a riveting book on the progressive advances that were achieved in 'the Long 1964.' McElvaine presents vivid details and unapologetic truths that can help to thwart rightwing radicals’ plans to annihilate the progress we have made toward equality. This eye-opening book makes clear the reasons society must study past mistakes to prevent them from reoccurring.”—Rep. Bennie G. Thompson, Chairman, House Select Committee to Investigate the January 6th Attack on U.S. Capitol "In a lively, lucid, and fast-paced narrative, Robert McElvaine summons the past to illuminate today’s existential threats to democracy--and the resources that might help us surmount them. In the hands of this gifted storyteller, 1964 becomes a prism through which to see the present with fresh eyes, just in time to save the future."—Nancy MacLean, author of Democracy in Chains: The Deep History of the Radical Right’s Stealth Plan for America “Sparkling with insights on every page, Robert McElvaine’s take on 1964 reminds us vividly of the days when the sixties were young and hopeful and liberation was something new and exciting. A brilliant reminder of how the pursuit of freedom by Americans of every kind gave us the world we still live in today.”—Thomas Frank, New York Times bestselling author of What’s the Matter with Kansas? “Reading The Times They Were a-Changin’ provides a fascinating look at the greater tides of American culture and sentiment in the last 60 years that gives clarity about our current moment.”—Liz Phair, singer, songwriter & author “1964 was a seminal year in modern American history, across culture and politics. In The Times They Were A-Changin', Bob McElvaine skillfully and compellingly tells the story, weaving into it important links to and observations on American history past and present. Let's hope the future represents the best and not the worst of that year's events and trends!”—Norman Ornstein, Emeritus Scholar, American Enterprise Institute“A richly researched, fast-paced historical reminder of the pivotal year of 1964.”—James T. Patterson, Ford Foundation Professor of History, Brown University, Bancroft Prize-winning author of Grand Expectations: The United States, 1945–1974“Here is the book you must read to understand how the United States changed in the 1960s. In this beautifully written book, McElvaine combines political and cultural history with the skills of a master craftsman. There are fresh insights on nearly every page.”—Lloyd C. Gardner, Charles & Mary Beard Professor of History Emeritus, Rutgers University, author of Pay Any Price: Lyndon Johnson and the Wars for Vietnam “The Times They Were a-Changin’ is a fascinating, highly readable reminder of that crucial period in the 1960s when American history permanently changed course.”—Clayborne Carson, Martin Luther King Jr. Centennial Professor of History Emeritus, Stanford University and author of In Struggle: SNCC and the Black Awakening of the 1960s “Robert McElvaine’s vivid new book takes us into the heart of the ’60s, to a year dominated by questions of freedom and justice, equality, and opportunity. The Times They Were a-Changin’ is a compelling, enlightening, sometimes heartbreaking reminder of what once was, what might have been, and what still could be, if only we’re willing to demand the best of our nation and ourselves.”—Kevin Boyle, William Smith Mason Professor of American History, Northwestern University, and award-winning author of The Shattering: America in the 1960s “The Times They Were A-Changin’ is a rich and revealing work of narrative history that takes a close look at pivotal cultural, political, and social movements that continue to have an impact today. Robert McElvaine carefully weaves together historic events and popular culture to tell a story not only about the beginning of ‘the sixties' but also the way that 1964 disrupted the strict conformity of the 1950s. This is a book not so much about the way we lived then as it is one that explains a great deal about the way we live now.”—W. Ralph Eubanks, author of A Place Like Mississippi and former director of publishing, Library of Congress “With the consummate skill of a remarkably mature historian, Robert McElvaine looks at the year 1964, making the powerful case of just how crucial that year was for creating the period we call The Sixties and for creating issues that have passed down to the present moment. McElvaine skillfully maneuvers between politics and popular culture, social movements and artistic trends, foreign policy and changing personal habits, sketches of individuals and sweeping historical panoramas. This book is just great!”—Alexander Bloom, author of Takin’ It to the Streets: A Sixties Reader and Long Time Gone: Sixties America Then and Now “A highly original and deeply insightful analysis of events from 1964 and their direct connections to the present day's brutal political divisions. McElvaine's masterful, highly readable (and frequently humorous) interpretation of events solidly makes the connections between then and now. The Times They Were A-Changin' is a powerful reminder of the fragility of progress and the ever-present need to remain actively vigilant against primitive retrograde attempts to dehumanize those considered different.”—Lewis Perdue, author of Daughter of God "McElvaine’s book will be enjoyable for readers who like popular history, and particularly for Baby Boomers feeling wistful about the past."—Library Journal "McElvaine restores America's vision as if an opthalmologist."—Clarion-Ledger

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Book SynopsisExplores the shifting perceptions and conceptions of historical time that have emerged over the past two centuries. This book argues that the past and the future have become 'relocated' in relation to each other, and that 'history' has emerged as a kind of temporality with distinct characteristics and ways of assimilating experience.Trade Review"Koselleck turns the procedures of 'conceptual historiography' to the study of the concept of history itself, (providing) original, erudite, and illuminating insights into concepts that have informed the modern idea of historical being: event, chance, progress, revolution, modernity... Koselleck's work augurs a new era in the conceptualization not only of what 'history' means to Western culture but also of what Western culture means for 'history.'" -- Hayden White American Historical ReviewTable of ContentsIntroduction, by Keith Tribe Part I. On the Relation of Past and Future in Modern History 1. Modernity and the Planes of Historicity 2. Historia Magistra Vitae: The Dissolution of the Topos Into the Perspective of a Modernized Historical Process 3. Historical Criteria of the Modern Concept of Revolution 4. Historical Prognosis in Lorenz von Stein's Essay on the Prussian Constitution Part II. Theory and Method of the Historical Determination of Time 5. Begriffsgeschichte and Social History 6. History, Histories, and Formal Time Structures 7. Representation, Event, and Structure 8. Chance as Motivational Trace in Historical Writing 9. Perspective and Temporality: A Contribution to the Historiographical Exposure of the Historical World Part III. Semantic Remarks on the Mutation of Historical Experience 10. The Historical-Political Semantics of Asymmetric Counterconcepts 11. On the Disposability of History 12. Terror and Dream: Methodological Remarks on the Experience of Time During the Third Reich 13. Neuzeit: Remarks on the Semantics of Modern Concepts of Movement 15. Space of Experience and Horizon of Expectation: Two Historical Categories Notes

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Book SynopsisRevisiting Marx’s seminal conception of capital and production to better critique our diverse global economies.Trade ReviewThis is a landmark study within Marxist thought. Drawing largely on Marx's later works for its conceptual tools and theoretical method, Marx After Marx analyzes how different regions under differing circumstances cast a plurality of developmental forms all under the general code of capitalist accumulation. -- Michael Dutton, author of Policing Chinese Politics: A History Harry Harootunian is singularly qualified to give us a Marxism adequate to the conditions of a genuine 'world' (as against a Hegelian 'universalist') history in a global age. The Marx who emerges from this book is a nuanced, empirical, and genuinely historical thinker instead of the pseudo-scientific 'philosopher of history' met with in textbook accounts of Western Marxism. -- Hayden White, University of California, Santa CruzTable of ContentsAcknowledgments Introduction: Deprovincializing Marx 1. Marx, Time, History 2. Marxism's Eastward Migration 3. Opening to the Global South 4. Theorizing Late Development and the "Persistence of Feudal Remnants": Wang Yanan, Yamada Moritaro, and Uno Kozo 5. Colonial/Postcolonial Afterword: World History and the Everyday Notes Index

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Book SynopsisIn Travels with Trilobites, Andy Secher invites readers to come along in search of the fossilized remains of ancient arthropods. The book features hundreds of photographs of unique specimens drawn from Secher’s private collection, showcasing stunning fossil finds that highlight the diversity, complexity, and beauty of trilobites.Trade ReviewAndy Secher’s Travels with Trilobites chronicles one of Earth’s earliest and most important groups of animals, the trilobites, and the people obsessed with their fossilized remains. The thousands of known trilobite species tell a harrowing tale of a group trying to outrun extinction across vast chunks of deep time. Secher combines stunning photography and his distinctive style into a fascinating look behind the curtain of a little known cultural phenomenon. -- Markus J. Martin, trilobite researcherAndy Secher’s passionate paean to his beloved trilobites is a visually stunning voyage of discovery—a fossil feast for the eyes and fodder for the inquiring mind! Like the best of journeys, this one wanders in leisurely fashion, taking in the spectacular sights and leading us down fascinating narrative side roads to reveal the secrets of these long-vanished denizens of ancient seas. Take the trip . . . and be prepared to join the ranks of those of us already under the spell of trilobite-o-philia! -- Dave Rudkin, assistant curator of invertebrate paleontology (retired), Royal Ontario MuseumOne of the world's foremost trilobite collectors shares not only the tales of these gorgeous and stunningly diverse animals but also the eye-opening inside stories of how and where their fossils have been found, prepared, collected (both publicly and privately), bought, sold, and even faked. Plentiful photographs capture the dazzling array of trilobite forms, while Secher's warm writing reveals the reasons, from scholarly to aesthetic, why so many of us have fallen in love with these lost creatures. Prepare to be swept up in his obsession. -- D. Allan Drummond, paleoartist and associate professor, University of ChicagoNatural history nuts will gain a new appreciation for these prehistoric creatures thanks to this awe-inspiring survey. * Publishers Weekly [starred review] *This book [is] a valuable resource for both scientists and collectors. * Trilobite Tales, Western Interior Paleontological Society *[Travels with Trilobites: Adventures in the Paleozoic] showcases Secher's passion for paleontology in this account of trilobites—one of the most evolutionarily successful species to have lived on Earth. * Publishers Weekly *This is a very well written, illustrated, and researched book. It is easy enough for all to understand but also detailed enough for those who already have an interest in trilobites. * Evilcyclist's Bookshelf *Secher provides an impressive tour of locations around the world where one can find the fossilized remains of these creatures, delves into what scientists know about trilobite biology—including molting, reproduction, locomotion, and vision—illustrating his musings with outstanding photographs from his personal collection of over 4,000 fossils. * Trilobite Tales, R. Gary Raham *Andy Secher’s book is a love letter to trilobites. Secher showcases the treasures of his own collection, and the photographs are truly impressive. Secher clearly loves trilobites in all their sizes and forms. His admiration for these unique, long-gone creatures, as well as his collecting zeal, are really contagious. So, if Secher’s true purpose was to unleash a growing horde of trilobite lovers upon the world, he actually has a pretty good chance of succeeding. Count me in! * Re-Enchantment of the World *Travels with Trilobites would make a perfect coffee table book. * Re-Enchantment of the World *A must have for anyone with an interest in trilobites! * Birdbooker Report blog *What a fantastic book! [A] superbly illustrated guide to all things Trilobita! * Everything Dinosaur *Fascinating, informative, enhanced throughout with magnificent photographic imagery. * Midwest Book Review *Thorough and detailed, this is a well-organized book that takes you on a deep dive into the world of trilobites. * Seattle Book Review [rated five out of five stars] *With stunning photographs, Travels with Trilobites takes you through time in an exploration of trilobites that is perfect for scientists, students, researchers, collectors, and anyone generally interested. * Seattle Book Review [rated five out of five stars] *The backbone of this book is the essays that introduce you to key fossil locations. This is where Secher shines and gives insider stories and insights by himself and other seasoned collectors. * NHBS *This looks first and foremost like a coffee table book…what a book! This is a great book for those who love palaeontology. * Geology Book Review *This looks first and foremost like a coffee table book…what a book! This is a great book for those who love palaeontology. * Deposits Magazine *This volume is a gorgeous, glossy-paged, coffee-table treatment of trilobite fossil diversity. * The Quarterly Review of Biology *Table of ContentsOn the Space-Time Road with Trilobites, by Niles EldredgeOur Planet’s Memory, by Kirk JohnsonThe Collector’s Gene, by Mark NorellPrefaceIntroduction1. Cambrian Period: 541–485 Million Years Ago2. Ordovician Period: 485–444 Million Years Ago3. Silurian Period: 444–419 Million Years Ago4. Devonian Period: 419–359 Million Years Ago5. Carboniferous/Permian Periods: 359–252 Million Years Ago6. Trilobite Thoughts and ObservationsFinal ThoughtAcknowledgmentsGlossaryIndex

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Book SynopsisWhat are the right questions to ask when seeking out the true spirit of a nation? In November 2017 the people of Zimbabwe took to the streets in an unprecedented alliance with the military. Their goal, to restore the legacy of Chimurenga, the liberation struggle, and wrest their country back from over thirty years of Robert Mugabe’s rule. In an essay that combines bold reportage, memoir and critical analysis, Zimbabwean novelist and journalist Panashe Chigumadzi reflects on the ‘coup that was not a coup’, the telling of history and manipulation of time and the ancestral spirts of two women – her own grandmother and Mbuya Nehanda, the grandmother of the nation.Trade Review‘In a searing account that explores the heady post-independence days of the eighties, the economic downturn of the nineties, through to the effects of the land reform policies at the end of the century, Chigumadzi weaves together reflections on a nation’s founding spirit’ https://www.thedailyvox.co.za/these-bones-will-rise-again-is-an-intimate-telling-of-zimbabwean-history-shaazia-ebrahim/ -- Jennifer Malec * The Johannesburg Review of Books *‘Best summer books 2018, as picked by writers and cultural figures – part 2’ ‘an extraordinary and thrilling history of Zimbabwe’ https://www.theguardian.com/books/2018/jul/08/best-summer-holiday-reads-2018-philip-pullman-maggie-ofarrell-nina-stibbe-part-two -- Alex Preston * The Guardian *‘These Bones Will Rise Again reminds its readers of the complexities in the cultures of Africa . . . Panache Chigumadzi’s essay is a welcome addition to the new cannon of decolonised historical literature.’ https://livemag.co.za/book-review-panashe-chigumadzis-these-bones-will-rise-again/ -- Terry Simelane-Mathabathe * Live Mag *http://bookslive.co.za/blog/2018/08/27/i-wanted-to-interrogate-the-legacy-that-belonged-to-me-panashe-chigumadzi-on-these-bones-will-rise-again/ -- Rufaro Samanga interviews Panashe Chigumadzi * Okay Africa *‘By refusing to conceal the marks of its making, Chigumadzi’s essay lays bare the challenges of constructing historical narratives’ http://review31.co.uk/article/view/592/perhaps-she-was-this-perhaps-she-was-that -- Jacqueline Landey * Review 31 *‘Chigumadzi writes of her feeling of dislocation from the land of her birth having been raised in South Africa and her ancestral connection to Zimbabwe. Her sincerity to seek truth carries out beautifully throughout the book.’ https://www.thedailyvox.co.za/these-bones-will-rise-again-is-an-intimate-telling-of-zimbabwean-history-shaazia-ebrahim/ -- Shaazia Ebrahim * The Daily vox *‘the author has masterfully succeeded in providing the reader with a book that is a powerful ode to the various women, both great and small, who took Zimbabwe through its multiple phases of liberation’ http://www.rewritelondon.com/portfolio/book-review-these-bones-will-rise-again/ * Rewrite *‘Panache Chigumadzi passionately places her personal story, connected to the family history and the history of her nation, within a blend of Zimbabwe’s national mythology & socio-political turmoil’ https://www.timeslive.co.za/sunday-times/books/non-fiction/2019-05-02-these-bones-will-rise-again-breaks-120-years-of-oppression/ -- Bryan Davis * Sunday Times Books *Opinion: Mugabe Is Dead, but Big Man Politics Lives On https://www.nytimes.com/2019/09/10/opinion/robert-mugabe-zimbabwe.html -- Panashe Chigumadzi * New York Times *10 Best Political Activism Books of All Time https://bookauthority.org/books/best-political-activism-books?t=h63snq&s=author&book=1999683307 * Book Authority *Panashe Chigumadzi ZAM Nelson Mandela Lecture 2023 https://youtu.be/LuuV1KFei-0 * ZAM Magazine *

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Book SynopsisThis book provides a critical account of the development of questions, approaches, methods, and understandings of literacy within and across disciplines and interdisciplines. It provides a critique of literacy studies, including the New Literacy Studies. This book completes a series that the author began in the 1970s. It criticizes and revises the New Literacy Studies and how we think about literacy generally. It is a revisionist study which argues that literacy and literacy studies are historical developments and must be understood in those terms to comprehend their profound impact on our traditions of thinking about and understanding literacy, and how we study it. Graff argues that literacy studies in its academic, institutional, and policy forums, but also in popular parlance, has lost its critical foundations, and this hinders efforts to promote literacy. He examines literacy over time and across linguistics; anthropology; psychology; reading and writing across modes of communication and comprehension; “new” literacies across digital, visual, performance, numerical, and scientific domains; and history. He underscores the value of new directions of negotiation and translation. This book will interest scholars and students in the many fields that constitute literacy studies across the humanities, social sciences, education, and beyond. Table of ContentsPart 1. Searching for Literacy Studies.1. Back to Basics.2. Linguistics: Between Orality and Writing.3. Anthropology: Reading and Writing from Pictographs to Ethnography.4. Psychology: Between Mind and Culture.5. Literature and Composition: Reading and Writing Revised.6. Many Literacies, Other Visions: Digital, Visual, Science, Numbers, Performance.7. Historicizing Literacy and Literacy Studies: Axioms and Lessons.8. Epilogue: Many Pasts, Many Futures.Part 2. 2021: Looking Forward and Backward.9. The New Literacy Studies and the Resurgent Literacy Myth.10. Literacy, Politics, Culture, and Society: The New Illiteracy and the Banning of Books, Past and Present.11. The Economic Debasement of Literacy: The Misrepresentation and Marketing of “Financial Literacy”.

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Book SynopsisThis open access book explores the history of risk management in medieval and early modern European maritime business, focusing particularly on 'General Average' – a mechanism by which extraordinary expenses regarding ship or cargo, incurred during a voyage to save the venture, are shared between all participants to protect equity. This volume traces the history of this risk management tool from its origins in the pre-Roman Mediterranean through to its use in the shipping sector today. Contributions range from the Islamic Mediterranean to the Low Countries, and taken together, provide a wide-ranging analysis of social, cultural, and political aspects of pre-modern maritime commerce in Europe. Table of ContentsPart 1: Why and How Risk is Shared.- 1. Introduction: Sharing Risks, on Averages and Why they Matter; Maria Fusaro.- 2. General Average and All the Rest: The Law and Economics of Early Modern Maritime Risk Mitigation; Ron Harris.- 3. Risky Narratives: Framing General Average into Risk-Management Strategies (13th-16th Centuries); Giovanni Ceccarelli.- Part 2: Origins and Variants of Mutual Protection.- 4. General Average in Byzantium; Daphne Penna.- 5. Rules and Practices of General Average in the Islamic Mediterranean on the Eve of the Emergence of the Italian Communes; Hassan Khalilieh.- 6. Principles and Developments of General Average: Statutory and Contractual Loss Allowances from the Lex Rhodia to the Early Modern Mediterranean; Andrea Addobbati.- Part 3: The Iberian Experience.- 7. The ‘Mutualisation’ of Maritime Risk in the Crown of Castile, 1300-1550; Ana María Rivera Medina.- 8. General Average, Compulsory Contributions and Castilian Normative Practice in the Southern Low Countries (Sixteenth Century); Gijs Dreijer.- 9. The Nautical Republic of the Carrera de Indias: Commerce, Navigation, Casos Fortuitos and Avería Gruesa in the Sixteenth Century; Marta García Garralón.- Part 4: The Genoese Experience.- 10. General Average in Genoa: Between Statutes and Customs; Antonio Iodice.- 11. The Economic Structure of Maritime Trade Calling at the Port of Genoa through the Analysis of General Average Data (16th-17th centuries); Luisa Piccinno.- 12. Financing and Risk in Genoese Maritime Trade during the Eighteenth Century: Strategies and Practices; Andrea Zanini.- Part 5: Mature Systems.- 13. Divide and Rule: Risk Sharing and Political Economy in the Free Port of Livorno; Jake Dyble.- 14. GA Adjustments in Amsterdam: Reinforcing Authority through Transparency and Accountability (late Sixteenth - early Seventeenth Century); Sabine Go.- 15. ‘The Honour of Giving my Opinion’: General Average, Insurance and the Compilation of the Ordonnance de la Marine of 1681; Lewis Wade.

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Book SynopsisWith essays by Pedro Alonso, Pedro Álvarez, Nicole Cristi, Francisca Espinosa, Mario Garcés, Michael Lemon, Eden Medina, Carlos Montes de Oca, Hugo Palmarola, Marian E. Schlotterbeck, Martin Tironi, Rita Torres, Camilo Trumper and Peter Winn. From 1970 to 1973 Chile carried out on a political experiment in which socialist change would occur peacefully and with respect for existing democratic institutions. This “Chilean road to socialism,” as it was often called, offered a unique political third way at the height of the Cold War – one that broke from the opposing models put forth by the United States and the Soviet Union. This short and abruptly ended period in Chilean history resulted in product and communication design that powerfully demonstrates how design can influence social behavior and identity and foster solidarity and cohesion. How to Design a Revolution documents this Chilean visual language born out of exceptional circum- stances. The publication broadens the study of influential and consequential visual languages of the social (protest) movements of the1960s and1970s, such as the Cuban Revolution, the Vietnam War and May 68, and illustrates how design came to reflect the dynamics of this political moment while also becoming a tool for political change.

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Book SynopsisLucas Haasis found a time capsule: A complete mercantile letter archive of the merchant Nicolaus Gottlieb Luetkens who lived in 18th century Hamburg. Luetkens travelled France between 1743-1745 in order to become a successful wholesale merchant. He succeeded in this undertaking via both shrewd business practice and proficient skills in the practice of letter writing. Based on this unique discovery, in this microhistorical study Lucas Haasis examines the crucial steps and activities of a mercantile establishment phase, the typical letter practices of Early Modern merchants, and the practical principles of persuasion leading to success in the 18th century.Table of ContentsIntroduction; Making of a Merchant; Shipping Business; Commission Trade; High-Risk Trade; Finding a Business Partner and a Merchant Clerk to Open up a Merchant House; Marriage Preparations; Conclusion; References.

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Book SynopsisJapanese Legends and Folklore invites English speakers into the intriguing world of Japanese folktales, ghost stories and historical eyewitness accounts. With a fascinating selection of stories about Japanese culture and history, A.B. Mitford—who lived and worked in Japan as a British diplomat—presents a broad cross section of tales from many Japanese sources. Discover more about practically every aspect of Japanese life—from myths and legends to society and religion. This book features 30 fascinating Japanese stories, including: The Forty-Seven Ronin—the famous, epic tale of a loyal band of Samurai warriors who pay the ultimate price for avenging the honor of their fallen master. The Tongue-Cut Sparrow—a good-hearted old man is richly rewarded when he begs forgiveness from a sparrow who is injured by his spiteful, greedy wife. The Adventures of Little Peach Boy—a tale familiar to generations of Japanese children, a small boy born from a peach is adopted by a kindly childless couple. Japanese Sermons—a selection of sermons written by a priest belonging to the Shingaku sect, which combines Buddhist, Shinto and Confucian teachings. An Account of Hara-Kiri—Mitford's dramatic first person account of a ritual Samurai suicide, the first time it had been reported in English. Thirty-one reproductions of woodblock prints bring the classic tales and essays to life. These influential stories helped shape the West's understanding of Japanese culture. A new foreword by Professor Michael Dylan Foster sheds light on the book's importance as a groundbreaking work of Japanese folklore, literature and history.Trade Review"One of the first and in many ways still one of the best books on Japan." --The Japan Times"An excellent introduction to Japanese literature." --Mainichi Daily News"Mitford's collection and observations have held through to today, a century and a half later. His reporting is accurate and reflects the mindset of Japanese people then and now. This book is not only extremely interesting to read but also should be required reading for anyone studying Japanese culture." --Journal of Folklore Research

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Book Synopsis"Presented alongside Hiroshige's prints, with descriptions and context, Delord's work offers an absorbing contemplation of Japan's past and present via one legendary travel route, and shows how thoroughly upended our surroundings have been in what was, in wider perspective, only a short time." — The New York TimesJourney along the famed Tokaido Road—an ancient thoroughfare with a modern twist.The Fifty-Three Stations of the Tokaido is the best-known work of the great 19th century Japanese woodblock artist Utagawa Hiroshige. The series of 53 masterful woodblock prints depicts stops along the ancient Tokaido Road—which, from the eleventh to the nineteenth century, was the main thoroughfare between Tokyo and Kyoto.Though the road itself is now submerged under Japan's twenty-first-century urban landscape, French artist Philippe Delord set out to see if he could find the original locations, with just a moped, sketchbook, watercolors and a book of Hiroshige's prints.Hiroshige's Japan allows readers to make the journey alongside Delord, venturing from Tokyo and Mount Fuji to mountain passes and rugged coastlines. Inside are all 53 original scenery prints made by Hiroshige, alongside their modern-day equivalent by Delord. A lively commentary about his experiences as he tries to locate each of the 53 scenes (without speaking Japanese!) offers readers an insightful, and often humorous, look into both modern and historical Japan.Part travelogue, part work of art, this book is sure to delight armchair travelers, history buffs, art enthusiasts and Japanophiles alike!Trade Review"Delord's genius is in isolating details of mundane experience that reveal basic truths of a place captured at a moment in time. Between Tokyo's towers and Kyoto's tourist sites, we get glimpses of Japan's great industrial power, anonymous highway culture, wayside shrines, restaurants, and, most importantly, the subtle rhythms of life." --Prof. Kendall Brown, author of Quiet Beauty: The Japanese Gardens of North America"Presented alongside Hiroshige's prints, with descriptions and context, Delord's work offers an absorbing contemplation of Japan's past and present via one legendary travel route, and shows how thoroughly upended our surroundings have been in what was, in wider perspective, only a short time." -- The New York Times

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