Social and cultural history Books
Tate Publishing The Ghost
Book Synopsis"Five thousand years have now elapsed since the creation of the world, and still it is undecided whether or not there has even been an instance of the spirit of any person appearing after death. All argument is against it; but all belief is for it." --Samuel Johnson Ghosts are woven into the very fabric of life. In Britain, every town, village, and great house has a spectral resident, and their enduring popularity in literature, art, folklore, and film attests to their continuing power to fascinate, terrify, and inspire. Our conceptions of ghosts--the fears they provoke, the forms they take--are connected to the conventions and beliefs of each particular era, from the marauding undead of the Middle Ages to the psychologically charged presences of our own age. The ghost is no less than the mirror of the times. Organized chronologically, this new cultural history features a dazzling range of artists and writers, including William Hogarth, William Blake, Henry Fuseli, Dante Gabriel Rossetti, John Everett Millais, Susan Hiller and Jeremy Deller; John Donne, William Shakespeare, Samuel Pepys, Daniel Defoe, Percy and Mary Shelley, Emily Bronte, Charles Dickens, Wilkie Collins, Henry James, Thomas Hardy, Muriel Spark, Hilary Mantel, and Sarah Waters.Trade Review`A lively guide to the most persistent of spooky figures' The Economist. ; `Illuminating and entertaining, with lavish illustrations and eloquent narration' The Telegraph. ; `The Ghost: A Cultural History is a work of profound scholarship and imaginative engagement, beautifully written and elegantly constructed. It's the finest study of its kind I've read.' - The Literary Review, review by John Harwood.
£13.49
Taschen GmbH Auguste Racinet. The Costume History
Book SynopsisOriginally published in France between 1876 and 1888, Auguste Racinet’s Le Costume Historique was in its day the most wide-ranging and incisive study of clothing ever attempted. Covering the world history of costume, dress, and style from antiquity through to the end of the 19th century, the six volume work remains completely unique in its scope and detail. This TASCHEN reprint presents Racinet’s exquisitely precise color illustrations, as well as his delightful descriptions and often witty commentary. Spanning everything from ancient Etruscan attire to French women’s couture, material is arranged according to Racinet’s original plan by culture and subject. As expansive in its reach as it is passionate in its research and attention to detail, Racinet's Costume History is an invaluable reference for students, designers, artists, illustrators, and historians; and a rich source of inspiration for anyone with an interest in clothing and style.Trade Review“…an accessible, elaborate visual history of all the weird, uncomfortable clothes people thought looked good, from massive, powdered wigs to feathered war helmets. Contemporary artists, designers, illustrators, and historians will find no shortage of inspiration in its pages.” * Hyperallergic.com *“Some books just scream out to be bought; this is one of them.” * Vogue.com *
£17.00
HarperCollins Publishers Georgiana Duchess of Devonshire
Book SynopsisSex, intrigue and adultery in the world of high politics and huge wealth in late eighteenth-century England.Georgiana, Duchess of Devonshire was one of the most flamboyant and influential women of the eighteenth century. The great-great-great-great aunt of Diana, Princess of Wales, she was variously a compulsive gambler, a political savante and operator of the highest order, a drug addict, an adulteress and the darling of the common people.This authoritative, utterly absorbing book presents a mesmerizing picture of a fascinating world of political and sexual intrigues, grand houses, huge parties, glamour and great wealth always on the edge of being squandered by the excesses and scandals of individuals.Trade Review‘Mesmerizing’Antonia Fraser, Literary Review ‘Well-written, extensively researched and highly readable… Gripping’Stella Tillyard, Mail on Sunday ‘An outstanding debut by a young biographer fully in control of her sources, and with an easy and elegant writing style’Roy Strong, Sunday Times
£13.49
HarperCollins Publishers Wicked Beyond Belief
Book SynopsisNow a major TV seriesA masterpiece that reads like a thriller' Time OutA gripping and probing account of the biggest criminal manhunt in British history.It is over 40 years since Peter Sutcliffe was convicted of murdering 13 women and attacking 7 more. Still, he remains a killer of almost mythical proportions; his surviving victims, and their families, forever attached to his infamy.Michael Bilton's acclaimed account is a powerful indictment of the calamitous investigation that logged over 2 million man-hours of police work the biggest criminal manhunt in British history. With exclusive access to the detectives involved, the pathologist's archives and declassified documents, this account reads like the most gripping of thrillers.Trade Review‘A masterpiece that reads like a thriller.’ Time Out ‘There is unlikely to be a more cmprehensive or carefully researched account of the case. To read ‘Wicked Beyond Belief’ is to have a sense of being physically present at the day-to-day investigation, experiencing the frustrations, the stress and the public outrage at its lack of success as the years passed and murder followed.’ P.D.James, Mail on Sunday ‘Bilton knows more about the Ripper case than anyone living.’ Blake Morrison, Guardian
£10.44
HarperCollins Publishers Wild Swans Three Daughters of China
Book SynopsisFew books have had such an impact as Wild Swans: a popular bestseller which has sold more than 13 million copies and a critically acclaimed history of China; a tragic tale of nightmarish cruelty and an uplifting story of bravery and survival.Through the story of three generations of women in her own family the grandmother given to the warlord as a concubine, the Communist mother and the daughter herself Jung Chang reveals the epic history of China''s twentieth century.Breathtaking in its scope, unforgettable in its descriptions, this is a masterpiece which is extraordinary in every way.Trade Review‘It is impossible to exaggerate the importance of this book.’ Mary Wesley ‘Everything about “Wild Swans” is extraordinary. It arouses all the emotions, such as pity and terror, that great tragedy is supposed to evoke, and also a complex mixture of admiration, despair and delight at seeing a luminous intelligence directed at the heart of darkness.’ Minette Marrin, Sunday Telegraph ‘Immensely moving and unsettling; an unforgettable portrait of the brain-death of a nation.’ J. G. Ballard, Sunday Times ‘“Wild Swans” made me feel like a five-year-old. This is a family memoir that has the breadth of the most enduring social history.’ Martin Amis, Independent on Sunday ‘There has never been a book like this.’ Edward Behr, Los Angeles Times
£11.69
HarperCollins Publishers Einsteins Fridge The Science of Fire Ice and the
Book SynopsisHugely readable and entertaining' JIM AL-KHALILIAn accessible and crystal-clear portrait of this discipline's breadth, largely told through its history' PHIL BALL, PHYSICS WORLDEinstein's Fridge tells the story of how scientists uncovered the least known and yet most consequential of all the sciences, and learned to harness the power of heat and ice.The laws of thermodynamics govern everything from the behaviour of atoms to that of living cells, from the engines that power our world to the black hole at the centre of our galaxy. Not only that, but thermodynamics explains why we must eat and breathe, how the lights come on, and ultimately how the universe will end. The people who decoded its laws came from every branch of the sciences they were engineers, physicists, chemists, biologists, cosmologists and mathematicians.Their discoveries, set over two hundred years, kick-started the industrial revolution, changed the course of world wars and informed modern understanding of black holesTrade Review‘Sen knows how to grab the attention of an audience … [An] elegantly written and engaging book … It’s a measure of Sen’s achievement that by combining science, history, and biography he takes us on a successful tour through thermodynamics.’ Manjit Kumar, Financial Times ‘When you combine some of the most profound concepts in physics with exceptional storytelling, this is what you get: popular science writing at its very best. Einstein’s Fridge is a hugely readable and entertaining history of thermodynamics and how it has created and shaped our world.’ Jim Al-Khalili, author of The World According to Physics ‘Makes a strong case that thermodynamics is every bit as lively as those other fields – and vastly more useful for understanding what makes the universe tick … Thermodynamics does not bow to other fields; other fields bow to it.’ Sam Kean, Wall Street Journal ‘Superb … Einstein’s Fridge offers an accessible and crystal-clear portrait of this discipline’s breadth … [The book] wanders widely while never losing its connection to the central theme … Splendid’ Phil Ball, Physics World ‘Although thermodynamics has been studied for hundreds of years, film-maker Sen writes, few nonscientists appreciate how its principles have shaped the modern world.’ Scientific American ‘Sen makes a convincing case for the importance of thermodynamics in his impressive debut … He accomplishes all of this with splendid prose, making ample use of analogies to explain complex scientific ideas. Sen’s history of hot and cold is pop-science that hits the mark.’ Publisher’s Weekly ‘This entertaining, eye-opening account of how the laws of thermodynamics are essential to understanding the world today – from refrigeration and jet engines to calorie counting and global warming – is a lesson in how to do popular science right.’ Kirkus Reviews ‘Sen performs an exquisite examination of an ostensibly simple distinction, the difference between hot and cold.’ Booklist
£9.49
HarperCollins Publishers Zonal Marking The Making of Modern European
Book SynopsisA wonderful overview of tactical development in European football' Matthew Syed, The TimesA fascinating assessment of football in 2019' ObserverAn insightful, comprehensive and always entertaining appreciation of how European football has developed over the last three decades by the author of the much heralded The Mixer. Continental football has always cast a spell over the imagination. From the attacking flair of Real Madrid of the 50s to the defensive brilliance of the Italians in the 60s and onto the total football of the Dutch in the 70s, the European leagues have been where the game has most evolved and taken its biggest steps forward. And over the last three decades, since the rebranding of the Champions League in 1992, that pattern has continued unabated, with each major European footballing nation playing its part in how the game's tactics have developed.From the intelligent use of space displayed by the phenomenal Ajax team of the early 90s, to the dominance of the highly straTrade Review Praise for Zonal Marking ‘An excellent recent history of European football’ New Yorker ‘A wonderful overview of tactical development in European football.’ Matthew Syed, The Times ‘A fascinating assessment of football in 2019.’ Observer ‘Cox, a tactics obsessive, largely ignores the soap opera of football to explain what actually happens on the field. In this book, speckled with well-told anecdotes, he traces the tactical development of the game over the last 30 years.’ Simon Kuper, Financial Times ’Revelatory stories, lucid tactics and wry anecdotes combine… The secret weapon of Cox’s readability is the use of telling quotes from those who actually play the game.’ When Saturday Comes ‘An entertaining and brilliantly researched look at football tactics.’ FourFourTwo Praise for The Mixer ‘Thanks to his meticulous research and his focus on strategy, Mr Cox finds a fresh perspective on a story that football fans will think they already knew.’ The Economist ‘The Mixer, by Michael Cox is a very unusual football writer in that he specialises in the game as it’s actually played, rather than the gossip or folklore around it. The Mixer is a tactical history of the English Premier League, with telling anecdotes on every page. It’s deeply informed and a pleasure to read.’ Financial Times ‘Intelligently written. Impressively researched. Fascinatingly addictive. Michael Cox is like a cartographer, remapping the landscape of the Premier League so we see the contours of it afresh. That’s some feat.’ Duncan Hamilton, two-time winner of the William Hill Sports Book of the Year
£10.44
HarperCollins Publishers Rebel King The Making of a Monarch
Book SynopsisNo. 1 Sunday Times BestsellerBestselling author Tom Bower reveals the making of a monarch King Charles IIIKing Charles faces many challenges as he succeeds his mother to the throne. Despite his hard work and genuine concern for the disadvantaged, King Charles III has struggled in the past to overcome his unpopularity. After Diana's death, his approval rating crashed to four per cent and has been only rescued by his marriage to Camilla.In unearthing many secrets and dramas surrounding King Charles, Bower's book, relies on the testimony from over 120 people employed or welcomed into the inner sanctum. The result is a book which uniquely probes the character and court of Charles that no one, until now, has seen. It offers an unrivalled and intimate look at King Charles, his many years as heir and how a monarch was made.Previously published as Rebel Prince.Trade Review‘Sensational… There is more than enough carping, cosseting and cattiness here to satisfy any appetite for royal intrigue.’ Sunday Times, Books of the Year ‘A gripping biography’ Bee Wilson, Guardian, Book of the Week ‘A devastating book by Britain’s top investigative author… extraordinary revelations’ Daily Mail ‘Explosive new book delves inside the bizarre, ultra luxury world of Prince Charles’ Sun ‘Explosive’ Huffington Post
£9.49
HarperCollins Publishers Who Owns England
Book SynopsisA formidable, brave and important book' Robert MacfarlaneAbsolutely brilliantYou cannot read this book and defend the establishment' Alastair Campbell, The Rest is PoliticsWho owns England?Behind this simple question lies this country's oldest and best-kept secret. This is the history of how England's elite came to own our land, and an inspiring manifesto for how to open up our countryside once more. This book has been a long time coming. Since 1086, in fact. For centuries, England's elite have covered up how they got their hands on millions of acres of our land, by constructing walls, burying surveys and more recently, sheltering behind offshore shell companies. But with the dawn of digital mapping and the Freedom of Information Act, it's becoming increasingly difficult for them to hide.Trespassing through tightly-guarded country estates, ecologically ravaged grouse moors and empty Mayfair mansions, writer and activist Guy Shrubsole has used these 21st century tools to uncover a wealth of never-before-seen information about the people who own our land, to create the most comprehensive map of land ownership in England that has ever been made public.From secret military islands to tunnels deep beneath London, Shrubsole unearths truths concealed since the Domesday Book about who is really in charge of this country at a time when Brexit is meant to be returning sovereignty to the people. Melding history, politics and polemic, he vividly demonstrates how taking control of land ownership is key to tackling everything from the housing crisis to climate change and even halting the erosion of our very democracy.It's time to expose the truth about who owns England and finally take back our green and pleasant land.*Guy''s next book The Lie of the Land is out now*Trade Review‘A formidable, brave and important book’ Robert Macfarlane ‘Potentially one of the most important books of the year’ Chris Packham ‘This is going to be a great book, crucial for anyone who seeks to understand this country’ George Monbiot ‘An irrefutable and long overdue call for the enfranchisement of the landless’ Marion Shoard, author of This Land is Our Land ‘The question posed by the title of this crucial book has, for nearly a thousand years, been one that as a nation we have mostly been too cowed or too polite to ask. There has, as a result, been some serious journalistic legwork in Shrubsole’s endeavour. Shrubsole ends his fine inquiry into these issues with a 10-point prospectus as to how this millennium-long problem might be brought up to date, and how our land could be made to work productively and healthily for us all’ Observer, Book of the Week ‘Both detective story and historical investigation, Shrubsole’s book is a passionately argued polemic which offers radical, innovative but also practical proposals for transforming how the people of England use and protect the land that they depend on – land which should be “a common treasury for all”’ Guardian ‘Painstakingly researched … having come to the end of this illuminating and well-argued book it’s hard not to feel that it’s time for a revolution in the way we manage this green and pleasant land’ Melissa Harrison, New Statesman ‘There is an enormous amount to admire’ Times Literary Supplement ‘Shrubsole is an entertaining guide to the history of landownership’ Literary Review
£10.44
HarperCollins Publishers No Logo Naomi Klein Collins Modern Classics
Book SynopsisIntroducing the Collins Modern Classics, a series featuring some of the most significant books of recent times, books that shed light on the human experience classics which will endure for generations to come.When No Logo was first published, it became an instant bestseller and international phenomenon. Its riveting exposé of the branded and corporate world in which we live became a rallying cry for rebellion and self-determination.Engaging, humanising and inspiring, No Logo is a book that defined both a generation and its language of protest. Its analysis is as timely and powerful as ever.Trade Review‘The Das Kapital of the growing anti-corporate movement’ Guardian ‘Just when you thought multi-nationals and crazed consumerism were too big to fight, along comes Naomi Klein with facts, spirit, and news of successful fighters already out there. No Logo is an invigorating call to arms for everybody who wants to save money, justice, or the universe’ Gloria Steinem ‘What corporations fear most are consumers who ask questions. Naomi Klein offers us the arguments with which to take on the superbrands’ Billy Bragg
£10.44
HarperCollins Publishers The Theory of Everything Else
Book SynopsisThis is not a book of facts; it?s a book of ?facts?. Should you finish it believing we became the planet?s dominant species because predators found us too smelly to eat; or that the living bloodline of Christ is a family of Japanese garlic farmers ? well, that?s on you. Why are we here? Do ghosts exist? Did life on Earth begin after a badly tidied-up picnic? Was it just an iceberg that sank the Titanic? Are authors stealing their plotlines from the future? Will we ever talk to animals? And why, when you?re in the shower, does the shower curtain always billow in towards you? We don?t know the answers to any of these questions. But don?t worry, no matter what questions you have, you can bet on the fact that there is someone (or something) out there, investigating it on your behalf. From the sports stars who use cosmic energy to office plants investigating murders, The Theory of Everything Else will act as a handbook for those who want to think differently.
£9.49
HarperCollins Publishers Inc Sex with Kings
Book SynopsisThroughout the centuries, royal mistresses have been worshiped, feared, envied, and reviled. They set the fashions, encouraged the arts, and, in some cases, ruled nations. Eleanor Herman''s Sex with Kings takes us into the throne rooms and bedrooms of Europe''s most powerful monarchs. Alive with flamboyant characters, outrageous humor, and stirring poignancy, this glittering tale of passion and politics chronicles five hundred years of scintillating women and the kings who loved them.Curiously, the main function of a royal mistress was not to provide the king with sex but with companionship. Forced to marry repulsive foreign princesses, kings sought solace with women of their own choice. And what women they were! From Madame de Pompadour, the famous mistress of Louis XV, who kept her position for nineteen years despite her frigidity, to modern-day Camilla Parker-Bowles, who usurped none other than the glamorous Diana, Princess of Wales.The successful royal mistress made herself irreplaceable. She was ready to converse gaily with him when she was tired, make love until all hours when she was ill, and cater to his every whim. Wearing a mask of beaming delight over any and all discomforts, she was never to be exhausted, complaining, or grief-stricken.True, financial rewards for services rendered were of royal proportions -- some royal mistresses earned up to $200 million in titles, pensions, jewels, and palaces. Some kings allowed their mistresses to exercise unlimited political power. But for all its grandeur, a royal court was a scorpion''s nest of insatiable greed, unquenchable lust, and vicious ambition. Hundreds of beautiful women vied to unseat the royal mistress. Many would suffer the slings and arrows of negative public opinion, some met with tragic ends and were pensioned off to make room for younger women. But the royal mistress often had the last laugh, as she lived well and richly off the fruits of her sins.From the dawn of time, power has been a mighty aphrodisiac. With diaries, personal letters, and diplomatic dispatches, Eleanor Herman''s trailblazing research reveals the dynamics of sex and power, rivalry and revenge, at the most brilliant courts of Europe. Wickedly witty and endlessly entertaining, Sex with Kings is a chapter of women''s history that has remained unwritten -- until now.Trade Review"Sexy, Dishy and Funny" -- New York Times "An irreproachably researched and amusingly written history of European monarchs' jezebels." -- Kirkus Reviews (starred review) "Sex With Kings is...a lot more fun than Danielle Steel or Dan Brown." -- Washington Post Book World "Addictively Good Dish" -- Entertainment Weekly An enlightening social history that is great fun to read" -- New York Times Book Review "With all the suspense of a thriller... this book is simply ideal for a historical bestseller!" -- Barbara Wegmann, Amazon Germany in-house critic "Herman's spirited history of royal "mistresshood" is certainly a catchy read... History made as buoyant as fiction." -- Booklist "An irresistible book... Deliciously bawdy, outrageously entertaining... Herman's writing sparkles off the pages." -- Boston Globe "A smart, keenly researched history written with wry wisdom." -- Dallas Morning News
£10.44
HarperCollins Publishers Inc Stoned
Book SynopsisTrade Review"[Stoned] romps through the stories of eight jewels." -- New York Times "A lively, incisive cultural and social history." -- Kirkus "History enthusiasts will be entertained by Raden's knowledge of famous names as well as her narrative approach to the topic. Occasional injections of humor will keep readers interested." -- Library Journal "Raden's commentary on the often ugly side of human desire through the ages is consistently captivating, and her witty delivery makes the material shine." -- Publishers Weekly "Riveting, erudite." -- MORE Magazine "Raden brings impeccable credentials to the task at hand. She also writes with a blithe and breezy deftness, peppering her narrative with snarky but substantive footnotes that recall the insouciance of Mary Roach. A gem of a study into all that enchants and bewitches." -- Booklist "Aja Raden must be a kick at dinner parties ... She's also an appealingly informal, effortless storyteller, fascinated by the stories she tells." -- Seattle Times "a populist history told with humor and great relish... Profanely funny." -- David Duchovny, author of Holy Cow "Money, power, sexual politics, and jewelry! Isn't this what makes the world go 'round? What more could I ask for in a book -- Madonna "'Stoned' has its own special vitreous luster, just as any emerald worth its salt - an illumination into what makes us irrationally human." -- Minneapolis Star Tribune
£9.49
HarperCollins Publishers Inc Israel
Book Synopsis
£26.00
HarperCollins Publishers Inc Rejected Princesses
Book Synopsis
£17.09
HarperCollins Publishers Inc Homo Deus
Book Synopsis
£30.00
Vintage Publishing Cod
Book Synopsis''Who would ever think that a book on cod would make a compulsive read? And yet this is precisely what Kurlansky has done'' Express on SundayThe Cod. Wars have been fought over it, revolutions have been triggered by it, national diets have been based on it, economies and livelihoods have depended on it. To the millions it has sustained, it has been a treasure more precious that gold. This book spans 1,000 years and four continents. From the Vikings to Clarence Birdseye, Mark Kurlansky introduces the explorers, merchants, writers, chefs and fisherman, whose lives have been interwoven with this prolific fish. He chronicles the cod wars of the 16th and 20th centuries. He blends in recipes and lore from the Middle Ages to the present. In a story that brings world history and human passions into captivating focus, he shows how the most profitable fish in history is today faced with extinction.Trade ReviewA must-have book for anyone who loves fish. Kurlansky was innovative (and is now much imitated) in writing a book about how a commodity shaped history. * The Week *This is an extraordinary little book, unputdownable, written in the most lyrical, flowing style which paints vivid pictures and, at the same time, punches into place hard facts that stop you dead in your tracks. Who would ever think that a book on cod would make a compulsive read? And yet this is precisely what Kurlansky has done -- Sir Roy Strong * Express on Sunday *An engrossing and timely little epic * Scotsman *To go out and buy a book on the subject (of cod) is to invite glances of suspicion. While a few eccentrics might think this is a good reason to purchase several copies, for the rest of us it requires a certain leap of faith. Cod...amply rewards such a leap. It is compact and beautifully produced * Mail on Sunday *Refreshing and invigorating, full of fascinating facts * Independent on Sunday *
£11.69
Penguin Books Ltd State of Emergency
Book SynopsisState of Emergency : Britain 1970-74 is a brilliant history of the gaudy, schizophrenic atmosphere of the early Seventies. The early 1970s were the age of gloom and glam. Under Edward Heath, the optimism of the Sixties had become a distant memory. Now the headlines were dominated by social unrest, fuel shortages, unemployment and inflation. The seventies brought us miners'' strikes, blackouts, IRA atrocities, tower blocks and the three-day week, yet they were also years of stunning change and cultural dynamism, heralding a social revolution that gave us celebrity footballers, high-street curry houses, package holidays, gay rights, green activists and progressive rock; the world of Enoch Powell and Tony Benn, David Bowie and Brian Clough, Germaine Greer and Mary Whitehouse. Dominic Sandbrook''s State of Emergency is the perfect guide to a luridly colourful Seventies landscape that shaped our present, from the financial boardroom to the suburban bedroom. ''Hugely entertaining, always compelling, often hilarious'' Simon Sebag Montefiore, Sunday Telegraph ''Thrillingly panoramic ... he vividly re-creates the texture of everyday life in a thousand telling details'' Francis Wheen, Observer ''Masterly ... nothing escapes his gaze'' Independent on Sunday ''Splendidly readable ... his almost pitch-perfect ability to recreate the mood and atmospherics of the time is remarkable'' EconomistTrade ReviewSuperb ... vivid ... magnificent ... Anyone who was there should read it: and so should anyone who was not -- Simon Heffer Literary Review Hugely entertaining, always compelling, often hilarious -- Simon Sebag Montefiore Sunday Telegraph Thrillingly panoramic ... he vividly re-creates the texture of everyday life in a thousand telling details -- Francis Wheen Observer Masterly ... nothing escapes his gaze Independent on Sunday Splendidly readable ... his almost pitch-perfect ability to recreate the mood and atmospherics of the time is remarkable Economist There is so much to enjoy ... Neatly interweaving his interpretation of the Heath years with insightful reflections on everything from racism in television to the rise of self-sufficiency, football hooliganism and sex comedies, Sandbrook has produced a memorable portrait of Britain in an era of angst and upheaval Sunday Times Sandbrook is an inveterate demolisher of myths Independent on Sunday This epically enthralling account of the Seventies will be read with embarrassed recognition by those who lived through it and disbelieving astonishment by those who missed it Independent
£17.09
Penguin Books Ltd The World According to Colour
Book Synopsis''Extraordinary. An intellectual feast as well as a visual one''Edmund de Waal, author of The Hare with Amber EyesThe world comes to us in colour. But colour lives as much in our imaginations as it does in our surroundings, as this scintillating book reveals. Each chapter immerses the reader in a single colour, drawing together stories from the histories of art and humanity to illuminate the meanings it has been given over the eras and around the globe. Showing how artists, scientists, writers, philosophers, explorers and inventors have both shaped and been shaped by these wonderfully myriad meanings, James Fox reveals how, through colour, we can better understand their cultures, as well as our own. Each colour offers a fresh perspective on a different epoch, and together they form a vivid, exhilarating history of the world. ''We have projected our hopes, anxieties and obsessions onto colour for thousands of years,'' Fox writes. ''The history of colour, therefore, is also a history of humanity.''Trade ReviewA book to brighten the dullest days -- Rachel Campbell-Johnston * The Times (Books of the Year) *A brilliantly fluent and readable history of colour -- Honor Clerk * Spectator (Books of the Year) *Fairly shimmers with Fox's eye for arresting facts and anecdotes -- Kassia St Clair * Times Literary Supplement *Intelligent, vividly written ... I'm going to buy three copies -- Laura Freeman * The Times *Flits with enthusiasm and lightly worn learning from Bronze Age gold-workers to Turner, Titian to Yves Klein -- Simon Ings * Daily Telegraph (Books of the Year) *Colour becomes a philosophical feast - astrophysics, the origins of civilisation, a palette of moral associations -- Ed Smith * New Statesman (Books of the Year) *A manual to navigate and enjoy the extraordinary design of the world around us -- Anna Galbraith * Mail on Sunday *Leads down some wonderful rabbit holes -- Chris Allnutt * Financial Times *A book that makes you want to paint -- Joad Raymond * BBC History Magazine *
£12.34
Oxford University Press Lark Rise to Candleford
Book SynopsisFlora Thompson's classic evocation of a vanished world of agricultural customs and rural culture is reissued in a handsome hardback edition including the original wood-engravings by Julie Neild and a new introduction that looks at the background to the trilogy and its enduring popularity.Table of ContentsIntroduction Note on the Text Further Reading A Chronology of Flora Thompson Lark Rise Over to Candleford Candleford Green
£9.49
Yale University Press Theodor Herzl
Book SynopsisTrade Review“An engrossing account of a leader who, by converting despair into strength, gave an exiled people both political purpose and the means to attain it.”—Benjamin Balint, Wall Street JournalWinner of the 2020 Canadian Jewish Literary Award in the history category, sponsored by the Israel and Golda Koschitzky Centre for Jewish Studies“Derek Penslar, the most original scholar on the history of Zionism today, has written a masterful book, which may indeed become the definitive Herzl biography of our age.”—Michael Brenner, author of A Short History of the Jews“Theodor Herzl was the indispensable catalyst of the Zionist movement that began before him, developed independently of him, and prevailed on its own decades after his death. Penslar’s book unlocks this paradox, and in richly providing the historical context of his leadership, magnifies its achievement.”—Ruth R. Wisse, author of Jews and Power “Derek Penslar has found in Theodor Herzl an amazingly complex character and tells his story with deep insight and great fairness. This biography is innovative, carefully balanced, and engrossing.”—Tom Segev, author of A State at Any Cost: The Life of David Ben-Gurion“In his pitch-perfect biography for a new century, accomplished historian Derek Penslar portrays the psychic traits that allowed Theodor Herzl to be elevated by the longings of a fledgling Zionist movement, which he in turn elevated into a political cause that has redefined Jewish and world history down to our present. An elegant masterpiece.”—Samuel Moyn, Yale University
£18.04
Yale University Press Homintern
Book SynopsisTrade Review“Woods is a knowledgeable and entertaining guide.”—Caleb Crain, The Guardian -- Caleb Crain * Guardian *"Without letting the purveyors of clichés about cliquish homosexuals off the hook, this lively history turns those stereotypes on their heads, taking seriously the queer networks that were central to modernism. Richly literary and attentive to networks of both men and women, Homintern also has a wide geographical range. Russian, Scandinavian and South American texts are thoughtfully integrated with accounts of New York, London, Berlin, Paris and their Mediterranean outposts. Gregory Woods writes with an insider’s flair, but does not sugarcoat the histories he tells. Frank about self-destructive behavior, he is also sensitive to divisions among sexual minorities along lines of ideology, class and generation."—Christopher Reed, author of Art and Homosexuality: A History of Ideas -- Christopher Reed"A well-researched, compelling study of how countless gay men have affected, influenced, and restructured the cultural climate for more than a hundred years. . . . An information-heavy book that provides a wonderful resource for those interested in learning about the rise of gay poetics at the onset of the twentieth century."—Kirkus Reviews, Starred Review * Kirkus Reviews *"Woods is a born storyteller, and he tells the story of the interlocking, international gay and lesbian networks in an unflaggingly lively way. This is a book that needs to be published."—David Bergman, author of The Violet Hour and Gay American Autobiography: Writings from Whitman to Sedaris -- David Bergman“Woods’ history of the ‘homintern’ is in turn hilarious and horrifying… documents shocking levels of persecution. Homophobia was pervasive and vicious… But this is not a gloomy book. Woods lovingly presents a range of gloriously outrageous gay and lesbian individuals and couples.”—Joanna Bourke, BBC History -- Joanna Bourke * BBC History Magazine *"Woods regales the reader with an avalanche of stories, ribald gossip, and lengthy asides that collectively confirm the book’s central thesis: gay culture, or at least gays and lesbians, did indeed liberate the modern world."—Brian Kenney, Booklist -- Brian Kenney * Booklist *“Homintern shines a fascinating spotlight on the diverse and informal networks of people who made up the gay communities worldwide which helped to shape art in its many forms over the decades, involving poets, dancers, actors, artists, designers, composers, politicians and spies. . . . This is a book which throws unreasonable prejudice in the trash can where it belongs, clears up misleading myths about gay people, and should be on the reading list of every fresher starting a university degree.”—Richard Edmonds, Hiskind -- Richard Edmonds * Hiskind *"Delicious, satisfying reading. Even readers knowledgeable about post-Oscar Wilde gay culture are unlikely to read more than a paragraph or two without learning something they did not know, and I cheerfully confess that my most frequent margin note was '!!!' . . . The range and depth of Woods' scholarship are remarkable, but the power of Homintern owes as much to the unabated vitality of his writing."—Tim Pfaff, Bay Area Reporter -- Tim Pfaff * Bay Area Reporter *"Gregory Woods’ Homintern is not just a first-rate work of literary and historical scholarship but a deeply moving narrative in its own right. In its global reach, it has no precedent, yet Woods never sacrifices intimacy for grandeur. In the future I have no doubt that scholars and readers will look to this as an essential text, one of those rare books that make other books possible."—David Leavitt, author of The Man Who Knew Too Much: Alan Turing and the Invention of the Computer -- David LeavittFinalist for the Lambda Literary Awards in the LGBTQ Studies category. -- Lambda Literary Awards * Lambda Literary Foundation *
£15.19
Yale University Press The End of Europe
Book SynopsisThe disintegration of Europe’s post–Cold War consensus in the face of anti-Semitism, populist nationalism, and territorial aggressionTrade Review"The book plainly states its mission: to deliver 20th century European history to its readers lest they be forced to repeat it . . . an urgent SOS from across the ocean about how worthy institutions can unravel with alarming speed."—Max Holleran, Slate"Superb."—Bret Stephens, New York Times"A tour d’horizon of a continent drifting away from its intellectual and cultural moorings . . . these are unpleasant truths that high-minded Europeans cannot admit to one another."—James Traub, Wall Street Journal"An urgent survey of the many threats facing European societies. . . It would be hard to find a better assessment of the multi-frontal assault on what had been, however briefly, a continental consensus about liberal values, trans-state integration and the essential connections between Europe and North America."—Charles King, TLS"A young American’s brilliant analysis of the dire state of world politics. . . . Trump and Brexit figure large and Kirchick shares my exasperation that we are turning away from liberal values and the benefits of the EU."—Alastair Campbell, Observer“A timely work that comprehensively surveys the dilemmas of contemporary European politics”—Rıfat Öncel, Insight Turkey "This well-researched book makes for compelling reading."—Rev. Ed Standhaft, Methodist Recorder"Brilliant. . . . Interesting and thought-provoking."—Chris Mullin, Irish Times"Writing with characteristic flair, this American conservative delivers his damning case from a passionate, yet measured, pro-European worldview."—Nicholas Earl, Prospect"Those of us who lived on the wrong side of the Berlin Wall celebrated the beginning of a new era of peace and democracy when the Iron Curtain fell. Now that era may already be over, and James Kirchick vividly explains why we are now facing the end of Europe instead of the end of history."—Garry Kasparov, chairman of the Human Rights Foundation and author of Winter Is Coming: Why Vladimir Putin and the Enemies of the Free World Must Be Stopped"James Kirchick is a gloomily brilliant observer of European affairs—panoramic in his survey, precise in his details and anecdotes, severe and persuasive in his judgments, always lucid, always alert."—Paul Berman, author of The Flight of the Intellectuals and Power and the Idealists"Like all dystopias, The End of Europe is pedagogy with a fierce moral message. James Kirchick has drawn a masterly portrait of a continent in its deepest crisis since World War II. The book is compulsory reading for anybody who cares about Europe."—Josef Joffe, Stanford University and author of The Myth of American Decline"James Kirchick has given us a powerful, penetrating, and elegant analysis of the present state of Europe. This book is not a celebration but a lament and a warning—and also a call to action to Americans and Europeans alike."—Robert Kagan, author of The World America Made"From brilliant American scholar James Kirchick, we have received a resounding wake-up call for Princess Europa. Reading The End of Europe from Paris is chilling, perceptive and essential to make sense of the current geopolitical state of affairs."—Bernard-Henri Lévy
£13.99
Yale University Press Mescaline
Book SynopsisTrade Review“Mike Jay is an eminent writer on mind-stilling and mind-expanding substances [. . .] Mescaline reads like the culmination of a lifetime’s wanderings in the very farthest out-posts of scientific and medical history”— Ian Sansom, The Guardian“Mike Jay’s history of mescaline use is a bit of a mind-altering experience itself”—The Economist“Thoroughly researched book is strong on drug's social significance” —Katherine Waters, The Art Desk“Jay, as with his many other works, expertly places the important details in these larger trends, and the result is a wonderfully engaging narrative; informative and entertaining” —Robert Dickins, Psychedelic Press “What Mike Jay's history of mescaline illustrates is that although we may not grasp how, the context of a trip determines its destination” — Kate Womersley, TLS “Jay takes his readers on a journey through history, beginning with the medicinal and ceremonial use of mescaline-containing plants by the indigenous peoples of Mexico thousands of years ago, and the adoption of peyote by some Native American peoples” — Zoe Hackett, Chemistry World“Mike Jay has written a highly detailed but very readable and fascinating history of the use of mescaline throughout the ages”—Peter Carpenter, British Society for the History of Medicine"This is a terrific account of mescaline, the first psychedelic. Mike Jay has nailed it."—Michael Pollan, author of How to Change Your Mind "Mike Jay is the Neil Armstrong of today's psychonauts. In Mescaline an incredible amount of scholarly and personal research is beautifully presented and ordered in a sensible chronology that really works to channel potentially disruptive and mad matter into a fascinating cultural history. I just Ioved the last chapter which brought everything back to its proper place in a careful Native American ritual. It made the most emotionally satisfying ending to an extraordinary trip..." —Nicholas Rankin, author of Telegram from Guernica 'Mike Jay is one of the most wise, well-informed, clever and funny voices on drugs in the world. Everyone should read everything he writes - it is consistently brilliant'—Johann Hari, author of Chasing the Scream and Lost Connections
£11.99
Yale University Press Going to Church in Medieval England
Book SynopsisAn engaging, richly illustrated account of parish churches and churchgoers in England, from the Anglo-Saxons to the mid-sixteenth centuryTrade Review“Christmas is the time of year when people are most likely to attend divine service, and Going to Church in Medieval England . . . tells us how they did it 800 years ago. . . . Orme also describes how the churches that punctuate our landscape came about, and who ran them.”—Simon Heffer, Daily Telegraph, “2021’s Best Histories”“Nicholas Orme writes with an engaging lightness of touch while clearly laying out the functions, use and management of medieval parish churches. The result is so skilfully, successfully and thoroughly executed that it belies the complexity and scope of the task.”—John Jenkins, Times Literary Supplement“Orme’s book, a vast intricate mosaic resting atop a mountain of research, is often funny, often moving, and always fascinating. You finish it with a real feeling for the lives of normal people (so often absent from history books) in a world of great contrasts . . . a world of humour, and of sadness; a world not entirely unlike our own.”—Duncan Morrison, Daily Telegraph“A thrilling reconstruction of what you might have seen in church 800 years ago, from parishioners licking relics to noblemen punching vicars in the face.”—Daily Telegraph“Eye-opening. . . . Orme deftly shows how church language became part of everyday English.”—Harry Mount, Spectator“Prof Orme’s beady eye for lively human interest makes him very good company.”—Ysenda Maxtone Graham, Country Life“Orme explains in impressive detail what churches (and church-going) were like in the Middle Ages.”—The Week“A distinguished and highly accessible contribution to the unfolding scholarly landscape of this subject. . . . Orme is known for his scholarship on medieval children. Despite the fact that he concludes that they are an elusive presence, he provides some fascinating details.”—Kitty Turley, The Tablet“It is perhaps the particular virtue of this book that its author is every bit as interested in the everyday life of the church as he is in the sacred highpoints of sacred theatre and the beauties of medieval architecture. . . . This is, in other words, a complete picture of a whole world.”—William Whyte, History Today “Orme is an authoritative and accessible guide, and this exhaustive and lavishly illustrated study is a must-read.”—Katherine Harvey, Church Times“Professor Orme’s detailed, but very readable (and affordable) book, brings together recent scholarship to provide an accessible account of how people worshipped and practised religion in their local church. . . . It is definitely a ‘must have’ addition to any medievalist’s bookshelf.”—Richard Halsey, Friends of Friendless Churches“The book provides an accessible account of what happened in the daily and weekly services and how churches marked the seasons of Christmas, Lent, Easter and summer.”—Methodist Recorder“Nicholas Orme provides a vivid and detailed look at what it was actually like to attend church in medieval times—the sights, sounds and smells. He includes delightful details about seating arrangements, how the interior of the church would have looked, what happened to those who didn’t attend church, and much more. . . . An engaging read that will stay with you long after you finish the last page.”—Rachel Bellerby, Family Tree Magazine“Yale has served Orme especially well, with superb colour illustrations integrated straight into this text. . . . His subject is inherently visual in all its aspects, from the architecture of church buildings to the teeming daily activity that went on inside and around them.”—Diarmaid MacCulloch, London Review of Books“Orme’s mastery of the subject shines through soon enough; given his long and distinguished career, this is hardly a surprise. With a light and accessible touch he leads his readers through the give-and-take of churchgoing from the origins of the parish among the newly converted Anglo-Saxons to the role it inevitably played in the implementation of the Reformation at local level. . . . The depth and detail of his work lies in his characters, both saints and sinners with all their wants, needs, foibles, hopes, and fears.”—Serenhedd James, The Critic“This is a wonderful book; I recommend it to everyone who wants to know what actually happened in a medieval church.”—Heather Falvey, Local Historian“Nicholas Orme’s latest book on the buildings, staffing, congregations, and uses of the medieval church offers instead a broad work that is rich in detail, as it draws together geographical, social and religious complexities into a comprehensive and engaging whole.”—British Catholic History, British Catholic History“This truly fascinating book, packed with extraordinary details, was a joy to read and often a revelation.”—Marc Lloyd, Global Anglican“As well as being highly instructive, this is an enjoyable volume to read, and should be on every church archaeologist’s bookshelves.”—Warwick Rodwell, Medieval Settlement Research“The great strength of the book lies in the fact that the author never confines himself to the prescriptive but constantly strives to uncover what actually happened in medieval English parish churches . . . it will surely become essential reading for anyone seriously interested in religion in England in the Middle Ages.”—Clare Cross, Ecclesiology Today“Alert throughout to change across time, the complexities of sources, and the variety of past experience, Nicholas Orme has written a wonderful book. With great clarity and insight, he captures the human and material reality of quotidian Christian worship across the middle Ages.”—John H. Arnold, author of Belief and Unbelief in the Middle Ages“Drawing on both surviving churches and contemporary literature and attentive to gender, status, and geography, Orme explores what ordinary men and women saw, heard, and experienced when they attended church.”—Katherine L. French, University of Michigan“What actually happened in a medieval church? What was medieval worship like? Turn to this book, and you’ll find answers to all the questions you’ll ever ask.”—Nigel Saul, author of Richard II“For many years Nicholas Orme has been enlightening readers with incisive appreciations of the religious and social institutions of medieval England. Beautifully illustrated throughout, this study brings home to readers the reality of formal Christian witness as experienced by England’s medieval parishioners.”—Roger Bowers, University of Cambridge
£12.34
Yale University Press The Volga
Book SynopsisA rich and fascinating exploration of the Volga—the first to fully reveal its vital place in Russian historyTrade Review“Meticulously researched and sympathetically written. . . . ‘Without the Volga, there would be no Russia.’ The final words of Janet Hartley’s book sound sweeping. But its 400 pages make the case powerfully.”—The Economist“Well-researched and accessible to general readers. . . . Hartley has a good eye for the significant detail.”—Tony Barber, Financial Times, “Best Books of the Week”“Janet Hartley’s study of the Volga, the river that symbolises Russian identity, is a worthy companion to her 2014 book Siberia: A History of the People. She is particularly good on the way that Russians and non-Russians interacted in the centuries after Ivan the Terrible’s conquest of Kazan and Astrakhan in the 1550s.”—Tony Barber, Financial Times, “Best Books of 2021: History”“This is a work of masterful condensation, commanding storytelling and an invitation to marvel at the ‘gloomy grandeur’ of one of the Earth’s oldest residents.”—Matthew Janney, Spectator“Combines outstanding academic research with masterful and compelling storytelling. The result is a memorable journey into the heart of Russian social, political, and cultural history.”—Jennifer Eremeeva, Moscow Times“A vivid, human-centered story of the great river standing at a crossroad of peoples and cultures. . . . Hartley’s voyage along the serpentine river is magical and full of charm.”—Farah Abdessamad, Asian Review of Books“Accessible to the interested lay person as much as thought-provoking to experts in the field of Russian and Eurasian studies.”—Kees Boterbloem, Canadian-American Slavic Studies“The strength of The Volga is always its rich cultural and economic history. . . . Twenty-two illustrations, ten maps and a note on place names complete The Volga, and make it a welcome addition to other biographies of the world’s rivers.”—Paul Josephson, Cahiers du Monde russe“A splendid book. . . . This scholarly work provides not just a vivid chronicle of the Volga and its peoples, but an original perspective on the history of Russia as a whole.”—Maureen Perrie, European History Quarterly“Hartley does an excellent job of highlighting the many ethnic and religious groups that have lived in the shadows of Russia’s greatest river [and] creates a vivid picture of this region throughout history, and the powerful river that has shaped so many lives.”—Kit Gillet, Geographical, “Book of the Month”“Hartley treats the reader to captivating stories of conflict, conversion, trade, famine, migration and myth [and] convincingly shows that any understanding of Russian history requires an understanding of the Volga.”—Andy Bruno, History Today“A lucid and well-researched book.”—Anna Reid, Literary Review“A work of great range and erudition informed by a deep reading in published and archival sources. As I followed along, struck repeatedly by Hartley’s judicious attention to the river’s ever-flowing impact on the peoples and cultures around it, I came away impressed more than anything by the sheer scope of the story, which matches the vastness and complexity of Russia itself.”—Willard Sunderland, Slavonic and East European Review“Provides not just a vivid chronicle of the Volga and its peoples, but an original perspective on the history of Russia as a whole.”—Maureen Perrie, European History Quarterly“[This] impressive book on the Volga . . . will appeal to a wide range of readers, including specialists of Russian and Eurasian history, undergraduate and postgraduate students, and many general readers. Containing a wealth of intriguing detail and written in elegant and accessible language, it delivers new insights on Russia’s greatest river.”—Stefan B. Kirmse, Europe-Asia Studies“The Volga is an important study whose focus is the construction of Russian territorially-contiguous colonialism and its broad impacts, well worth the attention of both colleagues and the less specialist reader.”—Carol B. Stevens, Slavic Review“With clarity and commanding breadth of vision, Hartley chronicles the life of a great river through times of shocking violence and times of tranquillity.”—Rachel Polonsky, author of Molotov’s Magic Lantern“Taking a majestic sweep through centuries of turbulent history, Hartley traces in vivid detail the significance of a river that has served Russia’s multi-ethnic population as economic lifeline, strategic battleground and symbol of freedom.”—Simon Dixon, author of Catherine the Great“An impeccably documented and comprehensive history of the Volga region. It pays special attention to the ecological features of the region’s territories, and to the economic, ethnic, religious and cultural characteristics of its peoples.”—Geoffrey Hosking, Russia and the Russians“Engrossing. In lively prose Hartley tracks the not-always-easy imprint of Russian power on the peoples and environments of this vast river as it snakes through parts of the world little known to an English-speaking audience.”—Valerie A. Kivelson, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor
£12.34
Pan Macmillan Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother The Official
Book Synopsis'Totally absorbing and highly readable account of a remarkable life . . . genuinely revelatory' The Times'A colossal book about a colossal life, a spectacular journey across the entire twentieth century' Daily MailWritten with complete access to the Queen Mother’s personal letters and diaries, William Shawcross's riveting biography is the truly definitive account of this remarkable woman, whose life spanned the twentieth century. Elizabeth Angela Marguerite Bowes Lyon, the youngest daughter of the Earl of Strathmore, was born on 4 August 1900. Drawing on her private correspondence and other unpublished material from the Royal Archives, Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother vividly reveals the witty girl who endeared herself to soldiers convalescing at Glamis in the First World War; the assured young Duchess of York; the Queen, at last feeling able to look the East End in the face at the height of the Blitz; the QueeTrade ReviewThis splendid biograpy captures something of the warm glow that she brought to every event and encounter. It also reveals a deeper and more interesting character, forged by good sense, love of country, duty, humour and an instinct for what is right. This is a wonderful book, authoritative, frank and entertaining * Daily Telegraph *A totally absorbing and highly readable account of a remarkable life . . . Shawcross's book is genuinely revelatory -- The TimesA colossal book about a colossal life, a spectacular journey across the entire twentieth century through the eyes of a thoughtful woman who took the hand of a shy royal understudy and was propelled through modern history -- Daily MailLively and elegantly written . . . A rich portrait -- The EconomistImpressively researched . . . Shawcross avoids the traps [of] hagiography . . . He succeeds in the difficult task of keeping his subject resolutely centre-stage in an elegant account -- Independent
£20.00
HarperCollins Publishers Inc Black AF History
Book SynopsisFrom acclaimed columnist and political commentator Michael Harriot, a searingly smart and bitingly hilarious retelling of American history that corrects the record and showcases the perspectives and experiences of Black Americans.America’s backstory is a whitewashed mythology implanted in our collective memory.Trade Review“Michael Harriot has done it. Written a book that evokes the full range of human emotions. Laughter. Rage. Sadness. Love (of Black resistance). Hate (of anti-Blackness). More laughter. Constant thinking and connecting and discovering. What an experience. But how can this book be anything less when it is Black AF History.” — Ibram X. Kendi, Award-winning author “This is history as it should be told: straight, no chaser; unvarnished and unembossed. Michael Harriot, the Samuel L. Jackson of the written word, strikes again, weaving fascinating facts, scathing humor and pieces of his own life story to detail the stony road we trod.” — Joy Reid, Host of The ReidOut on MSNBC “The story we've been told about America has always been redacted. With Black AF History, Michael Harriot removes the redacted parts and replaces them with griot-level storytelling. This is what everyone wishes their high school courses were actually like. Halfway through, you realize that this is not even a book about Black history, it's about how American history is Black AF.” — Pharrell Williams, Grammy Award-winning producer and musician “Michael Harriot tells the most shocking (not shocking) stories of Black History I've ever heard. Every story is unbelievable yet, unfortunately, completely believable. Black AF History should be taught in every school across America.” — Amber Ruffin, comedian and host of The Amber Ruffin Show “If I ever won an election for political office, I would have them swear me in on a copy of Black AF History. Michael Harriot is too funny to be this smart. Now, I have to go google how to ship a case of these to Ron DeSantis.” — W. Kamau Bell, Award-winning television host and stand-up comedian
£20.90
Taylor & Francis Ltd The European World 15001800
Book SynopsisThe European World 1500â1800 provides a concise and authoritative textbook for the centuries between the Renaissance and the French Revolution. It presents early modern Europe not as a mere transition phase, but a dynamic period worth studying in its own right.Written by an experienced team of specialists, and derived from a successful undergraduate course, it offers a student-friendly introduction to all major themes and processes of early modern history. This fully updated fourth edition is structured in six parts â Starting Points, Society and Economy, Religion, The Wider World, Culture, Politics â and includes two new chapters on the Environment and Food and Drink Cultures.Specially designed to assist learning, The European World 1500â1800 features: expert surveys of key topics written by an international group of historians suggestions for seminar discussion and further reading extracts from primary sources and generous illustrations, including maps a glossary of key terms and concepts a full index of persons, places and subjects and a companion website, offering colour images, direct access to primary materials, and interactive features which highlight key events and locations discussed in the volume. The European World 1500â1800 is essential reading for all students embarking on the discovery of the early modern period.For support with the early modern historiographical debates see the partnering volume Interpreting Early Modern Europe edited by C. Scott Dixon and Beat KÃmin.- https://www.routledge.com/Interpreting-Early-Modern-Europe/Dixon-Kumin/p/book/9781138799011. Trade Review'This is one of the only textbooks to portray the early modern period as a distinctive era in its own right and to fully explore its richness and diversity. The European World provides an authoritative survey of the period's characteristic developments, an overview of the latest scholarly perspectives and an original selection of easily accessible source fragments.'Bart Lambert, University of York, UK‘An informative, synthetic account of the major themes in early modern European history. The authors introduce readers to an array of "histories" (social, economic, religious, etc.) which they may not have encountered before and encourage further specialised reading . . . the illustrative examples are useful and pertinent.’Stephen Bowd, University of Edinburgh ‘This impressive textbook provides a firm basis for any further student research. Easy to read, it delivers in-depth considerations of the most important developments of the European early modern period.’Renate Dürr, University of Tübingen‘Didactically, it is all brilliantly executed, especially compared to some German textbooks and it is easy to read, without being simplistic.’Wolfgang Reinhard, Zeitschrift für Historische Forschung‘One of the best introductions to this period I have seen.'Retha Warnicke, Arizona State University'A student-friendly text, well written by excellent scholars who make the reader want to turn the page. The European World, 1500-1800, contains analytical chapters on a variety of both traditional and recent historical topics while excelling in comparative descriptions of life throughout Europe, between different centuries, and between Europe and the wider world.'Richard M. Golden, University of North TexasThis is a well-organized, thoughtful and thought-provoking survey of a seminal period in the history of Europe. It draws upon current scholarship to provide a useful overview the major themes of early modern European history. Its thematic approach is especially helpful in getting students to think about the past in new and fruitful ways.Christine Kooi, Louisiana State University. Table of ContentsPart I: Starting PointsI.1 IntroductionBeat Kümin I.2 Europe in 1500Humfrey ButtersPart II: Society and EconomyII.1 EnvironmentsJohn MorganII.2Gender and FamilyBernard CappII.3 Rural SocietySteve Hindle II.4 Urban SocietyPenny RobertsII.5 Marginals and DeviantsPenny RobertsII.6 Sickness and HealthClaudia SteinII.7 The Early Modern EconomySteve Hindle Part III: ReligionIII.1 Church and People at the Close of the Middle AgesBeat Kümin and Peter MarshallIII.1A The Long Reformation – an introductionBeat KüminIII.2 The Long Reformation – LutheranHenry J. CohnIII.3 The Long Reformation – ReformedPenny RobertsIII.4 The Long Reformation – CatholicAnne Gerritsen, Kevin Gould and Peter MarshallIII.5 Religious Culture in Early Modern EuropePeter MarshallIII.6 Jews and MuslimsHenry J. Cohn†Part IV: The Wider World IV.1 Beyond Europe c. 1500Anne Gerritsen and Anthony McFarlaneIV.2 European Relations with the Ottoman WorldJames BaldwinIV.3 Expanding HorizonsAnne Gerritsen and Anthony McFarlaneIV.4 Europe OverseasAnthony McFarlaneIV.5 The Global Exchange of GoodsAnne Gerritsen and Giorgio RielloIV.6 Europe and the World c. 1800Anne Gerritsen and Anthony McFarlanePart V: CultureV.1 RenaissanceHumfrey ButtersV.2 Arts and SocietyLuca MolàV.3 From Pen to PrintMark Knights and Angela McShane V.4 Food and Drink CulturesRebecca Earle and Beat KüminV.5 Popular Culture(s)Bernard CappV.6 Witchcraft and MagicPenny RobertsV.7 The Scientific RevolutionClaudia SteinV.8 EnlightenmentColin JonesPart VI: PoliticsA) SurveysVI.1 The Theory and Practice of Politics and GovernmentHumfrey ButtersVI.2 Dynastic Politics, Religious Conflict and Reason of State c.1500-1650Humfrey Butters and Henry J. CohnVI.3 European Politics from the Peace of Westphalia to the French Revolution c.1650-1800Colin Jones and Mark KnightsB) ThemesVI. 4 Courts and CentresStéphane van Damme and Janet Dickinson VI.5 Centre and PeripherySteve Hindle and Beat Kümin VI.6 The Impact of WarJonathan DaviesVI.7 Riot and RebellionBernard CappVI.8 RevolutionBernard Capp and Colin Jones
£32.29
Farrar, Straus and Giroux The Dawn of Everything
Book SynopsisINSTANT NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER A dramatically new understanding of human history, challenging our most fundamental assumptions about social evolutionfrom the development of agriculture and cities to the origins of the state, democracy, and inequalityand revealing new possibilities for human emancipation.For generations, our remote ancestors have been cast as primitive and childlikeeither free and equal innocents, or thuggish and warlike. Civilization, we are told, could be achieved only by sacrificing those original freedoms or, alternatively, by taming our baser instincts. David Graeber and David Wengrow show how such theories first emerged in the eighteenth century as a conservative reaction to powerful critiques of European society posed by Indigenous observers and intellectuals. Revisiting this encounter has startling implications for how we make sense of human history today, including the origins of farming, property, cities, democ
£22.68
WW Norton & Co Guns Germs and Steel The Fates of Human Societies
Book SynopsisWinner of the Pulitzer Prize • New York Times Bestseller • Over Two Million Copies Sold “One of the most significant projects embarked upon by any intellectual of our generation” (Gregg Easterbrook, New York Times), Guns, Germs, and Steel presents a groundbreaking, unified narrative of human history.Trade Review"Artful, informative, and delightful.... There is nothing like a radically new angle of vision for bringing out unsuspected dimensions of a subject, and that is what Jared Diamond has done." -- William H. McNeil - New York Review of Books"An ambitious, highly important book." -- James Shreeve - New York Times Book Review"A book of remarkable scope, a history of the world in less than 500 pages which succeeds admirably, where so many others have failed, in analyzing some of the basic workings of culture process.... One of the most important and readable works on the human past published in recent years." -- Colin Renfrew - Nature"The scope and the explanatory power of this book are astounding." -- The New Yorker"No scientist brings more experience from the laboratory and field, none thinks more deeply about social issues or addresses them with greater clarity, than Jared Diamond as illustrated by Guns, Germs, and Steel. In this remarkably readable book he shows how history and biology can enrich one another to produce a deeper understanding of the human condition." -- Edward O. Wilson, Pellegrino University Professor, Harvard University"Serious, groundbreaking biological studies of human history only seem to come along once every generation or so. . . . Now [Guns, Germs, and Steel] must be added to their select number. . . . Diamond meshes technological mastery with historical sweep, anecdotal delight with broad conceptual vision, and command of sources with creative leaps. No finer work of its kind has been published this year, or for many past." -- Martin Sieff - Washington Times"[Diamond] is broadly erudite, writes in a style that pleasantly expresses scientific concepts in vernacular American English, and deals almost exclusively in questions that should interest everyone concerned about how humanity has developed. . . . [He] has done us all a great favor by supplying a rock-solid alternative to the racist answer. . . . A wonderfully interesting book." -- Alfred W. Crosby - Los Angeles Times"An epochal work. Diamond has written a summary of human history that can be accounted, for the time being, as Darwinian in its authority." -- Thomas M. Disch - The New Leader
£14.03
University of California Press Disenchanted Night
Book SynopsisTells the story of the development of artificial light in the nineteenth century. This title reveals the ways that the technology of artificial illumination helped forge modern consciousness. It discusses a range of subject including the political symbolism of street lamps, the rise of night-life and the shop window, and more.
£22.06
University of California Press Waste of a White Skin
Book SynopsisTelling the history of the development of scientific racism, white nationalism, and segregationist philanthropy in the US and South Africa in the early twentieth century, this book focuses on the American Carnegie Corporation's study of race in South Africa, the Poor White Study, and its influence on the creation of apartheid.Trade Review"Hisorically grounded and politically provocative examination." Race & ClassTable of ContentsList of Illustrations Preface: Possessions, Belonging, Companionship, or Don't Mind the Gap Introduction 1. Forgeries of History: The Poor White Study 2. The Visual Culture of White Poverty as the History of South Africa and the United States: Repetition, Rediscovery, Playing with Whiteness 3. The White Primitive: Whiteness Studies, Embodiment, Invisibility, Property 4. The Roots of White Poverty: Cheap, Lazy, Inefficient ... Black 5. Origin Stories about Segregationist Philanthropy 6. Carnegie in Africa and the Knowledge Politics of Apartheid: Research Agendas not Taken 7. "I'll Give You Something to Cry About": The Intraracial Violence of Uplift Feminism in the Carnegie Poor White Study Volume, The Mother and Daughter of the Poor Family Conclusion: Race Makes Nation Acknowledgments Appendixes Notes Selected Bibliography Index
£25.50
Penguin Putnam Inc On Our Best Behavior
Book SynopsisNEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER ? A groundbreaking exploration of the ancient rules women unwittingly follow in order to be considered ?good,? revealing how the Seven Deadly Sins still control and distort our lives and illuminating a path toward a more balanced, spiritually complete way to liveWhy do women equate self-denial with being good? We congratulate ourselves when we resist the donut in the office breakroom. We celebrate our restraint when we hold back from sending an email in anger. We feel virtuous when we wake up at dawn to get a jump on the day. We put others? needs ahead of our own and believe this makes us exemplary. In On Our Best Behavior, journalist Elise Loehnen explains that these impulses?often lauded as unselfish, distinctly feminine instincts?are actually ingrained in us by a culture that reaps the benefits, via an extraordinarily effective collection of mores known as the Seven Deadly Sins. Since being codified by the Christian church in the fourth century, the Seven Deadly Sins?pride, greed, lust, envy, gluttony, wrath, and sloth?have exerted insidious power. Even today, in our largely secular, patriarchal society, they continue to circumscribe women?s behavior. For example, seeing sloth as sinful leads women to deny themselves rest; a fear of gluttony drives them to ignore their appetites; and an aversion to greed prevents them from negotiating for themselves and contributes to the 55 percent gender wealth gap. In On Our Best Behavior, Loehnen reveals how we?ve been programmed to obey the rules represented by these sins and how doing so qualifies us as ?good.? This probing analysis of contemporary culture and thoroughly researched history explains how women have internalized the patriarchy, and how they unwittingly reinforce it. By sharing her own story and the spiritual wisdom of other traditions, Loehnen shows how we can break free and discover the integrity and wholeness we seek.
£20.50
Harvard University Press The Making of Modern Japan
Book SynopsisMagisterial in vision, sweeping in scope, this monumental work presents a seamless account of Japanese society during the modern era, from 1600 to the present. A distillation of more than fifty years' engagement with Japan and its history, it is the crowning work of our leading interpreter of the modern Japanese experience.Trade ReviewAn elegant, lucid, and magisterial book. A distillation of more than fifty years' engagement with Japan and its history, it presents the sweeping vision of our leading interpreter of the modern Japanese experience over the past half-millennium. Marius Jansen has integrated his own scholarship and that of many others in a lively account that has great potential as a text for survey courses in modern Japanese history; professionals in the field will benefit from its integrity and interpretive breadth. Moreover, Jansen's own enthusiasm and love for his subject come through every bit as clearly as his profound erudition; that sense of excitement carries the reader along smoothly and effortlessly. The book is a pleasure to read. -- Ronald P. Toby, University of IllinoisA tremendous history of the upheavals that transformed Japan into the world's most successful of non-Western countries. Jansen shows how the country at first reluctantly, and then enthusiastically, benefited from the changes of the modern era...Jansen weaves social and political history together while narrating this course of events...A master work that will prove to be the definitive history of a dynamic society. * Kirkus Reviews *Jansen conducts his readers through the labyrinthine path taken by Japan over the last 400 years...For Westerners the most fascinating aspect of this monumental work will be Japan's always uneasy, sometimes violent relationship with the outside world...Besides politics, he ventures into economics, military affairs, literature, education, social organization and both high and popular culture. * Publishers Weekly *Words that spring to mind are magisterial, elegant, absorbing, and essential...Political military narrative is complemented by sketches of personalities, the arts, and society, with judicious assessments of controversies in historical interpretation and generous references to further reading. All in all, it would be hard to find a better general volume. -- Charles W. Hayford * Library Journal *Despite our deep national involvement with the Japanese people since the end of World War II, this still frustratingly insular nation remains a puzzle for Americans and other westerners...[Jansen] strives valiantly to explain the foundations of modern Japanese history and culture in this richly detailed, smooth-flowing narrative of the past four centuries of Japanese development...A greatly rewarding examination of an admirable but enigmatic and ancient land." -- Jay Freeman * Booklist *Jansen's view of modern Japanese history has two particular merits. He refuses to see Japan in isolation, as a kind of sealed-off island of uniqueness...Indeed, he argues that political developments in Japan were almost always responses to events outside: Perry's ships, Western colonialism, Russian and later Soviet expansion, the world stock market crash of 1929 and so on. He also goes out of his way to show how liberalism in Japan always had a chance. Authoritarianism and war were never inevitable consequences of some deep Japanese warrior instinct; when given the opportunity, the Japanese, like the rest of us, want to be free and live in peace. -- Ian Buruman * Los Angeles Times Book Review *Now in a magisterial book that's also highly readable, Marius Jansen has told the story of Meiji and with it the creation of modern Japan...Jansen takes the reader by the hand to show what happened and why in those intense, formative years. A master of his craft, he allows the Meiji reformers, their opponents and foreign observers of that day to tell the story. He also gives credit to the views of contemporary historians, both Japanese and Westerners, who have handled the subject...The capstone of Jansen's work as America's foremost historian of Japan, this book will long be must reading for students. But the author's relaxed style, his eye for people and the clarity and patience of his explanations should appeal to any thoughtful reader. -- Frank Gibney * Washington Post Book World *For answers to...questions about modern Japan, there can be few better guides than Marius Jansen's splendid new history. The product of more than 50 years' study, this book combines grand sweep with vivid and telling anecdote. It is also admirably balanced. While Jansen's affection for Japan is clear ('a gifted, resourceful and courageous nation'), he is scathing in his judgement of the arrogance and ruthlessness of some of its leaders. -- Geoffrey Owen * Sunday Telegraph *At the end of a long and distinguished career, Jansen has produced what is sure to become the standard narrative history of modern Japan, a cornucopia of information, explanation, interpretation, and careful reflection about the historical development of Japan...Jansen tells his story gracefully and with remarkable thoroughness, and enlivens it with ample detail and engaging anecdotes; personalities of the leading figures stand forth boldly and memorably. While unmistakably his own, Jansen's account makes room for the views and voices of countless other scholars of Japan (even those with whom he disagrees), giving it the impact of a consensus narrative setting forth the full spectrum of opinion on Japan among scholars both in Japan and elsewhere. In every way this is a remarkable book. Without doubt it will create its own exclusive niche in the literature, and no reference collection on Japan can pretend to be complete without it. -- C. L. Yates * Choice *Jansen gives equal weight to consistency and change, and against a background of deep tradition he focuses on three moments of wrenching upheaval: the Tokugawa shogunate, the Meiji restoration, and the American occupation after the second world war...Jansen provides a sense of significant voices--those of writers as well as politicians and industrialists. It's hard to imagine a more wide-sweeping study. -- Jan Dalley * Financial Times *This definitive historical companion is clear, simple and thorough, from what was decided at the battle of Sekigahara in 1600--life for the next 253 years, more or less--to the grey demographics and economics of now. -- Vera Rule * The Guardian (UK) *This magisterial work has all the details one would want in a reference work, but the mature reflections of a lifelong Japan scholar at Princeton make it a pleasure to read At every turn, Jansen looks behind the political stage to examine cultural and social developments. He avoids abstract theorizing by recounting the experiences of specific Japanese individuals, giving the story a strong human dimension. * Foreign Affairs *Table of ContentsPreface Acknowledgments Note on Names and Romanization 1. SEKIGAHARA 1. The Sengoku Background 2. The New Sengoku Daimyo 3. The Unifiers: Oda Nobunaga 4. Toyotomi Hideyoshi 5. Azuchi-Momoyama Culture 6. The Spoils of Sekigahara: Tokugawa Ieyasu 2. THE TOKUGAWA STATE 1. Taking Control 2. Ranking the Daimyo 3. The Structure of the Tokugawa Bakufu 4. The Domains (han) 5. Center and Periphery: Bakufu-Han Relations 6. The Tokugawa "State" 3. FOREIGN RELATIONS 1. The Setting 2. Relations with Korea 3. The Countries of the West 4. To the Seclusion Decrees 5. The Dutch at Nagasaki 6. Relations with China 7. The Question of the "Closed Country" 4. STATUS GROUPS 1. The Imperial Court 2. The Ruling Samurai Class 3. Village Life 4. Townsmen (chonin) 5. Subcaste Japanese 6. Status and Function 5. URBANIZATION AND COMMUNICATIONS 1. The sankin-kotai System 2. Communication Networks 3. Domain Castle Towns 4. Edo: The Central Magnet 6. THE DEVELOPMENT OF A MASS CULTURE 1. Civilizing the Ruling Class 2. Books and Literacy 3. Osaka and Kyoto 4. Genroku Culture 7. EDUCATION, THOUGHT, AND RELIGION 1. Education 2. The Diffusion of Confucianism 3. Scholars and Scholarship 4. The Problem of China 5. Ethnic Nativism 6. Dutch, or Western, Learning (rangaku) 7. Religion 8. Popular Preaching 8. CHANGE, PROTEST, AND REFORM 1. Population 2. Rulers and Ruled 3. Popular Protest 4. Bakufu Responses 9. THE OPENING TO THE WORLD 1. Russia 2. Western Europe 3. News from China 4. The Perry Mission 5. The War Within 6. Defense Intellectuals 10. THE TOKUGAWA FALL 1. The Narrative 2. The Open Ports 3. Experiencing the West 4. The Other Japanese 5. The Restoration Remembered 6. Why Did the Tokugawa Fall? 11. THE MEIJI REVOLUTION 1. Background 2. Steps toward Consensus 3. Toward Centralization 4. Failed Cultural Revolution 5. Wisdom throughout the World 6. The Breakup of the Restoration Coalition 7. Winners and Losers 12. BUILDING THE MEIJI STATE 1. Matsukata Economics 2. The Struggle for Political Participation 3. Ito Hirobumi and the Meiji Constitution 4. Yamagata Aritomo and the Imperial Army 5. Mori Arinori and Meiji Education 6. Summary: The Meiji Leaders 13. IMPERIAL JAPAN 1. The Election 2. Politics under the Meiji Constitution 3. Foreign Policy and Treaty Reform 4. War with China 5. The Diplomacy of Imperialism 6. The Annexation of Korea 7. State and Society 14. MEIJI CULTURE 1. Restore Antiquity! 2. Civilization and Enlightenment! Be a Success! 3. Christianity 4. Politics and Culture 5. The State and Culture 15. JAPAN BETWEEN THE WARS 1. Steps toward Party Government 2. Japan in World Affairs 3. Economic Change 16. TAISHO CULTURE AND SOCIETY 1. Education and Change 2. The Law Faculty of Tokyo Imperial University 3. Taisho Youth: From "Civilization" to "Culture" 4. Women 5. Labor 6. Changes in the Village 7. Urban Culture 8. The Interwar Years 17. THE CHINA WAR 1. Manchurian Beginnings: The Incident 2. Manchukuo: Eastward the Course of Empire 3. Soldiers and Politics 4. The Sacralization of Kokutai and the Return to Japan 5. The Economy: Recovery and Resources 6. Tenko: The Conversion of the Left 7. Planning for a Managed Economy 8. War with China and Konoe's "New Order in Asia" 18. THE PACIFIC WAR 1. Reading World Politics from Tokyo 2. Attempts to Reconfigure the Meiji Landscape 3. The Washington Talks 4. The Japanese People and the War 5. The Road to Hiroshima and Nagasaki 6. The Pacific War in the History of the Twentieth Century 7. Dismantling the Meiji State 19. THE YOSHIDA YEARS 1. The Social Context of Postsurrender Japan 2. Reform and Reconstruction 3. Planning for Recovery 4. Politics and the Road to San Francisco 5. The San Francisco System 6. Intellectuals and the Yoshida Structure 7. Postwar Culture 20. JAPAN SINCE INDEPENDENCE 1. Politics and the 1955 System 2. The Rise to Economic Superpower 3. Social Change 4. The Examined Life 5. Japan in World Affairs 6. Japan at Millennium's End Further Reading Notes Credits Index Illustrations follow pages 140, 364, and 588
£37.53
Harvard University Press The Creation of Inequality
Book SynopsisTrade ReviewKent Flannery and Joyce Marcus have done a remarkable job in synthesizing the two key disciplines of social anthropology and archaeology, and their book represents a significant advance in our understanding of the evolution of complex societies. -- Peter Turchin * Times Literary Supplement *This is a work of profound importance… [It] yields insights into a multitude of societies in the recent and prehistoric past… Flannery and Marcus’s magnum opus… [This] is a deeply impressive achievement. -- Steven Mithen * London Review of Books *Extraordinarily erudite… It would be an excellent addition to collections on the rise of civilization or on how to use the data gathered by cultural anthropologists and archaeologists to understand broad patterns of social change. Professionals in the field will also benefit from this tour de force by two of archaeology’s most provocative scholars. -- L. L. Johnson * Choice *This provocative work, likely to become an important contribution to the literature of social and political anthropology, will be of interest both to scholars in the field and to anthropology and archaeology enthusiasts seeking understanding of the development and perpetuation of inequality in human societies. -- Elizabeth Salt * Library Journal *The origin of inequality is one of the most basic questions about human societies. We all arose from egalitarian hunter/gatherer ancestors. Why, then, do almost all of us poor peasants now tolerate affluent leaders, whether they are democratically elected presidents or military dictators? In this clear, readable survey, the distinguished archaeologists Kent Flannery and Joyce Marcus extract the answers by comparing the histories of societies over the whole world for the last 10,000 years. This book will become the standard account of long-term political evolution. -- Jared Diamond, Professor of Geography, University of California, Los Angeles, and Pulitzer Prize–winning author of Guns, Germs, and Steel and CollapseBy carefully articulating and integrating archaeological and ethnographic data, Flannery and Marcus present a panoramic view of the development of particular cultures in various parts of the world. Moreover, in selecting case studies the authors have gone beyond the familiar examples so often cited in anthropology textbooks. The Creation of Inequality promises to be a landmark work. -- Robert L. Carneiro, Ph.D., Curator Emeritus and Professor Emeritus, Anthropology, Richard Gilder Graduate School at the American Museum of Natural HistoryFlannery and Marcus are two of the most distinguished anthropological archaeologists in the world. The Creation of Inequality distills two lifetimes of work on the origin and evolution of complex societies throughout the ancient world. This work brings much of this together in an eminently readable and fascinating way. -- Charles S. Stanish, Ph.D., Director, Cotsen Institute of Archaeology, and Professor, Department of Anthropology, University of California, Los Angeles
£20.66
Princeton University Press Provincializing Europe
Book SynopsisAddresses the mythical figure of Europe that is often taken to be the original site of modernity in many histories of capitalist transition in non-Western countries. This book proposes that every case of transition to capitalism is a case of translation as well and categories into the categories and self-understandings of capitalist modernity.Trade Review"Chakrabarty's work gives us a richer, more penetrating language to deal with modernity and the colonial encounter... It is the ambiguity of Chakabarty's own position as both a critic and archivist of modernity that gives his study its poetic undertow and its intelligent irresponsibility."--Amit Chaudhuri, London Review of Books "The great value of this book lies in Chakrabarty's exceptional ability to bring to light what constantly gets glossed over and forgotten when we can only speak the standard languages of the academy. To do this requires the kind of bilingual consciousness which can bring into illuminating relation Adam Smith and Tagore. Chakrabarty makes you regret that so few are capable of doing this with a high degree of eloquence and insight."--Charles Taylor, IWM Newsletter "This masterful re-examination of rationality, universality, and difference in the postcolonial world should prove inspiring for serious historians of all lands."--Alice Ballard, Theory and Society "A slow, detailed, careful reading of the author's positively provocative style will be rich in rewards, generating, in the reader's mind, new ideas with new questions pointing to interdisciplinary, inter-cultural research, dialogue. As a reference reading text, it is rich in direct and implied questions on intricate inter-cultural interactions, gaps in communication, etc. As a discourse on basic themes of socio-political modernism and cultural diversity, it is more a starting point than a store of conclusions on debate dealing with cardinal themes pointing to research in inter-cultural and intersocietal studies. His dialectic, constructive discourse is keen on generating lasting questions and not dogmatic, ephemeral answers."--Wahe H. Balekjian, Online Journal on International Constitutional Law "[T]he analysis of the processes and mechanisms of destruction are well worth reading."--Joyce Apsel, Human Rights Review "Giovanni Federico ... has compiled an exhaustive and impressive array of historical socioeconomic data heretofore unavailable in one source... One of the book's strengths is the remarkable level of detail and the carefully assembled historical data. It is a rare sort of book and Federico tells the story of agriculture in a very interesting way. His mastery of the subject is plainly visible throughout the book... This is not a text that can be used in undergraduate courses; rather, it is an analysis of economic performance and the history of agriculture that should be core reading for advanced students of agriculture and researchers. It will be a major reference for the foreseeable future and should be on the shelf of every agricultural scientist and anyone else interested in the historical and economic aspects of agriculture."--Krishna Prasad Vadrevu, Development and ChangeTable of ContentsAcknowledgments ix Introduction: The Idea of Provincializing Europe 3 PART ONE: HISTORICISM AND THE NARRATION OF MODERNITY Chapter 1. Postcoloniality and the Artifice of History 27 Chapter 2. The Two Histories of Capital 47 Chapter 3. Translating Life-Worlds into Labor and History 72 Chapter 4. Minority Histories, Subaltern Pasts 97 PART TWO: HISTORIES OF BELONGING Chapter 5. Domestic Cruelty and the Birth of the Subject 117 Chapter 6. Nation and Imagination 149 Chapter 7. Adda: A History of Sociality 180 Chapter 8. Family, Fraternity, and Salaried Labor 214 Epilogue. Reason and the Critique of Historicism 237 Notes 257 Index 299
£28.80
Princeton University Press The Fate of Rome
Book SynopsisTrade Review"One of Medium.com’s Books of the Year 2017""One of The Times Literary Supplement’s Books of the Year 2017""One of the Forbes.com “Great Anthropology and History Books of 2017” (chosen by Kristina Killgrove)""One of The Federalist’s Notable Books for 2017""Honorable Mention for the 2018 PROSE Award in Classics, Association of American Publishers""One of Strategy + Business's Best Business Books in Economics for 2018""One of Choice Reviews' Outstanding Academic Titles of 2018""I read a lot of history in my spare time, and as best I can tell modern scholarship is telling us that Rome really was something special. What I learned from Peter Temin, and at greater length from Kyle Harper, was that Rome wasn’t your ordinary pre-industrial economy. . . . Harper notes that Rome was held back in some ways by a heavy burden of disease, an unintentional byproduct of urbanization and trade that a society lacking the germ theory had no way to alleviate. But still, the Romans really did achieve remarkable things on the economic front."---Paul Krugman, New York Times"A work of remarkable erudition and synthesis, Harper’s timely study offers a chilling warning from history of 'the awesome, uncanny power of nature'."---P. D. Smith, The Guardian"Original and ambitious. . . . [Harper] provide[s] a panoramic sweep of the late Roman Empire as interpreted by one historian's incisive, intriguing, inquiring mind."---James Romm, Wall Street Journal"Ingenious, persuasive. . . . Lucidly argued." * Publishers Weekly *"A view of the fall of Rome from a different angle, looking beyond military and social collapse to man's relationship to the environment. There is much to absorb in this significant scholarly achievement, which effectively integrates natural, social, and humanistic sciences." * Kirkus *"An excellent new book. . . . [Harper] has managed a prodigious scholarly output that uses date-driven, twenty-first-century methods to solve enduring problems of ancient history."---Noel Lenski, Times Literary Supplement"[A] sweeping retelling of the rise and fall of an empire, [that] was brought down as much by ‘germs as by Germans.'"---Keith Johnson, Foreign Policy"Harper argues his case brilliantly, with deep scientific research into weather, geology and disease."---Harry Mount, The Spectator"An ambitious and convincing reappraisal of one of the most studied episodes of decline and fall in human history."---Ellie Robins, Los Angeles Review of Books"Beautifully and often wittily written, this is history that has some of the impact of a great work of dystopian science fiction."---Tom Holland, BBC History Magazine"This beautifully written book is ground-breaking stuff, both for its method and content, and one of the most important of the year."---Adrian Spooner, Classics for All"Harper’s focus is resolutely historical, dealing only glancingly with modern climate concerns. But the book’s theme is essentially a timeless one: how big, complex societies handle strain and shocks from factors outside of their control. That gives it some relevance to the challenges we face today. . . . If the Fate of Rome proves anything, it’s that nature always has the last laugh."---Asher Elbein, Earther.com"Harper offers a striking reinterpretation with worrisome implications for the present day. . . . Today, we inhabit a global system with a very similar combination of climatologic disturbances, urbanization, less diverse diets, and globalization. Ancient history reveals the risks we run."---Andrew Moravcsik, Foreign Affairs"The Fate of Rome is one of the most immediately readable histories of the year, always investing even the most well-known subjects with the vigor of fresh perspective."---Steve Donoghue, Open Letters Monthly"A recent book makes a convincing case that we need to be more cognizant of the natural world’s role in all this. The Fate of Rome: Climate, Disease and the End of An Empire, by the University of Oklahoma’s Kyle Harper, makes a strong argument for the role of plague and a shifting climate in the confluence of political, economic, and social processes that we label the fall of the Roman Empire."---Patrick Wyman, Deadspin"Drawing on cutting-edge research into ice cores, cave stones, lake deposits, and other sediments, Harper explores the influence of the changing climate on Rome’s history. With a storyteller’s flair, he describes how the climate’s impact was by turns subtle and overwhelming, alternately constructive and destructive, but that the changing climate was ultimately a ‘wild card’ that transcended all the other rules of the game. . . . Harper reveals how the fate of Rome was decided not just by emperors, soldiers, and barbarians, but also by climate instability and pernicious disease."---Lucia Marchini, World Archaeology"[Harper's] aim in The Fate of Rome, however, is to foreground one class of explanations that has hitherto been relatively neglected by historians: the influence of climate and disease. Such explanations are not new, but Harper brings to the table a large body of recent scientific research into the evolution of ancient diseases, disease ecology and historical climate variations. . . . The wealth of new detail Harper offers to support his general theses is the true strength of his book."---Jeffrey Mazo, Survival"Harper . . . has assembled compelling evidence that Rome died mainly from natural causes: pandemic diseases and a temperamental climate. . . . We know far more about both the causes of climate change and the ecology of germs than our ancient ancestors did. Perhaps we have a fighting chance of avoiding Rome’s fate, if we heed the true lessons of its fall."---Madeline Ostrander, Undark Magazine"The Fate of Rome should probably sit on shelves next to Gibbon’s masterwork. In time, one feels, it will be seen every bit as much an essential text."---Andrew Masterson, Cosmos Magazine"Gibbon’s is just one of myriad theories as to why Rome fell after a millennium of unprecedented (and never repeated) strength. [Harper] adds a fascinating theory to the corpus—one that could only be ventured at this particular point in history . . . because his thesis rests entirely on modern science. Harper, an able and often eloquent writer argues, Rome was brought down by two environmental components: pestilence and climate. And when these two worked in concert, things really got bad."---Tony Jones, Christian Century"This is an exciting book that provides a fresh look at a perennial topic, the fall of the Roman Empire, in sparkling prose accessible to all economic historians. . . . Others interested in plagues will find time lines and stories to ground the biology in its Roman context. And anyone who is attempting to use the fall of the Roman Empire as an example in contemporary life should read this book before expounding one or another outmoded theory of the fall of the Roman Empire."---Peter Temin, EH.net"Harper has produced a wonderful case study that demands a general rethinking of how we view the decline and fall of the Roman Empire."---Williamson Murray, The Strategy Bridge"[T]he author takes pains not to descend into the kind of reductive or utterly contingent account of the Roman experience that eliminates human agency from the story. Instead Harper furnishes a richly detailed account of the environment in which—and with which—Romans and their enemies contended."---W. Jeffrey Tatum, Quarterly Review of Biology"I recommend The Fate of Rome: Climate, Disease, and the End of an Empire by Kyle Harper. Given all of the other threats we face we thankfully don’t have to deal with the added dual challenges of climate change or new pandemics—right?"---William F. Wechsler, Atlantic Council"The Fate of Rome is the book every scholar wants to write once during his or her career. . . . In the end, The Fate of Rome is nothing short of monumental. . . . An important work need not be an excellent one—this is both."---Carson Bay, H-Net Reviews"This is an important book . . . . [Harper] should be congratulated on his attempt to create closer connections between traditional visions of Roman imperial history and the emerging scientific evidence regarding past populations and their environments."---Adam Izdebski, Environment and History"The Fate of Rome is engaging and accessible for readers of all stripes. Historians will appreciate the fuller picture gained from incorporating nonhuman forces into our understanding of the past . . . . Its story will also resonate with those interested in climate change, empire, and science."---John Bowlus, Energy Reporters
£32.30
Princeton University Press Foragers Farmers and Fossil Fuels
Book SynopsisTrade Review"Excellent and thought-provoking... More important, by putting forth a bold, clearly formulated hypothesis, Morris has done a great service to the budding field of scientific history."--Peter Turchin, Science "A provocative explanation for the evolution and divergence of ethical values... In the hands of this talented writer and thinker, [this] material becomes an engaging intellectual adventure."--Kirkus "A very good and enjoyable read."--Diane Coyle, Enlightened Economist "Stimulating."--Russell Warfield, Resurgence & EcologistTable of ContentsList of Figures and Tables ix Acknowledgments xi Introduction by Stephen Macedo xiii Chapter 1 Each Age Gets the Thought It Needs 1 Chapter 2 Foragers 25 Chapter 3 Farmers 44 Chapter 4 Fossil Fuels 93 Chapter 5 The Evolution of Values: Biology, Culture, and the Shape of Things to Come 139 Comments Chapter 6 On the Ideology of Imagining That "Each Age Gets the Thought It Needs," Richard Seaford 172 Chapter 7 But What Was It Really Like? The Limitations of Measuring Historical Values, Jonathan D. Spence 180 Chapter 8 Eternal Values, Evolving Values, and the Value of the Self, Christine M. Korsgaard 184 Chapter 9 When the Lights Go Out: Human Values after the Collapse of Civilization, Margaret Atwood 202 Response Chapter 10 My Correct Views on Everything, Ian Morris 208 Notes 267 References 305 Contributors 341 Index 343
£18.00
Princeton University Press The Great Leveler
Book SynopsisTrade Review"Shortlisted for the 2017 Cundill History Prize, McGill University""Shortlisted for the 2017 Financial Times and McKinsey Business Book of the Year Award""strategy+business Best Business Book of 2017 in Economics""One of The New York Times Deal Book “Business Books Worth Reading” 2017 (chosen by Andrew Sorkin)""One of The Wall Street Journal’s What Business Leaders Read in 2017""Selected for The HCSS Bookshelf (chosen by Stephan De Spiegeleire) 2017""One of BBC History Magazine’s Books of the Year 2017""One of the Microsoft Best Business Books of 2017""One of Project Syndicate’s Best Reads in 2017 (chosen by Dambisa Moyo)""One of the Economist.com “2017 Books of the Year” in Economics and Business""One of Financial Times (FT.com) Best Books of 2017: Economics, chosen by Martin Wolf""One of The Wall Street Journal’s What Business Leaders Read in 2017, chosen by Mohamed A. El-Erian""One of the CNBC 13 Best Business Books of 2017""One of World’s 2017 Books of the Year in “Understanding the World”""Medium.com’s Books of the Year 2017, chosen by Mark Koyama""A very perky story…if anyone wants to be lifted up then this is the book for you" * JOE Media *"This shows how inequality has increased across all of human society under every form of political organisation since the Stone Age- except in the wake of mass mobilised warfare or natural catastrophes. Sobering."---Henry Dimbleby, The Week
£15.19
Princeton University Press As Gods Among Men
Book SynopsisTrade Review"A New Statesman Best Book of the Academic Presses""An Australian Most Anticipated Book""In his new book, As Gods Among Men, Bocconi University economic historian Guido Alfani outlines how in the past, rich individuals contributed more to the common good in times of war, famine, plague and financial disaster. Today, that sense of shared responsibility is gone."---Rana Foroohar, Financial Times"In this study of 1,000 years of economic inequality, the historian Guido Alfani looks not just at the means by which wealth was accumulated and kept – both largely unchanged – but also at the attitudes of less fortunate members of society towards the rich. Croesus-like riches have been seen as a sin, an obligation and a fact of life." * New Statesman *"In his fascinating history, As Gods Among Men, Guido Alfani shows how the super-rich have always bailed the rest of us out- until now." * The Telegraph *"If ever there was a moment to take stock of the relationship between the haves and have-nots, it is surely now, during the gilded age 2.0."---Geordie Williamson, The Australian"[An] exhaustive history of the super-rich through the ages."---Ferdinand Mount, Times Literary Supplement"Alfani notes a pattern that unfolds 'repeatedly and systematically across history': when economic élites become ingrown, impenetrable, and 'insensitive to the plight of the masses,' societies tend to become unstable."---Evan Osnos, New Yorker"The rich, like the poor, are always with us. In fact, over many centuries - as this wide-ranging and ambitious book tells us - the richest in society have captured more and more of the overall wealth of Western societies."---Roderick Floud, History Today"Guido Alfani’s magisterial As Gods Among Men offers a sweeping and welcome historical perspective on who the super-rich really are and how they got that way, blending data, biographical sketches and sociological observations reaching back to the European Middle Ages."---Martin Sandbu, Financial Times
£25.50
Penguin Putnam Inc The Last Kings of Shanghai
Book SynopsisIn vivid detail... examines the little-known history of two extraordinary dynasties.--The Boston GlobeNot just a brilliant, well-researched, and highly readable book about China''s past, it also reveals the contingencies and ironic twists of fate in China''s modern history.--LA Review of BooksAn epic, multigenerational story of two rival dynasties who flourished in Shanghai and Hong Kong as twentieth-century China surged into the modern era, from the Pulitzer Prize-winning journalistThe Sassoons and the Kadoories stood astride Chinese business and politics for more than one hundred seventy-five years, profiting from the Opium Wars; surviving Japanese occupation; courting Chiang Kai-shek; and nearly losing everything as the Communists swept into power. Jonathan Kaufman tells the remarkable history of how these families ignited an economic boom and opened China to the world, but remained blind to the country''s deep inequality and to the political turmoil on their doorsteps. In a story stretching from Baghdad to Hong Kong to Shanghai to London, Kaufman enters the lives and minds of these ambitious men and women to forge a tale of opium smuggling, family rivalry, political intrigue, and survival.
£13.50
Bloomsbury Publishing PLC Twenty Chickens for a Saddle The Story of an
Book Synopsis'Beautifully written, acutely observed This is a wonderful memoir of an exotic childhood and a striking portrait of one of the world's most beguiling countries. A gem of a book.' ALEXANDER MCCALL SMITHTrade Review'The nearest thing you will get to Gerald Durrell's My Family and Other Animals in Africa and it is just as enchanting' Giles Foden, Conde Nast Traveller 'Beautifully written and lovingly told, Scott's book has the makings to be Out of Africa meets Running with Scissors' New York Times Book Review 'A fabulous read, rollicking, good-humoured and intensely sane' Alexandra Fuller 'Scott does more than simply record her African adventures. She tackles the difficult issue of race, revealing a shift in white attitudes across the generations [and] remind[s] us that southern Africa has many different histories' Independent
£11.69
The History Press Ltd A 1950s Housewife
Book SynopsisBeing a housewife in the 1950s was quite a different experience to today. A 1950s Housewife collects heart-warming personal anecdotes from women who embarked on married life during this fascinating post-war period, providing a trip down memory lane for any wife or child of the 1950s.
£11.69
The History Press Ltd prettycityparis
Book SynopsisA stunning photography, lifestyle and travel guide to ParisTrade Review"Siobhan takes us by the hand and walks us round her favourite haunts, arrondissement by arrondissement, telling us where to stop and what to see, accompanied by her invaluable little black book of addresses. And, of course, those pictures!" * Collagerie.com *
£24.00
The History Press Ltd The Big Book of Pain
Book SynopsisFor millennia, mankind has devised ingenious and diabolical means of inflicting pain on fellow human beings. This deplorable but seemingly universal trait has eaten away at mankind's very claim to civilisation. Despite how repugnant the practice of torture appears to us today, for at least 3,000 years it formed part of most legal codes throughout Europe and the Far East. The Big Book of Pain is an exploration of the systematic use throughout the ages of various means of punishment, torture, coercion and torment. It takes the reader into the Ancient Roman Coliseum, the medieval dungeon, the Inquisitional interrogation, the auto-da-fe, the witch-trial, and the worst of prisons. It is a shocking and compelling study of the shameful methods and motives of the torturer and the executioner, and of the heinous duty they have performed through the ages.
£19.00
The History Press Ltd A Gentlemans Guide to Beard and Moustache
Book SynopsisThe essential grooming guide for the bearded or mustachioed gentlemanReaders must ask themselves: Do you know how to trim your whiskers properly? With beards and moustaches more popular than ever, this delightful little book sets out to answer this pressing question. And if a trim is not required, then itdemonstrates how to wax, polish, and maintain your face furniture so that it is always in tip-top condition. Alongside these manly grooming tips is a guide to famous facial-hair aficionados, from Karl Marx to Ned Flanders; a breakdown of styles; and a perambulation through hirsute history, including an explanation of why the beard was considered sacred by the ancient Greeks.
£9.09
Anness Publishing Tartan The Illustrated Encyclopedia of
Book SynopsisTartan is one of the most enduring symbols of Scottish pride, in a fascinating history and directory, updated for this new edition.
£13.50
