Social and cultural history Books

Book SynopsisModernity and the Victorians lays out in sweeping terms an alternative conception of the political and social dynamics of the period, centred on the past, morality, and community. It offers a deliberately bracing challenge to a swathe of received wisdoms which, it asserts, have fatally misled students of modern Britain.

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Book SynopsisSick Note is a history of how the British state asked, 'who is really sick?' Tracing medical certification for absence from work from 1948 to 2010, Gareth Millward shows how the sick note has survived in practice and in the popular imagination - just like the welfare state itself.Trade ReviewBetween the book's deft and attractive opening and its fine conclusion there is much to enjoy. * Druin Burch, Times Literary Supplement *Fascinating * BBC History Magazine *Table of Contents1: Introduction 2: The 'birth' of the sick note 3: Absenteeism and postwar rebuilding 4: Chauvinists and breadwinners in the 'classic welfare state' 5: Privatization? The sick note into the 1980s 6: Chronicity and capacity towards the new millennium 7: The 'death' of the sick note? 8: Conclusion

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Book SynopsisThe United Kingdom is weakening. Alvin Jackson examines the UK in the light of the experience of similar union states elsewhere, offering the first sustained comparative study across the long nineteenth century and beyond, drawing conclusions which shed new light on the particular history, condition, and fate of the UK.Table of Contents1: Introduction: the United Kingdom and its analogues 2: The unions of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland (1535-1922): case studies 3: European unions and beyond: case studies 4: Centripede: the institutional bolsters of union 5: Alternative unions: federalism 6: Centrifuge: why do unions fail? 7: Untied kingdoms: past politics and present history Select union chronology (covering the issues and events addressed in the study)

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Book SynopsisWhen Europeans first arrived in North America, between five and eight million indigenous people were already living there. But how did they come to be here? What were their agricultural, spiritual, and hunting practices? How did their societies evolve and what challenges do they face today? Eminent historians Theda Perdue and Michael Green begin by describing how nomadic bands of hunter-gatherers followed the bison and woolly mammoth over the Bering land mass between Asia and what is now Alaska between 25,000 and 15,000 years ago, settling throughout North America. They describe hunting practices among different tribes, how some made the gradual transition to more settled, agricultural ways of life, the role of kinship and cooperation in Native societies, their varied burial rites and spiritual practices, and many other features of Native American life. Throughout the book, Perdue and Green stress the great diversity of indigenous peoples in America, who spoke more than 400 different languages before the arrival of Europeans and whose ways of life varied according to the environments they settled in and adapted to so successfully. Most importantly, the authors stress how Native Americans have struggled to maintain their sovereignty--first with European powers and then with the United States--in order to retain their lands, govern themselves, support their people, and pursue practices that have made their lives meaningful. Going beyond the stereotypes that so often distort our views of Native Americans, this Very Short Introduction offers an historically accurate, deeply engaging, and often inspiring account of the wide array of Native peoples in America.ABOUT THE SERIES: The Very Short Introductions series from Oxford University Press contains hundreds of titles in almost every subject area. These pocket-sized books are the perfect way to get ahead in a new subject quickly. Our expert authors combine facts, analysis, perspective, new ideas, and enthusiasm to make interesting and challenging topics highly readable.Table of ContentsContents Preface Chapter 1: Native America Chapter 2: The European Invasion Chapter 3: Indians in the East Chapter 4: Indians in the West Chapter 5: Assimilation and Allotment Chapter 6: Political Sovereignty and Economic Autonomy Chapter 7: Cultural Sovereignty Suggested Readings

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Book SynopsisOne of the world''s leading scholars of religious trends shows how climate change has driven dramatic religious upheavals.Long before the current era of man-made climate change, the world has suffered repeated, severe climate-driven shocks. These shocks have resulted in famine, disease, violence, social upheaval, and mass migration. But these shocks were also religious events. Dramatic shifts in climate have often been understood in religious terms by the people who experienced them. They were described in the language of apocalypse, millennium, and Judgment. Often, too, the eras in which these shocks occurred have been marked by far-reaching changes in the nature of religion and spirituality. Those changes have varied widely - from growing religious fervor and commitment; to the stirring of mystical and apocalyptic expectations; to waves of religious scapegoating and persecution; or the spawning of new religious movements and revivals. In many cases, such responses have had lasting imTrade ReviewReading Climate, Catastrophe, and Faith can nevertheless be salutary. Jenkins is right in his premise that the book will seem innovative... * Willis Jenkins, Journal of the American Academy of Religion *Jenkins's important study is sobering and summoning. Given the past responses to such crises,he leaves little room for optimism. Jenkins reasons by way of analogue from those earlier crises to our own. Given the hard work to be done, we may be grateful to Jenkins for his helpful articulation * Walter Brueggemann, Columbia Theological Seminary Decatur, Georgia, Interpretation: A Journal of Bible and Theology *This work compels us to consider how climate change matters for religious development and, consequently, for international peace and security. It is a worthy read for those working to build a safer and more sustainable world. * Anum Farhan, Chatham House, UK, International Affairs *Philip Jenkins provides a fascinating look into the historical relationship between faith and climate change... The book is a poignant reminder of the role that faith leaders can play in the face of the disruptive impacts of today's climate crisis. * Mariana Vieira, International Affairs Summer reading list 2022 *This masterpiece of historical scholarship should help policy makers and others transcend temporal myopia. Of special interest to students of climate, history, society, religion, and politics, this book can change the way one thinks about such matters. * L. E. Sponsel, CHOICE *Jenkins's bold new argument may change the way we think about the history of religion, but more important, it could remind us that we can imagine a new and better way as we prepare for the consequences of this impending climate crisis. * Rt. Rev. Mark Van Koevering, The Living Church *So many books on climate change focus on science and policy. This one offers a refreshing, if sobering, break as it charts the effect that past periods of climate stress have had on the evolution of the world's great faiths. * Pilita Clark, Financial Times, Best Climate and Environment Books of 2021 *a remarkable overview of climate change and its consequences for religious movements in world history... It is an important book for scholars of religion as well as for those interested in the consequences of climate change. * Mary Evelyn Tucker, Times Literary Supplement *This timely and meticulously researched book makes an important contribution to the growing body of literature engaging religion and history with ecology and climate change. * Ruby Guyat, Times Higher Education *A hugely ambitious work, such as only a historian of Philip Jenkins's great learning would dare undertake... magisterial study, at once probing and panoramic... The timeliness of this volume hardly needs emphasising. * John Pridmore, Church Times *It is fascinating and thought-provoking approach to the climate change which the world now faces. * Revd Dr Paul Beasley-Murray, Church Matters *Table of ContentsNote on Usage Acknowledgments Chapter One: From Disaster To Belief Chapter Two: Forcing Climate Chapter Three: Ages of Gold Chapter Four: God's Anger and the Demons Within Chapter Five: After Darkness, Light Chapter Six: A Faded Sun and A Wider World Chapter Seven: Who Can Stand Before His Cold? Chapter Eight: Darkening Heavens and a New World Chapter Nine: A Warming World Conclusion

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Book SynopsisThere is ample evidence that it is difficult for the general public to understand and internalize scientific facts. Disputes over such facts are often amplified amid political controversies. As we''ve seen with climate change and even COVID-19, politicians rely on the perceptions of their constituents when making decisions that impact public policy. So, how do we make sure that what the public understands is accurate? In this book, Steven L. Goldman traces the public''s suspicion of scientific knowledge claims to a broad misunderstanding, reinforced by scientists themselves, of what it is that scientists know, how they know it, and how to act on the basis of it.In sixteen chapters, Goldman takes readers through the history of scientific knowledge from Plato and Aristotle, through the birth of modern science and its maturation, into a powerful force for social change to the present day. He explains how scientists have wrestled with their own understanding of what it is that they know, that theories evolve, and why the public misunderstands the reliability of scientific knowledge claims.With many examples drawn from the history of philosophy and science, the chapters illustrate an ongoing debate over how we know what we say we know and the relationship between knowledge and reality. Goldman covers a rich selection of ideas from the founders of modern science and John Locke''s response to Newton''s theories to Thomas Kuhn''s re-interpretation of scientific knowledge and the Science Wars that followed it. Goldman relates these historical disputes to current issues, underlining the important role scientists play in explaining their own research to nonscientists and the effort nonscientists must make to incorporate science into public policies. A narrative exploration of scientific knowledge, Science Wars engages with the arguments of both sides by providing thoughtful scientific, philosophical, and historical discussions on every page.Trade ReviewTo anyone seeking a lively historical tour of the problematic nature of scientific knowledge and our unending struggle to pin down what makes it so valuable, I recommend Science Wars enthusiastically. * David E. Dunning, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia *In a world where 'truth' has become as subjective as beauty, Science Wars is essential reading. A wide-ranging tour de force, this book tells us about the nature of knowledge, leavened with clever asides: Galileo was arrogant, Newton dismissed dissenters, and Carl Friedrich Gauss and Leonard Euler are candidates for the greatest mathematician of all time. All this to say, Steve Goldman is an engaging writer * William L. Silber, Senior Advisor, Cornerstone Research; Former Marcus Nadler Professor of Finance and Economics, Stern School of Business, New York University; and author most recently of The Power of Nothing to Lose *This book is well written and carefully presented. Steven Goldman's focus on the evolution of science from the 17th century to present day provides an excellent lens through which to explore what is meant by scientific 'knowledge.' * Rachel A. Ankeny, The University of Adelaide *Goldman's writing style is engaging and clear as he describes the problem of scientific knowledge and the two major approaches. While reading, I was impressed that he could engage with such important material in such a succinct way * Allan Franklin, University of Colorado Boulder *This is a very useful book...the explanations are clear and accessible. Some of themore historical sections are heavy going, but the effort invested in these sections will be rewarded. I have read the book to write this review but will read it again. There is much to take from it. * David Parker, Physiology, Development & Neuroscience, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, United Kingdom, Quarterly Review of Biology *As a summing up of a scholar's lifetime of thinking and teaching, no finer testimony could be imagined than this book. It should be on the mandatory reading list of all scientific aspirants, for the depth of its insights is altogether exceptional and not to be missed by any reader with a deep interest in this subject matter. * J. Lawrenz, The European Legacy *Table of ContentsIntroduction Chapter 1: Knowledge as a Problem. Chapter 2: Is There a Scientific Method? Chapter 3: Was Galileo Right and the Catholic Church Wrong? Chapter 4: Newton and Knowledge of the Universe Chapter 5: Science versus Philosophy Chapter 6: Science and Social Reform in the Age of Reason Chapter 7: What is Science About? Chapter 8: The Knowledge Problem in Mature Science Chapter 9: Scientific Realism and the Romantic Reaction against Reason Chapter 10: Early Twentieth Century Philosophy of Science Chapter 11: Einstein versus Bohr on Reality Chapter 12: In Quest of the Thinker of Science Chapter 13: A New Image for Science Chapter 14: The Opening Phase of the Science Wars Chapter 15: Taking Sides for and against Reason and Knowledge Chapter 16: The Science Wars Go Public References Index

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Book SynopsisA condensed and accessible intellectual history that traces the genesis of the ideas that have built into the #BlackLivesMatter movement in a bid to help us make sense of the emotions, demands, and arguments of present-day activists and public thinkers.Started in the wake of George Zimmerman''s 2013 acquittal in the death of Trayvon Martin, the #BlackLivesMatter movement has become a powerful and incendiary campaign demanding redress for the brutal and unjustified treatment of black bodies by law enforcement in the United States. The movement is only a few years old, but as Christopher J. Lebron argues in this book, the sentiment behind it is not; the plea and demand that Black Lives Matter comes out of a much older and richer tradition arguing for the equal dignity--and not just equal rights--of black people. In this updated edition, The Making of Black Lives Matter presents a condensed and accessible intellectual history of the #BlackLivesMatter movement and expands on the movement''s relevancy. This edition includes a new introduction that explores how the movement''s core ideas have been challenged, re-affirmed, and re-imagined during the white nationalism of the Trump years, as well as a new chapter that examines the ideas and importance of Angela Davis and Amiri Baraka as significant participants in the Black Power Movement and Black Arts Movement, respectively. Drawing on the work of these revolutionary black public intellectuals, as well as Frederick Douglass, Ida B. Wells, Langston Hughes, Zora Neal Hurston, Anna Julia Cooper, Audre Lorde, James Baldwin, and Martin Luther King Jr., Lebron clarifies what it means to assert that Black Lives Matter when faced with contemporary instances of anti-black law enforcement. He also illuminates the crucial difference between the problem signaled by the social media hashtag and how we think that we ought to address the problem. As Lebron states, police body cameras, or even the exhortation for civil rights mean nothing in the absence of equality and dignity. To upset dominant practices of abuse, oppression, and disregard, we must reach instead for radical sensibility. Radical sensibility requires that we become cognizant of the history of black thought and activism in order to make sense of the emotions, demands, and argument of present-day activists and public thinkers. Only in this way can we truly embrace and pursue the idea of racial progress in America.Trade ReviewInjecting historical and philosophical perspective into the country's contemporary racial quagmire, Lebron offers readers a glimpse of the intellectual roots of African Americans continual fight for respect and equality. His call to join a historically momentous generational force demanding change also offers readers direction on how to become part of a solution. * Library Journal *If you want to understand the urgency of #BlackLivesMatter you need Christopher J. Lebron's excellent The Making of Black Lives Matter: A Brief History of an Idea, a nimble, passionate, and far-ranging intellectual history. Through testimony in art and in letters, Lebron presents radical political philosophy for our times. * Nell Irvin Painter, author of The History of White People *The Making of Black Lives Matter offers a powerful, timely, and necessary intellectual meditation on the roots of the most important social movement of the 21st century. Christopher Lebron's cri de coeur challenges activists, institutions, and Americans of all backgrounds to reimagine the contours and possibilities of racial justice from antebellum slavery to the streets of Ferguson, Missouri. * Peniel E. Joseph, author of Stokely: A Life *Lebron takes a deep, compelling dive into the intellectual and cultural background of the Black Lives Matter movement. * Walter Russell Mead, Foreign Affairs *Christopher Lebron's short, incisive book examines the racialised violence that defines US history: from the overt violence of slavery to the racial segregation of Jim Crow legislation, from white supremacist lynchings to the covert white privilege of society today. Lebron never sets out to provide a historical assessment of Black Lives Matter but contextualises the movement within black political and ethical thought, while lauding the achievements of people who have maintained their morals and dignity in the face of oppression and violence. * Times Higher Education *Table of ContentsIntroduction to the Updated Edition Introduction to the First Edition: Naming the Dead in the Name of the Living 1. American Shame and Real Freedom 2. Cultural Control against Social Control: The Radical Possibilities of the Harlem Renaissance 3. For Our Sons, Daughters, and All Concerned Souls 4. Where Is the Love? The Hope for Americaâs Redemption 5. The Radical Lessons We Have Not Yet Learned 6. Black, Blues, and America: Amiri Baraka and Angela Davis on The Freedom to Be Black Afterword: Nobodyâs Protest Essay Notes Index

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Book SynopsisActivists, pundits, politicians, and the press frequently proclaim today''s digitally mediated racial justice activism the new civil rights movement. As Charlton D. McIlwain shows in this book, the story of racial justice movement organizing online is much longer and varied than most people know. In fact, it spans nearly five decades and involves a varied group of engineers, entrepreneurs, hobbyists, journalists, and activists. But this is a history that is virtually unknown even in our current age of Google, Facebook, Twitter, and Black Lives Matter. Beginning with the simultaneous rise of civil rights and computer revolutions in the 1960s, McIlwain, for the first time, chronicles the long relationship between African Americans, computing technology, and the Internet. In turn, he argues that the forgotten figures who worked to make black politics central to the Internet''s birth and evolution paved the way for today''s explosion of racial justice activism. From the 1960s to present, the book examines how computing technology has been used to neutralize the threat that black people pose to the existing racial order, but also how black people seized these new computing tools to build community and wealth, and to wage a war for racial justice.Through archival sources and the voices of many of those who lived and made this history, Black Software centralizes African Americans'' role in the Internet''s creation and evolution, illuminating both the limits and possibilities for using digital technology to push for racial justice in the United States and across the globe.Trade ReviewCharlton McIlwain's Black Software is a groundbreaking history of the intersection between technology and race in the United States. * Pavithra Suresh and Alexander Monea, Technology and Culture *McIlwain's book [is an] utterly compelling demonstratio[n] of the contributions black people have made, and struggle to make still, to modern culture. * Lilian Anekwe, New Scientist *A poetic tour de force. By amplifying black voices and their stories, McIlwain peels back a layer of overwritten history to reveal how technology and race have always been entwined. This book's rhythmic drumbeat and call to action will energize your soul. * danah boyd, Principal Researcher, Microsoft Research and Founder of Data and Society *McIlwain has written the first digital history book that explains in crystal clear terms eactly how Big Tech came to be an engine for inequality. Black Software is an utterly fascinating, painstakingly researched origin story of black cyberculture...It will change the way you think about computers, fairness, racial identity, and America as a technological nation. * Lisa Nakamura, Gwendolyn Calvert Baker Collegiate Professor and Director the Digital Studies Institute, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor *Black Software imaginatively reprograms late twentieth-century digital history with a revelatory account of the black men and women who are its hidden figures. Unsung innovator are recovered as the forerunners of #BlackLivesMatter, #BlackTwitter, and #MeToo in this detailed, creative and crucial rendering of the tech communities that-against both the odds and countervailing forces-inspired today's hashtag politics. * Alondra Nelson, Harold F. Linder Professor of Social Science, Institute for Advanced Study *Black Software is one of the most moving and important books about the history of digital culture and politics in the United States. Charlton McIlwain tells stirring stories of those who moved the world a bit closer to racial justice and relates broad account of the social and political forces that worked against the interests of African Americans. * Siva Vaidhyanatha, author of Antisocial Media: How Facebook Disconnects Us and Undermines Democracy *Table of ContentsPrologue Chapter One: The Great Equalizer Chapter Two: Different Strokes Chapter Three: The Roxbury Shake Chapter Four: The Vanguard Chapter Five: Black Software Comes to Cambridge Chapter Six: The Electronic Village Needs an Organizer Chapter Seven: Want Ad for a Revolution Chapter Eight: The Battle for (Black) Cyberspace Chapter Nine: 100 Years Black: A Cautionary Tale Chapter 10: Taking IT to the Streets Chapter Eleven: Collision Course Chapter Twelve: The Revolution, Brought to You by IBM Chapter Thirteen: The Committeemen Chapter Fourteen: What Happened at the Homestead Chapter Fifteen: Kansas City Burning Chapter Sixteen: The Man's Best Friend Chapter Seventeen: Digital Technology: Our Past Is Prologue Notes Bibliography Index

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Book SynopsisTable of ContentsList of Figures Acknowledgments 1. Introduction 2. Thomas Mann's Joseph Tetralogy: A "Musico-Literary Poetics" of Equality 3. A Right to the City: Toni Morrison's Literary Jazz 4. An Egalitarian Istanbul: Ethos's Cinematic Portraiture 5. Latinx Visibility: Architecture and Public History Notes Index

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Book SynopsisIn October 1726, newspapers began reporting a remarkable event. In the town of Godalming in Surrey, a woman called Mary Toft had started to give birth to rabbits. Several leading doctors - some sent directly by King George I - travelled to examine the woman and she was moved to London to be closer to them. By December, she had been accused of fraud and taken into custody. Mary Toft''s unusual deliveries caused a media sensation. Her rabbit births were a test case for doctors trying to further their knowledge about the processes of reproduction and pregnancy. The rabbit births prompted not just public curiosity and scientific investigation, but also a vicious backlash. Based on extensive new archival research, this book is the first in-depth re-telling of this extraordinary story. Karen Harvey situates the rabbit-births within the troubled community of Godalming and the women who remained close to Mary Toft as the case unfolded, exploring the motivations of the medics who examined her, Trade ReviewThe story is told well, and its different dimensions all carefully analysed * Mark Knights, Cultural and Social History *In a captivating new interpretation, Karen Harvey takes on the well-known tale of Mary Toft giving birth to rabbits and resituates it, bringing considerable erudition, empathy, and energy to the task. * Linda A. Pollock, Early Modern Women: An Interdisciplinary Journal *[Harvey's] book provides fascinating insights into the social context surrounding the "Rabbit Woman" case while never losing sight of what remains a rattling good story - a potboiler indeed. * Wendy Moore, The Guardian *The cultural historian Karen Harvey returns [Mary Toft] to the centre of her own story - and, through her, examines the place of poor women in the 18th century ... Harvey deserves credit for the immense amount of research that has produced what feels like a definitive account ... there is much to be said for the timeliness of this story about credulity and hysteria in the age of science. * Robert Leigh-Pemberton, The Daily Telegraph *The Imposteress Rabbit Breeder is a cracking read of a story that seems impossible to believe but it was all too true. * Paul Donnelley, The Express *[An] amply detailed study ... Harvey fills out the case fascinatingly, to create a view of the country and city in a shifting era ... her extraordinary narrative will surely be savoured by a wide audience. * Christopher Hawtree, The Spectator *Harvey's clear-eyed authority and strenuous examination of Toft's story lays bare a fascinating moment in English society. * Tanya Sweeney, The Irish Independent *The book's neat and rigorous analysis provides a thought-provoking glimpse into the England of 1726. It is also, rightly, an effort to restore some dignity to the woman at the centre of the story. * Louise Perry, Standpoint *Powerful and detailed ... The Imposteress Rabbit Breeder is an engaging and emotive volume, capturing an extraordinary event from the early Georgian era. It should appeal to anyone with an interest in this period, but its broad scope and thorough analysis suggest it will find a much wider readership. * All About History *[The Imposteress Rabbit Breeder] is absolutely superb. It's one of the best microhistories that I've read. * James Daybell, Histories of the Unexpected *Harvey's account of Mary Toft's "births" and their social, medical and cultural contexts, is an excellent demonstration of modern historical scholarship: scrupulously researched from a wide variety of sources, but empathetic in its delivery and tone. It is also an exemplary model for what can be achieved when seemingly anomalous events are examined by way of a deeper dive into their wider social and cultural contexts. * Ross MacFarlane, The Fortean Times *[Harvey] has quarried out information about the culture at the time - the medical world, the world of rich courtiers and noblemen, the condition of the poor both male and female. It is rich in footnotes and in the specialized language of cultural studies ... The story still fascinates. * Celia Haddon, The Salisbury Review *Harvey's remarkable achievement is to have gripped our attention with this extraordinary but true story. * Anthony Fletcher, History *Harvey offers [...] a new and valuable perspective from which scholars with interests in histories of midwifery, medicine, and gender will gain a great deal ... Harvey's deliberate and well-calculated focus on questions of town and country, man and woman, practitioner and patient is a key strength of this book, and one which changes our perspective on a story we thought we knew well. Accessible and enjoyable for scholars, students, and the public, this book is a valuable and insightful addition to any bookshelf. * Dr Ashleigh Blackwood, De Partu (History of Midwifery and Childbirth Research Group) *A fantastically rich and beautifully executed book. * Helen Berry, author of Orphans of Empire: The Fate of London's Foundlings *Harvey uses the famous rabbit birth fraud to train a light on country, town and city, social divisions, female touch and patriarchal power, medicine, the law and politics - and at the heart of it all a piteous woman testifying to her bodily sufferings and visceral losses. A detective story in the noble tradition of Natalie Zemon Davis' The Return of Martin Guerre. * Amanda Vickery, author of Behind Closed Doors: At Home in Georgian England *Table of ContentsPrelude I: Surrey 1: The town: 'peaceable neighbours who are willing to live quietly' 2: The women: 'they workt for me' 3: The births: 'a Fact of which there was no Instance in Nature' II: London 4: The bagnio: 'several persons of distinction' 5: Confession: 'I was loath She should touch me' 6: The punishment: 'some judge very hard of ye poor woman' III: The public 7: The press: a 'filthy story at best' 8: Body politics: 'the beautiful uniform Order' 9: Afterlife: 'The Impostress Rabbett breeder'

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Book SynopsisThe Romans first set military foot on Greek soil in 229 BCE; only sixty or so years later it was all over, and shortly thereafter Greece became one of the first provinces of the emerging Roman Empire. It was an incredible journey - a swift, brutal, and determined conquest of the land to whose art, philosophy, and culture the Romans owed so much. Rome found the eastern Mediterranean divided, in an unstable balance of power, between three great kingdoms - the three Hellenistic kingdoms that had survived and flourished after the wars of Alexander the Great''s Successors: Macedon, Egypt, and Syria. Internal troubles took Egypt more or less out of the picture, but the other two were reduced by Rome. Having established itself, by its defeat of Carthage, as the sole superpower in the western Mediterranean, Rome then systematically went about doing the same in the east, until the entire Mediterranean was under her control. Apart from the thrilling military action, the story of the Roman conqueTrade ReviewThe story Waterfield tells is complex, but he tells it well. * Peter Jones, BBC History *This sorry story is told with great verve and pace by Waterfield. * Literary Review *Table of ContentsPreface Prelude: Clouds in the West 1: Rome Turns East 2: The Illyrian Wars 3: Barbarians, Go Home! 4: King Philip of Macedon 5: The Freedom of the Greeks 6: The Road to Thermopylae 7: The Periphery Expands 8: Remote Control 9: Perseus' Choice 10: The End of Macedon 11: Imperium Romanum 12: The Greek World after Pydna Key Dates Glossary Notes Bibliography Index

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Book SynopsisThe crusade movement needed women: their money, their prayer support, their active participation, and their inspiration...This book surveys women''s involvement in medieval crusading between the second half of the eleventh century, when Pope Gregory VII first proposed a penitential military expedition to help the Christians of the East, and 1570, when the last crusader state, Cyprus, was captured by the Ottoman Turks. It considers women''s actions not only on crusade battlefields but also in recruiting crusaders, supporting crusades through patronage, propaganda, and prayer, and as both defenders and aggressors. It argues that medieval women were deeply involved in the crusades but the roles that they could play and how their contemporaries recorded their deeds were dictated by social convention and cultural expectations. Although its main focus is the women of Latin Christendom, it also looks at the impact of the crusades and crusaders on the Jews of western Europe and the Muslims of Trade ReviewSelected as a Book of the Year 2023 by Medievalists.netA significant and timely addition to the field. * Natasha Hodgson, BBC History Magazine *4*: Nicolson's careful and detailed retelling of women of all socioeconomic classes during the crusades makes Women and the Crusades one of the most helpful new publications for history enthusiasts and students. * Zhihui Zou, World History Encyclopedia *Nicholson...covers her subject with all the comprehensiveness and breadth readers might expect from a scholar of her caliber. * L. W. Marvin, CHOICE Reviews *The main contribution of Nicholson's book is her mere emphasis on women's involvement in the crusades movement for centuries. Based on an impressive breadth of sources, she convincingly shows that beyond fighting in the front line, women indeed made an important contribution to the Holy War of Christendom. * Professor Sophia Menache, University of Haifa *Widely researched from a wide spectrum of sources and broadly focused, Helen Nicholson's comprehensive study reveals the considerable and varied roles women played in the promotion, conduct, support and memorialisation of crusading and crusaders over more than four centuries. Using telling vignettes of participation, she shows how women of different social status and economic condition were integral to crusading culture and practice, not just marginal or ornamental. * Professor Christopher J. Tyerman, University of Oxford *This book is evidently the product of decades of accumulated research expertise and is panoramic in its scope...Nonetheless, this book undoubtedly succeeds as a detailed and convincing reminder that the history of the crusades is so much more than just a history of men on battlefields. * Beth C. Spacey, University of Queensland, Cerae Journal Vol. 10 *Women and the Crusades is teeming with fascinating insights. * Nicholas Morton, Engelsberg Ideas *Table of ContentsPreface Acknowledgements Chronology of the Crusades List of Popes List of Maps and Figures A note on names Maps Figures 1: Locating Women in the Crusades: Definitions and Evidence 2: Initialising crusades 3: Crusade Campaigns 4: The Home Front: Supporting the Crusade 5: After the Crusade: Memory and Imagination Summing Up Bibliography Index

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Book SynopsisFrom prompting a transition from hunter-gatherer to an agrarian lifestyle in ancient Mesopotamia to bankrolling Britain''s imperialist conquests, strategic taxation and the regulation of beer has played a pivotal role throughout history. Beeronomics: How Beer Explains the World tells these stories, and many others, whilst also exploring the key innovations that propelled the industrialization and consolidation of the beer market.At the same time when mega-mergers in the brewing industry are creating huge transnationals selling their beer across the globe, the craft beer movement in America and Europe has brought the rich history of ancient brewing techniques to the forefront in recent years. But less talked about is the economic influence of this beverage on the world and the myriad ways it has shaped the course of history. Beeronomics covers world history through the lens of beer, exploring the common role that beer taxation has played throughout and providing context for recognizable brands and consumer trends and tastes.Beeronomics examines key developments that have moved the brewing industry forward. Its most ubiquitous ingredient, hops, was used by the Hanseatic League to establish the export dominance of Hamburg and Bremen in the sixteenth century. During the late nineteenth century, bottom-fermentation led to the spread of industrial lager beer. Industrial innovations in bottling, refrigeration, and TV advertising paved the way for the consolidation and market dominance of major macrobreweries like Anheuser Busch in America and Artois Brewery in Belgium during the twentieth century. We''re now in the era of global integration-- one multinational AB InBev, claims 46% of all beer profits-- but there''s a counterrevolution afoot of small, independent craft breweries in both America, Belgium and around the world. Beeronomics surveys these trends, giving context to why you see which brands and styles on shelves at your local supermarket or on tap at the nearby pub.Trade ReviewHighly recommended, this book isnt a dry tome. Its essential reading for those turned on by history, economics, fun facts and, erm, beer. * Paul Howard, On: Yorkshire Magazine *If you care about beer and its impact on our world, Beeronomics is a smart and entertaining primer on the subject, that deserves its place in any beer lover's library. * American Craft Beer *Highly recommended, this book isn't a dry tome either. It's essential for those turned on by history, economics, fun facts and, erm, beer. * Paul Howard, winealchemy.co.uk *This book is aimed at serious students of economics and business -- it's more investment strategies and market consolidation than tales from the pub. But even in the analysis, there are interesting moments. * Mark Mason, Daily Mail *Don't be put off by the allusion to economics; there is only a moderate amount of economics in this wide-ranging book, and most of it will be easily understood by the average reader ... All of it, no matter how far afield it seems from economics, will be put to work proving the author's thesis that beer explains the world ... you don't have to be a specialist to enjoy this book. The chapters are short - usually about eight pages - and they are well-written and understandable. * Ted Child, What's Brewing *This impressive, all-encompassing, and accessible book is a tour de force and must-read for anybody interested in history, economics, and obviously beer. Cheers! * Bart Minten, Senior research fellow, International Food Policy Research Institute *For much of human history beer was central a safe source of fluids, calories that fed the work force, and tax revenues that reshaped the political world. Monks, generals, scientists, kings, and robber barons are all part of the books journey that ends with craft beer. A must on all business schools list of case studies and your holiday gift list! * Professor Harry de Gorter, Cornell University *Beeronomics: How Beer Explains the World is a significant book. It covers diverse aspects of the economics of beer in world history, providing fascinating reading for beer enthusiasts and others alike. Each chapter is a revelation. Drawing it all together leaves us with a much changed view of this wonderful, historically important beverage. * Julian M. Alston, Professor and Director of the Robert Mondavi Institute Center for Wine Economics, UC Davis, and author of The Effects of Farm and Food Policies on Obesity in the United States *For several years now, Jo Swinnen has been devoting serious scholarly attention to a neglected topic, and uncovering intriguing stories along the way. Finally, these insights are made available to a broader public in this refreshing read. * Koen Deconinck, Former Management Consultant at Bain & Company; Economist at Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development *This is a fascinating book on beer, history, and economics by the leading beer economists from the world's beer capital. In fifteen chapters, Swinnen and Briski tell the story of how the world has shaped beer and how beer has shaped the world. * Karl Storchmann, New York University, Managing Editor of the Journal of Wine Economics *Beeronomics provides an excellent addition to the literature. It addresses and explores multiple aspects and issues related to beer and brewing worldwide, using several interesting approaches to highlight new trajectories and trends in the field. Definitely worth a read! * Professor Ignazio Cabras, Chair in Entrepreneurship and Regional Economic Development and Faculty Director (International Development), Newcastle Business School, Northumbria University *Table of ContentsIntroduction: From Monastries to Multinationals and Back 1: The World's Oldest Profession: Brewing in the Cradle of Civilization 2: A Revolution Every Thousand Years: How Hops Jumpstarted Commercial Brewing in Medieval Europe 3: The Brew that Launched a Thousand Ships: How Porter Paid for the British Royal Navy 4: A Revolution Every Thousand Years, Part II: How Bottom-Fermentation Made Beer the Darling of the Scientific and Industrial Revolutions 5: How TV Killed the Local Brewery 6: Beer Monopoly: How the Belgian Beer Barons Dethroned the King 7: Socialist Lubricant: Liberalization, Take-Overs, and Restructuring of the East European Brewery Industry 8: The Belgian White: Reincarnation of an Old World Brew 9: The Reinheitsgebot: Protection Against Competition or Contamination? 10: From Land to Brand: How Nineteenth-Century Nationalist Politics Planted the Seeds for the Global Trademark Battle Over "Budweiser" 11: The Great Convergence: The Fall of the Beer-Drinking Nation, the Rise of the Beer-Drinking World 12: From Vodka to Baltika: Deciphering Russia's Recent Love Affair with Beer 13: Trading Water or Terroir? The Changing Nature of the Beer Trade 14: Craft Nation: How Belgium's "Peasant Beers" Became the Best in the World 15: Hop Heads and Locaholics: Strategies of the American Craft Beer Movement

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Book SynopsisFor three hundred years the ghetto defined Jewish culture in the late medieval and early modern period in Western Europe. In the nineteenth-century it was a free-floating concept which travelled to Eastern Europe and the United States. Eastern European ghettos, which enabled genocide, were crudely rehabilitated by the Nazis during World War Two as if they were part of a benign medieval tradition. In the United States, the word ghetto was routinely applied to endemic black ghettoization which has lasted from 1920 until the present. Outside of America the ghetto has been universalized as the incarnation of class difference, or colonialism, or apartheid, and has been applied to segregated cities and countries throughout the world. In this Very Short Introduction Bryan Cheyette unpicks the extraordinarily complex layers of contrasting meanings that have accrued over five hundred years to ghettos, considering their different settings across the globe. He considers core questions of why and when urban, racial, and colonial ghettos have appeared, and who they contain. Exploring their various identities, he shows how different ghettos interrelate, or are contrasted, across time and space, or even in the same place.ABOUT THE SERIES: The Very Short Introductions series from Oxford University Press contains hundreds of titles in almost every subject area. These pocket-sized books are the perfect way to get ahead in a new subject quickly. Our expert authors combine facts, analysis, perspective, new ideas, and enthusiasm to make interesting and challenging topics highly readable.Trade ReviewThis overview of the changing meaning of the ghetto across the globe and through time is highly recommended for readers new to the subject, as well as for those who wish to deepen their knowledge through its excellent bibliography. * Laura Vaughan, LSE Review of Books *Bryan Cheyette has vigorously met the challenge of looking at ghettos in history and literature from 16th-century Italy to present-day America. * David Abulafia, Jewish Renaissance *Revealing new details and insights on almost every page. * Howard Cooper, Jewish Chronicle *Table of ContentsPreface and Acknowledgments List of illustrations 1: Why ghetto? 2: The age of the ghetto 3: Ghettos of the Imagination 4: Nazism and the ghetto 5: The americanization of the ghetto 6: Global ghettos References Further reading Publishers acknowledgements

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Book Synopsis''A compassionate, wide-ranging study.'' Terry Eagleton, The GuardianDespite 21st-century fears of a modern ''epidemic'' of loneliness, its history has been sorely neglected.A Biography of Loneliness is the first history of its kind to be published in English, offering a radically new interpretation of loneliness as an emotional language and experience. Using letters and diaries, philosophical tracts, political discussions, and medical literature from the eighteenth century to the present, historian of the emotions Fay Bound Alberti argues that loneliness is not an ahistorical, universal phenomenon. It is, in fact, a modern emotion: before 1800, its language did not exist. As Alberti shows, the birth of loneliness is linked to the development of modernity: the all-encompassing ideology of the individual that has emerged in the mind and physical sciences, in economic structures, in philosophy and politics. While it has a biography of its own, loneliness impacts on people differently, according to their gender, ethnicity, religion, outlook, and socio-economic position. It is, Alberti argues, not a single state but an ''emotion cluster'', composed of a wide variety of responses that include fear, anger, resentment and sorrow. In spite of this, loneliness is not always negative. And it is physical as well as psychological: loneliness is a product of the body as much as the mind. Looking at informative case studies such as Sylvia Plath, Queen Victoria, and Virginia Woolf, A Biography of Loneliness charts the emergence of loneliness as a modern emotional state. From social media addiction to widowhood, from homelessness to the oldest old, from mall hauls to massages, loneliness appears in all aspects of 21st-century life. Yet we cannot address its meanings, let alone formulate a cure, without attention to its complex, protean history.Trade ReviewIn addition to Alberti's sharp political analysis, one of the most powerful themes in her book is how varied loneliness is, how embedded it is in our lives, how extensively it evades generalisation. Maybe loneliness is a 21st-century epidemic, a modern illness requiring an urgent response, but its also so much more than that. * Sophie McBain, The New Statesman *Alberti conveys the ambivalence of loneliness as we now conceive of it, its mingling of horror and desirability in a machine age. * Jane O'Grady, Literary Review *A wonderful biography of loneliness by a brilliant socio-cultural historian. * James Daybell, Histories of the Unexpected *Beginning with the intriguing argument that loneliness is a modern emotional phenomenon, Fay Bound Alberti traces many facets and factors leading up to the current loneliness dilemma. The book contributes both to several facets in the history of emotion over the past two centuries, and to a humane understanding of the issues and possibilities involved today. * Dr Peter Stearns, George Mason University *This fascinating book explores an increasingly central experience in our society-loneliness. Bound Alberti does a wonderful job of explaining where do all lonely people come from, and where do they all belong. The nuanced picture she draws has real potential to help us better understand, cope with, and reduce the most significant epidemic of our time. The author makes a particularly valuable distinction between fleeting and chronic loneliness. While fleeting loneliness can boost creativity and enhance emotional and spiritual clarity, chronic lonelinesswhich involves an existential sense of meaningless lackis devastatingly destructive. I highly recommend this important book for all readers. * Aaron Ben-Ze'ev, author of The Arc of Love *Why is loneliness such a major concern in western societies? In this thoughtful, thought-provoking book Fay Bound Alberti traces modern loneliness from its nineteenth-century cultural and demographic origins to its latest incarnation as a health emergency, a scourge of western society. Exploring diverse experiences of loneliness - from William Wordsworths famous lonely as a cloud to Sylvia Plaths desperate description of it as a disease of the blood - Bound Alberti provides a compelling account of the causes and consequences of loneliness in an age when community solidarities are at a premium. * Barbara Taylor, Professor of Humanities at Queen Mary University of London; principal investigator on Wellcome Trust funded project, 'Pathologies of Solitude, 18th-21st Century' *A compassionate, wide-ranging study. * Terry Eagleton, The Guardian *Table of ContentsAcknowledgements Preface: No (Wo)man is an island Introduction: Loneliness as a 'modern epidemic' 1: When 'oneliness' became loneliness: the birth of a modern emotion 2: A 'disease of the blood'? The chronic loneliness of Sylvia Plath 3: Loneliness and lack: romantic love, from Wuthering Heights to Twilight 4: Widowhood and loss: from Thomas Turner to the Widow of Windsor 5: Instaglum? Social media and the making of online community 6: A 'ticking timebomb'? Rethinking loneliness in old age 7: Roofless and rootless: no place to call 'home' 8: Feeding the hunger. Materiality and the neglected lonely body 9: Lonely clouds and empty vessels. When loneliness is a gift Conclusion: reframing loneliness in a neoliberal age Further reading Appendix

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Book SynopsisBrazil is associated in many people''s minds with conviviality, sensuality, and natural beauty. Yet the country behind these images and associations is something of an enigma. It is alternately praised as the country of the future, a rising power ready to take its place at the top tables of global governance, or written off as a perennial disappointment, a country forever failing to reach its potential, mired in corruption, inequality, poverty, and violence. These oscillations between euphoria and despair obscure a country with its own unique trajectory through the 20th and 21st centuries. This Very Short Introduction offers an account of modern Brazil that covers some of the major features of the country''s transformation, including the rise of the modern state in the mid-20th century, the violent repression of dictatorship, the domestic economic, political, and social challenges faced by the country today, and the role Brazil plays in dealing with some of the most important contemporary global problems. In doing so, Anthony Pereira highlights some of the peculiar features of Brazil''s development, such as the tendency of its political leaders to engage in complicated, informal political deals; the state''s welfare institutions that often exacerbate, rather than improve, the country''s deep economic inequalities; and Brazil''s long history of peaceful relations with its neighbours despite a high level of state violence against citizens.ABOUT THE SERIES: The Very Short Introductions series from Oxford University Press contains hundreds of titles in almost every subject area. These pocket-sized books are the perfect way to get ahead in a new subject quickly. Our expert authors combine facts, analysis, perspective, new ideas, and enthusiasm to make interesting and challenging topics highly readable.Table of ContentsList of illustrations Introduction 1: The Vargas era and its legacy 2: Dictatorship and repression 3: Rich country, poor people: economic challenges 4: Development or decay? Citizenship and political representation 5: Brazil and the multipolar world Conclusion Further reading Glossary Index

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Book SynopsisDo you touch wood for luck, or avoid hotel rooms on floor thirteen? Would you cross the path of a black cat, or step under a ladder? Is breaking a mirror just an expensive waste of glass, or something rather more sinister? Despite the dominance of science in today''s world, superstitious beliefs - both traditional and new - remain surprisingly popular. A recent survey of adults in the United States found that 33 percent believed that finding a penny was good luck, and 23 percent believed that the number seven was lucky. Where did these superstitions come from, and why do they persist today?This Very Short Introduction explores the nature and surprising history of superstition from antiquity to the present. For two millennia, superstition was a label derisively applied to foreign religions and unacceptable religious practices, and its primary purpose was used to separate groups and assert religious and social authority. After the Enlightenment, the superstition label was still used to define groups, but the new dividing line was between reason and unreason. Today, despite our apparent sophistication and technological advances, superstitious belief and behaviour remain widespread, and highly educated people are not immune. Stuart Vyse takes an exciting look at the varieties of popular superstitious beliefs today and the psychological reasons behind their continued existence, as well as the likely future course of superstition in our increasingly connected world. ABOUT THE SERIES: The Very Short Introductions series from Oxford University Press contains hundreds of titles in almost every subject area. These pocket-sized books are the perfect way to get ahead in a new subject quickly. Our expert authors combine facts, analysis, perspective, new ideas, and enthusiasm to make interesting and challenging topics highly readable.Trade ReviewStimulating and informative. * Alexander Faludy, Church Times *This succinct summary of the history of and psychology behind superstition is so superb that I am adopting it for my college course on critical thinking and recommend it be required reading for all social science students. Stuart Vyse is such a marvelous writer and clear thinker, in fact, that this book should be required reading for all humans susceptible to superstitions, which is to say all of humanity. * Michael Shermer, Publisher, Skeptic magazine *Stuart Vyse has packed a lot into this little book, including a comprehensive discussion of the way in which the concept of superstition has changed across the ages, the psychology of superstition, and the implications of superstitious thinking for the modern world - all presented in an engaging and informative style. Highly recommended! * Professor Chris French, Goldsmiths, University of London *Table of ContentsIntroduction 1: The meanings of superstition 2: Religious superstition 3: Secular superstition 4: Superstition today 5: Why do people believe? 6: The future of superstition Further reading Index

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Book SynopsisA new edition of this best-selling history of Britain, from Roman times, now updated to cover the first decade of the 21st century.The Oxford History of Britain tells the story of Britain and its people over two thousand years, from the coming of the Roman legions to the present day. Encompassing political, social, economic, and cultural developments throughout the British Isles, the dramatic narrative is taken up in turn by ten leading historians who offer the fruits of the best modern scholarship to the general reader in an authoritative form. A vivid, sometimes surprising picture emerges of a continuous turmoil of change in every period, and the wider social context of political and economic tension is made clear. But consensus, no less than conflict, is a part of the story: in focusing on elements of continuity down the centuries, the authors bring out that special awareness of identity which has been such a distinctive feature of British society. By relating both these factors in the British experience, and by exploring the many ways in which Britain has shaped and been shaped by contact with Europe and the wider world, this landmark work brings the reader face to face with the past, and the foundations of modern British society. This updated new edition (by the original editor) adds great richness by taking the story down from the economic crisis of 2008 to the conflict over Europe at the present day.Table of ContentsForward to the new edition 1: Peter Salway: Roman Britain (c. 55 BC - c. AD 440) 2: John Blair: The Anglo-Saxon Period (c. 440-1066) 3: John Gillingham: The Early Middle Ages (1066-1290) 4: Ralph A. Griffiths: The Later Middle Ages (1290-1485) 5: John Guy: The Tudor Age (1485-1603) 6: John Morrill: The Stuarts (1603-1688) 7: Paul Langford: The Eighteenth Century (1688-1789) 8: Christopher Harvie: Revolution and the Rule of Law (1789-1851) 9: H. C. G. Matthew: The Liberal Age (1851-1914) 10: Kenneth O. Morgan: The Twentieth Century (1914-2000) 11: Kenneth O. Morgan: A New Millennium (2000-2008) 12: From Crash to Brexit (2008-2020) Further Reading Chronology Genealogies of Royal Lines Prime Ministers 1721-2019 Index Foreword to the new edition 1: Peter Salway: Roman Britain (c.55 BC - c. AD 440) 2: John Blair: The Anglo-Saxon Period (c. 440-1066) 3: John Gillingham: The Early Middle Ages (1066-1290) 4: Ralph A. Griffiths: The Later Middle Ages (1290-1485) 5: John Guy: The Tudor Age (1485-1603) 6: John Morrill: The Stuarts (1603-1688) 7: Paul Langford: The Eighteenth Century (1688-1789) 8: Christopher Harvie: Revolution and the Rule of Law (1789-1851) 9: H. C. G. Matthew: The Liberal Age (1851-1914) 10: Kenneth O. Morgan: The Twentieth Century (1914-2000) Kenneth O. Morgan: Epilogue (2000-2010) Further Reading Chronology Genealogies of Royal Lines Prime Ministers 1721-2010 Index

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Book SynopsisA history of Russian emotional culture of the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries, as told through the story of the life and death of Andrei Turgenev (1781-1803), the author of a confessional diary, a gifted poet, and an early Russian Romantic who failed to live up to the principles and models he cherished.Trade ReviewThe Emergence of a Hero first appeared in Russian in 2016, and remains every bit as fine a work of scholarship in Leo Shtutin's welcome and accomplished translation. In minute detail and with finesse, Andrei Zorin portrays a precocious talent who grasped at the dawn of the Romantic age that a new type of personality was coming into being - a personality prone to melancholy and disillusionment but also idealistic, inclined to self-sacrifice and capable of delighting in love, friendship, philosophy, music and poetry. * Derek Offord, TLS *Table of ContentsIntroduction: Individual experience as a problem of cultural history 1: The emotional culture of the Russian nobility of the second half of the eighteenth century 2: The Prodigal Son (A Youthful Rebellion and the Dramas of Schiller) 3: Three Sisters (Strategies of Love and The New Heloise) 4: The New Abelard (A Thirst for Self-Destruction and The Sorrows of Young Werther) Conclusion

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Book SynopsisImperial Boredom offers a radical reconsideration of the British Empire during its heyday in the nineteenth century. Challenging the long-established view that the Empire was about adventure and excitement, with heroic men and intrepid women eagerly spreading commerce and civilization around the globe, this thoroughly researched, engagingly written, and lavishly illustrated account suggests instead that boredom was central to the experience of Empire. This volume looks at what it was actually like to sail to Australia, to serve as a soldier in South Africa, or to accompany a colonial official to the hill stations of India, and agrues that for numerous men and women, from governors to convicts, explorers to tourists, the Victorian Empire was dull and disappointing. Drawing on diaries, letters, memoirs, and travelogues, it demonstrates that all across the empire, men and women found the landscapes monotonous, the physical and psychological distance from home debilitating, the routines of everyday life wearisome, and their work unfulfilling. Ocean voyages were tedious; colonial rule was bureaucratic; warfare was infrequent; economic opportunity was limited; and indigenous people were largely invisible. The seventeenth-century Empire may have been about wonder and marvel, but the Victorian Empire was a far less exciting project.Trade ReviewAuerbach builds his case on a remarkable compilation of primary visual and textual materials ... what the book does offer, beyond interesting examples from archives around the world, is an approach that remains unusual in imperial history, moving away from the "spoked wheel" understanding of colonial influence. * Elleke Boehmer, Times Literary Supplement *Imperial Boredom calls attention to the potent combination of imperial nostalgia and propaganda. A timely study of imperial subjectivity, it is much to Auerbach's credit that a book on boredom is one of the most readable scholarly monographs I have encountered in recent years. * Andrew Griffiths, Open University, Victorian Studies *stimulating and thought-provoking ... provides a novel and illuminating lens through which to examine the mind-set of men and women working and living in empire * Andrew Hillier, Reviews in History *Jeffrey A. Auerbach takes boredom to a new level in this fascinating study. * Joanna Lewis, Times Higher Education *Auerbach succeeds in capturing the texture of everyday imperialist life as few historians have. * Erik Linstrum, History Today *Auerbach's research ... is filled with a surprising amount of zingers ... a rich contribution to colonial history. * Josh Gaybert-Doyon, Hong Kong Review of Books *Rich new book ... Auerbach writes in a clear and polished style. He is sensitive in his readings of the many dozen of manuscript diaries and letters of various bored imperial officers * Padriac Scanlon, The New Inquiry *Table of ContentsIntroduction 1: Voyages 2: Landscapes 3: Governors 4: Soldiers 5: Settlers Conclusion Bibliography

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Book SynopsisThe story of how widespread belief in fortune-telling, prophecies, spirits, magic, and protective talismans gripped the battlefields and home fronts of Europe during the First World War.Trade ReviewReview from previous edition This is a rich and thought-provoking study of how the First World War ensured the widespread continuation of a popular belief in magic - even in the 'modernity' of the post-1914 age - and why this is important to our understanding of life during and after the conflict. * Catriona Pennell, BBC History Magazine *A marvellous book ... even readers who know Davies' impressive writing on witchcraft, cunning folk and ghosts will find a new glint of ambition here. * Simon Young, Times Higher Education *A Supernatural War provides a nuanced and learned exposition of its subject ... Such a broad approach suggests that this book will remain the definitive work for a long time to come. * Graham Seal, Literary Review *A fascinating account of how the first modern industrialised global war revitalised traditional superstitions, and infused supernatural power into all kinds of objects. * Nick Saunders, Military History Matters *Davies is one of the undisputed leaders in his field. A Supernatural War is impossible to describe without simply rattling off a list of highlights ... a fascinating deep dive that offers tantalising glimpses of a very different world. * All About History *A fascinating insight into supernatural beliefs and practices prevalent during the First World War. * Paradigm Explorer *Owen Davies will provide you with a comprehensive overview of wartime weirdness. * David Clarke, Fortean Times01/03/2019 *A detailed and fascinating study. * David V Barrett, Catholic Herald *Riotous and engaging. * Tony Jasper, Methodist Recorder *Fascinating. * Leon Burakowski, Shrewsbury Chronicle *Owen Davies's book seems to me to be arranged in a [...] logical and reader-friendly manner, with individual chapters dealing with particular topics such as prophecies of the war, lucky charms and superstitions, and a review of how churches and religious figures regarded the stories that were emerging from the battlefields. * John Rimmer, Magonia Review *It is not often that you run across a piece of writing which is both unusual and packed with detail that even a military historian like myself has never encountered. Owen Davies' A Supernatural War does just that. * Sebastian Phillips, Concatenation *Owen Davies notes that great conflicts invariably generate an upsurge of belief in the mystical, visionary and occult. In A Supernatural War Davies surveys, in remarkable detail, the range of such beliefs, from cheap pamphlets prophesying the coming war to the legend of the medieval archers known as the Angels of Mons to the lucky charms worn by Italian soldiers. * Michael Dirda, Washington Post *This is another wonderful book from the leading expert in the history of magic between 1740 and 1940. Readers will never look at the First World War in the same way again. * Ronald Hutton, author of The Triumph of the Moon: A History of Modern Pagan Witchcraft *Table of Contents1: Introduction: A War Full of Wonder 2: Prophetic Times 3: Visions, Spirits, and Psychics 4: Telling Fortunes, Telling Tales 5: Battlefield Luck 6: Trench Faith and Protection Epilogue Notes Index

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Book SynopsisIn London in 1984 two very different cities came into conflict, one rooted in radical politics and the other shaped by Margaret Thatcher and the Conservative government. This was a city poised between two eras and identities, remoulded in conflicting ways by social democracy and neoliberalism. Using a wide array of sources, many of which have never been used before, London, 1984 explores the radical history of the capital in this tumultuous era, from a major anti-apartheid march in central London to an alternative childcare centre in Dalston, from a protest staged on the Thames against Docklands development to tensions on housing estates in the East End and Tottenham around racial violence and policing, from a raid on a gay bookshop in Bloomsbury to the Greater London Council''s attempt to build a challenge to Thatcherism from County Hall, Lambeth, and from controversial and well-known historical actors, such as Ken Livingstone and Margaret Thatcher, to the compelling stories of numeroTable of ContentsIntroduction 1: GLC London, 1981-4 2: Anti-Racist Year 3: Capital City? People's Armadas, Pop, and Planning 4: A City for Women? 5: Gay's the Word 6: Dalston Children's Centre 7: The Anti-Apartheid March 8: Lincoln Estate 9: Westminster and Broadwater Farm Conclusion Bibliography Index

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Book SynopsisVery Short Introductions: Brilliant, Sharp, Inspiring Throughout history plague has been the cause of many major catastrophes. It was responsible for the ''Plague of Justinian'' in 542, the Black Death of 1348, and the Great Plague of London in 1665, as well as for devastating epidemics in China and India between the 1890s and 1920s. In the 21st century Coronavirus pandemics have served as a powerful reminder that we have not escaped the global impact of epidemic diseases. In this Very Short Introduction, Paul Slack takes a global approach to explore the historical and social impact of plague over the centuries, looking at the ways in which it has been interpreted, and the powerful images it has left behind in art and literature. Examining what plague meant for those who suffered from it, and how governments began to fight against it, he demonstrates the impact plague has had on modern notions of public health, and how it has shaped our history. This new edition also includes evidence on the nature of plague taken from recent discoveries in ancient DNA as well as new research on plague in the Middle East. ABOUT THE SERIES: The Very Short Introductions series from Oxford University Press contains hundreds of titles in almost every subject area. These pocket-sized books are the perfect way to get ahead in a new subject quickly. Our expert authors combine facts, analysis, perspective, new ideas, and enthusiasm to make interesting and challenging topics highly readable.Trade ReviewReview from previous edition Slack takes a thematic approach to the global and comparative history of plague that provides a wonderful survey for the newcomer to the topic, while still providing food for thought to readers already well versed in the literature. * Patrick Wallis, LPS *This book is not a textbook on Pasteurella pestis. Rather, using the disease it causes as a link, the text has the potential to attract the interest and attention of a wide range of readers, encompassing historical, social, geographical and economic factors and the role they played in changing European and wider social development. In these days of internet access, soundbites and the decline of text on paper, this book presents an excellent opportunity for those who wish for an absorbing and educational narrative, contained within an extremely portable package and with no risk of the battery losing its charge at an inconvenient moment. * The Bulletin of The Royal College of Pathologists, April 2013 *Table of ContentsAcknowledgements List of Illustrations Introduction 1: Plague: what's in a name?? 2: Pandemics and epidemics 3: Big impacts: the Black Death 4: Private horrors 5: Public health 6: Enduring images 7: The lessons of histories References Further Reading Index

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Book Synopsis''Colonization through a process of affection'', wrote the London-based Barbadian novelist George Lamming in 1960, was ''the worst form of colonization''. Lamming''s London was marked by the violent currents of racismsome seen, many disavowed. But the operations of race, the putting-in-place of its hierarchies, the destructions of the self that its logics entailed, exceeded only expressions of violence and hatred. It was in ''affection'', too, that colonialism''s racial visions operated. It was not only among the illiberals, but among the liberals, that colonization continued its hold on metropolitan culture. This was colonization, as Lamming would also put it, by humanity.Colonized by Humanity is a study of racial liberalism at the end of empire. It uncovers the projects to cultivate racial integration developed in the two decades between the arrival of the Empire Windrush and the passage of the first Race Relations Act. These were the years that integrationism took hold as a social p

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Book SynopsisThis introduction presents Martin Luther as historians now see him. Instead of singling him out as a modern hero, the book emphasizes the context in which Luther worked, the colleagues who supported him, and the opponents who adamantly opposed his agenda for change. Scott H. Hendrix explains the religious reformation and Luther''s importance, without ignoring the political and cultural forces that led the reformation down paths Luther could neither foresee nor influence. This Very Short Introduction pays tribute to Luther''s genius, but also recognizes the self-righteous attitude that alienated contemporaries, offering a unique explanation for that behaviour.ABOUT THE SERIES: The Very Short Introductions series from Oxford University Press contains hundreds of titles in almost every subject area. These pocket-sized books are the perfect way to get ahead in a new subject quickly. Our expert authors combine facts, analysis, perspective, new ideas, and enthusiasm to make interesting and challenging topics highly readable.Trade ReviewA useful new book. * Scott Hendrix, The Daily Telegraph *This is a great addition to OUP's 'Very Short Introductions' series of books, which manages to pack a huge amount of fascinating and useful material into just over a hundred small pages. ... The author is clearly aware of a vast amount of scholarly discussion and secondary literature on Luther and has an enviable ability to summarise and critique it in short compass, and he does a good job of helping us appreciate the historical distance between us and Luther. * Lee Gatiss, Churchman *Table of ContentsForeword ; 1. Luther and the reformation ; 2. Becoming a reformer ; 3. The labours of reform ; 4. Luther's Bible ; 5. The new Christianity ; 6. The political reformation ; 7. From monk to family man ; 8. Angels and demons ; Afterword ; Chronology ; Glossary ; Further reading

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Book SynopsisThe Romans first set military foot on Greek soil in 229 BCE; only sixty or so years later it was all over, and shortly thereafter Greece became one of the first provinces of the emerging Roman Empire. It was an incredible journey - a swift, brutal, and determined conquest of the land to whose art, philosophy, and culture the Romans owed so much. Rome found the eastern Mediterranean divided, in an unstable balance of power, between three great kingdoms - the three Hellenistic kingdoms that had survived and flourished after the wars of Alexander the Great''s Successors: Macedon, Egypt, and Syria. Internal troubles took Egypt more or less out of the picture, but the other two were reduced by Rome. Having established itself, by its defeat of Carthage, as the sole superpower in the western Mediterranean, Rome then systematically went about doing the same in the east, until the entire Mediterranean was under her control. Apart from the thrilling military action, the story of the Roman conquest of Greece is central to the story of Rome itself and the empire it created. As Robin Waterfield shows, the Romans developed a highly sophisticated method of dominance by remote control over the Greeks of the eastern Mediterranean - the cheap option of using authority and diplomacy to keep order rather than standing armies. And it is a story that raises a number of fascinating questions about Rome, her empire, and her civilization. For instance, to what extent was the Roman conquest a planned and deliberate policy? What was it about Roman culture that gave it such a will for conquest? And what was the effect on Roman intellectual and artistic culture, on their very identity, of their entanglement with an older Greek civilization, which the Romans themselves recognized as supreme?Trade ReviewThe story Waterfield tells is complex, but he tells it well. * Peter Jones, BBC History *This sorry story is told with great verve and pace by Waterfield. * Literary Review *Table of ContentsPreface ; Prelude: Clouds in the West ; 1. Rome Turns East ; 2. The Illyrian Wars ; 3. Barbarians, Go Home! ; 4. King Philip of Macedon ; 5. The Freedom of the Greeks ; 6. The Road to Thermopylae ; 7. The Periphery Expands ; 8. Remote Control ; 9. Perseus' Choice ; 10. The End of Macedon ; 11. Imperium Romanum ; 12. The Greek World after Pydna ; Key Dates ; Glossary ; Notes ; Bibliography ; Index

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Book SynopsisSport is big business; international in nature and the focus of much media and cultural attention. In this Very Short Introduction, Mike Cronin charts the history of sport, from its traditional origins in folk football and cock fighting to its position as a global phenomenon today. Looking at a variety of sports from team games such as rugby, cricket, and football to games for individuals such as golf, tennis, and skiing, he considers how these first emerged and captivated the interest of ordinary people, and how sport has been transformed within our daily lives. Exploring the relationship between sport and class, gender, commerce, identity, and ethics, Cronin considers some of the central issues in sport today, including the high pay of professional footballers and the glamour of sports women, as well as fair play standards. Charting sport through the ages and around the world, this is a short guide to the history, development, and place of sport in contemporary global society. ABOUT THE SERIES: The Very Short Introductions series from Oxford University Press contains hundreds of titles in almost every subject area. These pocket-sized books are the perfect way to get ahead in a new subject quickly. Our expert authors combine facts, analysis, perspective, new ideas, and enthusiasm to make interesting and challenging topics highly readable.Trade Reviewhe has packed a lot of thought-provoking stuff into a small space, laced with telling facts * Independent on Sunday *Table of Contents1. Origins ; 2. Modern sport ; 3. Amateurs and professionals ; 4. The sports business ; 5. International sport ; 6. Sport and society ; Index

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Book SynopsisChina''s decade-long Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution shook the politics of China and the world. Even as we approach its fiftieth anniversary, the movement remains so contentious that the Chinese Communist Party still forbids fully open investigation of its origins, development, and conclusion. Drawing upon a vital trove of scholarship, memoirs, and popular culture, this Very Short Introduction illuminates this complex, often obscure, and still controversial movement. Moving beyond the figure of Mao Zedong, Richard Curt Kraus links Beijing''s elite politics to broader aspects of society and culture, highlighting many changes in daily life, employment, and the economy. Kraus also situates this very nationalist outburst of Chinese radicalism within a global context, showing that the Cultural Revolution was mirrored in the radical youth movement that swept much of the world, and that had imagined or emotional links to China''s red guards. Yet it was also during the Cultural Revolution that China and the United States tempered their long hostility, one of the innovations in this period that sowed the seeds for China''s subsequent decades of spectacular economic growth. ABOUT THE SERIES: The Very Short Introductions series from Oxford University Press contains hundreds of titles in almost every subject area. These pocket-sized books are the perfect way to get ahead in a new subject quickly. Our expert authors combine facts, analysis, perspective, new ideas, and enthusiasm to make interesting and challenging topics highly readable.Trade Review"This remarkably full and efficient account provides a basic narrative of the Cultural Revolution, and then discusses in greater depth its politics, culture, economics, foreign relations, and memory. The book profits from Kraus's particular expertise on culture and the arts, and does not shy from controversial claims that are likely to provoke lively discussions." -Joseph Esherick, Hwei-chih and Julia Hsiu Chair in Chinese Studies, University of California, San Diego "It's just 152 pages, small enough to slip in your back pocket, and written by a political scientist who knows the complex event in question through and through, and does a nice job of, among other things, dealing with the strange shadows it continues to cast on contemporary Chinese politics." -- Jeffrey Wasserstrom, Chancellor's Professor and Department of History Chair, University of California at IrvineTable of ContentsPreface ; Chapter 1: The Coming of the Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution ; Chapter 2: "Politics In Command" ; Chapter 3: Culture: "Destroy the Old, Establish the New" ; Chapter 4: An Economy of "Self-Reliance" ; Chapter 5: "We Have Friends All over The World": The Movement's Global Context ; Chapter 6: Coming to Terms with the Cultural Revolution ; Timeline ; References ; Further Reading ; Index

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Book SynopsisAttitudes toward homosexuality in the premodern Arab-Islamic world are commonly depicted as schizophrenic. This title argues that this apparent paradox is based on the anachronistic assumption that homosexuality is a timeless, self-evident fact to which a particular culture reacts with some degree of tolerance or intolerance.Trade Review"Meticulously researched, lucidly written, nuanced, and brilliantly conceived, the book forthrightly takes on complex issues surrounding the culture of same-sex eroticism that existed in the Arabic-speaking lands of the early modern Ottoman Empire.... An important book by an excellent scholar." - Journal of Religion "Rectifies many... prejudices and misinterpretations in a masterly fashion." - Bulletin of the School of Oriental and African Studies "A remarkably learned volume that provides an excellent introduction to a long-neglected area of study in the English-speaking world.... A trenchant, insightful, and even brilliant book." - Gay and Lesbian Review"

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Book SynopsisOffering a fresh history centred on the reactions and experiences of ordinary readers and writers, Lyons deals with key turning points that occurred throughout the centuries, such as the invention of the codex, the transition from scribal to print culture, the reading revolution and the industrialisation of the book.

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Book SynopsisA renowned military historian, Richard Holmes was Professor of Military and Security Studies at Cranfield University in Bedfordshire and the Defence College of Management and Technology in Wiltshire. He wrote several best-selling books on the daily experience of soldiers, and presented programmes for the BBC on subjects including World War II battles and the American Revolution. He died in 2011.

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Book SynopsisJoin Sarah Woods on a mouth-watering celebration of British and South Asian fusion recipes, featuring the Desi communities who created them''Fascinating exploration and celebration of the food that migrants from the Indian sub-continent have brought to the UK. Each chapter shines a spotlight on a region and gives voice to first-, second- and third-generation diaspora. There are dozens of wonderful recipes, each with its own story of origin and adaptation'' BBC GOOD FOOD''These recipes are guaranteed to satisfy your tastebuds'' STYLIST''I''ve longed for a book like this. A fascinating read with glorious recipes'' DIANA HENRY''What a book'' NIHAL ARTHANAYAKE, BBC Radio 5 Live''An evocative visual feast that speaks to your very heart. The mouth-watering recipes leap off the page and I am left wanting to bookmark nearly every dish'' LARA LEE, author of Coconut and Sambal''BeTrade ReviewI've longed for a book like this. A map that locates and explores the culinary heritage of the diaspora of the Indian subcontinent in Britain, how its been maintained and how it's evolving to absorb other influences. A fascinating read with glorious recipes * Diana Henry *Fascinating exploration and celebration of the food that migrants from the Indian sub-continent have brought to the UK. Each chapter shines a spotlight on a region and gives voice to first-, second- and third-generation diaspora. There are dozens of wonderful recipes, each with its own story of origin and adaptation * BBC Good Food *Desi Kitchen is an evocative visual feast that speaks to your very heart. The mouth-watering recipes leap off the page and I am left wanting to bookmark nearly every dish * Lara Lee, author of Coconut and Sambal *A mesmerising cookbook filled with gorgeous recipes from Desi kitchens all over modern Britain * Atul Kochhar *The picture Sarah paints is of a dynamic food culture that is both influenced by its surroundings and, in turn, influences them * Waitrose Weekend 'Book of the Week' *An ode to the unique twists on South Asian cuisine * India Weekly *Included in 'Best New Cookbooks' * Delicious *A rare and privileged glimpse into desi kitchens from all over modern Britain * Asian Express *Effortless storytelling * Asian *Fascinating exploration and celebration of the food that migrants from the Indian sub-continent have brought to the UK. Each chapter shines a spotlight on a region and gives voice to first-, second- and third-generation diaspora. There are dozens of wonderful recipes, each with its own story of origin and adaptation * BBC Good Food *'Beautiful book, great recipes, really well written and original' * Prue Leith *'What a book' * Nihal Arthanayake, BBC Radio 5 Live *'These recipes are guaranteed to satisfy your tastebuds' * Stylist *

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Book SynopsisThe inspiring, uplifting true story of a group of London girls dispatched to a children''s home in rural England during the Blitz, and meet the formidable nurse and Lady in Waiting who transformed their lives forever . . .''A heartwarming story of hope and kindness'' Daily Express''An engaging war-time tale. These evocative first-person memories conjure a vivid picture of 1940s Britain, leaving a lasting impression'' Lucy Fisher__________Bombs were falling all over Britain . . .For one young Londoner in a children''s home - Queenie Clapton - it might have been the end of the world. Yet swiftly evacuated Queenie, along with the other children taken up by the Waifs and Strays Society, escaped the shattered streets.Instead, she found herself invited into the stately home of Dorothy Peyton, a recently widowed Lady in Waiting. There, under the formidable guidance of Matron Bailey, Queenie discovered a nTrade ReviewAn engaging war-time tale about the fortitude of children and the transformative impact of one woman's care for them. These evocative first-person memories conjure a vivid picture of 1940s Britain, leaving a lasting impression. -- Lucy FischerA heart-warming story of hope and kindness * Daily Express *Full of fascinating detail, affectionately told, The Angels of Englemere Wood is by turns a humbling, touching, astonishing and ultimately uplifting read -- Joanna ToyeA winning blend of nostalgic personal narratives with a detailed social history of World War Two. I guarantee you'll be charmed by every one of the cast of waifs and strays, as well as by the "Angels" who took care of them. * Duncan Barrett *An exquisite, meticulously researched account of what happened to Britain's disadvantaged children and all who touched their lives when war came. Gentle, fascinating, nostalgic - I loved being in the company of this beautiful humane book -- Tessa DunlopA well-documented, imaginatively empathetic account of her life * The Times Literary Supplement *The Angels of Englemere is a heart rending and meticulously researched story of love, loss, companionship and bonding through the eyes of a group of disadvantaged children during WW2. When their families couldn't cope with them, doors opened that would transform their lives. This is a beautifully written nostalgic read. -- Ellee Seymour

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Book SynopsisAndy Beckett writes for the Guardian. He has also written for the Economist, The New York Times magazine, the London Review of Books and the Independent on Sunday. His previous books are When the Lights Went Out and Pinochet in Piccadilly.Trade ReviewAn anthology of an age . . . A book that offers so much pleasure and insight -- Ian Jack * Guardian *Austin Metros and Chariots of Fire, cricket balls and petrol bombs, Sloane Rangers and Boys from the Blackstuff . . . Andy Beckett's lively and even-handed account of two years in the life of modern Britons is bracingly anti-nostalgic. Focusing sharply on key players and events, he teases out the paradoxes of those sharp-elbowed and irony-free times, and leaves the reader with provoking questions about how we got here from there -- Hilary MantelPromised You a Miracle is intelligent, entertaining, readable, convincing and timely. It is history well told and properly done -- Daniel Finkelstein * The Times *Beckett is a lucid, focussed writer . . . There is a wry, shrewd humanity to his historical interests -- Richard Davenport-Hines * Observer *A breezy and very intelligent anatomy of the years 1980-82 . . . This is not conventional political history - and is all the better for it. Beckett is as interested in the flowering of independent television production companies and the regeneration of London's Docklands as he is in monetarism, the Falklands War and the assault on the trade unions -- Jonathan Derbyshire * Prospect *[A] gripping mixture of contemporary history and vivid reportage -- John Campbell * Independent *Those who lived through the early eighties - who spent all that time wondering what the hell was going to happen next - will enjoy Beckett's work because it validates what at times seemed like a waking dream, or sometimes a waking nightmare. For those too young, the book is valuable as a reminder that there were other times in recent history when it seemed everything was beginning to slide -- Jamie Kenny * Big Issue *Beckett has a fine eye for detail -- Andrew Neather * Evening Standard *[Beckett] mixes history, journalism and autobiography. He has a strong sense of place -- Richard Vinen * Literary Review *The appeal of Beckett's book is that he succeeds in showing rather than merely telling us why his chosen period was pivotal in the life of the nation. For those who lived through all the turbulence, as I did, it reawakens memories and helps reconnect you with the person you once were. For those who did not, or who cannot remember, it recounts well how an old nation roused itself from slumber and dared to change the course on which it seemed set -- Jason Cowley * New Statesman *

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Book Synopsis''The book the NHS has always deserved'' Andrew Marr''A sensational and much-needed book . . . thorough, scholarly and above all readable'' Chris van Tulleken--------------------------------------------------How does our National Health Service really work, and what does that mean for our future?Since its foundation in 1948, the NHS has come to define our national identity, making history (and the headlines) again and again - from cutting edge discoveries like the first ''test tube baby'', to its heroic response to the Coronavirus crisis. But the NHS has also become a battleground for some of the fiercest political contests of our time, perceived either as a national treasure, or as a lumbering piece of state machinery in need of renovation.In Fighting for Life, bestselling journalist Isabel Hardman cuts through the sentimentality and sloganeering on all sides of the political spectrum. Packed with gripping stories frTrade ReviewA compelling, deftly constructed and powerfully told narrative . . . Hardman is a meticulous journalist with a gift for storytelling. Necessary reading -- Rafael Behr * Guardian *Terrific . . . Every aspect of this history is informed and beautifully written -- Alan Johnson * Observer, Book of the Week *Vivid and fascinating, this is a beautifully cogent, balanced and human biography of a health service haunted by its own mythology . . . Hardman is impressively even-handed and unsentimental -- Melanie Reid * The Times, Book of the Week *It has by far the best analysis of where the health service came from, and where it's going . . . full of excellent stories -- Karol Sikora * The Telegraph *Brilliant -- Adam Kay * author of This is Going to Hurt and Undoctored *Passionate, deeply researched and page-turningly full of good stories, this is so good one is tempted to say it is the book the NHS has always deserved -- Andrew MarrThis is a sensational and much-needed book: funny, intelligent and so beautifully written that it doesn't read like normal non-fiction . . . thorough, scholarly and above all readable -- Chris van TullekenA kaleidoscopic history of the NHS -- Henry Marsh * New Statesman *Hardman's writing is breezily accessible, and her deeply researched book is full of colourful vignettes and an enjoyable spice of gossip . . . she is particularly good at locating the NHS within the wider social movements that have changed British life over the 75 years of its existence -- Sarah Neville * Financial Times *A brilliantly written and engrossing biography of the NHS . . . compelling and even-handed -- Kate Womersley * The Spectator *A superb, rollercoaster account of the NHS . . . This completely riveting and scrupulously researched book shows how, just like its patients, the NHS sways precariously between money, morality and mortality, and trust, trauma and triumph -- Juliet NicolsonA compelling thriller . . . Fighting for Life provides vivid and urgently needed context to the familiar daily news stories about the crises in the NHS -- Steve RichardsA must-read for anyone interested in how the NHS started and why we have ended up where we are. A thoroughly fascinating, comprehensive and critical analysis -- Dr Ranj SinghA fascinating, insightful and forensic history of the NHS by a journalist who understands the politics as well as the policy of the health service. Essential reading -- Rachel SylvesterThis remarkable and immensely readable book looks back at the highs and lows of the NHS's first 75 years, and asks critical questions about its future. Thought-provoking, despairing, eye-opening, and inspiring in equal measure -- Sir David HaslamHardman provides an admirable account of the struggles of the [health service] . . . She is lucid, fair and unpolemical -- Andrew Gimson * Conservative Home *

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Book SynopsisConcerned with issues that have shaped the history of women in particular places and eras, this title examines women in ancient civilizations; including women in China, Japan, and Korea; women and gender in South and South East Asia; Medieval women; women and gender in Colonial Latin America; and the history of women in the US up to 1865.Trade Review"The vast new evidence of our global connectedness has revived the imperative to understand the world better and especially to bring into focus the worldwide history of women. These volumes are devoted to surveying the most recent findings on women and gender in hopes of bringing teachers at all levels a practical introduction to the new data, historical issues, and historiographical debates from all regions of the world."--Bonnie G. Smith, from the Introduction to Volume 1

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Book SynopsisTrade ReviewIrving Lowens Book Award, 2020 Judy Tsou Critical Race Studies Award, 2020— Irving Lowens Book Award, the Society for American Music Irving Lowens Book Award, 2020 Judy Tsou Critical Race Studies Award, 2020— American Musicology Society (AMS)Table of ContentsTitleCopyrightContentsAcknowledgments1Engaged Opera2Black Opera across the Atlantic: Writing Black Music History and Opera’s Unusual Place3Haunted Legacies: Interracial Secrets From the Diary of Sally Hemings4Contextualizing Race and Gender in Gershwin’s Porgy and Bess5Carmen: From Nineteenth-Century France to Settings in the United States and South Africa in the6Winnie, Opera, and South African Artistic NationhoodConclusion: Engaged Musicology, Political Action, and Social JusticeNotesBibliographyIndex

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Book SynopsisInfluential but often neglected in historical accounts, this spectacular melodrama was an intercultural product of Curtis' encounter and collaboration with the Kwakwaka'wakw of British Columbia. This book offers Kwakwaka'wakw perspectives on the film, and accounts of its production and subsequent circulation.Trade Review"Richly illustrated, multivocal, and altogether remarkable. . . . This book does us all a service by ushering Curtis’s In the Land of the Head Hunters into the 21st century." * American Ethnologist *"Offers a stunning range of perspectives and visual materials drawing from the original production to the present. . . . Ambitious not only in its scope but in its commitment to understanding and presenting the film in its multiple indigenous contexts." * American Literary History *"A detailed and thoughtful book that brings together scholars, artists, and Kwakwaka’wakw community members in a wide-ranging discourse on the film." * American Indian Culture and Research Journal *"The essays provide a rare look at both the tremendous amount of planning, negotiation, and artistic work that goes into this kind of production, but also the diversity of reactions it necessarily inspires—from sturdy appreciation to charges of romanticism and exploitation." * Pacific Historical Review *"[An] accomplished critical engagement with the complicated and tumultuous nature of the place of the film in academia and in First Nations communities. . . . The volume is also testimony to the fact that 100 years after the original production, the film can still capture the imaginations and minds of scholars and the broad public." * BC Studies: The British Columbian Quarterly *"[This] generously illustrated anthology of essays—some decidedly academic, others more personal and anecdotal—address the film from every angle while also placing Curtis (1868–1952) and his First Nations collaborators on the film in their historical context." * Seattle Times *Table of ContentsU'mista Cultural Society Statement of Participation / William T. CranmerForeword / Bill HolmPreface / Brad Evans and Aaron GlassAcknowledgmentsIntroduction PART ONE. Mediating Indians / Complicating Curtis1. Edward Curtis and In the Land of the Head Hunters: Four Contexts / Micky Gidley2. Images of Time: Portraiture in The North American Indian / Shamoon Zamir3. Indian Landscapes: Pauline Johnson and Edward Curtis / Kate Flint4. A Chamber of Echoing Songs: Edward Curtis as a Musical Ethnographer / Ira JacknisPhoto Essay 1. "At the Kitchen Table with Edward Curtis"/ Jeff Thomas PART TWO. Head Hunters Across Two Centuries5. Consuming the Head Hunters: A Century of Film REception / Aaron Glass and Brad Evans6. Unmasking the Documentary: Notes on the Anxiety of Edward Curtis / Colin Browne7. Indian Movies and the Vernacular of Modernism / Brad Evans8. Musical Intertextuality in Indigenous Film: Making and Remaking In the Land of the Head Hunters / Klisala Harrison9. Reflections on Working with Edward Curtis / Barbara Cranmer (Tlakwagila'ogwa)Photo Essay 2. "Old Images / New Views: Indigenous Perspectives on Edward Curtis" / Dr. E. Richard Atleo, Pam Brown, Marie Clements, Karrmen Crey, Mique'l Icesis Dangeli, Andy Everson, Linc Kesler, David Neel, Evelyn Vanderhoop, and William Wasden Jr. PART THREE. Reimaging Curtis Today10. In the Land of the Head Hunters: Reconstruction, not Restoration . Jere Guldin11. In the Land of the Head Hunters and the History of Silent Film Music / David Gilbert12. Performing Braham, Interpreting Curtis: A Conversation on Conducting / Neal Stulberg, Owen Underhill, Timothy Long, and Laura Ortman13. "What the Creator Gave to Us": An Interview with William Wasden Jr. (Waxawidi)14. Cultural Interpretation / Dave Hunsaker15. The Kwakwakka'wakw Business of Showing: Tradition Meets Modernity on the Silver Screen and the World Stage / Aaron Glass Afterword. Twentieth Century Fox / Paul Chaat SmithAppendix 1. Promotional Images for In the Land of the Head HuntersAppendix 2. The Kwakwaka'wakw Cast and Crew of In the Land of the Head HuntersAppendix 3. Curtis Film Props in the Collection of the Burke Musem of Natural History and CultureAppendix 4. Title Cards from the 2008 Reconstruction of In the Land of the Head HuntersReferencesContributorsIndex

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Book SynopsisWhat was childhood like for mediaeval boys and girls in England? Nicholas Orme draws on a vast range of sources to create a picture of childhood in the Middle Ages.Trade Review“Nicholas Orme’s stimulating piece of historical revisionism. . . . is one of these pleasingly, absorbingly digressive books. . . . A book whose subject is of inexhaustible interest.”—Michael Glover, Financial Times“What the book identifies again and again in medieval England is an attentiveness to children. . . . Orme is a clear and persuasive guide to the period.”—The Guardian“[Orme’s] Medieval Childrenis a determinedly empirical book, a meticulously organized, lavishly illustrated, and imaginatively presented cascade of evidence about every aspect of childhood, drawn from an astonishing range of sources from the end of antiquity to the early sixteenth century. . . . The clarity, pace, and economy of his treatment conceal an impressive depth of learning, and many of the individual thematic discussions are in fact ground-breaking forays into territory not adequately explored by anyone else. Orme is a distinguished historian of education, and he makes brilliant use here of medieval and Renaissance schoolbooks and student exercises to illuminate not only the content and character of medieval schooling, but the manner and matter of children’s conversation, recreation, and attitudes. . . . The most comprehensive, informative, and, by a long way, the most humane and delightful historical treatment of childhood in the English language.”—Eamon Duffy, New York Review of Books“[An] exhaustive and fascinating portrait of medieval English childhood. . . . Orme’s is one of the most beautifully and intelligently illustrated academic works I’ve encountered; in this and in his sensitive, reasonable, and lucid weighing of confusing and generally sparse evidence, Medieval Children isa model of accessible scholarly history.”—Benjamin Schwarz, Atlantic Monthly“This book is an insightful look into the lives of children and a fascinating read.”—History Magazine“[A] wise and learned book. . . . [A] delight to read, and superbly illustrated.”—John Wilson, Christianity Today “The author’s intention in writing this work was to ‘reveal the richness of the material about medieval English children.’ This he has achieved, with a lavishly illustrated and sensitively written evocation of life in later medieval England.”—Sally Crawford, Church Times“Orme’s book, amply documented, gracefully and, one must add, sympathetically, written, will become the standard study of medieval English childhood, useful to specialists as well as non-specialists.”—R.C. Finucane, English Historical Review“Nicholas Orme, author of several books on medieval English education, has produced a thorough and accessible account of the broader topic of childhood. . . . This richly illustrated volume is well suited for student use.”—Cullen J. Chandler, History: Reviews of New Books“Nicholas Orme knows more about medieval childhood than anyone living, and this substantial, hugely enjoyable book is the capstone on thirty years of scholarship.”—The Independent“Gracefully written and beautifully presented. . . . Medieval Children is likely to serve as a landmark in the literature of children’s history. It is scholarly, with a full complement of pertinent notes and an expert index. At the same time, it is so visually appealing and satisfying to hold that beginning students and armchair readers will also find it a compelling read.”—Susan Mitchell Sommers, The HistorianNamed one of the top ten books of 2001 by Christianity Today

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Book SynopsisTells the complete history of women readers and the controversies their reading has inspired since the beginning of the written word. This volume travels from the Cro-Magnon cave to the digital bookstores of our time, exploring how and what women have read through the ages and across cultures and civilizations.Trade Review"Engaging, lively and vigorous. The Woman Reader is a landmark work that no feminist—or for that matter, general reader—should miss."—Naomi Wolf, author of The Beauty Myth -- Naomi Wolf "An utterly gripping history of women and reading, brilliantly conceived and told depth and detail for the first time. Belinda Jack's remarkable book is destined to be a landmark in its field."—Claire Harman, author of Jane's Fame: How Jane Austen Conquered the World -- Claire Harman "A lively and erudite history of the many and ingenious covers thrown over women's minds to keep us in the dark, Jack's absorbing story describes and deconstructs the endlessly remade cover versions that men (mostly) have told to women, and to themselves, about the reasons why books and women should be kept apart."—Jeanette Winterson, Times of London -- Jeanette Winterson * Times of London *“A rarefied study of women’s reading over the centuries - a subject that is vast, but also intensely private, and that has left little trace for most of history.”—The Sunday Telegraph * Sunday Telegraph *“Jack’s excellent history begins from a position of anxiety, which she argues is caused by women’s access to the written word. What do women read and what happens to them, and the world, when they do?”—Lesley McDowell, Independent on Sunday -- Lesley McDowell * Independent on Sunday *

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Book SynopsisThe first book to bring together the key writings and speeches of civil rights activist Sadie Tanner Mossell Alexander – the first Black American economist.Trade Review“Nina Banks’ excavation and presentation of Sadie Alexander’s words offers this pioneer’s early vision into the complex and irreducible structures race, class, gender and power in American economic life.”—Marcellus Andrews, Bucknell University “Sadie Alexander embodies the Black feminist saying, 'the political is personal.' Her speeches brilliantly intertwine economics and law and will empower the next generation scholars-activists fighting for social justice.”—Rhonda Vonshay Sharpe, President, Women's Institute for Science, Equity and Race "The speeches and writings of Sadie Alexander capture the intellectual reflections of a brilliant political economist, lawyer and racial justice advocate. Some of her observations have been confirmed by modern analysis; some cry out for closer scrutiny; others turn out to be dire predictions of the existential threat of racial discriminations for the rule of law and the fate of our democracy. Ignore at our own peril."—Warren C. Whatley, Emeritus Professor of Economics, University of Michigan–Ann Arbor

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Book SynopsisA new edition of a seminal work—one that explores crucial changes within Europe from the fifteenth to the eighteenth century

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Book SynopsisA fresh and insightful history of how the German arts-and-letters scene was transformed under the NazisTrade Review“Absorbing, chilling study of German artistic life under Hitler.”—Max Hastings, The Sunday Times“While providing a chronology for understanding the creeping totalitarianism, Kater shines most when discussing individual artists and their work, displaying a thoroughness and texture unrivalled by any other scholar.”—Jonathan Petropoulos, Art Newspaper“A much-needed study of the aesthetics and cultural mores of the Third Reich, with often surprising turns . . . in a narrative rich in detail and documentation. . . . ‘The relation between culture and tyranny is a complex one,’ Kater concludes. Indeed, and his book does much to make it comprehensible.”—Kirkus Reviews, starred review“Kater in this richly researched, fluently written book sets out to recast the story of Hitler’s Germany.” —Roger Boyes, Times (UK)“Incorporating both official art and that cast out of German public life, the range of cultural forms considered is similarly ambitious, including literature, music, architecture, fine art, radio, the press, film and theatre”— Lucy Wasensteiner, Times Literary Supplement“There is no greater authority on the culture of the Nazi period than Michael Kater, and his latest, most ambitious work gives a comprehensive overview of a dismally complex history, astonishing in its breadth of knowledge and acute in its critical perceptions.”—Alex Ross, music critic at the New Yorker and author of The Rest Is Noise

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Book SynopsisTrade Review“The author is a serious academic, his researches oceanic and his arguments exhaustive, his subject as much economic as social history [. . .] Readers of this scholarly but intoxicating book will share the author's glee.”—John Walsh, The Sunday Times“Lively and superbly researched history” - Paula Byrne, The Times“As Lee Jackson demonstrates in his beguiling study of the 19th-century entertainment industry, pleasure is, at bottom, a deeply serious business, and the sharply opposed forces at work in Victorian society were just as apparent on the sea-front of England’s south coast as in a House of Commons committee room the great strength of his book lies in its attention to detail.”—D. J. Taylor, Wall Street Journal“This fascinating history shows how . . . new venues flourished, along with music halls and seaside resorts, thanks to a growing middle class, favorable legislation, and shifting morals.”—New Yorker“[An] engaging account of Victorian mass entertainment [. . .] fascinating background on the rise of London’s gin palaces, which created panic in middle-class observers when they noticed that the gaudy decor of these working-class venues – all shiny plate glass and flaring gas jets – was hard to distinguish from their own favourite West End shops” —Robert Douglas-Fairhurst, The Guardian“A fascinating book exploring the history of light entertainment in this country.” – David Leafe, Irish Daily Mail“[Jackson] is wonderfully comprehensive and engagingly readable”— Andrew Lycett, Spectator“Jackson creates an unfamiliar picture: gone are the stern, upright, moral men and women of popular imagination. Instead, the Victorians are revealed with all their foibles and desires.” — Joanne Cormac, BBC History Magazine “Lee Jackson’s authoritative and fascinating book makes a nonsense of the claim that the 21st century is the age of mass instant gratification.”—Alexander Larman, The Observer“Lee Jackson is an expert on the Victorian era and he brings the pleasure palaces of the title ably and vividly to life, recreating a world that is all too often ignored in favour of the stereotype of covered table legs and unsmiling monarchs.” — All About History“This fascinating book is a guide to the pleasure domes of 19th-century England, most of which would have been closed if campaigners for moral improvement had got their way” —Clive Aslet, Country Life“This entertaining book provides a valuable insight into just what our Victorian ancestors got up to in their leisure time when they had more free time and money in their pockets” —Karen Clare, Family Tree Magazine“In this wide-ranging survey of Victorian fun Jackson [. . .] takes the reader on a journey through gin palaces, music halls, seaside resorts and football stadia to counter the narrative that the Victorians were all about moral asceticism and po-faced imperialism.” —Charlie Connelly, The New European“It turns out that the Victorians were very much amused. Lee Jackson's entertaining chronicle of 19th- century entertainment depicts a riot of laughter and hi-jinks.”—Oldie“[A] readable and immensely informative discussion of Victorian popular attractions”—The Victorian Web“Jackson’s focus is predominantly metropolitan but his conclusions about developing London amusements are supported by reference to other towns and cities demonstrating a fascinating overlap of offerings not to mention personnel”— Kathryn Ferry, The Victorian“[A] readable and immensely informative discussion of Victorian popular attractions and venues” – Jacqueline Banerjee, Cercles“There is a sense, throughout Jackson’s book, of the sheer bustling energy of our nineteenth-century forebears when it came to finding ways to spend their leisure time” — Mark Jones, Albion“Jackson writes well, has researched widely, has an eye for telling detail, aided by 26 illustrations, and has something new to add on each of his topics.”—Hugh Cunningham, Cultural and Social History “Jackson’s narrative is appropriately entertaining, adding much colorful detail to a fairly well-known history.”—Robert Snape, Journal of British Studies“The industrialisation of the modern world is, all too often, described entirely in terms of coal, iron and desperate factory lives. In Palaces of Pleasure, by contrast, Lee Jackson has produced a detailed look at the industrialisation of pleasure: how the Victorians turned enjoyment into Big Business.”—Judith Flanders, author of The Victorian City“A treasure-chest of a book. Queen Victoria may not have been amused – but her subjects certainly knew where and how to party.”—Liza Picard, author of Victorian London“It is a pleasure to stagger (in print, of course) from pub to gin-shop to music hall with Lee Jackson as your companion. This is outstanding scholarship that changes our notions of 19th-century entertainment. It is original, thorough, accessible and fully explains the commercial underpinnings of change in this sector across the century. ”—Sarah Wise, author of The Blackest Streets“Inspired and fascinating. Jackson leads the reader on an incredible journey and breaks new ground in our understanding of the pioneering entrepreneurs who created mass entertainment for the Victorians.”—Alex Werner, Lead Curator, Museum of London

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