Social and cultural history Books

Book SynopsisTrade Review“[A] mind-stretching book…skilfully written…[Mazur] has…considerately inserted human “interludes” between the scientific sections.”—John Carey, The Sunday Times“About as free-ranging a meditation on time as you will find."—Matt Hutson, Wall Street Journal“With a narrative punctuated by personal stories of time’s effects on truck drivers, Olympic racers, prisoners, and clockmakers, Mazur’s journey is filled with fascinating insights into how our technologies, our bodies, and our attitudes can change our perceptions. Ultimately, time reveals itself as something that rides on the rhythms of our minds. The Clock Mirage presents an innovative perspective that will force us to rethink our relationship with time, and how best to use it.”—Boomers Daily “Beautifully done…Mazur's first love is theory, and he handles it well, using Zeno's paradoxes to unpack the close relationship between psychology and mathematics.”—Simon Ings, Spectator"This book is not so much about time but the human relationship with it, and if we modify its flow by interaction. It is a refreshingly oblique look at something we all experience every moment of our lives yet tend to see as a given."—Jenny Randles, Magonia Review"Within a mere 230 pages of text, this all makes for a feature-packed, multi-dial super-watch of a book. It bristles with intellectual widgets cunningly squeezed into a machine of modest size. Mazur does the heavy lifting of scientific synopsis and explanation with polished assurance.... Readers will learn plenty from The Clock Mirage, be stretched by it, and have fun en route. It passes the time enjoyably and lproductively."—Boyd Tonkin, The Arts Desk“Marvellous…[Mazur] covers just about every other theorist of time with grace and wit, explains why time speeds up when you’ve got a fever and slows down when you think you’re in danger, and he even finds the time to talk to everyone from city traders to truck-drivers about their very different experiences of clock-watching."—Christopher Bray, The Critic“Mazur opens an intellectual Pandora’s Box and marvels fly out. Our familiarity with time misleads us into thinking it is simple, when it is paradoxical, elusive, and counterintuitive. Highly enjoyable and informative.”—Ian Stewart, author of Do Dice Play God?“A sweeping story in search of answers to a tantalizing mystery: what is time? Mazur offers an astonishing array of ideas, interviews and exposition, exploring time from many fascinating viewpoints.”—Robyn Arianrhod, author of Thomas Harriot: A Life in Science“Mazur has an uncanny ability to engage both a scientific and lay audience through an intertwining of mathematics with tender considerations of humanity, affectingly guiding us to consider our own mortality: the clock winding down within each of us.”—Kia Corthron, playwright and author of The Castle Cross the Magnet Carter, winner of the Center for Fiction First Novel Prize“A journey of discovery in which Mazur, wise in the ways of the wild, invites us to see the edges of the known. This powerful investigation combines formidable research, mathematical expertise, and profound contemplations.”—William Goldbloom Bloch, author of The Unimaginable Mathematics of Borges' Library of Babel“An expansive meditation on the meanings of time. As masterful teacher and earnest fellow traveler, Mazur leads us with heartfelt compassion, philosophical musings, and clear mathematical explanations, to find ourselves at the heart of it all.”—Gizem Karaali, Editor of Journal of Humanistic Mathematics

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Book SynopsisThis study is the first to examine the relationship between art and violence in 15th-century Florence, exposing the underbelly of a period more often celebrated for enlightened and progressive ideas. Renaissance Florentines were constantly subjected to the sight of violence, whether in carefully staged rituals of execution or images of the suffering inflicted on Christ. There was nothing new in this culture of pain, unlike the aesthetic of violence that developed towards the end of the 15th century. It emerged in the work of artists such as Piero di Cosimo, Bertoldo di Giovanni, Antonio del Pollaiuolo, and the young Michelangelo. Inspired by the art of antiquity, they painted, engraved, and sculpted images of deadly battles, ultimately normalizing representations of brutal violence. Drawing on work in social and literary history, as well as art history, Scott Nethersole sheds light on the relationship between these Renaissance images, violence, and ideas of artistic invention and authorship. Trade Review“This erudite, sophisticated book is far more than a series of case studies. The power of the argument comes from its elegant structure and the way Nethersole moves cumulatively from studying images that are related to actual violence to those where the violent representation is a manifestation of the skill of the maker”—Caroline Campbell, The Art Newspaper“Nethersole writes well about many individual works, such as Domenico Ghirlandaio's Massacre of the innocents (1486-90; S. Maria Novella, Florence) and Piero di Cosimo's Battle of the lapiths and centaurs (c.1500-15; National Gallery, London).”—Charles Dempsey, The Burlington MagazineListed on Choice's Outstanding Academic Titles List for 2019

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Book SynopsisTrade Review“In this major contribution, Karel van der Toorn offers a brilliant analysis of the military colony of Elephantine and its integration into a ‘Jewish nation.’ This book offers a new translation and interpretation of Papyrus Amherst 63, which provides new insights into the life of this Diaspora community. It is a must-read for students and scholars of the Hebrew Bible and early Judaism.”—Thomas Römer, Collège de France and University of Lausanne “In this erudite work, the Jewish community at Elephantine becomes a case study for a wide palette of issues, ranging from the emergence of Judaism to the negotiation of cultural boundaries.”—Ronald Hendel, co-author of How Old Is the Hebrew Bible?

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Book SynopsisAn evocative exploration of the impact of the Mediterranean on British culture, ranging from the mid-eighteenth century to today Ever since the age of the Grand Tour in the eighteenth century, the Mediterranean has had a significant pull for Britonsincluding many painters and poetswho sought from it the inspiration, beauty, and fulfillment that evaded them at home. Referred to as Magick Land by one traveler, dreams about the Mediterranean, and responses to it, went on to shape the culture of a nation. Written by one of the world's leading historians of the Mediterranean,this book charts how a new sensibility arose from British engagement with the Mediterranean, ancient and modern. Ranging from Byron's poetry to Damien Hirst's installations, Robert Holland shows that while idealized visions and aspirations often met with disillusionment and frustration, the Mediterranean also offered a notably insular society the chance to enrich itself through an imagined world of color, carnival, Trade Review“‘The Warm South’ is both authoritative and entertaining and offers a much-needed antidote to the din of the Brexit debate. Here is the long view, across three centuries, of a cultural exchange that is rich, complex and tenacious.”—Charles Nicholl, Wall Street Journal“Holland is a sensitive, prodigiously informed guide. . . this is a book so crammed with interest that when you finish it you feel like starting all over again to make sure you haven’t missed anything.”—John Carey, The Times"Marvellous, transporting cultural history... If in the last year you have read Elena Ferrante, ordered an Aperol spritz and watched Mamma Mia 2, then you too have been lured by the siren song of the warm south...A rare book that makes you wish for more." – Laura Freeman, The Times"Enjoyable...As this sweeping survey shows, Britain has for centuries emulated, envied, denigrated and defined itself in opposition to its southern cousins."—Suzi Feay, Financial Times"Holland penetrates the deep south, accompanied by Byron, Disraeli, Edward Bulwer Lytton, John Ruskin, George Eliot, Edward Lear, Robert Browning, E M Forster, Henry James, D H Lawrence, the Bloomsberries, Ernest Hemingway, Gerald Brennan, Robert Graves, Elizabeth David (who brought Italian cooking to postwar England), Kenneth Clark and Peter Mayle, author of A Year in Provence."—Frances Wilson, Literary Review “Holland begins with Shelley and ends with Damien Hirst, but as no discussion of the Mediterranean and its influence on British life can fail to encompass the ancient world, since ancient and modern are "inseparable", he flings his net over classical times, too.” —Norma Clarke, Times Literary Supplement“Holland’s detailed survey of the impact of the Mediterranean on the insular British imagination is timely. All the winter sun you’ll need.” —Carl Wilkinson, Financial Times“Rich and fascinating” —Jeremy Musson, Country Life"‘In The Warm South, Robert Holland draws on a huge range of literature, art, memoir and biography to capture with extraordinary precision the often contradictory influences of the Mediterranean on British cultural, public and private life. Written with style and wit, and alive with sharply drawn personalities, it engages the reader irresistibly."— John Darwin, author of After Tamerlane: A Global History of Empire "Scholarly and accessible, The Warm South is an absorbing exploration of where the heat, light and history of the Mediterranean have taken the British imagination, through dreams of excess and salvation."—Jason Goodwin, author of Lords of the Horizons: A History of the Ottoman Empire "The Warm South is an ambitious work – and Holland is undoubtedly the scholar who can pull it off."—Rosemary Ashton, author of One Hot Summer: Dickens, Darwin, Disraeli, and the Great Stink of 1858

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Book SynopsisAn engaging, encyclopedic account of the material world of early modern Britain as told through a unique collection of dated objects The period from 1500 to 1800 in England was one of extraordinary social transformations, many having to do with the way time itself was understood, measured, and recorded. Through a focused exploration of an extensive private collection of fine and decorative artworks, this beautifully designed volume explores that theme and the variety of ways that individual notions of time and mortality shifted. The feature uniting these more than 450 varied objects is that each one bears a specific date, which marks a significant momentfor reasons personal or professional, religious or secular, private or public. From paintings to porringers, teapots to tape measures, the objectsand the stories they telloffer a vivid sense of the lived experience of time, while providing a sweeping survey of the material world of early modern Britain. Distributed for the Yale CenterTrade Review"A change of focus reveals the design, the beauty, the meaning, and often the life stories, of this collection of bric-a-brac."—Historic House“The attention to detail, both in the archival research and the aesthetic presentation, make it a beautiful object and an impressive resource, one that at the present time, especially, stands as a fitting testament to the ongoing human determination to create, to mark time, and to endure.”—Christina J. Faraday, Apollo Magazine "The editors and authors are to be commended for the wonderful book they have written, and for the dedication, sensitivity, and nuance with which they have approached the humble yet delightful objects in their care.”—Francesca Kaes, Journal 18“. . . an ambitious exploration of a subject that has rarely—perhaps never—been addressed by design historians.”—Ellenor Alcorn, Magazine Antiques

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Book SynopsisA wide-ranging exploration of the story of Ruth, a foreigner who became the founding mother of the Davidic dynastyTrade Review“A ‘migrant gleaner’ in her own right, Pardes moves easily from one cultural landscape to another and harvests insight wherever she goes. Her readings of Ruth’s reimaginings are consistently excellent.”—Steven Weitzman, author of The Origin of the Jews“A virtuoso exploration of the Book of Ruth as an admirable touchstone in the realms of literature, art, and human values. Ilana Pardes foregrounds the timeless emergency of migrants and refugees with compassion and depth.”—Galit Hasan-Rokem, author of Web of Life

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Book SynopsisTrade Review“Curatorial eminences Rob DeSalle and Ian Tattersall serve up a potent scientific brew in this study of beer, explicating the underlying chemistry, neuroscience and culture with gusto. Crafted as long ago as the seventh millennium bc (in Jiahu, China), the grain-based tipple provides rich pickings, from the intricacies of barley biology and the pedigree of hops to the light absorption in a freshly poured glass of lager, the brain shrinkage behind a hangover headache and possible beer family trees. A marvellous paean to the pint, and to the researchers probing its depths.” — Barbara Kiser, Nature"Forced to choose between this book and a pint of hazy IPA, I would be at a loss. Better to consume them at the same time—both will go down easily, and leave you in an improved condition."—Bill McKibben, author of Falter: Has the Human Game Begun to Play Itself Out?“As a ‘natural’ follow-up to A Natural History of Wine, the sequel on beer—a supreme technological achievement of humankind—should prove equally informative and even more engaging for the general reader.”—Patrick McGovern, Scientific Director, Biomolecular Archaeology Project, University of Pennsylvania Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology“A thorough, thoughtful exploration of the many facets of ‘the most social of beverages,’ which will appeal to beer lovers and general readers alike.”—Theresa McCulla, American Brewing History Initiative, National Museum of American History“DeSalle and Tattersall deliver a fun, factual, focused look at how beer first happened, how it happens every day, and just what's going on when it lands on your tongue.”—Lew Bryson, Senior Drinks Writer for the Daily Beast

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Book SynopsisIn this landmark biography, Jane Addams becomes America's most admired and most hated woman—and wins the Nobel Peace Prize.Trade Review"This book is as fine an introduction to the life and thought of Jane Addams as one is ever likely to read. Her internal growth as a world-class democrat, coupled with the many public causes with which she interacted, is so beautifully laid out that the reader sees vividly why Addams was, is, and remains an iconic figure in American history." -- Vivian Gornick, author of Fierce Attachments and The Men in My Life"Only superlatives like excellent and elegant can do justice to Louise W. Knight’s fine Jane Addams. Whether Addams was grass-roots organizing, founding Hull House, or fighting for women’s suffrage, she was always an indefatigable warrior. If there was any real fairness in this troubled world Addams would have won three Nobel Peace Prizes instead of one. Highly recommended." -- Douglas Brinkley, author of The Wilderness Warrior: Theodore Roosevelt and the Crusade for America"Louise W. Knight’s masterful biography of Jane Addams not only brings to life this remarkable crusader for peace and justice but serves as an eloquent reminder of the ideals for which she stood. Addams may be gone but with the publication of this spiritually imbued biography her dreams will live again and her life can be a model for yet another generation. To commemorate the 150th birthday of this icon of American decency and fairness, Knight’s biography is a book that begs to be given as a present to others." -- James McGrath Morris, author of Pulitzer: A Life in Politics, Print, and Power"As the granddaughter of a Hull House teacher, I read this beautiful biography with a sort of intimate awe. This biography is a gift to my generation, a call for us to be as courageous and visionary in our own time as Jane Addams was in hers." -- Courtney E. Martin, author of Do It Anyway: The New Generation of Activists"Jane Addams lives in these pages. So does her work and wisdom on such ongoing concerns as immigration, the intertwined restrictions of sex and race, striving for peace in a nation at war, and acting locally while thinking globally. Thanks to Louise Knight, we can meet an experienced organizer and a friend we need right now." -- Gloria Steinem

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Book SynopsisA technicolour history of the first civil rights movement and its collapse into black and white.

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Book SynopsisAn outstanding new edition of Plutarch, the inventor of biography, focused on five lives that remade the Roman world.Trade Review"This reader's edition of Plutarch's Lives brings to life the captivating personalities and topsy-turvy politics of the late Roman Republic. Fluid and poised, Pamela Mensch's translation does a fine job conveying the measured power of Plutarch's prose. The introduction-authored by one of the most distinguished ancient historians of her generation-masterfully sets the scene, and James Romm's notes will be an invaluable resource for readers." -- Daniel Padilla Peralta, author of Undocumented "The formidable duo of Romm & Mensch have pulled it off again-accomplishing with ease the tricky feat of making some of the best biographies from the best biographer of the ancient Roman world newly accessible in fresh, accurate, intelligently commented translations to a readership extending well beyond the usual Classicist suspects." -- Paul Cartledge, author of Thermopylae: The Battle that Changed the World "The Age of Caesar is a fine translation of Plutarch's biographies of five of the most tragic figures in ancient history. This will become the new standard." -- Ian Morris, author of War! What Is It Good For?

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Book Synopsis"A superb, all-encompassing survey of music in America." —Kirkus ReviewsTable of ContentsPart One: The First Three Centuries; 1. The First Song: Native American Music; 2. European Inroads: Early Christian Music Making; 3. From Ritual to Art: The Flowering of Sacred Music; 4. 'Old, Simple Ditties': Colonial Song, Dance, and Home Music Making; 5. Performing 'By Particular Desire': Colonial Military, Concert, and Theatre Music; 6. Maintaining Oral Traditions: African Music in Early America; 7. Correcting 'the Harshness of Our Singing': New England Psalmody Reformed; Part Two: The Nineteenth Century; 8. Edification and Economics: The Career of Lowell Mason; 9. Singing Praises: Southern and Frontier Devotional Music; 10. 'Be It Ever So Humble': Theatre and Opera, 1800-1860; 11. Blacks, Whites, and the Minstrel Stage; 12. Home Music Making and the Publishing Industry; 13. From Ramparts to Romance: Parlour Songs, 1800-1845; 14. Of Yankee Doodle and Ophicleides: Bands and Orchestras, 1800 to the 1870s; 15. From Church to Concert Hall: The Rise of Classical Music; 16. From Log House to Opera House: Anthony Philip Heinrich and William Henry Fry; 17. A New Orleans Original: Gottschalk of Louisiana; 18. Two Classic Bostonians: George W. Chadwick and Amy Beach; 19. Edward MacDowell and Musical Nationalism; 20. 'Travel in the Winds': Native American Music from 1820; 21. 'Make a Noise!': Slave Songs and Other Black Music to the 1880s; 22. Songs of the Later Nineteenth Century; 23. Stars, Stripes, and Cylinders: Sousa, the Band, and the Phonograph; 24. 'After the Ball': The Rise of Tin Pan Alley; Part Three: The Twentieth Century; 25. 'To Stretch Our Ears': The Music of Charles Ives; 26. 'Come On and Hear': The Early Twentieth Century; 27. The Jazz Age Dawns: Blues, Jazz and a Rhapsody; 28. 'The Birthright of All of Us': Classical Music, the Mass Media, and the Depression; 29. 'All That is Native and Fine': American Folk Song and Its Collectors; 30. From New Orleans to Chicago: Jazz Goes National; 31. 'Crescendo in Blue': Ellington, Basie, and the Swing Band; 32. The Golden Age of the American Musical; 33. Classical Music in the Postwar Years; 34. 'Rock Around the Clock': The Rise of Rock and Roll; 35. Songs of Loneliness and Praise: Postwar Vernacular Trends; 36. Jazz, Broadway, and Musical Permanence; 37. Melting Pot or Pluralism? Popular Music and Ethnicity; 38. From Accessibility to Transcendence: The Beatles, Rock, and Popular Music; 39. Trouble Girls, Minimalists, and The Gap: The 1960s to the 1980s; 40. Black Music and American Identity

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Book SynopsisTaste 5,000 years of brewing history as a time-travelling home-brewer rediscovers and re-creates the great beers of the past.Trade Review"William Bostwick's joyous pub crawl through time is a total delight. It fizzes and pops through the gloop of ancient Babylon up to the present day..." -- The Independent

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Book Synopsis“Beautifully wrought and impossible to put down, Daniel Sharfstein’s Thunder in the Mountains chronicles with compassion and grace that resonant past we should never forget.”—Brenda Wineapple, author of Ecstatic Nation: Confidence, Crisis, and Compromise, 1848–1877Trade Review"Magnificent and tragic.… Sharfstein is a wonderful storyteller with a deep knowledge of all the relevant source material from the period. His narrative is rich with fascinating historical details." -- Nick Romeo - Christian Science Monitor"Intimate, propulsive and ultimately heart-breaking… a compassionate military history and a shrewd examination of how cultural legends are created." -- Julie M. Klein - Chicago Tribune"A brisk narrative of one of the last major collisions between Native Americans and white America. [Sharfstein’s] two main characters are complex and compelling—Chief Joseph, a thoughtful, powerful speaker who spent years trying to find a way for his people to live alongside American settlers, and General O.O. Howard, a moralistic liberal Army general whose fate it was to crush Joseph’s small Nez Perce tribe." -- Thomas E. Ricks - New York Times Book Review"Solidly researched, well-written and engaging." -- Dallas Morning News"An excellent new book.… Many of us shake our heads endlessly at the shabby treatment our ancestors rendered on Indians even as we enjoy the lands stolen from them. Would our leaders have handled the situation that much differently today? Would we object? And how does that relate to how we now treat some other oppressed people, immigrants, including refugees fleeing war-torn countries our nation has failed to help pacify? Sharfstein raises those questions well in Thunder in the Mountains." -- John Railey - Winston-Salem Journal"A thorough and well-documented work of history [that] delves into the human condition like the best fiction, offering insights not only into historical events but also into the ways people can grow and evolve." -- Memphis Commercial Appeal"Sharfstein presents his view without polemic. Indeed, the writing is lyrical—smooth and engaging, albeit with scrupulous bibliographical notes to underscore its historical authenticity.… Sharfstein shows how at each interaction with federal authorities and their texts, Joseph focused on understanding not so much the particular words as the mechanisms through which ‘authoritative’ documents were created, trying to find his way in the wilderness of American power." -- Peter d’Errico - Indian Country Today"An important book that will doubtless enjoy a broad readership among the general public and should be read by students as well as specialists interested in the Civil War era, military history, the history of the American West, and indigenous studies." -- Pacific Northwest Quarterly"Brilliant… a timeless parable of two pious men who served, led and fought with honor and dignity for their nation’s causes.… Sharfstein’s Thunder in the Mountains will resonate loudly and remind readers that basic human rights in a democracy should never be taken for granted." -- Stuart Rosebrook - True West"A good post–Independence Day read in the sense that it really does show the scope of U.S. power, who makes certain decisions about the rights of native peoples, the meaning of liberty and equality and its relationship to ethnicity, color, place, and class." -- Dana Williams - The Takeaway"Daniel Sharfstein offers a searing account of an American tragedy: how Oliver Otis Howard, a champion for the rights of freed slaves, became an architect of the dispossession and subjugation of Native people. This beautifully written book will change the way readers think about the era of Civil War and Reconstruction." -- Ari Kelman, author of A Misplaced Massacre: Struggling Over the Memory of Sand Creek

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Book SynopsisA compassionate and captivating examination of evolving attitudes toward mental illness throughout history and the fight to end the stigma.Trade Review"Nobody’s Normal by Roy Richard Grinker is a compassionate, well-researched chronicle of the historical stigmatisation of mental illness. Since ‘normal’ is a social construct, why can’t we change it?" -- Ruth Ozeki - The Guardian, Best Books of 2021

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Book SynopsisIn this enthralling history of the debutante ritual, Kristen Richardson sheds new light on contemporary ideas about women and marriage.Trade Review"... fascinating social history..." -- The best of 2020 so far - Tatler"... entertaining and illuminating new book..." -- The Lady"Step into colonial Philadelphia and Jane Austen’s England, America’s Antebellum South and Mrs Astor’s parties, and learn how some of the young women felt about being put on display." -- On the Bookshelf - Choice"... Kristen Richardson’s sharp account of how the season evolved from its early days after the Protestant Reformation in England, through its conquest of a newly independent America, to its leap into Russia and China, is a more absorbing story than any period drama." -- Financial Times"Richardson has made a valiant effort to unearth some worthwhile social commentary. To this end, she presents a detailed examination of modern debutante societies... [Her] engaging study deserves credit for its persistently humane treatment of her subjects..." -- The Telegraph

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Book SynopsisA brilliant, sweeping history of the contemporary women's movement told through the lives and works of the literary women who shaped it.Trade Review"They’ve done it again! The personal, the political, the literary, the critical—the brilliant literary team of Gilbert and Gubar extend their foundational studies of women’s writing to encompass the twenty-first century. Tracing the key events and writers of the second wave of the women’s movement from the 1950s to the election of Biden and Harris, they map the tumultuous, explosive, and ongoing energies of American women’s writing. Make space on your bookshelf for this lively and indispensable volume." -- Elaine Showalter, professor emerita of English, Princeton University"Still Mad is clever, playful and full of memorable turns of phrase… and its combination of ideas, clear prose and enthralling stories will make it an important text not only for literary scholars and historians but also for the general reader." -- Martha Rampton - Literary Review

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Book SynopsisA new edition of the classic text on African American music.

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Book SynopsisCuisine and Culture presents a multicultural and multiethnic approach that draws connections between major historical events and how and why these events affected and defined the culinary traditions of different societies. Witty and engaging, Civitelloshows how history has shaped our diet--and howfood has affected history.Prehistoric societies are explored all the way topresent day issues such as genetically modified foods and the rise of celebritychefs. Civitello''s humorous tone and deep knowledgeare the perfect antidote to the usual scholarly and academic treatment of this universally important subject.Trade ReviewThis revised and expanded edition of Civitello s book is a splendid cornucopia of foody facts. (Guardian, April 2011).Table of ContentsAntipasto/Antojitos/Amuse-Bouches: Food for Thought viii Acknowledgments xii FIRST COURSE: From Raw to Cooked: Prehistory, Mesopotamia, Egypt, China, India 1 Prehistory 1 The Ancient Agricultural Revolution 5 The Fertile Crescent 9 Egypt: The Nile River 13 China: The Yellow (Huang He) River 18 India: The Indus River 21 SECOND COURSE: Grain, Grape, Olive: The Ancient Mediterranean 25 The Mediterranean Sea 25 Greece 26 Rome 38 THIRD COURSE: Crazy Bread, Coff ee, and Courtly Manners: Christendom and Islam in the Middle Ages, 500–1453 58 Christendom: Western Europe, 500–1000 59 Byzantium: The Eastern Roman Empire 65 The Muslim Empire 67 Christendom: The Late Middle Ages in Europe 74 FOURTH COURSE: New World Food: Potato, Corn, Chile, Chocolate 89 The Search for Spices 89 The American Empires 92 South America: The Inca Empire 93 Central America: Vanilla 101 Central America: Maya Mystery 103 Central America: The Aztec Empire 107 North America: Cahokia 116 Columbus Sets Sail for the Americas: 1492 116 FIFTH COURSE: Food Goes Global: The Columbian Exchange 119 The Age of Exploration 119 The Columbian Exchange 120 Old World to New 121 New World to Old 136 SIXTH COURSE: America from Colony to Country: Sacred Cod, Black Rice, Maple Moon, 1588–1850 151 The Mercantile System 151 Colonial America 152 A New People and a New Cuisine 167 SEVENTH COURSE: Hutsepot, Stove Potatoes, and Haute Cuisine: Seventeenthto Eighteenth-Century Dutch, Russian, and French Cuisine 182 The Scientific Revolution 182 The Golden Age of the Netherlands 183 The Russian Bear 189 France: Haute and Nouvelle Cuisine 195 The French Revolution: "Let Them Eat Cake" 203 The Napoleonic Era: 1799–1815 207 Napoleon's Aftermath 215 EIGHTH COURSE: Cattle, Coca-Cola, Cholera: The United States and Europe, 1850–1900 217 The American South 217 The American Civil War: 1850–1865 220 Reconstruction: 1865–1877 223 The West: Railroad and Indian Wars, 1860s–1886 225 The Gilded Age 231 Nineteenth-Century Health Food Movements 240 Europe: Nutrition, Sanitation, Evolution 244 NINTH COURSE: Africa and Asia: Native vs. Colonial Cuisine 258 Food Patterns 258 Africa: Shea Butter, Kola Nuts, Monkey Bread 258 India: Not Just Curry and Chutney 266 China: Tea and Opium 274 Korea: Kimchee and Pulgogi 282 Vietnam: Spring Rolls and Pâté 283 Indonesia: The Spice Islands 283 The Philippines: Chinese-Spanish Fusion 285 Thailand (Siam): Lemongrass and Jasmine Rice 285 Japan: Tempura and Umami 287 TENTH COURSE: The Purity Crusade, Cuisine Classique, and Prohibition: 1900–1929 in Europe and the United States 295 The New Immigrants and the Melting Pot 295 Progressives and the Purity Crusade 300 Escoffi er and Ritz: Cuisine Classique and the Grand Hotels 309 World War I and the Russian Revolution 316 The Roaring Twenties in the United States 323 ELEVENTH COURSE: Soup Kitchens, Spam, and TV Dinners: The Depression, World War II, and the Cold War 334 The Depression and the New Deal 334 World War II 343 The Cold War 352 The Fast-Food Fifties 354 The Sixties: Revolutions in Color 359 TWELFTH COURSE: Agribusiness vs. Organic: The 1970s into the Third Millennium 364 The Seventies: Food Revolutions 364 The Eighties: Political and Restaurant Revolutions 367 The Nineties: The Celebrity Chef 373 The New Millennium and the Future of Food 381 Appendix A: French Pronunciation 404 Appendix B: Italian Pronunciation 405 Appendix C: Major Wars and Battles 406 Appendix D: Selected Cookbook and Food Books Chronology 408 Notes 411 Selected Bibliography 424 Index 431

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Book SynopsisIn a secluded valley high in the Andes Mountains, long before thetime of the Incas and the Aztecs, the empire of the Aymara rosefrom the shores of Lake Titicaca and flourished for nearly athousand years. The secrets of the Aymara civilization, one of thefirst great empires of the Americas, have only recently beendeciphered from the haunting ruins of their splendid temples, amongwhich their contemporary descendants still live and worktoday. In Valley of the Spirits, Alan Kolata takes us deep into themystical world of the Aymara, where past and present come togetherand the spirits of ancient ancestors still speak to shamans in thevoices of mountain springs. Kolata''s unique knowledge of the Aymarais based on 17 years of research at the site of the ancientempire. Its crown jewel was the dazzling ancient capital of Tiahuanaco,whose gold and silver-appointed temples and monumental stonesculptures intensified the mythic aura of the city, imbuing it witha quality of the supeTable of ContentsInto the Aymara World. The Trembler on the Mountain. Andean Genesis. The Sacred City. The World Turned Around. Restoration. The Past Is Prologue. Notes. Glossary. Index.

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Book SynopsisProvides an exploration of how the worlds of politics and faith merged in Detroit's African American community. While other religions have mixed politics and creed, this book suggests that this fusion was - and is - particularly vital to African-American clergy and the Black freedom struggle.

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Book SynopsisTrade ReviewSteinbock gives all of his Greek sources in translation, which makes his book accessible to a wider circle of readers. When he feels it important to add the Greek original, he regularly does so in brackets, which can be distracting, but I appreciate his desire to reach a wider audience. This is a very rich and rewarding book that should stimulate others to apply its methods to many other moments in Greek history and to deepen our understanding of Greek uses of the past." - American Historical Review"... Steinbock offers a new approach to the way in which the past was used in public discourse in ancient Athens and his study will doubtless provoke other scholars to re-think common perceptions of the role of the historical allusion in the Attic orators." - Classical Journal "'History without historians' is the provocative subtitle of a recent collection of essays exploring how the ancient Greeks themselves perceived, constructed, and used their own past. Steinbock’s study is yet another contribution in this promising direction... Steinbock is definitely at his best in outlining the impact of social memory on Athenian politics and public discourse." - Phoenix "Steinbock explores the role of social memory in Athenian public deliberation during the fourth century BC. ...His nuanced picture of Athenian memory, the orators’ role in its negotiation, and indeed much of his analysis of the recollection of Thebes in Athenian public discourse are must-reads and will prove a valuable point of departure for any future study of Greek social memory." - Histos"While many works have been devoted to the impact of the Persian Wars in shaping collective memory and identity, Steinbock ventures into the less explored field of the use of memory in the context of public communication for influencing decision-making. The choice to monitor a specific case study allows the author to explore in depth the reshaping of the past both over time and in relation to the rhetoric goal of the moment. The most interesting aspects are the analysis of the speakers’ capability of engaging with alternative interpretations of past events challenging “established memories”, and the convincing demonstration that arguments from social memory were decisive factors influencing common decisions. The parallels with contemporary political discourse are illuminating – in particular, George Bush’s use of the memory of America’s role in World War II in his speech to the troops in Iraq on December 14, 2008 (p. 1 f.), and the persistent memory of Morgenthau’s 1944 plan of turning Germany into an agrarian state in German historical consciousness and political discourse during the 1980s and 1990s (pp. 298-230)." —Bryn Mawr Classical Review "Deepens our understanding of Athenian social memory in the Classical period [and] ... opens up new avenues of investigation into a subject that has already received a considerable amount of attention." - Classical Philology"A careful, balanced, and frequently illuminating study of Athenian social memory ... We may never be able to capture fully the dynamism of Athenian social memory, but Steinbock has gone a long way in showing us how to get a sense of its power and utility, not just for the Athenians but also for modern students of their history." - American Journal of Philology

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Book SynopsisArgues that while many competing positions can coexist in the same person, the seeds of the positive, instrumental value of individual autonomy in Chinese inquiry are beginning to compete in both scholarly and popular culture with other, older approaches.

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Book SynopsisShows that overseas Meiji-period travel writers struck out to create a dynamic new type of travel literature, one that had a solid foundation in traditional Japanese kikobungaku yet also displayed influence from the West.

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Book SynopsisExamines the historical roots of clerical work and the role that class and gender played in determining professional status.Trade ReviewDrawing upon census data, trade periodicals devoted to stenography and court reporting, the writings of educational reformers, and fiction, Srole allows us to better understand the roles that gender and work played in the formation of middle-class identity. Clearly written and thoroughly researched, her book reminds us of the contradictions that both men and women faced as they navigated changes in the labor market and sought to realize a modern professional identity." — Thomas Augst, New York University"Srole has succeeded in combining large historiographical and sociological trends from a variety of scholarly literatures, including the stories of professionalization, urbanization, womens' move into the workplace and the anxiety of 19th century men, into a single narrative. ... So much work on the history of gender forgets that, despite the ideology of 'separate spheres,' men and women did interact for much of their lives. That interaction is at the heart of her story, and makes her book of interest to all scholars with an interest in gender history." — Gender Forum

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Book SynopsisAnalyses the conflict that followed historians' ""cultural turn"" by examining the use of class, and demonstrates how practitioners in multiple, sometimes conflicting fields can work collaboratively to produce the highest quality scholarship.

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Book SynopsisAn account of how Jews in eighteenth and early-nineteenth century England adapted to new circumstances and conditions in order to immerse their culture into a pluralistic state and society. The book also incorporates a consideration of the active role of poor Jews in this process.Trade ReviewContributes to English as well as Jewish history. . . . Every reader will learn something new about the statistics, setting or mores of Jewish life in the eighteenth century. . . ." —American Historical Review

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Book SynopsisExplores the traditions represented in the cultural and musical practices of the late Sixties San Francisco counterculture. This book examines primary source material to demonstrate that the San Francisco counterculture in 1966-67 displayed no interest in commitment to a cause - embracing everything in general, but nothing in particular.

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Book SynopsisThe common understanding is that honour belongs to a bygone era, whereas civil society belongs to the future and modern society. Heikki Lempa argues that honour was not gone or even in decline between 1700 and 1914, and that civil society was not new but had long roots that stretched into the Middle Ages.Table of Contents Acknowledgments Introduction Part One. Honor in Eighteenth-Century Germany Chapter One. Creating the Language of Civil Society: Honor and Emotions Chapter Two. Educating Honor for Civil Society Part Two. Middle Class Honor in the Long Nineteenth Century Chapter Three. Honor in Weimar Chapter Four. Redefining the Language: Honor, Civil Society, and Mutual Recognition Chapter Five. Spa. Space and Emotional Communities of Belonging Part Three. Working Class Honor in Imperial Germany Chapter Six. Spaces of Working-Class Honor Chapter Seven. Strikes and Demonstrations. The Politics of Defiance Conclusion Index

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Book SynopsisOur common image of the Middle Ages, constructed partly from popular accounts by Tuchman and Huizinga, is a period in European history when cultural activity was in decay. This title convincingly challenges this notion by presenting evidence of a lively medieval court culture in the northern Netherlands.

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Book SynopsisIt is widely accepted, both inside China and in the West, that contemporary Chinese history begins with the May Fourth Movement. Vera Schwarcz's imaginative new study provides China scholars and historians with an analysis of what makes that event a turning point in the intellectual, spiritual, cultural and political life of twentieth-century China.

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Book SynopsisIn 1921, Lenin called for the legalization of private trade and manufacturing. This New Economic Policy (NEP) spawned many thousands of private entrepreneurs, dubbed Nepmen. This title examines where the Nepmen came from, their importance in the Soviet economy, and the consequences of their liquidation at the end of the 1920s.

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Book SynopsisAn exploration of time and space, rumors and silence, colors, tastes, and ideas that recreates the richness of Jewish life in Renaissance Italy. It points out that Jews were frequently uprooted and persecuted, and where stable communities did grow up, it was because the hostility of the Christian population had somehow been overcome.

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Book SynopsisIn the Japanese labor movement of the early twentieth century, no one captured the public imagination as vividly as Osugi Sakae (1885-1923): rebel, anarchist, and martyr. This work offers a glimpse into a Japanese boy's life at the time of the Sino-Japanese (1894-95) and the Russo-Japanese (1904-5) wars.Table of ContentsAcknowledgments Translator's Introduction Chronology of Major Events in The Autobiography THE AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF OSUGI SAKAE Chapter 1 First Memories: To 1894 Chapter 2 Childhood: 1894-1895 Chapter 3 A Young Hooligan: 1895-1899 Chapter 4 Cadet School: 1899-1901 Chapter 5 A New Life: 1901-1902 Chapter 6 Memories of Mother: 1902-1904 Chapter 7 Life in Prison: 1906-1910 Bibliography

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Book SynopsisThis reassessment of the critical issues in modern Chinese history traces social, economic and ecological change in northern China during the late Qing Dynasty. It maps changes in local finance, farming, transportation, taxation and popular protest, and analyzes their consequences.

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Book SynopsisThe author provides a detailed portrait of one of the most brilliant courts in early Renaissance Europe, describing how Milan and its young ruler exemplified the political, cultural, religious and economic aspirations of the Renaissance.

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Book SynopsisPresents a portrait of Karimpur, an Indian village, as it has changed over a sixty-year period. Using cultural documents such as songs and stories, as well as data on household budgets and farming practices, this title examines what it means to be poor or rich, female or male.

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