Social and cultural history Books
Bloomsbury Publishing (UK) A Cultural History of Chemistry in the Middle
Book SynopsisCharles Burnett is Professor Emeritus of the History of Islamic Influences in Europe at the Warburg Institute, UK. Sébastien Moureau is Assistant Professor at the FNRS, attached to the University of Louvain, Belgium.
£32.80
The History Press Ltd Breaking the Grass Ceiling
Book Synopsis
£15.29
Pen & Sword Books Ltd Women at War in the Classical World
Book SynopsisPaul Chrystal has written the first full length study of women and warfare in the Graeco Roman world. Although the conduct of war was generally monopolized by men, there were plenty of exceptions with women directly involved in its direction and even as combatants, Artemisia, Olympias, Cleopatra and Agrippina the Elder being famous examples. And both Greeks and Romans encountered women among their barbarian enemies, such as Tomyris, Boudicca and Zenobia. More commonly, of course, women were directly affected by war as non-combatant victims, of rape and enslavement as spoils of war and this makes up an important strand of the authors discussion. The portrayal of female warriors and goddesses in classical mythology and literature, and the use of war to justify gender roles and hierarchies, are also considered. Overall it is a landmark survey of how war in the Classical world affected and was affected by women.Trade Review‘Chrystal’s work has given us a study remarkable for its detail and the breadth of its scope, an analysis backed up with ample referencing… a work of considerable scholarship and insight, one that anyone with an interest in ancient warfare will not be able to ignore’. - DR STANLEY IRELAND, DEPARTMENT OF CLASSICS & ANCIENT HISTORY, UNIVERSITY OF WARWICK.
£13.49
HarperCollins Publishers How MumboJumbo Conquered the World
Book SynopsisAn entertaining, impassioned polemic on the retreat of reason in the late 20th century. An intellectual call to arms, Francis Wheen's Sunday Times bestseller is one of 2004's most talked about books.In 1979 two events occurred that would shape the next twenty-five years. In Britain, an era of weary consensualist politics was displaced by the arrival of Margaret Thatcher, whose ambition was to reassert ''Victorian values''. In Iran, the fundamentalist cleric Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini set out to restore a regime that had last existed almost 1,300 years ago. Between them they succeeded in bringing the twentieth century to a premature close. By 1989, Francis Fukuyama was declaring that we had now reached the End of History.What colonised the space recently vacated by notions of history, progress and reason? Cults, quackery, gurus, irrational panics, moral confusion and an epidemic of mumbo-jumbo. Modernity was challenged by a gruesome alliance of pre-modernists and post-modernists, medieTrade Review'A brilliant, eccentric book.' Observer Book of the Year ‘Wheen has a Swiftian relish for exposing the cant that attends the 'new rationality'…bullshit's enema number one.' Tim Adams, Observer 'Hugely enjoyable…delightful reading.'Ferdinand Mount, Sunday Times 'Lightly and often hilariously told as it is, this book does make it clear that respect for truth and reason is retreating and mumbo-jumbo has a new confidence everywhere…This amusing, intelligent and elegantly argued book is as good a demonstration of the values it defends as could be imagined.'Philip Hensher, Spectator ‘This book is a manifesto for rescuing the greatest philosophical movement of the past millennium. You have a choice: either read it or, pre-emptively shred your brain in anticipation of the coming darkness.' Independent on Sunday
£999.99
HarperCollins Publishers The New Arrival
Book SynopsisI hadn't been in Hackney for 24 hours but I knew that the way I saw life and people had changed forever. There was such goodness here but there was a sadness I had never imagined before, and it wasn't even lunchtime yet 'On a hot summer's day in 1969, fresh-faced 17 year old Nurse Sarah Hill arrives at Hackney General Hospital in London's East End.Battered suitcase in hand, she takes eager steps in her white calf-length Mary Quant boots towards the towering sandy-grey building of the Nurses' Home. Looking up at the rows and rows of little windows, full of nervous excitement, she couldn't have guessed just what she was getting herself into It's the end of the swinging sixties, Britain is changing and the everyday life of the nurses and patients plays out against a backdrop of a failing government, strikes, immigration and women's lib. Nurse Sarah Hill, together with her companions; the serious minded, politicised Maddox, the quick witted Lynch, who falls in love with an upper crust youn
£8.99
HarperCollins Publishers Strange Antics A History of Seduction
Book SynopsisWhen is seduction about more than just sex? In this brilliantly original history, Clement Knox explores these questions as well as the philosophy, legality, politics, art and literature of a force that underwrites our world.In the first history of its kind, Clement Knox reassesses our idea of seduction in a narrative that moves from Casanova's pursuit of pleasure, to America's racialised seduction laws, to the Nazi propaganda designed to stoke sexual panic, and up to #MeToo.Modern, big-thinking and enormously entertaining, Knox offers an extraordinary range of stories to chart the many guises of seduction, showing that our ideas about desire, courtship, and power have always developed in step with a changing world.Trade Review‘Clement Knox has mastered the art of reader seduction with his intriguing and expertly woven web of gripping stories and insights. Strange Antics will hold the reader in its thrall’Hallie Rubenhold, author of The Five ‘Erudite yet engaging … Though ambitious in its scope it is endlessly surprising in the individual stories it unearths. I found this Pandora’s box of sexual mores through the ages both thought-provoking and hugely entertaining’Cathy Newman ‘Big and bold … His history of seduction examines a variety of narratives from scandalous memoirs to legal procedure … Impressive … There is much to praise here’Sunday Times ‘A work of narrative nonfiction à la mode. Each chapter focuses on a single individual … Their lives and work are then used to elucidate the grander historical narrative … A blistering finale, drawing together themes of sexual politics, economics, law and the ordinary human desire for love and companionship into a vision of our present condition’Times ‘Seduction is the subject of films and fiction, legal cases and human resources headaches – and yet its history has never been written. Knox rectifies this omission with this absorbing account … Erudite and above all entertaining’Tatler ‘There is much to enjoy in Clement Knox’s ambitious first work … He writes with passion and insight.’i Newspaper ‘A capacious new history of seduction … Produces a clutch of vivid biographical portraits and offers a pacey introduction to some canonical texts.’Guardian ‘Rich history … Full of punchy political insight … Satisfying and interesting … And full of share-worthy anecdotes.’Daily Telegraph ‘Fascinating …Knox is a natural biographer with a flair for unveiling startling anecdotes with evident relish … Exhilarating’New Statesman ‘Extensive and entertaining’Literary Review
£9.49
HarperCollins Publishers Elizabethans The Sunday Times bestseller now a
Book SynopsisThe Sunday Times bestsellerTHE STORY OF BRITAIN during the long reign of Queen Elizabeth II. Find out how Britain changed in this entrancing, lively portrait of Britain's Elizabethan Age by bestselling writer and broadcaster Andrew MarrBritain changed fundamentally during the Queen's long, distinguished reign. So who made modern Britain the country it is today? How do we sum up the kind of people we are? What did it mean to be the new Elizabethans?In this wonderfully told history, spanning back to when Queen Elizabeth became queen in 1953, Andrew Marr traces the people who have made Britain the country it is today. From the activists to the artists, the sports heroes to the innovators, these people pushed us forward, changed the conversation, encouraged us to eat better, to sing, think and to protest. They got things done. How will our generation be remembered in a hundred years' time? And when you look back at Britain's toughest moments in the past seventy years, what do you learn aboTrade Review ‘Like The Crown in book form: a stream of intriguing stories producing a mosaic that the reader, with expert steers from Marr, can glue together’ Guardian Praise for Andrew Marr’s previous books ‘It is the clarity of his judgements, the arresting insights and the irrepressible wit that keep us hanging on to his words. Among his other qualities, Marr is the ideal history teacher that most people never had at school . . . A damned good read . . . This book will be read with pleasure, for Marr's ironic tone and ever-present pleasant presence.’Bernard Crick, Edinburgh Review ‘A fine example of popular history . . . engaging and intelligent.’Financial Times ‘He has the rare gift of being able to explain complex issues in a few crisp sentences.’Sunday Telegraph
£9.49
HarperCollins Publishers The Palace From the Tudors to the Windsors 500
Book Synopsis''If a house could gossip, this is the book that Hampton Court would whisper. An enjoyable and readable stroll through 500 years of Hampton Court history: royal residents, common visitors, thieves, invaders and ghosts' PHILIPPA GREGORYFor centuries, Hampton Court has been a place of power, scandal and intrigue: a stage for events that shaped the nation. The Palace raises the curtain on 500 years of British history with royals, politicians, criminals, and geniuses all playing their parts.Hampton Court has been an arc of monarchy, revolution, religious fundamentalism, sexual scandals, and military coups. In this rich and vivid history, Gareth Russell moves through the rooms and the decades, each time focusing on a different person who called Hampton Court their home.Beginning with the Tudors, Russell takes the reader from the kitchens of Henry VII and the dreams of Anne Boleyn to Elizabeth I's brush with death and the staging of Shakespeare's plays. To the commissioning of the King JamesTrade Review A BBC HISTORY MAGAZINE BEST BOOK OF 2023 ‘A fascinating chronicle … brilliantly researched…a history of the British monarchy seen through the prism of Hampton Court’ THE TIMES ‘Riotously readable … Russell gives a tender and affectionate account of a royal palace that is less about bricks and mortar than the men and women who down the centuries have breathed it into glamorous, scandalous and tragic life’ MAIL ON SUNDAY ‘Scintillating…it’s hard to imagine anyone writing a better version of the book Russell sets out to write than the racy delight we have here’ SPECTATOR ‘A serious, densely researched and fascinating portrait of Hampton Court Palace, focusing on the people who lived and loved there. His historical narrative, continental in its political scope, ranges from the Tudors to the Windsors and is informed by lively social history… he is an engaging storyteller’ COUNTRY LIFE 'If a house could gossip, this is the book that Hampton Court would whisper. An enjoyable and readable stroll through 500 years of Hampton Court history: royal residents, common visitors, thieves, invaders and ghosts’ PHILIPPA GREGORY 'Rollicking, gossipy and effortlessly learned, The Palace is what Hampton Court would say if its walls could talk. Gareth Russell is a born storyteller and this is a wonderful human history of one of Britain’s most captivating buildings.' DAN JONES ‘Vibrant, exciting, enthralling a superb panoramic history, bursting with scholarship, wit and riveting detail. A beautifully written, fascinating book about those who have lived and loved at Hampton Court’ KATE WILLIAMS ‘With scholarly accuracy but also a novelist’s eye for a telling detail or anecdote, he shows how the palace constitutes a long, broad and golden thread running through over half a millennium of British history’ ANDREW ROBERTS
£22.50
HarperCollins Publishers Inc Let Me Be Frank
Book SynopsisIn this entertaining and eye-opening collection, writer, actor, and feminist Tracy Dawson showcases trailblazers throughout history who disguised themselves as men and continuously broke the rules to gain access and opportunities denied them because they were women.“This book will surprise, astonish, and hopefully anger you on the lengths women have had to go to pursue their dreams. Tracy has such a gift for storytelling and making history leap off the page. Her book has a wit that suggests it was written by a man since everyone knows women aren''t this funny.”—Kay Cannon, writer, producer, director (the Pitch Perfect films, Cinderella)“A smart, funny journey through history that introduces us to the rule breakers who made history worth traveling through.”—Patton Oswalt, comedian, actor and author“I came up with Tracy as a fellow sketch comedian on the vomit-soaked stages of the Toronto comedy scene. And like the brilliant, resourceful, rule-breaking, damn-well-stubborn sisters in Let Me Be Frank, Tracy is someone who gets the job done, and gets it done well.”—Samantha Bee, Full Frontal with Samantha Bee Let Me Be Frank illuminates with a wry warmth the incredible stories of a diverse group of women from different ethnicities and cultural backgrounds who have defied the patriarchy, refusing to allow men or the status quo to define their lives or break their spirit. An often sardonic and thoroughly impassioned homage to female ingenuity and tenacity, the women profiled in this inspiring anthology broke the rules to reach their goals and refused to take “no” for an answer. These women took matters into their own hands, dressing—sometimes literally, sometimes figuratively—as men to do what they wanted to do. This includes competing in marathons, publishing books, escaping enslavement, practicing medicine, tunneling deep in the earth as miners, taking to the seas as pirates and serving on the frontlines in the military, among many other pursuits. Not only did these women persist, many unknowingly made history and ultimately inspired later generations in doing so. This compendium is an informative and enthralling celebration of these revolutionary badasses who have changed the world and our lives.Let Me Be Frank is filled with more than two dozen specially commissioned, full-color illustrations and hand-lettering by artist Tina Berning, whose multi-award-winning work has been published in numerous publications and anthologies worldwide, and is designed by Alex Kalman.WOMEN PROFILED INCLUDE: Jeanne Baret * Anne Bonny and Mary Read * Christian Caddell * Ellen Craft * Catalina De Erauso * Louise Augustine Gleizes * Hatshepsut * Annie Hindle and Florence Hines* Pili Hussein * Joan of Arc * Rena “Rusty” Kanokogi * Margaret King * Dorothy Lawrence * Tarpé Mills * Hannah Snell * Kathrine Switzer * Maria Toorpakai * Dr. Mary Edwards Walker * Cathay WilliamsTrade Review“Stylish ink and watercolor drawings complement Dawson's amusing yet pointed biographical sketches. This spirited feminist history entertains and enlightens.” — Publishers Weekly “[A]n easy-to-read, eye-opening look at female bravery amid the sexism and misogyny throughout history; it is funny and rousing and proud.” — Shelf Awareness “Whether describing how women escaped enslavement, defined literary movements, ensured women can compete in judo on an Olympic level, or take to the high seas as pirates, Dawson’s biographies are as informative as they are entertaining. Full-color illustrations by artist Tina Berning beautifully round out the collection.” — Booklist "An entertaining, astonishing collection celebrating the diverse trailblazers who disguised themselves as men... Let Me Be Frank is a witty, sometimes infuriating, wholly inspiring look at the lengths that women had to go to." — Buzzfeed “A smart, funny journey through history that introduces us to the rule breakers who made history worth traveling through.” — Patton Oswalt, comedian, actor and author "If you love history and you love women in history you're going to love this book. Tracy is so funny and sassy!" — Angela Kinsey, actress (The Office) “This book will surprise, astonish, and hopefully anger you on the lengths women have had to go to pursue their dreams. Tracy has such a gift for storytelling and making history leap off the page. Her book has a wit that suggests it was written by a man since everyone knows women aren't this funny.” — Kay Cannon, writer, producer, director (the Pitch Perfect films, Cinderella) “[L]ike the brilliant, resourceful, rule-breaking, damn-well-stubborn sisters in Let Me Be Frank, Tracy is someone who gets the job done, and gets it done well.” — Samantha Bee, Full Frontal with Samantha Bee “A quirky volume that brings together stories of many interesting women for readers looking for a laugh and an education.” — Library Journal “Dawson’s book is a loving tribute to those who did whatever they could to show that women unbound by gender roles can survive and thrive.” — Boston Globe “Armed with her passionate, ultra-feminist irony, a mountain of research, and an appropriately witty title, Tracy Dawson takes aim at ancient patriarchal traditions by giving fierce, rule-breaking women, both known and little-known, a voice for their defiance.” — Historical Novel Society
£17.00
HarperCollins Publishers Inc How to Survive America
Book SynopsisDispels the myth that people of color are somehow predisposed to poor health, blaming systemic injustice in the health care system. —New York Times Book ReviewLegendary comedian D.L. Hughley uses his hilarious yet soul-shaking (Black Enterprise) humor to confront racism''s unjust impact on the health and wellbeing of Blacks and minorities White people love survival guides. But have you noticed they’re always about ridiculous activities in locations far from home, with chapters like “How to Survive an Avalanche or How to Live on Bugs in the Jungle.” Huh?!You know who really needs a survival guide? Black and brown Americans. For surviving their own damn country! Minority populations wake up every day in a battle for their health and safety. Thankfully, legendary activist-comedian D.L. Hughley offers How to Survive America, a fearless satire that exposes racism’s unjust toll on our bodies and minds.Even before COVID-19 disproportionately impacted minority communities, life expectancy for Blacks was a full three years less than for white Americans. The very air we breathe is more polluted, our water is more contaminated, our local food options are toxic, and our jobs are underpaid. Despite the obvious need, the quality of our health care is tragically inadequate. Our communities are statistically less safe than the average, and yet we’re terrorized by the law-enforcement and criminal-justice systems that are supposed to protect us, sending Blacks to prison at five times the rate of whites. Not least, our means of addressing these injustices—voting—is perennially under assault.It’s enough to drive you crazy. Well, guess what? According to Cigna, Blacks are 20 percent more likely to report “psychological distress” yet “50 percent less likely to receive counseling or mental health treatment.” It’s almost like the entire country has been structured with no regard for our welfare. Hmmm.Whether you’re Black, white, brown, or Asian, don’t leave home without arming yourself with How to Survive America!
£14.44
HarperCollins Publishers Inc I Have a Dream
Book Synopsis
£11.69
Random House Dear Zari
Book SynopsisZarghuna Kargar was born in Kabul in 1982. When civil war erupted across Afghanistan, she and her family escaped to Pakistan, and it was there that Zarghuna attended a journalism course organised by the BBC. Then in 2001 her family sought asylum in the UK, and she started working for the BBC World Service Pashtu Section. She joined the team on the groundbreaking programme Afghan Woman's Hour as producer and presenter in 2004, until it was discontinued in 2010. Zarghuna now works on current affairs programmes for the BBC Afghan Service. She lives in London.Trade ReviewA poignant celebration of human resilience -- Khaled Hosseini, author of The Kite RunnerRemarkable...heart-rending...astonishing * The Times *An absorbing collection of life stories...their bravery and resilience shines through * Independent on Sunday *Harrowing and heart-warming * Sunday Telegraph *Heart-rending...harrowing... In each case, though, the resilience of the human spirit shines through * Metro *
£13.49
Random House An Island in Time
Book SynopsisGeert Mak is a jounalist and historian, and one of Holland's bestselling writers; his prizewinning books include Amsterdam and In Europe.Translated by Ann Kelland.Trade ReviewEloquent * Guardian *Movingly relevant * Irish Times *Mak is good on the pulse of the village, its ebb and flow as people come and go, but running throughout the book is a genuine anger that this is a meritorious way of life we are too eager to dismiss -- Lesley McDowell * Independent of Sunday *A big subject, neatly summarized, in which he also studies the changes in people's values that take place when they move to big cities, and the role now played by incomers in village life -- Alastair Mabbott * Herald *Nowhere has the silent rural revolution been described more beautifully and with mroe feeling * Volkskrant *
£15.29
Random House Sleeping on a Wire
Book SynopsisIsrael: Jewish state and national homeland to Jews the world over. But a fifth of its population is Arab, a people who feel themselves to be an inseparable part of the Arab nation, most of which is still technically at war with the State of Israel.Trade ReviewIntelligent, sympathetic, resonant and accessible -- Nick Hornby * Sunday Times *Outstanding... Unblinkingly harsh, this journey is also, in its sheer honesty and decency, a work of hope * Observer *The Yellow Wind established Grossman as one of Israel's finest political writers. His latest examination of the Palestinian tragedy is of equal quality, sympathetic without being patronising, sensitive to the point of pain -- Robert Fisk * Independent *A writer of passionate self-honesty, unafraid to ask terrible questions -- Nadine GordimerA fine, sympathetic book... Its insights reverberate far beyond the Middle East * Scotsman *
£14.39
Vintage Publishing The Battle of London 193945 Endurance Heroism and
Book Synopsis''Endlessly fascinating. . . White is such a brilliant historian'' Mail on SundayLasting for six long years, the Blitz transformed life in the capital beyond recognition, marking a time of almost constant anxiety, disruption, deprivation and sacrifice for Londoners. With the capital the nation''s frontline during the Second World War, by its end, 30,000 inhabitants had lost their lives.While much has been written about ''the Myth of the Blitz'', its riveting social history has often been overlooked. Unearthing what it was actually like for those living through those tempestuous years, Jerry White paints a fascinating portrait of the daily lives of ordinary Londoners, telling the story through their own voices.''As a history of the capital in wartime, it is probably unsurpassable'' Sunday Telegraph''An impressive history of the capital at war. . . White, an accomplished chronicler of London''s history, tells it with brio and a cTrade ReviewJerry White is one of London's best historians...and in this enveloping book he tries to scrape away the myths that have obscured our view of the Second World War and reintroduce us to what life in the city between 1939 and 1945 was actually like -- Andrew Holgate * Sunday Times *The Battle of London 1939-45... benefits hugely from a vast and well-chosen range of quotes and anecdotes, conjuring the atmosphere of a city under siege with vivid force. What's most striking in this raw and comprehensive portrait of a city on fire is just how enchanting and appealing it is: you actually start wishing you had been alive to witness it -- Sebastian Milbank * Tablet *[An] impressive history of the capital at war... White, an accomplished chronicler of London's history, tells it with brio and a confident mastery of the sources. He has a good nose for a piquant anecdote and clear-eyed awareness of the failings as well as the fearlessness of Londoners -- Alan Allport * Literary Review *Jerry White has a unique relation to London and Londoners. More than a historian, he is the city's witness, champion and town-crier... White does not rehearse the cliché of the Blitz spirit. Instead, by giving narrative commentary to the bit players in the drama...he presents a more complex, bleak and confused tale -- Frances Wilson * Oldie *As a history of the capital in wartime, it is probably unsurpassable... From the Myra Hess lunchtime concerts at the National Gallery, to the extraordinary resilience and bravery of Londoners... all can be found in this book -- Anne de Courcy * Sunday Telegraph *
£12.34
Penguin Books Ltd Genes Peoples and Languages
Book SynopsisHistorians relying on written records can tell us nothing about the 99.9% of human evolution which preceded the invention of writing. It is the study of genetic variation, backed up by language and archaeology, which provides concrete evidence aboutthe spread of farming, the movements of peoples across the globe, the precise links between races - and the sheer unscientific absurdity of racism. Genes, Peoples and Languages offers an astonishing investigation into the past 100,000 years of human history and a rare, firsthand account of some of the most significant and gripping scientific work of recent years. Cavalli-Sforza is one of the great founding fathers of archaeogenetics, and in this book he maps out some of its grand themes.Table of ContentsGenes and history; a walk in the woods; of Adam and Eve; technological revolutions and gene geography; genes and languages; cultural transmission and evolution.
£11.69
Penguin Books Ltd A House Unlocked
Book SynopsisA House Unlocked is Booker Prize winning author Penelope Lively''s classic memoir.The only child of divorced parents, Penelope Lively was often sent to stay at her grandparents'' country house Golsoncott. Years later, as the house was sold out of the family, she began to piece together the lives of those she knew fifty years before.In a needlework sampler, she sees her grandmother and the wartime children that she sheltered under her roof in 1940. Potted meat jars remind her of the ritual of doing the flowers for church. The smell of the harness room brings her Aunt Rachel - avant-garde artist, fervent horserider - vividly back to life.In A House Unlocked, Penelope Lively delves into the domestic past of her former home, and tells of her own youth and the contrasts between life today and the way they lived then.''Wonderful. Lively is brilliant and original . . . Every page of this book captures your attention'' Daily Trade ReviewWonderful. Lively is brilliant and original . . . Every page of this book captures your attention * Daily Mail *Remarkable, richly enjoyable ... a captivating memoir -- Helen Dunmore * The Times *Engaging, curious, compelling, remarkable ... Any time spent with Penelope Lively is a joy * Observer *An ingenious memoir. The enchantment lies in its personal narrative: the portrait of a family and its progress through the twentieth century * Literary Review *
£14.39
Penguin Books Ltd British Society Since 1945
Book SynopsisArthur Marwick is Professor of History at the Open University and served as Dean of Art from 1978 to 1984. His other books include THE SIXTIES and THE DELUGE.Trade Review'Something of a tour de force... Without serious distortion or omission he moves dexterously through a wide variety of sources, ranging from poetry through film and novels to opinion polls.. it is astonishing how much he gets in' Times Educational Supplement 'An enjoyable, readable, usable achievement which leads the field' John Vincent, Sunday Times
£999.99
Penguin Books Ltd Victorious Century The United Kingdom 18001906
Book SynopsisSHORTLISTED FOR THE DUFF COOPER PRIZE 2018 ''This is stupendous. The British nineteenth century, in all its complexity, all its horror, all its energy, all its hopes is laid bare. This is the definitive history, and will remain so for generations'' A.N. WilsonTo live in nineteenth-century Britain was to experience an astonishing series of changes, of a kind for which there was simply no precedent in the human experience. There were revolutions in transport, communication, work; cities grew vast; scientific ideas made the intellectual landscape unrecognizable. This was an exhilarating time, but also a horrifying one.In his dazzling new book David Cannadine has created a bold, fascinating new interpretation of the British nineteenth century in all its energy and dynamism, darkness and vice. This was a country which saw itself at the summit of the world. And yet it was a society also convulsed by doubt, fear and introspection. Victorious Century rTrade ReviewA book such as this is a work of heroic summary. -- David Aaronovitch * The Times *Magnificent... a thumping great book, and it is probably destined to become a classic. Cannadine succeeds triumphantly. -- Jane Ridley * Spectator *A sparkling history, immensely readable * Guardian *
£15.29
Penguin Books Ltd Let Our Fame Be Great
Book SynopsisOliver Bullough was born in 1977 and grew up on a sheep farm in mid-Wales. He studied modern history at Oxford University and moved to Russia in 1999. He lived in St Petersburg, Bishkek and Moscow over the next seven years, working as a journalist first for local magazines and newspapers, and then for Reuters news agency. He reported from all over Russia and the former Soviet Union, but liked nothing more than to work among the peoples and mountains of the North Caucasus.He moved back to Britain in 2006, and has spent the following years travelling for and writing this book.He now lives in east London. He likes to travel, to take photographs, to watch Welsh rugby, to cook and to read.Trade ReviewThis wonderful, moving book flashes backwards and forwards over a terrain almost impossible to survey, and manages the feat * Norman Stone *Lively and impassioned ... a tragically neglected corner of our world * Orlando Figes *Oliver Bullough's book is a painstaking, sensitively reported effort to knit together their [the people of the Caucasus] lost history -- Wendell Steavenson * Sunday Times *A book that effortlessly mixes on-the-spot reportage and a wide-ranging history . . . Let its fame be great * The Scotsman *Bullough brings us exciting news, presented as short, gripping stories that ... The history of their resistance and resilience has been largely unknown for two centuries. Now their stories are sung by a champion and will resound beyond their boundaries -- Ian Finlayson * The Times *An impressive debut ... heartfelt and compelling ... With this impassioned volume he has struck a blow for the glory of the Caucasus and helped to give voice to the voiceless -- Justin Marozzi * Financial Times *Bullough should be congratulated on his brave and tireless investigations into an under-reported region of the world -- George Walden * New Statesman *Let Our Fame Be Great is a treat ... Finely bound, with excellent maps, Bullough draws you irresistibly into his narrative, fusing reportage, history and travelogue in colourful, absorbing prose ... The book is a pleasure, and most importantly, it is critical to understanding modern Russia with its worrying collective amnesia -- Daniel Metcalfe * Spectator *Fascinating and ground-breaking ... Bullough has got plenty of dust, snow and mud on his boots from his travels recording the forgotten tragedies of the North Caucasus ... In the process he [has] unearthed many priceless nuggets of historic truth -- Thomas de Waal * OpenDemocracy *
£15.29
Penguin Books Ltd Common People
Book SynopsisShortlisted for the 2014 Samuel Johnson Prize''Part detective story, part Dickensian saga, part labour history. A thrilling and unnerving read'' Observer ''Mesmeric and deeply moving'' Daily Telegraph ''Remarkable, haunting, full of wisdom'' The TimesFamily history is a massive phenomenon of our times but what are we after when we go in search of our ancestors? Beginning with her grandparents, Alison Light moves between the present and the past, in an extraordinary series of journeys over two centuries, across Britain and beyond.Epic in scope and deep in feeling, Common People is a family history but also a new kind of public history, following the lives of the migrants who travelled the country looking for work. Original and eloquent, it is a timely rethinking of who the English were - but ultimately it reflects on history itself, and on our constant need to know who went before us anTrade ReviewIn illuminating her own, Light serves up the most powerful family history I have ever read. -- Penelope Lively * New York Times *Light writes beautifully. With such colour and with perception and lyricism she clads the past....Common People is part memoir, part thrilling social history of the England of the Industrial Revolution, but above all a work of quiet poetry and insight into human behaviour. It is full of wisdom. -- Melanie Reid * The Times Book of the Week *This book is a substantial achievement: its combination of scholarship and intelligence is, you may well think, the best monument you could have to all those she has rescued from time's oblivion. * Financial Times *Evocatively written...a thrilling and unnerving read * The Observer *Exquisite...Barely a page goes by without something fascinating on it, betraying Light's skill in winkling out the most relevant or moving aspects of her antecedents' lives, which echo through the generations. * the Independent on Sunday *[A] short and beautifully written meditation on family and mobility. * the Independent *Intellectually sound and relevant...a refreshingly modern way of thinking about our past. * New Statesman *Light [is skilled] in probing dark corners of her ancestry and exposing their historical meaning...packed with humanity. * Sunday Times *Beautifully written and exhaustively researched, Alison Light makes her family speak for England. * Jerry White, author of London in the Eighteenth Century *A remarkable achievement...should become a classic. * Margaret Drabble *
£12.59
Penguin Books Ltd Dont Touch My Hair
Book Synopsis''Groundbreaking . . . a scintillating, intellectual investigation into black women and the very serious business of our hair, as it pertains to race, gender, social codes, tradition, culture, cosmology, maths, politics, philosophy and history'' Bernardine Evaristo Straightened. Stigmatized. ''Tamed''. Celebrated. Erased. Managed. Appropriated. Forever misunderstood. Black hair is never ''just hair''.This book is about why black hair matters and how it can be viewed as a blueprint for decolonisation. Over a series of wry, informed essays, Emma Dabiri takes us from pre-colonial Africa, through the Harlem Renaissance, Black Power and on to today''s Natural Hair Movement, the Cultural Appropriation Wars and beyond. We look everything from hair capitalists like Madam C.J. Walker in the early 1900s to the rise of Shea Moisture today, from women''s solidarity and friendship to ''black people time'', forgotten African scholars and the dubious provenance of Kim Kardashian''s braids.The scope of black hairstyling ranges from pop culture to cosmology, from prehistoric times to the (afro)futuristic. Uncovering sophisticated indigenous mathematical systems in black hairstyles, alongside styles that served as secret intelligence networks leading enslaved Africans to freedom, Don''t Touch My Hair proves that far from being only hair, black hairstyling culture can be understood as an allegory for black oppression and, ultimately, liberation.Trade ReviewEmma Dabiri's groundbreaking Don't Touch My Hair is a scintillating, intellectual investigation into black women and the very serious business of our hair, as it pertains to race, gender, social codes, tradition, culture, cosmology, maths, politics, philosophy and history, and also the role of hairstyles in pre-colonial Africa -- Bernardine Evaristo * The Times Literary Supplement Books of the Year *FASCINATING, educational, personal, humble and engaging. I urge you to read it! -- Marian KeyesI've been pleasantly engrossed this autumn in Emma Dabiri's nonfiction debut Don't Touch My Hair. Part memoir, part spiky, thoroughly researched socio-political analysis, it delves deep into the painful realities and history of follicular racism -- Diana Evans * Observer Books of the Year *Both a richly researched cultural history and a voyage to empowerment. -- Colin Grant * Guardian *Sensational * Women's Health *Pulled together with meticulous research, Don't Touch My Hair is an unmissable read by a writer who's set to become a household name -- Francesca Brown * Stylist *The first book from one of Ireland's brightest literary talents, Don't Touch My Hair brilliantly deconstructs western views of everything from beauty to social value systems, and even to our understanding of time, all through the lens of how African cultures value hair. * Hotpress *Groundbreaking...Her sources are rich, diverse and sometimes heartbreaking. Some books make us feel seen and for me, that is what Don't Touch My Hair does. I would urge everyone to read it -- Charlie Brinkhurst-Cuff * Guardian *An excellent and far reaching book...a call to arms for black African culture * Irish Times *A powerful and arrestingly relatable account of the rich history of Afro hair that seamlessly interweaves her personal perspective with meticulously researched historical facts * Metro *Dabiri's brilliant book recognises that black hair - particularly women's hair - is charged with social and racial significance * Tank *
£10.44
Penguin Books Ltd Building Jerusalem
Book Synopsis''History writing at its compulsive best'' A. N. WilsonThis is a history of the ideas that shaped not only London, but Manchester, Glasgow, Liverpool, Leeds, Birmingham, Sheffield and other power-houses of 19th-century Britain. It charts the controversies and visions that fostered Britain''s greatest civic renaissance.Tristram Hunt explores the horrors of the Victorian city, as seen by Dickens, Engels and Carlyle; the influence of the medieval Gothic ideal of faith, community and order espoused by Pugin and Ruskin; the pride in self-government, identified with the Saxons as opposed to the Normans; the identification with the city republics of the Italian renaissance - commerce, trade and patronage; the change from the civic to the municipal, and greater powers over health, education and housing; and finally at the end of the century, the retreat from the urban to the rural ideal, led by William Morris and the garden-city movement of Ebenezer Howard.Trade ReviewA key text which should be read by all politicians and by anyone interested in the way we live now. It is deeply researched, but written in an highly accessible way, and the reader never loses sight of the vitally relevant and interesting story Tristram Hunt has to tell. It is history writing at its compulsive best. -- A. N. WilsonWhat matters is his book's prodigious range and passionate enthusiasm, and his skill in showing how ideas, however foolish, can take over minds, change landscapes and mould the future. It is a rich, nutritious read. -- John Carey * Sunday Times *
£999.99
Penguin Books Ltd The Aristocracy of Talent
Book SynopsisTrade Reviewsuperb ... Wooldridge, the political editor of The Economist, quite brilliantly evokes the values and manners of the pluto-meritocrats at the top of society ... They would do well to read Wooldridge's erudite, thoughtful and magnificently entertaining book. They will find many uncomfortable truths in it. -- James Marriott * The Times *Adrian Wooldridge's extraordinary and irresistible history of meritocracy, The Aristocracy of Talent, describes the repeated efforts over the centuries to persuade peoples all over the world to accept the principle and compel society to organize itself on lines where merit alone, not bloodlines or bank balances, decides who rules and gets top dollar. ... Throughout, Wooldridge never loses faith in the principle of meritocracy as the key driver of modernity ... The Aristocracy of Talent is a serious treat from first to last. Not the least of its pleasures are the possibilities of disagreement that it provokes. -- Ferdinand Mount * Times Literary Supplement *This is a blistering and provocative defence of meritocracy - the single word almost all democratic politicians swear by, but never debate. Wooldridge, the Economist's political editor, provides an erudite survey of many cultures over several centuries to remind us how meritocracy's core idea - that your place in society should be a reflect of talent and effort, not determined by birth - is both revolutionary and recent. He sees meritocracy as an organising ideal rather than something that has been satisfactorily achieved, and rails against the ability of the privileged to purchase educational advantage for their children. He deplores too, outbursts of arrogance from meritocracy's winners. -- Books of the Year * New Statesman *The Aristocracy of Talent is finely constructed: fluent insights include the importance of Plato's distrust of democracy, on the grounds that it tended to lead to tyranny, and his insistence on the need for a leadership of experts. -- John Lloyd * Financial Times *In The Aristocracy of Talent, the Economist writer Adrian Wooldridge defends the meritocratic ideal. The book offers a sweeping account of the history of meritocracy, from the elaborate exams required to join the Chinese civil service to the problems with our dysfunctional present version of meritocracy, which Wooldridge says might be better called "pluto-meritocracy". Essential reading for anyone who wants to understand one of the important problems facing rich nations. -- James Marriott * The Times Book of the Year *This masterly book offers a robust defence of meritocracy. -- Lord Willetts * Economist *hugely stimulating ... a spirited defence ... of meritocracy itself, made with cogent arguments ... a valuable, thought-provoking book -- Noel Malcolm * Daily Telegraph *a timely book that is a reminder that meritocracy, for all its flaws, may well be, like the democracy it has sometimes served, better than the alternatives ... told with a wealth of erudition in brisk and readable prose -- Darrin M McMahon * Literary Review *There are few terms whose origins are more misunderstood than "meritocracy". So Adrian Wooldridge has performed a public service with his latest book, The Aristocracy of Talent. -- Dominic Lawson * Sunday Times *Adrian Wooldridge sees meritocracy as a revolutionary idea worth improving, not abandoning. He ranges across two and a half thousand years of history, surveying many societies and cultures, to remind us that until relatively recently the talented were almost always a matter of no interest to the rulers - not only unrewarded but undiscovered ... [a] rich stew of a book. Alongside the philosophers are innumerable politicians, theologians, scientists, academics, authors and campaigners. He has dug up a priceless array of quotes from all perspectives on how to define the best people, how to seek them out, how to educate them, how to test them, how to give them power, even how they should behave. -- Mark Damazer * New Statesman *In this elegant historical and philosophical defence of the notion that people should advance according to talent rather than birth, Wooldridge argues that the idea that ruled the world by the late 20th century has become corrupted. This "golden ticket to prosperity" needs restoring in order to revive social mobility. -- Andrew Hill * Financial Times * an omniscient and impassioned polemic ... Some of us have been waiting a long time for someone to do what Wooldridge has done: nail the lie that there is something shameful about success honestly earned -- Daniel Johnson * The Critic *The Aristocracy of Talent is both an exhaustively researched history of an idea and a many-sided examination of the impacts of its imperfect execution. -- Mike Jakeman * Strategy + Business *A worthy successor to the 1958 classic The Rise of the Meritocracy, this sparkling study shows how much less meritocratic our society has become since then -- Vernon Bogdanor * Daily Telegraph Books of the Year *Wooldridge has written one of the great books of the decade. Here, meticulously researched and in arresting prose, are definitive accounts of Plato's authoritarian philosophy and the way later generations interpreted it, of China's mandarinate, of the rise of IQ tests and much else. -- Lord Hannan * Conservative Home *with its remorseless erudition ... in his new book, Adrian Wooldridge tries to salvage meritocracy from the ossified over-class that Aldous Huxley foresaw. -- Janan Ganesh * Financial Times *Adrian Wooldridge relabels the system "pluto-meritocracy" to expose its sham ideology -- Philip Aldrick * The Times *readable and wide-ranging...Wooldridge maintains that meritocracy is revolutionary and egalitarian -- Peter Mandler * BBC History Magazine *Every page, there's an intriguing nugget of information. -- Robbie Millenkudos to Adrian Wooldridge... for producing a full-throated defence of the principle -- Toby Young * Spectator *An elegant defence of talent. * The Week *
£11.69
Oxford University Press Inc Gays on Broadway
Book SynopsisA fascinating look at the gay and lesbian influence on the American stage by an internationally-recognized authority on the topicFrom the genteel female impersonators of the 1910s to the raucous drag queens of La Cage Aux Folles, from the men of The Normal Heart to the women of Fun Home, and from Eva Le Gallienne and Tallulah Bankhead to Tennessee Williams and Nathan Lane, Gays On Broadway deftly chronicles the plays and people that brought gay culture to Broadway.Writing with his customary verve and wit, author Ethan Mordden follows the steady liberation of gay themes on the American stage. The story begins in the early twentieth century, when gay characters were virtually banned from productions. The 1920s saw a flurry of plays closed on moral grounds as well as the Wales Padlock Act, which forbade representation of sex degeneracy. While authorities made consistent attempts to shutter the movement, the public remained curious, and after a few decades of war making, a truce broke out when The Boys In the Band became a national smash hit. From this point on, gay theatre proved simply too popular to abolish. With this change, theatre was graced with a host of unforgettable characters - from thrill killers to historical figures to drag performers, as well as professional gays (such as the defiantly effeminate window dresser in Kiss of the Spider Woman), closeted gays, and those run-of-the-mill citizens who don''t reside entirely within the colorful nonconformist identity (such as the two male lovers in the dinner-theatre comedy Norman, Is That You?).Spoken plays and musicals, playwrights, directors, and actors all played their part in popularizing the gay movement through art. Gays on Broadway is an essential chronological review of the long journey to bring the culture of gay men and women onto the American stage.Trade ReviewA gossipy, insightful survey of the (often closeted) gay contribution to American theatre. * David Benedict, The Guardian *I can't think of a writer better equipped than Ethan Mordden to take on this important subject. Erudite, free-wheeling, and dishy, Gays on Broadway brings over a century of gay theater to vivid life-the plays and personalities, as well as the politics and peril of true representation, both on and off the stage. This is a bracing, provocative, and wildly entertaining read. * Jonathan Tolins, playwright, Buyer & Cellar *Filled with passion for his subject, fascinating if sometimes eccentric insights, and delicious backstage gossip. * M. Clum, New York Journal of Books *Several of this collection's essays demonstrate just how high toward heaven the musical has allowed gays to kick. * Raymond-Jean Frontain, The G&LR *Table of Contents1. The 1910s and 1920s: You Mussst Come Over! 2. The 1930s: The Gays Who Came to Dinner 3. The 1940s: The Poet of Big Characters 4. The 1950s: The Body Beautiful 5. The 1960s: You Shouldn't Wear Heels When You Do Chin-Ups 6. The 1970s: Did You Go To Oberlin? 7. The 1980s: Well, Yes, Actually, Yes, I Have 8. The 1990s and 2000s: They're Taking Over 9. The Present: Mr. Albee Never Changes His Mind Bibliography Index
£22.99
Oxford University Press Inc The Eternal Decline and Fall of Rome
Book SynopsisThe Eternal Decline and Fall of Rome tells the story of 2200 years of the use and misuse of the idea of Roman decline by ambitious politicians, authors, and autocrats as well as the people scapegoated and victimized in the name of Roman renewal. It focuses on the long history of a way of describing change that might seem innocuous, but which has cost countless people their lives, liberty, or property across two millennia.Trade ReviewProponents of gradualism, sceptical about the need for radical change and its promised benefits, will have a handy primer to challenge the misuse of Roman precedents. * MICHAEL WHITBY, The Classical Review *The Eternal Decline and Fall of Rome might be one of Watts's most significant books. * Evan Axel Andersson, World History Encyclopedia *This clearly written scholarly work covers 2,000 years of political and intellectual history. * A. J. Papalas, East Carolina University, Choice Connect *This is a gripping book, which packs much detail into its 242 pages. It is built around the theme of continuous decline or apparent decline. The book has many insights, in particular the way in which Roman history is misused by modern writers and politicians. This reviewer would strongly recommend the book to anyone with an interest in European history or classics. * Rupert Jackson, Classics for All *Edward J. Watts, a professor of history at the University of California, San Diego, is a scholar of the later ancient world, who takes his readers from republican Rome to Republican Washington with a resounding theme that anyone promising to restore lost greatness is probably up to no good.... This is a powerful lens through which to view the past, both for those who already think they know it well and those who have practical uses for it.... He gives a masterly account of the complex family who founded the Roman empire's last and longest-lasting dynasty, and of its principal figure, Michael Palaeologus (1261-82), who restored Constantinople to its capital status while committing 'sins so great that even his successors hesitated to embrace his legacy too closely. * Peter Stothard, Wall Street Journal *History professor Watts accomplishes an impressive feat by effectively compressing the vast history of Rome and its empire into a relatively short book... In such an abbreviated history of much of the Western World, Watts succeeds admirably in his purpose. But his truly novel contribution is his ability to weave in the ways that the 'deeply entrenched narrative' of Roman decline and recovery accompanied Rome's growth in the second century B.C.E. and on to its commanding position in the western empire as the seat of Catholicism, before the break with Constantinople.... A fresh, complex story of how historical perceptions come into being and are used to persuade and rule. * Kirkus Reviews *The Eternal Decline and Fall of Rome traces the dreams and nightmares of the longest lasting polity in the history of Europe. For almost two millennia, Romans remained haunted by the prospect of their own decline and fall. They were also constantly hypnotized by programs that claimed to 'Make Rome Great Again.' Each such program left a trail of victims and scapegoats. Edward Watts tells this story of alternating hopes, fears, and grand illusions from beginning to end with zest and truly panoramic erudition. Those who wish to understand how the chill ghost of Rome's fall can still be conjured up by modern pundits and politicians - and frequently with toxic results--should read this book. * Peter Brown, author of The Ransom of the Soul: Afterlife and Wealth in Early Western Christianity *The 'fall of Rome' is an idea that has been weaponized throughout the ages. Where one speaks of a 'decline,' talk of blame is usually soon to follow. Any 'renewal' or 'revival' quickly results in its own victims. TheEternal Decline and Fall of Rome is the first book to tell the story of the use and misuse of these ideas over the long course of Roman history. As Watts lays out, there was no one decline of Rome, nor one fall, but a series of them, each of them heavily politicized. * Anthony Kaldellis, author of Streams of Gold, Rivers of Blood: The Rise and Fall of Byzantium, 955 A.D. to the First Crusade *In this timely and well-executed work, Edward Watts has brought off three exceptional achievements: literary, historical, and political. His well-tempered description of Roman decline and fall strikes chords in contemporary America, inviting a use of Rome's example to think more responsibly about the challenges of our own world. * Janet Nelson, author of King and Emperor: A New Life of Charlemagne *Memory of Rome's imperial greatness has inspired over the centuries the ambitions of rulers, popes, and warlords. But alongside this was the warning of Rome's fall. In this masterful compression, Edward Watts brings together ideas of empire and decline, showing their interaction over almost two millennia and their continued relevance and misuse in politics today. * Martyn Rady, author of The Habsburgs: The Rise and Fall of a World Power *Watt's book is well-written and it demonstrates the work of a classical scholar at the top of his game. Moreover, he makes an admirable argument about the need for a positive American leader akin to Marcus Aurelius. * Jesse Russell, European Conservative *Table of ContentsChapter 1 A Snapshot and a Story Chapter 2 The Decline and Fall of the Roman Republic, c. 200 BC-14 AD Chapter 3 Manufacturing the Golden Age of Trajan, 14 -117 AD Chapter 4 Renewal without Decline: The Antonines and Severans, 117-235 AD Chapter 5 Decline and False Renewal: The Third Century Crisis, 235-284 AD Chapter 6 Decline, Renewal, and the Invention of Christian Progress, 284-337 AD Chapter 7 Roman Renewal versus Christian Progress, 337-363 AD Chapter 8 When Renewal Fails to Arrive, 363-384 AD Chapter 9 The Loss of the Roman West and the Christian Future, 384-c. 470 AD Chapter 10 Justinian, Roman Progress, and the Death of the Western Roman Empire, c. 470-565 AD Chapter 11 Rome, the Arabs, and Iconoclasm, 565-c. 750 AD Chapter 12 Old Rome, New Rome, and Future Rome, c. 750-814 AD Chapter 13 The Retrenchment of One Roman Empire, the Resurgence of Another, 814-1085 AD Chapter 14 The Captures of Constantinople, 1085-1282 AD Chapter 15 The Fall of Roman Constantinople and the End of Roman Renewal, 1282-1461 AD Chapter 16 Roman Renewal After the Fall, c.1450-c. 1560 AD Chapter 17 The Dangerous Idea
£25.17
Oxford University Press Inc Archaic and Classical Greek Sicily A Social and Economic History Greeks Overseas
Book SynopsisAncient Greek migrants in Sicily produced societies and economies that both paralleled and differed from their homeland. Explanations for these similarities and differences have been hotly debated. On the one hand, some scholars have viewed the ancient Greeks as one in a long line of migrants who were shaped by Sicily and its inhabitants. On the other hand, other scholars have argued that the Greeks acted as the main source of innovation and achievement in the culture of ancient Sicily, a culture that was still removed from that of mainland Greece. Neither of these positions is completely satisfactory. What is lacking in this debate is a basic framework for understanding ancient Sicily''s social and economic history. Archaic and Classical Greek Sicily represents the first ever systematic and comprehensive attempt to synthesize the historical and archaeological evidence, and to deploy it to test the various historical models proposed over the past two centuries. It adopts an interdiscipTrade ReviewAnglophone readers with a general interest in Greek Sicily are wellserved by this book, which summarises recent work, much of it in Italian, and offers an update to the first eight chapters of Moses Finley's classic, Ancient Sicily (2nd ed. 1979) * Tony Spawforth, Classics for All *The present work impresses with its large number of methodological points, fundamental findings, useful calculations, and important observations....This book summarizes current knowledge of the social and economic history of Greek Sicily in a very comprehensible manner, clarifies the situation regarding the sources, and gives an account of the methods used and the limitations of our knowledge. It forms an important milestone for the exploration of Greek Sicily. * Bryn Mawr Classical Review *Drawing on textual testimony as well as the latest archaeological findings and palaeoecological data, De Angelis offers a new authoritative narrative on the history of ancient Sicily. Through the judicial employment of social, economic, and anthropological theories, he demonstrates the fundamental interconnectedness of the island within Mediterranean-wide networks. * Jonathan Hall, University of Chicago *Drawing on an unrivaled knowledge of recent archaeological work, De Angelis demonstrates the rich potential of new archaeological methods. His account of ancient Sicily is full and compelling, and, by focusing on social and economic developments, he is able to set the political changes within the larger continuities and trends that shaped them. Much the best overview of ancient Sicily available. * Nigel Nicholson, Reed College *This is the book we have been needing for many years * a history of ancient Sicily written in English on the basis of a thorough and up-to-date knowledge of the archaeology, as well as of the literary sources, and that enables the complex political history to be seen against the constraints of economy and settlement. This will become the place to start from for all future students and scholars.Robin Osborne, University of Cambridge *The book is remarkable for its interdisciplinary and comprehensive approach. De Angelis' impressive command of historical, archaeological, and textual evidence, coupled with his sophisticated use of sociological and economic theory, has produced a fresh, contextual analysis of the political and economic developments of Greek Sicily that reveals new and unexpected societal trends. This book not only provides us with a more complete picture of the ancient island, but it also will undoubtedly influence future studies of the history and economics of Greek Sicily. * Classical JournalOnline *A book remarkable in erudition and key not only for the historical archaeology of Sicily but also for all of archaic and classical Greek history. Through his integration of and extrapolation upon archaeological discoveries, De Angelis demonstrates the connections of Sicily with the Mediterranean as a whole...The book, with its superb maps, charts, illustrations, and an 89-page bibliography, makes obsolete all earlier accounts. Essential. * Choice *Table of ContentsAcknowledgments List of Maps List of Figures List of Tables Abbreviations: Bibliographic Abbreviations: Chronological Introduction Chapter 1: The Geographical and Historical Setting Chapter 2: Settlement and Territory Chapter 3: Societies Chapter 4: Economics Conclusions References Index
£999.99
OUP Oxford Modern Spain 18751980 Revised
Book SynopsisThe word ''liberal'', as part of our political vocabulary comes from Spain. It was first used to describe a group of radical patriots cooped up in Cadiz, refugees from the French invasion of 1808. In 1812 they drew up a constitution enshrining the sovereignty of the people which struck the very basis of the old monarchy and became the model for advanced democrats from St Petersburg to Naples. Universal male suffrage was established in Spain in 1890 - earlier than Britain. The imposition of advanced liberal institutions on a conservative society, both economically and socially backward, inevitably caused tensions, and these, Raymond Carr argues, explain much of modern Spanish history. His analysis, incorporating much new research, starts at the ''September Revolution'' of 1868 and goes right up to the present day. In the 1970s and 80s the country suffered less from the violent social disruption experienced in previous decades, but - as always - Spain is beset with acute regional problems which become more pressing the longer they remain unsolved.Table of ContentsChronology: Main Political Events 1868-1979 ; Glossary of Political Terms and Organizations ; Map of Twentieth Century Spain ; 1. Revolution and Restoration 1868-1875: The Liberal Heritage ; 2. The Economy 1875-1914: Stagnation and Progress ; 3. Society in Transition 1875-1914 ; 4. Regenerationism and the Critics of the Regime ; 5. Politics 1898-1917: The Failure of the Revolution from Above ; 6. The Crisis of the Parliamentary Monarchy 1927-1923 ; 7. The Dictatorship of Primo de Rivera and the Fall of the Monarchy 1923-1931 ; 8. The Second Republic 1931-1936 ; 9. The Civil War 1936-1939 ; 10. Francoism 1939-1975 ; 11. The Monarchy of Juan Carlos: The Transition to Democracy ; Select Bibliography ; Index
£14.39
Oxford University Press Engels
Book SynopsisIt is by no means absurd to say that Engels invented Marxism. His work did more than Marx to make converts of the most influential political movement of modern times. He was not only the father of dialectical and historical materialism, the official philosophies of history and science in many communist countries; he was also the first Marxist historian, anthropologist, philosopher, and commentator on early Marx.In his later years Engels developed his materialist interpretation of history, his chief intellectual legacy, which has had revolutionary effects on the arts and social sciences. Terrell Carver traces its source and its effect on the development of Marxist theory and practice, assesses its utility, and discusses the difficulties which Marxists have encountered in defending it. 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 'combines a lucid introduction to the thinker with a genuine introduction to scholarly discussion' * British Book News *Table of Contents1. Engles and Marx ; 2. Journalist ; 3. Communist ; 4. Revolutionary ; 5. Marxist ; 6. Scientist ; 7. Engles and Marxism ; Further reading
£9.49
Oxford University Press A Pity Youth Does Not Last
Book Synopsis''The tide spreads a mantle of silk Around the Great Blasket Island'' So wrote Micheal O''Guiheen of his beloved island home. But by 1953 the authorities had evacuated the Great Blasket and its traditions were vanishing. Micheal O''Guiheen, ''the Poet'' of the book, was the son of Peig Sayers, who wrote ''An Old Woman''s Reflections''. But while that was a celebration of the good times, and her son''s schoolmate Maurice O''Sullivan''s ''Twenty Years A-Growing'' was a book of laughing youth, this takes the story to sombre middle age. It tells of sunny times clouded over only by unconscious intimations of mortality, not only of youth but also of an irreplaceable culture: the consternation caused by a passing comet, the drudgery of a turf-gathering expedition turning into a carefree rabbit hunt. This first and only English edition of O''Guiheen''s ''cri de coeur'' is supplemented by translations, from the author''s own poetry, previously only available in the original. The Blasket Islands are three miles off Ireland''s Dingle Peninsular. Until their evacuation just after the Second World War, the lives of the 150 or so Blasket Islanders had remained unchanged for centuries. A rich oral tradition of story-telling, poetry, and folktales kept alive the legends and history of the islands, and has made tier literature famous throughout the world. The seven Blasket Island books published by OUP contain memoirs and reminiscences from within this literary tradition, evoking a way of life which has now vanished.Trade ReviewPart of a unique and remarkable Irish literary archive ... compelling. * Neil Johnston, Belfast Telegraph, 24/6/00 *Table of Contents1. YOUTH AND SCHOOL; 2. NEW HOUSES BEING BUILT ON THE ISLAND; 3.THE COMET; 4. THE DAY OF THE AUCTION ON THE ISLAND; 5. LIVING IN THE NEW HOUSE; 6. HOW I GOT THRUSH; 7. THE MACKEREL SEASON; 8. A DAY'S HUNTING AND PEEVISHNESS; 9. SHROVETIDE AND THE GREAT COMMOTION; 10. BAD NEWS - THE DEATH OF NELL MHOR'S LITTLE GIRL; 11. THE GREAT WAR; 12. SITTING ON THE BANK OF THE STRAND; 13. HOW THE WARSHIP CAME TO THE ISLAND; 14. THE COMING OF DONALL O'SULLIVAN; 15. THE RISING; 16. MY TERM AT SCHOOL FINISHED
£14.64
Oxford University Press Modern Art 18511929
Book SynopsisThe period 1851 to 1929 witnessed the rise of the major European avant-garde groups: the Realists, Impressionists, Post-Impressionists, Symbolists, Cubists, and Surrealists. It was also a time of rapid social, economic, and political change, encompassing a revolution in communication systems and technology, and an unprecedented growth in the availability of printed images. Richard Brettell''s innovative account explores the aims and achievements -- the beautiful and the bizarre -- of artists such as Monet, Gauguin, Picasso, and Dali, in relation to urban capitalism and expansion, colonialism, nationalism and internationalism, and the museum. Tracing common themes of representation, imagination, perception, and sexuality across works in a wide range of different media he presents a fresh approach to the fine art and photography of this remarkable era.Table of ContentsIntroduction: The Great Exhibition of 1851, London. (Paris: the capital of modern art; New technology; The beginnings of modern art) ; Part I: Realism to Surrealism. (Realism; Impressionism; Symbolism; Post-Impressionism; Neo-Impressionism; Synthetism; The Nabis; The Fauves; Expressionism; Cubism; Futurism; Orphism; Vorticism; Suprematism/ Constructivism; Neo-Plasticism; Dada; Purism; Surrealism; The '-ism' problem) ; Part II: The Conditions for Modern Art ; Chapter 1. Urban Capitalism. (Paris and the birth of the modern city; Capitalist society; The commodification of art; The modern condition) ; Chapter 2. Modernity, Representation, and the Accessible Image. (The art museum; Temporary exhibitions; Lithography; Photography; Conclusion) ; Part III: The Artist's Response ; Chapter 3. Representation, Vision, and 'Reality': The Art of Seeing. (The human eye; Transparency and unmediated modernism; Surface fetishism and unmediated modernism; Photography and unmediated modernism; Beyond the oil sketch; Cubism) ; Chapter 4. Image/Modernism and the Graphic Traffic. (The Pre-Raphaelite brotherhood; Puvis de Chavannes and Gustave Moreau: Image/Modernism outside the Avant-Garde; Image/Modernism outside France; Exhibitions of the Avant-Garde; Fragmentation, dislocation, and recombination) ; Part IV Iconology ; Introduction ; Chapter 5. Sexuality and the Body. (Manet's bodies; Modern art and pornography; The nude and the modernist cycle of life; The bathing nude; The allegorical or non-sexual nude; Colonialism and the nude: the troubled case of Gauguin; The bride stripped bare; Body parts and fragments) ; Chapter 6. Social Class and Class Consciousness. (Seurat and Sunday on the Grande Jatte, 1884; Class issues in Modernist culture; Portraiture; Images of peasantry; The worker and modern art) ; Chapter 7. Anti-Iconography: Art Without 'Subject'. (Landscape painting; Text and image; Abstraction) ; Chapter 8. Nationalism and Internationalism in Modern Art. (National identity; Time and place; Abstract art, spiritualism, and internationalism; Nationalist landscape painting) ; Afterword: The Private Institutionalization of Modern Art ; Notes; List of Illustrations; Bibliographic Essay; Timeline; Index
£21.14
Oxford University Press The Oxford History of the Book
Book SynopsisHistories you can trust.In 14 original essays, The Oxford History of the Book reveals the history of books in all their various forms, from the ancient world to the digital present. Leading international scholars offer an original and richly illustrated narrative that is global in scope.The history of the book is the history of millions of written, printed, and illustrated texts, their manufacture, distribution, and reception. Here are different types of production, from clay tablets to scrolls, from inscribed codices to printed books, pamphlets, magazines, and newspapers, from written parchment to digital texts. The history of the book is a history of different methods of circulation and dissemination, all dependent on innovations in transport, from coastal and transoceanic shipping to roads, trains, planes and the internet. It is a history of different modes of reading and reception, from learned debate and individual study to public instruction and entertainment. It is a history of manufacture, craftsmanship, dissemination, reading and debate.Yet the history of books is not simply a question of material form, nor indeed of the history of reading and reception. The larger question is of the effect of textual production, distribution and reception - of how books themselves made history. To this end, each chapter of this volume, succinctly bounded by period and geography, offers incisive and stimulating insights into the relationship between books and the story of their times.Trade ReviewThis book will become an invaluable point of departure for students new to the field, for scholars who need to venture outside their normal chronological and geographical comfort zones, and - as it should be - to that elusive general reader. * John Feather, Library & Information History *Raven... has drawn together scholarly essays offering a sweeping, erudite, and thoroughly engaging narrative... A handsomely produced intellectual history. * Kirkus, Starred Review *Together, these fourteen essays form a thorough picture of how and why books progressed along the lines that they did. In an age when books are once again experiencing momentous changes, this well-researched reminder of their durability and timelessness is very welcome. * Eileen Gonzalez, Foreword Reviews *This volume is a cultural biography of the book, taking a global view of its underlying function as a portable, durable conveyor of reproducible information... Other works trace the history of the book, but Oxford's treatment is a deeper, more multicultural, and more visually appealing approach. * Lesley Farmer, Booklist *Beautifully comprehensively history of the book... the essays are stimulating and thought provoking. This is a scholarly work but it's also a coffee table book intended to be widely read and accessible. This is a very well curated collection... Fascinating and beautiful. * Paul Burke, NB Magazine *This is an excellent compilation on the world-wide history of the book... Put it on your Christmas present list. * Prof. T.D. Wilson, Information Research *The Oxford History of the Book is a seminal and original work of meticulous scholarship * Midwest Book Review *A sumptuous production. * Liz Dexter, Shiny New Books *Table of Contents1: James Raven: Introduction 2: Eleanor Robson: The Ancient World 3: Barbara Crostini: Byzantium 4: Cynthia Brokaw: Medieval and Early Modern East Asia 5: David Rundle: Medieval Western Europe 6: James Raven and Joran Proot: Renaissance and Reformation 7: Ann Blair: Managing Information 8: Sheila S. Blair and Jonathan M. Bloom: The Islamic World 9: Jeffrey Freedman: Enlightenment and Revolution 10: Graham Shaw: South Asia 11: Jeffrey Freedman: Industrialization 12: Christopher A. Reed and M. William Steele: Modern China, Japan, and Korea 13: Eva Hemmungs Wirtén: Globalization 14: Jeffrey T. Schnapp: Books Transformed Abbreviations and Glossary Further Reading Index
£12.34
Oxford University Press Europe after Rome
Book SynopsisThis is the first single-author study in over fifty years to offer an integrated appraisal of the early Middle Ages as a dynamic and formative period in European history. Written in an attractive and accessible style, it makes extensive use of original sources to introduce early medieval men and women at all levels of society from slave to emperor, and allows them to speak to the reader in their own words. It overturns traditional narratives and instead offers an entirely fresh approach to the centuries from c.500 to c.1000. Rejecting any notion of a dominant, uniform early medieval culture, it argues that the fundamental characteristic of the early middle ages is diversity of experience. To explain how the men and women who lived in this period ordered their world in cultural, social, and political terms, it employs an innovative methodology combining cultural history, regional studies, and gender history. Ranging comparatively from Ireland to Hungary and from Scotland and ScandinaviaTrade ReviewReview from previous edition This book is a masterpiece of condensed exposition. It is also a break-through - a truly New Cultural History - in the quiet determination of the author to approach very old themes from angles refreshingly different from those from which they have usually been approached ... It is, above all, the first complete account of the early middle ages as a civilisation in its own right. It catches the living texture of western Europe, from Rome to the Hebrides, for a half millennium of its history. It is truly the study of a civilization in its entirity ... Reading Europe After Rome I was constantly reminded of another synthesis of genius which now lies at the root of the modern study of the high middle ages - that is, Richard Southern's The Making of the Middle Ages ... It was a 'Portrait of an Age'. Julia Smith has done the same for the half millennium which preceded Southern's Middle Ages. * Professor Peter Brown, Princeton University *Table of ContentsIntroduction ; PART I: FUNDAMENTALS ; 1. Speaking and Writing ; 2. Living and Dying ; PART II: AFFINITIES ; 3. Friends and Relations ; 4. Men and Women ; PART III: RESOURCES ; 5. Labour and Lordship ; 6. Getting and Giving ; PART IV: IDEOLOGIES ; 7. Kingship and Christianity ; 8. Rome and the Peoples of Europe ; Epilogue
£34.49
Oxford University Press American Tyrannies in the Long Age of Napoleon
Book SynopsisWhat if the American experiment is twofold, encompassing both democracy and tyranny? That is the question at the core of this book, which traces some of ways that Americans across the nineteenth century understood the perversions tyranny introduced into both their polity and society. While some informed their thinking with reference to classical texts, which comprehensively consider tyranny''s dangers, most drew on a more contemporary source--Napoleon Bonaparte, the century''s most famous man and its most notorious tyrant. Because Napoleon defined tyranny around the nineteenth-century Atlantic world--its features and emergence, its relationship to democratic institutions, its effects on persons and peoples--he provides a way for nineteenth-century Americans to explore the parameters of tyranny and their complicity in its cruelties. Napoleon helps us see the decidedly plural forms of tyranny in the US, bringing their fictions into focus. At the same time, however, there are distinctly American modes of tyranny. From the tyrannical style of the American imagination to the usurping potential of American individualism, Elizabeth Duquette shows that tyranny is as American as democracy.Trade ReviewElizabeth Duquette has written an ambitious, monumental book that proposes a fundamental reframing of the nineteenth century as the long age of Napoleon. Dislodging "democracy" as the nation's mythic political basis and putting "tyranny" in its place, Duquette amasses a substantial archive of America's obsession with Napoleon Bonaparte to develop a thoroughly convincing account of the multiple tyrannies that stand at the foundation of US political culture-from the actual oppression of slavery to those purported incursions on the liberty of aggrieved elites that form the "tyrannical style" of nineteenth-century political discourse. * Jennifer Greiman, Wake Forest University *Table of ContentsAcknowledgments Dispatches Introduction: Seeing Tyranny 1: Tyranny in America, or David Walker 2: The Tyrannical Style of American Politics 3: Raking Imperial Muck 4: The Bedazzler 5: Napoleonic Codes 6: Séjour's Spectacles 7: Young Men From the Provinces Coda: Napoleon Complex, or Mad About Napoleon Bibliography Notes Index
£78.00
Oxford University Press Inc Capitalist Economics
Book SynopsisTable of ContentsPreface Introduction: What is Economics? Part I: Economics in History 1. Social Orders and Economic Relations 2. How Societies Produce 3. Capitalist Social Orders Part II: Capitalist Economic Relations 4. Money 5. Commodities 6. Profit Part III: Capitalist Economic Forces 7. Entrepreneurs & Investment 8. Bankers & Interest 9. The Rules of Capitalism Sources and Further Reading Glossary of Terms (by Benjamin Taylor)
£24.32
Oxford University Press Inc The Secret Listener
Book SynopsisA first-hand account of what life was like in the period before the revolution and in Mao's reign, China was a vast human drama, as real people confronted, not political abstractions, but concrete, real challenges, often involving life and death, and she was a witness to the choices, the ways people behaved, in that situation. The Secret Listener gives a unique perspective on the era. Yuan-tsung Chen, who is now 90, and lived through most of it offers avantage point that provides us with a new, wider perspective on the Maoist regime, one of the most radical political experiments in modern history and a force that genuinely changed the world.Trade Review[A] beautifully crafted memoir.... [The Secret Listener is] a good antidote not just to official, sanitized versions of China's past but also to flattened-out portrayals of Mao's China as peopled by neatly separate groups of perpetrators and victims. * Jeffrey Wasserstrom, Foreign Affairs *By opening a personal porthole into China's twentieth-century history, Yuan-tsung Chen, who lived through these tumultuous decades, allows Mao's tectonic and savage revolution to come alive in new and more convincing, if tragic, ways * Orville Schell, Arthur Ross Director, Asia Society Center on US-China Relations *The autobiography of the well-known author Yuan-tsung Chen is an enthralling sequel to her famous Return to the Middle Kingdom and The Dragon's Village. It is a fascinating life story of how challenging it was to be an intellectual woman in Mao's China even with some connections to the Party elite. The memoir reads like a novel but it also adds precious historical details to our understanding of Mao Zedong, Zhou Enlai, and other Chinese Communist Party leaders, as well as of such infamous events as the Great Leap Forward and the Cultural Revolution. Thrilling and terrifying, intriguing and captivating, this is a brilliant first-hand account of the Maoist era. * Alexander V. Pantsov, coauthor of Mao: The Real Story *Chen Yuan-tsung is not only a secret listener, but more importantly, a secret observer, and in this compelling memoir, she vividly portrays life, conflict, and love among elite and downtrodden circles in the Republican and Communist eras of twentieth-century China. She brilliantly recreates events and conversations that show how behind-the-scenes struggles at the top impact the daily lives of Chinese up and down the social and political hierarchies. * Thomas B. Gold, University of California, Berkeley *In 1957, in the midst of Mao's anti-rightist campaign, Chen Yuan-tsung burned the manuscript she had dreamed would become her great book. Since leaving China in 1971, her two wonderful autobiographical novels have received well-deserved, enthusiastic praise. But it is with the publication of The Secret Listener that Chen's dream of writing a great book about China has finally come true. China specialists and neophytes alike will be fascinated, moved, and horrified by Chen's depiction of the struggles of ordinary Chinese, as their world turns upside down and some retain their integrity while many others lose it. * Anne F. Thurston, Editor of Engaging China *A sweeping and fascinating tale of an extraordinary life in a tumultuous China from the 1920s to 1970s. From foreign wars to civil wars to revolutionary campaigns designed to radically remake society, Yuan-tsung Chen not only observed it but participated in much of it. In her first-hand account Chen has produced a wonderfully written book easily accessible to all readers. * A. Tom Grunfeld, SUNY-Empire State College *Table of ContentsOpening Shot The First Part: Before the Year of 1949 Chapter 1: My Family and Myself Chapter 2: My First Beau Chapter 3: The Broadening of My Horizon Chapter 4: Stumbling into a Larger World The Second Part: After the Year of 1949 Chapter 5: In Mao's Beijing Chapter 6: Outside the Great Wall, By the Blue Danube Chapter 7: I Felt It Was Me on Trial Chapter 8: A Purge in Reverse Chapter 9: A Reverse of the Reverse: The Anti-Rightists Purge The Third Part: The Great Leap Forward Chapter 10: A Leap from the Magical Circle into Mao's Great Famine Chapter 11: A VIP Pig Chapter 12: From Black Market to Fake Bumper Harvest Chapter 13: Between the Great Leap Forward and the Cultural Revolution The Fourth Part: The Cultural Revolution Chapter 14: The Mob Rule Chapter 15: The Mob Rule Continued Chapter 16: Intrigues in a Slum House Chapter 17: Forced into Exile and Fought back Epilogue
£22.04
Oxford University Press Inc The Eleventh Plague Jews and Pandemics from the
Book SynopsisA physician and historian of science and medicine at the National Institute of Health tells the hidden story of how plagues and pandemics shaped the history of the Jewish people.Plagues, pandemics, and infectious diseases have shaped the history of the Jewish people. Of course, there were the ten biblical plagues that famously smote the Egyptians--from the rain of frogs to the deaths of the firstborn--but that is just the start of the story. For the Talmudic Sages infectious diseases were part of the fundamental fabric of God''s created world. In later times, however, disease was often thought to be caused by malign spells and incantations. A counter-magic developed to combat them. Amulets were deployed and miracle workers sought out. Surprisingly, Jeremy Brown shows, Jews sometimes even visited Christian shrines and beseeched the intervention of their saints. In 1348, when the Black Death swept through Europe, Jews fell victim both to the disease, for which they were blamed, and to the anti-Semitic violence that followed. At least 235 Jewish communities were persecuted even as Pope Clement IV ruled that anyone joining or authorizing the persecution would be excommunicated. In The Eleventh Plague, Brown investigates the relation between Judaism and infectious diseases throughout the ages, from premodern and early-modern plagues, to rabbinic responses to smallpox and cholera, to the special vulnerabilities Jewish immigrants faced in the US as result of prejudice, and to the curious practice of Black Weddings in which two orphans are married in a cemetery. Popularized during the 1918 influenza pandemic the practice was revived in response to the Covid-19 pandemic, showing that the intriguing relationship between Judaism and infectious disease remains relevant today.Trade ReviewJeremy Brown's The Eleventh Plague is a monumental contribution to both the history of pandemics and to Jewish (medical) history. The content and staggering breadth of sources alone are well worth the purchase, but Jeremy's literary flair serves to elevate the reading experience. This book provides a much needed historical perspective that has been missing from our current pandemic discourse. * Rabbi Edward Reichman, MD, author of The Anatomy of Jewish Law: A Fresh Dissection of the Relationship Between Medicine, Medical History and Rabbinic Literature *With astonishing learning that embraces Jewish, non-Jewish and medical sources, Jeremy Brown demonstrates that Jewish life has been shaped and reshaped by pandemics from biblical days to our own. Anyone looking for context on Covid-19 and the Jewish community should start with this book. * Jonathan D. Sarna, University Professor and Joseph H. & Belle R. Braun Professor of American Jewish History, Brandeis University; Chief Historian, The Weitzman National Museum of American Jewish History *In this expansive and sweeping volume, Brown takes readers on a spellbinding tour of the myriad ways that Jews have responded to plagues. Beginning with the world of the biblical Israelites and closing with an analysis of Jewish encounters with Covid-19, Brown debunks persistent misrepresentations of Jews as perpetuators of disease and embodiments of suffering. Brown's erudition and passion for his subject shimmers on every page, and his lucid style offers surprise and insight at every turn. * Malka Z. Simkovich, author of Discovering Second Temple Literature: The Scriptures and Stories That Shaped Early Judaism. *In The Eleventh Plague: Jews and Pandemics, Jeremy Brown presents a pathbreaking study of how Jews have reacted to, been blamed for, and religiously framed pandemics...All those interested in Jewish history, the history of science, and general readers looking for the definitive take on a timely, and unfortunately (because of its morose subject matter) timeless topic need look no further than Brown's fascinating study. * Rabbi Dr. Stu Halpern, YU News *This is a timely masterpiece. * Choice *Table of Contents1. Five Golden Swellings; Pandemics in the Bible 2. The Angel of Death Walks in the Middle of the Road; Pandemics in the Talmud 3. A World Turned Upside Down; The Black Death and Bubonic Plague 4. All This Happens because of the Sins of Jacob 5. Pulverized Toads; Prayers, amulets and miracle workers 6. A Leaf of Healing; Smallpox, vaccination and hope 7. Your hand lay heavily on the inhabitants of this land; Cholera 8. Our Father Our King, Save us from this Plague; Religious responses to epidemics 9. Proper Precautions; The Jewish immigrant as a carrier of disease 10. So They Will Not Be Depressed; The Black Wedding 11. A Pandemic of Ignorance: Vaccination, hysteria and rabbinic responsibility 12. Jews and Judaism in the age of COVID 13. Conclusions
£27.99
Oxford University Press Inc The Lady and the Beast
Book SynopsisAlthough Lady Harris is acknowledged as the artist of Aleister Crowley''s Book of Thoth, to date, most studies have focused predominantly on Harris''s role as Crowley''s ''artist executant'', and almost exclusively from Crowley''s perspective. Whitehouse argues that Harris''s involvement extended far beyond the artwork itself. The Book of Thoth was a collaboration in which each partner fulfilled a variety of roles; building on Crowley''s magical theories and practices, and Harris''s artistic skills and social awareness that enabled her to promote and exhibit their work as it evolved.The Lady and the Beast presents a critical analysis of the life and works of Frieda, Lady Harris (1877 - 1962), wife of Sir Percy Harris (1876 - 1952), Liberal MP and party chief whip. Frieda Harris, née Bloxam, fulfilled her parents'' expectations of finding a suitable husband, managing the family home and raising a family. She supported her husband''s political endeavours, and in return he encouraged her to pursue her own interests, especially her painting. However, research indicates that Harris was already fascinated by mysticism and alternative belief structures prior to her meeting with Crowley in 1937. Her esoteric interests, combined with her demonstrable skills as a painter, made her ideally suited to illustrate Crowley''s Thoth Tarot.In manifesting Crowley''s vision of the Occult Tarot, Harris''s paintings embody the intersection of art and esotericism. Crowley (1875 - 1847) believed that the Tarot was fundamental to all magical disciplines and his Book of Thoth would become ''a standard Book of Reference, which will determine the entire course of mystical and magical thought for the next 2000 years.'' Without Harris, there would be no Book of Thoth. Whitehouse presents a study of Harris''s life and works, seeking to assess her true contribution to Western Esotericism.
£67.26
Oxford University Press History of Universities Volume V 1985
Book SynopsisHistory of Universities Volume V: 1985Table of ContentsARTICLES ; OBITUARY: PEARL KIBRE ; ESSAY REVIEW ; BOOK REVIEWS ; NOTICES ; PUBLICATIONS RECEIVED
£137.50
Clarendon Press The True Law of Kingship Concepts of Monarchy in
Book SynopsisIn the 16th century, commoners were told to fear God and honour the King. But what if the King ordered one thing and God's law said another? In this study, the author examines the dilemma by focusing on the Scottish response to monarchial government during this period.Trade Reviewa significant and thoughtful result of many years of research and writing devoted to the history and development of Scottish speculation on the nature of monarchy ... contributes to a significant change in the historiographical outlook toward early modern Scottish history that has characterized the scholarly work of the past generation of Scottish academic writers ... a learned pioneering study. * Sidney A. Burrell, Albion *A subtle and thought-provoking account of a difficult problem and a fascinating period. * The Scotsman *
£220.88
Oxford University Press, USA A Freeborn People Politics and the Nation in
Book SynopsisThis text examines how the political cultures of the elite and of the common people intersected during the 17th century in England. It looks at politics at all social levels and investigates how it was affected by expectations about women's roles in politics.Trade Reviewit is when we come to the relation between elite and popular culture during the Interregnum that the strengths of Underdown's approach - and the freshness of his conclusions - are most apparent ... A Freeborn People is stimulatingly and... courteously argued. * Times Literary Supplement *This is a book full of insights and fertile connections, based on a lifetime of research in the field. * David L. Smith, Selwyn College, Cambridge, Journal of Ecclesiastical History *Underdown's crisply written, stimulating volume takes the agenda one step further to challenge the compartmentalization of elite and popular politics ... an impressive survey of a century of English politics and culture, including the place of England's revolution in this period of change and continuity ... no one has advanced the argument before with such range and scholarly panache. * Barry Reay, University of Auckland, History *Underdown is incapable of writing uninterestingly ... the book suggests and stimulates * Blair Worden, History Today, January 1998 *This fine book provides an excellent brief summary of the thinking of David Underdown, one of the foremost living scholars of early modern English history ... In elegant and lucid prose, he presents compelling arguments against fashionable modern views about central questions in seventeenth-century English history and outlines his own interesting interpretation ... This is an excellent brief analysis of Stuart political life and its links with the social, cultural, and regional history of the period. * Johann P. Sommerville, American Historical Review *
£76.00
Oxford University Press Menagerie
Book SynopsisMenagerie is the story of the panoply of exotic animals that were brought into Britain from time immemorial until the foundation of the London Zoo -- a tale replete with the extravagant, the eccentric, and -- on occasion -- the downright bizarre.From Henry III''s elephant at the Tower, to George IV''s love affair with Britain''s first giraffe and Lady Castlereagh''s recalcitrant ostriches, Caroline Grigson''s tour through the centuries amounts to the first detailed history of exotic animals in Britain. On the way we encounter a host of fascinating and outlandish creatures, including the first peacocks and popinjays, Thomas More''s monkey, James I''s cassowaries in St James''s Park, and Lord Clive''s zebra -- which refused to mate with a donkey, until the donkey was painted with stripes. But this is not just the story of the animals themselves. It also the story of all those who came into contact with them: the people who owned them, the merchants who bought and sold them, the seamen whTrade Review4*: Both scholarly and pleasurable to read [a] comprehensive history of the British fascination with non-native creatures. * Chris Josiffe, Fortean Times *Captivating... celebrates our passion for exotic wildlife. * Jane Shilling, Daily Mail *5*: The first comprehensive study of the subject, this is an engaging social history with a unique angle. * Juanita Coulson, The Lady *Menagerie is a fact-driven narrative with exemplary commitment to detail. * Mary Wellesley, London Review of Books *Combining a zoologist's knowhow with an historian's tenacity for detail, Caroline Grigson has scoured archives to produce a comprehensive study of animal collections in England from earliest times until the founding of London Zoo in 1828. From archaeological finds to illuminated bibles, auction catalogues to court cases and even a 1705 gravestone commemorating the first woman killed by a tiger it is a story replete with as much comedy as tragedy, peopled by naturalists, aristocrats and showmen who were often as strange as the animals they collected ... Filled with lively anecdote and scholarly commentary, Grigsons book is a delightful guide to our long national obsession with wildlife. * Wendy Moore, The Guardian *In Menagerie, the zoologist Caroline Grigson presents an impressive study of the country's ... obsession with exotic animals ... Menagerie is full of fascinating and often charming tales ... As a study of a trend that stems back almost 1,000 years ... it is undeniably and ambitiously comprehensive. * Guy Pewsey, The Independent *Grigson is terrific at sleuthing down the remains of famous beasts. She also opens a few small windows onto national character ... [and] unearths some surprising historical gems. Who knew that the novelist Daniel Defoe went bankrupt trying to breed civet cats? Or that British hunts were once so desperate for foxes that they had to import them? Although private citizens would continue to keep menageries, this book ends with the demise of the collection at the Tower of London and the foundation of the London Zoo. It all makes the modern reader feel incredibly grateful that today we can enjoy exotic wildlife on our television screens, with the objects of our fascination in their natural habitats and no viewers gored. * Helen Brown, The Daily Telegraph *Grigson provides a supremely detailed account of England's exotic animals. Her zoological expertise enables her to identity more obscure species exhibited by showmen, while her archival work allows her to untangle their complex journeys to and within the British Isles ... an entertaining and informative read. * Helen Cowie, BBC History magazine01/04/2016 *[A] fascinating, well-researched and delightful book. * Lawrence James, The Times *... [an] incisive chronicle of exotic visitations to England's shores. * Nature *Grigson [throws] many sidelights on our compulsion to own and associate with animals ... There is much in [this spellbinding book] to suggest that alongside fascination, benevolence and affection lies much ignorance, indifference and active cruelty. * Patrick Scrivenor, Literary Review *With lively prose and thoroughly researched anecdotes, it becomes clear that [Grigson] shares a soft spot for the truly extravagant, eccentric and purely bizarre people involved in the world of menagerie. * Bath Chronicle *What sets this volume apart is that the author, Caroline Grigson, is not only a fine historian but also a zoologist who knows her possum from her pademelon. As you would expect from a book from Oxford University Press, this is no superficial treatmeny of a complex subject, but an exhaustively researched treatise with extensive quotes from original letters and papers written at the time. * Russell Tofts, Chairman of The Bartlett Society *Grigsons abundance of evidence creates a useful resource for historians of both science and art, and everything in between. * Katherine McAlpine, British Journal for the History of Science *a hugely enjoyable read and makes a valuable contribution that will only serve to enrich what is fast becoming a fascinating field of research * Archives of National History *Table of ContentsList of Plates List of Figures Juliet Clutton-Brock: Foreword 1: The Normans to the Tudors 2: The Stuarts, 1603-1688 3: William and Mary to George II, 1688-c.1760 4: George III, c.1760-1811 5: George IV as Regent and King, c.1811-1830 6: William IV, c.1830-1837 7: Conclusions Glossary Notes References Picture Credits Index of Animals General Index
£13.49
Oxford University Press Enlightened Metropolis Constructing Imperial Moscow 17621855 Oxford Studies In Modern European History
Book SynopsisImperial Russia, is was said, had two capital cities because it had two identities: St. Petersburg was Russia''s window to Europe, whereas Moscow preserved the nation''s proud historical traditions. Enlightened Metropolis challenges this myth by exploring how the tsarist regime actually tried to turn Moscow into a bridgehead of Europe in the heartland of Russia. Moscow in the eighteenth century was widely scorned as backward and Asiatic. The tsars thought it a benighted place that endangered their state''s internal security and their effort to make Russia European. Beginning with Catherine the Great, they sought to construct a new Moscow, with European buildings and institutions, a Westernized middle estate, and a new cultural image as an enlightened metropolis. Drawing on the methodologies of urban, social, institutional, cultural, and intellectual history, Enlightened Metropolis asks: How was the urban environment - buildings, institutions, streets, smells - transformed in the nine dTrade ReviewEnlightened Metropolis offers an important revisionist challenge to Moscow's marginal status in the modernization of the Russian Empire. * Daniel Beer, The Times Literary Supplement *[a] fine new history of Moscow * James Cracraft, English Historical Review *This work will become and should remain a standard reference point for studies of Moscow and indeed Russia of this period for decades to come. * Paul Keenan, History *Enlightened Metropolis is a prodigiously researched book ... The reader is amazed by the wealth of sources and statistics and the relentless comparison of Moscow with Russian and other European cities ... [Martin] has significantly advanced the urban, social, institutional, and cultural study of the empire during the watershed period of the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries. * Cynthia Hyla Whittaker, Journal of Modern History *The book will become essential to any course on Russian cities, and would be equally well suited to courses on comparative urban history, or on Russian social history because of its nuanced and original perspective on Russian social hierarchies ... the book offers scholars rich detail on material culture, everyday life, urban personal narratives, the development of Russian urban ethnography, and memory and nostalgia. It should be required reading for anyone interested in the history of imperial Russia. * Katherine Pickering Antonova, Ab Imperio *Alexander Martin's Enlightened Metropolis is important and admirable work, which gives to Moscow its rightful place in a Russian Enlightenment ... masterful * Albert J. Schmidt, Journal of Social History *an enormously rich account based on extensive historical research ... contextualizing Moscow's history within the wider history of urban Europe, and providing an account illuminating the city's history from a number of competing perspectives -- including those of the rich, poor, and middling, as well as those of foreigners. Martin's is thus a well-rounded history of Moscow as an idea, a built environment, and a lived community. * Comments from the Urban History Association on the award of the 2015 prize for the best book of 2013-2014 in non-North American urban history *Table of ContentsIntroduction ; 1. The Enlightened Metropolis and the Imperial Social Project ; 2. Space and Time in the Enlightened Metropolis ; 3. Envisioning the Enlightened Metropolis: Images of Moscow under Catherine II ; 4. Barbarism, Civility, Luxury: Writing about Moscow in the 1790s-1820s ; 5. Government, Aristocracy, and the Middling Sort ; 6. The 1812 War ; 7. Common Folk in Nicholaevan Moscow ; 8. Complacency and Anxiety: Representations of Moscow under Nicholas I ; Conclusion
£999.99
Oxford University Press Shakespeare and the Remains of Richard III
Book SynopsisThis book explores how recollections and traces of the reign of Richard III survived a century and more to influence the world and work of William Shakespeare. In Richard III, Shakespeare depicts an era that had only recently passed beyond the horizon of living memory. The years between Shakespeare''s birth in 1564 and the composition of the play in the early 1590s would have seen the deaths of the last witnesses to Richard''s reign. Yet even after the extinction of memory, traces of the Yorkist era abounded in Elizabethan England - traces in the forms of material artefacts and buildings, popular traditions, textual records, and administrative and religious institutions and practices. Other traces had notoriously disappeared, not least the bodies of the princes reputedly murdered in the Tower, and the King''s own body, which remained lost until its dramatic rediscovery in the summer of 2012. Shakespeare and the Remains of Richard III charts the often complex careers of these pieces of Trade Reviewa nuanced and well-written study ... I would recommend this fascinating, engaging book to those interested in Shakespeare's drama, the reception history of Richard III, early modern collective memory, or sixteenth- and seventeenth-century attitudes towards the recent English past. * Chloe Kathleen Preedy, Renaissance Studies *At a time when historicism as a method is frequently critiqued as an outmoded and limiting mode of literary scholarship, Schwyzer's study wonderfully achieves its goal of making readers 'think more deeply about what it means to set and see a work of art within its historical context'. Its concept of history is fluid and dynamic and its attention to both historical detail and textual nuance is exemplary. * Ian Frederick Moulton, Literature and History *an excellent study in how his reputation was formed during the Tudor era. It is well written and contains several useful illustrations. * Matthew Ward, The Ricardian *entrancing * Dominique Goy-Blanquet, Review of English Studies *Table of Contents1. 'Where is Plantagenet?' ; 2. Lees and Moonshine: Memory and Oral Tradition ; 3. Trophies, Relics, and Props: The Life Histories of Objects ; 4. 'He lived wickedly, yet made good laws': Institutions and Practices ; 5. 'Every tale condemns me for a villain': Stories ; 6. Now
£35.49
Oxford University Press Life in Early Medieval Wales Medieval History and
Book SynopsisResearch for and the writing of this book was funded by the award of a Leverhulme Trust Major Research Fellowship.The period c. AD300--1050, spanning the collapse of Roman rule to the coming of the Normans, was formative in the development of Wales. Life in Early Medieval Wales considers how people lived in late Roman and early medieval Wales, and how their lives and communities changed over the course of this period. It uses a multidisciplinary approach, focusing on the growing body of archaeological evidence set alongside the early medieval written sources together with place-names and personal names. It begins by analysing earlier research and the range of sources, the significance of the environment and climate change, and ways of calculating time. Discussion of the fourth, fifth, and sixth centuries focuses on the disintegration of the Roman market economy, fragmentation of power, and the emergence of new kingdoms and elites alongside evidence for changing identities, as well as important threads of continuity, notably Latin literacy, Christianity, and the continuation of small-scale farming communities. Early medieval Wales was an entirely rural society. Analysis of the settlement archaeology includes key sites such as hillforts, including Dinas Powys, the royal crannog at Llangorse, and the Viking Age and earlier estate centre at Llanbedrgoch alongside the development, from the seventh century onwards, of new farming and other rural settlements. Consideration is given to changes in the mixed farming economy reflecting climate deterioration and a need for food security, as well as craft working and the roles of exchange, display, and trade reflecting changing outside contacts. At the same time cemeteries and inscribed stones, stone sculpture and early church sites chart the course of conversion to Christianity, the rise of monasticism, and the increasing power of the Church. Finally, discussion of power and authority analyses emerging evidence for sites of assembly, the rise of Mercia, and increasing English infiltration, together with the significance of Offa''s and Wat''s Dykes, and the Viking impact. Throughout the evidence is placed within a wider context enabling comparison with other parts of Britain and Ireland and, where appropriate, with other parts of Europe to see broader trends, including the impacts of climate, economic, and religious change.Table of Contents1: Rediscovering the early medieval past in Wales: approaches and sources 2: Space and time 3: Continuity and collapse 4: The legacy of Rome, Irish settlement, and changing identities 5: Hearth and home 6: Food, farming, and the agricultural economy 7: Craft, display, and trade 8: Christianity: identifying the evidence 9: Conversion, commemoration, and burial 10: Christian sites and Christian landscapes 11: Ritual and belief 12: Power and authority 13: Conclusion
£999.99
Oxford University Press Russia in Revolution
Book SynopsisThe Russian Revolution of 1917 transformed the face of the Russian empire, politically, economically, socially, and culturally, and also profoundly affected the course of world history for the rest of the twentieth century. Historian S. A. Smith presents a panoramic account of the history of the Russian empire, from the last years of the nineteenth century, through the First World War and the revolutions of 1917 and the establishment of the Bolshevik regime, to the end of the 1920s, when Stalin simultaneously unleashed violent collectivization of agriculture and crash industrialization upon Russian society. Drawing on recent archivally-based scholarship, Russia in Revolution pays particular attention to the varying impact of the Revolution on the various groups that made up society: peasants, workers, non-Russian nationalities, the army, women and the family, young people, and the Church. In doing so, it provides a fresh way into the big, perennial questions about the Revolution and itTrade ReviewSumming Up: Essential. All public and academic levels/libraries. * CHOICE *Saturated with statistics and comparisons with the Chinese experience, Smiths volume is an excellent summary of the deep cultural and socio-economic causes and continuities of the revolutions of 1917. * Anton Fedyashin, European History Quarterly, Vol. 47 *Smith's book is an ideal introduction to the history of the Russian Revolution, but it is more than that. A century after the events it describes, it is an indication that scholarship on the subject has matured, and that the Russia Revolution can be studied as objectively as any other episode in modern European history. The significance of Smith's work ought to be that it sets the tone for all future writing on the subject. * James D. White, SEER *Smith's Russia in Revolution is an authoritative view of a seismic event, but also much more. By covering nearly thirty years from 1890, he illuminates what Franco Venturi called the roots of revolution, profiling the creation of a revolutionary generation as well as the fall-out of the 1920s: he also deals in detail with the civil wars that followed 1917. The result is a panoramic view of an upheaval which was cultural and economic as well as political; like Raymond Carrs history of modern Spain, it far transcends the limitations of a 'general history.' Above all it shows, impartially and decisively, both why the revolution failed to deliver its promises, and why it happened in the first place. * Roy Foster, University of Oxford *A thorough study. * James Gallen, Roads to the Great War *Among the best one-volume introductions to not only the history of the revolution but also of late tsarism, the Civil War (1918-21), and the years of the New Economic Policy. * Mark Edele, Australian Book Review *...a major milestone in the international debates on the revolution... Smith's brilliant work will be invaluable for students of history, both in Russia and abroad, and for all those interested in global history in general and the Russian Revolution in particular. * Ivan Sablin, History *A thorough study. * James Gallen, Roads to the Great War *Well-researched, extremely balanced, nicely nuanced, and very readable. * JP O'Malley, Irish Examiner *The most expansive history of the 1917 revolution available... Smith fairly and intelligently arbitrates the great debates among historians over how to interpret the revolution. * Robert Levgold, Foreign Affairs *In what is the most assured general history yet to appear, Smith uses his deep knowledge of 20th-century Russia to place the upheavals in their larger social and historical contexts. * Tony Barber, Financial Times *Laudable. * Sean Sheehan, Dublin Review of Books *A useful overview... fair and balanced... Book of the month. * Socialist Review *I can think of no better overview of the period written in recent years ... No one in Britain is better equipped to write about 1917 than Robert Service and Stephen Smith. Both men have devoted most of their scholarly lives to studying the revolution. They bring to their current works not just vast knowledge but also a deep commitment to balanced judgment, intellectual rigour and honesty, and accessible writing. * Dominic Lieven, Financial Times *A well-proportioned and skilfully condensed panorama of the revolutionary situation in the Russian empire and its aftermath, covering nearly 40 years * Roland Eliot-Brown, Spectator *an ideal introduction to the deep roots of the revolution, its unfolding and long aftermath * Matthew Price, The National *[A] sober, well-researched and comprehensive history ... Even-handedness is the hallmark of Smith's solid and authoritative book * Sheila Fitzpatrick, London Review of Books *Easily digestible ... It is one of Russia in Revolution's merits that the author lays out the scope of contending interpretations and leaves it to his readers to make up their own minds. * Robert Service, Times Literary Supplement *SA Smith's majestic book sets the overthrow of Tsar Nicholas and the Bolshevik revolution in context [... and] skilfully reconstructs the cultural and socioeconomic context of 1917 * Geoffrey Roberts, Irish Times *Fluently written and convincingly argued * Saul David, Evening Standard *A challenging revisionist history reassessing the ongoing significance of the Russian Revolution Smith's work will be declared a subject standard, sure to stand out for its stellar research. * Library Journal *Readers looking for an introduction to the deep roots of the revolution, its proximate causes and aftermath are well served by S.A. Smith's Russia in Revolution. * Korean Herald *A master historian of the Russian Revolution, S.A. Smith has wrestled the events and personalities, policies and mass politics of the years 1890 to 1928 into a coherent and compelling story of the entrance of ordinary people onto the stage of history and the brutal, violent descent of Russia into dictatorship. Smith explains better than anyone else how a revolution marked by radical democracy and hope for social justice sacrificed many of its ideals to win and hold power and inspire an international movement against capitalism and imperialism. * Ronald Grigor Suny, Distinguished University Professor of History and Political Science, The University of Michigan *Table of ContentsIntroduction 1: Roots of Revolution, 1880s-1905 2: From Reform to War, 1906-17 3: From February to October 1917 4: Civil War and Bolshevik Power 5: War Communism 6: The New Economic Policy: Politics and the Economy 7: The New Economic Policy: Society and CultureConclusionNotes
£999.99
Oxford University Press The Astronomer and the Witch
Book SynopsisJohannes Kepler (1571-1630) was one of the most admired astronomers who ever lived and a key figure in the scientific revolution. A defender of Copernicus s sun-centred universe, he famously discovered that planets move in ellipses, and defined the three laws of planetary motion. Perhaps less well known is that in 1615, when Kepler was at the height of his career, his widowed mother Katharina was accused of witchcraft. The proceedings led to a criminal trial that lasted six years, with Kepler conducting his mother''s defence. In The Astronomer and the Witch, Ulinka Rublack pieces together the tale of this extraordinary episode in Kepler''s life, one which takes us to the heart of his changing world. First and foremost an intense family drama, the story brings to life the world of a small Lutheran community in the centre of Europe at a time of deep religious and political turmoil - a century after the Reformation, and on the threshold of the Thirty Years'' War. Kepler''s defence of his mother also offers us a fascinating glimpse into the great astronomer''s world view, on the cusp between Reformation and scientific revolution. While advancing rational explanations for the phenomena which his mother''s accusers attributed to witchcraft, Kepler nevertheless did not call into question the existence of magic and witches. On the contrary, he clearly believed in them. And, as the story unfolds, it appears that there were moments when even Katharina''s children struggled to understand what their mother had done...Trade ReviewA breath-taking account of a brave family who boldly fought for justice. * Early Science and Medicine *Compelling. * Hannah Murphy, Isis Review *Ulinka Rublack shows wonderful sensitivity about mothers, old age, and female struggles, as she unpicks the trial of Johannes Kepler's mother for witchcraft. * Marina Warner, Book of the Year 2015, Observer *An enthralling book. * Jennifer Rampling, Nature *Excellent ... meticulously researched and wonderfully readable. * John Banville, Literary Review *Ulinka Rublack's book about Katharina Kepler, and her sons extraordinary defence of her, is fine-grained microhistory, but it's also revealing of the larger ideas that framed their world ... Superstition and science, rather than being successive stages in the ascent of reason, co-existed so closely and dynamically that the definition of neither is reliable. The Astronomer and the Witch illustrates this complexity, and its transitions, with agility and sensitivity. * Malcolm Gaskill, London Review of Books *[an] important new book ... [which] offers an extended meditation on family relationships, and in particular that indelible but intangible bond between a mother and her son. * Jan Machielsen, Times Literary Supplement *[A] superb study ... The author wanted her book to provide a "better understanding of individuals, but also of families, a community, and an age". It succeeds triumphantly. * Jonathan Wright, Catholic Herald *Rublack tells [this] story with a novelist's panache. Even if you know what happened, it's a compelling book. She sketches the vivid details that make the time, place and characters come to life ... The Tale of the Witch and the Mathematician - unmissable. * Mark Greener, Fortean Times *In 1615, an illiterate widow is accused of witchcraft in a German town. Her son, the famous astronomer Johannes Kepler, conducts her defence in a trial that drags on for six years. In this enthralling book, Ulinka Rublack reconstructs the struggle over Katharina Kepler's fate. We enter a small-town world of rivalries, friendships, deference, power and vulnerability, a world in which religious faith, scientific knowledge and folk belief are dangerously intertwined. Vividly drawn and subtly observed, The Astronomer and the Witch opens a window onto the inner life of a past that is strange and remote, but also unsettlingly familiar. * Christopher Clark *Table of ContentsTimeline of Johannes Kepler's LIfe ; 1. Introduction ; 2. A Lutheran Court ; 3. The Year of the Witches ; 4. Kepler's Strategies ; 5. A Family Responds ; 6. Movements of the Soul ; 7. The Trial Continues ; 8. Other Witches ; 9. Katherina's Imprisonment ; 10. Kepler's Return ; 11. The Defence ; 12. The Trial Ends ; 13. Kepler's Dream ; Epilogue ; Notes ; Further Reading ; Index
£999.99
Oxford University Press The End of Outrage PostFamine Adjustment in Rural
Book SynopsisSouth-west Donegal, Ireland, June 1856. From the time that the blight first came on the potatoes in 1845, armed and masked men dubbed Molly Maguires had been raiding the houses of people deemed to be taking advantage of the rural poor. On some occasions, they represented themselves as ''Molly''s Sons'', sent by their mother, to carry out justice; on others, a man attired as a woman, introducing ''herself'' as Molly Maguire, demanding redress for wrongs inflicted on her children. The raiders might stipulate the maximum price at which provisions were to be sold, warn against the eviction of tenants, or demand that an evicted family be reinstated to their holding. People who refused to meet their demands were often viciously beaten and, in some instances, killed -- offences that the Constabulary classified as ''outrages''. Catholic clergymen regularly denounced the Mollies and in 1853, the district was proclaimed under the Crime and Outrage (Ireland) Act. Yet the ''outrages'' continued. Then, in 1856, Patrick McGlynn, a young schoolmaster, suddenly turned informer on the Mollies, precipitating dozens of arrests. Here, a history of McGlynn''s informing, backlit by episodes over the previous two decades, sheds light on that wave of outrage, its origins and outcomes, the meaning and the memory of it. More specifically, it illuminates the end of ''outrage'' -- the shifting objectives of those who engaged in it, and also how, after hunger faded and disease abated, tensions emerged in the Molly Maguires, when one element sought to curtail such activity, while another sought, unsuccessfully, to expand it. And in that contention, when the opportunities of post-Famine society were coming into view, one glimpses the end, or at least an ebbing, of outrage -- in the everyday sense of moral indignation -- at the fate of the rural poor. But, at heart, The End of Outrage is about contention among neighbours -- a family that rose from the ashes of a mode of living, those consumed in the conflagration, and those who lost much but not all. Ultimately, the concern is how the poor themselves came to terms with their loss: how their own outrage at what had been done unto them and their forbears lost malignancy, and eventually ended. The author being a native of the small community that is the focus of The End of Outrage makes it an extraordinarily intimate and absorbing history.Trade ReviewMac Suibhne's superb account brings us face to face with subaltern nineteenthcentury rural Ireland. * Peter Leary, Irish Historical Studies *... a sweeping historical tale ...Mac Suibhne paints an evocative canvas of clashing tribes and morally opaque characters. ...a historical companion to understanding the Irish Catholic experience not only in Donegal, but also in northeastern Pennsylvania. * Charles McElwee, American Conservative *Mac Suibhne provides an insight not only into Beagh during the famine but also into the later troubles in Beagh: clearances, land-grabbing and informing ... Mac Suibhne has reminded us of the importance of the way that the response to local events can illuminate a moment in a country's history. * Maureen Murphy, History *For Mac Suibhne nothing is simple; no one is purely victim or villain; the dominant colour is not green or orange but grey. There are dramatic events and extraordinary characters ... Through it all there is imagination, a commitment to showing people as "more than shadows cold and wan" ... It is impossible not to be moved by the humanity with which Mac Suibhne writes of his ancestors and their neighbours, or to be provoked by his unconventional epic. From a local row he has crafted an extraordinary work of history that makes its own importance. * Christopher Kissane, Irish Times *Breándan Mac Suibhne has provided us with a remarkable new history in his new book The End of Outrage ... he not only tells that story of integration into the market order, but of, in his words, the end of moral indignation in the face of despair and disaster, and of the fate of rural poor -- for it is from those families that the casualties of the famine came. It vividly describes a process of marginalisation, of the consolidation of holdings on the eve of the Famine, the extinguishing of commonage -- all facilitated by the instruments of a new technology of the state, the ordnance survey. * President of Ireland, Michael D. Higgins *The End of Outrage is a remarkable book ... The reader of this book is from the outset captured and captivated by its bivalve nature as both a local and personal memoir, as an historical record and a meditation on generational change. * Seamus Dean, Dublin Review of Books *a minute and exacting analysis of one very small place in Southwest Donegal becomes a rumination on how the living rub along with the dead, how forgetting happens and how outrage (grudges, feuding, revenge, violence) ends. It is an extraordinary act of recovery and is set to become a classic of Irish historiography ... [a] marvelous book * Frank Shovlin, Liverpool Postgraduate Journal of Irish Studies *[a] remarkable book ... Mac Suibhne's forensic interrogation of local 'memory' -- scrupulously avoiding verdicts, vindications or sentimentality -- is a masterclass in assessing an extraordinary range of historical sources in both vernaculars, Irish and English. This is an exceptional work of scholarship and historical reconstruction. Rich in evidence, conceptually sharp and challenging, and beautifully written, it will be compulsory reading for all students of modern Ireland for a long time to come. * Gearóid Ó Tuathaigh in Canadian Journal of Irish Studies *Table of ContentsPART I; PART II; PART III; PART IV
£31.49
