Title search results
Showing 41 - 60 of 15605 items
German History in Global and Transnational Perspective
By David Lederer. 2017
This is a collection of essays from three of the world s pre-eminent historians of Germany which…
consider German history in global and transnational contexts It is well known that transnationalism has exploded in the last decade or so as a new academic subfield of international and global history What the transnationalism literature often ignores or downplays however is the role of the nation-state in making the transnational possible in the first place as noted in its very etymological origins This volume traces this dynamic from a different vantage-point namely the relationship between German history and transnationalism Each essay applies a transnational framework in fresh and original ways in order to illuminate different facets of the connections between Germany and the wider world in the modern period Together they will encourage the rethinking of assumptions about key moments and developments in the history of modern Germany and foster reflection on the evolving nature of German history as a subject studied in the twenty-first centuryThe Ottoman Empire: 1300-1600 (Late Byzantine And Ottoman Studies #No. 1)
By Halil Inalcik. 2000
Covering the greatest three centuries of Turkish history, this book tells the story of the Ottoman Empire's growth into a…
vast Middle Eastern Power.Born as a military frontier principality at the turn of the Fourteenth century, Turkey developed into the dominant force in Anatolia and the Balkans, growing to become the most powerful Islamic state after 1517 when it incorporated the old Arab lands. This distinctively Eastern culture, with all its detail and intricacies, is explored here by a pre-eminent scholar of Turkish history. He gives a striking picture of the prominence of religion and warfare in everyday life as well as the traditions of statecraft, administration, social values, financial and land policies. The definitive account, this is an indispensable companion to anyone with an interest in Islam, Turkey and the Balkans.By Sword and Fire: Cruelty And Atrocity In Medieval Warfare
By Sean Mcglynn. 2013
Sean McGlynn investigates the reality of medieval warfare. For all the talk of chivalry, medieval warfare routinely involved acts which…
we would consider war crimes. Lands laid waste, civilians slaughtered, prisoners massacred: this was standard fare justified by tradition and practical military necessity. It was unbelievably barbaric, but seldom uncontrolled.Such acts of atrocity were calculated, hideous cruelties inflicted in order to achieve a specific end. Sean McGlynn examines the battles of Acre and Agincourt, sieges like Béziers, Lincoln, Jerusalem and Limoges as well as the infamous chevauchées of the Hundred Years War that devastated great swathes of France. He reveals how these grisly affairs form the origin of accepted ¿rules of war¿, codes of conduct that are today being enforced in the International Court of Justice in the Hague.Titanic: Lost and Saved
By Brian Moses. 2011
First-hand accounts alongside a wealth of original documents, photographs and letters, this title tells the story of the Titanic, from…
descriptions of the passengers and the ship inside and out to why the Titanic was considered 'unsinkable' and the dangers of floating ice. Stories of heroism on board, stories from the lifeboats and theories for raising the Titanic are included. The book concludes by considering lessons that were learnt from this disaster.The Emperor's Last Victory: Napoleon And The Battle Of Wagram
By Gunther E Rothenberg. 2005
A leading expert examines one of Napoleon's most decisive but least analysed victoriesIn early July 1809 Napoleon crossed the Danube…
with 187,000 men to confront the Austrian Archduke Charles and an army of 145,000 men. The fighting that followed dwarfed in intensity and scale any previous Napoleonic battlefield, perhaps any in history: casualties on each side were over 30,000. The Austrians fought with great determination, but eventually the Emperor won a narrow victory. Wagram was decisive in that it compelled Austria to make peace. It also heralded a new, altogether greater order of warfare, anticipating the massed manpower and weight of fire deployed much later in the battles of the American Civil War and then at Verdun and on the Somme.Dividing and Uniting Germany (The Making of the Contemporary World)
By Bill Niven, J. K. Thomaneck. 2001
A concise introduction to the process which led to the division of Germany in 1949, and its unification in 1990,…
this book also explores the economic, social and cultural divisions between and east and west, which still exist in post-unification Germany. Dividing and Uniting Germany covers all important aspects of the subject including: the role of the allies in the post-war division of the country the integration of West and East Germany into their respective blocs the problems of integrating east and west after 1990 Germany's Nazi and socialist past.Celtic Gods and Heroes
By Marie-Louise Sjoestedt. 2000
Noted French scholar and linguist discusses the gods of the continental Celts, the beginnings of mythology in Ireland, heroes, and…
the two main categories of Irish deities: mother-goddesses -- local, rural spirits of fertility or of war -- and chieftain-gods: national deities who are magicians, nurturers, craftsmen, and protectors of the people.The Devil's Wall
By Mark Cornwall. 2012
Legend has it that twenty miles of volcanic rock rising through the landscape of northern Bohemia was the work of…
the devil, who separated the warring Czechs and Germans by building a wall. The nineteenth-century invention of the Devil’s Wall was evidence of rising ethnic tensions. In interwar Czechoslovakia, Sudeten German nationalists conceived a radical mission to try to restore German influence across the region. Mark Cornwall tells the story of Heinz Rutha, an internationally recognized figure in his day, who was the pioneer of a youth movement that emphasized male bonding in its quest to reassert German dominance over Czech space. Through a narrative that unravels the threads of Rutha’s own repressed sexuality, Cornwall shows how Czech authorities misinterpreted Rutha’s mission as sexual deviance and in 1937 charged him with corrupting adolescents. The resulting scandal led to Rutha’s imprisonment, suicide, and excommunication from the nationalist cause he had devoted his life to furthering. Cornwall is the first historian to tackle the long-taboo subject of how youth, homosexuality, and nationalism intersected in a fascist environment. The Devil’s Wall also challenges the notion that all Sudeten German nationalists were Nazis, and supplies a fresh explanation for Britain’s appeasement of Hitler, showing why the British might justifiably have supported the 1930s Sudeten German cause. In this readable biography of an ardent German Bohemian who participated as perpetrator, witness, and victim, Cornwall radically reassesses the Czech-German struggle of early twentieth-century Europe.See Naples and Die
By Penelope Green. 2007
The second book in a much loved Italian travel memoir trilogy which also includes the delightful When in Rome and…
Girl by Sea.After three years living and working in Italy, Australian journalist Penelope Green needs a reason to stick around - true love or gainful employment.When a job comes up in Naples - crime capital of Italy, home of pizza and the Camorra, and crouched at the foot of a volcano - Penny launches herself into the unknown.With her innate curiosity and eye for detail, Penny prises Naples open to show us the real city, in all its splendour... and all its depravity. She uncovers a chaotic metropolis when crime and poverty blur with abundant natural beauty, and where the shadow of Mount Vesuvius is a daily reminder that life must be lived for the moment.And when Penny meets a bass player in a local band, she thinks she might have found that other reason to stick around.'This is a bewitching, true tale of a tantalising city. Magnifico!' - Marie Claire'frank, funny and honest' - Notebook'Her down to earth tone and genuine curiosity make for an interesting and insightful read' - Sun-HeraldAuthor BiographyPenelope Green was born in Sydney and worked as a print journalist around Australia for a decade before moving to Rome in 2002. Her first book, When in Rome, recounts her early experiences in the Eternal City. In 2005 she moved to Naples to work for ANSAmed, a Mediterranean news service. She found an apartment in the city's colourful Spanish Quarter, worked hard at mastering the Neapolitan dialect, and writing her second travel memoir, See Naples and Die. Girl by Sea completes Penny's Italian experience as she moves to the idyllic island of Procida, across the bay from Capri, with her Italian partner, Alfonso. The couple have now returned to Australia, where they are making a new life for themselves back in the Southern hemisphere. For more information visit penelopegreen.com.auGirl By Sea: Love, Life and Food on an Italian Island
By Penelope Green. 2009
The conclusion to Penelope Green's bestselling trilogy about her life in Italy that includes When in Rome and See Naples…
and DieFrom her rooftop terrace, Penelope looks out across the sparkling waters of the Bay of Naples, and into a garden of lemon trees and magnolias. Has her Italian dream come true? Imagine catching a ferry home and stepping onto a waterfront lined with multicoloured buildings, busy with fishing boats and couples strolling to their favourite café. For Penny and her Italian love Alfonso, the idyllic island of Procida can offer the life they are looking for. But first Penny has to find a way into its small community. One thing she has in common with the locals is a love of food, so she sets herself a goal - to master the Procidan cuisine and become more than just a visitor. Across kitchen tables, in bustling cafés, and over long lunches under vine-covered pergolas, Penny learns the art of Italian cooking, builds friendships, and discovers the rhythms and secrets of island life. 'It?s a lovely chronicle of the joys and pitfalls of moving to a small community... A charming concoction of love, food and life ? with recipes!' - The Australian Women?s Weekly'With her observant eye for detail, young Sydney-born journalist Penelope Green's account of her time living on the beautiful Italian island of Procida with her partner, Alfonso, is an endearing insight into a small community where life, love and food reign supreme' - Sunday Telegraph'interspersed with mouthwatering recipes and Procida is explored from a historical, cultural, architectural, social and heart-on-the-sleeve personal perspective. Delivered with a light and breezy tone, it's easy to consume' - Courier MailAuthor BiographyPenelope Green was born in Sydney and worked as a print journalist around Australia for a decade before moving to Rome in 2002. Her first book, When in Rome, recounts her early experiences in the Eternal City. In 2005 she moved to Naples to work for ANSAmed, a Mediterranean news service. She found an apartment in the city's colourful Spanish Quarter, worked hard at mastering the Neapolitan dialect, and writing her second travel memoir, See Naples and Die. Girl by Sea completes Penny's Italian experience as she moves to the idyllic island of Procida, across the bay from Capri, with her Italian partner, Alfonso. The couple have now returned to Australia, where they are making a new life for themselves back in the Southern hemisphere. For more information visit penelopegreen.com.auDuring a career lasting nearly half a century, Meister Frantz Schmidt (1554-1634) personally put to death 392 individuals and tortured,…
flogged, or disfigured hundreds more. The remarkable number of victims, as well as the officially sanctioned context in which they suffered at Schmidt's hands, was the story of Joel Harrington's much-discussed book The Faithful Executioner. The foundation of that celebrated work was Schmidt's own journal--notable not only for the shocking story it told but, in an age when people rarely kept diaries, for its mere existence. Available now in Harrington's new translation, this fascinating document provides the modern reader with a rare firsthand perspective on the thoughts and experiences of an executioner who routinely carried out acts of state brutality yet remained a revered member of the local community, widely respected for his piety, steadfastness, and popular healing. Based on a long-lost manuscript thought to be the most faithful to the original journal, this modern English translation is fully annotated and includes an introduction providing historical context as well as a biographical portrait of Schmidt himself. The executioner appears to us not as the frightening brute we might expect but as a surprisingly thoughtful, complex person with a unique voice, and in these pages his world emerges as vivid and unforgettable.Studies in Early Modern German HistoryThe Making of Modern Zionism: The Intellectual Origins of the Jewish State
By Shlomo Avineri. 1981
An expanded edition of a classic intellectual history of Zionism, now covering the rise of religious Zionism since the 1970sFor…
eighteen centuries pious Jews had prayed for the return to Jerusalem, but only in the revolutionary atmosphere of nineteenth-century Europe was this yearning transformed into an active political movement: Zionism. In The Making of Modern Zionism, the distinguished political scientist Shlomo Avineri rejects the common view that Zionism was solely a reaction to anti-Semitism and persecution. Rather, he sees it as part of the universal quest for self-determination. In sharply-etched intellectual profiles of Zionism's major thinkers from Moses Hess to Theodore Herzl and from Vladimir Jabotinsky to David Ben Gurion, Avineri traces the evolution of this quest from its intellectual origins in the early nineteenth century to the establishment of the State of Israel. In an expansive new epilogue, he tracks the changes in Israeli society and politics since 1967 which have strengthened the more radical nationalist and religious trends in Zionism at the expense of its more liberal strains. The result is a book that enables us to understand, as perhaps never before, one of the truly revolutionary ideas of our time.Europe's Last Chance: Why the European States Must Form a More Perfect Union
By Guy Verhofstadt. 2016
In the heart of Europe's current crisis, one of the continent's foremost statesmen issues a clarion call to radically remake…
the European Union in the mold of the United States' own federal governmentEurope is caught in its greatest crisis since the Second World War. The catalog of ills seems endless: an economic crisis spread through most of Europe's Mediterranean tier that has crippled Greece and driven a wedge between northern and southern Europe; terrorist attacks in Paris, Cologne, Brussels, and Nice; growing aggression from Russia in Ukraine and the Baltic states; and refugees escaping war-torn neighbors. The European Union's inability to handle any of these disasters was a driving factor in Great Britain voting to leave, and others may soon follow. The result won't just be a continent in turmoil, but also a serious threat to American and British security-the Atlantic, let alone the Channel, simply isn't big enough to keep European troubles in Europe. For everyone's sake, Europe must survive.The question is how. In Europe's Last Chance, Guy Verhofstadt-former prime minister of Belgium and current leader of the liberal faction in the European Parliament-provides the essential framework for understanding Europe today, laying bare the absurdity of a system in which each member state can veto legislation, opt in or out of the Euro, or close borders on a whim. But Verhofstadt does not just indict the European Union, he also offers a powerful vision for how the continent can change for the better. The key, argues Verhofstadt, is to reform the European Union along the lines of America's federal government: a United States of Europe strong enough to stand with the United States of America in making a better, safer world.A visionary book from one of today's luminaries of European leadership, Europe's Last Chance is a clarion call to save the European Union, one of the world's greatest chances for peace and prosperity.Becoming Hitler: The Making of a Nazi
By Thomas Weber. 2017
An award-winning historian charts Hitler's radical transformation after World War I from a directionless loner into a powerful National Socialist…
leaderIn Becoming Hitler, award-winning historian Thomas Weber examines Adolf Hitler's time in Munich between 1918 and 1926, the years when Hitler shed his awkward, feckless persona and transformed himself into a savvy opportunistic political operator who saw himself as Germany's messiah. The story of Hitler's transformation is one of a fateful match between man and city. After opportunistically fluctuating between the ideas of the left and the right, Hitler emerged as an astonishingly flexible leader of Munich's right-wing movement. The tragedy for Germany and the world was that Hitler found himself in Munich; had he not been in Bavaria in the wake of the war and the revolution, his transformation into a National Socialist may never have occurred. In Becoming Hitler, Weber brilliantly charts this tragic metamorphosis, dramatically expanding our knowledge of how Hitler became a lethal demagogue.The Unruly City: Paris, London and New York in the Age of Revolution
By Mike Rapport. 2017
In The Unruly City, historian Mike Rapport offers a vivid history of three intertwined cities toward the end of the…
eighteenth century-Paris, London, and New York-all in the midst of political chaos and revolution. From the British occupation of New York during the Revolutionary War, to agitation for democracy in London and popular uprisings, and ultimately regicide in Paris, Rapport explores the relationship between city and revolution, asking why some cities engender upheaval and some suppress it.Why did Paris experience a devastating revolution while London avoided one? And how did American independence ignite activism in cities across the Atlantic? Rapport takes readers from the politically charged taverns and coffeehouses on Fleet Street, through a sea battle between the British and French in the New York Harbor, to the scaffold during the Terror in Paris.The Unruly City shows how the cities themselves became protagonists in the great drama of revolution.The Amorous Heart: An Unconventional History of Love
By Marilyn Yalom. 2018
An eminent scholar unearths the captivating history of the two-lobed heart symbol from scripture and tapestry to T-shirts and text…
messages, shedding light on how we have expressed love since antiquityThe symmetrical, exuberant heart is everywhere: it gives shape to candy, pendants, the frothy milk on top of a cappuccino, and much else. How can we explain the ubiquity of what might be the most recognizable symbol in the world?In The Amorous Heart, Marilyn Yalom tracks the heart metaphor and heart iconography across two thousand years, through Christian theology, pagan love poetry, medieval painting, Shakespearean drama, Enlightenment science, and into the present. She argues that the symbol reveals a tension between love as romantic and sexual on the one hand, and as religious and spiritual on the other. Ultimately, the heart symbol is a guide to the astonishing variety of human affections, from the erotic to the chaste and from the unrequited to the conjugal.A Mad Catastrophe: The Outbreak of World War I and the Collapse of the Habsburg Empire
By Geoffrey Wawro. 2014
Europe Isn't Working
By Larry Elliott, Dan Atkinson. 2016
A timely and provocative account of why the euro has failed and why, as a result, the Union will unravel…
Europe's center-left is rapidly falling out of love with the European single currency. Fifteen years after its creation, British journalists Larry Elliott and Dan Atkinson assess its performance to show why. Looking at a range of key indicators the authors show how the euro has failed to deliver on its promise of more jobs, more growth and greater equality. Instead it has undermined the European Union. Elliott and Atkinson compare the European Central Bank to the Federal Reserve, arguing that the architects of the euro subjugated economic measures to political considerations. Consequently, countries that didn't meet the economic convergence criteria were still allowed entry. The end result is a dysfunctional currency union that is unable to cope with difficult economic circumstances. Assessing the situations in Greece, Germany, Italy, France, Ireland, and Iceland, as well as Britain, they show that the current policy of kicking the can down the road and hoping that something will turn up is proving increasingly unpopular with the currency's one-time fans in progressive politics. This engaging and accessibly written volume will be widely read by economists, pundits, and policymakers as Britian considers its future relationship with Europe.Massacre: The Life and Death of the Paris Commune
By John Merriman. 2014
The Paris Commune lasted for only 64 days in 1871, but during that short time it gave rise to some…
of the grandest political dreams of the nineteenth century—before culminating in horrific violence. Following the disastrous French defeat in the Franco-Prussian War, hungry and politically disenchanted Parisians took up arms against their government in the name of a more just society. They expelled loyalists and soldiers and erected barricades in the streets. In Massacre, John Merriman introduces a cast of inimitable Communards—from les pétroleuses (female incendiaries) to the painter Gustave Courbet—whose idealism fueled a revolution. And he vividly recreates the Commune’s chaotic and bloody end when 30,000 troops stormed the city, burning half of Paris and executing captured Communards en masse. A stirring evocation of the spring when Paris was ablaze with cannon fire and its citizens were their own masters, Massacre reveals how the indomitable spirit of the Commune shook the very foundations of Europe.Rick Steves Snapshot Normandy
By Rick Steves, Steve Smith. 2015
You can count on Rick Steves to tell you what you really need to know when traveling in Normandy. Rick…
Steves and Steve Smith cover the essentials of Normandy, including Rouen, Honfleur, Bayeux, Mont St. Michel, and Dinan. Visit the Big Clock in Rouen that dates back to the Renaissance, or cross the causeway towards Mont St. Michel. You’ll get Rick’s firsthand advice on the best sights, eating, sleeping, and nightlife, and the maps and self-guided tours will ensure you make the most of your experience. More than just reviews and directions, a Rick Steves Snapshot guide is a tour guide in your pocket. Rick Steves Snapshot guides consist of excerpted chapters from Rick Steves European country guidebooks. Snapshot guides are a great choice for travelers visiting a specific city or region, rather than multiple European destinations. These slim guides offer all of Rick’s up-to-date advice on what sights are worth your time and money. They include good-value hotel and restaurant recommendations, with no introductory information (such as overall trip planning, when to go, and travel practicalities).