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Environment, Agency, and Technology in Urban Life since c.1750: Technonatures in the Global North
By Mikkel Thelle, Mikkel Høghøj. 2024
This book explores the historical relationship between ‘technonatures’ and urban transformations in the Global North. In recent years, various interdisciplinary…
movements such as Urban Political Ecology, STS and New Materialism have affected urban history and generated new scholarly insights into the formation of cities and urban life based on notions of hybridity, entanglement and metabolism. While scholars have increasingly attempted to grasp the socio-natural and technical complexity of cities, studies dealing with urban transformation within urban history have, however, mostly concentrated on political actors or broader social and economic changes. Seeking to introduce the concept of technonatures to the field of urban environmental history, this book instead takes its empirical and analytical starting point in the technonatural fabric of cities. Focusing on urban rivers, dumps, railways, flood walls and housing, the chapters of the book thus examines how different entanglementsof environment, technology and agency have shaped cities and processes of urbanization in the Global North from the seventeenth century onwards. By foregrounding the transformative role of urban natures, materialities and technologies in shaping the politics of urban life and cities more broadly, the book aspires to probe the potentiality of technonatures as a conceptual and analytical strategy for urban environmental historians.CCEA AS-level History Student Guide: Russia (1914-1941)
By Fin Lappin. 2018
Build, reinforce and assess students' knowledge throughout their course; tailored to the 2016 CCEA specification and brought to you by…
the leading History publisher, this study and revision guide combines clear content coverage with practice questions and sample answers.- Ensure understanding of the period with concise coverage of all Unit content, broken down into manageable chunks- Develop the analytical and evaluative skills that students need to succeed in A-level History- Consolidate understanding with exam tips and knowledge-check questions- Practise exam-style questions matched to the CCEA assessment requirements for every question type- Improve students' exam technique and show them how to reach the next grade with sample student answers and commentary for each exam-style question- Use flexibly in class or at home, for knowledge acquisition during the course or focused revision and exam preparationCCEA A2-level History Student Guide: Partition of Ireland (1900-25)
By Henry Jefferies. 2018
Build, reinforce and assess students' knowledge throughout their course; tailored to the 2016 CCEA specification and brought to you by…
the leading History publisher, this study and revision guide combines clear content coverage with practice questions and sample answers.- Ensure understanding of the period with concise coverage of all Unit content, broken down into manageable chunks- Develop the analytical and evaluative skills that students need to succeed in A-level History- Consolidate understanding with exam tips and knowledge-check questions- Practise exam-style questions matched to the CCEA assessment requirements for every question type, including source-based examples- Improve students' exam technique and show them how to reach the next grade with sample student answers and commentary for each exam-style question- Use flexibly in class or at home, for knowledge acquisition during the course or focused revision and exam preparationCCEA A2-level History Student Guide: Clash of Ideologies in Europe (1900-2000)
By Henry Jefferies. 2018
Build, reinforce and assess students' knowledge throughout their course; tailored to the 2016 CCEA specification and brought to you by…
the leading History publisher, this study and revision guide combines clear content coverage with practice questions and sample answers.- Ensure understanding of the period with concise coverage of all Unit content, broken down into manageable chunks- Develop the analytical and evaluative skills that students need to succeed in A-level History- Consolidate understanding with exam tips and knowledge-check questions- Practise exam-style questions matched to the CCEA assessment requirements for every question type- Improve students' exam technique and show them how to reach the next grade with sample student answers and commentary for each exam-style question- Use flexibly in class or at home, for knowledge acquisition during the course or focused revision and exam preparationThis book explores the location of spirituality and mysticism in modern Indian religious and intellectual life. It examines select personalities…
and their ideas since the early twentieth century, their role in the interwoven spheres of socio-religious and political thought, and in burgeoning spiritual imaginaries, often at the intersection of academic and public discourse. As part of a global ecumene connected by affective bonds, these spiritual cosmopolitans often defied binary frameworks (East/ West; imperial core/ periphery; colonizer/ colonized), and in the upshot reappraised and recast the very concept of religion in response to overarching ‘this-worldly’ exigencies.The Pirates Laffite: The Treacherous World of the Corsairs of the Gulf
By William C. Davis. 2005
An &“engrossing and exciting&” account of legendary New Orleans privateers Pierre and Jean Laffite and their adventures along the Gulf…
Coast (Booklist, starred review). At large during the most colorful period in New Orleans&’ history, from just after the Louisiana Purchase through the War of 1812, privateers Jean and Pierre Laffite made life hell for Spanish merchants on the Gulf. Pirates to the US Navy officers who chased them, heroes to the private citizens who shopped for contraband at their well-publicized auctions, the brothers became important members of a filibustering syndicate that included lawyers, bankers, merchants, and corrupt US officials. But this allegiance didn&’t stop the Laffites from becoming paid Spanish spies, disappearing into the fog of history after selling out their own associates. William C. Davis uncovers the truth about two men who made their names synonymous with piracy and intrigue on the Gulf.Brilliant: The Evolution of Artificial Light
By Jane Brox. 2010
This &“superb history&” of artificial light traces the evolution of society—&“invariably fascinating and often original . . . [it] amply lives up to…
its title&” (Publishers Weekly, starred review). In Brilliant, Jane Brox explores humankind&’s ever-changing relationship to artificial light, from the stone lamps of the Pleistocene to the LEDs embedded in fabrics of the future. More than a survey of technological development, this sweeping history reveals how artificial light changed our world, and how those social and cultural changes in turn led to the pursuit of more ways of spreading, maintaining, and controlling light. Brox plumbs the class implications of light—who had it, who didn&’t—through the centuries when crude lamps and tallow candles constricted waking hours. She identifies the pursuit of whale oil as the first time the need for light thrust us toward an environmental tipping point. Only decades later, gas street lights opened up the evening hours to leisure, which changed the ways we live and sleep and the world&’s ecosystems. Edison&’s bulbs produced a light that seemed to its users all but divorced from human effort or cost. And yet, as Brox&’s informative portrait of our current grid system shows, the cost is ever with us. Brilliant is infused with human voices, startling insights, and timely questions about how our future lives will be shaped by lightThe Great Detective: The Amazing Rise and Immortal Life of Sherlock Holmes
By Zach Dundas. 2015
A rollicking look at popular culture&’s most beloved sleuth: &“For even the casual fan, the history of this deathless character…
is fascinating&” (The Boston Globe). Today he is the inspiration for fiction adaptations, blockbuster movies, hit television shows, raucous Twitter banter, and thriving subcultures. More than a century after Sherlock Holmes first capered into our world, what is it about Sir Arthur Conan Doyle&’s peculiar creation that continues to fascinate us? Journalist and lifelong Sherlock fan Zach Dundas set out to find the answer. The result is The Great Detective: a history of an idea, a biography of someone who never lived, a tour of the borderland between reality and fiction, and a joyful romp through the world Conan Doyle bequeathed us. In this &“wonderful book&” (Booklist, starred review), Dundas unearths the inspirations behind Holmes and his indispensable companion, Dr. John Watson; explores how they have been kept alive over the decades by writers, actors, and readers; and visits locales—from the boozy annual New York City gathering of one of the world&’s oldest and most exclusive Sherlock Holmes fan societies; to a freezing Devon heath out of The Hound of the Baskervilles; to sunny Pasadena, where Dundas chats with the creators of the smash BBC series Sherlock. Along the way, he discovers the ingredients that have made Holmes go viral—then, now, and as long as the game&’s afoot.Black Patriots and Loyalists: Fighting for Emancipation in the War for Independence
By Alan Gilbert. 2012
A surprising look at the roles of African Americans in the Revolutionary War: &“An elegant and passionate writer, Alan Gilbert…
pulls no punches.&”—Historian We think of the American Revolution as the war for independence from British colonial rule. But, of course, that independence actually applied to only a portion of the American population—African Americans would still be bound in slavery for nearly another century. Drawing on first-person accounts and primary sources, Alan Gilbert asks us to rethink what we know about the Revolutionary War, to realize that while white Americans were fighting for their freedom, many black Americans were joining the British imperial forces to gain theirs. Further, a movement led by sailors—both black and white—pushed strongly for emancipation on the American side. There were actually two wars being waged at once: a political revolution for independence from Britain, and a social revolution for emancipation and equality—planting the seeds for future freedom. &“The personal stories of those who fought on the patriots&’ side in an all-black regiment and on the loyalist side in exchange for a promise of freedom are fascinating and informative.&”—BooklistThe Long Golden Afternoon: Golf's Age of Glory, 1864-1914
By Stephen Proctor. 2022
A history of golf’s boom period from the founding of England’s first golf club to the dawn of World War…
I.The Long Golden Afternoon tells the story of the transformative generation of golf that followed the rise of Young Tom Morris—an era of sweeping change that saw Scotland’s national pastime become one of the rare games played around the world.It begins with the first epochal performance after Tommy—John Ball’s victory at Prestwick in 1890 as the first Englishman and the first amateur to win the Open Championship – and continues through the outbreak of the Great War. If Tommy ignited the flame of golf in England, Ball’s breakthrough turned that smoldering fire into a conflagration.The generation that followed would witness the game’s coming of age. It would see an explosion in golf's popularity, the invention of revolutionary new balls and clubs, the emergence of professional tours, the organization of the game and its rules, a renaissance in writing and thinking about golf, and the decision that the Royal and Ancient Golf Club of St Andrews must always remain the sport’s guiding light.Praise for The Long Golden AfternoonNamed one of 10 Best Golf Books in 2022 by LINKS MagazineShortlisted for the 2023 Sports Book Awards for Best Sports Writing of the YearShortlisted for the USGA Herbert Warren Wind Book Award“Proctor’s skill with the language is crisp and fluid. . . . A beautifully crafted examination of a period in the history of golf that will never again be witnessed. It is not to be missed.” —Jim Davis, The GolfThe acclaimed combat historian and author of The Unknowns details the history of the Marbleheaders and their critical role in…
the Revolutionary War. On the stormy night of August 29, 1776, the Continental Army faced annihilation after losing the Battle of Brooklyn. The British had trapped George Washington&’s army against the East River, and the fate of the Revolution rested upon the soldier-mariners from Marblehead, Massachusetts. One of the country&’s first diverse units, they pulled off an &“American Dunkirk&” and saved the army by navigating the treacherous river to Manhattan. At the right time in the right place, the Marbleheaders, a group of white, black, Hispanic, and Native American soldiers, repeatedly altered the course of events, and their story shines new light on our understanding of the American Revolution. As historian Patrick K. O&’Donnell recounts, beginning nearly a decade before the war started, Marbleheaders such as Elbridge Gerry and Azor Orne spearheaded the break with Britain and helped shape the United States through governing, building alliances, seizing British ships, forging critical supply lines, and establishing the origins of the US Navy. The Marblehead Regiment, led by John Glover, became truly indispensable. Marbleheaders battled at Lexington and on Bunker Hill and formed the elite Guard that protected George Washington, foreshadowing today&’s Secret Service. Then the special operations–like regiment, against all odds, conveyed 2,400 of Washington&’s men across the ice-filled Delaware River on Christmas night of 1776, delivering the surprise attack on Trenton that changed the course of history . . . The Marbleheaders&’ story, never fully told before now, makes The Indispensables a vital addition to the literature of the American Revolution.Praise for The Indispensables&“Perfectly paced and powerfully wrought, this is the story of common men who gave everything for an ideal—America. The product of meticulous research, The Indispensables is the perfect reminder of who we are, when we need it most.&” —Adam Makos, author of the New York Times bestseller A Higher Call&“O&’Donnell&’s gift for storytelling brings the once famous regiment back to life, as he takes readers from the highest war councils to the grime and grit of battle.&” —Dr. James Lacey, author of The Washington War&“Comprehensive . . . Revolutionary War buffs will delight in the copious details and vivid battle scenes.&” —Publishers Weekly&“A vivid account of an impressive Revolutionary War unit and a can&’t-miss choice for fans of O&’Donnell&’s previous books.&” —Kirkus ReviewThe Barque of Saviors: Eagle's Passage from the Nazi Navy to the U.S. Coast Guard
By Russell Drumm. 2001
The &“remarkable story&” of a tall ship&’s history in WWII and beyond—and the sailors who have inhabited it, both German…
and American (Booklist). Hamburg, 1936: A splendid three-masted sailing ship is christened Horst Wessel in the presence of Adolf Hitler and thousands of cheering Nazis. It would become a training vessel for naval officers during World War II—but after Germany&’s defeat, the US Coast Guard found its young crew terrified and half starved. The Coast Guardsmen brought the Germans, so recently their mortal enemies, back to life; the Germans, in return, taught them the ways of the beautiful square-rigged ship, rechristened Eagle. In time, Eagle would become the Coast Guard&’s elite school ship—the barque of saviors. Uncannily linking Eagle&’s malign past and its American present is a coast guardsman named Karl Dillmann, who believes the spirit of a young German sailor drowned in a U-boat explosion inhabits his soul. The voices of Dillmann and other crew members are heard throughout the book, as are the voices of young sailors on the Horst Wessel. Russell Drumm has obtained never-before-published logbooks from its war years, affording fascinating new insights into both the ship&’s everyday life and its moments of high drama. This unique piece of maritime history captures the feeling of life at sea, and shows how the courage and sacrifice of the &“greatest generation&” are alive and well today in the dedicated members of the US Coast Guard. &“Tall ships cast spells, and Drumm catches the witchery of the Eagle&’s overpowering presence.&” —Kirkus Reviews &“The reader becomes familiar with the cadets of various eras . . . The book also offers a rare look at postwar military cooperation and at the integration of female cadets beginning in the 1970s.&” —Publishers WeeklyStorm Over the Land: A Profile of the Civil War (Civil War Library)
By Carl Sandburg. 2015
Writings on the American Civil War selected from the Pulitzer Prize–winning presidential biography Abraham Lincoln: The War Years, with illustrations…
and maps. Drawn from Carl Sandburg&’s magisterial biography of the sixteenth US president, this volume focuses in on the War Between the States, bringing the author&’s trademark clarity and vivid style to this dark and dramatic period in the nation&’s history. Moving from Sumter to Shiloh, Antietam to Gettysburg, Storm Over the Land is a classic chronicle of this bloody conflict, richly illustrated with halftones and drawings.Powers of Two: How Relationships Drive Creativity
By Joshua Wolf Shenk. 2014
The power of collaboration, from Lennon and McCartney to Wozniak and Jobs: &“An inspiring book that also happens to be…
a great read&” (Daniel H. Pink, author of Drive). Throughout history, partners have buoyed each other to better work—though often one member is little known to the general public. (See Warren Buffett and Charlie Munger, or Vincent and Theo van Gogh.) Powers of Two draws on neuroscience, social psychology, and cultural history to present the social foundations of creativity, with the pair as its primary embodiment. Revealing the six essential stages through which creative intimacy unfolds, this book shows how pairs begin to talk, think, and even look like each other; how the most successful ones thrive on conflict; and why some cease to work together while others carry on. At once intuitive and deeply surprising, Powers of Two will reshape the way you view individuals, relationships, and society itself. &“A rare glimpse into the private realms of duos . . . A natural storyteller.&” —The New York Times &“A book about magic, about the Beatles, about the chemistry between people, about neuroscience, and about the buddy system; it examines love and hate, harmony and dissonance, and everything in between . . . Wise, funny, surprising, and completely engrossing.&” —Susan Orlean &“We sometimes think of creativity as coming from brilliant loners. In fact, it more often happens when bright people pair up and complement each other. Shenk&’s fascinating book shows how to spark the power of this phenomenon.&” —Walter Isaacson &“Surprising, compelling . . . Shenk banishes the idea of solitary genius by demonstrating that our richest art and science come from collaboration: we need one another not only for love, but also for thinking and imagining and growing and being.&” —Andrew SolomonA sweeping behind-the-scenes look at the last four turbulent decades of &“the paper of record,&” The New York Times, as…
it confronted world-changing events, internal scandals, and faced the existential threat of the internet &“An often enthralling chronicle [that] delivers the gossipy goods . . . Like Robert Caro&’s biographies, [The Times] should appeal to anyone interested in power.&”—Los Angeles TimesA KIRKUS REVIEWS BEST BOOK OF THE YEARFor over a century, The New York Times has been an iconic institution in American journalism, one whose history is intertwined with the events that it chronicles—a newspaper read by millions of people every day to stay informed about events that have taken place across the globe.In The Times, Adam Nagourney, who&’s worked at The New York Times since 1996, examines four decades of the newspaper&’s history, from the final years of Arthur &“Punch&” Sulzberger&’s reign as publisher to the election of Donald Trump in November 2016. Nagourney recounts the paper&’s triumphs—the coverage of September 11, the explosion of the U.S. Challenger, the scandal of a New York governor snared in a prostitution case—as well as failures that threatened the paper&’s standing and reputation, including the discredited coverage of the war in Iraq, the resignation of Judith Miller, the plagiarism scandal of Jayson Blair, and the high-profile ouster of two of its executive editors.Drawing on hundreds of interviews and thousands of documents and letters contained in the newspaper&’s archives and the private papers of editors and reporters, The Times is an inside look at the essential years that shaped the newspaper. Nagourney paints a vivid picture of a divided newsroom, fraught with tension as it struggled to move into the digital age, while confronting its scandals, shortcomings, and swelling criticism from conservatives and many of its own readers alike. Along the way we meet the memorable personalities—including Abe Rosenthal, Max Frankel, Howell Raines, Joe Lelyveld, Bill Keller, Jill Abramson, Dean Baquet, Punch Sulzberger and Arthur Sulzberger Jr.—who shaped the paper as we know it today. We see the battles between the newsroom and the business operations side, the fight between old and new media, the tension between journalists who tried to hold on to the traditional model of a print newspaper and a new generation of reporters who are eager to embrace the new digital world.Immersive, meticulously researched, and filled with powerful stories of the rise and fall of the men and women who ran the most important newspaper in the nation, The Times is a definitive account of the most pivotal years in New York Times history.The Holocaust In American Life
By Peter Novick. 2000
This “courageous and thought-provoking book” examines how the Holocaust came to hold its unique place in American memory (Foreign Affairs).Prize–winning…
historian Peter Novick explores in absorbing detail the decisions that moved the Holocaust to the center of American life. He illuminates how Jewish leaders invoked its memory to muster support for Israel, and how politicians in turn used it to score points with Jewish voters. With insight and sensitivity, Novick raises searching questions about these developments, their meaning, and their consequences. Does the Holocaust really teach useful lessons and sensitize us to atrocities, or, by making the Holocaust the measure, does it make lesser crimes seem “not so bad”? Have American Jews, by making the Holocaust the emblematic Jewish experience, given Hitler a posthumous victory, tacitly endorsing his definition of Jews as despised pariahs? What are we to make of the fact that while Americans spend hundreds of millions of dollars for museums recording a European crime, while comparatively little is done to memorialize American slavery?A New York Times Notable BookThe first complete narrative of the pursuit & capture of SS Nazi officer and Holocaust architect Adolf Eichmann, by a…
New York Times–bestselling author.When the Allies stormed Berlin in the last days of the Third Reich, Adolf Eichmann shed his SS uniform and vanished. Following his escape from two American POW camps, his retreat into the mountains and out of Europe, and his path to an anonymous life in Buenos Aires, his pursuers are a bulldog West German prosecutor, a blind Argentinean Jew and his beautiful daughter, and a budding, ragtag spy agency called the Mossad, whose operatives have their own scores to settle (and whose rare surveillance photographs are published here for the first time).The capture of Eichmann and the efforts by Israeli agents to secret him out of Argentina to stand trial is the stunning conclusion to this thrilling historical account, told with the kind of pulse-pounding detail that rivals anything you’d find in great spy fiction.Includes Mossad’s Rare Surveillance PhotographsPraise for Hunting Eichmann“A fantastic true spy story.” —Associated Press“[Bascomb’s] work is well researched, including interviews with former Israeli operatives and El Al staff who participated in the capture, as well as Argentine fascists. This is a gripping read.” —Publishers Weekly“An outstanding account of a sustained and worthy manhunt.” —BooklistThe Book of Blood: From Legends and Leeches to Vampires and Veins
By Hp Newquist. 2012
This award–winning YA book takes readers on a fascinating tour through the world of blood—from ancient history to modern science.HP…
Newquist’s thrilling volume explores the dark and often fascinating tales about blood—with an occasional side trip to explore the stranger aspects about blood and our relationship to it. Though common among living beings, this substance is anything but ordinary. People have always feared and respected blood. It spills out at both birth and death, indicating events of the utmost significance. Ancient civilizations couldn’t perform religious rituals without this sacred substance. Doctors up through the nineteenth century attempted to cure mysterious illnesses by draining their patients’ blood. Scientists only recently began to understand how its microscopic components nourish the entire body, why simple transfusions don’t always work, and that bloodletting likely killed people who otherwise would have lived. Back before people understood what blood really was, they had to weave their own explanations. From vampire legends to medieval medical practices and Mayan sacrificial rites, this comprehensive investigation into blood’s past and present will surely enthrall. And if this account is a little blood-curdling, well, that’s half the fun!Winner of the Magnolia AwardMary Magdalen: Truth and Myth
By Susan Haskins. 1993
A dramatic, thought-provoking portrait of one of the most compelling figures in early Christianity which explores two thousand years of…
history, art, and literature to provide a close-up look at Mary Magdalen and her significance in religious and cultural thought.Memoirs of My Life
By Edward Gibbon. 1984
Edward Gibbon was one of the world's greatest historians and a towering figure of his age. When he died in…
1794 he left behind the unfinished drafts of his Memoirs, which were posthumously edited by his friend Lord Sheffield, and remain an astonishing portrait of a rich, full life. Recounting Gibbon's sickly childhood in London, his disappointment with an Oxford 'steeped in port and prejudice', his successful years in Lausanne, his first and only love affair and the monolithic achievement of The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire, he distils his genius for history into a remarkable gift for autobiography. Candid and detailed, these writings are filled with warmth and intellectual passion.