Leon Trotsky has aroused strong passions, and historians love and hate him in equal measure. This new biography provides a full account of his political life, based upon a wealth of primary sources, including previously unpublished material.
Ian D. Thatcher paints a new picture of Trotsky's standing in Russian and world history. Key myths about Trotsky's heroic work as a revolutionary, especially in Russia's first revolution of 1905 and the Russian Civil War, are thrown into question. Although Trotsky had a limited understanding of crucial contemporary events such as Hitler's rise to power, he was an important thinker and politician, not least as a trenchant critic of Stalin's version of communism.

This book investigates how the material culture of South Indian courts was perceived by those who lived there in the pre-colonial period. Howes peels away the standard categories used to study Indian palace space, such as public/private and male/female, and replaces them with indigenous descriptions of space found in court poetry, vastu shastra and painted representations of courtly life. Set against the historical background of the events which led to the formation of the Ramnad Kingdom, the Kingdom's material circumstances are examined, beginning with the innermost region of the palace and moving out to the Kingdom via the palace compound itself and the walled town which surrounded it. An important study for both art historians and South India specialists. The volume is richly illustrated in colour.

eBook available with sample pages: 0203221036

This is the most wide-ranging study ever published of political violence and the punishment of Irish political offenders from 1848 to the founding of the Irish Free State in 1922. Those who chose violence to advance their Irish nationalist beliefs ranged from gentlemen revolutionaries to those who openly embraced terrorism or even full-scale guerilla war.
Seán McConville provides a comprehensive survey of Irish revolutionary struggle, matching chapters on punishment of offenders with descriptions and analysis of their campaigns. Government's response to political violence was determined by a number of factors, including not only the nature of the offences but also interest and support from the United States and Australia, as well as current objectives of Irish policy.

Fully revised, updated and extended to include the momentous developments of 2020, this fourth edition of Peter Rietbergen's highly acclaimed Europe: A Cultural History is a major and original contribution to the study of Europe. The book examines the structures of culture in this part of Eurasia from the beginnings of human settlement on to the genesis of agricultural society, of greater polities, of urban systems, and the slow transitions that resulted in a (post-)industrial society and the individualistic mass culture of the present. Using both economic and socio-political analytical concepts, the volume outlines cultural continuity and change in Europe through the lenses of literature, the arts, science, technology and music, to show the continent's ever-changing identities. In a highly readable style, it expertly contextualizes such diverse and wide-ranging topics as Celtic society, the Roman legal system, the oppositions between 'elite' and 'popular' culture in pre-industrial Europe, Michelangelo's world-view, the interaction between the Enlightenment and Romanticism, the growth of a society of time and money, the appeal of fascism and other totalitarian ideologies, and the ways the songs of Sting express late twentieth-century thinking. Structured both chronologically and thematically, the text is distinctive in the attention consistently paid to the many ways Europe has been formed through its contacts with non-European cultures, especially those of Asia and the Americas. This edition concludes with an epilogue that discusses the ways Europe's recent past - including the long-term efforts at further unification, and the various forms of opposition against it - has been both interpreted and misinterpreted; the importance of globalization; and the major challenges facing Europe in the present, amongst which are the consequences of the pandemic of 2020. With a wide selection of illustrations, maps, excerpts from primary sources and even lyrics from contemporary songs to support its arguments, the text remains the definitive cultural history of Europe for both the general reader and students of European history and culture.

Introducing Jonas Flynt. Gambler. Thief. Killer. Man of honour.'Fast, furious and with a glint of gallows humour, this is high-octane historical fiction' Daily Mail 'Swashbuckling action against a vivid historical backdrop. I loved this book' Ian Rankin 'High adventure meets espionage thriller as Jonas Flynt battles the tide of history and the deadly secrets of his own past...' D. V. Bishop, author of City of Vengeance 1715. Jonas Flynt, ex-soldier and reluctant member of the Company of Rogues, a shady intelligence group run by ruthless spymaster Nathaniel Charters, is ordered to recover a missing document. Its contents could prove devastating in the wrong hands. On her deathbed, the late Queen Anne may have promised the nation to her half-brother James, the Old Pretender, rather than the new king, George I. But the will has been lost. It may decide the fate of the nation. The crown must recover it at all costs. The trail takes Jonas from the dark and dangerous streets of London to an Edinburgh in chaos. He soon realises there are others on the hunt, and becomes embroiled in a long overdue family reunion, a jail break and a brutal street riot. When secrets finally come to light, about the crown and about his own past, Jonas will learn that some truths, once discovered, can never be untold... An atmospheric and utterly compelling blend of crime, history and thriller, to delight fans of S. J. Parris, Andrew Taylor and C. J. Sansom. Praise for An Honourable Thief 'Reads like a genuine eighteenth century spy novel. I see a long future for Jonas Flynt' Ambrose Parry, author of The Way of All Flesh 'Anyone who enjoys a good historical mystery and likes an edgy, charismatic protagonist is going to love the adventures of Douglas Skelton's new hero, Jonas Flynt' S.G. MacLean, author of The Seeker 'An absolute triumph ... Five stars from me, and I look forward to reading more of Jonas's adventures' James Oswald, Sunday Times bestselling author 'Historical crime fiction at its absolute best. I loved it!' Marion Todd, author of the Detective Clare Mackay series 'Pitch-perfect stuff. Like all great historical novels you'll feel you're there! This is a departure for Skelton, who seems born to write high-end historical fiction' Denzil Meyrick, author of the DCI Daley thrillers 'Uniquely combines a page-turning thriller with a perfectly evoked sense of time and place. Powerful stuff from a master of his craft' Craig Russell, author of Hyde 'Skelton's mastery of time and place inhabited with richly drawn characters is a delight. It held me to the last tantalising page' David Gilman, author of The Englishman 'Jonas Flynt is one of those characters you'll be rooting for from the very first chapter ... it looks like Skelton has found a new home writing first-class historical fiction' Alison Belsham, author of The Tattoo Thief 'This is a fascinating, totally engrossing historical novel. Flynt is a most attractive, three-dimensional character and the same is true of the world he moves through. A brilliant, most enjoyable read' Paul Doherty, author of The Nightingale Gallery 'A cracking historical drama with breathless pacing and knuckle-chewing tension, all shot through with Skelton's deft characterisation and flashes of pitch-black humour. The perfect read to lose yourself in' Neil Broadfoot, author of Falling Fast 'A compelling tale of justice and vengeance, of intrigue and plotting, all centred around a flawed 18th century Jack Reacher' Morgan Cry, author of Thirty-One Bones

Mughal Warfare offers a much-needed new survey of the military history of Mughal India during the age of imperial splendour from 1500 to 1700. Jos Gommans looks at warfare as an integrated aspect of pre-colonial Indian society.
Based on a vast range of primary sources from Europe and India, this thorough study explores the wider geo-political, cultural and institutional context of the Mughal military. Gommans also details practical and technological aspects of combat, such as gunpowder technologies and the animals used in battle. His comparative analysis throws new light on much-contested theories of gunpowder empires and the spread of the military revolution.

eBook available with sample pages: 0203402588

"The Transformation of Urban Liberalism" re-evaluates the dramatic and turbulent political decade following the 'Third Reform Act', and questions whether the Liberal Party's political heartlands - the urban boroughs - really were in decline. In contrast to some recent studies, it does not see electoral reform, the Irish Home Rule crisis and the challenge of socialism as representing a fundamental threat to the integrity of the party. Instead this book illustrates, using parallel case studies, how the party gradually began to transform into a social democratic organisation through a re-evaluation of its role and policy direction. This process was not one directed from the centre - despite the important personalities of Gladstone and Rosebery - but rather one heavily influenced by 'grass roots politics'. Consequently, it suggests that late Victorian politics was more democratic and open than sometimes thought, with leading urban politicians forced to respond to the demands of party activists. Changes in the structure of urban rule produced new policy outcomes and brought new collectivist forms of New Liberalism onto the political agenda. Thus, it is argued that without the political transformations of the decade 1885-1895, the radical liberal governments of the Edwardian era would not have been possible.

The volume takes a field which has become established over the past 40 years, and applies it to a marginalized sector of society, enabling students of oral history, and history more generally to engage with, question and develop new conversations around the field. Oral history is increasingly becoming an established part of the modern history canon and more and more developments within its parameters are being raised and studied - this book represents a key up-coming area. The only book to look specifically at LGBTQ positions and the specific issues it raises within oral history.

This book contains essays on Fascism, Nazism and the Holocaust by distinguished scholar Professor Dan Stone. It examines issues such as race science and the racial state, Nazi race ideology, slave labour, concentration camps, British reaction to the rise of Nazism and the Holocaust, the search for missing persons in the chaos of postwar Europe and the postwar revival of fascism. Though mainly focused on Nazi Germany, it also makes comparisons with other fascist movements and regimes in Romania and elsewhere. This book will be of great interest to scholars and students of antisemitism, fascism, Nazism, World War II, genocide studies and the Holocaust.

There is a broad consensus among those who are concerned with Africa that the plight of the continent is approaching the catastrophic. Partly the roots of the problem are historical, stemming from the exploitation and colonisation of the continent by European powers. An appreciation of the history of the relationship between Europe and Africa, a major episode of which this book examines, is indispensable to an understanding of the continent's present predicament. In the late 19th and early 20th centuries King Leopold II of the Belgians established a colony in Africa, which, as the Congo Free State, became a byword for unremitting exploitation and widespread atrocities. This book describes the creation, the development and the collapse both of this regime and of the Belgian colony that replaced it. Conclusions are drawn about the nature of European colonialism in Africa and the consequences for Europe itself.

A new interpretation of the Sarajevo assassination and the origins of World War I that places focus on the Balkans and the prewar period. The story has so often been told: Archduke Franz Ferdinand, heir to the throne of the Habsburg Empire, was shot dead on June 28, 1914, in the Bosnian capital of Sarajevo. Thirty days later, the Archduke's uncle, Emperor Franz Joseph, declared war on the Kingdom of Serbia, producing the chain reaction of European powers entering the First World War. In Misfire, Paul Miller-Melamed narrates the history of the Sarajevo assassination and the origins of World War I from the perspective of the Balkans. Rather than focusing on the bang of assassin Gavrilo Princip's gun or reinforcing the mythology that has arisen around this act, Miller-Melamed embeds the incident in the longer-term conditions of the Balkans that gave rise to the political murder. He thus illuminates the centrality of the Bosnian Crisis and the Balkan Wars of the early twentieth century to European power politics, while explaining how Serbs, Bosnians, and Habsburg leaders negotiated their positions in an increasingly dangerous geopolitical environment. Despite the absence of evidence tying official Serbia to the assassination conspiracy, Miller-Melamed shows how it spiraled into a diplomatic crisis that European statesmen proved unable to resolve peacefully. Contrasting the vast disproportionality between a single deadly act and an act of war that would leave ten million dead, Misfire contends that the real causes for the world war lie in "civilized" Europe rather than the endlessly discussed political murder.

This volume proposes a historical analysis of Italian-Libyan relations in contemporary times. After examining the colonialism of liberal Italy, which in 1911 culminated in the military campaign for the conquest of the Libyan regions, it evaluates the impact of fascism in Libya and the attempt to launch a broader pro-Arab policy. The third section analyzes the construction of the so-called 'special relationship' between Rome and Tripoli since the 50s when an economic interdependence between the Libyan oil producer and the Italian industrial power was pursued despite political differences. Finally, the volume also focuses on the dramatic implosion of Libya and the loss of its political unity following the fall of the Gaddafi regime, which on the one hand, scaled back Italy's regional role, on the other, spread instability throughout the Euro-Mediterranean area. The volume uses a historiographical methodology focused on primary sources and updated scientific literature but also includes specialized analyses of the most current scenarios. This is the first systematic work on the Italian-Libyan relationship produced in English, accessible to area scholars, specialists, analysts and students, who intend to deepen their understanding of one of the pivotal factors of the Euro-Mediterranean balance, which is currently missing.

Memory in Hungarian Fascism: A Cultural History argues that fascist memory had a key role in the historical formation and later return of fascism. Tracing the trajectory of a perennial figure of fascist memory, the cult of Eszter Solymosi, from interwar Hungary through the Cold War West to contemporary Hungary, the book covers a century of fascism and offers a unique combination of fascism studies and memory studies. How did fascists challenge liberal memory after the First World War? How did the memory culture they created come to frame and feed the Second World War and the genocide? In what ways did fascist memory transform as they navigated the challenges of exile in a profoundly changed political landscape and tried to counter the postwar order? And what role did their legacy, carefully crafted for a post-Communist future, play as later neo-fascists rejected democratic transformation? Eventually, as fascist memory travelled across time and space, the book argues, it contributed to the political challenges that we face today. Based on a variety of unpublished sources, the book offers new insights for students of memory, Holocaust, fascism, and antisemitism studies, Jewish studies, Central and Eastern European history, and Hungarian studies.

This book examines the lives of two leading Irish ecclesiastics, James Ussher (1581-1656) and John Bramhall (1594-1663). Both men were key players in the religious struggles that shook the British Isles during the first half of the seventeenth century, and their lives and works provide important insights into the ecclesiastical history of early modern Europe. As well as charting the careers of Ussher and Bramhall, this study introduces an original and revealing method for examining post-Reformation religion. Arguing that the Reformation was stimulated by religious impulses that pre-date Christianity, it introduces a biblical concept of 'Justice' and 'Numinous' motifs to provide a unique perspective on ecclesiastical development. Put simply, these motifs represent on the one hand, the fear of God's judgement, and on the other, the sacred conception of the fear of God. These subtle understandings that co-existed in the Catholic church were split apart at the Reformation and proved to be separate poles around which different interpretations of Protestantism gathered. By applying these looser concepts to Ussher and Bramhall, rather than rigid labels such as Arminian, Laudian or Calvinist, a more subtle understanding of their careers is possible, and provides an altogether more satisfactory method of denominational categorisation than the ones presently employed, not just for the British churches but for the history of the Reformation as a whole.

This book brings together twelve chapters from feminist historians from around the world to offer new perspectives on aspects of the campaign for women's suffrage in Britain. Although the focus is on Britain, this volume signals how the women's suffrage campaign in Britain embraced both national and global aspects. The historical developments and structures that affected women's lives and suffrage struggles were not limited to national contexts. Early chapters focus on particular individuals both well and lesser known, including Millicent Garrett Fawcett and Emmeline Pankhurst, as well as Elizabeth Wolstenholme Elmy, Princess Sophia Duleep Singh, Lady Isabel Margesson and Isabella Ford. Later chapters highlight the interrelationship between the British movement and suffrage campaigns across the globe with reference to Austria, Japan, New Zealand, Australia and the USA. The chapters deal with issues around strategies, social class, employment, religion, nationalism, empire and race and explore complex issues about women's roles in campaigning for their democratic right to the parliamentary vote. Offering the reader a broad view of the British women's suffrage movement, this is the ideal volume for students of women's and political history in both its national and international contexts.

This book features a broad range of thematic and national case studies which explore the interrelations and confrontations between conservatives and the radical Right in the European and global contexts of the interwar years. It investigates the political, social, cultural, and economic issues that conservatives and radicals tried to address and solve in the aftermaths of the Great War. Conservative forces ended up prevailing over far-right forces in the 1920s, with the notable exception of the Fascist regime in Italy. But over the course of the 1930s, and the ascent of the Nazi regime in Germany, political radicalisation triggered both competition and hybridisation between conservative and right-wing radical forces, with increased power for far-right and fascist movements. The book will be of great interest to students and scholars of politics, history, fascism, and Nazism.

A collection of writings by Generalfeldmarschall Alfred Graf von Schlieffen, one of Imperial Germany's more intriguing figures. Schlieffens 15 years as Chief of the general staff left his mark upon both military and political institutions within Wilhelmine Germany. Despite never having written a comprehensive work of theory, his ideas have inspired countless written articles in support and many argue that his theories brought ruin to Germany and much of Europe. This book provides translations of Schlieffen's staff rides as well as sections from the archives not previously published.

History, Trauma and Shame provides an in-depth examination of the sustained dialogue about the past between children of Holocaust survivors and descendants of families whose parents were either directly or indirectly involved in Nazi crimes. Taking an autobiographical narrative perspective, the chapters in the book explore the intersection of history, trauma and shame, and how change and transformation unfolds over time. The analyses of the encounters described in the book provides a close examination of the process of dialogue among members of The Study Group on Intergenerational Consequences of the Holocaust (PAKH), exploring how Holocaust trauma lives in the 'everyday' lives of descendants of survivors. It goes to the heart of the issues at the forefront of contemporary transnational debates about building relationships of trust and reconciliation in societies with a history of genocide and mass political violence. This book will be great interest for academics, researchers and postgraduate students engaged in the study of social psychology, Holocaust or genocide studies, cultural studies, reconciliation studies, historical trauma and peacebuilding. It will also appeal to clinical psychologists, psychiatrists and psychoanalysts, as well as upper-level undergraduate students interested in the above areas.

Now in its second edition, Agriculture in World History presents a unique exploration of farmers and farming, and their relationships to non-farmers and urban societies from the ancient world to the 21st century. From its origins, civilization has depended on the food, fiber, and other goods produced by farmers. This book illustrates how urban societies both exploited and supported farmers, and together endured economic and environmental crises. Viewing farmers as the crucial interface between civilization and the natural world, Mark Tauger examines the environmental changes, political and social transformations, and scientific and technological developments in farming. The second edition draws attention to the modern period, particularly the effects of war, depression, and authoritarianism on world agriculture, scientific advances and the problems they created, increased international competition between countries with the expanding role of corporations, the threats posed by climate change, and some of agriculture's future prospects. Accessibly written and following a chronological structure, the volume enables readers to easily gain a foundational understanding of an important aspect of world history. This survey will be an indispensable text for world history students and for anyone interested in the historical development of the present agricultural and food crises.

In this newly revised and updated 2nd edition of Voices of Early Modern Japan, Constantine Nomikos Vaporis offers an accessible collection of annotated historical documents of an extraordinary period in Japanese history, ranging from the unification of warring states under Tokugawa Ieyasu in the early seventeenth century to the overthrow of the shogunate just after the opening of Japan by the West in the mid- nineteenth century. Through close examination of primary sources from "The Great Peace," this fascinating textbook offers fresh insights into the Tokugawa era: its political institutions, rigid class hierarchy, artistic and material culture, religious life, and more, demonstrating what historians can uncover from the words of ordinary people. New features include: * An expanded section on religion, morality and ethics; * A new selection of maps and visual documents; * Sources from government documents and household records to diaries and personal correspondence, translated and examined in light of the latest scholarship; * Updated references for student projects and research assignments. The first edition of Voices of Early Modern Japan was the winner of the 2013 Franklin R. Buchanan Prize for Curricular Materials. This fully revised textbook will prove a comprehensive resource for teachers and students of East Asian Studies, history, culture, and anthropology.

This is a study of the noted newspaper proprietor, publisher and editor, George Newnes and his involvement in the so-called New Journalism in Britain from 1880 to 1910. The author examines seven of Newnes's most successful periodicals - Tit-Bits (1881), The Strand Magazine (1891), The Million (1892), The Westminster Gazette (1893), The Wide World Magazine (1898), The Ladies' Field (1898) and The Captain (1899) - from a biographical, journalistic and broader cultural perspective. Newnes assumed a pioneering role in the creation of the penny miscellany paper, the short-story magazine, the true-story magazine and the respectable boys' paper, in the development of colour printing, magazine illustration and photographic reproduction, and in the redefinition of both political and sporting journalism. His publications were shaped by his own distinctive brand of paternalism, his professional progression within the field of journalism, his liberal-democratic and imperialist beliefs, and his particular skill as an entrepreneur. This innovative periodical publisher utilised the techniques of personalised journalism, commercial promotion and audience targeting to establish an interactive relationship and a strong bond of identification with his many readers. Kate Jackson employs an interdisciplinary approach, building on recent scholarship in the field of periodical research, to demonstrate that Newnes balanced and synthesised various potentially conflicting imperatives to create a kind of synergy between business and benevolence, popular and quality journalism, old and new journalism and , ultimately, culture and profit.

Imperialism in South East Asia examines all the countries which might be called imperialist: Britain, France, Spain, the Netherlands and the US. Examining the phenomenon from this perspective reveals imperialism as a question of rivalry; and facilitates comparison: imperialism had elements in common, yet differed as did the territories in which they operated.

eBook available with sample pages: 0203402553

This book provides an accessible introduction to a wide range of concerns that have preoccupied historians over time. Global in scope, it explores historical perspectives not only from historiography itself, but from related areas such as literature, sociology, geography and anthropology which have entered into productive dialogues with history. Clearly written and accessible, this third edition is fully revised with an updated structure and new areas of historical enquiry and themes added, including the history of emotions, video history and global pandemics. In all of this, the authors have attempted to think beyond the boundaries of the West and consider varied approaches to history. They do so by engaging with theoretical perspectives and methodologies that have provided the foundation for good historical practice. The authors analyse how historians can improve their skills by learning about the discipline of historiography, that is, how historians go about the task of exploring the past and determining where the line separating history from other disciplines, such as sociology or geography, runs. History: An Introduction to Theory and Method 3ed is an essential resource for students of historical theory and method working at both an introductory and more advanced level.

Computer: A History of the Information Machine traces the history of the computer and its unlimited, information-processing potential. Comprehensive and accessibly written, this fully updated fourth edition adds new chapters on the globalization of information technology, the rise of social media, fake news, and the gig economy, and the regulatory frameworks being put in place to tame the ubiquitous computer. Computer is an insightful look at the pace of technological advancement and the seamless way computers are integrated into the modern world. The authors examine the history of the computer including the first steps taken by Charles Babbage in the nineteenth century, and how wartime needs and the development of electronics led to the giant ENIAC, the first electronic computer. For a generation IBM dominated the computer industry. In the 1980s, the desktop PC liberated people from room-sized, mainframe computers. Next, laptops and smartphones made computers available to half of the world's population, leading to the rise of Google and Facebook, and powerful apps that changed the way we work, consume, learn, and socialize. The volume is an essential resource for scholars and those studying computer history, technology history, and information and society, as well as a range of courses in the fields of computer science, communications, sociology, and management.

This volume examines relations between the People's Republic of China (PRC) and socialist Eastern European states during the Cold War. The chapters take previous findings on government policy and China's role as a global player in the Cold War game as a starting point to locate the PRC in the socialist world and assess levels of interaction beyond diplomatic and governmental relations. By focusing on transfers and interconnections and the social dimension of governmental interactions, the primary goal of this book is to explore structures, institutions, and spaces of interaction between China and Eastern Europe and their potential autonomy from political conjunctures. The guiding question that the book raises is: To what extent did Chinese and Eastern European players, outside the range of the power centres, have room to manoeuvre beyond the agendas of the Kremlin, national governments, or party leaderships? The question of the relative autonomy becomes especially vibrant against the backdrop of the development of Sino-Soviet relations from alliance to split to reconciliation through the Cold War era. This book contributes to the growing scholarship on East-South and intra-bloc relations from the perspective of global and transnational history and will be of interest to researchers, students and policy makers in the fields of History, East European and Russian studies, International Relations and politics. The chapters in this book were originally published as a special issue of Cold War History.