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Books > Humanities > History > World history > From 1900 > General
'Ackroyd makes history accessible to the layman' - Ian Thomson,
Independent Innovation brings Peter Ackroyd's History of England to
a triumphant close. In it, Ackroyd takes readers from the end of
the Boer War and the accession of Edward VII to the end of the
twentieth century, when his great-granddaughter Elizabeth II had
been on the throne for almost five decades. A century of enormous
change, encompassing two world wars, four monarchs (Edward VII,
George V, George VI and the Queen), the decline of the aristocracy
and the rise of the Labour Party, women's suffrage, the birth of
the NHS, the march of suburbia and the clearance of the slums. It
was a period that saw the work of the Bloomsbury Group and T. S.
Eliot, of Kingsley Amis and Philip Larkin, of the end of the
post-war slump to the technicolour explosion of the 1960s, to free
love and punk rock and from Thatcher to Blair. A vividly readable,
richly peopled tour de force, it is Peter Ackroyd writing at his
considerable best.
'A REMARKABLE BOOK... AN AMAZINGLY AUDACIOUS AND COMPLETELY
INNOVATIVE WAY OF WRITING HISTORY... IMMEDIATE AND GRIPPING' -
WILLIAM BOYD In Petrograd a fire is lit. The Tsar is packed off to
the Urals. A rancorous Russian exile crosses war-torn Europe to
make his triumphal entry into the capital. 'Peace now!' the crowds
cry... German soldiers return from the war to quash a Communist
rising in Berlin. A former field-runner trained by the army to give
rousing speeches against the Bolshevik peril begins to rail against
the Jews... A solar eclipse turns a former patent clerk from
Switzerland into a celebrity, shaking the foundations of human
understanding with his revolutionary theories of time and space...
In Paris an American reporter in search of himself writes ever
shorter sentences and discovers a new literary style... Lenin and
Hitler, Einstein and Hemingway, Sigmund Freud and Andre Breton,
Emmaline Pankhurst and Mustafa Kemal - these are some of the
protagonists in this dramatic panorama of a world in turmoil.
Emperors, kings and generals depart furtively on midnight trains
and submarines. Women are given the vote. Artistic experiments
flourish. The real becomes surreal. Marching tunes are syncopated
into jazz. Civilisation is loosed from its pre-war moorings. People
search for meaning in the wreckage. Even as the ink is drying on
the armistice that ends the war in the west in 1918, fresh
conflicts and upheavals erupt elsewhere. It takes six years for
Europe to find uneasy peace. Crucible is the collective diary of an
era: filled with all-too-human tales of exuberant dreams, dark
fears, grubby ambitions and the absurdities of chance. Encompassing
both tragedy and humour, it brings immediacy and intimacy to a
moment of deep historical transformation - with consequences which
echo down to today.
Winner of the 2022 Ab Imperio Award Hoping to unite all of
humankind and revolutionize the world, Ludwik Zamenhof launched a
new international language called Esperanto from late imperial
Russia in 1887. Ordinary men and women in Russia and all over the
world soon transformed Esperanto into a global movement. Esperanto
and Languages of Internationalism in Revolutionary Russia traces
the history and legacy of this effort: from Esperanto's roots in
the social turmoil of the pre-revolutionary Pale of Settlement; to
its links to socialist internationalism and Comintern bids for
world revolution; and, finally, to the demise of the Soviet
Esperanto movement in the increasingly xenophobic Stalinist 1930s.
In doing so, this book reveals how Esperanto - and global language
politics more broadly - shaped revolutionary and early Soviet
Russia. Based on extensive archival materials, Brigid O'Keeffe's
book provides the first in-depth exploration of Esperanto at
grassroots level and sheds new light on a hitherto overlooked area
of Russian history. As such, Esperanto and Languages of
Internationalism in Revolutionary Russia will be of immense value
to both historians of modern Russia and scholars of
internationalism, transnational networks, and sociolinguistics.
The acclaimed autobiography of Theodore 'Teddy' Roosevelt is
brought to the reader anew in this well-produced edition, inclusive
of all notes and appendices. Written over years and published in
1913, this lengthy yet engrossing biography sees one of the United
States finest Presidents recount his life in his own words.
Theodore Roosevelt sets out events in a way which clarify how he
came to possess his beliefs. We hear of his love of the great
outdoors which would in turn result in the establishment of
America's national parks, and his belief in commerce as an engine
for progress which would lead to the state-sponsored construction
of the Panama Canal during his presidency. Seldom straying to
dryness or heady description of the many and varied events of his
life, Theodore Roosevelt instead imbues every chapter with keynote
personality and liveliness. Personal letters with influential
figures are shared, placing the reader deep in the political world
which this popular, charismatic leader was immersed.
In this succinct one-volume account of the rise and fall of the
English press, Jeremy Black traces the medium's history from the
emergence of the country's newspaper industry to the Internet age.
The English Press focuses on the major developments in the world of
print journalism and sets the history of the press in wider
currents of English history, political, social, economic and
technological. Black takes the reader through a chronological
sequence of chapters, with a final chapter exploring possible
scenarios for the future of print media. He investigates whether we
are witnessing the demise or simply a crisis of the press in the
aftermath of the News of the World scandal and Levinson Inquiry. A
new title by one of the most eminent historians of Britain and a
leading expert on the history of the press, The English Press will
appeal to undergraduate students of British and media history and
journalism, as well as to the general reader with an interest in
the history of England and the media.
The early 20th-century world experienced a growth in international
cooperation. Yet the dominant historical view of the period has
long been one of national, military, and social divisions rather
than connections. International Cooperation in the Early Twentieth
Century revises this historical consensus by providing a more
focused and detailed analysis of the many ways in which people
interacted with each other across borders in the early decades of
the 20th century. It devotes particular attention to private and
non-governmental actors. Daniel Gorman focuses on international
cooperation, international social movements, various forms of
cultural internationalism, imperial and anti-imperial
internationalism, and the growth of cosmopolitan ideas. The book
incorporates a non-Western focus alongside the transatlantic core
of early 20th-century internationalism. It interweaves analyses of
international anti-colonial networks, ideas emanating from
non-Western sites of influence such as Japan, China and Turkey, the
emergence of networks of international indigenous peoples in
resistance to a state-centric international system, and diaspora
and transnational ethno-cultural-religious identity networks.
Now in its fifth edition, this book explores the ways in which the
industrial revolution reshaped world history, covering the
international factors that helped launch the industrial revolution,
its global spread and its impact from the end of the eighteenth
century to the present day. The single most important development
in human history over the past three centuries, the industrial
revolution continues to shape the contemporary world. Revised and
brought into the present, this fifth edition of Peter N. Stearns'
The Industrial Revolution in World History extends his global
analysis of the industrial revolution. Looking beyond the West, the
book considers India, the Middle East and China and now includes
more on key Latin American economies and Africa as well as the
heightened tensions, since 2008, about the economic aspects of
globalization and the decline of manufacturing in the West. This
edition also features a new chapter on key historiographical
debates, updated suggestions for further reading and boxed debate
features that encourage the reader to consider diversity and
different viewpoints in their own analysis, and pays increased
attention to the environmental impacts. Illustrating the
contemporary relevance of the industrial revolution's history, this
is essential reading for students of world history and economics,
as well as for those seeking to know more about the global
implications of what is arguably the defining socioeconomic event
of modern times.
The accepted narrative of the interwar U.S. Navy is one of
transformation from a battle-centric force into a force that could
fight on the ""three planes"" of war: in the skies, on the water,
and under the waves. The political and cultural tumult that
accompanied this transformation is another story. Ryan D. Wadle's
Selling Sea Power explores this little-known but critically
important aspect of naval history. After World War I, the U.S. Navy
faced numerous challenges: a call for naval arms limitation, the
ascendancy of air power, and budgetary constraints exacerbated by
the Great Depression. Selling Sea Power tells the story of how the
navy met these challenges by engaging in protracted public
relations campaigns at a time when the means and methods of
reaching the American public were undergoing dramatic shifts. While
printed media continued to thrive, the rapidly growing film and
radio industries presented new means by which the navy could
connect with politicians and the public. Deftly capturing the
institutional nuances and the personalities in play, Wadle tracks
the U.S. Navy's at first awkward but ultimately successful
manipulation of mass media. At the same time, he analyzes what the
public could actually see of the service in the variety of media
available to them, including visual examples from progressively
more sophisticated - and effective - public relations campaigns.
Integrating military policy and strategy with the history of
American culture and politics, Selling Sea Power offers a unique
look at the complex links between the evolution of the art and
industry of persuasion and the growth of the modern U.S. Navy, as
well as the connections between the workings of communications and
public relations and the command of military and political power.
The modern research university originated in Europe in the second
half of the nineteenth century, largely due to the creation and
expansion of the teaching and research laboratory. The universities
and the sciences underwent a laboratory revolution that
fundamentally changed the nature of both. This revolutionary
development began in chemistry, where Justus Liebig is credited
with systematically employing his students in his ongoing research
during the 1830s. Later, this development spread to other fields,
including the social sciences and the humanities. The consequences
for the universities were colossal. The expansion of the
laboratories demanded extensive new building programs, reshaping
the outlook of the university. The social structure of the
university also diversified because of this laboratory expansion,
while what it meant to be a scientist changed dramatically. This
volume explores the spatial, social, and cultural dimensions of the
rise of the modern research laboratory within universities and
their consequent reshaping.
Global Themes in World History since 1500 provides students with a
concise, thematic approach to world history with emphasis on topics
and themes representative of global patterns across time. Students
are challenged to embrace the idea that history, while based on
primary source evidence, is also based on historians'
interpretations of that evidence, and that historiography changes
through time and place. The book addresses diverse topics and
research areas, including the history of Africa, the African
diaspora, world military history, modern Europe, the Middle East,
empires and imperialism, food history, cultural history, and more.
Each chapter explores key themes that reflect important transitions
in world history research and writing: geography and environment;
material culture; science and technology; gender and sexuality; and
war, peace, and diplomacy. Throughout, students are provided with
primary sources, discussion questions, images, timelines, glossary
terms, and suggested additional readings and media to deepen the
learning experience. An engaging, diverse, and accessible text,
Global Themes in World History since 1500 is well suited to
undergraduate courses in modern world history.
With the Treaty of Versailles, the Western nation-state powers
introduced into the East Central European region the principle of
national self-determination. This principle was buttressed by
frustrated native elites who regarded the establishment of their
respective nation-states as a welcome opportunity for their own
affirmation. They desired sovereignty but were prevented from
accomplishing it by their multiple dispossession. National elites
started to blame each other for this humiliating condition. The
successor states were dispossessed of power, territories, and
glory. The new nation-states were frustrated by their devastating
condition. The dispersed Jews were left without the imperial
protection. This embarrassing state gave rise to collective
(historical) and individual (fictional) narratives of
dispossession. This volume investigates their intended and
unintended interaction. Contributors are: Davor Beganovic, Vladimir
Biti, Zrinka Bozic-Blanusa, Marko Juvan, Bernarda Katusic, Natasa
Kovacevic, Petr Kucera, Aleksandar Mijatovic, Guido Snel, and Stijn
Vervaet.
A myth-breaking general history of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, The Gun And The Olive Branch traces events right back to the 1880s to show how Arab violence, although often cruel and fanatical, is a response to the challenge of repeated aggression.
Banned from six Arab countries, kidnapped twice, David Hirst, former Middle East correspondent of the Guardian, is the ideal chronicler of this terrible and seemingly insoluble conflict. The new edition of this ‘definitive’ (Irish Times) study brings the story right up to date.
Amongst the many topics that are subjected to Hirst’s piercing analysis are: the Oslo peace process, the Israeli occupation of the West Bank and Gaza, the destabilising effect of Jewish settlement in the territories, the second Intifada and the terrifying rise of the suicide bombers, the growing power of the Israel lobby – Jewish and Christian fundamentalist – in the United States, the growth of dissent in Israel and among sections of America’s Jewish population, the showdown between Sharon and Arafat and the spectre of nuclear catastrophe that threatens to destroy the region.
In Scandal Work: James Joyce, the New Journalism, and the Home Rule
Newspaper Wars, Margot Gayle Backus charts the rise of the
newspaper sex scandal across the fin de siecle British archipelago
and explores its impact on the work of James Joyce, a towering
figure of literary modernism. Based largely on archival research,
the first three chapters trace the legal, social, and economic
forces that fueled an upsurge in sex scandal over the course of the
Irish Home Rule debates during James Joyce's childhood. The
remaining chapters examine Joyce's use of scandal in his work
throughout his career, beginning with his earliest known poem, "Et
Tu, Healy," written when he was nine years old to express outrage
over the politically disastrous Parnell scandal. Backus's readings
of Joyce's essays in a Trieste newspaper, the Dubliners short
stories, Portrait of the Artist, and Ulysses show Joyce's
increasingly intricate employment of scandal conventions,
ingeniously twisted so as to disable scandal's reifying effects.
Scandal Work pursues a sequence of politically motivated sex
scandals, which it derives from Joyce's work. It situates Joyce
within an alternative history of the New Journalism's emergence in
response to the Irish Land Wars and the Home Rule debates, from the
Phoenix Park murders and the first Dublin Castle scandal to "The
Maiden Tribute of Modern Babylon" and the Oscar Wilde scandal. Her
voluminous scholarship encompasses historical materials on
Victorian and early twentieth-century sex scandals, Irish politics,
and newspaper evolution as well as providing significant new
readings of Joyce's texts.
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