Cities, scripts, literature, the rule of law - all were born in Iraq. That so many see this ancient land as nothing more than a violent backwater steeped in chaos is a travesty. This is the place where, for the first 5,000 years of human history, all innovations of worth emerged. It was the cradle of civilization. In this unrivalled study, John Robertson details the greatness and grandeur of Iraq's achievements, the brutality and magnificence of its ancient empires and its extraordinary contributions to the world. The only work in the English language to explore the history of the land of two rivers in its entirety, it takes readers from the seminal advances of its Neolithic inhabitants to the aftermath of the American and British-led invasion, the rise of Islamic State and Iraq today. A fascinating and thought-provoking analysis, it is sure to be greatly appreciated by historians, students and all those with an interest in this diverse and enigmatic country. This paperback edition features a new epilogue, bringing the work up to date and looking ahead to Iraq's future.

The Case for the Enlightenment is a comparative study of the emergence of Enlightenment in Scotland and in Naples. Challenging the tendency to fragment the Enlightenment in eighteenth-century Europe into multiple Enlightenments, the distinguished intellectual historian John Robertson demonstrates the extent to which thinkers in two societies at the opposite ends of Europe shared common intellectual preoccupations. Before 1700, Scotland and Naples faced a bleak future as backward, provincial kingdoms in a Europe of aggressive commercial states. Yet by 1760, Scottish and Neapolitan thinkers were in the van of those advocating the cause of Enlightenment by means of political economy. By studying the social and institutional contexts of intellectual life in the two countries, and the currents of thought promoted within them, The Case for the Enlightenment explains this transformation. John Robertson pays particular attention to the greatest thinkers in each country, David Hume and Giambattista Vico.

This volume of essays explores the intellectual context of the Anglo-Scottish Union of 1707. Challenging the received view of the Union as a simple political job, it argues instead that the Union was a landmark in the history of political thought. It investigates the ideas of union, universal monarchy and empire current in Europe and Britain before 1707, focuses on the issues of sovereignty at the centre of the Union debate itself and concludes by studying the aftermath of the debate in eighteenth-century discussions of Britain's relations to Ireland and the North American Colonies. Underlining the vitality of Scottish intellectual life before the Enlightenment, the volume also gives unprecedented attention to the English view of the Union, to its European setting and to its consequences for the subsequent understanding of the British Empire.

The Case for the Enlightenment is a comparative study of the emergence of Enlightenment in Scotland and in Naples. Challenging the tendency to fragment the Enlightenment in eighteenth-century Europe into multiple Enlightenments, the distinguished intellectual historian John Robertson demonstrates the extent to which thinkers in two societies at the opposite ends of Europe shared common intellectual preoccupations. Before 1700, Scotland and Naples faced a bleak future as backward, provincial kingdoms in a Europe of aggressive commercial states. Yet by 1760, Scottish and Neapolitan thinkers were in the van of those advocating the cause of Enlightenment by means of political economy. By studying the social and institutional contexts of intellectual life in the two countries, and the currents of thought promoted within them, The Case for the Enlightenment explains this transformation. John Robertson pays particular attention to the greatest thinkers in each country, David Hume and Giambattista Vico.

Andrew Fletcher of Saltoun (1653-1716) was one of the most acute observers of the European political order of his time, and an important forerunner of the Scottish Enlightenment. Famous in his own day and since for his patriotic opposition to the Anglo-Scottish Union of 1707, Fletcher was an admirer of the ancients and a student of Machiavelli, who would adapt Machiavelli's strictly political concepts of a world increasingly shaped by commerce. His works address the fate of small nations dominated by larger, the advantages and disadvantages of great capital cities, and the prospects for new forms of political union which would be to the benefit of all of Europe's regions. This book is the first complete modern edition of Fletcher's works. The editor's introduction draws on research into Fletcher's life and thought, and the annotated text enables readers to appreciate the range and sharpness of Fletcher's analysis.

Andrew Fletcher of Saltoun (1653-1716) was one of the most acute observers of the European political order of his time, and an important forerunner of the Scottish Enlightenment. Famous in his own day and since for his patriotic opposition to the Anglo-Scottish Union of 1707, Fletcher was an admirer of the ancients and a student of Machiavelli, who would adapt Machiavelli's strictly political concepts of a world increasingly shaped by commerce. His works address the fate of small nations dominated by larger, the advantages and disadvantages of great capital cities, and the prospects for new forms of political union which would be to the benefit of all of Europe's regions. This book is the first complete modern edition of Fletcher's works. The editor's introduction draws on research into Fletcher's life and thought, and the annotated text enables readers to appreciate the range and sharpness of Fletcher's analysis.

This volume of essays explores for the first time the intellectual context of the Anglo-Scottish Union of 1707. Challenging the received view of the Union as a simple political job, it argues instead that the Union was a landmark in the history of political thought. The opening contributions investigate the ideas of union, universal monarchy and empire current in Europe and Britain before 1707. There follow chapters devoted to intellectual and religious developments in Scotland between the Restoration and the Union, before attention is focused on the issues of sovereignty at the centre of the Union debate itself. The volume concludes by studying the aftermath of the debate in eighteenth-century discussions of Britain's relations to Ireland and the North American colonies. Underlining the vitality of Scottish intellectual life before the Enlightenment, the volume also gives unprecedented attention to the English view of the Union, to its European setting and to its consequences for the subsequent understanding of the British Empire. The result is a major contribution to the history of British (including Anglo-Irish and American) political thought, and more generally to the history of ideas of union and empire, which will be of wide interest.

When Istvan Hont died in 2013, the world lost a giant of intellectual history. A leader of the Cambridge School of Political Thought, Hont argued passionately for a global-historical approach to political ideas. To better understand the development of liberalism, he looked not only to the works of great thinkers but also to their reception and use amid revolution and interstate competition. His innovative program of study culminated in the landmark 2005 book Jealousy of Trade, which explores the birth of economic nationalism and other social effects of expanding eighteenth-century markets. Markets, Morals, Politics brings together a celebrated cast of Hont's contemporaries to assess his influence, ideas, and methods. Richard Tuck, John Pocock, John Dunn, Raymond Geuss, Gareth Stedman Jones, Michael Sonenscher, John Robertson, Keith Tribe, Pasquale Pasquino, and Peter N. Miller contribute original essays on themes Hont treated with penetrating insight: the politics of commerce, debt, and luxury; the morality of markets; and economic limits on state power. The authors delve into questions about the relationship between states and markets, politics and economics, through examinations of key Enlightenment and pre-Enlightenment figures in context-Hobbes, Rousseau, Spinoza, and many others. The contributors also add depth to Hont's lifelong, if sometimes veiled, engagement with Marx. The result is a work of interpretation that does justice to Hont's influence while developing its own provocative and illuminating arguments. Markets, Morals, Politics will be a valuable companion to readers of Hont and anyone concerned with political economy and the history of ideas.

John 'Robbo' Robertson is a Hearts legend and the club's all-time record goalscorer in the league. He has a remarkable tally of 311 goals in 712 appearances for Heart of Midlothian FC. Capped 16 times for Scotland, Robbo is Hearts' most successful striker in the modern era. His uncanny knack of being in the right place at the right time and his sublime finishing touch have made him a footballing icon. Now Robbo tells his own story in his own words. He recalls how football became his passion as a youngster, how he got his big break and why he didn't sign for Hibs - a particular sore point for Hearts' arch-rivals every time the 'Hammer of Hibs' scored one of his record 27 goals in an Edinburgh derby. Robbo's recollections include brilliant insider stories about Brian Clough and Wallace Mercer, plus the heartbreak of losing the league in the season's closing minutes. He talks, too, about his family and how his life changed forever when he lost his father to cancer at the age of just fourteen. John Robertson's life is an extraordinary one. His journey takes him from the parks and streets of Scotland's capital to the history books as one of the greatest players ever to pull on the Jambos' famous maroon jersey. ROBBO is a must-read for anyone who loves Hearts and loves football.

The important and rapidly emerging new field known as 'cyber threat intelligence' explores the paradigm that defenders of computer networks gain a better understanding of their adversaries by understanding what assets they have available for an attack. In this book, a team of experts examines a new type of cyber threat intelligence from the heart of the malicious hacking underworld - the dark web. These highly secure sites have allowed anonymous communities of malicious hackers to exchange ideas and techniques, and to buy/sell malware and exploits. Aimed at both cybersecurity practitioners and researchers, this book represents a first step toward a better understanding of malicious hacking communities on the dark web and what to do about them. The authors examine real-world darkweb data through a combination of human and automated techniques to gain insight into these communities, describing both methodology and results.

The world is becoming a busy noisy place and it is good to find a pastime that creates a different space, another dimension. Our paintings mean a lot to us because they remind us of lovely places we have visited and enable us to remember them in detail. It takes time to study the colours and contours of a scene. It may be that the drawing is an inadequate representation of the three dimensional scene spread out before us, how can it be anything else, but the process of trying to represent it on the two dimensions of the blank page is intellectually rewarding. The emerging picture is not just about the scene before you but also about your response to it at the time.

A foundational moment in the history of modern European thought, the Enlightenment continues to be a reference point for philosophers, scholars and opinion-formers. To many it remains the inspiration of our commitments to the betterment of the human condition. To others, it represents the elevation of one set of European values to the world, many of whose peoples have quite different values. But what is the relationship between the historical Enlightenment and the idea of 'Enlightenment', and can these two understandings be reconciled? In this Very Short Introduction, John Robertson offers a concise historical introduction to the Enlightenment as an intellectual movement of eighteenth-century Europe. Discussing its intellectual achievements, he also explores how its supporters exploited new ways of communicating their ideas to a wider public, creating a new 'public sphere' for critical discussion of the moral, economic and political issues facing their societies. ABOUT THE SERIES: The Very Short Introductions series from Oxford University Press contains hundreds of titles in almost every subject area. These pocket-sized books are the perfect way to get ahead in a new subject quickly. Our expert authors combine facts, analysis, perspective, new ideas, and enthusiasm to make interesting and challenging topics highly readable.