First published in 1976, Paul Johnson's exceptional study of Christianity has been loved and widely hailed for its intensive research, writing, and magnitude--"a tour de force, one of the most ambitious surveys of the history of Christianity ever attempted and perhaps the most radical" ("New York Review of Books").
In a highly readable companion to books on faith and history, the scholar and author Johnson has illuminated the Christian world and its fascinating history in a way that no other has. Johnson takes off in the year 49 with his namesake the apostle Paul. Thus beginning an ambitious quest to paint the centuries since the founding of a little-known 'Jesus Sect', A History of Christianity explores to a great degree the evolution of the Western world. With an unbiased and overall optimistic tone, Johnson traces the fantastic scope of the consequent sects of Christianity and the people who followed them. Information drawn from extensive and varied sources from around the world makes this history as credible as it is reliable. Invaluable understanding of the framework of modern Christianity--and its trials and tribulations throughout history--has never before been contained in such a captivating work.

This timely book provides an authoritative analysis of the pension reform process in nine countries, namely Australia, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, New Zealand, the UK and USA, with Japan being covered in the introduction by the editors. The book draws on the work of experts from each of these countries to provide a picture of how the pension systems work in each country. The contributors examine the policy reform process in each country, against the background of the fiscal stresses arising from the ageing populations in OECD countries. They also analyse whether different types of pension delivery systems (e.g. the public-private mix) generate different standards of living. Each study is prepared according to a common template allowing meaningful analysis of pension delivery and outcomes across countries using similar macroeconomic statistics and microdata. Pension Systems and Retirement Incomes across OECD Countries is an extremely valuable and empirically sound book on a highly topical subject. It will appeal to scholars of economics, public policy, political science and finance as well as being of great interest to policymakers and practitioners involved in pension fund management.

A galaxy of legendary figures from the annals of Western history

In this enlightening and entertaining work, Paul Johnson, the bestselling author of "Intellectuals" and "Creators," approaches the subject of heroism with stirring examples of men and women from every age, walk of life, and corner of the planet who have inspired and transformed not only their own cultures but the entire world as well.

Heroes includes:

Samson, Judith, and Deborah - Henry V and Joan of Arc - Elizabeth I and Walter Raleigh - George Washington, the Duke of Wellington, and Lord Nelson - Emily Dickinson - Abraham Lincoln and Robert E. Lee - Mae West and Marilyn Monroe - Ronald Reagan, Margaret Thatcher, and Pope John Paul II

This is a forensic examination - by the man best placed to do so - of what it costs to run the United Kingdom's economy. To follow the money. To provide an explanation, of where that money comes from and where it goes to, how that has changed and how it needs to change. We are heading off, in fact, on a journey to not just follow the money, but to track it and pin it down, to find out how much of our money government takes and spends to keep the country we recognise as the UK running. Government decisions determine the welfare of the poor and the elderly, the state of the health service, the effectiveness of our children's education, and our preparedness for the future: whether that is a pandemic or global warming. As a society, we are a reflection of what the government spends. Nearly four pounds out every ten we earn goes, one way or another, to the taxman? What are the combined effects of these decisions to take hundreds of billions from us every year and then dish it out again? Johnson looks at what happened following the financial crisis of 2008-09 and the austerity years that followed. And then at how in 2020 the government reacted to the coronavirus with by far the biggest spending splurge in peacetime history. And he peers into our economic futures as we try to reach a new 'normal' after Covid-19.

This book examines the increasing significance of DNA profiling for crime investigation in modern society. It focuses on developments in the UK as the world-leader in the development and application of forensic DNA technology, and in the construction of DNA databases as an essential element in the successful use of DNA for forensic purposes. The book uses data collected from funded research into police uses of the UK National DNA Database (NDNAD) to describe the relationship between scientific knowledge and police investigations. It refers to some of the major UK criminal cases in which DNA evidence has been presented and contested. Chapters in the book explain the scientific developments which have enabled DNA profiling to be applied to criminal investigation, the ways in which the state has directed this, and how genetic technology has risen to such preeminence; how DNA evidence moved from its use in individual prosecutions to a major role in intelligence led policing, and saw the de

A Critical Companion to Stanley Kubrick offers a thorough and detailed study of the works of Stanley Kubrick. Labeled a recluse, a provocateur, and a perfectionist, Kubrick remains one of the greatest legends of cinema who continues to influence contemporary filmmakers and visual culture. An unequaled visionary, Kubrick revolutionized film genres, the use of music in film, narrative pacing and structure, and depictions of war and violence. This book delves into the complexities of his work and examines the wide range of topics and the multiple interpretations that his films inspire. The eighteen chapters in this book use different methodologies, explore new trends of research in film studies, providing a series of unique and novel perspectives on all of Kubrick's thirteen feature films, from Fear and Desire (1953) to Eyes Wide Shut (1999), as well as his work on A.I. Artificial Intelligence (Steven Spielberg, 2001).

A Critical Companion to Robert Zemeckis offers a comprehensive, academic and detailed study of the works of Robert Zemeckis, whose films include successful productions such as the Back to the Future trilogy (1985-90), Forrest Gump (1994), Contact (1997), Cast Away (2000) and The Polar Express (2004), but also lesser known films such as I Wanna Hold Your Hand (1978), Used Cars (1980), and Allied (2015). Most of Zemeckis' major productions were not only successful when they were first released but continue to enjoy popularity-with critics and fans alike-even today. This volume investigates several distinct areas of Zemeckis' works and addresses the different approaches: the philosophical, the artistic, the socio-cultural, and the personal. The methodologies adopted by the contributors differ significantly from each other, thus offering the reader a variegated and compelling picture of Zemeckis' oeuvre, which includes nineteen films. Contrary to the few volumes published in the past on the subject, the chapters in this volume offer specific case studies that have been previously ignored (or only partially mentioned) by other scholars. A Critical Companion to Robert Zemeckis offers a great variety of interdisciplinary approaches to Zemeckis' films, illuminating, re-reading and/or interpreting for the first time the entire career of the director, from his first films to the most recent ones.

First published in 1980, Ireland: Land of Troubles is a fascinating and eminently readable account of Ireland's history from the twelfth century which gives a valuable insight into her twentieth century Troubles. Ireland is a country which has produced examples of the finest flowering of Western culture but also witnessed centuries of turbulence and bloodshed. From the first establishment of an English presence around Dublin in the twelfth century, Ireland's turbulence has been responsible for wrecking the reputations and destroying the causes of Richard II, the Earl of Essex, Charles I and James II and a host of Lords Lieutenant and Ministers, but no one could get to the heart of the 'Irish problem.' And the great famine and depopulation of Ireland in the nineteenth century, when four million of her people emigrated - many to America - gave a boost to Irish nationalism and the struggle for Home Rule, culminating eventually in Partition and the continuing Troubles. The author combines his account of Ireland's history with a penetrating insight into the rise of the Anglo-Irish Establishment and the cultural and religious divides which form an integral part of his story. This book will be of interest to students of history, political science, war studies, ethno-nationalism and internal security.

The population of the European Community will fall by 2% by the year 2025. Between 1960 and 1990, it grew by 17%. This contrast reflects the dramatic growth of the population of pensioners in the total population, and also the rapid ageing of the Community's working population. In this volume, based on a CEPR conference held in Munich in April 1992, leading economists in the field assess demographic and labour market developments in Western and Eastern Europe. They compare them with developments in the USA and Japan, and assess the effects of ageing on European productivity, earnings and human capital formation. Policies to improve the quantity and quality of the labour force are considered, including incentives for female labour participation, selective immigration policies, 'pronatalist' family policies, and improved human capital formation.

Law, Religion and Homosexuality is the first book-length study of how religion has shaped, and continues to shape, legislation that regulates the lives of gay men and lesbians . Through a systematic examination of how religious discourse influences the making of law - in the form of official interventions made by faith communities and organizations, as well as by expressions of faith by individual legislators - the authors argue that religion continues to be central to both enabling and restricting the development of sexual orientation equality. Whilst some claim that faith has been marginalized in the legislative processes of contemporary western societies, Johnson and Vanderbeck show the significant impact of religion in a number of substantive legal areas relating to sexual orientation including: same-sex sexual relations, family life, civil partnership and same-sex marriage, equality in employment and the provision of goods and services, hate speech regulation, and education. Law, Religion and Homosexuality demonstrates the dynamic interplay between law and religion in respect of homosexuality and will be of considerable interest to a wide audience of academics, policy makers and stakeholders.

Based on themes such as status and welfare, Old Age from Antiquity to Post-Modernity examines the role of the elderly in history. This empirical study represents a substantial contribution to both the historical understanding of old age in past societies as well as the discussion of the contribution of post-modernism to historical scholarship.

Homosexuality and the European Court of Human Rights is the first book-length study of the Court's jurisprudence in respect of sexual orientation. It provides a socio-legal analysis of the substantial number of decisions and judgments of the Strasbourg organs on the wide range of complaints brought by gay men and lesbians under the European Convention on Human Rights. Providing a systematic analysis of Strasbourg case law since 1955 and examining decades of decisions that have hitherto remained obscure, the book considers the evolution of the Court's interpretation of the Convention and how this has fashioned lesbian and gay rights in Europe. Going beyond doctrinal analysis by employing a nuanced sociological consideration of Strasbourg jurisprudence, Paul Johnson shows how the Court is a site at which homosexuality is both socially constructed and regulated. He argues that although the Convention is conceived as a 'living instrument' to be interpreted 'in the light of present-day conditions' the Court's judgments have frequently forged and advanced new social conditions in respect of homosexuality. Johnson argues that the Court's jurisprudence has an extra-legal importance because it provides an authoritative and powerful discursive resource that can be mobilized by lesbians and gay men to challenge homophobic and heteronormative social relations in contemporary societies. As such, the book considers how the Court's interpretation of the Convention might be evolved in the future to better protect lesbian and gay rights and lives.

Homosexuality and the European Court of Human Rights is the first book-length study of the Court's jurisprudence in respect of sexual orientation. It offers a socio-legal analysis of the substantial number of decisions and judgments of the Strasbourg organs on the wide range of complaints brought by gay men and lesbians under the European Convention on Human Rights. Providing a systematic analysis of Strasbourg case law since 1955 and examining decades of decisions that have hitherto remained obscure, the book considers the evolution of the Court's interpretation of the Convention and how this has fashioned lesbian and gay rights in Europe. Going beyond doctrinal analysis by employing a nuanced sociological consideration of Strasbourg jurisprudence, Paul Johnson shows how the Court is a site at which homosexuality is both socially constructed and regulated. He argues that although the Convention is conceived as a 'living instrument' to be interpreted 'in the light of present-day conditions' the Court's judgments have frequently forged and advanced new social conditions in respect of homosexuality. Johnson argues that the Court's jurisprudence has an extra-legal importance because it provides an authoritative and powerful discursive resource that can be mobilized by lesbians and gay men to challenge homophobic and heteronormative social relations in contemporary societies. As such, the book considers how the Court's interpretation of the Convention might be evolved in the future to better protect lesbian and gay rights and lives.

Heterosexuality is a largely 'silent' set of practices and identities - it is assumed to be everywhere and yet often remains unnamed and unexplored. Despite recent changes in the theoretical understanding and representation of sexuality, heterosexuality continues to be socially normative. Forging a new agenda for the study of heterosexuality, this in-depth volume, the first research monograph to focus on heterosexuality and society, presents an empirical study of the construction, negotiation and enactment of heterosexual sexuality. Using detailed interview data, it investigates how heterosexuality, as both an identity and a set of practices, is accomplished through love relationships. Rather than assuming that romantic love is an outcome or expression of a pre-defined sexuality, Johnson explores how sexuality is brought to life through love. Situated in the ongoing theoretical debates concerning the relationship between gender and sexuality, Paul Johnson's book shows how ways of loving are interwoven with the construction, practice, regulation and government of heterosexuality. Excellently written, this important book also looks at gender in society, and explores such areas as heterosexual subjectivities and the borders of desire. As such, the research it contains will be valuable for all students of sociology and gender studies.

This collection focuses attention on an important but academically neglected area of contemporary operational policing: the regulation of consensual sexual practices. Despite the high-level public visibility of, and debate about, policing in relation to violent and abusive sexual crimes (from child sexual abuse to adult rape) very little public or scholarly attention is paid to the policing of consensual sexual practices in contemporary societies. Whilst sexual life is commonly understood to be a matter of private life that is beyond formal social control, this book shows that policing is implicated in the regulation of a wide range of consensual sexual practices. This book brings together a well known and respected group of academics, from a range of disciplines, to explore the role of the police in shaping the boundaries of that aspect of our lives that we imagine to be most intimate and most our own. The volume presents a snap shot of policing in respect of a number of diverse areas such as public sex, pornography, and sex work and considers how sexual orientation structures police responses to them. The authors critically examine how policing is implicated in the social, moral and political landscape of sex and, contrary to the established rhetoric of politicians and criminal justice practitioners, continues to intervene in the private lives of citizens.

It is essential supplementary reading for courses in criminology, law, policing, sociology of deviance, gender and sexuality, and cultural studies.