In this book, Hein Pirenne, the great Belgian economic historian, traces the character and general movement of the economic and social evolution of Western Europe from the end of the Roman Empire to the middle of the fifteenth century. From the breakup of the economic equilibrium of the ancient world to the revival of commerce, the redevelopment of credit, the trade of commodities, the origins of urban industry, and the rebirth of new forms of protectionism, mercantilism, and capitalism, Pir...

In the Chinese Revolution of 1925–27 the Communist International played a very great role, depicted in this book quite comprehensively. We would, however, seek in vain in the library of the Communist International for a single book which attempts in any way to give a rounded picture of the Chinese Revolution. Instead, we find scores of “conjunctural” works’ which docilely reflect each zigzag in the politics of the Communist International, or, more correctly, of Soviet diplomacy in Chi...

Edward William Lane (17 September 1801 – 10 August 1876) was a British orientalist, translator and lexicographer. He is known for his Manners and Customs of the Modern Egyptians and the Arabic-English Lexicon, as well as his translations of One Thousand and One Nights and Selections from the Kurán.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Andris Kursietis has been a researcher of military history for fi ft y years, using re-sources that span the globe. His latest book, “Bulgaria’s Military Leadership 1900 - 1945” contains the military biographies of the senior generals and admirals who served the Kingdom of Bulgaria during the fi rst forty-fi ve years of the 20th Century, a period during which Bulgaria was involved in three wars: the Balkan Wars (1912-1913), World War I (1915-1918) and World War II (19...

In March 1945, the German desperate offensive on the Danube began. While the Sixth SS Armored Army came out of positions to establish bridgeheads across the river, the STAVKA, Russia’s supreme command, was already making plans for the attack on Vienna. For ten days the German army plodded eastward until it was left exhausted. The big breakthrough did not materialize. On March 16, the Vienna operation began. The attacker became the defender, and between Budapest and Vienna the German army fo...

It has been seventy yeas since the battle of Stalingrad ended. The city at the river Wolga drew German troops to it like a magnat. Hitler had officially declared the city as ‘fallen’, but then the Red Army encircled the German 6th Army. What followed was a major human tragedy. Honderds of thousands were trapped in the city. Food and ammunition were scarce and an attempt to break through from the South failed. The German troops were left with an air bridge. The daily air transport flew on ...

After the collapse of the front in France, a Stalingrad-like defeat was looming over the British expeditionary army in France. The soldiers were trapped like rats. German tanks rolled towards the town of Dunkirk after their successful ‘Blitzkrieg’, where tens of thousands of soldiers were huddled together. Then, out of nowhere, came Hitler’s halting order and the tank divisions stood still. From England, meanwhile, hundreds of ships were on their way to help perform a miracle. Before th...

There are many stories we can tell about the past, and we are not, perhaps, as free as we might imagine in our choice of which stories to tell, or where those stories end. John Arnold's Very Short Introduction is a stimulating essay about how we study and understand history. The book begins by inviting us to think about various questions provoked by our investigation of history, and explores the ways these questions have been answered in the past.

Concepts such as causation, interpretation, a...

This brief history of America will span the earliest migrations to the present, reflecting Paul S. Boyer's interests in social, intellectual, and cultural history, including popular culture and religion. It will reflect his personal view of American history, in which a sense of paradox and irony loom large.

While noting positive achievements-political, economic, social, and cultural-he will also discuss the United States's failures to live up to its oft-statedideals; although America has figu...

Herodotus is not only known as the `father of history', as Cicero called him, but also the father of ethnography; as well as charting the historical background to the Persian Wars, his curiosity also prompts frequent digression on the cultures of the peoples he introduces. While much of the information he gives has proved to be astonishingly accurate, he also entertains us with delightful tales of one-eyed men and gold-digging ants. This readable new translation is supplemented with expansive...