What do computers and smartphones have in common with the railways, electricity, and the automobile? Each triggered a technological revolution that radically changed the way in which vwe live, work, eat, shop and enjoy ourselves.

From Luxury to Necessity shows how these technological revolutions affected everyday life and led to new consumer practices. Even though they would develop into absolute necessities within decades, all of them started as novelties for which meaningful uses were still...

'The Wehrmacht at War 1939 -1945'is the culmination of twenty five years of research and three years of writing, and is a unique, in-depth presentation of the order of battle and commanders of the German Army ground forces during World War II. Although there are numerous other books that have been published on the order of battle of the German Army, none contain the depth of detail concerning the commanders of the units and the biographies of the Generals that are included in this work. Indee...

Adolf Hitler did not commit suicide

Adolf Hitler is one of the most described figures in world history. His life has been described in many books, documentaries, and films. All too often, the same images and topics are revisited. They usually reveal little that is new.

In contrast, this book presents previously unpublished facts and war reports. These come from sources including the archives of the US Office of Strategic Services (OSS), the predecessor of the CIA, and the archives of the form...

This comparative study investigates court politics in four kingdoms that succeeded the south Indian Vijayanagara empire during the sixteenth to eighteenth centuries: Ikkeri, Tanjavur, Madurai, and Ramnad. Building on a unique combination of unexplored Indian texts and Dutch archival records, this research offers a captivating new analysis of political culture, power relations, and dynastic developments.

In great detail, this monograph provides both new facts and fresh insights that contest exi...

It is the paradox at the heart of the Dutch Republic: how could a state emerge from resistance to political slavery and subjugation by a foreign power, only to become a colonial empire that promoted slavery all over the world? Slavery and the Dutch State shows how the modern Dutch state and its predecessors were complicit in colonial slavery. It describes the roles of various actors, such as enslaved people, administrators and merchants in the Netherlands and the colonized societies. More tha...

This book gives an overall presentation and discussion of the interaction between Europe and Islam ever since Islam appeared on the European stage thirteen centuries ago. The events and stories presented are to serve the understanding of present debates on, and notions of, Islam and Muslims in Europe.

The leading questions in discussing the role of Islam in Europe are: how and in what ways did Europeans and Muslims interact and, for those Europeans who had never met a Muslim, what was their ...

For centuries, England’s counties have been imagined as fixed, ancient, clearly defined units. Yet their real history is far more complex. The Making of England’s Counties uncovers the true evolution of shires and counties, from Anglo-Saxon origins and medieval jurisdictions to the patchwork of liberties, counties corporate, exclaves, and peculiar boundaries that endured into the modern era.

Drawing on legal, administrative, and cartographic history, the book shows why no single 'standard...

STORIES ABOUT HOW

THE WORLD EXPOS OF 1855–1937

SHAPED PARIS,

FROM ITS ARCHITECTURE TO CULINARY INVENTIONS,

AND WHERE TO FIND THE TRACES

A Paris travel guide and history book about how the World Expos of 1855-1937 shaped the city, from its architecture to its (culinary) customs

Paris is the physical memory of seven World Expos that took place in the city from 1855 to 1937. These Expos left behind monuments like the Eiffel Tower, the Musée d'Orsay, the Grand and Petit Palais... But many tra...