Since its formation in 1861 Italy has struggled to develop an effective political system & a secure sense of national identity This new edition of Christopher Duggan's acclaimed introduction charts the country's history from the fall of the Roman Empire in the west to the present day & surveys the difficulties Italy has faced during the last two centuries in forging a nation state Duggan successfully weaves together political economic social & cultural history & stresses the alternation between materialist & idealist programmes for forging a nation state This second edition has been thoroughly revised & updated to offer increased coverage of nineteenth- & twentieth-century Italy as well as a new section devoted to Italy in the twenty-first century With a new extensive bibliographical essay & a detailed chronology this is the ideal resource for those seeking an authoritative & comprehensive introduction to Italian history ...

Highlighting the most important events ideas & individuals that shaped modern Europe this text provides a concise history of the continent from the Enlightenment to the present day focusing on the causes & consequences of revolution; the origins & development of human rights & democracy & issues of European identity & integration 256 pages 8 Maps; 28 Halftones black & white Mason David S ...

Now in a fully revised & updated edition this comprehensive & balanced history of modern Korea explores the social economic & political issues it has faced since being catapulted into the wider world at the end of the nineteenth century Placing this formerly insular society in a global context Michael J Seth describes how this ancient culturally & ethnically homogeneous society first fell victim to Japanese imperialist expansionism & then was arbitrarily divided in half after World War II Seth traces the postwar paths of the two Koreas-with different political & social systems & different geopolitical orientations-as they evolved into sharply contrasting societies South Korea after an unpromising start became one of the few postcolonial developing states to enter the ranks of the first world with a globally competitive economy a democratic political system & a cosmopolitan & dynamic culture By contrast North Korea became one of the world's most totalitarian & isolated societies a nuclear power with an impoverished & famine-stricken population Considering the radically different & historically unprecedented trajectories of the two Koreas Seth assesses the insights they offer for understanding not only modern Korea but the broader perspective of world history All readers looking for a balanced knowledgeable history will be richly rewarded with this clear & cogent book ...

Lays emphasis on the continuing influence of the country's African heritage whilst also chronicling the processes of colonial conquest & of economic development stemming from the industrial revolution This is followed by an analysis of the fundamental political changes South Africa has undergone & a background for understanding those many things which have not changed ...

The Netherlands is known among foreigners today for its cheese & its windmills its Golden Age paintings & its experimentation in social policies such as cannabis & euthanasia Yet the historical background for any of these quintessentially Dutch achievements is often unfamiliar to outsiders This concise history offers an overview of this surprisingly little-known but fascinating country Beginning with the first humanoid settlers the book follows the most important contours of Dutch history from Roman times through to the Habsburgs the Dutch Republic & the Golden Age The author a modernist pays particularly close attention to recent developments including the signature features of contemporary Dutch society In addition to being a political history this overview also gives systematic attention to social & economic developments as well as in religion the arts & the Dutch struggle against the water The Dutch Caribbean is also included in the narrative ...

Accessible to all students with a sound background in high school mathematics A Concise Introduction to Pure Mathematics Fourth Edition presents some of the most fundamental & beautiful ideas in pure mathematics It covers not only standard material but also many interesting topics not usually encountered at this level such as the theory of solving cubic equations; Euler's formula for the numbers of corners edges & faces of a solid object & the five Platonic solids; the use of prime numbers to encode & decode secret information; the theory of how to compare the sizes of two infinite sets; & the rigorous theory of limits & continuous functions New to the Fourth Edition Two new chapters that serve as an introduction to abstract algebra via the theory of groups covering abstract reasoning as well as many examples & applications New material on inequalities counting methods the inclusion-exclusion principle & Euler's phi function Numerous new exercises with solutions to the odd-numbered ones Through careful explanations & examples this popular textbook illustrates the power & beauty of basic mathematical concepts in number theory discrete mathematics analysis & abstract algebra Written in a rigorous yet accessible style it continues to provide a robust bridge between high school & higher-level mathematics enabling students to study more advanced courses in abstract algebra & analysis ...

A stunning clothbound edition of John Kennedy Toole&s savagely funny satirical masterpiece designed by the acclaimed Coralie-Bickford ...

Meet the fat flatulent & eloquent Ignatius J Reilly in John Kennedy Toole&s light & pithy comic tale A Confederacy of Dunces beautifully repackaged as part of the Penguin Essentials range & This city is famous for its gamblers prostitutes exhibitionists anti-Christs alcoholics sodomites drug addicts fetishists onanists pornographers frauds jades litterbugs & lesbians don&t make the mistake of bothering me& Ignatius J Reilly fat flatulent eloquent & almost unemployable By the standards of ordinary folk he is pretty much unhinged too But is he bothered by this? No For this misanthropic crusader against an America fallen into vice & ignorance has a mission to rescue a naked female philosopher in distress & he has a pirate costume & hot-dog cart to do it with &I succumbed stunned & seduced page after page vocal with delight A masterwork of comedy& New York Times&A fine funny novel This is the kind of book one wants to keep"ing from& Anthony Burgess John Kennedy Toole was born in New Orleans in 1937 He received a master&s degree in English from Columbia University & taught at Hunter College & at the University of Southwestern Louisiana He wrote A Confederacy of Dunces in the early sixties & tried unsuccessfully to get the novel published; depressed at least in part by his failure to place the book he committed suicide in 1969 It was only through the tenacity of his mother that her son&s book was eventually published & went on to win the 1981 Pulitzer Prize for Fiction His long-suppressed novel The Neon Bible written when he was only sixteen has also been published ...

John Kennedy Toole's hilarious satire A Confederacy of Dunces is a Don Quixote for the modern age & this Penguin Modern Classics edition

Includes:: a foreword by Walker Percy Never published during his lifetime John Kennedy Toole's masterful comic novel takes its title as well asfrom Jonathan Swift A monument to sloth rant & contempt a behemoth of fat flatulence & furious suspicion of anything modern
- this is Ignatius J Reilly of New Orleans noble crusader against a world of dunces The ordinary folk of New Orleans seem to think he is unhinged Ignatius ignores them heaving his vast bulk through the city's fleshpots in a noble crusade against vice modernity & ignorance But his momma has a nasty surprise in store for him Ignatius must get a job Undaunted he uses his new-found employment to further his mission
- & now he has a pirate costume & a hot-dog cart to do it with John Kennedy Toole (1937-1969) was born in New Orleans He received a master's degree in English from Columbia University & taught at Hunter College & at the University of Southwestern Louisiana He wrote A Confederacy of Dunces in the early sixties & tried unsuccessfully to get the novel published; depressed at least in part by his failure to place the book he committed suicide in 1969 It was only through the tenacity of his mother that her son's book was eventually published & found the audience it deserved winning the 1981 Pulitzer Prize for Fiction His long-suppressed novel The Neon Bible written when he was only sixteen was eventually published as well If you enjoyed A Confederacy of Dunces you might like Kingsley Amis's Lucky Jim also available in Penguin Modern Classics'A pungent work of slapstick satire & intellectual incongruities it is nothing less than a grand comic fugue' The New York Times



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Describing Tolstoy's crisis of depression & estrangement from the world A Confession (1879) is an autobiographical work of exceptional emotional honesty By the time he was fifty Tolstoy had already written the novels that would assure him of literary immortality; he had a wife a large estate & numerous children; he was 'a happy man' & in good health
- yet life had lost its meaning In this poignant confessional fragment he records a period of his life when he began to turn away from fiction & aesthetics & to search instead for 'a practical religion not promising future bliss but giving bliss on earth'
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