This book presents an accessible introduction to Maculey`s major work with a masterly introduction by John Burrow. Thomas Babington Macaulay`s ” History of England from the Accession of James II” was his masterwork & one of the great enduring classics of English historical writing. The first two volumes were published in 1848 & achieved a huge success. They were published in numerous editions both in Great Britain & in the United States. This volume in the ” Continuum History Series” contains the celebrated third chapter which inherently contributed to the development of social history by presenting a highly contextually relevant extensive survey of English society in the year 1685, in terms of such things as population, cities, classes & tastes. Macaulay`s approach to his subject, as John Burrow explains in his masterly introduction, was that of a definite advocate of `progress`. He saw many real achievements in British & World history as resulting from policies pursued by Whig political interest. ` The history of our country` he wrote `during the last hundred & sixty years is eminently the history of physical, or moral & of intellectual improvement`. Macaulay`s work must be of compelling interest to any student of history today. As a writer of the finest English prose, he is beyond compare. ...

In this magnificent guide to England`s cuisine, the inimitable Clarissa Dickson Wright takes us from a medieval feast to a modern-day farmers` market, visiting the Tudor working man`s table & a Georgian kitchen along the way. Peppered with surprises & seasoned with wit, ”A History of England Food” is a classic for any food lover. ...

In this major new history of English food, Clarissa Dickson Wright takes the reader on a journey from the time of the Second Crusade & the feasts of medieval kings to the cuisine
- both good & bad
- of the present day. She looks at the shifting influences on the national diet as new ideas & ingredients have arrived, & as immigrant communities have made their contribution to the life of the country. She evokes lost worlds of open fires & ice houses, of constant pickling & preserving, & of manchet loaves & curly-coated pigs. & she tells the stories of the chefs, cookery book writers, gourmets & gluttons who have shaped public taste, from the salad-loving Catherine of Aragon to the foodies of today. Above all, she gives a vivid sense of what it was like to sit down to the meals of previous ages, whether an eighteenth-century labourer's breakfast or a twelve-course Victorian banquet or a lunch out during the Second World War. Insightful & entertaining by turns, this is a magnificent tour of nearly a thousand years of English cuisine, peppered with surprises & seasoned with Clarissa Dickson Wright's characteristic wit.

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To understand Iraq, Charles Tripp`s history is the book to read. Since its first appearance in 2000, it has become a classic in the field of Middle East studies, read & admired by students, soldiers, policymakers & journalists. The book is now updated to include the recent American invasion, the fall & capture of Saddam Hussein & the subsequent descent into civil strife. What is clear is that much that has happened since 2003 was foreshadowed in the account found in this book. Tripp`s thesis is that the history of Iraq throughout the twentieth-century has made it what it is today, but also provides alternative futures. Unless this is properly understood, many of the themes explored in this book
- patron-client relations, organized violence, sectarian, ethnic & tribal difference
- will continue to exert a hold over the future of Iraq as they did over its past.

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This volume tells the whole story of Islam
- its origins, doctrines & world-wide political dimension. From Muhammad's proclamation
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Although Indonesia has the fourth largest population in the world, its history is still relatively unfamiliar & understudied. Guided by the life & writings of the country's most famous author, Pramoedya Ananta Toer, Adrian Vickers takes the reader on a journey across the social & political landscape of twentieth-century Indonesia in this innovative & timely account. He begins by explaining the country's origins under the Dutch in the early part of that century, the subsequent anti-colonial struggle & revolution which led to independence in 1949. Thereafter the spotlight is on the 1950s, a crucial period in the formation of Indonesia as a new nation, which was followed by the Sukarno years, & the anti-communist massacres of the 1960s when General Suharto took over as president. The concluding chapters chart the fall of Suharto's New Order after thirty two years in power, & the subsequent political & religious turmoil which culminated in the Bali bombings in 2002. Drawing on insights from literature, art & anthropology, Adrian Vickers portrays a complex & resilient people borne out of a troubled past. ...

Since the Bali bombings of 2002 & the rise of political Islam, Indonesia has frequently occupied media headlines. Nevertheless, the history of the fourth largest country on earth remains relatively unknown. Adrian Vickers` book, first published in 2005, traces the history of an island country, comprising some 240 million people, from the colonial period through revolution & independence to the present. Framed around the life story of Pramoedya Ananta Toer, Indonesia`s most famous & controversial novelist & playwright, the book journeys through the social & cultural mores of Indonesian society, focusing on the experiences of ordinary people. In this new edition, the author brings the story up to date, revisiting his argument as to why Indonesia has yet to realise its potential as a democratic country. He also examines the rise of fundamentalist Islam, which has haunted Indonesia since the fall of Suharto. ...

Libya is coming in from the cold, but for most of the three decades following the 1969 revolution, the country was labelled a pariah state by the West. Dirk Vandewalle, one of only a handful of western scholars to visit during the time, is intimately acquainted with the country. This history
- based on original research & his interviews with Libya's political elite
- offers a lucid account of Libya's past, & corrects some of the misunderstandings about its present. The author takes the story from the 1900s, through the Italian occupation, the Sanusi monarchy & Qadhafi's self-styled revolution. The final chapter is devoted to the events which brought Libya back into the international fold. As the first comprehensive history of Libya over the last two decades, this book will be welcomed by students of the region, professionals & those who are visiting Libya for the first time.

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In the wake of the civil war & Qadhafi`s demise, the time is ripe for a new edition of Dirk Vandewalle`s classic history of Libya. The book, which was originally published in 2006, traces the country`s history back to the 1900s, through the Italian occupation in the early twentieth century, the Sanusi monarchy &, thereafter, to the revolution of 1969 & the accession of Qadhafi. The following chapters analyse the economics & politics of Qadhafi`s revolution, offering insights into the man & his ideology as reflected in his Green Book. The new edition covers the intervening years, since 2005, when, courted by the West, Qadhafi came in from the cold. At home, though, his people were disillusioned, & economic liberalization came too late to forestall revolution. In an epilogue, the author reflects upon Qadhafi`s premiership & the legacy he leaves behind. ...

Robert Service's The Penguin History of Modern Russia: From Tsarism to the Twenty-first Century provides a superb panorama ...