History

Part historical treasure trove and part contemporary reflection, Exotic England is also a surprising love letter to the country from one of its most outspoken and insightful immigrants

First published in 1844, these letters are the collected observations of Sophia Poole, who lived in Cairo from 1842 until 1849 with her brother, the well known Orientalist Edward Lane, and her two children. During her residence, Poole learned Arabic and adopted Egyptian clothing that enabled her not ...

Panama is an ethnically diverse country with a recent history of political conflict which makes the representation of historical memory an especially complex and important task for the country's museums. This book studies new museum projects in Panama with the aim of identifying the dominant narratives that are being formed...

Although not a professional historian, the author raises several issues pertinent to the state of history today.Qualifying the "non-historian" as an "able" interventionist in historical studies, the author explores the relationship between history and theory within the current epistemological configurations and re-figurations.

Can a writer help to bring about a more just society? This question was at the heart of the movement of al-adab al-multazim, or committed literature, which claimed to dominate Arab writing in the mid-twentieth century. By the 1960s, however, leading Egyptian writers had retreated into disillusionment, ...

An exploration into the impact of the Stalinist purges on the lives, families and contacts of members of the British Communist Party.

In this compact and tightly argued essay, the author maintains that the French Third Republic - and European history during this period in general - can only be understood if particular attention is paid to the special relationship that existed between France and Germany.

Investigates the Zen family's claims about their explorations in the North Atlantic, considers the narrative by their 1558 statesman ancestor, the nineteenth-century charge of misrepresenting their achievements, and the author's own attempt to follow their route.

War words have embedded themselves in our collective psyche; British politicians are fond of invoking the 'Dunkirk spirit' whenever the country is faced with major crisis or even minor adversity, and Roosevelt's famous description of Pearl Harbor as 'a date which will live in infamy' was echoed by many ...

Describes the life of Solomon Northup, a free Black man from Saratoga, N.Y., who was kidnapped in 1841 and forced into slavery in Louisiana for twelve years.

"An American in Victorian Cambridge" is a richly detailed account of student life in the Cambridge of the 1840s. The rationale for the book, which is as appealing today as it was then, is that this is pre-eminently a book about an American student at an English university. In this new edition, some substantial additions have been made.

The primary aim of this book is to focus on contemporary issues and to promote interdisciplinary approaches within the subject. Written by international scholars and practitioners in fields such as folklore, ethnomusicology, art history, religious studies, tourism and education, the book brings together in one volume a wide range of perspectives.

This collection of columns written for openDemocracy between 2004 and 2009 is proof of a subtle worldview that continues to generate questions: what is the relation between religion, nationalism and progress? Is a new international order possible? When is intervention a force for progress?

Beginning with an account of the hideous events of 1992, this work offers first-hand testimonies from refugees, camp survivors, war criminals and international agents, and reflects upon the powers and limitations of the 'international community' in its attempts to administer justice or secure reconciliation.

Churchill's Legacy describes how Churchill wielded his influence in post-war politics to enable the restoration of Europe through two key speeches in 1946. Having first helped bring victory to the Allies in 1945, Churchill went on to preserve the freedom of the world by gaining the support of the United ...

The history of fishing around the Bristol Channel

Gerard Lee Bevan was the model of an Edwardian swell - arrogant, smooth, well-connected and highly cultured. He married money and influence - his wife Sophie Kenrick was a cousin of the future prime minister Neville Chamberlain - and over the years he kept a string of showgirl mistresses. But his was ...

Epicentre of the Revolution of 1789, the Bastille area of Eastern Paris is an ethnically and socially mixed quartier. This title charts the history and cultural geography of this area of Paris, from the fortress and prison that gave the area its name to the building of the largest and costliest opera house in the world.

Argues (against the increasing refusal of mainstream historians to use empirical databases) that the history community still has a lot to learn from economic historians; and, simultaneously, that narrow, economically based explanations of the Great European Migration leave out many of the most important aspects of the whole complex transaction.