The Pursuit of Power

The Pursuit of Power PDF

Author: Richard J. Evans

Publisher: Penguin UK

Published: 2016-09-01

Total Pages: 848

ISBN-13: 0241295777

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ECONOMIST BOOKS OF THE YEAR 2016 'A scintillating, encyclopaedic history, rich in detail from the arcane to the familiar... a veritable tour de force' Richard Overy, New Statesman 'Transnational history at its finest ... .. social, political and cultural themes swirl together in one great canvas of immense detail and beauty' Gerard DeGroot, The Times 'Dazzlingly erudite and entertaining' Dominic Sandbrook, The Sunday Times A masterpiece which brings to life an extraordinarly turbulent and dramatic era of revolutionary change. The Pursuit of Power draws on a lifetime of thinking about nineteenth-century Europe to create an extraordinarily rich, surprising and entertaining panorama of a continent undergoing drastic transformation. The book aims to reignite the sense of wonder that permeated this remarkable era, as rulers and ruled navigated overwhelming cultural, political and technological changes. It was a time where what was seen as modern with amazing speed appeared old-fashioned, where huge cities sprang up in a generation, new European countries were created and where, for the first time, humans could communicate almost instantly over thousands of miles. In the period bounded by the Battle of Waterloo and the outbreak of World War I, Europe dominated the rest of the world as never before or since: this book breaks new ground by showing how the continent shaped, and was shaped by, its interactions with other parts of the globe. Richard Evans explores fully the revolutions, empire-building and wars that marked the nineteenth century, but the book is about so much more, whether it is illness, serfdom, religion or philosophy. The Pursuit of Power is a work by a historian at the height of his powers: essential for anyone trying to understand Europe, then or now.

France, 1815-1914

France, 1815-1914 PDF

Author: Roger Magraw

Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA

Published: 1986

Total Pages: 418

ISBN-13: 0195205030

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In this lively and stimulating study, Roger Magraw examines how the 19th-century French bourgeoisie struggled and eventually succeeded in consolidating the gains it made in 1789. The book describes the attempts of the bourgeoisie to remold France in its own image and its strategy for overcoming the resistance from the old aristocratic and clerical elites and the popular classes. Incorporating the most recent research on religion and anticlericalism, the development of the economy, the role of women in society, and the educational system, this work is the first to draw extensively on the new social history in its interpretation of events in 19th-century France.

Monarchy, Aristocracy and State in Europe 1300-1800

Monarchy, Aristocracy and State in Europe 1300-1800 PDF

Author: Hillay Zmora

Publisher: Routledge

Published: 2002-01-04

Total Pages: 176

ISBN-13: 1134747993

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Monarchy, Aristocracy and the State in Europe 1300 - 1800 is an important survey of the relationship between monarchy and state in early modern European history. Spanning five centuries and covering England, France, Spain, Germany and Austria, this book considers the key themes in the formation of the modern state in Europe. The relationship of the nobility with the state is the key to understanding the development of modern government in Europe. In order to understand the way modern states were formed, this book focusses on the implications of the incessant and costly wars which European governments waged against each other, which indeed propelled the modern state into being. Monarchy, Aristocracy and the State in Europe 1300-1800 takes a fascinating thematic approach, providing a useful survey of the position and role of the nobility in the government of states in early modern Europe.

The First World War

The First World War PDF

Author: Michael Howard

Publisher: Oxford University Press

Published: 2007-01-25

Total Pages: 161

ISBN-13: 0199205590

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By the time the First World War ended in 1918, eight million people had died in what had been perhaps the most apocalyptic episode the world had known. This Very Short Introduction provides a concise and insightful history of the 'Great War', focusing on why it happened, how it was fought, and why it had the consequences it did. It examines the state of Europe in 1914 and the outbreak of war; the onset of attrition and crisis; the role of the US; the collapse of Russia; and the weakening and eventual surrender of the Central Powers. Looking at the historical controversies surrounding the causes and conduct of war, Michael Howard also describes how peace was ultimately made, and the potent legacy of resentment left to Germany. ABOUT THE SERIES: The Very Short Introductions series from Oxford University Press contains hundreds of titles in almost every subject area. These pocket-sized books are the perfect way to get ahead in a new subject quickly. Our expert authors combine facts, analysis, perspective, new ideas, and enthusiasm to make interesting and challenging topics highly readable.

Liberal Intellectuals and Public Culture in Modern Britain, 1815-1914

Liberal Intellectuals and Public Culture in Modern Britain, 1815-1914 PDF

Author: William C. Lubenow

Publisher: Boydell & Brewer

Published: 2010

Total Pages: 262

ISBN-13: 1843835592

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Public life in Great Britain underwent a major transformation after the repeal of the Test and Corporation Acts in 1828 and the passage of the Catholic Relief Act of 1829, which eliminated the requirement that men in public positions swear to uphold the doctrines of the Anglican Church. According to Lubenow (Stockton College), these legislative changes initiated a fundamental reallocation of power, opening many careers to men of talent and educational qualifications, including those whose perspectives and intellectual dispositions led them to question the validity of uniform religious dogma. Lubenow identifies members of the Benson, Strachey, Balfour, Lyttelton, and Sitwell families among the "Men of Letters" who epitomized the 19th century's new secular meritocracy, noting that when religious uniformity was removed as a requirement for positions in the public sphere, religion became more important, if more fluid, in the lives of such Britons. Thus, men of intellectual merit, rather than only those from the more conservative landowning or military traditions, were able to rise in politics, civil service, the clergy, the professions, and the universities, taking their liberal values regarding liberty, moral cultivation, and philosophy into the wider public sphere. Summing Up: Recommended. Graduate students, faculty. Graduate Students; Researchers/Faculty. Reviewed by E. J. Jenkins.

The Pursuit of Glory

The Pursuit of Glory PDF

Author: T. C. W. Blanning

Publisher: Penguin

Published: 2007

Total Pages: 764

ISBN-13: 9780670063208

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An accessible chronicle of European history from the end of the Thirty Years' War to the Battle of Waterloo features vivid coverage of such events as the Enlightenment period, the French Revolution, and the Napoleonic era.

Industrial Culture and Bourgeois Society

Industrial Culture and Bourgeois Society PDF

Author: Jürgen Kocka

Publisher: Berghahn Books

Published: 1999

Total Pages: 358

ISBN-13: 9781571811981

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"For students ... this is a good introduction ... The assorted essays ... successfully present Kocka's methodological emphases and his wide-ranging contributions to modern German social history." - Enterprise & Society "This fine volume brings together essays by one of the leading modern German historians, essays that give the reader an impressive overview of his work from three decades and introduce new generations of students to central questions of modern German social history." - Central European History "... a tour de force of societal history, reminding one both of how many insights Kocka has generated through application of Weberian analytical tools." - H-Net Reviews (H-W-Civ) "... a good introduction ... the assorted essays ... successfully present Kocka's methodological emphases and his wide-ranging contributions to modern German social history." - Enterprise & Society "... a seminal, critically important, uniquely informative contribution to the study of German history, business, entrepreneurship, and the working class." - The Midwest Book Review Jürgen Kocka is one of the foremost historians of Germany whose work has been devoted to the integration of different genres of the social and economic history of Europe during the period of industrialization. This collection of essays gives a representative sample of his effort to develop, by reference to Marx and Weber, new and powerful analytical tools for understanding the dynamics of modern industrial societies.

The Great Powers and the European States System 1814-1914

The Great Powers and the European States System 1814-1914 PDF

Author: Roy Bridge

Publisher: Routledge

Published: 2014-01-14

Total Pages: 359

ISBN-13: 1317867912

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This book illuminates, in the form of a clear, well-paced and student-friendly analytical narrative, the functioning of the European states system in its heyday, the crucial century between the defeat of Napoleon in 1814 and the outbreak of the First World War just one hundred years later. In this substantially revised and expanded version of the text, the author has included the results of the latest research, a body of additional information and a number of carefully designed maps that will make the subject even more accessible to readers.