How have Arab political ideas and institutions evolved since the 1967 War? How have the Arabs contended with the external influences to which their wealth has exposed them? What are the implications of the rise of Islamic fundamentalism? Fouad Ajami seeks to answer these and related questions in his illuminating study of the constraints and possibilities facing the Arab world today. The book is divided into three parts. The first documents the political and intellectual response to the defeat of 1967. The second part surveys the choices facing the Arab world as exemplified by the case of...

Few twentieth-century scholars have achieved such widespread admiration as the French historian Marc Bloch (1886-1944). A soldier in both world wars and leader of the Resistance who was captured, tortured, and died a heroic death, Bloch epitomizes the courage and conviction of an old-fashioned good citizen who recognized his obligation to defend France not only against foreign enemies but also against those who sapped its strength from within. In 1929 Bloch co-founded the now legendary journal, the Annales: a crusading periodical devoted to removing narrow nationalistic and disciplinary...

For decades, people have been studying Shakespeare's life and times, and in recent years there has been a renewed surge of interest in aspects of his language. So how can we better understand Shakespeare? David Crystal provides a lively and original introduction to Shakespeare's language, making his plays easily accessible to modern-day audiences. Covering the five main dimensions of language structure writing system, pronunciation, grammar, vocabulary and conversational style this book demonstrates how examining these linguistic 'nuts and bolts' can help us achieve a greater appreciation of...