This fully revised second edition takes account of historical work produced during the last decade. Covering the period between Louis XIV's death in 1715 and the outbreak of the French Revolution in 1789, it discusses:
* France's accomplishments in international affairs, commercial expansion, and intellectual and artistic life
* the significance of long-term political, social and economic forces in causing the Revolution
* how the changing perception of government, from one of divine-right kingship towards the idea of a national enterprise, ultimately undermined the old...

The 1832 Reform Act was a watershed in the history of modern Britain, profoundly affecting the composition of parliament and the course of all subsequent legislation.

This new edition of The Great Reform Act of 1832 extends and updates Eric J. Evans's classic account of the crucial political and economic issues and:

* highlights the travails of Toryism at the end of the 1820s
* clarifies complex questions of policy
* shows the connections between the Reform Act of 1832 and subsequent radical activity and reform legislation
* presents revised electoral...

Ruth Henig's fully revised and extended second edition of Versailles and After includes a new chapter on recent historiography of the subject and provides students with concise coverage of the following topics:

* the terms of the Treaty of Versailles
* the inadeqacies of the League of Nations as a supranational peacekeeping body
* why hopes of long term stability gradually faded.

Mason provides concise coverage of the entire Cold War, paying particular attention to the Soviet-American dimension. This pamphlet:
* Analyzes the origins of the conflict
* Examines how the existence of nuclear weapons gives a unique character to the period
* Discusses the involvement of other nations and regions, particularly China
* Explains how and why the cold war ended
* Draws on recent research of revisionist scholars.

In the 1930s Spain underwent a period of intense and bloody upheaval that culminated in three years of civil war and the triumph of the Nationalist rebels under General Franco. Hundreds of thousands of Spanish - and non-Spanish - people died in their struggle against what was seen as the greatest evil of the time: fascism and its commitment to the defeat of democracy. Fifty years on, with the coming of a new democracy to Spain, previously inaccessible research materials have become available to historians; old orthodoxies have been challenged and the continuing debate concerning the origins...

William Pitt the Younger re-examines Pitt's career in the light of recent research and emphasizes that it should not be stereotyped as having a reformist' phase in the years to 1793 and a reactionary' phase thereafter.

His treatment includes explanation of:

* Pitt's rapid rise to power
* the importance of his relations with George III
* contemporary party politics, including his own description of himself as an independent Whig'
* his administrative and financial reforms in the 1780s
* his foreign policy and war strategy
* his plans for assuring a...

The importance of Henry VII is the subject of heated debate. Did his reign mark the start of a new era, or was its prevailing characteristic continunity with the past? The pamphlet:
- emphasizes the lasting political stability established during the reign
- demonstrates the difference between Henry's policies and those of the Yorkists
- shows how successors built on Henry's legacy
- argues that victory at Bosworth in 1485 can be seen as initiating a genunine 'Tudor revolution in government'.

This book represents a much-needed reappraisal of Germany between the wars, examining the political, social and economic aims of the new republic, their failure and how they led to Nazism and eventually the Second World War. The author includes:
* an examination of the legacy of the First World War and the Treaty of Versailles
* discussion of the early years of crisis culminating in the Ruhr Invasion and the Dawes Settlement
* assessment of the leadership of Stresemann and Bruning
* exploration of the circumstances leading to the rise of Hitler
* an outline of the...

Susan Doran describes and analyses the process of the Elizabethan Reformation, placing it in an English and a European context. She examines the religious views and policies of the Queen, the making of the 1559 settlement and the resulting reforms. The changing beliefs of the English people are discussed, and the author charts the fortunes of both Puritanism and Catholicism. Finally she looks at the strengths and weaknesses of Elizabeth I as royal governor, and of the Church of England as a whole.

At her accession in 1558 Elizabeth I inherited a troublesome legacy with a long history of wars against France and Scotland. This international situation was becoming a huge financial burden on the English crown and economy.
Elizabeth I and Foreign Policy describes and assesses England's foreign policy during the second half of the sixteenth century. It includes coverage of Elizabeth's relations with foreign powers, the effect of Reformation on foreign affairs, Elizabeth's successs as a stateswoman and the war with Spain.