A lucid analysis of Mao as revolutionary general, ideologist and astute political manipulator, this introduction to the life and career of Mao Zedong provides an excellent introduction to modern Chinese history and its enigmatic protagonist.

How did Bismarck, Germany's greatest nineteenth century leader, extend and maintain his power? This new Profile examines his strengths as statesman and all the facets of his political career. His many direct achievements included the unification of Germany and the expansion of Prussia. In short, he was the architect of Germany's change from cultural region to political nation. In the end he combined egotism and brilliance exceptionally, yet it was still not enough to save him from dismissal by William II.

This concise and up-to-date assessment of Richelieu's career provides an enthralling introduction to the character and exercise of his power. Richelieu governed France for 18 years until his death and until the mid-20th century was viewed by Anglo-Saxon historians as cold, clever and ruthless. Recent interpretations have been more favourable and in this incisive study R. J. Knecht uses recent research to reassess Richelieu's career and achievements.

An up-to-date synthesis and original interpretation of Lloyd George's life, personality and political career. This study challenges the traditional view of Lloyd George as an outsider in British politics, explains the political, economic and social achievements of his career and his role in effecting those changes.

Joseph II (1741--90) -- son and eventual successor of Maria Theresa -- has conventionally been seen in the context of the "Enlightened Despot'' reformers. Today's turmoil in his former territories invites a rather different perspective, however, as Joseph grapples with the familiar and intractable problems of creating a viable unitary state out of his multi-national empire in Central Europe. Professor Blanning's brilliant short study, based on extensive archival research, offers a history of the Habsburg monarchy in the eighteenth century, as well as a revaluation of the emperor's complex...

This concise account of the life and career of Mustafa Kemal Ataturk (1881--1938), the formidable "founder of modern Turkey," offers a substantial revaluation of a key figure in modern history, and also an introduction to the Turkish republic itself. It is a timely study with Turkey again at the centre of international attention, as Islamic fundamentalists challenge many of Ataturk's westernising and secularizing reforms, and as the regional aftershocks of the Soviet collapse reopen profound questions about Turkey's nature, role and relationships Ataturk had sought to settle for good.

Kaiser Wilhelm II is one of the key figures in the history of twentieth-century Europe: King of Prussia and German Emperor from 1888 to the collapse of Germany in 1918 and a crucial player in the events that led to the outbreak of World War I. Following Kaiser Wilhelm's political career from his youth at the Hohenzollern court through the turbulent peacetime decades of the Wilhelmine era into global war and exile, the book presents a new interpretation of this controversial monarch and assesses the impact on Germany of his forty-year reign.

The reign of Elizabeth I was one of the most important periods of expansion and growth in British history, the so-called 'Golden Age'. This celebrated and influential study of Elizabeth reconsiders how she achieved this and the ways in which she exercised her power.