Barry Coward has revised his wide-ranging text which outlines the major social changes that occurred in England in the two hundred years after the Reformation. He examines the religious and intellectual changes resulting from revolutionary pressures, as well as considering the impact of rapid inflation and population expansion in the later sixteenth and early seventeenth centuries. Overall he stresses that social change combined with social continuity to produce a distinctive early modern English society.

This new interpretation of the final years of Imperial Russia provides a clear and concise introduction to a critical period in the history of modern Russia. Professor Hutchinson outlines the key problems facing the Tsarist regime, and the attitudes of its Liberal critics and revolutionary enemies. In particular, he considers how the monarchy was able to withstand the uprisings of 1904-06, but failed in 1917. This important new study provides an analysis of social, as well as political developments, and concludes with a brief historiographical essay which draws together alternative...

The years 1934 to 1944 remain the most contentious and dramatic decade in modern French history. Covering the Occupation, the Vichy regime, the Resistance and collaboration, Nick Atkin provides an important introduction to this key period. Accessible and concise, the book offers a wide-ranging synthesis of key themes and events. Looking ahead to the present day, the book also examines how the French establishment and public have coped with the legacy of Vichy, and explains why the occupation is still ever present in French politics and everyday life. 

From the hardening grip of Soviet domination under Brezhnev to the collapse of communism and its aftermath, Bulent Gokay provides the essential introduction to Eastern Europe in the last quarter of the twentieth century. The Soviet invasion of Czechoslovakia in 1968 spelt the end of reformist communism and the tightening of Soviet control throughout Eastern Europe. In spite of this, several countries within the Soviet Bloc managed to retain varying degrees of independence over the next two decades. Focusing on the struggle towards economic and social modernisation in the region and the...

This seminar study examines the Eisenhower presidency. The author argues that the presidency marked an important stage in the evolution of modern America, but left a decidedly mixed legacy for future presidents. Domestically Eisenhowerpursued a 'middle way'. Imbued with a profound district of politics and politicians, Eisenhower sought as much as possible to concentrate public policy making in the hands of an enlightened elite of public and private experts. Internationally, Eisenhower's policies exacerbated the nuclear arms race, institutionalised the Cold War, and extended the East-West...

The relationship between the US and Europe in the 20th century is one of the key considerations in any understanding of international relations/international history during this period. David Ryan first sets the context by looking at the trends and traditions of America’s foreign relations in the 19th century, and then considers the changing nature of America's vision of Europe from 1900 to the present. The book examines America’s response to and involvement in the two World Wars, including the structure of international power after the First World War and American reaction to the rise...

Why did communism grow so quickly? Why did it spread to turn almost half of the world red by the mid-1970s? What impact did it have upon capitalism and capitalist society?Communism is a conciseintroduction to one of the most important and influential movements of the 20th century. It shows how the modern communist movement emerged out of radical millenarian movements of the Middle Ages and the English Civil War, becoming a mass movement of industrial society, seeking to overturn capitalism and replace it with a society of equality, justice, harmony and co-operation. It traces the growth of...

The sheer number of publications on Feminism make it difficult for students who approach the subject for the first time to gain a sense of what the main issues and interpretations are. This book addresses this by offering students an overview of feminism and its history across several countries and time periods, along with an annotated guide to direct them in their further reading. Feminism by June Hannam provides comprehensive coverage right from how feminists began to write the history of their movement as early as the late nineteenth century to the impact feminism has had on higher...

Why are our environmental problems still growing despite a huge increase in global conservation efforts? Peterson del Mar untangles this paradox by showing how prosperity is essential to environmentalism. Industrializationdrove peopleto look for meaning in nature even as they consumed its products more relentlessly. Hence England led the way in both manufacturing and preserving its countryside, and the United States created a matchless set of national parksas it becamethe world's pre-eminent economic and militarypower.Environmentalmovements have produced some impressive results, including...