The social and cultural history of the Nordic region (including Denmark, Sweden, Finland, Norway, Iceland and Greenland), as well as that of outlying former provinces such as Swedish Pomerania and the erstwhile Caribbean colonies, is examined in this unique study. Religious and spiritual values, family life and sexuality, health and hygiene, town and country and slavery in the tropical colonies are amongst the topics dealt with in some depth. At the same time, Neil Kent also provides an architectural and artistic history of the region.

Neil Kent's book sweeps through Sweden's history from the Stone Age to the present day. Early coverage includes Viking hegemony, the Scandinavian Union, the Reformation and Sweden's political zenith as Europe's greatest superpower in the seventeenth century, while later chapters explore the Swedish Enlightenment, royal absolutism, the commitment to military neutrality and Pan-Scandinavianism. The author brings his account up to date by focusing on more recent developments: the rise of Social Democracy, the establishment of the welfare state, the country's acceptance of membership in the...

In 2014 Crimea shapes the headlines much as it did some 160 years ago, when the Crimean War pitted Britain, France and Turkey against Russia. Yet few books have been published on the history of the peninsula. For many readers, Crimea seems as remote today as it was when colonized by the ancient Greeks.

Neil Kent's book recounts the history of the Crimea over three millennia. A crossroads between Europe and Asia, ships sailed to and from Crimean ports, forming a bridge that carried merchandise and transmitted ideas and innovations.

Greeks, Scythians, Tartars, Russians, Armenians and...