This comprehensive study describes the major political events of the twentieth century in Britain in a cogent, lucid way. William D. Rubinstein presents the history, key personnel, problems and achievements of Britain's administrations, from Lord Salisbury's government in 1900 to Tony Blair's 'Cool Britannia'. Ideal for both students and general readers, Rubinstein's book provides a detailed examination of Britain's political evolution in the twentieth century.

This is an original and controversial contribution to the topical debate on Britain's alleged economic decline. Rubinstein presents a critique of the thesis, made familiar by Wiener, Sampson, Barnett and others, that Britain has failed in economic terms because of its anti-industrial and pre-modern cultural values and class system. He argues that Britain was never an industrial economy, rather a commercial and financial one whose comparative advantage always lay in that area. He examines Britain's cultural values, class system and elite structure to demonstrate that these were unusually...

It has long been argued that the Allies did little or nothing to rescue Europe's Jews. Arguing that this has been consistently misinterpreted, The Myth of Rescue states that few Jews who perished could have been saved by any action of the Allies. In his new introduction to the paperback edition, Willliam Rubinstein responds to the controversy caused by his challenging views, and considers further the question of bombing Auschwitz, which remains perhaps the most widely discussed alleged lost opportunity for saving Jews available to the Allies.

It has long been argued that the Allies did little or nothing to rescue Europe's Jews. Arguing that this has been consistently misinterpreted, The Myth of Rescue states that few Jews who perished could have been saved by any action of the Allies. In his new introduction to the paperback edition, Willliam Rubinstein responds to the controversy caused by his challenging views, and considers further the question of bombing Auschwitz, which remains perhaps the most widely discussed alleged lost opportunity for saving Jews available to the Allies.

Genocide is a topic beset by ambiguities over meaning and double standards. This book sets out to clarify the meaning of the term genocide and its historical evolution, and provides a working definition. It makes the argument that each instance of genocide is best understood within a particular historical framework.

Looking at the historical evolution of the central political institutions, and the social milieu surrounding them, this book helps to explain Britain's preeminence during the nineteenth century. The "political" history of the country--a substantial part of the book--provides the necessary foundation for a social history that focuses particularly on issues of demography, religion, social class, and gender.