Showing posts with label History. Show all posts
Showing posts with label History. Show all posts

Thursday, November 1, 2007

Cleopatra: A Sourcebook

Cleopatra's life story, gleaned from contemporary sources, is powerfully intriguing: Married four times, she seduced two of the most powerful men in Rome (Julius Caesar and Marc Antony), became the sole ruler of Egypt, gained legendary status for her lavish banquets, and chose to die rather than endure disgrace as the prisoner of Octavian, Caesar's heir.


This sourcebook documents what we know of the historical figure and also shows how she has evolved through the lens of interpretation. Arranged both chronologically and thematically, the volume consists of a series of readings about Cleopatra--historical, literary, and documentary--extending from ancient times to the twentieth century, from the European Romantics to the Afro centrists, and from Middle English to modern Arabic.

Link : http://rapidshare.com/files/65207139/www.softarchive.net_Cleopatra.rar
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Hagakure - the Way of the Samurai

Although it stands to reason that a samurai should be mindful of the Way of the Samurai, it would seem that we are all negligent. Consequently, if someone were to ask, "What is the true meaning of the Way of the Samurai?" the person who would be able to answer promptly is rare. This is because it has not been established in one's mind beforehand. From this, one's unmindfulness of the Way can be known.

Link : http://rapidshare.com/files/66105918/Hagakure.tWotS.www.softarchive.net.rar
Password :www.softarchive.net

The Oxford History of Modern Europe



This book reveals much about the things that have changed in Europe since 1789--and, just as importantly, the things that have remained constant. The eleven essays in this collection (written by some of the biggest names in the field of European history, such as Princeton's Harold James, U.C. Berkeley's Martin Jay, and Richard Overy of King's College, London) focus on various aspects of European society, from politics and economics to high culture and social structures, and analyze both the changes and the engines of those changes. In his standout essay on the changing nature of warfare, 1789-1918, Hew Strachan argues that this military modernization cannot simply be explained by new technology and that more emphasis must be placed on changing ideas.

Link : http://rapidshare.com/files/50173998/92853716.rar

Wednesday, October 10, 2007

Norman Davies - Europe A History




With Europe: A History, University of London professor Norman Davies has undertaken the near impossible: a synthetic one-volume overview of Europe from prehistory through the present. Remarkably, he has succeeded. Europe: A History is a conventional narrative, proceeding forward in time at a gradually decelerating pace. (The beginning covers millions of years of prehistory, while the final chapter discusses the 46 years between World War II and the book's publication.) But Davies's writing--vigorous, incisive, and confidently knowledgeable--carries the reader along, while the steady sweep of the main narrative is broken up by "capsules," boxed passages examining particular places, customs, or issues that cut across chronological lines. Davies, who has written two books on Polish history, also gives the eastern part of Europe its due coverage, unlike many of his predecessors, and manages to include commoners and the persecuted or ignored in his story along with the mighty and the royal. Europe: A History won't please everybody, but it's a highly intelligent, superbly readable overview that is certain to become a standard text.

Ireland, the Great War and the Geography of Remembrance




Nuala C. Johnson explores the complex relationship between social memory and space in the representation of war in Ireland. The Irish experience of the Great War, and its commemoration, is the location of Dr Johnson's sustained and pioneering examination of the development of memorial landscapes, and her study represents a major contribution both to cultural geography and to the historiography of remembrance.

The European Revolutions, 1848 - 1851 second edition



ISBN: 0521547792

Reaching from the Atlantic to Ukraine, from the Baltic to the Mediterranean, the revolutions of 1848 brought millions of people across the European continent into political life. Nationalist aspirations, social issues and feminist demands coming to the fore in the mid-century revolutions would reverberate in continental Europe until 1914 and beyond. Yet the new regimes established then proved ephemeral, succumbing to counter-revolution.