Book Description
Great Britain's geopolitical role has undergone many changes over the last four centuries. Once a maritime superpower and ruler of half the world, Britain now occupies an isolated position as an economically fragile island often at odds with her European neighbors.
Lawrence James has written a comprehensive, perceptive, and insighful history of the British Empire. Spanning the years from 1600 to the present day, this critically acclaimed book combines detailed scholarship with readable popular history.
Customer Reviews:
Wonderful survey, for academic or layperson.......2007-01-08
This book was one of the first I read on the British Empire, a cure for the veritable itch of interest. The sheer volume of this book may be overwhelming for the casual reader of history, but it is full of insight and subtleties that enrich it for both experts and novices alike. It has academic value as well, not least in its well-compiled bibliography of secondary sources, and overall balanced account. This book is also a narrative, not an academic treatise, and it therefore accommodates the reader that is seeking a synthesis of the facts. As an introduction to the British Empire - from rise to fall - I have found it most useful. If you are only going to buy one book to buy on the British Empire, perhaps this should be it.
Unsurpassed Survey Treatment.......2006-08-04
If a reader is seeking a reasonably concise (even at 600+ pages) treatment of the complete arc of the British Empire, this is the best I have come across. Other readers, more familiar with pivital episodes of that drama, should recognize that the work is, after all, a survey and does not purport to describe even the most significant of the empire's turning points (with the exception of India) in great detail. These many pages are a thoroughly enjoyable read for the simple reasons that Author James possesses an obvious command of his subject matter and writes in enviably understandable declarative sentences which should serve as models for other historians. It is interesting to compare and contrast this work with Niall Ferguson's "Empire", an equally readable and somewhat more provocative account of British world hegemony. Both are worth the read, and both provide object lessons regarding the Middle East which are not a little dispiriting at this moment when Israel is ramping up its invasion of Lebanon and Iraq appears inexorably headed toward civil war. Too bad only we history buffs seem to ponder works like these; apparently our political and military leaders don't have time for them, busy as they are fighting the "War on Terror". One can only hope that the lessons they learn in doing so won't be as painful and ultimately destructive of national pride, human and economic resources, and the capacity for doing good in the world as the British experience.
Believe it or not, its too short........2006-07-07
It is hard to imagine a seven hundred-plus page book being too short, but here it is. This is one of those rare lengthy tomes that keeps your attention and, which is even rarer, whets your appetite for more. Reading Mr. James' book opens up a wide vista of other books to read: more detailed history of India, the South Pacific, the Spanish Main, etc.
Mr. James has a well developed talent for a style that is informative and entertaining. The chapters are numerous and fairly short and each one covers a different topic. There is quite a lot of referencing back and forth, but again Mr. James does a good job of keeping the threads of his Cat's Craddle from unravelling.
It is very clear the Mr. James has a great deal of knowledge about this subject but he does not become pedantic nor try to impress us with this knowledge. He did make me run for the dictionary once or twice, but that is always a pleasure because it means I've learnt a new word!
Though it seems funny to say, this book is too brief. It is a great introduction to the topic and the book will leave you wanting for more and, more importantly, it points you in the right direction. If you have any Anglophile in you, read this book.
Great Overview of the British Empire.......2006-04-13
James's account of the British Empire is a great piece of scholarly work for anyone interested in British imperialism/colonialism. This is especially useful for those not wanting to spend time and money on the five volumes Oxford History of the British Empire. Of course the Oxford one is small compared to some of the others out there.
I particularly enjoyed James's use of artistic achievements to setup the historical context of the particular period he is discussing. His treatment of the less savory aspects of British imperialism is fair and balanced. Though he could probably have been a harsher critic on the British opium policy in India, China and Southeast Asia.
Overall, James gives the reader an excellent survey/overview of the British Empire. He even covers the Falkland War with some detail! For those amateur historians or generally interested in the British Empire this is a great one to pick up.
Very complete and compelling.......2005-07-19
I knew very little about the history of the English Empire (I'm Italian), and this book told me everything I wanted to know.
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The Empire Writes Back: Theory and Practice in Post-Colonial Literatures (New Accents)
Bill Ashcroft
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Post-Colonial Studies: The Key Concepts
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ASIN: 0415280206 |
Book Description
The authors, three leading figures in post-colonial studies, open up debates about the interrelationships of post-colonial literatures, investigate the powerful forces acting on language in the post-colonial text, and show how these texts constitute a radical critique of Eurocentric notions of literature and language.
Customer Reviews:
All in one.......2000-04-05
Despite its "trendy" title -- very postmodern, combining Salman Rushdie with George Lucas and Star Wars -- and the multiple authorship, this survey is a very readable, clearly articulated consideration of the central problems and issues in post-colonial scholarship. The authors write seamlessly as one, not as a committee, though it is clear that they combine complementary areas of expertise. The consideration of feminist scholarship was perhaps the most disappointing: unlike the other analyses, it seemed desultory. The book is also to be commended for being not merely a conscientious account of post-colonial research, but also a thoughtful and fair-minded critique as well.
Book Description
Four distinguished scholars here level a powerful critique of the rapid expansion of the emerging American empire and its oppressive and destructive political, military, and economic policies. Arguing that a global Pax Americana is internationally disastrous, the authors demonstrate how America's imperialism inevitably leads to rampant irreversible ecological devastation, expanding military force for imperialistic purposes, and a grossly inequitable distribution of goods--all leading to the diminished well-being of human communities. These four prophetic voices--three Christians, one Jew--persuasively indict the American empire as being diametrically opposed to divine values and powerful enough to threaten the purposes of God.
"I am convinced that this is an enormously urgent and important book. It not only represents the best of current theology and political wisdom, and accurately interprets our present desperate situation, but it also provides the basis for an authentically religious response to the end-time Armageddon "Left Behind" insanity that seems to be capturing the popular religious imagination. It builds on the finest new biblical scholarship in viewing the scriptural setting the Reign of God against Empire, but also suggests how all the religious traditions can - and must - contribute to an unprecedented civilizational transformation. I plan to use this book in my own teaching and to commend it to everyone I know. I only wish it had appeared ten years ago."
Harvey Cox (Hollis Professor of Divinity, HarvardUniversity)
"The collections of essays by John Cobb, David Griffin, Richard Falk and Catherine Keller, The American Empire and the Commonwealth of God, is timely and important. The four authors relentlessly analyse the political, economic and historical issues with the construction of American empire. They also unmask the idolatry of its religious justifications. But they also envision alternatives to American empire in global relations and envision ways to imagine a more just and sustainable global society."
Rosemary Radford Ruether Carpenter Professor of Feminist Theology, GTU, Berkeley, Visiting scholar, Claremont Graduate University
"Three outstanding theologians and one of the world's leading experts on international policy issues have joined forces to deliver a scathing critique of the aims, policies, impact, and pretensions of the American Empire. While their criticisms may be familiar to some readers, it is their alternative futures that offer such a practical and morally compelling alternative to the disaster that looms ahead. Anyone concerned about the future of American world leadership must read this book."
Joseph C. Hough, Jr. President and William E. Dodge Professor of Social Ethics Union Theological Seminary New York
Customer Reviews:
Christians vs. the American empire.......2007-04-15
Thesis: The U.S. has always been expansionist, and for the last century imperialist, and now as a global empire is developing fascist undertones. Citizens should repudiate this trend and work for global democracy instead; for Christians this is in line with Jesus' opposition of the "commonwealth of God" to Roman imperial rule.
The authors, writing individual chapters, make a good case for their thesis in this brief and accessible book. They call for religious and other non-governmental groups to use Ghandian methods to build the democratic opposition.
I'm with them on that.
--Alan Zundel, the HeartAwake Center
WE THE PEOPLE OF EMPIRE.......2006-07-09
We who venerate the early Christians who refused to bow down to the Roman emperors and faced death as a consequence are called to realize that we are now citizens of the most powerful empire in history.
This is the best book to date to spell it all out so a law degree is not needed to comprehend where we came from and how we got the way we are now.
It would make a great gift for that relative who is still bowing down to emperors!
Applause.......2006-05-28
APPLAUSE
A response from reader Val Scott
"If the means be just, the conduct true, applause in spite of trivial faults is due."
Alexander Pope
I have just completed my first reading of The American Empire and the Commonwealth of God - A Political, Economic, Religious Statement - a relatively brief book by authors David Ray Griffin, John B. Cobb Jr, Richard A. Falk, and Catherine Keller, who, together, argue very powerfully against the whole idea of a "Pax Americana" for our world. Their book is whole and complete in and of itself, and I, for one, have nothing but unmitigated praise for it. For me, the book is that good.
What I would like to do here instead of writing a formal review is to add some thoughts to what Griffin and his colleagues have set in motion for us, and particularly, if I may, from a non-theological perspective.
Although raised a Roman Catholic, I became an active Unitarian in my late 20's, and, since 1979, a committed student of "A Course in Miracles" (a comprehensive spiritual program which focuses on authentic forgiveness - see www.forgivenessfirst.com ).
Since the early 80s my politics has taken on the form of Mohandas K. Gandhi's satyagraha, or "truth force," outlook. Gandhi once observed, "There are seven sins in the world: wealth without work, pleasure without conscience, knowledge without character, commerce without morality, science without humanity, worship without faith, and politics without principle." Observations I can very easily identify with and do my best to embrace.
In short, in terms of internal spiritual/political power, I experience authentic forgiveness and Gandhi's "truth force" as the most effective combination to work with, and most particularly when confronted with the various challenges facing 9/11 truth, and neo-conservative notions like Pax Americana.
I am also an active Associate Member of Scholars for 9/11 Truth who happens to have a passionate interest in helping certain prominent US politicians (like Howard Dean, John Edwards, and Al Gore) become fully familiar with the work of the 9/11 truth movement.
And then there is a whole range of other kindred spirits to actively work and collaborate with also, spiritual/religious leaders like Rabbi Michael Lerner of Tikkun Magazine, author of The Left Hand of God - Taking Back Our Country From the Religious Right (2006), and Jim Wallis of Sojourners, author of God's Politics - Why The Right Gets It Wrong, And The Left Doesn't Get It (2005); authors like John Perkins, Confessions Of An Economic Hit Man (2005), and Norman Solomon, War Made Easy (2005); classic authors like George Orwell, 1984, and Eric Hoffer, The True Believer; spiritual authors like Neale Donald Walsch, What God Wants (2005), and Marianne Williamson, Healing the Soul of America (2000). All of which, of course, may be obtained through Amazon.com.
And all of which, in my mind, fully supports what the authors of The American Empire and the Commonwealth of God have placed before us as "A Political, Economic, Religious Statement."
Just wanted to share that with you.
.....................................
The American Empire?.......2006-05-28
The American Empire?
Griffin and a cast of distinguished scholars and peaceful globalists have collaboratively written an interesting collection of essays on American imperialism.
This book has a different title and content than the previous two best selling books by Griffin "The New pearl Harbor," and the 9/11 Commission Report, Omissions and Distortions." However, Griffin remains sincere, determined, undeterred, unhampered, and unco-opted (unlike the author of "The War on Freedom") and continues his quest for the truth about 9/11 and the American Empire while some of his co-authors danced around it, in order to be to be politically correct. This truth has become irrelevant nowadays, and has been replaced by credibility and propaganda. I guess it is best for some truth to remain unknown for the sake of social order. That is why, the 9/11 truth movement was infiltrated, discredited, dismantled, and rendered impotent. Griffin's new book with his co-authors takes a different approach to the truth. They discuss and analyze the historical, political, religious, and economical factors behind the build-up of the American Empire. An unadmitted empire that is portrayed by the creators as benign, because it is decorated with a flag and a popular socialist motto that appeals to the masses that is, liberty, equality, and justice for all.
"The American Empire and the Commonwealth of God" gives the reader a panoramic view rather than in depth discussion of American imperialism. A core issue that was left out in this volume is the discussion of the financiers behind the empires. There is an overwhelming evidence out there that connects the financial Anglo-American Cartel to the ownership and the financing of the American empire. This same Cartel had previously financed the Soviet Union, and other socialists regimes, as well as theocracies, and pseudo-democracies all over the world. This Cartel consists of a globalist/racist group that classifies themselves as citizens of the world to justify their self-serving divisive and fiscal policies. They have a foot in every camp and they argue as well as fincance both sides of a conflict. This Cartel thrives on conflict!
These elites tend to see the peace process as a threat to their survival as well as to the foundation of society that was based on war. They perceive war as a political necessity to legitimize the power of the government and to create nationhood. War is a political, economical, and social stabilizer, as well as a necessary tool for population reduction. Controlled and contrived conflict becomes imperative, in order to create stability and a new order that would behoove these masters of the universe. New monsters must be regularly created and slayed by the freedom fighters, in order to perpetuate conflict. This process would provide the cartel with massive profits, which in turn would engender more power for them. What motivates these financial moguls? Narcissism is definitely the original sin! Man desperately continues his illusive pursuit to become god, and his main tool to achieve this goal is "money." Another critical issue that should have been emphasized by the authors of this book is the actual foundation of the American empire. This foundation is actually made up of paper (called fiat money or Federal Reserve notes) which could be made to collapse overnight just as the Soviet Union did, when the financial Cartel decides to weaken or kill their golden goose for higher profits or globalization purpose. This same cartel has also been heavily financing and investing for many years in two prospective Eastern regional powers, India and China that have the nuclear capacity to annihilate each other, in the hope that the future will bring a contrived conflict to that region, which will prove to be lucrative, and would serve as a population reduction measure in these overcrowded nations. Unfortunately, an empire cannot be run by peaceful means as the authors of the book suggest.
Empires require wars, fiat money, dictatorship, ruling class, no middle class/bourgeoisie, new forms of slavery (low wage earners), mass media, blood shows and sports, mighty military, propaganda, hybrid politicians (half CEOs and half politicians), global corporations, divisiveness, dumbing down of the population, government controlled media, fear, total information awareness, domestic secret service, foundations, WMD, space programs,weather manipulation, and even Martial laws if needed to achieve the goal of complete control. Fear is an intrinsic part of the political process in an empire that is conducive to regressive behavior, which would render adults into incapacitated children. Fear mongering must continue to manufacture consent. Yesterday, we had Nazism and Sovietism, today we have Islamism, and tomorrow we shall have Chinism and environmental crises that will threaten the eradication of the planet.
Finally, "The American Empire and The Commonwealth of God" is a fairly unbiased view of an evasive truth, and a thought provoking volume. This book will provide the reader with an edifying jolt of reality that would awaken the oblivious person to the current state of affairs.
heartfelt and thoughtful, but misses the central reality.......2006-05-26
This book is one of many recent efforts to understand Christianity within the matrix of the Pax Americana, which the authors describe clearly and denounce strongly. Its authors are some of the leading thinkers in theology and international relations and have many strong insights into the causes of the disease of empire.
It is disappointing, then, to conclude that their "political, economic, religious statement" comes out as rehashed 60s progressivism, rather than an authentic Christian response to global empire. One suspects, and then discovers near the very end of the book, the reason: they simply don't believe in the resurrection of Jesus as a historical event, but present it instead as a (weak) metaphor for maintaining one's identity in the face of imperial threats. This lack of faith in the heart of the Christian message unfortunately undermines any power the book otherwise might have had as a manifesto for inspiring a revitalized Christian movement for peace and justice.
While professing to be familiar with and energized by recent biblical scholarship which roots the gospels (and Paul) in the matrix of the Roman empire, they collectively cite only one such book, Richard Horsley's fine "Jesus and Empire." But there is so much more (including Horsley et al's "Paul and Empire" and "Paul and Politics") that would have given them a fuller understanding of a field which is clearly outside each of their individual familiarity (Griffin and Cobb are esteemed "process theologians," while Falk is an international lawyer and Keller is a feminist theologian). For instance, the landmark work of NT Wright has demolished their claim that early Christians (including the NT writers) didn't understand Jesus' resurrection as "of the body." As Wright definitively and exhaustively shows, there would have been no other explanation of the "empty tomb" and the gospels' reports of Jesus' risen presence that would have made any sense to Jewish disciples. It is precisely resurrection of the body (in fulfillment of the Danielic prophecy in Dan 12) that inspired the otherwise terrified disciples to stand up both to the Empire and to their own collaborator religious leaders. Our own contribution, "Unveiling Empire: Reading Revelation Then and Now," is also a modest attempt to contribute to this new biblical movement.
In the absence of this crucial and necessary faith affirmation, it is no surprise that the remainder of this book's proposals lack true biblical courage and insight. They offer, for example, a vague kind of "global democracy" that would be somehow free of the very corruptions (money, self-interest) that they acknowledge lead to both empires and the corruption of every other human-made governmental form. In their inability to specific how or why this imaginary body (different from the UN?) would "work," they reveal the flaw at the heart of their entire argument: even the most well-meaning and "thoughtful" counter-imperial proposals are doomed to fail. The hope for humanity lies not in any kind of centralized global power structure, but rather, as the Bible consistently strives to show, in the devolution of power back to local networks of kinship grounded in the love (agape) of God and love of neighbor.
Book Description
Throughout much of the Middle Ages, Eastern Europe-the Balkans, Russia, Rumania and the land on either side of the Danube--was affected by Byzantine political and cultural influence. From the barbarian invasions to the Middle Ages, this is an illuminating read that demystifies the Balkans.
Customer Reviews:
The Struggle for Cultural Survival.......2006-06-05
The East Roman Empire provides an extraordinary study of survival. Beset on every side by newly arrived tribes and established rival empires, Byzantium not only endured but exerted a cultural influence that helped shape successive nation states once within its orbit.
Central to Obolensky's classic account is Byzantium's `cultural diffusion' and the most striking example of this is how its spiritual culture, transmuted into Old Church Slavonic through the linguistic brilliance of its missionaries, helped provide a basis of literacy alongside the visual impact of its iconographic art. Many a pagan tribe fell under the Orthodox spell; the Bulgarians, Russians and Serbs were all converted at various times, apostasy finally giving way to unequivocal faith.
Acknowledgement of the Empire's military dominance was, however, often contested. After the Turkish conquest of 1453, Bulgaria, Serbia, Macedonia and Russia retained much of the cultural influences and ideology of Byzantium and it is the intermingling of Greek and Slavonic elements that Obolensky brings so well into the foreground.
As in the west but developing along divergent lines, much of the spirit of the East Roman Empire survived by it's interrelationship with so called 'barbarian' peoples. Obolensky's Byzantine Commonwealth, along with Frank Eyck's Religion and Politics in German History, reveal that process at work. Both books show how the Roman Empire became absorbed into Medieval European culture.
A superb appraisal of Byzantine heritage in Eastern Europe.......2005-02-12
A span of almost thousand years marks the blooming and decadence of the Byzantine Empire.
"The Byzantine Commonwealth - Eastern Europe 500-1453" is a balanced and informed history of the outer lands (provinces, independent principalities and kingdoms), mostly inhabited by Slavic populations, whose history intersected the one of the Empire.
It is mostly a history of assimilation, with its many facets.
The strategy of the empire to develop an extensive diplomacy of the sword and of the cross. The cautious and balanced use of force, diplomacy (both political and religious) and money. The widespread and deep phenomenon of inclusion and assimilation of cultural values that Constantinople inspired. The gradual political emancipation of the emerging new nations (Bulgaria, Serbia, Russia, Hungary and lastly Rumania)
It ends in 1453, the year of the fall of Constantinople to the Turkish armies: in that moment the Byzantine commonwealth disintegrates and the great eastern diasporas begin (with the rise of the myth of the third Rome in Russia, the emergence of the principalities of Rumania, the defeat and toll of resentment in the Serbian and Balkan lands).
Obolensky's study is already somehow outdated since first printed in 1971 for the "History of Civilization" Series of Phoenix Press (in the same series you can find the still unsurpassed "The Greek Experience" by C. M. Bowra,). It cannot take account of the events following the disintegration of USSR and the widespread renaissance of an Orthodox "koinè" (cultural community), especially religious but sometimes also political and social (this at least is one of the - highly debatable - theses advanced by professor Samuel P. Huntington in "The Clash of Civilizations"): a feature this one that cannot change the overall picture, but is nonetheless a strong indication about how deeper went the Byzantine influence.
"The Byzantine Commonwealth" is sometimes very specific, and yet immensely interesting.
I greatly enjoyed the history of the missionary work and travels of st.Constantine (Cyril) and Methodius, their invention of the Glagolitic (and later Cyrillic) script and the inception of the movement of translation from Greek to Old Church Slavonic (the medieval common language of the Slavic populations).
Compelling are also the chapters dealing with the presence and spreading of heretical movements, especially Paulicianism and Bogomilism, sects influenced by Manicheism and that very likely "exerted a powerful influence upon the Patarene and Cathar (or Albigesian) movements in Italy and Southern France".
It is amazing to realize the scantiness of our knowledge and the prejudices we still retain about the Byzantine world. While for Rome and classical Greece we have still outstanding and impressive remains (temples, theatres, aqueducts, weapons and literature), the whitewash following the Turkish conquest and censure of history (from "the idle liars of neither gender" of bishop Liutprand of Cremona to the "tedious and uniform tale of weakness and misery" of Gibbon) have almost cancelled a thousand years of European history.
The Iron Curtain tried to eradicate the deep-rooted marks of a common culture of the Russian and Balkan lands: a heritage of art and faith, common language and culture.
But this civilization has been able to endure the floodings of history, Turkish conquests and Socialist utopias.
And this is one of those rare books than can make us feel the warmth of this candle, still alight.
In the Epilogue a part deserves to be cited in full because of its poetic and evocative force:
"It is hence not surprising that the fall of Constantinople aroused these countries immediate feelings of horror and dismay. Greeks, Slavs and Rumanians reacted to this event by composing laments, in poetry and prose, for the captured and stricken city. A Greek popular poem probably composed in the second half of the fifteenth century, describes an imaginary scene of the last liturgy celebrated in St Sophia in the presence of the emperor and the patriarch, which was interrupted by the arrival of the infidels: as tears were seen in the eyes of the Virgin on the church's icons, the clergy was commanded by voice from heaven to send the cross, the Gospel book and the holy table to Western Europe lest they be profaned by the Turks. In another version of the story as the Turks broke into St Sophia a priest bearing the chalice left building through a door which miraculously closed behind him: on the day the Greeks recapture their city, he will re-emerge to complete unfinished liturgy."
Byzantium and the Barbarians.......2002-09-01
After the fall of Rome, Byzantium was the greatest, richest, most prestigious city in the known world. It was the center of the Orthodox religion and a great center of culture. It was also the target for every barbarian tribe who wanted a piece of the wealth land and culture.
Dimitri Obolensky's readable book achieves two purposes. First he describes the relations between the Byzantine empire and her neighbors. Obolensky explains how the Byzantines used one barbarian tribe against another, like the Avars, Slavs, Bulgars, Pechenegs, Russians and Khazars. He also shows how the Byzantines used religion to influence the tribes and gain control over them. Eventually the barbarian tribes worshipped Byzantium, but did not trust it.
Secondly Obolensky describes how the barbarian cultures like the Bulgars and the Russians adopted the culture and civilization of Byzantium. The new comers learned art, literature, law and religion from Byzantium.
This book covers the period from 500 AD to the fall of Byzantium in 1453,
starting with a description of the geography, roads and trade routes the Byzantines used, and their strategic importance. Then Obolensky recounts relations in order of region, from the Balkans, then east-central Europe and finally the coast of the black sea.
Obolensky shows how the Byzantines became the source of legitimacy among the states that made up the commonwealth like the Bulgars and the Russians. Finally he recounts how the barbarians learned art, religion, law and literature, and civilization in general from the Byzantines.
The book includes many well placed maps and photos that make this complicated subject clearer. Obolensky's book is a must read book for anyone interested in the history of Byzantium or medieval eastern Europe.
Interesting and useful.......2000-12-05
For my background reading on Central and East European EU Candidate Countries, I have been reading several books on the history of the Balkans. For the period 500-1453 I took the book from Prof. Obolensky (for 1453-early 20th century I recommend L. Stavrianos, Misha Glenny, and G. Hodos). I found the book clearly written and well set out. The central message of this study runs like a red thread thorugh the book. The influence of the Byzantine East Roman Empire on the law, culture, religion and art of the countries in that region is shown to be of major importance and is clearly one of the major shaping actors in the early history of the Balkans. Yet at the same time during this period there was no slavish following of whatever came from Byzantium. The complicated story of attraction and repulsion, the ongoing flow and struggles with the 'Byzantine Commonwealth' (i find prof. Obolenksy's expression in this contect quite useful) of the different peoples in the Balkans makes good reading and, for me, gives met the sense of a good first grasp of the outset of history on this fascinating region. This book is not always easy to read and not only for beginners, but the more rewarding for it.
Tightly focused but quite good.......2000-10-13
I can't praise highly enough this well researched, masterful look at the mechanisms of cultural diffusion in the Balkans and Russia in the Byzantine period. Obolensky, an unquestioned leader in the field of Byzantine studies, has put together a cogent, precise and elegantly written book that, while not really for the layman, is clear enough for most persons with some familiarity with the topic. He demonstrates the role of what he calls "intermediaries", e.g. merchants, missionaries and mercenaries, in spreading Byzantium's unique Graeco-Romano-Christian culture throughout the Slavic world. A little attention is paid to Byzantium's influence on the West and on the structures of the Ottoman state, but the real focus realy is on the Balkan states. And, well, where have you seen that lately?
Book Description
The demise of the British Empire in the three decades following the Second World War is a theme that has been well traversed in studies of post-war British politics, economics and foreign relations. Yet there has been strikingly little attention to the question of how these dramatic changes in Britain's relationships with the wider world were reflected in British culture. This volume addresses this central issue, arguing that the social and cultural impact of decolonisation had as significant an effect on the imperial centre as on the colonial periphery. Far from being a matter of indifference or resigned acceptance as is often suggested, the fall of the British Empire came as a profound shock to the British national imagination, and resonated widely in British popular culture.
Customer Reviews:
The Course from Empire.......2005-11-17
British Culture and the End of Empire is full of intriguing and informative essays that cope with the legacy of the British Empire. The names of some of the contributors - Peter Hansen, Shompa Lahiri, or Hsu-Ming Teo, for example - promise a range of voices from around the globe, and the essays do not disappoint. Topics range from travel to film to cricket, and they analyze in depth their given topics within the context of British decolonization. Likewise, the point of view varies from pride in the British Empire to opprobrium over its aftermath. In this book, British heroes from bygone eras find themselves posthumously featured in films, and modern explorers seek to emulate their forefathers by finding exotic lands untainted by Western Civilization. The essays have a serious tone, and may seem a bit dry at times, but they provide valuable insights into the recent decades of British consciousness.
Book Description
In this bold approach to late antiquity, Garth Fowden shows how, from the second-century peak of Rome's prosperity to the ninth-century onset of the Islamic Empire's decline, powerful beliefs in One God were used to justify and strengthen "world empires." But tensions between orthodoxy and heresy that were inherent in monotheism broke the unitary empires of Byzantium and Baghdad into the looser, more pluralistic commonwealths of Eastern Christendom and Islam. With rare breadth of vision, Fowden traces this transition from empire to commonwealth, and in the process exposes the sources of major cultural contours that still play a determining role in Europe and southwest Asia. In this bold approach to late antiquity, Garth Fowden shows how, from the second-century peak of Rome's prosperity to the ninth-century onset of the Islamic Empire's decline, powerful beliefs in One God were used to justify and strengthen "world empires." But tensions between orthodoxy and heresy that were inherent in monotheism broke the unitary empires of Byzantium and Baghdad into the looser, more pluralistic commonwealths of Eastern Christendom and Islam. With rare breadth of vision, Fowden traces this transition from empire to commonwealth, and in the process exposes the sources of major cultural contours that still play a determining role in Europe and southwest Asia.
Customer Reviews:
Entertaining history with a thesis........1997-04-30
Styles in historiography come and go. For the classical Greek historians, history was
partly the clever strategies of great generals, partly the well-cadenced speeches that
should have been made, some descriptions of strange cultures, some geography. For the
medieval chroniclers, history was melodrama: great battles, duels between heroes,
treacherous murders. In the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, the Enlightenment,
history was the progressive improvement of forms of government. For a while in the
1980s, history was a counterpoint between the psychology of the Chosen Figure and a
description of his social milieu. Later came the history of attitudes of women to
housework and the detailed history of underwear (no, I'm not kidding).
Ideas about
the forces controlling history also change. Caesar was certain that Roman military
strategy and tactics brought about the conquest of Gaul. Josephus probably really
believed what he repeatedly wrote, that God determines the details of history as reward
and punishment for people's actions. Most readers today probably believe that history is
determined by material facts, mainly economic facts. Probably this is another aspect of
our Enlightenment heritage.
Garth Fowden has returned to two older ideas, that a history book should have a thesis, and that beliefs
have a powerful influence on history. In Empire to Commonwealth, his main thesis is
that universalist, monotheistic religions helped bring about world conquest in late
antiquity, and that their opposite had the opposite effect. Who are the monotheistic
universalists? For example, the Byzantine Christians and the Muslims. Who are not?
The Achaemenids, the particularist Jews.
On the way, he discusses several other
interesting questions in the history of ideas. The question of whether only the saintly are
the chosen of God, or whether the highest levels of religion are open even to sinners by
virtue of their chosen position, was an important question in early Christianity. Mr.
Fowden could have pointed out that the Jews were arguing the same question at about
the same time (see Berachot 28a, 34a).
Mr. Fowden has great knowledge of cultures
which even people well educated in the Western tradition know little about, e. g., the
ancient Iranian religions and the monophysite Christianity of medieval Ethiopia. As in all
good histories, there are also diversions along the way, discussions of the moral one-upmanship among the Romans and Iranians in respecting the chastity of each other's
harems, and of the amazemant caused by a royal progress of the Black Christian king of
Aksum among the oppressed Christians of neighboring lands. And who but Mr. Fowden
knows about the synod of monophysite Christians called in 1965 by the Emperor of
Ethiopia and the Metropolitan of Aksum.
Mr. Fowden knows how to write. The
history of late antiquity, especially outside of Europe and Asia Minor, is a weak spot in
the education of most of us. It's also pleasant to return to the historiography of ideas
sometimes. I haven't seen the paperback, but the hard-cover edition includes high-quality
photographs of both artistic and historical significance. I'm glad I read the book, and hope to
read it again
Entertaining history with a thesis........1997-04-30
Styles in historiography come and go. For the classical Greek historians, history was
partly the clever strategies of great generals, partly the well-cadenced speeches that
should have been made, some descriptions of strange cultures, some geography. For the
medieval chroniclers, history was melodrama: great battles, duels between heroes,
treacherous murders. In the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, the Enlightenment,
history was the progressive improvement of forms of government. For a while in the
1980s, history was a counterpoint between the psychology of the Chosen Figure and a
description of his social milieu. Later came the history of attitudes of women to
housework and the detailed history of underwear (no, I'm not kidding).
Ideas about
the forces controlling history also change. Caesar was certain that Roman military
strategy and tactics brought about the conquest of Gaul. Josephus probably really
believed what he repeatedly wrote, that God determines the details of history as reward
and punishment for people's actions. Most readers today probably believe that history is
determined by material facts, mainly economic facts. Probably this is another aspect of
our Enlightenment heritage.
Garth Fowden has returned to two older ideas, that a history book should have a thesis, and that beliefs
have a powerful influence on history. In Empire to Commonwealth, his main thesis is
that universalist, monotheistic religions helped bring about world conquest in late
antiquity, and that their opposite had the opposite effect. Who are the monotheistic
universalists? For example, the Byzantine Christians and the Muslims. Who are not?
The Achaemenids, the particularist Jews.
On the way, he discusses several other
interesting questions in the history of ideas. The question of whether only the saintly are
the chosen of God, or whether the highest levels of religion are open even to sinners by
virtue of their chosen position, was an important question in early Christianity. Mr.
Fowden could have pointed out that the Jews were arguing the same question at about
the same time (see Berachot 28a, 34a).
Mr. Fowden has great knowledge of cultures
which even people well educated in the Western tradition know little about, e. g., the
ancient Iranian religions and the monophysite Christianity of medieval Ethiopia. As in all
good histories, there are also diversions along the way, discussions of the moral one-upmanship among the Romans and Iranians in respecting the chastity of each other's
harems, and of the amazemant caused by a royal progress of the Black Christian king of
Aksum among the oppressed Christians of neighboring lands. And who but Mr. Fowden
knows about the synod of monophysite Christians called in 1965 by the Emperor of
Ethiopia and the Metropolitan of Aksum.
Mr. Fowden knows how to write. The
history of late antiquity, especially outside of Europe and Asia Minor, is a weak spot in
the education of most of us. It's also pleasant to return to the historiography of ideas
sometimes. The book is also well printed and well bound, and includes high-quality
photographs of both artistic and historical significance. I'm glad I read it, and hope to
read it again
Book Description
`The contact with . . .primitive nature and primitive man brings sudden and profound trouble into the heart.' (Joseph Conrad) `Flowers look loveliest in their native soil . . .plucked, they fade, And lose the colours Nature on them laid.' (Toru Dutt) This is the first anthology to gather together British imperial writing alongside native and settler literature in English, interweaving short stories, poems, essays, travel writing, and memoirs from the phase of British expansionist imperialism known as high empire. A rich and starling diversity of responses to the colonial experience emerges: voices of imperial; adventurers, administrators, memsahibs, propagandists and poets intermingle with West Indian and South African nationalists, Indian mystics, Creole balladeers, women activists and native interpreters. Drawn from India, Africa, the West Indies, Australia, New Zealand, Canada, Ireland, and Britain, this wide-ranging selection reveals the vivid contrasts and subtle shifts in responses to colonial experience, and embraces some of empire's key symbols and emblematic moments. Comprehensive notes and full biographies ensure that this is one of the most compelling, readable and academically valuable source books on the period.
Book Description
This Elibron Classics book is a facsimile reprint of a 1913 edition by Longmans, Green, and Co., London etc..
Book Description
During the first, stable period of the Principate (roughly from 27 BC to AD 235), when the empire reached its maximum extent, Roman society and culture were radically transformed. But how was the vast territory of the empire controlled? Did the demands of central government stimulate economic growth, or endanger survival? What forces of cohesion operated to balance the social and economic inequalities and high mortality rates? Why did Roman governments freeze the official religion while allowing the diffusion of alien, especially oriental, cults? Are we to see in their attitude to Christianity a policy of toleration--or simply confusion and a failure of nerve?
These are some of the many questions posed in this book, which offers the first overall account of the society, economy and culture of the Roman empire. Addressed to non-specialist readers no less than to scholars, it breaks with the traditional historian's preoccupation with narrative and politics. As an integrated study of the life and outlook of the ordinary inhabitants of the Roman world, it deepens our understanding of the underlying factors in this important formative period of world history.
Books:
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- Safari: A Chronicle of Adventure
- Schaum's Outline of Fluid Dynamics (Schaum's)
- Sea of Glory: America's Voyage of Discovery, the U.S. Exploring Expedition, 1838-1842
- Seasons of Delight
- Shadow Dance: A Novel
- Shakespeare's Victorian Stage: Performing History in the Theatre of Charles Kean
- Swimming to Antarctica: Tales of a Long-Distance Swimmer
- Terra: Struggle of the Landless
- The Beck Diet Solution : Lose Weight with Confidence, Train Your Brain to Think Like a Thin Person
Books Index
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