David Armitage

The Ideological Origins of the British Empire (Ideas in Context)

Jo Guldi

A call to arms to historians and everyone interested in history in contemporary society. This title is also available as open access.

The History Manifesto

A History in Ideas

Civil Wars

"There hasn't been a world war in seventy years, yet death and destruction continue to manifest themselves in civil wars, countries tearing themselves apart, either through tribalism, factionalism, or religious sectarianism. In 2013, there were 33 armed conflicts in progress from Afghanistan to Yemen. Recent examples include Iraq, Syria, Libya, and Ukraine, but Civil Wars does more than discuss recent civil strife--it also covers the idea of a nation or empire engaged in state-breaking rather than state-making. From the Roman Empire to the American War of Independence (revolt against British cousins), to the English rebellions of the 1600s to the Spanish Civil War, the book is a comprehensive exploration of the pervasiveness and particular destructiveness of civil war--"a genealogy of civil war." An elderly priest once said of the Irish Civil War in 1922, "War with the foreigner brings to the fore all that is best and noblest in a nation, but civil war [brings to the fore] all that is mean and base." And more destructive. According to Armitage, a greater proportion of England's population died during the civil wars of the 1640s than perished in the First World War. The same holds for the American Civil War: the death toll was six times larger, relative to the population, than their casualty rate in the Second World War. Simply put: civil wars have become the most widespread, the longest lasting, and most destructive form of organized human violence. And it costs an estimated $123 billion a year to fight them. The age of civil war in the West may be over but elsewhere in the last two decades it has exploded--from the Balkans to Rwanda, Burundi, Somalia, and Sri Lanka, and most recently Syria. And there are the as yet unproclaimed civil wars in Iraq and Yemen. Why this shift has taken place is part of this book's message. Its unique perspective on the roots and dynamics of civil war will be essential to the ongoing effort to grapple with this seemingly intractable problem. And that's why we need this timely, authoritative book."--

A highly original history, tracing the least understood and most intractable form of organized human aggression from Ancient Rome through the centuries to the present day. We think we know civil war when we see it. Yet ideas of what it is, and what it isn't, have a long and contested history, from its fraught origins in republican Rome to debates in early modern Europe to our present day. Defining the term is acutely political, for ideas about what makes a war "civil" often depend on whether one is a ruler or a rebel, victor or vanquished, sufferer or outsider. Calling a conflict a civil war can shape its outcome by determining whether outside powers choose to get involved or stand aside: from the American Revolution to the war in Iraq, pivotal decisions have depended on such shifts of perspective. The age of civil war in the West may be over, but elsewhere in the last two decades it has exploded--from the Balkans to Rwanda, Burundi, Somalia, and Sri Lanka, and most recently Syria. And the language of civil war has burgeoned as democratic politics has become more violently fought. This book's unique perspective on the roots and dynamics of civil war, and on its shaping force in our conflict-ridden world, will be essential to the ongoing effort to grapple with this seemingly interminable problem.

Ronda Armitage

Giant book. Useful for preschool storytime collections. About cheeky seagulls & disgrunted lighthouse keeper. 3-7 yrs.

The Lighthouse Keeper's Lunch

In a stunningly original look at the American Declaration of Independence, David Armitage reveals the document in a new light: through the eyes of the rest of the world. Not only did the Declaration announce the entry of the United States onto the world stage, it became the model for other countries to follow. Armitage examines the Declaration as a political, legal, and intellectual document, and is the first to treat it entirely within a broad international framework. He shows how the Declaration arose within a global moment in the late eighteenth century similar to our own. He uses over one hundred declarations of independence written since 1776 to show the influence and role the U.S. Declaration has played in creating a world of states out of a world of empires. He discusses why the framers’ language of natural rights did not resonate in Britain, how the document was interpreted in the rest of the world, whether the Declaration established a new nation or a collection of states, and where and how the Declaration has had an overt influence on independence movements—from Haiti to Vietnam, and from Venezuela to Rhodesia. Included is the text of the U.S. Declaration of Independence and sample declarations from around the world. An eye-opening list of declarations of independence since 1776 is compiled here for the first time. This unique global perspective demonstrates the singular role of the United States document as a founding statement of our modern world.

A Global History

The Declaration of Independence

Hamish, the lighthouse cat, is stuck up a tree far away from his cosy lighthouse home. And Mr Grinling and his great-nephew, George, are stuck in the lighthouse on Christmas Eve! Find out if they all get home safely in these two delightful Lighthouse Keeper stories, now in one handy B-format bind-up.

The Lighthouse Keeper's Surprise

A new addition this modern classic series! Someone is dumping rubbish into the sea! Mr Grinling's nephew George thinks it could be pirates ... or could the culprit be someone closer to home? A charming new story in this beloved series, with an important conservation message.

The Lighthouse Keeper's Mystery

Mr Grinling likes to look for mermaids on his days off. but the golden- haired creature he spots on a rock isn't quite what he expected.

The Lighthouse Keeper's New Friend

Will Mrs Grinling will ever stop the greedy seagulls eating the lighthouse keeper's lunch? And will greedy Mr Grinling ever stop snacking? Find out in these two charming Lighthouse Keeper classics, now in one fantastic, B-format bind-up.

The Lighthouse Keeper Stories

Shin-Tson Wu

Ian Underwood

Microdisplays are tiny, high-resolution electronic displays, designed for use in magnifying optical systems such as HDTV projectors and near-eye personal viewers. As a result of research and development into this field, Microdisplays are incorporated in a variety of visual electronics, notably new 3G portable communications devices, digital camera technologies, wireless internet applications, portable DVD viewers and wearable PCs. Introduction to Microdisplays encapsulates this market through describing in detail the theory, structure, fabrication and applications of Microdisplays. In particular this book: Provides excellent reference material for the Microdisplay industry through including an overview of current applications alongside a guide to future developments in the field Covers all current technologies and devices such as Silicon Wafer Backplane Technology, Liquid Crystal Devices, Micromechanical Devices, and the emerging area of Organic Light Emitting Diodes Presents guidance on the design of applications of Microdisplays, including Microdisplays for defence and telecoms, from basic principles through to their performance limitations Introduction to Microdisplays is a thorough and comprehensive reference on this emerging topic. It is essential reading for display technology manufacturers, developers, and system integrators, as well as practising electrical engineers, physicists, chemists and specialists in the display field. Graduate students, researchers, and developers working in optics, material science, and telecommunications will also find this a valuable resource. The Society for Information Display (SID) is an international society, which has the aim of encouraging the development of all aspects of the field of information display. Complementary to the aims of the society, the Wiley-SID series is intended to explain the latest developments in information display technology at a professional level. The broad scope of the series addresses all facets of information displays from technical aspects through systems and prototypes to standards and ergonomics

Introduction to Microdisplays

Becky Edwards

Sammy does not go to school with his older brother. Sammy has to go to school on a special bus. They cannot play in the park together. Sammy lies under the tree and watches the leaves. They are constantly at cross purposes because Sammy is autistic and does not know how to be a 'normal brother.' Then one day the older brother realises that he should not demand everything on his own terms and that Sammy's way of doing things may not be so bad. This moving book realistically portrays life with an autistic child in the family. It does not promise any simple solution but reminds us all that understanding and compromise are vital ingredients in a good relationship.

My Brother Sammy

Bürgerkriege sind die Kriege unserer Zeit. Das neue Standardwerk über innerstaatliche Konflikte "Diese lang erwartete Studie über den Bürgerkrieg ist eine Ideengeschichte, die den Kampf um den Begriff mit den realen Kämpfen verwebt, vom alten Rom über die großen Bürgerkriege der Neuzeit bis hin zum zerrütteten Syrien heute." Johan Schloemann, Süddeutsche Zeitung Vom Balkan über Afghanistan, den Irak oder Südsudan bis hin zu den aktuellen Ereignissen in Syrien und der Ukraine: Der Bürgerkrieg ist zur vorherrschenden Form politischer Gewalt in unserer modernen Welt geworden. Was genau meinen wir aber, wenn wir von Bürgerkrieg sprechen? Und wer entscheidet darüber, wann eine Auseinandersetzung zum Bürgerkrieg wird? Innerstaatliche Konflikte, asymmetrische Kriegsführung, Rebellion und Revolution bezeichnen gewaltsame Ausbrüche im Inneren eines Landes – doch die begrifflichen und faktischen Grenzen verschwimmen. Armitage zeigt anhand historischer Beispiele auf, dass der Bürgerkrieg in unserer Gegenwart seine Blütezeit erfährt. Seine einzigartige Perspektive auf die Ursprünge und spezifischen Dynamiken des Phänomens verdeutlicht, dass allein die Benennung eines innerstaatlichen Konflikts als Bürgerkrieg dessen Ausgang beeinflussen kann.

Vom Wesen innerstaatlicher Konflikte

Bürgerkrieg

Theories of Empire, 1450-1800 draws upon published and unpublished work by leading scholars in the history of European expansion and the history of political thought. It covers the whole span of imperial theories from ancient Rome to the American founding, and includes a series of essays which address the theoretical underpinnings of the Spanish, Portuguese, French, British and Dutch empires in both the Americas and in Asia. The volume is unprecedented in its attention to the wider intellectual contexts within which those empires were situated - particularly the discourses of universal monarchy, millenarianism, mercantalism, and federalism - and in its mapping of the shift from Roman conceptions of imperium to the modern idea of imperialism.

Theories of Empire, 1450–1800

Alison Bashford

The first comprehensive account to place the Pacific Islands, the Pacific Rim and the Pacific Ocean into the perspective of world history. A highly distinguished international team of historians provides a chronological and thematic exploration of the Pacific, its inhabitants and the lands within and around it over 50,000 years.

Ocean, Land, People

Pacific Histories

Armitage David

Comprehensive history of British conceptions of empire from the 1540s to the 1740s.

The Ideological Origins of the British Empire

Tatty Brown is afraid of the dark. That is until she is taken on a wonderful journey with the Queen of the Night. A sophisticated picture book. Suggested level: junior, primary.

Queen of the Night

Once there was a lighthouse keeper called Mr. Grinling. At night time he lived in a small white cottage perched high on the cliffs, and in the daytime he rowed out to his lighthouse to clean and polish the light. Mr and Mrs Grinling are looking forward to an extra-special Christmas with their great-nephew, George. But on Christmas Eve, Mr Grinling and George get stranded in the middle of a storm! Can Mrs Grinling reach them in time for Christmas dinner? The first Lighthouse Keeper story, THE LIGHTHOUSE KEEPER'S LUNCH, published over thirty years ago. It is now a modern picture book classic, and his adventures have been loved by children ever since.

The Lighthouse Keeper's Christmas

Conal Condren

Andrew Fitzmaurice

Leading literary scholars and historians examine Shakespeare's engagement with the characteristic questions of early modern political thought.

David Armitage

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