European History in Perspective
Series · 38
books · 1996-2010
Books in series
#1
Beyond Calvin
The Intellectual, Political and Cultural World of Europe's Reformed Churches, c. 1540-1620
2004
This book considers the Reformed churches of Europe in an international and comparative context from around 1540 to 1620\. Graeme Murdock discusses how Calvinism operated as an international movement by looking at links between Reformed churches, communities, and states, and then goes on to explain what Calvinist churches across Europe stood for. Murdock focuses on how Calvinists sought to purify the practice of Christian religion, and to renew European politics, society and culture.
#2
Catholic Germany from the Reformation to the Enlightenment
2007
This is the first book length study in English of the development of Catholic identity and a specific German Catholic culture in the 300 years after the Protestant Reformation. Focusing on religious and cultural history, Forster highlights the importance of Catholicism in the German\-speaking lands and seeks to integrate the study of Catholic Germany into our understanding of the origins of both modern Germany and modern European Catholicism.
#3
Crown and Nobility in Early Modern France
2001
This book analyzes the evolving relationship between the French monarchy and the French nobility in the early modern period. New interpretations of the absolutist state in France have challenged the orthodox vision of the interaction between the crown and elite society. Using the three examples of Provence, Brittany, and Dauphiné, Bohanan illustrates the ways in which elites organized and mobilized by vertical ties were co\-opted or subverted by the crown.
#4
The Dreyfus Affair
Honour and Politics in the Belle Époque
1999
The Dreyfus Affair, or simply L'Affaire, was the defining event in French life between the disasters of the Franco\-Prussian War and the First World War. After decades of prosperity and growth following the Prussian invasion, the destruction of the Paris Commune and the seemingly successful creation of the Third Republic, the Affair cruelly exposed the bitter divisions within French society. The French army was torn apart, ministers were forced to resign, new political groupings were created, and ultimately, the Affair led to an attempted coup and contributed to the paranoia that almost resulted in a catastrophic Anglo\-French war in 1898\. This short work fills the need for a comprehensible, concise book which focuses on the scale and complexity of the Dreyfus Affair.
#5
The Dutch Republic in the Seventeenth Century
1998
The Dutch Republic emerged from the epic revolt of the Netherlands against Spanish rule in the late sixteenth century and almost immediately became a major political force in Europe. In this book, Leslie Price\-\-an acknowledged expert in the field\-\-shows how this extraordinary new state, a republic in a Europe of monarchies, was able to achieve such successes despite the burdens of the Eighty Years War with Spain, which only came to a definitive end in 1648\. The engine behind these achievements was the phenomenal growth of the Dutch economy which, within a few decades, had become the most powerful in Europe. This book offers a concise but penetrating survey of the major features of Dutch history in this period, challenging previous interpretations and showing how the economic boom of the late sixteenth and early seventeenth centuries produced a vigorous society that was able to combine religious pluralism with relative political stability and rapid social change with a remarkable vitality.
#6
The Early Modern European Economy
1999
Until recently, study of the early modern economy in Europe has tended to have heroes and villains: the former being the progressive and 'modern' economies of the Netherlands and England, and the latter being doomed, backward and Catholic Italy and Spain. This picture has now changed quite drastically, and there is far more emphasis on the general growth of the European economy during this period. The progressive removal of the neighbouring threats to European prosperity (particularly the gradual crippling of Ottoman power) created an environment which benefited all societies and not simply the traditionally emphasised 'Atlantic' economies.
#7
The End of Imperial Russia, 1855-1917
1997
This book explores the long-term reasons for the demise of Imperial Russia, examining the failure of the autocratic state to strengthen its own political position while economic change transformed Russian society. It seeks to explain its debilitating internal tensions and to link these to the pressures exerted by Russia's repeated failure in war and by the empire's continuing expansion. Lastly, it analyzes what led to Russia being governed, only eight months after the collapse of Tsarism, by the Bolsheviks' revolutionary regime.
#8
European Communism
1848-1991
2002
The course of modern European History has been influenced greatly by the challenge of Communism. In theory it promised equality and freedom for all. In practice it spawned inegalitarian, authoritarian and, in some instances, monstrous regimes in the former Soviet Union and East Europe.
This study re\-examines the history of European Communism from its theoretical origins in the work of Marx and Engels in the mid\-nineteenth century until the dramatic collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991\. Ronald Kowalski reappraises Marx's thinking and points out that his intellectual legacy was open to a variety of interpretations often at odds with his own views. Kowalski also questions Lenin's professed Marxist credentials and the extent to which his additions to Marxist theory were central to the key issue in the history of why did the egalitarian and libertarian dreams raised by the Russian Revolution degenerate into Stalinist authoritarianism and terror? Furthermore, why did Communism fail in West Europe while it was able to come to power in East Europe?
Concluding with an analysis of the revolutions which swept away the Communist regimes in East Europe and two years later in the Soviet Union itself, this is an essential introduction to the history of a political force that dominated parts of Europe until the end of the twentieth century.
#9
The Fifth French Republic
2004
At the time of its founding, few predicted that the Fifth Republic would survive. It is a regime whose obituary has been written several times over, but which stubbornly refuses to die.
Adopting a chronological framework, this up\-to\-date study examines how the regime emerged out of the chaos of the Algerian crisis, how its political evolution has been very different from that envisaged by de Gaulle, and why it has endured. Nicholas Atkin explains the success of the Fifth Republic but likewise illustrates the underlying problems within it. As the 2002 presidential elections have shown, although there is little prospect of regime change, liberal democracy is not in a particularly healthy state. While the political narrative takes centre stage, Atkin also explores the key social, economic and international developments which have shaped the modern history of France and affected its standing both in Europe and the rest of the world.
#10
The French Revolution, 1789-1804
Authority, Liberty and the Search for Stability
2004
This book is designed to move students quickly to the exciting thematic subjects at the center of current debate on the Revolution and the Counter\-Revolution. After a short narrative focusing on continuities and ruptures inside the Revolution, the creation of a new political culture is covered in chapters on institutions, political participation, and rhetoric. Nigel Aston deliberately takes a wide perspective and is concerned throughout with the reception of Revolutionary values in Europe, in the French colonies, and the United States.
#11
From Reich to Revolution
German History 1558-1806
2004
This major new textbook weaves insights from new research into a comprehensive account of German social, political and cultural development across two centuries. Peter H. Wilson addresses fundamental questions, such as how the apparently fragile structure of the Holy Roman Empire survived the trauma of the Thirty Years War, and why, despite gross social inequality, Germany did not experience mass French\-style revolution.
#12
Gorbachev and His Revolution
1997
By turns radical, uncertain, ambitious, and autocratic, Mikhail Gorbachev in his bid to reform the Soviet Union has shaped the contemporary world. In 1985, he set out to modernize the Soviet state and revive his Communist Party. Instead, by the end of 1991, the USSR had fragmented and the Party was banned. Institutions which had survived for 70 years, notwithstanding Stalin's murderous purges and the Nazi war machine, proved unable to survive his well-meant reforms. This is a concise and lively introduction to the man and his times, setting them in the context of a decaying and ramshackle empire and an ideology long since betrayed by its professed followers. Simply and clearly, it follows Gorbachev's increasingly desperate attempts to control the forces he unleashed and hold together a state whose days were over. Ultimately, Gorbachev failed yet, as this study concludes, from his revolution arose an historic opportunity to redefine Russia's place in the world and break with a centuries-long autocratic tradition.
#13
Governing Tsarist Russia
2007
The Tsarist Empire posed unique problems to its rulers. Peter Waldron examines the challenges that faced them in terms of geography, culture, finance and military power, analysing the sources of the Russian Empire's strength and the reasons why\-\-when other European monarchies were forced to surrender authority\-\-the tsars were able to maintain their unlimited power for so long.
#14
The Great Depression in Europe, 1929-1939
2000
This is a comparative study of the origins, course and consequences of deepest economic crisis in modern European history. Written with the non\-economist in mind, the book explores recent research into the causes of the depression, notably the gold standard "system" which helped to turn recession into profound depression and to transmit its effects around the world. The book gives equal weight to the political and historical context of economic policy\-political attitudes and expectations, institutional opinions, strategic considerations, the 'legacies and lessons'\-to explain why European countries chose nationalist routes to recovery. International co\-operation offered the best chance for recovery and the book also contains a lively account of why this failed and its consequences for international relations in the 1930s.
#15
The Habsburg Monarchy, 1490-1848
Attributes of Empire
2003
Was the Habsburg monarchy an empire like those of Great Britain, France or Spain? Drawing upon modern theoretical perspectives on European expansion to answer this question, the author argues that the Habsburg holdings did indeed constitute a form of European imperialism. She examines the role of the interaction between Habsburg rulers, territorial estates, and religious institutions in the expansion of the empire. The book then goes on to explore the reorientation of these relationships through the impact of the European Enlightenment, the beginning of the Industrial Revolution, and more.
#16
Late Medieval France
2009
This book provides a fresh introduction to the political history of late medieval France duing the turbulent period of the Hundred Years' War, taking into account the social, economic and religious contexts. Graeme Small considers not just the monarchy but also prelates, noble networks and the emerging municipalities in this new analysis.
#17
Lenin
The Practice and Theory of Revolution
2001
This political and intellectual biographical study of Lenin focuses on aspects of his thought and political activities that had a bearing on the accession of the Bolsheviks to power in Russia in 1917 and the creation of the Soviet state. The book places Lenin in the context of his times and shows his relationship to other socialist thinkers. In particular, it locates Lenin within the development of Marxist thought in Russia. Its historiographical chapter reveals the political factors that influenced the way biographies of Lenin were written in the Soviet Union. The book makes extensive use of first\-hand materials including sources from the Russian archives.
#18
The Long European Reformation
Religion, Political Conflict, and the Search for Conformity, 1350-1750
2003
Peter G. Wallace interweaves the Reformation into the transformations of political institutions, socioeconomic structures, gender relations, and cultural values in early modern Europe. In approaching the European Reformation as a long-term process, Wallace argues that the classic sixteenth-century religious struggles with the resolutions proposed by reformers such as Luther, were not fully realized for most Christians until the early eighteenth century.
#19
Louis XIV
1998
In this concise, up\-to\-date analysis of Louis XIV and France in its great age of cultural achievement, David Sturdy penetrates beneath the well\-known events, personalities and images of the reign to gain an understanding of the historical forces and realities with which Louis XIV and France had to contend. He presents a carefully organized and lucid account of the "defining" aspects of the reign: the nature of French monarchy, methods of government, Louis' relationship to his subjects and to the churches, the organization of cultural life, and France's relations with the rest of Europe.
#20
The Making and Breaking of the Soviet System
An Interpretation
2001
The consequences of the Russian Revolution of 1917 have been among the most dominant shaping forces of the twentieth century, eventually dividing almost the entire globe into a battleground between capitalism and communism. The reputations of the main leaders of Russia/the Soviet Union \- Lenin, Stalin, Khrushchev, Brezhnev, Gorbachev and Yeltsin \- have soared and plummeted. Great achievements such as victory over Nazi Germany; putting the first satellite and human in space; building a massive industrial base and advancing the living and educational standards of the population have been undermined by political repression and incalculable human cost.
In a cool, non\-polemical manner, the author shows how the contradictory parts of the Soviet experience are linked. Using post\-Soviet materials and perspectives he examines the reasons for the successes and failures of the Soviet system. In particular, the book argues that the underlying reasons for the system's collapse can be found in the contradictions of the revolution which gave birth to it. The consequences are traced through the Stalin Revolution, the Great Terror, the Second World War, the Cold War, the Khrushchev and Brezhnev years down to Gorbachev's doomed attempt to transform the Soviet system. Particular attention is given to the divergence between the aspirations of the leadership and the social evolution of the ordinary Russian people. The study concludes with a survey of the post\-Soviet scene from Yeltsin to Putin. The result is a volume indispensible to anyone who needs a readily comprehensible guide to the Russia that lies beyond the stereotypes.
#21
Medieval Germany, 500-1300
A Political Interpretation
1997
Medieval Germany, 500 - 1300 is an interpretation of the foundation of Germany based upon the three most outstanding characteristics of the medieval polity: its division into several distinct peoples with their own customs, dialects, and economic interests from whom the later 'Germans' would be drawn; the imperial ambitions to which the successive German dynasties aspired; and the structure of German kingship, which was a military, religious, and juridical exercise of authority rather than a meticulous administration based upon scribal institutions.
#22
Moltke and the German Wars, 1864-1871
2001
The Prussian Army invented the systems of modern war, and Helmuth von Moltke was the first modern war planner. His accomplishment was to develop, bring to fruition and validate—in the three wars of German unification against Denmark (1864), Austria (1865), and France (1870-71)—the war processes invented during his lifetime. These processes have been used in all modern 20th-century wars because they respond to the size, space, time, and technology mandates of industrial mass warfare. This book describes and analyzes these developments as an aspect of Moltke's life as a professional soldier.
#23
Napoleon and the Transformation of Europe
2003
Alexander Grab explores the impact of Napoleon's domination throughout his empire and the response of the Europeans to his rule. This important book focuses on the developments and the events in the ten states that comprised the Grand Empire: France itself, Belgium, Germany, The Illyrian Provinces, Italy, the Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Spain and Switzerland. Grab discusses Napoleon's exploitation of occupied Europe and particularly his reform policies, and assesses their success in transforming Europe.
#24
Nazi Germany
2006
Nazi Germany is a succinct general study of the origins and development of the Nazi dictatorship, its impact on Germany and Europe and its consequences for our understanding of German and European history. Tim Kirk focuses on the relationship between Nazism and German society, and covers a number of important and controversial themes, including the social base of Nazism, the role of Hitler in the party and the Third Reich, the impact of Nazism on the everyday lives of ordinary Germans and the relationship between Nazi racial and eugenic policies and the Holocaust. He also examines the role of Hitler and Nazi ideology in the development of German foreign policy and concludes with a review of the many different interpretations and explanations of Nazism.
#25
The Paris Commune
French Politics, Culture, and Society at the Crossroads of the Revolutionary Tradition and Revolutionary Socialism
2005
At the end of the "Bloody Week" in May 1871, which saw the defeat of the Paris Commune, more people were killed at Paris than were executed throughout France during the French Revolution's ten-month Reign of Terror. Situating the Commune within the political culture and traditions bequeathed to the nineteenth century by the French Revolution, this survey of the Commune is designed to familiarize students with its historical antecedents, its narrative history, and those topics which have rendered the Commune so critical to an understanding of revolutions.
#26
Peace, War and the European Powers, 1814-1914
1996
The causes of war have tended to attract more attention than the causes of peace, yet the two are intimately related. As study of the whole question of the best methods by which to defend and advance thenational interest is often more illuminating on why wars were avoided. This valuable book will be welcomed by anyone wishing to understand the nature of European state relations in the nineteenth century.
#27
Philip II
2001
Four hundred years after his death, Philip II remains one of the most controversial figures in history, admired and reviled in equal measure. He is a figure of global importance, the first ruler on whose territories the sun never set. He led Europe in its defence against the seemingly irresistable power of the Ottoman Empire and many of the nations of Western Europe were forged in part by their responses to his ambitions - Portugal was conquered and most of Italy was controlled by him, while the Low Countries, England and France fought long and bitter wars against him. Philip proclaimed himself the leader of Catholic Europe but quarrelled incessantly with the popes of the Counter-Reformation. In consolidating his monarchy in Spain, Philip used the arts as a political tool; Titian and Palestrina did some of their greatest work for him.
This new study traces the development of Philip II and of a kingship that lay at the heart of European political, religious and cultural evolution. It looks in detail at the ministers who worked with this most demanding of kings and at the government that evolved during his reign. It deals also with the pressures of a tortured private life and explores the paradox of a man who as a young ruler was deeply prudent but who became extraordinarily aggressive in his old age and who by his successes and failures - both of them on an epic scale - re-shaped the world in which he lived.
#28
The Refashioning of Catholicism, 1450-1700
A Reassessment of the Counter-Reformation
1999
Throughout its history, Christianity has adapted to contemporary society and culture in order to reach people effectively and have an impact on the world. This process often evokes controversy. Certainly this is the case in the current century, and so it was in the sixteenth. Robert Bireley argues that early modern Catholicism, the period known more traditionally as the Counter Reformation, was both shaped by and an active response to the profound changes of the sixteenth century - the growth of the state; economic expansion and social dislocation; European colonialism across the seas; the Renaissance; and, of course, the Protestant Reformation.
#29
The Reign of Charles V
2002
Charles V ruled the first truly global empire. His reign saw, amongst other things, the conquests of Mexico and Peru, the religious transformation of Europe by the Protestant and Catholic Reformations, and the establishment of a Habsburg empire in Eastern Europe. Maltby's engaging new study not only looks at the emperor as a person, but also examines such important critical issues as his policies and their consequences. Concise and readable, it provides an indispensable introduction to an era that changed the world.
#30
Richelieu and Mazarin
A Study in Statesmanship
2003
Drawing on recent research, David Sturdy presents a concise and comparative analysis of the private and public careers of Richelieu and Mazarin. Several chapters are devoted to such central themes as the international government of France and the conduct of foreign policy, while others deal with the political strategies of the two men, the relations between the ministers and the crown, and the patronage which they exercised. The study concludes with an assessment of the historical significance of Richelieu and Mazarin.
#31
The Second World War
1999
The Second World War ended the Nazi attempt to establish Germany as the dominant power in Europe and the world and Japan's aim of controlling South East Asia and the Pacific. It also resulted in the creation of two super\-powers and led to the Cold War.
A.W. Purdue provides one of the most concise yet comprehensive accounts of the entire course of World War II, covering both the European and the Asian Pacific conflicts. Thoroughly revised and updated in the light of the latest scholarship, this second edition of an established text:
\- challenges accepted views and reassesses the war, rejecting the simplistic concept of a "war against fascism"
\- discusses the historiography and critically analyzes key themes and issues, as well as examining current debates
\- considers changes in popular attitudes to the Second World War.
Ideal for students and general readers alike, this is an essential introduction to the causes, nature and significance of World War II from the perspective of the twenty\-first century.
#32
Stalin
Revolutionary in an Era of War
2006
Stalin's massive impact on Soviet history is often explained in terms of his inherent evil, personality defects, and power lust. This volume argues that Stalin's thoughts and actions are best contextualized in the inter-relationship between war and revolution in the first half of the twentieth century. Kevin McDermott incorporates recently declassified materials from the former Soviet Party archives and provides a critical review of western and Russian historiography.
#33
Sweden in the Seventeenth Century
2004
This is a survey of the point in history when Sweden rose to preeminence in Europe. Drawing on the latest literature in Swedish and other languages, Paul Lockhart examines the institutions of the Swedish 'empire' at the height of its influence, while focusing on the key historical questions: why did this impoverished state become a great power, how was it able to maintain this status, and what brought about its eventual decline?
#34
The Thirty Years War
The Holy Roman Empire and Europe 1618-48
1997
Historians have tried time and again to identify the central issues of the conflict which devastated Europe between 1618 and 1648. The Thirty Years War by Ronald G. Asch puts the religious and constitutional struggle in the Holy Roman Empire squarely back into the centre of events. However, other issues are not neglected. Thus the problems of war finance are shown to be an important key to the interaction between inter-state and domestic conflicts during the war. Equally confessional tensions are analysed as a decisive factor linking international and domestic disputes, and the reader is provided with a succinct narrative account concentrating on the major turning points of the war.
#35
Twentieth-Century Spain
Politics and Society, 1898-1998
1999
Today, Spain is a modern society with an important profile in the European Union. This image contrasts strikingly with the reality of Spain just one hundred years ago. After the loss of almost all her overseas empire in 1898, Spain faced the new century handicapped by her international isolation, backward economy and a stagnant and elitist political system.
Twentieth-Century Spain tells the gripping story of this country's long and often painful struggle towards modernity. During this period, Spain has seen two monarchies, one republic, two dictatorships and one of the bloodiest civil wars in Europe's recent history.
#36
Warfare in the Nineteenth Century
2001
Warfare in the Nineteenth Century not only covers warfare as it evolved throughout the century, but also explores its connection with, and effect on, technical, social, economic, political, and cultural change. The book discusses specific battles and campaigns in order to highlight the turning points in the development of the way in which military operations were conducted. David Gates places war during the 1800's in its wider historical context in a way that is thoughtful, wide\-ranging, and informed.
#37
The Western Front
Battleground and Home Front in the First World War
2003
This study of World War I crosses the boundaries of national histories to examine the various connections between the 400-mile-long Western Front and the home fronts of the United Kingdom, France, Germany, Canada, Australia, the United States, and other participants. A thorough reexamination of the Great War has been underway since the 1970s and this book draws on enormously rich primary and secondary sources to synthesize a complex event, rethinking the patterns of war, society, culture, and governance in the early twentieth century.
#38
The Zenith of European Monarchy and Its Elites
The Politics of Culture, 1650-1750
2010
By the mid\-sevententh century several European monarchies were collapsing. Focusing on a key elite bonding strategy, this new survey shows how monarchs resolved to work with, rather than against, their elites. Nicholas Henshall's synthesis offers an argument for the coherence of the period \- as the height of European monarchy and its elites.
Authors
Arden Bucholz
Author · 1 books
Arden Bucholz is Professor of History at SUNY, Brockport.
Peter H. Wilson
Author · 7 books
Peter Hamish Wilson is a British historian. Since 2015, he has held the Chichele Professor of the History of War chair at All Souls College, University of Oxford.
Nicholas Atkin
Author · 2 books
A specialist in French history, Nicholas James Atkin was professor of modern European history at the University of Reading. He read History at Westfield College from 1979 until 1982, and he earned his Ph.D. at Royal Holloway, University of London in 1988.
Paula Sutter Fichtner
Author · 2 books
Paula Sutter Fichtner is professor of history emerita at Brooklyn College and Graduate Center at the City University of New York.
Peter G. Wallace
Author · 1 books
Peter Wallace is a Professor of History at Hartwick College.
William S. Maltby
Author · 4 books
William S. Maltby, Professor of History Emeritus at the University of Missouri-St Louis. He has written widely on the subject of Spain and the Spanish Empire in the sixteenth century and related topics.
Hunt Tooley
Author · 1 books
Hunt Tooley is Professor of History and Chair of the History Department at Austin College in Sherman, Texas. He specializes in Modern European History and is the author of The Western Front and National Identity and Weimar Germany. He is an Associate Editor of the Independent Review.
