In this stimulating and authoritative overview, Michael Pearson reverses the traditional angle of maritime history and looks from the sea to its shores - its impact on the land through trade, naval power, travel and scientific exploration. This vast ocean, both connecting and separating nations, has shaped many countries' cultures and ideologies through the movement of goods, people, ideas and religions across the sea.The Indian Ocean moves from a discussion of physical el...

Selected by Choice Magazine as an Outstanding Academic TitleIn Port Cities and Intruders, historian Michael Pearson explores the role of port cities and their orientation, relations between the coast and the interior, the place of the coast in the world economy, and the impact of the Portuguese in the early modern period.

The Yearbook of Transnational History is dedicated to disseminating pioneering research in the field of transnational history. This sixth volume investigates the treatment of tangible and intangible heritage sites created before and after the advent of nation states and in spaces that are not under the control of nation states. Contributors discuss the appropriation of heritage sites that originated in the era of the Crusades by modern nation states, the lack of national appropriation in t...

When the Burma campaign is discussed, the turning point battles of Imphal and Kohima are most often thought of. However General Bill Slims bold but risky plan to outflank the Japanese on the Irrawaddy at Mandalay deserves far more credit.With the Japanese withdrawing, Slims 14 Army (with two Corps XXXIII and IV) risked a punishing crossing of the mighty Irrawaddy at Mandalay opposed by the main Japanese army. To avoid this is was decided to split 14 Army and send IV Corps on an arduous 300...

This WWII naval history recounts one of the most iconic actions of Allied courage under fire as the embattled SS Ohio completes its mission to Malta.The fortified island of Malta was the lynchpin of the Allied campaign in the Mediterranean and North African theaters. It was the vital base from which to attack Axis convoys supplying Rommel's Panzer Army in Libya. The difficulties of keeping supplies, especially oil, flowing to Malta, however, were immense. B...

The story concerns Mike Brookes and his Pegasus Car Company as they attempt to build and enter a two car team for the 1957 Targa Florio road race in Sicily. Pegasus build road-going sports cars but Brookes wants to take them onto an international stage to compete with the likes of Ferrari Maserati and Mercedes. He selects the Targa Florio as it is the toughest road race in the world combining a car breaking mountain section with a long flat-out 180mph straight. Brookes problems are many - he ...

The Black Country in the West Midlands is an important site for family historians. Many researchers, seeking to trace their ancestry back through the generations, will find their trail leads through it. And yet, despite the burgeoning interest in genealogy and the importance of the region in so many life stories, no previous book has provided a guide to the Black Country's history and to the documents and records that family historians can use in their research. In this accessible and info...

This is not a book about the Great War; it is about life during the war. Changes in people's lives: their work, home, food, entertainment and news. I used original research material including newspapers, to paint a picture of life in the Black Country.Manufacturing was vital; we were well-equipped to supply the engines of war. The region had motor manufacturers who made aero engines, tanks, guns, munitions and much more. Towards the end of the war the Black Country became one huge munition...

Michael Pearson writes about his travels to places of literary import: Frost's Vermont, Faulkner's Mississippi, Flannery O'Connor's Georgia, Hemingway's Key West, Steinbeck's California, and Twain's Missouri.

Archaeology in Antarctica outlines the history of archaeology in the Antarctic and sub-Antarctic.The book details for the first time all past archaeological work in Antarctica, relating to both its use for conservation and research purposes, drawing on published, unpublished and oral information. This work has addressed historic and current scientific bases, explorers’ huts, whaling stations and sealing shelters. The ongoing and long-term research on the sealing shelters a...

Following Imagined Places, Pearson continues exploring place and writing as he mentally revisits locations that have influenced him through his life-childhood home, family vacations, the various places he’s taught, etc.

Pastoral Australia tells the story of the expansion of Australia's pastoral industry, how it drove European settlement and involved Aboriginal people in the new settler society. The rural life that once saw Australia 'ride on the sheep's back' is no longer what defines us, yet it is largely our history as a pastoral nation that has endured in heritage places and which is embedded in our self-image as Australians. The challenges of sustaining a pastoral industry in Australia make a compelling ...