To a large degree, the story of Texas’ secession from Mexico has been undertaken by scholars of the state. Early twentieth century historians of the revolutionary period, most notably Eugene Barker and William Binkley, characterized the conflict as a clash of two opposing cultures, yet their exclusive focus on the region served to reinforce popular notions of a unique Texas past.Disconnected from a broader historiography, scholars have been left to ponder the most arcane details of...

The definitive biography of the great soldier-statesman by the acclaimed author of Churchill and The Last King of America—winner of the LA Times Book prize, finalist for the Plutarch prize, winner of the Fondation Napoleon prize and a New York Times bestseller“A thrilling tale of military and political genius… Roberts is an uncommonly gifted writer.” —The Washington PostAusterlitz, Borodino, Waterloo: his battles are amon...

On 25 January 2011, bestselling Egyptian novelist Alaa Al Aswany joined a million protestors in Tahrir Square calling for President Hosni Mubarak's departure. This was the moment he and other pro-democracy activists had been working towards, but could never be sure would come.Why did Egypt unexpectedly revolt? In a weekly newspaper column Al Aswany had been exposing the injustices of the Mubarak regime for years, arguing that 'democracy is the solution'. Here the most incisive, pre...

WHITE NIGHTS, Menachem Begin’s memoir of his arrest, interrogation and imprisonment by the Soviet authorities after the outbreak of World War II, ranks with House of the Dead and Gulag Archipelago as a masterpiece of prison literature. As the head of Betar, the Zionist youth movement founded by Vladimir Jabotinsky, Begin knew he was under constant surveillance. He watched as his associates either fled or were arrested, but continued his activities until the knock on the door came a...

With the rise of the global protestor—from Arab Spring to the Occupy movement—the term "anarchist" has been littered throughout mainstream media as never before. But just as frequently, its definition is skewed or left wanting: anarchists are painted as nihilists, supporters of chaos, or even terrorists.In Order without Power, an informative primer, Normand Baillargeon thoroughly defines anarchism and recounts its long history. In outlining the forerunners of this movement...

American historian Brooks Adams critised capitalism and sort to explain the development of commercialism, he theorised a predictable rise and fall in commercial activities with the formation of commercial centres based on a need for such activities to be more easily practised. He also expounded upon the desire to increase individual wealth which leads to the discarding of spiritual values and an eventual and total break down of society as a result of greed.

Paul Avrich’s The Russian Anarchists records the history and ideas of Russian anarchism from the 19th century through to its brutal suppression by the Bolsheviks in the 1920s. All the major personalities are discussed in detail: Bakunin, Kropotkin, Baron, Rogdaev, Chernyi, Makhno, Volin, Shapiro, Maksimov. The well-documented study includes comprehensive end notes, a chronology and an annotated bibliography. Part I focuses on the events and personalities leading up to 1905, while part II d...

How did life begin? What is the theory of evolution and is it proven? Are we really descended from apes? And has evolution stalled or is humanity just a step on the way to more advanced forms of life?Through 200 mini-essays, expert palaeontologist Darren Naish answers these and many other fundamental questions on the most controversial topic of all. From the theories of Charles Darwin and the Survival of the Fittest to cutting-edge research on consciousness and art...

***José María de Jesús Carvajal***is both a biography of a Mexican postrevolutionary and a study of the development of a new border between Mexico and the United States during the crucial decades of the early to midnineteenth century. The work examines the challenges faced by Carvajal, a bilingual, bicultural character in confusing times, against the historical backdrop of the history of colonial Texas and northern Mexico.Chance has chosen to focus on a political-military figure w...

In this biography of Joaquín de Arredondo, historian Bradley Folsom brings to life one of the most influential and ruthless leaders in North American history. Arredondo (1776–1837), a Bourbon loyalist who governed Texas and the other interior provinces of northeastern New Spain during the Mexican War of Independence, contended with attacks by revolutionaries, U.S. citizens, generals who had served in Napoleon’s army, pirates, and various American Indian groups, all attempting to wrest cont...

This is the most extensive collection of Peter Kropotkin's writings available in English. Over half the selections have been translated for the first time or salvaged from long-out-of-print pamphlets and newspapers. Both an introduction to classic texts and a recontextualization of Kropotkin from saintly philosopher to dangerous revolutionary, Direct Struggle Against Capital includes a historical introduction, biographical sketch, glossary, bibliography, and index....