10. The Industrial Revolution in Britain

This innovative survey of world history from earliest times to the present focuses on the role of four factors in the development of humankind: climate, communication and transportation technology, scientific advances, and the competence of political elites. Matossian moves chronologically through fifteen historic periods showing how one or more of the causative factors led to significant breakthroughs in human history. Shaping World History is based on original research and also draws widely from the literature on the history of science, technology, climate, agriculture, and historical epidemiology. This compelling analysis is presented in a personal style and includes reflections on how things work and why they are important.

The writing of history will only flourish if there is a vehicle for its publication: such was Sir Keith Sinclair’s vision when he founded The New Zealand Journal of History in 1967. Since then the journal has been the conduit for a flow of remarkable history writing. The Shaping of History brings together a selection of essays from its first 30 years by some of the nation’s best-known historians, including Judith Binney, Tipene O’Regan, Claudia Orange, Barbara Brookes, Alan Ward, Jock Phillips and Jamie Belich. Their sharp analysis and great storytelling make the collection an essential resource for understanding how New Zealand history is shaped.

Thucydides' work was one of the most exciting creations in the cultural history of Greece in the fifth century BC - one of only two monumental prose works to have survived - and it still poses fresh and challenging questions about the writing of history. In the twenty-first century, it still challenges the reader: there is a marked tension in Thucydides' History between his aim to write about contemporary events and his desire that his work should outlast the period in which he composed it. Thucydides and the Shaping of History addresses two important issues: how contemporary was the History when it was written in the fifth century, and how 'contemporary' is it now? This book approaches the shaping of history from three different angles: the way in which Thucydides shaped history and how his narrative shapes our experience as readers of the History; the relationship between Thucydides' work and contemporary institutions, such as the theatre; and the role that ancient readers and modern scholars have played in shaping how we perceive the History. This book combines a close analysis of Thucydides' narrative with a discussion of its intellectual motivation; it examines how the historian attempted to determine the way in which readers would respond to his conception of the events of the Atheno-Peloponnesian War, and to ensure the continuing influence of his ideas.

A COMPANION TOWORLD HISTORY "This new volume offers insightful reflections by both leading and emerging world historians on approaches, methodologies, arguments, and pedagogies of a sub-discipline that has continued to be in flux as well as in need of defining itself as a relevant alternative to the traditional national, regional, or chronological fields of inquiry" Choice "The focus...on the practicalities of how to do world history probably gives it its edge. Its thirty-three chapters are grouped into sections that address how to set up research projects in world history, how to teach it, how to get jobs in it, how to frame it, and how it is done in various parts of the globe. It is an actual handbook, in other words, as opposed to a sample of exemplary work." English Historical Review A Companion to World History offers a comprehensive overview of the variety of approaches and practices utilized in the field of world and global history. This state-of-the-art collection of more than 30 insightful essays – including contributions from an international cast of leading world historians and emerging scholars in the field – identifies continuing areas of contention, disagreement, and divergence, while pointing out fruitful directions for further discussion and research. Themes and topics explored include the lineages and trajectories of world history, key ideas and methods employed by world historians, the teaching of world history and how it draws upon and challenges "traditional" approaches, and global approaches to writing world history. By considering these interwoven issues of scholarship and pedagogy from a transnational, interregional, and world/global scale, fresh insights are gained and new challenges posed. With its rich compendium of diverse viewpoints, A Companion to World History is an essential resource for the study of the world's past.

This landmark book, the concluding volume of D. W. Meinig’s magisterial series The Shaping of America, presents the story of America’s interwoven history and geography from 1915 to 2000. The author describes decades of enormous national growth and change in his characteristic engaging style, and through more than seventy original maps he ingeniously depicts diverse twentieth-century trends and developments. The book addresses the expanding nation’s progress in terms of the automotive revolution; neotechnic evolution; access to air travel; growth of instantaneous forms of communication, including telephones, television, and the Internet; and such political events as World War II. Meinig relates these developments to social and geographic trends, among them patterns of urban migration, regionalism, metropolitanization, the beginnings of the urban megalopolis, shifts in ethnic and religious populations, and, on a more global scale, transformations in America’s connections with Europe, Asia, and Latin America. A masterful synthesis of twentieth-century history and geography, this book offers unprecedented insights into the shaping and reshaping of the United States over the past century.

In this lively comedy of love and money in sixteenth-century Venice, Bassanio wants to impress the wealthy heiress Portia, but lacks the necessary funds. He turns to his merchant friend, Antonio, who is forced to borrow from Shylock, a Jewish moneylender. When Antonio's business falters, repayment becomes impossible, and by the terms of the loan agreement, Shylock is able to demand a pound of Antonio's flesh. Portia cleverly intervenes, and all ends well (except of course for Shylock).

Covering two hundred years, this groundbreaking book brings together essays on borderlands by leading experts in the modern history of the Americas, Europe, Africa, Asia and Australia to offer the first historical study of borderlands with a global reach.

Africa throughout its postcolonial history has been plagued by human rights abuses ranging from intolerance of political dissent to heinous crimes such as genocide. Yet this book argues that the continent has also been pivotal in helping shape contemporary human rights norms and practices.

Leuchter explores the biblical texts revolving around the figure of Samuel, and considers how the authors utilize him as a symbol to address the cultural memories and contemporary politics of their audiences. Samuel's role as a priest, a prophet, a judge, a warrior, a lawgiver and a kingmaker are examined in light of the origins of ancient Israel.