Subjects:  1. 1057-1603    2. Europe - Great Britain - Scotland    3. History    4. History - General History    5. History: World    6. Medieval    7. Scotland    8. To 1057    9. Western Europe - General    10. British & Irish history: c 1000 to c 1500    11. History / Great Britain    12. History of religion    13. Scotland--History--1057-1603    14. c 1000 CE to c 1500   

Reviews (1)

needed footnotes and better bibliography
First of all I enjoyed this book considerably. Read more

Subjects:  1. Civilization, Islamic    2. Civilization, Medieval    3. Crusades    4. Europe    5. Europe - General    6. History    7. History - General History    8. History, Military    9. History: World    10. Islam - General    11. Islam - History    12. Islamic Empire    13. Relations    14. Western Europe - General    15. EUROPE_HISTORY_476-1492    16. European history (ie other than Britain & Ireland)    17. History / Medieval    18. History of religion    19. ISLAM_EUROPE    20. International relations    21. Islam    22. Islamic countries    23. Islamic studies    24. Religious conflict   

Subjects:  1. 16th century    2. Court and courtiers    3. England    4. Europe - Great Britain - General    5. Great Britain    6. History    7. History - General History    8. History: World    9. Politics and culture    10. Religion and politics    11. Western Europe - General    12. British & Irish history: c 1500 to c 1700    13. British Isles    14. History / Great Britain    15. Western Continental Europe   

Subjects:  1. 20th century    2. Africa - General    3. Africa, West    4. Africans    5. Caribbean Area    6. Colonies    7. Europe - France    8. France    9. History    10. History - General History    11. History: World    12. Nationalism    13. Western Europe - General    14. World - Colonial Studies    15. European history: from c 1900 -    16. History / Europe / Western   

Editorial Review

Another handsome volume from a distinguished series, the Read more

Reviews (6)

Disgusting Whitewash
It's astonishing that this book has been published at all, let alone praised. In the centuries when they raided and robbed the entire world, the British committed crimes so vast that one would expect histories of the Empire to be written in a spirit of shame and remorse. Well, you won't find any shame here, or even a simple acknowledgement of the Empire's atrocities.
Well illustrated
The British Empire is a subject of particular personal interest, since I was born under the Union Jack in pre-1997 Hong Kong, and I'm still living in a former British Commonwealth country - a citizen of Canada.This book is full of photos, many in color. But it is low on maps - a dreadful error considering the subject matter. A bit of a disappointment
After having read the Cambridge Illustrated History of the Islamic World (a quite good read), I was expecting something similar with the British Empire tome.However, I am sad to say, I was a little disappointed.A book dealing with three centuries of history is unlikely to be "complete", but the style is very patchy with significant areas omitted altogether.Saddest of all is the lack of any detailed analysis of events during and post-Suez, other than a cursory look at the realignment to the EU. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Colonies    2. Colonies And Colonization    3. Commonwealth countries    4. Europe - Great Britain - General    5. Great Britain    6. Great Britain - History    7. History    8. History - General History    9. History: World    10. Imperialism    11. Western Europe - General    12. British & Irish history    13. British Empire    14. Great Britain--Colonies--History    15. History / Great Britain    16. Modern period, c 1500 onwards    17. Other Geographical Groupings, Oceans & Seas    18. World history   

Reviews (13)

Poorly edited
This textbook is filled with misinformation, typos, and blatant grammatical errors. I hope professors stop requesting that students read this text. The only thing worse than the book is the compainion website. It has practice test questions that contradict the "real" test and quiz questions that they provide. If you take this course DL like I did, this really makes a big difference. I have spent the better half of the semester arguing for points from my professor (and winning) who apparently never bothered to read the tests or the text (I should get paid from him!!)
Great for AP Euro!
I took AP Euro as a junior last year and actually really enjoyed this text. It was a lot better than the other book that had been used the previous year which was comprised almost completely of political history. The pictures are nice when you have a big chapter to read and the writing is simple to comprehend. The pitfalls of the book lie in the chapter on the French Revolution and it is obvioius that toward the end the deadline was coming up because numerous spelling errors and other typos were found throughout the final chapters. The formation of the E. U. and its development were almost not at all covered, but much of the material is excellent. In preparation for the AP test my class did not do very much in terms of information, but spent most of its time doing DBQ's and essays. I read the entire book cover to cover and did not even have to study for the AP test and recieved a five, so I highly reccomend this book but look somewhere else for the French Revolution or if you really want things structured in a strictly chronological formation.

Wonderful Overview of European History
I am a junior in an AP European History class.My class uses two textbooks, one of which is Kagan's Western Heritage.The Kagan textbook is by far my favorite of the two textbooks to read.It is very interesting and thoroughly covers all the topics of European history, many of which are skipped in my other textbook.I am even considering buying the book so I can read the chapters my class skipped and keep it on hand as a reference.The order of the chapters is not at all difficult to follow as long as the reader has a basic knowledge of European History or looks at the timelines at the beginning of each section. I highly recommend this book to anyone interested in Europe. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Civilization    2. General    3. History    4. History - General History    5. History Of Civilization And Culture (General)    6. History: World    7. Western Europe - General    8. Western Europe - History    9. History / General   

Subjects:  1. 16th century    2. Christianity - History - General    3. Church history    4. England    5. Europe - Great Britain - General    6. History    7. History: World    8. Reformation    9. Religion - Church History    10. Western Europe - General    11. British & Irish history: c 1500 to c 1700    12. British Isles    13. Europe    14. History / Great Britain    15. Reformation--England   

Subjects:  1. 742-814    2. Charlemagne,    3. Emperor,    4. Europe - France    5. France    6. History    7. History - General History    8. History: World    9. Holy Roman Empire    10. Medieval    11. To 1517    12. To 987    13. Western Europe - General    14. Biography: historical    15. Europe    16. European history: c 500 to c 1500    17. c 500 CE to c 1000 CE   

Reviews (4)

A humane view to a little-known incident
During the years of World War I, the costly trench warfare in the Western Front was eating the manpower of France. On the other hand, their eastern ally Russia had a huge army but was inadequately provided with weapons andammunition. So, someone got this splendid idea: Russia would send a coupleof their seemingly endless armies to the west, and in exchange they wouldreceive much needed ammunition from French factories. A Narrow, but Interesting Account of an Obscure Army
This is the untold story of the two Russian brigades sent to France in 1916.About 20,000 troops were sent in exchange for French ammunition sent to the eastern front. It was a trade that appeared to benefit both sides, since France was desperate for infantry replacements after Verdun and theRussians were desperate for artillery ammunition that their weak economycould not adequately provide. Although the Russian Expeditionary Force(REF) units performed well in the 1917 Nivelle offensive (suffering about1,000 killed) they quickly fell into disarray once the Russian Revolutionbroke out.One brigade remained somewhat reliable and ended up fightingthe other in order to suppress a mutiny.The Russian officer corps appearspretty pathetic in this account; they were unable to deal with theirinsubordinate troops and the French had to deal with this mess.By late1917, the French no longer needed these troublesome troops due to Americanentry into the war and the French were eager to wash their hands of thisawkward army.The survivors of the REF trickled back to Russia in 1918,while some remained in France to fight under French command.Pro-Bolshevikleaders were incarcerated by the French. This is a decent, well-documentedhistory of an obscure army that tries to examine the disintegration of theTsarist armies in microcosm. Unfortunately, Cockfield does not ask someimportant questions, like why did these two brigades revolt but the twoRussian brigades sent to Salonika in Greece did not?This book does lackadequate maps and the actual description of the training and combatemployment of the REF is rather brief.The bulk of the book focuses on thegradual disintegration of these two units after the March 1917 Revolution. The focus is also a bit narrow, as other Russian units sent to fightoutside the Eastern Front are only barely mentioned.

I reviewed the book It was interesting book.
I was not trying to find this book I was looking for someone with my name and this man Cockfield came up. I read the book it was a exciting book and I learn a lot form this man thathas the same last name as I do. I couldnot belive it. When I ask my dad is there more sets ofCockfield's hewould say only one. Maybe he is a relative of mine. I would love to learnmore aboutthis man and more Cockfield's from back in the day. thank youTarsha Cockfield, ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Campaigns    2. Europe - Former Soviet Republics    3. Europe - France    4. Europe - Russia & the Former Soviet Union    5. France    6. History    7. History - General History    8. History: World    9. Military - World War I    10. Regimental histories    11. Russia    12. Western Europe - General    13. World War, 1914-1918    14. European history (ie other than Britain & Ireland)    15. Former Soviet Union, USSR (Europe)    16. History / Former Soviet Republics    17. Western Continental Europe    18. World history   

Subjects:  1. Caribbean & West Indies - General    2. Creoles    3. Europe - France    4. History    5. History - General History    6. History: World    7. Libertinism    8. Slavery    9. West Indies, French    10. Western Europe - General    11. World - Colonial Studies    12. American history    13. Caribbean Studies    14. Caribbean islands    15. Cultural studies    16. Literary Studies/Criticism & T    17. Postcolonial Studies   

Features

• Illustrated

Reviews (1)

Centuries of Puzzlement
At Yale, in the Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library, if you have the credentials, you can be allowed to take a look at one of the world's strangest manuscripts.It looks like nothing else you have ever seen, 250 pages of paintings of weird plants and naked bathers and commentary in a language and letters that cannot be found anywhere else.This is the Voynich Manuscript, a document well known among cryptographers, linguists, scholars of the Middle Ages, and those simply curious about genuine oddities.It has been the subject of intense study by experts and amateurs since it came to light in 1912, and though there have been claims that it has been deciphered, the claims have always been shown to be completely overoptimistic.In _The Voynich Manuscript: The Unsolved Riddle of an Extraordinary Book Which Has Defied Interpretation for Centuries_ (Orion Books), Gerry Kennedy and Rob Churchill examine the document's contents, history, and would-be expositors and their theories, to show how little we know about the book.It is an enticing, puzzling story, well told to bring the enigma to a broader audience than the specialists who are consumed by it.
Read more

Subjects:  1. Western Europe - General    2. History - General History    3. Communication    4. Antiques & collectables: books, manuscripts, ephemera & printed matter    5. CIPHERS    6. History Of Art / Art & Design Styles    7. History of specific subjects    8. Language Arts & Disciplines / Communication    9. Literary studies: general    10. General    11. History    12. History: World   

Reviews (1)

Cutting-edge Scholarship
Anyone who has ever read Abelard's Historia calamitatum and the Letters of Abelard and Heloise will be very interested in this collection of fifteen essays on Heloise (a.d. ?1101-1163/64?), Abbess of the Paraclete.Myfavorite is "Authenticity Revisited" by John Marenbon, which is abreath of fresh air in "one of the longest-running controversies inmedieval scholarship".Marenbon and most - but not all - of thescholars who contributed to this book believe that Heloise did indeed writethe famous letters which bear her name.Two essays, by Constant J. Mewsand John O. Ward and Neville Chiavaroli, examine a newly re-evaluatedseries of letters which may well be love letters exchanged by Abelard andHeloise before their ill-fated marriage!Most of the other essays fallinto the category of literary criticism, several from a feministperspective, but the opening essay, by historian Mary Martin McLauglin,tells us more about "Heloise the Abbess: The Expansion of theParaclete". ... Read more

Subjects:  1. 1101-1164    2. Biography / Autobiography    3. Heloise,    4. Historical - General    5. History    6. History: World    7. Hâeloèise,    8. Medieval    9. Religious    10. Specific Members Of Religious Congregations And Orders    11. Western Europe - General    12. History / Medieval   

Reviews (2)

Great Book, But the type front is too small to easily read
This a very good book, descriptive, well laid out. However, the type is very small, needing a magnifying glass for prolonged reading. The captions under the excellent pictures and diagrams are even smaller. I suspect the small type was done to save on printing costs, as upping the fonts would have required more paper. I would have gladly paid more money for better readibility.

Great Book
Considering so little is known about the Picts and the formation of the the early Scottish kingdom, this book give a great overview of what can be known about Pictish society from the available evidence in archaeology and literary sources.The chapter on the influence of the Church on the conglomeration of the Scottish tribes is particulary helpful.The book has great pictures and maps of Pictish stones and where they are found (from which much information on Pictish society is drawn) in addition to pictures of arial views of Pictish sites.I would recommend this book to anyone who has an interest in early Scottish History, especially the Picts. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Europe - Great Britain - Scotland    2. History    3. History - General History    4. History: World    5. Western Europe - General    6. British & Irish history: BCE to c 500 CE    7. History / Europe / Western    8. LITERATURE - LIT CLASSICS TRD PB    9. Scotland   

Subjects:  1. 20th century    2. Art    3. Clothing and dress    4. Fascism    5. Fashion    6. History    7. History - General History    8. Italy    9. Political Ideologies - Fascism & Totalitarianism    10. Western Europe - General    11. Costume    12. European history: from c 1900 -    13. Fascism & Nazism    14. Fashion design    15. Inter-war period, 1918-1939   

Subjects:  1. Biography / Autobiography    2. History    3. History: World    4. Non-Classifiable    5. Nonfiction    6. Renaissance    7. Royalty    8. Western Europe - General    9. Biography: historical    10. European history: c 1500 to c 1750    11. Germany    12. History / Renaissance    13. c 1500 to c 1600   

Reviews (9)

GERMANY'S LAST DAYS
Operating in a chronological format from 1918 to 1933, this work looks at Weimer Germany and the forces that made it thrive and falter.Chapters focus on German music, politics and entertainment.We are even told of the notorious serial killers!By the early thirties, the reader knows the end is near for the Republic, and can feel it coming.I agree with the author that Germany's real destruction was caused by Hitler, not the war.Other books on this period likely contain more information and detail, but few capture its spirit so well.

Scatterbrained
I felt that this book skipped around too much. It had many interesting facts but there was no flow. When the author should have stayed on one topic and developed it, he moved onto another.There was poor closure on some topics and others were not properly introduced to the reader. There were maps on the inner cover, front and back...
The reader below who bemoans (understandably) the lack of maps in this edition can blame the publisher;there were excellent maps on the inner cover, front and back, of the hardcover edition.The book is an excellent introduction to the Weimar years. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. 1918-1945    2. 20th century    3. Berlin (Germany)    4. Europe - Germany    5. Germany - History    6. History    7. History - General History    8. History Of Individual Cities    9. History: World    10. Intellectual life    11. Modern - 20th Century    12. Western Europe - General    13. History / Germany   

Reviews (2)

Effective Historian
In this clearly written history of this era, Princeton University professor Joseph R. Strayer tells us that "as the Roman Empire in the West slowly collapsed, the Christian Church emerged as the one stable instituion among the ruins." It is during this period that the university system was created. The church placed a value on learning. Strayer has done his research and he provides insights into the life and times of the people covered in this book. I give it a high recommendation.

Terrific overview and analysis of the Middle Ages.
I cannot recommend this book more highly.In just 200 pages, Strayer provides an excellent summary and analysis of the history of western Europe during the Middle Ages.Unlike many other books on history, Strayer is very adept at not only presenting the facts, sequence of events, etc., but also at describing the key trends and patterns of history, and analyzing and interpreting what happened.Furthermore, he ties the patterns and trends of the history of the Middle Ages to later history, including our own times. His writing style is very clear, organized, and fluent.There is also a very useful bibliography included.My own criticism of the book is that I would have liked a few maps included.Nevertheless, this is a very, very excellent book. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Europe - General    2. History - General History    3. History / Europe / Western    4. History / Medieval    5. History: World    6. Medieval World History (Circa 450 - Circa 1450)    7. Civilization    8. Civilization, Medieval    9. Civilization, Slavic    10. Europe    11. Europe - Western   

Reviews (2)

Fails to Deliver the Goods
Alfred C. Mierzejweski, a university professor in Alabama, has attempted to write a political and economic history of the Reichsbahn (German National Railway) during the Third Reich.Although the book is impeccably researched, it is written in a very dry, academic style and too narrowly focused.The first chapter, on the initial "coordination" of the Reichsbahn by the Nazis when they came to power, is painful to read.The book has only 164 pages of actual text and most of this focuses on high-level bureaucratic and organizational issues, rather than the actual operations of the railway. "Most Valuable Asset" is valuable asset
A. C. Mierzejewski has provided an extremely useful insight into the workings of the Reichsbahn for a time period not well understood by many on both sides of the Atlantic.He does a good job of relating the internalrailway business matters with the politics of the time, and shows anunderstanding of the broad variety of subjects that were interacting.Read more

Subjects:  1. 20th century    2. Deutsche Reichsbahn (Germany)    3. Europe - Germany    4. Germany    5. Germany - History - Third Reich (1933-1945)    6. History    7. History - General History    8. History: World    9. Political History    10. Railroads - General    11. Railroads - History    12. Railroads and state    13. Specific Railroads    14. Transportation    15. Bavaria; Deutsche Reichsbahn-Gesellschaft; Germany; reparations; Dawes Plan; technology; cost accounting; scientific management; modal competition; freight traffic; Schenker forwarding company; Young Plan; Depression; unemployment; rearmament; diesel; motor trains; passenger; World War II; Wehrmacht; armaments industry; death camps; Jews; strategic bombing; Johannes Bell; Heinrich Bruning; cartels; counter-cyclical spending; Julius Dorpmuller; Peter Paul Eltz-Rubenach; Fliegender Hamburger; Albert Ganenmuller; Wilhelm Groener; high-speed trains; Holocaust; Ludwig M. Homberger; job creation; locomotive industry; Rudolf Oeser; passenger traffic; rearmament; Reichsbahn-Zentralamt; Rheingold; luxury passenger train; Carl Friedrich Siemens; Adam Stegerwald; unit trains; Young Plan    16. History / Europe / Western    17. History of specific subjects    18. Inter-war period, 1918-1939    19. Railway transport industries   

Subjects:  1. Biography/Autobiography    2. Europe - France    3. History    4. History - General History    5. History: World    6. Medieval    7. Medieval World History (Circa 450 - Circa 1450)    8. Western Europe - General    9. Western Europe - History    10. History / Medieval   

Subjects:  1. Arabs    2. Early works to 1800    3. General    4. History    5. History: World    6. Travel    7. Travel - General    8. Traveler's writings, Arabic    9. Western Europe - General    10. Classic travel writing    11. Collections & anthologies of various literary forms    12. Europe    13. History / Europe / General    14. North America    15. The Americas    16. c 1600 to c 1700