For centuries, the duel played an integral role in the preservation of the aristocratic order in Europe, despite countless attempts by both church and state to ban the practice. The drama of the duel has been romanticized in countless works of literature, and it has been an enduring fixture in films and theater reflecting the period. But how did the duel come to prominence in the first place as the form by which men staked their honor? And how did it develop its allure as a cultural and artistic device? Renowned historian Victor Kiernan explores these questions and more in The Duel in European History. With wit and insight, Kiernan provides an entertaining history of the evolution of the ritual of the duel, beginning with its medieval origins when it was regarded as a badge of rank and following the practice up to the early twentieth century, by which time it had come to be seen as an irrational anachronism. Kiernan argues persuasively that the idea of the duel was unique to Europe and its colonies, and, in its contribution to the development of the officers corps, played a key part in shaping European military power. In doing so, he sheds new light on the ascendency of aristocratic classes and the role that their values played in European history. This edition adds new depth to Kiernan s fascinating historical account, with an original introduction from esteemed historian David Blackbourn, further exploring how and why the duel continues to ignite curiosity and the imagination. "

Product Description: First published in 1987, this collection of essays, from one of the leading historians in the field, is concerned with the central debates about German history from Bismarck to Hitler. David Blackbourn questions many previously held assumptions, whether about the natural conservatism of the German peasantry of the ‘feudalization’ of the middle classes, and offers an innovative approach to such subjects as liberalism, anti-semitism and the continuing importance of religion in German history...read more

Product Description: What makes a person call a particular place 'home'? Does it follow simply from being born there? Is it the result of a language shared with neighbours or attachment to a familiar landscape? Perhaps it is a piece of music, or a painting, or even a travelogue that captures the essence of home...read more

A history of Germany from the mid-eighteenth century to the present documents its rise as reflected by the nation's water and landscape developments, covering such topics as Frederick the Great's transformation of previously uninhabitable marshlands, the Rhine engineering projects, and the development of hydroelectric power. Reprint.

(view table of contents)

(view table of contents)

In an intriguing study of the subtle interplay between politics and religion, a historian recounts the story of the 1876 appearance in a vision of the Virgin Mary in the German town of Marpingen and its dramatic impact on Germany in the crisis-laden aftermath of the Franco-Prussian War.

Product Description: First published in 1991, this collection of original studies by British, German and American historians examines the whole range of modern German bourgeoisie groups, including professional, mercantile, industrial and financial bourgeoisie, and the bourgeois family...read more

Product Description: 1980 Hardcover. No dust jacket. Minimal wear, foxing on outer edges, remainder mark, otherwise nice clean readable copy.