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it weaves history, geography, wine, and some of the fascinating people who make it into a downright enthralling tale" (less)

up to A.D.

1849. In addition to presenting the major schools of classical philosophy, this volume discusses yin-yang theories of cosmology and geomancy and the rationale of monarchy and dynastic rule (less)

300 illustrations, 16 in color (less)

during the Great Depression and World War II retraces the traumatic birthpains of this nation into a world power, rising from the ashes of economic ruin to fight and win a world war. Reprint (less)

Drawing from a wide range of sources -- traditional narratives, Indian autobiographies, government transcripts, firsthand interviews, and more -- Nabokov has assembled a remarkably rich and vivid collection, representing nothing less than an alternate history of North America (less)

Through a sensitive use of a wide variety of imaginative and didactic texts, Ruth Karras shows that while prostitutes as individuals were marginalized within medieval culture, prostitution as an institution was central to the medieval understanding of what it meant to be a woman. This important work will be of interest to scholars and students of history, women's studies, and the history of sexuality (less)

This is considered by many to be the definitive book about Russian society before the revolution. 3 maps (less)

Each of us has ways of communing with the past, and our reasons for doing so are as varied as our memories. In a sweeping survey, Roy Rosenzweig and David Thelen asked 1,500 Americans about their connection to the past and how it influences their daily lives and hopes for the future.

The result is a surprisingly candid series of conversations and reflections on how the past infuses the present with meaning. Rosenzweig and Thelen found that people assemble their experiences into narratives that allow them to make sense of their personal histories, set priorities, project what might happen next, and try to shape the future.

By using these narratives to mark change and create continuity, people chart the courses of their lives. A young woman from Ohio speaks of giving birth to her first child, which caused her to reflect upon her parents and the ways that their example would help her to become a good mother.

An African American man from Georgia tells how he and his wife were drawn to each other by their shared experiences and lessons learned from growing up in the South in the 1950s. Others reveal how they personalize historical events, as in the case of a Massachusetts woman who traces much of her guarded attitude toward life to witnessing the assassination of John F.

Kennedy on television when she was a child. While the past is omnipresent to Americans, "history" as it is usually defined in textbooks leaves many people cold.

Rosenzweig and Thelen found that history astaught in school does not inspire a strong connection to the past. And they reveal how race and ethnicity affects how Americans perceive the past: while most white Americans tend to think of it as something personal, African Americans and American Indians are more likely to think in terms of broadly shared experiences--like slavery, the Civil Rights Movement, and the violation of Indian treaties.

" Rosenzweig and Thelens conclusions about the ways people use their personal, family, and national stories have profound implications for anyone involved in researching or presenting history, as well as for all those who struggle to engage with the past in a meaningful way (less)

When the war ended in 1865, Galveston was the only major port still in Confederate hands. In this beautifully written narrative history, Ed Cotham draws upon years of archival and on-site research, as well as rare historical photographs, drawings, and maps, to chronicle the Civil War years in Galveston.

His story encompasses all the military engagements that took place in the city and on Galveston Bay, including the dramatic Battle of Galveston, in which Confederate forces retook the city on New Year's Day, 1863. Cotham sets the events in Galveston within the overall conduct of the war, revealing how the city's loss was a great strategic impediment to the North.

Through his pages pass major figures of the era, as well as ordinary soldiers, sailors, and citizens of Galveston, whose courage in the face of privation and danger adds an inspiring dimension to the story (less)

After losing almost all her overseas empire in 1898, Spain faced the new century handicapped by international isolation, a backward economy, and a stagnant and elitist political system. This book tells the gripping story of Spain's long and often painful struggle towards modernity.

During this period, the country has seen two monarchies, one republic, two dictatorships and one of the bloodiest civil wars in Europe's recent history. The author provides a comprehensive, thorough and detailed analysis of Spain's political, social and economic evolution throughout this century, examining the crisis and collapse of clientelist politics and the attempts at reform during the inter-war years through military dictatorship and progressive republic; the Nationalist victory and Franco's authoritarian rule; the dismantlement of the Francoist state; and the consolidation of democracy.

There is also an assessment of Spain's current political situation (less)

They had seen its power exercised regularly in economics, if only sporadically in politics. But World War Il, and the landscape it left behind, prompted American leaders and the Congress to conclude that they had to use the nation's strength to protect and advance its interests.

The end of the Cold War will not end the debate over the structural reasons for that transformation of American attitudes and actions. The essays in this book reflect a variety of views on the question of causation.

The distinguished group of contributors provide many and varied insights into this crucial change and make America Unbound an important contribution to the history of the period (less)

Develops and sustains a narrative line not usually available in survey histories of China, presenting an internal coherence within each chapter that provides not only an integrated picture of political, cultural, and economic developments but also a convenient foundation to grasp the sequence of fundamental changes in China. Provides a brief summary of China's past history, focusing on the ideology and institutions that molded Chinese political culture.

Covers critical transition periods, such as the collapse of the Manchu dynasty and the establishment of the first republic; the shift of power from the Nationalists to the Communists; and the rise of Deng Xiao-ping after the passing away of Mao Ze-dong. Expands coverage on many areas, including Tibet, PRC in Taiwan, and Hong Kong; the Sino-Indian war of 1962, and the Sino-Vietnamese war of 1979; plus social, economic, and cultural topics in various periods (less)

Whereas most historians treat the event solely as a massive labor strike that targeted the railroads, David O. Stowell examines America's predicament more broadly to uncover the roots of this rebellion.

He studies the urban origins of the Strike in three upstate New York cities--Buffalo, Albany, and Syracuse. He finds that locomotives rumbled through crowded urban spaces, sending panicked horses and their wagons careening through streets.

Hundreds of people were killed and injured with appalling regularity. The trains also disrupted street traffic and obstructed certain forms of commerce.

For these reasons, Stowell argues, The Great Strike was not simply an uprising fueled by disgruntled workers. Rather, it was a grave reflection of one of the most direct and damaging ways many people experienced the Industrial Revolution.

"Through meticulously crafted case studies . .

. the author advances the thesis that the strike had urban roots, that in substantial part it represented a community uprising.

. .

.A particular strength of the book is Stowell's description of the horrendous accidents, the toll in human life, and the continual disruption of craft, business, and ordinary movement engendered by building railroads into the heart of cities.

"--Charles N. Glaab, "American Historical Review (less)

NYT (less)

Some distinguished themselves as ruthless murders. Outnumbering German police manpower in these areas, the local police were the foot-soldiers of the Holocaust in the east (less)

. .

This is a fine ethnography that is a must-read for all interested in gender relations in contemporary Latin America. It is also one of the best current discussions on the little-studied phenomenon of religious change in Mexico.

. .

. Eber also provides a wonderful model of how to write a readable ethnography that treats its subjects with dignity and respect and honestly integrates the trials and tribulations of the ethnographer in the process.

" -Journal of the Royal Anthropological Institute "Women and Alcohol is a book worth reading. .

. .

The book's informal tone and interesting topic make it appealing to a wide audience, including casual readers and undergraduate classes. Furthermore, Eber's cross-cultural insight into alcohol dependency is relevant not only for anthropologists but also for health care professionals and others who deal with substance abuse.

" -Latin American Indian Literatures Journal Healing roles and rituals involving alcohol are a major source of power and identity for women and men in Highland Chiapas, Mexico, where abstention from alcohol can bring a loss of meaningful roles and of a sense of community. Yet, as in other parts of the world, alcohol use sometimes leads to abuse, whose effects must then be combated by individuals and the community.

In this pioneering ethnography, Christine Eber looks at women and drinking in the community of San Pedro Chenalho to address the issues of women's identities, roles, relationships, and sources of power. She explores various personal andsocial strategies women use to avoid problem drinking, including conversion to Protestant religions, membership in cooperatives or Catholic Action, and modification of ritual forms with substitute beverages.

The book's women-centered perspective reveals important data on women and drinking not reported in earlier ethnographies of Highland Chiapas communities. Eber's reflexive approach, blending the women's stories, analyses, songs, and prayers with her own and other ethnographers' views, shows how Western, individualistic approaches to the problems of alcohol abuse are inadequate for understanding women's experiences with problem and ritual drinking in a non-Western culture.

In a new epilogue, Christine Eber describes how events of the last decade, including the Zapatista uprising, have strengthened women's resolve to gain greater control over their lives by controlling the effects of alcohol in the community (less)