Seminar Studies
About the Book Series
Each book in the Seminar Studies series provides a concise and reliable introduction to a wide range of complex historical events and debates, covering topics in British, European, US and world history from the medieval period to the present day. Written by acknowledged experts and including supporting material such as extracts from historical documents, chronologies, glossaries, guides to key figures and further reading suggestions, Seminar Studies titles are essential reading for students of history.
Almost half a century after its launch, the series continues to introduce students to the problems involved in explaining the past, giving them the opportunity to grapple with historical documents and encouraging them to reach their own conclusions. To submit proposals for new books in the Seminar Studies series, please contact the series editors:
Mark Stoyle: [email protected] Gordon Martel: [email protected]
The Italian Risorgimento
2nd Edition
By M. Clark
August 19, 2009
The Unification of Italy in the nineteenth century was the unlikely result of a lengthy and complex process of Italian ‘revival’ (‘Risorgimento’). Few Italians supported Unification and the new rulers of Italy were unable to resolve their disputes with the ...
The Second World War on the Eastern Front
1st Edition
By Lee Baker
July 30, 2009
Russia's engagement with Germany on the Eastern Front during World War II was ferocious, unprecedented and bloody, costing millions of civilian and military lives. In this challenging new book, Lee Baker distinguishes myth from reality and deflates the idea that this war, while gargantuan in scale,...
The Second World War in Europe: Second Edition
2nd Edition
By S.P. Mackenzie
May 07, 2009
This is an updated edition of the first truly concise introduction to the history of World War II in the West. The author, S. P. MacKenzie traces the major events on both fighting front and home front, explaining what happened and, just as importantly, why the balance of fortunes swung first ...
Britain before the Reform Act: Politics and Society 1815-1832
2nd Edition
By Eric J. Evans
July 10, 2008
In the years1815-1832, Britain came close to revolution. Fewer than twenty years separate the Battle of Waterloo from the passing of the ‘Great’ Reform Act but during this period Britain’s political elite was challenged as never before. In rising to that challenge, the political elite attempted, ...
China in Transformation: 1900-1949
2nd Edition
By Colin Mackerras
July 10, 2008
In the first half of the twentieth century, China moved from a millennium of imperial rule to the Communist Party-led People’s Republic of China which remains today. China in Transformation argues that this enormously significant period in Chinese history saw wrenching change throughout ...
Mussolini and Italian Fascism
1st Edition
By Giuseppe Finaldi
July 10, 2008
Fascism was one of the defining experiences of the European 20th Century. Within it many of the economic, political, social and cultural contradictions that had been brewing in the unprecedented transformation that European society underwent in the 19th and early 20th century came to a head. ...
The First World War
2nd Edition
By Stuart Robson
March 29, 2007
This is a compelling account of the First World War. It offers clear analysis of the war on land, sea, and air, and considers the impact of the war on Europe's civilian population. Issues addressed include the relationship between war and industrialisation, trench warfare, the long term effects of ...
India under Colonial Rule: 1700-1885
1st Edition
By Douglas M. Peers
July 06, 2006
Between 1700 and 1885 the British became the paramount power on the Indian subcontinent, their authority extending from Sri Lankain the south to the Himalayasin the north. It was a massive empire, inspiring both pride and anxiety amongst the British, and forcing change upon and disrupting the lives...
The Origins of French Absolutism, 1598-1661
1st Edition
By Alan James
April 13, 2006
This controversial study takes the provocative line that the French monarchy was a complete success. James turns the idea of royal ‘absolutism’ on its head by redefining the French monarchy’s success from 1598 - 1661. The Origins of French Absolutism, 1598-1661 maintains that ...
Race and Empire
1st Edition
By Jane Samson
December 22, 2004
Readers at the beginning of the twenty-first century are probably more racially self-aware than any other generation has been. Like the relationship between gender and history, that between race and history is perceived to be of the utmost importance by young people and the older generation because...
The Collapse of the Soviet Union, 1985-1991
1st Edition
By David R. Marples
April 28, 2004
Why did the Soviet Union collapse in 1991? The collapse of the Soviet Union has widely been seen as the result of the arms race and Cold War, and the failure of the Soviet side to keep pace with new technology. This book argues that the disintegration was mainly a result of two interrelated factors...
The United States and Europe in the Twentieth Century
1st Edition
By David Ryan
October 16, 2003
The relationship between the US and Europe in the 20th century is one of the key considerations in any understanding of international relations/international history during this period. David Ryan first sets the context by looking at the trends and traditions of America’s foreign relations in the ...