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 Written by acknowledged experts and including supporting material such as extracts from historical documents, chronologies, glossaries, guides to key figures and further reading suggestions, Seminar Studies titles are essential reading for students of history.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to introduce students to the problems involved in explaining the past, giving them the opportunity to grapple with historical documents and encouraging them to reach their own conclusions.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 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 ...
American Expansionism, 1783-1860: A Manifest Destiny?
1st Edition
By Mark Joy
May 15, 2003
This new Seminar Study surveys the history of U.S. territorial expansion from the end of the American Revolution until 1860. The book explores the concept of 'manifest destiny' and asks why, if expansion was 'manifest', there was such opposition to almost every expansionist incident. Paying ...
The Soviet Union under Brezhnev
1st Edition
By William J. Tompson
April 28, 2003
The Soviet Union Under Brezhnev provides an accessible post-Soviet perspective on the history of the USSR from the mid-1960’s to the mid-1980’s. It challenges both the ‘evil empire’ image of the USSR that was widespread in the early 1980’s and the ‘stagnation’ label attached to the period by Soviet...
The Eisenhower Presidency, 1953-1961
1st Edition
By Richard Damms
October 29, 2002
This seminar study examines the Eisenhower presidency. The author argues that the presidency marked an important stage in the evolution of modern America, but left a decidedly mixed legacy for future presidents. Domestically Eisenhower pursued a 'middle way'. Imbued ...
The First World War Peace Settlements, 1919-1925
1st Edition
By Erik Goldstein
October 04, 2002
The First World War changed the face of Europe - two empires (the Austro-Hungarian Empire and the Ottoman Empire) collapsed in its wake and as a result many of the boundaries of Europe were redrawn and new states were created. The origins of many of the international crises in the late ...
Britain and Empire, 1880-1945
1st Edition
By Dane Kennedy
August 19, 2002
Britain and Empire, 1880-1945 traces the relationship between Britain and its empire during a period when the two spheres intersected with one another to an unprecedented degree. The story starts with the imperial expansion of the late nineteenth century and ends with the Second World War, at the ...
Abolition of Serfdom in Russia: 1762-1907
1st Edition
By David Moon
January 02, 2002
In February 1861 Tsar Alexander II issued the statutes abolishing the institution of serfdom in Russia. The procedures set in motion by Alexander II undid the ties that bound together 22 million serfs and 100,000 noble estate owners, and changed the face of Russia. Rather than ...
The French at War, 1934-1944
1st Edition
By Nicholas Atkin
December 04, 2001
The years 1934 to 1944 remain the most contentious and dramatic decade in modern French history. Covering the Occupation, the Vichy regime, the Resistance and collaboration, Nick Atkin provides an important introduction to this key period. Accessible and concise, the book offers a wide-ranging...
The Korean War
1st Edition
By Steven Hugh Lee
September 12, 2001
Tens of thousands of US soldiers and untold millions of Koreans died in this war the first major arena of the East-West conflict. This concise international history of the war offers a new approach to its understanding, tracing its origins and dynamics to the interplay between modern Korean ...
India 1885-1947: The Unmaking of an Empire
1st Edition
By Ian Copland
September 10, 2001
The establishment of the Indian National Congress in 1885 marked a turning point in modern South Asian history. At the time, few grasped the significance of the event, nor understood the power that its leader would come to wield. From humble beginnings, the Congress led by Gandhi would go on ...
The Origins of the Vietnam War
1st Edition
By Fredrik Logevall
September 07, 2001
Why did the US make a commitment to an independent South Vietnam? Could a major war have been averted? Fredrik Logevall provides a concise, comprehensive and accessible introduction to the origins of the Vietnam War from the end of the Indochina War in 1954 to the eruption of full-scale war in 1965...