Following an unprecedented economic boom fed by foreign investment, the Russian Revolution triggered the worst sovereign default in history. Bankers and Bolsheviks tells the dramatic story of this boo
This beautifully illustrated book provides a new interpretation of modern architecture and design in Germany during the heyday of the Bauhaus and the Werkbund, tracing modernism's lasting allure to it
A groundbreaking work on how the topic of scale provides an entirely new understanding of Inca material cultureAlthough questions of form and style are fundamental to art history, the issue of scale h
A new look at the ways van Gogh represented the seasons and the natural world throughout his careerThe changing seasons captivated Vincent van Gogh (1853–90), who saw in their unending cycle the majes
How secularism has been used to justify the subordination of womenJoan Wallach Scott's acclaimed and controversial writings have been foundational for the field of gender history. With Sex and Secular
The Plural of Us is the first book to focus on the poet's use of the first-person plural voice--poetry's "we." Closely exploring the work of W. H. Auden, Bonnie Costello uncovers the trove of thought
A provocative and challenging new conceptual framework for the study of imagesThis book builds on the groundbreaking theoretical framework established in Whitney Davis's acclaimed previous book, A Gen
A stunning portrait of the nocturnal moths of Central and South America by famed American photographer Emmet GowinAmerican photographer Emmet Gowin (b. 1941) is best known for his portraits of his wif
In the 1930s and 1940s, rural reformers in the United States and Mexico waged unprecedented campaigns to remake their countrysides in the name of agrarian justice and agricultural productivity. Agrari
How West African gold and trade across the Sahara were central to the medieval worldThe Sahara Desert was a thriving crossroads of exchange for West Africa, North Africa, the Middle East, and Europe i
An international and historical look at how parenting choices change in the face of economic inequalityParents everywhere want their children to be happy and do well. Yet how parents seek to achieve t
How silver influenced two hundred years of world history, and why it matters todayThis is the story of silver’s transformation from soft money during the nineteenth century to hard asset today, and ho
A timely and incisive look at austerity measures that succeed—and those that don’tFiscal austerity is hugely controversial. Opponents argue that it can trigger downward growth spirals and become self-
How an antisemitic legend gave voice to widespread fears surrounding the expansion of private credit in Western capitalismThe Promise and Peril of Credit takes an incisive look at pivotal episodes in
How a vast network of shadow credit financed European growth long before the advent of bankingPrevailing wisdom dictates that, without banks, countries would be mired in poverty. Yet somehow much of E
How digital media are transforming Arab culture, literature, and politicsIn recent years, Arab activists have confronted authoritarian regimes both on the street and online, leaking videos and exposin
A bold new religious history of the late antique and medieval Middle East that places ordinary Christians at the center of the storyIn the second half of the first millennium CE, the Christian Middle
How digital technology is upending the traditional creative industries—and why that might be a good thingThe digital revolution poses a mortal threat to the major creative industries—music, publishing
How the legacy of monarchical empires shaped Britain, France, Spain, and the United States as they became liberal entitiesHistorians view the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries as a turnin
A book that finally demystifies Newton’s experiments in alchemyWhen Isaac Newton’s alchemical papers surfaced at a Sotheby’s auction in 1936, the quantity and seeming incoherence of the manuscripts wa
An examination of the intertwined lives and writings of a group of prominent twentieth-century Jewish thinkers who experienced exile and migrationExile, Statelessness, and Migration explores the inter
How investor expectations move markets and the economyThe collapse of Lehman Brothers in September 2008 caught markets and regulators by surprise. Although the government rushed to rescue other financ
For over a century, the Danish thinker Søren Kierkegaard (1813–55) has been at the center of a number of important discussions, concerning not only philosophy and theology, but also, more recently, fi
How did the medieval Middle East transform from a majority-Christian world to a majority-Muslim world, and what role did violence play in this process? Christian Martyrs under Islam explains how Chris
The medieval church was founded on and governed by concepts of faith and trust--but not in the way that is popularly assumed. Offering a radical new interpretation of the institutional church and its
A groundbreaking study that shows how countries can create innovative, production-based economies for the twenty-first centuryAchieving economic growth is one of today's key challenges. In this ground
Few direct clues exist to the everyday lives and beliefs of ordinary Jews in antiquity. Prevailing perspectives on ancient Jewish life have been shaped largely by the voices of intellectual and social
How New York’s Lower East Side inspired new ways of seeing AmericaNew York City's Lower East Side, long viewed as the space of what Jacob Riis notoriously called the "other half," was also a crucible
The first book highlighting the historical roots and contemporary implications of the silhouette as an American art formBefore the advent of photography in 1839, Americans were consumed by the fashion
A provocative new look at concepts of the present, their connection to ideas about time, and their effect on literature, art, and cultureThe problem of the present—what it is and what it means—is one
A leading economist offers a radically new approach to the economic analysis of the lawIn The Republic of Beliefs, Kaushik Basu, one of the world's leading economists, argues that the traditional econ
The entertaining story of four utopian writers—Edward Bellamy, William Morris, Edward Carpenter, and Charlotte Perkins Gilman—and their continuing influence todayFor readers reared on the dystopian vi
The first publication of Albert Einstein’s travel diary to the Far East and Middle EastIn the fall of 1922, Albert Einstein, along with his then-wife, Elsa Einstein, embarked on a five-and-a-half-mont
Guiding principles for ensuring that central bankers and other unelected policymakers remain stewards of the common goodCentral bankers have emerged from the financial crisis as the third great pillar
Revolutionary ideas on how to use markets to bring about fairness and prosperity for allMany blame today's economic inequality, stagnation, and political instability on the free market. The solution i
A succinct and comprehensive history of the development of citizenship from the Roman Empire to the present dayCitizenship, Inequality, and Difference offers a concise and sweeping overview of citizen
Before the advent of synthetic fibers and cargo containers, jute sacks were the preferred packaging material of global trade, transporting the world's grain, cotton, sugar, tobacco, coffee, wool, guan
An inspiring account of ordinary teachers who are doing extraordinary things that could transform educationWhat School Could Be offers an inspiring vision of what our teachers and students can accompl
How the latest cutting-edge science offers a fuller picture of life in Rome and antiquityThis groundbreaking book provides the first comprehensive look at how the latest advances in the sciences are t
Why we need to think more like economists to successfully combat terrorismIf we are to correctly assess the root causes of terrorism and successfully address the threat, we must think more like econom
