Comprehensive Chess Course

A must-have collection of shorter fiction from the pen of Sir Terry Pratchett, award-winning and bestselling author of the phenomenally successful Discworld novels. A brilliant collection of short stories and short form fiction from the pen of one of the world's best-loved authors. A Blink of the Screen charts the course of Pratchett's long writing career: from his schooldays through to his first writing job on the Bucks Free Press; to the origins of his debut novel, The Carpet People; and on again to the dizzy mastery of the Discworld series.Here are characters both familiar and yet to be discovered; abandoned worlds and others still expanding; adventure, chickens, death, disco and, actually, some quite disturbing ideas about Christmas, all of it shot through with his inimitable brand of humour. With an introduction by Booker Prize-winning author A.S. Byatt, illustrations by the late Josh Kirby and drawings by the author himself, this is a book to treasure.Front cover may vary.

A glorious illustrated edition of the international bestsellerE. H. Gombrich's Little History of the World, though written in 1935, has become one of the treasures of historical writing since its first publication in English in 2005. The Yale edition alone has now sold over half a million copies, and the book is available worldwide in almost thirty languages.Gombrich was of course the best-known art historian of his time, and his text suggests illustrations on every page. This illustrated edition of the Little History brings together the pellucid humanity of his narrative with the images that may well have been in his mind's eye as he wrote the book. The two hundred illustrations-most of them in full color-are not simple embellishments, though they are beautiful. They emerge from the text, enrich the author's intention, and deepen the pleasure of reading this remarkable work.For this edition the text is reset in a spacious format, flowing around illustrations that range from paintings

C. H. Dodd's Historical Tradition in the Fourth Gospel, published in 1963, marked a milestone in New Testament research and has become a standard resource for the study of John. Historically biblical scholars have concentrated on the Synoptic Gospels: Matthew, Mark and Luke. However, Dodd's book encouraged scholars to take John seriously as a source for the life of Jesus. This volume both reflects upon and looks beyond Dodd's writings to address the implications, limitations and potential of his groundbreaking research and its programmatic approach to charting a course for future research on the Gospel of John. Leading biblical scholars demonstrate the recent surge of interest in John's distinctive witness to Jesus, and also in Dodd's work as the harbinger of advancements in the study of the Fourth Gospel. This volume will be invaluable to all those studying the New Testament, Johannine theology and the history of the early Church.

In On Time, Punctuality and Discipline in Early Modern Calvinism, Max Engammare explores how the sixteenth-century Protestant reformers of Geneva, France, London, and Bern internalized a new concept of time. Applying a moral and spiritual code to the course of the day, they regulated their relationship with time, which was, in essence, a new relationship with God. As Calvin constantly reminded his followers, God watches his faithful every minute. Come Judgement Day, the faithful in turn will have to account for each minute. Engammare argues that the inhabitants of Calvin's Geneva invented the new habit of being on time, a practice unknown in antiquity. It was also fundamentally different from notions of time in the monastic world of the medieval period and unknown to contemporaries such as Erasmus, Vives, the early Jesuits, Rabelais, Ronsard, or Montaigne. Engammare shows that punctuality did not proceed from technical innovation. Rather, punctuality was above all a spiritual, social,

In many ways the German soldiers who marched back from the Western Front at the end of World War I held the key to the future of the newly-created republic that replaced the Kaiser's collapsed monarchy. To the radical Left, the orderly columns of front-line troops appeared to be the forces of the counterrevolution while to the conservative elements of society they seemed to be the Fatherland's salvation. However, in their efforts to get home as soon as possible, most soldiers were indifferent to the political struggles within the Reich, while the remnant that remained under arms proved powerless to defend the republic from its enemies. This book considers why these soldiers' response to the revolution was so different from the rest of the army and the implications this would have for the course of the German Revolution and, ultimately, for the fate of the Weimar Republic itself.

Pepper was once worth its weight in gold. Onions have been used to cure everything from sore throats to foot fungus. White bread was once considered too nutritious. From hunting water buffalo to farming salmon, A Movable Feast chronicles the globalization of food over the past ten thousand years. This engaging history follows the path that food has taken throughout history and the ways in which humans have altered its course. Beginning with the days of hunter-gatherers and extending to the present world of genetically modified chickens, Kenneth F. Kiple details the far-reaching adventure of food. He investigates food's global impact, from the Irish potato famine to the birth of McDonald's. Combining fascinating facts with historical evidence, this is a sweeping narrative of food's place in the world. Looking closely at geographic, cultural and scientific factors, this book reveals how what we eat has transformed over the years from fuel to art.

本書中的核心概念“營銷公共關係”的英文使用有兩種情況。極少數語句難以找到對應的、有效的中文說法，筆者則根據營銷公共關係的理論背景以及所在語境進行了翻譯。比如附錄1，原標題是“course capstone project”，結合這一部分的原文，顯示這一部分就是對全書提到的所有操作要素進行集中練習，具體方法是選取一家企業，以它為對象對書中討論到的每一項要素逐一進行實踐練習，因此筆者嘗試將其譯為“營銷

This book examines the interplay between astronomy and dynastic power in the course of ancient Egyptian history, focusing on the fundamental role of astronomy in the creation of the pyramids and the monumental temple and burial complexes. Bringing to bear the analytical tools of archaeoastronomy, a set of techniques and methods that enable modern scholars to better understand the thought, religion and science of early civilizations, Giulio Magli provides in-depth analyses of the pyramid complexes at Giza, Abusir, Saqqara and Dahshur, as well as of the Early Dynastic necropolis at Abydos and the magnificent new Kingdom Theban temples. Using a variety of data retrieved from study of the sky and measurements of the buildings, he reconstructs the visual, symbolic and spiritual world of the ancient Egyptians and thereby establishes an intimate relationship among celestial cycles, topography and architecture. He also shows how they were deployed in the ideology of the pharaoh's power in the

Moritz Föllmer traces the history of individuality in Berlin from the late 1920s to the construction of the Berlin Wall in August 1961. The demand to be recognised as an individual was central to metropolitan society, as were the spectres of risk, isolation and loss of agency. This was true under all five regimes of the period, through economic depression, war, occupation and reconstruction. The quest for individuality could put democracy under pressure, as in the Weimar years, and could be satisfied by a dictatorship, as was the case in the Third Reich. It was only in the course of the 1950s, when liberal democracy was able to offer superior opportunities for consumerism, that individuality finally claimed the mantle. Individuality and Modernity in Berlin proposes a fresh perspective on twentieth-century Berlin that will engage readers with an interest in the German metropolis as well as European urban history more broadly.

Henrietta Levitt was the first person to discover the scientific importance of a star’s brightness—so why has no one heard of her? Learn all about a female pioneer of astronomy in this picture book biography.Henrietta Swan Leavitt was born on July 4, 1868, and she changed the course of astronomy when she was just twenty-five years old. Henrietta spent years measuring star positions and sizes from photographs taken by the telescope at the Harvard College Observatory, where she worked. After Henrietta observed that certain stars had a fixed pattern to their changes, her discovery made it possible for astronomers to measure greater and greater distances—leading to our present understanding of the vast size of the universe.An astronomer of her time called Henrietta Leavitt “one of the most important women ever to touch astronomy,” and another close associate said she had the “best mind at the Harvard Observatory.” Henrietta Leaveitt's story will inspire young women and aspiring scientists

Get ready for the greatest sports manga of all timReads R to L (Japanese Style). Winning isn't everything in the game of basketball, but who wants to come in second? It takes dedication and discipline to be the best, and the Shohoku High hoops team wants to be just that. They have one last year to make their captain's dream of reaching the finals come true—will they do it?After watching a video of Sannoh’s semifinal game from the previous year, the Shohoku players, except Sakuragi of course, are feeling nervous—three of Sannoh’s starters this year played on that championship team. To make things worse, the stands are filled with Sannoh supporters eager to see their favorite rack up an easy win against Shohoku. But Coach Anzai’s been here before and he knows his players, instructing them to lead off with a surprise attack that lets Sannoh know that Shohoku’s in the house, and they aren’t going out without a fight!

This bold and refreshing approach to Lie algebras assumes only modest prerequisites (linear algebra up to the Jordan canonical form and a basic familiarity with groups and rings), yet it reaches a major result in representation theory: the highest-weight classification of irreducible modules of the general linear Lie algebra. The author's exposition is focused on this goal rather than aiming at the widest generality and emphasis is placed on explicit calculations with bases and matrices. The book begins with a motivating chapter explaining the context and relevance of Lie algebras and their representations and concludes with a guide to further reading. Numerous examples and exercises with full solutions are included. Based on the author's own introductory course on Lie algebras, this book has been thoroughly road-tested by advanced undergraduate and beginning graduate students and it is also suited to individual readers wanting an introduction to this important area of mathematics.

媒體天后歐普拉 悸動推薦：沒有一本書如此觸動我心，我買了1000本送給親友！「我們來到世上，不是為了去修補、改變或貶低另一個人，而是為了支持、寬恕和療癒另一個人。」最知名奇蹟課程講師 瑪莉安‧威廉森以個人生命蛻變經驗，凝鍊而成的療癒經典停止向外尋找愛，讓愛找到你！你找不到愛，因為你以為的愛不是真正的愛你找不到愛，因為愛不在你之外，而在你之內你找不到愛，因為愛只看得見愛……★全球23種譯本，單只美國

The first full-length study of Iranian nationalism in nearly five decades, this sophisticated and challenging book by the distinguished historian Ali M. Ansari explores the idea of nationalism in the creation of modern Iran. It does so by considering the broader developments in national ideologies that took place following the emergence of the European Enlightenment and showing how these ideas were adopted by a non-European state. Ansari charts a course through twentieth-century Iran, analysing the growth of nationalistic ideas and their impact on the state and demonstrating the connections between historiographical and political developments. In so doing, he shows how Iran's different regimes manipulated ideologies of nationalism and collective historical memory to suit their own ends. Drawing on hitherto untapped sources, the book concludes that it was the revolutionary developments and changes that occurred during the first half of the twentieth century that paved the way for later

The first full-length study of Iranian nationalism in nearly five decades, this sophisticated and challenging book by the distinguished historian Ali M. Ansari explores the idea of nationalism in the creation of modern Iran. It does so by considering the broader developments in national ideologies that took place following the emergence of the European Enlightenment and showing how these ideas were adopted by a non-European state. Ansari charts a course through twentieth-century Iran, analysing the growth of nationalistic ideas and their impact on the state and demonstrating the connections between historiographical and political developments. In so doing, he shows how Iran's different regimes manipulated ideologies of nationalism and collective historical memory to suit their own ends. Drawing on hitherto untapped sources, the book concludes that it was the revolutionary developments and changes that occurred during the first half of the twentieth century that paved the way for later

The techniques that can be used to solve non-linear problems are far different than those that are used to solve linear problems. Many courses in analysis and applied mathematics attack linear cases simply because they are easier to solve and do not require a large theoretical background in order to approach them. Professor Schechter's 2005 book is devoted to non-linear methods using the least background material possible and the simplest linear techniques. An understanding of the tools for solving non-linear problems is developed whilst demonstrating their application to problems in one dimension and then leading to higher dimensions. The reader is guided using simple exposition and proof, assuming a minimal set of pre-requisites. For completion, a set of appendices covering essential basics in functional analysis and metric spaces is included, making this ideal as an accompanying text on an upper-undergraduate or graduate course, or even for self-study.

本書針對具備微積分知識並主修數學、統計、工程和科學（包含資訊科學、生物科學、社會科學和管理科學）的學生介紹機率論，除了說明機率論的數學內涵並藉由大量的範例來介紹機率論的應用。 ‧第1章提出組合分析之基本原理，它對於計算機率相當實用。‧第2章介紹機率論之公設並證明它們可用於計算各式各樣有趣的機率。‧第3章介紹條件機率與獨立事件等非常重要的主題。藉由一系列的範例，我們說明當某部分資訊可用時，條件機率

追尋心靈成長的人，學到某個階段往往面臨一個瓶頸：儘管修習多年，一遇到某種挑戰，就不自覺地掉回原地，因而自責不已。問題到底出在哪裡？ 佛洛依德在他的臨床經驗中，驚異地發現，病人的潛意識中有「拒絕療癒」的本能，肯尼斯根據《奇蹟課程》的觀點，犀利地剖析人們「拒絕療癒或轉變」的原因，又仁慈地為讀者指出穿越小我迷霧的關鍵，由停滯不前的窘境中突圍。對於追尋心靈成長和平安的人而言，本書不但有提點

中級：測驗目標300~600分，能持續可預期的面對面交談，滿足有限的社交需求。級數對照：CEFR B1-B2 / Test Score 300-600本系列內含線上測驗帳號，拆封不退。朗文培生出版的新多益測驗考題題庫分為三個級數，除了提供了所需要的技巧與策略，在內容分配上更增加新多益的聽力與閱讀的部份。題庫的題型設計與測驗時間速度以最接近真實測驗的方式來安排，讓學生能完整的模擬測驗情境。內容：最新

初級：測驗目標100-400分，可應付禮儀上最基本的要求。級數對照：CEFR A1-A2 / Test Score 100-400本系列內含線上測驗帳號，拆封不退。朗文培生出版的新多益測驗考題題庫分為三個級數，除了提供了所需要的技巧與策略，在內容分配上更增加新多益的聽力與閱讀的部份。題庫的題型設計與測驗時間速度以最接近真實測驗的方式來安排，讓學生能完整的模擬測驗情境。內容：最新第五版包含下列特色：

Throughout her lifetime, Margaret Bryan (fl.1795–1816) ran several schools for girls. Although science and maths were not usually considered suitable subjects for young women, Bryan was convinced that the use of one's reasoning faculties was all but a religious obligation. She taught across a huge range of topics, including optics, trigonometry and the history of astronomy. This book is a collection of ten of her lectures and was first published in 1797. Largely non-technical and written for those without a thorough knowledge of mathematics, the lectures explain contemporary science as simply as possible, using everyday experiments and clear diagrams. From astronomical predictions for the flooding of the Nile in Ancient Egypt to Newton's theory of the aether, the material covered is still readable and fascinating today, and represents a remarkable example of female scholarship long before the acceptance of the first woman into the Royal Society.

The distinguished archaeologist David G. Hogarth (1862–1927) excavated in Cyprus, Egypt, Greece and Asia Minor over the course of his career. He wrote books about his excavations and travels to bring archaeology to a popular audience. His A Wandering Scholar in the Levant (1896; also reissued in this series) was described by T. E. Lawrence as 'one of the best travel books ever written'. Hogarth later became president of the Royal Geographical Society, and Keeper of the Ashmolean Museum, Oxford, from 1908 to 1927. This work, first published in 1889, describes his travels around Cyprus in the summer following his excavations at Old Paphos. He visited areas that had not been examined by archaeologists before, and the book contains many illustrations of buildings and objects he found during his journey, providing details of sites and landscapes still of interest to those studying the history of the island or of archaeology.

The archaeologist D. G. Hogarth (1862–1927) was, when he died, keeper of the Ashmolean Museum and president of the Royal Geographical Society. During his career he excavated in Cyprus, Egypt, Greece and Asia Minor. His books about his travels and excavations were well received and A Wandering Scholar in the Levant of 1896 (also reissued in this series) was described by T. E. Lawrence as 'one of the best travel books ever written'. This work, first published in 1909, contains six lectures on the origins of Ionia. Hogarth presents and evaluates the theories of the origins of Ionian culture that were popular at the time, and in the course of his discussion he delivers the results of some of his own excavations, including those at Ephesus in 1904. The work remains of interest to scholars and students of the region and of the history of archaeology.

The Cambridge Companion to the Age of Constantine offers students a comprehensive one-volume survey of this pivotal emperor and his times. Richly illustrated and designed as a readable survey accessible to all audiences, it also achieves a level of scholarly sophistication and a freshness of interpretation that will be welcomed by experts. The volume is divided into five sections that examine political history, religion, social and economic history, art and foreign relations during the reign of Constantine, who steered the Roman Empire on a course parallel with his own personal development. Each chapter examines the intimate interplay between emperor and empire, and between a powerful personality and his world. Collectively, they show how both were mutually affected in ways that shaped the world of Late Antiquity and even affect our own world today. This edition has been revised, the notes and bibliography have been updated and a new preface has been added.

The Cambridge Companion to the Age of Constantine offers students a comprehensive one-volume survey of this pivotal emperor and his times. Richly illustrated and designed as a readable survey accessible to all audiences, it also achieves a level of scholarly sophistication and a freshness of interpretation that will be welcomed by experts. The volume is divided into five sections that examine political history, religion, social and economic history, art and foreign relations during the reign of Constantine, who steered the Roman Empire on a course parallel with his own personal development. Each chapter examines the intimate interplay between emperor and empire, and between a powerful personality and his world. Collectively, they show how both were mutually affected in ways that shaped the world of Late Antiquity and even affect our own world today. This edition has been revised, the notes and bibliography have been updated and a new preface has been added.

The physics, or natural philosophy, of music has fascinated scholars and scientists since ancient times: from Pythagoras' concept of celestial harmony, to the work of Galileo, Mersenne, Euler and Ohm, culminating in the nineteenth century with Helmholtz's definitive work On the Sensations of Tone. William Pole (1814–1900) was a civil engineer and musicologist. He was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society in 1861 and was a founder member of the Royal Musical Association. First published in 1879, this work brings together his series of lectures on the theory of music, from the nature of sound to the physics of harmony, given in 1877 at the invitation of the Royal Institution. They were intended as an introduction to Helmholtz's research for the student or lay person, and include discussions of sound, scales, intervals, harmony and counterpoint (covering both historical and theoretical aspects), all illustrated with musical examples.

James Anthony Froude (1818–94), historian and disciple of Carlyle, published this twelve-volume history of the English Reformation between 1858 and 1870. The work is shaped by Froude's firm belief that the Reformation enabled the development of modernity and the rise of 'progressive intelligence' in England. His polemical stance was criticised by some historians, but his engaging narrative style and elegant prose made his work extremely popular with the general public, and the books were highly influential. The first six volumes consider the course of the Reformation from the break with Rome until the accession of Elizabeth I in 1558, and the remaining six recount the reign of Elizabeth I, ending with the defeat of the Spanish Armada (the original title was altered for the eleventh and twelfth volumes, as Froude decided that the Armada marked the defeat of Catholicism in England, and the appropriate conclusion to his work).

The British explorer Sir Richard F. Burton (1821–90) was a colourful and often controversial character. A talented linguist and keen ethnologist, he first gained celebrity for his adventurous 1853 trip to Mecca, conducted under the disguise of a pilgrim. He remains famous for his translation (with the British orientalist Forster Fitzgerald Arbuthnot) of The Kama Sutra (1883), a daring enterprise in the context of the Victorian society. First published in 1861, this book is an account of Burton's 1860 trip to Salt Lake City. It offers a geographical and ethnological study of Utah that focuses on the Mormon church. In the course of his research, Burton was able to meet the Mormon prophet Brigham Young, leader of the Latter-Day Saints and founder of Salt Lake City. Burton describes various Mormon customs, showing particular interest in polygamy, which he treats with critical distance and his characteristic sense of humour.

First published in 2000, this book is a modern and accessible edition of a manuscript journal kept by Thomas Juxon, a Puritan Londoner, who produced and traded in sugar. Juxon's journal focuses on public affairs and political and military developments during years of intense political manoeuvring, from the latter stages of the civil war and post-war attempts to reach a settlement with the king, to the crisis of the summer of 1647 and the army's occupation of London. It sheds light on the emergence and course of party and factional politics both within Parliament and in the City of London, and reveals the thoughts and convictions of an informed Londoner who was a committed participant in these events. Keith Lindley and David Scott's substantial introduction provides a full account of Juxon's life, describes the format of the journal, and discusses its historical value, while the text is supported by full scholarly apparatus.

心靈的負擔消除了，體重自然就輕了! 這本書不是速效的減重書，卻是我們等待已久的奇蹟!~歐普拉 【國外暢銷佳績/得獎紀錄】★美國亞馬遜書店心靈勵志類暢銷書★歐普拉大力推薦並入選為2010「歐普拉最喜歡的東西」之一★作者瑪麗安娜‧威廉森獲選「美國最具影響力的五○人」之一★國內心靈勵志界名家推薦王中和 (生命之眼身心靈中心執行長)李欣頻 (創意文案作家)周介偉 (光中心主持人)若水&nb

German scientist Theodore Vogel (1812–1841) joined an 1841 expedition to the Niger as its chief botanist. He died in the course of the journey, though not before taking extensive notes about the plants that he encountered. His botanical collection and diary were passed to the botanist William Jackson Hooker (1785–1865), who had been appointed as the first full-time director of Kew Gardens in the same year. Hooker edited Vogel's diary and observations and the resulting work, Niger Flora, was published in 1849. Because Vogel's period in West Africa was cut short by his untimely death, much of the work looks at the flora of the places the expedition stopped at along the way – Madeira, Tenerife and the Cape Verde islands, before giving details – including numerous illustrations – about west African plants. The works also includes observations on African flora by other botanists, including Joseph Dalton Hooker, William's son.

William Smith (1769–1839) was best known as the author of the Map of the Strata of England and Wales – indeed, he was known as 'Strata' Smith. His Memoirs, edited by his nephew John Phillips and published in 1844, tell the story of his life from his beginnings as a blacksmith's son in Oxfordshire to his geological work. Smith began as an assistant to a land surveyor and moved into mine-related projects, including excavations for canal-building. During the course of one such project he realised the significance of strata within layers of rock, and in subsequent surveys he could locate deposits of coal, iron and other minerals. Smith suffered throughout his life from financial problems which frustrated publication of his works; his map was published in 1815, but further works were never completed. Towards the end of his life, however, he finally received the scientific recognition that was his due.

; 丁往道編著的《英語寫作基礎教程》(A Basic course in writin曲(第三版)主要是為高等學校英語專業一、二年級的學生編寫的，同時適合師專、廣播電視大學、成人高等學校的英語專業使用，也可供英語水平相近的自學者參考。 ; 本書是作者在總結自己幾十年豐富的英語寫作教學經驗、研究近年國內外英語寫作教學方法的基礎上推出的。全書用清晰、淺易的英語介紹了英語寫作的基本方法和特點，講解時提供

Proust's A la recherche du temps perdu (In Search of Lost Time, 1913–27) changed the course of modern narrative fiction. This Introduction provides an account of Proust's life, the socio-historical and cultural contexts of his work and an assessment of his early works. At its core is a volume-by-volume study of In Search of Lost Time, which attends to its remarkable superstructure, as well as to individual images and the intricacies of Proust's finely-stitched prose. The book reaches beyond stale commonplaces of madeleines and memory, alerting readers to Proust's verbal virtuosity, his preoccupations with the fleeting and the unforeseeable, with desire, jealousy and the nature of reality. Lively, informative chapters on Proust criticism and the work's afterlives in contemporary culture provide a multitude of paths to follow. The book charges readers with the energy and confidence to move beyond anecdote and hearsay and to read Proust's novel for themselves.

One of Isaac Asimov’s SF masterpieces, this stand-alone novel is a monument of the flowering of SF in the 20th century. It is widely regarded as Asimov’s single best SF novel and one every SF fan should read.Andrew Harlan is an Eternal, a member of the elite of the future. One of the few who live in Eternity, a location outside of place and time, Harlan’s job is to create carefully controlled and enacted Reality Changes. These Changes are small, exactingly calculated shifts in the course of history made for the benefit of humankind. Though each Change has been made for the greater good, there are always costs.During one of his assignments, Harlan meets and falls in love with Noÿs Lambent, a woman who lives in real time and space. Then Harlan learns that Noÿs will cease to exist after the next change, and risks everything to sneak her into Eternity.Unfortunately, they are caught. Harlan’s punishment? His next assignment: kill the woman he loves before the paradox they have created resul

Within a variety of historical contexts, The Shaping of Grand Strategy addresses the most important tasks states have confronted: namely, how to protect their citizens against the short-range as well as long-range dangers their polities confront in the present and may confront in the future. To be successful, grand strategy demands that governments and leaders chart a course that involves more than simply reacting to immediate events. Above all, it demands they adapt to sudden and major changes in the international environment, which more often than not involves the outbreak of great conflicts but at times demands recognition of major economic, political, or diplomatic changes. This collection of essays explores the successes as well as failures of great states attempting to create grand strategies that work and aims at achieving an understanding of some of the extraordinary difficulties involved in casting, evolving and adapting grand strategy to the realities of the world.

Within a variety of historical contexts, The Shaping of Grand Strategy addresses the most important tasks states have confronted: namely, how to protect their citizens against the short-range as well as long-range dangers their polities confront in the present and may confront in the future. To be successful, grand strategy demands that governments and leaders chart a course that involves more than simply reacting to immediate events. Above all, it demands they adapt to sudden and major changes in the international environment, which more often than not involves the outbreak of great conflicts but at times demands recognition of major economic, political, or diplomatic changes. This collection of essays explores the successes as well as failures of great states attempting to create grand strategies that work and aims at achieving an understanding of some of the extraordinary difficulties involved in casting, evolving and adapting grand strategy to the realities of the world.

John Elliot Cairnes (1823–1875) was one of the leading economists of his day, holding professorships at Trinity College Dublin, University College, Galway, and University College, London. He gained an international reputation with The Slave Power, first published in 1862, and enlarged and reissued the following year. His analysis of the economic and social system of the Confederate states in America did much to influence British support for the Union in the United States' Civil War. He argued that the course of history was influenced most of all by economic causes. Although he had begun his study of the slave trade on a theoretical basis, the outbreak of civil war had given it a more immediate and practical application. His case is very clearly and impartially argued. While being opposed to slavery on moral grounds, he fairly states the arguments on both sides, and refutes some of the Confederate propaganda.

William Martin Leake (1777–1860) was a British military officer and classical scholar interested in reconstructing the topography of ancient cities. He was a founding member of the Royal Geographical Society and was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society in 1815. After his retirement in 1815 he devoted the rest of his life to topographical and classical studies. First published in 1826, this second edition contains a detailed discussion of the historical background of and events during the first years of the Greek Revolution (1821–1830). Focusing on the Peloponnese, Leake explores the political and social condition of Greece under the Ottoman Empire, discussing the causes of the Revolution and providing a detailed narrative of its course. This volume, the first scholarly work on the subject, provides a valuable contemporary account by an author who was familiar with both the territory and the peoples that were his subject.

The bubonic plague, in various forms, has been devastating human populations and affecting the very course of history for over 3000 years. This 1905 study by a renowned expert in the field represents the extent of early twentieth-century knowledge of a disease which was still killing millions at the time of first publication. Charting the history of the plague and its spread across the world, Simpson examines the causes of the disease, including the role of living conditions and poverty, as well as strategies for quarantine, prevention and treatment. Featuring autopsy reports, statistical data, photographs illustrating the symptoms and accounts of medical investigation of all aspects of the plague, this is a comprehensive and arresting overview of the disease. The book also features the full text of the 1903 International Sanitary Convention of Paris which was a response to the 1896 outbreak in India and China.