A comprehensive account of the modern Indian colonial period from the late 19th century until independence. Sarkar manages to weld the more nationalisA comprehensive account of the modern Indian colonial period from the late 19th century until independence. Sarkar manages to weld the more nationalist-oriented historiography with an array of sources that highlight the popular, everyday nature of the anti-colonial struggle. A very good primer into the colonial history of the Indian subcontinent....more
This is essentially an extremely succinct look at the changes and developments Japan went through, and its metamorphosis as a nation as it moved from This is essentially an extremely succinct look at the changes and developments Japan went through, and its metamorphosis as a nation as it moved from the 19th century into the 20th. This book is seriously tiny, a slip of a book and you could breeze through it in one sitting but its depth of content is surprising for its deceptively small size. I highly recommend this book as a solid introduction, a way to get your foot in the door of the maze that is early modern Japanese history....more
This is the definitive work of modern era Japan. Jansen's work is a chronicle of not just the rise of railroads, of factories, the modern firearm, eleThis is the definitive work of modern era Japan. Jansen's work is a chronicle of not just the rise of railroads, of factories, the modern firearm, electricity and gas, the telegraph, milk!, and other interesting developments of early modern Japan. He gives background, history, cultural and political analysis, event and timeline breakdowns and more. An expansive work that takes the reader through decades upon decades of Japanese development and progress that happened at break neck speeds, but can now be looked at retrospectively at our leisure, guided by Jansen's steady hand....more
studies the technology and modern ideas slowly flowing into the Tokugawa shogunate from Dutch trade, and the small group of scholars who laid the earlstudies the technology and modern ideas slowly flowing into the Tokugawa shogunate from Dutch trade, and the small group of scholars who laid the earliest foundations of Japan's modernization in the 18th century....more
This is a beautiful book that traces the life and growth of a village in Southeast China through the entirety of the communist revolution until 2009. This is a beautiful book that traces the life and growth of a village in Southeast China through the entirety of the communist revolution until 2009. Its ambition is incredible, and its execution satisfies its aims. It is effectively an anthropological ethnography written by historians, and the work reflects some of the best of both disciplines. Rarely have I felt as connected to historical characters as I have in learning of the exploits of low-level, unimportant peasant officials in Chen Village. This book communicates the trends in political and social change in China in the last 60 years in a way that is hard to replicate from pure analysis....more
Never before has there been such an amazing in depth look at the inner workings of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) before the publishing of this booNever before has there been such an amazing in depth look at the inner workings of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) before the publishing of this book. McGregor's work was cut out for him because the CCP is probably one of the most secretive political regimes ever. Most Chinese people don't even know how many departments and adminstrative bodies there are, or which ones belong to the 'government' and which belong to the Party. McGregor dives deep and brings up a treasure trove of knowledge about the mechanics of the strange political system where the Party is the government while pretending not to be, putting faces to names and names to faces, and the corruption that runs to the very core of the system. He provides history and analysis while his masterful writing prevents it all from burying the reader. ...more
It's a pretty good overview that starts with the Ming and goes through the late 1980s. Covers all the bases. Nothing is covered in exceptional depth (It's a pretty good overview that starts with the Ming and goes through the late 1980s. Covers all the bases. Nothing is covered in exceptional depth (with a subject like China it rarely can be in a single book) but for a general idea of recent Chinese history it's more than adequate. Also, a very readable book....more
an autopsy of the Guomandong nationalists under Chiang Kai-sheck, from their insular, inefficient bureaucracy, inability to understand why the communian autopsy of the Guomandong nationalists under Chiang Kai-sheck, from their insular, inefficient bureaucracy, inability to understand why the communists were so popular to their brief dabbling with fascist dictatorship....more
focuses on the causes of the 1911 revolution, including the new intellectual and social elite who were distinct from the gentry but not what we would focuses on the causes of the 1911 revolution, including the new intellectual and social elite who were distinct from the gentry but not what we would call bourgeois. During this time nationalism, feminism, anti-conformist youth movements and Westernization flourished, but in discarding so much of traditional China the new urban elite became unable to relate to the needs of the rest of the country, setting the stage for the success of communism and the end of all of these trends....more
contra popular belief, the Boxer Uprising was neither a cult nor a rebellion, but rather a mass movement centered around Shandong that combined separacontra popular belief, the Boxer Uprising was neither a cult nor a rebellion, but rather a mass movement centered around Shandong that combined separate strains of vigilantism, anti-imperialism, shamanism and the Chinese theater....more
Important because it provides detailed information about the rise, and existence of the FLQ. Important to show that Quebec has a distinct history fromImportant because it provides detailed information about the rise, and existence of the FLQ. Important to show that Quebec has a distinct history from the rest of the country....more
A major work in discussing the development of the idea of social regeneration in late 19th and early 20th century Canada, and how this movement built A major work in discussing the development of the idea of social regeneration in late 19th and early 20th century Canada, and how this movement built many of the secular social institutions of Canada....more
The title is fairly self explanatory, but I think it gives a good analysis of the events. Also the focus on the non-violence movement and its effect aThe title is fairly self explanatory, but I think it gives a good analysis of the events. Also the focus on the non-violence movement and its effect are frequently missing from the popular discourse on the matter....more
This book covers the history of the first Arab-Israeli war, with great detail given for how the war was conducted, the events of it, and how the IsraeThis book covers the history of the first Arab-Israeli war, with great detail given for how the war was conducted, the events of it, and how the Israelis managed to succeed in winning the war itself. This focuses on the lead-up to war from the Civil War that had been going on before, and discusses the various fronts....more
The best single study on all the Arab Republics (rather than the monarchies) which takes you right up to when the book was published in 2012. An impreThe best single study on all the Arab Republics (rather than the monarchies) which takes you right up to when the book was published in 2012. An impressively readable and coherent work of comparative history that brings together the similarities of these regimes without giving the short shrift to their many differences....more
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