Forge Of Empires

In the space of a single decade, three leaders liberated tens of millions of souls, remade their own vast countries, and altered forever the forms of national power: Abraham Lincoln freed a subjugated race and transformed the American Republic. Tsar Alexander II broke the chains of the serfs and brought the rule of law to Russia. Otto von Bismarck threw over the petty Teutonic princes, defeated the House of Austria and the last of the imperial Napoleons, and united the German nation. The three statesmen forged the empires that would dominate the twentieth century through two world wars, the Cold War, and beyond. Each of the three was a revolutionary, yet each consolidated a nation that differed profoundly from the others in its conceptions of liberty, power, and human destiny. Michael Knox Beran's Forge of Empires brilliantly entwines the stories of the three epochal transformations and their fateful legacies. Telling the stories from the point of view of those who participated in the momentous events -- among them Walt Whitman and Friedrich Nietzsche, Mary Chesnut and Leo Tolstoy, Napoleon III and the Empress Eugénie -- Beran weaves a rich tapestry of high drama and human pathos. Great events often turned on the decisions of a few lone souls, and each of the three statesmen faced moments of painful doubt or denial as well as significant decisions that would redefine their nations. With its vivid narrative and memorable portraiture, Forge of Empires sheds new light on a question of perennial importance: How are free states made, and how are they unmade? In the same decade that saw freedom's victories, one of the trinity of liberators revealed himself as an enemy to the free state, and another lost heart. What Lincoln called the "germ" of freedom, which was "to grow and expand into the universal liberty of mankind," came close to being annihilated in a world crisis that pitted the free state against new philosophies of terror and coercion. Forge of Empires is a masterly story of one of history's most significant decades.

"Empires are not an under-researched topic. Recently, there has been a veritable surge in comparative and conceptual studies, not least of pre-modern empires. The distant past can tell us much about the fates of empires that may still be relevant today, and contemporary historians as well as the general public are generally aware of that. Tracing the general development of an empire, we can discern a kind imperial dynamic which follows the momentum of expansion, relies on the structures and achievements of the formative period for a while, and tends to be caught in a downward spiral at some point. Yet single cases differ so much that a general model is hardly ever sufficient.There is in fact little consensus about what exactly constitutes an empire, and it has become standard in publications about empires to note the profusion of definitions.Some refer to size-for instance, 'greater than a million square kilometers', as Peter Turchin suggested. Apart from that, many scholars offer more or less extensive lists of qualitative criteria. Some of these criteria reflect the imperial dynamic, for instance, the imposition of some kind of unity through 'an imperial project', which allows moving broad populations 'from coercion through co-optation to cooperation and identification'"--

World History: Journeys from Past to Present uses common themes to present an integrated and comprehensive survey of human history from its origins to the present day. By weaving together thematic and regional perspectives in coherent chronological narratives, Goucher and Walton transform the overwhelming sweep of the human past into a truly global story that is relevant to the contemporary issues of our time. Revised and updated throughout, the second edition of this innovative textbook combines clear chronological progression with thematically focused chapters divided into six parts as follows: PART 1. EMERGENCE (Human origins to 500 CE) PART 2. ORDER (1 CE-1500 CE) PART 3. CONNECTIONS (500-1600 CE) PART 4. BRIDGING WORLDS (1300-1800 CE) PART 5. TRANSFORMING LIVES (1500-1900) PART 6. FORGING A GLOBAL COMMUNITY (1800- Present) The expanded new edition features an impressive full-color design with a host of illustrations, maps and primary source excerpts integrated throughout. Chapter opening timelines supply context for the material ahead, while end of chapter questions and annotated additional resources provide students with the tools for independent study. Each chapter and part boasts introductory and summary essays that guide the reader in comprehending the relevant theme. In addition, the companion website offers a range of resources including an interactive historical timeline, an indispensable study skills section for students, tips for teaching and learning thematically, and PowerPoint slides, lecture material and discussion questions in a password protected area for instructors. This textbook provides a basic introduction for all students of World History, incorporating thematic perspectives that encourage critical thinking, link to globally relevant contemporary issues, and stimulate further study.

From C.J. Cherryh, one of science fiction′s greatest writers and a 3-time Hugo Award "Best Novel" winner, comes the exciting and long-awaited follow-up to Hammerfall, the second novel of the Gene Wars, now in mass market. In the second volume of "The Gene Wars," C. J. Cherryh further explores the captivating new universe where two interstellar empires, scarred by nanotechnology weaponry, hover in an uneasy detente. Perched at the edge of the galaxy, tiny Concord Station holds the balance of the universe within its carefully regulated worlds. For, created to carefully monitor the crucial desert planet below, it lies in the tenuous intersection between the territories of Earth and the alien Ondat. Marak Trin Tain has saved a planet′s people from total destruction, when the implacable ondat sent down a hammerfall to destroy the planet and keep its deadly nanoceles from changing life and evolution forever. But the regrowing planet is fragile, and a deadly cataclysm could destroy Marak--and with him, the hope for peace within the universe. Meanwhile, on Concord, an unexpected ship from Earth disrupts the uneasy truces between human and alien, and the consequences could restart the terrible Gene Wars that once destroyed most of humanity.

Existence: what it is and what we think it is engages logic and rational to expose and explain the defects of human opinions and beliefs that came into existence from human imagination rather than any precise, irrefutable knowledge, including that of knowing exactly what makes humans human, and knowing why everything that physically surrounds them - on Earth and beyond - always behaves within the states of physical reality and never any unreality.Yet, despite the seemingly overall human acceptance that physical existence (on Earth and beyond) constitutes physical reality, even the slightest examination of human notions and beliefs - including those accepted by science - shows just how much these notions and beliefs endorse and uphold physical unreality. The reason for such widespread acceptance of unreality amongst humans is due to their preference to believe the lies of those who advocate, for their own selfish reasons, that everything is possible, and that the security of all humanity can be assured by means of belief in intangible entities of gods, multi-dimensions, and time.It may appear improbable that the intentions of Existence: what it is and what we think it is to dismantle any of the erroneous notions and self-deceptions has much chance of success, considering how ingrained these beliefs are in human self-awareness. Still, it is possible that the disclosures and explanations provided in the book may lead some readers to realize that the future of mankind depends not on the usual attitudes of selfish wants and desires but on unrestricted understanding of physical reality - with all its limitations - which can teach humanity to carefully manage not just its future existence but that of all other inhabitants on Earth in its care.

Opening to Omnilateralism After a century of western-inspired multi-lateralism, its much criticised 75-years old stronghold, the UN, needs a new narrative: omni-lateralism. The right vehicle is omnibus - for and by all -, firstly, to widen the way for input of more ideas and good practices of non-Western origin, and secondly, to include non-state actors as legitimate stakeholders in global governance. Some trends already signal an opening towards omnilateralism: enhancing global governance in the COP by adding Eastern understanding of cycles in nature to protect the environment (e.g. in circular economies) and a wider appreciation of ‘holism’ beyond the rather linear individualistic thinking of Western societies; also accountable groups of civil society - more trusted than officials driven by narrow national interest - increasingly enrich deliberations about climate change and other global problems that need global solutions. These require East-West and North-South cooperation as currently obvious in the urgent cross-border exchanges among experts to combat the pandemic and save lives and livelihood worldwide. Globalisation has elevated millions out of poverty. However, narrow-minded politicians still claim national ‘sovereignty’ and parochial interests against global solutions for the common good while the Westphalian ‘nation’ is becoming a historic aberration. Almost all governments nowadays claim democracy, but respect for its principles is falling. Democracy must adapt to each level of governance, from local, national, regional to global. More direct democracy may suit the directly informed local stage. The higher the stage and the wider the impact, the more expertise and responsibility with all stakeholders is needed to reach the common global good, i.e. omnilaterally.

In the early nineteenth century, a series of murders took place in and around London which shocked the whole of England. The appalling nature of the crimes—a brutal slaying in the gambling netherworld, the slaughter of two entire households, and the first of the modern lust-murders—was magnified not only by the lurid atmosphere of an age in which candlelight gave way to gaslight, but also by the efforts of some of the keenest minds of the period to uncover the gruesomest details of the killings.These slayings took place against the backdrop of a London in which the splendor of the fashionable world was haunted by the squalor of the slums. Sir Walter Scott, Lord Byron, Thomas De Quincey, Thomas Carlyle, and Percy Bysshe Shelley and others were fascinated by the blood and deviltry of the macabre. In their contemplations of the most notorious murders of their time, they discerned in the act of killing itself a depth of hideousness that we have lost sight of, now living in an age in which murder has been reduced to a problem of social science and skillful detective work. Interweaving these cultural vignettes alongside criminal history, acclaimed author Michael Beran paints a vivid picture of a time when homicide was thought of as the intrusion of the diabolic into ordinary life.

The purpose of this volume is to discuss the concept of citizenship—in terms of its origins, its meanings, and its contemporary place and relevance in American democracy, and within a global context. The authors in this collection wrestle with the connection of citizenship to major tensions between liberty and equality, dynamism and stability, and civic disagreement and social cohesion. The essays also raise fundamental questions about the relationship between citizenship and leadership, and invite further reflection on the features of citizenship and civic leadership under the American Constitution. Finally, this collection offers various suggestions about how to revitalize citizenship and civic leadership through an education that is conducive to a renewal of American civic practices and institutions.