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From climate change to nuclear war to the rise of demagogic populists, our world is shaped by doomsday expectations. In this path-breaking book, Alison McQueen shows why three of history's greatest political realists feared apocalyptic politics. Niccol- Machiavelli in the midst of Italy's vicious power struggles, Thomas Hobbes during England's bloody civil war, and Hans Morgenthau at the dawn of the thermonuclear age all saw the temptation to prophesy the end of days. Each engaged in subtle and surprising strategies to oppose apocalypticism, from using its own rhetoric to neutralize its worst effects to insisting on a clear-eyed, tragic acceptance of the human condition. Scholarly yet accessible, this book is at once an ambitious contribution to the history of political thought and a work that speaks to our times.
From climate change to nuclear war to the rise of demagogic populists, our world is shaped by doomsday expectations. In this path-breaking book, Alison McQueen shows why three of history's greatest political realists feared apocalyptic politics. Niccolò Machiavelli in the midst of Italy's vicious power struggles, Thomas Hobbes during England's bloody civil war, and Hans Morgenthau at the dawn of the thermonuclear age all saw the temptation to prophesy the end of days. Each engaged in subtle and surprising strategies to oppose apocalypticism, from using its own rhetoric to neutralize its worst effects to insisting on a clear-eyed, tragic acceptance of the human condition. Scholarly yet accessible, this book is at once an ambitious contribution to the history of political thought and a work that speaks to our times.
'gripping, emotional and beautifully written' Amazon reviewer, 5 stars 'Beautiful, beautiful book. Loved it. Could not put it down. It gripped me from the first page. Great story. Evocative writing.' Goodreads reviewer, 5 stars Assam, 1925. Surrounded by the dramatic landscape of a tea plantation, sisters Mary and Serafina grow up in a world of contradiction and confusion. Born to a beautiful but naïve Indian mother and dynamic Scottish father, they are loved but hidden away. For these are children who cross two very different cultures, and are accepted by neither . . . When the shadow of war falls, the girls must face the truth and begin the search for somewhere to belong. It is a journey full of forbidden questions, heartbreak and determination. As the sisters grow up, they must risk everything and make choices with a legacy that will last a lifetime, and beyond. The Secret Children is a story of love, loss, family secrets and yearning to find a place to belong.
"Beautiful and brave and bittersweet—a moving story of how love in all its forms binds us together and endures, in spite of everything."—Susanna Kearsley, New York Times bestselling author of The Firebird and The Winter Sea Breathtaking historical fiction by Alison McQueen that illuminates forbidden love and devastating consequences. New Delhi, 1957. The moment Sophie steps onto India's burning soil, she realizes her return was inevitable. But this is not the India she fell in love with ten years before in a maharaja's palace. This is not the India that ripped her heart out as Partition tore the country in two. That India, a place of tigers, scorpions, and shimmering beauty, is long gone...
Reconstructing Empress Eugénie's position as private collector and public patron, this study is the first to examine Eugénie (1826-1920) in these roles. Her patronage and collecting is considered within the context of her political roles in the development of France's institutions and international relations. The book also examines representations of the empress, and the artistic transformation of a Hispanic woman into a leading figure in French politics.
'with a heartbreaking ending, this is truly a captivating tale' THE LADY This is not the India that Sophie fell in love with ten years ago . . . London, 1957. Sophie accepts a wedding proposal from an ambitious British diplomat, but when he is posted to the glittering ex-pat society in New Delhi, she is confronted with the memory of her first, forbidden love. Sophie meant never to return, yet the moment she steps on to India's burning soil, a devastating chain of events is set into motion that will bring her face to face with a past she tried so desperately to forget . . . 'This is a wonderful novel. A page-turner that is gripping, sensitive and thought-provoking. Highly recommended' HISTORICAL NOVELS SOCIETY on The Secret Children
Music is a frequently neglected aspect of Japanese culture. It is in fact a highly problematic area, as the Japanese actively introduced Western music into their modern education system in the Meiji period (1868-1911), creating westernized melodies and instrumental instruction for Japanese children from kindergarten upwards. As a result, most Japanese now have a far greater familiarity with Western (or westernized) music than with traditional Japanese music. Traditional or classical Japanese music has become somewhat ghettoized, often known and practised only by small groups of people in social structures which have survived since the pre-modern era. Such marginalization of Japanese music is...
A New Statesman Best Book of the Year A Church Times Book of the Year We are facing a crisis of civility, a war of words polluting our public sphere. In liberal democracies committed to tolerating active, often heated disagreement, the loss of this virtue appears critical. Most modern appeals to civility follow arguments by Hobbes or Locke by proposing to suppress disagreement or exclude views we deem “uncivil” for the sake of social harmony. By comparison, mere civility—a grudging conformity to norms of respectful behavior—as defended by Rhode Island’s founder, Roger Williams, might seem minimal and unappealing. Yet Teresa Bejan argues that Williams’s outlook offers a promising ...
Is political theory political enough? Or does a tendency toward abstraction, idealization, moralism, and utopianism leave contemporary political theory out of touch with real politics as it actually takes place, and hence unable to speak meaningfully to or about our world? Realist political thought, which has enjoyed a significant revival of interest in recent years, seeks to avoid such pitfalls by remaining attentive to the distinctiveness of politics and the ways its realities ought to shape how we think and act in the political realm. Politics Recovered brings together prominent scholars to develop what it might mean to theorize politics “realistically.” Intervening in philosophical d...
This anthology addresses the modern musical culture of interwar Osaka and its surrounding Hanshin region. Modernity as experienced in this locale, with its particular historical, geographic and demographic character, and its established traditions of music and performance, gave rise to configurations of the new, the traditional and the hybrid that were distinct from their Tokyo counterparts. The Taisho and early Showa periods, from 1912 to the early 1940s, saw profound changes in Japanese musical life. Consumption of both traditional Japanese and Western music was transformed as public concert performances, music journalism, and music marketing permeated daily life. The new bourgeoisie saw W...