Bøker av Jeremy Black

A wonderfully engaging, accessible introduction to war, from ancient times to the present and into the future

This innovative book analyzes the strategic dimensions of the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars, critiquing Napoleon's broader strategic weaknesses. The first history to look holistically at the strategies of the leading belligerents from a global perspective, it is an essential read for military professionals, students, and history buffs.

In the second volume of The Weight of Words Series, Jeremy Black continues his efforts to present and preserve Britain's literary genius. Its intelligence and enduring influence is in large part reliant on the underlining conservatism that has motivated authors such as Agatha Christie (Black's earlier subject) and Henry Fielding alike. Fielding's epic comic novel, Tom Jones, is unforgettable for many reasons, but the author must be credited with an aptitude for documenting contemporary cultural history and his contribution to a new species of writing. Black's treatment of Fielding draws to the fore a man who was of his time but not confined to it. "Philosophy in practice encompassed his stance as a man of action as well as a reflective writer of genius." Fielding is shown to provide across the breadth of his work extensive and invaluable commentary on issues as diverse as law and order, marriage, women, and the interplay of urban and rural life. Black, an historian, is here a student of storytelling and recovers Fielding's rich descriptions of the human heart and call to defy the vices with which circumstances might taunt it. Black has done a service along many fronts at once: the science of the novel and genre, the history of a people and the figure of a memorable writer.

In the second volume of The Weight of Words Series, Jeremy Black continues his efforts to present and preserve Britain's literary genius. Its intelligence and enduring influence is in large part reliant on the underlining conservatism that has motivated authors such as Agatha Christie (Black's earlier subject) and Henry Fielding alike. Fielding's epic comic novel, Tom Jones, is unforgettable for many reasons, but the author must be credited with an aptitude for documenting contemporary cultural history and his contribution to a new species of writing. Black's treatment of Fielding draws to the fore a man who was of his time but not confined to it. "Philosophy in practice encompassed his stance as a man of action as well as a reflective writer of genius." Fielding is shown to provide across the breadth of his work extensive and invaluable commentary on issues as diverse as law and order, marriage, women, and the interplay of urban and rural life. Black, an historian, is here a student of storytelling and recovers Fielding's rich descriptions of the human heart and call to defy the vices with which circumstances might taunt it. Black has done a service along many fronts at once: the science of the novel and genre, the history of a people and the figure of a memorable writer.

The next in this series of admirably concise yet nevertheless comprehensive titles looks at the history of all Americans as well as America; its environmental history and its linkage to economic history; the political shaping of America; and America in the world, from being a colony to post-Cold War America.Black examines the environmental history of America and its linkage to economic history, crucially, the clearing of forests; the spread of agriculture; mineral, coal and iron extraction; industrialisation; urbanisation; and current and growing climate-crisis concerns.He explores the political shaping of America: indigenous American polities; free European and unfree African settlements; the creation of an American State, and its successes and failures from 1783 to 1861; Civil War; democratisation; the rise of the federal Government from the 1930s; the Civil Rights movement from the 1950s onwards, and tensions in more recent governance. The book considers America in the World: as a pre-colonial and colonised space; as a newly-independent power, then a rising international one, the Cold War and the USA as the sole superpower in the post-Cold-War world. These key themes are tackled chronologically for the sake of clarity, beginning with the geological creation of North America, human settlement and native American cultures to 1500; the arrival of Europeans and enslaved Africans to 1770 - the Spanish and French in the Gulf of Mexico and Florida, the English and French, and the Dutch and Swedes further north.The focus then shifts to settler conflicts with native Americans and between European powers leading to a British-dominated North America by 1770. Then the end of European rule and the foundation of an American trans-continental state. The section dealing with the years from 1848 to 1880 looks at the Civil War between North and South, reconstruction and the creation of a new society.Between 1880 and 1920, the United States became an industrial powerhouse and an international power, also a colonial power - the Philippines, Hawaii, Puerto Rico - and a participant in the First World War.The interwar years, 1921 to 1945, brought turmoil: the Roaring Twenties; the growth of Hollywood; Prohibition; jazz; the Great Depression and the New Deal; finally the Second World War. 1945 to 1968 was the American Age, brimming with confidence and success as the world's leading power, but also the ongoing struggle for civil rights. Subsequent years to 1992 brought crisis and recovery: Watergate, the Reagan years and the USA as the sole world superpower.In bringing the book right up to the present day, Black looks at factors that divide American society and economy, though it remains a country of tremendous energy.

Looking beyond the trappings of Stuart romance

Fans of Sherlock Holmes will delight to investigate Victorian England, a world where crimes large and small abound and where dark corners and well-lit drawing rooms alike hide villainy.Through the enduring eye of Sherlock Holmes, noted historian Jeremy Black traces how Holmes and his milieu evolved in Sir Arthur Conan Doyle¿s books and how Holmes continues to resonate today. Black explores the context of Doyle¿s ideas and stories and why they struck such a chord with readers in London, and ultimately the world. He portrays a complex man with eclectic interests, from soccer to spiritualism, from cricket to divorce-law reform. Standing twice for Parliament, Doyle was a committed meritocrat whose political experiences and values were expressed through his writings. Reading the Holmes stories through the lens of Doyle¿s multifaceted career, Black throws fresh light on the values expressed in them and how Holmes would have been perceived at the time. He traces the imperial strand in the Holmes stories and his treatment of America and Europe. Drawing on a masterly knowledge both of Doyle¿s era and his writings, this entertaining and wide-ranging book uses the Holmes stories to bring Victorian England to vibrant life, a world where crimes large and small abound and where dark corners and well-lit drawing rooms alike hide villainy. Holmes was a hero and an inspiration for many a character who redefined the idea of detection and the detective, a private man of great public importance. Here is his story.

Bringing back a classic work on the American War for Independence

An examination of the British Army during the long 18th century, how it became a world-operating force and its part in imperial expansion and preservation.

In Tank Warfare, prominent military historian Jeremy Black offers a comprehensive global account of the history of tanks and armored warfare in the 20th and 21st centuries.

A brilliantly concise history of London, with a distinctive perspective focusing on the city in its national and, more importantly, international contexts, rather than London itself. Why did London become the foremost international city, how did it sustain that position, and what is happening to it now?

Casting aside conventional narratives of The Great War, Jeremy Black returns to a vast range of original sources and investigates not only the key events of the war, but its consequences in restructuring the old order. Black also considers the struggle not only in its historical context, but also how it has been remembered and memorialised, especially as the generation who experienced it firsthand are passing away.Now in paperback, this book has been updated with a foreword and afterword to consider recent developments.

This book presents an insightful and thoroughly entertaining exploration of the politics of the Bond books and films. Class, gender, violence, sex, race-all are themes that Black scrutinizes through ongoing shifts in characterization and plot. His informed analysis provides a fascinating history of the enduring and evolving appeal of James Bond.

From the Great Exhibition's showcasing of British national achievement in 1851 to the opening ceremonies of the Olympics in Stratford in 2012 and on to Brexit, an insightful exploration of the transformation of modern Britain.

A concise look at the evolution of one of our most crucial transport and trade routes that will open your eyes to its vivid history. Jeremy Black expertly spotlights those who embarked to cross the ocean over the last 550 years and how it came to be established as the ocean for the world.

A concise and wonderfully readable history of Germany through the ages In A Brief History of Germany, renowned historian Jeremy Black questions how the country we know today came to be, chronicling the events that shaped its past, present and future in a fascinating new way. Black chronicles the defining moments of centuries gone by and unlocks the places and people that formed Germany with stories of its society and culture. Whether you're planning your next trip to Germany or simply want to widen your knowledge, this intriguing look at its history is an essential read.

A wonderfully concise and readable, yet comprehensive, history of the Mediterranean Sea, the perfect companion for any visitor, whether cruising or staying ashore.

Political decisions are never taken in a vacuum but are shaped both by current events and historical context. Working forward from the later seventeenth century, this book explores the 'deep history' of the changing and competing understandings within the Tory party of the role Britain has aspired to play on a world stage.

Taking issue with traditional military historians, Black argues persuasively that strategy was as much political as battlefield tactics and that plotting power did not always involve outright warfare but global considerations of alliance building, trade agreements, and intimidation.