Empire Lost - Britain, the Dominions and the Second World War
This fascinating book explores British imperial unity at the outbreak of the Second World War and how this ultimately led to its own dissolution in post-war years. In September 1939, four of the five dominions took the decision to support Neville Chamberlain's London-based government and declare war on Nazi Germany. This was to be the last great outpouring of British imperial unity.
Rome and the Distant East: Trade Routes to the ancient lands of Arabia, India and China
In ancient times there were several major trade routes that connected the Roman Empire to exotic lands in the distant East. Ancient sources reveal that after the Augustan conquest of Egypt, valued commodities from India, Arabia and China became increasingly available to Roman society. These sources describe how Roman traders went far beyond the frontiers of their Empire, travelling on overland journeys and maritime voyages to acquire the silk, spices and aromatics of the remote East.
This book examines in detail the Japanese Infantryman who was, despite comparisons with the notorious German Waffen SS, an enigma to Westerners. Brutal in its treatment of prisoners as well as the inhabitants of the areas that it conquered, the Imperial Japanese Army also had exacting standards for its own men - strict codes of honor compelled Japanese soldiers to fight to the death against the more technologically advanced Allies. Identifying the ways in which the Japanese soldier differed from his Western counterpart, the author explores concepts such as Bushido, Seppuku, Shiki and Hakko Ichi-u in order to understand what motivated Japanese warriors.
Eric Hobsbawm’s study of the culminating years of the old European order provides a fascinating view of a society that came to dominate the world, but which could not resolve its own internal contradictions. The European nations--the “Great Powers” -- were able to carve out vast empires for themselves in the less-developed areas of the globe but were unable or unwilling to deal successfully with profound changes at home. These changes, ranging from the spread of democracy to the rise of labor to the growing rivalries between states and the resultant arms race, culminated in the cataclysm of 1914 and the end of the old order.
