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Cambridge Concise Histories offer general introductions to a wide range of subjects. A series of authoritative overviews written by expert authors, these books make the histories of countries, events and topics accessible to both students and general readers.

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49 results in Cambridge Concise Histories

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A Concise History of Spain
  • William D. Phillips, Jr, Carla Rahn Phillips
  • Published online:
    05 August 2012
    Print publication:
    01 July 2010
  • The rich cultural and political life of Spain has emerged from its complex history, from the diversity of its peoples, and from continual contact with outside influences. This book traces that history from prehistoric times to the present, focusing particularly on culture, society, politics, and personalities. Written in an engaging style, it introduces readers to the key themes that have shaped Spain's history and culture. These include its varied landscapes and climates; the impact of waves of diverse human migrations; the importance of its location as a bridge between the Atlantic and the Mediterranean and Europe and Africa; and religion, particularly militant Catholic Christianity and its centuries of conflict with Islam and Protestantism, as well as debates over the place of the Church in modern Spain. Illustrations, maps, and a guide to further reading, major cultural figures, and places to see, make the history of this fascinating country come alive.

A Concise History of Russia
  • Paul Bushkovitch
  • Published online:
    05 June 2012
    Print publication:
    05 December 2011
  • Accessible to students, tourists and general readers alike, this book provides a broad overview of Russian history since the ninth century. Paul Bushkovitch emphasizes the enormous changes in the understanding of Russian history resulting from the end of the Soviet Union in 1991. Since then, new material has come to light on the history of the Soviet era, providing new conceptions of Russia's pre-revolutionary past. The book traces not only the political history of Russia, but also developments in its literature, art and science. Bushkovitch describes well-known cultural figures, such as Chekhov, Tolstoy and Mendeleev, in their institutional and historical contexts. Though the 1917 revolution, the resulting Soviet system and the Cold War were a crucial part of Russian and world history, Bushkovitch presents earlier developments as more than just a prelude to Bolshevik power.

A Concise History of the Caribbean
  • B. W. Higman
  • Published online:
    05 June 2012
    Print publication:
    13 December 2010
  • A Concise History of the Caribbean presents a general history of the Caribbean islands from the beginning of human settlement about seven thousand years ago to the present. It narrates processes of early human migration, the disastrous consequences of European colonization, the development of slavery and the slave trade, the extraordinary profits earned by the plantation economy, the great revolution in Haiti, movements toward political independence, the Cuban Revolution, and the diaspora of Caribbean people. Written in a lively and accessible style yet current with the most recent research, the book provides a compelling narrative of Caribbean history essential for students and visitors.

A Concise History of Modern India
  • 2nd edition
  • Barbara D. Metcalf, Thomas R. Metcalf
  • Published online:
    05 June 2012
    Print publication:
    28 September 2006
  • In a second edition of their successful Concise History of Modern India, Barbara Metcalf and Thomas Metcalf explore India's modern history afresh and update the events of the last decade. These include the takeover of Congress from the seemingly entrenched Hindu nationalist party in 2004, India's huge advances in technology and the country's new role as a major player in world affairs. From the days of the Mughals, through the British Empire, and into Independence, the country has been transformed by its institutional structures. It is these institutions which have helped bring about the social, cultural and economic changes that have taken place over the last half century and paved the way for the modern success story. Despite these advances, poverty, social inequality and religious division still fester. In response to these dilemmas, the book grapples with questions of caste and religious identity, and the nature of the Indian nation.

A Concise History of the United States of America
  • Susan-Mary Grant
  • Published online:
    05 June 2012
    Print publication:
    05 March 2012
  • Born out of violence and the aspirations of its early settlers, the United States of America has become one of the world's most powerful nations. The book begins in colonial America as the first Europeans arrived, lured by the promise of financial profit, driven by religious piety and accompanied by diseases which would ravage the native populations. It explores the tensions inherent in a country built on slave labour in the name of liberty, one forced to assert its unity and reassess its ideals in the face of secession and civil war, and one that struggled to establish moral supremacy, military security and economic stability during the financial crises and global conflicts of the twentieth century. Woven through this richly crafted study of America's shifting social and political landscapes are the multiple voices of the nation's history: slaves and slave owners, revolutionaries and reformers, soldiers and statesmen, immigrants and refugees. These voices help define the United States at the dawn of a new century.

A Concise History of Mexico
  • Brian R. Hamnett
  • Published online:
    05 June 2012
    Print publication:
    25 November 1999
  • Mexico's fascinating complexities are difficult to approach. This illustrated Concise History begins with a brief examination of contemporary issues, while the book as a whole - ranging from the Olmecs to the present day - combines a chronological and thematic approach while highlighting long-term issues and controversies. Modern Mexico, founded after independence from Spain in 1821, was created out of a long and disparate historical inheritance which has constantly influenced its evolution. This book takes account of that past and pays attention to the pre-Columbian and Spanish colonial influence. Mexico's economic problems are given historical treatment together with political analysis and attention to social and cultural factors. The book's prime objective is accessibility to readers, including those interested in gaining a broad general knowledge of the country and those across the professions anxious to secure a rapid but secure understanding of a subject where there are few starting points.

A Concise History of Canada
  • Margaret Conrad
  • Published online:
    05 June 2012
    Print publication:
    28 May 2012
  • Margaret Conrad's history of Canada begins with a challenge to its readers. What is Canada? What makes up this diverse, complex and often contested nation-state? What was its founding moment? And who are its people? Drawing on her many years of experience as a scholar, writer and teacher of Canadian history, Conrad offers astute answers to these difficult questions. Beginning in Canada's deep past with the arrival of its Aboriginal peoples, she traces its history through the conquest by Europeans, the American Revolutionary War and the industrialization of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries to its prosperous present. Despite its successes and its popularity as a destination for immigrants from across the world, Canada remains a curiously reluctant player on the international stage. This intelligent, concise and lucid book explains just why that is.

A Concise History of Bulgaria
  • 2nd edition
  • R. J. Crampton
  • Published online:
    05 June 2012
    Print publication:
    24 November 2005
  • Bulgaria became a member of the European Union in 2007, yet its history is amongst the least well known in the rest of the continent. R. J. Crampton provides here a general introduction to this country at the cross-roads of Christendom and Islam. The text and illustrations trace the rich and dramatic story from pre-history, through the days when Bulgaria was the centre of a powerful medieval empire and the five centuries of Ottoman rule, to the cultural renaissance of the nineteenth century and the political upheavals of the twentieth, upheavals which led Bulgaria into three wars. This updated edition includes the years from 1995 to 2004, a vital period in which Bulgaria endured financial meltdown, set itself seriously on the road to reform, elected its former King as prime minister, and finally secured membership of NATO and admission to the European Union.

A Concise History of Bolivia
  • 2nd edition
  • Herbert S. Klein
  • Published online:
    01 June 2011
    Print publication:
    31 January 2011
  • In its first Spanish edition, Herbert Klein's A Concise History of Bolivia won immediate acceptance within Bolivia as the new standard history of this important nation. Surveying Bolivia's economic, social, cultural and political evolution from the arrival of early man in the Andes to the present, this current version brings the history of this society up to the present day, covering the fundamental changes that have occurred since the National Revolution of 1952 and the return of democracy in 1982. These changes have included the introduction of universal education and the rise of the mestizos and Indian populations to political power for the first time in national history. This second edition brings this story through the first administration of the first self-proclaimed Indian president in national history and the major changes that the government of Evo Morales has introduced in Bolivian society, politics and economics.

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