Routledge Readers in History Books

Drawing together seminal texts from philosophers and historians, including Hayden White, David Carr and Frederick Olafson, this volume presents the great debate over the narrative character of history from the 1960s onwards. The History and Narrative Reader combines theory with practice to offer a unique overview of this debate and illuminates the practical implications of these philosophical debates for the writing of history. The editor's introduction offers a succinct survey of the subject to support readings which explore the role of narrative in: historical understanding human action linguistics and structure the practice of history. An excellent book that any student of history and its practice will want on their bookshelf.

Renaissance Thought is a fascinating collection of essays on the Renaissance, focusing on humanism and thought. The concept of the Renaissance has always been challenging to define and this book enables a deeper understanding of the essential features of the Renaissance and humanism. Knowledge of Renaissance thought illuminates other key aspects of Renaissance culture such as philology, political thought and scholastic and platonic philosophy. Renaissance Thought explores all the important themes and influential figures including: * humanism and scholasticism * the scholarship of Politician * printers and readers in Italy * Ptolemy of Lucca * Petrarch * Florentine constitutionalism and Medici ascendancy * the humanist challenge to medieval German culture. This collection of articles is essential reading for students of the Renaissance. The book will allow readers to contribute to the debate on the Renaissance, a theme which has never ceased to stimulate intellectual interest since the earliest days of the Renaissance itself.

The Enlightenment brings together the work of major Enlightenment thinkers such as Hobbes, Rousseau, Diderot and Kant, to illustrate the full importance and achievements of this period in history. Extracts are gathered thematically into sections on such aspects of the Enlightenment as: political theory religion and belief art and nature. All essays are introduced, and a final section on 'critical reflections' provides a selection of modern critical opinions on the period by writers including Foucault, Habermas, and Lyotard. Containing illustrations from the work of artists such as Hogarth and Gainsborough, a chronology of the Enlightenment, and a detailed bibliography, The Enlightenment is a rich source of information and inspiration for all those studying this great period of change.

The American Revolution Reader is a collection of leading essays on the American revolutionary era from the eve of the imperial crisis through George Washington’s presidency. Articles have been chosen to represent classic themes, such as the British-colonial relationship during the eighteenth century, the political and ideological issues underlying colonial protests, the military conflict, the debates over the Constitution, and the rise of political parties. The volume also captures how the field has been reshaped in recent years, including essays that cover class strife and street politics, the international context of the Revolution, and the roles of women, African Americans and Native Americans, as well as the reshaping of the British Empire after the war. With essays by Gordon S. Wood, Mary Beth Norton, T.H. Breen, John M. Murrin, Gary B. Nash, Woody Holton, Rosemarie Zagarri, John Shy, Alan Taylor, Maya Jasanoff, and many other prominent historians, the collection is ideal for classroom use and any student of the American Revolution.