Winner of the prestigious George Washington Book Prize, George Washington is a vivid recounting of the formative years and military career of "The Father of his Country," following his journey from brutal border skirmishes with the French and their Native American allies to his remarkable victory over the British Empire, an achievement that underpinned his selection as the first president of the United States of America. The book focuses on a side of Washington that is often overlooked: the feisty young frontier officer and the early career of the tough forty-something commander of the revolutionaries' ragtag Continental Army. Award-winning historian Stephen Brumwell shows how, ironically, Washington's reliance upon English models of "gentlemanly" conduct, and on British military organization, was crucial in establishing his leadership of the fledgling Continental Army, and in forging it into the weapon that secured American independence. Drawing on a wide range of sources, including original archival research, Brumwell brings a fresh new perspective on this extraordinary individual, whose fusion of gentleman and warrior left an indelible imprint on history.
Why did the once-ardent hero of the American Revolutionary cause become its most dishonored traitor? General Benedict Arnold's failed attempt to betray the fortress of West Point to the British in 1780 stands as one of the most infamous episodes in American history. In the light of a shining record of bravery and unquestioned commitment to the Revolution, Arnold's defection came as an appalling shock. Contemporaries believed he had been corrupted by greed; historians have theorized that he had come to resent the lack of recognition for his merits and sacrifices. In this provocative book Stephen Brumwell challenges such interpretations and draws on unexplored archives to reveal other crucial factors that illuminate Arnold's abandonment of the revolutionary cause he once championed. This work traces Arnold's journey from enthusiastic support of American independence to his spectacularly traitorous acts and narrow escape. Brumwell's research leads to an unexpected conclusion: Arnold's mystifying betrayal was driven by a staunch conviction that America's best interests would be served by halting the bloodshed and reuniting the fractured British Empire.
In the last decade, scholarship has highlighted the significance of the Seven Years War for the destiny of Britain's Atlantic empire. This major 2001 study offers an important perspective through a vivid and scholarly account of the regular troops at the sharp end of that conflict's bloody and decisive American campaigns. Sources are employed to challenge enduring stereotypes regarding both the social composition and military prowess of the 'redcoats'. This shows how the humble soldiers who fought from Novia Scotia to Cuba developed a powerful esprit de corps that equipped them to defy savage discipline in defence of their 'rights'. It traces the evolution of Britain's 'American Army' from a feeble, conservative and discredited organisation into a tough, flexible and innovative force whose victories ultimately won the respect of colonial Americans. By providing a voice for these neglected shock-troops of empire, Redcoats adds flesh and blood to Georgian Britain's 'sinews of power'.
A fast-moving tale of courage, cruelty, hardship, and savagery."--Pittsburgh Post-Gazette In North America's first major conflict, known today as the French and Indian War, France and England--both in alliance with Native American tribes--fought each other in a series of bloody battles and terrifying raids. No confrontation was more brutal and notorious than the massacre of the British garrison of Fort William Henry--an incident memorably depicted in James Fenimore Cooper's The Last of the Mohicans. That atrocity stoked calls for revenge, and the tough young Major Robert Rogers and his "Rangers" were ordered north into enemy territory to exact it. On the morning of October 4, 1759, Rogers and his men surprised the Abenaki Indian village of St. Francis, slaughtering its sleeping inhabitants without mercy. A nightmarish retreat followed. When, after terrible hardships, the raiders finally returned to safety, they were hailed as heroes by the colonists, and their leader was immortalized as "the brave Major Rogers." But the Abenakis remembered Rogers differently: To them he was Wobomagonda--"White Devil.
Much has been written about the British army’s campaigns during the many wars it fought in the eighteenth century, but for over 150 years no one has attempted to produce a history of the army as an institution during this period. That is why Stephen Conway’s perceptive and detailed study is so timely and important. Taking into account the latest scholarship, he considers the army’s legal status, political control and administration, its system of recruitment, the relationships between officers and men, and the social and economic as well as constitutional interactions of the army with British and other societies. Throughout the book a key theme is order and control. How did a small number of officers exercise authority over large numbers of common soldiers? Traditionally the answer has focused on the role of a draconian system of corporal and capital punishment – by extensive use of the lash and the rope. Yet no institution can function through fear alone and he shows that the obedience of its common soldiers had to be negotiated by their officers who were very aware of their men’s sense of their entitlements, and their conception of military service as contractual. By uncovering the mental world of both officers and common soldiers, Stephen Conway offers a very different view of how the British army operated between the Hanoverian succession and the end of the War of American Independence. His work will be fascinating reading for all students of British military history.
What happens to scientific knowledge when researchers outside the natural sciences bring elements of the latest trend across disciplinary boundaries for their own purposes? Researchers in fields from anthropology to family therapy and traffic planning employ the concepts, methods, and results of chaos theory to harness the disciplinary prestige of the natural sciences, to motivate methodological change or conceptual reorganization within their home discipline, and to justify public policies and aesthetic judgments. Using the recent explosion in the use (and abuse) of chaos theory, Borrowed Knowledge and the Challenge of Learning across Disciplines examines the relationship between science and other disciplines as well as the place of scientific knowledge within our broader culture. Stephen H. Kellert’s detailed investigation of the myriad uses of chaos theory reveals serious problems that can arise in the interchange between science and other knowledge-making pursuits, as well as opportunities for constructive interchange. By engaging with recent debates about interdisciplinary research, Kellert contributes a theoretical vocabulary and a set of critical frameworks for the rigorous examination of borrowing.
This book is about a lost world, albeit one less than 50 years old. It is the story of a grand plan to demolish most of Whitehall, London’s historic government district, and replace it with a ziggurat-section megastructure built in concrete. In 1965 the architect Leslie Martin submitted a proposal to Charles Pannell, Minister of Public Building and Works in Harold Wilson’s Labour government, for the wholesale reconstruction of London’s ’Government Centre’. Still reeling from war damage, its eighteenth- and nineteenth-century palaces stood as the patched-up headquarters of an imperial bureaucracy which had once dominated the globe. Martin’s plan - by no means modest in conception, scope or scale - proposed their replacement with a complex that would span the roads into Parliament Square, reframing the Houses of Parliament and Westminster Abbey. The project was not executed in the manner envisaged by Martin and his associates, although a surprising number of its proposals were implemented. But the un-built architecture is examined here for its insights into a distinctive moment in British history, when a purposeful technological future seemed not just possible but imminent, apparently sweeping away an anachronistic Edwardian establishment to be replaced with a new meritocracy forged in the ’white heat of technology’. The Whitehall plan had implications well beyond its specific site. It was imagined by its architects as a scientific investigation into ideal building forms for the future, an important development in their project to unify science and art. For the political actors, it represented a tussle between government departments, between those who believed that Britain needed to discard much of its Victorian and Edwardian decoration in the name of ’professionalization’ and those who sought to preserve its ornate finery. Demolishing Whitehall investigates these tensions between ideas of technology and history, science and art, socialism and el
A fast-moving tale of courage, cruelty, hardship, and savagery."--Pittsburgh Post-Gazette In North America's first major conflict, known today as the French and Indian War, France and England--both in alliance with Native American tribes--fought each other in a series of bloody battles and terrifying raids. No confrontation was more brutal and notorious than the massacre of the British garrison of Fort William Henry--an incident memorably depicted in James Fenimore Cooper's The Last of the Mohicans. That atrocity stoked calls for revenge, and the tough young Major Robert Rogers and his "Rangers" were ordered north into enemy territory to exact it. On the morning of October 4, 1759, Rogers and his men surprised the Abenaki Indian village of St. Francis, slaughtering its sleeping inhabitants without mercy. A nightmarish retreat followed. When, after terrible hardships, the raiders finally returned to safety, they were hailed as heroes by the colonists, and their leader was immortalized as "the brave Major Rogers." But the Abenakis remembered Rogers differently: To them he was Wobomagonda--"White Devil.
“Among the vicissitudes incident to life, no event could have filled me with greater anxieties than that of which the notification was transmitted by your order, and received on the fourteenth day of the present month.” With these words to the assembled members of the Senate and House of Representatives on April 30, 1789, George Washington inaugurated the American experiment. It was a momentous occasion and an immensely important moment for the nation. Never before had a people dared to invent a system of government quite like the one that Washington was preparing to lead, and the tensions between hope and skepticism ran high. In this book, distinguished scholar of early America Stephen Howard Browne chronicles the efforts of the first president of the United States of America to unite the nation through ceremony, celebrations, and oratory. The story follows Washington on his journey from Mount Vernon to the site of the inauguration in Manhattan, recounting the festivities—speeches, parades, dances, music, food, and flag-waving—that greeted the president-elect along the way. Considering the persuasive power of this procession, Browne captures in detail the pageantry, anxiety, and spirit of the nation to arrive at a more nuanced and richly textured perspective on what it took to launch the modern republican state. Compellingly written and artfully argued, The First Inauguration tells the story of the early republic—and of a president who, by his words and comportment, provides a model of leadership and democratic governance for today.
The American war against British imperial rule (1775-1783) was the world's first great popular revolution. Ideologically defined by the colonists' formal Declaration of Independence in 1776, the struggle has taken on something of a mythic character. From the Boston Tea Party to Paul Revere's ride to raise the countryside of New England against the march of the Redcoats; and from the American travails of Bunker Hill (1775) to the final humiliation of the British at Yorktown (1781), the entire contest is now emblematic of American national identity. Stephen Conway shows that, beyond mythology, this was more than just a local conflict: rather a titanic struggle between France and Britain. The Thirteen Colonies were merely one frontline of an extended theatre of operations, with each superpower aiming to deliver the knockout blow. This bold new history recognizes the war as the Revolution but situates it on the wider, global canvas of European warfare.
Shaping the Surface explores the history of modern British architecture through the lens of surface, materiality and decoration. Picking up on a trait that art historian Nikolaus Pevsner first identified as a 'national mania for beautiful surface quality', this book makes a new contribution to architectural history and visual culture in its detailed examination of the surfaces of British architecture from the middle of the 19th century up to the turn of the 21st century. Tracing this continuing sensibility to surface all the way through to the modern era, it explores how and why surface and materiality have featured so heavily in recent architectural tradition, examining the history of British architecture through a selection of key cultural moments and movements from Romanticism and the Arts and Crafts, to Brutalism, High-Tech, Post-Modernism, Neo-Vernacular, and the New Materiality. Embedded within the narrative is the question of whether such national characters can exist in architecture at all – and indeed the extent to which it is possible to identify a British architectural consciousness in an architectural tradition characterised by its continuous importation of theories, ideas, materials and people from around the globe. Shaping the Surface provides a deep critique and meditation on the importance of surface and materiality for architects, designers, and historians everywhere - in Britain and beyond - while it also serves as a thematic introduction to modern British architectural history, with in-depth readings of the works of many key British architects, artists, and critics from Ruskin and William Morris to Alison and Peter Smithson, Eduardo Paolozzi, Richard Rogers and Caruso St John.
Using research from both sides of the Atlantic, Stephen Hornsby examines the development of British military cartography in North America during and after the Seven Years War, as well as advancements in military and scientific equipment used in surveying. At the same time, he follows the land speculation of two leading surveyors, Samuel Holland and J.F.W. Des Barres, and the publication history of The Atlantic Neptune. Richly illustrated with images from The Atlantic Neptune and earlier maps, Surveyors of Empire is an insightful account of the relationship between science and imperialism, and the British shaping of the Atlantic world.
This book explores the impact of the wars of 1739-63 on Britain and Ireland. The period was dominated by armed struggle between Britain and the Bourbon powers, particularly France. These wars, especially the Seven Years War of 1756-63, saw a considerable mobilization of manpower, materiel and money. They had important affects on the British and Irish economies, on social divisions and the development of what we might term social policy, on popular and parliamentary politics, on religion, on national sentiment, and on the nature and scale of Britain's overseas possessions and attitudes to empire. To fight these wars, partnerships of various kinds were necessary. Partnership with European allies was recognized, at least by parts of the political nation, to be essential to the pursuit of victory. Partnership with the North American colonies was also seen as imperative to military success. Within Britain and Ireland, partnerships were no less important. The peoples of the different nations of the two islands were forced into partnership, or entered into it willingly, in order to fight the conflicts of the period and to resist Bourbon invasion threats. At the level of 'high' politics, the Seven Years War saw the forming of an informal partnership between Whigs and Tories in support of the Pitt-Newcastle government's prosecution of the war. The various Protestant denominations - established churches and Dissenters - were brought into a form of partnership based on Protestant solidarity in the face of the Catholic threat from France and Spain. And, perhaps above all, partnerships were forged between the British state and local and private interest in order to secure the necessary mobilization of men, resources, and money.
Durham was, and still is, one of the country's oldest and best-loved cites. The very name was synonymous with dedication, dependability and determination. Men from the city answered the call to arms with an eerie normality, no matter what their age or social class. Many had been miners before the war and had spent their working life down a pit, but just as many had been teachers. Others were students at the Durham School, one of the most prestigious in the land, going on to further greatness at Durham University. When the announcement of war was made, they all enlisted to do their duty for King and country. They asked nothing in return, despite knowing the inherent dangers of what they were about to do. They carried on regardless, selfless in their readiness to give to a greater cause.There was a similar determination amongst the city's people. For some that meant working for the local Voluntary Aid Detachment or the Durham Volunteer Training Corps, whilst still going about their day job. They knew that no matter how hard things were for them, it was much more trying for their sons, brothers, husbands, uncles and other loved ones who were fighting on the Western Front.Hundreds went off to fight in the war: men who had been born in the city, who lived and were educated in the city, and men who had worked in the city. Some 360 of them never made it home. They are gone, but never forgotten.
How did continental Europeans contribute to the eighteenth-century British Empire? Stephen Conway observes how European settlers, soldiers, scientists, sailors, clergymen, merchants, and technical experts contributed to the British Empire, and how they were shaped by imperial direction and control.
Focusing on the geographical importance of the city of Quebec and the role it played in the Seven Years War and the American War of Independence, Stephen Manning describes visits to the city of important figures such as Benedict Arnold and George Washington. In the fuller context of the Seven Years War, he explains the enormous importance the British attached to the capture of North America from the French. His account of the final battle on the Plains of Abraham is a detailed analysis of General Wolfe's genius and the reasons for his success. But the conflict didn't end with Wolfe's victory: at the battle of St Foy in 1760, the French beat the British and again laid siege to Quebec. The siege failed and, aided by the Royal Navy, the British were finally able to force the French Army back to Montreal and capture Quebec. But Britain's relationship with her new North American colonial subjects quickly turned sour, leading directly to the outbreak of war with America. The final siege of Quebec was by the Americans in 1776. It failed, securing the future of Canada as a separate political entity. A thrilling tale told with consummate skill and real narrative pace, Quebec: The Story of Three Sieges offers an exciting new perspective on the events that changed the face of North America. "Could the People in the Town, and Seamen, be depended upon, I should flatter myself, we might hold out, till the Navigation opens next Spring ... I think our Fate extremely doubtful, to say nothing worse." Sir Guy Carleton, British governor of Quebec, 1775
Historically, military leaders were heralded as heroic figures, with generals including Wellington, Nelson and Kitchener venerated by the general public. Today, commanders are no longer celebrated. Stephen Cowell explores how British society’s view of military conflicts has changed over the course of history, and asks challenging questions as to the future of armed conflict. Compared to historical wars, the number of deaths and casualties in recent conflicts is far fewer, and yet society is affected by these events to a far greater extent. The Iraq and Afghanistan invasions lasted longer than either of the two World Wars, and yet very few people would be able to name the military commanders in charge of these campaigns. Stephen explores why war is no longer viewed as glorious and heroic, but rather as sorrowful and reprehensible. Demise of the Military Hero charts the reasons as to why Britain engaged in conflict and examines society’s attitude towards war through a series of vignettes of key past military leaders. Stephen argues that the emancipation of women, supported by higher education for the masses and increased life expectancy caused the modern world to see warfare in a more negative light. Stephen’s challenging and controversial book presents a wide-ranging analysis in an easy-to-read way. Inspired by the work of English historian, AJP Taylor, the book will appeal to those interested in British history and the military. Readers with an interest in women’s issues and the changing role of women in society will also enjoy the book.
Canada has become a leader among the modern nations of the world. It has emerged as a modern industrial nation, and as a key player in the resource, commodities, and financial institutions that make up today’s world. This third edition of the Historical Dictionary of Canada contains a chronology, an introduction, and an extensive bibliography. It includes over 700 cross-referenced entries on a wide range of topics, covering the broad sweep of Canadian history from long before European contact until present day. Topics include Indigenous peoples, women, religion, regions, politics, international affairs, arts and culture, the environment, the economy, language, and war. This is an excellent resource for students, researchers, and anyone wanting to know more about Canada. It introduces readers to the successes and failures, the conflicts and accommodations, the events and trends that have shaped Canadian history.
For students of architecture, this primer defines the critical subject area of professional studies which runs as a thread through the new RIBA validation criteria for Parts 1 and 2. Suitable across the whole 5-year Masters Architecture degree course, it gives students the conceptual resources and tools they need to investigate professional issues. Using short case studies that relate to the RIBA Plan of Work, it bridges the gap between the needs of the student and the overly technical information sources used by practicing professionals.
This book examines the role of neurons in multiple sclerosis (MS) and the changes that occur in neurons as a result of MS. It places MS in a new and important perspective that not only explains the basis for symptom production, remission, and progress in MS, but also promises to open up new therapeutic possibilities.* Brings together the latest information from clinical, pathological, imaging, molecular, and pharmacological realms to explore the neurobiology of Multiple Sclerosis* Places MS in a new and important perspective that promises to open up new therapeutic avenues* Superbly illustrated and referenced
In the last decade, scholarship has highlighted the significance of the Seven Years War for the destiny of Britain's Atlantic empire. This major 2001 study offers an important perspective through a vivid and scholarly account of the regular troops at the sharp end of that conflict's bloody and decisive American campaigns. Sources are employed to challenge enduring stereotypes regarding both the social composition and military prowess of the 'redcoats'. This shows how the humble soldiers who fought from Novia Scotia to Cuba developed a powerful esprit de corps that equipped them to defy savage discipline in defence of their 'rights'. It traces the evolution of Britain's 'American Army' from a feeble, conservative and discredited organisation into a tough, flexible and innovative force whose victories ultimately won the respect of colonial Americans. By providing a voice for these neglected shock-troops of empire, Redcoats adds flesh and blood to Georgian Britain's 'sinews of power'.
Ugly, gangling, and tormented by agonising illness, Major General James Wolfe was an unlikely hero. Yet in 1759, on the Plains of Abraham before Quebec, he won a battle with momentous consequences. Wolfe's victory, bought at the cost of his life, ensured that English, not French, would become the dominant language in North America. Ironically, by crippling French ambitions on that continent, Wolfe paved the way for American independence from Britain. Just thirty-two years old when he was killed in action, Wolfe had served in the British army since his mid-teens, fighting against the French in Flanders and Germany, and the Jacobites in Scotland. Already renowned for bold leadership, Wolfe's death at the very moment of his victory at Quebec cemented his heroic status on both sides of the Atlantic. Epic paintings of Wolfe's dying moments transformed him into an icon of patriotic self-sacrifice, and a role model for Horatio Nelson. Once venerated as the very embodiment of military genius and soldierly modesty, Wolfe's reputation has recently undergone sustained assault by revisionist historians who instead see him as a bloodthirsty and priggish young man, a general who owned his name and fame to one singularly lucky - though crucial - victory. But was there more to James Wolfe than a celebrated death? In Paths of Glory, the first full-length biography of Wolfe to appear in almost half a century, Stephen Brumwell seeks to answer that question, drawing upon extensive research to offer a reassessment of a soldier whose short but dramatic life unquestionably altered the course of world history.
Ugly, gangling, and tormented by agonising illness, Major General James Wolfe was an unlikely hero. Yet in 1759, on the Plains of Abraham before Quebec, he won a battle with momentous consequences. Wolfe's victory, bought at the cost of his life, ensured that English, not French, would become the dominant language in North America. Ironically, by crippling French ambitions on that continent, Wolfe paved the way for American independence from Britain. Just thirty-two years old when he was killed in action, Wolfe had served in the British army since his mid-teens, fighting against the French in Flanders and Germany, and the Jacobites in Scotland. Already renowned for bold leadership, Wolfe's death at the very moment of his victory at Quebec cemented his heroic status on both sides of the Atlantic. Epic paintings of Wolfe's dying moments transformed him into an icon of patriotic self-sacrifice, and a role model for Horatio Nelson. Once venerated as the very embodiment of military genius and soldierly modesty, Wolfe's reputation has recently undergone sustained assault by revisionist historians who instead see him as a bloodthirsty and priggish young man, a general who owned his name and fame to one singularly lucky - though crucial - victory. But was there more to James Wolfe than a celebrated death? In Paths of Glory, the first full-length biography of Wolfe to appear in almost half a century, Stephen Brumwell seeks to answer that question, drawing upon extensive research to offer a reassessment of a soldier whose short but dramatic life unquestionably altered the course of world history.
Was there a beginning of time? Could time run backwards? Is the universe infinite or does it have boundaries? These are just some of the questions considered in the internationally acclaimed masterpiece by the world renowned physicist - generally considered to have been one of the world's greatest thinkers. It begins by reviewing the great theories of the cosmos from Newton to Einstein, before delving into the secrets which still lie at the heart of space and time, from the Big Bang to black holes, via spiral galaxies and strong theory. To this day A Brief History of Time remains a staple of the scientific canon, and its succinct and clear language continues to introduce millions to the universe and its wonders. This new edition includes updates from Stephen Hawking with his latest thoughts about the No Boundary Proposal and offers new information about dark energy, the information paradox, eternal inflation, the microwave background radiation observations, and the discovery of gravitational waves. It was published in tandem with the app, Stephen Hawking's Pocket Universe. 'This book marries a child's wonder to a genius's intellect. We journey into Hawking's universe while marvelling at his mind.' The Sunday Times
Britain's best-loved comic genius Stephen Fry turns his celebrated wit and insight to unearthing the real America as he travels across the continent in his black taxicab. Stephen's account of his adventures is filled with his unique humour, insight and warmth in the fascinating book that orginally accompanied his journey for the BBC1 series.
This work has been selected by scholars as being culturally important, and is part of the knowledge base of civilization as we know it. This work was reproduced from the original artifact, and remains as true to the original work as possible. Therefore, you will see the original copyright references, library stamps (as most of these works have been housed in our most important libraries around the world), and other notations in the work. This work is in the public domain in the United States of America, and possibly other nations. Within the United States, you may freely copy and distribute this work, as no entity (individual or corporate) has a copyright on the body of the work. As a reproduction of a historical artifact, this work may contain missing or blurred pages, poor pictures, errant marks, etc. Scholars believe, and we concur, that this work is important enough to be preserved, reproduced, and made generally available to the public. We appreciate your support of the preservation process, and thank you for being an important part of keeping this knowledge alive and relevant.
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