In a Strange Land by
Studying abroad is one of the most educational and transformative experiences a student can have. That is, when it is done right. In a Strange Land: A Student's Guide to Studying Abroad is the essential guide for students studying abroad, helping them plan for and make the most of their time overseas. It will help students understand the benefits of studying abroad, articulate goals and cultivate the right mindset prior to leaving, and avoid common social, personal, and academic mistakes students make when abroad. Drawing from experiences as a student studying abroad and, later, as a study abroad program leader, this book provides humorous anecdotes and practical advice on how you can have a safe, enriching, and rewarding experience abroad. If you're thinking about studying abroad or already in the middle of your trip, In a Strange Land will show you how to have a fulfilling, meaningful, and transformational experience.
China A to Z by
A practical and accessible guide to an ancient but rapidly changing culture Perfect for business and armchair travelers alike, China A to Z explains the customs, culture, and etiquette essential for any trip or for anyone wanting to understand this complex country. In one hundred brief, reader-friendly chapters, alphabetized by subject, China A to Z introduces a general audience to contemporary Chinese society, as well as its venerable history. Discover: ? Why Chinese names are written in reverse order ? What to bring when visiting a Chinese household ? What the current relationship is between Japan and China ? Why you should wrap gifts in red or pink paper, and never send white flowers With the 2008 Summer Olympics being held in Beijing, thousands of Chinese adoptions occurring each year, and China becoming the fourth most popular international destination, the need for information about this complex country is greater than ever.
International Travel Secrets by
Countries are opening up again! You can travel during the pandemic if you choose. Fly to Europe for as little as $128--Yeah, I did that, and you can too! This book has step-by-step instructions on finding rock-bottom prices on travel--without booking last minute or staying in crowded hostels. A must read for beginning travelers and seasoned travelers alike. Find out how to see a country in 2 days and how to use layovers as a tool to see more countries--for free! Learn how to avoid baggage fees, ATM fees, and foreign transaction fees. Master how to determine which countries are safe and how to protect yourself in a robbery Learn how to negotiate prices, which credit cards to use, how to get free travel insurance, and much more! Discover what other budget travel books do not tell you Travel on a budget without using credit card miles Learn why credit card airline miles are a scam See why trip cancelation insurance is a scam Discover the truth about medical insurance and trip interruption insurance Use my helpful trip planning tools Find the best tours and hotels Travel around the world with ease Solo travel or with friends and family
When in ROAM by
California Girl Pam accidentally travels around the world SOLO for years through Africa, Asia, Australia, and New Zealand. She's chased by a herd of wild elephants, shoved from the bungee platform, scuba dives with sharks, hikes an active volcano, and many more hair-raising and humbling adventures. Her naivete leads her to some dangerous moments, outrageous places, and hilarious situations. Her sarcasm and optimism rescue her every time. She not only explores the world, she discovers politics, religions, sciences, cultural differences, conspiracy theories, intoxicants, the paranormal, some quirky and loveable friendships, and even romance. Throughout the real and raw controversial moments, she keeps you laughing in this R-rated authentic journey of the mid 1990's. Does she learn about herself? Does she learn about the world? Does Pam learn ANYTHING at all? Let's adventure together...
Before You Go Abroad Handbook by
Does this book really have over 127 tips and tools for planning an international trip? Well, let's just say we stopped counting at that number. You see, this little handbook is packed with over 127 insights, websites, and resources that are essential for any traveler planning to go abroad. Are the tips and tools really secret? Actually yes, they are secret-at least no one told us about them before we journeyed abroad and we had done a lot of research and preparation. We had to discover many of them the hard way as we traveled around the world to more than 70 countries. These are the secrets we wished we had found, in a concise and consolidated book like this one, before we went abroad. Why did we write this book? We love to travel, and the more we traveled the world, the more we learned how to travel smarter, safer, and cheaper. When friends realized how much traveling we had done, the more questions they would ask us about how to travel. We soon realized we could answer just about every question that came our way. That is when we decided to share our travel knowledge as a way to help, enable, and inspire others to travel abroad. From that desire sprang over twenty classes that we teach in person and online, as well as this handbook, the first book in our Travel Smart Strategies series. Now you can travel smarter, safer, and cheaper too. Happy Travels!
The Girl at the Baggage Claim by
A provocative and important study of the different ideas Easterners and Westerners have about the self and society and what this means for current debates in art, education, geopolitics, and business. Never have East and West come as close as they are today, yet we are still baffled by one another. Is our mantra "To thine own self be true"? Or do we believe we belong to something larger than ourselves--a family, a religion, a troop--that claims our first allegiance? Gish Jen--drawing on a treasure trove of stories and personal anecdotes, as well as cutting-edge research in cultural psychology--reveals how this difference shapes what we perceive and remember, what we say and do and make--how it shapes everything from our ideas about copying and talking in class to the difference between Apple and Alibaba. As engaging as it is illuminating, this is a book that stands to profoundly enrich our understanding of ourselves and of our world.
Harvest of Empire by
Spanning 500 years of Hispanic history, from the first New World colonies to the 19th century westward expansion in America, this narrative features family portraits of real-life immigrants along with sketches of the political events and social conditions that compelled them to leave their homeland.
A Reader's Guide to Japanese Literature by The Mexican Nation by 
Literature Without Borders by
Designed to encourage readers to read and think critically, compassionately, and globally, this comprehensive collection of contemporary writing in English spotlights English as an international literary language. The broad range of genres from some of the world's finest writers, cross diverse gender, generational and ethnic lines. Breadth and quality of essays, memoirs, poems and stories cover such enduring themes as heritage, family, community, identity and autonomy, love and commitment, (post) colonization, the immigrant experience and alienation. For individuals interested in expanding the boarders of their reading to include a showcase of English language literature.
Scottish Literature by
McCordick's Anthology presents in one place, and for the first time, so many English language Scottish works that it asks us to reconsider the very nature and achievement of Scottish literature. No other collection includes the quantity or depth of material that this anthology provides; these editions are destined to become the definitive anthology of the genre. Volume I includes 117 Scottish writers from the early Middle Ages to about 1775. Among its 432 works are the complete texts of The Kings Quair, The Testament of Cresseid, Squire William Meldrum, The Cherry and the Slae, A Cypress Grove, The Grave, The Castle of Indolence, Douglas, and The Minstrel. Intended for both the general reader and the student of literature, it contains introductions, notes, and marginal glosses.
Cooking with a Harvard Accent by Phila Hach's United Nations Cookbook: recipes collected from UN Ambassadors after their visit to Tennessee by 
Tasting History by
NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER Begin your very own food journey through the centuries and around the world with the first cookbook from the beloved YouTube channel Tasting History with Max Miller. What began as a passion project when Max Miller was furloughed during Covid-19 has become a viral YouTube sensation. The Tasting History with Max Miller channel has thrilled food enthusiasts and history buffs alike as Miller recreates a dish from the past, often using historical recipes from vintage texts, but updated for modern kitchens as he tells stories behind the cuisine and culture. From ancient Rome to Ming China to medieval Europe and beyond, Miller has collected the best-loved recipes from around the world and has shared them with his fans. Now, with beautiful photographs portraying the dishes and historical artwork throughout, Tasting History compiles over sixty dishes such as: Tuh'u: a red beet stew with leeks dating back to 1740 BC Globi: deep-fried cheese balls with honey and poppy seeds Soul Cakes: yeasted buns with currants from circa 1600 Pumpkin Tourte: a crustless pumpkin cheesecake with cinnamon and sugar on top from 1570 And much more. Including the original recipe and Miller's modern recreation, this cookbook is a must-have for any avid cook or history fan looking to experience delicious recipes from the past.
A Journey into Ireland's Literary Revival by
A great tide of literary invention swept through Ireland between the 1890s and the 1920s. This engrossing, illuminating, and beautifully illustrated guidebook explores the personal and professional histories of writers such as W. B. Yeats, Lady Gregory, John Millington Synge, and Sean O'Casey and examines their relationships with the people, culture, and landscapes of Ireland. From Galway and the Aran Islands, to County Mayo and County Sligo, and from Dublin to Wicklow, this guide tothe places that inspired Irish Literary Revival showcases the locations where many of Ireland's finest writers shaped an enduring vision of the country.
Latin America by
This comprehensive text introduces key geographical concepts while providing an incisive, timely, and highly informative primer on Latin America. Thematic chapters trace the development of the region from the pre-Hispanic era to the present, while regional chapters reveal the diversity of its constituent people and places. Coverage includes cultural history; environment and physical geography; land use, agriculture, and urbanization; social and economic processes; and the Latin American diaspora. Enhancing the utility of the text are quick-reference tables and illustrative vignettes, over 160 photographs and maps, and suggestions for further reading at the end of each chapter.
Hibernia America by
US
Germany by
Germany explains the diverse ways in which national identity has been constructed over more than three centuries. It focuses on the plurality of contested definitions of 'Germanness." The themes covered include the struggles between democratic and non-democratic inventions of the nation, foreigners and 'Germanness' and the impact of war on the construction of a German national identity. This is a fundamental reappraisal of Germany's history from a perspective available only now that the dust from the demolished Berlin Wall is settling in a reunited Germany.
Insights into Chinese Culture by 
Lin Shu, Inc by
Lin Shu, Inc. explores the dynamic interactions between literary translation, commercial publishing, and the politics of "traditional" Chinese culture in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. It breaks new ground as the first full-length study in any Western language on the career and works of Lin Shu and his many collaborators in the publishing, academic, and business worlds. Integrating literary scholarship, translation studies, and print history, this book provides new insights into a controversial figure in world literature and his place in the profound transformations in authorship and cultural production in modern China.Well before Ezra Pound and Bertolt Brecht transformed Western-language poetry and theater with their inventions of Chinese culture, Lin Shu and his collaborators had already embarked on a translation project unique in modern literature. Although he knew no foreign languages, in a 20-year period Lin Shu worked with 19 different assistants schooled in English, French, and other tongues to complete more than 180 book-length translations into classical Chinese. Through burgeoning print outlets such as the Commercial Press (Shangwu yinshuguan), Lin and his collaborators offered many readers in China their first taste of "Western literature" - usually 19th-century novels and short stories from the United States, England, and France. At the same time, Lin Shu leveraged his labors as a translator to make himself into a leading authority on "traditional" Chinese literature and cultural values. From what one publisher called his "factory of words," Lin issued scores of textbooks and anthologies of classical-language literature, along with short stories, poems, essays, and a handful of full-length novels.
Ireland by
Ireland has rarely been out of the news during the past thirty years. Whether as a war-zone in which Catholic nationalists and Protestant Unionists struggled for supremacy, a case study in conflict resolution or an economy that for a time promised to make the Irish among the wealthiest people on the planet, the two Irelands have truly captured the world's imagination. Yet single-volume histories of Ireland are rare. Here, Thomas Bartlett, one of the country's leading historians, sets out a fascinating new history that ranges from prehistory to the present. Integrating politics, society and culture, he offers an authoritative historical road map that shows exactly how - and why - Ireland, north and south, arrived at where it is today. This is an indispensable guide to both the legacies of the past for Ireland's present and to the problems confronting north and south in the contemporary world.
Education Abroad and the Undergraduate Experience by
Co-published with This volume focuses on two questions. First, how can education abroad be embedded into undergraduate education so that students experience it as an integral component of their education and something they help shape, rather than as time away from their education and as a commodity to be consumed? Second, how can colleges and universities maximize the educational value of education abroad by forging stronger connections between it and other undergraduate experiences? The volume argues that learning abroad be positioned within the work of the larger institution and students' overall education. Organized within three sections, this volume makes the case that learning abroad must be positioned within the work of the larger institution and students' overall education. In doing so, it questions many current assumptions and stimulates thinking about the power of an integrative approach to education abroad to lead to lasting educative value. An integrative approach requires that students be afforded multiple opportunities and ongoing support to draw connections with their learning abroad with other dimensions of their undergraduate education. Chapters cover topics such as the additive value of integrating multiple HIPs with education abroad to span disciplinary boundaries and promote an array of soft or operational skills; the importance of maintaining the disruptive quality of the encounter with the foreign to enrich study at home; issues of commodification and reciprocity; increasing access to study abroad to community college--particularly adult--populations; facilitating students' social and intellectual development, identity formation, and reflective practice; rethinking orientation programming to emphasize the continuity of learning pre-, during- and post-education abroad; asking fundamental questions about the purpose of education abroad to rethink assessment and its purposes; the faculty role in the internationalization of the curriculum; and developing more intentional relationships with in-field partners and international educational organizations to more effectively connect leaning abroad with other dimensions of undergraduate education. For everyone involved in international education - whether SIOs, faculty, department chairs or deans - the critical questions and new perspectives offered here will inform and shape the growing movement to integrate education abroad with the overall undergraduate experience.
Passport to Change by
There has been enormous growth in faculty-led short-term study abroad programs because they offer flexibility and expand opportunities for students and faculty members who wish to study and work abroad but do not have the resources or time to spend a semester or year away. These experiential programs offer unique opportunities for university faculty to teach their disciplines abroad while engaging students in direct, authentic cultural encounters for transformative change. This volume provides a detailed framework and guidance on how to plan and implement a faculty-led study abroad program. Seasoned faculty leaders and administrators describe an overall program development process, comprehensively identify the elements for designing the curriculum, and offer advice and solutions to unique challenges inherent in various types of programs. The contributors cover the logistics for managing program details at home and abroad provide advice on writing a university proposal, creating a budget, the marketing and recruitment of students, handling abroad logistics, and preparing students for the abroad experience - all illustrated by examples drawn from their experiences. Most importantly, readers will come to understand the difference between experiences that are more touristic than scholarly and gain guidance on designing or redesigning their own programs to ensure academically sound, culturally-relevant curricula that complements the international field site. The opening section sets the scene by describing the overall process of designing and delivering faculty-led abroad programs, from conception to implementation. The core of the book is grounded in evidence-based research for designing international curricula and syllabi, and includes five case studies illustrating short term programs focused on interdisciplinary subject matter, field study, global service learning, internship immersion, and language and cultural study. This practical guide concludes with faculty activities critical to a program's success: marketing and recruiting students; preparing teaching events for before, during, and after the abroad experience; and formulating a plan to leave a small footprint abroad. This book constitutes a handbook for college and university professors who plan to or already conduct short-term study abroad programs as well as administrators and staff of global and international programs. Contributors Bilge Gokhan Celik Robert A. Cole Darla K. Deardorff Candelas Gala Javier Garcia Garrido Dale Leavitt Roxanne O'Connell Susan Lee Pasquarelli Michele V. Price Autumn Quezada de Tavarez Victor Savicki Michael Scully Michael Tyson Kerri Staroscik Warren Paul Webb Brian Wysor Min Zhou
English the American Way: a Fun Guide to English Language 2nd Edition by
REA's English the American Way: A Fun ESL Guide to Language & Culture in the U.S. with Audio CD + MP3 New Second Edition! A fun guide to everything American for the English language learner! The warm and witty authors of English the American Way: A Fun ESL Guide to Language & Culture in the U.S. are back with a new second edition of this bestselling title. Featuring updated units on technology and social media, plus all-new fun-filled word-picture matchups, English the American Way is your companion to everyday life in the United States. Engaging, easy-to-follow chapters highlight important topics in American culture, such as: making friends, getting around, dining out, dealing with money, buying a home, what to do in an emergency, visiting the doctor, handling a job interview, and more. Our ESL author experts (Sheila MacKechnie Murtha and Jane Airey O'Connor) give English language learners must-know vocabulary, commonly used phrases, wacky idioms, and sample dialogues that illustrate everyday American life. You'll have fun along the way as you improve your English language and grammar skills with sentence completions, quizzes, and helpful tips. Practice speaking English like an American until you're perfect! Improve your listening and speaking skills with the dialogues included on our audio CD and MP3 download. English the American Way is an excellent resource for ESL students and teachers, English language learners, and professionals of all ages and all nationalities. If you're looking for a fun and easy way to improve your English language skills, this is the book for you! Don't miss the other books in this series... Celebrate the American Way: A Fun ESL Guide to English Language and Culture in the U.S and College the American Way: A Fun ESL Guide to English Language and Campus Life in the U.S.
Raising Global IQ by
A groundbreaking roadmap for improving global literacy and conflict-resolution skills in middle and high schools across the United States InRaising Global IQ, Carl Hobert calls on K-12 teachers, administrators, parents,and students alike to transform the educational system by giving students the tools they need to become responsible citizens in a shrinking, increasingly interdependent world. Drawing on his nearly thirty years teaching, developingcurricula, and leading conflict-resolution workshops here and around the world, he offers creative, well-tested, and understandable pedagogical ideas to help improve our children's GIQ- Global Intelligence Quotient. Cognizant of many U.S. schools' limited budgets and time, Hobert advocates teaching foreign languages early in life, honing students' conflict-resolution skills, providing creative-service learning opportunities, and offering cultural-exchange possibilities in students' own communities, as well as nationally and abroad-all before they graduate from high school.
Online Intercultural Education and Study Abroad by
With the increasing focus on international education and study abroad programmes, Online Intercultural Education and Study Abroad meets the need for a text that addresses ways in which technology may be harnessed to enhance student experience. Combining case studies with theoretical insights, this book critically investigates the effectiveness of a fully online study abroad intervention that was designed to optimise intercultural learning in an international context. Intercultural education researchers and practitioners are provided with theory-based practical ideas such as eLearning strategies and online mentoring tips to help students maximise their intercultural education journey, intercultural competence development, and social engagement while abroad. Both practical and research-focused, this volume considers a wide range of topics, including: Contemporary notions of experiential learning Guided critical reflection through e-mentoring A social contructivist orientation towards eLearning pedgagogy Tools to help understand and measure learner development abroad Online Intercultural Education and Study Abroad is suitable for both novice and experienced study abroad practitioners, researchers, and administrators. Satisfying the growing interest in using eLearning within study abroad programmes, this book will be a necessary point of reference for any institution that aims to enhance international educational experience, especially through the use of technology.
The Newcomers by
"A delicate and heartbreaking mystery story...Thorpe's book is a reminder that in an era of nativism, some Americans are still breaking down walls and nurturing newcomers, the seeds of the great American experiment." --The New York Times Book Review "The teens we meet have endured things none of us can imagine...and [this book has] never been more crucial than at this moment." --USA TODAY "Helen Thorpe has taken policy and turned it into literature." --Malcolm Gladwell From the award-winning, "meticulously observant" author of Soldier Girls and Just Like Us comes a powerful and moving account of how refugee teenagers at a public high school learn English and become Americans, in the care of a compassionate teacher. The Newcomers follows the lives of twenty-two immigrant teenagers throughout the course of the 2015-2016 school year as they land at South High School in Denver, Colorado. These newcomers, from fourteen to nineteen years old, come from nations convulsed by drought or famine or war. Many come directly from refugee camps, after experiencing dire forms of cataclysm. Some arrive alone, having left or lost every other member of their original family. At the center of their story is Mr. Williams, their dedicated and endlessly resourceful teacher of English Language Acquisition. If Mr. Williams does his job right, the newcomers will leave his class at the end of the school year with basic English skills and new confidence, their foundation for becoming Americans and finding a place in their new home. Ultimately, "The Newcomers reads more like an anthropologist's notebook than a work of reportage: Helen Thorpe not only observes, she chips in her two cents and participates. Like her, we're moved and agitated by this story of refugee teenagers...Donald Trump's gross slander of refugees and immigrants is countered on every page by the evidence of these students' lives and characters" (Los Angeles Review of Books). With the US at a political crossroads around questions of immigration, multiculturalism, and America's role on the global stage, Thorpe presents a fresh and nuanced perspective. The Newcomers is "not only an intimate look at lives immigrant teens live, but it is a primer on the art and science of new language acquisition and a portrait of ongoing and emerging global horrors and the human fallout that arrives on our shores" (USA TODAY).
Itadakimasu!: the food culture of Japan by The AACRAO International Guide by The Muslim Almanac: a reference work on the history, faith, culture, and peoples of Islam by 
Study Abroad Opportunities for Community College Students and Strategies for Global Learning by
Community colleges serve more students than any other institutional type in the United States, and internationalization is an inherent component of community colleges that advances student knowledge, facilitates student success, and serves the needs of local communities. As most community college students enroll in four-year institutions, their only opportunity for international experience is while they are in community college. Study Abroad Opportunities for Community College Students and Strategies for Global Learning provides innovative insights into international study and education abroad through community colleges, while discussing the value of adding study abroad programs to two-year institutions. This publication examines community colleges' contributions in a local society, study abroad opportunities, peacebuilding, international education, and risk management. Designed for administrative professionals, community college leaders, educators, academicians, and researchers, this book covers topics centered on study abroad programs at diverse community colleges.
Islamic Art and Culture by
"Now more then ever, Islam and Islamic culture is a topic that is as misunderstood as it is fascinating. In this exquisite oversized volume spanning 1200 years of history, celebrated scholar Professor Nasser D. Khalili presents a benchmark visual history of the peoples, the cultures, and the artworks that have defined the Islamic world. From Spain to Indonesia, North Africa to China, more than fifty of the world's nations are of the Muslim faith. The material culture of the Muslim people is accordingly rich and varied, ranging from huge architectural projects to minutely detailed miniature paintings, exquisitely patterned silk textiles and bold calligraphy." "Histories of the art of the Islamic lands have, until now, either been very general or highly focused on particular regions or types of artifacts. The oversized format of Islamic Art and Culture provides the reader with the magnificent sweep of the arts of Islam in a unique and accessible way. Diverse developments throughout the Islamic world are compared simultaneously across time and place, and specific objects and buildings seen in the light of key events in Muslim history. From calligraphy to carpets, armor to architecture, this book voluptuously reveals the immense heritage handed down through Islamic artists over the centuries and examines their relationship to their Western peers."--BOOK JACKET.
The Spirit of Folk Art by
Amassed in over 50 years of global travel by the noted architect and designer Alexander Girard, the Girard Collection, at Santa Fe's Museum of International Folk Art, encompasses more than 100,000 works from 100 cultures worldwide. This book contains a selection of 300 objects from the collection.
Islam and the Arab World by The World Atlas of Food by 
Encyclopedia of Arts and Culture by
Culture refers to the norms of social behavior followed by all members of any human society. Culture expresses itself in a creative form through physical expressions of arts. Poetry, drama, music, painting, dancing, photography, etc. are some of the popular types of literary, performing and visual arts. Culture and arts are two interrelated fields which fall under the domain of humanities. This book traces the progress of arts and culture as well as highlights some of its significant theories. The topics included herein are crucial and bound to provide incredible insights to readers. Those in search of information to further their knowledge will be greatly assisted by this book.
The Leonardo Almanac by
The Leonardo Almanac is an invaluable one-stop resource for those who are working at the intersection of the arts, sciences, and technology. Included are profiles of organizations and individuals active in the related fields. The organizations directory alone contains more than 500 entries for artist-in-residence, grant and fellowship, sound and music, computer arts, video, and multimedia programmes. In addition there is an artists' words on works archive, a speakers network, a section with bibliographies on everything from fractals to virtual reality to CD-ROM and multimedia, and a calendar listing of events, competition, and funding deadlines.
International Dictionary of Black Composers by
First Published in 1999. Routledge is an imprint of Taylor & Francis, an informa company.
The Middle Kingdoms by
An essential new history of Central Europe, the contested lands so often at the heart of world history  Central Europe has long been infamous as a region beset by war, a place where empires clashed and world wars began. In The Middle Kingdoms, Martyn Rady offers the definitive history of the region, demonstrating that Central Europe has always been more than merely the fault line between West and East. Even as Central European powers warred with their neighbors, the region developed its own cohesive identity and produced tremendous accomplishments in politics, society, and culture. Central Europeans launched the Reformation and Romanticism, developed the philosophy of the Renaissance and the Enlightenment, and advanced some of the twentieth century's most important artistic movements. Drawing on a lifetime of research and scholarship, The Middle Kingdoms tells as never before the captivating story of two thousand years of Central Europe's history and its enduring significance in world affairs.
Europe by
"In the beginning," writes Norman Davies, "there was no Europe. All there was, for five million years, was a long, sinuous peninsula with no name, set like the figurehead of a ship on the prow of the world's largest land mass. To the west lay the ocean which no one had crossed. To the south lay two enclosed and interlinked seas, sprinkled with islands, inlets, and peninsulas of their own. To the north lay the great polar icecap, expanding and contracting across the ages like some monstrous, freezing jellyfish. To the east lay the land-bridge to the rest of the world, whence all peoples and all civilizations were to come." So begins Davies's magisterial Europe, a master work of history that stretches from the Ice Age to the Atomic Age, as it tells the story of Europe, East and West, from prehistory to the present day. Davies's absorbing narrative captures the full drama of European history, on a sweeping canvas filled with fascinating detail, analysis, and anecdotes. It is a glorious chronicle packed with momentous events: the rise and fall of Rome, the sweeping invasions of Alaric (leader of the Vandals) and Atilla (leader of the Huns), the Norman conquests of Sicily and England, the Papal struggles for power, the Crusades, the Black Death, the sack of Constantinople, the growth of cities such as Venice, Ghent, London, and Paris, the Renaissance and the Reformation, the Enlightenment and the French Revolution, the Napoleonic Wars, Europe's rise to become the powerhouse of the world, and its eclipse in our own century, following two devastating World Wars. Davies omits nothing. We read not only of the great figures and events of European history--battles, usurpations, tyrants, and saints--but of philosophers, scientists, writers, and artists; the great explorations; the stateless nation and the nation-state. Minority communities, from heretics and lepers to Jews, Romanies, and Muslims, have not been forgotten in this vast tapestry. And Davies has also added 299 "time-capsules," small, self-contained sections that focus intensely on an aspect of an age, to attain a greater sense of immediacy, a sharper picture of life as it was--articles that range from "Erotic Graffiti at Pompeii," to "Stradivarius," to "Psychoanalyzing Hitler." And there are also twelve "snapshots"--fascinating glimpses of moments frozen in time, such as "Knossos 1628 BC," or "Constantinople AD 230," or "Nuremberg 1945." And finally, the book features over one hundred superbly detailed maps and diagrams, and seventy-two black-and-white plates. Never before has such an ambitious history of Europe been attempted. In range and ambition, originality of structure and glittering style, Norman Davies's Europe represents one of the most important and illuminating histories to be published in recent years.