New Books in History

Pedro Machado's Ocean of Trade: South Asian Merchants, Africa and the Indian Ocean, c.1750-1850 (Cambridge University Press, 2014) is a richly detailed and engaging account of Gujarati merchants and their role in the trade of textiles, ivory and slaves across the Indian Ocean. The book not only enhances our understanding of an under researched pan-continental trade network but also, through its sensitive treatment of local markets as drivers of merchants' patterns, pushes us to re-examine our understanding of trading networks themselves.

Michael Nylan and Griet Vankeerberghen have produced a landmark volume. Chang'an 26 BCE: An Augustan Age in China (University of Washington Press, 2015) collects 19 essays (plus an Introduction and an Afterword) devoted to exploring the built environment and archaeology of Han Chang'an, sociopolitical transformations in the late Western Han, and leading figures of the period. Equally significant as a contribution to Chinese studies and to the fields of urban and empire studies more broadly conceived, Chang'an 26 BCE is remarkable for its success in bringing together the work of Chinese and US scholars, and all in a series of very clear and engaging discussions of a wide range of topics, from the provisioning of Western Han Chang'an with food and water, to the figure of Chengdi as a ruler and his relationships with high-ranking princes, to potential comparisons and differences between the city and Rome, to tomb structures and murals, amid much else. This is a book that will be on researchers' shelves for repeated consultation – and on teachers' shelves for excerpting and assigning – for many many years to come. It is an astounding achievement, as well as a beautifully illustrated object.

Michael Nylan and Griet Vankeerberghen have produced a landmark volume. Chang'an 26 BCE: An Augustan Age in China (University of Washington Press, 2015) collects 19 essays (plus an Introduction and an Afterword) devoted to exploring the built environment and archaeology of Han Chang'an, sociopolitical transformations in the late Western Han, and leading figures of the period. Equally significant as a contribution to Chinese studies and to the fields of urban and empire studies more broadly conceived, Chang'an 26 BCE is remarkable for its success in bringing together the work of Chinese and US scholars, and all in a series of very clear and engaging discussions of a wide range of topics, from the provisioning of Western Han Chang'an with food and water, to the figure of Chengdi as a ruler and his relationships with high-ranking princes, to potential comparisons and differences between the city and Rome, to tomb structures and murals, amid much else. This is a book that will be on researchers' shelves for repeated consultation – and on teachers' shelves for excerpting and assigning – for many many years to come. It is an astounding achievement, as well as a beautifully illustrated object.

In 1967, French President Charles de Gaulle cried out "Vive le Québec libre!" from the balcony of Montreal's City Hall. The controversial moment became a myth almost instantly. The four words De Gaulle uttered remain emblematic of an extremely important moment in the histories of Quebec and Canada. Illustrative of the General's penchant for political provocation and spectacle, they also hold a special place in his dramatic biography. David Meren's new book, With Friends Like These: Entangled Nationalisms in the Canada-Quebec-France Triangle, 1944-1970 (University of British Columbia Press, 2012), is anchored by President de Gaulle's famous cri du balcon. Situating the incident within the broader context of a complex "triangle" of relations between Canada, Quebec, and France, the book deepens our understanding of what De Gaulle said and the meanings his exclamation have carried since. At the same time, the book develops a much broader and richer historical picture of the relationship between these three societies, and their nationalisms, from the end of the Second World War to the end of the 1960s. With Friends Like These is an exciting example of an international history that interweaves the analysis of diplomacy, economic interests, and societal and cultural change over two and half decades. In our conversation, David and I discussed his methodology and the challenges of thinking together these three national communities within a rapidly shifting global context during the period. We also had a chance to talk about some of the legacies of the history of the Canada-Quebec-France triangle for contemporary political and cultural identities and exchanges.

In 1967, French President Charles de Gaulle cried out "Vive le Québec libre!" from the balcony of Montreal's City Hall. The controversial moment became a myth almost instantly. The four words De Gaulle uttered remain emblematic of an extremely important moment in the histories of Quebec and Canada. Illustrative of the General's penchant for political provocation and spectacle, they also hold a special place in his dramatic biography. David Meren's new book, With Friends Like These: Entangled Nationalisms in the Canada-Quebec-France Triangle, 1944-1970 (University of British Columbia Press, 2012), is anchored by President de Gaulle's famous cri du balcon. Situating the incident within the broader context of a complex "triangle" of relations between Canada, Quebec, and France, the book deepens our understanding of what De Gaulle said and the meanings his exclamation have carried since. At the same time, the book develops a much broader and richer historical picture of the relationship between these three societies, and their nationalisms, from the end of the Second World War to the end of the 1960s. With Friends Like These is an exciting example of an international history that interweaves the analysis of diplomacy, economic interests, and societal and cultural change over two and half decades. In our conversation, David and I discussed his methodology and the challenges of thinking together these three national communities within a rapidly shifting global context during the period. We also had a chance to talk about some of the legacies of the history of the Canada-Quebec-France triangle for contemporary political and cultural identities and exchanges.

For almost 100 years, it seemed like a good, even wholesome and optimistic idea to take young, working-class and poor British children and resettle them, quite on their own and apart from their families, in Canada, Australia, and southern Rhodesia. The impulse behind this program was philanthropic: to bring disadvantaged children living in crowded cities a better future by settling them in pristine, wide-open spaces, introducing them to nature, and letting them feel the sun on their backs. Yet the program was shot through with eugenic ideas and the racism of the age. British children were emissaries of the "kith and kin" empire, sent to "whiten" its outposts. But they could also be subject to repatriation–sometimes years after having been sent away in the first place–if their "racial fitness" was called into question. Race, nation, and identity form one of many themes Ellen Boucher examines in her fascinating, and sometimes painful, book Empire's Children: Child Emigration, Welfare, and the Decline of the British World, 1869-1967 (Cambridge University Press, 2014). Others include the rise and evolution of child psychology, changing ideas about the meaning of family, and the politics of empire. One kind of big picture in Empire's Children is the shift from a unified British imperial identity to the rise of independent nationalisms throughout the empire. Another kind of big picture, though, comes from the stories told by those who grew up as child migrants and how they later came to perceive those experiences as they reflected back. When you study history you are perennially confronted with the fact that a thing that seemed wonderful not too long ago can later come to appear deplorable. Tracing the influences that produce shifts in moral conscience–whether psychological, social, economic, political, or emotional–is one of history's chief tasks, and it is a task that Boucher accomplishes with great sensitivity and narrative elegance in Empire's Children.

For almost 100 years, it seemed like a good, even wholesome and optimistic idea to take young, working-class and poor British children and resettle them, quite on their own and apart from their families, in Canada, Australia, and southern Rhodesia. The impulse behind this program was philanthropic: to bring disadvantaged children living in crowded cities a better future by settling them in pristine, wide-open spaces, introducing them to nature, and letting them feel the sun on their backs. Yet the program was shot through with eugenic ideas and the racism of the age. British children were emissaries of the "kith and kin" empire, sent to "whiten" its outposts. But they could also be subject to repatriation–sometimes years after having been sent away in the first place–if their "racial fitness" was called into question. Race, nation, and identity form one of many themes Ellen Boucher examines in her fascinating, and sometimes painful, book Empire's Children: Child Emigration, Welfare, and the Decline of the British World, 1869-1967 (Cambridge University Press, 2014). Others include the rise and evolution of child psychology, changing ideas about the meaning of family, and the politics of empire. One kind of big picture in Empire's Children is the shift from a unified British imperial identity to the rise of independent nationalisms throughout the empire. Another kind of big picture, though, comes from the stories told by those who grew up as child migrants and how they later came to perceive those experiences as they reflected back. When you study history you are perennially confronted with the fact that a thing that seemed wonderful not too long ago can later come to appear deplorable. Tracing the influences that produce shifts in moral conscience–whether psychological, social, economic, political, or emotional–is one of history's chief tasks, and it is a task that Boucher accomplishes with great sensitivity and narrative elegance in Empire's Children.

Righteous Republic: The Political Foundations of Modern India (Harvard University Press, 2012) by Ananya Vajpeyi is a rethinking of the self in self-rule, as understood in the ideas generated and reworked by five leading figures of the Indian independence movement. Analysing crises of the self, which it is argued stem from a crisis of tradition during late colonialism, Righteous Republic retells the movement for self-rule through a history of ideas.

Righteous Republic: The Political Foundations of Modern India (Harvard University Press, 2012) by Ananya Vajpeyi is a rethinking of the self in self-rule, as understood in the ideas generated and reworked by five leading figures of the Indian independence movement. Analysing crises of the self, which it is argued stem from a crisis of tradition during late colonialism, Righteous Republic retells the movement for self-rule through a history of ideas.

I'll be leaving soon to take students on a European travel course. During the three weeks we'll be gone, in addition to cathedrals, museums and castles, they'll visit Auschwitz, the Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe and a variety of other Holocaust related sights.  And I'll ask them to think about what we can say about how people in East-Central Europe remember the Holocaust based on the places they've visited. This is not simply a matter of historical reckoning.  The responses to the recent op-ed by FBI director James Comey show how important the question is in contemporary politics.   They also show how limited our understanding of the dynamics of memory in Eastern Europe has been. My answers to the students' questions will be enormously more sophisticated and thoughtful after having read the work of John-Paul Himka and Joanna Beata Michlic.  Their recent edited collection titled Bringing the Dark Past to Light: The Reception of the Holocaust in Postcommunist Europe (University of Nebraska Press, 2013) is a remarkable collection of essays.  The book surveys the state of memory and memorialization in each of the countries of the former Soviet Block.  It highlights broadly similar responses while explaining differences between the countries.  And the editors explain why they believe it is so important to, as they say, bring the dark past to light.  In doing so, they begin the process of bringing our understanding of the memory of the Holocaust in this region to the same level of sophistication we now bring to the subject in Western Europe.

I'll be leaving soon to take students on a European travel course. During the three weeks we'll be gone, in addition to cathedrals, museums and castles, they'll visit Auschwitz, the Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe and a variety of other Holocaust related sights.  And I'll ask them to think about what we can say about how people in East-Central Europe remember the Holocaust based on the places they've visited. This is not simply a matter of historical reckoning.  The responses to the recent op-ed by FBI director James Comey show how important the question is in contemporary politics.   They also show how limited our understanding of the dynamics of memory in Eastern Europe has been. My answers to the students' questions will be enormously more sophisticated and thoughtful after having read the work of John-Paul Himka and Joanna Beata Michlic.  Their recent edited collection titled Bringing the Dark Past to Light: The Reception of the Holocaust in Postcommunist Europe (University of Nebraska Press, 2013) is a remarkable collection of essays.  The book surveys the state of memory and memorialization in each of the countries of the former Soviet Block.  It highlights broadly similar responses while explaining differences between the countries.  And the editors explain why they believe it is so important to, as they say, bring the dark past to light.  In doing so, they begin the process of bringing our understanding of the memory of the Holocaust in this region to the same level of sophistication we now bring to the subject in Western Europe.

Thomas Kemple's new book is an extraordinarily thoughtful invitation to approach Max Weber (1864-1920) as a performer, and to experience Weber's work by attending to his spoken and written voice. Intellectual Work and the Spirit of Capitalism: Weber's Calling (Palgrave Macmillan, 2014) looks carefully at the literary structure and aesthetic elements of Weber's arguments, considering how the texts offer an "allegorical resource for thinking sociologically." Kemple argues that the formal structure of Weber's ideas is inseparable from the content, and that understanding one is crucial for understanding the other. As a way into that formal structure, in each chapter Kemple offers an ingenious visual diagram that acts as a kind of "talking picture," simultaneously evoking the cinematic elements of Weber's own work and giving readers another tool for engaging the performative aspects of it. Kemple's book is particularly attentive to the ways that Weber's performance is shaped by a close engagement with the work of other writers, musicians, and thinkers, from Goethe and Tolstoy to Machiavelli and Martin Luther, and from the Bhagavadgita to The Valkyries. In addition, Marianne Weber – Max's "wife, intellectual partner, and posthumous editor" – is an important presence throughout the book in helping us understand and read Weber's work anew. Kemple's thoughtful and beautifully written analysis helps us understand not just Weber's own work, but also the value of that work for attending to issues of our own present.

Thomas Kemple's new book is an extraordinarily thoughtful invitation to approach Max Weber (1864-1920) as a performer, and to experience Weber's work by attending to his spoken and written voice. Intellectual Work and the Spirit of Capitalism: Weber's Calling (Palgrave Macmillan, 2014) looks carefully at the literary structure and aesthetic elements of Weber's arguments, considering how the texts offer an "allegorical resource for thinking sociologically." Kemple argues that the formal structure of Weber's ideas is inseparable from the content, and that understanding one is crucial for understanding the other. As a way into that formal structure, in each chapter Kemple offers an ingenious visual diagram that acts as a kind of "talking picture," simultaneously evoking the cinematic elements of Weber's own work and giving readers another tool for engaging the performative aspects of it. Kemple's book is particularly attentive to the ways that Weber's performance is shaped by a close engagement with the work of other writers, musicians, and thinkers, from Goethe and Tolstoy to Machiavelli and Martin Luther, and from the Bhagavadgita to The Valkyries. In addition, Marianne Weber – Max's "wife, intellectual partner, and posthumous editor" – is an important presence throughout the book in helping us understand and read Weber's work anew. Kemple's thoughtful and beautifully written analysis helps us understand not just Weber's own work, but also the value of that work for attending to issues of our own present.

"Conspiracy theories are neither the vile excrescence of puny minds nor the telltale symptom of a sick society. They are the ineradicable stuff of politics." That's a quotation from American Conspiracy Theories (Oxford UP, 2014), by Joseph E. Uscinski and Joseph M. Parent, two professors of political science at the University of Miami. Their study of conspiracy theories concludes that nearly all Americans hold conspiracy beliefs and that "conspiracy theories bring to the surface people's deepest political anxieties." The book studies American conspiracy theories over 120 years from 1890 to 2010. It analyzes well-known conspiracy theories such as the many about the assassination of JFK and the events of 9/11 to more obscure ones such as the Congressional plot to kill pet dogs.  In this interview with the New Books Network, co-author Joseph Uscinski suggests American conspiracy theories can teach us a lot about everyday politics.

"Conspiracy theories are neither the vile excrescence of puny minds nor the telltale symptom of a sick society. They are the ineradicable stuff of politics." That's a quotation from American Conspiracy Theories (Oxford UP, 2014), by Joseph E. Uscinski and Joseph M. Parent, two professors of political science at the University of Miami. Their study of conspiracy theories concludes that nearly all Americans hold conspiracy beliefs and that "conspiracy theories bring to the surface people's deepest political anxieties." The book studies American conspiracy theories over 120 years from 1890 to 2010. It analyzes well-known conspiracy theories such as the many about the assassination of JFK and the events of 9/11 to more obscure ones such as the Congressional plot to kill pet dogs.  In this interview with the New Books Network, co-author Joseph Uscinski suggests American conspiracy theories can teach us a lot about everyday politics.