This study provides students with a concise, up-to-date and analytical account of Bismarck's role in modern German history. Williamson guides readers... through the complex events leading to the defeats of Austria and France in 1866 and 1870 and the subsequent creation of a united Germany in January 1871. He then explores the domestic and foreign problems Bismarck faced up to 1890 in consolidating unification.

Bismarck’s role in the unification and consolidation of Germany is central to any understanding of Germany's development as a nation and its... consequent role as aggressor in two world wars. This study provides students with a concise, up-to-date and analytical account of Bismarck's role in modern German history. Williamson guides readers through the complex events leading to the defeats of Austria and France in 1866 and 1870 and the subsequent creation of a united Germany in January 1871. He then explores the domestic and foreign problems Bismarck faced up to 1890 in consolidating unification.

"Authoritative, illuminating and easy to read. . . . Dr. Eyck, in his excellent book, has exposed the many fallacies of which Bismarck legend is... compounded. His analysis is tragic and austere."—The ObserverFor most people Bismarck is the man of "blood and iron"; he coined the phrase himself and he lived up to it. But he was much more; he had an itellectual ascendancy over all the politicians of his day, and his superiority was acknowledged not only by his own people, but by all European statesmen. The unification of Germany, the defeat of Austria, the fall of the Second Empire, the defeat of France, the alliance of the German Empire and the Habsburg Monarchy, the dismemberment of Denmark—these are his most obvious achievements; no less important was the transformation in the national consciousness of the German people, for which Bismarck was also responsible. Dr. Eyck has analyzed not only the personality but also the accomplishments of a statesman whose influence on Europe in the latter half of the nineteenth century was more far-reaching than that of any other man in his time. This edition contains minor corrections and a new foreword by the author's son Frank Eyck, also a nineteenth-century historian, evaluating some of the important publications in the field since the book appeared and illuminating his father's attitude to Bismarck.

Updated and expanded, this second edition of Bismarck and the German Empire, 1871–1918 is an accessible introduction to this important period in... German history. Providing both a narrative of events at the time and an analysis of social and cultural developments across the period, Lynn Abrams examines the political, economic and social structures of the Empire. Including the latest research, the book also covers: how Bismarck consolidated his regime the Wilhelmian period the factors that led to the outbreak of World War One. With a new introduction and updated further reading section – including a guide to useful websites – this book gives students the ideal introduction to this key period of German history.

Routledge Historical Biographies provide engaging, readable and academically credible biographies written from an explicitly historical perspective.... These concise and accessible accounts will bring important historical figures to life for students and general readers alike. Bismarck was arguably the most important figure in nineteenth-century European history after 1815. In this new biography, Edgar Feuchtwanger reassesses Bismarck's significance as a historical figure. He traces his development from a typical junker, a reactionary and conservative, into the so-called white revolutionary who recast European affairs more drastically than anyone since Napoleon. Feuchtwanger's lucid account de-mythologizes the German leader without demonising him. This book leaves the reader with a strongly etched portrait of one of the decisive makers of the modern world.

Whatever life a woman leads, from biker chick to society girl, there's a stereotype she'll have to live down. The Guerrilla Girls, notorious for their... outrageous take on women's issues, now tackle the maze of stereotypes that follow women from cradle to grave. With subversive use of information—and great visuals—they explore the history and significance of stereotypes like Old Maid, Trophy Wife, and Prostitute with a Heart of Gold. They tag the Top Types, examine sexual slurs, explain the evolution of butches and femmes, and delve into the lives of real and fictional women who have become stereotypes, from Aunt Jemima to Tokyo Rose to June Cleaver. The Guerrilla Girls' latest assault on injustice towards women will make people laugh, make them mad, and maybe even make them change their minds.

In the wake of Sassy and as an alternative to the more staid reporting of Ms., Bitch was launched in the mid-nineties as a Xerox-and-staple zine... covering the landscape of popular culture from a feminist perspective. Both unabashed in its love for the guilty pleasures of consumer culture and deeply thoughtful about the way the pop landscape reflects and impacts women's lives, Bitch grew to be a popular, full-scale magazine with a readership that stretched worldwide. Today it stands as a touchstone of hip, young feminist thought, looking with both wit and irreverence at the way pop culture informs feminism--and vice versa--and encouraging readers to think critically about the messages lurking behind our favorite television shows, movies, music, books, blogs, and the like. BITCHFest offers an assortment of the most provocative essays, reporting, rants, and raves from the magazine's first ten years, along with new pieces written especially for the collection. Smart, nuanced, cranky, outrageous, and clear-eyed, the anthology covers everything from a 1996 celebration of pre-scandal Martha Stewart to a more recent critical look at the "gayby boom"; from a time line of black women on sitcoms to an analysis of fat suits as the new blackface; from an attempt to fashion a feminist vulgarity to a reclamation of female virginity. It's a recent history of feminist pop-culture critique and an arrow toward feminism's future.

Meet Helena Andrews, sassy, single, smart, and, yes, a bitch—but Tina Fey said it best, bitch is the new black! When Helena Andrews heard this... declaration on Saturday Night Live, her first reaction was How daaare you? But after a commercial break and some thought, she decided to poke at the stereotype that says "successful" and "bitch" are synonyms. Unafraid and frank, she comes to realize that being a bitch is sometimes the best way to be—except, of course, when it's not. Bitch Is the New Black follows Andrews—sexy, single, and a self-described smart-ass—on her trip from kidnapped daughter of a lesbian to Washington, D.C., political reporter who can't remember a single senator's name. Told in Andrews's singular voice, this addictive memoir explores the roller coaster of being educated and single while trying to become an "actual adult" and find love. In these candid yet heartfelt essays, she chronicles that ride from beginning to end: a childhood spent on an all-white island, escaping via episodes of The Cosby Show; being set up with Obama's "body guy" Reggie Love by Maureen Dowd; and the shocking suicide of a best friend. Through it all, Andrews and her gang of girlfriends urge each other to "keep it moving." But no one can stay strong all the time—not even the women we believe do so without trying. As Andrews says, "Despite the fact that the most recognizable woman in the United States is black, popular culture still hasn't moved past the only adjective apparently meant to describe us— "strong." She is also flawed, tired, naive, greedy, gutsy, frightened, and kind: secret sides that come out in honest detail here.

This compelling collection of facts, theories, and general scientific information is presented in clear, jargon-free language for all non-scientists who... want to keep abreast of the latest developments. Two chapters that open the book explain the very small and the very large, starting with the structure of atoms and then going on to describe the composition of the solar system, stars, galaxies and black holes. Author Robert Dinwiddie next describes modern science's understanding of the Big Bang, which scientists believe first brought all of physical reality into existence. A chapter on the planet Earth discusses plate tectonics, continental drift, volcanoes, earthquakes, and extreme weather systems. An overview of the Earth's environment explains the hazards of pollution, the challenges posed by global warming, and the efforts to reverse those patterns by developing renewable energy sources and alternative fuels. Two chapters that follow carry science to a more personal level describing human body functions, the components of good health, disease prevention and control, DNA, the human genome, cloning, and DNA profiling. A concluding chapter translates Einstein's relativity, quantum mechanics, and science's general theories of everything into terms understandable to laypersons. The author's goal in every chapter is to bring his readers up to speed on modern science's most important issues. His intensely readable text is supplemented with more than 400 color illustrations.

Poetry. Anthology. BITE TO EAT PLACE, co-edited by Andrea Adolph, Donald L, Vallis and Anne F. Walker, is an anthology of contemporary food poetry and... poetic prose. It contains the work of over eighty poets and translators, many of them Canadian. Several of them are also influential and award-winning literary figures who have written lyrically about cuisine. Among the writers included are Margaret Atwood, Lorna Crozier, Alphonse Daudet, Brenda Hillman, bpNichol, Diana O'Hehir, Michael Ondaantje, and Heather Spears.

What is the best way to tell a story?In this anthology, the first-ever collection of essays by innovative, cutting-edge writers on the theme of... narration, forty of the continent's top experimental writers describe their engagement with language, storytelling and the world. The anthology includes renowned writers like Kathy Acker, Dennis Cooper, Nicole Brossard, Daphne Marlatt, Lydia Davis and Kevin Killian, writers who have spent years pondering the meaning of storytelling and how storytelling functions in our culture, as well as presenting a new generation of brilliant thinkers and writers, like Christian Bök, Corey Frost, Derek McCormack and Lisa Robertson.Contemporizing the friendly anecdotal style of Montaigne and written by daring writers of different ages, of different origins, from many different regions of the continent, from Mexico to Montreal, these essays run the gamut of mirth, prose poetry, tall tales and playful explorations of reader/writer dynamics. They discuss aesthetics founded on new explorations in the field of narrative, the mystery that is the body, questions of how representation may be torqued to deal with gender and sexuality, the experience of marginalized people, the negotiation between different orders of time, the 'performance' of outlaw subject matter.Brave, energetic and fresh, Biting the Error tells a whole new story about narrative.Biting the Error is edited by Mary Burger, Robert Glück, Camille Roy and Gail Scott, the co-founders of the Narrativity Website Magazine, based at the Poetry Center, San Francisco State University.

The first and only successful slave revolution in the Americas began in 1791 when thousands of brutally exploited slaves rose up against their masters... on Saint-Domingue, the most profitable colony in the eighteenth-century Atlantic world. Within a few years, the slave insurgents forced the French administrators of the colony to emancipate them, a decision ratified by revolutionary Paris in 1794. This victory was a stunning challenge to the order of master/slave relations throughout the Americas, including the southern United States, reinforcing the most fervent hopes of slaves and the worst fears of masters. But, peace eluded Saint-Domingue as British and Spanish forces attacked the colony. A charismatic ex-slave named Toussaint Louverture came to France's aid, raising armies of others like himself and defeating the invaders. Ultimately Napoleon, fearing the enormous political power of Toussaint, sent a massive mission to crush him and subjugate the ex-slaves. After many battles, a decisive victory over the French secured the birth of Haiti and the permanent abolition of slavery from the land. The independence of Haiti reshaped the Atlantic world by leading to the French sale of Louisiana to the United States and the expansion of the Cuban sugar economy. Laurent Dubois weaves the stories of slaves, free people of African descent, wealthy whites, and French administrators into an unforgettable tale of insurrection, war, heroism, and victory. He establishes the Haitian Revolution as a foundational moment in the history of democracy and human rights. (20040323)