Books in the Turning Points series

Few present day historians believe the old assertion that the "Great Trek" is the central event of South African history. This book puts an "s" on the phrase as a way of signalling its intention to deal with all the movements of people which occurred in South Africa during the 19th century.

The collapse of the Ottoman Empire is a key event in the shaping of modern times. From its ruin rose new countries including Syria and Turkey. This volume considers the reasons for the end of the Ottoman Empire, explains the course of it, and examines the aftermath.

The Paris Commune was the biggest and last popular revolution in Western Europe. The short-lived commune and its subsequent repression exposed deep divisions in French society. This book is an account of those times.

A timely and informative new look at the oil crisis, which examines both the causes and consequences of events, not only within the oil industry and the Middle East, but also their impact on the world economy, the role of Third World nations in the international system, and relations between the leading oil consuming nations.

Tightly-argued and profoundly thought-provoking, this history considers the birth of the nuclear age and its impact on the world and attitudes to modern warfare.

Offering a fresh critical perspective on this momentous event, Andrew Shennan examines both the continuities and discontinuities that resulted from the events of 1940. The main focus is on the French experience of the war, but this experience is framed within the larger context of France's - and Europe's - protracted mid-twentieth century crisis.

Synopsis coming soon.......