Books published by Cambridge University Press

James McCosh (1811-94), the Scottish philosopher, graduated from the University of Glasgow, spent some time as a minister in the Church of Scotland but then returned to philosophy and spent most of his career at Princeton University. The eighteenth-century Scottish Enlightenment had many influential philosophers at its core. In this book, first published in 1875, McCosh outlines the theories of eighteenth- and nineteenth-century philosophers and identifies Scottish philosophy as a distinct school of thought. He summarises both the merits and the possible criticisms of each philosopher's work and also gives detailed biographical information. Among the philosophers discussed are the influential David Hume, Thomas Reid and Adam Smith. The final chapter focuses on Sir William Hamilton, a philosopher who greatly influenced McCosh (whose other works, The Religious Aspect of Evolution and The Method of the Divine Government are also reissued in this series).

Henry Charles Lea's comprehensive three-volume history of the medieval Inquisition, first published in 1888, was firmly based on primary sources. Lea was convinced that the Inquisition was not arbitrarily devised and implemented but was an inevitable consequence of forces that were dominant in thirteenth-century Christian society. In order to give as full a picture of the Inquisition as possible he examines the jurisprudence of the period. In Volume 1 he presents background information, giving a general account of the Catholic Church in the twelfth century and exploring the events that prompted the Church to set up the Inquisition. He explains the prevalent medieval understanding of the roles of the Church and government in society, and looks at medieval concepts of the relationships between individuals and the Church, the government, one another, and God. Lea shows how these views formed the basis of the Inquisition's structure, organization and processes.

The Relations between Ancient Russia and Scandinavia, first published in 1877, by the Danish philologist, Vilhelm Thomsen (1842-1927), contains Thomsen's three lectures on the origins of the Russian state. The lectures were given at the Taylor Institution, Oxford, in May 1876. The first lecture covers the ethnic background of ancient Russia and its earliest political institutions and the second and third lectures investigate Russia's Scandinavian origins. Thomsen demonstrated and explored the interlinked histories of Russia and Scandinavia by comparative examinations of Russian and the Scandinavian languages. By this analysis, Thomsen was able to demonstrate the importance of the Scandinavian element in the earliest origins of Russian culture, identity, political institutions and language. The work is an outstanding piece of philological investigation and a key text in early Russian cultural, linguistic and political history. It continues to be relevant to the advanced student of Russian language and early Russian history.

The British explorer Sir Richard F. Burton (1821-90) was a colourful and often controversial character. A talented linguist and keen ethnologist, he first gained celebrity for his adventurous 1853 trip to Mecca, conducted under the disguise of a pilgrim. He remains famous for his translation (with the British orientalist Forster Fitzgerald Arbuthnot) of The Kama Sutra (1883), a daring enterprise in the context of the Victorian society. First published in 1861, this book is an account of Burton's 1860 trip to Salt Lake City. It offers a geographical and ethnological study of Utah that focuses on the Mormon church. In the course of his research, Burton was able to meet the Mormon prophet Brigham Young, leader of the Latter-Day Saints and founder of Salt Lake City. Burton describes various Mormon customs, showing particular interest in polygamy, which he treats with critical distance and his characteristic sense of humour.

This is a comprehensive and fully documented study of Chinese bureaucracy during the Han period, when many of the basic lines of Chinese government practice were laid down. It is also more detailed and wider in scope than similar works on other periods of Chinese history. The book covers the time from 202 BC to AD 9 and from AD 25 to 189, analysing and describing the central and local administrations, the army, official salaries, civil service recruitment and power in government. Professor Bielenstein translates all Chinese official titles and includes alphabetical lists of these titles with their English and Chinese equivalents. Thus his book will serve both as a description for the names of offices at every level of government. The book will be of interest to all scholars of Chinese history, as well as to experts in other fields of institutional history, government and political science.

The Growth of the Manor (1905) is one of the key works of the eminent expatriate Russian jurist, Paul Vinogradoff (1854-1925). Expanding on his Oxford lectures, this book attempts to re-establish coherence within English medieval history after the critiques of scholars including Frederic Maitland had supposedly obscured the historical narrative. Tracing the evolution of the manor, Vinogradoff demonstrates how feudal law and tenurial relationships evolved out of more primitive systems of male descent. He claims there was demonstrable progress from a system of communal action and responsibility to one of personal rights and subjection that can be traced through what he calls the 'Celtic', 'Old English' and 'Feudal' periods. The latter system was secured in the Norman Conquest of 1066, although the former continued to exist underneath it. Of particular interest to those studying the Domesday Book, this is also an important text for medievalists and legal historians.

Agnes Mary Clerke (1842-1907) first published A Popular History of Astronomy in 1885. The work was received with widespread acclaim and brought Clerke an international reputation as a science writer. The History surveys the progress made in the field of astronomy during the nineteenth century. It is split chronologically into two parts, dealing with the first and the second half of the century. Part 1 focuses on the career of the astronomer William Herschel (1738-1822) and the development of sidereal astronomy; part 2 deals with the discovery of spectrum analysis and the progress of knowledge about sun spots and the magnetic disturbances which cause them. Clerke's work, a classic example of Victorian popular scientific literature, stands alongside Grant's earlier History of Astronomy in its success in popularising the subject. The work is important today for scholars researching the history of the discipline and its place in educated Victorian society.

The Home Life of Sir David Brewster, originally published in 1869, records the remarkable life of inventor, physicist, mathematician and astronomer, Sir David Brewster (1781-1868). Written by his daughter, Mrs Margaret M. Gordon, the book is aimed at a non-academic audience, and details the extraordinary life and work of this amazing scientist, who began his studies at Edinburgh University at the age of just twelve, and who is best known for his invention of the kaleidoscope and of the apparatus that initially formed the structure of the core of the lighthouse, and thus his work on the polarization of light. Mrs. Gordon cites Brewster's many activities, including the publication of over 2,000 scientific papers, though she stresses that she has written about her father as the man, and not the scientist. The book will appeal to anyone interested in the life and career of this undoubtedly brilliant Scotsman.

A leading figure of the Scottish Enlightenment, George Campbell (1719-96) began to write what was to become his most famous work, The Philosophy of Rhetoric, soon after his ordination as a minister in 1748. Later, as a founder of the Aberdeen Philosophical Society, he was able to present his theories, and these discourses were eventually published in 1776. In the spirit of the Enlightenment, Campbell combined classical rhetorical theory with the latest thinking in the social, behavioural and natural sciences. A proponent of 'common sense' philosophy, he was particularly interested in the effect of successful rhetoric upon the mind. Published in two volumes, the work is divided into three books. Volume 2 contains the concluding part of Book 2 and all of Book 3, which shows the author at his most intricate, expanding upon the correct selection, number and arrangement of words required for successful argument.

Agnes Mary Clerke (1842-1907) published The System of the Stars in 1890 when she was a well-established popular science writer. The volume was intended to bring the educated public up to date with the progress made during the nineteenth century in the field of sidereal astronomy. The work was one of the first publications to be illustrated with astrophotography: it contains five astronomical photographs of nebulae. Such photographs had significant impact on the reception and popular acceptance of astrophotography as scientific data. In The System of the Stars, Clerke used the photographs to argue that the natural beauty and symmetry of the universe, displayed by astrophotography, proved the existence of a creator. The work is an important piece of popular Victorian scientific literature, and remains significant today in the context of the nineteenth-century intellectual debates on the relationship between the sciences and religious belief.

Written in 1877 by the French journalist Amédée Guillemin, this work appeared on British bookshelves at a time of intense interest in space, the solar system and stars. In the same year, Schiaparelli made his infamous 'discovery' of Martian canals, whetting the public's appetite for all things astronomical. Guillemin's account of comets was equally ambitious and, ultimately, more valuable. His subjects range from comet superstitions in Renaissance Italy to an accessible explanation of their orbits, constitution and brilliance. As James Glaisher notes in his Preface, 'there is no work that at all occupies the ground covered' by Guillemin. The author's imaginative prose, exemplified by his description of comets as 'long disowned stars', was translated sympathetically by Glaisher. Accompanied by eighty-five striking illustrations, including Halley's Comet as depicted in the Bayeux Tapestry, The World of Comets provides a fascinating insight into both astronomy and nineteenth-century scientific enquiry.

Friederike Hauffe (1801-1829) suffered throughout her short lifetime from severe spasms and nervous fevers, and in her semi-conscious state she allegedly saw spectres and spoke and wrote predictions in an unknown, 'innate' language. When physically well, Hauffe could communicate with spectres of the dead, and created a complex diagram of circles to explain the nervous energy of a person and its changes throughout the year. The flow of consciousness and one's waking state in the spirit world, or 'sun sphere', was individual and seasonal. After continued illness, she was finally taken into the care of Dr Justinus Kerner for the last few years of her life. His use of magnetic treatment apparently gave her some relief, and she was able to use her 'spiritual sight' to aid others. Kerner's 1829 account of her life, depicting a woman with unusual psychic gifts, was published in English translation in 1845.

William Arthur Cornaby (1860-1921) was born in London and educated at the School of Mines before training as a Methodist minister. In 1885 Cornaby was sent as a missionary to Wuhan, central China, and A String of Chinese Peach-Stones (1895) was inspired by his experiences. Cornaby explains that his title suggests that the reader possesses 'a collection of desiccated tales, legends, and the like, picked up here and there along the highways and byways of China'. Cornaby's work covers the period 1849-1867, and discusses the major episodes of the Taiping Rebellion (1850-1864) as well as providing a detailed account of village life in central China, with its farm work, foods, festivals, customs and rituals that remains of interest to anthropologists and historians today. Cornaby's aim was to educate his English readers and to interest them in the culture that so dominated his own life and work.

Sir Thomas Fowell Buxton (1786-1845) was a committed social reformer throughout his life and became involved with the abolition of slavery during his time as an MP, taking over the leadership of the abolition movement in the British House of Commons after William Wilberforce retired in 1825. Following the abolition of slavery in Britain and its colonies in 1833, and his loss of his Parliamentary seat in 1837, Buxton concerned himself with the slave trade along the African coast still perpetrated by Africans, Arabs and the Portuguese. The results of his research and conclusions were originally published in 1839, and demonstrate the extent to which slave trading still existed, and its human cost in mortality and misery, despite attempts at policing by the British navy. Buxton explores the theory that the key to complete abolition is a change in market economics to eliminate the need for African slave labour.

Elias Loomis (1811-1889), Professor of Mathematics and Natural Philosophy at the University of the City of New York, published the third edition of this key work in 1856, at a time when the discipline of astronomy was making rapid advances. Recent technological progress had led to a phenomenal number of astronomical discoveries: the existence of a new planet, Neptune; a new satellite and ring for Saturn; irregularities in the movement of many planets and stars; thirty-six new asteroids; numerous comets; extensive catalogues of stars; and new and important observations on the sun. Loomis' report is a treasure-trove of information regarding these discoveries and the significance they had at the time. The chapters on the history of American observatories, various astronomical expeditions, public astronomical surveys, and telescope manufacturing in the USA provide access to information not otherwise available. Recent Progress is a key text in the history of astronomy.

The Herschels in this biography are Sir William Herschel (1738-1822), his sister Caroline (1750-1848) and Sir John Herschel (1792-1871), William's son. Sir William was an astronomer and telescope-maker who discovered the planet Uranus in 1781. He was appointed 'the King's astronomer' to George III in 1782, and under his patronage built the then largest telescope in the world. Caroline Herschel worked as her brother's assistant for much of his career but was also an accomplished astronomer in her own right, discovering eight comets and producing a catalogue of nebulae. Her nephew Sir John Herschel was also a distinguished astronomer who made many observations of stars in the southern hemisphere. This book by the astronomer and writer Agnes Clerke (1842-1907), published in 1895, provides both an analysis of their work and an assessment of its contribution to later astronomical research.

Simon Newcomb (1835-1903) was an astronomer and mathematician remembered for his work in recalculating the major astronomical constants to a new international standard. He was a founding member of the American Astronomical Society and became its first president in 1899. Although Newcomb's mathematical work is well known, this autobiography, first published in 1903, focuses on his achievements and work as an astronomer. In it he provides an account of his scientific research with comments on his approach, which together with his descriptions of scientific discoveries and collaborations occurring in Washington DC show the variety of scientific research being conducted in the United States in the late nineteenth century. His detailed descriptions of how telescopes were used, together with accounts of his experience of working conditions in various observatories, provide valuable insights into astronomical research methods in the late nineteenth century.

Over the last two decades, and in the wake of increases in recorded crime and other social changes, British criminal justice policy has become increasingly politicised as an index of governments' competence. New and worrying developments, such as the inexorable rise of the US prison population and the rising force of penal severity, seem unstoppable in the face of popular anxiety about crime. But is this inevitable? Nicola Lacey argues that harsh 'penal populism' is not the inevitable fate of all contemporary democracies. Notwithstanding a degree of convergence, globalisation has left many of the key institutional differences between national systems intact, and these help to explain the striking differences in the capacity for penal tolerance in otherwise relatively similar societies. Only by understanding the institutional preconditions for a tolerant criminal justice system can we think clearly about the possible options for reform within particular systems.

The Yangtze Valley and Beyond, first published in 1899, contains the account by the redoubtable Isabella Bird (now Mrs J. F. Bishop) of a journey through central China in 1896-1897. The volume focuses on her travels though the province of Szechuan and among the Man-tze of the Somo territory. Many of the areas she explored and carefully described were almost unknown to European visitors and had not been mentioned in any earlier English publications. The volume is based on journal letters and the diary written during her journey, and it is generously illustrated with photographs and Chinese drawings. Bishop's work was warmly received in England and praised especially for the information included on agriculture and industry. The Geographical Journal heralded the work as 'undoubtedly one of the most important contributions to English literature on that country'. It remains a key source for late nineteenth-century British perceptions of China.

Written by one of the most prolific writers on China at the turn of the century, this 1905 publication was intended as a guide for travellers rather than as a scientific study of Asian landscape and culture. Little, a well-known merchant and traveller, spent fifty years of his life exploring the Orient. The book is structured with a chapter dedicated to each region of China and the 'Dependencies' (Manchuria, Mongolia, Turkestan, Tibet, Indo-China and Korea), as well as Siam and Japan. Little proves himself a shrewd observer of both landscape and peoples, and the content of his work is wonderfully detailed. He manages to encompass a wide range of subjects into his survey, including natural resources, the development of railways, trade routes and meteorology, as well as a history of the land mass and populations. The book is supplemented with several maps and illustrations.

"This innovative study explores the paradox of the apostle Paul, a Jewish figure whose ideas were also radical, Christian, and even anti-Jewish. Matthew Novenson utilises Paul's particular understanding of time to explore this contradiction, focusing on Paul's conception of the end of history as present, not future"--

"When you work on the streets of Dhaka, crime is part of everyday life. Rackets are ubiquitous, political muscle widespread and territory often fought over. Locals refer to the syndicate that lie behind the faðcade of the city, controlling who works where, how services are delivered and who profits. Based on years of research, Syndicates and Societies reveals how syndicates shape life in Kawran Bazaar, the largest marketplace in Bangladesh, and offers a new approach to understanding the nexus of crime and politics. The book traces the bazaar's history from a heartland of gangsters to being dominated by ruling party leaders and state officials. It follows a group of labourers as they seek a place in this world, aligning themselves to leaders, orchestrating bombings and fighting off rivals. Syndicates and Societies thus explores the relationship between crime and order, revealing a world of extortionists and informers, political muscle and union leaders"--

The American historian Francis Parkman (1823-93) published extensively on colonial North America, focusing particularly on the territorial rivalry between France and England. This famous travel diary was written early in his career and originally published in instalments in Knickerbocker's Magazine (1847-9) before appearing in book form in 1849. It enjoyed great popularity, and the 1878 sixth edition, reissued here, was fully revised by the author. The book describes Parkman's two-month journey in summer 1846 along the eastern part of the heavily-used emigrant route, from St Louis to the Rockies and back via Nebraska, Colorado, Wyoming and Kansas. It focuses particularly on a three-week hunting expedition during which Parkman lived with the Oglala Sioux. Parkman's elegant style and colourful descriptions read like an adventure novel, but the book is also a witness to the prejudices of its time about nationality and race, particularly with regard to Native Americans.

"This concise introduction to modern astrophysics focuses on galaxy dynamics and the discovery of dark matter halos in galaxies. Aimed at advanced undergraduates in physics, it provides an excellent bridge to important research topics in contemporary astrophysics"--

This journal, kept by a soldier in the Light Dragoons of the voyage to 'China and Tartary' in the years 1792-1793, was published in 1798. Holmes kept his diary during the attempt by Lord Macartney to establish an embassy in China. Macartney returned to Britain unsuccessful, heightening western curiosity about this secluded and mysterious nation, and so this account by a soldier assigned to Lord Macartney's guard remains an important historical source on Europeans in China during this period. While, as the editor's preface admits, the text is not of great literary significance ('written by a worthy, sensible, but unlearned man'), its authenticity and soldier's-eye perspective make it a valuable document for historians today. The journal starts with H. M. S. Lion setting sail from Portsmouth, and ends with its return to British shores; the author notes diverse cultural features of the countries visited, and gives geographical references.

William Parsons (1800-67), third earl of Rosse, was responsible for building the largest telescope of his time, nicknamed the 'Leviathan'. It enabled the earl to describe the spiral structure of galaxies. This volume reissues two contemporary accounts of the telescope. The first, published anonymously in 1844 and later revealed to be by Thomas Woods, provides a comprehensive description of the workings of both the 'Leviathan' and the smaller telescope which preceded it, with detailed accounts of the construction of both telescopes. The second, by another anonymous author, first appeared in the Dublin Review in March 1845, and outlines the history and problems of telescope manufacture from Galileo onwards. Together with a short account from 1842 of the Armagh observatory by its director, these works situate the telescopes, and the difficulties the earl faced during the eighteen years he took to build the 'Leviathan', in their wider context.

James Clerk Maxwell (1831-1879) was a Scottish physicist well-known for his extensive work with electromagnetism, colour analysis, and kinetic theory. Considered by many to be a giant in his field with significant influence on the physicists who would follow, Maxwell spent time as a professor at Aberdeen University, King's College, London, and Cambridge. This 1882 Life by his friend Lewis Campbell and natural philosopher William Garnett represents an important - and lengthy - investigation into Maxwell's life and thought. Part I is concerned with biographical matters while the second section focuses upon his scientific mind. A third part contains Maxwell's poetry, so included because the poems are 'characteristic of him' and have 'curious biographical interest'. At nearly 700 pages, the Life represents an important starting point for those curious about the state of theoretical physics and the person in whom it reached its culmination in the nineteenth century.

Written by two of the most eminent Anatolian experts of the day, this book on church history and architecture in Turkey was first published in 1909. Sir William Mitchell Ramsay (1851-1939), Scottish classical scholar and archaeologist, and Gertrude Bell (1868-1926), traveller, archaeologist and diplomatist, joined forces for an expedition investigating the Hittite and Byzantine site of Bin-Bir-Kilisse in Turkey in 1907. Bell was successful in establishing the chronology of Byzantine churches, and her findings constitute the middle two parts of the book, on buildings and ecclesiastical architecture. Ramsay contributed the first and last parts, on the historical and geographical details of the churches and an account of other notable monuments in the region. Ramsay was knighted in 1906 and both scholars were honoured by the Royal Geographical Society. In 1913 Bell became one of the first women to be elected a Fellow of the Society.

Mrs Charles (Ellen) Clacy (1830-1901) was a clergyman's daughter who, in 1852, travelled to the Australian goldfields. Published in 1853, on her return to England, this work, the first edition of which sold out almost immediately, is essentially a guide for prospective emigrants. It includes, within the lively narrative, practical advice on the cost of living, the labour market, gold-digging regulations, and marriage prospects. Mrs Clacy published several subsequent books, but her life remains obscure. Research suggests an illegitimate pregnancy or an absconding husband, unmentioned in the upbeat and respectable narrative, but possibly echoed by the highly coloured 'tale' of an anonymous emigrant woman, whose lover (twice) leaves her pregnant at the altar to go to the goldfields, with tragic consequences. However this relates to Mrs Clacy's actual circumstances, her writing vividly depicts the mixture of opportunity and hazard in nineteenth-century Australia, illuminating the country's early social history.

Used to describe both binary systems and optical doubles, the term 'double star' has been familiar to astronomers since the seventeenth century. This book, first published in 1879, outlines the history of their study, and describes the methods and equipment needed in order to observe the fascinating phenomenon. Written for non-specialists by Fellows of the Royal Society Edward Crossley (1841-1904), Joseph Gledhill (1837-1906) and James M. Wilson (1836-1931), the catalogue of over 1,200 double stars appears beside detailed notes and does not assume mathematical expertise. Also offered are a fully worked example of how to find the orbit of a binary star, and illustrations of telescopes, observatories, and even custom-made observation chairs. This reissue includes the supplement with corrections and notes published in 1880. A standard reference text in the late nineteenth century, the work remains a resources for students and scholars of the history of astronomy.