Books published by Markus Wiener Publishing Inc

Examines world history from 1450 to the beginning of the twentieth century. The book begins with an examination of the five newly forming ""gunpowder empires"" and develops the themes of industrialization and the formation of nation-states. The second half of the book covers Europe's growing global power.

In this essay, German-Israeli historian Dan Diner argues that the European consciousness uses America as a metaphor for the dark sides of modernism. He finds an especially aggressive variant of this negative judgement in Germany, the roots of which he traces back to the Romantic period.

From the ninth to the early 20th century, probably as many black Africans were forcibly taken across the Sahara, up the Nile valley, and across the Red Sea, as were transported across the Atlantic in a much shorter period. This work provides an introduction to this ""other"" slave trade.

An examination of the social aspects of Bahamian society between the early-19th and mid-20th centuries, locating the Bahamas within the regional and historical context of the West Indies. It shows that the Bahamas' social development bears great similarities to other countries of the Caribbean.

From the ninth to the early 20th century, probably as many black Africans were forcibly taken across the Sahara, up the Nile valley, and across the Red Sea, as were transported across the Atlantic in a much shorter period. This work provides an introduction to this ""other"" slave trade.

An English translation of the risala, letters by the 10th-century traveler Ibn Fadlan, one of the great Medieval travelers. He journeyed from Baghdad to Bukhara in Central Asia and then continued across the desert to the town of Bulghar, near present Kazan. He describes the tribes he meets on his way and gives an account of their customs.

English translation reprinted from bilingual ed., originally published by: Ann Arbor: Dept. of Slavic Languages and Literatures, University of Michigan, 1975.

An exploration of 12th century mystic, Hildegard of Bingen. The author draws a complex picture of her life and work, and delineates Hildegard's view of the human being as a microcosm of the universe, intricately bound by the senses to the life of the soul, nature, and God.

Food is a marker of identity, culture, and class, and it denotes power, routine, and celebration. This volume places the study of food in the mainstream of Ottoman history by analyzing major issues - origins, identity, minorities, Ottomanization, the golden age, foreign relations, the nature of modernity - all from the perspective of food.

An exploration of African-American freedom fighters in Jamaica, presenting a history of resistance instead of a history of domination. The context of marronage is carefully established: the plantation system as an economic and ideological machine fuelled by the abuse of black working power.

A study of Islam. Using the Koran and other primary sources, Tilman Nagel delves into Islamic history as he traces the development of Islamic doctrine. He explores the centrality of the Koran in Islamic theology and examines its canonization process and the themes of its message.

The ""Kunstkammer"" was a display of art and oddities amassed by wealthy Europeans during the 16th to 18th centuries. This text explores the relations between art, science and scholarship in early modern Europe, advancing the view that the baroque Kunstkammer is the nucleus of modern cyberspace.

A study of the relationship between past and present, and the relation between histories in different levels of generality. One after another Siegfried Kracauer examines various theories of history and exposes their strengths and weaknesses.

This study encompasses the process of colonization and decolonization from the early modern period to the twentieth century. It shows that the Europeans were normally not considered dangerous invaders by local populations until they threatened the traditional cultures with missionaries, European schools, and bureaucracy.

For over one thousand years foreign powers, such as Arabs, Portuguese, Spanish, British, French, and now Chinese, interfered in African affairs to pursue economic and political gains. This book provides a brief outline of Africa's pre-colonial and colonial history, analyzing the economic, sociopolitical, and cultural fields.

Urban cities have existed in Africa since antiquity. Using archival records and field research, this text analyses and describes the rich history of African cities from long before colonization began until the time of urban reorganization during industrialization.

Offers the author's reflections on Capoeira and Candomble, combining personal experiences with anecdotes, historical facts, and research as well as religious and philosophical interpretations, both Western and non-Western. The result is informative and entertaining, an analysis that allows readers to get a feeling, understanding, and even experience of the spirit of Capoeira and Candomble.