Books published by Yale University Press

The first account of the new Taliban--showing who they are, what they want, and how they differ from their predecessors A Newsweek Staffers' Favorite Book of 2023 Since the fall of Kabul in 2021, the Taliban have effective control of Afghanistan--a scenario few Western commentators anticipated. But after a twenty-year-long bitter war against the Republic of Afghanistan, reestablishing control is a complex procedure. What is the Taliban's strategy now that they've returned to power? In this groundbreaking new account, Hassan Abbas examines the resurgent Taliban as ruptures between moderates and the hardliners in power continue to widen. The group is now facing debilitating threats--from humanitarian crises to the Islamic State in Khorasan--but also engaging on the world stage, particularly with China and central Asian states. Making considered use of sources and contacts in the region, and offering profiles of major Taliban leaders, Return of the Taliban is the essential account of the movement as it develops and consolidates its grasp on Afghanistan.

A major new history of North and South Korea, from the late nineteenth century to the present day "Cha and Pacheco Pardo have years of expertise in Korean international relations. . . . A crisp and balanced account."--Christopher Harding, The Telegraph Korea has a long, riveting history--it is also a divided nation. South Korea is a vibrant democracy, the tenth largest economy, and is home to a world-renowned culture. North Korea is ruled by the most authoritarian regime in the world, a poor country in a rich region, and is best known for the cult of personality surrounding the ruling Kim family. But both Koreas share a unique common history. Victor Cha and Ramon Pacheco Pardo draw on decades of research to explore the history of modern Korea, from the late nineteenth century, Japanese occupation, and Cold War division to the present day. A small country caught amongst the world's largest powers--including China, Japan, Russia, and the United States--Korea's fate has been closely connected to its geography and the strength of its leadership and society. This comprehensive history sheds light on the evolving identities of the two Koreas, explaining the sharp differences between North and South, and prospects for unification.

An enjoyable, accessible exploration of the legacy of ancient Greece today, across our daily lives and all forms of popular culture Our contemporary world is inescapably Greek. Whether in a word like "pandemic," a Freudian state of mind like the "Oedipus complex," or a replica of the Parthenon in a Chinese theme park, ancient Greek culture shapes the contours of our lives. Ever since the first Roman imitators, we have been continually falling under the Greeks' spell. But how did ancient Greece spread its influence so far and wide? And how has this influence changed us? Tony Spawforth explores our classical heritage, wherever it's to be found. He reveals its legacy in everything from religion to popular culture, and unearths the darker side of Greek influence--from the Nazis' obsession with Spartan "racial purity" to the elitism of classical education. Paying attention to the huge breadth and variety of Hellenic influence, this book paints an essential portrait of the ancient world's living legacy--considering to whom it matters, and why.

An incisive account of modern Spain, from the death of Franco to the Catalan referendum and beyond "Comprehensive and engaging."--Gideon Rachman, Financial Times Spain's transition to democracy after Franco's long dictatorship was widely hailed as a success, ushering in three decades of unprecedented progress and prosperity. Yet over the past decade its political consensus has been under severe strain. A stable two-party system has splintered, with disruptive new parties on the far left and far right. No government has had a majority since 2015. Michael Reid overturns the stereotypical view of Spain as a country haunted by its Francoist past. From Catalan separatism and the indignados movement to the Spanish economy's overdependence on tourism and small business, Spain's challenges can often seem unique. But Reid is careful to emphasize the many pressures it faces in common with its European neighbors--such as austerity, populism, and increasing polarization. The result is a penetrating yet rounded portrait of a vibrant country--one that is more often visited than understood.

A vivid history of the relationship between Britain and China, from 1600 to the present The relationship between Britain and China has shaped the modern world. Chinese art, philosophy and science have had a profound effect upon British culture, while the long history of British exploitation is still bitterly remembered in China today. But how has their interaction changed over time? From the early days of the East India Company, through the violence of the Opium Wars, to present day disputes over Hong Kong, Kerry Brown charts this turbulent and intriguing relationship in full. Britain has always sought to dominate China economically and politically, while China's ideas and exports--from tea and Chinoiserie to porcelain and silk--have continued to fascinate in the west. But by the later twentieth century, the balance of power began to shift in China's favour, with global consequences. Brown shows how these interactions changed the world order--and argues that an understanding of Britain's relationship with China is now more vital than ever.

After years of persecution at the hands of the brutal humans, the gargoyles were left with no choice but to hide. For generations, they have lived underground, doing better than just surviving, but still not quite thriving.When divisions amongst the humans become known to the gargoyles, they are faced with a bitter dilemma: should they remain underground, or fight to reclaim their place at the risk of losing everything?With scenes of violence, death, and mature themes in general, this novella is intended for a mature audience.

United States Poet Laureate and winner of the 2022 Academy of American Poets Leadership Award Joy Harjo examines the power of words and how poetry summons us toward justice and healing

For generations, the fae of Blackfern have lived under a repressive regime, their existence controlled by a ruthless dictatorship.It will take a court of rebels to liberate even just some of the Blackfern fae. When Skyler finds herself presented with the opportunity to fight for freedom, can she truly afford to defy everything she has ever known, putting herself - and those she holds dear - in grave danger?Reader discretion advised. This novella is intended for a mature audience.

Did fascism have a significant following in France in the 1930s? Were its supporters predominantly from the political right or left? This provocative book, in conjunction with its acclaimed predecessor, French Fascism: The First Wave, demolishes the notion that fascism never took hold in France. Robert Soucy argues that France has a long-standing fascist tradition, one that arose, he argues, more from counterrevolutionary forces on the right than from forces on the left. Analyzing fascist "double-talk," Soucy underscores the social and economic conservatism of such mass movements as Francisme, the Solidarité Française, the Parti Populaire Français, and the Croix de Feu--as well as the ideological and membership crossovers between them. Examining police reports of the era, he penetrates beneath the "socialist" rhetoric of these movements and describes their financial backing from the steel and electricity industries and the middle- and lower-middle-class constituencies (rather than workers) who provided most of their recruits. Soucy investigates why thousands of French men and women found fascist ideas attractive during this period and what fueled the more authoritarian and brutal aspects of French fascism. According to Soucy, these tendencies (seen most recently in the right-wing activity of Jean-Marie Le Pen's National Front) periodically emerge from perceived threats from "alien" elements in French society--whether they be Communists, Socialists, immigrants, Jews, feminists, hedonists, democrats, or liberals "soft" on Marxism and secularism.

A leading critic’s acclaimed story of “the photo boom” during the crucial decades of the 1970s and ’80s

From one of the nation’s preeminent constitutional scholars, a sweeping rethinking of the uses of history in constitutional interpretation

The novel contains imagined lives that achieve a kind of meaning and intensity our own lives do not. Out of the novelist's moral imagination--the breadth and depth of his awareness of human motivations, tensions, and complexities--emerge fictional persons through whom we learn to read ourselves. This eloquent book, exploring fictional lives in crucial moments of choice and change, stresses both their difference from and their deep connections with life. Martin Price writes here about ways in which character has been conceived and presented in the novels of the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. Beginning with chapters that cogently argue the artistic value of character, Price then deals with the different forms character has taken in individual novels. His first discussions center on authors--Jane Austen, Stendhal, Charles Dickens, George Eliot, and Leo Tolstoy--who define individuals by their adherence or opposition to social norms. The next chapters deal with novelists for whom the moral world is largely internalized. The characters of Henry James, Joseph Conrad, D.H. Lawrence, and E.M. Forster live in society and act upon it, but the authors are particularly concerned with the confusions, terrors, and heroism that lie within consciousness. The last chapter uses novels about the artist by James Joyce, Virginia Woolf, and Thomas Mann in order to apprehend the process by which experience is transformed into art. Avoiding both formalistic and moralistic extremes, this new book by a distinguished critic helps us recover a fuller sense of literary form and the forms of life from which it emerges.

A lively and inviting history of Belfast-exploring the highs and lows of a resilient city   Modern Belfast is a beautiful city with a vibrant tradition of radicalism, industry, architectural innovation, and cultural achievement. But the city's many qualities are all too frequently overlooked, its image marred by association with the political violence of the Troubles.   Feargal Cochrane tells the story of his home city, revealing a rich and complex history which is not solely defined by these conflicts. From its emergence as a maritime port to its heyday as a center for the linen industry and crucible of liberal radicalism in the late eighteenth century, through to the famous shipyards where the Titanic was built, Belfast has long been a hub of innovation. Cochrane's book offers a new perspective on this fascinating story, demonstrating how religion, culture, and politics have shaped the way people think, act, and vote in the city-and how Belfast's past continues to shape its present and future.

"The Bloomsbury Group denied its own existence and yet was one of the most successful and influential groups of the 20th century. The Bloomsbury Look explores how the Bloomsbury group fashioned a coherent, distinctive and radical identity through dress, portraits and art collections"--

The leading U.S. expert on abortion law charts the many meanings associated with Roe v. Wade during its fifty-year history

A wide-ranging exploration of the birth of impressionism centered around the landmark exhibition in Paris in 1874

This monograph of Lerooy’s drawings, paintings, and sculptures surveys nearly 100 works from the vital years of his career.

An insightful retrospective of the genre-defying contemporary artist and MacArthur Fellow Joyce J. Scott, showcasing contributions from an extraordinary group of artists and scholars

A reexamination of 1970s France as a decade of intellectual, cultural, and political consequence, both then and now

A new and necessary examination of how nineteenth-century Cuban white elites viewed the natural world, material culture, and political power as intertwined

The complete poems of the priestess Enheduana, the world’s first known author, newly translated from the original Sumerian

The first history of childhood in Tudor England

A powerful new history of the Great Strike in the miners’ own voices, based on more than 140 interviews with former miners and their families

A deeply researched and poignant reflection on the practice of forgiveness in an unforgiving world

A great theater critic brings twentieth-century playwright Arthur Miller’s dramatic story to life with bold and revealing new insights

Who set the mysterious fire that burned down much of New York City shortly after the British took the city during the Revolutionary War?

Groundbreaking research that utilizes archaeological discoveries and ancient texts to revolutionize our understanding of the beginnings of Judaism

"A myth-busting explanation of inflation, the desperate gullibility of central bankers and finance ministers--and our abject failure to learn from history."--

A spirited defense of the Enlightenment against assaults from both the left and the right that explains its urgent implications for our contemporary politics

A translation of Muhammad Rashid Rida’s best-known work, which examines the compatibility of Islamic political and legal tradition with modern thought