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The Good Kings: Absolute Power in Ancient Egypt and the Modern World
Book Review ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ by Neil Laird

The Good Kings: Absolute Power in Ancient Egypt and the Modern World

We may not always know why we are drawn to a bygone era or long-dead personality, but once hooked, the well rarely runs dry. Perhaps the reason, for many, is simple escapism. The vanished worlds and characters of the past draw us in precisely...
Virtuous Bankers: A Day in the Life of the Eighteenth-Century Bank of England
Book Review ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ by Zhihui Zou

Virtuous Bankers: A Day in the Life of the Eighteenth-Century Bank of England

Nicknamed "The Old Lady of Threadneedle Street," the Bank of England is probably the most historically influential British financial organization. In Virtuous Bankers: A Day in the Life of the Eighteenth-Century Bank of England, Anne L. Murphy...
Julius Caesar in Egypt: Cleopatra and the War in Alexandria
Book Review ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ by Arienne King

Julius Caesar in Egypt: Cleopatra and the War in Alexandria

The book's first three chapters reconstruct the background of the Alexandrian War from the perspectives of Pompey, Cleopatra, and Caesar. Readers unfamiliar with the history of Ptolemaic Egypt will be glad to know that the important beats...
Empires Between Islam and Christianity, 1500-1800
Book Review ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ by Zhihui Zou

Empires Between Islam and Christianity, 1500-1800

Empire' is a common concept in the field of world history. Historians often specialize in one specific empire, such as the British Empire, the Russian Empire, or the Chinese dynasties. Going beyond this unidirectional approach, Sanjay Subrahmanyam...
Cleopatra's Daughter: From Roman Prisoner to African Queen
Book Review ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ by Arienne King

Cleopatra's Daughter: From Roman Prisoner to African Queen

Divided into twelve chapters, the book is a journey through Cleopatra Selene II's life and times. While Selene's life and reign have been studied by other authors, Cleopatra's Daughter: From Roman Prisoner to African Queen is the first full...
Caravaggio: A Reference Guide to His Life and Works
Book Review ★ ★ ★ ★ ☆ by Zhihui Zou

Caravaggio: A Reference Guide to His Life and Works

Launched in 2018, Rowman & Littlefield's book series Significant Figures in World History contains academic encyclopedias of famous people in history, ranging from Catherine the Great to Nelson Mandela. These titles all conclude a chronology...
Fatal Revolutions: Natural History, West Indian Slavery, and the Routes of American Literature
Book Review ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ by Megan Holtkamp

Fatal Revolutions: Natural History, West Indian Slavery, and the Routes of American Literature

Christopher Iannini’s Fatal Revolutions: Natural History, West Indian Slavery, and the Routes of American Literature successfully ties seemingly disparate themes of slavery, American literature, and natural history together. By focusing on...
Women and the Crusades
Book Review ★ ★ ★ ★ ☆ by Zhihui Zou

Women and the Crusades

Between the 11th and 16th centuries, the idea of 'crusading' was dominant in Europe. Helen J. Nicholson's new book reminds us that crusading during this time had a much broader implication than trying to capture Jerusalem. Any journeys or...
Pox Americana: The Great Smallpox Epidemic of 1775-82
Book Review ★ ★ ★ ★ ☆ by Cameron Ruff

Pox Americana: The Great Smallpox Epidemic of 1775-82

Since its original publication in 2002, Pox Americana has become a hugely influential scholarly work. In this book, Elizabeth A. Fenn argues that while the American Revolution changed political and military conditions throughout the world...
Managing the Wealth of Nations: Political Economies of Change in Preindustrial Europe
Book Review ★ ★ ★ ★ ☆ by Kelly Palmer

Managing the Wealth of Nations: Political Economies of Change in Preindustrial Europe

Philipp Robinson Rössner’s Managing the Wealth of Nations: Political Economies of Change in Preindustrial Europe aims to reshape how scholars frame early modern European economics and particularly a form of economics called cameralism, commonly...
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