I imprint: 1291 books

How did a distinct and powerful Black British identity emerge? In the 1950s, when many Caribbean migrants came to Britain, there was no such recognised entity as “Black Britain.” Yet by the 1980s, the cultural landscape had radically changed, and a remarkable array of creative practices such as...

In 1957, there were over a thousand men in prison for 'homosexual offences'. A little over half a century later, homosexuality is an active part of the mainstream. Homosexuality has a public profile – on TV, in film and in literature and popular culture. When did today's fairly open discourse on...

In 1927, Chiang Kai-shek - the head of China's military academy and leader of the Kuomintang (KMT) - began the 'northern expeditions' to bring China's northern territories back under the control of the state. It was during this period that the KMT purged communist activities, fractured the army and...

The uprisings which spread across the Middle East and North Africa in late 2010 and 2011 irrevocably altered the way in which the region is now perceived. But in spite of the numerous similarities in these protests, from Tunisia and Egypt to Yemen and Bahrain, their broader political effects display...

At the heart of the Palestinian-Israeli conflict is a dispute over territory. Yet, the Palestinian predicament is about more than the loss of land. The contest to maintain and reclaim space is firmly tied to the identity and culture of a displaced population.

Turkey stands at the crossroads of the Middle East--caught between the West and ISIS, Syria and Russia, and governed by an increasingly forceful leader. Acclaimed writer Kaya Genc has been covering his country for the past decade. In Under the Shadow he meets activists from both sides of Turkey's...

The protests unleashed by Iran's disputed presidential election in June 2009 brought the Islamic Republic's vigorous cyber culture to theworld's attention. Iran has an estimated 700,000 bloggers, and new media such as Facebook, Twitter and YouTube were thought to haveplayed a key role in spreading...

The creation of Afghanistan in 1880, following the Second Anglo-Afghan War, gave an empowering voice to the Pashtun people, the largest ethnic group in a diverse country. In order to distil the narrative of the state's formation and early years, a Pashtun-centric version of history dominated Afghan...

Who was Mark Antony? Popular culture remembers him as a deeply flawed character whose excessive appetites cost him an empire. From Shakespeare to the silver screen, Mark Antony's notoriety for drunkenness and decadence have survived and flourished in contemporary pop culture representations. But drunkenness...

As the financial crisis continues to cast its long shadow over Europe, the view that immigrants compete unfairly for jobs and present an unsustainable burden on the European Social Model appears to be gathering support in some circles. But at the same time, the 'right' type of immigrant has often...

Situated in the heart of London's Holland Park are the remains of Holland House – the site of what was once England's most celebrated political salon. In the first thirty years of the nineteenth century – when the Whig party were almost constantly out of office - the home of the third Lord Holland...

Can John D. Negroponte be described as 'The Last American Diplomat'? In a career spanning 50 years of unprecedented American global power, he was the last of a dying breed of patrician diplomats - devoted to public service, a self-effacing and ultimate insider, whose prime duty was to advise, guide...

Fifty years ago the interior of Borneo was a pristine, virgin rainforest inhabited by uncontacted indigenous tribes and naïve, virtually tame, wildlife. It was into this 'Garden of Eden' that Robin Hanbury Tenison led one of the largest ever Royal Geographical Society expeditions, an extraordinary...

New York is often described as the greatest city in the world. Yet much of the iconic architecture and culture which so defines the city as we know it today – from the Empire State Building to the Pastrami sandwich - only came into being in the 1930s, in what was perhaps the most significant decade...