The crisis of 2008 ended the illusion of a golden era in which many people imagined that prosperity & political calm would continue to spread indefinitely. In a world now racked by slowing growth & mounting unrest, how can we discern which nations will thrive & which will fail? Shaped by prize-winning author Ruchir Sharma`s twenty-five years travelling the world, The Rise & Fall of Nations rethinks economics as a practical art. By narrowing down the thousands of factors that can shape a country`s future, it spells out ten clear rules for identifying the next big winners & losers in the global economy. Each rule looks at a nation`s political, economic, & social conditions in real time to filter out the hype & noise. ` People Matters` shows how slow population growth is eroding economic growth, & ranks nations by how well they respond. The `circle of life` describes the way cycles of political complacency & revolt fuel economic booms & bust. Amid growing tensions over inequality, ` Good Billionaires, Bad Billionaires` demonstrates how billionaire lists yield clues to which economies are most or least threatened by extreme wealth. In a period when the world is struggling with trillions of dollars in new debt, the ` Kiss of Debt` explains which nations are most likely to avert this threat or buckle under it. Together, the ten rules are instructive for anyone who wants to know which nations are most likely to rise or fall in our own time. The final chapter takes the reader on a surprising world tour of the likely winners & losers in the near future. Enlivened by Sharma`s encounters with presidents, tycoons, & villagers from Rio to Beijing, this book is a pioneering field guide to understanding our impermanent world. ...

From the acclaimed author of Britain`s War Machine & The Shock of the Old, a bold reassessment of Britain`s twentieth century. It is usual to see the United Kingdom as an island of continuity in an otherwise convulsed & unstable Europe; its political history a smooth sequence of administrations, from building a welfare state to coping with decline. Nobody would dream of writing the history of Germany, say, or the Soviet Union in this way. David Edgerton`s major new history breaks out of the confines of traditional British national history to redefine what it was to British, & to reveal an unfamiliar place, subject to huge disruptions. This was not simply because of the world wars & global economic transformations, but in its very nature. Until the 1940s the United Kingdom was, Edgerton argues, an exceptional place: liberal, capitalist & anti-nationalist, at the heart of a European & global web of trade & influence. Then, as its global position collapsed, it became, for the first time & only briefly, a real, successful nation, with shared goals, horizons & industry, before reinventing itself again in the 1970s as part of the European Union & as the host for international capital, no longer capable of being a nation. Packed with surprising examples & arguments, The Rise & Fall of the British Nation gives us a grown-up, unsentimental history which takes business & warfare seriously, & which is crucial at a moment of serious reconsideration for the country & its future. ...

66 million years ago the dinosaurs were wiped from the face of the earth. Today, Dr. Steve Brusatte, one of the leading scientists of a new generation of dinosaur hunters, armed with cutting edge technology, is piecing together the complete story of how the dinosaurs ruled the earth for 150 million years. The world of the dinosaurs has fascinated on book & screen for decades
- from early science fiction classics like The Lost World, to Godzilla terrorizing the streets of Tokyo, & the monsters of Jurassic Park. But what if we got it wrong? In The Rise & Fall of the Dinosaurs, top dinosaur expert Brusatte, tells the real story of how dinosaurs rose to dominate the planet. Using the fossil clues that have been gathered using state of the art technology, Brusatte follows these magnificent creatures from their beginnings in the Early Triassic period, through the Jurassic period to their final days in the Cretaceous & the legacy that they left behind. Along the way, Brusatte introduces us to modern day dinosaur hunters & gives an insight into what it`s like to be a paleontologist. The Rise & Fall of the Dinosaurs is full of thrilling accounts of some of his personal discoveries, including primitive human-sized tyrannosaurs, monstrous carnivores even larger than T. rex, & feathered raptor dinosaurs preserved in lava from China. At a time when Homo sapiens has existed for less than 200, 000 years & we are already talking about planetary extinction, The Rise & Fall of the Dinosaurs is a timely reminder of what humans can learn from the magnificent creatures who ruled the earth before us.
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WINNER OF THE WOLFSON HISTORY PRIZE Paul Kennedy`s international bestseller is a sweeping account of five hundred years of fluctuating economic muscle & military might. Kennedy`s masterwork begins in the year 1500, at a time of various great centres of power including Minh China, the Ottomans, the rising Mughal state, the nations of Europe. But it was the latter which, through competition, economic growth & better military organisation, came to dominate the globe
- until challenged later by Japan, the Soviet Union, & the United States. Now China, boosted by its own economic prowess, rises to the fore. Throughout this brilliant work, Kennedy persuasively demonstrates the interdependence of economic & military power, showing how an imbalance between the two has historically led to spectacular political disaster. Erudite & brilliantly original, The Rise & Fall of the Great Powers is essential reading for anyone with an interest in the politics of power.
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At its height Renaissance Florence was a centre of enormous wealth, power & influence. A republican city-state funded by trade & banking, its often bloody political scene was dominated by rich mercantile families, the most famous of which were the Medici. This enthralling book charts the family`s huge influence on the political, economic & cultural history of Florence. Beginning in the early 1430s with the rise of the dynasty under the near-legendary Cosimo de Medici, it moves through their golden era as patrons of some of the most remarkable artists & architects of the Renaissance, to the era of the Medici Popes & Grand Dukes, Florence`s slide into decay & bankruptcy, & the end, in 1737, of the Medici line. ...

Beginning with the founding myths of Romulus & Remus & a succession of probably fictitious kings, Anthony Everitt charts the development of Rome from its origins as a small market town in the eighth century BC, through various forms of patrician government, up to Caesar`s victory in the Civil War that defeated the Roman Republic & paved the way for Augustus to transform republican oligarchy into imperial autocracy. Using recent archaeological evidence & historical facts, & a wealth of legend & anecdote, Everitt shows how Rome grew
- both internally, via ever more ambitious construction projects, & externally, through successful military campaigns. In doing so, he highlights some fascinating parallels between ancient Roman society & the modern world. As readable & accessible as it is authoritative & scholarly, THE RISE OF ROME is the perfect introduction to Roman history & civilization for the general reader.
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In the late Iron Age, Rome was a small collection of huts arranged over a few hills. By the third century BC, it had become a large & powerful city, with monumental temples, public buildings & grand houses. It had conquered the whole of Italy & was poised to establish an empire. But how did it accomplish this historic transformation? This book explores the development of Rome during this period, & the nature of its control over Italy, considering why & how the Romans achieved this spectacular dominance. For Rome was only one of a number of emerging centres of power during this period. From its complex forms of government, to its innovative connections with other states, Kathryn Lomas shows what set Rome apart. Examining the context & impact of the city`s dominance, as well as the key political, social & economic changes it engendered, this is crucial reading for anyone interested in Ancient Rome. ...

In the late Iron Age, Rome was a small collection of huts arranged over a few hills. By the third century BC, it had become a large & powerful city, with monumental temples, public buildings & grand houses. It had conquered the whole of Italy & was poised to establish an empire. But how did it accomplish this historic transformation? This book explores the development of Rome during this period, & the nature of its control over Italy, considering why & how the Romans achieved this spectacular dominance. For Rome was only one of a number of emerging centres of power during this period. From its complex forms of government, to its innovative connections with other states, Kathryn Lomas shows what set Rome apart. Examining the context & impact of the city`s dominance, as well as the key political, social & economic changes it engendered, this is crucial reading for anyone interested in Ancient Rome. ...

Intelligent, nuanced & wide-ranging, this is the essential handbook for understanding the chaotic political times in which we live. In recent years, voters have deserted the political centre like never before. Whether it`s Trump, Brexit, Le Pen, or Corbyn, outsiders & populists are flourishing on the far left & far right. Celebrated political commentator Steve Richards explores factors from globalization & fake news to rising immigration & stagnant wages. Richards argues that the reasons for the success of the outsider also sows the seeds of their eventual demise. If they do gain power, they inevitably become insiders themselves
- & fail to live up to their extravagant promises. This landmark book examines the rapidly shifting global political landscape of the last decade, & is essential reading for anyone who has been bothered by Brexit, troubled by Trump or confused by Corbyn.
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The Easter Rising of 1916 not only destroyed much of the centre of Dublin
- it changed the course of Irish history. But why did
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