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Collapseby Jared Diamond
Penguin Group Inc. 2011; US$ 14.99In his million-copy bestseller Guns, Germs, and Steel , Jared Diamond examined how and why Western civilizations developed the technologies and immunities that allowed them to dominate much of the world. Now in this brilliant companion volume, Diamond probes the other side of the equation: What caused some of the great civilizations of the past to collapse into ruin, and what can we learn from their fates? As in Guns, Germs, and Steel , Diamond weaves an all-encompassing global thesis through a series of fascinating historical-cultural narratives. Moving from the Polynesian cultures on Easter Island to the flourishing American civilizations of the Anasazi and the Maya and finally to the doomed Viking colony on Greenland, Diamond traces... more...
The Triumph of Technologyby Alec Broers
Cambridge University Press 2005; US$ 21.00Taken from the 2005 BBC Reith Lectures, and including a new introduction and conclusion, Alec Broers shows how technology drives our world today. Explaining how technologies emerged, he argues that if we use technology wisely it can improve our lives and provide solutions to current global problems. more...
Beyond the Black Atlanticby Walter Goebel; Saskia Schabio
Taylor & Francis 2006; US$ 37.95Expands the concept of the Black Atlantic by reaching beyond the usual African-American focus of the field, presenting fresh perspectives on postcolonial experiences of technology and modernization. This book explores a variety of national, diasporan and transnational counternarratives to Western modernization. more...
Violent Cartographiesby Michael J. Shapiro
University of Minnesota Press 1993; US$ 60.00Using literary and film analyses to elucidate his themes, Michael J. Shapiro explores the significance of war in contemporary society and its connections to the geographical imaginary. more...
Negative Horizonby Paul Virilio; Michael Degener
Continuum International Publishing 2006; US$ 140.00Negative Horizon is Paul Virilio's most original and unified exploration of the key themes and ideas running through his thought. Provocative and forceful, it sets out Virilio's theory of dromoscopy: a means of apprehending speed and its pivotal - and potentially destructive - role in contemporary global society. Applying this theory to Western political and military history, Virilio exposes a compulsion to accelerate, and the rise of a politics of time - encapsulated in the importance accorded to speed - over territorial politics of space. Moving through human history from the cave paintings at Lascaux that depict the first hunters, to the 'stealth technologies' deployed in contemporary warfare, Virilio shows how... more...
Big History and the Future of Humanityby Fred Spier
John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. 2010; US$ 125.95Big History and the Future of Humanity presents an original theoretical approach that makes “big history” – the placing of the human past within the history of life, the Earth, and the Universe -- accessible to general readers while revealing insights into what the future may hold for humanity. Provides an accessible and original overview of the entire sweep of history that places human history within the history of life, the Earth, and the Universe Features an original theory of “big history” which explains all of history and opens up an entirely new interdisciplinary research agenda Offers new insights into the future of humanity by better understanding the past Presents a new approach to complexity... more...
Paths of Fireby Robert M. Adams
Princeton University Press 2001; US$ 55.50Technology, perhaps the most salient feature of our time, affects everything from jobs to international law yet ranks among the most unpredictable facets of human life. Here Robert McC. Adams, renowned anthropologist and Secretary Emeritus of the Smithsonian Institution, builds a new approach to understanding the circumstances that drive technological change, stressing its episodic, irregular nature. The result is nothing less than a sweeping history of technological transformation from ancient times until now. Rare in antiquity, the bursts of innovations that mark the advance of technology have gradually accelerated and now have become an almost continuous feature of our culture. Repeatedly shifting in direction, this path has been shaped... more...
Warum führen Menschen Krieg?by Myriam Revault d'Allonnes; Jochen Gerner; Holger Fock; Sabine Müller
Campus Verlag 2008; US$ 9.10Hauptbeschreibung Die Philosophin Myriam Revault d'Allonnes führt ihre Leser in diesem Buch behutsam an Überlegungen heran wie »Gibt es gerechte und ungerechte Kriege?«, »Bedeutet Krieg immer auch offene Gewalt?« und »Kann es eine Welt ohne Krieg geben?«. Mit ihrer nachdenklichen, philosophischen Heranführung an das große Thema Krieg trifft sie den Nerv einer jugendlichen Leserschaft, die sich im ErwachsenWerden mit genau diesen Fragestellungen konfrontiert sieht. Inhaltsverzeichnis Inhalt Wann kann man von Krieg sprechen? Krieg und Zivilisation, Krieg und Barbarei Sind alle Kriege gleich schlecht? Sind alle Kriege ungerecht? Oder gibt es gerechte und ungerechte Kriege? Auszug aus dem Text Krieg ist entsetzlich: Das... more...
The Arc of Warby Jack S. Levy; William R. Thompson
University of Chicago Press 2011; US$ 27.00In this far-reaching exploration of the evolution of warfare in human history, Jack S. Levy and William R. Thompson provide insight into the perennial questions of why and how humans fight. Beginning with the origins of warfare among foraging groups, The Arc of War draws on a wealth of empirical data to enhance our understanding of how war began and how it has changed over time. The authors point to the complex interaction of political economy, political and military organization, military technology, and the threat environment—all of which create changing incentives for states and other actors. They conclude that those actors that adapt survive, and those that do not are eliminated. In modern times, warfare between major powers has... more...
Der Kriegby Andreas Herberg-Rothe
Campus Verlag 2003; US$ 11.79Hauptbeschreibung Der Krieg hat sich mit dem Golfkrieg 1991, den afrikanischen Bürgerkriegen und den Terroranschlägen der jüngsten Zeit grundlegend gewandelt. Andreas Herberg-Rothe schildert, wie sich der Krieg aber bereits im Laufe der Jahrhunderte immer wieder verändert hat und lässt ein umfassendes Bild des Krieges entstehen: von den Waffenträgern bis zu den Kriegsursachen, vom Aspekt des Tötens im Krieg bis zur Unterscheidung zwischen Staaten- und Bürgerkrieg. Immer wieder nimmt er dabei Bezug auf die neuen Kriege, die uns im 21. Jahrhundert drohen. Biographische Informationen Andreas Herberg-Rothe, Dr. phil. hbil., ist Privatdozent am Institut für Sozialwissenschaften der Humboldt Universität zu Berlin. more...









