"Jeremy Black's revisionist history shows that both thrusting "bourgeois" Protestant states like the Netherlands and Britain prospered and, in Britain's case, became a global power. The "reactionary" Catholic states like Austria and France at various times remained stable until the deluge of the French Revolution. "Absolutism" was no myth, but "absolutist" states still had to rule with consent. Black weaves these themes into a rich and coherent tapestry to give a clear and authoritative picture of the complexities of the early modern period."--Bloomsbury Publishing.

This study explores how Tibetans manoeuvre within two contradictory value systems - those of old Tibet and the new People's Republic of China - balancing between ideals and pragmatism. More specifically, it asks how it is that the social categories of pre-communist Lhasa persist and are relevant in daily life despite decades of Chinese rule and the comprehensive restructuring of Tibetan society.

In the context of European prehistoric crafting, this book highlights the daily lives of people of so-called distinct social classes who interacted with each other through creative crafting and, as such, produced both items of varying qualities and meanings, and also specific and multiple identities alongside these exquisite material remains.

From the creator of the popular blog The Monsters Know What They’re Doing comes a compilation of villainous battle plans for Dungeon Masters. In the course of a Dungeons & Dragons game, a Dungeon Master has to make one decision after another in response to player behavior—and the better the players, the more unpredictable their behavior! It’s easy for even an experienced DM to get bogged down in on-the-spot decision-making or to let combat devolve into a boring slugfest, with enemies running directly at the player characters and biting, bashing, and slashing away. In The Monsters Know What They’re Doing, Keith Ammann lightens the DM’s burden by helping you understand your monsters’ abilities and develop battle plans before your fifth edition D&D game session begins. Just as soldiers don’t whip out their field manuals for the first time when they’re already under fire, a DM shouldn’t wait until the PCs have just encountered a dozen bullywugs to figure out how they advance, fight, and retreat. Easy to read and apply, The Monsters Know What They're Doing is essential reading for every DM.

From 1337 to 1453 England repeatedly invaded France on the pretext that her kings had a right to the French throne. Though it was a small, poor country, England for most of those "hundred years" won the battles, sacked the towns and castles, and dominated the war. The protagonists of the Hundred Years War are among the most colorful in European history: Edward III, the Black Prince; Henry V, who was later immortalized by Shakespeare; the splendid but inept John II, who died a prisoner in London; Charles V, who very nearly overcame England; and the enigmatic Charles VII, who at last drove the English out. Desmond Seward's critically-acclaimed account of the Hundred Years War brings to life all of the intrigue, beauty, and royal to-the-death-fighting of that legendary century-long conflict.

According to Alexis de Tocqueville’s influential work on the Old Regime and the French Revolution, royal centralisation had so weakened the feudal power of the nobles that their remaining privileges became glaringly intolerable to commoners. This book challenges the theory by showing that when Louis XVI convened assemblies of landowners in the late 1770s and 1780s to discuss policies needed to resolve the budgetary crisis, he faced widespread opposition from lords and office holders. These elites regarded the assemblies as a challenge to their hereditary power over commoners. The king’s government comprised seigneurial jurisdictions and venal offices. Lordships and offices upheld inequality on behalf of the nobility and bred the discontent motivating the people to make the French Revolution.

This engaging introduction shows how ideas of aristocracy originated in ancient times, were transformed in the middle ages, and have only fallen apart over the last two centuries.

Jeremy Black's revisionist history shows that both thrusting "bourgeois" Protestant states like the Netherlands and Britain prospered and, in Britain's case, became a global power. The "reactionary" Catholic states like Austria and France at various times remained stable until the deluge of the French Revolution. "Absolutism" was no myth, but "absolutist" states still had to rule with consent. Black weaves these themes into a rich and coherent tapestry to give a clear and authoritative picture of the complexities of the early modern period.

Petrodor is a city of alleys and shadows, where life is cheap and the only respected currency is blood. Sasha, the wilful yet talented heroine of Sasha, returns to battle in Joel Shepherd's stunning second volume of A Trial of Blood & Steel.Away from the hills of her Lenayin homeland, she is fighting a new battle in the dark alleys and wealthy houses of Petrodor. An influential trading centre, Petrodor holds the key to preventing the coming war between Lenayin and the mighty Bacosh. Together with her mentor Kessligh, Sasha attempts to navigate the political intrigues of the port city and find a way to stop the war.It is the serrin, the beautiful but dangerous people from beyond the Bacosh, who will be the pivot in this struggle. How much can Sasha trust her old serrin friend Errollyn? And how much can she trust herself?