First published in 1979, The Second Coming is an experiment in the writing of popular history – a contribution to the history of the people who have no history and an exploration of some of the ideas, beliefs and ways of thinking of ordinary men and women in the late eighteenth and first half of the nineteenth centuries. Millenarianism is a conceptual tool with which to explore some aspects of popular thought and culture. It is also seen as an ideology of social change and as a continuing tradition, traced from the end of the seventeenth century to the 1790s, and is shown to be embedded in folk culture. Abundant in rich and lively descriptions of such colourful characters as Richard Brothers, Joanna Southcott, John Wroe, Zion Ward and Sir William Courtenay, as well as studies of the Shakers, early Mormons and Millerites, the result is a window into the world of ordinary people in the Age of Romanticism.

First published in 1977, this book is intended as a record of sources in Islamic prophetology which focus on the prophet Isa — Jesus in Christian theology. The Islamic Isa differs markedly from the Christian Jesus, most obviously in that, although considered an important prophet, he is overshadowed by Muhammad. The doctrine of tawhid — the indivisible oneness of God — also necessarily means the rejection of Christ’s incarnation or dual nature. The primary of role of Jesus in Islam, as with all Islamic prophets, is to reaffirm the primeval religion of man, best expressed by the Shadada and Islam. This book collects, as comprehensively as possible, bibliographic sources in English and French from the time of the earliest available texts (circa 1650) providing annotated commentary and source information — making it an invaluable research tool for anyone who wishes to study the Islamic Jesus in more detail.

Originally published in 1979, Solar Energy provides a tour of the world of solar energy and asks two key questions: is solar energy the key to the future of our energy needs, and what are the facts and potential of this source of renewable power. The book examines solar energy from the past, to modern plans for designing domestic solar housing, and looks at the sites and the technology applied to harness the Sun's power, such as the energy potential of windmills and the equatorial oceans. Behrman reports on the progress of scientists and manufacturers in making solar energy a viable competitor in the energy market, and studies the projections of a future energy crop for energy plantations.

First published in 1969, this title explores the origins of Spiritualism as a religious movement. The first part is a history of Spiritualism, with a focus on its origins within America and the development of the organisation within itself. Next, Nelson considers the rise of Spiritualism in Britain, using evidence taken from contemporary journals, other publications and interviews. Finally, the Spiritualist movement is analysed in terms of sociological theory, looking at the Church and the definition of a Cult, as well as concepts of authority and leadership. This is a fascinating work, which will be of great interest to students researching the origins and development of the movement of Spiritualism and its relationship with society.

First published in 1977, France and the Coming of the Second World War investigates the policies that led to the collapse of French power. The book argues that this collapse was the result of social, political, and economic troubles that buffeted French leaders. It uses a wealth of documents to explore common debates, such as Britain’s culpability for France’s inability to prevent Germany’s reoccupation of the Rhineland. It also puts forward the threat of Italy and the Mediterranean as France’s main preoccupation, rather than Germany and central Europe. France and the Coming of the Second World War uses an extensive range of archival material and includes the private papers of Daladier, Bonnet, and a number of other prominent figures. It will appeal to those with an interest in the history of the Second World War, political history, and social history.

Robert Owen and the Owenites were associated with the rise of an early industrial society in Britain and with the development of an agricultural, frontier society in the United States during the first half of the nineteenth century. This book, originally published in 1969, was the first to use both British and American source material, and tells the story of Robert Owen and the movement associated with his name, from the standpoint of comparative social and intellectual history. The book directs new light on Owenism, and at the same time illuminates general problems of the history of social movements and social change in modern societies.

G. A. Gaskell’s Dictionary of the Sacred Language of All Scriptures and Myths, first published in 1923, examines several different aspects of religion, including examples from Ancient Egyptian religion and mythology to modern-day Christianity, providing explanations of gods, events, and symbols in alphabetical order. This is a perfect reference book for students of theology or the history of religion.

First published in 1995, this title provides the reader with a compendium of useful information for any reader of George Herbert to have at hand. It includes key biographical information, situates the poetry in its historical and cultural context, and, where appropriate, explains theological concepts and traditions which have a direct bearing on the verse. The aim throughout is to enhance understanding and appreciation, without being exhaustive. A George Herbert Companion will be of most use to general readers and undergraduate students coming to this poetry for the first time, and will interest students of Anglican Caroline theology and hymnology.

First published in 1970, this is a detailed and balanced biography of one of the most controversial literary figures of the twentieth century. Ezra Pound, an American who left home for Venice and London at the age of twenty-three, was a leading member of ‘the modern movement’, a friend and helper of Joyce, Eliot, Yeats, Hemingway, an early supporter of Lawrence and Frost. As a critic of modern society his far-reaching and controversial theories on politics, economics and religion led him to broadcast over Rome Radio during the Second World War, after which he was indicted for treason but declared insane by an American court. He then spent more than twelve years in St Elizabeth’s Hospital for the Criminally Insane in Washington, D.C. In 1958 the changes against him were dropped and he returned to Italy where he had lived between 1924 and 1945.

Ambiguity, vagueness and metaphor are pervasive features of language, deserving of systematic study in their own right. Yet they have frequently been considered mere deviations from ideal language or obstacles to be avoided in the construction of scientific systems. First published in 1979, Beyond the Letter offers a consecutive study of these features from a philosphical point of view, providing analyses of each and treating their relations to one another. Addressed to the fundamental task of logical and semantic explanation, the book employs an inscriptional methodology in the attempt to avoid prevalent forms of question-begging, and, further, in the conviction that sparseness of assumption often reveals points of theoretical interest irrespective of methodolgical preference. The author distinguishes and analyses several varieties of ambiguity, developing new semantic notions in the process; recasts the philosophical treatment of vagueness in the light of recent criticisms of analyticity; discusses the bearing of vagueness on logic; and provides a systematic critique of major recent interpretations of metaphor, developing a revised version of contextualism.