This volume's juxtaposition of the empires of Germany and France in 1806, at the dissolution of The Holy Roman Empire, allows a comparison of their transition towards modernity, explored through the themes of Empire, monarchy, political cultures, feudalism, war and military institutions, nationalism and identity, and everyday experience.

This comprehensive monograph is a second edition of one of the most popular Poyser monographs. It covers all aspects of this spectacular eagle's biology and ecology, including a full review of the literature and incorporating the considerable body of research on the species since the publication of the first edition in 1997. The late Jeff Watson was one of Scotland's foremost eagle experts, with more than 20 years of research on the birds; following Jeff's untimely death, the book is being completed by his colleagues Des Thompson and Helen Riley. Scottish studies provide the foundation for a treatment that also includes up-to-date information from work in North America, continental Europe and elsewhere. This global view allows fascinating insights into the species' relationships with a variety of different habitats and leads to many new and important conclusions regarding its ecology. This highly readable and authoritative account is the standard reference on the species, both in Scotland and elsewhere in the world. The text is enriched with many superb pictures of this majestic bird and additional wash landscapes capture the very special atmosphere of Scotland's Golden Eagle country.

Best Books of the Month: Wall Street Journal, Kirkus Reviews From the Pulitzer Prize–winning author of The Gulf, a sweeping cultural and natural history of the bald eagle in America. The bald eagle is regal but fearless, a bird you’re not inclined to argue with. For centuries, Americans have celebrated it as “majestic” and “noble,” yet savaged the living bird behind their national symbol as a malicious predator of livestock and, falsely, a snatcher of babies. Taking us from before the nation’s founding through inconceivable resurgences of this enduring all-American species, Jack E. Davis contrasts the age when native peoples lived beside it peacefully with that when others, whether through hunting bounties or DDT pesticides, twice pushed Haliaeetus leucocephalus to the brink of extinction. Filled with spectacular stories of Founding Fathers, rapacious hunters, heroic bird rescuers, and the lives of bald eagles themselves—monogamous creatures, considered among the animal world’s finest parents—The Bald Eagle is a much-awaited cultural and natural history that demonstrates how this bird’s wondrous journey may provide inspiration today, as we grapple with environmental peril on a larger scale.