In 14 original essays, this book reveals the history of books in all their various forms, from the ancient world to the digital present

This fresh and readable account gives a complete history of the University of Oxford, from its beginnings in the 11th century to the present day - charting Oxford's improbable rise from provincial backwater to modern meritocratic and secular university with an ever-growing commitment to new research.

Imagine the planet, as if from an immense distance of time and space, as a galactic observer might see it—with the kind of objectivity that we, who are enmeshed in our history, can ́t attain. The Oxford Illustrated History of the World encompasses the whole span of human history. It brings together some of the world's leading historians, under the expert guidance of Felipe Fernandez-Armesto, to tell the 200,000-year story of our world, from the emergence of homo sapiens through to the twenty-first century: the environmental convulsions; the interplay of ideas (good and bad); the cultural phases and exchanges; the collisions and collaborations in politics; the successions of states and empires; the unlocking of energy; the evolutions of economies; the contacts, conflicts, and contagions that have all contributed to making the world we now inhabit.

The tenth anniversary edition of The Oxford History of Mexico tells the fascinating story of Mexico as it has evolved from the reign of the Aztecs through the twenty-first century. Available for the first time in paperback, this magnificent volume covers the nation's history in a series of essays written by an international team of scholars. Essays have been revised to reflect events of the past decade, recent discoveries, and the newest advances in scholarship, while a new introduction discusses such issues as immigration from Mexico to the United States and the democratization implied by the defeat of the official party in the 2000 and 2006 presidential elections. Newly released to commemorate the bicentennial of the Mexican War of Independence and the centennial of the Mexican Revolution, this updated and redesigned volume offers an affordable, accessible, and compelling account of Mexico through the ages.

This text traces the language from its obscure Indo-European roots to its 21st-century position as the world's first language. It describes the history of English within the British Isles, its changing roles in different places, and its rise to global pre-eminence.

When The Oxford History of New Zealand was first published in 1981 it was acclaimed as the standard reference. The turbulent 1980s have changed much about the way we see New Zealand and its history. Some of these new ways of regarding the past have arisen, directly or obliquely, from the activities of the Waitangi tribunal and the wealth of scholarship, Maori and Pakeha, which now surrounds the treaty of Waitangi. Others come from the events of the 1980s, with their profound social, political, and economic consequences. This new edition provides coverage of the last decade, and takes account of recent historical writing. Six new chapters have been added, and many others have been enlarged or updated, making this a substantially revised and expanded second edition. As before, the book draws upon the work of archaeologists, social scientists, economists, historians, and critics, to provide a comprehensive account of New Zealand's past from the first Polynesian settlement to the present day. Like its predecessor, it is essential reading for every student, scholar, and teacher of New Zealand history, and for the general reader, curious to know about New Zealand's past.

In this volume that is as big and as varied as the nation it portrays are over 1,400 entries written by some 900 historians and other scholars, illuminating not only America's political, diplomatic, and military history, but also social, cultural, and intellectual trends; science, technology, and medicine; the arts; and religion.