The so-called Seven Weeks' War of 1866 between Prussia and Italy and Austria was notable not only for its effect on future German history but also because it was the last time the armies of the smaller German states fought as independent contingents. Forces from 30 smaller states were involved and they were either of some strength or barely able to guard their rulers' palaces. They have largely been ignored in standard histories and this book attempts to begin to redress that imbalance by ...

Stuart Sutherland’s work is the first modern bibliography in English of the Seven Weeks’ War of 1866. It includes books in English French German and Italian and is subdivided into sections on general histories particular campaigns and battles (Hanoverian Bohemian-Moravian Italian southern German and naval) biographies journals and reminiscences by participants and state organizational and regimental histories the last divided by arm of service. Many rare works are covered and there are edi...

Why do doctors, army generals, high-ranking government officials, and other people in positions of power make bad decisions that cause harm to others? On the other hand, why do people insist on sitting through an awful play or film just because the tickets were expensive?Irrational beliefs and behaviour are virtually universal. It is not only gamblers and parapsychologists that fall into simple statistical traps to do with sample sizes or simple assumptions, but experts of all type...

First published in 1962. This volume is a collection of the papers from the Mercantile College that preserved as examples of the 'accounts of many distinguished and eminent merchants deceased ... who trod the Royal Exchange with supreme credit and dignity'. They bring together the commercial pride which was reached in the eighteenth century, before the challenge of industry and an economic interpretation based on its predominance brought its sobering influence to bear on 'the great mercant...

This acclaimed account by Stuart Sutherland, the best-selling author of Irrationality, of his own manic depression remains unique in its honesty and perception. As an eminent psychologist who suffered a severe mental breakdown, Sutherland provides us with an original and insightful description of his illness, its often bizarre consequences, and an analysis of the origins of mental illness. Essential reading for students and anyone affected by or interested in mental illness, Sutherland des...

We like to imagine that medicine is based on evidence and the results of fair testing and clinical trials. In reality, those tests and trials are often profoundly flawed. We like to imagine that doctors who write prescriptions for everything from antidepressants to cancer drugs to heart medication are familiar with the research literature about a drug, when in reality much of the research is hidden from them by drug companies. We like to imagine that doctors are impartially educated, when ...

Our investments are devastated, obesity is epidemic, test scores are in decline, blue-chip companies circle the drain, and popular medications turn out to be ineffective and even dangerous. What happened? Didn't we listen to the scientists, economists and other experts who promised us that if we followed their advice all would be well?Actually, those experts are a big reason we're in this mess. And, according to acclaimed business and science writer David H. Freedman, such expert co...

The uncompromising Nick Cohen exposes the reality behind the freedoms we enjoy in the book that won Polemic of the Year at the 2013 Political Book Awards.After the fall of the Berlin Wall, the collapse of Communism, and the advent of the Web which allowed for even the smallest voice to be heard, everywhere you turned you were told that we were living in an age of unparalleled freedom.‘You Can't Read This Book’ argues that this view is dangerously naive. From the revolution ...

The end of the world is not nigh. The idea that we are one step from calamity is as old as history itself. Every step on the road of progress has always been countered by those who think that we should keep to a primitive lifestyle that they claim is compatible with nature. But despite the fact that they've been proved wrong, the pessimists are undeterred by their abysmal record. They continue to echo a deep-seated fear that unless we repent and change the way we live, we will be instrumen...

Travel backward through time from today's scattered billions to the handful of early humans who lived in Africa 60,000 years ago and are ancestors to us all. In Deep Ancestry, scientist and National Geographic explorer Spencer Wells shows how tiny genetic changes add up over time into a fascinating story. Using scores of real-life examples, helpful analogies, and detailed diagrams and illustrations, he explains exactly how each and every individual's DNA contributes another piece to the ji...

A NEW EDITION UPDATED IN 2020 • Why is it so hard to say "I made a mistake" — and really believe it?When we make mistakes, cling to outdated attitudes, or mistreat other people, we must calm the powerful cognitive dissonance that jars our feelings of self-worth. And so, unconsciously, we create fictions that absolve us of responsibility, restoring our belief that we are smart, moral, and right—a belief that often keeps us on a cour...