Amid present-day conflagrations, this illuminating book reminds us of the sources, and profound consequences, of Christian fundamentalism in the sixteenth century. Simpson focuses on the cultural transformation in early modern England that allowed common people to read the Bible for the first time. The last wave of fundamentalist reading in the West provoked 150 years of violent upheaval; as we approach a second wave, this powerful book alerts us to our peril.

When we think of breaking images, we assume that it happens somewhere else. We also tend to think of iconoclasts as barbaric. Iconoclasts are people like the Taliban, who blew up Buddhist statues in 2001. We tend, that is, to look with horror on iconoclasm. This book argues instead that iconoclasm is a central strand of Anglo-American modernity. Our horror at the destruction of art derives in part from the fact that we too did, and still do, that. This is most obviously true of England's i...

Few could have imagined ten years ago where we'd be in America today: We are confronted on all sides by interminable crises that threaten the very fabric of our nation—from a border flooded with millions of migrants from all over the world, to a fentanyl crisis killing more American youths every year than the past three wars combined. Radical transgender activism and other cultural insanity has pushed more youths to commit suicide than at any other time in history. It seems as though the w...

Today's wine industry is characterized by regional differences not only in the wines themselves but also in the business models by which these wines are produced, marketed, and distributed. In Old World countries such as France, Spain, and Italy, small family vineyards and cooperative wineries abound. In New World regions like the United States and Australia, the industry is dominated by a handful of very large producers. This is the first book to trace the economic and historical forces t...

This book examines how European farmers responded to the economic and political challenges created by the First World War and the Great Depression. The difficulties of interwar Europe have been frequently explored, but rarely from the perspective of the agricultural sector, where two-fifths of the population earned their livelihood, mostly as small, family farmers.The traditional literature argues that the landed elites conspired to undermine many of Europe's young democracies afte...

"This book traces the history of a complex sexual fantasy which features recurrently in Goethe's writings from his days as a student in Leipzig to the final years as Europe's most celebrated living poet. Simpson shows how the young man's fantasy of innocent sexuality became an increasingly troubled one during the poet's first decade in Weimar. Goethe began to recognize in it a submerged element: the incestuous roots of desire. Triggered by this discovery, Goethe's imagination becomes incre...

Great Britain, the 1980s. VHS is rapidly becoming popular, and the more gory and violent the movies, the better. One company has latched on to this trend quickly – selling and renting controversial films to the public. It is called the Video Instant Picture Company, a.k.a. VIPCO.Founded and run by Michael Lee – Mike to his friends – this small independent video distributor would swiftly grow into a money-making machine and become synonymous with the so-called 'Video Nasties' scanda...

How did the Reformation, which initially promoted decidedly illiberal positions, end up laying the groundwork for Western liberalism?The English Reformation began as an evangelical movement driven by an unyielding belief in predestination, intolerance, stringent literalism, political quietism, and destructive iconoclasm. Yet by 1688, this illiberal early modern upheaval would deliver the foundations of liberalism: free will, liberty of conscience, religious tolerat...

In this distinctive new history of the origins of the Spanish Civil War, James Simpson and Juan Carmona tackle the highly-debated issue of why it was that Spain's democratic Second Republic failed. They explore the interconnections between economic growth, state capacity, rural social mobility and the creation of mass competitive political parties, and how these limited the effectiveness of the new republican governments, and especially their attempts to tackle economic and social problems...

The Routledge Handbook of Applied Linguistics serves as an introduction and reference point to key areas in the field of applied linguistics.The five sections of the volume encompass a wide range of topics from a variety of perspectives:applied linguistics in actionlanguage learning, language educationlanguage, culture and identityperspectives on language in usedescriptions of language for applied linguistics....

"Archaeological Essays, Vol. 2" by James Young Simpson is a compelling collection that delves into various aspects of archaeology and its significance in understanding human history. Simpson, a prominent figure in the field, presents a series of essays that explore archaeological methods, discoveries, and the interpretation of artifacts. His insightful analysis sheds light on the cultural and historical contexts of ancient civilizations, making the work a valuable resource for both scholar...

Through a Young Boy's Eyes: A Memoir of Appalachia in the 1960s, is a riveting account of a boy growing up in the heart of the Appalachian coal fields during a decade of modern innovations, societal conflict, and war. The book chronicles Thomas Lee Brown's journey from his isolated mountain home into the world via formal schooling, travel with his parents and grandparents, and exposure to radio and television. This fictional work, heavily influenced by the author's own childhood s...