History All books
Patrick Fridenson, Bénédicte Reynaud
France and the Age of Work (1814-2004)
In this history about working hours in France during the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, the authors present two highly original theses which go against some established ideas. Their first thesis is that the limitation or reduction of labour hours was not a political, social or economic issue but primarily a question of public health. The authors second thesis is that the movement for shorter hours was never a major demand of the trade unions since absenteeism served to regulate working hours but the policy of national and international institutions. This is a history book which responds to an impassioned issue in recent French political events. Patrick Fridenson is a historian. Bénédicte Reynaud is an economist.
Marek Edelman
Unpublished Notebooks from the Warsaw Ghetto
A work enriched with many elements that clarify the text and enable it to enhance the previously known history of the Warsaw Ghetto.
Georges Duby
History Continues
“I have undertaken to talk, soberly and informally, of my profession...
Robert Darnton
Mesmerism and the End of the Enlightenment in France
At the beginning of 1778, Franz-Anton Mesmer arrived in Paris where he set about expounding his rather exotic theory - that the universe was swimming in a fluid which was responsible for occurences such heat, light, electricity and magnetism, but it was this fluid's relevance to medicine which he wished to highlight. In order to restablish health and man's harmony with nature he undertook strange healing sessions which became the origins of an extraordinary craze. Quickly, mesmerism became a disguised political theory. In demonstrating the links of mesmerism to politics, and the scientific notions of the age, Robert Darnton provides in this work a decisive contribution to the study of the diffusion of ideas in French society at the end of the 18th century. Robert Darnton is a professor at the University of Princeton
Denis Crouzet
Charles V The Anguish of Power
A new biography of Charles V, a highly underestimated character hanging between power and renunciation
Louis Crocq
The Psychic Injuries of Great War
After the Armistice of 11 November 1918, France honoured its dead and celebrated the survivors. The victims of physical injuries, including the ‘broken gargoyles’ who had suffered terrible facial disfigurement, were recognised, given medical treatment and pensions — but what happened to those who had suffered mental trauma?