There is an increasing tendency to give countries, especially developing countries and most particularly newly independent ones, “report cards” showing how well they’ve been doing and even to indicate their respective positions. Under these conditions, Kyrgyzstan might receive something like “needs improvement” or come in—more or less—in the second-to-bottom quarter. Shortly after it became independent in 1991 with the collapse of the Soviet Union, Kyrgyzstan was regarded as one of the more promising new states. But when the lessons it was obliged to learn were poorly digested (or perhaps the lessons themselves were poorly thought out), it gradually slipped and lost favor. More recently, however, this small country with a mixed population and limited natural resources has been making headway for many reasons: its political system and democracy, civil society, human rights, economic development, equality, and cooperation with the international community. It is much easier to understand Kyrgyzstan’s indifferent performance as an independent state with some insight into the previous decades and even centuries. The country began as a collection of tribes, and was then poorly absorbed and assimilated into the Russian Empire. Even before becoming an independent state, Kyrgyzstan was more or less rejected by its Soviet masters, classified as a semi-independent “republic.” Not many scholars have studied it, including its own, and not many have written about it; the country has for the most part been lumped together with the Russian and Soviet Empires, and even today normally appears just as part of the Central Asian Republics. So this Historical Dictionary of Kyrgyzstan is particularly welcome because it makes up for previous omissions and fills a gap by providing basic information in a readily usable format. The dictionary contains the standard entries on significant people, places, and events; organizations and institutions; ethnic and political groups; and salient aspects of the economy, society, and culture. Both the chronology and introduction are unusually helpful in providing an overview of the country’s often halting progress, and the bibliography supplies references in English and other languages.

Книга французького військового інженера Гійома Левассера де Боплана «Опис України» — цінне історичне джерело для вивчення побуту запорозького козацтва і селянства, а також інших станів середньовічного суспільства України. В ній відображені географічне середовище, природа України, її кліматичні умови, наведені дані з історії заселення Середньої Наддніпрянщини, змальована яскрава картина життя українського народу першої половини XVII ст.

Central Asia, known as the home of Tamerlane and the Silk Road, is a crossroads of great cultures and civilizations. In 1991 five new nations at the heart of the region--Kazakstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan--suddenly became independent. Today they sit strategically between Russia, China and Iran and hold some of the world's largest deposits of oil and natural gas. Ethnic and national identities formerly suppressed now find expression in language, religion, the arts, new international alignments and, occasionally, severe civil conflicts. In the decades ahead what kind of societies will the 50+ million people living in this very-old-and-very-new part of the world create? Single party secular states, Islamic republics, market democracies--something else? Civil Society in Central Asia is a pathbreaking collection of essays by scholars and activists that looks at some of the social and institutional developments which are shaping this important region's future. Are institutions emerging which create the foundations of a democratic order? As the essays suggest, trends are contradictory and not the same for each country. This timely book matches contributions by leading specialists such as S. Frederick Starr, Olivier Roy, Aziz Niyazi, Scott Horton, Alla Kazakina, Abdumannob Polat, and Reuel Hanks with the insights of individuals who have been on the front lines of the struggle for civil society in Central Asia itself--representatives of organizations such as Counterpart, Internews, and the Kazakstan International Bureau for Human Rights. Topics addressed are as diverse as the legal framework for independent associational activity, grassroots movements for environmental protection, the resurgence of Islam and the viability of the Soviet-era collective farms. A 75-page appendix provides a guide to many of the most significant projects being carried out by local and international NGOs in the region.

These 400 alphabetically arranged articles provide detailed accounts of how Western maritime empires and their customs and values spread to all corners of the globe, ultimately shaping the development of non-European societies. Each one presents not only facts, but also interpretations of the impact of European colonialism and is well supported by charts, tables, maps, and black-and-white illustrations. The entries make extensive use of primary-source material and contain both see-also references and bibliographies. A glossary of key terms is appended, as is a collection of historical documents that are directly linked to Western colonial expansion and policies. The text flows easily and information retrieval is facilitated by the effective use of subtitles in many of the entries and the variety of access points in the index. A wide range of topics, such as the Boxer Uprising, censorship, diamonds, and Vasco da Gama, provides a comprehensive treatment of the subject. Falling neatly between general and scholarly reference, this set would be a fine addition.

Much of what we know about the colourful Russian middle ages comes from legal sources: the treaties of Russian-Scandinavian warlords with the Byzantine emperors, the gradual penetration of Christianity and Byzantine institutions, the endless game of war and peace among the numerous regional princes, the activities of Hanseatic merchants in the wealthy city-republic of Novgorod, the curious relationships between the Mongol conquerors and Russian rulers and church dignitaries, etc. And, at the even further fringes of medieval Europe, there were the Christian kingdoms of Armenia and Georgia, squeezed between the Islamic empires of Iran and Turkey, but each possessing their elaborate and original legal systems. A discussion of more general questions of legal history and legal anthropology precedes the treatment of these various topics.

The 13th century was a time of change for knights in England. They were faced with rising costs and increasing demands on their time for local government because of their very status in society, until knighthood itself was sometimes avoided. This period saw as well the development of the tournament from the wild team events of the early years of the century to the single jousts with blunt lance. Campaign life in the 13th century also embraced several theatres of war including the baronial revolt against King John, the Barons' Wars of Simon de Montfort, and the Welsh and Scottish wars of Edward I. This title also covers the use and development of arms, armour, costume and other equipment.

The 14th-century knight lived in a century of change, in terms of both recruitment methods and the appearance of fighting men. This book describes all aspects of the knight's life, including his training in the castle yard and the hard knocks of tournaments. The knight's daily routine on campaign is explored along with the role of mercenary knights, the motivation of knights in the field and the influence of chivalry. The book is beautifully illustrated with eight colour plates by Graham Turner covering all aspects of knighthood in this period and also includes photographs of rare surviving contemporary pieces of armour.

This study of the documents used in medieval England for the creation and transfer of interests in real property is the first book devoted exclusively to the subject since the publication of Thomas Madox’s Formulare Anglicanum in 1702. The transactions covered include grants in fee and in perpetual alms, leases for life and for years, exchanges, surrenders and releases. Analysis of each kind of transaction is partly by way of commentary on the formulae of deeds, selected from the many thousands found in published cartularies and collections, and partly by relating the deeds to the relevant law of their periods, as found in early treatises, decided cases and the Year Books. The aim is to enable readers to identify and categorise deeds accurately, to appreciate their legal effects and to note instances where the practice of conveyancers and their clients differed from what is supposed to have been the law.

Widely acknowledged as the essential reference work for this period, this volume brings together more than 700 articles written by 150 top scholars that cover the people, places, activities, and creations of the Anglo-Saxons.

This third volume is devoted to the philosophical traditions that arose in the Middle Ages, encompassing Arab, Jewish and Latin thinkers.