Charles Bright - Böcker

Statemaking does not end once states emerge but is a continuous process, argue the contributors to this volume. In their view, states are not static structures that “act upon" society, nor are states simple reflections of economic relations; states are instead highly dynamic structures that are constantly built up, dismantled, and transformed by complex interplays of political, social, and economic processes. This collection of original essays by leading scholars in the fields of history, anthropology, sociology, and economics argues for historically specific theories of states and politics in place of ahistorical models. Case studies range in scope from Aztec Mexico and feudal Europe to Nazi Germany and contemporary America. What emerges from this ground-breaking interdisciplinary dialogue is a historically sensitive way of thinking about states, politics, and social movements and the transformative relationship between states and societies.

Sir Charles Tilston Bright (1832-88) was a renowned telegraph engineer, best known for his role in laying the first successful transatlantic cable in 1858, for which he was knighted. Bright later worked on the telegraph networks that would span not only the British Empire but the entire globe. Written by his brother Edward Brailsford Bright (1831-1913) and son Charles (1863-1937), both telegraph engineers who worked alongside him, this two-volume biography, first published in 1898, would do much to cement Bright's reputation as an electrical engineer, providing an insider account of telegraphy's formative years. Volume 1 traces Bright's career as an early employee of the world's first public telegraphy company, the Electric Telegraph Company, and his work on land and submarine cable telegraphy, culminating in the laying of the first transatlantic telegraph cables in the mid-nineteenth century.

Sir Charles Tilston Bright (1832-88) was a renowned telegraph engineer, best known for his role in laying the first successful transatlantic cable in 1858, for which he was knighted. Bright later worked on the telegraph networks that would span not only the British Empire but the entire globe. Written by his brother Edward Brailsford Bright (1831-1913) and son Charles (1863-1937), both telegraph engineers who worked alongside him, this two-volume biography, first published in 1898, would do much to cement Bright's reputation as an electrical engineer, providing an insider account of telegraphy's formative years. Volume 2 traces Bright's work on the burgeoning telegraph network, laying imperial cables to the Mediterranean, India, the West Indies, and further afield. Bright's significant contributions to the field of electrical engineering are also acknowledged in these pages, along with his personal qualities and political pursuits.

An accomplished telegraph engineer in his own right, Sir Charles Bright (1863-1937) was the son of Sir Charles Tilston Bright (1832-88), who had achieved greatness in laying the first transatlantic cable in 1858. The younger Bright worked alongside his father for a time, continued his research, and became an authority on the subject. Examining the history, construction and working of submarine telegraphs, this 1898 treatise traces both technical and commercial developments, looking also at the labour involved. Bright addresses the laying of cables across the globe, giving accounts of projects in India, South America and beyond. Illuminating the many commercial uses for submarine cables, Bright provides an informed survey of the early standardisation of telegraphy systems. Replete with detailed illustrations and technical drawings, this work remains an indispensable resource on the history of telecommunications and electrical engineering.

A fresh eyewitness account of the Japanese invasion of mid-China in 1937-1938, these letters by an American missionary in Hangzhou provide a vividly detailed, first-hand account of the spread of war from Shanghai across the Yangzi valley and the subsequent ordeals of military occupation seen against the better-known backdrop of the Nanjing Massacre – one man’s embedded experience in one major Chinese city of one chaotic year of war. Already 25 years in Republican China and fluent in the language when the Japanese arrived, the author was well-placed as both an observer of, and participant in harrowing events – the provost of the Hangzhou Christian College and responsible for its campus, president of the local Red Cross which organized refugee camps and shelter for those displaced by the looting and raping that ensued, and chairman of an International Committee which sought to mediate between Japanese and Chinese forces in an effort to limit destruction and then to negotiate with the occupation regime on a day-to-day basis. The letters – written twice weekly – describe pitched battles and aerial bombing, the fearful conditions of civilian refugees, the exigencies of the missionary enterprise and the experiences of foreign neutrals in wartime China, as well as the practical dilemmas of collaboration that arose under occupation – moving about, protecting refugees, procuring food, tending a dairy herd, and ministering to embattled congregations.The letters are fully annotated to give readers a fuller perspective on places, people, and events that surround the eyewitness accounts. A substantially researched introductory essay provides necessary historical background and situates the author in a longer missionary career that began in 1911 and ended with wartime internment in 1943.

A fresh eyewitness account of the Japanese invasion of mid-China in 1937-1938, these letters by an American missionary in Hangzhou provide a vividly detailed, first-hand account of the spread of war from Shanghai across the Yangzi valley and the subsequent ordeals of military occupation seen against the better-known backdrop of the Nanjing Massacre – one man’s embedded experience in one major Chinese city of one chaotic year of war. Already 25 years in Republican China and fluent in the language when the Japanese arrived, the author was well-placed as both an observer of, and participant in harrowing events – the provost of the Hangzhou Christian College and responsible for its campus, president of the local Red Cross which organized refugee camps and shelter for those displaced by the looting and raping that ensued, and chairman of an International Committee which sought to mediate between Japanese and Chinese forces in an effort to limit destruction and then to negotiate with the occupation regime on a day-to-day basis. The letters – written twice weekly – describe pitched battles and aerial bombing, the fearful conditions of civilian refugees, the exigencies of the missionary enterprise and the experiences of foreign neutrals in wartime China, as well as the practical dilemmas of collaboration that arose under occupation – moving about, protecting refugees, procuring food, tending a dairy herd, and ministering to embattled congregations.The letters are fully annotated to give readers a fuller perspective on places, people, and events that surround the eyewitness accounts. A substantially researched introductory essay provides necessary historical background and situates the author in a longer missionary career that began in 1911 and ended with wartime internment in 1943.