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Not A Westphalian Moment
History repeats itself, and historians repeat each other. We are witnessing a case of one or the other in the current situation in Syria, where religious conflict has called to mind the religious conflicts of 16th and 17th century Europe. If Europe ended its religious wars with the Peace of Westphalia, the thinking goes, a …
Meta-review of “The Last Christian Peace”
I’m the kind of person who can’t help cringing equally when I read praise of my work and when I read criticism, so going through the reviews of this book has been a challenge. This is especially the case because I really poured myself into this book in a way that I didn’t with my …
Reviews are in
It appears that two years is the approximate gestation period for academic reviews: after seeing almost none in the first 24 months after my book was published, there has now been a flurry of them in the past 6 months. I intend to write a “meta-review” of them, summarizing what reviewers have identified as the …
Syria and Westphalia: The New Orthodoxy?
Here is yet another article linking the Syrian civil war with the Peace of Westphalia (and the Thirty Years’ War). I don’t have anything to add to what I’ve already said here and here. The comparison is picking up steam (this is the fourth article that I can recall) in spite of my best efforts …
Another Thirty Years’ War?
Someone recently brought to my attention a blog post by historian Martin van Creveld arguing that the present state of international relations is comparable to that of the early 17th century, and that we may be at the beginning of another Thirty Years’ War. This puts me once again in the unfortunate position of arguing …
Not exactly a Nobel
I was checking for appearances of my book title in Google today, as I frequently do, on the grounds that there have to be more reviews someday. (So far, I have only seen four.) Most of the results are from resellers, which is nice to see but not exactly interesting in itself, since I doubt …
Paperback cover
I was happy finally to receive my copies of the paperback edition of “Last Christian Peace” last week. Even though I had to settle for the same cover art (for lack of money to pay royalties on the painting I wanted), I am much happier with this version than the last one. The title on …
Paperback and new review
I’m pleased to say that the paperback version of my book is now available online. You will probably notice that the subtitle has become the title, and there is a new and more descriptive subtitle. The book, however, is the same, except for two or three almost trivial changes. I have never heard of a …
More on the review
I have now learned that the AHR review was written by Peter Wilson, one of the foremost scholars on the period. I have also been able to read the rest of the review, and I can say that Professor Wilson understands my arguments and summarizes them admirably. It is a very good review (in the …
New review
It took nearly two years, but a review of my book “Westphalia: The Last Christian Peace” has finally appeared in a scholarly journal. The link will only take you to the first page of the review unless you are subscribed to the American Historical Review, which I am not. However, since it says the book …