The Victorians: An Age in Retrospect by John Gardiner (Hambledon & London) Who were the Victorians? Were they self-confident imperialists secure in the virtues of the home, and ruled by the values of authority, duty, religion and respectability? Or were they self-doubting and hypocritical prudes whose family life was authoritarian and loveless? Ever since Lytton Strachey mocked Thomas Arnold, Florence Nightingale and General Gordon in Eminent Victorians, the reputation of the Victorians, and of what they stood for, has provoked vigorous debate. Subjects of abuse, satire, nostalgia and even adulation, they continue to defy easy definition.
John Gardiner provides a fascinating guide to the changing reputation of the Victorians during the twentieth century. Changed social and cultural values, two world wars, youth culture, nostalgia, the heritage industry, and new historical trends and increased knowledge, have all affected the we see the age and its men and women.

The Encyclopedia of Nineteenth-Century Land Warfare: An Illustrated World View by Byron Farwell (W.W. Norton) a definitive one-volume reference to the armies, arms, and actions of the century that defined modern warfare. The Napoleonic Wars opened the century; the American Civil War punctuated its midpoint. Throughout, conflict seldom abated, whether between the European powers on their own continent or between their colonial proxies around the world. Byron Farwell, an authoritative and engaging chronicler of military history, illuminates here all aspects of this colorful, horrifying, compelling century of war. Global in reach, the encyclopedia covers Latin American rebellions; African, Indian, and Southeast Asian conflicts; Chinese and Japanese actions; and the Indian wars of North America. It is comprehensive, with coverage of weapons development, battles and campaigns, military leaders, and more. Farwell's treatment of military medicine and wartime journalism is unmatched, and his interpretive essays relate events and people to one another and to the century's technological and scientific trends. Including nearly 1,000 illustrations reproduced from period sources, this groundbreaking encyclopedia is destined to become a much-used and desired reference. Nearly 1000 black-and-white illustrations and maps I throughout.

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