David Rooney

A captivating, surprising history of timekeeping and how it has shaped our world.

A History of Civilization in Twelve Clocks

About Time

About Time: A History of Civilization in Twelve Clocks

" ""The yearlong celebration of Ghana's Golden Jubilee provides a fitting context for the republication of the book Kwame Nkrumah: Vision and Tragedy. In the lead-up to the celebration and over the course of the year, the life and times of Kwame Nkrumah will receive unprecedented public attention, official and unofficial. Kwame Nkrumah's very wide name-recognition is, paradoxically, accompanied by sketchy, often oversimplified knowledge about the events and processes of his life and times. For most of those born after independence in 1957, such knowledge does not extend much beyond who Kwame Nkrumah was and vague notions about he won us Independence"""". This book presents new material and new analysis, which helps to clarify aspects of the record, while advancing new perspectives. What comes across clearly throughout the book is the significant contribution of Nkrumah's vision and personality at a critical moment in the history of Africa and the Third World. He, perhaps more than any other, was able to identify, focus and catalyse the major factors and players driving the struggle for political independence in Ghana and liberation in other parts of Africa. In the process, he committed his life and work totally to a wide variety of activities and processes in Ghana, the continent and in the global Non-Aligned Movement."""" - Akilagpa Sawyerr Association of African Universities Accra, Ghana 10 March 2007 """"This is an objective study which should be read by all concerned with the history of post-colonial Africa."""" - Conor Cruise O'Brien Former Vice Chancellor, University of Ghana, Legon. David Rooney is a specialist on Ghana from Cambridge. His research for this book unearthed unpublished material in Ghana, UK, and the United States, where he had access to CIA papers. He has written extensively on the Commonwealth and modern Africa, and is the author of a biography of Sir Charles Noble Arden Clarke."""

Kwame Nkrumah. Vision and Tragedy

Studie over het leven en de idealen van de Ghanese premier (1909-1972) die in 1957 de eerste postkoloniale Afrikaanse leider was

The Political Kingdom in the Third World

Kwame Nkrumah

Greg Hearn

Tim Kastelle

'The second volume of the Handbook on the Knowledge Economy is a worthy companion to the highly successful original volume published in 2005, extending its theoretical depth and developing its coverage. Together the two volumes provide the single best work and reference point for knowledge economy studies. The second volume with fifteen original essays by renowned scholars in the field, provides insightful and robust analyses of the development potential of the knowledge economy in all its aspects, forms and manifestations.' Michael A. Peters, University of Illinois, USThis thoroughly revised second edition of the Handbook on the Knowledge Economy expands the range of issues presented in the first edition and reflects important new progress in research about knowledge economies.Readers with interests in managing knowledge- and innovation-intensive businesses and those who are seeking new insights about how knowledge economies work will find this book an invaluable reference tool. Chapters deal with issues such as open innovation, wellbeing, and digital work that managers and policymakers are increasingly asked to respond to. Contributors to the Handbook are globally recognised experts in their fields providing valuable guidance. This comprehensive and stimulating Handbook will prove an important resource for practitioners and academics in diverse areas of interest, including: knowledge management, innovation management, knowledge policy, social epistemology, and development studies.

Handbook on the Knowledge Economy

A captivating, surprising history of timekeeping and how it has shaped our world. For thousands of years, people of all cultures have made and used clocks, from the city sundials of ancient Rome to the medieval water clocks of imperial China, hourglasses fomenting revolution in the Middle Ages, the Stock Exchange clock of Amsterdam in 1611, Enlightenment observatories in India, and the high-precision clocks circling the Earth on a fleet of GPS satellites that have been launched since 1978. Clocks have helped us navigate the world and build empires, and have even taken us to the brink of destruction. Elites have used them to wield power, make money, govern citizens, and control lives—and sometimes the people have used them to fight back. Through the stories of twelve clocks, About Time brings pivotal moments from the past vividly to life. Historian and lifelong clock enthusiast David Rooney takes us from the unveiling of al-Jazari’s castle clock in 1206, in present-day Turkey; to the Cape of Good Hope observatory at the southern tip of Africa, where nineteenth-century British government astronomers moved the gears of empire with a time ball and a gun; to the burial of a plutonium clock now sealed beneath a public park in Osaka, where it will keep time for 5,000 years. Rooney shows, through these artifacts, how time has been imagined, politicized, and weaponized over the centuries—and how it might bring peace. Ultimately, he writes, the technical history of horology is only the start of the story. A history of clocks is a history of civilization.

Michael Scott

General Sir Harry Smith won the lifelong respect and affection of the Duke of Wellington. Famously married to the Spanish beauty, Juana, after the siege of Badajoz in 1812, they served together to the end of the Peninsula war. With the French defeated, Harry left with the British expedition to America in 1814, and witnessed the burning of the White House. The fiery Admiral Cochrane raged bitterly I am sorry you left a house standing in Washington _ depend on it, it is a mistaken mercy. Later, Harry joined Wellington's brother-in-law, Ned Pakenham, in the invasion of Louisiana. On 8 January 1815, they attacked General Jackson's well prepared positions protecting New Orleans. A resounding defeat for the British, in which Pakenham was killed, it fell to Harry to take part in the surrender to General Jackson, and then to convey the dismal news to London. Approaching England, he heard the dramatic news of Napoleon's escape, which led to Harry and Juana's breath-taking experience at Waterloo.??The book covers the extraordinary lives of Harry and Juana, including their achievements and legacy in South Africa, and Harry's model victory in India in 1846, which made him a hero to Queen Victoria and Prince Albert.??The outline of their lives may be known to many, but the details in this carefully researched book will come as a revelation.

General Sir Harry Smith in the Peninsular and America

Surrender at New Orleans

In a world that witnessed the emergence of automatic timeballs, telegraph time signals, the speaking clock, and the BBC's ?six pips,” one family provided the hours and minutes to paying customers across London for more than 100 years using a pocketwatch named ?Arnold.” It was with Ruth Belville?the last of the timesellers, who retired in her 80s in 1939?that this remarkable episode in the history of timekeeping and London life was brought to a close. Seeking to show that the Belvilles operated a service that was to many customers better than the official electric time signals from Greenwich, this chronicle turns the story of the Greenwich Time Service on its head, revealing for the first time the strengths of Ruth Belville and her family. In this fascinating true account, commercial propaganda, dirty tricks, and failing technologies come together in a story of the Greenwich Time Lady and her surefire will to succeed in Edwardian London.

The Greenwich Time Lady

Ruth Belville

The history of the world's most brutal surprise attacks: guerrilla warfare. Since man's earliest days, there has been conflict and, also from that point, unconventional forms of action where the norm was abandoned and the unorthodox employed. Here, historian David Rooney selects examples of the leaders who, for personal, religious, tribal, or national ambitions, have been trailblazers in this form of warfare. Tracing the origins of guerrilla theories back to the Maccabees, the author moves on through the Napoleonic Age and the Boer Wars before considering Michael Collins, Mao Tse Tung, T. E. Lawrence, Castro and Guevara, and the Guerrillas of World War II before considering the situation with Al Qaeda and Osama Bin Laden. The irregularity of this form of military action seems so pertinent in an age where convention and tradition in all walks of life is quickly abandoned in search of fast results; the warrior of the twenty-first century is more likely to adopt unconventional strategies than ever before. The topic is one of public debate and this explanation of its evolution can only increase our understanding and awareness of the topic.

Insurgents, Rebels, and Terrorists from Sun Tzu to Bin Laden

Guerrilla Warfare

This monograph is a major work of historical biography devoted to the leader of Ghana's independence movement and the major black African leader of the 50s-70s in terms of global impact and effectiveness. “…This book presents new material and new analysis, which helps clarify aspects of the record, while advancing new perspectives. What comes across clearly throughout the book is the significant contribution of Nkrumah's vision and personality at a critical moment of the history of Africa and the Third World. He, perhaps more than any other, was able to identify, focus and catalyse the major factors and players driving the struggle for political independence in Ghana and the liberation of other parts of Africa. In the process, he committed his life and work totally to a wide variety of activities and processes in Ghana, the continent and in the global Non-Aligned Movement.” Apilagpa Sawyer, Association of African Universities, March 2007 “This is an objective study which should be read by all concerned with post colonial Africa.” Conor Cruise O'Brien Rooney's study feels a great research need: Nkrumah has very wide name recognition and fame but this is accompanied by, paradoxically , a sketchy, often oversimplified knowledge about the events and processes of his life. This study adds valuable insights to Nkrumah's life in and relations with America as well as his interest and involvement with socialism and Marxism.

Vision and Tragedy

In the final years of World War II, the campaign against Japan stepped up in a series of bloody battles with each side having much to lose. While much of the history of the period focuses on the Pacific Campaign and the American island hopping, this book studies the 'forgotten war' and the Allied fight to push the Japanese out of Burma. The Allies (British, American, Indian and Chinese soldiers) saw the battles of Imphal and Kohima as a way to avenge the crushing defeats of 1942, while the Japanese viewed the battles as the precursor to a victorious drive into India and domination of Asia. David Rooney examines the aims of both sides alongside the battles themselves, which secured victory in Burma, and the roles of Wingate, Stilwell and the Chindits. Following the defeats of 1942 the Allies re-emerged to fight the Japanese; their troops had seen a revival of morale with the new Fourteenth Army under General Slim and the development of new tactics and and Allied air and firepower superiority.

Imphal, Kohima and the Chindits  March 1944 to May 1945

Burma Victory

"The true military maverick combines a fixated dedication to his cause with an heroic ability to lead troops into battle." Kirkus Review Praise for David Rooney: "I thought I had read all the good books on the war in Burma, but this is the best yet." Brigadier Michael Calvert What makes a maverick? Is it simply an unorthodox mind? Or is it more than that - a flagrant disregard for convention? Is there a place for the maverick in a disciplined military hierarchy? If so, is the military maverick more likely to win, or lose, a battle? In an absorbing study of military figures who broke the rules, David Rooney shows how it is so often the maverick who turns challenges into opportunities - and snatches victory from the jaws of defeat. Here are the stories of twelve mavericks, from Alexander the Great and Stonewall Jackson, through Garibaldi and Lawrence of Arabia - and to Second World War commanders such as Heinz Guderian, Orde Wingate and George S. Patton. Each had flaws that would have brought down a lesser man, but each proved their bravery and leadership in battle. Full of insight into the nature of the military mind, this book reveals by how much, and how often, success in battle depends on the irreplaceable presence of just one man.

Extraordinary Men of Battle

Military Mavericks

"David Rooney has done Wingate's memory a signal service." The Spectator. Major General Orde Wingate, DSO and two bars, who had created and personally led the Chindits, was killed in an air accident in 1944, at the height of the second Chindit campaign. General Slim joined the world-wide tributes paid to Wingate: but by 1956, to the distress of the Chindits, in his book Defeat Into Victory, Slim was dismissive of Wingate. What had happened to change Slim's mind so completely? David Rooney examines the life and achievements of a maverick soldier who inspired loyalty in some, hostility in others. Rooney's thoughtful and diligent research throws new light on Wingate's intriguing character, discovers why Slim changed his mind, and discloses details of the vendetta by which the military establishment, in the years after his death and following the viciously critical attack in the Official History, attempted to destroy Wingate's reputation. Rooney draws a balanced portrait of a military mind of daring originality, deserving of a better letter. This seminal work of military history is not only an insightful portrait of a unique British commander, but it is essential reading for anyone interested in the Second World War, special forces and the history of the British Army. Praise for Wingate and the Chindits. 'His current book is, therefore, an exercise in setting the record straight... Rooney is presenting an unabashed case for the defense, and he does so with skill. Every student of the Burma campaign will want to examine this book carefully.' (Raymond Callahan, author of Churchill and His Generals and Burma 1942-45) 'David Rooney's Wingate and the Chindits: Redressing the Balance ... attempts to redress the balance in favour of Wingate and to counter the unfair reputation he has acquired, in Rooney's view, among the military establishment.' (History Today)

Redressing the Balance

Wingate and the Chindits

This book provides a political history of urban traffic congestion in the twentieth century, and explores how and why experts from a range of professional disciplines have attempted to solve what they have called ‘the traffic problem’. It draws on case studies of historical traffic projects in London to trace the relationship among technologies, infrastructures, politics, and power on the capital’s congested streets. From the visions of urban planners to the concrete realities of engineers, and from the demands of traffic cops and economists to the new world of electronic surveillance, the book examines the political tensions embedded in the streets of our world cities. It also reveals the hand of capital in our traffic landscape. This book challenges conventional wisdom on urban traffic congestion, deploying a broad array of historical and material sources to tell a powerful account of how our cities work and why traffic remains such a problem. It is a welcome addition to literature on histories and geographies of urban mobility and will appeal to students and researchers in the fields of urban history, transport studies, historical geography, planning history, and the history of technology.

Politics and Technologies in Twentieth-Century London

Spaces of Congestion and Traffic

Bernard McKenna

Peter Liesch

Today there are more technology, technologists, knowledge and experts than at any time in human history; but from a global perspective, it is difficult to argue that this accumulation of knowledge and technology has put the world in an unambiguously better position than it was in the past. Business is not getting any easier to do and major corporate collapses based on poor decisions, poor conduct, and poor judgement continue to occur. In public administration too, basic institutions and services (education, health, transport) seem to be continually undergoing “crises” of inadequate delivery and excessive pressure. Wisdom and Management in the Knowledge Economy explains why unwise managerial practice can happen in a world characterized by an excess of information and knowledge. Drawing on Aristotle’s idea of practical wisdom, the book develops a theory of social practice wisdom that addresses important social psychological and sociological dynamics that underpin wise management and organizations. As well as providing a detailed theory of social practice wisdom, this book considers practical issues in organizational communication, behavior, culture, change and knowledge as well as in HRM, leadership, ethics, strategy, international business, business education, and wisdom research. By introducing the notion of social practice wisdom, aspects of social structure, organizational culture, and organizational communication needed for wisdom to flourish are for the first time rendered visible in a way that opens new possibilities for wiser management, wiser organizations, and wisdom research.

Wisdom and Management in the Knowledge Economy

This penetrating biography tells the story of his life including his exploits in Norway and the early Commandos. It also uncovers new evidence revealing that his court martial was unjust.

A Life of Brigadier Michael Calvert

Mad Mike

Biography of Brigadier Michael Calvert

A well written and in-depth overview of the life and literary accomplishments of Ronald Knox, the famous Catholic convert and apologist from England who was a major figure in the English Catholic literary revival in the first half of the twentieth century. Rooney presents a look at the full range of Knox’s writings including his apologetics, detective fiction, satire and other genres, offering an intellectual portrait that is fascinating and engaging. He includes a heavy dose of sample writings from Knox throughout the book that gives it a kind of mosaic approach, and makes the works and the person of Knox emerge from the pages in a vivid and lively way. Knox was a prolific author who wrote over 75 books, as well as many articles and homilies. He wrote on many topics and genres including satire, novels, spirituality, and detective stories. Among his many books include The Hidden Stream, The Belief of Catholics, Captive Flames, Pastoral and Occasional Sermons and many more. There is a "Knox revival" going on today with much renewed interest in his writings, and is evidenced by the large Ronald Knox Society of North America.

David Rooney

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