Edward Simpson

For those so-minded, the aftermath of an earthquake presents opportunities to intervene. Thus, in Gujarat, following the disaster of 2001, leaders were deposed, proletariats created, religious fundamentalism incubated, the state restructured, and industrial capital- ism expanded exponentially. Rather than gazing in at those struggling in the ruins, as is commonplace in the literature, this book looks out from the affected region at those who came to intervene. Based on extensive research amid the dust and noise of re- construction, the author focuses on the survivors and their interactions with death, history, and with those who came to use the shock of disaster to change the order of things. Edward Simpson takes us deep into the experience of surviving a 'natural' disaster. We see a society in mourning, further alienated by manufactured conditions of uncertainty and absurdity. We witness arguments about the past. What was important? What should be preserved? Was modernisation the cause of the disaster or the antidote? As people were putting things back together, they also knew that future earthquakes were inevitable. How did they learn to live with this terrible truth? How have people in other times and places come to terms with the promise of another earthquake, knowing that things will fall apart again?

Aftermath and Amnesia in Gujurat, India

The Political Biography of an Earthquake

Based on substantial ethnographic, textual and archival research, this interesting book offers a new perspective on the anthropology of the western Indian Ocean. Writing in a clear, engaging style, and covering an impressive range of theoretical terrain, Simpson critically explores the relationships between people and things that give life to the region and drive shifting patterns of social change among Muslims in the highly-politicized state of Gujarat. Scholars of the Indian Ocean, Muslim society in South Asia, and Hindu nationalism, as well as anthropologists in general, will find this a fascinating read and a major contribution to research in this area.

The Seafarers of Kachchh

Muslim Society and the Western Indian Ocean

Surinder S. Jodhka

Post India’s economic liberalization in the 1990s, the village ceased to be central to ongoing sociological concerns. As a result, the period saw a marginalization of rural life and agrarian economy in the national imagination. However, in the 21st century as India transforms, so does its rural life. This book revisits the realities of contemporary rural India, exploring the trajectories of change across regions such as those in rural economies, the relationship of villages to the outside world, and the dynamics of caste inequalities. The volume puts together 14 papers based on empirical studies carried out by sociologists, social anthropologists, and economists over the past 15 years to begin a holistic conversation on contemporary rural India which continues to be an important site of social, political, and economic activities. India’s Villages in the 21st Century stresses diversity as a fundamental structure of Indian economy and society and illustrates the point by focusing on the economies, patterns of settlements, and organization of social and political life in India’s villages.

Revisits and Revisions

India’s Villages in the 21st Century

This volume compares and contrasts anthropological and historical approaches to the study of the Indian Ocean by focusing on the vexed nature of 'cosmopolitanism'. The chapters contribute to current debates on the nature of cosmopolitanism, the comparative study of Muslim societies, and the study of colonial and post-colonial contexts. There are few books on the market that combine serious interdisciplinary scholarship and regional ethnographic expertise with comparable ambition.

Islam and Cosmopolitanism in the Western Indian Ocean

Struggling with History

Kai Kresse

Struggling with History compares anthropological and historical approaches to the study of the Indian Ocean by focusing on the conflicted nature of cosmopolitanism. Essays contribute to current debates on the nature of cosmopolitanism, the comparative study of Muslim societies, and the examination of colonial and postcolonial contexts. Few books combine a comparable level of interdisciplinary scholarship and regional ethnographic expertise.

Especially Devoted to the Material and Construction of Artillery ...

Report on a Naval Mission to Europe

Chronicon historiam catholicam complectens, ab exordio mundi ad nativitatem D. N. Jesu Christi, et exinde ad annum a Christo nato LXXI

J. D. Jerrold Kelley

Edward J. Reed

The dawn of the modern warship This interesting, illustrated work concerns the considerable variety of ships of war that were designed and launched during the latter part of the nineteenth century. The author takes as his starting point the era of the American Civil War and the time of the emergence of Monitors, ironclads, early submersibles and, indeed, the coming of powered ships which would shortly consign the age of naval sail to history. In warfare there can be no room for sentiment since every nation must be able to bring armaments to bear equal at least to any potential enemy. So on the oceans, just as it was with land armies, the navies of the world raced into the industrial age and machine powered warfare. The new vessels adopted a host of innovations in construction, capability, function, weaponry and ordnance and quickly replaced famous fighting ships of sail and a mode of fighting that had endured for centuries. This overview, covers the period up to 1887 and examines the warships of the world's navies. The expansive text is supported by many line drawings of the vessels described as well as technical and cross section drawings. A number of statistical charts are also included, making this an indispensable reference work for all those interested in naval warfare during the second half of the 19th century. Leonaur editions are newly typeset and are not facsimiles; each title is available in softcover and hardback with dustjacket.

The Development of Warships by the Navies of the World During the Later 19th Century

Ships of War

Sir Edward James Reed

Modern Ships of War

This book argues that road-building was naturalised in the twentieth century to the point of common sense, integrating roadbuilding into a system of climate change denial hidden within a broad international development imperative. But if we can 'read' South Asian roads as forms of governance and knowledge, we can challenge the region's established geopolitical narratives, and the idea of a never-ending future. Highways to the End of the World explores the political economy of these ideas by focusing on the history of this phenomenon, and on the road-builders of South Asia themselves. How do these flamboyant and controversial 'roadmen' think about their work and the future of the planet? What do roads do, and why? And how did they become central to the region's nationalist and developmental projects in the first place? Edward Simpson's fascinating ethnographic account takes us from fume-filled toll booths in the heart of India, via overworked government offices in Pakistan, to pharaonic bridges in the Indian Ocean. Simpson follows the money, explores the politics of evidence, and argues against the utopian hyperbole of present-day 'road talk', finding both humanitarian crises and freewheeling international capital in the hedgerows. Roads have never been so interesting, or so controversial.

Edward Simpson

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