European history – Globolibri.it

24 Hours in Ancient Rome : A Day in the Life of the People Who Lived There

Arnaldo Ageno — Thu, 31 Jul 2025 13:03:26 +0000

Walk a day in a Roman’s sandals … What was it like to live in one of the ancient world’s most powerful and bustling cities – one that was eight times more densely populated than modern day New York? In this entertaining and enlightening guide, bestselling historian Philip Matyszak introduces us to 24 characters who lived and worked there. In each hour of the day we meet a new character – from a senator to a slave girl, a gladiator to an astrologer, watchmen to washerwomen – and discover the fascinating details of their daily lives.

Cammina per un giorno nei sandali di un Romano … Com’è stato vivere in una delle città più potenti e vivaci del mondo antico – una che era otto volte più densamente popolata della moderna New York? In questa guida divertente e illuminante, lo storico Philip Matyszak ci presenta 24 personaggi che vivevano e lavoravano lì. In ogni ora della giornata incontriamo un nuovo personaggio – un senatore, una schiava, un gladiatore, un astrologo, guardiani e lavandaie – e scopriamo gli affascinanti dettagli della loro vita quotidiana.

Putin’s War on Ukraine : Russia’s Campaign for Global Counter-Revolution

Arnaldo Ageno — Mon, 01 May 2023 13:38:47 +0000

Eight years after annexing Crimea, Russia embarked on a full-scale invasion of neighbouring Ukraine in February 2022. For Vladimir Putin, this was a legacy-defining mission-to restore Russia’s sphere of influence and undo Ukraine’s surprisingly resilient democratic experiment. Yet Putin’s aspirations were swiftly eviscerated, as the conflict degenerated into a bloody war of attrition and the Russian economy faced crippling sanctions.

How can we make sense of his decision to invade? This book argues that Putin’s policy of global counter-revolution is driven not by systemic factors, such as preventing NATO expansion, but domestic ones: the desire to unite Russians around common principles and consolidate his personal brand of authoritarianism. This objective has inspired military interventions in Crimea, Donbas and Syria, and now all-out war against Kyiv. Samuel Ramani explores why Putin opted for regime change in Ukraine, rather than a smaller-scale intervention in Donbas, and considers the impact on his own regime’s legitimacy.

How has Russia’s long-term political and foreign policy trajectory shifted? And how will the international response reshape the world order?

Memory Crash : Politics of History in and Around Ukraine, 1980s-2010s

Arnaldo Ageno — Sun, 13 Mar 2022 09:44:12 +0000

This account of historical politics in Ukraine, framed in a broader European context, shows how social, political, and cultural groups have used and misused the past from the final years of the Soviet Union to 2020. Georgiy Kasianov details practices relating to history and memory by a variety of actors, including state institutions, non-governmental organizations, political parties, historians, and local governments. He identifies the main political purposes of these practices in the construction of nation and identity, struggles for power, warfare, and international relations.

Kasianov considers the Ukrainian case in the context of a global increase in the politics of history and memory, with particular emphasis on a distinctive East-European variety. He pays special attention to the use and abuse of history in relations between Ukraine, Russia, and Poland.