Surgido a finales del siglo XIX, el reformismo social es un componente fundamental de la historia contemporánea de España, pues constituye la etapa inicial del proceso de gestación e implantación del Estado del Bienestar. El objetivo de este libro es ofrecer un detallado análisis de la génesis y la naturaleza del reformismo social español, con el fin de arrojar nueva luz sobre los orígenes y las causas de aparición del Estado del Bienestar...

El Cuerpo de Ingenieros de Caminos es una corporación clave para comprender la instauración del moderno Estado liberal en la España del siglo XIX. Su reimplantación y desarrollo a partir de 1833 estuvo unida de manera indisoluble al desarrollo del liberalismo, debido al papel central que los políticos liberales otorgaron al desarrollo de las obras públicas, que vivieron así su edad de oro. Esta obra analiza el proceso en el que los ingenieros...

A cracking good read and a chilling true story of Russia's assassination program begun more than a century ago and which continues today. In late November 2006, Alexander Litvinenko-a former lieutenant colonel of the Federal Security Service of the Russian Federation-was ruthlessly assassinated in London by radiation poisoning. The shocking murder was the most notorious crime committed by the Russian intelligence on foreign soil in more than three...

Before smartphones, back even before the Internet and personal computer, a misfit group of technophiles, blind teenagers, hippies, and outlaws figured out how to hack the world's largest machine: the telephone system. Starting with Alexander Graham Bell's revolutionary "harmonic telegraph," by the middle of the twentieth century the phone system had grown into something extraordinary, a web of cutting-edge switching machines and human operators that...

In-depth coverage of the Charge of the Light Brigade, and the numerous colonial campaigns of the period.

Crude is the unexpurgated story of oil, from the circumstances of its birth millions of years ago to the spectacle of its rise as the indispensable ingredient of modern life. In addition to fueling our SUVs and illuminating our cities, crude oil and its byproducts fertilize our produce, pave our roads, and make plastic possible. "Newborn babies," observes author Sonia Shah, "slide from their mothers into petro-plastic-gloved hands, are swaddled in...

What do leaders need to know in order to be effective? Carnes Lord-a political scientist with extensive experience at high levels of American government-here offers witty and trenchant counsel to both leaders and the citizens who elect them. Exploring such issues as leadership in war and crises, diplomacy, intelligence, the media, and the role of political advisors, Lord enumerates the major challenges confronting modern leaders and offers practical...

Military bridging, often impeded by mines and hostile enemy fire, is a vital part of the advance of any modern army. Britain's Royal Engineers have played a leading role in this crucial military operation, from the ravines behind the D-Day beaches to recent operations in Bosnia and Kosovo. The Royal Engineers have displayed incredible ingenuity in developing responses to the increasing amounts of firepower directed at bridging troops. This definitive...

The CIA has been accused of a massive intelligence failure in the run-up to the 9/11 attacks -- the result, it is said, of a moralistic and bureaucratic approach to information-gathering. But the CIA's spies had few qualms when it came to cultivating terrorist organisations and interfering in the internal politics of Cold War Italy. Puppetmasters reveals how US intelligence services exploited the P2 masonic lodge to prop up friendly Christian Democrat-dominated...

In December 1962, nationalists in Brunei, the hugely wealthy small kingdom on the North Coast of Borneo, formed the Army of North Kalimantan (TNKU) and, demanding greater democracy, engineered a rebellion against the Sultan and seized a large number of hostages. Perceived to be an attempt by communists to destabilize the Sultanate and seize power, within twelve hours of its outbreak, British forces were dispatched by ship and aircraft from Singapore...