JONATHAN WRIGHT

Gustav Stresemann was the exceptional political figure of his time. His early death in 1929 has long been viewed as the beginning of the end for the Weimar Republic and the opening through which Hitler was able to come to power. His career was marked by many contradictions but also a pervading loyalty to the values of liberalism and nationalism. This enabled him in time both to adjust to defeat and revolution and to recognize in the Republic the only basis on which Germans could unite, and in European cooperation the only way to avoid a new war. His attempt to build a stable Germany as an equal power in a stable Europe throws an important light on German history in a critical time. Hitler was the beneficiary of his failure but, so long as he was alive, Stresemann offered Germans a clear alternative to the Nazis. Jonathan Wright''s fascinating new study is the first modern biography of Stresemann to appear in English or German. This biography is detailed, shows measured judgment, and leaves a sympathetic impression of its subject ... the book presents a powerful image of a deeply patriotic politician. Raffael Scheck, The German Quarterly It is an elegantly-written book that persuasively makes the case for Stresemann''s indispensability to the poor old Weimar Republic. Niall Ferguson, Books of the Year, Sunday Telegraph Scholars will find it the most thorough, up-to-date political study of Stresemann available in English. H-German Wright''s book is monumental in its research. Ron Grant, History Teaching Review ''This meticulously researched, judicious, and carefully written book clearly confirms Wright''s confidence in the usefulness of the biographical approach. He has produced a balanced and reasonable treatment of one of Germany''s most significant statesman. This study will interest not only scholars of German history, but also a much broader audience intrigued by the career of one of Europe''s most influential modern statesman in an era defined by war, revolution, and the troubled search for lasting European stability.'' -- German Studies Review

The history of the Jesuits is nasty, numinous, splendid and sordid. In this all-encompassing history, Jonathan Wright unmasks the many dimensions of the Jesuit order across its life in five centuries

Wright''s in-depth, unbiased and utterly compelling history illuminates the enduring contributions as well as the controversies that have surrounded the Jesuits since their inception in 1534.

Una completa y amena historia de los Jesuitas. La orden religiosa más influyente y poderosa del universo católico. Misioneros y educadores, viajeros y descubridores, cartógrafos y geógrafos, hombres de teologia y espada, de ciencia y espiritualidad, conspiradores politicos o pacificadores, los jesuitas han sido, desde la fundacion de la Compañia de Jesus por Ignacio de Loyola(1491-1556), una de las ordenes religiosas mas importantes, controvertidas y respetadas de la cristiandad. Reconocida como orden en 1540, su tradicion erudita y de combate (de la conquista y evangelizacion de America a la teologia de la liberacion) y su infatigable determinacion a la hora de abordar misiones en territorios poco conocidos (de la creacion de escuelas e iglesias en Asia en el siglo XVI y XVII a las peligrosas travesias por el Mississippi o el Amazonas) han convertido a estos soldados de Dios en una piedra angular de la Iglesia y en una de sus vanguardias criticas. Pedagogos y cientificos (fisicos, quimicos y matematicos) en las universidades de todo el mundo o escribanos en las lejanas cortes de los emperadores chinos, los jesuitas han llegado al siglo XXI como un referente universal gracias a su fortaleza ideologica, a su presencia en terribles conflictos y al conocimiento profundo de las interioridades del Vaticano. Jonathan Wright, especialista en movimientos religiosos dotado de una extraordinaria capacidad narrativa, conduce al lector por la leyenda y la realidad, las tramas secretas y las gestas de estos intrepidos aventureros de la historia cultural, politica y espiritual del mundo moderno.