New selection of books for review

Last month, we offered our readers, for the first time, the opportunity to review some of the latest history publications and to have their review published on the History Today Books Blog. Here is this month's selection.

To submit a review, please send an email to Kathryn Hadley (k.hadley@historytoday.com) specifying your choice of book. We will then send you the book with a one-month deadline to send us your review. Books will be sent on a first come first served basis. (Unfortunately, we are unable to send out books to the USA).

Latrinae et Foricae: Toilets in the Roman World, Barry Hobson (Duckworth)

A study of toilets, both single (latrinae) and multi-seater (foricae), in the Roman empire from Ibera to Syria, and from North Africa to Hadrian’s Wall, which provides details of location, construction and decoration of toilets and considers questions of privacy, sewage and rubbish disposal, health issues, references in Latin literature, and graffiti.

The Humans Who Went Extinct, Clive Finlayson (Oxford University Press)

Underlining the interweaving of climate, ecology, geography and lifestyle in the fortunes of populations, this account of early human history argues that the destiny of the Neanderthals and the Moderns was, above all, sealed by ecological factors and contingencies.

Terrorism: A History, Randall D. Law (Polity Press)

A study of the history of terrorism from ancient Assyria to the post-9/11 War on Terror, which covers jihadism, the Israeli/Plaestinian conflict, the Klu Llux Klan as well as lesser known movements in Uruguay and Algeria, for example, and explores the changing understandings and definitions of terrorism through the ages.

Popular Culture in Ancient Rome, Jerry Toner (Polity Press)

A study of the everyday lives of the masses in the Roman world, including their social and family life, health, leisure and religious beliefs, and the ways in which their popular culture resisted the domination of the ruling elite.

The War Puzzle Revisited, John A. Vasquez (Cambridge University Press)

An updated version of Vasquez’s first scientific study of the causes of war of the last two decades, The War Puzzle, first published in 1993.

The German Myth of the East, Vejas Gabriel Liulevicius (Oxford University Press)

A study of German views of Eastern Europe from 1800 to the present day, which provides an insight into how the relationship between Germany and the East has influenced how Germans have defined themselves and their own national identity.