Makers of The Modern World

In the centuries since the gun was invented, hundreds of innovators, engineers and inventors have brought their vision together to create what has become one of the most perfectly produced items ever made. TALES OF THE GUN chronicles the long history of firearm design and construction from the first, primitive weapons to today's computer-controlled, high-tech factories. From the gunslingers of the Wild West to the newest technology being developed for tomorrow s super-weapons, guns have etched a place in today s culture for their masterful combination of form, function and beauty.

Given the global crises confronting the world today, it is important to interrogate the notion of “the modern state” and to evaluate its effectiveness in providing security and services for its populations, including the most disadvantaged and vulnerable. This book investigates the modern state’s capacity to serve its constituents by examining the organisations that facilitate two key elements of contemporary living: social capital and social enterprise.

An exploration of the connections between feminine consciousness and altered states from ancient times to present day

At one level, it is a close study of print culture in early modern England, a time of civil war in which social and civic relations were being remade from the mores of feudal monarchy to a politics approximating modern democracy.