Empires of the Weak

By J. C. Sharman,

Book cover of Empires of the Weak: The Real Story of European Expansion and the Creation of the New World Order

Book description

How the rise of the West was a temporary exception to the predominant world order

What accounts for the rise of the state, the creation of the first global system, and the dominance of the West? The conventional answer asserts that superior technology, tactics, and institutions forged by Darwinian military…

When you buy books, we may earn a commission that helps keep our lights on (or join the rebellion as a member).

Why read it?

1 author picked Empires of the Weak as one of their favorite books. Why do they recommend it?

This book is another example of the way that shifting our gaze to empires instead of states provides a radically different perspective. 

In this book Jason Sharman takes on the Military Revolution Thesis, an approach to state formation in Europe which hives it off from its deeply imperial context and argues that the modern state is the product of a series of ‘rational’ decisions made through war. 

Instead, what Sharman shows is that war making in Early modern Europe was just as external as it was internal and that Europeans had to contend with powers to their east and south…

If you love Empires of the Weak...

Ad

Book cover of Tap Dancing on Everest: A Young Doctor's Unlikely Adventure

Tap Dancing on Everest by Mimi Zieman,

Tap Dancing on Everest, part coming-of-age memoir, part true-survival adventure story, is about a young medical student, the daughter of a Holocaust survivor raised in N.Y.C., who battles self-doubt to serve as the doctor—and only woman—on a remote Everest climb in Tibet.

The team attempts a new route up…

Want books like Empires of the Weak?

Our community of 12,000+ authors has personally recommended 100 books like Empires of the Weak.

Browse books like Empires of the Weak

Book cover of Empires in World History: Power and the Politics of Difference
Book cover of Visions of Empire: How Five Imperial Regimes Shaped the World
Book cover of How to Hide an Empire: A History of the Greater United States

Share your top 3 reads of 2024!

And get a beautiful page showing off your 3 favorite reads.

1,997

readers submitted
so far, will you?

Ad

📚 If you like Empires of the Weak, you might also like...

Book cover of Doctors at War: The Clandestine Battle against the Nazi Occupation of France

Doctors at War by Ellen Hampton,

Doctors at War: The Clandestine Battle against the Nazi Occupation of France takes readers into the moral labyrinth of the Occupation years, 1940-45, to examine how the medical community dealt with the evil authority imposed on them. Anti-Jewish laws prevented many doctors from practicing, inspiring many to form secret medical…

Book cover of An Italian Feast: The Celebrated Provincial Cuisines of Italy from Como to Palermo

An Italian Feast by Clifford A. Wright,

An Italian Feast celebrates the cuisines of the Italian provinces from Como to Palermo. A culinary guide and book of ready reference meant to be the most comprehensive book on Italian cuisine, and it includes over 800 recipes from the 109 provinces of Italy's 20 regions.

An Italian Feast is…

5 book lists we think you will like!

Interested in international relations, Europe, and imperialism?

Europe 962 books
Imperialism 71 books