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Download high-resolution image Look inside

In the Shadow of the Gods

The Emperor in World History

Author Dominic Lieven
Look inside
Hardcover
$40.00 US
Penguin Adult HC/TR | Viking
On sale Jun 07, 2022 | 528 Pages | 978-0-7352-2219-9
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  • Anthropology > Cultural and Social Anthropology > World Cultures
  • History > Period History: World History > Specialized Courses
  • History > Regional History: Asia > History of China
  • History > Regional History: Western Europe (Continental) > European Military History
  • History > Survey Courses > Western Civilization – Prehistory to Present
  • History > Survey Courses > World History – Prehistory to Present
  • Political Science > Comparative Politics > Specialized Courses
  • Political Science > Introduction to Political Science > Political Sociology
  • Political Science > Special Topics
  • Military Science > Military Leadership
  • About
  • Author
A dazzling account of the men (and occasional woman) who led the world’s empires, a book that probes the essence of leadership and power through the centuries and around the world.

From the rise of Sargon of Akkad, who in the third millennium BCE ruled what is now Iraq and Syria, to the collapse of the great European empires in the twentieth century, the empire has been the dominant form of power in history. Dominic Lieven’s expansive book explores strengths and failings of the human beings who held those empires together (or let them crumble). He projects the power, terror, magnificence, and confidence of imperial monarchy, tracking what they had in common as well as what made some rise to glory and others fail spectacularly, and at what price each destiny was reached.

Lieven’s characters—Constantine, Chinggis Khan, Trajan, Suleyman, Hadrian, Louis XIV, Maria Theresa, Peter the Great, Queen Victoria, and dozens more—come alive with color, energy, and detail: their upbringings, their loves, their crucial spouses, their dreadful children. They illustrate how politics and government are a gruelling business: a ruler needed stamina, mental and physical toughness, and self-confidence. He or she needed the sound judgement of problems and people which is partly innate but also the product of education and experience. A good brain was essential for setting priorities, weighing conflicting advice, and matching ends to needs. A diplomatically astute marriage was often even more essential. 
 
Emperors (and the rare empresses) could be sacred symbols, warrior kings, political leaders, chief executive officers of the government machine, heads of a family, and impresarios directing the many elements of "soft power" essential to any regime’s survival. What was it like to live and work in such an extraordinary role? What qualities did it take to perform this role successfully? Lieven traces the shifting balance among these elements across eras  that encompass a staggering array of events from the rise of the world’s great religions to the scientific revolution, the expansion of European empires across oceans, the great twentieth century conflicts, and the triumph of nationalism over imperialism.

The rule of the emperor may be over, but Lieven shows us how we live with its poltical and cultural legacies today. 
© Raine Baljak
Dominic Lieven is a senior research fellow at Trinity College, Cambridge, and a fellow of the British Academy. He previously taught Russian Studies at the London School of Economics for 33 years. His book Russia Against Napoleon won the 2009 Wolfson Prize for History and the Prix Napoleon. View titles by Dominic Lieven

About

A dazzling account of the men (and occasional woman) who led the world’s empires, a book that probes the essence of leadership and power through the centuries and around the world.

From the rise of Sargon of Akkad, who in the third millennium BCE ruled what is now Iraq and Syria, to the collapse of the great European empires in the twentieth century, the empire has been the dominant form of power in history. Dominic Lieven’s expansive book explores strengths and failings of the human beings who held those empires together (or let them crumble). He projects the power, terror, magnificence, and confidence of imperial monarchy, tracking what they had in common as well as what made some rise to glory and others fail spectacularly, and at what price each destiny was reached.

Lieven’s characters—Constantine, Chinggis Khan, Trajan, Suleyman, Hadrian, Louis XIV, Maria Theresa, Peter the Great, Queen Victoria, and dozens more—come alive with color, energy, and detail: their upbringings, their loves, their crucial spouses, their dreadful children. They illustrate how politics and government are a gruelling business: a ruler needed stamina, mental and physical toughness, and self-confidence. He or she needed the sound judgement of problems and people which is partly innate but also the product of education and experience. A good brain was essential for setting priorities, weighing conflicting advice, and matching ends to needs. A diplomatically astute marriage was often even more essential. 
 
Emperors (and the rare empresses) could be sacred symbols, warrior kings, political leaders, chief executive officers of the government machine, heads of a family, and impresarios directing the many elements of "soft power" essential to any regime’s survival. What was it like to live and work in such an extraordinary role? What qualities did it take to perform this role successfully? Lieven traces the shifting balance among these elements across eras  that encompass a staggering array of events from the rise of the world’s great religions to the scientific revolution, the expansion of European empires across oceans, the great twentieth century conflicts, and the triumph of nationalism over imperialism.

The rule of the emperor may be over, but Lieven shows us how we live with its poltical and cultural legacies today. 

Author

© Raine Baljak
Dominic Lieven is a senior research fellow at Trinity College, Cambridge, and a fellow of the British Academy. He previously taught Russian Studies at the London School of Economics for 33 years. His book Russia Against Napoleon won the 2009 Wolfson Prize for History and the Prix Napoleon. View titles by Dominic Lieven

Additional formats

  • In the Shadow of the Gods
    In the Shadow of the Gods
    The Emperor in World History
    Dominic Lieven
    978-0-593-59060-7
    $25.00 US
    Audiobook Download
    Penguin Audio
    Jun 07, 2022
  • In the Shadow of the Gods
    In the Shadow of the Gods
    The Emperor in World History
    Dominic Lieven
    978-0-7352-2221-2
    $16.99 US
    Ebook
    Viking
    Jun 07, 2022
  • In the Shadow of the Gods
    In the Shadow of the Gods
    The Emperor in World History
    Dominic Lieven
    978-0-593-59060-7
    $25.00 US
    Audiobook Download
    Penguin Audio
    Jun 07, 2022
  • In the Shadow of the Gods
    In the Shadow of the Gods
    The Emperor in World History
    Dominic Lieven
    978-0-7352-2221-2
    $16.99 US
    Ebook
    Viking
    Jun 07, 2022

Other Books by this Author

  • The End of Tsarist Russia
    The End of Tsarist Russia
    The March to World War I and Revolution
    Dominic Lieven
    978-0-14-310955-6
    $20.00 US
    Paperback
    Penguin Books
    Aug 16, 2016
  • Russia Against Napoleon
    Russia Against Napoleon
    The True Story of the Campaigns of War and Peace
    Dominic Lieven
    978-0-14-311886-2
    $24.00 US
    Paperback
    Penguin Books
    Mar 29, 2011
  • The End of Tsarist Russia
    The End of Tsarist Russia
    The March to World War I and Revolution
    Dominic Lieven
    978-0-14-310955-6
    $20.00 US
    Paperback
    Penguin Books
    Aug 16, 2016
  • Russia Against Napoleon
    Russia Against Napoleon
    The True Story of the Campaigns of War and Peace
    Dominic Lieven
    978-0-14-311886-2
    $24.00 US
    Paperback
    Penguin Books
    Mar 29, 2011
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