Most Popular Books by James Taylor

A thoroughly readable, far-reaching analysis of "modernity" and "the modern, " this book focuses on the specific periods and places where ideas and practices of being modern are created and challenged. Peter J. Taylor contends that modernity is a multiple phenomenon: that is, different modern times and different modern spaces exist in a world of multiple modernities. He argues that three "prime modernities" have been defined by the development of the modern world -- from mercantile modernity to British-led industrial modernity to today''s American-led consumer modernity -- and illustrates the cultural expression of these modernities as "acts of the ordinary, " such as paintings, the home, and the suburbs. In a masterly analysis of politics and the state in terms of the modern, Taylor shows how each political organization of a particular modernity creates an appropriate political reaction -- for instance, the socialism prompted by British modernity and the environmentalism called forth by American modernity. In noting the tendency of states to create spaces and eschew places, he draws an intriguing parallel between nation states and home-households. Taylor describes the project of Americanization as a new form of modernity and also suggests an end to American hegemony.

"The new and updated eighth edition of Political Geography once again shows itself fit to tackle a frequently and rapidly changing geopolitical landscape. It retains the intellectual clarity, rigour and vision of previous editions based upon its world-systems approach and is complemented by the perspective of feminist geography. The book successfully integrates the complexity of individuals with the complexity of the world-economy by merging the compatible, but different, research agendas of the co-authors. This edition explores political geography within the context of US-China competition, Russia''s war with Ukraine, global climate change, new technologies, and challenges to democracy. It advances the discussion from the previous editions on the dynamics of the capitalist world-economy and the constant tension between the global scale of economic processes and the territorialization of politics in the current context of geopolitical change. The chapters have been updated with new examples - new sections on global climate change, populism, and the growing threat of global war. The book offers a framework to help students make their own judgements of how we got where we are today, and what may or should be done about it. Political Geography remains a core text for students of political geography, geopolitics, international relations and political science, as well as more broadly across human geography and the social sciences"--

And as they became more prevalent, the issue of internal governance became more pressing.

A quarter of a century ago, the Land Rover Discovery defined at a stroke how traditional 4 x 4 all-terrain ability could co-exist with family-estate practicality at an affordable price. Since 1989, the Discovery has gone through several iterations, but its essential qualities have remained unchanged. Practical, capable, and above all completely distinctive - the stepped roof seemed odd at first but now defines the Discovery shape - the Discovery has gone on to become one of Land Rover''s best-loved products. Land Rover Discovery - 25 Years of the Family 4 x 4 looks in detail at the four generations of Discovery, including full specification details and production histories. Topics covered include:Design and development of the original Discovery in the late 1980s, and the move into North America.The new 300Tdi engine and R380 gearbox of 1994, and the BMW takeover.Series II models of 1998-2004, and Land Rover''s move from BMW to Ford.Discovery 3/''LR3'' - 2004-2009, and the new TDV6 engine, developed by Jaguar.Discovery 4/''LR4'' - the all-purpose family luxury car.Special editions and derivatives of all four generations of Discovery, including Discoverys for the emergency services and the Camel Trophy and G4 Challenge competition vehicles.The twenty-fifth year of production and the 2014 models.

When Jaguar''s XJ range arrived in 1968, it quickly established itself not only as a world-beater but also as the central model in the Jaguar range. Riding high throughout the 1970s, it was nevertheless losing some of its appeal by the time Ford bought the Jaguar company at the end of the next decade. These last three generations of the classic Jaguar XJ saloons closed an era in which Jaguar had symbolised the British approach to luxury motoring. That it no longer reflected what many buyers wanted by the end was a sad reflection of the changing times, but cannot take away from the excellence and desirability of the cars themselves. Today increasingly prized by enthusiast owners, these XJs in so many ways show the marque at its peak, and this book highlights why that is so.

The BMW 5 Series has been running for over twenty-five years and during that time has consistently set the standard for medium-sized sporting saloons. Motoring historian, James Taylor, tells the complete story of the design, development and production of these cars through each generation. Topics covered include: History of BMW before the 5 Series; Detailed model-by-model specifications; Production details and running costs; M-Series and Touring models are discussed; and Advice on buying a BMW 5 Series today. Illustrated throughout, this is essential reading for all motoring enthusiasts.

An essential introduction to the surprisingly long history of the electric car, from the early pioneers, through to the first commercially viable marques such as Tesla. After a century in the shadow of the internal combustion engine, the electric motor is making a seismic comeback. Battery-propelled vehicles in fact predate petrol and diesel engines; indeed, in the Edwardian era, electric vehicles could well have become the dominant form of transport. While limitations to their range and speed meant that fossil-fuelled cars rapidly left them behind, since the 1970s there have been several efforts to revive electric cars, and with recent carbon emissions commitments, offerings such as the Tesla Model 3 and Nissan Leaf have been well received. This fully illustrated introduction explains these developments, charting the most notable electric cars, from the eccentric Amitron and Zagato Zele to the now-mainstream models that are set to dominate the market, such as the BMW i3 and Renault Zoe.

Should businessmen who commit fraud go to prison? This question has been asked repeatedly since 2008. It was also raised in nineteenth-century Britain when the spread of corporate capitalism created enormous new opportunities for dishonesty. Historians have presented Victorian Britain as a haven for white-collar criminals, beneficiaries of a prejudiced criminal justice system which only dealt harshly with offences by the poor. Boardroom Scandal challenges these beliefs. Based on an unparalleled sample of legal cases - many examined here for the first time - James Taylor presents a radical new interpretation of the relationship between capitalism and the law. Initially, there were no criminal sanctions against publishing false prospectuses, concealing losses in balance sheets, and even misappropriating company money. But parliament became convinced of the need to criminalize these practices to protect the culture of stock market investment on which mid-Victorian prosperity increasingly rested. Persuading judges to play along was harder, with many invoking the principle of caveat emptor to exonerate defendants. But by the end of the century, successful prosecutions of company executives were commonplace. These trials performed multiple functions: they stabilized confidence in times of crisis; they dramatized the class blindness of the law; and they were increasingly seen as essential as faith in a self-regulating economy ebbed. The criminalization of fraud, therefore, has far-reaching implications for our understanding of nineteenth-century Britain. It also has relevance today in light of the on-going economic crisis and the issues it raises regarding business ethics and the role of the state.

With the advent of multinational corporations, the traditional urban service function has ''gone global''. In order to provide services to globalizing corporate clients, the offices of major financial and business service firms across the world have formed a network. It is the myriad of flows between office towers in different metropolitan centres that has produced a world city network. Through an analysis of the intra-company flows of 100 leading global service firms across 315 cities, this book assesses cities in terms of their overall network connectivity, their connectivity by service sector, and their connectivity by world region. Peter Taylor''s unique and illuminating book provides the first comprehensive and systematic description and analysis of the world city network as the ''skeleton'' upon which contemporary globalization has been built. His analyses challenge the traditional view of the world as a ''mosaic map'' of political boundaries. Written by one of the foremost authorities on the subject, this book provides a much needed mapping of the connecting relationships between world cities, and will be an enlightening book for students of urban studies, geography, sociology and planning.

The growth of joint-stock business in Victorian Britain re-evaluated, showing in particular the resistance to it. Winner of the Economic History Society''s Best First Monograph award 2009 The emergence of the joint-stock company in nineteenth-century Britain was a culture shock for many Victorians. Though the home of the industrialrevolution, the nation''s economy was dominated by the private partnership, seen as the most efficient as well as the most ethical form of business organisation. The large, impersonal company and the rampant speculation it was thought to encourage were viewed with suspicion and downright hostility. This book argues that the existing historiography understates society''s resistance to joint-stock enterprise; it employs an eclectic range of sources, fromnewspapers and parliamentary papers to cartoons, novels and plays, to unearth this forgotten economic debate. It explores how the legal system was gradually restructured to facilitate joint-stock enterprise, a process culminatingin the limited liability legislation of the mid-1850s. This has typically been interpreted as evidence for the emergence of new, positive attitudes to speculation and economic growth, but the book demonstrates how traditional outlooks continued to influence legislation, and the way in which economic reforms were driven by political agendas. It shows how debates on the economic culture of nineteenth-century Britain are strikingly relevant to current questions over the ethics of multinational corporations. James Taylor is Senior Lecturer in British History at Lancaster University.

I was stunned by Willow in a Storm. It is the story of one man''s long life, and his truly spiritual journey into the abyss of our country''s penal system, and miraculously, almost mythically, his survival and return to society. With the assistance of his wife, James Peter Taylor, now approaching his eightieth year, tells this harrowing and inspiring story with class, directness, and honesty.Sister Helen Prejean, author of Dead Man Walking and anti-death penalty activistIn this raw, unflinching memoir, James Peter Taylor, with the help of his wife Kathleen Murphy-Taylor, recounts the events of his unusual life, over forty years of which were spent incarcerated. Mentally and sexually abused by his adoptive father, Jim Taylor receives a life sentence at age 30 when he accidentally kills Kenneth Lindberg, a Minnesota banker and married father of four, during a robbery.Taylor manages to survive in prison, despite the rampant violence, in part by playing a woman''s role, a gender switch that becomes second nature to him. After decades behind bars, a wiser and more spiritual Taylor is released in the 1990s back to civilian life, bolstered by his marriage to the book''s coauthor and former social worker, Kathy Murphy.Willow in a Storm demonstrates hope even in the most dismal of circumstances.

Reprint of the original, first published in 1882.

The love affair between the Royal Family and their Land Rovers. This book brings to life an essential part of our motoring and Royal history.

The cars of Austin, Ford, Standard, Hillman and Morris dominated the driveways of family homes in the 1960s, and provided many families with their first experience of four-wheeled motoring. This book tells the story of those beloved cars.

Reprint of the original, first published in 1837.

Detailed Model-By-Model descriptions, competition achievements, technical and restoration information, and invaluable reference data are provided in these books in the popular Collector''s Guide series. Covers 300, 380, 450, 500 SL and SCL models.