{"product_id":"2940177871622","title":"How To Invent A Country: Nine nations that shaped the world","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003ci\u003e'Glenny does the sort of history I wish I had been taught at school'\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eJemima Lewis, The Telegraph\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eFormer BBC Central European correspondent Misha Glenny investigates the borders, stories and people of nine countries worldwide, and asks how they acquired the shape and character they have today. Aided by a wealth of expert contributors, he discovers the geographical quirks, \u003ci\u003eGame Of Thrones\u003c\/i\u003e-style battles and history-changing personalities that have defined each nation - busting some persistent myths and stereotypes along the way.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eIn \u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eGermany\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e, Glenny blows away the fog of Nazism to reveal the country's high culture and often feeble past, taking us from the Thirty Years' War to the rise of Prussia and the emergence of a unified nation. \u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eSpain\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e chronicles the rise and fall of an empire - from 1492 to 1898, from Columbus to El Desastre - and explores the fractured state of the nation, both in history and now. In \u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eItaly\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e, Glenny tells a tale of fragmentation, occupation, unification (and the birth of the Mafia), and expansionist dreams that led to mass Italian bloodshed in the First World War. \u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eBrazil\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e sees him stripping away the happy imagery of carnival and beach volleyball to expose a dark colonial history, as he charts the country's transformation from giant factory farm for Europeans to modern BRIC economy.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eFrance\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e considers Joan of Arc's part in resisting the English invasion, analyses the French Revolution through Robespierre, and looks at the other Napoleon: Napoleon III, whose defeat ultimately led to two world wars. In \u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eThe USA\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e, Glenny examines the creation of the most powerful nation in the world, from the Founding Fathers to frontier wars and the melting pot of immigration. In \u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eThe Netherlands\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e, Glenny explains how the country is much more than just Holland, probes how a few boggy Netherlandish provinces became one of the military and trading heavyweights of the world, and wonders why Belgium exists. And in \u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eBritain\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e, he presents the story of England, Scotland, Northern Ireland and Wales, from Offa's Dyke to Hadrian's Wall via London, Derry and Edinburgh. He delves into England's dominance of the United Kingdom, discusses the significance of our island status, and ponders British identity, asking what binds us - and what divides us. And in \u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eIreland,\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e Glenny learns about Catholics, Protestants and the early seeds of war.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eThis collection also includes three extra series on things that have shaped Europe as much as any nation: \u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eThe Alps\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e, which divide Europe and swallow up armies, \u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eGiuseppe Garibaldi\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e, the legendary Italian general, and \u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eThe Habsburgs\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e, a family who ruled in Europe for 1,000 years.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eWritten and presented by Misha Glenny\u003cbr\u003eProduced by Miles Warde\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eThis collection contains:\u003cbr\u003eThe Invention of Germany\u003cbr\u003eThe Invention of Italy\u003cbr\u003eThe Invention of Brazil\u003cbr\u003eThe Invention of Spain\u003cbr\u003eThe Invention of France\u003cbr\u003eThe Invention of the Netherlands\u003cbr\u003eThe Invention of the USA\u003cbr\u003eThe Invention of Britain\u003cbr\u003eThe Invention of Ireland\u003cbr\u003eFirst broadcast BBC Radio 4, October 2011 - March 2019\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Random House UK","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":46483148341489,"sku":"2940177871622","price":17.16,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0674\/5433\/7265\/files\/2940177871622_p0.jpg?v=1765390533","url":"https:\/\/shop.barnesandnoble.com\/products\/2940177871622","provider":"Barnes \u0026 Noble","version":"1.0","type":"link"}