The European Union is the largest economic entity in the world and one of the largest political entities, with 493 million people in 2006. Fully updated for 2007 to include controversial and current topics such as the Union's enlargement and its role in ongoing world affairs, this accessible Very Short Introduction shows how and why the Union has developed, how its institutions work, and what it does--from the single market to the Euro, and from agriculture...

The Last Prince of the Mexican Empire is a sweeping historical novel of Mexico during the short, tragic, at times surreal, reign of Emperor Maximilian and his court. Even as the American Civil War raged north of the border, a clique of Mexican conservative exiles and clergy convinced Louis Napoleon to invade Mexico and install the Archduke of Austria, Maximilian von Habsburg, as Emperor. A year later, the childless Maximilian took custody of the two...

The European Union (EU) stands out as a fascinatingly unique political organisation. On the one hand, it has shown the potential for developing deep and wide-ranging cooperation between member states, going far beyond that found anywhere else in the world. On the other, it is currently in the throes of a phase of profound uncertainty about its viability and future. Showing how and why the EU has developed from 1950 to the present day, this Very Short...

Discusses how the 2008 financial crisis revealed the shortcomings of the euro and how it has caused Europe's economic stagnation, and outlines three possible plans for moving forward.

TYRANNOSAUR follows the story of two lonely, damaged people brought together by circumstance. Joseph (Peter Mullan) is an unemployed widower, drinker, and a man crippled by his own volatile temperament and furious anger. Hannah (Olivia Colman) is a Christian worker at a charity shop, a respectable woman who appears wholesome and happy. When the pair is brought together, Hannah appears as Joseph’s potential savior, someone who can temper his fury...

Examines the exploration and colonialization of Africa by the Europeans beginning in the nineteenth-century.

"A mystery within a mystery, the painting The Garden of Earthly Delights is the most famous and intriguing work by Early Netherlandish master Hieronymus Bosch. Through unique exclusive access granted by the Prado Museum - such as witnessing the processes of X-raying and restoring the painting - the film explores unanswered questions about the enigmatic painting as well painter himself, on the ocasion of the 500th anniversary of his death."--Container....

A bold and exciting documentary that encapsulates a momentous period in the history of Russia and the Russian Avant-Garde. Drawing on the collections of major Russian institutions, contributions from contemporary artists, curators and performers and personal testimony from the descendants of those involved, the film brings the artists of the Russian Avant-Garde to life. It tells the stories of artists like Chagall, Kandinsky and Malevich--pioneers...