Histories of nations

• Introduction
• p. 10

• The histories of nations and the history of the world

• Egypt
• p. 18

• Pharaohs, kings and presidents

• India
• p. 26

• The civilization with no home-grown history

• Iran
• p. 38

• A long history and short-term society

• Greece
• p. 48

• A land caught between ancient glories and the modern world

• China
• p. 58

• History writing: linking the past and the future

• Ireland
• p. 70

• In the shadow of the fond abuser

• Spain
• p. 82

• Beyond the Black Legend

• France
• p. 96

• The history of the hexagon

• Russia
• p. 108

• Fractures in the fabric of culture

• The Czech Republic
• p. 120

• National history and the search for identity

• Poland
• p. 132

• Tragedy and heroism in the face of powerful neighbours

• Hungary
• p. 142

• The thousand-year realm

• Turkey
• p. 154

• The land with a lost empire

• Brazil
• p. 162

• The legacy of slavery and environmental suicide

• Mexico
• p. 170

• The land of the eagle, the cactus and the snake

• The Netherlands
• p. 178

• Facing the challenges of water

• Sweden
• p. 188

• From Viking community to welfare state

• Great Britain
• p. 198

• The confected nation state

• The United States
• p. 210

• The land that chose to be without history

• Australia
• p. 222

• A European nation in an ancient land

• Ghana
• p. 232

• From colony to continental leader

• Finland
• p. 240

• Carving an identity from struggle

• Argentina
• p. 248

• Between two centenaries

• Canada
• p. 256

• The loose-jointed polity

• Italy
• p. 264

• Catholicism, power, democracy and the failure of the past

• Japan
• p. 272

• From isolation to transgression

• Germany
• p. 282

• The many mutations of a belated nation

• Israel
• p. 294

• The Zionist experiment

• Further Reading
• p. 304

• Contributor Biographies
• p. 307

• Editor's Acknowledgments
• p. 310

• Sources of Illustrations
• p. 311

• Index
• p. 312