NO.29 JANUARY 2017 ISSN 2047-1866 BRITISH ACADEMY REVIEW REVIEW ACADEMY BRITISH British Academy ReUNDERSTANDING PEOPLES, vi CULTURES, e SOCIETIES w – PAST, PRESENT, FUTURE ACADEMIC BOOKS: A SPECIAL ISSUE Richard J. Evans on Europe’s NO.292017 JANUARY century of power ¶ Steve Smith and Catherine Merridale on writing the The British Academy’s purpose is to inspire Russian Revolution ¶ David Hand and support high achievement in the humanities on how his new book measures up ¶ and social sciences throughout the UK and internationally, and to promote their public value. Twelve months of influential and prize-winning books ¶ So what does the future hold for the academic book? British-Academy-Review-magazine-cover_100117_PRINT.indd 1-3 10/01/2017 16:31 British Academy Review ISSN 2047–1866 © The British Academy 2017 The British Academy Review is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License. The British Academy Review contains articles illustrating the wide range of scholarship which the British Academy promotes in its role as the UK’s national academy for the humanities and social sciences. Views of named writers are the views exclusively of those writers; publication does not constitute endorsement by the British Academy. Suggestions for articles by current and former British Academy grant- and post-holders, as well as by Fellows of the British Academy, are very welcome. Suggestions may be sent to the Editor, James Rivington, at [email protected] Designed by Soapbox, www.soapbox.co.uk Printed in Great Britain by Henry Ling Limited at the Dorset Press, Dorchester, Dorset The British Academy The British Academy Officers of the Senior Staff 10–11 Carlton House Terrace British Academy Chief Executive: London SW1Y 5AH Alun Evans President The British Academy, Lord Stern of Brentford Director of Finance and established by Royal Charter Corporate Services: in 1902, is the UK’s national Vice-Presidents Robert Hopwood academy for the humanities and Professor Dominic Abrams social sciences – the study of Vice-President Director of Research peoples, cultures and societies, (Social Sciences) Funding and Policy: past, present and future. Vivienne Hurley Professor Ash Amin Further information about Foreign Secretary Director of Communications the work of the Academy and External Relations: Professor John Baines can be found via Liz Hutchinson Vice-President www.britishacademy.ac.uk (British International Director of Development: Research Institutes) Jo Hopkins @britac_news Professor Alan Bowman TheBritishAcademy Vice-President (Humanities) britacfilm Professor Roger Kain britishacademy Vice-President (Research and Higher Education Policy) Revd Professor Diarmaid MacCulloch Kt Vice-President (Public Engagement) Professor Mary Morgan Vice-President (Publications) Professor Genevra Richardson Vice-President (Public Policy) Professor Sarah Worthington Treasurer Front cover image: © Unuchko Veronika / Shutterstock British-Academy-Review-magazine-cover_100117_PRINT.indd 4-6 10/01/2017 17:20 British No. 29 Academy January 2017 Review Contents Mary Morgan . Editorial ....................................................2 THE ACADEMIC BOOK OF THE FUTURE Understanding the state of the debate Marilyn Deegan . Refl ections on the ‘Academic Book of the Future’ project ........................................................... 3 Kathryn Sutherland . How should we read a monograph? .....................................................................6 Christina Kamposiori . Five librarians discuss the future of the academic book .........................................9 47 TALKING BOOKS Fellows of the British Academy in conversation GLOBAL INSIGHTS David Hand . Measuring sticks .........................................12 Understanding the world we live in Richard J. Evans in conversation with Ruth Harris David Logan . Turkey and the West: . Pursuing power in Europe, 18151 914 .............................. 16 Whatever went wrong? ..................................................... 36 Steve Smith . A long look at the Russian Revolution ........21 EMERGING PERSPECTIVES REMEMBERING Writing by British Academy-supported early Robin Osborne . Th e impact of Moses Finley .................. 24 career scholars Th e book that has infl uenced me most in the last 12 months ........................................................ 39 HEARING VOICES Nicola Wilson . Broadbrows and book clubs ...................44 A guide to good listening from the British Academy Lessons for extraordinary times ........................................ 28 Catherine Merridale . On Lenin’s trail .............................30 RESEARCH RESOURCES Publications from British Academy Research Projects Projecting the medieval .................................................... 47 FROM THE ARCHIVE Curiosities from the basement Burnt books: Th e British Academy and the restoration of two academic libraries .......................... 50 POLICY BRIEFING Reports helping to shape policy debates 30 Jamiesha Majevadia . Where We Live Now: An approach to policy and growth that is centred on place ................................................................ 52 AND THE WINNERS ARE… Who has won British Academy prizes? COMING UP Books that won British Academy prizes in 2016 ............... 32 British Academy events open to all Carole Hillenbrand . A new introduction to Islam........... 34 Robotics, AI and society ....................................................55 British_Academy_Issue_29_100117.indb 1 10/01/2017 12:06 Editorial Mary Morgan says ‘The Book is dead – long live the Book!’ Reports of the death of the monograph will, surely, always be prema- ture. It is not just that books have the potential for an enviably long life: they come reading-ready straight from the shelf or computer screen, and reappear in brand new covers when stock runs out and they are republished or reissued. It is not just that book publishers show little sign of disappearing they are reputed to be amongst the oldest and most long-lived companies we have in Britain (along Professor Mary with breweries). Rather, it is that despite predictions that changes in Morgan FBA is the publishing and reading technologies will kill the book, more mono- British Academy’s graphs are published, new forms of the monograph are being devel- Vice-President oped, and new academic publishers are opening up lists. Th e book (Publications), and she is far from dead, but we still need to care for it, and its environment, has been a member of the Strategy Board to maintain its evolution. for the Academic Book One of the keys to this continued life of the book is that tech- of the Future project. nological change did not cause the academic book to die, as some thought it would. Perhaps this mis-prediction came from misun- derstandings about the nature of books. Th e powerful growth of ‘information technology’ suggested that perhaps books merely held information, when in fact they were repositories of knowledge, and even sources of wisdom (to paraphrase T.S. Eliot). Th e possibilities of being able to download at will (or at least via a licence for an ebook) suggested that perhaps books were square screens of words, that could be searched for useful bits of learning as if they were all reference books. But most books don’t exist just to be consulted as sources of information rather they are for reading for insight, enlightenment, provocation, understanding, and even enjoyment. Th is issue of the British Academy Review is the British Academy’s contribution to Academic Book Week 2017 (beginning 23 January 2017). Th is week is the second celebration of its kind, an event founded out of the Academic Book of the Future project (funded by the AHRC and the British Library). For the fi rst Academic Book Week, the British Academy Review interviewed six British Academy- supported early career academics about their love of, and need for, the monograph: they proved committed to printed monographs as both writers and readers. Th is issue of the British Academy Review in turn reveals how young scholars fi nd a variety and depth of resources for their own work from their book reading (and re-reading), whether those books be monographs or volumes of essays. Indeed the varied articles in this issue are evidence of how important academic books are not in academic terms but for their ability to get to grips with the world, and to enlighten readers regard- less of their allegiances and reasons for reading. 2 British_Academy_Issue_29_100117.indb 2 10/01/2017 12:06 THE ACADEMIC BOOK OF THE FUTURE JANUARY 2017 BRITISH ACADEMY REVIEW Reflections on the ‘Academic Book of the Future’ project Marilyn Deegan reveals the progress and achievements of this timely exploration The fact that in January 2017 we are, for First of all, we tried to define what it is that we (and the second time, engaging in major coun- indeed the funders) mean by an academic book. Mono- try-wide celebrations of the academic graphs are a fundamental means of sharing the fruits of book is testament to the success of the research in the humanities; they are deeply woven into first Academic Book Week in November the way that we as academics think about ourselves as 2015. It is testament too to the project scholars. Other book-length outputs, such as critical that initiated Academic Book Week the editions, are also significant, and non-print formats Marilyn Deegan, Academic Book of the Future which like performances, film, musical compositions are key