Alan MacFarlane

In many areas of the world destruction of natural resources and the rapid growth of populaton are among the most important problems facing individuals and governments. This book, first published in 1976, utilises the tools of social anthropology and population studies in an attempt to see some of the causes and consequences of populations growth and some of the effects of change on natural resources. It analyses a particular 'community' in the Annapurna range of the central Himalayas during this century, and investigates how the destruction of forests and the growth of settled rice cultivation have occurred, and some of the consequences. The Gurungs are famous as recruits to the Gurkha regiments of the British and Indian armies, and the demographic and economic effects of foreign mercenary labour are among the topics examined.

This book describes the nature of English historical records over the period 1200–1800. It surveys the records created by the state, the estates of landlords, and the Church. The work arises from an intensive research project (1973–81), which involved the manual and computerised analysis of all the surviving records for two parishes, in Westmorland and Essex, up to 1800. The book considers the administrative and judicial process, which led to the compilation of the documents, the survival and quantity of each class, the location and form of the material, and the hidden omissions, inaccuracies and deceptions.

A JOURNEY OF DISCOVERY THROUGH JAPAN'S MULTI-FACETED CUSTOMS AND CULTURE 'An excellent book for anyone with an interest in Japanese culture' Sunday Telegraph 'Takes in everything from the mythical roots of sumo to the ubiquity of Shinto shrines' The Times Alan Macfarlane first encountered Japan full of certainty, confidence and unexamined assumptions. He soon found his preconceptions challenged on every front - as generations of visiting travellers have found themselves, too. In this fascinating and endlessly surprising book, Macfarlane takes us on an exploration of every aspect of Japanese society, from the most public spaces to the most intimate realms, uncovering the great depths and multi-faceted nature of the country and its people. Clear-sighted yet affectionate, Macfarlane shows us Japan as it has never been seen before and, in the process, helps us to see our own world anew.

Alan Macfarlane is an anthropologist; Lily his inquisitive granddaughter, constantly asks him questions about how the world works. In this book he provides her with some answers in a series of thirty letters. His answers range through history and across the world's cultures, from the personal to the philosophical to the political.

Apart from water, tea is more widely consumed than any other food or drink. Tens of billions of cups are drunk every day. How and why has tea conquered the world? Tea was the first global product. It altered life-styles, religions, etiquette and aesthetics. It raised nations and shattered empires. Economies were changed out of all recognition. Diseases were thwarted by the magical drink and cities founded on it. The industrial revolution was fuelled by tea, sealing the fate of the modern world. Green Gold is a remarkable detective story of how an East Himalayan camellia bush became the world's favourite drink. Discover how the tea plant came to be transplanted onto every continent and relive the stories of the men and women whose lives were transformed out of all recognition through contact with the deceptively innocuous green leaf.

This is a classic regional and comparative study of early modern witchcraft. The history of witchcraft continues to attract attention with its emotive and contentious debates. The methodology and conclusions of this book have impacted not only on witchcraft studies but the entire approach to social and cultural history with its quantitative and anthropological approach. The book provides an important case study on Essex as well as drawing comparisons with other regions of early modern England. The second edition of this classic work adds a new historiographical introduction, placing the book in context today.

This is a classic regional and comparative study of early modern witchcraft. The history of witchcraft continues to attract attention with its emotive and contentious debates. The methodology and conclusions of this book have impacted not only on witchcraft studies but the entire approach to social and cultural history with its quantitative and anthropological approach. The book provides an important case study on Essex as well as drawing comparisons with other regions of early modern England. The second edition of this classic work adds a new historiographical introduction, placing the book in context today.

Through detailed comparative analysis of English and Japanese history the book explores such matters as the destruction of war, decline of famine, the control of fertility.

The Culture of Capitalism explores original perspectives on capitalist society. Argues that capitalism is more than an economic system, but is a culture that affects social, material, and even spiritual bases of existenceDraws on research generated by detailed historical community studies as well as literature on non-western societiesExplores the nature of evil, attitudes toward love and family, population change, violence, and moreQuestions the origin and cause of capitalist ideology

Marriage and Love in England: Modes of Reproduction 1300-1840 is a history of the intimate lives and aspirations of the English people from medieval to modern times. It is scholarly, provocative, and highly readable. Explores why people married, at what age, and with what expectationsExamines the nature of courtshipCompares different classes’ attitudes toward love and marriagesTraces the ways attitudes changed or remained the same over five hundred yearsExplores why and how the English experience was crucially different from that of other European countries

A historically reconstructed detective story, The Justice and the Mare's Ale is a case study brought alive by documents, through which readers can explore the way in which law worked in practice in late - seventeenth century northern England and the ways in which criminal law and ordinary life intersected during that period. "It is as gripping as a detective story. Actually Alan Macfarlane's new book is a true detective story, set in the Westmorland in the 1680's."—New Society "It is an extraordinary story very well told, largely in the words of the original depositions and other papers in the public records and in the extensive Fleming archive."—London Review of Books

`Will stimulate work and thought rather than impose a new orthodoxy. The combination of bold iconoclasm with judicious questioning gives the book an excitement unparalleled in recent English historiography. It is an extraordinarily invigorating blast of fresh air.' History.

The Origins of English Individualism is about the nature of English society during the five centuries leading up to the Industrial Revolution, and the crucial differences between England and other European nations. Drawing upon detailed studies of English parishes and a growing number of other intensive local studies, as well as diaries, legal treatises and contemporary foreign sources, the author examines the framework of change in England. He suggests that there has been a basic misrepresentation of English history and that this has considerable implications both for our understanding of modern British and American society, and for current theories concerning the preconditions of industrialization.