Trousson, Raymond / Vercruysse, Jeroom (dir.), Dictionnaire general de Voltaire. (Champion classiques, references et dictionnaires 18) 1272 p. 2020:10 (Champion, FR) <670-9>
ISBN 978-2-38096-016-7 paper ¥7,064.- (税込) EUR 38.00

近世の知識経済における天然資源
Omodeo, Pietro Daniel / Wendt, Helge (eds.), Natural Resources in Early Modern Economies of Knowledge. (Episteme in Bewegung. Beitraege zu einer transdisziplinaeren Wissensgeschichte 40) 240 S. 2025:7 (O. Harrassowitz, GW) <746-85>
ISBN 978-3-447-12369-3 paper ¥14,355.- (税込) EUR 58.00 *

Gaulin, Jean-Louis / Rau, Susanne (eds.), Fairs, Cities and Merchants: Spatiotemporal Analyses (14th-17th century). (SpatioTemporality / RaumZeitlichkeit 19) 420 pp. 2025:3 (de Gruyter, GW) <746-370>
ISBN 978-3-11-162083-1 hard ¥22,261.- (税込) EUR 89.95 *

Today, it has largely been forgotten that fairs played a decisive role in trade and finance in pre-modern Europe. In the Middle Ages and Early Modern period, many cities endeavoured to obtain a fair privilege and attract as many merchants as possible. Through the economic activities and infrastructures provided, a supra-regional spatial configuration gradually emerged, which was not only made up of places within a region, but across the whole of Europe and in some cases the wider world. The contributions in this volume are based on a project jointly funded by the French Agence Nationale de la Recherche and the German Research Foundation, which focussed mainly on fairs and cities in France, the Holy Roman Empire and Italy. In chronological terms, they cover the period from the end of the Champagne fairs (ca. 1320) to the success of the Besancon fairs (ca. 1580 to 1630), which epitomised a new type of fair. The geographical focus has been extended to include fairs and trade routes in Eastern Europe and China (temple fairs). This overall view makes it possible for the first time to analyse the functions of the various market forms in their regional context and in their development: from the exchange of goods to the credit market and financing government debt, but also the deep integration of the merchant culture into urban and religious culture. Based on archival studies and the integration of artefacts, new graphs and maps, this volume provides a new look at the history of annual markets and fairs. In addition to functional aspects, spatiotemporal aspects such as disputes over fair dates, visiting rhythms, the transport of goods and routes (by land and water) are dealt with. Credit activities, transport of goods, and mobility of merchants, trading families and companies point to the highly developed transnational dimension of pre-modern trade. The volume concludes with a presentation of the project database, its functionalities and opportunities to participate.

スイス国立銀行－非伝統的な歴史
Huber, Mikael, The Swiss National Bank: An Unconventional History. (Routledge Explorations in Economic History) 288 pp. 2025:7 (Routledge, UK) <746-371>
ISBN 978-1-032-75831-2 hard ¥41,948.- (税込) GB￡ 145.00 *

Echoing new trends in central banking history, this book traces the story of the Swiss National Bank from the end of World War II, going beyond monetary policy and inflation to explore the full scope of the bank's activities.Drawing on extensive archival research, it examines the broader landscape in which the central bank operated, including the role of Swiss banks, government oversight via the Federal Council, the influence of the international monetary system, and the negotiation of central bank independence - particularly the use of non-legal instruments and their limitations within Switzerland's decentralised political system. Throughout, the Swiss National Bank had to reconcile three sometimes conflicting factors: corporate liberalism, which allowed major economic players a say in policy; the imperative of maintaining the stability of the Swiss franc; and the need to kerb potential threats to monetary stability. In response, the SNB developed a sophisticated arsenal of non-legal and unconventional tools to regulate the financial system on a temporary basis. The history of these exceptional measures sheds light on the unconventional evolution of the Swiss National Bank.This book will appeal to readers of economic history, financial history, central banking, and Swiss history.

Iberg, Ludovic, Le grand patronat suisse et l'Europe (1957-1984): le role de Vorort face aux organisations patronales europeennes. (Histoire) 729 p. 2025:2 (Alphil, SZ) <746-372>
ISBN 978-2-88930-673-2 hard ¥8,662.- (税込) EUR 35.00

Jou-Badal, Xavier, The Recipe to Sweet Success: Competitive Advandates for a Chocolatier Family Dynasty, 1797 - 1936. (Frontiers of Familiy Economics) 224 pp. 2025:6 (Emerald, UK) <746-373>
ISBN 978-1-83662-231-4 hard ¥22,176.- (税込) US$ 105.00

多国籍企業－現代の世界史
Petitjean, Olivier / du Roy, Ivan, Multinationales: une histoire du monde contemporain. (Cahiers libres) 857 p. 2025:2 (La Decouverte, FR) <746-375>
ISBN 978-2-348-07707-4 paper ¥6,930.- (税込) EUR 28.00

羊毛と戦争の歴史を解明する
Shaw, Madelyn / FitzSimons, Trish, Fleeced: Unraveling the History of Wool and War. 224 pp. 2025:4 (Rowman & Littlefield, US) <746-376>
ISBN 979-88-8180-380-3 hard ¥7,180.- (税込) US$ 34.00

Not everything about wool is warm and fuzzy.Wool, for millennia the cold climate textile fiber, has a long relationship to war, both in terms of supporting it and causing it. Wool's strategic value in wartime, a position it gained over centuries, and contrived shortages of same in the 20th century, have helped drive consumers' transition to the synthetic fibers that have enabled fast fashion, and as both fiber and cloth are global contemporary pollutants.Fleeced argues that the 19th century advent of southern hemisphere large scale sheep pastoralism and northern hemisphere industrialization of the woolen textile industry allowed - at least in part - the huge armies of the 20th century to exist. World War I represented a fundamental shift in the scale of armies and the kind of wars they fought. Demand for wool to outfit the tens of millions of men and women involved in fighting the war or supporting those who did grew way beyond what could be accommodated by any nation's normal supply. The contrived wool shortages of this war had a lasting impact - nations subject to supply chain difficulties began the search for substitutes that led first to the semi-synthetic rayon, and ultimately to the plastic fibers such as polyester and acrylic that dominate today's world of fast fashion.Each chapter of Fleeced begins with a surprising object, document or image that takes us into this fascinating and previously untold history. Change is not necessarily progress.Fleeced explains how competition for wool in wartime helped create our current unsustainable and environmentally disastrous reliance on petrochemical fibers.