Autobiography: historical, political and military Books

Book SynopsisRaise the white flag is a first-hand account of life in occupied Jersey during the Second World War.

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Book SynopsisLetters by the 18th century blue-stocking grande dame, Lady Mary Wortley Montagu. She was a duke's daughter, who married the English ambassador in Constantinople, and the friend of Swift and Pope, whom she numbered among her correspondents.

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Book SynopsisIn 1813 George Walton joined the Rifle Brigade at a recruiting party outside St Philip's Church in Birmingham and subsequently kept a journal of his daily life throughout the years of his army service until 1839 when he retired. George's narrative gives us a fascinating ism insight into the life of an ordinary soldier of that time as he served on the front line before becoming a schoolmaster sergeant, travelling all over the UK and Ireland. What is particularly remarkable is George's eyewitness description of the Battle of Waterloo from the perspective of a soldier involved in the fighting who lived to tell the tale! Later chapters explain what became of George after his military service, including the astonishing matrimonial scandal in which he was the injured party. With British armed forces, including George's beloved Rifles, still putting their lives at risk on active service, George's family feel that he would be happy that this record of his experiences could in a small way help today's servicemen and women. Therefore royalties from this, publication will be donated to charities and organisations which support our armed forces.

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Book SynopsisAn epic flight into shattered Sarajevo. A stand-off with Miss Piggy. A world scoop as the Cold War ends. A seal hunt at the North Pole - and why you should never trust cats. It's all here in Bloody Adjectives, as Peter Rhodes, former chief feature writer with England's biggest evening newspaper, the Express & Star at Wolverhampton, looks back on half a century in journalism and recalls some great assignments, from royal weddings to wars, natural disasters, death knocks and the sillier side of life. Rhodes mixed with princes and paupers, legendary actors and leading politicians and military heroes. He chronicled some of the greatest events of our age and now shares a host of memories and some award-winning dispatches. En route he encounters a pink poodle, a fried frog, a wounded Home Secretary and the End of Empire. And he also lifts the lid on Princess Anne's fairy grotto loo.

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Book SynopsisIn 1992 the Venerable Palden Gyatso was released after thirty-three years of imprisonment by Chinese forces in Tibet. He fled across the Himalayas to India, smuggling with him the instruments of his torture. This powerful text is the story of his life and irrefutable testimony to the appalling suffering of the Tibetan nation at the hands of the Chinese.Trade ReviewIn writing this enduring memoir of extraordinary suffering, resistance and endurance, he has testified not only to the pain of countless individuals but to the devastation of a nation -- Judith Shapiro * New York Times *Every household in Britain should have a copy of Fire Under the Snow -- Patrick French * Sunday Times *This is a book with glory and filth, innocence and murder, wisdom and madness, and at this moment the filth, murder and madness are taking over -- Bernard Levin * The Times *

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Book SynopsisImprisoned in Wormwood Scrubs for his pacifist beliefs during the First World War, Morgan Jones made history by becoming the first conscientious objector to be elected an MP when he won the Caerphilly by-election for Labour in 1921. In Morgan Jones - Man of Conscience, the first biography of this remarkable politician, Wayne David explains how Jones became a pioneering education minister in the 1924 and 1929-31 Labour Governments - being amongst the first to articulate the need for free, `comprehensive' secondary education for all - and how he was a tireless campaigner against injustice, supporting many causes at home and abroad from Welsh devolution to the establishment of a Jewish homeland. Published on the 80th anniversary of his death in 1939, aged only 53, Wayne David's Morgan Jones - Man of Conscience for the first time reveals the full story of Jones' political journey from Rhymney Valley radical to parliamentary pragmatist who, after witnessing the rise of fascism in Europe and the horrors of the Spanish Civil War, finally rejected pacifism in favour of military action to defend democracy from the evils of Nazism.Trade Review'Morgan Jones was a significant Labour figure, from his 1921 Caerphilly by-election victory as a conscientious objector to his service as an education minister in the first two Labour Governments. Wayne David deserves great credit for bringing Morgan Jones to life in this well-researched and very readable book.' Nick Thomas-Symonds MP; 'Wayne David writes of one of his predecessors as Labour MP for Caerphilly with the understanding of the political insider and the contextual knowledge of the historian. He places Morgan Jones at the heart of the maelstrom which was the south Wales coalfield in the first half of the last century, and with lucidity and empathy, he creates a life-story narrative which neglects neither the personal dilemmas nor the lasting social and political achievements of his fascinating subject.' Professor Dai Smith;'Jones was a man of principle and pragmatism whose story in many ways reflects the journey of the Labour Party during its life thus far ... As our movement's history, and Morgan Jones' extraordinary life teach us, it is when we combine the two that we are able to change the world.' Hilary Benn MP, from his ForewordTable of ContentsIntroduction by Wayne David Foreword by Hilary Benn MP Glossary 1. The Early Years 2. Opposition to the First World War 3. The Caerphilly by-election of 1921 4. MP and Education Minister 5. Westminster and Wales 6. The Internationalist 7. The West Indies and the Last Year Epilogue Index Select Bibliography

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Book SynopsisMilitary Memoirs of Four Brothers, first published in 1829 and reprinted for the first time since 1838, is an extremely rare record of the military service of one family during the Napoleonic Wars. The Fernyhoughs of Lichfield provided four officers to the British naval and military forces, two of whom died on service with the Royal Marines. The letters and journals pf two of the brothers provide a fascinating account of some of the more important, and some of the lesser-known campaigns and operations of the period, including the Trafalgar campaign, the expedition to South America, and the Peninsular War, Robert Fernyhough serving in the latter with that most elite and famous corps, the 95th Rifles, later the Rifle Brigade. Thomas Fernyhough, the brother who compiled this account, was a noted historian and researcher, and produced a book which is not only one of the rarest contemporary memoirs of the Napoleonic Wars, but one which illuminates the services and tribulations of a typical military family at this most crucial period of British history.

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Book SynopsisFrom their inception and through the early years of the 20th century, long before automation, lighthouses were manned by keepers, often with their families in residence. In the case of the Petrie family, in 1922, their number included a new arrival, Martha. Over the years, Martha, or Mattie as she was nicknamed, went with her parents to several lighthouse postings around the British Isles. Growing up in the unusual environment that constitutes a lighthouse station, where going out to play can be a major hazard, Mattie witnessed much of which most children only dream. This is an account of the unique life of the lighthouse where the mundane activities of a mainland existence become exciting, certainly different and often downright near impossible. Martha Robertson recounts her growing up in the 20s and 30s, and describes the war years and life in the Wrens. This is a story of an existence that has disappeared forever as automation puts the seal on lightkeeping as a thing of the past.

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Book SynopsisBorn to great riches, lord of vast feudal estates and many palaces, Felix Youssoupoff led the life of a Grand Lord in the days before the Russian Revolution. Married to a niece of Czar Nicholas II, he could observe at close range the rampant corruption and intrigues of the imperial court, which culminated in the rise to power of the sinister monk Rasputin. Finally, impelled by patriotism and his love for the Romanoff dynasty, which he felt was in danger of destroying itself and Russia, he killed Rasputin in 1916 with the help of the Grand Duke Dimitri and others. More than any other single event, this deed helped to bring about the cataclysmic upheaval which ended in the advent of the Soviet regime. Here is an unforgettable true story of intrigue, murder, and revenge.Trade Review“Prince Youssoupoff... is perfectly objective, remarkably modest, and as accurate as human fallibility allows. His book is a therefore readable, of historical value, and intimately tragic. It is as if Count Fersen had written a detailed account of the last years of Marie Antoinette.” —Harold Nicholson in the Observer, London

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Book SynopsisCommies is a brilliant memoir of growing up in the culture of radicalism. But it also about the hard decisions faced by those professing a radical faith. For Radosh himself, the crisis came when he concluded in his authoritative book on Julius and Ethel Rosenberg that the couple (in whose behalf he had demonstrated as a boy) had indeed been guilty of spying. Attacked as a traitor, Radosh began to question his political commitments. His disillusionment climaxed in the 1980s when he traveled through Central America as a journalist and historian and ran into his old comrades there still searching for the revolution.

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Book SynopsisTwo memoirs written in the late 1950s by Robert Brennan, a republican activist in the early years of the twentieth century, journalist and close associate of Eamon de Valera. "Ireland Standing Firm" is a frank and pungent account of Robert Brennan's time as Irish Minister (in effect Irish Ambassador) in Washington immediately before and during the World War II. Brennan provides an account of his efforts in defending Irish neutrality and his meetings with leading American officials and politicians, including Franklin D. Roosevelt. In the second memoir, Brennan describes his close association with Eamon de Valera from their first meeting in prison in 1917 until de Valera's retirement as Taoiseach in 1959.Trade Review"give a fascinating insight into 20th century politics in Ireland from a man who was always close to the centre." Bookview Ireland Feb 2002 "marvellous material and all too brief." Books Ireland March 2002 "His memoirs show that we indeed owe him much." Books Ireland April 2002 "From UCD Press comes another little gem from its Classics of Irish History series." Irish Political Studies 2006 "University College Dublin Press has now published over thirty 'Classics of Irish History'. These contemporary accounts by well known personalities of historical events and attitudes have an immediacy that conventional histories do not have. Introductions by modern historians provide additional historical background and, with hindsight, objectivity." Books Ireland Nov 2007 "Scholars of nineteenth-century Irish and Irish-American politics should reacquaint themselves with these classics, part of a long running and immensely useful series from University College Dublin Press. Patrick Maume has edited and written the introductions for no less than nine of the books in this series, lending them his breadth of knowledge and keen analysis that have made him one of the most learned and intellectually generous young scholars in the field." Irish Literary Supplement Fall 2008

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Book SynopsisRoger Casement, the retired British consular official tried for treason and executed for securing German rifles to help the 1916 Rising in Ireland, has been a focus of controversy since the 1930s, with specific reference to the so-called Black diaries allegedly forged by British intelligence in c.1916. Forensic tests on the diaries commissioned by a committee chaired by W.J. McCormack have now shown that the diaries were written by Casement. This work is centred on W.J. Maloney, whose 1936 book, "The Forged Casement Diaries", brought the topic to the attention of the Irish public, and was part of an Irish-American campaign to influence the domestic politics of the Irish Free State. The book raises questions about intelligence work, archival engineering, IRA unofficial action, Nazi propaganda and new light is shed on major figures such as Eamon de Valera and W.B. Yeats, as well as on a cast of colourful bit players.Trade Review"Mc Cormack ... does nothing so crass as blame the victim - his sympathy for Casement is clear - but it's fair to say that he seems keen to shatter republican myths of the martyred patriot." Sunday Times August 2002 "[Mc Cormack] describes his own detective work in tracking down those involved in rubbishing the forgery theory, and uncovers an Irish-American campaign which tried to influence Irish domestic politics." Sunday Business Post Oct 2002 "follows forensic proof ... that Casement's 'Black Diaries', which helped quash a campaign for his reprieve ... were not forged by British Intelligence. Mc Cormack suggests that many Irishmen knew this all along, but deliberately used Casement's 'martyrdom' as an anti-British propaganda tool." BBC History Nov 2002 "Mc Cormack's methodical investigation of Casement, and in particular his relentless examination of William Joseph Maloney, author of The Forged Casement Diaries (1936), the classic exposition of the forgery thesis, ought to be the last word on the topic." Times Literary Supplement Nov 2002 "Professor McCormack has waded into the centre of [the Casement] controversy with a book that is not recommended reading for nationalists of the old school who have a propensity to apoplexy." Irish Democrat Dec 2002/Jan 2003Table of ContentsSixteen men the English shot?; the view from radical Hampstead; the forged Casement diaries (1936); managing Dr Maloney; ballads and blackmail; the buff diary; an orientalist fantasia; more about Maloney; second thoughts after Pearl Harbour; textual corruption, or, the diaries in today's retrospect; economies of writing. Appendix 1 An amateur on forensics - dropped 'a' in a letter by Ben S. Allen. Appendix 2 How not to do history. Appendix 3 The secondary literature. Appendix 4 Biographical register.

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Book SynopsisRoger Casement, the retired British consular official tried for treason and executed for securing German rifles to help the 1916 Rising in Ireland, has been a focus of controversy since the 1930s, with specific reference to the so-called Black diaries allegedly forged by British intelligence in c.1916. Forensic tests on the diaries commissioned by a committee chaired by W.J. McCormack have now shown that the diaries were written by Casement. This work is centred on W.J. Maloney, whose 1936 book, "The Forged Casement Diaries", brought the topic to the attention of the Irish public, and was part of an Irish-American campaign to influence the domestic politics of the Irish Free State. The book raises questions about intelligence work, archival engineering, IRA unofficial action, Nazi propaganda and new light is shed on major figures such as Eamon de Valera and W.B. Yeats, as well as on a cast of colourful bit players.Trade Review"Mc Cormack ... does nothing so crass as blame the victim - his sympathy for Casement is clear - but it's fair to say that he seems keen to shatter republican myths of the martyred patriot." Sunday Times August 2002 "[Mc Cormack] describes his own detective work in tracking down those involved in rubbishing the forgery theory, and uncovers an Irish-American campaign which tried to influence Irish domestic politics." Sunday Business Post Oct 2002 "follows forensic proof ... that Casement's 'Black Diaries', which helped quash a campaign for his reprieve ... were not forged by British Intelligence. Mc Cormack suggests that many Irishmen knew this all along, but deliberately used Casement's 'martyrdom' as an anti-British propaganda tool." BBC History Nov 2002 "Mc Cormack's methodical investigation of Casement, and in particular his relentless examination of William Joseph Maloney, author of The Forged Casement Diaries (1936), the classic exposition of the forgery thesis, ought to be the last word on the topic." Times Literary Supplement Nov 2002 "Professor McCormack has waded into the centre of [the Casement] controversy with a book that is not recommended reading for nationalists of the old school who have a propensity to apoplexy." Irish Democrat Dec 2002/Jan 2003Table of ContentsSixteen men the English shot?; the view from radical Hampstead; the forged Casement diaries (1936); managing Dr Maloney; ballads and blackmail; the buff diary; an orientalist fantasia; more about Maloney; second thoughts after Pearl Harbour; textual corruption, or, the diaries in today's retrospect; economies of writing. Appendix 1 An amateur on forensics - dropped 'a' in a letter by Ben S. Allen. Appendix 2 How not to do history. Appendix 3 The secondary literature. Appendix 4 Biographical register.

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Book SynopsisSir Peter le Page Renouf (1822-97), a Guernseyman, was described by Lord Acton as "the most learned Englishman I know". The remarkable collection of his surviving letters covers Renouf's varied career from his days as a student in Oxford, his time as a lecturer in the 1850s at the new Catholic University in Dublin until after his retirement as Keeper of Egyptian and Assyrian Antiquities at the British Museum. The letters in volume three cover Renouf's years in Dublin. He had been invited by John Henry Newman to be a lecturer in French at the opening of the Catholic University, which was later to become University College Dublin. He was subsequently appointed Professor of Ancient History and Geography. In his letters to his family he provides a vivid impression of life in the early years of the university. During this time he married Ludovica Brentano of Aschaffenburg, Germany, niece of the poet Clemens Brentano, and they started a family. On the low salary of the Catholic University, the young couple found it very difficult to make ends meet. Renouf's talents in Egyptology become apparent and he edited the "Atlantis", the university's own journal, and then helped with the editing of Sir John Dalberg Acton's "Home and Foreign Review". His extensive correspondence with Acton is included in this volume. In 1864, Acton helps to obtain a post for Renouf in England as Inspector of Schools.Trade Review"This four volume collection of letters is now complete and will be a lasting monument to Renouf ... Professor Cathcart applies his scholarship with great attention to the details of matters ecclesiastical as well as Egyptylogical ... the writer of the letter is identified, the text to each letter is set out and notes appear at its foot ... each volume commences with a biography of Renouf and ends with a list of brief lives of the principal correspondents or of individuals who are referred to in the letters. The work is printed on good quality paper and the typeface is clear and attractive. The production is a credit to the publishers, the University College Dublin Press." Geoffrey Allez, La Societe Guernesiaise Report and Transactions XXV (4) 2004 "[This] volumes intrinsic interest lies in the illuminative view it presents of the early years of the university and Newman's management of affairs ... This third volume of Renouf letters constitutes an important source for historians of nineteenth-century higher education. It is, as with the first two volumes, meticulously produced and carefully edited." V. Alan McClelland Recusant History 2005 "Professor Cathcart, in these four volumes of letters has presented a clear, endurable and credible picture of an important figure who touched in many ways the varied moods of the nineteenth century. He has supplied a fine introduction, unobtrusive notes, full biographies of all correspondents, a useful bibliography of source material and a user-friendly index. It is a model of how a collection of letters should be presented." A. Alan McClelland Recusant History 2007Table of ContentsThe Letters. Appendices: 1 Biographies of people mentioned in the letters; 2 List of students in St Mary's House at the Catholic University of Ireland, 1854-8; 3 Contents of "The Atlantis" and "The Home And Foreign Review".

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Book SynopsisThe former test pilot Eric ''Winkle'' Brown is listed in the Guinness Book of Records as having flown more types of aircraft than any other pilot in the world. Ever. This achievement is all the more remarkable given that only pilot-in-command flights count and that marks or variants of a basic type of aircraft are not included - so the 14 marks of Spitfire that he has flown, for example, count as just one of the 490 aircraft types in his Log Books.This extraordinary record is reflected in the fact that Captain Brown is also the most decorated Fleet Air Arm and British test pilot and has a string of other records to his name, including the world''s first landing of a jet aircraft on an aircraft carrier. He was lucky enough to be a test pilot through the most extraordinary period in aviation history and now has opened up the pages of his Flying Log Books to reveal his experience of some of the most famous, rare, exotic and unusual aircraft ever built.From the infamous Mitsubishi Zero-Sen, to the US Navy''s piston-engine Grumman F8F- 2 Bearcat; from the supersonic research de Havilland Swallow to dangerous experimental types such as the General Aircraft GAL/56, Eric ''Winkle'' Brown knows their virtues and vices first hand. From rarities such as the North American Savage, designed to take-off from an aircraft carrier with a nuclear bomb, to icons such as the Lancaster, Flying Fortress, Mustang and Seafire, Eric ''Winkle'' Brown has tested their qualities and takes the reader into the cockpits of these exciting aircraft, sharing the joys and hazards of flying 53 of the most weird and wonderful aircraft to ever fly.

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Book SynopsisFrom a chance acquisition of a battered leather-bound notebook, an extensive and extremely well-written narrative was revealed which recounted the life of a midshipman in the East India Company, through to the time when he owned his own vessels and settled in Tasmania. "Chronometer Jack" is an outstanding autobiography by John Miller, an Edinburgh-born Shipmaster and Coastguard officer, an educated man whose working life commenced on board East India Company ships. It provides many insights into the tough but sometimes amusing life under William Younghusband on the Lord Castlereagh, the tyrannical Tommy Larkins on the Marquis Camden and Thomas Balderston on the Asia. Seconded to an opium vessel and the associated risks of trading in opium in the 1820s, Miller experienced the trauma of capture by the Chinese. Returning to Scotland, he married Jessie Adamson, the sister of John and Robert, famed pioneers of photography. Later, Miller set up in business as a master-shipowner in the convict colony of Tasmania, trading mainly with Sydney and Port Phillip. The gripping narrative is full of incident and unforgettable characters and his first-hand observations on society in Van Diemen's Land when still a convict colony make compelling reading. Bankrupted, Miller and his family were forced to return to Britain where circumstances forced him to join the Coastguard, serving in Northumberland, Tynemouth and Lincolnshire. His frustrations with bureaucracy, the higher status accorded former Royal Navy Officers and, in his recruiting capacity, the relatively poor quality of seamen joining the Royal Naval Reserve, constantly surface in the text - a rare insight into the occupation and tribulations experienced by a Coastguard officer in the 1850s and '60s. Although Captain Miller's original manuscript included numerous references to people identified only by an initial letter, most of these were subsequently identified, providing his narrative with a rich and well-attested circumstantial context.Trade Review'He lived a remarkable life, and he describes numerous adventures including calls at St. Helena when Napoleon was imprisoned there... All this is told with humour and great gusto, which makes Chronometer Jack an excellent read, particularly for anyone with seafaring links to Australia, India or the Far East. And to discover the origin of the author's nickname, you will have to read the book.' International Tugmasters Association -------------------- '... an excellent edition of Miller's memoir which gives us a detailed picture of many aspects of life at sea and ashore for a British shipmaster in the period 1819 to 1865 ... this well-produced book presents a fascinating story which will be of interest to both maritime historians and scholars.' International Journal of Maritime History -------------------- '...a fascinating and exciting story ... Chronometer Jack is a thrilling read, and paints a picture of a life at sea. It's full of gripping yarns and unforgettable characters, yet is informative and insightful.' Preview -------------------- 'This book is an entertaining and captivating account of the working life of a 19th century shipmaster and coastguard officer. ...Once started, this historical narrative is hard to put down ... filled as it is with so much incident and unforgettable characters. ...Chronometer Jack gives us a rare account of an extraordinary life in the days of wooden ships and iron men! Highly recommended'. The Nautical Magazine -------------------- 'Perhaps most interesting are Miller's observations on the human aspects of his profession. His descriptions of the officers and men he served with throughout his long career are detailed and, at times, humourous. He had a keen eye for detail and the book is full of descriptions of poets and historic occurrences. ...Readers will find this book a fascinating view of British merchant seafaring life'. Naval History -------------------- '...an intriguing look at the maritime world of nineteenth-century Britain. ... The final result is that the captivating and imformative tales told by John Miller reveal the realities of British merchantman life while referencing the themes in a larger context of nineteenth-century history.' The Northern Mariner -------------------- `…A compelling account of an extraordinary life’. Julian Stockwin

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Book SynopsisJames Francis Xavier O'Brien is best known as a Fenian and member of the Irish Parliamentary Party, but his autobiography reveals an exciting life of bohemian travel before he entered nationalist politics. Born in Waterford, the young O'Brien studied in Paris, where he befriended artist James McNeill Whistler, left to join William Walker's military campaign in Nicaragua, then settled in the cosmopolitan city of New Orleans on the eve of the American Civil War. He describes in detail his return to Ireland, his leadership in the Fenian insurrection of 1867 and subsequent imprisonment, and his conversion to constitutional nationalism and election to Parliament. Written between 1895 and 1897, the autobiography offers a defence of O'Brien's political journey when competing factions were fighting for Irish nationalist hearts and minds. The autobiography is published here for the first time, edited and with a critical introduction by Jennifer Regan-Lefebvre.Trade Review'University College Dublin Press has now published over thirty 'Classics of Irish History'. These contemporary accounts by well known personalities of historical events and attitudes have an immediacy that conventional histories do not have. Introductions by modern historians provide additional historical background and, with hindsight, objectivity.' Books Ireland Nov 2007 'Scholars of nineteenth-century Irish and Irish-American politics should reacquaint themselves with these classics, part of a long running and immensely useful series from University College Dublin Press.' Irish Literary Supplement Fall 2008 'this is the autobiography of a Fenian and member of the Irish Parliamentary Party (1829?-1905). O'Brien's life seemed to follow a trajectory from wild and unconventional towards the respectable. He recounts how in his youth - he went to Paris and was part of the Bohemian set there. Later he joined American William Walker in his military adventure in Nicaragua and he settled for a time in New Orleans just before the American civil war. After that war he returned to Ireland, helped to organise the 1867 rising and then went on to become a Home Rule MP. All this is interesting enough but the story is also full of details of such as his encounter with a rocking chair, the dangers of mosquitoes, social life in antebellum New Orleans. O'Brien had no problem with slavery and this may make him unsympathetic to modern readers, but he was not unique in this and his book is a useful source on this period from many perspectives.' Books Ireland November 2010 'It is an entertaining and insightful read, especially into Fenianism, though at times the wisdom of hindsight is evident. It is here published for the first time and is introduced by Dr Jennifer Regan-Lefebvre, author of a biography of Webb. - UCD Press are to be congratulated on this series in general. The standard of editing and presentation are uniformly high. The inclusion of the hitherto unpublished works on the Fenian movement makes available valuable insights which will greatly assist students of the period. One looks forward to more such publications.' Books Ireland, May 2012Table of ContentsIntroduction by Jennifer Regan-Lefebvre; For the Liberty of Ireland, at Home and Abroad: The Autobiography of J. F. X. O'Brien.

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