{"title":"Biography: adventurers and explorers Books","description":"","products":[{"product_id":"gristwood-s-blood-sisters-9780007309306","title":"Gristwood S Blood Sisters","description":"\u003cb\u003eBook Synopsis\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003eThe true story of the White Queen and more, this is a thrilling history of the extraordinary noblewomen who lived through the Wars of the Roses.The events of the Wars of the Roses are usually described in terms of the men involved: Richard Duke of York, Henry VI, Edward IV, Richard III and Henry VII. But these years were also packed with women's drama and in the tales of conflicted maternity and monstrous births alive with female energy.In this completely original book, Sarah Gristwood sheds light on a neglected dimension of English history: the impact of Tudor women on the Wars of the Roses. She examines, among others, Cecily Neville, who was deprived of being queen when her husband died at the Battle of Wakefield; Elizabeth Woodville, the commoner who married Edward IV in secret; Margaret Beaufort, mother of Henry VII, whose love and ambition for her son knew no bounds.Until now, the lives of these women have remained little known to the general public. Sarah Gristwood tells their \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eTrade Review\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cp\u003e‘For viewers who plan to settle in with ‘The White Queen’, one recent work of history will guide them through the distaff maze of the Wars of the Roses: ‘Blood Sisters’ by Sarah Gristwood’ Boyd Tonkin, Independent\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e‘In this gem of a book, she effortlessly weaves the dramatic, often tragic, lives of seven royal women…If you treat yourself to one history book this Christmas, make it this one. 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Drawing on never-before-seen material, Steinberg reveals the fractures and stubborn bonds at the heart of a volatile and groundbreaking union, a very modern political marriage that played out on the world stage.One of the most celebrated political leaders of the twentieth century, Nelson Mandela has been written about by many biographers and historians. But in one crucial area, his life remains largely untold: his marriage to Winnie. During his years in prison, Nelson grew ever more in love with an idealised version of his wife, courting her in his letters as if they were young lovers frozen in time. But Winnie, every bit his political equal, found herself increasingly estranged from her jailed husband ' s politics. 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It is fascinating and impressive to have her prose bring these images to life, as she plausibly recaptures the moments they depict … She show[s] that history in the making is not only experienced but felt, poignantly and painfully.' Stephanie Barczewski,\u003cem\u003e TLS\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e‘Combining historical research, including access to family archives, with a vivid storytelling style, author Katherine MacInnes presents … the public and private fallout of the tragedy, which reveals much about society at the time. 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I love this book'' Nigel Slater\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e''Triumphant, a pastoral for the 21st century'' Helen Davies, \u003ci\u003eSunday Times, \u003c\/i\u003eBooks of the Year\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e''The nature publishing sensation of the year, unsentimental yet luminous'' Melissa Harrison, \u003ci\u003eThe Times, \u003c\/i\u003eBooks of the Year\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eSome people''s lives are entirely their own creations. James Rebanks'' isn''t. The first son of a shepherd, who was the first son of a shepherd himself, he and his family have lived and worked in and around the Lake District for generations. Their way of life is ordered by the seasons and the work they demand, and has been for hundreds of years. A Viking would understand the work they do: sending the sheep to the fells in the summer and making the hay; the autumn fairs where the flocks are replenished; the gruelling toil of winter when the sheep must be kept alive, and the light-headedness that comes with spring, as the lambs are born and the sheep get ready to return to the fells.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eTrade Review\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003eTwo pages into \u003ci\u003eThe Shepherd's Life\u003c\/i\u003e, I was gripped. Twenty pages in, I was amazed. By its end, I knew I'd read an extraordinary book, at once political and beautiful - a major addition to the modern British literature of landscape, that can stand alongside Ronald Blythe's classic\u003ci\u003e Akenfield\u003c\/i\u003e as a portrait of a place and its people as seen from within -- Robert Macfarlane\u003cbr\u003eA very good book -- Alan Bennett\u003cbr\u003eAffectionate, evocative, illuminating. A story of survival - of a flock, a landscape and a disappearing way of life. I love this book -- Nigel Slater, author of Toast and The Kitchen Diaries\u003cbr\u003eBloody marvellous -- Helen Macdonald, author of H is for Hawk\u003cbr\u003eA powerful - and quietly electrifying - meditation... Page by page, he builds what amounts to a 21st-century pastoral manifesto. The book is an unsentimental education, part history of farming in the Lake District, part personal memoir. And yet it still soars... Rebanks's prose is beautifully sure-footed -- Helen Davies * Sunday Times *\u003cbr\u003eA remarkable achievement... Utterly unsentimental, \u003ci\u003eThe Shepherd's Life\u003c\/i\u003e is, nevertheless, profoundly moving... The human values that imbue \u003ci\u003eThe Shepherd's Life\u003c\/i\u003e are, perhaps, ones that Britain, disillusioned and scandal weary, could do with being reminded of right now -- Melissa Harrison * Financial Times *\u003cbr\u003eRebanks's enthusiasm and talent for poetic writing is infectious... [His] words create not only a gorgeous landscape painting of the Lake District and its inhabitants, human, animal, bird and fish, but also a useful social document... What is most striking about this book is its authenticity; this is the real thing -- Carol Midgley * The Times *\u003cbr\u003eA wonderfully detailed and candid account of a life that is both individual and typical of this role in rural society... told with perfect pitch, in prose that flows as easily as speech, cleaves hungrily to the particular, and shifts without strain between the workaday and the imaginative -- David Craig * Guardian *\u003cbr\u003eAbsorbing, often funny, and beautifully written... a testament to the importance of maintaining a connection to the land * Observer *\u003cbr\u003eCaptivating... A book about continuity and roots and a sense of belonging in an age that's increasingly about mobility and self-invention. Hugely compelling -- Michiko Kakutani * New York Times *\u003cbr\u003eExceptional... Rebanks's way with words is akin to that of that of an expert shearer with the clippers - swift, deft, skilled - and the resulting prose is lean, vivid, tough and handsome. I loved his book. It is one to restore faith in writing and the business of publishing - a story not like any other, told from the inside by someone whose passion for his subject lights up almost every sentence -- Tom Fort * Literary Review *\u003cbr\u003eAn unforgettable survivor's book that raises important questions, not least about education... one of the most truthful depictions of contemporary rural life that I have read -- Richard Benson * Independent *\u003cbr\u003eMore than a tribute to a rare and doughty tribe. If hills could speak, this is surely a tale the fells would tell -- Horatio Clare * Telegraph *\u003cbr\u003eAn enlightening, exquisitely written account... I was beguiled by this book, an eloquent love-letter to a cherished way of life -- Brian Viner * Daily Mail *\u003cbr\u003eMay well do for sheep what Helen Macdonald did for hawks -- Stephen Moss * Guardian *\u003cbr\u003ePunchy, well-read and occasionally lyrical... a glorious book, alive with the author's voice, which is strong and individual, as befits a man who makes a living in this ancient but precarious way. Most striking is its honesty * Herald Scotland *\u003cbr\u003eRebanks offers a fascinating account of his life in farming that is in equal parts memoir, social commentary and procedural. Even for the most committed urbanite, it's a brilliant read -- Alexander Larman * Observer *\u003cbr\u003eJames Rebanks's unsentimental, sharply detailed memoir about his life as a shepherd gripped me from the first page -- Moira Hodgson * Wall Street Journal *\u003cbr\u003eA timely and important book, with flashes of beauty in its spare and honest prose -- Sadie Jones, author of The Outcast\u003cbr\u003eIn James Rebanks we hear a new voice from the fells. The toil and the beauty in \u003ci\u003eThe Shepherd's Life\u003c\/i\u003e are utterly compelling -- Nicholas Crane, author of Coast\u003cbr\u003eA vivid, honest, unforgettably written account not just of one shepherd's year, but of an ancient way of life -- Lucy Dillon, author of A Hundred Pieces of Me\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003eThe Shepherd's Life\u003c\/i\u003e is a reader's delight. No tourist wandering the iconic Lake District is Rebanks; coming from centuries of farmers he is as 'hefted' to the fells as the Herdwick sheep he keeps. He lives, breathes and works his landscape - which gives him an inside edge as sharp as shears over most of the flock of current countryside-writers. Rebanks has written a marvellous autobiography - of himself, his family, and the hills themselves. For they are indivisible -- John Lewis-Stempel, author of Meadowland\u003cbr\u003eWhat came through was the stolid humility, gentle stubbornness and genuine care you need to live this life. Many books are written about a thing but this book is \u003ci\u003eof \u003c\/i\u003ea thing and is valuable for it -- Cynan Jones, author of The Dig\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003eThe Shepherd's Life\u003c\/i\u003e is that rare thing, a well-written book about the life of the land by a man who gets his living from the land. It's a paean for a peopled landscape, and a powerful counterblast to the doleful environmentalism that would empty our land of its people -- Philip Walling, author of Counting Sheep\u003cbr\u003eBeautifully written -- Alan Cumming, actor and author of Not My Father's Son\u003cbr\u003eIrreverent, honest, achingly beautiful and totally authentic. Rebanks challenges us to understand what would be lost if no one remembers the seasons of a shepherd's life or the culture of sheep farming. His joy is as contagious as his writing -- Linda Lear, author of Beatrix Potter: The extraordinary life of a Victorian genius\u003cbr\u003eTruly extraordinary... written with a mastery of vivid, concrete detail that makes you gasp * WI Life *\u003cbr\u003eA wonderful book which will surely become a Lake District classic. Powerfully written and unflinchingly honest, it provides a vivid insight into the realities of hill farming life -- Angus J L Winchester, Professor of Local \u0026amp; Landscape History, Lancaster University\u003cbr\u003eA gorgeous book, unsentimental but exultant, vivid and profound, and a fierce defense of small-scale farming -- Maryn McKenna * National Geographic *\u003cbr\u003eA beautifully told tale suffused by a profound sense of belonging and a clear-eyed love of the land and its people. * Sunday Morning Herald *\u003cbr\u003eHis prose is earthed and conversational; it feels as if you're leaning over a gate, listening to his ruminations. The book exudes tough passion, and a sense of belonging and love that holds you rapt to the very last line * Intelligent Life *","brand":"Penguin Books Ltd","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":47832684593495,"sku":"9780141979366","price":10.44,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0817\/1739\/5799\/files\/9780141979366.jpg?v=1710336705"},{"product_id":"thomas-cromwell-9780241952337","title":"Thomas Cromwell","description":"\u003cb\u003eBook Synopsis\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eA \u003ci\u003eSUNDAY TIMES, THE TIMES, DAILY TELEGRAPH, SPECTATOR, FINANCIAL TIMES, GUARDIAN, BBC HISTORY\u003c\/i\u003e BOOK OF THE YEAR\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e''This is the biography we have been awaiting for 400 years'' Hilary Mantel\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003e''A masterpiece'' Dan Jones, \u003ci\u003eSunday Times\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003eThomas Cromwell is one of the most famous - or notorious - figures in English history. Born in obscurity in Putney, he became a fixer for Cardinal Wolsey in the 1520s. After Wolsey''s fall, Henry VIII promoted him to a series of ever greater offices, and by the end of the 1530s he was effectively running the country for the King. That decade was one of the most momentous in English history: it saw a religious break with the Pope, unprecedented use of parliament, the dissolution of all monasteries. Cromwell was central to all this, but establishing his role with precision, at a distance of nearly five centuries and after the destruction of many of his papers at his own fall, has been notoriously difficult.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eDiarmaid MacCulloch''s biography is much the most complete and persuasive life ever written of this elusive figure, a masterclass in historical detective work, making connections not previously seen. It overturns many received interpretations, for example that Cromwell was a cynical, ''secular'' politician without deep-felt religious commitment, or that he and Anne Boleyn were allies because of their common religious sympathies - in fact he destroyed her. It introduces the many different personalities of these foundational years, all conscious of the ''terrifyingly unpredictable'' Henry VIII. MacCulloch allows readers to feel that they are immersed in all this, that it is going on around them.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eFor a time, the self-made ''ruffian'' (as he described himself) - ruthless, adept in the exercise of power, quietly determined in religious revolution - was master of events. MacCulloch''s biography for the first time reveals his true place in the making of modern England and Ireland, for good and ill.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eTrade Review\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cp\u003eSir Diarmaid MacCulloch is one of finest historians in the English-speaking world and preeminent in the area of the English Reformation. He has combined his expertise in 16th-century history with a compelling literary style in his latest book ... the definitive work on Henry VIII's great minister and an extraordinary insight into the politics and religion of the age, and of any age for that matter. Thomas Cromwell's somewhat dark reputation was given a new and bright shine by Hilary Mantel in the \u003ci\u003eWolf Hall\u003c\/i\u003e trilogy and this life takes us from the fictional into the authentic; its triumph is that it is just as thrilling and equally stimulating and challenging. A profoundly important book.\u003c\/p\u003e -- Rev. Michael Coren * Spectator *\u003cbr\u003eMeticulous and magisterial ... If this is not the definitive biography, I don't know what that would look like -- Peter Marshall * Literary Review *\u003cbr\u003eTriumphant and definitive ... a masterpiece of documentary detective-work, which buzzes with the excitement of a great historian immersed in archives -- Dan Jones * Sunday Times *\u003cbr\u003eA model of classical historical biography at its finest -- Rowan Williams * New Statesman *\u003cbr\u003eThe definitive biography ... exhaustively researched and superbly written -- Dominic Sandbrook * Sunday Times (Books of the Year) *\u003cbr\u003eThe Tudor minister brought to fictional life in Wolf Hall is given a definitive scholarly treatment in this long-awaited, masterful, wry biography -- Simon Heffer * Daily Telegraph (Books of the Year) *","brand":"Penguin Books Ltd","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":47832946082135,"sku":"9780241952337","price":17.09,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0817\/1739\/5799\/files\/9780241952337.jpg?v=1710339776"},{"product_id":"the-spy-and-the-traitor-9780241972137","title":"The Spy and the Traitor","description":"\u003cb\u003eBook Synopsis\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eTHE NO.1 \u003ci\u003eSUNDAY TIMES\u003c\/i\u003e BESTSELLER \u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAn exciting Cold War story about a KGB double agent, by one of Britain''s greatest historians and the ultimate gift for anyone who loves a good spy thriller!\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003e''The best true spy story I have ever read'' John le Carré\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003e________________\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eOn a warm July evening in 1985, a middle-aged man stood on the pavement of a busy avenue in the heart of Moscow, holding a plastic carrier bag. In his grey suit and tie, he looked like any other Soviet citizen. The bag alone was mildly conspicuous, printed with the red logo of Safeway, the British supermarket.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eThe man was a spy. A senior KGB officer, for more than a decade he had supplied his British spymasters with a stream of priceless secrets from deep within the Soviet intelligence machine. No spy had done more to damage the KGB. The Safeway bag was a signal: to activate his escape plan to be smuggled out of Soviet Russia. So began one of the boldest and most extraordinary episodes in the history of spying.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eBen Macintyre reveals a tale of espionage, betrayal and raw courage that changed the course of the Cold War forever . . .\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003e________________\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003e''The world''s most important spy since the Second World War. Mercilessly gripping'' \u003c\/b\u003e\u003ci\u003eSunday Times\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003e''Extraordinary. His best book yet'' \u003c\/b\u003eJohn Preston, \u003ci\u003eEvening Standard\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003e''A remarkable story of one man''s courage'' \u003c\/b\u003e\u003ci\u003eThe Times, Book of the Week\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eBen Macintyre, \u003ci\u003eSunday Times \u003c\/i\u003ebestseller, August 2023\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eTrade Review\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cp\u003eAn incredible true life spy story...Every word ramps up the tension as you're drawn deeper into the danger\u003c\/p\u003e * Mail on Sunday *\u003cbr\u003eIf any spy writer were to put it in a novel, it would not be believed. But, blow by blow, trick by trick, it is all in Macintyre's book -- Fredrick Forsyth\u003cbr\u003eHe writes like a novelist. One of the last chapters is as tense as any thriller. No wonder le Carré liked it * Daily Express *","brand":"Penguin Books Ltd","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":47832948670807,"sku":"9780241972137","price":10.44,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0817\/1739\/5799\/files\/9780241972137.jpg?v=1710339816"},{"product_id":"captain-scott-9780340826997","title":"Captain Scott","description":"\u003cb\u003eBook Synopsis\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eSir Ranulph Fiennes is uniquely qualified to write a new biography of Captain Scott. This is the first biography of Scott by someone who has experienced the deprivations, the stress and the sheer physical pain that Scott lived through; he has suffered all but the final tragedy endured by the much maligned Scott. He is determined to put the record straight. \u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eAs well as being the definitive biography of Scott, written with the full and exclusive cooperation of the Scott Estate, this book traces the way that Scott''s reputation has been attacked and his achievements distorted.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003e''Sir Ranulph Fiennes has done Captain Scott''s memory some service...he has certainly written a more dispassionate and balanced account than Huntford ever set out to do.'' - \u003ci\u003eSimon Courtauld, Spectator\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eTrade Review\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003eNo-one is better placed than Fiennes to understand what Scott may have experienced or to appreciate the enormity of his achievement. A gripping tale of courage and adventure. * \u003ci\u003eDaily Mail\u003c\/i\u003e *\u003cbr\u003eA valuable corrective to the trend of Scott debunking ushered in by Roland Huntford...One by one, and with commendable attention to detail, Fiennes explodes the accumulated myths. The world will remember Scott and, to a lesser extent, Fiennes when the memory of the mean-spirited and misleading Huntford has long since melted away. * Justin Marozzi, \u003ci\u003eSunday Telegraph\u003c\/i\u003e *\u003cbr\u003eSir Ranulph Fiennes has done Captain Scott's memory some service...he has certainly written a more dispassionate and balanced account than Huntford ever set out to do * Simon Courtauld, \u003ci\u003eSpectator\u003c\/i\u003e *\u003cbr\u003eHe is uniquely qualified...because only someone who has \"man-hauled\" across Antarctica can know what went on. Fiennes's own experiences certainly allow him to write vividly and with empathy of the hell that the men went through. He has valuable insights into the running of the Royal Geographical Society and the mounting of an expedition, and he does indeed right some wrongs. * The \u003ci\u003eSunday Times\u003c\/i\u003e *","brand":"Hodder \u0026 Stoughton","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":47833021514071,"sku":"9780340826997","price":10.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0817\/1739\/5799\/files\/9780340826997.jpg?v=1710340679"},{"product_id":"below-the-edge-of-darkness-9780349011257","title":"Below the Edge of Darkness","description":"\u003cb\u003eBook Synopsis\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eA pioneering marine biologist takes us down into the deep ocean\u003c\/b\u003e \u003cb\u003ein this ''thrilling blend of hard science and high adventure'' (\u003ci\u003eNew York Times\u003c\/i\u003e)\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eLONGLISTED FOR THE SNHN NATURAL HISTORY BOOK PRIZE\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eEdith Widder grew up determined to become a marine biologist. 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Alongside Widder, we experience life-and-death equipment malfunctions and witness breakthroughs in technology and understanding, all of it set against a growing awareness of the deteriorating health of our largest and least understood ecosy\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eTrade Review\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eA thrilling blend of hard science and high adventure\u003c\/b\u003e * New York Times Book Review *\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eA vivid account of ocean life\u003c\/b\u003e... Stylish, eloquent -- Robin McKie * Guardian Book of the Day *\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eEdie's story is one of hardscrabble optimism, two-fisted exploration and groundbreaking research\u003c\/b\u003e. As I've said many times, I'd have wrapped my submersible, the \u003ci\u003eDEEPSEA CHALLENGER, \u003c\/i\u003ein bacon if it would have lured the elusive giant squid from the depths. 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A fine account of the poetic sensibility of the period -- Thomas Marks * Daily Telegraph *","brand":"Little, Brown Book Group","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":47833046876503,"sku":"9780349121437","price":9.74,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0817\/1739\/5799\/files\/9780349121437.jpg?v=1710341202"},{"product_id":"a-pirate-of-exquisite-mind-9780552772105","title":"A Pirate Of Exquisite Mind","description":"\u003cb\u003eBook Synopsis\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cp\u003eWilliam Dampier, (1651-1715), was an English adventurer and pirate who preyed on ships on the Spanish Main. Poor and ill-educated and determined to make his fortune, he nonetheless had a passion for exploration and scientific research. \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eDampier was the first to map the winds and currents of the world''s oceans; led the first recorded party of Englishmen to set foot on Australia - 80 years before Cook; wrote about Galapagos wildlife 150 years before Darwin, who drew on Dampier''s notes in his own work; was the first travel writer: A NEW VOYAGE AROUND THE WORLD was instant bestseller when it was published in 1697 - said to have influenced the novels of Swift and Defoe. \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eA man full of contradictions: he who achieved so much ''blew it'' later in life, declining into scandal, failure and even farce. A unique man ahead of his time, he lived a large part of his life among pirates yet managed to preserve what Coleridge called his exquisite refinement of mind. 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What sets this apart from the usual kind of puff is Brandreth’s own voice, directing our responses to Gielgud’s art.’ – Kathryn Hughes, \u003cem\u003eDaily Telegraph\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cp\u003e‘Full of personal detail … a treasure trove of anecdote but also clear and informative … Brandreth’s immaculate, charming and deceptively modest book … fascinating.’ – Carole Woddis, \u003cem\u003eGlasgow Herald\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cp\u003e‘Cometh the hour, cometh the biography.’ – \u003cem\u003eStratford-upon-Avon Herald\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"The History Press Ltd","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":47833459229015,"sku":"9780750938242","price":6.39,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0817\/1739\/5799\/files\/9780750938242.jpg?v=1710346593"},{"product_id":"what-would-winston-do-dads-ask-their-questions-winston-provides-the-answers-the-perfect-gift-for-dads-this-fathers-day-9780751580501","title":"What Would Winston Do Dads ask their questions","description":"\u003cb\u003eBook Synopsis\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cp\u003e(This book is a parody and is not authorised by the Estate of Winston S. Churchill)\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cfont size=\"+2\"\u003e \u003cb\u003eTHE PERFECT GIFT FOR DADS THIS FATHER''S DAY \u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/font\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003eDear Winston,\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003eWe''ve just started our baby on solids and I''m about to change his first nappy since then. What pep talk can I give myself?\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003eReyansh, Chatham, 26\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eWC: \u003c\/b\u003e\u003ci\u003eLet us therefore brace ourselves to our duties, and so bear ourselves that if the British Empire and its Commonwealth last for a thousand years, men will still say: ''This was their finest hour''.\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e---\u003cb\u003e\u003cbr\u003eWinston Churchill, oft-named greatest Briton of all time, had wisdom in abundance. 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It's about war, science, love - or the lack of it - big ideas and small kindness. It's breathtaking. -- Arminta Wallace * IRISH TIMES (17.6.06) *\u003cbr\u003eReaders for whom the name Erwin Schrodinger conjures up only a vague image of a cat will find this absorbing novel, based on his wartime years in Dublin, a revelation. -- Christina Koning * THE TIMES (20.05.06) *\u003cbr\u003eAn atmospheric psychodrama... This evocative novel is distinguished by an undercurrent of gnawing doubt, and potent images abound. * GUARDIAN (17.6.06) *\u003cbr\u003eA surprisingly insightful novel, beautifully written * GOOD BOOK GUIDE *","brand":"Orion Publishing Co","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":47836546072919,"sku":"9780753818015","price":7.49,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0817\/1739\/5799\/files\/9780753818015.jpg?v=1710378489"},{"product_id":"augustus-from-revolutionary-to-emperor-9780753829158","title":"Augustus From Revolutionary to Emperor","description":"\u003cb\u003eBook Synopsis\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003e''Masterly'' - Robert Harris, author of \u003ci\u003eImperium\u003c\/i\u003e \u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cb\u003e''Essential reading for anyone interested in Ancient Rome'' \u003ci\u003eIndependent\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e*****\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eCaesar Augustus schemed and fought his way to absolute power. He became Rome''s first emperor and ruled for forty-four years before dying peacefully in his bed. The system he created would endure for centuries. \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eYet, despite his exceptional success, he is a difficult man to pin down, and far less well-known than his great-uncle, Julius Caesar. His story is not always edifying: he murdered his opponents, exiled his daughter when she failed to conform and freely made and broke alliances as he climbed ever higher. However, the peace and stability he fostered were real, and under his rule the empire prospered. Adrian Goldsworthy examines the ancient sources to understand the man and his times.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eTrade Review\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003eEmbarrassed by his short stature Augustus is said to have worn build-up shoes. He also had a love of crude jokes and poems, which he wrote himself. He was one part of the ultimate power couple. Aged 24 and on the verge of great power he fell in love with the beautiful, clever Livia, who was 20. Both were already married and while Augustus had a daughter, Livia was pregnant by her first husband. Livia and Augustus married three days after she gave birth. \u003cb\u003eExtraordinary\u003c\/b\u003e ... This \u003cb\u003evast accomplished\u003c\/b\u003e book ... is a book to read avidly but also dip into, to enjoy the huge range of characters and the events -- Jenny Selway * DAILY EXPRESS *\u003cbr\u003eGoldsworthy admits that pinning Augustus down is a tricky task. But he never allows any aspect of the Augustan project to slip away. The focus shifts easily from Augustus' military might to his love of poetry ... He \u003cb\u003eshines a light on the many contradictions of Augustus' character \u003c\/b\u003e... Goldsworthy doesn't hesitate to describe the emperor for what he was: a mass-murderer and then a military dictator. But he reminds us of Augustus' charm and humanity too ... Augustus took the Roman world from civil war to lasting peace and prosperity, and the mechanisms he used to obtain and maintain power were extraordinary. Like Goldsworthy's biography of Julius Caesar, this is \u003cb\u003eessential reading for anyone interested in Ancient Rome\u003c\/b\u003e -- Natalie Haynes * INDEPENDENT *\u003cbr\u003eGoldsworthy's true expertise is as a military historian and this is what really gives his biography its strength and bite: his depiction of Augustus's relationship with his legions is \u003cb\u003emasterly\u003c\/b\u003e -- Robert Harris * SUNDAY TIMES *\u003cbr\u003eThis is\u003cb\u003e a very fine story, very skilfully told\u003c\/b\u003e -- Peter Jones * LITERARY REVIEW *\u003cbr\u003eGoldsworthy\u003cb\u003e capably guides us over the rapids of modern scholarship\u003c\/b\u003e ... Goldsworthy is particularly sound on senatorial power struggles and the use of marriage to cement or break political alliances. Augustus was, incredibly, both brother-in-law and son-in-law of Antony, having previously married the under-age daughter of Antony's first wife -- Nicholas Shakespeare * DAILY TELEGRAPH *\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eSuperb, unputdownable and scholarly\u003c\/b\u003e -- Simon Sebag Montefiore * EVENING STANDARD *\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAuthoritative and always interesting\u003c\/b\u003e -- John Gray * NEW STATESMAN *\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAdrian Goldsworthy's portrait is the most trustworthy we are likely to get\u003c\/b\u003e -- Nicholas Shakespeare * DAILY TELEGRAPH 'Books for Christmas' *\u003cbr\u003eGoldsworthy is \u003cb\u003ea master storyteller\u003c\/b\u003e ... This is the account of the man who remade Rome in his image ... it's a tale that never loses it's appeal -- Miles Russell * BBC HISTORY MAGAZINE *\u003cbr\u003eGoldsworthy has fashioned an engrossing account of this extraordinary man, pointing out his many contradictions; fiercely ambitious but publicly reluctant to accept state triumphs, his power built on the success of his legions but never an outstanding soldier himself, adulterous in the extreme but a determined public supporter of traditional marriage. Augustus has been somewhat neglected in recent years, and Goldsworthy skilfully and painstakingly builds his case for greater prominence using the detail of his daily conduct and administration expertly ... This is \u003cb\u003ean excellent biography\u003c\/b\u003e, which succeeds in ranking Augustus once more high amongst the great leaders in world history * HISTORICAL NOVEL SOCIETY *\u003cbr\u003eHistorian and biographer Goldsworthy (\u003ci\u003eCaesar\u003c\/i\u003e) showcases his deep knowledge of Ancient Rome in this \u003cb\u003emasterful\u003c\/b\u003e document of a life whose themes still resonate in modern times ... A strong narrative emphasis ties the work together and is enriched by evocative details of Roman life, whether it be bathing practices, voting tendencies, or the contemporary significance of Virgil. Readers may be surprised to find ancient precedents for still-visible cultural phenomena, such as the celebrity status accorded to politicians, public delight in scandal, and leadership \"constantly reinforced by... propaganda\"... The overall effect that Goldsworthy generates is of meeting a man whose life seems hardly distant from the modern experience * PUBLISHERS WEEKLY (USA) *\u003cbr\u003eGoldsworthy has made a name for himself writing biographies of the great and the good of the Roman world. A careful scholar, he wears his knowledge lightly and is a skilled narrator and engaging writer. He brings all these attributes to play in his biography of Augustus... Goldworthy's biography demolishes some of the half-truths and tales that dog any successful ruler, and his book also acts as a brilliant history of Rome under Augustus * GOOD BOOK GUIDE *\u003cbr\u003eGoldsworthy examines the life of Augustus Caesar, who rose from obscurity to become Rome's first emperor and the most powerful and enduring in the history of the Empire. He killed and manipulated his way to the top, then reinvented himself as 'the father of his country', achieving peace and prosperity * ITALIA! *\u003cbr\u003eAdrian Goldsworthy does not hesitate to describe Emperor Augustus as he really was: a mass-murderer and then a military dictator * i NEWSPAPER *\u003cbr\u003eA timely biography of Augustus. He was Julius Caesar's adopted son who saw off his rivals and gave to Rome and its colonies a stability and a form of democracy which has a surprising significance to our own weary company of statesmen... 500 pages of solid and often exciting history -- Illtyd Harrington * CAMDEN NEW JOURNAL *\u003cbr\u003eAdrian Goldsworthy does justice to the many sides of Augustus's character: devoted husband, ruthless politician, masterly tactician. He makes complex Roman politics digestible with generous illustrations; quotations from the emperor's own writings; a glossary to help with technical terms from Roman law and politics; a list of dramatis personae; helpful end-notes, index and bibliography... The biography mixes vivid anecdotes... with narrative detail of military and political developments. -- Cally Hammond * CHURCH TIMES *\u003cbr\u003ePatiently, imaginatively but without recourse to flashy surmise, Goldsworthy offers reappraisals that inspire confidence because of their balance and good sense. Such an elusive man is never going to leap off these pages but he does begin to live and breathe -- Noonie Minogue * THE TABLET *","brand":"Orion Publishing Co","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":47836548563287,"sku":"9780753829158","price":14.24,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0817\/1739\/5799\/files\/9780753829158.jpg?v=1710378529"},{"product_id":"the-language-of-food-9781398502253","title":"The Language of Food","description":"\u003cb\u003eBook Synopsis\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e‘Exhilarating to read - thoughtful, heart-warming and poignant, with a quiet intelligence and elegance that does its heroine proud’ \u003cb\u003eBridget Collins\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e Two women\u003cbr\u003e Ten years\u003cbr\u003e A recipe for success\u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eEliza Acton, despite never having boiled an egg, became one of the world’s most successful food writers, revolutionizing cooking and cookbooks around the world. Her story is fascinating, joyful and truly inspiring.\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e The award-winning author of \u003ci\u003eThe Joyce Girl \u003c\/i\u003eseamlessly intertwines recipes and meticulously researched history, serving up the most thought-provoking and page-turning historical novel you’ll read this year. Explore the enduring struggle for women’s freedom, the exhilarating power of friendship, and the creative joy of cooking, through the life of Eliza Acton – finally out of the archives and into the public eye.\u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e England, 1835. Eliza Acton dreams of becoming a poe\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eTrade Review\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003e‘Best Feel Good Books of 2021' \u003c\/b\u003e\u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eWashington Post\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e \u003cb\u003e‘Best New Historical Novels’ \u003ci\u003eNew York Times\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e“A compelling tale of friendship, freedom and food” \u003cb\u003eBBC History Magazine\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e “Based on real-life events, The Language of Food shines a light on the woman who invented the recipe as we know it today, and whose fascinating story has long been overlooked” \u003cb\u003eHistory Revealed Magazine\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e “Based on the life of cookbook writer Eliza Acton, this is a really charming historical novel that’s full of gorgeous recipes and descriptions of food. At its core is the heart-warming story of the class-defying friendship between Eliza and Ann Kirby, her kitchen help” \u003cb\u003eGOOD HOUSEKEEPING\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e “This charming story of a friendship that was formed in a kitchen is based on the real life of food writer and poet Eliza Acton, who created one of Britain’s first cookery books. I loved the bond that she and her kitchen help Anna Kirby forge despite the huge difference in their class; they’re both very determined women. A fabulous historical novel” \u003cb\u003ePRIMA\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e “Eliza Acton had never even boiled an egg so how did she become a successful cookery writer? We find out in this beautiful fictionalisation of her life. It is 1835 and poet Eliza is told by her publisher to write a cookery book instead. Disheartened but determined, she hires teenagers Ann Kirby to help her. Over the next 10 years they develop a friendship that sees them change the face of cookery writing forever”\u003cb\u003e WOMAN \u0026amp; HOME\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e \u003cb\u003e\"\u003c\/b\u003eBefore Nigella, before Julia Childs, before even Mrs Beeton, there was Eliza Acton who dreams of being a poet but in 1835, the only way for her to get published and to keep her family in funds is to write a cookery book. To this end, Eliza takes on a maid, Ann Kirby, and forge an unlikely partnership even as Eliza embarks on writing what is now considered the first modern cookery book.Told from both Eliza and Ann’s voices, \u003ci\u003eThe Language Of Food\u003c\/i\u003e, is a feast for the senses and also shows that its friendship, rather than food, that nourishes the soul. Julie And Julia but make it Victorian!\" \u003cb\u003eRED\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e “Cleverly wearing together the story of how \u003ci\u003eModern Cookery for Private Families\u003c\/i\u003e came to be written, the author divides the narrative voice between Acton and Kirby, her housemaid, two women from different backgrounds, but who share the same feelings of frustration and loneliness… The pair are beautifully fleshed out characters, who become adept at the balancing of tastes, textures and unfamiliar spices” \u003cb\u003eCOUNTRY LIFE\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e \"A feast for the senses, this inspiring book is about friendship, passion and determination. I loved it!\" \u003cb\u003eMY WEEKLY\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e \"The two women’s exploration of food and friendship is winningly told and we are rooting for Eliza in her quest for independence and publishing success. The novel comes with some of Eliza’s recipes; and I can gluttonously report that the chocolate custards are as delicious as the novel\"\u003cb\u003e THE TIMES\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e“Eliza Acton had never even boiled an egg, so how did she become of the top cookery writers of all time? We find out in this beautiful fictionalisation of her life” \u003cb\u003eWOMAN\u003c\/b\u003e and \u003cb\u003eWOMAN'S WEEKLY\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e'A sensual feast of a novel, written with elegance, beauty, charm and skill in a voice that is both lyrical and unique’ \u003cb\u003eSanta Montefiore\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e‘I love Abbs’s writing and the extraordinary, hidden stories she unearths. Eliza Acton is her best discovery yet’ \u003cb\u003eClare Pooley\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e \u003ci\u003e'\u003c\/i\u003eA feast for the senses, rich with the flavours of Victorian England, I prepared every dish with Eliza and Ann and devoured every page. A literary - and culinary - triumph!' \u003cb\u003eHazel Gaynor\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e ‘Exhilarating to read - thoughtful, heart-warming and poignant, with a quiet intelligence and elegance that does its heroine proud’ \u003cb\u003eBridget Collins\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e 'A sumptuous banquet of a book that nourished me and satisfied me just as Eliza Acton’s meals would have... I adored it' \u003cb\u003ePolly Crosby\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e ‘An effervescent novel, bursting with delectable language and elegant details about cookbook writer, Eliza Acton. Don’t miss this intimate glimpse into the early English kitchens and snapshot of food history’ \u003cb\u003eSara Dahmen\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e ‘Wonderful... Abbs is such a good story teller. She catches period atmosphere and character so well’ \u003cb\u003eVanessa Nicolson\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e 'Two of my favourite topics in one elegantly written novel - women’s lives and food history. I absolutely loved it' \u003cb\u003ePolly Russell\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e 'A story of courage, unlikely friendship and an exceptional character, told in vibrant and immersive prose' \u003cb\u003eCaroline Scott\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e ‘Richly imagined and emotionally tender’ \u003cb\u003ePen Vogler\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e 'Characters that leap off the page, a fascinating story and so much atmosphere, you feel you're in the kitchen with Eliza - I loved it.' \u003cb\u003eFrances Quinn\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e 'I was inspired by Eliza's passion, her independence, her bravery and ambition. Like a cook's pantry, \u003ci\u003eThe Language of Food\u003c\/i\u003e is full of wonderful ingredients, exciting possibilities and secrets. 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Ben-Zion Blustein and Andrei Sawoniuk were childhood friends in 1930s Domachevo, a holiday and health resort in what is now Belarus. During the events that followed the \u003cb\u003eNazi invasion in 1941\u003c\/b\u003e, they became the bitterest of enemies. After the war, Ben-Zion made his way to Israel, and ‘Andrusha the bastard’ to England, where he found work as a British Rail ticket collector in London.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eTrade Review\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e'In this \u003cb\u003ebrilliantly gripping\u003c\/b\u003e mix of true crime and narrative history, Mike Anderson and Neil Hanson tell the story of the first and only war crimes trial to be held on British soil... To their great credit, Anderson and Hanson avoid piling on the horror, letting the court transcripts speak for themselves.' -- Kathryn Hughes * Sunday Times *\u003cbr\u003e'Here we meet the gulf whose existence is \u003cb\u003eso well illustrated\u003c\/b\u003e in this book - that between court truth and historical truth. One of the great values of Anderson and Hanson's \u003cb\u003eexcellent\u003c\/b\u003e work is to demonstrate that there are several distinct kinds of justice.' -- David Aaronovitch * The Times *\u003cbr\u003e'A \u003cb\u003eriveting and haunting\u003c\/b\u003e book that raises important questions about how far justice should reach when confronted with the worst of crimes.' -- Roger Alton * Daily Mail *\u003cbr\u003e'Sawoniuk ignored the advice of his own lawyers and took the stand. The old man's angry testimony is the high point of the book... The authors have interviewed most of the key players in this \u003cb\u003eheart-rending\u003c\/b\u003e tale and the result is a \u003cb\u003esensitive and well-balanced\u003c\/b\u003e account of an extraordinary moment in British legal history.' -- Saul David * Sunday Telegraph *\u003cbr\u003e'\u003cb\u003eAn extraordinary tale\u003c\/b\u003e, not least because of the light it throws on on the persistence and thoroughness of the British legal system... The account of how he was finally identified and tracked down makes lively reading... It makes for \u003cb\u003efascinating\u003c\/b\u003e reading.' -- Caroline Moorehead * Spectator *\u003cbr\u003e'\u003cb\u003eEngrossing\u003c\/b\u003e. The book...arrive[s] in gift-wrapped form for any smart TV or film producer - with characters who don't so much as jump but leap off the page and into your imagination. Forgive the hyperbole but this is \u003cb\u003ethe\u003c\/b\u003e \u003cb\u003estory\u003c\/b\u003e \u003cb\u003ewith\u003c\/b\u003e \u003cb\u003eeverything\u003c\/b\u003e... A \u003cb\u003eterrific\u003c\/b\u003e achievement.' -- Adrian Hennigan * Haaretz *","brand":"Simon \u0026 Schuster Ltd","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":47836701065559,"sku":"9781398503298","price":9.49,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0817\/1739\/5799\/files\/9781398503298.jpg?v=1710381031"},{"product_id":"once-a-king-9781399723930","title":"Once a King","description":"\u003cb\u003eBook Synopsis\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003eUsing never before seen sources, \u003ci\u003eOnce a King\u003c\/i\u003e is a fresh, revelatory and gripping insight into the Duke of Windsor - King Edward VIII - who gave up the throne to marry the woman he loved, twice divorced American Wallis Simpson.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e Considering Edward VIII's travels and interests as Prince of Wales as well as his relationship with Wallis Simpson and the course of events leading up to his abdication and subsequent exile, \u003ci\u003eOnce a King\u003c\/i\u003e offers a previously unexplored lens through which we encounter first-hand the hitherto concealed subtlety and raw emotion of two of the twentieth century's most iconic Royal figures: the Duke and Duchess of Windsor.\u003cbr\u003e  ","brand":"Hodder \u0026 Stoughton","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":47836763750743,"sku":"9781399723930","price":21.25,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0817\/1739\/5799\/files\/9781399723930.jpg?v=1710382298"},{"product_id":"russian-roulette-9781408713440","title":"Russian Roulette","description":"\u003cb\u003eBook Synopsis\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cp\u003eProbably the greatest British novelist of his generation, Graham Greene''s own story was as strange and compelling as those he told of Pinkie the Mobster, Harry Lime, or the Whisky Priest. A restless traveller, he was a witness to many of the key events of modern history - including the origins of the Vietnam War, the Mau Mau Rebellion, the betrayal of the double-agent Kim Philby, the rise of Fidel Castro, and the guerrilla wars of Central America.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eTraumatized as a boy and thought a Judas among his schoolmates, Greene tried Russian Roulette and attempted suicide. He suffered from bipolar illness, which caused havoc in his private life as his marriage failed, and one great love after another suffered shipwreck, until in his later years he found constancy in a decidedly unconventional relationship.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eOften called a Catholic novelist, his works came to explore the no man''s land between belief and unbelief. 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Richard Greene has mastered a tremendous amount of material -- Nicholas Shakespeare * Spectator *\u003cbr\u003eRichard Greene-no relation-says ruefully of Graham Greene that his life is \"sometimes boiled down to sex, books and depression\" by critics. In his exhaustive, engaging study of Greene, his biographer attempts to reclaim him as a writer who speaks to our \"unquiet world\" rather than being mired in \"Greeneland,\" a place where betrayal and guilt trudge glumly on together . . . This thoughtful book clearly shows the cost of a life lived on the run -- Alexander Larman * Prospect *\u003cbr\u003eThank goodness for Richard Greene, whose splendid one-volume biography offers a succinct counterbalance to Sherry's inedible trifle and conjures the man Evelyn Waugh nicknamed \"Grisjambon Vert\" (French for \"grey ham green\") in all his perplexing variety. Where Sherry is tactless and indecorous, Richard Greene (no relation) is respectful and considered. Crisply written, \u003ci\u003eRussian Roulette\u003c\/i\u003e takes its title from Greene's vaunted flirtation with suicide as a teenager in Berkhamsted outside London, where his father was a school headmaster . . . Cogently argued and happily free of jargon,\u003ci\u003e Russian Roulette\u003c\/i\u003e offers a long-needed antidote to \"dirty linen\" biographers who have sought to expose a darker shade of Greene and, in consequence, lost sight of the books. At last Graham Greene has the biographer he deserves -- Ian Thomson * Evening Standard *\u003cbr\u003eA brilliant new biography * Daily Mail *\u003cbr\u003eThe best biography I read this year . . . Richard Greene never met the author, but he conjures him back to life in a sensible, unsensational way -- Nicholas Shakespeare * Spectator *\u003cbr\u003eWell-researched, neatly written * Private Eye *\u003cbr\u003eSeamlessly and perceptively, Greene's life experiences are melded with the content of his novels, to establish him as a master craftsman who comes close to greatness * Daily Mail *\u003cbr\u003ePerceptive, refreshingly unsolemn, lively, at times funny, and shrewd throughout. It's also a wonderfully bright and entertaining read -- John Banville\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Little, Brown Book Group","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":47836858581335,"sku":"9781408713440","price":11.24,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0817\/1739\/5799\/files\/9781408713440.jpg?v=1710383870"},{"product_id":"spanish-gold-9781408822166","title":"Spanish Gold","description":"\u003cb\u003eBook Synopsis\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eThe amazing true story of Blackbeard, Calico Jack and all the other pirates of the Caribbean and Captain Woodes Rogers, the privateer turned governor of the Bahamas, who brought them to book.\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cb\u003eBoth a brilliant idea and an engrossing book that tells the story of a ship of the line in Nelson''s day'' \u003c\/b\u003eBernard Cornwell, Books of the Year, \u003ci\u003eMail on Sunday\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cb\u003eDavid Cordingly is a brilliant historian: authoritative but easy to read, with an eye for the story yet with a touch light enough to let the facts speak for themselves'' \u003c\/b\u003e\u003ci\u003eDaily Telegraph\u003c\/i\u003eToday most of us know what we know about pirates from icons like Long John Silver and Jack Sparrow. 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Cochrane packed enough drama and history to shame both Horatio Nelson and Sir Francis Drake' * Washington Post *","brand":"Bloomsbury Publishing PLC","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":47836867166551,"sku":"9781408822166","price":15.29,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0817\/1739\/5799\/files\/9781408822166.jpg?v=1710384167"},{"product_id":"the-international-brigades-9781408854075","title":"The International Brigades","description":"\u003cb\u003eBook Synopsis\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003e** Shortlisted for the Military History Matters Book of the Year Award **\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cb\u003e''Magnificent. Narrative history at its vivid and compelling best'' Fergal Keane\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cb\u003eThe first major history of the International Brigades: a tale of blood, ideals and tragedy in the fight against fascism.\u003c\/b\u003eThe Spanish Civil War was the first armed battle in the fight against fascism, and a rallying cry for a generation. Over 35,000 volunteers from sixty-one countries around the world came to defend democracy against the troops of Franco, Hitler and Mussolini.Ill-equipped and disorderly, yet fuelled by a shared sense of purpose and potential glory, these disparate groups of idealistic young men and women formed a volunteer army of a size and type unseen since the Crusades, known as the International Brigades. Were they heroes or fools? Saints or bloodthirsty adventurers? And what exactly did they achieve?In this magisterial history, Giles Tremlett tells for the first time the story of the Spanish C\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eTrade Review\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eA narrative of astonishing scope \u003c\/b\u003e… This latest study is \u003cb\u003ea remarkable act of scholarship, as well as being captivatingly readable\u003c\/b\u003e. The first overarching history of the brigades in English, it is alive with the testimonies of those who fought, and so much richer for stretching far beyond the obvious and famous Anglophone accounts of men of letters … Tremlett is a worthy custodian of their stories. He has created \u003cb\u003ea dazzling mosaic of vignettes and sources, of lives lived and lost, of acts of heroism, solidarity, betrayal and futility\u003c\/b\u003e, that builds to a grand picture of a conflict that drew idealists from across the world. The war left many of them in despair, injured or dead – but also hardened many more in their determination to defeat fascism. This book is \u003cb\u003eas close to a definitive history as we are likely to get\u003c\/b\u003e -- Dan Hancox * Guardian *\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eTremlett’s book marks a heroic episode in the history of the left\u003c\/b\u003e. At a time when real fascists with real guns are patrolling the streets of American cities, and when far-right violence is on the rise in Spain, the sacrifice of the International Brigaders deserves to be remembered. In doing so, Tremlett reminds us that even just wars are dirty and chaotic, breeding grounds of sadism and injustice, and that the selfless often die first -- Paul Mason * Observer *\u003cbr\u003eThis \u003cb\u003eevocative\u003c\/b\u003e study is the first comprehensive history in English of all the 35,000 international volunteers who fought the combined forces of Hitler, Mussolini and Franco in Spain … Far more than a civil war, it was Europe’s war against Fascism. \u003cb\u003eGiles Tremlett encapsulates its huge stakes perfectly\u003c\/b\u003e … There’s no feeling of a heavy read here, such is Tremlett’s deft handling of the material and page-turning prose. \u003cb\u003eThe story races along, replete with memorable stories and poignant vignettes\u003c\/b\u003e … [A] \u003cb\u003egripping\u003c\/b\u003e book … \u003cb\u003eThrough it, the 1930s come hurtling into our twenty-first century present \u003c\/b\u003e -- Helen Graham * Literary Review *\u003cbr\u003eThe bravery and sacrifices of the volunteers from all over the world who fought fascism in Spain keep alive interest in the civil war. Many of the tens of thousands of books about the conflict are about the International Brigades but there has never been one like Giles Tremlett’s \u003cb\u003edeeply moving and endlessly informative\u003c\/b\u003e account. Bursting with memorable quotes and anecdotes, it provides, in lucid and compelling prose, \u003cb\u003ethe overall history of the Brigades that has been lacking\u003c\/b\u003e -- Paul Preston\u003cbr\u003eMagnificent. \u003cb\u003eNarrative history at its vivid and compelling best\u003c\/b\u003e -- Fergal Keane\u003cbr\u003eMore than eighty years after the civil war ended on April 1, 1939, the story of what inspired left-wing sympathisers from all over the world to fight, and what became of them, \u003cb\u003estill fascinates and impassions\u003c\/b\u003e … It is an \u003cb\u003eepic tale\u003c\/b\u003e and Giles Tremlett’s \u003ci\u003eThe International Brigades \u003c\/i\u003enails it with the decisiveness of a political commissar’s bullet to the back of a deserter’s head. \u003cb\u003eUsing widely trawled research, he has created an electrifying narrative that brings to life the idealism, suffering, chaos and paranoia\u003c\/b\u003e of what a journalist at the time called the “most truly international army the world has seen since the Crusades” … \u003cb\u003eA powerful portrayal\u003c\/b\u003e of an episode underpinned by what Nehru, after visiting a British unit, called “so much human courage, so much of what was worthwhile in life\" -- Isambard Wilkinson * The Times *\u003cbr\u003eTremlett deftly interweaves this\u003cb\u003e rich archival material \u003c\/b\u003ewith \u003cb\u003ecolourful first-hand accounts\u003c\/b\u003e from numerous participants … \u003cb\u003eA highly engaging read\u003c\/b\u003e, helped considerably by the author’s fluid prose style and journalist’s eye for a good story ... \u003cb\u003eA well-researched and comprehensive work of scholarship\u003c\/b\u003e -- Richard Baxell * Spectator *","brand":"Bloomsbury Publishing PLC","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":47836870181207,"sku":"9781408854075","price":14.24,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0817\/1739\/5799\/files\/9781408854075.jpg?v=1710384278"},{"product_id":"thomas-cromwell-9781444782882","title":"Thomas Cromwell","description":"\u003cb\u003eBook Synopsis\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003e\u003ch3\u003e THE CAPTIVATING TRUE STORY OF THE MAN WHO INSPIRED \u003ci\u003eWOLF HALL\u003c\/i\u003e, MASTERFULLY TOLD: NOW REVISED WITH A NEW CHAPTER \u003c\/h3\u003e\n\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003eReaders LOVE \u003ci\u003eThomas Cromwell\u003c\/i\u003e:\u003cbr\u003e''Very well written and engaging; I found it hard to put it down . . . Great book and one I will read again.'' ????? \u003cbr\u003e''This is one of the most fascinating biographies I''ve read.'' ????? \u003cbr\u003e''There have been many biographies of Cromwell, but Tracy Borman''s book must rank among the very best.'' ????? \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e------------\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eKnown widely as Henry VIII''s ''right-hand man'', Cromwell has captured imaginations throughout the centuries: but who was he \u003ci\u003ereally\u003c\/i\u003e? In this major new biography, leading historian Tracy Borman examines the life, loves and legacy of the man who changed the shape of England forever.\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eBorn a lowly tavern keeper''s son, Cromwell rose swiftly through the ranks to become Henry VIII''s right hand man, and one of the most powerful figures in Tudor history. The architect of England''s break with the Roman Catholic Church and the dissolution of the monasteries, he oversaw seismic changes in England''s history. Influential in securing Henry''s controversial divorce from Catherine of Aragon, many believe he was also the ruthless force behind Anne Boleyn''s downfall and subsequent execution.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eAlthough for years he has been reviled as a Machiavellian schemer who stopped at nothing in his quest for power, Thomas Cromwell was also a loving husband, father and guardian, a witty and generous host, and a loyal and devoted servant. 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Independent\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e''Tracy Borman tells us succinctly in 400 pages what we need to know about the man who rose to be the king''s highest adviser ... \u003cb\u003ea very good book\u003c\/b\u003e.'' ? The Times\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e''Tracy Borman''s study makes clear his achievements, both admirable and despicable ... Borman has read an impressively wide range of modern historical literature on Cromwell.'' ? Guardian\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e''Borman''s is a \u003cb\u003ehighly readable\u003c\/b\u003e account, and will add to the debate surrounding this ultimately elusive character.'' ? Financial Times\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e''Elegant ... her prose, as ever, glides beautifully along.'' ? Sunday Times\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e''An engaging biography.'' ? Evening Standard\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eTrade Review\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003eDr Tracy Borman has crafted an exceptional and compelling biography about one of the Tudor age's most complex and controversial figures. With expert insights based on a wealth of research, and riveting detail, she has brought Thomas Cromwell to life as never before. * Alison Weir *\u003cbr\u003eThis deeply researched and grippingly written biography brings Cromwell to life and exposes the Henrician court in all its brutal, glittering splendour. -- Kate Williams * Independent *\u003cbr\u003eTracy Borman tells us succinctly in 400 pages what we need to know about the man who rose to be the king's highest adviser ... a very good book. * The Times *\u003cbr\u003eTracy Borman's study makes clear his achievements, both admirable and despicable ... 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Ferocious winds that can pick you up and throw you down, freezing temperatures that burn your lungs and numb your bones, weeks of psychological torment in dark isolation: these are adventures for those with an iron will and a ruthless determination.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eFor the first time, award-winning author \u003cb\u003eBernadette McDonald\u003c\/b\u003e tells the story of how Poland’s ice warriors made winter their own, perfecting what they dubbed ‘the art of suffering’ as they fought their way to the summit of Everest in the winter of 1980 – the first 8,000-metre peak they climbed this way but by no means their last. She reveals what it was that inspired the Poles to take up this brutal game, how increasing numbers of climbers from other nations were inspired to enter the arena, and how competition intensified as each remaining peak finally submitted to leave just one awaiting a winter ascent, the meanest of them all: K2.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003ci\u003e\u003cb\u003eWinter 8000\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e is the story of true adventure at its most demanding.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eTrade Review\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003ci\u003eMcDonald shines a burning and intimate light into the souls of those who push themselves to the very edge of what is humanly possible. 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With vividness and keen insight, she evokes a world that few experience first-hand: the landscapes of black ice, thin air and searing cold – as well as the haunting inner realms of people drawn to the isolation of the highest peaks and the darkest months.\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eKATIE IVES, \u003ci\u003eALPINIST\u003c\/i\u003e EDITOR-IN-CHIEF\u003c\/p\u003e -- Katie Ives\u003cbr\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003ci\u003eReading Bernadette’s superb book brought back memories of our attempt on the South-West Face of Everest in autumn 1972 when the wind and bitter cold overtook us. K2 is the only 8,000-metre peak still unclimbed in winter. Already the most difficult and dangerous mountain in the world, its first winter ascent remains a huge challenge for climbers of this generation and the future.\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eSIR CHRIS BONINGTON\u003c\/p\u003e -- Sir Chris Bonington\u003cbr\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003ci\u003eThere are no stories more terrifying, dramatic, and tearful than the abundant struggles, frequent tragedies, and rare successes in winter Himalayan climbing.\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eSTEVE HOUSE, ALPINIST, AUTHOR OF \u003ci\u003eBEYOND THE MOUNTAIN\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e -- Steve House\u003cbr\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003ci\u003eBernadette McDonald has done it again. She has chronicled the first winter ascents of the fourteen highest peaks on Earth by men and women who pushed the limits of mountaineering to glorious new extremes at a terrible cost. Rich in character and conflict, \u003c\/i\u003eWinter 8000 \u003ci\u003enever turns its back on the central question: Is it worth the risk?\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eDAVID ROBERTS, AWARD-WINNING AUTHOR OF \u003ci\u003eMOUNTAIN OF MY FEAR\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e -- David Roberts\u003cbr\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003ci\u003eBernadette McDonald’s clear-eyed portrayal of the men and women who embark on these ferocious adventures reveals their addiction to the cruel, rarefied beauty of the high Himalaya, and how intense ambition pushes them to risk destroying their lives and shattering the hearts of those who love them.\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eMARIA COFFEY, AUTHOR OF \u003ci\u003eWHERE THE MOUNTAIN CASTS ITS SHADOW\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e -- Maria Coffey\u003cbr\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003ci\u003eWith this book, Bernadette McDonald burnishes her already shining reputation as one of our great climbing historians. These accounts give us a fascinating portrayal of the few alpinists who are willing to endure winter ascents of the world’s highest mountains.\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eSTEVE SWENSON, AUTHOR OF \u003ci\u003eKARAKORAM: CLIMBING THROUGH THE KASHMIR CONFLICT\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e -- Steve Swenson\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eTable of Contents\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cp\u003eIntroduction A Solitary Vision\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eChapter One Everest – First Time Lucky\u003cbr\u003eChapter Two Manaslu – Zakopane Boys\u003cbr\u003eChapter Three Dhaulagiri – The Looking Glass\u003cbr\u003eChapter Four Cho Oyu – Two for Two\u003cbr\u003eChapter Five Kangchenjunga – How Much Is Too Much?\u003cbr\u003eChapter Six Annapurna – Carpe Diem\u003cbr\u003eChapter Seven Lhotse – Climbing in a Corset\u003cbr\u003eChapter Eight Shishapangma – The Italian\u003cbr\u003eChapter Nine Makalu – Two Against the Wind\u003cbr\u003eChapter Ten Gasherbrum II – Avalanche\u003cbr\u003eChapter Eleven Gasherbrum I – Lost Fathers\u003cbr\u003eChapter Twelve Broad Peak – Unfinished Business\u003cbr\u003eChapter Thirteen Nanga Parbat – Magnificent Obsession\u003cbr\u003eChapter Fourteen K2 – A Mountain for Thoroughbreds\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eConclusion Ice Warriors\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eAppendix A Selected List of Climbers\u003cbr\u003eAppendix B Summary of First Winter Ascents of 8000ers\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Vertebrate Publishing Ltd","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":47850498949463,"sku":"9781912560387","price":20.4,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0817\/1739\/5799\/files\/9781912560387.jpg?v=1710614659"},{"product_id":"the-bathysphere-book-effects-of-the-luminous-ocean-depths-9781911590859","title":"The Bathysphere Book: Effects of the Luminous","description":"\u003cb\u003eBook Synopsis\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e'Hypnotic... raises questions of exploration and wonder, of nature and humanity' New York Times Book Review 'Exquisite and shocking... just as any exploration of the deep should be' Helen Scales, author of The Brilliant Abyss '[A] rich, strange book' China Miéville, author of The City \u0026amp; the City ____________ 11 June, 1930. On a ship floating near the Atlantic island of Nonsuch, a curious steel ball is lowered 3000 feet into the sea. Crumpled up inside, gazing through three-inch thick quartz windows, sits the famed zoologist William Beebe. With uncontrollable excitement, he watches as bizarre, never-before-seen creatures flit out of the inky blackness, illuminated by explosions of bioluminescence. He is the first person to witness this alien world. Beebe's dives take place against the backdrop of a transforming and paradoxical America, home to ground-breaking scientists, eccentric adventurers, and eugenicist billionaires. Yet under the ocean's crushing pressure, scientific expectations disintegrate; the colour spectrum shatters into new dimensions; outlandish organisms thrive where no one expected them. The Bathysphere Book blends research, storytelling, and poetic experiments, traveling through entangled histories of scientific discovery into the bottomless magic of the deep unknown. ____________ Further praise for The Bathysphere Book 'The life work of an explorer-scientist becomes a thing of rich poetry' Helen Gordon, author of Notes from Deep Time 'A breathtaking book, full of suspense, revelation, and beauty' Sy Montgomery, author of The Soul of an Octopus 'An exhilarating read... shiveringly exciting, important, and new' Martin MacInnes, author of In Ascension 'An impressionistic work of art depicting one of the greatest moments of discovery in human history... tantalizing glimpses of deep-sea life' Edith Widder, author of Below the Edge of Darkness: Exploring Light and Life in the Deep Sea 'A genre-deying book about oceans that is imbued with intelligence, curiosity and wonder' Joanna Pocock, author of Surrender 'A brilliant work of literary art... a time-bending, gem-laden constellation' Wayne Koestenbaum, author of Ultramarine\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eTrade Review\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e'Brad Fox knows that the descent into the deep meant a sea-change not just in science, but in aesthetics, philosophy, the sense of what it is to be human. 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The vigor, pluck, and compression of his language turn a linear chronicle into a time-bending, gem-laden constellation, with surprising flashes of wit, gossip, and melodrama' - Wayne Koestenbaum, author of '\u003ci\u003eUltramarine\u003c\/i\u003e' and '\u003ci\u003eThe Cheerful Scapegoat'\u003c\/i\u003e","brand":"Pushkin Press","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":47850525524311,"sku":"9781911590859","price":18.7,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0817\/1739\/5799\/files\/9781911590859.jpg?v=1710615131"},{"product_id":"treasure-islands-true-tales-of-a-shipwreck-hunter-9781780277400","title":"Treasure Islands: True Tales of a Shipwreck","description":"\u003cb\u003eBook Synopsis\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eAn extraordinary true story of danger, innovation and deep sea discovery.\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eIn 1971 Alec Crawford is determined to make his fortune from ship salvage. 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But if they succeed, the rewards will be enormous…\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eTrade Review\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cp\u003e'Absorbing … Crawford writes of difficult and very dangerous work with a good deal of sangfroid. Good humour and an absence of hyperbole make this an unusually likeable, as well as interesting, memoir'\u003c\/p\u003e -- Allan Massie * Scotsman *\u003cbr\u003e\u003cp\u003e'Crawford is a born story-teller, and his tales unfold as easily and naturally as he were an old friend'\u003c\/p\u003e * The Shetland Times *\u003cbr\u003e\u003cp\u003e'The combination of proper adventure, sunken treasure, Scottish islands, memories of fragile communities, the affection this book is written with, and the pleasure of spending time in the company of someone who's achieved some really notable things gives this book a much broader appeal than you might initially suppose ... It's a story of genuine adventure ... Highly recommended'\u003c\/p\u003e * Desperate Reader Blogspot *\u003cbr\u003e\u003cp\u003e'Crawford has had a long career in rescuing sometimes very valuable stuff from deep water, but his book \u003cem\u003eTreasure Islands\u003c\/em\u003e tells the story of the early days, diving on shallow wrecks in the Forth, the Western Isles and Shetland…Going down there and rummaging through things… you must have been conscious of the danger but it sounds quite Wild West'\u003c\/p\u003e * BBC Radio Scotland *\u003cbr\u003e\u003cp\u003e'Crawford pioneered many of the methods now used in deep sea recovery, but this book is more about the excitement than the technicalities. It is also a love song to Scotland and a vanishing way of life'\u003c\/p\u003e * Sorted Magazine *\u003cbr\u003e\u003cp\u003e'A thrilling memoir ... [with] good humour throughout'\u003c\/p\u003e * The Bookseller *\u003cbr\u003e\u003cp\u003e'Treasure Islands is a fascinating and intriguing book… Alec Crawford is the underwater version of Robert Louis Stevenson with his incredible stories of the many wrecks he has dived'\u003c\/p\u003e -- Cordon Cagailte * Stornoway Gazette *","brand":"Birlinn General","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":47851347050839,"sku":"9781780277400","price":9.49,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0817\/1739\/5799\/files\/9781780277400.jpg?v=1710635196"},{"product_id":"the-duchess-countess-9781471172588","title":"The Duchess Countess","description":"\u003cb\u003eBook Synopsis\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eA \u003ci\u003eSPECTATOR \u003c\/i\u003eBOOK OF THE YEAR\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eA \u003ci\u003eTIMES\u003c\/i\u003e BOOK OF THE YEAR\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eA \u003ci\u003eTELEGRAPH\u003c\/i\u003e BOOK OF THE YEAR\u003cbr\u003e A \u003ci\u003eVOGUE\u003c\/i\u003e BOOK OF THE YEAR\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003e'A rollicking read... [Ostler] tells Elizabeth's story with admirable style and gusto' \u003ci\u003eSunday Times\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003e'Terrifically entertaining: if you liked \u003ci\u003eBridgerton\u003c\/i\u003e, you’ll love \u003c\/b\u003e\u003cb\u003ethis. . . and her\u003c\/b\u003e \u003cb\u003eresearch is impeccable' \u003ci\u003eEvening Standard\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eWhen the glamorous Elizabeth Chudleigh, Duchess of Kingston, Countess of Bristol, went on trial at Westminster Hall for bigamy in April 1776, the story drew more attention in society than the American War of Independence.\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e A clandestine, candlelit wedding to the young heir to an earldom, a second marriage to a Duke, a lust for diamonds and an electrifying appearance at a masquerade ball in a diaphanous dress: no wonder \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eTrade Review\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e‘What a \u003cb\u003esuperb, gripping, decadent\u003c\/b\u003e, colourful biography that brings an extraordinary woman and a whole world blazingly to life. Filled new research, written so elegantly with empathy, passion and cool analysis, \u003ci\u003eThe\u003c\/i\u003e \u003ci\u003eDuchess Countess\u003c\/i\u003e is an \u003cb\u003eunforgettable, unputdownable\u003c\/b\u003e read that seems both modern and historical, utterly relevant today - featuring a cast of characters from Marie Antoinette to Catherine the Great, but also the life of a woman who is both adventuress and victim, who achieved vast wealth and great notoriety, becoming one of Europe's most famous women and the star of the most scandalous court case of the century.’ -- Simon Sebag Montefiore\u003cbr\u003e‘Although this book is a \u003cb\u003ebeautifully written\u003c\/b\u003e and deeply researched life of one of the most remarkable women of the eighteenth century, it is also a \u003cb\u003escintillating portrait of an age\u003c\/b\u003e. Since Elizabeth Chudleigh knew so many of Europe’s most talented, fascinating and important people – as well as its most dissipated rakes – the book is populated by as wide a galere of personalities as one is ever likely to meet in a biography. The author has ransacked every archive and visited every place connected with her subject from London to St Petersburg, and the result is the first ever fair-minded estimation of one of the great adventuresses of history. \u003cb\u003eFunny, intelligent, witty, profound and on occasion moving\u003c\/b\u003e, this book sets a new standard for eighteenth-century biography writing.’ -- Andrew Roberts, author of Churchill: Walking with Destiny and Napoleon the Great\u003cbr\u003e‘\u003cb\u003eFascinating. Magnificent. Sensitively told\u003c\/b\u003e. Complex, capricious, beautiful and boldly ambitious, Elizabeth Chudleigh was also one of the most reviled women in Georgian England. In resurrecting her tale, Catherine Ostler allows the Duchess of Kingston to emerge from the prejudices of the past like a resplendent phoenix.’ -- Hallie Rubenhold\u003cbr\u003e‘This is \u003cb\u003ea scintillating story superbly told\u003c\/b\u003e by Catherine Ostler... She has a remarkable ability to demonstrate her deep knowledge of the period without being boring or a show-off. She packs every paragraph with \u003cb\u003eeye-opening detail\u003c\/b\u003e, making you feel as though you’re living in the 18th century, but never veers from the central story of a woman trying to hold herself together in that vicious society while the men did as they pleased.’ -- Ysenda Maxtone Graham * The Times *\u003cbr\u003e'\u003cb\u003eA rollicking read\u003c\/b\u003e...[Ostler] tells Elizabeth's story with admirable \u003cb\u003estyle and gusto\u003c\/b\u003e, and clearly finds her heroine irresistible. A series of gloriously implausible soap-opera twists... anticipating Thackeray's Becky Sharp... All this would be entertaining enough, but the real drama was yet to come. No wonder the scandal sheets loved it.' -- Dominic Sandbrook * Sunday Times *\u003cbr\u003e‘Before there was Becky Sharp, there was Elizabeth Chudleigh, Duchess of Kingston and the greatest social grifter of them all. She lives once again, thanks to Catherine Ostler's \u003cb\u003ecaptivating\u003c\/b\u003e biography. Definitely dangerous to know, pretty bad and quite possibly mad, there's no better fun to be had than a ringside seat at the tragi-comic circus that was her life.’ -- Amanda Foreman, author of Georgiana, Duchess of Devonshire\u003cbr\u003e'In this \u003cb\u003eskilful and highly entertaining\u003c\/b\u003e biography, Ostler theorises that the uninhibited Chudleigh was a bit unhinged. The \u003cb\u003ereal strength\u003c\/b\u003e of the book is the author’s painstaking effort to corral all the facts in recounting a life that even her contemporaries found wildly improbable. \u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eBridgerton\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e fans take note: for sheer incident and drama, Chudleigh’s story \u003cb\u003erivals any episode of the popular Regency-era Netflix series\u003c\/b\u003e. And it’s all true.' -- Clare McHugh * Washington Post *\u003cbr\u003e'\u003cb\u003eExcellent\u003c\/b\u003e... Ostler has undertaken \u003cb\u003eimpressive\u003c\/b\u003e international archival \u003cb\u003eresearch\u003c\/b\u003e and always follows the money meticulously. The book’s spritely, wry tone is \u003cb\u003ea pleasure to read\u003c\/b\u003e throughout. By the end, however, I was ... in awe of Catherine Ostler’s thoughtful portraiture, both of Elizabeth Chudleigh and her century.' -- Ophelia Field * Times Literary Supplement *\u003cbr\u003e‘A \u003cb\u003emasterclass\u003c\/b\u003e in biography. Ostler brings her protagonist to life with \u003cb\u003edazzling prose, meticulous research and unique human sensibility\u003c\/b\u003e. An immersive, glamorous odyssey stretching from rural England to the glittering palaces of St Petersburg, \u003ci\u003eThe D\u003c\/i\u003e\u003ci\u003euchess Countess \u003c\/i\u003eis a technicolour portrait of one of history’s most dynamic, but least understood heroines. \u003cb\u003eAn instant classic\u003c\/b\u003e.’ -- Natalie Livingstone, author of The Mistresses of Cliveden\u003cbr\u003e'Well written and researched...it is \u003cb\u003ea gripping tale\u003c\/b\u003e' -- Anne de Courcy * Spectator *\u003cbr\u003e'Chudleigh’s life is like the longest and most jaw-dropping society story you’ve ever read. Ostler paints a glittering picture of London in the reign of George II...She also provides a close-up of what she calls “the psychodrama of the Hanoverian succession”. It’s all \u003cb\u003eterrifically entertaining: if you liked \u003ci\u003eBridgerton\u003c\/i\u003e, you’ll love this\u003c\/b\u003e. The story romps along with great style and gusto, and her \u003cb\u003eresearch is impeccable\u003c\/b\u003e.' -- Marcus Field * Evening Standard *\u003cbr\u003e'Catherine Ostler draws a \u003cb\u003evivid\u003c\/b\u003e portrait of this remarkable woman. Ms Ostler has written a \u003cb\u003erich and compelling\u003c\/b\u003e book, the fruit of deep and assiduous research.' -- Allan Massie * Wall Street Journal *\u003cbr\u003e'In \u003cb\u003ethis sparkling gallivant\u003c\/b\u003e through the 18th century, Catherine Ostler has done justice to \u003cb\u003ea remarkable life\u003c\/b\u003e... The real delight is the intimate detail of the royal court. The book also does an \u003cb\u003eexcellent\u003c\/b\u003e job of shining a light on issues with thought-provoking modern resonance. Elizabeth is not flawless...[but] she could be just the heroine we need right now.' -- Emily Brand * BBC History magazine *\u003cbr\u003eFans of \u003ci\u003eBridgerton\u003c\/i\u003e (so, basically, everyone) will \u003cb\u003eadore\u003c\/b\u003e former \u003ci\u003eTatler\u003c\/i\u003e editor Catherine Ostler’s \u003cb\u003edeliciously evocative\u003c\/b\u003e biography of Georgian anti-heroine Elizabeth Chudleigh, whose real-life antics make the Ton seem positively tame by comparison. * Vogue, Best Summer Reads *\u003cbr\u003e'Makes for \u003cb\u003ethrilling reading\u003c\/b\u003e' * Tatler *\u003cbr\u003e'In this brisk retelling Catherine Ostler does a good job of making us see how this ambitious army officer’s daughter was doing nothing more wicked than making the best of an indifferent hand of cards. For her latest biographer there is something quite admirable about the Duchess Countess, a girl who battled the law of the land, not to mention a good chunk of Britain’s aristocracy, in order to become her own woman.' -- Kathryn Hughes * Mail on Sunday *\u003cbr\u003e'Ostler is \u003cb\u003every good at conjuring up the 18th century\u003c\/b\u003e \"in all its elegance and acidity\".' -- Roger Lewis * Daily Telegraph *\u003cbr\u003e'Ostler breathes new life into a \u003cb\u003efabulous subject\u003c\/b\u003e by taking the reader on a social tour that follows the irrepressible Elizabeth from the tough and insouciantly decadent world through which she frolicked as a Hanoverian belle to the court of Catherine the Great. The centrepiece of Ostler’s \u003cb\u003efascinating\u003c\/b\u003e book – and of Elizabeth’s life – is the sensational trial...for bigamy. Ostler has written as \u003cb\u003ejuicily readable\u003c\/b\u003e a book as Amanda Foreman’s celebrated life of another Georgian beauty, the Duchess of Devonshire.' -- Miranda Seymour * Literary Review *\u003cbr\u003e'This is \u003cb\u003ea brilliant biography\u003c\/b\u003e that gives \u003cb\u003ea stunning portrait \u003c\/b\u003eof the age in all its glory and decadence, underpinned by the ever-present fear of losing face or fortune. Elizabeth comes across as a woman who snubbed the dictates of authority, and refused to be cowed by the paparazzi of her day. \u003cb\u003eVery highly recommended\u003c\/b\u003e.' -- Deborah Swift * Aspects of History *\u003cbr\u003e'Ostler \u003cb\u003ewrites beautifully\u003c\/b\u003e of a Hanoverian life that was emblematic of much more than scandal. Elizabeth not only helped to inspire Thackeray’s Becky Sharp but scorched her way through a patriarchal society without compromise. \u003cb\u003eHighly recommended\u003c\/b\u003e.' -- Matthew D’Ancona * Tortoise Media *\u003cbr\u003e'A \u003cb\u003edazzling portrait\u003c\/b\u003e of a woman and an age - I was\u003cb\u003e gripped \u003c\/b\u003efrom start to finish.' -- Antonia Fraser\u003cbr\u003e'A \u003cb\u003ewitty and engaging\u003c\/b\u003e life of Elizabeth Chudleigh, Duchess of Kingston and Countess of Bristol, who was tried for bigamy in 1776, which for all her subject’s scandal-ridden life is ultimately sympathetic.' -- Andrew Roberts * History Today, Books of the Year *\u003cbr\u003e'A \u003cb\u003elively\u003c\/b\u003e portrait of the resilient Elizabeth Chudleigh (b. 1721), who was found guilty of bigamy and then hurtled off to St Petersburg to become best friends with Catherine the Great.' -- Ysenda Maxtone Graham * Spectator, Books of the Year *\u003cbr\u003e'The \u003cb\u003eeye-popping\u003c\/b\u003e story of Elizabeth Chudleigh, inspiration for \u003ci\u003eVanity Fair\u003c\/i\u003e's Becky Sharp, the racy society beauty who in 1776 was convicted of bigamy, and ended up running a vodka distillery in Estonia.' -- Iona McLaren * Daily Telegraph, Books of the Year *\u003cbr\u003e'There is a great line in \u003ci\u003eThe Prime of Miss Jean Brodie: “\u003c\/i\u003eIf scandal is to your taste, Miss Mackay, I shall give you a feast!” Elizabeth Chudleigh, the subject of \u003ci\u003eThe Duchess Countess\u003c\/i\u003e gave the British nation a feast in 1776 when she was put on trial for bigamy. Catherine Ostler tells the life of this unembarrassable Georgian social climber with verve. She was Becky Sharp meets Liz Hurley - George II fell in love with her when she wore a see-through dress to a ball - with a dash of Gwyneth Paltrow.' -- Robbie Millen * The Times, Best Biographies of 2021 *\u003cbr\u003e'Welcome to this\u003cb\u003e riveting\u003c\/b\u003e story of \u003cb\u003eracy society beauty\u003c\/b\u003e and Georgian bigamist Elizabeth Chudleigh, who ended up running a vodka distillery in Estonia. She was a woman ahead of her time, someone who rose above her reversals of fortune. Her story shows the strength of the human will, and is \u003cb\u003ean inspiration \u003c\/b\u003efor anyone facing their own struggles, be they psychological or physical.' -- Rachel Kelly * The Idler, Books of the Year *\u003cbr\u003e'\u003cb\u003eBegging for a Netflix adaptation\u003c\/b\u003e, with shades of Jane Austen, \u003ci\u003eBridgerton\u003c\/i\u003e and a dash of \u003ci\u003eThe Scarlet Letter\u003c\/i\u003e. Ostler’s book...is \u003cb\u003efittingly bubbly \u003c\/b\u003efor the 'ton', or fashionable set.' -- Michelle Ruiz * New York Times *","brand":"Simon \u0026 Schuster Ltd","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":47851656216919,"sku":"9781471172588","price":10.44,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0817\/1739\/5799\/files\/9781471172588.jpg?v=1710641203"},{"product_id":"bothand-9781471172991","title":"BothAnd","description":"\u003cb\u003eBook Synopsis\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eIn this beautifully written and propulsive memoir, Huma Abedin—Hillary Clinton’s famously private top aide and longtime adviser—emerges from the wings of American political history to take command of her own story.\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThe daughter of Indian and Pakistani intellectuals and advocates who split their time between Saudi Arabia, the UK and the United States, Abedin grew up in many worlds. \u003ci\u003eBoth\/And\u003c\/i\u003e grapples with family, legacy, identity, faith, marriage and motherhood with wisdom and sophistication.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eAbedin launched full steam into a college internship in the office of the first lady in 1996, never imagining that her work at the White House would blossom into a career in public service, nor that the career would become an all-consuming way of life. 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I was gobsmacked.’ -- Cheryl Strayed, author of Wild: From Lost to Found on the Pacific Crest Trail\u003cbr\u003e‘An inspiring roadmap revealing how a little Brown girl from Kalamazoo, Michigan grew up to become a powerful political force navigating unimaginable rooms, relationships and circumstances with incredible resiliency, stunning work ethic and unwavering faith. There is no doubt that Huma’s personal and professional journey, told in her own words, is one of the most unique stories you will ever read.’ -- Cleo Wade, author of What the Road Said\u003cbr\u003e‘A gripping testament to the power of a woman finding her voice, owning her ambition and sharing her truth. 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This is a compelling psychological portrait of a very eminent (and complex) Victorian.''\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e \u003ci\u003eJames Le Fanu, Daily Telegraph\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eFlorence Nightingale (1820-1910) is best known as a reformer of hospital nursing during and after the Crimean War, but many feel that her nursing reputation has been overstated. \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003eA Brief History of Florence Nightingale\u003c\/i\u003e tells the story of the sanitary disaster in her wartime hospital and why the government covered it up against her wishes. After the war she worked to put the lessons of the tragedy to good use to reduce the very high mortality from epidemic disease in the civilian population at home. She did this by persuading Parliament in 1872 to pass laws which required landlords to improve sanitation in working-class homes, an\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eTrade Review\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e(A review of Hugh Small's earlier work on Nightingale) Hugh Small, in a masterly piece of historical detective work, convincingly demonstrates what all previous historians and biographers have missed . . . This is a compelling psychological portrait of a very eminent (and complex) Victorian. -- James Le Fanu * Daily Telegraph *\u003cbr\u003e(A review of Hugh Small's earlier work on Nightingale) Small comes at his subject from a novel and startlingly illuminating perspective. 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In the process, the book becomes not just a study of one life, or one historical problem, but a commentary on the difficulties of writing about both.\u003cb\u003e \u003c\/b\u003e -- Kathryn Hughes * Literary Review *\u003cbr\u003e(A review of Hugh Small's earlier work on Nightingale) Small's detailed examination of Nightingale's hospital work and the crisis that followed it sheds new light on her life and a surprising one on the way she was viewed at the time. 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I commend this book most warmly.''\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eRichard Dannatt, General The Lord Dannatt GCB CBE MC DL, Chief of the General Staff 2006-9\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003e''The amazing account of a young man, Neville ''Timber'' Wood, who, despite fighting in many of the major engagements of the Second World War, including Dunkirk, El Alamein and D-Day, survived to become a much-loved husband and father . . . brilliantly written . . . I highly recommend it''\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eEleanor Tomlinson\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eThe son of a Hull butcher, Neville ''Timber'' Wood volunteered in 1939, at the age of eighteen, to join the British Army''s Tyne-Tees 50th Northumbrian Division. Timber was in many ways an entirely unremarkable soldier - he won no medals for gallantry, though he exhibited conspicuous bravery day after day, for years, and he rose no higher through the ranks than Lance Corporal. 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When we see Henry through the men in his life, a new perspective on this famous king emerges.\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eHenry''s relationships with the men who surrounded him reveal much about his beliefs, behaviour and character. They show him to be capable of fierce, but seldom abiding loyalty; of raising men only to destroy them later. He loved to be attended and entertained by boisterous young men who shared his passion for sport, but at other times he was more diverted by men of intellect, culture and wit. Often trusting and easily led by his male attendants and advisers during the early years of his reign, he matured into a profoundly suspicious \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eTrade Review\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003eIn this stunning book, Tracy Borman proves yet again that she is at the top of her field. It's an outstanding work of historical artistry, a brilliantly woven and pacy story of the men who surrounded, influenced and sometimes plagued Henry VIII. Borman is in complete command of the vast source material, and affords us a new perspective on a king who has dominated the national consciousness for centuries - no mean achievement. Masterful, and hugely impressive, this is one Tudor book you must not miss! * Alison Weir *\u003cbr\u003eAn arching overview of Henry's reign with small surprises on virtually every page. Why wait for the final installment of Wolf Hall, when the real tale is every bit as compelling? We meet a Henry who for once is a wholly convincing man - neither a monster, nor the monolith of the Holbein portrait [Borman] unpacks so deftly. * Sarah Gristwood *\u003cbr\u003eA fresh and interesting approach to Henry VIII's story, revealing a new side to the famous king's character through the lives of the men who surrounded him. * Elizabeth Norton, author of The Lives of Tudor Women *\u003cbr\u003eThis is a superbly told and impeccably researched account of Henry VIII's reign and the men who surrounded him. At the centre of Borman's narrative is the majestic horror created, and inflicted, by Henry's charisma. * Gareth Russell, author of Young and Damned and Fair: The Life of Catherine Howard *\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003eHenry VIII and The Men Who Made Him\u003c\/i\u003e is a meticulously researched and compellingly presented narrative, which presents the infamous Tudor King in a whole new light from the eyes of the men who knew him: family, friends, servants and enemies. It's a refreshingly brilliant approach to a well known story, which is beautifully and engagingly written. * Nicola Tallis, author of Crown of Blood *\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePraise for \u003ci\u003eThe Private Lives of the Tudors\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003eBorman approaches her topic with huge enthusiasm and a keen eye for entertaining...this is a very human story of a remarkable family, full of vignettes that sit long in the mind. * The Sunday Times *\u003cbr\u003eTracy Borman's eye for detail is impressive; the book is packed with fascinating courtly minutiae...this is a wonderful book. * The Times *\u003cbr\u003eBorman is an authoritative and engaging writer, good at prising out those humanising details that make the past alive to us. * The Observer *\u003cbr\u003eFascinating, detailed account of the everyday reality of the royals... This is a book of rich scholarship. Tracy Borman is a chief curator of Historic Royal Palaces and she knows her Tudor history inside out. * Daily Mail *\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePraise for \u003ci\u003eThomas Cromwell\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003eThis deeply researched and grippingly written biography brings Cromwell to life and exposes the Henrician court in all its brutal, glittering splendour. * Independent *\u003cbr\u003eDr Tracy Borman has crafted an exceptional and compelling biography about one of the Tudor age's most complex and controversial figures. With expert insights based on a wealth of research, and riveting detail, she has brought Thomas Cromwell to life as never before. * Alison Weir *\u003cbr\u003eTracy Borman tells us succinctly in 400 pages what we need to know about the man who rose to be the king's highest adviser ... a very good book. * The Times *\u003cbr\u003eBorman's is a highly readable account, and will add to the debate surrounding this ultimately elusive character. * Financial Times *\u003cbr\u003eElegant...her prose, as ever, glides beautifully along. * Sunday Times *\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Hodder \u0026 Stoughton","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":47851807899991,"sku":"9781473649910","price":12.34,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0817\/1739\/5799\/files\/9781473649910.jpg?v=1710645372"},{"product_id":"jo-cox-9781473659209","title":"Jo Cox","description":"\u003cb\u003eBook Synopsis\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003e''Jo Cox''s selfless service to others made the world a better place'' Barack Obama, 44th President of the United States\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eTHE NUMBER 1 SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLER\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e''Jo''s dedication to a fairer and kinder world beautifully told ...'' Bear Grylls ''A desperately tender account ... part love story, part grief memoir ... resolutely uplifting'' Decca Aitkenhead, Guardian ''Brave, inspiring, and full of love'' Daily Express ''A chance to get to know the woman behind the headlines - a tiny ball of energy with a heart as big as a lion, a person who wanted to make a difference'' Lorraine Kelly, Sun\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eJo Cox''s murder in June 2016 shocked the world. In the aftermath of her tragic death her husband Brendan Cox urged us to remember Jo''s life and what she stood for and not the manner of her death. In this inspiring and impassioned portrait of Jo - as daughter, mother, wife, sister, MP and campaigner - we see how much she gave and much more she had to give. The val\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eTrade Review\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003eThe story of Jo's life runs through the book: her childhood growing up in West Yorkshire; winning a place at Cambridge; working for Oxfam where she met Brendan; winning the seat for Labour in 2015 in her childhood constituency which fulfilled a lifelong dream... Jo comes across as \u003cb\u003ea thoroughly decent person who was on a mission to change what she saw as an unjust world\u003c\/b\u003e... And it is all \u003cb\u003eutterly heart-breaking\u003c\/b\u003e because you know as you read the book that all of this happiness, drive and energy is going to come to a sudden, needless and irrevocable end... This is not an easy read. It is overwhelmingly sad at times and the chapters that deal with the immediate aftermath of Jo's death, where Brendan wrestles with how to tell his children what has happened, are almost unbearable... While J\u003ci\u003eo Cox: More In Common\u003c\/i\u003e is raw, painful and shot through with grief, it is also \u003cb\u003ebrave, inspiring and full of love\u003c\/b\u003e. * Daily Express *\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eA searingly honest \u003c\/b\u003e\u003cb\u003eand extremely moving book \u003c\/b\u003eabout Jo Cox, which gives us all a chance to get to know the woman behind the headlines and the shocking way she died. J\u003cb\u003eo comes across as a tiny ball of \u003c\/b\u003e\u003cb\u003eenergy with a heart as big as a lion, a person who wanted to make \u003c\/b\u003e\u003cb\u003ea difference\u003c\/b\u003e. * Lorraine Kelly, Sun *\u003cbr\u003eThis feels like \u003cb\u003ean important book\u003c\/b\u003e, and it shows that \u003cb\u003ea beautiful book\u003c\/b\u003e can be written in clear, plain style - there is beauty enough in its subject. * The Guardian *\u003c\/div\u003e","brand":"John Murray Press","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":47851809046871,"sku":"9781473659209","price":9.49,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0817\/1739\/5799\/files\/9781473659209.jpg?v=1710645431"},{"product_id":"general-boy-the-life-of-leiutenant-general-sir-frederick-browning-9781473898998","title":"General Boy The Life of Leiutenant General Sir","description":"\u003cb\u003eBook Synopsis\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003eThis is the first biography of ?Boy? Browning, whose name is inextricably linked with the creation and employment of Britain?s airborne forces in the Second World War. Commissioned into the Grenadier Guards, Browning served on the Western Front, earning a DSO during the Battle of Cambrai. As Adjutant at Sandhurst, he began the tradition of riding a horse up the steps at the end of the commissioning parade. Browning represented England and Great Britain as a hurdler at the 1928 Winter Olympics. In 1932 Browning married Daphne du Maurier, who was ten years younger and became one of the 20th century?s most enduring and popular novelists with titles such as Jamaica Inn and Rebecca. Browning commanded two brigades before being appointed to command 1 Airborne Division in 1941, later acting as Eisenhower?s advisor on airborne warfare in the Mediterranean. In 1944 he commanded 1st Airborne Corps, which he took to Holland for Operation MARKET GARDEN that September. Allegedly coining the phrase ?a bridge too far?, he has received much of the blame for the operation?s failure.In late 1944, Browning became Chief of Staff to Mountbatten. In 1948 he became Comptroller and Treasurer to Princess Elizabeth and Prince Philip and then Treasurer to the latter following the Queen?s accession. He was a close adviser to the Royal couple, who respected and valued his judgment.By this time, Boy and Daphne lived separate lives with Boy working at the Palace in London and Daphne reluctant to leave her beloved Cornwall although the marriage remained intact. Questions exist as to Daphne?s sexuality and Boy had a succession of discrete mistresses. After a nervous breakdown probably due to marriage problems, he resigned in 1959 and retired to Cornwall. 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Arguably he was also the most significant king that France ever had. \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eA contemporary of Henry VIII of England, Francis saw himself as the first Renaissance king. A courageous and heroic warrior, he was also a keen aesthete, an accomplished diplomat and an energetic ruler who turned his country into a force to be reckoned with. Bestselling historian Leonie Frieda''s comprehensive and sympathetic account explores the life of the most human of all Renaissance monarchs - and the most enigmatic.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eTrade Review\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eA captivating biography\u003c\/b\u003e ... [Frieda] does herself proud. Battle scenes are vividly drawn and the intricacies of statecraft reconstructed with admirable clarity. She also has a fine eye for detail - \u003cb\u003ethis rollicking story is packed with anecdotes\u003c\/b\u003e -- Gerard DeGroot * THE TIMES *\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eA thoughtful, vivid and well-paced telling of a complex story\u003c\/b\u003e; and it is set against an even more complex background of European power-politics, which Frieda picks apart with admirable skill -- Noel Malcolm * SUNDAY TELEGRAPH *\u003cbr\u003eFrieda paints \u003cb\u003ea surprisingly funny account of a king obsessed by power and sex\u003c\/b\u003e, who took Renaissance France in directions that his predecessors would never have dared but was nearly undone by his own hubris. Frieda \u003cb\u003emaintains a fine balance between psychological insight\u003c\/b\u003e, the intricacies of 16th-century diplomacy and uproarious anecdotes of bad behaviour -- Alexander Larman * OBSERVER *\u003cbr\u003eA \u003cb\u003esuperb and vivid\u003c\/b\u003e biography\u003cb\u003e \u003c\/b\u003e... that \u003cb\u003ebrings the world of Francis I to life\u003c\/b\u003e, skillfully delineating the moves and major players in both European and domestic politics ... \u003cb\u003eand also gives the reader wonderful glimpses of the often licentious court life of that time \u003c\/b\u003e... Ms Frieda suggests that, under Francis I, France preserved its political power, greatly increased its cultural influence, and positioned itself for the \u003ci\u003eGrand Siècle\u003c\/i\u003e that his Bourbon successors would soon preside over -- John Steele Gordon * WALL STREET JOURNAL *\u003cbr\u003eGood English biographies of French kings are rare. So Leonie Frieda's life of Francis I is welcome. \u003cb\u003eLeonie Frieda has done her hero such justice as is possible\u003c\/b\u003e. She tells his story in great detail ... \u003cb\u003eI can't suppose that there has been a better English biography of Francis, or indeed is likely to be one\u003c\/b\u003e -- Alan Massie * CATHOLIC HERALD *\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eA glittering new biography\u003c\/b\u003e of one of 16th-century Europe's most charismatic and complex royals ... Frieda does brilliantly to condense all the captivating personalities, events, intrigues and conflicts of his reign into one book. \u003ci\u003eFrancis I\u003c\/i\u003e \u003cb\u003etransports the reader into the glittering and dangerous world of 16th-century France\u003c\/b\u003e. It is a testament to its quality that \u003cb\u003eupon closing the book you don't entirely want to leave\u003c\/b\u003e -- Joanne Paul * BBC HISTORY MAGAZINE *","brand":"Orion Publishing Co","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":47851816550743,"sku":"9781474601221","price":11.69,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0817\/1739\/5799\/files\/9781474601221.jpg?v=1710645705"},{"product_id":"queen-victoria-9781474608756","title":"Queen Victoria","description":"\u003cb\u003eBook Synopsis\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eA new edition of the classic 1964 biography of Queen Victoria, reissued for the 200th anniversary of her birth.\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eTrade Review\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003eIt is hard to imagine how Lady Longford's detailed and vivid volume could have been bettered . . . scholarly yet racily readable, witty yet wise * Sunday Times *\u003cbr\u003eGives us more than the general reader has ever had, revealing the Queen as a character at once simple \u0026amp; complex, humble \u0026amp; authoritarian * Daily Telegraph *\u003cbr\u003eSo sanely and attractively written with each episode blending so easily into the next that the reader is soon carried along in fascination * Financial Times *\u003cbr\u003e[Queen Victoria] has in Lady L. her fullest and best-informed, most sensible and sympathetic biographer * The Times *\u003cbr\u003eA full, authoritative study -- Jane Ridley * The Spectator *\u003cbr\u003eDazzlingly readable, and very enjoyable -- Stella Gibbons\u003cbr\u003eVery few biographies which have reached the public in recent years can have as good a claim to be called \"definitive\" as has Elizabeth Longford's life of Queen Victoria * New York Books *\u003cbr\u003eLongford has brought Queen Victoria to life again, and presents to a new generation of readers one of the most truly remarkable personalities of history with scrupulous care, fidelity and wit * The Spectator *\u003cbr\u003eOne of the best I have ever read -- Noel Coward","brand":"Orion Publishing Co","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":47851820253527,"sku":"9781474608756","price":14.24,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0817\/1739\/5799\/files\/9781474608756.jpg?v=1710645878"},{"product_id":"the-case-of-the-married-woman-9781474610933","title":"The Case of the Married Woman","description":"\u003cb\u003eBook Synopsis\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003eThe scandal of nineteenth-century Britain: the sensational trial of Caroline Norton for adultery with the first Victorian Prime Minister\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eTrade Review\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003eFraser gives insightful judgment on the questions that remain questions despite Caroline's\u003cb\u003e \u003c\/b\u003eextensive archive ... Fraser's is a spirited book, particularly moving on Norton's old age. It is impressive to see one of our most important intellectual figures turning her mind to this remarkable woman from an earlier, different and not so different era -- Lara Feigel * THE GUARDIAN *\u003cbr\u003eFraser's is the first [book] to emphasise what a modern figure [Norton] is, portraying her not as a hapless victim but as a working mother and bestselling writer who refused to submit to what can only be called the patriarchy - a \"difficult\" woman whose bloody-mindedness improved the lot of other women. Fraser is surely right to call her a 19th-century heroine -- Daisy Goodwin * THE SUNDAY TIMES *\u003cbr\u003eAntonia Fraser's tale of double standards is a delight. Combining high society campery and historical scholarship in ways rivalling Nancy Mitford, Antonia Fraser is the great chronicler of melodramatic queens and fearsome princes, from Boadicea to Louis XIV, even Harold Pinter. She is peerless at pageantry, and no slouch when it comes to technical footnotes - there are plenty in her new book, \u003ci\u003eThe Case of the Married Woman\u003c\/i\u003e... The major theme of Fraser's book is rage - hers and Caroline's - that women in those days had no rights over their children. In the eyes of the law, married women simply didn't exist... This is a rousing book - classic Antonia Fraser -- Roger Lewis * THE SUNDAY TELEGRAPH *\u003cbr\u003eThe life of Caroline Norton, the 19th century author and campaigner who is the remarkable subject of Antonia Fraser's engaging new biography \u003ci\u003eThe Case of the Married Woman\u003c\/i\u003e, plays out like a Victorian sensation novel... It's a fascinating story, and Fraser's account is compulsively readable, filled with intriguing period details (early Victorian aristos' favourite euphemism for pregnancy, we learn, was \"going on the sofa\"). The veteran biographer paints Caroline as a very modern woman, but doesn't try to smooth out her complexities and contradictions to fit her tidily into the mould of 21st century feminism... this is a fitting tribute to a captivating, campaigning heroine -- Katie Rosseinsky * EVENING STANDARD *\u003cbr\u003e[Caroline Norton's] life and writings are vividly realised in Fraser's new analysis of the woman and her words, straddling both the Regency and Victorian eras in the fight for women's rights as wives, mothers and workers ... In Fraser's book the woman who leaps from the page is vastly complex, at times almost unlikeable, and yet equally unforgettable ... For those who wish for a detailed history of one of the most important female figures of the 19th century and the world around her, this is an ideal read. Fraser's illuminating book shows how Caroline Norton's presence in 19th-century society still has so much to say about the rights women lack and the abuses they suffer, even today -- Fern Riddell * BBC HISTORY MAGAZINE *\u003cbr\u003e[A] blend of adroit character study and readable prose ... In this retelling, [Caroline Norton] is revealed in all her complexity: as a flawed, difficult woman who, against the odds, still managed to make the world better for the women who came after her -- Caroline Crampton * THE SPECTATOR *","brand":"Orion Publishing Co","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":47851825135959,"sku":"9781474610933","price":10.44,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0817\/1739\/5799\/files\/9781474610933.jpg?v=1710645939"},{"product_id":"young-stalin-9781474614825","title":"Young Stalin","description":"\u003cb\u003eBook Synopsis\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eWinner of the Costa Biography Award\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eWhat makes a Stalin? Was he a Tsarist agent or Lenin''s bandit? Was he to blame for his wife''s death? When did the killing start? \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eBased on revelatory research, here is the thrilling story of how a charismatic cobbler''s son became a student priest, romantic poet, prolific lover, gangster mastermind and murderous revolutionary. Culminating in the 1917 revolution, Simon Sebag Montefiore''s bestselling biography radically alters our understanding of the gifted politician and fanatical Marxist who shaped the Soviet empire in his own brutal image. This is the story of how Stalin became Stalin.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eTrade Review\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003eSimon Sebag Montefiore's thrilling portrait of Stalin's youth ... A remarkable book ... Montefiore gives a brilliant account of the 1907 Tiflis heist ... the resulting scenes of mayhem were worthy of the De Niro and Pacino film HEAT -- Michael Burleigh * Sunday Telegraph *\u003cbr\u003eMontefiore brings Stalin to life -- Vince Cable * DAILY EXPRESS *\u003cbr\u003eShould the life of a black-hearted ogre, a mass murderer ... be quite so entertaining? The story Montefiore has told requires the psychological penetration and social omniscience of a great novelist. Dickens once or twice peeps over the biographer's shoulder ... A racy, vivid biopic -- Peter Conrad * Observer *\u003cbr\u003eThis picture of Stalin as a poet is one of the revelations of Simon Sebag Montefiore's macabrely fascinating YOUNG STALIN ... Stalin's life [is] worthy of Dumas ... Brilliantly drawn -- Antonia Fraser * Mail on Sunday *\u003cbr\u003eMagnificent ... YOUNG STALIN is a masterpiece of detail. Sebag Montefiore has unearthed documents long lost in Georgian archives, found the descendants of Soso's friends and produced a vivid psychological portrait of this dangerous, alluring, enigmatic man ... This book moves with pace and authority -- Michael Binyon * The Times *\u003cbr\u003eA gripping read... Simon Sebag Montefiore's research ... is brilliant. The book provides a wealth of serious and scurrilous detail, creating a memorable portrait of one of the 20th century's greatest monsters -- Antony Beevor * Daily Telegraph *\u003cbr\u003eAn outstanding book, full of surprises. A rich and complex figure emerges from the new material Sebag Montefiore has unearthed in archives ... This book is a triumph of research and storytelling -- Victor Sebestyen * Evening Standard *\u003cbr\u003eOn practically every page of YOUNG STALIN, there is a reason to smile with satisfaction at the thrust of revelation, and often a reason to gasp or even to chuckle. As quasi-academic populist biography goes ... this is as good as it gets -- Christopher Silvester * Independent on Sunday *\u003cbr\u003eMontefiore gives us a richly and fluently documented study of the chief terrorist in the making. His chapters have an anecdotal exuberance and factual novelty. It is an impressive work of examination -- Robert Service * Sunday Times *\u003cbr\u003eFamiliar material is transformed with fresh depth and detail. While magnificently entertaining, it reveals the complexity of historical conditions that forge revolutions and their leaders -- Carol Rumens * Independent *\u003cbr\u003eOutstanding ... It is hard to imagine how this account can be improved on. The narrative flows with insight and humour: YOUNG STALIN is a prequel that outshines even THE COURT OF THE RED TSAR -- Donald Rayfield * Literary Review *\u003cbr\u003eAn enthralling but appalling account ... The author writes with panache, style and acerbic wit ... Paints a portrait of Stalin which is the most rounded we have in any language. A mass of contradictions, he is brilliantly brought to life in this superb biography -- Martin McCauley * History Today *\u003cbr\u003eYOUNG STALIN, like its predecessor, bubbles over like an erupting volcano. A better metaphor might be a Siberian snowstorm: the details glitter, and freeze the blood -- Daniel Snowman * Jewish Chronicle *\u003cbr\u003eFull of fascinating nuggets ... A gripping but dark Boys' Own adventure, packed with bombs, violence and treachery * Financial Times Magazine *\u003cbr\u003eMontefiore is in a class of his own. As he did in STALIN: COURT OF THE RED TSAR, Montefiore has unearthed an unprecedented range of evidence from archives, and has tracked down an astonishing range of witnesses ... in this brilliantly researched book. The portrait of Stalin that emerges from these pages is more complete, more colourful, more chilling and far more convincing that any we have had before -- Orlando Figes * New York Review of Books *\u003cbr\u003eA dark and terrifying story, and there could be no better guide than Montefiore. He's uncovered a mind-blowing amount of material from archives in Moscow and Georgia. The ultimate effect of YOUNG STALIN is to create a haunting, meticulous and compelling story of a man well worth trying to understand -- Nicholas Thompson * Los Angeles Times *\u003cbr\u003eThe most revelatory and scoop-laden biography I have read in ages, besides being a factual thriller -- Andrew Marr * Observer *\u003cbr\u003eVividly written and exhaustively researched, this remarkable book gives new insight into the making of the monster who often emerges less as a steely ideologue than a repellent rogue - but more complex and multifaceted than before -- Colin Thubron * Observer *\u003cbr\u003eA gripping and convincing account of the web-toed monster from his earliest years -- Jonathan Mirsky * Spectator *\u003cbr\u003eMontefiore offers a portrait as chilling as it is intimate -- Ruth Scurr * The Times *\u003cbr\u003eGripping. Montefiore approaches Stalin's early life with the insight of a novelist and the eye of a cinematographer and achieves a rare trick: a work of scholarship which is also a page turner -- Stephanie Merritt * Observer *","brand":"Orion Publishing Co","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":47851836277079,"sku":"9781474614825","price":12.34,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0817\/1739\/5799\/files\/9781474614825.jpg?v=1710646017"},{"product_id":"the-showman-9780008599171","title":"The Showman","description":"\u003cb\u003eBook Synopsis\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003eAN INTERNATIONAL BESTSELLERA Telegraph Best Book of the Year''An intense, evocative portrait of one of the most remarkable figures of our era'' ANNE APPLEBAUM''This is the Zelensky book we've been waiting for' CATHERINE BELTONTHE TIMES: A BEST BOOK OF 2024 NEXT YEAR'S TOP READSGUARDIAN: BOOKS TO LOOK OUT FOR IN 2024INDEPENDENT: A BOOK OF THE MONTHWritten with unprecedented access, this is the first inside, intimate account of the Russian invasion of Ukraine from the perspective of President Zelensky and his team.Based on four years of reporting; extensive travels with President Zelensky to the front; and dozens of interviews with him, his wife, his friends and enemies, his advisers, ministers and military commanders, The Showman tells an intimate and eye-opening story of the President's evolution from a slapstick actor to a symbol of resilience, revealing how he managed to rally the world's democracies behind his cause.Clear-eyed about the President's early failures as a peacemaker and his willingness to silence political dissent, the book offers a complex picture of a man struggling to break what he sees as a historical cycle of oppression that began generations before he was born. Even as the war drags on, Zelensky lays out his vision for its future course and, through his actions, demonstrates his strategy for countering the Russians and keeping the West on his side. The result is a riveting, up-close picture of the invasion as experienced by its number one target and improbable hero.The Showman, as a work of eyewitness journalism, provides an essential perspective on the war defining our age. As a study in leadership and human resolve, its appeal is timeless and universal.''Intimate but unflinchingly objective, this biography gives you a seat at Zelensky''s war cabinet and penetrates his mind as he battles to save Ukraine''s freedomand ours'' Peter Pomerantsev, author of Nothing Is True and Everything Is Possible\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eTrade Review\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cp\u003e'Superb… in coming years, there may be [many] biographies of Zelensky… few, though, will better Shuster’s credentials. A fluent Russian speaker, he knew Zelensky’s team long before the war, remaining part of the inner circle when the president became the world’s most in-demand interviewee. 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