Biography: adventurers and explorers Books
The History Press Ltd I Wish I Had Your Wings
Book SynopsisAugust 1942, British forces launched Operation Pedestal in an attempt to deliver supplies to the stricken island of Malta, an Allied base that had been under Axis blockade for months. From 9 to 15 August, a convoy of some fifty ships ran the gauntlet of Axis bombers, submarines, E-boats and minefields. Of the original fourteen merchant vessels, only five reached Malta Grand Harbour.In I Wish I Had Your Wings', Angus Mansfield relates the experiences of two men involved in Pedestal, Captain David Macfarlane of MV Melbourne Star and his nephew John Mejor, one of the Spitfire pilots who fought to protect the convoy. Told using their log books, letters and papers, and illustrated with images from the family archive, this is the story of one family's contribution to a relief operation that cost over 400 Allied lives, but has gone down in history as one of the most important British strategic victories of the Second World War.
£11.69
Pushkin Press The Writers Castle
Book SynopsisA gripping new approach to the Nuremberg Trial, told through the stories of the many great writers who came to witness itNuremberg, 1945. As the trials of Nazi war criminals begin, some of the world's most famous writers and reporters gather in the ruined German city. Among them are Rebecca West, John Dos Passos, Martha Gellhorn, Erika Mann and Janet Flanner.Crammed together in the press camp at Schloss Faber-Castell, where reporters sleep ten to a room, complain about the food and argue in the lively bar, they each try to find words for the unprecedented events they are witnessing. Here, tensions simmer between Soviet and Western journalists, unlikely affairs begin, stories are falsified and fabricated - and each reporter is forever changed by what they experience.As Uwe Neumahr builds an engrossing group portrait of the literary luminaries at Nuremberg, we are taken to the heart of the political and cultural conflicts of the time - observing history at
£21.25
Gwasg Carreg Gwalch O Fôn i Fynwy Cofio Vaughan Hughes
£12.00
Chiselbury Publishing Culture Shock CanapÃs
£9.49
Chartwell Books Meditations
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£13.49
The History Press Ltd Napoleon Bonaparte pocket GIANTS
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£6.99
Simon & Schuster The Road to Jonestown
Book Synopsis2018 Edgar Award Finalist—Best Fact Crime“A thoroughly readable, thoroughly chilling account of a brilliant con man and his all-too vulnerable prey” (The Boston Globe)—the definitive story of preacher Jim Jones, who was responsible for the Jonestown Massacre, the largest murder-suicide in American history, by the New York Times bestselling author of Manson.In the 1950s, a young Indianapolis minister named Jim Jones preached a curious blend of the gospel and Marxism. His congregation was racially mixed, and he was a leader in the early civil rights movement. Eventually, Jones moved his church, Peoples Temple, to northern California, where he got involved in electoral politics and became a prominent Bay Area leader. But underneath the surface lurked a terrible darkness. In this riveting narrative, Jeff Guinn examines Jones’s life, from his early days as an idealistic minister to a secret life of extramarital affairs, drug use, and fraudulent faith healing, before the fateful decision to move almost a thousand of his followers to a settlement in the jungles of Guyana in South America. Guinn provides stunning new details of the events leading to the fatal day in November, 1978 when more than nine hundred people died—including almost three hundred infants and children—after being ordered to swallow a cyanide-laced drink. Guinn examined thousands of pages of FBI files on the case, including material released during the course of his research. He traveled to Jones’s Indiana hometown, where he spoke to people never previously interviewed, and uncovered fresh information from Jonestown survivors. He even visited the Jonestown site with the same pilot who flew there the day that Congressman Leo Ryan was murdered on Jones’s orders. The Road to Jonestown is “the most complete picture to date of this tragic saga, and of the man who engineered it…The result is a disturbing portrait of evil—and a compassionate memorial to those taken in by Jones’s malign charisma” (San Francisco Chronicle).Trade Review“I have to say that it is weird to find out the background of things that I grew up hearing about around the dinner table. The level of research and detail in The Road to Jonestown is the best ever, and really lets readers understand not only what happened, but how and why. This book tells the Jim Jones story better than anything I have read to date.” -- Jim Jones, Jr.“Jeff Guinn offers what might be the most complete picture to date of this tragic saga, and of the man who engineered it. . . . The result is a disturbing portrait of evil — and a compassionate memorial to those taken in by Jones’ malign charisma.” -- Kevin Canfield * The San Francisco Chronicle *"A thoroughly readable, thoroughly chilling account of a brilliant con man and his all-too vulnerable prey. . . . Generates a bizarre — dare I say Manson-like? — magnetic force that pulls the reader through its many pages. Noir thriller morphs into horror story." -- Dan Cryer * The Boston Globe *"Magisterial. . . . Guinn's exhaustive research, shrewd analysis, and engaging prose illuminate a monstrous yet tragic figure--and the motives of those who lost their souls to him." * Publishers Weekly *"A vivid, fascinating revisitation of a time and series of episodes fast receding into history even as their forgotten survivors still walk among us." * Kirkus Reviews (starred review) *"A powerful account of Jones's life. . . . Guinn's blow-by-blow account of Jonestown's final days in the book's last chapters is riveting." * BookPage *
£11.69
HarperCollins Publishers Georgiana Duchess of Devonshire
Book SynopsisSex, intrigue and adultery in the world of high politics and huge wealth in late eighteenth-century England.Georgiana, Duchess of Devonshire was one of the most flamboyant and influential women of the eighteenth century. The great-great-great-great aunt of Diana, Princess of Wales, she was variously a compulsive gambler, a political savante and operator of the highest order, a drug addict, an adulteress and the darling of the common people.This authoritative, utterly absorbing book presents a mesmerizing picture of a fascinating world of political and sexual intrigues, grand houses, huge parties, glamour and great wealth always on the edge of being squandered by the excesses and scandals of individuals.Trade Review‘Mesmerizing’Antonia Fraser, Literary Review ‘Well-written, extensively researched and highly readable… Gripping’Stella Tillyard, Mail on Sunday ‘An outstanding debut by a young biographer fully in control of her sources, and with an easy and elegant writing style’Roy Strong, Sunday Times
£13.49
Yale University Press Maria Theresa Empress
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£23.75
Biteback Publishing The Madness of Courage
Book SynopsisThe Madness of Couragedescribes how, shot down behind French lines,Group Captain Gilbert Insallignored intensive German shelling in order to repair his aircraft overnight and return to base.
£21.25
Inner Traditions Bear and Company Jim Morrison Secret Teacher of the Occult
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£18.04
Little, Brown Book Group Shackleton
Book SynopsisErnest Shackleton was the quintessential Edwardian hero. A contemporary - and adversary - of Scott, he sailed on the ''Discovery'' expedition of 1900, and went on to mount three expeditions of his own. Like Scott, he was a social adventurer; snow and ice held no particular attraction, but the pursuit of wealth, fame and power did. Yet Shackleton, and Anglo-Irishman who left school at 16, needed status to raise money for his own expeditions. At various times he was involved in journalism, politics, manufacturing and City fortune-hunting - none of them very effectively. A frustrated poet, he was never to be successful with money, but he did succeed in marrying it. At his height he was feted as a national hero, knighted by Edward VII, and granted 20,000 by the government for achievements which were, and remain, the very stuff of legend. But the world to which he returned in 1917 after the sensational ''Endurance'' expedition did not seem to welcome surviving heroes. Poverty-stricken by the end of the war, he had to pay off his debts through writing and endless lecturing. He finally obtained funds for another expedition, but dies of a heart attack, aged only 47, at it reached South Georgia.Trade ReviewThis is an utterly absorbing biography ... moves one to tears of relief, joy and blind wonder Allan Massie Expertly handled and written ... makes extensive uncensored use of the diaries written at the time ECONOMIST Unlikely to be superseded Robert Fox, LISTENER Magnificent ... Huntford has done justice to this great and complex man. That, in itself, is a triumph SUNDAY TIMES
£15.29
Little, Brown Book Group Paul Trynka Iggy Pop Open Up and Bleed
Book Synopsis''For those who like their rock biogs thick with tales of heroic over-indulgence, OPEN UP AND BLEED is hard to beat'' - Irish Evening Herald Iggy Pop''s life has been one of extraordinary highs and terrifying lows. Infamous for his wild ways, he is also a towering figure of the rock scene - hugely influential, charismatic and provocative. Every ''mad, bad, dangerous to know'' rock star owes a debt to him, and the stories of his shocking behaviour are legendary. But Iggy Pop is also, to a large extent, a construct, the alter ego of the quietly spoken and intriguing Jim Osterberg: the kid voted ''Most Likely to Succeed'' by his classmates. So what turned this charming, well-mannered, straight-A student into a poster child for rock ''n'' roll debauchery?Iggy Pop: Open up and Bleed reveals the truth behind the myths. Former MOJO editor Paul Trynka tracked down the star''s friends, family, lovers and fellow musicians, conducting over two hundred and Trade ReviewWith its recurring themes of drug addiction, public masochism and self-sabotage, Iggy's story effectively tells itself, but Trynka captures the essential duality of a man as well-versed in Greek art as he is in panhandling for heroin on Sunset Boulevard ... [an] entertaining and insightful study of one of rock's most enduringly remarkable characters Q IGGY POP has all the rock 'n roll bases covered: drugs, long hair, funny body, formerly straight-A student. Lie back and think of California' TATLER 'Former MOJO editor Paul Trynka has put in impeccable research to tell the story of how the shy, studious Jim Osterberg transformed into the force of nature that is Iggy Pop' IRISH EVENING HERALD 'For those who like their rock biogs thick with tales of heroic over-indulgence, OPEN UP AND BLEED is hard to beat '
£12.34
Bloomsbury Publishing (UK) The Kennedys at Cape Cod 1944
Book SynopsisLeigh Straw is Associate Professor of History at Notre Dame University, Australia, where she teaches in Australian, European and modern US history. She is the author of several books including The Petticoat Parade: Madam Monnier and the Roe Street Brothels (2021) for which she was joint winner of the 2022 Margaret Medcalf Award for Excellence in Research and Referencing. Her other books include The Worst Women in Sydney: The Life and Crimes of Kate Leigh (2016) which was longlisted for an Australian Book Industry Award.
£18.00
Bonnier Books Ltd Kingmaker
Book SynopsisCameron. May. Johnson. Truss. Sunak. Five prime ministers, one explosive memoir from the heart of Westminster. Kingmaker lifts the lid on some of the leadership battles that have defined British politics for a decade and a half.The last fourteen years have seen turbulence at the centre of politics that is perhaps unique in British history. From coalition to Brexit, Covid to Partygate, Trussonomics to this year's election, our government has never felt so fractured. And as Prime Ministers have come and gone, one man has been at the heart of every leadership challenge, seeing all, but saying nothing. Until now.Sir Graham Brady has been the Chairman of the 1922 Committee since 2010. As the leader of the group with the power to choose a new leader of the Conservative Party, it is his hand that held the executioner's axe over five consecutive Conservative Prime Ministers' heads.Elected to parliament in 1997 as the youngest Conservative MP
£21.25
Vintage Publishing White King
Book SynopsisThe subject of a BBC TV series on Charles I The prize-winning biography of Charles I * Winner of the HWA Crown for Best Work of Historical Non-Fiction 2018 ** Times Book of the Year ** Shortlisted for the Catholic Herald Biography Award 2019 *Less than forty years after the golden age of Elizabeth I, England was at war with itself. At the head of this disintegrating kingdom was Charles I, who would change the face of the monarchy for ever. His reign is one of the most dramatic in history, yet Charles the man remains elusive. To his enemies he was the ''white tyrant of prophecy: to his supporters a murdered innocent. Today many myths still remain.It is an epic story of glamour and strong women, of populist politicians and religious terror, of mass movements and a revolutionary new media: one that speaks to our own divided and dangerous times.''This is the most gripping piece of revisionisTrade ReviewA revelation... White King is that rare thing, a page-turning history that gently but insistently also asks provocative questions about a period on which our opinions have been all too fixed. Charles does not emerge with his reputation restored, but he emerges whole -- Mathew Lyons * Financial Times *Fascinating -- Andrew Marr * Evening Standard *Humane and scholarly... De Lisle's deeply and originally researched book brings Charles alive not in kingly isolation but as a father and a husband. Both biography and subject deserve our fullest attention -- Dan Jones * Mail on Sunday *Engaging, well-researched and beautifully written... Emphatically not another book about the civil wars, this instead offers a nuanced and detailed examination of one of our most complex monarchs. It is probably the definitive modern work about Charles I -- Alexander Larman * Observer *De Lisle, who has long been an original voice in popular Tudor studies, is generous to Charles, but too sharp a reader of evidence to ignore his flaws... Pellucid, compelling and enriched by fresh evidence... Sympathetic but scrupulous to the last -- Jessie Childs * Sunday Telegraph *
£11.69
Aurum Breaking Bread
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£17.09
Random House USA Inc The Color of Everything
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£21.25
Little, Brown & Company A Piece of Work
Book SynopsisSimon Russell Beale is one of Britain''s most recognisable and well-loved actors. He has played many roles on stage, film, television and radio - ranging from Winston Churchill to Stalin, George Smiley to King Arthur. But ever since his appearance at school as a glamorous Desdemona, complete with false eyelashes that rendered him half-blind, he has been captivated by Shakespeare. In A Piece of Work, Russell Beale tries to get under the skin of the playwright and find out what interested him. Was Shakespeare an instinctive ''conservative'' or, rather, gently subversive? How collaborative was he? Did he add a line to Hamlet in order to accommodate his ageing and increasingly chubby principal actor, Richard Burbage? Did he suffer from insomnia and experience sexual jealousy? Russell Beale describes what it is to approach and live with some of Shakespeare''s most famous characters. Some of the actor''s inspiration comes from surprising sources. Watching
£20.00
Orion Publishing Co The White Rabbit
Book SynopsisThe harrowing, and inspiring, story of the capture of one of Britain''s top SOE agents in World War Two, his refusal to crack under the most horrific torture, and his final imprisonment in a concentration camp.''The White Rabbit'' was the code name of Wing Commander F.F.E. Yeo-Thomas when he parachuted into France in 1942 as a member of the Special Operations Executive with the Resistance. For the next eighteen months he was responsible for organising all the separate factions of the French Resistance into one combined ''secret army''. On three separate missions into occupied France he met with the heads of Resistance movements all over the country, and he spoke personally with Winston Churchill in order to ensure they were properly supplied.His capture by the Gestapo in March 1944 was therefore a terrible blow for the Resistance movement. For months he was submitted to the most horrific torture in an attempt to get him to spill his unparalleled knowledge of t
£9.99
Random House USA Inc The Man Who Listens to Horses
Book SynopsisMonty Roberts is a real-life horse whisperer-an American original whose gentle Join-Up® training method reveals the depth of communication possible between man and animal. He can take a wild, high-strung horse who has never before been handled and persuade that horse to accept a bridle, saddle, and rider in thirty minutes. His powers may seem like magic, but his amazing “horse sense” is based on a lifetime of experience. In The Man Who Listens to Horses, Roberts reveals his unforgettable personal story and his exceptional insight into nonverbal communication, an understanding that applies to human relationships as well. He shows that between parent and child, employee and employer, abuser and abused, there are forms of communication far stronger than the spoken word that are accessible to all who will learn to listen. This new edition features engaging photographs, a chapter that traces Roberts’s amazing experience gentling with a mustang in the wild, and an Afterword about the remarkable impact this book has had on the world.
£15.75
Birlinn General The Wisest Fool
Book SynopsisJames VI and I, the first monarch to reign over Scotland, England and Ireland, has long endured a mixed reputation. To many, he is simply the homosexual King, the inveterate witch-roaster, the smelly sovereign who never washed, the colourless man behind the authorised Bible bearing his name, or the drooling fool whose speech could barely be understood. For too long, he has paled in comparison to his more celebrated Tudor and Stuart forebears.But who was he really? To what extent have myth, anecdote, and rumour obscured him?In this new and ground-breaking biography, James's story is laid bare and a welter of scurrilous, outrageous assumptions penned by his political opponents put to rest. What emerges is a portrait of Elizabeth I''s successor as his contemporaries knew him: a gregarious, idealistic man obsessed with the idea of family, whose personal and political goals could never match up to reality. With reference to letters, libels and state papers, it casts fresh light on the perso
£13.49
Unicorn Publishing Group Lady Pamela Berry
Book SynopsisThis is a biography lightened with the intimate tone of a social memoir, about a woman who was both a bystander and protagonist through some fifty years of twentieth-century British history. Pamela Berry was the daughter of the buccaneering and brilliant politician and lawyer, FE Smith, the first Earl of Birkenhead, and married the son of another self-made man, William Berry from South Wales, who became Viscount Camrose and the owner of a group of national newspapers, including the Daily Telegraph. She had an unusually glamorous and precocious childhood, spoiled by her adoring father, and much photographed by Cecil Beaton. In her prime she used her position as a newspaper proprietor's wife to become the most famous political and press hostess of her generation, harnessing her beauty and wit to influence successive governments, and was accused of wielding petticoat power' during the Suez crisis. She had a decade-long affair with Malcolm Muggeridge, became a vigorous promoter of British fashion, dragging it out of the dowdy fifties, and in later life was active in the museum world. Harriet Cullen has opened a window back into the remarkable story of her mother's life from a rich cache of family diaries and letters, interweaving them with many other unpublished sources. It is revealing, in turns scathing and admiring, but always entertaining.
£21.25
Vintage Publishing Madame de Pompadour
Book SynopsisNancy Mitford was born in London on November 28 1904, daughter of the second Baron Redesdale, and the eldest of six girls. Her sisters included Lady Diana Mosley; Deborah, Duchess of Devonshire and Jessica, who immortalised the Mitford family in her autobiography Hons and Rebels. The Mitford sisters came of age during the Roaring Twenties and wartime in London, and were well known for their beauty, upper-class bohemianism or political allegiances. Nancy contributed columns to The Lady and the Sunday Times, as well as writing a series of popular novels including The Pursuit of Love and Love in a Cold Climate, which detailed the high-society affairs of the six Radlett sisters. While working in London during the Blitz, Nancy met and fell in love with Gaston Palewski, General de Gaulle's chief of staff, and eventually moved to Paris to be near him. In the 1950s she began writing historical biographies - her life of Louis XIV, The Sun King, became aTrade ReviewMy favourite biography is Nancy Mitford's Madame de Pompadour - a famous 18th-century French beauty who became Louis XV's mistress. The secret of a good biography is not just to tell the person's story but to create the world in which they lived. -- Julian Fellowes * Daily Express *Mitford brings warmth to everything she touches, and her biography of Madame de Pompadour is testimony to that -- Justine Picardie * Sunday Telegraph *Reads as if an enchantingly clever woman was pouring out the story to me on the telephone -- Raymond MortimerNancy Mitford excels in depicting both the brilliant romantic showcase and the recessed world of power... No historian writing in English has given a better pen-picture of Versailles in its heyday * Time *Incontestably her best book, Madame de Pompadour is beautifully written in a rapid, nervous, gay and enthusiastic manner which carries the reader through from first page to last -- Cyril Connolly * Sunday Times *
£9.49
HarperCollins Publishers Inc Black Saturday
Book SynopsisFox News war correspondent Trey Yingst shares his gripping, firsthand account of the events of October 7, 2023, and the ensuing war, offering riveting insight and fresh facts that clarify the scope and magnitude of this latest and most dramatic outbreak in one of the bloodiest, most nuanced, and longest-standing conflicts in modern history. On the morning of October 7, 2023, the militant group known as Hamas launched a vicious attack on Israel in the most recent stage of the deeply complicated and decades-long Israel-Palestine conflict. The assault, which took place on Shabbat—the day of rest for the Jewish people—instantly became known among Israelis and the world as “Black Saturday.”On October 7, Fox News Correspondent Trey Yingst was on the ground along the Gaza border and witnessed firsthand the devastation, shock, and deep sorrow that whirled through Israel. A seasoned journalist who has reported from some of the most dangerous hotspots around the world, including the frontlines in Ukraine, Afghanistan, and Pakistan, Yingst was just one among many people plunged into the terrifying chaos of that horrific event. In this shocking and eye-opening chronicle, he pieces together the story of that tragic day and reveals how he risked his life searching for answers to essential questions in real time--who within Israel had been attacked; what happened to them; who, potentially, was next--while exploring the impact on both Israelis and Palestinians as a full-scale war ramps up and peace grows more elusive. “We have a responsibility now to account for and record these events—and tell the world the truth,” Yingst writes. “We cannot look away.”Committed to reporting the whole truth, on both sides of the Israel-Gaza border, Yingst interviewed a range of exclusive contacts to incorporate multiple perspectives. From conversations with Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant and high-ranking soldiers, to interviews with Senior Hamas official Dr. Bassem Naim and Gazan journalist Nael Ghaboun, to heartbreaking accounts from civilians placed in the crosshairs of the attack and conflict that followed, Yingst takes us inside the newest phase of an old war in which thousands more people—men, women, and children—are suffering.Combining candor, grit, and veracity, Yingst paints a vivid picture of horrors and violence, matched by acts of courage and humanity that cut through the darkness. A testament to unwavering resilience and tenacity, Black Saturday is the riveting chronicle of one journalist’s experience relentlessly pursuing the truth in the face of terror.Black Saturday will include a 16-pages of full-color photographs.
£21.25
Headline Publishing Group Murder in the Gulag
Book Synopsis''Murder in the Gulag is brilliant journalistic writing: punchy, eloquent, page-turning and factual. It''s a powerful reminder of what an extraordinary man Navalny was'' - Roland Oliphant, TelegraphThe gripping sequel to the bestselling Killer in the Kremlin2:19pm, Moscow time, 16 February 2024. The Federal Penitentiary Service of the Yamalo-Nenets Autonomous District announces that Alexei Navalny is dead. The news sends shockwaves around the world.In Murder in the Gulag, award-winning journalist John Sweeney goes behind the headlines to reveal what really happened to the Russian opposition leader in the freezing Polar Wolf penal colony in a remote part of Siberia. The book is less a whodunnit - Russian President Vladimir Putin''s machinery of repression killed Navalny - than a howdunnit.The narrative relates Navalny''s extraordinary life story in technicolour detail, from his childhood summers spent with his
£16.00
Orion Publishing Co Conan Doyle
Book SynopsisGround-breaking biography of the creator of fiction''s best loved detectiveThough Sir Arthur Conan Doyle''s name is recognised the world over, for decades he was overshadowed by his creation, Sherlock Holmes - one of literature''s most enduring characters. Conan Doyle was a man of many contradictions. Romantic, energetic, idealistic and upstanding, he could also be selfish and foolhardy. Lycett assembles the many threads of Conan Doyle''s life, including the lasting impact of his domineering mother and his alcoholic father; his affair with a younger woman while his wife lay dying; and his fanatical pursuit of scientific data to prove and explain various supernatural phenomena.Lycett combines access to new material with assiduous research and penetrating insight to offer the most comprehensive, lucid and sympathetic portrait yet of Conan Doyle''s personal journey from student to doctor, from world-famous author to ardent spiritualist.Trade Review"splendid, evocatively illustrated biography" SUNDAY TELEGRAPH "Comprehensive and authoritative, it is undoubtedly the best account of Doyle to date" SUNDAY TIMES "Lycett excels at the troubled context of of Doyle's times, caught first on the cusp and then on the charge of change" -- Ross Leckie TIMES "Packed with fascinating detail about Doyle's milieu, this engaging and perceptive account deserves to sell in vast quantities to the army of Holmes fans" -- Christopher Hirst INDEPENDENT "a massive work and Lycett has gathered much new material to produce a comprehensive, lucid and sympathetic portrait of a larger-than-life character" HUDDERSFIELD DAILY EXAMINER "deftly and sensitively treated by Lycett" GOOD BOOK GUIDE
£14.24
Penguin Books Ltd The Life of Saint Teresa of Avila by Herself
Book SynopsisBorn in the Castilian town of Avila in 1515, Teresa entered the Carmelite convent of the Incarnation when she was twenty-one. Tormented by illness, doubts and self-recrimination, she gradually came to recognize the power of prayer and contemplation—her spiritual enlightenment was intensified by many visions and mystical experiences, including the piercing of her heart by a spear of divine love. She went on to found seventeen Carmelite monasteries throughout Spain. Teresa always denied her own saintliness, however, saying in a letter: There is no suggestion of that nonsense about my supposed sanctity. This frank account is one of the great stories of a religious life and a literary masterpiece—after Don Quixote, it is Spain's most widely read prose classic.For more than seventy years, Penguin has been the leading publisher of classic literature in the English-speaking world. With more than 1,700 titles, Penguin Classics represents a global bookshelf of the best Table of ContentsThe Life of Saint Teresa of Avila by Herself - Translated with an Introduction by J. M. Cohen Introduction[The Saint's Prepatory Note]1. How the Lord began to rouse her soul in childhood to a love of virtue, and what a help it is in this respect to have good parents2. How she came gradually to lose these virtues, and of the importance of associating in childhood with good people*3. How good company reawakened her desires, and how God began to shed some light for her on the illusions under which she laboured*4. How the Lord helped her to force herself to take the habit, and of the many illnesses which His Majesty began to send her*5. She continues to speak of the great infirmities that she suffered, of the patience which the Lord gave her, and of how she derived good out of evil, as will be seen from one incident which happened in the town where she went to be cured*6. Of her great debts to the Lord for making her resigned to her great trials, of how she took St. Joseph, the glorious, as her mediator and advocate, and of the great profit that she derived from this *7. How she began to lose the graces the Lord had given her, and of the evil life she began to lead. A description of the dangers arising from the lack of strict enclosure in convents*8. Of the great profit that she derived from not entirely abandoning prayer, for fear that she might lose her soul. She describes the excellence of prayer as a help towards winning back what is lost, and exhorts everyone to practise it. She tells what great gains it brings and how very beneficial it is even for those who may later give it up, to devote some time to anything as good*9. Of the means by which God began to rouse her soul, to give it light in its great darkness, and to strengthen her virtues, so that she should not offend Him*10. She begins to explain the favours which God gave her in prayer, telling the extent to which we can help ourselves, and how important it is that we shall understand the favours God is granting us. She begs those to whom this book is to be sent to keep the rest of it secret, since they have ordered her to describe in detail the favours that she has received from God*11. She explains why we cannot attain the perfect love of God in a short time, beginning with a comparison which sets out the four stages of prayer. Here she says something about the first, which is very profitable for beginners and for those who receive no consolations in prayer*12. More about the first state. She tells how far we can, with God's help, progress by ourselves, and speaks of the danger of seeking supernatural and extraordinary experiences until the Lord bestows them on us*13. She continues to speak of this first stage, and gives advice concerning certain temptations that the devil sends at times. This chapter is very useful*14. She begins to explain the second stage of prayer, in which the Lord already grants the soul more special consolations. These she describes in order to show that they are supernatural, and this is a most noteworthy chapter*15. Continuing the same subject, she gives certain advice on behaviour during the prayer of quiet. She tells how there are as many souls that advance to this stage, but few who pass beyond it. The matters touched upon here are most essential and profitable*16. She treats of the third stage of prayer, and continues to explain things of a very lofty nature, telling what the soul that has come so far can do, and what are the effects of such great favours from the Lord. This is a subject most likely to uplift the spirit in God's praise, and to give great comfort to those who have come so far*17. She continues to explain the third stage of prayer, and completes her account of its effects. She tells of the hindrances caused in this state by the imagination and the memory*18. She treats of the fourth stage of prayer, and begins an excellent explanation of the great dignity to which the Lord raises the soul in this state. This is meant to spur those who practise prayer to make efforts to reach this exalted state, which it is possible to attain on earth, though not through our merits, but only by the goodness of God. This chapter must be read with great care, since the argument is most subtle, and contains some most noteworthy observations*19. Continuing the same subjecct, she begins to describe the effects upon the soul of this stage of prayer. She earnestly exhorts those who have attained it not to turn back, even if they should afterwards fall, nor ever to give up prayer. She describes the harm that they would suffer if they did so. All this is most noteworthy and will be of great comfort to the weak and to sinners*20. She treats of the difference between union and rapture, and explains what a rapture is. She also says something about the good that a soul derives from being, by the Lord's goodness, brought to it. She speaks of its effects*21. She continues and concludes her account of this last stage of prayer, telling what the soul who has reached it feels when it returns to live in the world. She describes the light God throws on the world's deceits. All of this is good doctrine*22. She shows how safe a path it is for contemplatives not to raise their spirits to lofty things, and how the approach to the most exalted contemplation must be by way of Christ's humanity. She tells of an incident in which she was herself deceived. This is a very profitable chapter*23. She returns to the history of her life, and tells how she began to strive for greater perfection. This is profitable matter for those who have to direct souls engaged in the practice of prayer, and teaches them how to deal with beginners. She tells of the profit that she derived from this knowledge*24. She continues the same subject and tells how her soul went on improving, once she had begun to obey; also how little use it was for her to resist God's favours, since His Majesty went on giving them to her in more liberal measure*25. She treats of the means and manner whereby these words that God speaks to the soul are perceived without being actually heard, and of some possible descriptions in regard to them. She tells how false locutions are to be distinguished from true. This is a most profitable chapter for any who may have reached this stage of prayer, because the explanation is very clear and contains much teaching *26. She continues with the same subject, relating and describing certain events which rid her of her fears, and convinced her that the spirit which spoke to her was a good one*27. She describes another way in which the Lord teaches the soul and, without speech, makes His will known to it in a wondrous manner. She also speaks of a vision and of a great favour, which was not imaginary, that the Lord granted her. This is a most noteworthy chapter*28. She tells of the great favours that the Lord bestowed on her, and of His first appearance to her. She defines an imaginary vision, and speaks of the great effects and signs produced by one that is from God. This is a most profitable and noteworthy chapter*29. She continues, and describes some great favours which the Lord showed her, relating also what the Lord said to her, to reassure her and enable her to answer those who argued against her*30. She returns to the story o her life, and tells how the Lord greatly relieved her trials by bringing her a visit from that holy man, Friar Peter of Alcantara of the Order of the glorious St. Francis. She speaks of the great temptations and inner trials which she sometimes suffered*31. She speaks of certain outward temptations and appearances of the devil, and of the torments which she suffered from him, and also offers some excellent counsel to persons travelling the way of perfection*32. She tells how it pleased God to carry her in the spirit to a place in hell that she had deserved for her sins. She describes a tithe of what was shown her there, and begins to tell of the ways and means by which the convent of St. Joseph was founded on its present site*33. She continues her account of the foundation of the glorious St. Joseph's, telling how she was commanded to let it drop, how for a time she gave it up, and how she suffered various trials in the course of which she was comforted by the Lord*34. She tells how at this time she had to leave the town. She gives the reasons and tells of her superior's command that she should go and comfort a very great lady who was in serious distress. She begins to describe what happened to her there, and to tell how the Lord in His mercy made her the instrument whereby His Majesty roused a very important person to serve him in earnest, also to say how she afterwards found help and protection from Him. This is a very noteworthy chapter*35. She continues the story of the foundation of this house of our glorious father, St. Joseph, and of the way in which the Lord ordained that holy poverty should be observed there. She gives her reasons for leaving the lady with whom she was living, and describes several other things that happened to her*36. She continues with the previous subject, and describes ho the foundation of this convent of the glorious St. Joseph was concluded. She speaks of the great opposition and many persecutions which the nuns had to endure after taking the habit, of the great trials and temptations which she herself underwent, and of how the Lord delivered her victoriously from them all, to His own praise and glory*37. She describes the effects that remained with her after the Lord had granted her a favour, and gives much sound teaching as well. She speaks of the efforts that we must make to attain one more degree of glory, and of the high value we must set on it, allowing no trial to deprive us of a blessing that is eternal*38. She describes certain great favours that the Lord bestowed on her, by graciously revealing to her some of the secrets of heaven, and by vouchsafing her further great visions and revelations. She speaks of the effects which these had upon her and of the great benefit that they did to her soul*39. She continues with the same subject, and recounts the great mercies which the Lord has shown her. She tells of His promises to help those persons for whom she might pray, and some outstanding instances in which his Majesty has favoured her in this way*40. She continues her account of the great favours that God granted her, from some of which excellent lessons can be obtained. For instruction, as she says, after obedience and the recording of such favours as will be of profit to souls, has been her principal motive in writing. With this chapter the account of her life comes to an end. May it be for the glory of the Lord. Amen
£11.69
HarperCollins Publishers The Queens Conjuror
Book SynopsisA spellbinding portrait of Queen Elizabeth's conjuror the great philosopher, scientist and magician, Dr John Dee (15271608) and a history of Renaissance science that could well be the next Longitude'.Trade Review‘Fresh and original…Woolley thinks and writes beautifully. This is a distinguished and rather brilliant book – it’s also a rattling good story.’ Lisa Jardine ‘A fascinating, brilliant account of the Renaissance world picture…’ Kathryn Hughes, New Statesman ‘Woolley handsomely captures a society torn between rationality and romance, cynicism and hero worship.’ New Scientist ‘An informative and enlightening book. It offers concise and lucid explanations of Dee’s more abstruse and arcane theories. And it is immensely enjoyable, its narrative exciting and inexorable. I have not read as stimulating a study of the Elizabethan period since Charles Nicholl’s book on Marlowe, “The Reckoning”.’ Thomas Wright, Daily Telegraph Praise for ‘The Herbalist’: ‘The research is superb – rich, detailed, and original – and the lives Benjamin Woolley describes are as passionate as the great events of the English Civil War around which they orbit.’ Adam Nicolson
£12.34
Faber & Faber Keats
Book SynopsisFirst published in 1997, Keats was the first major biography of this tragic hero of Romanticism for some thirty years, and it differs from its predecessors in important respects. The outline of the story is well known - has become, in fact, the stuff of legend: the archetypal life of the tortured genius, critically spurned and dying young. What Andrew Motion brings to bear on the subject is a deep understanding of how Keats fitted into the intellectual and political life of his time. Important friendships with such anti-establishment figures as William Hazlitt and Leigh Hunt are given their full due, and the closeness of his own spirit, as expressed in his poems, to the ferment all around is made clear. Many significant facts about Keats''s schooldays and medical training, in particular, enrich the picture. Keats emerges as a more political figure than he is usually portrayed, but his personal sufferings, too, come into closer focus. Most importantly, Andrew Motion -
£17.09
HarperCollins Publishers Under Pressure Living Life and Avoiding Death on
Book SynopsisOne of the finest memoirs published in recent years.' Dan JonesAn utterly fascinating and wonderfully detailed insight into the hidden world of the modern submarine.' James HollandA candid, visceral, and incredibly entertaining account of what it's like to live in one of the most extreme environments in the world.Imagine a world without natural light, where you can barely stand up straight for fear of knocking your head, where you have no idea of where in the world you are or what time of day it is, where you sleep in a coffin-sized bunk and sometimes eat a full roast for breakfast.Now imagine sharing that world with 140 other sweaty bodies, crammed into a 430ft x 33ft steel tube, 300ft underwater, for up to 90 days at a time, with no possibility of escape. And to top it off, a sizeable chunk of your living space is taken up by the most formidably destructive nuclear weapons history has ever known. This is the world of the submariner. This is life under pressure.As a restless and advenTrade Review‘Under Pressure is an extraordinary memoir of life aboard an underwater weapon of mass destruction. By turns hilarious and terrifying, profane and poignant, there were passages where I gasped aloud, and others where I laughed until the tears came. A deep dive into a life vanishingly few of us will ever know, this is one of the finest memoirs published in recent years.’ Dan Jones, bestselling author of The Templars ‘If you wanna read something great, this is it. The murky world of life on a Royal Navy submarine. What really happens. The trials, tribulations, tears and laughter of living under pressure!’ Jason Fox, bestselling author of Battle Scars ‘An utterly fascinating and wonderfully detailed insight into the hidden – and frequently disorientating and claustrophobic – world of the modern submariner, this richly compelling and hugely entertaining memoir brilliantly conveys the tension, huge responsibility, culture and, of course, humour, of being a crewman on the nuclear deterrent.’ James Holland, author of Normandy `44:D-Day and the Battle for France ‘A vivid, honest and very funny account of life as a submariner at the height of the Cold War.’ James Jinks, co-author of The Silent Deep: The Royal Navy Submarine Service Since 1945 ‘A visceral trip down under’ Spectator
£10.44
Atria Books The Widows Guide to Dead Bastards
Book Synopsis“You will stay up all night reading this gem” (Christie Tate, New York Times bestselling author) about a widow whose life is turned upside down when she uncovers the truth about her late husband. A lyrical, witty, and deeply moving memoir of betrayal and forgiveness.While mourning her husband’s sudden death, Jessica Waite discovered shocking secrets that undermined everything she thought she knew about the man she’d loved and trusted. From secret affairs to drug use and a pornography addiction, Waite was overwhelmed reconciling this devastating information with her new reality as a widowed single mom. Then, to further complicate matters, strange, inexplicable coincidences forced her to consider whether her husband was reaching back from beyond the grave. With unflinching honesty, Waite details her tumultuous love story and the pain of adjusting to the new normal she built for herself and her son. “A candid, raw chronicle of bereavement” (Kirkus Reviews), The Widow’s Guide to Dead Bastards is also a lyrical exploration of mental health, single parenthood, and betrayal that demonstrates that the most moving love stories aren’t perfect—they’re flawed and poignantly real.
£9.49
Orion Publishing Co Strange Angel The Otherworldly Life of Rocket
Book SynopsisThe weird and wonderful life of John Whiteside Parsons - a pioneering rocket scientist who also delved into the occult'Forget geek stereotypes. Parsons' life seems straight out of a Hollywood thriller ' Los Angeles MagazineTrade ReviewPendle's superbly detailed and addictively readable book makes the reader fall in love with these young men's energy and enthusiasm, and the blazing trail that Parsons left behind him as he finally fell to earth * DAILY TELEGRAPH *Readable and engrossing -- Bryan Appleyard * LITERARY REVIEW *Elegantly written ... Pendle with his graceful, measured prose... skilfully steers us through the quagmire of Parson's personal life to place him on the pedestal that he deserves, so that we may admire his remarkable legacy to modern rocket science * OBSERVER *You couldn't make it up * PHYSICS WORLD *A case of truth being stranger than fiction in all its glory. The whole mix is fascinating. Parsons' struggle to achieve a working rocket would make a good story in its own right, but add in the science fiction, add in the strange religion and characters like Hubbard - and finally, throw into the mix Parsons' horrendous death in an apparently accidental explosion at home ... It's a cracker, that rarest of things a popular science book that's a page turner too * POPULARSCIENCE.CO.UK *Fascinating ... we are introduced to a surreal 1930s world where dreams of space flight were inspired by popular science fiction * FOCUS *Entertaining... intriguing * CHEMISTRY WORLD *As a history of space travel, STRANGE ANGEL is a cornerstone ... Highly recommended -- Ray BradburyForget geek stereotypes. Parsons' life seems straight out of a Hollywood thriller ... Pendle's book leaves us with a taste of genius's energy and fragility * LOS ANGELES MAGAZINE *Fascinating ... he deftly and seemingly effortlessly leads his readers through the technical aspects of Parsons' work. You don't have to be a rocket scientist to enjoy it * SEATTLE TIMES *A riveting tale of rocketry, the occult, and boom-and-bust 1920s and 1930s Los Angeles * BOOKLIST *An engaging treatment of a time when the modern world moved at the same speed as crazed mania * THE ONION *Offers glimpses not only of the history of a lab, a science and a group of extraordinary people but also of America's rapidly changing political and cultural assumptions ... Parsons' story is an intriguing one, full of contradictions that seem quintessentially of their time * NEW YORK TIMES BOOK REVIEW *Spellbinding ... STRANGE ANGEL has a strong narrative drive and reads like a novel - except that novels need to be plausible, whereas the life of Jack Parsons, poet, magician and rocket pioneer, had no such constraint * AMERICAN SCIENTIST *STRANGE ANGEL could be a hybrid sired by GRAVITY'S RAINBOW out of FOUCAULT'S PENDULUM. Explosively fascinating * GLOBE & MAIL *
£10.44
Biteback Publishing Red Flag
Book Synopsis
£13.49
HarperCollins Publishers Inc Selling Sunshine
Book Synopsis
£21.25
Vintage Publishing Bizot F Gate
Book SynopsisSelected as a Book of the Year in 2017 in the Scottish Herald ''The beauty of the prose is in contrast with the horror anticipated by this superbly subtle narrative'' Kapka KassabovaIn 1971, on a routine outing through the Cambodian countryside, the young French ethnologist Fran-ois Bizot is captured by the Khmer Rouge. Accused of being an agent of ''American imperialism'', he is chained and imprisoned. His captor, Douch - later responsible for tens of thousands of deaths - interrogates him at length; after three months of torturous deliberation, during which his every word was weighed and his life hung in the balance, he was released. Four years later, the Khmer Rouge entered Phnom Penh. Fran-ois Bizot became the official intermediary between the ruthless conqueror and the terrified refugees behind the gate of the French embassy: a ringside seat to one of history''s most appalling genocides. Written thirty years later, Fran-ois Bizot''s memoir of his horrific experiences in the ''killing fields'' of Cambodia is, in the words of John le Carr-, a ''contemporary classic''.
£10.44
Vintage Publishing Seven Pillars of Wisdom
Book SynopsisWITH A NEW INTRODUCTION BY ROBERT FISKSeven Pillars of Wisdom is an unusual and rich work. It encompasses an account of the Arab Revolt against the Turks during the First World War alongside general Middle Eastern and military history, politics, adventure and drama. It is also a memoir of the soldier known as ''Lawrence of Arabia''.Lawrence is a fascinating and controversial figure and his talent as a vivid and imaginative writer shines through on every page of this, his masterpiece. Seven Pillars of Wisdom provides a unique portrait of this extraordinary man and an insight into the birth of the Arab nationTrade ReviewIt ranks with the greatest books ever written in the English language.As a narrative of war and adventure...it is unsurpassable -- Winston ChurchillRound this tent-pole of a military chronicle, T. E. has hung an unexampled fabric of portraits, descriptions, philosophies, emotions, adventures, dreams -- E.M. ForsterI am not much of a hero-worshipper but I could have followed T.E. Lawrence over the edge of the world -- John BuchanSeven Pillars of Wisdom is one of the major statements about the fighting experience of the First World War -- Angus CalderEmotional and mythic * Guardian *
£11.69
Vintage Publishing The Flame Trees Of Thika
Book SynopsisWhen Elspeth Huxley's pioneer father buys a remote plot of land in Kenya, the family sets off to discover their new home: five hundred acres of Kenyan scrubland, infested with ticks and white ants, and quavering with heat. What they lack in know-how they make up for in determination: building a grass house, employing local Kikuyu tribe members and painstakingly transforming their patch of wilderness into a working farm. Huxley's unforgettable childhood memoir is a sensitive account of settler life at the turn of the twentieth century and a love song to the harshness and beauty of East Africa.Trade ReviewAn enchantment and a joy to read * Books and Bookmen *She knows East Africa and she loves it - the people, black and white, and the wild beauty of its countryside - with a critical and understanding sympathy * The Times *An accomplished story-teller, she weaves anecdotes, character sketches, political history together without losing her thread or the reader's momentum * Sunday Times *What a marvellous writer...and what a Kenya it was * Financial Times *
£10.44
Penguin Books Ltd Karl Marx
Book SynopsisSHORTLISTED FOR THE ELIZABETH LONGFORD PRIZE FOR HISTORICAL BIOGRAPHY 2017''A deeply original and illuminating account of Marx''s journey through the intellectual history of the nineteenth century... a profound reappraisal and a gripping read'' Christopher Clark, author of The SleepwalkersAs the nineteenth century unfolded, its inhabitants had to come to terms with an unparalleled range of political, economic, religious and intellectual challenges. Distances shrank, new towns sprang up, and ingenious inventions transformed the industrial landscape. It was an era dominated by new ideas about God, human capacities, industry, revolution, empires and political systems - and above all, the shape of the future.One of the most distinctive and arresting contributions to this debate was made by Karl Marx, the son of a Jewish convert in the Rhineland and a man whose entire life was devoted to making sense of the hopes and fears ofTrade ReviewExhaustive and staggeringly well-researched -- Oliver Bullough * The Observer *Vast, dense and intellectually formidable -- Dominic Sandbrook * The Sunday Times *Rich and deeply researched -- John Gray * Literary Review *Superb ... so long as we persist in our tendency to hive off the study of economics from politics, philosophy and journalism, Marx will remain the outstanding example of how to overcome the fragmentation of modern social thought and think about the world as a whole for the sake of its betterment. And this book will be an admirable guide to how he did it. * Financial Times *An intellectual history of impeccable scholarship... the book is superb... for those interested in Marx's thinking, Stedman Jones's book is a treat * The Telegraph *There is no better guide to Marx than Gareth Stedman Jones * Economist *'A deeply original and illuminating account of Marx's journey through the intellectual history of the nineteenth century. Stedman Jones explores the friendships, affinities, rivalries and hatreds that shaped Marx's life with elegance and analytical brilliance. He anchors his narrative in a startlingly textured account of the society and politics of Marx's era. Most important of all, he brings to life the thoughts of a plethora of other writers, showing how Marx's engagements with the thoughts of others enabled him to navigate a course that often had little or nothing to do with the Marxism of the twentieth century. A profound reappraisal and a gripping read.' -- Christopher Clark (author of The Sleepwalkers)
£17.09
Penguin Books Ltd The Diaries of Samuel Pepys A Selection Penguin
Book SynopsisPreviously published as The Shorter Pepys, Samuel Pepys'' The Diary of Samuel Pepys: A Selection is a collection of scintillating first-hand accounts of Restoration England, from the most tumultuous events to the simplest domestic pleasures, selected and edited by Robert Latham.The 1660s represent a turning point in English history, and for the main events - the Restoration, the Dutch War, the Great Plague, the Fire of London - Pepys provides a definitive eyewitness account. As well as recording public and historical events, Pepys paints a vivid picture of his personal life, from his socializing and amorous entanglements, to his theatre-going and his work at the Navy Board. Unequalled for its frankness, high spirits and sharp observations, the diary is both a literary masterpiece and a marvellous portrait of seventeenth-century life.Samuel Pepys (1633-1703) achieved fame as a naval administrator and a friend and colleague of the powerful and learned. Fo
£17.09
Penguin Books Ltd John F. Kennedy
Book SynopsisUpdated edition of the authoritative single-volume biography of John F. Kennedy. Drawing upon first-hand sources and never-before-opened archives, prize-winning historian Robert Dallek reveals more than we ever knew about Jack Kennedy, forever changing the way we think about his life, his presidency and his legacy.Dallek also discloses that, while labouring to present an image of robust good health, Kennedy was secretly in and out of hospitals throughout his life, soill that he was administered last rites on several occasions. He never shies away from Kennedy''s weaknesses, but also brilliantly explores his strengths. The result is a full portrait of a bold, brave and truly human John F. Kennedy.
£16.99
Penguin Books Ltd Edward III Penguin Monarchs A Heroic Failure
Book Synopsis
£8.54
Oxford University Press Russell
Book SynopsisBertrand Russell (1872-1970) is one of the most famous and important philosophers of the twentieth century. In this account of his life and work A.C. Grayling introduces both his technical contributions to logic and philosophy, and his wide-ranging views on education, politics, war, and sexual morality. Russell is credited with being one of the prime movers of Analytic Philosophy, and with having played a part in the revolution in social attitudes witnessed throughout the twentieth-century world. This introduction gives a clear survey of Russell''s achievements across their whole range.ABOUT THE SERIES: The Very Short Introductions series from Oxford University Press contains hundreds of titles in almost every subject area. These pocket-sized books are the perfect way to get ahead in a new subject quickly. Our expert authors combine facts, analysis, perspective, new ideas, and enthusiasm to make interesting and challenging topics highly readable.Table of Contents1. Life and Work ; 2. Logic and Philosophy ; 3. Philosophy, Mind and Science ; 4. Politics and society ; 5. Russell's influence
£9.49
The University of Chicago Press American Imperialist
Book SynopsisThis biography of African explorer Richard Dorsey Mohun, written by one of his descendants, reveals how American greed and state power helped shape the new imperial order in Africa. Richard Dorsey Mohun spent his career circulating among the eastern United States, the cities and courts of Europe, and the African continent, as he served the US State Department at some points and King Leopold of Belgium at others. A freelance imperialist, he implemented the schemes of American investors and the Congo Free State alike. Without men like him, Africa's history might have unfolded very differently. How did an ordinary son of a Washington bookseller become the agent of American corporate greed and European imperial ambition? Why did he choose to act in ways that ranged from thoughtless and amoral to criminal and unforgivable? With unblinking clarity and precision, historian Arwen P. Mohun interrogates the life and actions of her great-grandfather in American Imperialist. She seeks not to Trade Review“Mohun further pulls back the veil on American collusion with King Leopold in his brutal rule over the Congo Free State. More specifically, she exposes the ways in which men like her great-grandfather participated in the violent subjugation of African peoples and the seizure of African lands to enrich the coffers of the Belgian monarch. In telling her ancestor’s story, taking the reader from the shores of Zanzibar to Boma, Mohun reveals how Dorsey’s time in Africa embodied the ‘remarkable influence of American money and expertise’ in imperial ventures during the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries.” * Jeannette Eileen Jones, author of '"In Search of Brightest Africa: Reimagining the Dark Continent in American Culture, 1884–1936" *“When a historian begins to untangle family myths, very interesting things emerge. Remembered as an ‘African explorer,’ the man who was simply called ‘Dorsey’ was representative, a stereotype brought to life. But Mohun’s deft and delicate recovery of a family ancestor reveals a more complicated person, at once desperate and anxious and confident, his past precarious and his future uncertain. Herein lies the all-too-human story of how one ordinary person, buffeted by the winds of change, seeks refuge in the service of the American empire and becomes its most perfect avatar.” * Matthew Guterl, author of 'Skinfolk: A Memoir' *“American Imperialist is an engrossing and well-researched book that effectively draws on manuscripts, government archival sources, and contemporary print media. Richard Dorsey Mohun, the subject of the book and the author’s great grandfather, is a fascinating and little-known figure whose career instructively points to the ways that a bureaucrat’s work can be deeply entangled in the project of US imperialism.” * Ira Dworkin, author of 'Congo Love Song: African American Culture and the Crisis of the Colonial State' *Table of Contents List of Illustrations Prologue 1: African Connections 2: Africa in Mind 3: The Journey Up-Country 4: Arab Encounters 5: The Messy Business of Hero Making 6: A Hero’s Welcome 7: The Consular Life 8: Infrastructures of Empire 9: Facts on the Ground 10: The Truth about the Congo 11: Manifest Destiny After Africa and Conclusion Acknowledgments List of Abbreviations Notes Index
£23.75
Dorling Kindersley Ltd Writers Who Changed History
Book Synopsis
£22.50
Penguin Books Ltd King of the Jews
Book Synopsis''Once upon a time, when New York City lived and breathed, there was a man marked for death, like us all ...''Arnold Rothstein was one of the most mysterious figures in Manhattan''s history: a godfather of organized crime - rumoured to have fixed baseball''s World Series - yet a peer of the Morgans and Rockefellers. But one night in 1928 he was shot in the stomach and died shortly afterwards, refusing to speak a word concerning his own murder.Nick Tosches jumps feet first into Rothstein''s life to lay bare his legacy - to New York and to the whole Western world - and to try and make some sense of what the ''king of the Jews'' means to us. What we get back is an angry howl right out of the tortured heart of America itself.
£14.39
Little, Brown Book Group Genius
Book SynopsisRichard Feynman was the most brilliant and influential physicist of our time. Architect of quantum theories, enfant terrible of the atomic bomb project, caustic inquisitor on the space shuttle commission, ebulent bongo-player and storyteller - Feynman played a bewildering assortment of roles in the science of the post-war era.A brilliant interweaving of Richard Feynman''s colourful life and a detailed and accessible account of his theories and experiments.Trade Reviewthe book is a moving, beautifully written literate and perceptive account of Feynman's life. NATURE I came away from Genius feeling that I knew a lot more about Feynman and his play in 20th century science. SUNDAY TIMES Gleick's narrative, consistently measured and elegant is a formidable work of scientific biography. NEW STATESMEN thoughtful and fascinating. THE LITERARY REVIEW
£13.49
Transworld Publishers Ltd Please Mister Postman
Book SynopsisAlan Johnson was born in May 1950. He is a British Labour Party politician who served as Home Secretary from June 2009 to May 2010. Before that he filled a wide variety of cabinet positions in both the Blair and Brown governments, including Health Secretary and Education Secretary. Until 20 January 2011 he was Shadow Chancellor of the Exchequer. Johnson was the Member of Parliament for Hull West and Hessle until his retirement from politics in 2017. His first book, This Boy, won the RSL Ondaatje Prize and the Orwell Prize in 2013. His second, Please Mister Postman, won the National Book Award for Autobiography of the Year in 2014. His third, The Long and Winding Road, was published in 2016 and won the Parliamentary Book Award for Best Memoir.Trade ReviewThe best political testament I have ever read -- Peter Wilby * New Statesman *This boy can write…there’s nothing second-rate about his writing. He is a natural * The Spectator *A wonderful elegy for a life that has only just passed into history... Beautifully written, affecting and sad -- John Rentoul * Independent on Sunday *A fascinating piece of social history -- Daisy Goodwin * Sunday Times *Johnson’s writing style is easy, relaxed, self-deprecating. His recall and eye for detail are impressive -- Chris Mullin * Observer *
£11.69
