Biography: adventurers and explorers Books

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Book SynopsisOn 29 January 2008 Philip Gould was told he had cancer. He was stoical, and set about his treatment, determined to fight his illness. In the face of difficult decisions he sought always to understand the disease and the various medical options open to him, supported by his wife Gail and their two daughters, Georgia and Grace.In 2010, after two hard years of chemotherapy and surgery, the tests came up clear - Philip appeared to have won the battle. But his work as a key strategist for the Labour party took its toll, and feeling ill six months later, he insisted on one extra, precautionary test, which told him that the cancer had returned. Thus began Philip''s long, painful but ultimately optimistic journey towards death, during which time he began to appreciate and make sense of his life, his work and his relationships in a way he had never thought possible. He realized something that he had never heard articulated before: death need not be only negative or painful, it can be

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Book SynopsisTrade Review"Luna (a.k.a. the Hoodwitch) is a badass witch. . . . Intense, original collage and photographic art throughout underscores the book’s messaging. . . . Luna’s supportive concepts, cultural inclusiveness, frank talk, and unique spells should appeal to readers looking for feminist, representational, badass witchcraft." — Library Journal (starred review) "[A] sumptuous tapestry of magic spells and memories." — Los Angeles Times

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Book SynopsisAn intellectual biography of one of the most celebrated and yet least understood figures of the late twentieth century, Terence McKenna.A stand-up philosopher who made a unique contribution to science, humanism, and the hidden arts, Terence McKenna (1946-2000) was the twentieth century’s psychedelic Renaissance man. Perfecting his rugged philosophy on the role of psychedelics in evolution, consciousness, and time, McKenna was a riotous charmer who stalked the shadows, but also sought the iridescence. More than twenty years since his untimely passing, McKenna has an enduring magnetism across the virtual pop stream, in pervasive digitization, and within social media networks. In the first biography of this enigmatic figure Strange Attractor, with a foreword by Erik Davis, Graham St John detects the signal behind the noise.This book is an engaging chronicle of the life, works, and legacy of this brazen adventurer of the inner and outer dimens

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Book SynopsisNick Thomas-Symonds is the current Shadow Secretary of State for International Trade. Previously a barrister and academic, he was elected a Fellow of the Royal Historical Society in 2012 and has been the Member of Parliament for Torfaen since 2015. He is the author of Nye: The Political Life of Aneurin Bevan (2014) and Harold Wilson: The Winner (2022).Trade Reviewa thoroughly impressive piece of work - authoritative, reliable and perceptive ... This is rightly billed as a 'political biography' and in the realm of politics it is remarkably sure-footed * Anthony Howard *[a] brisk, well-written and admirably clear-sighted biography * Dominic Sandbrook, Sunday Times *Very interesting and well researched. The reader gets a real sense of Attlee's life and politics, and the portrait of him is well-rounded and nuanced. This biography will be very useful for students seeking to gain a clear understanding of Attlee and marks a useful addition to the canon of Labour history * Matthew Worley, Lecturer in History, University of Reading *... to paraphrase Churchill, this was unquestionably Labour's finest hour. But how much of this can be attributed to the leadership of Clement Attlee himself? This is the question at the heart of Nick Thomas-Symonds excellent biography. * Guy Lodge, LSE Review of Books *... goes a long way towards explaining the Attlee enigma * Vernon Bogdanor, New Statesman *Table of ContentsForeword by Keir Starmer INTRODUCTION to the New Edition CHAPTER ONE: GROWING UP IN VICTORIAN ENGLAND, 1883 - 1901 CHAPTER TWO: FROM OXFORD TO THE EAST END, 1901 - 1914 CHAPTER THREE: THE FIRST WORLD WAR, 1914-1918 CHAPTER FOUR: THE POLITICAL APPRENTICESHIP, 1918-1922 CHAPTER FIVE: A NEW MEMBER OF PARLIAMENT, 1922-24 CHAPTER SIX: OPPOSITION AND INDIAN AFFAIRS, 1924-30 CHAPTER SEVEN: IN GOVERNMENT, 1930-1931 CHAPTER EIGHT: BACK IN OPPOSITION, 1931-35 CHAPTER NINE: LABOUR LEADERSHIP, 1935-39 CHAPTER TEN: FROM OPPOSITION TO GOVERNMENT, 1939 - 1942 CHAPTER ELEVEN: DEPUTY PRIME MINISTER AND DOMINIONS SECRETARY, 1942-43 CHAPTER TWELVE: DEPUTY PRIME MINISTER AND LORD PRESIDENT OF THE COUNCIL, 1943 - 45 CHAPTER THIRTEEN: THE 1945 GENERAL ELECTION CHAPTER FOURTEEN: ATTLEE AS PRIME MINISTER CHAPTER FIFTEEN: THE SCALE OF THE CHALLENGE, JULY - NOVEMBER 1945 CHAPTER SIXTEEN: FULFILLING THE PARTY’S AMBITIONS - NATIONAL INSURANCE, NATIONAL HEALTH, AND NATIONALIZATION, 1945 - 1948 CHAPTER SEVENTEEN: INDIA CHAPTER EIGHTEEN: BRITAIN AND AMERICA, 1945-1951 CHAPTER NINETEEN: COAL AND CURRENCY: ATTLEE’S LEADERSHIP CRISIS OF 1947 CHAPTER TWENTY: MISSED OPPORTUNITIES? 1948-1949 CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE: POLITICAL TROUBLES, 1949-51 CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO: MANAGING THE PARTY, 1951-55 CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE: THE LAST YEARS, 1955-1967 CONCLUSION

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Book SynopsisExplore the struggle for racial justice in Britain through the lens of one of Britain''s most prominent and controversial black journalists and campaigners.Born in Trinidad during the dying days of colonialism, Darcus Howe became an uncompromising champion of racial justice. The book examines how Howe''s unique political outlook was inspired by the example of his friend and mentor C. L. R. James, and forged in the heat of the American civil rights movement, as well as Trinidad''s Black Power Revolution.Howe took a leading role in the defining struggles in Britain against institutional racism in the police, the courts and the media. Renegade focuses on his part as a defendant in the trial of the Mangrove Nine, the high point of Black Power in Britain; his role in conceiving and organizing the Black People''s Day of Action, the largest ever demonstration by the black community in Britain; and his later work as a prominent journalist and political commentaTrade ReviewThe first detailed history of black power in Britain . . . Bunce and Paul Field have published a political biography of Darcus Howe – one of the most significant black activists in Britain – using him as a framework for a history of the black power movement in Britain. -- Mark Brown * The Guardian *One of the most exciting books on the shelves at the moment * Left Futures *Darcus Howe has been a towering figure,a powerful voice and an indominatable spirit for nearly half a century. His life embraces the history and critical importance of the struggle for justice and equality before the law. The lessons so graphically described in this book should not be forgotten by anyone lest we be condemned to relive them. -- Michael Mansfield, Professor of Law at City University and Visiting Professor of Law at Birkbeck London, UKThis book is a an invaluable contribution to a vital task: uncovering the history of black activism in Britain and its relationship to global trends. The authors place the meaning and impact of Black Power, so often caricatured, in a richly chronicled context. In the spirit of CLR James, a figure who rightly presides over the book, as he did over the life of its subject, they focus on grass-roots creativity, on the interventions of people on the margins. In so doing, they bring to life a series of dramatic struggles, including the Black Power revolt in Trinidad, the persecution of the Mangrove restaurant in Notting Hill and the ground-breaking resistance to it, the New Cross fire and the Brixton riots of 1981. The book is a powerful reminder of much of our recent history, a history in danger of being forgotten or filed away under glib rubrics -- Mike Marqusee, author of 'Redemption Song: Muhammed Ali and the Spirit of the Sixties'This biography of Darcus Howe is undoubtedly a labour of love. Robin Bunce and Paul Field have made a creditable attempt to chart postwar black activism though one man's life. And there can be no other person more appropriate to build the story around - because Darcus Howe is one of the standout activists and public intellectuals of his generation ... for many of us, he will always be that man in the dock at the Mangrove trail, standing up to an institutioanlly racist state - and standing up for us all. This meticulous biography sets out the facts about a life and an era that should be far more widely known. -- Diane Abbott MP * The New Statesman *Political biographies are to be treasured and those of revolutionary activists the more so. […] Unknown to me then were the personal history and the strands of influence that had been synthesised into so extraordinary a creative political life. It is this rich exploration that I embark on in each rereading […] This book delivers an understanding of how those enduring brilliant flashes that lit up the possibilities of resisting and winning in truth were achieved. This is the book I read. And share. -- Gareth Peirce, British solicitor and human rights activistTable of ContentsForeword by Adam Elliott-Cooper Preface to the Updated Edition Preface to the Paperback Edition Authors’ Preface Introduction – ‘Darcus Howe is a West Indian’ 1. Son of a Preacher Man 2. ‘Dabbling with Revolution’: Black Power Comes to Britain 3. Know Yourself 4. Cause for Concern 5. ‘Darcus Howe is not a Comedian’ 6. Revolution in Trinidad: ‘Seize Power and Send for James’ 7. A Resting Place in Babylon: Frank Crichlow and the Mangrove 8. Demonstration 9. Clampdown 10. 55 Days at the Old Bailey 11. Towards Racial Justice 12. Race Today: ‘Come What May we are Here to Stay’ 13. Ten Years on Bail: ‘Darcus Outta Jail’ 14. ‘Thirteen Dead and Nothing Said’ 15. Insurrection 16. Carnival: Revolutionaries Don’t Wear Glitter 17. Playing Devil’s Advocate 18. Slave Nation 19. Fight to the Finish Notes Bibliography Index

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Book SynopsisThe dramatic story of a man who stood at the center of British intelligence operations, the ultimate spymaster of World War II: Thomas KendrickTrade Review“A remarkable piece of historical detective work. . . . Now, thanks to this groundbreaking book, the result of years of meticulous research and expert analysis, Kendrick’s role as one of the great spymasters of the twentieth century can be revealed.”—Saul David, Daily Telegraph“Fry . . . has done a remarkable job of reconstructing the life, networks and secrets of a man who spent most of his existence hiding them.”—James Owen, Times (UK)“Fry’s achievement in Spymaster is a considerable one. She tells a remarkable story, exploring both the private and the public life of Thomas Kendrick.”—Ahron Bregman, Jewish Chronicle“Detailed and assiduously researched. . . . A priceless addition to interwar intelligence history.”—Henry Hemming, BBC History Magazine“Fry’s endeavour itself in attempting to write about such an obscure man who lived a highly secretive life deserves credit since such a project is a daring one due to the vigorous research demands and efforts such a project necessitates.”—Bailey Schwab, Intelligence and National Security“Helen’s style of writing and choice of words is refreshing and a delight to read. Her research has been extremely meticulous and has undoubtedly resulted in one of MI6’s most successful intelligence officers.”—Fred Judge, Intelligence Corps historian“Riveting and meticulously researched. Fry explores the darkest recesses of global intelligence services during a most tumultuous and formative period. Raising questions that challenge established truths, Spymaster will intrigue and educate even the most informed minds.“—Charlotte Philby, author of A Double Life“Thomas Kendrick was a game changer, an original thinker and the ultimate spymaster. Thank you, Helen Fry, for bringing him back to life. This is a must read for everyone interested in British intelligence: a history that combines pace, humanity and forensic detail to build a picture of an astonishing career and individual.”—Tessa Dunlop, author of The Bletchley Girls“Rescues from history the untold but important story of the MI6 officer who helped save so many people from the clutches of the Nazis in late 1930s Vienna. A really fascinating read.”—Stephen Dorril, author MI6: Fifty Years of Special Operations“A fascinating account of a very singular life. . . . [T]he remarkable story of a rather obscure intelligence professional who had quite an impact on modern history.”—Nigel West, author of Spy Swap: The Humiliation of Russia’s Intelligence Services“You probably haven’t heard of Thomas Kendrick—and that’s the way he’d have wanted it—but his story deserves to be told. Helen Fry’s book uncovers the amazing hidden story of an espionage pioneer who risked the wrath of the Gestapo to rescue Austrian Jews.”—Robert Hutton, author of Agent Jack: The True Story of MI5’s Secret Nazi Hunter

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Book SynopsisA superbly crafted studyof Hunter S. Thompson's literary formation, achievement, and continuing relevance. Savage Journeyis a supremely crafted study of Hunter S. Thompson's literary formation and achievement. Focusing on Thompson's influences, development, and unique model of authorship,Savage Journeyargues that his literary formation was largely a San Francisco story. During the 1960s, Thompson rode with the Hell's Angels, explored the San Francisco counterculture, and met talented editors who shared his dissatisfaction with mainstream journalism. Peter Richardson traces Thompson's transition during this time from New Journalist to cofounder of Gonzo journalism. He also endorses Thompson's later claim that he was one of the best writers using the English language as both a musical instrument and a political weapon. Although Thompson's political commentary was often hyperbolic, Richardson shows that much of it was also prophetic. Fifty years after the publication ofFear and LoathiTrade Review"A lively, loping study of Hunter S. Thompson as litterateur." * Kirkus Reviews *"Richardson has a superb grasp of 1960s Bay Area culture. . . . This valuable study suggests that San Francisco, where Thompson took an assignment to write about a motorcycle gang, would prove his greatest touchstone." * Wall Street Journal *"Richardson successfully captures Thompson’s lasting impact, positing him as the intellectual face of Rolling Stone and a thinker who anticipated Donald Trump’s politics. Literature lovers will find much to consider, as will readers interested in an artist’s struggle to develop a voice." * Publishers Weekly *"Richardson presents a thoughtful examination of Thompson’s best work, his impact on journalism, and the price that he paid for those years when he burned the candle at both ends and in the middle." * Houston Press *"Well documented and smoothly written, the book is a pleasure. . . . Highly recommended." * CHOICE *“Richardson’s decision to look at Thompson through a literary lens not only works, it truly succeeds in adding a new level of comprehension and context to Thompson’s writing.” * CounterPunch *“Richardson makes an unassailable case for Thompson as one of the great media critics of his time.” * Alta: Journal of California *"Some call Thompson the founder of 'gonzo,' a subset of New Journalism that shed objectivity and thrust the writer to the center of the story. As Richardson explains, the truth is more complex." * Washington Independent Review of Books *"Artfully crafted and dutifully researched. . . . It is a solid bridge between the writings of Hunter S. Thompson and the persona that was created to embody the spirit of Gonzo journalism." * S-USIH: Society for U.S. Intellectual History *Table of ContentsIntroduction 1. Brooding 2. The Storm of Life 3. Roughing It 4. Observer 5. New Journalist 6. Hashbury 7. Totally Gonzo 8. Rolling Stone 9. Las Vegas 10. Campaign Trail 11. After Nixon 12. Legacy Acknowledgments Notes Bibliography Index

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Book SynopsisAfter WWII, Ilse Koch became known worldwide as the “Bitch of Buchenwald.” She was assuredly guilty of atrocities, but the most sensational crimes ascribed to her by prosecutors and newspapers went unproven. Tomaz Jardim reveals how Koch’s perceived betrayal of womanhood sealed her fate as a scapegoat for a society seeking absolution.Trade ReviewScrupulous and unsettling, this is a vital reconsideration of a notorious figure from history. * Publishers Weekly *[Jardim] argues that Koch, convicted for her moral and ideological culpability in assaulting prisoners…received a gendered treatment by the American and German presses…This focus on the salacious, sensational, and extraordinary hindered an honest examination of the routinized and bureaucratized slaughter by a regime based on the popular support and participation of many ordinary people. * Choice *The definitive portrait of Ilse Koch, whose caricature as a sadistic nymphomaniac has for too long dominated representations of Nazi female perpetrators. In Jardim’s judicious hands, Koch’s story reveals much about the Nazi system, postwar justice, and the sexism that permeated both, while firmly establishing Koch’s guilt and paranoid antisemitism. -- Wendy Lower, author of Hitler’s Furies: German Women in the Nazi Killing FieldsAn indispensable, superbly researched contribution to the literature on postwar trials of Nazi crimes. Caught between her own obvious prevarications and lack of remorse, the US public’s thirst for sensationalism, and Germany’s need for a spectacular symbol of gender-violating deviance to serve as a convenient scapegoat, Ilse Koch was the rare case of a Nazi perpetrator who was over-prosecuted and over-punished. -- Christopher R. Browning, author of Ordinary Men: Reserve Police Battalion 101 and the Final Solution in PolandFascinating and highly original. Deploying a number of previously neglected sources, Jardim not only explores Koch’s life and trials, but also raises intriguing questions about how guilt can ever be established when all but the most circumstantial evidence is absent. A high-caliber contribution. -- Elizabeth Borgwardt, author of A New Deal for the World: America’s Vision for Human RightsA gripping account of a Nazi placed on trial after the war, both in court and in the press, for her gruesome acts at Buchenwald concentration camp. Looking closely at Koch’s life and motivations, Jardim offers a brilliant study of postwar Germany and America trying to come to grips with the barbarity of the Nazis, human wickedness, and the role of women perpetrators. -- Susannah Heschel, author of The Aryan Jesus: Christian Theologians and the Bible in Nazi GermanyIn a stroke of genius, Jardim shows how the figure of Ilse Koch—popularly depicted as a bad wife, a worse mother, and a sexually threatening woman—helped frame the Holocaust as being, fundamentally, about psychological perversion and deviation from the gendered norms of civilization. In so doing, he makes the role of gender in postwar Nazi trials not only legible, but inescapable. -- Devin O. Pendas, author of Democracy, Nazi Trials, and Transitional Justice in Germany, 1945–1950A fascinating, revelatory book. Jardim’s deft account of the trials of one of the most infamous Nazi defendants serves as a prism through which he examines such big themes as the postwar reckoning with the camps, the popular (mis)understanding of Nazi crimes, and the politics of memory. -- Nikolaus Wachsmann, author of KL: A History of the Nazi Concentration Camps

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Book SynopsisEvery American president, from Washington to Biden: Their lives, policies, foibles, and legacies, assessed with clear-eyed authority and wit.Authors of the acclaimed Killing books, the #1 bestselling narrative history series in the world, Bill O'Reilly and Martin Dugard begin a new direction with Confronting the Presidents.From Washington to Jefferson, Lincoln to Franklin Delano Roosevelt, Kennedy to Nixon, Reagan to Obama and Biden, the 45 United States presidents have left lasting impacts on our nation. Some of their legacies continue today, some are justly forgotten, and some have changed as America has changed. Whether famous, infamous, or obscure, all the presidents shaped our nation in unexpected ways.The authors'' extensive research has uncovered never before seen historical facts based on private correspondence and newly discovered documentation, such as George Washington''s troubled relationship with his mother.In Confronting

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Book SynopsisThe Laws of all Nations define & declare a Pirate to be an Enemy of Mankind He is perhaps the only Criminal on Earth, whose crime cannot be absolutely pardoned a Pirate is equally an Enemy and dangerous to all Societies Piracy is in its self a complication of Treason, Oppression, Murder, Assassination, Robbery and Theft.'You know what a pirate is. You know how they dress, how they speak. If you think of the word pirate', you most probably think of black flags and peg legs, cutlasses and cannon, walking the plank and buried treasure. These stereotypes are familiar and entertaining, but they aren't the whole truth.Or, perhaps, they were never true at all.From their origins and identities to their everyday lives and exploits, Enemies of All is a voyage of discovery that investigates piracy's incredible, and often unrecognised, impact on history. Socially, economically and politically, pirates moulded European empires as they rose to gl

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Book SynopsisA marvellously macabre look at how some of the world’s favourite historical figures got even more interesting past their expiration dates with their corpses in part or in whole going on hilarious and horrifying adventures!Trade Review'A historically beguiling, stranger-than-fiction compendium' Elle'Deliciously morbid and delightfully macabre... required reading for those of us who intend, one day, to die' Ben Schott, author of Schott's Original Miscellany'If really, we're all sitting in the undertaker's waiting room, then Rest in Pieces is the perfect easy read, preparation for the moment when the nurse steps out of the shadows and quietly calls your name' Simon Winchester, bestselling author of Skulls and The Professor and the Madman'There is something here to dismay everyone' Times Literary Supplement'A tasty, sharp, wonderfully unusual book. I enjoyed it like a jar of perfect dill pickles: when the mood strikes, nothing else will satisfy' Mary Roach, author of Gulp and Stiff'The world is awash with legendary body parts, from Einstein's brain to Napoleon's most intimate organ, and this wildly entertaining account proves that the fate of the grisly relics tells us a huge amount about history - and ourselves' Tony Perrottet, author of Napoleon's Privates'Marvelously macabre... A fascinating foray into the way of all flesh' Kirkus Reviews

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Book SynopsisA fascinating study of six politicians who made the weather' in post-war British politics and deeply influenced all our lives without achieving his office.

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Book SynopsisArguing against the idea that Marxism is a Eurocentric theory with nothing to teach the Global South, this book explores the lives and ideas of a remarkable set of revolutionaries, from Ho Chi Minh to Ali Shariati. -- .

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Book SynopsisModoc, the elephant, and Bram, his faithful companion and trainer, formed a bond that lasted their entire lives. Late in their relationship, Modoc was sold behind Bram's back and vanished for more than 20 years. This text records the heart-wrenching events that followed.Trade Review“Heartwarming, captivating...a beautifully true story that will make you think twice about the incredible and very real feelings of elephants, and probably the greatest love story ever told.” — African Sun-Times “Once I started this incomparable story, I couldn’t put it down, and I cannot get it out of my mind--nor will I ever. The message of what can be accomplished by training through affection and joy will thrill all animal lovers.” — Betty White “Once in a while, a book comes along to prove that wonderful friendships can occur between the animal kingdom and mankind. Ralph Helfer has done it with Modoc.” — San Antonio Express-News “A captivating tale.” — Publishers Weekly “Heartwarming, captivating...a beautifully written true story that will make you think twice about the incredible and very real feelings of elephants, and probably the greatest love story ever told.” — African Sun Times

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Book SynopsisNever less than compelling She consistently succeeds in bringing what might otherwise seem dusty and remote to vivid life' Tom Holland, Literary ReviewStarts with an erupting volcano and then gets more exciting Wonderfully rich, witty, insightful and wide-ranging' Sarah BakewellIn a dazzling, lively new literary biography, Daisy Dunn weaves together the lives of two Roman greats: Pliny the Elder, author of Natural History, and his nephew Pliny the Younger, who inherited his uncle's notebooks and intellectual legacy.Breathing vivid life back into the Plinys, Daisy Dunn charts the extraordinary lives of two outstanding minds and their lasting legacy on the world.A fascinating,compelling andexcellent biography' Simon Sebag MontefioreImmensely entertaining and readable Thoroughly recommended'Sunday TimesTrade Review‘A fascinating, compelling and excellent biography of the two great Plinys of Ancient Rome, as well as a celebration of nature, a study of literature and the human soul, and a lens into Roman society itself … This work of both scholarship and entertainment, arranged in Plinyesque seasons rather than strict chronology, is a delight that befits their high standards.’ Simon Sebag Montefiore ‘Starts with an erupting volcano – and then gets more exciting. A wonderfully rich, witty, insightful and wide-ranging portrait of the two Plinys … and their world.’ Sarah Bakewell 'Daisy Dunn’s book is an absolute delight. Meticulously researched and beautifully crafted, it shines a clear beam of light into the private lives of Pliny the Elder and Younger.' Giles Milton ‘Immensely entertaining and readable …. Dunn has given us a delightful new biography … Thoroughly recommended’ Sunday Times ‘Never less than compelling … Without ever veering into historical fiction, she consistently succeeds in bringing what might otherwise seem dusty and remote to vivid life … A portrait of the Roman Empire that gives the reader something of the shiver down the spine that Herculaneum can inspire’ Tom Holland, Literary Review ‘It is a story …retold with vivid flair…Dunn knits [the two Plinys’] lives together well and analyses the influence that they would have later on scholars from the Italian Renaissance to the English Romantic poets’ The Times ‘An enthralling and ambitious book … Dunn has a great eye for a story, and writes wonderfully’ The Daily Telegraph ‘If only Daisy Dunn’s book had been around back when I was an aspiring classicist … Dunn is a good writer, with some of the easy erudition of Mary Beard … Her translations of both Plinys are graceful and precise … Her enthusiasm, together with her eye for the odd, surprising detail, wins you over’ New York Times

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Book SynopsisThe Ottoman chronicles recount that the first sultan, Osman, dreamt of the dynasty he would found - a tree, fully-formed, emerged from his navel, symbolising the vigour of his successors and the extent of their domains.This is the first book to tell the full story of the Ottoman dynasty that for six centuries held sway over territories stretching, at their greatest, from Hungary to the Persian Gulf, and from North Africa to the Caucasus.Understanding the realization of Osman''s vision is essential for anyone who seeks to understand the modern world.Trade Review'An absorbing, monumental story . . . a reliable, authoritative account . . . a balanced assessment of the Ottomans . . . a marvellous achievement, which deserves to provoke widespread debate' * Jerry Brotton, BBC History magazine *A Turkish delight * Metro (London) *'Splendidly written . . . Finkel's intimacy with the material makes this the most authoritative narrative history of the empire yet published . . . Detailed . . . Her narrative focuses on the dynamics of the imperial story . . . lively analysis' * Jason Goodwin, Literary Review *'History written with a dynamic, modern feel and penetrating gaze' * Good Book Guide *Instructive . . . A fine single-volume account of a long and at times complicated period . . . Finkel clearly loves her subject * The Tablet *'The freshness of Finkel's history [is] striking. The secret, apart from an irresistible narrative style, is a generous openness to every aspect of Ottoman life and culture . . . What has often come across as an impossibly exotic procession of Viziers, Beys and Pashas is here brought vividly home to the reader' * Michael Kerrigan, The Scotsman *'Excellent' * The Times *

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Book SynopsisTHE BESTSELLING BIOGRAPHY OF THE BRITISH PRIME MINISTERA Times Book of the Year; A Telegraph Book of the Year; A Daily Mail Book of the Year; A Waterstones Book of the YearRequired reading for anyone who has an interest in who governs Britain'' ALASTAIR CAMPBELL?''This will be the most important political book of the year' MATTHEW D'ANCONA, EVENING STANDARDThis authoritative but not authorised biography by Tom Baldwin provides answers by drawing deeply on many hours of interviews with Prime Minister himself, as well as unprecedented access to members of his family, his oldest friends and closest colleagues.Together, they tell an unexpectedly intimate story filled with feelings of grief and love that has driven him on more than any rigid ideology or loyalty to a particular faction.The book tracks Starmer's emergence from a troubled small town background and rebellious youth, through a storied legal career as a human rights barrister and the country's chief prosecutor, to becoming an MP relatively late in life.Baldwin provides a vivid and compelling account of how this untypical politician then rose to be leader of his party in succession to Jeremy Corbyn, then transformed it with a ruthless rapidity that has enraged opponents from the left just as much as it has bewildered those on the right.Above all, this is a book that should be read by anyone who wants to understand how someone who has too often been underestimated or dismissed as dull, now intends to change Britain.''The first serious and consistently readable biography of StarmerIt is a wonder that he has said so much to Baldwin'' PATRICK MAGUIRE, THE TIMES''This is an absolutely riveting and very timely biography'' AMOL RAJANHighly readable Baldwin has peeled back more layers than anyone else'' ROBERT SHRIMSLEY, FINANCIAL TIMES

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Book SynopsisModern Women is a celebration of influential and inspiring women who have changed the world through their lives, work and actions. From suffragettes to scientists, activists to artists, politicians to pilots and writers to riot grrrls, the women included have all paved the way for gender equality in their own indomitable way. Find out about extraordinary women including writer and teacher Maya Angelou, computer scientist Ada Lovelace, abolitionist Harriet Tubman, film star Katharine Hepburn and pioneering musician Björk. Their lives also enable bigger stories to be told: the suffrage movement with Sophia Duleep Singh; the civil rights struggle and Audre Lorde; advances in science made by Rosalind Franklin; the push for artistic freedom in the work of Frida Kahlo and Louise Bourgeois; and the importance of equality in all sections of society advocated by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie.  

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Book SynopsisThe epic story of one of the most famous love affairs in history, by the bestselling author of Caesar.The love affair between Antony and Cleopatra is one of the most famous stories from the ancient world and has been depicted in countless novels, plays and films. As one of the three men in control of the Roman Empire, Antony was perhaps the most powerful man of his day. And Cleopatra, who had already been Julius Caesar''s lover, was the beautiful queen of Egypt, Rome''s most important province. The clash of cultures, the power politics, and the personal passion have proven irresistible to storytellers.But in the course of this storytelling dozens of myths have grown up. The popular image of Cleopatra in ancient Egyptian costume is a fallacy; she was actually Greek. Despite her local dominance in Egypt, her real power came from her ability to forge strong personal allegiances with the most important men in Rome. Likewise, Mark Antony was not the bluff soldier of legend, brought low by his love for an exotic woman - he was first and foremost a politician, and never allowed Cleopatra to dictate policy to him. In this history, based exclusively on ancient sources and archaeological evidence, Adrian Goldsworthy gives us the facts behind this famous couple and dispels many myths.Trade ReviewAfter providing a clear, succinct background to events, Goldsworthy's tactic is to weave the two stories into a single thread by moving seamlessly back and forth from Rome to Egypt. It works beautifully. His mastery of the sources is commendable, his historical judgement sure-footed and, as ever, he brings a winning lucidity to the description of often quite complex situations - the perfect accompaniment to any, especially Mediterranean, holiday -- Peter Jones * The Tablet *Goldsworthy is excellent at tracing the often-bewildering succession of Ptolemys and Cleopatras as they murder, marry and spawn one another. His talent for narrative is also showcased by the skill with which he handles the twin strands of his biography, coiling the lives of Antony and Cleopatra around one another, until finally they become fused -- Tom Holland * Mail on Sunday *Goldsworthy has a more constructive approach to the absence of evidence. He puts Cleopatra back together with Mark Antony, about whom we know more, from a wider range of ancient writing. This gives him a good starting point for some even more ambitious debunking. He is excellent in puncturing the myths of Antony as a great Roman military tactician and an experienced soldier ... He is also refreshingly frank about the unimportance of Cleopatra herself -- Mary Beard * Financial Times *Readers who recognize Goldsworthy as Britain's most prolific and perhaps finest popular historian of Roman times will find him once again at his best ... Unlike many competing authors, Goldsworthy never disguises the scanty evidence for many historical events. Some of his best passages review surviving documents, discuss their biases, draw parallels from his vast knowledge of Roman history, and recount what probably happened ... in this thoughtful, deeply satisfying work * Yale University Press *Goldsworthy tells this story of this dynasty with huge skill, successfully navigating the narratival rapids posed by the fact that almost every member of it was called Ptolemy, Cleopatra, or Arsinoe ... In all, it is an exotic family story of incest, greed and assassination, whose collective impact is to prompt further surprise: that Cleopatra was not only beautiful but obviously smart. Why, after 250 years of sustained in-breeding, she didn't dribble and have six fingers is completely beyond me -- Peter Heather * BBC History Magazine *He does a splendid job of putting their lives in context and forcefully reminding us of the most salient aspects of their story while dispersing the romantic fog that has clung to them -- Christopher Silvester * Daily Express *Goldsworthy's strengths as a military historian are on full display * Times Literary Supplement *From the outset he makes the point that Cleopatra and Mark Antony were neither particularly likeable nor particularly successful ... Yet together, as this well-written biography shows, the two failures have become more than a sum of their parts. They have been transformed into the world's most famous lovers * History Today *Plenty of intrigue * Catholic Herald *Marc Antony, the soldier and strategist, and Cleopatra, the Greek queen of Egypt, could not have wanted for a more capable biographer * Good Book Guide *Goldsworthy shows a real enthusiasm for making history accessible to all * Big Issue in the North *Mr Goldsworthy is a rising star on the historical scene * Washington Times *Above all Goldsworthy understands military matters -- Anthony Everitt * Independent *

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Book SynopsisThe best political biography of the year'' Jonathan Sumption, Spectator''Wonderful . . . A Life so nearly complete it need never be written again'' Ferdinand Mount, Times Literary SupplementBy the author of the Orwell Prize-winning Citizen ClemDamned in coruscating verse by Shelley and Byron, his coffin hissed at during his funeral, Lord Castlereagh has one of the blackest reputations in British history. But as John Bew shows, this is but a half-drawn portrait. His gripping biography reveals a shy, inarticulate but passionate man; a towering political figure of implacable principles who redrew the map of Europe, fought a duel with a cabinet colleague and would tragically take his own life amid rumours of scandal and madness.Trade ReviewJohn Bew has some heavy lifting to do in this consciously revisionist take. It is a great testament to his skills as a scholar and writer that he manages to do so with such aplomb . . . stellar -- Tristram Hunt * Daily Telegraph *Wonderful . . . Bew's book is not only unparalleled in its size and sweep; it is also drenched in the Irish dimension, enriched by the author's own Ulster heritage, as well as the sagacity, scholarship and charm that make this a Life so nearly complete that it need never be written again -- Ferdinand Mount * Times Literary Supplement *In a magisterial political portrait Bew brings Castlereagh and his world sharply back to life, and reassesses one of Britain's great forgotten statesmen -- Dan Jones * Daily Telegraph *The best political biography of the year -- Jonathan Sumption * Spectator *In this well-researched and judicious book, John Bew successfully readjusts the picture . . . this excellent biography tells a cautionary tale -- Leslie Mitchell * Literary Review *This new biography by John Bew is a wonderful book, in its scope, its scholarship and the magisterial sweep of the narrative * Irish Independent *Vast, well-researched biography . . . as Bew's solid, accomplished book shows, no foreign secretary has worker harder, wielded such influence or inspired such poetic hatreds -- Dominic Sandbrook * Sunday Times *The most brilliant and wise political biography I have read in a long while -- Ferdinand Mount * Wall St Journal *Bew's achievement is to portray Castlereagh . . . convincingly and without any historical or bibliographical contortion * London Review of Books *This is an excellent biography which has given us a far more realistic and nuanced view of this much maligned man * Contemporary Review *A compelling new biography of the Irishman who dominated early 19th century diplomacy -- Hywel Williams * Guardian *John Bew is the outstanding historian of his generation. His biography of Castlereagh displays a knowledge of character, a grasp of political intrigue and a talent for story-telling any writer would envy. He brings magnificently to life one of the most enigmatic, and influential, statesmen in Britain's history * Michael Gove *Riveting . . . portrays the glory of perhaps the greatest of Britain's foreign secretaries -- Andrew Roberts * Standpoint *a magisterial guide to Castlereagh's life that should inform the general understanding of international politics today . . . a masterly account -- Brendan Simms * Foreign Affairs *A finely etched portrait . . . Bew impressively adds yet new dimensions to the man -- William Hay * Wall St Journal *Excellent . . . a terrific read * Jack Straw *In a formidable biography, John Bew has addressed the reputation of Castlereagh, one of the dominant political personalities of Regency Britain -- Keith Simpson * Total Politics *Monumental -- Mark D'Arcy * BBC Political Books of the Year *Bew is above all a very fine historian, very thorough and an extremely good writer - he tells a damn good story -- Stephen Pound * BBC Booktalk *'John Bew has some heavy lifting to do in this consciously revisionist take. It is a great testament to his skills as a scholar and writer that he manages to do so with such aplomb ... stellar' Tristram Hunt. * Tristram Hunt *'In a magisterial political portrait Bew brings Castlereagh and his world sharply back to life' Daily Telegraph. * Daily Telegraph *'Wonderful ... A Life so nearly complete that it need never be written again' Ferdinand Mount, Times Literary Supplement. * Times Literary Supplement *Table of ContentsPreface and Acknowledgements. Maps. Prologue. PART I - ENLIGHTENMENT AND APOSTASY: Ireland's Robespierre; New Light; The Whig World; English Head, Irish Heart; Caesar in Ireland? The Reforming Giant and the Limits of Reason; Insular Dignity and Abstracted Freedom; Ragamuffins into Soldiers; A Romping Piece of Flesh; Pitt-ized with a Vengeance; Voltaire's Ideal Monster; Political Delinquency; The Wind and the Weather; Pitt's Henchman; A Lavaterian Eye; Erin's Death; Ireland Extinguished; The Mists that Overhang the Union. PART II - THE ENGLISH MINISTER: RISE, FALL AND REDEMPTION, 1801-1814: A Millstone about the Neck of Britain; A Clog Hung About a Dog's Neck; The Protege; The Return to War; England's Trouble, Ireland's Opportunity; Winding the Family Clock; Pitt's Heir? Pitt's Shadow; Two Irishmen in London; The Continental Foothold; Britannia Sickens; Unwilling to Give Up a Hero; The New Front; Weak Friends and Perfidious Enemies; Lord Castaway; London Grows Thin; Private Honour; Independent Patriot; The Knight of Old Returns; In Search of the Sixth Coalition; One Cause or Nothing; On the Rhine; Is it Peace? Paris at Last. PART III - FIRST AMONG EQUALS: Peace in Paris; The Gilded Age; Pleasure Bent in Vienna; The Congress; John Bull Fights Best, When He is Not Tied; Bringing Back the World to Peaceful Habits; In Defence of the Allies; Back to the Bustle; Enough to Destroy the Health of Hercules; An Entire Fearlessness; Like Wretches in a Slave-Ship; Meeting Murder; With Pistols in His Breeches; John Bull's Compass; Swellfoot the Tyrant; All We Ask of Our Allies; A Mixture of Warp and Woof; Mont Blanc Goes On; The Malaprop Cicero; The Cup Overflows; So He Has Cut His Throat. Conclusion - Never a Teacher of Men. Notes. Bibliography. Index.

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Book SynopsisTrade Review“Makes the case that ‘soft power’ is too often underestimated both in foreign relations and in life.” — The Santa Monica Daily Press “Argues that etiquette and small matters of cultural nuance play a huge role in functional politics.” — New York Times Book Review, “New & Noteworthy” “Fascinating . . . An informative and often charming primer on a little-known—but vital—government post.” — Kirkus Reviews “For over two decades, Capricia has been my friend and colleague, from Arkansas to Zambia. She is a problem solver and a bridge builder, and I’ve been so lucky to have her by my side through the years. Protocol is a must-read, taking us behind the curtain of the highest levels of diplomacy, teaching us lessons about the intersection of governing and humanity that we need now more than ever.” — Hillary Clinton “An interesting and well-written account of the role of protocol in modern diplomacy. Marshall’s stories and lessons, drawn from years of experience, are entertaining and valuable in navigating everyday life.” — Henry A. Kissinger “Protocol—the rules that govern professional, government, and social interactions—may be the very reset we need. These practices aren’t dependent on your wallet size or where you come from, your skin color or your nationality, rather protocol is something we all can get behind, . . . My thanks to Ambassador Capricia Penavic Marshall for this book—give it to everyone you meet for birthdays, weddings, and elections. It can only help.” — Whoopi Goldberg “Working with Capricia during the Obama administration was nothing short of wonderful! Her guiding hand and innovative methods laid the foundation for our successful diplomacy on the world stage. Through amusing and touching anecdotes, many of which we shared together, Capricia details the superpower of protocol, a power that helped foster an environment conducive to many of President Obama’s successes.” — Valerie Jarrett, former senior advisor to Barack Obama and author of Finding My Voice “Capricia Penavic Marshall was an extraordinary chief of protocol, and she has now written an extraordinary book on how international protocol actually works and how it can work for every business and person. I cannot recommend this book too highly.” — David Rubenstein, cofounder and co-executive chairman of the Carlyle Group and author of The American Story “Capricia is the ultimate master in the art of protocol. As a first-generation American woman, she brilliantly manages the cultural nuances of consequential public- and private-sector engagements. Reading her book, I have learned a lot, I have laughed a lot, I have enjoyed every page.” — Christine Lagarde, president of the European Central Bank

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Book SynopsisSS-Obersturmbannführer Otto Skorzeny became a legend in his own time. Hitler''s favorite commando acquired a reputation as a man of daring, renowned for his audacious 1943 mission to extricate Mussolini from a mountain-top prison. Skorzeny''s influence on special operations doctrine was far-reaching and long-lasting--in 2011, when US Navy SEALs infiltrated Pakistan to eliminate Osama Bin Laden, the operational planning was influenced by Skorzeny''s legacy. Yet he was also an egoist who stole other men''s credit (including for the seminal rescue of Mussolini), brave and resourceful but also an unrepentant Nazi, and a self-aggrandizing hogger of the limelight. Stuart Smith draws on years of in-depth research to uncover the truth about Skorzeny''s career and complex personality. From his background as a student radical in Vienna, to his bloody service with the Waffen-SS on the Eastern Front, his surprise rebirth as a commando, and his intriguing post-war career and mysterious Table of ContentsPrologue /Acknowledgements /Maps /1. The Knowledge of Pain /2. Accidental Soldier /3. Thugs in Field Grey /4. The Liberator of Mussolini /5. Special Ops and High-Value Targets /6. Miracle Weapons /7. The Stauffenberg Plot – July 1944 /8. The Scherhorn Affair /9. The SS Changes Tack /10. Operation Panzerfaust /11. Everything on One Card /12. Operation Greif /13. Implosion /14. Skorzeny’s Last Stand /15. Trial and Errors /16. Escape from Darmstadt /17. Apocalypse Soon /18. Neo-Nazis and Colonel Nasser /19. The Years of Plenty /20. Ghosts of the Past /Epilogue /Glossary /Note on the Waffen-SS /Bibliography /Notes /Index

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Book SynopsisThe Times Book of the Year*Winner of the Elizabeth Longford Prize for Historical Biography, 2022**Winner of the General Society of Colonial Wars'' Distinguished Book Award, 2021**Winner of the History Reclaimed Book of the Year, 2022**Shortlisted for the Duff Cooper Prize, 2021*Andrew Roberts, one of Britain''s premier historians, overturns the received wisdom on George IIIGeorge III, Britain''s longest-reigning king, has gone down in history as ''the cruellest tyrant of this age'' (Thomas Paine, eighteenth century), ''a sovereign who inflicted more profound and enduring injuries upon this country than any other modern English king'' (W.E.H. Lecky, nineteenth century), ''one of England''s most disastrous kings'' (J.H. Plumb, twentieth century) and as the pompous monarch of the musical Hamilton (twenty-first century).Andrew Roberts''s magnificent new biography takes entirTrade ReviewGeorge, Roberts writes, "more than filled the role of King of Great Britain worthily; he filled it nobly". After reading this mammoth, elegant and splendidly researched biography, no open-minded reader could possibly disagree - not even an American. -- Dominic Sandbrook * Sunday Times *'Andrew Roberts is our most prodigious biographer ... His demolition of the authors of the Declaration's case against George III is elegant and comprehensive. -- Dominic Lawson * Daily Mail *Magisterial ... George III is notorious for two reasons: losing America and going mad. Roberts provides a fresh and spirited account of both occurrences ... Roberts's fundamentally humane approach to his biographical subjects ... treats George III with as much respect and compassion when sick, blind and deaf as when powerful at the promising start of his reign. The result is a lengthy book that remains engaging throughout. -- Ruth Scurr * The Times *powerful ... a very fine book ... This book should be read by every American whose interest in history goes beyond the feel-good. It is challenging, but richly evidenced and scrupulously argued. ... Coming after his powerful studies of Halifax, Salisbury, Napoleon and Churchill, it consolidates Roberts's position as one of the greatest biographers in the English language today. -- Noel Malcolm * Daily Telegraph *If not for such fierce competition (in the form of such works as Salisbury: Victorian Titan, Churchill: Walking with Destiny and Masters & Commanders) one might be able to unequivocally say that George III is the author's masterpiece. This biography teems with detail, ideas and elegance. Roberts is a great writer - and this is one of his greatest achievements. Roberts sets himself a goal, that of challenging or overturning certain misconceptions that we might harbour about his subject. That George III was a tyrant, unintelligent and a victim of porphyria. Suffice to say, Roberts achieves his goal: mission impossible turns into mission accomplished. Roberts convinces through both persuasive prose and hard evidence (as opposed to just supposition). ... magnificent -- Richard Foreman * Aspects of History *George may become Britain's best-understood monarch, thanks to this impressive new biography. It is unashamedly revisionist. ... Roberts's account is masterly, combining a compelling narrative - one has to keep turning the pages even though one knows the outcome - with analysis that is both cogent and incisive. He appears to have read everything that is in the mainstream and much that isn't, including a wide range of archival sources. ... [George III] has had to wait two centuries for rehabilitation, but it has come at last. Roberts has got deep inside George and his world and has found a man of many sterling qualities. ... tremendous -- Tim Blanning * Literary Review *In this magisterial life of George III, Roberts burnishes his stellar reputation as biographer and historian, dismantling many of the myths that have beset the memory of the man who ruled Britain and Ireland for almost sixty years from 1760. Roberts marshals the evidence meticulously and persuasively to show that George was nothing like the capricious, overbearing, intolerable figure of legend ... It is bracing, too, to see that Roberts has lost none of his disdain for the "Whig interpretation of history" - the comfort blanket of those who believe that Britain's story is one of the steady institutional defeat of autocracy by liberal incrementalism. Now at the top of his game, he has not surrendered the irreverent, revisionist tone that has made him one of the most important public intellectuals of our times. -- Matthew d’Ancona * Tortoise *This superb royal biography ... A book so diligently researched cannot fail to be rich in curious detail and amusing turns of phrase. There are plums on almost every page. -- Hamish Robinson * The Oldie *The strength of this generous new biography is that it correctly portrays George III as a dedicated, benevolent ruler , scrupulous in his constitutional role as head of government and head of state. -- John Martin Robinson * Country Life *Andrew Roberts admires George III, and he is right to do so. The historical image of the king as a tyrant and a lunatic is not remotely true in the first case (a contention Roberts provides much evidence to substantiate) and true only for part of his reign in the second. ... A handsome and thorough biography ... but above all, Roberts has written a superlative political history of the period between 1760 and 1809. -- Simon Heffer * New Criterion *he does his scholarly homework. This is a compendious product of intricate investigation. Roberts has read everything ... It is a magnificent achievement. -- Kate Maltby * Spectator *Andrew Roberts makes a strong revisionist case for the generally maligned George III in this engrossing, brilliant biography -- Andrew Adonis * Prospect Magazine *As his outstanding books on Halifax, Salisbury and Churchill also demonstrate, he is a master of the biography. ... Roberts systematically, cogently and helpfully reinterprets his subject's role and reputation. -- Jeremy Black * History Today *In this mammoth and meticulous biography, Andrew Roberts presents a compelling case for the defence of George III. -- Book of the Week * The Week *Such is Roberts's persuasive interpretation, supported by a wide range of sources and argued with keen insight into political realities. ... It must be hoped that Andrew Roberts's important, serious and timely book plays an appropriate role in the rethinking that can now hardly be avoided. -- Jonathan Clark * Times Literary Supplement *magnificent ... In Andrew Roberts, George has found his Boswell, but one with the wit and erudition of a Johnson. Britain's most misunderstood monarch he may have been, but this biographer has entered into this conscientious king's troubled mind with more than customary empathy. -- Daniel Johnson * Spectator USA *Roberts harnesses a truly extraordinary amount of archival information to offer a comprehensive grasp of a rather tragic, thoroughly misunderstood king. -- Lindsay Chervinsky * Financial Times *This outstanding new biography of George III is timely. The first of the Hanoverians to identify as British was mocked, slandered and vilified during his lifetime and is still regularly cited in the American media as the epitome of tyranny. Over the past two centuries historians have dismissed him as incompetent and despotic. Andrew Roberts has no time for such ill-founded nonsense. ... George has found a true champion in Andrew Roberts, who has ridden up gallantly to challenge unfounded prejudice. ... This impressively researched and scholarly account of the King's life and travails is compulsively readable and, in its tragic end, deeply moving. It is full of fascinating detail, insightful vignettes and vivid local colour. -- Adam Zamoyski * The Critic *Andrew Roberts's mighty Life, drawing on masses of unseen papers locked up in Windsor Castle, turns on its head the lazy idea of George III as a tyrant halfwit...every page is entertaining -- Iona McLaren * Daily Telegraph Books of the Year *This hefty book - elegantly written, the fruit of extensive research - is the case for the defence of Britain's "most misunderstood monarch". -- Robbie Millen * The Times Book of the Year *Deeply researched, it ranges with equal authority from his private life to the military history of the American War of Independence; its tenacious fairness towards its subject gives it the sort of polemical edge that one finds in revisionist history at its best. -- Noel Malcolm * TLS Books of the Year *No other writer, except possibly Alan Bennett, has set out to make us love King George more. Or admire him more ... What makes Roberts's massive biographies so distinctively rewarding is that he provides the reader with enough evidence to undermine his own conclusions. -- Ferdinand Mount * London Review of Books *The book which impressed me most, and which I most enjoyed, this year is Andrew Roberts's George III. It is based on such astonishingly wide-ranging and original research that I felt I was reading about the period for the first time. Unknown facts and wonderful anecdotes had me turning the pages with a curiosity I seldom feel when reading about supposedly familiar events. Andrew Roberts is remarkably even-handed, and there is no special pleading on behalf of this genuinely misunderstood and wilfully misrepresented monarch who did his best to be a good constitutional ruler during a very choppy period in British history. -- Adam Zamoyski * Aspects of History Books of the Year *meticulously researched ... an eye-opening portrait of the man and his times * Publishers Weekly *A deep, expansive study not only of George III but also of the political and social complexities of England and the United States during his reign. -- Kathleen McCallister * Library Journal *a deeply textured portrait of George III [and] a capacious, prodigiously researched biography from a top-shelf historian. -- Kirkusan outstanding and surprisingly moving portrait of a misunderstood king, distinguished by refreshing revisionism but also illuminated by deep humanity. -- Simon Sebag Montefiore * Spectator World Books of the Year *Roberts is in a rich vein of form at present; after bestselling books on Napoleon and Churchill, yet another masterpiece has tumbled from his pen. -- Dan Jones * The Good Web Guide *Roberts has been justly acclaimed as one of his generation's leading historians ... His new biography seeks to challenge popular myths about the monarch. ... Roberts, employing the same flair for original research and ability to convey historical context and vivid prose that he used in previous books ... thoroughly debunks all the assumptions most people have about the king. -- Jonathan Tobin * Washington Examiner *exhaustively researched and written in accessible, non-jargony prose. Meticulous and forensic, it sometimes reads like a defense counsel's case for his client ... Roberts's defense of George III, though, is the fullest, the clearest, and likely to be the most definitive. -- Robert G. Ingram * National Review *Roberts has painted a masterful portrait of a patriotic, diligent and cultivated monarch. ... This new biography is a treasure-house of detail. ... George III is an engaging, humane and at times beautiful testament to the importance of giving our ancestors a fair hearing. -- Harrison Pitt * European Conservative *

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Book SynopsisOne of the Washington Post''s 50 Best Nonfiction Books of 2024 An Economist Best Book of the Year An Air Mail editor''s pickRasmussen combines social history with rigorous reporting . . . His ability to delve into [his characters''] lives lends his book the feeling of a novel . . . Trenchant . . . Superlative. Martha Anne Toll, The Washington PostDevastating . . . Impressive . . . Haunting. Suzy Hansen, The New York Review of BooksAn intimate history of the Afghan warand the young Afghans whose dreams it enabled and dashed. No country was more deeply affected by 9/11 than Afghanistan: an entire generation grew up amid the upheaval that began that day. Young Afghans knew the promise of freedom, democracy, and safety, fought with each other over its meaningand then witnessed its collapse. In Twenty Years, the Wall Street Journal correspondent Sune Engel Rasmussen draws on more than a decade of reporting from the country to tell Afghanistan's story from a new angle. Through the eyes of newly empowered women, skilled entrepreneurs, driven insurgents, and abandoned Western allies, we see the United States and its partners bring new freedoms and wealth, only to preside over the corruption, war-lordism, and social division that led to the Taliban's return to power. Rasmussen relates this history via two main characters: Zahra, who returns from abroad with high hopes for her liberated county, where she must fight to escape a brutal marriage and rebuild her life; and Omari, who joins the Taliban to protect the honor of his village and country and winds up wrestling with doubt and the trauma of war after achieving victory. We also meet Parasto, who risks her life running clandestine girls' schools under the new Taliban regime, and Fahim, a rags-to-riches tycoon who is forced to flee. With intimate access to these and other characters, Rasmussen offers deep insight into a country betrayed by the West and Taliban alike.

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Book SynopsisRenowned naturalist Kenn Kaufman examines the scientific discoveries of John James Audubon and his artistic and ornithologist peers to show how what they saw (and what they missed) reflects how we perceive and understand the natural world.Raging ambition. Towering egos. Competition under a veneer of courtesy. Heroic effort combined with plagiarism, theft, exaggeration, and fraud. This was the state of bird study in eastern North America during the early 1800s, as a handful of intrepid men raced to find the last few birds that were still unknown to science. The most famous name in the bird world was John James Audubon, who painted spectacular portraits of birds. But although his images were beautiful, creating great art was not his main goal. Instead, he aimed to illustrate (and write about) as many different species as possible, obsessed with trying to outdo his rival, Alexander Wilson. George Ord, a fan and protégé of Wilson, held a bitter grudge against Audubon for years, claiming he had faked much of his information and his scientific claims. A few of Audubon’s birds were pure fiction, and some of his writing was invented or plagiarized. Other naturalists of the era, including Charles Bonaparte (nephew of Napoleon), John Townsend, and Thomas Nuttall, also became entangled in the scientific derby, as they stumbled toward an understanding of the natural world—an endeavor that continues to this day. Despite this intense competition, a few species—including some surprisingly common songbirds, hawks, sandpipers, and more—managed to evade discovery for years. Here, renowned bird expert and artist Kenn Kaufman explores this period in history from a new angle, by considering the birds these people discovered and, especially, the ones they missed. Kaufman has created portraits of the birds that Audubon never saw, attempting to paint them in that artist’s own stunning style, as a way of examining the history of natural sciences and nature art. He shows how our understanding of birds continues to gain clarity, even as some mysteries persist from Audubon’s time until ours.

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Book SynopsisThis book explores how the Boleyn family were able to go from being Norfolk farmers to aristocracy at a time when it was unheard of for families to do soTrade Review'The Boleyns are one of the most famous families in history, but what this book brings vividly to life is the hitherto untold story of their rise to prominence. It is far more than just a prelude to the well-trodden tale of Anne Boleyn and Henry VIII, and boasts a fascinating cast of characters who until now have remained in the shadows. I don't think I will ever look at the Boleyns in the same light again.' – Tracy Borman, author of Anne Boleyn & Elizabeth I: The Mother and Daughter Who Changed History‘At last a scholarly account of the Boleyn family elegantly slicing through legend to paint a vibrant and convincing picture of the rise of a Tudor dynasty. Lively, scholarly and revelatory, this is the Boleyns as never seen before.’ – Simon Thurley, author of Houses of Power: The Places that Shaped the Tudor World

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Book SynopsisAn intimate exploration of the life, craft, and legacy of one of the most revered and influential writers, an artist who continues to inspire fans and creatives to cultivate practices of deep attention, rigourous interrogation and beautiful style.Joan Didion was a writer's writer; not only a groundbreaking journalist, essayist, novelist and screenwriter, but a keen observer who honed her sights on life's telling details. Her insights continue to influence creatives and admirers, encouraging them to become close observers of the world, unsentimental critics, and meticulous stylists.An antidote to a global view that narrows our vision to the smallest screens, The World According To Joan Didion is a meditation on the people, places, and objects that propelled Didion's prose and an invitation to journalists, storytellers, and life adventurers to throw themselves into the convulsions of the world, as she once said.Evelyn McDonnell, the acclaimed journalist, essayist, critic, feminist, nativ

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Book SynopsisThe revelatory story of an intellectual giant who made foundational contributions to science and mathematics and persevered in the face of discrimination against women in science.  Emmy Noether is one of the most important figures in the history of science and mathematics. Noether’s mathematical genius enabled Einstein to bring his General Theory of Relativity, the basis of our current theory of gravity, to fruition. On a larger scale, what came to be known as “Noether’s Theorem”—called by a Nobel laureate “the single most profound result in all of physics”—supplied the basis for the most accurate theory in the history of physics, the Standard Model, which forms our modern theory of matter. Noether’s Theorem is also the tool physicists use to guide them towards the holy grail of a unified theory and is the secret weapon wielded by researchers at the cutting edge of fields as diverse as robotics, q

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Book SynopsisWitty, honest, and wise spiritual reflections that invite readers to embrace the bad, not just the good--from the New York Times bestselling author of Everything Happens for a Reason (And Other Lies I’ve Loved) Kate Bowler believes the cultural pressure to be cheerful and optimistic at all times has taken a toll on our faith. But what if we could find better language than forced positivity to express our hopes and our anxieties?Have a Beautiful, Terrible Day! is packed with bite-sized reflections and action-steps to help you get through the day. Good days. Bad days. Totally mediocre ones. This is a devotional for the rest of us, which is to say, the people who don’t always have magical lives that work out. Written in a season of chronic pain, Bowler understands that every day can be an obstacle course. She encourages us to develop our capacity to feel the breadth of our experiences. The better we are at identifying our highs and lows, the more resilient we become.Like a modern-day psalmist, Bowler’s spiritual reflections look for the ways we can expand our capacity for courage, love, and honesty—while discovering divine moments with God. With bonus sections to use during the seasons of Advent and Lent, this is an easy book to read along with others too.If you want to build your daily habit of spiritual attentiveness, this book is here to say: May all your days be lovely. But if they aren’t, have a beautiful, terrible day!

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Book Synopsis“Exciting, funny, and occasionally heart-stopping … readers can stay home and dry, but feel like they are on the high seas.”—BOOKLISTA man and his chicken sail 45,000 nautical miles in this powerful story of following your dreams no matter what stands in your way.When Guirec Soudée was 21 years old, he bought a 30-foot sailboat and set out across the Atlantic, despite having only sailed a dinghy before.His only companion? His plucky pet hen, Monique.Guirec never intended to sail the world with a chicken, but after reaching the Caribbean, he and Monique made for Greenland—and emerged from the pack ice 100 days later.Their next goal? San Francisco. Then, Antarctica. But first, could they navigate the treacherous Northwest Passage? One thing was for sure: Monique would help her trusty skipper by laying an egg! Heart-stopping adventure story: navigating treacherous icebergs

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Book SynopsisPatrick Modiano explores the boundaries of recollection in his tenth book published by Yale University PressTrade Review“It is as a delineator of the labyrinths of human consciousness that Modiano excels. You feel the desperation with which the characters tug at the locked doors of their memories, and find yourself becoming more conscious of, and disturbed by, your own memory’s lacunae.”—Jake Kerridge, Daily Telegraph“With Modiano, the repressed always returns—but only in flickers and whispers at the edge of perception. His spare, elliptical prose—translated again with finesse and panache by Mark Polizzotti—casts its glow of mystery and menace over the tiniest detail.”—Boyd Tonkin, Spectator“Modiano’s elliptical detective novels are less whodunit, more whodunwhat.”—The Daily Telegraph ‘Paperbacks Read This Week’“The French Nobelist mines familiar preoccupations to mesmerising effect in his latest novel...The city of light is marvellously evoked, a metropolis dense with mystery, teeming with ghosts from its often wilfully forgotten past.”—Hephzibah Anderson, The Observer“A wry and compelling tale that’s as misty and heavy with meaning as a dream; not for nothing has the author been called ‘the Proust of our age.’”—France Magazine“In Invisible Ink, Patrick Modiano speaks magnificently about the relationship between writing and forgetting, the strata of memory that constitute a being.”—Raphaëlle Leyris, Le Monde des Livres“Hauntingly memorable and evocative.”—Edward Ousselin, World Literature Today“Breathtakingly beautiful.”—Nelly Kaprièlian, Les Inrockuptibles“A refined and dazzling style. . . . The end is emotionally gripping.”—Marie-Laure Delorme, Le Journal du Dimanche“A foggy and magnetic novel.”—Jérôme Garcin, L’ObsFinalist for the Translation Prize, fiction category, sponsored by the French American FoundationPraise for Patrick Modiano: “Modiano combines a detective’s curiosity with an elegist’s melancholy.”—Adam Kirsch, New Republic “[Modiano] is a writer unlike any other and a worthy recipient of the Nobel.”—James Campbell, Wall Street Journal “A body of work as deft and beautiful as any in postwar European literature. . . . [Modiano] is an excavator of memory.”—David L. Ulin, Los Angeles Times “Modiano is a pure original. He has transformed the novel into a laboratory for producing atmospheres, not situations—where everything must be inferred and nothing can be proved.”—Adam Thirlwell, The Guardian “There are few modern writers as pleasurable or interesting to read. Modiano is one of the great writers of our time.” —David Herman, Jewish Chronicle

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Book SynopsisTrade Review"Korda clearly has command of his subject...[Clouds of Glory] is well-considered and amply documented. Military buffs will find much to feast on." -- Christian Science Monitor "Masterful...Korda delivers the goods." -- Kirkus Reviews (starred review) "Superbly engaging." -- Publishers Weekly (starred review) "Monumental." -- BookPage "Lively, approachable, and captivating...Llike Lee himself, everything about Clouds of Glory is on a grand scale." -- Boston Globe

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Book SynopsisThis beautiful and deeply moving tale recounts educational psychologist Torey Hayden''s battle to unlock the emotions of a troubled and sexually abused child who, with the help of Hayden, was finally able to overcome her dark past and realise her full potential.Six-year-old Sheila was abandoned by her mother on a highway when she was four. A survivor of horrific abuse, she never spoke, never cried, and was placed in a class for severely retarded children after committing an atrocious act of violence against another child. Everyone thought Sheila was beyond salvation except her teacher, Torey Hayden. With patience, skill, and abiding love, she fought long and hard to release a haunted little girl from her secret nightmare and nurture the spark of genius she recognised trapped within Sheila''s silence. This is the remarkable story of their journey together an odyssey of hope, courage, and inspiring devotion that opened the heart and mind of one lost child to a new world of discovery aTrade Review“Torey Hayden deserves the kind of respect I can’t give many people. She isn’t valuable, she’s incredible. The world needs more like Torey Hayden.” – Boston Globe It has been a long time since you have read a book with the sheer emotional impact of One Child.” – New York Times “Page after page proves again the power of love and the resiliency of life.” – Los Angeles Times

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Book SynopsisA moving and extraordinary book about courage and survival, friendship and endurance a portrait of ordinary women who faced the horror of the holocaust together.On an icy morning in Paris in January 1943, a group of 230 French women resisters were rounded up from the Gestapo detention camps and sent on a train to Auschwitz the only train, in the four years of German occupation, to take women of the resistance to a death camp. Of the group, only 49 survivors would return to France. Here is the story of these women told for the first time. A Train in Winter is a portrait of ordinary people, of their bravery and endurance, and of the friendships that kept so many of them alive. A story of stunning courage, generosity and hope' Mail on SundaySerious and heartfelt...profound' Sunday TimesTrade ReviewThis serious and heartfelt book does deliver on its promise of a tale of how female friendship "can make the difference between living and dying"... Profound -- Brian Schofield * Sunday Times *A harrowing but also uplifting shared story of friendship, courage and endurance * Independent *A story of stunning courage, generosity and hope. They risked their lives to defeat Fascism, by printing subversive literature, hiding Jewish friends or, in the case of one girl, simply insulting a French youth because he had decided to co-operate with the Nazis. The price they paid for their bravery was terrible. A Train in Winter could have been a sad, almost morbid book. In Moorehead's expert hands it is a triumphant one -- Kathryn Hughes * Mail on Sunday *Compassionate, meticulous and compulsively enthralling... This book is essential reading. The litany of names at the end, with their brief biographies (Yolande, Cecile, Poupette, Mitzy, Lucie...) reminds us weeping is not enough. It bears witness - and warns -- Bel Mooney * Daily Mail *Moorehead tells her appalling story in measured prose that sets off perfectly the reader's growing sense of wonder that such heroism is possible * Guardian *

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Book SynopsisWINNER OF THE 2016 FT & McKINSEY BUSINESS BOOK OF THE YEAR AWARD, this is the biography of one of the titans of financial history over the last fifty years. Born in 1926, Alan Greenspan was raised in Manhattan by a single mother and immigrant grandparents during the Great Depression but by quiet force of intellect, rose to become a global financial maestro'. Appointed by Ronald Reagan to Chairman of the Federal Reserve, a post he held for eighteen years, he presided over an unprecedented period of stability and low inflation, was revered by economists, adored by investors and consulted by leaders from Beijing to Frankfurt. Both data-hound and eligible society bachelor, Greenspan was a man of contradictions. His great success was to prove the very idea he, an advocate of the Gold standard, doubted: that the discretionary judgements of a money-printing central bank could stabilise an economy. He resigned in 2006, having overseen tumultuous changes in the world's most powerfTrade ReviewA fascinating and balanced study of arguably the most important figure of the post-war global finance scene -- Mervyn KingA brilliant account of Alan Greenspan's journey from radical idealogue to politically adept pragmatist, and an excellent analysis of how profound changes within the financial system generated challenges to which that pragmatism was ultimately an inadequate response. A must read -- Lord Adair TurnerDespite its nearly 700 pages of text, the book is hard to put down, thanks to Mr. Mallaby’s knack for finding just the right example or sparkling quotation to illustrate his points … The Man Who Knew is a tour de force, the story not just of Alan Greenspan’s career but equally of America’s economic triumphs and failures over five decades. This carefully researched and elegantly written book will be essential reading for those who aspire to make policy and for anyone who wants to divine what drives the choices that our leaders make * Wall Street Journal *A major achievement; it may well be the best biography we have ever had of a central banker -- David KynastonAlan Greenspan's story really is the story of modern finance - its brilliance but also its fatal flaws. Years of research and a keen eye for narrative detail gives Sebastian Mallaby all he needs to bring the tale to life. Alan Greenspan was a lot more than a central banker - and this book is a lot more than his biography -- Stephanie FlandersSuperb ... Sebastian Mallaby helps history make up its mind about Alan Greenspan * Economist *A splendid biography - compelling, readable, provocative, richly researched, brimming with intelligence ... will surely become the definitive Greenspan biography -- Roger Lowenstein, author of 'When Genius Failed' and 'Buffet'Admire him or despise him, Alan Greenspan was the pre-eminent financial statesman of the post-war ear. But Sebastian Mallaby's magisterial biography casts him as something more (and more intriguing) than that: a masterly and mesmerising politician -- John Heilemann, Author of 'Game Change' and 'Double Down'One of the best of the year, even from just the first pages -- Tyler Cowen * Marginal Revolution *Deeply researched and elegantly written ... Incomparable * Financial Times *Despite its nearly 700 pages of text, the book is hard to put down, thanks to Mr. Mallaby’s knack for finding just the right example or sparkling quotation to illustrate his points … The Man Who Knew is a tour de force, the story not just of Alan Greenspan’s career but equally of America’s economic triumphs and failures over five decades. This carefully researched and elegantly written book will be essential reading for those who aspire to make policy and for anyone who wants to divine what drives the choices that our leaders make * Wall Street Journal *Mallaby’s book is part biography, part political history and part inquest * The Times *Meticulously researched * Sunday Times *Colourful and exhaustive * Financial Times *An impressive work of scholarship … A masterpiece of political economy and, above all, it’s a great and enjoyable read -- Lionel Barber‘An engaging, sympathetic yet unsparing portrait’ -- Paul Singer * Wall Street Journal *‘The best biography of 2016’ -- Martin Vander Weyer * Spectator *

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Book SynopsisAvailable for the first time in English, an intimate look into the private lives and spiritual experiences of 30 nuns and laywomen practicing under pioneering female Zen master Sozen Nagasawa Roshi in World War II-era Japan.Born in 1888, Sozen Nagasawa Roshi was a pioneer of women?s monastic Zen practice in Japan. With a profound wish to become a nun from a young age, she persevered through the extreme social pressures and material difficulties facing women of her generation to become an abbess who trained hundreds of students (primarily women), won equal rights for Japanese nuns, and established organizations to support nuns and laywomen practitioners.Known for her compassion and fierceness, Nagasawa Roshi used a rigorous koan practice to guide her students to kensho (enlightenment). As more and more students awakened, she asked them to write about their experiences. These stories were initially published in a Japanese magazine and subsequently compiled into a book published in Japan called Collection of Experiences in Zen Practice.In This Body, In This Lifetime is a selection of 30 of these first-person accounts, exclusively from women and appearing for the first time in English. These stories offer an intimate look into the personal lives and spiritual determination of women who longed to end their suffering and awaken to their true nature despite the obstacles they faced.A rare glimpse into Zen practice in World War II?era Japan, these inspiring women confront loss, grief, food shortages, air-raid sirens, and a cultural crisis with grit and courage as they persist in their efforts to end their suffering and the suffering of all.

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