Biography: adventurers and explorers Books

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Book SynopsisVery good writers have an ability to make you understand what they''re feeling. But the very best writers have an ability to make you understand what you''refeeling. And that''s where Michael Arceneaux sits, and that''s what he does in this new book. It''s like he''s crawling around inside yourhead opening filecabinets and telling you what the gibberishyou''ve scribbled on each page ineach file means. What a great, funread.?Shea Serrano, #1 New York Timesbestselling authorNew York Times bestselling author Michael Arceneaux returns with a hilarious collection of essays about making your voice heard in an increasingly noisy and chaotic world.In his books I Can''t Date Jesus and I Don''t Want to Die Poor, Michael Arceneaux established himself as one of the most beloved and entertaining writers of his generation, touching upon such hot-button topics as race, class, sexuality, labor, debt, and, of course, paying homage to the power and wisdom of Beyoncé. In this collection, Arceneaux takes stock of how far he has traveled?and how much ground he still has to cover in this patriarchal, heteronormative society. He explores the opportunities afforded to Black creatives but also the doors that remain shut or ever-so-slightly ajar; the confounding challenges of dating in a time when social media has made everything both more accessible and more unreliable; and the allure of returning home while still pushing yourself to seek opportunity elsewhere.I Finally Bought Some Jordans is both a corrective to, and a balm for, these troubling times, revealing a sharply funny and keen-eyed storyteller working at the height of his craft.

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Book SynopsisTrade Review"A beguiling tale of espionage and double-dealing in the years leading up to World War II. . . . Drabkin’s expertly narrated yarn, based on a trove of recently declassified documents, is constantly surprising, and it’s just the thing for thriller fans who enjoy kindred fictions of the Alan Furst variety. Strap in for a narrative that demands a suspension of disbelief—and richly rewards it." — Kirkus Reviews (starred review) "[H]istorian Drabkin debuts with a riveting account of Frederick Rutland (1886–1949), a British WWI hero who spied for the Japanese on the eve of WWII. As a celebrated naval aviator . . . Rutland developed a taste for publicity and a lifestyle beyond his reach. Overlooked in the peacetime British military, he offered his services to the Japanese Navy . . . The Japanese later helped Rutland relocate to Los Angeles to spy on the U.S. Navy and develop an agent network. With the Japanese government funding his lavish lifestyle, he rubbed elbows with the most famous English actors in Hollywood at the time, including Alan Mowbray and Boris Karloff, . . . and Charlie Chaplin, whose former butler Toraichi Kono became a key player in Japan’s espionage network. . . . Drabkin writes with a novelist’s flair, roving between far-flung ritzy settings (Hollywood, London, Tokyo) and notable personages (from J. Edgar Hoover to Amelia Earhart). Readers will be swept up." — Publishers Weekly (starred review) "Thanks to recently declassified FBI files, Drabkin discovered why the UK, US, and Japan would prefer to keep their dealings with Frederick Rutland, aka 'Agent Shinkawa,' secret forever. . . . The life of a spy has never seemed so addictive or harrowing. Drabkin takes an evenhanded approach, portraying Rutland as complicated—equal parts hero and villain. This winning and dramatic biography pierces the veil of secrecy surrounding historical events." — Booklist “A rip-roaring ride through the world of espionage and the tortured existence of a deeply flawed man who spent years of his life trying to redeem himself. Drabkin makes the biggest moments of the 20th century come vividly alive through his storytelling.” — Kate Andersen Brower, New York Times bestselling author of The Residence and First Women “An incredible story of British WWI hero ‘Rutland of Jutland’ and his fascinating life spying for Japan before WWII. Frederick Rutland traveled the world and mingled with Hollywood celebrities, all while the FBI, MI5, and the Office of Naval Intelligence watched him closely. A reminder of a lesson learned long before 9/11 that when law enforcement agencies, intelligence agencies, and allies do not work together, the consequences can be deadly.” — Jeffrey Trussler, vice admiral (retired) US Navy and former director of Naval Intelligence “What a fascinating tale this is—of espionage, of aviation, of heroism and betrayal, of class boundaries in the US and the UK. It is a dramatic story from the pre–World War II era with resonance today.” — James Fallows, National Book Award–winning author of National Defense and former White House staffer “Beverly Hills Spy is an unforgettable story—class politics, the interim between World Wars, heroes, traitors, espionage—set among the backdrop of Golden Age Hollywood. Readers will be shocked to learn the untold tale of Frederick Rutland, and the instrumental role he played in the attack on Pearl Harbor.” — Kirk Wallace Johnson, author of The Feather Thief and The Fishermen and the Dragon “Expertly researched and written with flair, Beverly Hills Spy sheds fresh light on how one of the 20th century’s greatest cataclysms came to pass. Centered on the morally murky exploits of a war hero who loved the high life too much, Ronald Drabkin’s book crackles with rich details about the paranoia and misunderstandings that poisoned relations between the United States and Japan. All narrative history should be this revelatory, and this compelling.” — Brendan I. Koerner, author of The Skies Belong to Us and Now the Hell Will Start "A masterpiece of espionage nonfiction, Beverly Hills Spy takes readers through the exploits of famed aviation pioneer Frederick Rutland. But was Rutland a hero or traitor? Ronald Drabkin’s take on the story is filled with intrigue that will leave readers guessing why one of the greatest naval aviators of all time decided to help the Japanese Navy's attack on Pearl Harbor and how Rutland was connected to WWII secrets of Hollywood’s elite." — Brett Velicovich, author of Drone Warrior and Fox News contributor “By using previously overlooked sources from three countries, Ronald Drabkin reveals the compelling story of one of the early twentieth century’s most important yet least-known spies. Frederick Rutland’s story carries important lessons about the nature of intelligence gathering in peacetime—and how it can be combatted. It also raises questions about how governments can best protect their secrets while preserving and protecting civil rights, even in wartime.” — Bradley W. Hart, author of Hitler’s American Friends: The Third Reich’s Supporters in the United States

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Book Synopsis6 June 1944: the day Allied forces crossed the Channel and began fighting their way into Nazi-occupied Northwest Europe. Initiated by airborne units and covered by air and naval bombardment, the Normandy landings were the most ambitious combined airborne and amphibious assault ever attempted. Their success marked the beginning of the end for Nazi Germany.Drawing on thousands of hours of eyewitness testimony recorded by the Imperial War Museum, Forgotten Voices of D-Day tells the compelling story of this turning point in World War 2. Hearing from paratroopers and commandos, glider pilots and landing craft crewmen, airmen and naval personnel, we learn first-hand what it was like as men waited to go in, as they neared the beaches and drop zones, and as they landed and met the enemy. Accounts range from memories of the daring capture of ''Pegasus'' bridge by British glider-bourn troops to recollections of brutal fighting as the assault forces stormed the beaches. <Trade ReviewThe most recent of Ebury's admirable series ... a wonderful selection of first-hand accounts of D-Day by British servicemen -- Richard Holmes * Evening Standard *Incomparable. The voices speak with utter immediacy of fear, determination, bewilderment, indifference, and unmistakable courage * Spectator *Excellent ... An exciting read * Family History Monthly *

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Book SynopsisPeter Ackroyd is an award-winning historian, biographer, novelist, poet and broadcaster. He is the author of the acclaimed non-fiction bestsellers London: The Biography, Thames: Sacred River and London Under; biographies of figures including Charles Dickens, William Blake, Charlie Chaplin and Alfred Hitchcock; and a multi-volume history of England. He has won the Whitbread Biography Award, the Royal Society of Literature's William Heinemann Award, the James Tait Black Memorial Prize, the Guardian Fiction Prize, the Somerset Maugham Award and the South Bank Prize for Literature. He holds a CBE for services to literature.Trade ReviewI can do no more than praise, recommend, insist that you buy and read this book.It supersedes all other Dickens biographies * Anthony Burgess, Independent *A truly magnificent biography.This is the complete, the nonesuch, the definitive Dickens * Sheridan Morley *A breathtaking feat of scholarship * The Times *Landmark biography… fascinating and colourful detail… first rate * Daily Express *Can't imagine a better introduction to the life and work of the quintessential English novelist than Peter Ackroyd's superb biography -- Simon Shaw * Mail on Sunday *

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Book Synopsis''A brilliant hybrid of reportage, fiction, and historical fact that tells the stories of three black men whose tragic lives speak resoundingly to the place and role of the foreigner in English society'' Observer Francis Barber, ''given'' to the great eighteenth-century writer Samuel Johnson, afforded an unusual depth of freedom, which, after Johnson''s death, would help hasten his wretched demise....Randolph Turpin, Britain''s first black world champion boxer, who made history in 1951 by defeating Sugar Ray Robinson, and who ended his life in debt and despair...David Oluwale, a Nigerian stowaway who arrived in Leeds in 1949, the events of whose life and death would question the reality of English justice, and serve as a wake-up call for the entire nation.Each of thesTrade ReviewWith great empathy, and through a collage of voices, Phillips has created three distinct portraits. All are superbly crafted and utterly absorbing reads... An important and sobering book, highly relevant today * Daily Mail *Phillilps once again demonstrates why he remains one of Britain's pre-eminent writers, ranking alongside the great American figures who were the inspiration behind his decision to become a man of letters - Richard Wright, William Faulkner, James Baldwin -- David Lammy * Guardian *An immensely talented writer, Phillips resurrects their thwarted hopes in this subtle meditation on identity and belonging, which explores how impossible it is to define the composition of a nation * Irish Times *Foreigners is among Caryl Phillips most powerful, empathic, and profoundly affecting books * Country *

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Book SynopsisBad Faith tells the story of one of history''s most despicable villains and conmen - Louis Darquier, Nazi collaborator and ''Commissioner for Jewish Affairs'', who dissembled his way to power in the Vichy government and was responsible for sending thousands of children to the gas chambers. After the war he left France, never to be brought to justice. Early on in his career Louis married the alcoholic Myrtle Jones from Tasmania, equally practised in the arts of fantasy and deception, and together they had a child, Anne whom they abandoned in England. Her tragic story is woven through the narrative. In Carmen Callil''s masterful, elegiac and sometimes darkly comic account, Darquier''s rise during the years leading up to the Second World War mirrors the rise of French anti-Semitism. Epic, haunting, the product of extraordinary research, this is a study in powerlessness, hatred and the role of remembrance.Shortlisted for the Samuel Johnson Prize.Trade ReviewA superb exploration of the fractured mind of French anti-Semitism -- Simon Heffer * Literary Review *The story she has uncovered is so strange and powerful that it would be an unusual reader who was not profoundly moved -- Kathryn Hughes * Mail on Sunday *A work of phenomenally thorough, generous and humane scholarship....Callil understands anguish, and lays bare its causes with clarity and precision. Bad Faith exemplifies what Primo Levi called the 'continuous intellectual and moral effort' that is the only adequate response to the events described here -- Hilary Spurling * Daily Telegraph *Bad Faith is a book of passion and anger which, nonetheless, manages to keep its head as a significant work of history -- Mark Bostridge * Independent on Sunday *We cannot know what Anne Darquier would have thought of Callil's book, but my guess is that she would have been as moved, astonished and impressed as any other reader -- Ruth Scurr * The Times *

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Book SynopsisIn the winter of 1849, Florence Nightingale was an unknown 29-year-old - beautiful, well-born and deeply unhappy. After clashing with her parents over her refusal to marry, she had been offered a lifeline by family friends who suggested a trip to Egypt, a country which she had always longed to visit.By an extraordinary coincidence, taking the same boat from Alexandria was an unpublished French writer, Gustave Flaubert. Like Nightingale, he was at the crossroads in his life that was to lead to futureacclaim and literary triumph. Egypt for him represented escape and freedom as well as inspiration.But as a wealthy young man travelling with male friends, he had access to an altogether different Egpyt: where Nightingale sought out temples and dispensaries, Flaubert visited brothels and harems.In this beguiling book, Anthony Sattin takes a key moment in the lives of two extraordinary figures on the brink of international fame, and provides a fascinating insightTrade ReviewAnthony Sattin's study itself has a dreamlike quality . . . he movingly reminds us of how, in the midst of life, those destined for greatness have no more idea where they are going than the rest of us. * Sunday Times *It is a tribute to Sattin's knowledge of Egypt and his skill as a writer that he makes this counterpoint narrative seem so effortless. His protagonists circle without ever touching in a dance through the desert. * Independent *Running beneath this cavalcade of visionary incidents and skilfully realised tableaux is a subtext about travel as a mystical dislocation. * Telegraph *In this entertaining book Sattin makes some important points on the intellectual, emotional and spiritual development of his immortal subjects. * Mail on Sunday *Sattin has written a brilliantly assured experiment in biography, a triumph of the historical imagination. Convincingly researched, informed by an unobtrusive first-hand knowledge of Egyptian places, compellingly skilful in the writing, the whole story is illuminated by Anthony Sattin's delicately perceptive sense of character in action. * Literary Review *

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Book SynopsisChristopher de Bellaigue is the award-winning author of The Lion House: The Rise of Suleyman the Magnificent, which was chosen as a book of the year by The Times, Sunday Times, Spectator and New Yorker among others, as well as five previous books, including The Islamic Enlightenment, which was shortlisted for the Baillie Gifford Prize for Non-fiction and the Orwell Prize for Political Writing in 2017. As a reporter he has covered war, politics, society and the environment in five continents for the Economist, the New York Review of Books, the Guardian and the BBC. He is the founder of the Lake District Book Festival in Cartmel, Cumbria, an Honorary Fellow of the University of St Andrews and in 2026 he will take up a Visiting Fellowship at All Souls College, Oxford. www.christopherdebellaigue.comTrade Review[It] is about a wildly popular figure who promised Iran's future would not be dependent on paying homage to the west: Mohammed Mossadegh, who was brutally removed from power in a coup orchestrated by the CIA in 1953. De Bellaigue is an outstanding journalist and you can tell why -- Peter Frankopan * History Today *Compelling -- Max Hastings * Sunday Times *Excellent -- Charles Glass * Spectator *A rich and timely immersion -- David Gardner * Financial Times *De Bellaigue's book is unsurpassed as a rounded portrait of Mossadegh * Times Literary Supplement *

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Book SynopsisAlison Weir is one of Britain's top-selling historians. She is the author of numerous works of history and historical fiction, specialising in the medieval and Tudor periods. Her bestselling history books include The Six Wives of Henry VIII, Eleanor of Aquitaine, Elizabeth of York and The Lost Tudor Princess. Her novels include Innocent Traitor, Katherine of Aragon: The True Queen and Anne Boleyn: A King's Obsession. She is an Honorary Life Patron of Historic Royal Palaces and a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts. She lives and works in Surrey.Trade ReviewA comprehensive exploration of the myth surrounding her subject * Sunday Times *Gripping * Independent on Sunday *Alison Weir is one of our best popular historians and one, moreover, with an impressive scholarly pedigree in Tudor history -- Frank McLynn * Independent *Weir is particularly good at piecing together historical mysteries, and this penetrating portrait of a much-misunderstood woman set against the riveting background of the Tudor court is a real eye opener * Good Book Guide *Weir states correctly that this book is as much a historiography as it is a biography -- Sara Read * Times Higher Education *

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Book SynopsisIn the course of a long and successful career as a journalist and author, Paul Johnson has known popes, presidents, prime ministers, painters, poets, playwrights, even the foul-mouthed publican Muriel Belcher, who ran the legendary Colony Club. Harking back to the scandalously anecdotal 17th century book by John Aubrey on the celebrities of his times, Brief Lives is the distilled essence of Johnson''s experience of a complex variety of people who have contributed to our political, spiritual and cultural life.He advised Margaret Thatcher, counselled Princess Diana, had a drawing of him done by Ernest Hemingway and enjoyed the company of John Osborne, Arnold Wesker and Harold Pinter at Buckingham Palace. He has been an insider, outside observer and universal commentator on the individuals who have changed history, formed public taste or simply lightened our lives by their presence.

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Book SynopsisThis is the incredible rise and unbelievable fall of a woman whose energy and ambition is often overshadowed by Napoleon's military might. In this triumphant biography, Kate Williams tells Josephine's searing story, of sexual obsession, politics and surviving as a woman in a man's world.Abandoned in Paris by her aristocratic husband, Josephine''s future did not look promising. But while her friends and contemporaries were sent to the guillotine during the Terror that followed the Revolution, she survived prison and emerged as the doyenne of a wildly debauched party scene, surprising everybody when she encouraged the advances of a short, marginalised Corsican soldier, six years her junior. Josephine, the fabulous hostess and skilled diplomat, was the perfect consort to the ambitious but obnoxious Napoleon. With her by his side, he became the greatest man in Europe, the Supreme Emperor; and she amassed a jewellery box with more diamonds than Marie Antoinette's. But as Trade ReviewKate Williams' entrancing biography of Josephine is a sparkling account of this most fallible and endearing of women. * Daily Mail *Williams is the Cole Porter of 18th century history. Her serious and thorough investigation is presented in an accessible and playful way. * The Times *A whirlwind tour of French history. -- Virginia Rounding * Telegraph *Scintillating . . . Williams illuminates [Josephine's character] with skill. * Country Life *

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Book SynopsisDr Ian Mortimer is the Sunday Times bestselling author of The Time Traveller's Guide to Medieval England and The Time Traveller's Guide to Elizabethan England, as well as four critically acclaimed medieval biographies, and numerous scholarly articles on subjects ranging in date from the twelfth to the twentieth centuries. He was elected a Fellow of the Royal Historical Society in 1998. His work on the social history of medicine won the Alexander Prize (2004) and was published by the Royal Historical Society in 2009. He lives with his wife and three children in Moretonhampstead, on the edge of Dartmoor.Trade ReviewMortimer's book roars, races and sings... with a sense of passion and drama and an unrelenting pace * Daily Telegraph *Ian Mortimer's exacting standards of scholarship mean that this book will undoubtedly remain the standard authority on its subject * Independent on Sunday *A compelling page-turner -- Alison Weir * Sunday Times *

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Book SynopsisA shocking and timely reminder of the role Nazi women played in the Holocaust, not only as plunderers and direct witnesses, but on the Eastern Front. History has it that the role of women in Nazi Germany was to be the perfect Hausfrau and a loyal cheerleader for the Führer. However, Lower's research reveals an altogether more sinister truth. Lower shows us the ordinary women who became perpetrators of genocide. Drawing on decades of research, she uncovers a truth that has been in the shadows that women too were brutal killers and that, in ignoring women's culpability, we have ignored the reality of the Holocaust. Shocking' Sunday TimesCompelling' Washington PostPioneering' Literary ReviewTrade ReviewHitler’s Furies will be experienced and remembered as a turning point in both women’s studies and Holocaust studies * Timothy Snyder, author of Bloodlands *As pioneering as it is readable * Literary Review *She writes engagingly, wears her considerable erudition lightly…never allowing her analysis to outweigh the fundamental humanity of the stories * New Statesman *As gripping and eye-opening as it is chilling -- Andrea Walker * People *Hitler's Furies turns on its head the idea that women are innately more nurturing, kind and moral than men... While the accepted wisdom on female participation in the Holocaust singles out the sadistic behaviour of a few women guards in the concentration camps, such behaviour is usually contrasted with the myth of German female ignorance of the horrors. A veil has largely been drawn over the actions of the rest. Not any more -- Eleanor Mills * Sunday Times (News Review) *

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Book SynopsisSimon Callow is an actor, director and writer. He has appeared on the stage and in many films, including the hugely popular Four Weddings and a Funeral. His books include Being an Actor, Shooting the Actor, Love is Where it Falls, the first two volumes of his four-volume life of Orson Welles, his theatrical memoir My Life in Pieces, and, most recently, the highly acclaimed Charles Dickens and the Great Theatre of the World.Trade ReviewOne of the very best theatre books ever -- Alec GuinnessRemarkable...extraordinarily well written, perceptive and rivetingly sympathetic -- John GielgudSimon Callow is a writer - and a very good one too. Few people can match him in catching with words the physical excitement of a great performance -- Peter HallCallow’s emphatic biography certainly presents this complicated man in all his contradictory roles -- Sally Morris * Daily Mail *a fine character actor’s tribute to the king of the tribe. The numerous insights show Callow to be that rarity, an actor who can write about acting -- Jake Kerridge * Sunday Telegraph *

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Book SynopsisWinner of the 2014 Duff Cooper PrizeWinner of the 2015 Welsh Book of the Year AwardShortlisted for the 2015 James Tait Black Memorial PrizeShortlisted for the 2015 PEN Ackerley prize Longlisted for the 2014 Thwaites Wainwright Prize Let me take you down the thin cobblestoned streets of the Belgian border town of Bouillon. Let me take you down the alleys that lead into its past. To a town peopled with eccentrics, full of charm, menace and wonder. To the days before television, to Marie Bodard's sweetshop, to the Nazi occupation and unexpected collaborators. To a place where one neighbour murders another over the misfortune of pigs and potatoes. To the hotel where the French poet Verlaine his lover Rimbaud, holed up whilst on the run from family, creditors and the law.This exquisite meditation on place, time and memory is an illicit peek into other people's countries, into the spaces they have populated with their memories, and Trade ReviewMcGuinness is a marvellous writer... On every page there are breathtakingly gorgeous images, similes, metaphors. -- John Banville * Observer *McGuinness has written the great book on Belgium and modern memory, or even Belgium and modern being. He takes his place among those singers and painters of the haunted, the melancholy, the diminished, the caricatural, the humdrum. -- Michael Hofmann * Guardian *Lyrical and evocative... This is a very Proustian memoir, whose effect will be to drive the reader into contemplation of their own half-forgotten childhood home. -- Josh Glancy * Sunday Times *A rich analysis of home and homelessness. -- James Wood * London Review of Books *This book had a powerful effect on me... Sometimes hilarious, sometimes freighted with tragedy. -- Gillian Tindall * Literary Review *

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Book SynopsisNewly opened by Queen Elizabeth II herself, discover the history and secret stories of the people who''ve lived above London''s newest trainline.Crossrail, or the ''Elizabeth'' line, is just the latest way of traversing the very old east-west route through the former countryside, into the capital, and out again. Throughout The Tunnel Through Time, renowned historian Gillian Tindall uncovers the lives of those who walked this ancient path. These people spoke the names of ancient farms, manors and slums that now belong to our squares and tube stations. Visiting Stepney, Liverpool Street, Tottenham Court Road and Oxford Street, Tindall traces the course of many of these historical journeys across time as well as space. ''Enchanting'' Sunday Telegraph''Deftly weaves together archaeology, social history, politics, myth, religion and philosophy'' The Times''Fully of lively vignettes'' SpectatorTrade ReviewTindall has an eye for a good line. Her sources are eclectic and illuminating...The Tunnel Through Time is a book to savour. It is subtle, considered and powerfully evocative of London's "changeful" landscape. * Daily Telegraph *Tindall is a sure-footed, even revelatory guide to the treasures of London that Crossrail has unintentionally brought to our notice. -- Jerry White * Guardian *In this engaging book Gillian Tindall ... a veteran historian with an eye for the macabre, the quirky and the absurd ... deftly weaves together archaeology, social history, politics, myth, religion and philosophy -- Richard Morrison * The Times *Ms Tindall skilfully blends ancient histories, archaeological findings and contemporary context * The Economist *These underground stories remind us that buried spaces are places of protection as well as of the fearfully unknown, of hope and of political resistance, of science as well as of persistently chthonic mythology. There’s always a quirky and sometimes a grisly journey to be had beneath our streets * Evening Standard *

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Book SynopsisTells the story of Ian Fleming at Goldeneye in Jamaica, where all his novels and stories on James Bond were written. This book includes interviews with Ian's family, his Jamaican lover Blanche Blackwell and many other islanders. It deals with Ian Fleming's life and work.Trade ReviewSupremely enjoyable... Matthew Parker has created a completely new picture of Ian, Bond and the role of Jamaica in the making of the legend -- John Pearson, author of THE LIFE OF IAN FLEMINGThe book that James Bond obsessives have been waiting for – a beautiful, brilliant history of Ian Fleming at home at Goldeneye, all of sun-drenched, gin-soaked, bed-hopping colonial Jamaica outside the window and 007 at the moment of his creation. This is the big bang of Bond books. -- Tony Parsons[Here are] the glowing sea, the teeming life beneath the waves, and the warm black nights, all of which made their way into the Bond novels... [But] Parker’s highly readable account of Fleming’s Jamaican life is less Thunderball and more Jean Rhys’s Wide Sargasso Sea. Bond himself might have been a touch jealous. -- Sinclair McKay * Daily Telegraph *A superb account of Fleming’s Jamaica… well-researched, excellently written… Without Jamaica, it is safe to say, there would have been no Agent 007. * Financial Times *Matthew Parker's brilliant book Goldeneye is indispensable for anyone interested in the inner life of the enigmatic Ian Fleming and the whole James Bond phenomenon he created. -- Nicholas Rankin * author of Ian Fleming's Commandos *

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Book SynopsisWinner of the Kekoo Naoroji Award for Mountain Literature 2019An engrossing story of passion and exploration that traces the end of empire and the stirring of a new world order.John Auden was a pioneering geologist of the Himalayas. Michael Spender was the first to draw a detailed map of the North Face of Mount Everest. While their younger brothers W. H. Auden and Stephen Spender achieved literary fame, they vied for a place on an expedition that would finally conquer Everest. To this rivalry was added another: their shared love for a painter named Nancy Sharp. Her choice would determine each man's wartime loyalties.From Calcutta to pre-war London to Everest itself, The Last Englishmen tracks a generation obsessed with a romantic ideal. With a cast including writers, artists, political rogues and spies, this is narrative history at its most engaging and illuminating.''Wholly original... It wouldn't be an exaggeration to say that theTrade ReviewWholly original...a dense, rich, exhilarating piece of work that moves deftly between worlds and peoples...she keeps the big events always in view, dramatizing and humanizing the workings of history, particularly the story of empire and its machinations, in a way a novelist would – by making it a story of individuals... It wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say that there is something Tolstoyan to her vast project...remarkable -- Neel Mukherjee * Wall Street Journal *In The Last Englishmen, Deborah Baker has written an exuberant, scene-changing, shapeshifting group biography, with John Auden and Michael Spender as its chief human protagonists. But she makes the Himalayas, and Mount Everest, palpable and vivid characters in her story too -- Richard Davenport-Hines * Spectator *Deborah Baker combines a novelistic alertness to the inner life with an anthropologist’s understanding of multiple cultures and a historian’s eye for major events. The result, yet again, is a continuously absorbing and stimulating book, which enlarges the cultural and political history of the mid-20th century even as it grippingly relates the adventures of a few men and women -- Pankaj MishraLove, war, politics, psychoanalysis, poetry, Calcutta and, especially, the Himalayas – Deborah Baker’s meticulously researched account of India and Britain in the forties reads like the very best of novels. -- Siddhartha DebAn enlightening and utterly compelling read… what really distinguishes the book is its brilliant characterisation and its structural agility. It reads like fiction. Anyone seeking only information will be disappointed. Non-fiction ought always to be this engaging -- John Keay * Literary Review *

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Book SynopsisThis biography of Charles Darwin attempts to capture the private unknown life of the real man - the gambling and gluttony at Cambridge, his gruelling trip round the globe, his intimate family life, worries about persecution and thoughts about God. Central to all of this, his pioneering efforts on the theory of evolution now that recent studies have overturned the commonplace views of Darwin that have held for more than a century.Table of Contents1809-1831; 1831-1836; 1836-1842; 1842-1851; 1851-1860; 1860-1871; 1871-1882.

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Book SynopsisAnnie Hawes, originally from Shepherd's Bush, has lived in Liguria now for fifteen years.

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Book SynopsisThis comprehensive collection includes Asser's Life of Alfred, extracts from The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle, and Alfred's own writings, laws, and will.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 works throughout history and across genres and disciplines. Readers trust the series to provide authoritative texts enhanced by introductions and notes by distinguished scholars and contemporary authors, as well as up-to-date translations by award-winning translators.

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Book SynopsisMartin Davidson, who has two degrees from Oxford University, is an award-winning filmmaker and author specializing in historical and cultural subjects. His many director credits include: Simon Schama's A History of Britain, Albert Speer: The Nazi Who Said Sorry (A&E); Leni Riefenstahl's Triumph of the Lie (BBC); and The Nazis and 'Degenerate Art' (BBC). He is the author of five previous non-fiction books. At present he is the commissioning editor for history and business at the BBC.

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Book SynopsisSHORTLISTED FOR THE MARK LYNTON HISTORY PRIZE 2020A DAILY TELEGRAPH BOOK OF THE YEAR 2019A revelatory new biography of Adolf Hitler from the acclaimed historian Brendan SimmsAdolf Hitler is one of the most studied men in history, and yet the most important things we think we know about him are wrong. As Brendan Simms''s major new biography shows, Hitler''s main preoccupation was not, as widely believed, the threat of Bolshevism, but that of international capitalism and Anglo-America. These two fears drove both his anti-semitism and his determination to secure the ''living space'' necessary to survive in a world dominated by the British Empire and the United States. Drawing on new sources, Brendan Simms traces the way in which Hitler''s ideology emerged after the First World War. The United States and the British Empire were, in his view, models for Germany''s own empire, similarly founded on appropriation of land, racism anTrade Review[Hitler] challenges some of our longstanding ideas about the man who ruled Nazi Germany between 1933 and 1945 ... Highly provocative. -- Robert Gerwarth * Financial Times *If many Hitler books are scarcely worth reading, this one commands attention through its originality and sheer intelligence ... A thoroughly thought-provoking, stimulating biography which all historians of the Third Reich will have to take seriously. -- Richard Overy * Irish Times *Casts new light on the dictator ... Crisp, well-written, extensively researched ... A valuable contribution. -- Simon Heffer * Daily Telegraph *[Simms] builds on previous scholarship to make a bold thesis - that Hitler's principal obsession was not communism but rather 'Anglo-America' and global capitalism ... A vigorous, original study that adds to the ongoing scholarship. * Kirkus *A radically new assessment of the Fuhrer's world view and the motivation for his plunging the world into a terminal struggle for survival. * Daily Mail *Impressive and intriguing ... By drawing our attention to the centrality of historical emigration to Hitler's racial vision of a Great Germany, Simms adds a new dimension to our understanding of the thinking that drove history's most notorious figure. Crisply written and well-researched, there is much in this book that enlightens and stimulates. * The Interpreter *Compelling and original. -- Christopher Clark * London Review of Books *Essential reading. -- Christopher Bray * The Tablet *Simms ... challeng[es] much recent scholarship ... A preoccupation with Anglo-American capitalism, he contends, drove the Third Reich's ideology in its formative years, more than the oft-cited obsession with Bolshevism ... He has made sound use of the Bavarian archives. * The Observer *Hitler: Only The World Was Enough is modern political history at its very best: thorough, impeccably well researched, and opinionated without descending into histrionics. The Dublin-Cambridge historian writes with authority, flare, style and convincing conviction - consistently favouring thematic analysis over the simple retelling of facts. -- JP O'Malley * Irish Independent *

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Book SynopsisKing John ruled England for seventeen and a half years, yet his entire reign is usually reduced to one image: of the villainous monarch outmanoeuvred by rebellious barons into agreeing to Magna Carta at Runnymede in 1215. Ever since, John has come to be seen as an archetypal tyrant. But how evil was he?In this perceptive short account, Nicholas Vincent unpicks John''s life through his deeds and his personality. The youngest of four brothers, overlooked and given a distinctly unroyal name, John seemed doomed to failure. As king, he was reputedly cruel and treacherous, pursuing his own interests at the expense of his country, losing the continental empire bequeathed to him by his father Henry and his brother Richard and eventually plunging England into civil war. Only his lordship of Ireland showed some success. Yet, as this fascinating biography asks, were his crimes necessarily greater than those of his ancestors - or was he judged more harshly because, ultimately, he failed as a warlord?Trade ReviewSwashbuckling stuff, and there is only one answer to the question posed by the subtitle. -- George Garnett, Professor of Medieval History at Oxford University

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Book Synopsis''Thrilling, tremendously enjoyable'' The New York Times''A nail-biting escape story'' Financial TimesAt the age of twenty-four, Winston Churchill already believed he was destined for greatness. This is the incredible story of how one incredible year in Churchill''s life - an adventure involving war in South Africa, imprisonment, endurance and escape - would be the making of one of the most extraordinary men in history. ''Few can match the originality and narrative power of Candice Millard''s elegantly written and surprisingly revealing account of the young Churchill''s exploits'' Saul David, Daily Telegraph''A thrilling account ... This book is an awesome nail-biter and top-notch character study rolled into one'' Jennifer Senior, The New York Times, Books of the YearGripping ... thrilling ... Millard tells it with gusto ... casts an interestingly oblique light on Churchill''s personality, and on a traumatic wTrade ReviewCompletely engrossing -- Andrew RobertsUsing many unpublished sources, she weaves into a nail-biting escape story a larger picture of Africa at the cusp of the 20th century. Her eye for humanising detail, her vivid topographical descriptions and her keen awareness of the realities (and surrealities) of war come together in a truly fascinating book. -- Lucy Lethbridge * Financial Times *A gripping story [that] casts an interestingly oblique light on Churchill's personality, and on a traumatic war. -- Lucy Hughes-Hallett * Observer *This is a tremendously readable and enjoyable book ... She aims to retell the story in a thrilling contemporary style for a generation of readers, and in this she succeeds. Most historians will have cause to envy her narrative ability. -- Alex von Tunzelmann * The New York Times Book Review *

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Book SynopsisFrom the acclaimed author of John F. Kennedy: An Unfinished Life, the biography of one of America''s greatest presidents, Franklin D. Roosevelt.''Meticulously researched and authoritative, heroically objective and wide-angled ... Roosevelt is with us again in Dallek''s outstanding cradle-to-grave study'' Douglas Brinkley, Washington Post''Assuredly the best single-volume Roosevelt biography'' Eric Rauchway, The Times Literary Supplement''Essential ... a master of the presidential biography captures Roosevelt''s compassion and sense of solidarity'' Greg Grandin, Guardian''An insightful, incisive and intelligent one-volume work - and a pointed primer on how things in Washington get done. In a period defined by division, Dallek crafts a pointillist portrait of the four-term president, who knew almost intuitively how to reach consensus'' Peter M. Gianotti, NewsdayTrade ReviewMeticulously researched and authoritative ... Roosevelt is with us again in Dallek's outstanding cradle-to-grave study -- Douglas Brinkley * Washington Post *A landmark work that deserves to be placed on the same shelf as those of Arthur Schlesinger Jr., James MacGregor Burns, and William E. Leuchtenburg -- Richard Moe

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Book SynopsisThe little-known yet fascinating love affair between Eleanor Roosevelt and Lorena Hickok intimately retold.

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Book SynopsisA fresh take on the life and philosophy of Socrates.

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Book SynopsisThe Hopkins Touch offers the first portrait in over two decades of the most powerful man in Roosevelt''s administration. In this impressive biography, David Roll shows how Harry Hopkins, an Iowa-born social worker who had been an integral part of the New Deal''s implementation, became the linchpin in FDR''s--and America''s--relationships with Churchill and Stalin, and spoke with an authority second only to the president''s. Hopkins could take the political risks his boss could not, and proved crucial to maintaining personal relations among the Big Three. Beloved by some--such as Churchill, who believed that Hopkins always went to the root of the matter--and trusted by most--including the paranoid Stalin--there were nevertheless those who resented the influence of the White House Rasputin. Based on newly available sources, The Hopkins Touch is an absorbing, substantial work that offers a fresh perspective on the World War II era and the Allied leaders, through the life of the man who keTrade ReviewThe Hopkins Touch is the best biography of a crucial figure at pivotal moment in American history since Robert E. Sherwood's Pulitzer Prize-winning 1948 classic, Roosevelt and Hopkins. * Steven Casey, author of Cautious Crusade: Franklin D. Roosevelt, American Public Opinion and the War against Nazi Germany, 1941-1945 *Harry Hopkins was FDR's left-hand man. He helped the maestro direct the American-British-Russian alliance that won World War II. David Roll shows just how he did it, this quiet deal-maker Churchill called 'Lord Root of the Matter.' The Hopkins Touch deserves its place aside Robert Sherwood's Roosevelt and Hopkins and Jon Meacham's Franklin and Winston." * Chris Matthews, host of "Hardball with Chris Matthews" on MSNBC *It is refreshing to read an account of a time when commitment to the national interest, personal depth in history, vision, loyalty and discretion were the watchwords. Such is the portrait of Harry Hopkins, Franklin Roosevelt's closest confidante and trusted surrogate, drawn by David Roll in this absorbing update of Robert Sherwood's defining work. Drawing on material never before available, Roll revisits Hopkins roots, his intimate relationship with the president, how deeply he was revered by Prime Minister Churchill, and trusted by Joseph Stalin * all in one of the best researched, and well-written biographical works I've ever read. The Hopkins Touch deserves a place in the American political history stacks of every library in Americaand also on your night stand.Robert (Bud) McFarlane, National Security Adviser to Ronald Reagan *Mr. Roll's use of previously unavailable materials enables him to present a far more comprehensive story. It's a must-read for anyone interested in the period. A truly magisterial biography. * The Washington Times *Displaying a strong grasp of the intervening half-century of historical scholarship, delivering a strong and clear-eyed appraisal of Hopkins's personal life, and demonstrating considerable narrative talents. * Wall Street Journal *David Roll has captured the essence of one of the most important non-governmental figures in American history. Crisply written, meticulously researched, The Hopkins Touch is a pleasure to read. * Jean Edward Smith, author of FDR, and Eisenhower in War and Peace *A masterful portrait of one of the most fascinating political figures this country has ever produced. David Roll has vividly captured the infinite complexities and extraordinary influence of FDR aide Harry Hopkins ... part playboy, part reformer ... whose peerless diplomatic efforts in World War II helped cement the Anglo-American alliance and pave the way for the Allies' victory. * Lynne Olson, author of Citizens of London: The Americans Who Stood with Britain in its Finest, Darkest Hour *That FDR created the world in which we live is a commonplace; as David Roll demonstrates in this highly readable book it was a world created by FDR and Harry Hopkins. The material on Hopkins' maneuvering the U.S. to the North African invasion in the fall of 1942 is by itself imaginative and persuasive. I wish that I'd had Roll's book at my elbow when I was writing about those years. * Warren Kimball, editor of Churchill and Roosevelt, the Complete Correspondence *If Franklin D. Roosevelt had an alter ego, it was the brilliant and cunning Harry Hopkins. David Roll does a marvelous job of documenting the heroic importance of Hopkins during the Second World War. Hopkins emerges as one of America's indispensable patriots. This is a surefooted and brilliantly researched biography that deserves a wide readership. * Douglas Brinkley, author of Cronkite and The Wilderness Warrior *Sharply observed, gracefully written, David Roll's portrait of FDR's closest adviser offers us an intimate look at the wise, brave, and humane exercise of power. If only other presidents were blessed with advisers like Harry Hopkins! * Evan Thomas, author of Ike's Bluff: President Eisenhower's Secret Struggle to Save the World *In 1940, Britain stood alone; it's survival in doubt. As the US edged closer to war, Harry Hopkins became FDR's confidant on geopolitical issues. In creating the 'grand alliance' his role was crucial. In this splendid, well-researched biography, David Roll has portrayed the decisive actions taken by this 'grey eminence.' * James Schlesinger, former Secretary of Defense to Richard Nixon and Gerald Ford *In this important new book, David Roll brings Hopkins out of the shadows and casts a bright and unblinking light on the central -- even essential -- role that Harry Hopkins played in forging and maintaining the alliance that won the Second World War. * Craig L. Symonds, author of The Battle of Midway *This delightful book - a genuine page turner - portrays the relationship between FDR and Hopkins in a balanced manner while maintaining the reader's interest with insights into the important players of World War II. Scholars and general readers interested in the era will thoroughly enjoy it. An essential purchase. * Library Journal *A compelling portrait of a World War II hero whose victories took place far from the battlefield. * Kirkus *illuminating new biography ... impressive * J. Garry Clifford, Journal of American Studies *Roll's book is fresh, extremely well researched and well written. It is difficult to see how anyone who is seriously interested in understanding the wartime alliance and the development of wartime strategy could fail to benefit from it. * Richard M. Wevill, History *Table of ContentsC O N T E N T S ; Prologue: Moving In ; 1 Ambitious Reformer ; 2 Asks for Nothing Except to Serve ; 3 He Suddenly Came Out with It - The Whole Program ; 4 The Right Man ; 5 First Glimpse of Dawn? ; 6 Vodka Has Authority ; 7 At Last We Have Gotten Together ; 8 We Are All in the Same Boat Now ; 9 Some Sort of a Front This Summer ; 10 The Hopkins Touch ; 11 Lighting the Torch ; 12 The View from Marrakech ; 13 Fault Lines ; 14 Th e Alliance Shifts ; 15 Tilting toward the Russians ; 16 A Soldier's Debt ; 17 The Best They Could Do ; 18 A Leave of Absence from Death ; 19 Th e Root of the Matter

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Book SynopsisA finalist for the Pulitzer Prize, Duong Van Mai Elliott''s The Sacred Willow illuminates recent Vietnamese history by weaving together the stories of the lives of four generations of her family. Beginning with her great-grandfather, who rose from rural poverty to become an influential landowner, and continuing to the present, Mai Elliott traces her family''s journey through an era of tumultuous change. She tells us of childhood hours in her grandmother''s silk shop, and of hiding while French troops torched her village, watching while blossoms torn by fire from the trees flutter like hundreds of butterflies overhead. She makes clear the agonizing choices that split Vietnamese families: her eldest sister left her staunchly anti-communist home to join the Viet Minh, and spent months sleeping in jungle camps with her infant son, fearing air raids by day and tigers by night. And she follows several family members through the last, desperate hours of the fall of Saigon-including one nephew who tried to escape by grabbing the skid of a departing American helicopter. Based on family papers, dozens of interviews, and a wealth of other research, this is not only a memorable family saga but a record of how the Vietnamese themselves have experienced their times.Trade ReviewThis family's saga is as engrossing as fine literary fiction and is, besides, indispensable to understanding Vietnam from a Vietnamese perspective. * The New Yorker *[Elliott] reverently weaves the tale of a century of tremendous upheaval...and shows how the tragedies of her family are a window to understanding the Vietnamese century. It is a wonderful book, written with care, and it is extremely suggestive. * Touchstone *This is an excellent text which provides an insightful, personal history of a Vietnamese family. Through one family the reader discovers the real ramifications of a country at war for most of the 20th century. * Seth Bardo, Phillips Academy *This is a family saga sweeping you along 4 generations of recent Vietnamese history. This should at last allow the American student of the war to understand 'the other side' both its steely willpower and tender hearts. * Guenter Bischf, University of New Orleans *Those of us who reported from Vietnam during the war never fully understood the Vietnamese and the hardships they endured. Duong Van Mai Elliott's account of her family's experiences is a vivid, poignant, often inspiring story that I wish we could have read before we became involved in a conflict that was tragic for both Vietnamese and Americans. * Stanley Karnow, author of Vietnam: A History *[This] story could not be more compelling.... Voices a perspective until now missing from the English-language body of work on the Vietnam conflict.... Objectivity marks Elliott's book and makes it the best kind of history, [one] we may escape from repeating by reading of this remarkable family. * Beth Hughes, San Francisco Examiner *Suspenseful and gripping, Elliott's writing becomes a masterful narrative as she tells the various misadventures her family experienced trying to flee Vietnam.... It may be the story of the Duong clan, but it's also a story many Vietnamese will recognize as their own, and it will allow others an insight into a war they never have understood. * San Jose Mercury News *A gripping and enlightening account of the trials and triumphs of one remarkable family, whose story brings Vietnam's turbulent past to life as no other book I have ever read. Its great strength is that it is the story of Vietnam through the eyes of the Vietnamese, something that has been sorely needed in the West. I found it excellent and recommend it highly. * Don Oberdorfer, Journalist-in-Residence, Johns Hopkins University School of Advanced International Studies, author of TET *For too long Vietnamese voices have been conspicuous by their absence in the Western literature on the Vietnam War, a fact that has led to the common misperception that the conflict was an American tragedy only. This book fills that gap admirably. In a riveting and frequently moving account, author Mai Elliott chronicles the lives of four generations of a Vietnamese family whose members are caught up in the throes of war and revolution. Their story is told with both insight and compassion, while presenting a poignant portrait of the difficult moral dilemmas faced by individuals trapped in the web of a bitter civil war. Highly recommended. * William J. Duiker, Penn State University, author of The Communist Road to Power in Vietnam *An extraordinary collective biography that spans the history of Vietnam from colonial conquest to `market socialism.' Fascinating and moving... there is nothing like it anywhere. * Marilyn B. Young, author of The Vietnam Wars *There can be no better vehicle for understanding the modern history of Vietnam than the microcosm of the family. . .With deep insight and empathy, Elliott skillfully weaves the life stories of her great- grandparents, grandparents, parents, uncles, aunts, sisters, brothers, and cousins into the intricate tapestry of modern Vietnamese history. This is a beautiful and utterly absorbing work, a book of extraordinary emotional power that is also a major contribution to historical understanding. It deserves the widest audience and belongs in all libraries. * Library Journal *This is a beautiful and utterly absorbing work, a book of extraordinary emotional power that is also a major contribution to historical understanding. It deserves the widest audience and belongs in all libraries. * Steven L. Levine, University of Montana, Missoula *It is rare to find a book on Vietnam that provides clear and reliable guidance to the general reader and at the same time opens up significant insights for the specialist scholar. Mai Elliot does both. Not only is there much in her account that is new and important and her perceptivity open and fresh, but her pen flows with a grace and eloquence that makes this salient era of Vietnam's history become vivid and alive to an extent normally possible only in a historical novel. But this is solid history at its very best * and fascinating to read." George McT. Kahin, Aaron L. Binenkorb Professor of International Studies Emeritus, Cornell University *In writing this splendid and engrossing history of her own family the author illuminates the extraordinary qualities in the Vietnamese people and how they have endured their own brutal history. There is no other book like this one: it is gripping and beautiful. * Gloria Emerson, author of Winners and Losers: Batles, Retreats, Gains, Losses, and Ruins from a Long War *Those familiar with the history of the Vietnam War will want to read The Sacred Willow for its portrayal of four generations of Vietnamese caught up in the conflict. But perhaps even more important, those who know nothing about the war will find the story irresistible. If you have room in your library for only a few books on Vietnam this book should be there. * Lloyd Gardner, Rutgers University, author of Approaching Vietnam : from World War II through Dienbienphu, 1941-1954 *There can be no better vehicle for understanding the modern history of Vietnam than the microcosm of the family.... With deep insight and empathy, Elliott skillfully weaves the life stories of her great-grandparents, grandparents, parents, uncles, aunts, sisters, brothers, and cousins into the intricate tapestry of modern Vietnamese history. This is a beautiful and utterly absorbing work, a book of extraordinary emotional power that is also a major contribution to historical understanding. * Library Journal (starred review) *In this deeply moving family saga, Elliott offers a microcosm of the history of modern Vietnam.... Elliott writes with unsparing candor about forging a new identity, about her nation's destruction and its partial revival with the reintroduction of free-market mechanisms and, above all, about her family's harrowing passage through a long, difficult history. * Publishers Weekly *Despite its heft, this sprawling memoir of a Vietnamese family is an immensly readable book. Author Duong Van Mai Elliott has compiled her remarkable story....It is Elliott's ability to share her family's flaws and admit her own shortcomings that makes this a work of such compelling human interest. * Barbara Lloyd McMichael,Seattle Times *This family's saga is as engrossing as fine literary fiction and is, besides, indispensable to understanding Vietnam from a Vietnamese perspective. * The New Yorker *Marvelously rich book.... The author, a middle daughter from whom not too much was expected, has absorbed her family's collective history with a novelist's eye for telling detail... Indeed, it is Mai Elliot's abiding talent for seeing things objectively combined with her writerly skills, her deep knowledge of her nation's history, and her immersion in her family's ongoing oral story of itself, that gives us... detailed eyewitness accounts of extraordinary things that lie beyond and behind the last war... These are aspects of history and culture that could never be presented with such immediacy by any foreign writer... All of this is delivered with a close-up immediacy that allows us to enter another world.... Its skillful writing is itself a kind of filial piety, while its objective sense of history summons up compassionate insights into the human struggles of family and nation. Fascinating. * John Balaban, The Washington Post Book World *Plunges readers into a fascinating story told from a Vietnamese point of view, explaining the war in a context much larger that the limited perspective of American involvement... a very unique and broad perspective. * Steve Galpern, Denver Rocky Mountain News *Table of ContentsPreface Acknowledgments Maps Family Tree 1. A Burial in the Night 2. Shut Gate and High Walls 3. The Silk Merchant 4. French Veneer, Confucian Soul 5. Taxes, Floods, and Robbers 6. The Third Month in the Year of the Famine 7. The Head on the Roof 8. Into the Resistance Zone 9. Poison and Bribes 10. The Fall of a Border Garrison 11. Sifting Through the Rubble 12. The New Mecca 13. Just Cause 14. Short Peace, Long War 15. Flying Into the Unknown 16. The Spoils of Victory 17. The Hours of Gold and Jade Epilogue: Across the Four Seas Bibliography Index

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Book SynopsisWritten between 1919 and 1925, ''Island Cross-Talk'' was the first book to come out of the Blasket Islands - that tiny, remote community off the west coast of Kerry. Springing from a powerful oral tradition, it captured the moment of transition from speech to writing, and sowed the seeds of a rich and extraordinary flowering of literature that was to make the Blaskets famous throughout the world. In these vivid, unadorned sketches from his diary, Tomas O''Crohan writes from the immediacy of his experience: the beauty and the dangers of the island and the sea; the hardship, poverty, and hunger; but also the flashes of humour, the friendships, the intensity of life. In 1953 the Great Blasket was abandoned to the seagulls and the silence. Tomas O''Crohan composed his own epitaph, and that of his community, when he wrote ''the like of us will never be again''.Trade ReviewPart of a unique and remarkable Irish literary archive ... compelling. * Neil Johnston, Belfast Telegraph, 24/6/00 *

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Book SynopsisDarwin''s theory that our ancestors were apes caused a furore in the scientific world and outside it when The Origin of Species was published in 1859. Arguments still rage about the implications of his evolutionary theory, and scepticism about the value of Darwin''s contribution to knowledge is widespread. In this analysis of Darwin''s major insights and arguments, Jonathan Howard reasserts the importance of Darwin''s work for the development of modern biology.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.Trade ReviewJonathan Howard has produced an intellectual tour de force, a classic in the genre of popular scientific exposition which will still be read in fifty years' time. * Times Literary Supplement *Table of ContentsList of Illustrations ; 1. Darwin's life ; 2. The foundations of Darwinism ; 3. Natural selection and the origin of species ; 4. The evidence for evolution by natural selection ; 5. Sex, variation, and heredity ; 6. Man ; 7. Perfection and progress ; 8. Darwinism and ideology ; 9. Darwin as a scientist: an evaluation ; Further Reading ; Index

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Book SynopsisThe first biography of Elizabeth Wiskemann - historian, journalist, intelligence agent - delving into her lives in 1920s Cambridge, Nazi-era Germany and Eastern Europe, and post-war European reconstruction in Italy and West Germany, as a female pioneer in the male-dominated spheres of journalism, government service, and academia.Table of ContentsIntroduction 1: Becoming a Journalist: From Cambridge to Berlin 2: Czechoslovakia and the Nazi 'Drang nach Osten' 3: Secret Agent in Wartime Switzerland 4: 'Dear Mr. Dulles': A Special Relationship 5: Starting Over in Postwar Europe 6: The Academic Life and After

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Book SynopsisThe first ever biography of the founder of Western philosophy Considered by many to be the most important philosopher ever, Plato was born into a well-to-do family in wartime Athens at the end of the fifth century BCE. In his teens, he honed his intellect by attending lectures from the many thinkers who passed through Athens and toyed with the idea of writing poetry. He finally decided to go into politics, but became disillusioned, especially after the Athenians condemned his teacher, Socrates, to death. Instead, Plato turned to writing and teaching. He began teaching in his twenties and later founded the Academy, the world''s first higher-educational research and teaching establishment. Eventually, he returned to practical politics and spent a considerable amount of time and energy trying to create a constitution for Syracuse in Sicily that would reflect and perpetuate some of his political ideals. The attempts failed, and Plato''s disappointment can be traced in some of his later polTrade ReviewPlato of Athens is erudite and fascinating, and realises its aim of showing that his works were magnificent, that "Plato invented philosophy" not as a body of doctrine but an open-ended and insatiable quest. * Jane O'Grady, The Telegraph *If all Western philosophy is as has been claimed a series of footnotes to Plato of Athens, it's fortunate indeed that all his dialogues have survived and attracted translators and interpreters of the caliber of Robin Waterfield. Brilliant, witty, profound--and perplexing: Plato's all those and more (a uniquely resonant stylist too), and it's no mean tribute both to him and to the author to say that Robin Waterfield has done him justice. * Paul Cartledge, author of Thebes: The Forgotten City of Ancient Greece *Whitehead once characterized the history of Western philosophy as a series of footnotes to Plato. Here, at last, we have an authoritative body text for the man himself. 'No philosopher,' Waterfield writes, 'is as accessible to non-specialists as Plato.' The same can be said for this remarkable, impeccably researched biography * M. D. Usher, author of Plato's Pigs and Other Ruminations *Writing a biography of Plato is a tricky endeavor, to say the least. Robin Waterfield nonetheless succeeds in delivering a gripping, plausible, and enlightening portrait. Those new to Plato as well as seasoned scholars will come away from Plato of Athens not only with as rounded a picture of Plato the man as may be possible, but also with an excellent sense of his philosophy and the historical times in which he lived and with which he engaged. * Iakovos Vasiliou, author of Aiming at Virtue in Plato *Waterfield evokes [the Academy's] atmosphere superbly. Indeed, the passages on Plato's teachings, his dialogues and his contribution to the field of philosophy are a particular strength of the book...His account of Plato's failure to reform the tyrant [Dionysius II] and establish a new constitution for him is particularly well done. * Daisy Dunn, Literary Review *Waterfield's narrative is compelling. * The Atlantic *Well-researched and attractively written. * Armand D'Angour, History Today *An admirably solid overview of Platoâs life and works. * David Stuttard, British Museum Magazine *[A] readable and wonderfully enlightening book...a remarkably successful attempt to paint a believable picture of the intellectual journey of someone who is unquestionably one of the great landmarks of European thinking... Plato would have liked that, and that is the highest praise. * John Muir, Classics for All *Learned and highly readable. * Malcom Schofield, Society *Well-researched and attractively written. * Armand D'Angour, History Today *Engaging and accessible...one of the best books available for those who are new to Plato...always looks at the evidence with fresh eyes...a marvelous introductory overview of Plato's philosophy, as it emerged from his intellectual and political milieu. Furthermore, there is no better way than the one provided by Waterfield for beginners to learn about the Academy. * Richard Kraut, Society *Well-researched and attractively written. * Armand D'Angour, History Today *Nobody is better qualified to write this book than Robin Waterfield... He does not talk down to the reader, but neither does he assume any prior knowledge... [a] timely and eloquent book. It encourages the reader to go back to Plato himself and (re)read those texts where the dialogue form is so skilfully used to explore issues which could be a matter of life and death rather than airy philosophy. * John Godwin, Journal of Classics Teaching *Plato of Athens is much to be commended for its discussion resulting in a comprehensive chronology of Plato's life and dialogues. * Andrew David Irvin, TLS *A full, very readable biography...Give[s] a remarkably full picture of the man, his ideas and his influence. * Times Literary Supplement *A thorough and well-structured account of the events of Plato's life whilst placing his many dialogues into a clear chronology. * Sebastian Milbank, The Critic *A highly accessible and significant contribution. * Paradigm Explorer *Attractively fulfils its aim of introducing Platonic philosophy to a general readership by combining elements of historical reconstruction with key values extracted from the written work, the two things synthesised into an imagined portrait of a life.... One can confidently expect that if indeed some of Waterfield's readers may never have tackled any of the dialogues for themselves, they will be stimulated to do so (and in Waterfield's own fine translations) by his eloquent passion for a 'super-important' thinker who is now 'read and studied in, I dare say, every country in the world.' * Stephen Halliwell, Bryn Mawr Classical Review *Fascinating and well-written ... a vivid account of Plato's intellectual background. * Paradigm Explorer *Table of ContentsPreface and Acknowledgments Maps List of Illustrations and Tables List of Plato's Dialogues Timeline Introduction The Sources 1. Growing Up in Wartime Athens 2. The Intellectual Environment 3. From Politics to Philosophy 4. Southern Italy and Sicily 5. The Academy 6. The Second and Third Visits to Syracuse 7. Last Years Further Reading Index

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Book SynopsisMaligned for centuries as a fictional tale, David Ingram's survival of a shipwreck in the Gulf of Mexico and journey north through the American continent is here convincingly proven to be both remarkable and true.Trade ReviewA highly informative and smooth combination of biography and colonialism history, Snow's book both shines new light on a four-century-old discussion over Ingram's credibility and provides a much-needed new perspective to studying the Age of Discovery. * World History Encyclopedia *The Elizabethan traveler David Ingram claimed to have walked from the Gulf of Mexico to coastal Canada, a journey that many over time have questioned. Here the renowned archaeologist Dean Snow, through an act of masterful archival sleuthing, has put his journey, which encompassed participation in the slave trade and early ethnographic observations, into a rich and memorable context. * Peter C. Mancall, author of The Trials of Thomas Morton *In this deftly argued and elegantly written investigation into the travels and travails of David Ingram, Dean Snow argues that we can still learn a few things from the misunderstood shipwreck survivor, despite his mendacity—and more than a few things from Professor Snow himself. * Matthew Restall, author of Seven Myths of the Spanish Conquest *With expert historical detective work, Dean Snow has recovered a compelling 'truth is stranger than fiction' story from early America. David Ingram's odyssey calls to mind the travels of Cabeza de Vaca and Sir Walter Raleigh and the other-worldly fantasy of The Tempest. It is an illuminating record of Elizabethan England's first tentative steps into the New World. * Timothy J. Shannon, author of Indian Captive, Indian King *Cogent and well-documented, this is a valuable correction to the historical record. * Publishers Weekly *Provides a rare glimpse of an Atlantic world on the cusp of profound transformations wrought, in part, by ordinary sailors like [Ingram]. * Times Literary Supplement *Utilising his expertise in the anthropology and archaeology of North America, Snow has meticulously reconstructed Ingram's 3,600-mile journey along known 16th-century indigenous trails, and has also proved that everything Ingram said to his interrogators was true to the best of his knowledge and ability... Fascinating. * History Today *Utilising his expertise in the anthropology and archaeology of North America, Snow has meticulously reconstructed Ingram's 3,600-mile journey along known 16th-century indigenous trails, and has also proved that everything Ingram said to his interrogators was true to the best of his knowledge and ability... Fascinating. * History Today *Absorbing... Thanks to Dean Snow's impressive sleuthing, David Ingram's account can at last resume its proper place as an astonishing and true story. * , Sea History *Table of Contents1. Introduction 2. Ingram in the 1560s 3. Ingram in Africa 4. Ingram in the Caribbean 5. The Long Walk, Autumn 1568 6. The Long Walk, Winter 1568-1569 7. The Long Walk, Spring 1569 8. The Long Walk, Summer 1569 9. The Return 10. Ingram in the 1570s 11. Ingram in the 1580s 12. Ingram's Legacy Appendix: A New Transcript

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Book SynopsisA vibrant portrait of an age when Arabic enlightenment anticipated and inspired the European Renaissance, illuminated by its guiding figures and rivals, Ibn Sina and Biruni.In The Genius of their Age, S. Frederick Starr follows up his acclaimed Lost Enlightenment: Central Asia''s Golden Age with a portrait of the Arab enlightenment and its key figures--Abu-Ali al-Husayn ibn-''Abdallah Ibn-Sina and Abu al-Rayhan Muhammad ibn Ahmad al-Biruni. A thousand years ago, these two intellectual giants--known as Ibn Sina and Biruni for short--achieved stunning breakthroughs in fields as diverse as medicine, astronomy, mathematics, philosophy, geography, and physics. Biruni measured the earth more precisely than anyone else down to the sixteenth century, pondered a heliocentric universe, and hypothesized the existence of North and South America as inhabited continents. Ibn Sina''s writing on philosophy and metaphysics enriched the writings of countless European thinkers, including St. Thomas AquinTrade ReviewSuch an important and useful book to introduce two of the world's greatest scholars to a wider audience. Fred Starr's delightful work explains the ground-breaking work of Ibn Sina and al-Biruni - and sets their achievements in their rightful, proper context. * Peter Frankopan, author of The Earth Transformed: An Untold History and The New Silk Roads: The Present and Future of the World *Ibn Sina and Biruni, two of the greatest minds of the Middle Ages, have found the ideal person in Frederick Starr to present their intertwining lives and thought to a modern, global readership. Intimately familiar with the medieval Persianate context, widely read in the scholarly literature, and remarkably proficient in his exposition of complex philosophical ideas, Starr has produced a consummate work of historical synthesis that should help introduce these intellectual giants to a new audience. * Fitzroy Morrissey, All Souls College, Oxford, author of A Short History of Islamic Thought *[Starr] illuminates the richness of thought that characterized this "lost Enlightenment". * The New Yorker *Table of ContentsIntroduction 1. Together and Apart 2. Privileged Prodigies 3. Promise and Disruption 4. Caught in the Whirlwind 5. Arguing Aristotle 6. Inventing a World History 7. From Peace to Chaos 8. Nemesis: Mahmud of Ghazni 9. Ibn Sina, Encyclopedist 10. Expanding the Known World 11. Ibn Sina's Adventures 12. Biruni's Masterpiece 13. The Canon of Medicine 14. Biruni's Canon for Masud 15. The Cure 16. Biruni's Encore 17. Ibn Sina's Encore 18. Biruni and Ibn Sina through the Ages 19. Biruni and Ibn Sina, a Millennium On

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Book SynopsisA storied friendship between two of America's founders--one that endured for fifty years--and the roadtrip that forged it. Between May 21 and June 6, 1791, Thomas Jefferson and James Madison went on a trip together through Upstate New York and parts of New England on horseback. This northern journey came at a moment of tension for the new nation, one in whose founding these Virginians and political allies had played key roles. The Constitution was ratified and President Washington was in his first term of office. Whether the country could overcome regional and political differences and remain unified, however, was still very much in question. Hence why some observers at the time wondered whether this excursion into Federalist New England by the two most prominent southern Democratic-Republicans, both future presidents, had an ulterior motive. Madison, maintained that the journey was for health, recreation, and curiosity. He and Jefferson needed a break from their public responsibilitie

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