Biography: historical, political and military Books

Book SynopsisIn his Magnum Opus, acclaimed cartoonist Jacques Tardi tells the story of his father, who was a WWII Prisoner of War.In his Magnum Opus, acclaimed cartoonist Jacques Tardi tells the story of his father, who was a WWII Prisoner of War.

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Book SynopsisClive Hamilton has spent a life asking why. In his unique memoir, Provocateur, he shows us why questioning the status quo matters, how powerful arguments can change the country, and how the life of ideas in action actually works. From why climate change matters to how we understand ourselves as Australians and the dangers to us of the new authoritarianism – all this and more has been shaped, for better or worse, by public researchers and writers like Hamilton. His work, and that of the Australia Institute he founded, made him many friends as well as powerful enemies. He’s been denounced in federal parliament, black-handed by the Chinese Communist Party and sued by an angry corporation. He’s had to call in the police after death threats and take a crash course in counter-surveillance techniques. But he has also influenced the quality of the air Australians breathe, the cost of our education and how we see Australia’s place in the world. In Provocateur, we see the passions, the doubts, the strategising, the fears, the victories, the mistakes and the questioning. Here is a blueprint for changing public debate in our increasingly uncertain times – proof that ideas are powerful and that a different way into the future is possible. Trade Review'Clive Hamilton has been threatened, vilified and banned for confronting power. Provocateur is the gripping story of his global actions against exploiters, profiteers and autocrats. Engaging, enraging and entertaining.' – Bob Brown 'Clive Hamilton is a great asset to public life in Australia... This public intellectual not only thinks but feels.' – Tim Rouse, The Canberra Times'Clive Hamilton is a great asset to public life in Australia... This public intellectual not only thinks but feels.' -- Tim Rowse * The Canberra Times *

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Book SynopsisThe Shepherd and the Morning Star is a remarkable double biography and autobiography. In the course of it the life of the son, Willie Orr, gradually emerges from under the shadow of that of his father, Lawrence Orr (PB), leading Ulster Unionist politician, philanderer and would-be bigamist, who ends his days in disgrace with his career and family in ruins. Rootless and troubled, Willie himself went through various jobs – in the Belfast shipyards, as an actor, as a helper in the Iona Community. He suffered a severe nervous breakdown from which he slowly recovered, finding purpose and fulfilment working as a shepherd for many years and then later retraining as a teacher. In between times he wrote as a journalist for the Scotsman and with his wife set up a counselling service for adolescents in Oban. This book is a deeply absorbing and powerful piece of writing, a record of mood and emotional development as much as a detailed chronology. Very funny in parts and with a poet’s sensitivity in others, it explores that precarious territory between the public and private lives of politicians. It ends with a glimpse of redemption and healing, a coming to terms with the ghosts of the past.Trade Review'At once a gripping memoir of his father and an equally compelling autobiography. A unique tale, peppered with the author’s own good verses, some political and social observations of our day, and touching tributes to dogs that were good on the hill. In other words, very nearly perfect' * Belfast Telegraph *

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Book SynopsisJoseph Stalin began life as a frail child, with an abusive father and an inferiority complex. This triggered an early desire for greatness and respect that would eventually turn the young Bolshevik idealist into one of the most ruthless dictators in modern history. Like his contemporary, Adolf Hitler, Stalin was responsible for millions of deaths and inflicted barbaric cruelty on the Soviet people. But while Hitler is readily portrayed as a monster, Stalin has not been subjected to quite the same level of vitriol. In Stalin: A Beginner’s Guide, renowned historian Abraham Ascher analyses new and old sources, separating truths from falsehoods to present an unvarnished portrait of the Soviet leader.Trade Review"In just under 200 crisply written pages, Abraham Ascher provides a splendid summary of Joseph Stalin's life and a penetrating study of his rule. Ascher gives his readers far more than an accurate account of a turbulent era in Russian history. He sets Stalin in the global scene, supplies sharply defined portraits of his henchmen and victims, and makes a balanced assessment of the scholarly disputes that continue to swirl around the man and his times. This book is a perfect introduction to complicated and fascinating subject." -- Richard Robbins, Professor Emeritus of History, University of New Mexico"In this stimulating book Abraham Ascher provides a first-rate Beginner's Guide to the man who was born into a Russia of the wooden plough but bequeathed it the A-Bomb: to Stalin the man, Stalin the revolutionary, and Stalin the dictator. Written in an engaging style, the book nevertheless tackles the big questions: How and why did Stalin become a revolutionary? How, from a quite lowly rank within a pantheon of brilliant Bolshevik intellectuals, did this rough-hewn, Georgian outsider rise to supreme power in the USSR and fashion it into the world’s second superpower? What is his legacy for contemporary Russia and the world? And why does history still treat him more gently than it has his great rival, Adolf Hitler?" -- Dr. Jonathan Smele, Senior Lecturer of History, Queen Mary University of London"Professor Ascher’s book provides a nuanced sense of Stalin’s personality, the environment from which he emerged, his role in the revolution itself, and the political skills that allowed him to concentrate unprecedented political power in his hands. He writes with admirable clarity and renders clear and balanced judgments on a host of complex problems, from Stalin’s sponsorship of collectivization, industrialization, and the purges of the late 1930s to Stalin’s role as wartime leader." -- Professor Samuel C. Ramer, Professor of History, Tulane University

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Book Synopsis1066 is the most famous date in English history. On 14 October, on Senlac Hill near Hastings, a battle was fought that would change the face of England forever. Over the next twenty years, Norman culture was imposed on England, and English politics and society were radically reshaped. But how much is really known about William 'the Conqueror', the Norman duke who led his men to victory on that autumn Saturday in what was to be the last successful invasion of England? Mark Hagger here takes a fresh look at William - his life and leadership. As king, he spent much of his reign threatened by rebellion and invasion. In response, he ordered castles and strongholds to be built across the land - a symbol of the force with which he defended his realm and which, along with Domesday Book, England's first public record, attest to a powerful legacy. This book provides a rounded portrait of one of England's greatest rulers.Trade Review'Mark Hagger tells the story of William the Conqueror accurately and concisely in an attractive style and a highly accessible format.' Ann Williams, author of The World Before Domesday. 'This is the first new biography of William the Conqueror for more than two decades, and has accordingly been able to take account of new research which has thrown light on such matters as William's rule in western Normandy, his travels between England and Normandy, and the making of Domesday Book. Mark Hagger has kept the Conqueror himself very much as the focus of the narrative and there is an independence of judgment that sees the author cutting a clear path through the jungle of scholarship that surrounds the Conqueror and the year 1066. It will certainly prompt lively discussion.' Judith Green, author of The Aristocracy of Norman EnglandTable of ContentsPrologue: Coronation 1. Fire and Sword Everywhere, 1027–1047 2. The Undefeated Duke, 1047–1066 3. William the Conqueror, 1066 4. I See God: Ritual and Government 5. Stern Beyond Measure, 1066–1076 6. William and the Church 7. A Kingly Figure: William’s Person and Personality 8. Storms of Troubles, 1076–1087 Legacy Further Reading

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Book Synopsis"Anyone who survived the exterminations camps must have an untypical story to tell. The typical camp story of the millions ended in death ... We, the few who survived the war and the majority who perished in the camps, did not use and would not have understood terms such as 'holocaust' or 'death march.' These were coined later, by outsiders."In 1939 twelve-year-old Felix Weinberg fell into the hands of the Nazis. Imprisoned for most of his teenage life, Felix survived five concentration camps, including Terezin, Auschwitz, and Birkenau, barely surviving the Death March from Blechhammer in 1945. After losing his mother and brother in the camps, he was liberated at Buchenwald and eventually reunited at seventeen with his father in Britain, where they built a new life together. Boy 30529 is an extraordinary memoir of the Holocaust, as well as a moving meditation on the nature of memory.Trade ReviewWith a detachment that makes the telling all the more powerful, Felix Weinberg has given witness to what he saw and experienced through the terror, misery and absurdity of his teenage years. This was, he explains, at first a gift to his family, and this intimacy without sentimentality draws us in to the loss at the heart of the book. It was also a history he had suppressed, and as Weinberg tells it, he explains that it's strange and painful to document it for the first time. He revisits the suddenness of round-ups, random killings, separations, forced labour and marches. This reminded me that the war against the Jews was above all else a war against our physical presence in Europe which this book replies to simply by having been written. Beyond that though, is the reply of a boy who escaped annihilation and found that by staying alive he could think, study, research and eventually teach at the highest level. In the face of genocide on any people, anywhere at any time, the book is the ultimate response: that we exist and have the right to exist. I wasn't only moved by it. I was strengthened by it. -- Michael Rosen, author, poetAn unusually good-natured memoir about life in the Nazi camps and the travails of being a postwar refugee. Weinberg ... has a quick, curious mind...A revelation ... told with both candor and odd innocence. * Kirkus Reviews *All those who care about the proper documenting of this horrendous era must be grateful to Felix Weinberg for giving us this insightful and ultimately uplifting account. -- Suzanne Bardgett, Imperial War MuseumA very witty and highly readable account of life in Nazi camps, with truly original information and an amazing sense of humour. A great lesson in resilience, survival, hope-and genuine modesty. -- Gilbert Achcar * The Arabs and the Holocaust *A sensitive, witty, intelligent-and ultimately, extremely moving-memoir. -- Richard Zimler, author of The Warsaw AnagramsFelix Weinberg's memoir stands out from other Holocaust memoirs in its accomplished style, its powers of exact recollection and depiction and in its dry humour. -- Professor Charmian Brinson, author of The Strange Case of Dora Fabian and Mathilde WurmTold with an honest, contemporary, sometimes wry viewpoint, Weinberg's graphic memories are haunting, as he searches the Web and historical archives to find out now what he did not know then, while it was happening to him: where he was marching, how many died. The dual perspective, then and now, and the blend of family intimacy (including occasional photos) with the gripping, authoritative historical overview make this an essential title for discussion. * Booklist *

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Book Synopsis‘We can’t do a zigzag,’ Golda Meir insisted as she drove Israel’s 1948 Declaration of Independence through, gaining a bare majority of 6 to 4 in the provisional government. Two decades later, in 1969, she would interrupt her retirement to become the first female leader in the West and earn her nickname, ‘The Iron Lady,’ as Prime Minister of Israel. Who was this remarkable woman and leader? This gripping biography traces Golda Meir’s life from her escape from a Russian pogrom in 1906 to her decisive influence on Israel — often at a hidden cost to her personal life. Full of behind-the-scenes insights — including the 1972 Olympics attacks — and choice quotes, Golda Meir is a spell-binding portrait of the woman and the early State of Israel.Trade Review'A good read' BBC Radio 4 Book of the Week; SUNDAY TIMES ‘Breaks significant new ground.’ ;MAIL ON SUNDAY ‘Excellent.’ ;GUARDIAN ‘Fair-minded.’ ; HISTORY TODAY ‘Riveting.’ ; JEWISH NEWS ‘Riveting.’ ; THE JEWISH CHRONICLE ‘Sensitive... beautifully written.’ ; JEWISH TELEGRAPH ‘Deeply-researched.’ ; TRIBUNE ‘The most stimulating biography.’ ;JEWISH BOOKS ‘Masterful.’

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Book SynopsisVladimir Ilyich Lenin visited London on six occasions at the beginning of the twentieth century and it was in this city, where Marx wrote Das Kapital, that the roots of Lenin's political thought took shape. This book, from a former curator of the Russian collections at the British Library, tells the story for the first time of Lenin's intriguing relationship with the enigmatic Apollinariya Yakubova – a revolutionary known to her comrades as the 'primeval force of the Black Earth'. The book reveals Lenin's London-based accomplices and political rivals, and sheds new light on his world-view – one which would have such a crucial impact on the twentieth century. This is the first full exploration of the formation of one of the leading political visionaries of his age. Henderson has made a series of stunning archival discoveries, published here for the first time, as well as photographs and details of the Russian revolutionaries (and indeed international police spies) who congregated in the east end of London - known then as the 'Little Russian Island'. Featuring an extraordinary amount of new archival material, this is an essential addition to our knowledge of Lenin the man and of the roots of the Russian revolution.Trade ReviewHenderson has woven his narrative out of a brilliant miscellany of archival sources, with crucial finds in the Hoover Institution's records of the Okhrana, or political police. * Times Literary Supplement *Henderson, a former Russian curator at the British Library, knows everything there is to know about Lenin’s love affair with the BM, and tells it all. This is a level of detailed Leniniana seldom encountered since the demise of the Soviet Union, but even those diligent Soviet researchers who used to track Lenin’s every move and hour didn’t know the BM [British Museum] as Henderson does. It’s what gives his book its charm. * London Review of Books *One hundred fifty years after Lenin’s birth, Henderson’s book does something to bring him back to life. * The Jacobin *Henderson’s revelatory book captures the atmosphere of a time of Jewish idealism preceding that of the horrors of the Gulag. * The Jewish Chronicle *Robert Henderson’s archival snapshots put human flesh on the intellectual and political bones of a figure who remains either revered or hated to this day… [the book] captures the atmosphere of Edwardian London and brings to life many of the players – with its wealth of photographs – in the early moves of a game that would indeed change the world. * Morning Star *Henderson’s book is a very welcome contribution to understanding the role that time spent in London played in the intellectual and practical development of the Russian revolutionary left, especially that of Lenin and his closest comrades. It provides a vivid sense of place and a lot of the human context to a crucially important period in Lenin’s political life. * Counterfire *[A] fascinating and meticulously researched book. As a former curator of the Russian collections at the British Library, Henderson is very well placed to undertake such research. * East-West Review *Henderson’s book should be of interest to Labour historians of the early 20th century. It reveals many of Lenin’s London based political networks and the roots of the politics that continue to influence the party’s left-wing. * Tides of History blog *Henderson has succeeded once again in writing another important and captivating history…Henderson’s book makes an original contribution to our knowledge of Lenin by providing us with a clearer understanding of his activities, the associates with whom he connected and, generally speaking, the milieux in which he moved during his London years. Today this research is invaluable to anyone with an interest in trying to comprehend how Lenin and political émigrés generally perceived their work in exile to make essential contributions to the promotion of revolutionary change in their countries of origin. * European History Quarterly *Based on thorough archival research in Britain, France, Russia, and the USA, the story recreated by the author is presented in an elegant and engaging narrative style, combining meticulous factual accounts with humor, vivid details, and emotional attachment to historical figures. Although the title quite accurately points at the main focus of the book – Lenin’s political activities during the periods when he stayed in London – I would add that Henderson’s narrative can also be described as a chronicle of love and politics that evolved around libraries in the turn of the century London, full of police, radicals, and spies. In this work, Henderson offers up a piece of fascinating historical research, weaving stories of various libraries and their collections into the fabric of his narrative. * Slavic & East European Information Resources *Henderson’s book concentrates on new archival finds and previously unpublished materials. Much of what he uncovers is fascinating and valuable information. * Look Left *[Henderson] makes excellent use of a wide variety of archival sources. * Socialist History *Flawlessly researched, lucidly written, replete with exhaustive archival evidence, including previously undiscovered photographs, Henderson has produced the definitive study of the numerous occasions that Lenin, the world's best known revolutionary, spent in London refining and developing his influential views. * John Gonzalez, author of An Intellectual Biography of N.A. Rozhkov: Life in a Bell Jar (2016) *In this outstanding work Robert Henderson deploys new archival discoveries and a lifetime’s research into the Russian émigré community of the early twentieth century to throw new light upon both the revolutionary and the personal life of one of the towering figures of modern history. One could ask for no more expert or convivial guide to Lenin’s various sojourns on London’s “Little Russian Island” during the birth of Bolshevism. * Dr Jonathan Smele, Queen Mary University of London, UK *Henderson’s book is the product of thirty years of research. Time well spent. Pending future openings of Soviet archives or chance discoveries of unpublished diaries of memoirs, this gripping narrative bids fair to remain the definitive version, in Roman poet Horace’s words, ‘a monument more lasting than bronze’. * The Spokesman *Robert Henderson takes us into the cheap lodgings, much-frequented libraries, packed meeting halls, favourite bars and restaurants which were the backdrops to the intense lives of the Russian revolutionary emigration in London. We become witnesses to their ferocious arguments and observers of their lives, loves and hopes for a better future for their homeland. * Professor Christopher Read, University of Warwick, UK *In this fascinating study, Robert Henderson takes us on a trail through the archives to reconstruct Lenin's life in London: the places he lived, the circles he moved in, and the relationships he built. * Professor Charlotte Alston, Northumbria University, UK *Table of ContentsContents Note on Transliteration and Calendars Acknowledgements Frontispiece Introduction Chapter 1 The Little Russian Island: The First Castaways Chapter 2 'Lirochka' and Lenin – The Spark That Lit the Flame? Chapter 3 1902–1903: Iskra and Shaping the Party Chapter 4 1905: A Congress of Conspirators Chapter 5 The London Congress of 1907 and the Triumph of Bolshevism Chapter 6 Two Last Visits: 1908 and 1911 Postscript Apollinariya's Story Appendix Select Bibliography Index

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Book SynopsisAt last we can know who 'king' Arthur was, when he lived and what he did. This is the first work on the legendary hero started without any axe to grind. Here it is demonstrated that Arthur was a Coeling - a prince directly descended from Old King Cole - selected as a very young age by the kings of the 'Hen Ogled' (The Old north, which had been a magor subdivision of Roman Britannia) to be 'Pendragon' (Army Commander in Chief) of the alliance of forces tasked to put an end to raids into their lands by Picts and Scots once and for all. The sites of the 12 famous battles are identified, Arthur's pedigree is specified and the circumstances of his death examined. Such well know elements of Arthurian legend as 'Excalibur', Camelot, Karduel and the 'Isle of Avalon' are all identified, explained and put in context. This book then goes on to suggest where the boundary between history and legend lies, identifying the relationship between the two and showing how the legend developed in the first place. Finally Arthur's legacy is assessed.

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Book Synopsis'Entertaining... Wilson is affectionate without being reverential.' Daisy Goodwin, The TimesIn this original and vibrant examination of the life and times of Queen Elizabeth II, biographer and novelist A.N. Wilson paints a vivid portrait of 'Lilibet' the woman, and of her reign. He also considers the history of the monarchy, drawing a line that stretches from Queen Victoria to the bloody history of Europe in the twentieth century, examining how and why the Royal Family has survived. In part historical overview, but with a keen eye to the future, Wilson writes with his signature warmth, intelligence and humour, celebrating the life of the Queen and her role as figurehead of Britain and the Commonwealth.Trade ReviewEntertaining... Wilson is affectionate without being reverential. -- Daisy Goodwin * The Times *The clear-eyed biographer sets his sights on our monarch in this unusual examination of life and times of HM The Queen * Britain magazine *

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Book SynopsisMandela: His Essential Life chronicles the life and legacy of one of the twentieth century's most influential and admired statesmen. Charting his development from remote rural roots to city lawyer, freedom fighter, and then political leader, Peter Hain takes an in-depth look at Mandela's rise through the ranks of the African National Congress (ANC) and subsequent 27 years imprisonment on Robben Island, as increasingly vocal protests against the injustices of Apartheid brought his struggle against overwhelming prejudice and oppression to the eyes of the world. This book encompasses Mandela’s inauguration as South Africa's first democratically elected president, his "retirement" campaigns for human rights, a solution to AIDS and poverty. It goes on to chronicle his later years and death. Throughout, the humanity and compassion of this extraordinary world leader shine through. The author concludes with a critical analysis of his and the ANC’s achievements, its leadership’s subsequent slide into corruption, and whether under new direction South Africa can reclaim the values and legacy of Mandela, and the ‘rainbow nation’ he created and led to such global acclaim.Trade ReviewPassionate and engaging. From a man whose tireless anti-apartheid activism supported the long struggle to free his friend and leader, Nelson Mandela. -- Jon Snow, BroadcasterHighly readable and inspirational. -- Desmond TutuHis life and times told succinctly and compellingly. -- Sello Hatang, CEO, Nelson Mandela FoundationPeter Hain’s excellent Mandela: His Essential Life, does not pretend to be anything more than, as he writes, a “short, popular and accessible book that tells Mandela's entire and remarkable story in a nutshell”. Actually, he does himself a disservice: it is much more than that, and is a serious analysis of Mandela’s place in history, his failings as well as his virtues. It also contains a powerful final chapter on the betrayal of the Mandela legacy. In recent years, Hain, a second-generation anti-apartheid activist, has exposed the corruption of the Zuma presidency, and played no small part in bringing down the PR firm Bell Pottinger. It is a sad sequel to Mandel's life but a story of modern-day South Africa that needs to be told. * The Sunday Times, 15 July 2018 *Borrowing extensively from works such as Anthony Sampson’s Mandela (1999) and Nelson Mandela’s own autobiography Long Walk to Freedom (CH, Apr'95, 32-4642), Hain, a former anti-apartheid activist, offers a more condensed biography of the freedom fighter turned statesman, and combines it with personal observations of his encounters with the legendary South African. Hain tracks Mandela’s rural roots, political awakening, trial and imprisonment, progressive estrangement from his wife, Winnie, and triumph in South Africa’s first democratic election in 1994. Despite several chronological issues (i.e., the Congress of the People took place in June 1955), Hain’s narrative of Mandela’s long struggle for justice and reconciliation falls in line with other scholarly biographies, even if it does not break new ground. The most original material in Hain’s book comes in the later chapters, where he relates several encounters with the man known as Madiba. “It was not just his towering moral stature, his courage and his capacity to inspire that endeared Nelson Mandela to so many,” Hain observes. “Despite being one of the world’s most prominent statesmen—perhaps the most revered—he retained his extraordinary humanity.” Summing Up: Recommended. All readership levels. * CHOICE *Table of ContentsMandela Time Line Preface Introduction: International Icon Chapter 1: Roots Chapter 2: Grooming a Chief Chapter 3: Second Class Chapter 4: Freedom Fighter Chapter 5: Prisoner Chapter 6: Resistance Chapter 7: Victory Chapter 8: President Chapter 9: Mandela Magic Chapter 10: Legacy Betrayed? Selected Bibliography Index About the Author

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Book SynopsisMandela: His Essential Life chronicles the life and legacy of one of the twentieth century's most influential and admired statesmen. Charting his development from remote rural roots to city lawyer, freedom fighter, and then political leader, Peter Hain takes an in-depth look at Mandela's rise through the ranks of the African National Congress (ANC) and subsequent 27 years imprisonment on Robben Island, as increasingly vocal protests against the injustices of Apartheid brought his struggle against overwhelming prejudice and oppression to the eyes of the world. This book encompasses Mandela’s inauguration as South Africa's first democratically elected president, his "retirement" campaigns for human rights, a solution to AIDS and poverty. It goes on to chronicle his later years and death. Throughout, the humanity and compassion of this extraordinary world leader shine through. The author concludes with a critical analysis of his and the ANC’s achievements, its leadership’s subsequent slide into corruption, and whether under new direction South Africa can reclaim the values and legacy of Mandela, and the ‘rainbow nation’ he created and led to such global acclaim.Trade ReviewPassionate and engaging. From a man whose tireless anti-apartheid activism supported the long struggle to free his friend and leader, Nelson Mandela. -- Jon Snow, BroadcasterHighly readable and inspirational. -- Desmond TutuHis life and times told succinctly and compellingly. -- Sello Hatang, CEO, Nelson Mandela FoundationPeter Hain’s excellent Mandela: His Essential Life, does not pretend to be anything more than, as he writes, a “short, popular and accessible book that tells Mandela's entire and remarkable story in a nutshell”. Actually, he does himself a disservice: it is much more than that, and is a serious analysis of Mandela’s place in history, his failings as well as his virtues. It also contains a powerful final chapter on the betrayal of the Mandela legacy. In recent years, Hain, a second-generation anti-apartheid activist, has exposed the corruption of the Zuma presidency, and played no small part in bringing down the PR firm Bell Pottinger. It is a sad sequel to Mandel's life but a story of modern-day South Africa that needs to be told. * The Sunday Times, 15 July 2018 *Borrowing extensively from works such as Anthony Sampson’s Mandela (1999) and Nelson Mandela’s own autobiography Long Walk to Freedom (CH, Apr'95, 32-4642), Hain, a former anti-apartheid activist, offers a more condensed biography of the freedom fighter turned statesman, and combines it with personal observations of his encounters with the legendary South African. Hain tracks Mandela’s rural roots, political awakening, trial and imprisonment, progressive estrangement from his wife, Winnie, and triumph in South Africa’s first democratic election in 1994. Despite several chronological issues (i.e., the Congress of the People took place in June 1955), Hain’s narrative of Mandela’s long struggle for justice and reconciliation falls in line with other scholarly biographies, even if it does not break new ground. The most original material in Hain’s book comes in the later chapters, where he relates several encounters with the man known as Madiba. “It was not just his towering moral stature, his courage and his capacity to inspire that endeared Nelson Mandela to so many,” Hain observes. “Despite being one of the world’s most prominent statesmen—perhaps the most revered—he retained his extraordinary humanity.” Summing Up: Recommended. All readership levels. * CHOICE *Table of ContentsMandela Time Line Preface Introduction: International Icon Chapter 1: Roots Chapter 2: Grooming a Chief Chapter 3: Second Class Chapter 4: Freedom Fighter Chapter 5: Prisoner Chapter 6: Resistance Chapter 7: Victory Chapter 8: President Chapter 9: Mandela Magic Chapter 10: Legacy Betrayed? Selected Bibliography Index About the Author

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Book SynopsisFor a long time, Cyril Ramaphosa was the nearly-man of South African politics. He was Nelson Mandela's preferred successor, but the ANC opted for his rival, Thabo Mbeki, as the second post-apartheid president. Ramaphosa had led South Africa's huge mineworkers' union against the apartheid regime and was the key architect of the much-praised 1996 'rainbow' constitution. He later prospered in business on the back of the first big empowerment deals with white-owned enterprises, before returning to politics and the ANC in 2012. His eyes firmly on the prize, Ramaphosa played a long game as President Zuma became mired in scandal. In early 2018, Deputy President Ramaphosa persuaded the party to throw out Zuma and install him in his place. Announcing a 'new dawn', he has captivated the nation, but now faces his greatest challenge: fixing a broken economy, weeding out Zuma's corrupt minions and the legacy of 'state capture' by the Gupta brothers, and delivering on the promise of a better life for the poor. This captivating biography outlines Ramaphosa's extraordinary political and business career. It tells the story of one of the greatest political comebacks of modern times.Trade Review'A fine biography: Ray Hartley reveals the complexities of an enigmatic President with effortless prose and the sure touch of a veteran journalist.' -- Martin Plaut, former BBC World Service Africa Editor, and author of 'Understanding Eritrea''A good mystery deserves a good detective and Hartley delivers with a crisp and timely exploration of the enigmatic man promising to steer a struggling South Africa away from the cliff’s edge.' -- Andrew Harding, BBC Africa Correspondent and author of 'The Mayor of Mogadishu'

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Book SynopsisCan you name the creator of the Territorial Army and the British Expeditionary Force? The man who laid the foundation stones of MI5, MI6, the RAF, the LSE, Imperial College, the ‘redbrick’ universities and the Medical Research Council? This book reveals that great figure: Richard Burdon Haldane. As a philosopher-statesman, his groundbreaking proposals on defence, education and government structure were astonishingly ahead of his time—the very building blocks of modern Britain. His networks ranged from Wilde to Einstein, Churchill to Carnegie, King to Kaiser; he pioneered cross-party, cross-sector cooperation. Yet in 1915 Haldane was ejected from the Liberal government, unjustly vilified as a German sympathiser. John Campbell charts these ups and downs, reveals Haldane’s intensely personal side through previously unpublished private correspondence, and shows his enormous relevance in our search for just societies today. Amidst political and national instability, it is time to reinstate Haldane as Britain’s outstanding example of true statesmanship. A Sunday Times Politics and Current Affairs Book of the Year, 2020. A Telegraph Best Book of the Year, 2020.Trade Review'An act of homage to a man for whom [Campbell] asserts lifelong admiration … [This is an] intelligent book.’ -- The Sunday Times'[Campbell] makes a persuasive case for his subject’s importance and, along the way, touches on larger questions of culture and governance … [With a] wealth of detail and insightful character sketches … [this is a] splendid portrait.’ -- The Wall Street JournalA work of real scholarship.’ -- The Telegraph‘Richly informed … [an] engaging biography.’ -- Financial Times‘[A] valuable book … the research has been done superlatively. … Anyone interested in political history who is unacquainted with Haldane will find this book illuminating and informative.’ -- The Spectator‘The author must be congratulated on shaking up the creaking cradle-to-grave style of conventional political biography. … Campbell has succeeded in his aim of writing a biography of Haldane which might serve as a handbook of leadership and statesmanship in this post-Brexit age.’ -- The Literary Review‘Well-researched and well-written.’ -- The Critic‘A noble undertaking that does much to revive the lamentably neglected legacy of one of Britain’s finest statesmen.’ -- The Irish Examiner‘[An] engaging biography … Campbell makes a good case that Haldane was a key catalyst in improving the effectiveness of certain aspects of the British state in the years either side of the first world war.’‘Excellent … [Haldane] is timely, well researched and reminds us what we owe to a great statesman.’ -- Reaction'There is something perennially fascinating about the sensitive polymath. John Campbell has written a magisterial biography of such a figure--an immensely readable account of an extraordinary life. This is, quite simply, a triumph of the art of conveying the texture of human affairs and the events of an era. It is a major and lasting achievement.' -- Alexander McCall Smith'A labour of love. Haldane is rescued from "the condescension of posterity", his achievement in war and peace is finally recognised, and his rightful place in history is secured.' -- Gordon Brown‘This is a delightful, rather personal and yet thorough and rigorous story of a man who for once lives up to the title of his biography … it is worth submersing yourself in it over a reasonably lengthy period.’ -- The Round Table'An outstanding biography that will have Haldane recognised, at long last, as one of our very greatest twentieth-century statesmen.' -- Sir Malcolm Rifkind, former Secretary of State for Defence and Foreign Secretary'This captivating, ground-breaking book firmly re-establishes Lord Haldane in the national consciousness as a remarkable statesman of the early twentieth century. Many of his innovations are still flourishing today, and his thoughts on statecraft have much to teach our leaders.' -- Sir Anthony Seldon, British political biographer'My Grandfather found Haldane to be unfailingly kind and in particular supported him in 1915 when Haldane lost Office. This book brings Haldane marvellously to life, centre stage on the then political map of Britain. It not only remarkably tells Haldane's extraordinary and neglected story, but the exceptional images so cleverly illustrate his life and the turbulent times in which he lived. A must read.' -- The Rt Hon Sir Nicholas Soames'Impressively well-researched, wonderfully written and so obviously relevant to the present day.' -- Brendan Simms, Professor in the History of International Relations, University of Cambridge, and author of 'Britain's Europe: A Thousand Years of Conflict and Cooperation''We should thank John Campbell and we should thank Haldane. Haldane saw what our country needed and he quietly and brilliantly introduced those changes and creations, many of which are still with us. We in intelligence, and many others, are much indebted to Haldane. Mr Campbell tells us why.' -- Sir Colin McColl, former chief of MI6'Most politicians would view themselves as an outstanding success if only one of Haldane's reforms were credited to them. He transformed the British Army, brought into existence many of the great civic universities, and even proposed a Supreme Court 100 ahead of his time. John Campbell brings Haldane to the front of the political stage, where he belongs, and details well his supreme intellect and political method, which has so much to teach for today's politics.' -- The Rt Hon Frank Field DL, former MP'A welcome and enjoyable biography of a towering yet overlooked figure - Haldane was a transforming war minister, a visionary Lord Chancellor, a passionate supporter of education, and much more. Like the best biographies, this book casts revealing light on the times in which he lived.' -- The Rt Hon. The Lord Neuberger of Abbotsbury, former President of the UK Supreme Court'A refreshing and compelling new biography of the leading philosopher-statesman of modern Britain. Haldane has had enormous influence, not least in re-organising the British Army to prevent a quick German victory in 1914, as well as in developing British education, the security services and the machinery of modern government.' -- Martin Pugh, former Professor of History, Newcastle University, and author of 'The Making of Modern British Politics''I wish I could have read this as my guidebook before taking on my Prime Ministerial duties, back in 2009. Now I can only hope that current and future leaders will use their chance to do so.' -- Gordon Bajnai, former Prime Minister of Hungary'An immensely readable, painstakingly researched biography of a little-known polymath statesman to whom Britain is more indebted than it knows. In this Who's Who of early-twentieth-century politics, Campbell delves deep into Haldane's complex and fascinating personality, in so many ways ahead of his time. He makes his hero our hero.' -- Sir Peter Westmacott GCMG LVO, former British Ambassador to Turkey, France and the United States'A meticulously researched life of Haldane which rightly defines him as the ultimate polymath. Haldane's multiple achievements are a lesson to today's politicians: that so much more can be achieved by reaching across party lines when searching for benign change. We have all forgotten how much our military, intelligence services, universities and research communities continue to benefit from Haldane’s impact, a century later. This work sets the record straight.' -- Sir David Cooksey GBE, Chair of the Francis Crick Institute'The debt the United Kingdom owes to Haldane is as great as to any other statesman of the first half of the twentieth century. John Campbell's immensely readable study reminds us of the achievements of this extraordinary public servant. Haldane's instinct to work constructively across the Party divide shows the importance of broad consensus in delivering lasting institutional reform. His search for long-term solutions to our country's needs has never seemed more apposite.' -- Robert Gascoyne-Cecil, 7th Marquess of Salisbury, former Leader of the House of Lords'A remarkably intimate story of an exceptional man who created the British Army of 1914. These carefully considered reforms, resolutely fought for by Haldane in 1907, saved the nation from defeat.' -- Major-General Sir Evelyn Webb-Carter'A truly superb book. Not only is it a remarkable biography of an extraordinary life, it also provides important insights into Haldane's role in laying the foundations of the British university system. It traces how his education in Scotland and Germany moulded his beliefs about the purpose of life and the capacity of universities to inspire minds that contribute to the intellectual advancement and well-being of society. A profoundly humane account of one of Britain’s most enlightened and influential, yet insufficiently recognised, reformers of the twentieth century.' -- Colin Mayer CBE FBA, Peter Moores Professor of Management Studies, Said Business School, University of Oxford'The great sadness is that Richard Haldane was Chancellor of St Andrews, Scotland's first university, for only two months before he died in August 1928. In inviting him to fill this key governing role, St Andrews knew it was appointing one of the most powerful, subtle and encyclopaedic intellects ever devoted to the public service of his country. This great and long overdue book explains why St Andrews was so keen to make him one of its own.' -- Sir Ewan Brown CBE FRSE, former senior governor of the University of St Andrews‘Makes the case splendidly for Haldane’s achievements and his importance to this country … Anyone interested in British political history who is unacquainted with Haldane will find this book both illuminating and informative, a genuine revelation … Truly a lifetime’s dedicated work.’

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Book SynopsisThe memoirs of Sidney Wadsworth are a vital source on Britain's colonial history during the first half of the twentieth century. Recounting his long and distinguished career in the Indian Civil Service, Wadsworth paints an entertaining picture of the many places in Madras province where he served, with illuminating portraits of the important British and Indian figures with whom he associated. Here we see through his eyes the growth of Indian nationalism and the rise of Gandhi, and the impact of the Second World War on Madras. Reliving his journey from junior member of the ICS to High Court judge, Wadsworth displays a shrewd acumen and a keen eye for the ridiculous. By no means uncritical of British rule, he emerges from these pages as a conscientious, humane and reasonable official--unlike some of his contemporaries--and one able to accept the huge changes overtaking India. The physical and moral demands of his daily routine reveal the commitment of an administration that, for all its failings, steadily pursued the goal of good and impartial government. Also featuring excerpts from the memoirs of other civil servants then in the province, 'A Judge in Madras' will fascinate anyone interested in the colonial encounter.Trade Review'A vivid account of official life in late British India. Ad hoc solutions and eccentrics abound, and we even learn about the darker side of tigers and elephants. If only there were more books on the Raj like this.' -- Roderick Matthews, historian and author of 'Jinnah vs. Gandhi''A timely reminder in this age with the rise in popularity of “distress studies” that we must look at history in the context of its own time, and that any such understanding should start with an attempt to understand the mentality of those who bore positions of responsibility within its structure.' -- Asian Affairs'Caroline Keen adds a historian’s eye to the rich and entertaining memoirs of Sir Sidney Wadsworth, presenting readers with an intimate portrait of South India in the early twentieth century. As vibrant as the tropical climes of the Coromandel Coast, this splendidly detailed book is a pleasure to read and an important contribution to the historiography of the Raj.' -- John Zubrzycki, journalist, researcher and author of 'Empire of Enchantment: The Story of Indian Magic''A timely reminder, among all the postcolonial polemics, that The Indian Civil Service gave India the world’s finest administrative service, who did their very best for the subjects they ruled. This book, based on memoirs by a British judge, demonstrates the incorruptible dedication of thousands of officials of the Raj.' -- Zareer Masani, historian, broadcaster and author of 'Macaulay: Britain's Liberal Imperialist''While colonialism these days stands rightly condemned, it is easy to forget that many of those caught up in its history were human too--and, in the case of Sidney Wadsworth, remarkably humane.' -- David Washbrook, Fellow, University of Cambridge

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Book SynopsisA gripping royal saga of charmed lives in a changing world. The Jaipurs were India’s mid-century golden couple; its answer to the Kennedys, or Queen Elizabeth and Prince Philip. Jai and Ayesha, as they were known to friends like Frank Sinatra, Truman Capote and ‘Dickie’ Mountbatten, entertained lavishly at their magnificent palaces and hunting lodges in Rajasthan—and in the nightclubs of London, Paris and New York. But as the Raj gave way to the new India, Jaipur—the most glamorous and romantic of the princely states—had to find its place. The House of Jaipur charts a dynasty’s determination to remain relevant in a democracy set on crushing its privileges. Against the odds, they secured their place at the height of Indian society; but Ayesha would pay for her criticism of Indira Gandhi during the Emergency. From the polo field and politics to imprisonment and personal tragedy, the Jaipurs’ extraordinary journey of transformation mirrors the story of a rapidly changing country.Trade Review'John Zubrzycki does an impressive job of … building up a memorable picture of a glittering family brought to its knees.' -- Daily Mail'Thrilling, deeply satisfying ... a must-read.' -- The Week‘As historian John Zubrzycki dives into the lives of India’s most powerful ruling family in a new book, we look at the power players, past and present, of the grand royal dynasty.’ -- Tatler‘A riveting saga … assiduously researched.’ -- India Today'Extremely readable . . . a nuanced view of the failings and contributions of Indian princes.' -- Sir Mark Tully, former BBC Bureau Chief, New Delhi'Zubrzycki unearths hidden gems with his remarkable storytelling.' -- The Hindu'An intriguing book which will keep the readers hooked till the end.' -- The Times of India'Goes beyond the glitter and gold of the Jaipur royal household to dig out the obscure accounts of romantic jealousies, property feuds, fatal addictions, suppressed grief and more.' -- Indian Express'A fascinating and absorbing book with an unforgettable cast of characters.' -- Sagarika Ghose, author of Indira: India’s Most Powerful Prime Minister

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Book SynopsisDr Bhimrao R. Ambedkar (1891-1956) was one of India's greatest intellectuals and social reformers; his political ideas continue to inspire and mobilise some of the world's poorest and most socially disadvantaged, in India and the global Indian diaspora. Ambedkar's thought on labour, legal rights, women's rights, education, caste, political representation and the economy are international in importance. This book explores his lesser-known period of London-based study and publication during the early 1920s, presenting that experience as a lens for thinking about Ambedkar's global intellectual significance. Some of his later canon on caste, and Dalit rights and representation, was rooted in and shaped by his earlier work around the economy, governance, labour and representation during his time as a law student and as a doctoral candidate at the London School of Economics. The Indian diaspora in the UK is the country's single largest national minority. This volume connects Ambedkar's influence during his lifetime, and his legacy today, to this early phase of his career and intellectual life in London, and its immediate aftermath. It contains new material on the establishment of the city's Ambedkar Museum, explores Britain's Ambedkarite movement, and charts the campaign to outlaw caste discrimination in the UK.Trade Review‘Rich and detailed.’ ­ -- Himal South Asian'Engaging and insightful, the editors and contributors have taken great effort to reconstruct Ambedkar's early days in London. A must-read for anyone who wishes to study the life of this great man.' -- Rama Ambedkar-Teltumbde, granddaughter of Ambedkar'This volume doesn't just fill the gaps in our knowledge of Ambedkar's life in London--the period that shaped his political life in India--but also opens our eyes to the many movements for human dignity, autonomy and emancipation, from Europe to Africa, inspired by his life.' -- K. S. Komireddi, author of Malevolent Republic: A Short History of the New India'A fine selection of essays placing Ambedkar's biography and ideas in their international context to lay out, in a systematic way, the scale and ambition of his political and intellectual life.' -- Faisal Devji, Professor of Indian History, University of Oxford'The world needs to rediscover the ideas and the spirit of the great Ambedkar, who told Dalits to "educate, agitate and organise". Ambedkar's story is truly inspirational. His fight against untouchability and prejudice is far from over.' -- David Patrick Paul Alton, Baron Alton of Liverpool'An illuminating collection of essays drawing on the methods of global and transnational history to track the influence of the imperial metropole, and the power of institutional and disciplinary histories in shaping Ambedkar's remarkable public life and the major contributions of his political thought. -- Anupama Rao, Professor of History and MESAAS, Columbia University

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Book SynopsisIn 1847, seventeen-year-old Miss Ellen Palmer had the world at her feet. A debutante at the start of her first London season, Ellen was beautiful, rich and accomplished and about to experience the world of dances, opera visits and dinner parties which were a rite-of-passage for young women of her class. To record the glittering whirl of activity, Ellen started writing a diary, a unique daily account which was discovered over a century later by her descendants. For Ellen, the path to true love did not run smooth - after a scandalous encounter with a duplicitous Swedish count, her marriage prospects were dealt a heavy blow. But Ellen was a woman ahead of her time. Undeterred by her increasing social isolation, she set off on a treacherous trip across Europe in pursuit of her beloved brother Roger, an officer in the Crimean War. In doing so she became one of the first women to visit the battlefield at Balaclava. Ellen's diaries provide a first-hand account of the realities of debutante life in Victorian London whilst also telling the story of an inspirational young woman, her quest for love and her spectacular journey from the ballroom to the battlefield.Table of ContentsIntroduction A Strange Family The Grand Tour Preparing for the London Season The London Season Country Life in Ireland A Fatal Attraction A Bleak and Cheerless Future Heartbreak Music her Only Solace Joy and Despair A Parting of the Ways To Constantinople The Crimea – So Near and yet so Far Balaclava Love at Last Epilogue

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Book SynopsisJoseph Chamberlain was a dynamic orator, notable reformer and superb parliamentary tactician of the late 19th and early 20th centuries. In his early political career Chamberlain was a radically minded Liberal Party member and a supporter of political reform, yet after the Liberal Split, his allegiance changed dramatically when his Liberal Unionist Party entered into alliance with the Conservatives. As Colonial Secretary in Salisbury's government, he was a prime instigator of the Boer War and an important negotiator in the attempts to build an Anglo-German alliance. Ultimately disenchanted with the Conservative leadership of Salisbury and Balfour, he played an integral role in the Unionist Split over the issue of Tariff Reform which ultimately led to Balfour's downfall. Travis Crosby here sheds light on an often-overlooked, but exceptionally influential politician. He argues that Chamberlain was driven primarily by a personal need for power and control - characteristics that went beyond political loyalties. Nevertheless, his accomplishments as chief spokesman for electoral and social reform, and his achievements as Colonial Secretary, were genuine and lasting. This book sheds new light on an influential character who played an important role in the development of British politics.Table of ContentsChapter 1 - The Pursuit of Power Chapter 2 - An Entrepreneurial Heritage Chapter 3 - The Radical Politician Chapter 4 - Minister of the Crown Chapter 5 - The Making of an Imperialist Chapter 6 - Fluctuating Schemes Chapter 7 - In the Wilderness Chapter 8 - The Puritan Maid Chapter 9 - Power Deferred: the Liberal Interlude Chapter 10 - Power Gained: the Colonial Office Chapter 11 - Joe’s War? Chapter 12 - Tariff Reform: the Final Struggle for Power Chapter 13 - Power Lost

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Book SynopsisMaster of Deception is a biography of Peter Fleming, elder brother of Ian Fleming, creator of James Bond. Peter Fleming worked as a travel writer and journalist, serving with distinction throughout World War II and played a crucial role in British intelligence operations in the Far East. This biography ranges from the personal life of Fleming such as his marriage to Celia Johnson, a famous actor of the time, to his extensive military intelligence career which took him from Norway and Greece to the Far East. Framed through the life of Peter Fleming this book offers an in-depth study of British intelligence operations in the Far East during World War II.Trade ReviewA study of the adventurer's wartime capers ... filled with details you couldn't invent. 4/5 stars. * The Daily Telegraph *[Ogden] has researched his subject assiduously. A good part of the book consists of official documents, memoranda and reports written by Fleming himself. These will be of great interest and value to other researchers and historians ... This is a fascinating book. * Literary Review *A punctilious and notably well-researched account of Fleming’s military career. * New Criterion *This book has some fascinating parts … A good read. * Sorted Magazine *This is not a conventional biography, and a bit like Peter Fleming's extraordinarily fertile mind, it wends its way through an oblique and complex subject in a fascinating way ... We get real insights into the problems and challenges; this is an historian's book not a journalist's. * The Guards Magazine *Peter Fleming has been best remembered as an adventurous travel writer and brother of author Ian Fleming, making him an uncle of James Bond. In this readable account we are introduced properly to Peter Fleming, the wartime intelligence officer and master of the arts of deception against the Japanese Army in South East Asia. Alan Ogden’s well researched biography reveals a little understood period in the life of an exceptional human being. * Professor Sir David Omand, former UK Security and Intelligence Coordinator *Alan Ogden's masterly study of Peter Fleming, a man as brilliant as a Second World War intelligence officer (and brother of the better-known Ian) as a Times journalist, is a book about military intelligence at its best during the Second World War. Fleming's plans for 'stay behind' guerrilla units in Sussex and Kent (to fight the Wehrmacht on British soil, had the Nazis invaded Britain), his courageous (and highly explosive) acts of sabotage against the advancing German forces in Greece, as well as the intricate and intellectually refined strategies of deception and future 'Imperial Intelligence' that he developed to help win the war in the Far East, make this crisp study of the breadth and the depth of Fleming's skills a gripping introduction to the field. * Professor Anthony Glees, Director, Centre for Security and Intelligence Studies, The University of Buckingham *[T]his readable volume is very useful in bringing out the role of deception in South East Asia and, for the first time, the important part Fleming played in it. * Journal of Modern History *Table of ContentsChapter One: A New Elizabethan Chapter Two: Plans and More Plans Chapter Three: To War in the Frozen North Chapter Four: A Very British Guerrilla Chapter Five: A Greek Tragedy Chapter Six: A Summons to India Chapter Seven: Burmese Capers and Haversack Ruses Chapter Eight: Global Strategists and Strategems Chapter Nine: Dining with Chinese Dragons Chapter Ten: Total Intelligence: A Common Sense Approach Chapter Eleven: Building the Organisation Chapter Twelve: Sleight of Hand in the Order of the Battle Chapter Thirteen: The Conjurors Take to the Field Chapter Fourteen: Feints and Noises Off Chapter Fifteen: The Double Agents' Impressario Chapter Sixteen: Imaginary Spies and Fantasy Networks Chapter Seventeen: The Bright Eye of Danger: A Chance with the Chindits Chapter Eighteen: Enough of War Crimes Chapter Nineteen: Home is the Hunter

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Book SynopsisJoe Biden: Quotes to Live By is an inspiring and hilarious collection of over 170 quotes from one of America's most beloved politicians.Homespun, caring and empathetic, Joe is the nation's uncle, but his sometimes bizarre and baffling remarks can seem misjudged at best and offensive at worst, even when they are the innocent result of his no-filter plainspeak.With his fascinating backstory, from conquering his famous stutter and his humble middle-class upbringing, to becoming the youngest senator elected to Congress at the time, to the deep tragedy of the loss of his young wife and baby daughter, and later his son Beau, to his light-hearted bromance with President Obama, Joe has an unparalleled ability to connect with the ordinary 'joe'. Despite his tendency for foot-in-the-mouth gaffes, his integrity, moral fortitude and patriotism shine from his words, revealing a dedicated public servant, devoted family man, person of faith and ardent American.You will find his thoughts on success, and his many failures, along with his hopes and dreams for the American people – because it's always the people whom he serves.Joe Biden has said, 'In this world, emotion has become suspect. The accepted style is smooth, antiseptic and passionless', which is certainly something that could never be said about him.

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Book SynopsisWhile the heroic exploits of ‘The Few’ of Fighter Command are rightly lauded, those of ‘The Many’ of Bomber Command often remain overlooked. Night after night, the bomber crews ranged across Europe seeking out and attacking targets in an all-out endeavour to undermine the German war effort against Britain and prevent invasion.Bomber Command’s Forgotten Summer tells the stories of the young men who carried out dangerous missions on a nightly basis, battling against both the enemy and the elements, relying on a mix of nerve, skills and luck to hit their target and make it home. Faced with flak and fighters, exposed to the harsh weather conditions and operating at the edge of their capabilities, for the young men of Bomber Command, this was just as vital as the Battle of Britain.

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Book Synopsis‘An insightful and gripping account that will take you into the dark but fascinating world of a Victorian executioner.’ – Stewart P. EvansBetween 1884 and 1905 James Billington and his three sons, Thomas, William and John, were responsible for 235 executions in Victorian Great Britain and Ireland. They hanged many notorious murderers, but equally fascinating is the story of the family. Did James really feel he served society and justice, or did this position satisfy something more personal?Billington: Victorian Executioner provides a complete account of the stories behind James Billington’s executions, as well as the real man behind the rope – a man whose business was death. This enthralling biography is an exciting addition to any true crime bookshelf.Trade ReviewAn insightful and gripping account that will take you into the dark but fascinating world of a Victorian executioner. -- Stewart P Evans

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Book SynopsisWarwick the Kingmaker, the Earl of Warwick & Salisbury whose wealth and power was so great that he could effectively decide who would rule England during the Wars of the Roses (1455-1487), had six sisters: Joan, Cecily, Alice, Eleanor, Katherine and Margaret. They all married powerful noblemen who fought on opposing sides during this turbulent period.The Kingmaker's Sisters examines the role that they played in late fifteenth-century England, as wives, mothers and homemakers, but also as deputies for their absent husbands, and how the struggle between the Yorkists and the Lancastrians affected them and their families. Scholarly but accessible, this is the first history of the Wars of the Roses to be written from this perspective, and will appeal to general readers, historians of the period and those with an interest in feminist history.

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Book SynopsisELYESA BAZNA WAS THE HIGHEST-PAID SPY IN HISTORY.Working for the British ambassador in Ankara in 1943, Bazna photographed top-secret documents and sold them to the Nazis. So started his career as a ‘walk-in’, a freelance spy whose loyalties lay with the highest bidder. His codename was Cicero.But a beautiful woman was to end it all. Cicero was compromised by an American-controlled agent working at the German Embassy, who obtained his codename and discovered that he was working at the British Embassy. He fled and narrowly avoided being captured by the tipped-off British. Finally free, he realised his money was worthless – most of it was counterfeit, produced by the Nazi scheme Operation Bernhard.In Agent Cicero: Hitler’s Most Successful Spy, Mark Simmons weaves together personal accounts by the leading characters and information from top-secret files from MI5, MI6 and the CIA to tell this astonishing story.

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Book SynopsisA pioneering Pan Africanist, Garveyite and poet from the Caribbean island of Dominica, JR Ralph Casimir (1898-1996) played an important role as agent and organiser in the eastern Caribbean for Marcus Garvey's Universal Negro Improvement Association and the Black Star Line. For more than half a century, he fearlessly confronted not just colonial rule but his island’s elites. This biography, lovingly written by his grand-daughter, explores his political and personal life, and sheds much light on little known aspects of Dominica’s march to independence.

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Book SynopsisMary Lou McDonald is the bookies' favourite to be Ireland's next Taoiseach. She would be the first woman to reach the office, and the first Sinn Féin leader ever to enter government in the Republic of Ireland. But how did a quintessentially bourgeois woman become the leader of a political party with such recent links to terrorism?This exhaustively researched biography unearths new details of her family background and her privileged education, as well as her initial foray into politics through the more traditional Fianna Fáil party. It explores her unusually late commitment to political life and traces her mysterious but meteoric rise through the ranks of Sinn Féin and her relentless drive to reach the top of the party.Scrupulously fair and balanced, Mary Lou McDonald illuminates its subject's political awakening and her interactions with the hard men of the IRA, while posing important questions about the evolution and future of Sinn Féin.Trade Review[A] lively, punchy biography...Ross tells it crisply, bringing it all together and lacing the plot line of her career with interesting anecdotes and occasionally his own acerbic analysis. * Irish Times *Ross has penned an engaging narrative of this chameleon's career so far. A fine achievement considering the party slammed every door it could in his face. * Irish Independent *Extremely well-written...an ideal Christmas present for those interested in current affairs * Sunday Times (Ireland) *Ross has done a thorough job... in which he articulates so well the doubts that will play in the mind of potential voters * Literary Review *Table of Contents1: The Skeleton in the Cupboard 2: From the Cradle to the Altar: A Politics-Free Zone 3: Into the Arms of Gerry Adams 4: The Anointing of Mary Lou: The Fast Track to Europe 5: Desperately Seeking a Dáil Seat 6: The Mansion in Cabra 7: A Star Takes the Dáil by Storm 8: Adams Calls the Shots 9: Playing the Cemetery Game 10: To Hell and Back 11: A United Ireland or Bust

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Book SynopsisYesterday's Man: The Case Against Joe Biden exposes the forgotten history of Joe Biden, one of the United States' longest-serving politicians, and one of its least scrutinized.Over nearly fifty years in politics, the man called "Middle-Class Joe" served as a key architect of the Democratic Party's rightward turn, ushering in the end of the liberal New Deal order and enabling the political takeover of the radical right.Far from being a liberal stalwart, Biden often outdid even Reagan, Gingrich, and Bush, assisting the right-wing war against the working class, and ultimately paving the way for Trump.The most comprehensive political biography of someone who has tried for decades to be president, Yesterday's Man is an essential read for anyone interested in knowing the real Joe Biden and what he might do in office.Trade ReviewMeticulous * The National *

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Book Synopsis'He thought his happiness was complete when, as he meandered aimlessly along, suddenly he stood by the edge of a full-fed river.' One of the most popular children's books of all time, the dreamy world of the riverbank and Toad, Ratty, Mole and Badger is woven into the childhood of many who have been entranced by Kenneth Grahame's The Wind in the Willows. The Pitkin Guide brings these enchanting characters to life and explores their relationship with their author. The tragedy of his mother’s early death at their Scottish home and his father’s inability to come to terms with the loss of his wife propelled Kenneth Grahame and his siblings into another world – one that was to influence and inform one of the greatest children’s stories of all time. We look at Grahame’s life in London, the English countryside that inspired his writing, and the legacy he has left behind for future generations to enjoy. Includes illustrations by E.H Shephard, and map of the River Thames.

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Book SynopsisThe life of Empress Frederick, Daughter of Queen Victoria, Wife of Crown Prince of Prussia, Mother of Kaiser Wilhelm.AN UNCOMMON WOMAN is an enthralling biography of Princess Vicky - the Empress Frederick of Germany, the eldest daughter of Queen Victoria, the wife of Prussia's Crown Prince, and the mother of Kaiser Wilhelm II. It is also an epic story of wars and revolutions, the rise and fall of royal families, and the creation of modern Germany.Drawing on a vast amount of original family documents, Pakula offers an absorbing portrait of a brilliant and determined woman.

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Book SynopsisThe publication of The Origin of Species in 1859 was the culmination of more than twenty years of work by Charles Darwin and the ideas he presented in it would lead to a fundamental change in the way we think about life on earth. Evolution, as it came to be known, described how the extraordinary variety of life could develop and adapt by natural means rather than being entirely the creation of a supreme being. It was controversial at the time and now, as the bicentenary of Darwin's birth approaches in 2009, it remains the subject of bitter argument, with the opposing sides of the debate, the supporters of Darwinian evolution like Richard Dawkins and the proponents of intelligent design, as polarised as they have ever been. The theory, as revolutionary as it was, did not come out of thin air, but developed within the context of the scientific and philosophical thinking of the period. In order to arrive at a better understanding of the current debate, this book looks at key moments in Darwin's life and at the relevant aspects of the intellectual climate of the time which, taken together, would lead him towards the theory. It goes on to consider how evolution has developed, how its opponents have responded and how the arguments between scientific rationalism and religious faith are much the same now as they were in Darwin's day.Trade ReviewBill Price's Charles Darwin: Origins and Arguments in The Guardian round-up of the current crop of Darwin books -- Philip Ball * The Guardian *

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Book SynopsisDuring his long and extraordinary life, Winston Churchill was a central figure in almost all of the tumultuous events of the first half of the twentieth century. He was a soldier, writer and politician and, after the Second World War, he became one of the world's greatest statesmen. But his reputation rests on his role as a war leader and, in particular, on the period between May 1940 and July 1941, when Britain stood alone against Nazi Germany. Since his death in 1965, a few dissenting voices have cast him as, amongst other things, an opportunist and war-monger. But, as flawed as he undoubtedly was, most modern historians and politicians still hold him in the highest regard. In order to gain a better understanding of this remarkable man, this book looks at some of the key moments in Churchill's life, including his role in the British Army's last cavalry charge in the Battle of Omdurman and his escape from a prisoner of war camp during the Boer War. It then focuses on those momentous times when Churchill's courage and force of character almost single-handedly dragged Britain back from the brink of defeat in the Second World War and onwards towards an eventual Allied victory, making him, in the eyes of many people, one of the greatest of all Great Britons...Trade Reviewfocuses on those momentous times when Churchill's courage and force of character almost single-handedly dragged Britain from the brink of defeat in WWII and onwards towards an eventual Allied victory * Best of British Magazine *

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Book SynopsisWilliam Dargan’s career began in Wales on the Holyhead Road, working under the famous Scottish engineer, Thomas Telford. He went on to build roads, railways, canals and reservoirs, developed hotels and the resort towns of Bray and Portrush, laid out Belfast harbour, ran flax and thread mills and reclaimed vast tracts of farmland in Derry and Wexford. He operated canal boats and cross-channel steamers, constructed several canals and railways in England and in 1834 built Ireland’s first railway from Dublin to Dun Laoghaire. There is hardly a town in Ireland untouched by William Dargan. Alone he funded and constructed the 1853 Art-Industry Exhibition on Dublin’s Merrion Square as a boost to a country recovering slowly from the effects of the Great Famine just five years before. The National Gallery, raised largely in tribute to him, has a Dargan Wing and his statue stands in its grounds. Despite these achievements Dargan was a modest man. Several times he declined a peerage, a seat in parliament and even the baronetcy offered by Queen Victoria when she came to take tea at Mount Anville, his south Dublin mansion. This fascinating book, complete with over thirty archival photographs, draws on a range of original material and sources, much never seen in print before, to present an all-round portrait of a dynamic and engaging figure showing how his energy and abilities laid the foundations for Ireland’s later prosperity. The story of Dargan and his era will inform and uplift, evoking wider appreciation of a true patriot and an honourable man who did so much for his country.Trade Review'This is an absorbing and illuminating book, which with its images, maps and archival photographs gives us a very human portrait of a man whose energy and abilities laid the foundations for modern Ireland.' - Eamon Delaney, Irish Independent 'Scholarly and accessible ... In painstakingly drawing together the surviving evidence to complete this biography, Mulligan has undertaken a major challenge, which few others could have contemplated, let alone successfully concluded. We have been left with a far more nuanced view of Dargan and his engineering legacy.' Andy Bielenberg, The Irish Times 'Mulligan's research gives a credible account of the life of a modest, self-made entrepreneur who was a hero to the Irish people.' Peter Somerville-Large, Irish Arts Review

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Book SynopsisMaud Gonne was the beautiful and charismatic inspiration of Yeats’s love poetry, a leading activist in the Irish republican movement and the founder of Inghinidhe na hÉireann (Daughters of Ireland). One hundred and fifty years after her birth, everyone still knows her face, but her life remains something of a mystery. This biography pursues the story of what attracted Maud Gonne to a man like Lucien Millevoye, and what imprint the attachment left upon her. Once jilted by Millevoye, Gonne marched into a truly ill-starred marriage to Major John MacBride. The horrible truth of their mismatch is examined through the evidence entered by both parties in the divorce proceedings. The author uses the vast resources of newly digitised French newspapers and journals to track the celebrated Gonne and her beloved Lucien Millevoye through the sensational turmoil of the Third Republic in France and into the violent push for a republic in Ireland. The shifting levels of awareness, desire, and mutual complicity in self-deception on the part of W.B. Yeats and his muse are traced with subtlety. Ultimately, the effect of the group biography as a whole is to make Yeats’s early love poems, so long in the public eye, more visible than they have ever been.Trade ReviewMaud Gonne’s romances with Lucien Millevoye, W. B. Yeats, and John MacBride were carried on with so much drama that every reader will be grateful for the vast documentation that Adrian Frazier’s research has unearthed. The rich mixture of politics and sexuality is his muse, and this volume is as inspired as Frazier’s brilliant and hilarious biography of George Moore. Gonne seems to have lived for the sake of giving Frazier material. With its international cast of characters, its spies, lovers, poets, politicians, and princes, The Adulterous Muse is a captivating book as well as a splendid biography. —Lucy McDiarmid

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Book SynopsisHundreds of people first attended the first West Indian Carnival held at Seymour Hall, London, in 1959. In this book you will meet some of those pioneers and share closely in their struggle to found a new life.

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Book SynopsisWilliam Marwood was a shoemaker from Horncastle who in 1869 made his mind up to become an executioner and eventually became the chief executioner for London and Middlesex from 1874 until 1883, he always said 'I am doing God's work according to the divine command and the law of the British crown. I do it simply as a matter of duty and as a Christian. I sleep soundly as a child in my bed and never am disturbed by phantoms. When I get out of bed on the morning of an execution I kneel down quietly and ask God's blessing on the work I have to do, and ask mercy for the prisoner, I have a sense of divine mission and a belief that regardless of what deeds the condemned man has perpetrated in his time, he deserves to be dispatched as painless as possible.' It was Marwood who set out a table of "drops", calculated by the weight of the condemned, of between six and 10 feet that, together with the careful placing of the knot under the left ear, would guarantee "almost instantaneous" unconsciousness with death following very rapidly thereafter. Marwood was the first English executioner to refine the "long drop" which was already being used in Ireland, it meant an end to the convulsions and struggling that witnesses saw before Marwood's time, when death occurred from strangulation. He was also credited with the invention of the split trapdoor. He dispatched one hundred and eighty men and women during his twelve years as executioner. Born of poor parents he became known throughout England and Ireland as the 'Gentleman Executioner'. He would tap his victims on the shoulder, shake them by the hand and say 'Come along with me I shall not hurt you'. In justice to Marwood it may, however, be stated that in many cases criminals are described as dying instantaneously by his method of execution; and instances are not wanting of the hard death by means of the short drop, as in Calcraft's day.

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Book SynopsisHistorian, politician, diplomat and traveller, mountaineer and man of letters: James Bryce (1838-1922) was a towering figure at the heart of 19th century British politics and public life. A popular British ambassador to the United States and acclaimed author of "The American Commonwealth", he also established himself as the foremost foreign observer of the United States since de Tocqueville. His life is a parable of the intellectual in politics, for the same versatility that seemed ideally to complement the reforming energies of mid-Victorian Liberalism left him unprepared for a changing world. John Seaman joins history and biography to recount a life of heroic failure and stubborn triumph, and in so doing, sheds new light on 19th century British politics and public life.Table of ContentsAcknowledgements – ix Introduction – 1 1. Family – 15 2. Oxford – 23 3. Towards Public Life – 45 4. Liberal Intellectual in Politics – 85 5. History and Politics, Past and Present – 119 6. The American Commonwealth – 133 7. The Age of Discontent – 157 8. Empire – 171 9. Professional Optimist – 193 10. America, the Great War and Peace – 205 Epilogue – 217 Notes – 221 Select Bibliography – 261 Index – 275

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Book SynopsisIn Grenada in 1968, Dr Hilda Bynoe was appointed as one of the very first local governors in the Caribbean in the years just before formal independence, and the first woman, and black woman, to be appointed a governor anywhere in the Commonwealth. All previous governors had been white, male and British. The circumstances of her governorship in Grenada placed her at the heart of local, regional and international change, and later of conflict.Based on interviews with Dame Hilda, Merle Collins explores the wider themes of ancestry, the small nation state and regional identity, and race in Dr Bynoe's conception of her role. It provides an insightful portrayal of not just an exceptional woman, but the emergence of a new Caribbean middle class, many of whom emigrated to the UK in the 1940s and 1950s, a journey rarely described from a female perspective.Merle Collins was born in 1950 in Aruba. Her novels are Angel, set during the US invasion of Grenada in 1983, published in 1987 and re-issued by Peepal Tree in 2010, and The Colour of Forgetting (Virago, 1985). Her short-story collection The Ladies are Upstairs was published by Peepal Tree in 2011. She teaches Caribbean Literature at the University of Maryland.

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Book SynopsisComrade Sak charts Shapurji Saklatvala's movement from privileged Parsi beginnings as a member of the mega rich Tata dynasty to revolutionary communist. It examines his quarrel with Gandhi over the goals and tactics of the Indian independence movement and Saklatvala's not always easy relationship to the Communist International. Above all, the study documents his role in a radical phase of British Labour politics and the traditions of local activism and municipal socialism, which made his Battersea North constituency such a welcoming home.Drawn from his speeches and writings, Saklatvala's passionate and radical voice speaks clearly to our times when the mainstream left is in retreat. His words and life serve to remind us that the goals of ending inequality and making possible human liberation are too important to be consigned to forgotten history. This comprehensively revised 2020 edition replaces the 1998 publication.What Marc Wadsworth brings to the study are the insights of an active participant in the contemporary struggles to define a “political Black” position within the British Left. In exploring how Saklatvala negotiated the roles of Indian anti-imperialist, Indian British MP and Communist, Wadsworth has written an important study of African, Caribbean and Asian working class history in the 1920s and 1930s.Marc Wadsworth has worked as a senior news reporter at Thames Television, Chair of the NUJ's Black Members' Council and National Secretary of the Anti-Racist Alliance. He currently works as a freelance journalist and broadcaster.

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Book SynopsisThe story of John O’Connor Power is the story of Ireland’s struggle for nationhood itself. Born into poverty in Ballinasloe in 1846, O’Connor Power spent much of his childhood in the workhouse. From here he rose rapidly through the ranks of the Fenian Movement to become a leading member of the Supreme Council of the Irish Republican Brotherhood. In 1874 he was elected Member for Mayo to the British House of Commons where he was widely acknowledged to be one of the outstanding orators of his day. His speeches, both in Parliament and to the US House of Representatives, secured crucial concessions and support for the Irish cause. O’Connor Power campaigned tirelessly for the rights of tenant farmers, and pioneered the policy of obstructionism to this end. Following his address to a tenants’ rights meeting in Mayo, a protest was launched which would quickly become the powerful political force that was the Land League. He was, in short, one of a distinguished company, that indomitable Irishry of Charles Stewart Parnell, Michael Davitt and Isaac Butt, who made the dream of an independent Ireland a reality.

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Book SynopsisIreland's Suffragettes is a collection of biographical essays introducing the suffragettes who influenced Ireland's struggle for women's rights. Many of the women were political activists while others became militant suffragettes between 1912 and 1914. The struggle of the suffragettes is different to that of the UK, in that many Irish suffragettes were also included in the struggle for independence and the inclusion of women in the trade unions movement. Drawing on primary sources located in the National Archives and the National Library, Ireland's Suffragettes will bring to life not only the most famous names in the suffragette movement but also the other women who made women's rights their lives work.

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Book SynopsisForgotten Soldiers is an enthralling work of military history that shows how the courage, intelligence or simple good fortune of the individual can exert a decisive influence on the outcome of a battle or campaign. It tells the stories of fifteen unsung heroes, none of a rank higher than major, whose deeds changed the course of important battles and - arguably - the course of history. These vivid and gripping accounts - largely drawn from the Second World War, but with tales too from other conflicts - have each been selected to illustrate one of the dictums of the great Prussian theorist of war, Carl von Clausewitz, about the importance of having the right man in the right place at the right time. From the Roman standard bearer who plunged into the waves off Deal in 55 BC, saving Julius Caesar's military honour and political career, to the young Israeli tank lieutenant who almost single-handedly stalled the advancing Syrian armour in 1973, these are above all tales of courage. But it is not just courage that wins wars, as these stories demonstrate: such elements as surprise, determination, good intelligence, chance, insight, inventiveness and clear thinking all play their parts in eventual victory. And it may only take one man, often of lowly rank, his name largely forgotten, to embody such qualities for the effect to be felt around the world.Trade ReviewMany insights...are at the heart of Brian Moynahan's Forgotten Soldiers...It is the value of this book to show how the individual can still have a decisive impact - General Sir Mike Jackson, Daily Telegraph * Daily Telegraph *An excellent study of war at the sharp end - Mail on Sunday * Mail on Sunday *Table of ContentsList of Maps Introduction The Sturmpionier - The sergeant who ensured the Fall of France Action, Action, Action! Promptitude! - The lieutenant who defied orders to raise his own army of tribesmen - and won Pavlov's House - A marathon of defiance The Field Marshal, the Prime Minister and the Sergeant - Saviour of France in one war, traitor in the next The Biplane and the Battleship - A man takes on a steel mountain Cast Net - Throw Spear - The squad leader who started the Vietnam War as we know it The One-Shot Wonder - Holding a bridge, like Horatius The Bearer of the Eagle - A standard bearer saves the reputation of Julius Caesar The Bicycle Blitzkrieg - The profound effect of pedal power The Loose Cannon of Yom Kippur - The hitchhiker who took on a division Blood for Eleanor! - Two sergeants and the turn of the tide Killed Cold-Dede and Casten Over-Bordes - An unknown predecessor of Drake defeats an earlier armada "Truly, this man is the new Noah" - The maker of the amphibious assault Konfrontasi - The sergeant major who defied a president Petals of Rare Beauty - A sublieutenant outwits Admiral Donitz Bibliography Index

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