Biography: historical, political and military Books
The History Press Ltd Hitlers Interpreter
Book SynopsisFluent in both English and French, he served as Hitler’s translator during negotiations with Chamberlain, the British declaration of war and the surrender of France, as well as translating the Führer’s infamous speeches for radio. He has contributed to He Was My Chief, I Was Hitler’s Chauffeur, With Hitler to the End and Hitler’s Last Witness.
£999.99
Rupa Publications India Pvt Ltd. Jeh: A Life of J.R.D. Tata
Book SynopsisPioneer aviator, numero uno industrialist, institution-builder, philanthropist and manager par excellence, J.R.D. Tata was a nation builder who continues to be a source of inspiration to both young and old. Having placed India on the aviation map of the world with his pioneering flight in 1932, he went on to guide the destiny of his brainchild Air India with the same enthusiasm and eye for perfection which informed his other ventures.As an industrialist, JRD is credited with placing the Tata Group on the international map. Apart from being a businessman par excellence, he was a patron of the sciences and the arts, a philanthropist and yet a man with a passion foriterature, fast cars, skiing and flying. As a philanthropist, he was respected for building and keeping alive the tremendously active Tata charitable trusts and adding some of his own. As a founder of institutions he played a seminal role in the founding of Tata Institute of Social Sciences, Tata Institute of Fundamental Research and the National Centre for the Performing Arts among many others and advocated family planningong before anybody had visualized that population would be a problem.But it is as an inspirer of men that JRD will always be remembered. With an uncanny knack for selecting the right man for the right job, his greatest achievementay in his ability to weld a team and get the best out of persons who differed greatly in outlook, character and ability. Filled with an unmistakable zest forife, his desire to instil and inspire a spirit of initiative and enterprise was always evident and heed those working for and with him, in the only way he knew: with affection.
£999.99
Fonthill Media Ltd Night Hawk: Flight Lieutenant Karl Kuttelwascher
Book SynopsisKarel Kuttelwascher may have had a German surname, but he was a Czech who became the scourge of the Luftwaffe bombers operating from France and the Low Countries in 1942. Flying with the RAF's legendary No. 1 Squadron, his destruction of fifteen aircraft in only three months earned him the DFC twice in a mere forty-two days, and made him the RAF's top night intruder ace. After his daring escape from German-occupied Czechoslovakia, he flew in the ferocious Battle of France and participated in the final weeks of the Battle of Britain as one of Churchill's 'Few'. During the early circus operations, he clocked up his first three kills before playing a part in the famous Channel Dash. However, it was in the lauded but lonely night intruder role that his individualistic skills came to the fore. Flying a long-range Hawker Hurricane IIC armed with 20-mm cannon, the man the wartime media dubbed the 'Czech Night Hawk' unleashed a reign of terror that included shooting down three Heinkel bombers in just four minutes.
£15.29
Haus Publishing Campbell-Bannerman
Book SynopsisRoy Hattersley brings the politician's to this concise history of the life of Henry Campbell-Bannerman, widely considered to be an ineffective Prime Minister; he was in fact the liberal of the 20th century to occupy the post.
£9.99
Yale University Press The Fortunes of Francis Barber
Book SynopsisThe story of the extraordinary relationship between a former slave and England’s most distinguished man of lettersTrade Review“Bundock is elegant and precise in this detailed account of the life of Samuel Johnson’s black servant and eventual heir.”—The Sunday Times ‘Best Paperbacks of 2021’ “A remarkable work of detection, a biography of a black Briton from the eighteenth century that brings to life a rich and vital aspect of our shared history.”—David Olusoga“At last, the biography that Francis Barber deserves. A meticulous yet imaginative book which teases out the full humanity of Dr. Johnson’s servant—and of the affection and hostility he generated among contemporaries.”—James Walvin, author of The Zong: A Massacre, the Law and the End of Slavery“Michael Bundock has written the first biography in over one hundred years of Francis Barber, Samuel Johnson’s black servant and heir. Acknowledging the groundwork laid over a century ago, Bundock goes well beyond earlier commentators in exploring the evolving relationship between Johnson and Barber.”—Vincent Carretta, University of Maryland“Like James Boswell before him, Michael Bundock is a lawyer, and in his biography of Samuel Johnson’s servant that background serves him well. Reading the evidence, some newly discovered, he brings Francis Barber to life, deepens our understanding of Johnson, enriches our sense of quotidian eighteenth-century London, and provides an unusual contribution to black history in England.”—Robert Folkenflik, University of California, Irvine“The Fortunes of Francis Barber is the most complete and accurate account of the life of Francis Barber that has ever been produced or is ever likely to be produced. This book far outstrips all earlier accounts.”—Robert DeMaria, Jr., Vassar College“A remarkable work of detection, a biography of a black Briton from the eighteenth century that brings to life a rich and vital aspect of our shared history.”—David Olusoga -- David Olusoga“No longer a footnote to Johnson’s story, Barber emerges as a man whose complicated story gives an inside view of what it was like to be a black man in 18th-century Britain.”—Gretchen Gerzina, author of Black London -- Gretchen Gerzina“Commendable not only for its careful research, but also for harnessing the considerable power of Barber's untold story. It will appeal to those who care about history, but it should appeal to those who care about humanity as well.”—Sara Collins, author of The Confessions of Frannie Langton -- Sara Collins“Elegant, precise, formidably informed. Bundock clears away a fog of falsehoods and rebalances the story.”—John Carey, Sunday Times -- John Carey * The Sunday Times *“Bundock weaves into the absorbing tale of Barber’s life a wealth of material relating to black people in England, especially in London, throughout the 18th century… He writes with clarity, sympathy and tact.”—Freya Johnston, Literary Review -- Freya Johnston * Literary Review *“A supremely skilled biography … Barber’s extraordinary and varied career allows Bundock to explore what life felt like for a black man in Georgian England.”—Kathryn Hughes, Guardian -- Kathryn Hughes * Guardian *“Bundock’s lively biography offers a fresh perspective on Johnson and locates Barber both in Johnson’s household and in the context of an empire beginning to debate the political and moral legitimacy of slavery.”—Publishers Weekly * Publishers Weekly *‘[Bundock] imaginatively recreates the textures of life in 18th-century England and shows an admirable determination to question received wisdom’—Henry Hitchings, the Guardian. -- Henry Hitchings * The Guardian *
£11.99
Princeton University Press Maria Theresa
Book SynopsisTrade Review"A Times Literary Supplement Book of the Year""A Financial Times Best History Book of the Year""A monumental feat of scholarship that represents the first comprehensive reappraisal of the empress' life and legacy since the mid-19th century. . . . Ms. Stollberg-Rilinger excels at both detail and grand scale, and translator Robert Savage never lets her down. Her description of the Habsburg Monarchy's complex machinery, her analysis of the arcane workings of the Holy Roman Empire, and her exposition of the family's marriage strategies are all masterpieces in miniature."---A. Wess Mitchell, Wall Street Journal"An outstanding work that repaints the entire history of mid-eighteenth-century Europe . . . . The great woman has found a truly great biographer."---A. N. Wilson, Times Literary Supplement"Barbara Stollberg-Rilinger’s biography is a landmark in the historiography of the Habsburg Monarchy. All praise and thanks are due to Princeton University Press for such a beautifully produced and well-translated volume, and also to the original German publisher (C. H. Beck) for allowing the author enough space to do justice to Maria Theresa’s life and times."---Tim Blanning, Times Literary Supplement"This sweeping work by Stollberg-Rilinger, an expert on the Holy Roman Empire, will stand as the definitive study for many years to come."---Tony Barber, Financial Times."More than a biography of a remarkable figure, this study presents a sweeping view of the eighteenth century."---Ben Riley, New Criterion"Impressive"---John Adamson, Literary Review"A behind the scenes guide to Maria Theresa’s rule . . . an examination of the historiographical layers that have gone into creating her image."---Catriona Seth, London Review of Books"An entertaining masterpiece that reveals sides of an extraordinary woman never before seen."---A. N. Wilson, Catholic Herald"What marks this work out from previous efforts is surely its well-rounded, holistic approach to its subject . . . .Stollberg-Rilinger’s text is long but not excessive in Robert Savage’s attractive translation. Her book could be a model for how such biographies of the great and the good are constructed: a wealth of contextual detail and quirky anecdotes are marshalled in pursuit of a grand vision which becomes more than the sum of its parts."---Miles Pattenden, Australian Book Review"The near-definitive biography of a brilliant, complex woman at the heart of European affairs is a work of the highest scholarship."---Paul Lay, Aspects of History"Epic and scholarly."---Elizabeth Fitzherbert, The Lady"This sweeping work . . . . will stand as the definitive study for many years to come."---Tony Barber, Financial Times
£29.75
London Publishing Partnership Architect of Prosperity: Sir John Cowperthwaite
Book SynopsisThis is a book about Sir John Cowperthwaite - the man Nobel Prize-winning economist Milton Friedman identified as being behind Hong Kong's remarkable post-war economic transformation. Despite there being some articles about him and effusive obituaries there have, until now, been no published biographies of Cowperthwaite. At the end of the Second World War, Hong Kong lived up to its description as "the barren island." It had few natural resources, its trade and infrastructure lay in tatters, its small manufacturing base had been destroyed and its income per capita was less than a quarter of its mother country, Britain. As a British colony it fell to a small number of civil servants to confront these difficult challenges, largely alone. But by the time of the handover of Hong Kong to China in 1997, it was one of the most prosperous nations on Earth. By 2015 its GDP per capita was over 40% higher than Britain's. How did that happen? Around the world, post-war governments were turning to industrial planning, Keynesian deficits and high inflation to stimulate their economies. How much did the civil servants in Hong Kong adopt from this emerging global consensus? Virtually nothing. They rejected the idea that governments should play an active role in industrial planning - instead believing in the ability of entrepreneurs to find the best opportunities. They rejected the idea of spending more than the government raised in taxes - instead aiming to keep a year's spending as a reserve. They rejected the idea of high taxes - instead keeping taxes low, believing that private investment would earn high returns, and expand the long-term tax base. This strategy was created and implemented by no more than a handful of men over a fifty-year period. Perhaps the most important of them all was John Cowperthwaite, who ran the trade and industry department after the war and then spent twenty years as deputy and then actual Financial Secretary before his retirement in 1971. He, more than anyone, shaped the economic policies of Hong Kong for the quarter century after the war and set the stage for a remarkable economic expansion. His resolve was tested constantly over his period in office, and it was only due to his determination, independence, and intellectual rigor that he was not diverted from the path in which he believed so strongly. This book examines the man behind the story, and the successful economic policies that he and others crafted with the people of Hong Kong.Trade Review'I have just read a fascinating new book called `Architect of Prosperity’ by Neil Monnery. It's about the role of Sir John Cowperthwaite, Financial Secretary of Hong Kong from 1961 to 1971 in setting the colony on the road to prosperity. It is an astonishing story… Its success derived from brilliant economic policymaking that involved reliance on market forces and minimising the role of the state... You might think that, given the economic record, Britain's economic establishment, including the serried ranks of mandarins and their political masters, might feel that they have a good deal to learn. They have. They should read Monnery's book.'Roger Bootle, The Daily Telegraph; `There are figures in history who deserve to be far better known and Sir John Cowperthwaite is one of those. Neil Monnery's account of the way he shaped Hong Kong into a dynamic and successful economy now far more prosperous than its colonial ruler, Britain, is all the more fascinating in the light of the current debate about what drives economic development. Policy makers today can learn a lot from the focus and the willingness to ignore the conventional wisdom of the time demonstrated by Cowperthwaite and his colleagues.' Diane Coyle, professor of economics at the University of Manchester and author of The Economics of Enough (2011) and GDP: A Brief but Affectionate History (2014); `Not before time we now have a fascinating book on one of those who helped create Hong Kong's thriving economy. Cowperthwaite was a believer in free market economics well before this idea became popular again. Hong Kong should be grateful to him.';Lord Patten of Barnes, last governor of Hong Kong and author of East and West (1999) and First Confession: A Sort of Memoir (2017)
£33.81
Inner Traditions Bear and Company Julius Evola: The Philosopher and Magician in
Book SynopsisAn intimate portrait of Evola and his wartime activities that rebuts many of the Fascist pseudo-myths about him • Traces the Baron’s activities in Italy, Germany, and Austria during World War II • Clarifies Evola’s relations with Nazism and Fascism and reveals how he passionately rejected both ideologies because they were totalitarian • Draws on personal conversations with those who knew Evola, new documentation never before made public, and letters from the Hakl and Scaligero archives Baron Giulio Cesare Andrea Evola, known to the English-speaking world as Julius Evola (1898–1974), was an Italian philosopher, magician, painter, occultist, Orientalist, linguist, and champion mountain climber. Often considered a pillar of Neo-Fascist thought, Evola opposed Fascism and called himself a “radical traditionalist.” In this exploration of Evola’s inner and outer life from World War II into the early 1950s, Gianfranco de Turris, who knew Evola when he was alive and is the executor of his estate, offers a new portrait of Julius Evola and debunks many of the pseudo-myths about his activities during the war. Drawing on personal conversations with those who knew him and new documentation never before made public, including letters from the Hakl and Scaligero archives, the author traces Evola’s activities--including his time on the run and living under assumed names--in Italy, Germany, and Austria from 1943 into the mid-1950s. He shares a thorough account of the Baron’s sojourn at Hitler’s headquarters in Rastenburg, his work for the German secret military services, and his passionate rejection of the racial theories that were the core of Nazi ideology. The author outlines Evola’s critiques of Fascism and Nazism and also explores Evola’s disapproval of the Italian Social Republic because it was destroying traditional values in favor of modernity. Detailing the Baron’s occult and magical work during the war, de Turris shows that the only thing Evola took with him when he escaped Italy was the UR Group papers, material that would later become the three-volume work Introduction to Magic. Sharing details from Evola’s long hospital stays during and after the war, the author proves that the injury that led to Evola’s paralysis was caused by an Allied bombing raid in Vienna and not, as rumor has it, by a sex magic act gone horribly wrong. The author shares photographs from the time period and the Baron’s correspondence with René Guenon on the possibility of restoring the spiritual and magical power of an authentic Freemasonry. Offering conclusive evidence that Evola was not part of the Nazi regime, de Turris sheds light on the inner workings of this legendary occult figure and what Evola believed was the best approach for the magus to take in the modern world.Trade Review“Inner Traditions’ release of Gianfranco De Turris’ account of Evola’s life during the second world war is a welcome and timely resource” * John Morgan, New Dawn *Table of ContentsFOREWORD Following the Trail of History by Giuseppe Parlato Translator’s Foreword by Eric Dennis Antonius Galati Author’s Preface to the First Edition Author’s Preface to the Second Edition Author’s Preface to the Third Edition ONE July 25 to September 8, 1943--A “Danse Macabre” TWO In Hitler’s Headquarters--On the “Immobile Train” THREE The Return to Italy FOUR Open City--Nine Months in Rome FIVE Contacts and Relations with the SD SIX Northward Bound across Enemy Lines SEVEN Incognito in Vienna EIGHT Urban Legends--Unsolved Mysteries NINE The Hypothesis of Rectified Freemasonic Rites TEN After the Bombardment ELEVEN From One Hospital to Another--From Austria to Italy TWELVE Julius Evola’s Activity during the Italian Social Republic APPENDIX I Documents, Maps, and Photographs APPENDIX II Articles from La Stampa Acknowledgments Index
£22.50
Quercus Publishing Emperors of Rome
Book SynopsisThe Emperors of Rome charts the rise and fall of the Roman Empire through profiles of the greatest and most notorious of the emperors, from the autocratic Augustus to the feeble Claudius, the vicious Nero to the beneficent Marcus Aurelius, through to the maniac Commodus and beyond. Interwoven with these are vivid descriptions of sports and art, political intrigues and historic events. In this entertaining and erudite work, acclaimed classical scholar David Potter brings Imperial Rome, and the lives of the men who ruled it, to vivid life.Trade Review'This is a useful guide to the men who were elevated to command Rome and rule the Roman Empire' Good Book Guide. * Good Book Guide *Table of ContentsPrologue: Being Caesar. GREAT CAESAR'S GHOST: A Succession of Strong Men - Rome from Gaius Marius to Caesar 107-44 BC. A Time of Turmoil - Octavian and Antony 44-30 BC. Foundations of the Empire - The House of Augustus 29 BC-AD 14. Eccentric Stability - Emperors from Tiberius to Nero AD 14-68. CAESARS AND THEIR SUBJECTS: New Dynasties - From the Flavians to the Antonines AD 68-180. Running the Empire - Emperors and Administrators AD 68-180. Civic Pride - Caesars and Their Cities AD 68-180. The Imperial Melting Pot - Roman Culture AD 68-180. REINVENTING CAESAR: The Slippery Slope - The Beginnings of Rome's Decline AD 180-211. Inadequates and Misfits - Emperors of the Early Third Century AD 211-238. Anarchy and Disorder - The Crisis of the Third Century AD 239-270. Steadying the Ship of State - Restoration of the Imperial Office AD 270-305. Beginnings of the Christian Empire - The Reign of Constantine AD 305-337. LOSING CAESAR: Carving up the Empire - From Constantine's Sons to Valens AD 337-375. Enemies at the Gate - The Barbarian Invasions AD 376-411. Final Decline and Fall - The Collapse of the Western Empire AD 411-476. Epilogue: Dido's Revenge. Glossary. Index.
£11.69
Everyman Hope Against Hope
Book SynopsisA harrowing yet uplifting account of Stalin's persecution of the Russian intelligentsia in the 1930s, and of one man - Osip Mandelstam (1891-1938), whose poetry, in spite of the unfolding tragedy of his life, preserved its unique creative gaiety. Nadezhda and Osip Mandelstam married in 1922. Nadezhda's memoir covers their last four years together. She begins in Moscow in May 1934 with the knock on the door at one o'clock in the morning, and her husband's arrest by the secret police for composing a satire of Stalin. She tells of his imprisonment, interrogation and exile to the Urals, where she accompanied him, and where he wrote his last great poems; his release and return to Moscow, only to be entrapped, rearrested and sentenced to hard labour in Siberia; of her own efforts to secure his release and to save his manuscripts (and to memorize all his poems in case she could not); of her discovery of the truth about his death in a transit camp near Vladivostock. For all its grim subject matter, it is a story of courage in adversity, and even humour finds a place. Nadezhda means 'hope' in Russian, and Hope against Hope is one of the greatest testaments to the value of literature and imaginative freedom ever written. It is also a love story that relates the daily struggle to keep both love and art alive in the most desperate circumstances. After years of circulating secretly in the Soviet Union it was published in the West in 1970, and has since achieved the status of a classic.Trade ReviewNothing one can say will either communicate or affect the genius of this book. To pass judgment on it is almost insolence - even judgment that is merely celebration and. homage -- George Steiner * The New Yorker *The witnesses to living on an edge under the tyrant are now many; none, not even Solzhenitsyn, has written better. -- Doris LessingHope against Hope puts [Mandelstam] at the centre of the liberal resistance under the Soviet Union. A masterpiece of prose as well as a model of bilgraphical narrative and social analysis. -- Clive JamesA Day of Judgment on earth for her age and its literature -- Joseph Brodsky
£17.09
Merrion Press Crean: The Extraordinary Life of an Irish Hero
Book Synopsis
£999.99
Cornerstone The Fatal Englishman: Three Short Lives
Book SynopsisTHE SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLER'Compelling and stunningly written' THE TIMES'Wildly exciting . . . a classic' SPECTATOR'Flawless . . . poetic . . . superbly portrayed' DAILY TELEGRAPH Three men. Three short, glittering lives. Young English painter Christopher Wood arrives in Paris in 1921 set on becoming the next great master. By day he studies; by night he attends parties with Picasso and Cocteau before paying too high a price for success. Richard Hilary, a confident if unprincipled Spitfire pilot, is suffering from terrible burns after being shot down. But the operations to restore him haven't deterred him from returning to action. And Jeremy Wolfenden, the cleverest of his set at All Souls College, leaves it all behind to report on the Cold War. But his louche private life makes him a plaything for the intelligent services, taking him on a fateful journey between East and West.The Fatal Englishman is a stunning tale of three short lives that burned brightly from a master storyteller.
£10.44
The History Press Ltd Edward Jenner: The Vaccination Visionary
Book SynopsisEdward Jenner is a giant of modern medicine. Throughout history, smallpox had plagued humanity with disfigurement, blindness and death. It was an incurable blight, the suffering of which Jenner helped to end.Surmising from the immunity of milkmaids that cowpox might be some defence against the ravages of smallpox, in 1793 he took some of the matter from a human case of cowpox and inserted it into the arm of a young boy. To test this, the first human-to-human vaccination, he subsequently inoculated the boy with smallpox itself, and found him to be immune from the disease. In 1979 smallpox was declared extinct.In this concise biography, Rob Boddice tells the story of Jenner’s life, his medical vision and his profound legacy. It is a story that encompasses revolutions in medical experimentation, public health provision and the prevention of other diseases, from anthrax to measles, but above all it highlights the profound impact that Jenner’s vision has had upon humanity’s battle against disease.
£10.44
Vintage Publishing Unruly Times
Book SynopsisUnruly Times is a superlative portrait of the relationship between Wordsworth and Coleridge, and a fascinating exploration of the Romantic Movement and the dramatic events that shaped it. With a novelist''s insight and eye for detail, A. S. Byatt brings alive this tumultuous period and shows a deep understanding of the effects upon the minds of Wordsworth, Coleridge and their contemporaries - de Quincey, Lamb, Hazlitt, Byron and Keats.Trade ReviewCritically acute and full of imaginative insight... Her scholarship is up to date, and her comments on the social history of the period are cogent and erudite * Times Literary Supplement *She is the best kind of critic because she judges an author on his or her own terms... The great merit of Byatt's writing - fiction and essays - is that it continually engages the reader's mind * Daily Telegraph *A subtle and scholarly work * Sunday Times *
£10.44
Random House Perkin
Book SynopsisThe story of Perkin Warbeck is one of the most compelling mysteries of English history. A young man suddenly emerged claiming to be Richard of York, the younger of the Princes in the Tower. As such, he tormented Henry VII for eight years. He tried three times to invade England and behaved like a prince. Officially, however, he was proclaimed to be Perkin Warbeck, the son of a Flemish boatman. A diplomatic pawn, he was used by the greatest European rulers of the age for their own purposes. All who dealt with him gave him the identity they wished him to have: either the Duke of York or a jumped-up lad from Flanders. It is possible that he was neither. It is also possible that, by the end, even he did not really know who he was. In Perkin Ann Wroe tells again a marvellous tale that is on the brink of being forgotten. She also dissects the official cover story. In doing so she delves into the secret corners of European history and produces a portrait of the late fifteenth century that is bTrade ReviewExtraordinary... Perkin is a masterclass in how biography can breathe life into the darkest and most inert pockets of the past * Guardian *An unforgettable book... The best book I have ever reviewed in these pages * Mail on Sunday *Gripping... With Perkin, Wroe has breathed new life into an obscure figure * Daily Mail *A book that captures the temper of an age * Financial Times *Rewards every moment of attention * Sunday Telegraph *
£16.19
Vintage Publishing The Divorce of Henry VIII
Book SynopsisAn eye-opening book, an intricate and fascinating story' Hilary Mantel1527. Henry, desperate to marry Anne Boleyn and ensure the Tudor line asks Pope Clement VII to grant him a divorce. Enter Gregorio Casali, an Italian diplomat hired to represent Henry's interests in the Vatican. Through six years of persuasion, threats and bribery Casali lives by his wits, playing off one powerful patron against another, negotiating with ambassadors from Spain, France and beyond, each crowding the Vatican to press their interests in the Tudor break up. Before it is done, Henry will decide to divorce not just Catherine, but the Church itself. Set against the backdrop of war-torn Renaissance Italy, The Divorce of Henry VIII combines a gripping family saga with a highly charged political battle between the Tudors and the Vatican to reveal the extraordinary true story behind history's most infamous divorce. (Originally published with the title Our Man in Rome)Trade ReviewAn eye-opening book, an intricate and fascinating story of an elusive man with an impossible job. A brilliant and impressive feat of original research, and necessary reading for anyone fascinated by the story of Henry’s divorce... Catherine Fletcher has allowed the story to tell itself, except that she’s been so clever in the telling of it, cutting through to what matters without over-simplifying * Hilary Mantel, author of Wolf Hall *A glittering debut...drawing on the unexplored riches of Italian Renaissance archives, enlarges the well known story, and to magnificent effect -- Miranda Seymour * Sunday Times *A marvel of close-up detective work -- Duncan Fallowell * Daily Express *Fletcher does her subject great credit. She makes no attempt to either embellish or simplify. She simply tells a cracking story well, in plenty of detail with clarity and insight. Above all she resists the temptation to overlay past events with modern cultural and emotional responses. Her protagonists are never anything but true to their selves and Fletcher richly deserves the title of historian. Jonathan Rhys Meyers need not apply. -- Sarah Vine * The Times *The greatest joy of this splendid book is that it dwells on context. You'll emerge with a keener sense of why the dynastic priorities of Henry VIII ("a mid-ranking northern monarch, a player on the European stage but far from the star of the show") managed to cause such a fuss -- Jonathan Wright * The Herald *
£14.39
Penguin Books Ltd Hitlers Pope
Book SynopsisJohn Cornwell is Senior Research Fellow at Jesus College, Cambridge, and an award-winning journalist and author. His THIEF IN THE NIGHT: THE DEATH OF POPE JOHN PAUL I (1989) was a world bestseller. He has written on Catholic issues for many publications including the Sunday Times, Independent, Observer and the Tablet.Table of ContentsThe Pacellis; hidden life; Papal power games; to Germany; Pacelli and Weimar; the glittering diplomat; Hitler and German Catholicism; Hitler and Pacelli; the Concordat in practice; Pius XI speaks out; darkness over Europe; triumph; Pacelli, Pope of peace; friend of Croatia; the holiness of Pius XII; Pacelli and the Holocaust; the Jews of Rome; saviour of Rome; Church triumphant' absolute power; Pius XII Redivivus. Sources: the "Silence" debate, and Sainthood.
£15.29
Penguin Books Ltd Nixon and Kissinger
Book SynopsisRobert Dallek is the author of John F. Kennedy: An Unfinished Life, 1917-1963 and he won the Bancroft Prize for his classic two-volume biography of Lyndon Johnson, Lone Star Rising and Flawed Giant. He is an elected fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences and of the Society of American Historians, for which he served as president in 2004-2005. He lives in Washington, D.C.
£16.99
Penguin Books Ltd Colour Bar
Book SynopsisSir Seretse Khama, the first President of Botswana and heir apparent to the kingship of the Bangwato people, brought independence and great prosperity to his nation after colonial rule. But for six long years from 1950, Seretse had been forced into exile in England, banned from his own country. His crime? To fall in love and marry a young, white English girl, Ruth Williams. Delving into newly released records, Susan Williams tells Seretse and Ruth''s story - a shocking account of how the British Government conspired with apartheid South Africa to prevent the mixed-race royal couple returning home. But it is also an inspiring, triumphant tale of hope, courage and true love as with tenacity and great dignity Seretse and Ruth and the Bangwato people ovecome prejudice in their fight for justice.
£11.69
Penguin Books Ltd Edward II Penguin Monarchs
Book Synopsis''He seems to have laboured under an almost child-like misapprehension about the size of his world. Had greatness not been thrust upon him, he might have lived a life of great harmlessness''The reign of Edward II was a succession of disasters. Inept in war, and in thrall to favourites, most notably the young nobleman Piers Gaveston, he preferred drinking, driving carts and rowing boats to the tedium of government. After twenty ruinous years, he was imprisoned and murdered. This remarkable book gives a glimpse into the abyss: the terrors of kingship.
£7.59
Oxford University Press Paul
Book SynopsisPaul is the most powerful human personality in the history of the Church. A missionary, theologian, and religious genius, in his epistles he laid the foundations on which later Christian theology was built.In his highly original introduction to Paul''s life and thought, E. P. Sanders, whose research on Paul has substantially influenced recent scholarship, pays equal attention to Paul''s fundamental convictions and the sometimes convoluted ways in which they were worked out.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 ReviewSanders makes one think afresh about all sorts of issues ... read this book ... * Hebrew Christian *Table of Contents1. Paul's mission ; 2. Paul's life ; 3. Missionary strategy and message ; 4. The return of the Lord and the resurrection of the dead ; 5. Theological presuppositions: monotheism and providence ; 6. Righteous by faith and being in Christ: Galatians ; 7. Righteous by faith and being in Christ: Romans ; 8. Christology ; 9. The law ; 10. Behaviour ; 11. The salvation of Israel and of the world: Romans 9-11 ; Notes on sources ; Further reading ; Index
£9.49
Oxford University Press Abraham Lincoln and Civil War America
Book SynopsisWhile the heart of the book focuses on the Civil War, Gienapp begins with a finely etched portrait of Lincoln''s early life, from pioneer farm boy, to politician and lawyer in Springfield, to his stunning election as sixteenth president of the United States. We see how Lincoln grew during his years in office, how he developed a keen aptitude for military strategy and displayed enormous skill in dealing with his generals, and also how his strategy evolved from a desire to preserve the Union into one of emancipation and total war.A former backwoodsman and country lawyer, Abraham Lincoln rose to become one of America''s greatest presidents. The biography offers a vivid account of Lincoln''s dramatic ascension to the pinnacle of American history.Trade Review"Abraham Lincoln and Civil War America is the best brief biography of Lincoln that I have read. Briskly written, concise, and informed by the latest scholarship, it is destined to become a standard book in its field."-- David Herbert Donald, Charles Warren Professor of American History Emeritus, Harvard University and author of Lincoln "In a notoriously crowded field, this book is something quite rare: a truly concise, authoritative overview of Abraham Lincoln and the Civil War. While scholars will admire its sure command of the subject and its deft treatment of complicated historical issues, this book will be particularly valuable for non-specialists. Written in clear and direct prose by one of the leading scholars in the field, it is an ideal choice for the student or general reader."--Douglas L. Wilson, McCabe-Greer Professor of History of the Civil War Era at Pennsylvania State University and Pulitzer Prize-winning author of The Fate of Liberty: Abraham Lincoln and Civil Liberties "Abraham Lincoln and Civil War America is the best brief biography of Lincoln that I have read. Briskly written, concise, and informed by the latest scholarship, it is destined to become a standard book in its field."-- David Herbert Donald, Charles Warren Professor of American History Emeritus, Harvard University and author of Lincoln "In a notoriously crowded field, this book is something quite rare: a truly concise, authoritative overview of Abraham Lincoln and the Civil War. While scholars will admire its sure command of the subject and its deft treatment of complicated historical issues, this book will be particularly valuable for non-specialists. Written in clear and direct prose by one of the leading scholars in the field, it is an ideal choice for the student or general reader."--Douglas L. Wilson, author of Honor's Voice: The Transformation of Abraham Lincoln "The best brief biography of Lincoln. Eloquently written, accessible to students, based on a synthesis of the scholarly literature, yet an original contribution."--Roy E. Finkenbine, University of Detroit MercyTable of ContentsPreface: 1: A Son of the Frontier 2: Thwarted Ambition 3: Rise to Power 4: A People's Contest 5: From Limited War to Revolution 6: Midstream 7: To Finish the Task 8: With Malice Toward None Chronology of Abraham Lincoln: List of Abbreviations: Notes: Bibliographical Essay: Index:
£36.48
The University of Chicago Press Honest Courtesan
Book SynopsisThe Venetian courtesan has long captured the imagination as a female symbol of sexual license. What then to make of the honest courtesan, who recast virtue as intellectual integrity. Veronico Franco was such a woman and this text reveals in her writing a passionate support for defedeless women.Table of ContentsForeword by Catharine R. Stimpson Acknowledgments Introduction 1: Satirizing the Courtesan: Franco's Enemies 2: Fashioning the Honest Courtesan: Franco's Patrons Appendix: Two Testaments and a Tax Report 3: Addressing Venice: Franco's Familiar Letters 4: Denouncing the Courtesan: Franco's Inquisition Trial and Poetic Debate Appendix: Documents of the Inquisition 5: The Courtesan in Exile: An Elegiac Future Notes Works Cited Index
£23.75
James Clarke & Co. Ltd Enlightenment Prelate Benjamin Hoadly 16761761
Book SynopsisA revisionist study of Benjamin Hoadly in the context of church, national and international politics in the eighteenth century.Trade ReviewWilliam Gibson's Benjamin Hoadly set a new standard for ecclesiastical biography on its first publication in 2004 and rescued its subject from caricature. This welcome second edition, taking account of the most recent scholarship, restates the convincing case for Hoadly's enduring influence and his centrality to theological debate for most of the eighteenth century. Nigel Aston, Honorary Fellow in History, University of Leicester, and Research Associate, University of YorkTable of ContentsForeword by James E. Bradley Acknowledgements Introduction 1. Hero and Villain 2. Early Life, 1676-1701 3. Political Apprenticeship in a London Pulpit, 1701-1710 4. Sacheverell, Adversity and Triumph, 1710-1717 5. The Years of the Bangorian Controversy, 1717-21 6. Hereford and Salisbury, 1721-1734 7. Hoadly at Winchester, 1734-1761 Conclusion Appendix: Hoadly in Poetry References Bibliography Index
£74.10
Columbia University Press In His Own Right
a huge range and FREE tracked UK delivery on ALL orders.
£82.80
University of Illinois Press Lincoln the Lawyer
Book SynopsisWhat the law did to and for Abraham Lincoln, and its important impact on his future presidencyTrade ReviewAwarded the Barondess/Lincoln Award of The Civil War Round Table of New York (2007). "Dirck is to be commended for giving us something new to think about in this fascinating book about our sixteenth president. . . . A persuasively and tightly argued book."--Fides et historia"Dirck sheds light on how the original Great Commoner would become one of America's greatest lawyers in the presidential mansion. Readable and insightful, this volume deserves a place on every library shelf."--Journal of American History
£16.14
University of Illinois Press James P. Cannon and the Origins of the American
Book SynopsisA study of James P Cannon's early years (1890-1928) that details how the life of a Wobbly hobo agitator gave way to leadership in the emerging communist underground of the 1919 era.Trade Review"Palmer's biography is destined to become a classic in the historiography of US Communism. It is the most serious treatment of the Communist movement's history in the 1920s since Draper's two volumes appeared approximately 50 years ago. . . . Palmer is currently preparing the second volume of his Cannon biography, chronicling the subject's Trotskyist years. I can hardly wait to read it."--Left History"Palmer's faithful, moving account of the choices Cannon faced has important lessons for us. One of those lessons is that, even as we weigh the decisions the choices and hopes of previous radical generations, we need to attend to our own imperatives and dreams."--Canadian Dimension"An important contribution to the study of American radicalism."--Journal of American History
£26.09
Yale University Press Samuel Ringgold Ward A Life of Struggle Black
Book SynopsisThe rediscovery of a pivotal figure in Black history and his importance and influence in the struggle against slavery and discriminationTrade Review“Samuel Ringgold Ward’s fascinating life is emblematic of the netherworld between slavery and freedom that many Black Americans navigated during the nineteenth century. Smart and well told, Blackett’s biography gives us a truly diasporic account of the struggles of one such important figure.”—Claude A. Clegg III, author of The Price of Liberty: African Americans and the Making of Liberia“This peripatetic former slave, abolitionist, journalist, and preacher who crossed nineteenth-century American, Canadian, British, and Jamaican borders has long eluded biographers. No longer. Through studious research, window-pane prose, and sober judgments, eminent historian R. J. M. Blackett finally grasps the fascinating Samuel Ward.”—Jeffrey R. Kerr-Ritchie, author of Rebellious Passage: The Creole Revolt and America’s Coastal Slave Trade“Ward emerges from Richard Blackett’s superb biography as a towering presence in the international antislavery movement who never shrank from ‘troubling the waters’ in his pursuit of racial justice.”—Julie Winch, author of A Gentleman of Color: The Life of James Forten
£22.52
Yale University Press Stalin as Warlord
Book SynopsisAn authoritative account of Stalin as a wartime leader—showing how his paradoxical policies of mass mobilization and repression affected all aspects of Soviet societyTrade Review“A superb new history. . . . Rieber analyses with clarity the impact of the war. . . . When a historical work of Alfred J. Rieber’s calibre emerges perhaps it, too, will chart Putin as warlord.”—Wendy Slater, Times Literary Supplement“How Stalin, for all his strategic misjudgements, succeeded in preparing for war, mobilizing his people and fighting to victory in Berlin remains an intriguing historical question. Stalin as Warlord is a thought-provoking and informed account set squarely in the many debates that surround Stalin’s role, but at the same time refreshingly perceptive, intelligently critical and lucidly written.”—Richard Overy, author of Blood and Ruins: The Great Imperial War, 1931–1945“A remarkably penetrating picture of Stalin’s wartime rule. Rieber brings out the contradictions between destructive and creative impulses that shaped the Kremlin’s exercise of power in those critical years. Timely reading for anyone seeking to understand the fundamentals driving Russia.”—Alex Pravda, Emeritus Fellow, St Antony’s College, University of Oxford“A sweeping and magisterial overview of Stalin’s qualities and defects as the leader of a great power during a huge war which involved coordinating numerous different areas of national life.”—Geoffrey Hosking, author of Russia and the Russians“Alfred Rieber’s account of Stalin at war cover important military themes and situations that have been overlooked. His book is a great piece of sleuthing and vividly written.”—Robert Service, author of Stalin: A Biography
£23.75
Taylor & Francis Nehru
Book SynopsisThis engaging new biography dispels many myths surrounding Nehru, and distinguishes between the icon he has become and the politician he actually was. Benjamin Zachariah places Nehru in the context of the issues of his time, including the central theme of nationalism, the impact of Cold War pressures on India and the transition from colonial control to a precarious independence.How did Jawaharlal Nehru come to lead the Indian nationalist movement, and how did he sustain his leadership as the first Prime Minister of independent India? Nehru''s vision of India, its roots in Indian politics and society, as well as its viability have been central to historical and present-day views of India.Connecting the domestic and international aspects of his political life and ideology, this study provides a fascinating insight into Nehru, his times and his legacy. Trade Review'A fresh presentation.' - The Hindu'Nehru is fun to read: lively, provocative … Zachariah cares deeply about his subject and has many good ideas.' - Institute of Historical ResearchTable of ContentsLIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS, CHRONOLOGY, PREFACE, Introduction, 1 The making of a colonial intellectual, 2 The young Gandhian, 3 ‘Ineffectual angel’, 1927–39, 4 The end of the Raj, Interlude – Envisioning the new India, 5 Consolidating the state, c. 1947–55, 6 High Nehruvianism and its decline, c. 1955–63, Conclusion: death, succession, legacy, NOTES, FURTHER READING, INDEX
£31.34
Faber & Faber Trickster Travels
Book SynopsisAcclaimed historian Natalie Zemon Davis's accessible and dramatic biography was widely hailed as a masterpiece and tells the story of Leo Africanus, a sixteenth-century Moroccan who embodies the rich and complex exchanges between Europe and Africa during the Renaissance.Trade Review"'Fascinating... No review can do justice to the intelligence and richness of Davis's book.' Allan Massie, Telegraph"
£13.49
John Wiley and Sons Ltd Africa Confidential
Book SynopsisUsing its formidable network of correspondents and contacts, Africa Confidential has produced 400 incisive biographies and commentaries on the people who are shaping Southern Africa, ranging from politicians, business people and the military to writers and religious leaders.Trade Review"Patrick Smith, his research-Sherpa Juliet Amissah and the team at the authoritative London-based newsletter Africa Confidential have produced a superb slice of political life in a much-misunderstood region. Apart from its use as a reference tool and contact manual, this book distils four turbulent decades through thumbnail sketches of vital players ... this is a definitive political snapshot of fin-de-siècle Southern Africa." Andrew Manley, Times Literary Supplement Table of Contents1. South Africa Country profile and 120 biographies. 2. Angola Country profile and 60 biographies. 3. Mozambique Country profile and 60 biographies. 4. Zambia Country profile and 80 biographies. 5. Zimbabwe Country profile and 80 biographies. 6. Research and editorial coordination: Juliet Amissah.
£98.32
University of Wales Press Geoffrey of Monmouth
Book SynopsisGeoffrey of Monmouth, a twelfth-century cleric, was the first person to compose a detailed and continuous history of Britain from its origins to the domination of the Anglo-Saxons. This book illustrates the close ties between Geoffrey's notion of British and Arthurian society and other materials from medieval Wales and Ireland.
£999.99
Vintage Jesus
Book SynopsisThe Jesus of Faith and the Jesus of History are two different beings, with two different stories. In this brilliant and bestselling biography, A. N. Wilson reappraises our readings of the Gospels and, with extraordinary insight and clarity, reinterprets the story of Jesus''s birth, his life as a carpenter and the dramatic events surrounding his arrest and trial. Written with profound scepticism, A. N. Wilson''s book triumphantly rescues Jesus from the tangles of Christian history, presenting us with a compelling portrait of the man behind the myth.Trade ReviewA.N. Wilson writes like an angel * New Statesman and Society *Those exceptional talents displayed in his biographies are combined with those equally splendid gifts of imaginative writing which characterise his novels * Literary Review *Many aspects of Wilson's book will anger or amuse believing Christians and serious New Testament scholars... Anybody who knows the Gospels at all should find their understanding much challenged and enriched by this book * Guardian *He writes beautifully... I found myself carried along on page after page -- William Westwood, Bishop of Peterborough * Mail on Sunday *A.N. Wilson's Jesus is a very good book indeed... His novelist's instinct is alert to the little details which bring Jesus to life...[it is] an excellent read and sends you scurrying back to buy the Gospels * Daily Telegraph *
£17.09
Rowman & Littlefield Publishers The Human Tradition in Modern Africa Human
Book SynopsisThis rich collection of biographies of African men and women adds a crucial human dimension to our understanding of African history since 1800. The last two centuries have been a time of enormous change on the continent, and these life stories show how people survived by resisting European conquest and colonial rule, by collaborating with colonial powers, or by finding a middle way to live their lives through tumultuous times. Bringing the story to the present, the book traces the era of independence since the 1960s through challenges to the rule of African dictators, struggles for the rights of women and mothers, the exploitation of youth and child soldiers, and economic booms and busts. By recounting the lives of real, identifiable people from societies across Africa south of the Sahara and from African communities in Europe, this unique book underscores the importance and power of individual agency in understanding the recent African past, a vital complement to analyses of broader, impersonal social and economic factors. Contributions by: Agnès Adjamagbo, Maryan Muuse Boqor, Dennis D. Cordell, José C. Curto, Mamadou Diouf, Andreas Eckert, Laura Fair, Tovin Falola, Doug Henry, Lidwien Kapteijns, Issiaka Mandé, Cora Ann Presley, Carolyn F. Sargent, Pamela Scully, Ibrahim Sundiata, and Marcia Wright.Trade ReviewThis remarkable book traces the experiences of significant actors who—without pretensions to heroism—changed society; women and men who took charge of destiny rather than submitting to it. These are stories that obliterate Afropessimism. Confronting the forces of transition, negotiating the constraints of gender, religion, and race; these individuals promoted a larger cause. Their histories illustrate resilience and the infinite capital of human creativity necessary to make their lives. The Human Tradition in Modern Africa is a great lesson in humanity, an inexhaustible resource for those who teach, and an inspiration for young scholars! -- Bogumil Jewsiewicki, Université Laval, Quebec CityThis collection of biographies and its masterful introduction reveals a fresh view on Africa's past. History grasped through biography becomes more concrete, more real, more contingent, hence richer and more satisfying to the imagination. It is undoubtedly the perfect complement to any text on modern African history. -- Jan Vansina, University of Wisconsin-MadisonThese life stories of everyday African men and women splendidly humanize and gender the complexity of modern African history. Fully participating in the making of their era, these people were living actors in the large-scale history of their continent. -- Catherine Coquery-Vidrovitch, Université Paris Diderot–Paris 7Table of ContentsIntroduction: People and History in Modern Africa Dennis D. Cordell Part I: Encounters: Two Worlds and New Worlds, 1800–1850 Chapter 1: José Manuel and Nbena in Benguela in the Late 1810s: Encounters with Enslavement José C. Curto Chapter 2: Efusetan Aniwura of Ibadan (1820s–1874): A Woman Who Rose to the Rank of a Chief but Whom Male Rivals Destroyed Toyin Falola Chapter 3: Moka of Bioko (late 1820s–1899): The Chief Who United a Central African Island Ibrahim Sundiata Part II: Fashioning African Identities in the Era of European Conquest, 1850–1910 Chapter 4: Hamet Gora Diop (1846–1910): Merchant and Notable from Saint-Louis in Senegal Mamadou Diouf Chapter 5: Samuel Johnson (1846–1901) and The History of the Yorubas: Christianity and a New Intelligentsia in West Africa Toyin Falola Chapter 6: Stories of Cape Slavery and Emancipation in the Nineteenth Century Pamela Scully Chapter 7: Mama Adolphina Unda (c. 1880–1931): The Salvation of a Dynastic Family and the Foundation of Fipa Catholicism, 1898–1914 Marcia Wright Part III: The Contradictions of Colonialism, 1910–1960: Exploitation and New Rights Chapter 8: Colonial Administrator Adolphe A. M. Taillebourg (1874–1934): Strict Interpreter of the Law or Humanitarian? Issiaka Mandé Chapter 9: Louis Brody (1892–1951) of Cameroon and Mohammed Bayume Hussein (1904–1944) of Former German East Africa: Variety Show Performers and the Black Community in Germany between the Wars Andreas Eckert Chapter 10: Siti binti Saad (c. 1885–1950): “Giving Voice to the Voiceless,” Swahili Music, and the Global Recording Industry in the 1920s and 1930s Laura Fair Chapter 11: Maryan Muuse Boqor (b. 1938) and the Women Who Inspired Her: Memories of a Mogadishu Childhood Lidwien Kapteijns and Maryan Muuse Boqor Part IV: Globalization, Family Strategies, and New Threats in the Era of Independence, 1960–2012 Chapter 12: Wambui Waiyaki Otieno Mbugua (b. 1928): Gender Politics in Kenya from the Mau Mau Rebellion to the Pro-Democracy Movement Cora Ann Presley Chapter 13: Tina (b. 1942) of Côte d’Ivoire: Success in the Masculine World of Plantation Managers Agnès Adjamagbo Chapter 14: Samba Sylla (b. 1948), Doulo Fofanna (b. 1948 or 1949), and Djénébou Traore (b. 1972): The Colonies Come to France Dennis D. Cordell and Carolyn F. Sargent Chapter 15: Foday (b. ca. 1974) Meets the Rebels in 1991: Diamonds Are Not a Boy’s Best Friend Doug Henry
£97.20
Pluto Press W.E.B. Du Bois
Book SynopsisAccessible introduction to the life and times of one of the towering figures of the American Civil Rights movementTrade Review'This is Marxist biography at its finest. W.E.B. Du Bois is the rare scholarly book that evokes the feeling that our own moment of radical challenge reverberates with the trials of another century, but Mullen proposes an internationalist perspective that re-enchants the story of this activist-intellectual with immediacy' -- Alan Wald, H. Chandler Davis Collegiate Professor (Emeritus), University of Michigan, author of the American Literary Left Trilogy (UNC Press)'Bill Mullen's illuminating biography is essential for understanding the political, personal, and intellectual challenges Du Bois faced in his lifetime search for a black revolutionary praxis' -- Mary Helen Washington, Professor of English at the University of Maryland, author of The Other Blacklist: The African American Literary and Cultural Left of the 1950s (Columbia University Press, 2014)'An accessible and valuable work' -- Ron Jacobs, Counterpunch'A must read for anyone interested in the life and work of this pioneering Black revolutionary' -- People's WorldTable of ContentsAcknowledgements Introduction: Revolutionary Lives Matter - Reclaiming W.E.B. Du Bois for Our Time Part I: Racial Uplift and the Reform Era 1. Childhood, Youth and Education in an Age of Reform 2. Becoming a Scholar and Activist 3. Socialism, Activism and World War I Part II: From Moscow to Manchester, 1917-45 4. Du Bois and the Russian Revolution 5. The Depression, Black Reconstruction, and Du Bois’s Asia Turn 6. Pan-Africanism or Communism? Part III: Revolution and the Cold War, 1945-63 7. Wrestling with the Cold War, Stalinism and the Blacklist 8. The East is Red: Supporting Revolutions in Asia 9. Final Years, Exile, Death and Legacy Notes Bibliography Index
£18.04
The History Press Ltd Julius Caesar pocket GIANTS
Book SynopsisAs the People's champion against a corrupt and murderous oligarchy, he began transformation of the Roman republic into a quasi-monarchy and a military and fiscal system that for four centuries provided western Europe, north Africa and the Middle East with security, prosperity and relative peace.
£8.07
The History Press Ltd Odette
Book SynopsisA revealing new biography of SOE operative Odette Sansom, first female winner of the GCTrade Review‘An engaging biography about one of the twentieth century’s most interesting women’ -- Dr Juliette Pattinson
£10.44
The History Press Ltd The King Arthur Conspiracy
Book SynopsisA controversial book offering evidence that Arthuir mac Aedain was the real King Arthur and locates his final burial place
£13.49
The History Press Ltd Thatchers Secret War
Book SynopsisThe first book to explore the secret campaign that Mrs Thatcher and her government waged before and after the Falklands War against 'subversives'Trade ReviewScary but enlightening -- Christopher StoneThis fascinating, revealing and engagingly written book gets to the heart of the secret state and undemocratic hidden political power through which UK citizens are today primarily ruled. -- Mark Curtis
£13.49
Little, Brown Book Group Murder on the Home Front A True Story of Morgues
Book SynopsisThe remarkable true story, as seen in the brilliant TV adaptation now showing on Netflix! Murder on the Home Front follows Molly Lefebure as she navigates working for the Home Office''s chief forensic pathologist while living in a bomb-stricken London during the second world war. One ordinary day in 1941, forensic pathologist Dr Keith Simpson asks a keen young journalist to be his secretary. Although the ''horrors of secretarial work'' don''t appeal to Molly Lefebure, she''s intrigued to find out exactly what goes on behind a mortuary door. Capable and curious, ''Miss Molly'' quickly becomes indispensible to Dr Simpson as he meticulously pursues the truth. Accompanying him from sombre morgues to London''s most gruesome crime scenes, Molly observes and assists the investigations into murders which, despite the war around them, are still being perpetrated.Trade ReviewGripping . . . like a pitch-dark version of Call the Midwife, dealing with the end of life rather than the beginning. * Sunday Mirror *A fascinating behind-the-scenes look at mid-century crime-fighting * Independent *Lefebure's youthful bravery shines through, while the grim conditions showcase her terrific wit.Preserves like a frozen capsule the British grin-and-bear-it spirit and vocabulary of the WWII years. * Kirkus *
£11.39
Random House USA Inc Grant and Twain The Story of an American
Book SynopsisIn the spring of 1884 Ulysses S. Grant heeded the advice of Mark Twain and finally agreed to write his memoirs. Little did Grant or Twain realize that this seemingly straightforward decision would profoundly alter not only both their lives but the course of American literature. Over the next fifteen months, as the two men became close friends and intimate collaborators, Grant raced against the spread of cancer to compose a triumphant account of his life and times—while Twain struggled to complete and publish his greatest novel, Adventures of Huckleberry Finn.In this deeply moving and meticulously researched book, veteran writer Mark Perry reconstructs the heady months when Grant and Twain inspired and cajoled each other to create two quintessentially American masterpieces.In a bold and colorful narrative, Perry recounts the early careers of these two giants, traces their quest for fame and elusive fortunes, and then follows the series of events that brought
£14.39
Boydell & Brewer Ltd Philip the Bold
Book SynopsisA biography of Philip and a study of the emergence of the Burgundian state under his aegis in the years 1384-1404, paying particular attention to his crucial aquisition of Flanders. There is comprehensive analysis of how Philip'sgovernment worked.Boydell & Brewer does a major service by the simultaneous reissue of Richard Vaughan's studies of the Valois Dukes of Burgundy. Four distinguished scholars add extra value by contributing an introductory chapter for each ducal reign, surveying its historiography since the original publication... The story, which Vaughan tells with verve, has its full share of dramatic turns[:] this is much more, though, than simply a narrative history; Vaughan's meticulousexplorations of the administrative and financial structures that underpinned ducal authority, and of the court and its culture, are integral to his exposition [...] His achievement remains monumental. There are no comparable, modern, in-depth studies of these four larger-than-life players on the late medieval European stage, in English or in any other language. They are, besides, eminently readable. Maurice Keen, TIMES LITERARY SUPPLEMENT Whenin 1363 the duke of Burgundy died without an heir, the duchy returned to the French crown. John II's decision to give it to his fourth son, Philip, had some logic behind it, given the independence of the inhabitants; but in so doing he created the basis for a power which was to threaten France's own existence in the following century, and which was to become one of the most influential and glittering courts of Europe. Much of this was due to the characterof Philip the Bold; by marrying the daughter of the count of Flanders, he inherited the wealth of the great Flemish towns in 1384, and the union of the two great fiefdoms to the north and east of France under one ruler meant thatthe resources of the duke of Burgundy were as great as those of the kingdom itself. From 1392 onwards, he was at loggerheads with the regent of France, his brother Louis, duke of Orleans, and this schism was to prove fatal to thekingdom, weakening the administration and leading to the French defeat by Henry V in 1415. Richard Vaughan describes the process by which Philip fashioned this new power, in particular his administrative techniques; but he also gives due weight to the splendours of the new court, in the sphere of the arts, and records the history of its one disastrous failure, the crusade of Nicopolis in 1396. He also offers a portrait of Philip himself, energetic, ambitious and shrewd, the driving force behind the new duchy and its rapid rise to an influential place among the courts of Europe.Trade ReviewRichard Vaughan describes vividly the character of Philip, the splendours of the Burgundian court and Philip's only failure, the crusade of Nicopolis in 1396. [...] A scholarly study based on unusually wide sources and constitutes a good and refreshing story. * HISTORICAL ASSOCIATION *On series: A major achievement in European historiography. * ENGLISH HISTORICAL REVIEW *His achievement remains monumental. There are no comparable, modern, in-depth studies of these four larger-than-life players on the late medieval European stage, in English or in any other language. They are, besides, eminently readable. -- Maurice Keen, TIMES LITERARY SUPPLEMENT
£24.99
Boydell & Brewer Ltd Charles the Bold
Book SynopsisErudite but highly readable.... An attractive and timely repackaging of an unrivalled classic of Burgundian studies. MEDIUM AEVUMCharles the Bold (1467-1477) was the last of the great Dukes of Burgundy. This historical and biographical work assesses his personality and his role as a ruler, and discusses his relationship with his subjects and his neighbours. It describes and analyses his policies, giving particular attention to his imperial plans and projects and his clash with the Swiss. The armies, the court and Burgundian clients and partisans are given separate treatment.Trade ReviewThis reissue of Vaughan's seminal series is welcome indeed. Nothing of this scale has been written before or since...on the Burgundian state.... Erudite but highly readable.... An attractive and timely repackaging of an unrivalled classic of Burgundian studies. * MEDIUM AEVUM *
£26.99
Oneworld Publications Coffee with Hitler
Book SynopsisThe untold tale of the Brits who infiltrated the Nazi hierarchyTrade Review'Compelling study.' -- Daily Telegraph'This engaging book offers a warning from history that remains terrifyingly relevant today.' -- Observer‘Squirmingly enthralling.’ -- The Spectator, Books of the Year 2022‘Fascinating… an important book, which must be taken into account by all who write about the subject in future. It is well produced and illustrated with excellent photographs. The story of Tennant, Conwell-Evans and Christie and their historical journey is an absorbing one, which casts light on many aspects of the period… They deserve the rehabilitation that Charles Spicer has eloquently accorded them.’ -- Literary Review'This is a complex tale, but as skillfully narrated by Spicer, it moves along briskly.' -- Washington Post'In this terrific debut, historian Charles Spicer genuinely enriches and deepens our understanding of the Thirties – the all-important decade in which the great and the good of these islands, scarred to the depths of their souls by the Great War, struggled to avoid a second global conflict. ... A truly illuminating, humane and sophisticated book – and, one hopes, the first of many by an exciting new talent on the historical scene.' -- Tortoise‘If ever there was a case of the road to hell being paved with good intentions, it is surely the story that Charles Spicer tells so brilliantly and empathetically in this exceptionally well-written book.’ -- David Cannadine‘In this very well-researched and well-written work of historical revisionism, Charles Spicer reminds us of the important fact that not every Briton who wanted better relations with Nazi Germany did so from malign motives.’ -- Andrew Roberts, author of Churchill: Walking with Destiny‘Charles Spicer tells the chilling story of how otherwise respectable men and women became pawns in a game of international intrigue with a reprehensible regime. The outstanding narrative reads like a thriller, taking readers from the salons of stately homes and St James’s clubs to the mass rallies and diplomatic backrooms of Nazi Germany. With more than a few spies, rogues, and plot twists along the way, Spicer tells a story that could be ripped from the pages of a novel.’ -- Bradley Hart, author of Hitler’s American Friends‘[An] absorbing history début.’ -- Caroline Sanderson, Bookseller‘Charles Spicer reveals the bold attempt of a handful of British intelligence agents to infiltrate and civilise the Nazi hierarchy. This unlikely band of mavericks – who included a butterfly-collecting Old Etonian and a left-wing Welsh pacifist – spent five doomed years wining and dining the leading henchmen of Hitler’s diabolical regime. Meticulously researched and told with panache, Coffee with Hitler sheds new light on both the Nazis themselves and the group who tried to tame them.’ -- Giles Milton, author of Churchill’s Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare‘Spicer offers a meticulously researched and pacy account of the behind-the-scenes soft diplomacy conducted by the Anglo-German Fellowship, a group of like-minded businessmen, politicians and academics united in the aim of preventing war with Nazi Germany. This fascinating study challenges the too easy dichotomy between the villainous and duped appeasers and those with Churchillian foresight and insight.’ -- Julie Gottlieb, professor of modern history, University of Sheffield‘A captivating and convincing revisionist history.’ -- Kirkus, starred review'As a lesson of history, this excellent book is a sober reminder to policymakers to look at the evidence in plain sight.' -- The Oldie‘The extraordinary story of three men, a Welsh historian and political secretary, a butterfly-collecting Old Etonian and a Great War fighter ace.’ -- Choice Magazine‘Spicer, who has given close, neutral and unerring scrutiny of the sources, proves to be a brisk, fair-minded and authoritative revisionist… Coffee with Hitler should make it impossible to continue to lampoon the Fellowship as an unsavoury gang.’ -- Richard Davenport-Hines, TLS‘Spicer’s book is a resounding success, retelling the fascinating history of the Anglo-German Fellowship.’ -- Darren O’Byrne, History Today‘This compelling book captures the double-edged nature of “one mainstay of British values” – giving “even the most blatantly disgusting people the benefit of the doubt.”’ -- The Week‘In this refreshingly objective book, Spicer profiles the Anglo-German Fellowship, a 1930s British collective which tried to “civilise the Nazis” – some from naivety, others out of ruthless pragmatism.’ -- Daily Telegraph
£11.69
Fablecroft Publishing Cranky Ladies of History
Book Synopsis
£22.49
Legare Street Press Memoirs of Stephen Burroughs
Book Synopsis
£19.90
LEGARE STREET PR The History of Currency 12521894 Being an Account
Book Synopsis
£21.80
