European history: medieval period, middle ages Books

Book SynopsisExam Board: OCRLevel: A-levelSubject: HistoryFirst Teaching: September 2015First Exam: June 2016This is an OCR endorsed resourceBuild strong subject knowledge and skills in A Level History using the in-depth analysis and structured support in this tailor-made series for OCR''s British period studies and enquiries.- Develops the analytical skills required to succeed in the period study by organising the narrative content around the key issues for students to explore- Enhances understanding of the chosen historical period, supplying a wealth of extracts and sources that offer opportunities to practise the evaluative skills needed for the enquiry- Progressively improves study skills through developmental activities and advice on answering practice exam questions- Helps students to review, revise and reflect on the course material through chapter summaries and revision activi

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Book SynopsisIn England in the eighth century, in the midst of the so-called Dark Ages, Offa ruled Mercia, one of the strongest Anglo-Saxon kingdoms. For over 30 years he was the dominant warlord in the territory south of the Humber and the driving force behind the expansion of Mercia s power. During that turbulent period he commanded Mercian armies in their struggle against the neighbouring kingdoms of Northumbria and Wessex and against the Welsh tribes. Yet the true story of Offa s long reign and of the rise and fall of Mercia are little known although this is one of the most intriguing episodes in this little-recorded phase of England s past. It is Chris Peers s task in this new study to uncover the facts about Offa and the other Mercian kings and to set them in the context of English history before the coming of the Danes.

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a huge range and FREE tracked UK delivery on ALL orders.

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a huge range and FREE tracked UK delivery on ALL orders.

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a huge range and FREE tracked UK delivery on ALL orders.

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Book SynopsisThe third volume of Alison Weir’s magisterial history of the queens of medieval England.‘Weir’s history books are as gripping as novels’ The TimesMedieval queens were seen as mere dynastic trophies – yet, as Alison Weir shows in this group biography, many of the Plantagenet queens of the High Middle Ages dramatically broke away from the restrictions imposed on their sex.Using personal letters and fascinating sources, Weir evokes the lives of these five extraordinary women: Marguerite of France, Isabella of France, Philippa of Hainault, Anne of Bohemia and Isabella of Valois. At the same time, she recreates a truly astonishing period of history – the turbulent, brutal Age of Chivalry.‘Places the reader in the midst of…complex, gripping events, telling the stories of five royal wives who lived through them’ BBC History‘Weir is an excellent storyteller’ SpectatorTrade ReviewWeir... paints a rich image of the lives these queens led... this book shines a light on the turbulent but often forgotten stories of the queens of this important period in English history. * BBC History Magazine *Weir's character sketches of all five women are engaging, her attention to detail and itineraries comprehensive. She is an excellent storyteller: descriptions are vivid and her knowledge of the sources is extensive. * Spectator *Stunning... [Weir has] brought those five queens to life like never before. I just raced through it - it has all the drama and suspense of a novel. -- Tracy Borman, praise for QUEENS OF THE CRUSADES[A] historian who has achieved popularity without sacrificing scholarly precision... She writes with the dramatic intensity of a novelist. -- Gerard DeGroot * The Times - praise for QUEENS OF THE CRUSADES *The book that I most anticipated this year was Alison Weir's Queens of the Crusades... Told with all of Weir's characteristic verve and exceptional eye for detail, this book should find its way into every history lover's Christmas stocking. -- Tracy Borman * BBC History Magazine *Books of the Year 2020* - praise for QUEENS OF THE CRUSADES *

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Book SynopsisWhen the First Crusade ended with the conquest of Jerusalem in 1099, jubilant crusaders returned home to Europe bringing with them stories, sacred relics, and other memorabilia, including banners, jewelry, and weapons. In the ensuing decades, the memory of the crusaders'' bravery and pious sacrifice was invoked widely among the noble families of western Christendom. Popes preaching future crusades would count on these very same families for financing, leadership, and for the willing warriors who would lay down their lives on the battlefield. Despite the great risks and financial hardships associated with crusading, descendants of those who suffered and died on crusade would continue to take the cross, in some cases over several generations. Indeed, as Nicholas L. Paul reveals in To Follow in Their Footsteps, crusading was very much a family affair.Scholars of the crusades have long pointed to the importance of dynastic tradition and ties of kinship in the crusading movement bTrade Review[To Follow in Their Footsteps] is a stimulating contribution to each of the two subjects it covers. Its publication should mark a new phase in critical discussion about how the crusades were interpreted in the middle ages. * The English Historical Review *[Paul] weaves a history of the texts produced about crusader families into an analytic framework that draws on the insights of anthropology, literary theory, and sociology. Eschewing the more traditional positivist reading of crusade chronicles and family histories, Paul lays bare the various and variegated components of these texts, highlighting the role of women, objects, orality, romance, ritual, and liturgy in the collective articulation of dynastic memory. To Follow in Their Footsteps marks a critical moment in the creation of a new cultural history of crusading. * Speculum *A prominent example (of many) from Medieval Europe of how past generations were invoked to mould the actions of their successors is supplied by the crusades. As Nicholas Paul puts it in this lively new account, crusading was always a family matter. And by family he means the dead as wll as the quick.... In the first part of the book, Paul provides a splendidly informative, illuminating and often entertaining description and analysis of what, how and where ancestral voices could have been heard by putative crusaders in the twelfth century. * Times Literary Supplement *Paul showcases examples of two effective monarchs constantly exhorted to crusade, Henry II of England and Alfonso II of Aragon. For all the literary energy expended trying to persuade them, neither actually went, although their sons did. In the end, Paul suggests noble memory kept the idea of the crusade alive long after it had been laid to rest by governments and Christian society. Summing Up: Recommended. * Choice *Paul's book is an important contribution to crusading scholarship inthat it expands the current scholarship on memory and commemoration.An added strength of this work lies in the variety of themes undertaken.This is a compelling work that opens the way for further scholarship andmethodologies on many aspects of crusading, not least of all the ways inwhich texts and objects intersected with individuals and families to providemeaning and context to the early crusaders. -- Kathryn Smithies * Parergon - Journal of the Australian and New Zealand Association for Medieval and Early Modern Studies *The real achievement of this book is not so much that it is the 'last word' on aristocrats and the Crusades. Rather, in the sheer variety of the themes that it tackles, it broadens scope for discussion of this crucial issue. Paul's book may well follow in Marcus Bull's footsteps, and set the agenda for the 'next generation' of investigation into the topic. That is no mean achievement for the author's first book. * Reviews in History *The result is a very thoughtful and thought-provoking study of the impulses, dynamics and mechanisms involved in the shaping of medieval social memories and identities, and the long-term impact of the crusades on Europe's collective memory and culture. It is by all measures an intensely meticulous piece of research, presented by the author in an engaging way. Those inspired to delve deeper into the 'memories' of the many families and individuals introduced throughout the chapters will be greatly helped by the book's four appendices. -- Jochen Schenk, University of Glasgow * History: Journal of the Historical Association *Table of ContentsIntroductionPart I. Family Memory: Form and Function 1. Ancestor, Avatar, Crusader 2. Relations 3. The Fabric of Victory 4. Missing Men 5. Opening the Gates ConclusionsPart II. Two Count-Kings and the Crusading Past 6. The Fire at Marmoutier 7. Triumph at Ripoll EpilogueAppendix 1: Dynastic Narratives and Crusading Memory Appendix 2: Dynastic Narratives in Local and Monastic Chronicles Appendix 3: Description of Paris, BNF, MS Lat. 5132 Appendix 4: Letter of "Clement" in Paris, BNF, MS Lat. 5132, f. 106Bibliography Index

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Book SynopsisAll the foul facts about the Vicious Vikings are ready to uncover,including including Viking Gods in wedding dresses, corpses ontrial and Death by booby-trapped statues. These bestselling titlesare sure to be a huge hit with yet another generation of TerryDeary fans.

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Book Synopsis''A magnificent story, brilliantly told. Read it!'' ANTHONY HOROWITZSIX GENTLEMEN, ONE GOAL - THE DESTRUCTION OF HITLER''S WAR MACHINE.In the spring of 1939, a top secret organisation was founded in London: its purpose was to plot the destruction of Hitler''s war machine through spectacular acts of sabotage. The guerrilla campaign that followed was to prove every bit as extraordinary as the six gentlemen who directed it. One of them, Cecil Clarke, was a maverick engineer who invented a lethal bomb. Another, William Fairbairn, was the world''s leading expert in silent killing. Led by dapper Scotsman Colin Gubbins, and aided by a group of formidable women, these six men and their sabotage attacks single-handedly changed the course of the war.''Terrific . . . a great read'' IAN HISLOP''Could not be faster-moving or more exciting'' LITERARY REVIEWPreviously published in hardback as The MiTrade Review[A] wonderful book . . . A fascinating and lively account . . . Milton writes with a pace and panache suitable to the subject * The Times *[A] wonderful book . . . A fascinating and lively account . . . Milton writes with a pace and panache suitable to the subject * The Times *[A] wonderful book . . . A fascinating and lively account . . . Milton writes with a pace and panache suitable to the subject * The Times *What sets Milton's work apart from other recounting is his behind-the-scenes access to the stories of the small group of men who put their minds to creating new ways to wage war * The Spectator *What sets Milton's work apart from other recounting is his behind-the-scenes access to the stories of the small group of men who put their minds to creating new ways to wage war * The Spectator *What sets Milton's work apart from other recounting is his behind-the-scenes access to the stories of the small group of men who put their minds to creating new ways to wage war * The Spectator *Milton is a meticulous researcher and masterful storyteller . . . a fascinating account of England's top-secret operatives who designed and deployed the chilling but effective weapons of clandestine warfare * USA Today *Milton is a meticulous researcher and masterful storyteller . . . a fascinating account of England's top-secret operatives who designed and deployed the chilling but effective weapons of clandestine warfare * USA Today *Milton is a meticulous researcher and masterful storyteller . . . a fascinating account of England's top-secret operatives who designed and deployed the chilling but effective weapons of clandestine warfare * USA Today *Milton is a first-rate storyteller . . . a rousing account - and celebration - of most insidious heroes * Wall Street Journal *Milton is a first-rate storyteller . . . a rousing account - and celebration - of most insidious heroes * Wall Street Journal *Milton is a first-rate storyteller . . . a rousing account - and celebration - of most insidious heroes * Wall Street Journal *[Giles Milton] writes with relish about the eccentrics who dreamed up the likes of anti-tank 'sticky bombs' while the adventures he describes could not be faster-moving or more exciting * Literary Review *[Giles Milton] writes with relish about the eccentrics who dreamed up the likes of anti-tank 'sticky bombs' while the adventures he describes could not be faster-moving or more exciting * Literary Review *[Giles Milton] writes with relish about the eccentrics who dreamed up the likes of anti-tank 'sticky bombs' while the adventures he describes could not be faster-moving or more exciting * Literary Review *This account of dirty bombs and derring-do rattles along with the pace of a spy novel * Daily Express *This account of dirty bombs and derring-do rattles along with the pace of a spy novel * Daily Express *This account of dirty bombs and derring-do rattles along with the pace of a spy novel * Daily Express *A magnificent story, brilliantly told. Read it! * Anthony Horowitz *A magnificent story, brilliantly told. Read it! * Anthony Horowitz *A magnificent story, brilliantly told. Read it! * Anthony Horowitz *Terrific . . . a great read * Ian Hislop *Terrific . . . a great read * Ian Hislop *Terrific . . . a great read * Ian Hislop *

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Book Synopsis2024 Independent Publisher Book Awards Winner Silver Medal, World HistoryNadia Comaneci is the Romanian child prodigy and global gymnastics star who ultimately fled her homeland and the brutal oppression of a communist regime. At the age of just 14, Nadia became the first gymnast to be awarded a perfect score of 10.0 at the 1976 Montreal Olympic Games and went on to collect three gold medals in performances which influenced the sport for generations to come, cementing Nadia's place as a sporting legend. However, as the communist authorities in Romania sought an iron grip over its highest-profile athletes, Nadia and her trainers were subjected to surveillance from the Securitate, the Romanian secret police. Drawing on 25,000 secret police archive pages, countless secret service intelligence documents, and numerous wiretap recordings, this book tells the compelling story of Nadia's life and career using unique insights from the communist dictatorship which moni

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Book SynopsisAcclaimed historian and best-selling author Antony Beevor vividly brings to life the epic struggles that took place in Second World War Crete - reissued with a new introduction.''The best book we have got on Crete'' ObserverThe Germans expected their airborne attack on Crete in 1941 - a unique event in the history of warfare - to be a textbook victory based on tactical surprise. They had no idea that the British, using Ultra intercepts, knew their plans and had laid a carefully-planned trap. It should have been the first German defeat of the war, but a fatal misunderstanding turned the battle round. Nor did the conflict end there. Ferocious Cretan freedom fighters mounted a heroic resistance, aided by a dramatic cast of British officers from Special Operations Executive.Trade ReviewAntony Beevor's unerring flair for the climate and the feel of the conflict ... his insight and his grasp of these events make them seem as though they had happened last week * Patrick Leigh Fermor, Daily Telegraph *Excellent . . . an arresting account of the whole war on Crete, including the ghastly experiences of the Cretans under German occupation * John Keegan, Sunday Telegraph *The best book we have got on Crete * Michael Foot, Observer *Beevor's account is excellent: fresh, lively and peppered with anecdotes * Mail on Sunday *'A new paperback edition is welcome for two reasons; reminding us that Beevor is a writer and historian of rare ability and for starkly illustrating the variables of war' * Neville Smith, Lloyd's List *

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Book SynopsisTrade Review"So damned readable and fun…This is the story of a woman fighting for her rights; it breaches the walls of history.” — The Australian “In The Good Wife of Bath, the author’s diligent work sorting fact from poetry creates a fictional but believable character who lives and breathes in every word of this satisfying, page-turning novel. Karen Brooks defiantly rewrites history into herstory. Cue the chorus: kudos!” — New York Journal of Books “The daughter of a merchant flouts 15th-century English convention to start a brewery in Brooks’s illuminating epic....Brooks’s attention to historical detail instills the novel with authenticity by including many historical figures and events, while Anneke’s lively voice keeps a strong grip on the reader as she works to overcome social prohibitions against women in business and find happiness and contentment. Brooks’s immersive page-turner does not disappoint.” — Publishers Weekly on The Lady Brewer of London “Richly atmospheric, romantic, and chock-full of period details, this fast-paced tale and its many plot twists and turns are likely to keep historical fiction fans riveted.” — Booklist on The Lady Brewer of London “Historian and novelist [Karen] Brooks shows her research and imaginative chops in a luscious and astonishingly affecting chronicle of family scandal, political unrest, and redemptive hope in 1660s London.” — Publishers Weekly (starred review) on The Chocolate Maker’s Wife “A sweeping tale brimming with historical details and figures…[this] sumptuous novel covers five eventful years that include a dreadful plague and the Great Fire of London.” — Booklist on The Chocolate Maker’s Wife

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Book SynopsisDivided Houses is a tale of contrasting fortunes. In the last decade of his reign Edward III, a senile, pathetic symbol of England''s past conquests, was condemned to see them overrun by the armies of his enemies. When he died, in 1377, he was succeeded by a vulnerable child, who was destined to grow into a neurotic and unstable adult presiding over a divided nation. Meanwhile France entered upon one of the most glittering periods of her medieval history, years of power and ceremony, astonishing artistic creativity and famous warriors making their reputations as far afield as Naples, Hungary and North Africa. Contemporaries in both countries believed that they were living through memorable times: times of great wickedness and great achievement, of collective mediocrity but intense personal heroism, of extremes of wealth and poverty, fortune and failure. At a distance of six centuries, as Jonathan Sumption skilfully and meticulously shows, it is possible to agree with all of these judgments.

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Book SynopsisThe French Revolution marks the foundation of the modern political world. It was in the crucible of the Revolution that the political forces of conservatism, liberalism and socialism began to find their modern form, and it was the Revolution that first asserted the claims of universal individual rights, on which our current understandings of citizenship are based. But the Terror was, as much as anything else, a civil war, and such wars are always both brutal and complex. The guillotine in Paris claimed some 1,500 official victims, but executions of captured counter-revolutionary rebels ran into the tens of thousands, and deaths in the areas of greatest conflict probably ran into six figures, with indiscriminate massacres being perpetrated by both sides.The story of the Terror is a story of grand political pronouncements, uprisings and insurrections, but also a story of survival against hunger, persecution and bewildering ideological demands, a story of how a state, even withTrade ReviewDavid Andres s' important new book is a major contribution in our efforts to rethink the French Revolution . . . It is also exceptionally well-written * Timothy Tacket, author of BECOMING A REVOLUTIONARY AND WHEN THE KING TOOK FLIGHT *Commendably fair and even-handed . . . A lucid study * Munro Price, SUNDAY TELEGRAPH *The most authoritative treatment we are likely to have for many years * William Doyle, INDEPENDENT *A meticulous account . . . stands beside Simon Schama's Citizens * LITERARY REVIEW *

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Book SynopsisWhy did the flushing toilet take two centuries to catch on? Why did Samuel Pepys never give his mistresses an orgasm? Why did medieval people sleep sitting up? When were the two ''dirty centuries''? Why did gas lighting cause Victorian ladies to faint? Why, for centuries, did people fear fruit?All these questions - and more - are answered in this juicy, truly intimate history of the home.Through the bedroom, bathroom, living room and kitchen, Lucy Worsley explores what people actually did in bed, in the bath, at the table, and at the stove. From sauce-stirring to breast-feeding, teeth-cleaning to masturbation, getting dressed to getting married, this book will make you see your home with new eyes.

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Book SynopsisIn 1482, Abu Abdallah Muhammad XI became the twenty-third Muslim King of Granada. He would be the last. This is the first history of the ruler, known as Boabdil, whose disastrous reign and bitter defeat brought seven centuries of Moorish Spain to an end. It is an action-packed story of intrigue, treachery, cruelty, cunning, courtliness, bravery and tragedy. Basing her vivid account on original documents and sources, Elizabeth Drayson traces the origins and development of Islamic Spain. She describes the thirteenth-century founding of the Nasrid dynasty, the cultured and stable society it created, and the feuding which threatened it and had all but destroyed it by 1482, when Boabdil seized the throne. The new Sultan faced betrayals by his family, factions in the Alhambra palace, and ever more powerful onslaughts from the forces of Ferdinand and Isabella, monarchs of the newly united kingdoms of Castile and Aragon. By stratagem, diplomacy, courage and strength of will Boabdil prolonged his reign for ten years, but he never had much chance of survival. In 1492 Ferdinand and Isabella, magnificently attired in Moorish costume, entered Granada and took possession of the city. Boabdil went into exile. The Christian reconquest of Spain, that has reverberated so powerfully down the centuries, was complete.Trade ReviewA lively biography ... [Drayson's] account revels in the high drama and spectacular gore of Boabdil's story, which are in plentiful supply. -- Dan Jones * Sunday Times *Charming and eye-opening ... Drayson does a splendid job of putting flesh on Boabdil's story -- Giles Tremlett * Guardian *Does justice to Boabdil's life and illuminates the lessons he offers. It is rare today to find a historian with a talent for brevity. In just 180 pages Drayson tells an enthralling and terribly sad story, while forcing the reader to reflect on the nature of heroism. -- Gerard DeGroot * Times *With elegant prose, her book clearly reconstructs the complicated politics of Granada and brings back to life a historical figure shrouded in mystery and legend. Her book is a pleasure to read and an excellent introduction to anyone wishing to delve into the twilight of Muslim Spain. -- Francis Soyer * BBC History Magazine *From her Cambridge vantage point, Dr Drayson retells this familiar but dramatic story. Her book is part history, part biography, and wholly readable...It would be a good book to read on a tren de alta velocidad speeding from Madrid to the south. -- Andrew Breeze * The Tablet *

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Book SynopsisExplore the wonders of the past in this stunning collection of over 160 historical artefacts, from Ancient Rome to the dynasties of China. Welcome to the museum.This rich and informative cabinet of curiosities beautifully displays objects of the ancient past. Wander from room to room to explore the magnificence of what civilisations have left behind over thousands of years of human history.With text written by expert Jo Nelson and stunning illustrations by Richard Wilkinson, this updated edition also features a foreword by Sir Tony Robinson.

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Book SynopsisThis definitive history of the Russo-Japanese War received rave reviews in its first edition-The Economist, for one, called it A remarkably lively and enjoyable account. As the 100th anniversary of the conflict approaches, Connaughton''s fascinating study will receive renewed attention and appeal to both military enthusiasts and the wider history market. In fascinating detail, he reveals the hopeless confusion of the Russian command structure and how the Russian naval defeat at Tsushima was as farcical as it was complete. Trade ReviewA remarkably lively and enjoyable account * THE ECONOMIST *Connaughton writes well with a serving officer's unfussy grasp * INDEPENDENT *Connaughton...has done an important service by reconstructing in detail the land campaign...that presaged the horrors of the First World War to come * US NAVAL WAR COLLEGE REVIEW *

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Book SynopsisThe story of Britain's colourful maritime past seen through the changing fortunes of the Cornish port of Falmouth.Within the space of few years, during the 1560s and 1570s, a maritime revolution took place in England that would contribute more than anything to the transformation of the country from a small rebel state on the fringes of Europe into a world power. Until then, it was said, there was only one Englishman capable of sailing across the Atlantic. Yet within ten years an English ship with an English crew was circumnavigating the world.At the same time in Cornwall, in the Fal estuary, just a single building a lime kiln existed where the port of Falmouth would emerge. Yet by the end of the eighteenth century, Falmouth would be one of the busiest harbours in the world.The Levelling Sea' uses the story of Falmouth's spectacular rise and fall to explore wider questions about the sea and its place in history and imagination. Drawing on his own deep connection with Cornwall, award-wTrade Review"This is a simply splendid book… Marsden’s writing is delightfully honed as well as being profoundly well-researched. The Levelling Sea is a microcosm of British history, contained within its covers like a ship in a bottle… Marsden takes a spyglass to the past and shows us it in vivid colour. Convincing in its detail and exciting in its sweep, this portrait of a port and its people sails deep into the reader’s imagination." Philip Hoare, Sunday Telegraph "A swashbuckling, but not unserious exploration of bravery, politics and 'fortunes…as liquid as the sea that yielded them.'’ Financial Times "Outstanding…his pitch-perfect feel for a phrase, plus a gift as sublime as James Hamilton-Paterson or Jonathan Raban’s for describing water, lifts The Levelling Sea far above ordinary history towards a state closer to poetry. This is the best of our island’s liquid tale, told the way it should be." Bella Bathurst, Sunday Times ‘Wonderfully poetic’ Sunday Times "…Had Philip Marsden simply used his travel-writing skills to create a hymn to our surrounding seas, and had he decorated it with magical vocabulary alone, the book would have surely been a flawless triumph. But Mr Marsden has done a great deal more than that." Simon Winchester, We Love This Book "The outstanding read of the season… This is a strange, absorbing story, brilliantly told… The best non-fiction expands the particular to the general, and perpetually discovers the marvellous in the ordinary. Marsden pulls this off every time… Read for a good story and beautiful, unpretentious writing. Read it for its introduction, a brilliant essay on seagoing, or for no particular reason. But read it." Marine Quarterly ‘[The growth of Falmouth is] a way of exploring our relationship with the sea, and its place in history and imagination.’ The Countryman

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Book SynopsisFrom the bestselling historian and acclaimed broadcasterA rich social history Paxman's book could hardly be more colourful, and I enjoyed each page enormously' DOMINIC SANDBROOK, SUNDAY TIMESVividly told Paxman's fine narrative powers are at their best' THE TIMESCoal is the commodity that made Britain. Dirty and polluting though it is, this black rock has acted as a midwife to genius. It drove industry, religion, politics, empire and trade. It powered the industrial revolution, turned Britain into the first urban nation and is the industry that made almost all others possible.In this brilliant social history, Jeremy Paxman tells the story of coal mining in England, Scotland and Wales from Roman times, through the birth of steam power to war, nationalisation, pea-souper smogs, industrial strife and the picket lines of the Miner's Strike.Written in the captivating style of his bestselling book The English, Paxman ranges widely across Britain to explore stories of engineers and inventorTrade Review‘[A] rich social history … Given coal’s image, a popular history might seem a foolhardy undertaking. Yet Paxman’s book could hardly be more colourful, and I enjoyed every page enormously … A mining community, as Paxman points out, was not just a place of dirt and danger. It was a “place where you slept and ate, visited the doctor, fell in love, had your children and entertained yourself” … One day soon, Paxman says, we may forget it was ever there. But his book does a fine job of bringing it alive, and deserves the widest possible readership’Dominic Sandbrook, Sunday Times ‘A rich seam of history … Coal made Britain top nation, but we don’t talk about it much … Much more than the story of an industry: it is a history of Britain from an unusual angle, vividly told, that throws new light on familiar features of our national landscape … Paxman’s fine narrative powers are at their best in his account of [miner’s strikes] … From its beginnings to its end, the industry that made our country what it is, for good and ill, was a brutal business. Paxman is determined that we should not forget it’Emma Duncan, The Times ‘[A] terrific history … Paxman is not afraid to call out poor behaviour … A rich seam for acerbic Paxman’Kathryn Hughes, Mail on Sunday ‘A really interesting, timely book’Steve Wright, BBC Radio 2 ‘The history of coal in Britain might not sound immediately gripping, but it was. Paxo brings it all to life – the men, women and children toiling in the dark, in conditions no one could endure today. The courage of those communities shines from every page’Conn Iggulden, Daily Express ‘Filled with fun facts … Jeremy Paxman is particularly good at explaining why coal mattered so much. He has a sharp pen, and a good eye for detail’Daily Telegraph ‘Paxman tells a good story and he doesn’t mind who knows it. Ebullient and condescending at the same time, he is particularly good on set pieces’New Statesman

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Book Synopsis Now a major film, this is a dramatic reinterpretation of the life of Mary Queen of Scots by one of the leading historians of this period. Trade Review‘A biography that reads as thrillingly as a detective story’ Miranda Seymour, Sunday Times ‘A masterpiece, full of fire and tragedy’ Amanda Foreman 'Rarely have first-class scholarship and first-class storytelling been so effectively combined' John Adamson, Daily Telegraph

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Book SynopsisThe five-month Monte Cassino campaign in central Italy is one of the best-known European land battles of World War Two, alongside D-Day and Stalingrad. It has a particular resonance now, because Cassino, with its multitude of participating armies - most notably the American 5th Army under the controversial General Mark Clark - was perhaps the campaign of the Second World War that most closely anticipates the coalition operations of today, with its ever-shifting cast of players stuck in inhospitable, mountainous terrain, pursuing an objective set by unknowing politicians in distant capitals, where victory is difficult to define. Monte Cassino was characterised by the destruction of its world famous Abbey: in retrospect, considered an unjustifiable act of cultural vandalism by the allies.The audit trail of decision-making to destroy an icon as well known then as the Eiffel Tower or Lincoln Memorial, is a chilling reminder that similar decisions are still being made in ITrade ReviewPeter Caddick-Adams has brought highly perceptive and much-needed fresh analysis to this new account of the Cassino battles. Both authoritative and compellingly written, his immense knowledge and understanding of the Second World War exudes off every page. It will unquestionably remain the standard text on this bloody episode of the war for many years to come * James Holland *

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Book SynopsisFor fifteen hundred King Arthur has remained a mystery. For the first time, King Arthur - The True Story discovers the historical King Arthur, his Camelot and his final resting place. The search for Arthur's Camelot leads to ancient ruins in the heart of Britain - an incredible Dark Age city recently unearthed by archaeology.

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Book SynopsisFrom Thomas Becket''s early life as a merchant''s son and his time as the Archbishop of Canterbury to his assassination in the Cathedral itself, this enlightening book brings to life a colossal figure of British history. ''Lively, effortlessly readable, superb. A beautifully layered portrait of one of the most complex characters in English history'' The Times ____________________This is the man, not the legend . . . Thomas Becket lived at the centre of medieval England. Son of a draper''s merchant, he was befriended and favoured by Henry II and quickly ascended the rungs of power and privilege. He led 700 knights into battle, brokered peace between warring states and advised King and Pope. Yet he lost it all defying his closest friend and King, resulting in his bloody murder and the birth of a saint. In award-winning biographer John Guy''s masterful account, the life, death and times of Thomas Becket <

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Book SynopsisWinston Churchill''s six-volume history of the cataclysm that swept the world remains the definitive history of the Second World War. Lucid, dramatic, remarkable both for its breadth and sweep and for its sense of personal involvement, it is universally acknowledged as a magnificent reconstruction and is an enduring, compelling work that led to his being awarded the Nobel Prize for literature. The Hinge of Fate describes how the tide of the war gradually turned for Britain and its allies from constant defeat to almost unbroken successes - Japan''s successful assault on the Pacific, Britain''s attempts to aid a beleaguered Russia and the defeat of Rommel at the Battle of Alamein.

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Book SynopsisWINNER OF THE DUFF COOPER PRIZE 2021SHORTLISTED FOR THE RUNCIMAN AWARD 2022A NEW STATESMAN AND TIMES LITERARY SUPPLEMENT BOOK OF THE YEAR 2021''Deserves to remain the standard treatment of the subject in English for many decades to come'' Roderick Beaton, Times Literary SupplementIn the exhausted, repressive years that followed Napoleon''s defeat in 1815, there was one cause that came to galvanize countless individuals across Europe and the United States: freedom for Greece.Mark Mazower''s wonderful new book recreates one of the most compelling, unlikely and significant events in the story of modern Europe. In the face of near impossible odds, the people of the villages, valleys and islands of Greece rose up against Sultan Mahmud II and took on the might of the imperial Ottoman armed forces, its Turkish cavalrymen, Albanian foot soldiers and the fearsome Egyptians. Despite the most terrible disasters, they helTrade ReviewThe Greek Revolution offers the best and fullest explanation, to date, for a series of events whose effects would change the entire geopolitics of Europe. Written with compassion and understanding for the human cost of that achievement, it deserves to remain the standard treatment of the subject in English for many decades to come. -- Roderick Beaton * Times Literary Supplement *Exquisite detail, altogether impressive ... a cornucopia of revolution. -- Gerard DeGroot * The Times *Compelling and disturbing, enriched by many new sources and excellent colour illustrations, and paying attention to the role of Ottomans and Albanians as well as Greeks, Mazower's book will become the standard account of this crucial revolution. -- Philip Mansel * The Spectator *An engaging combination of fast-flowing narrative and insightful analysis. -- Tony Barber * Financial Times *Encyclopaedic ... superbly subtle and thorough. -- Julian Evans * Daily Telegraph *With vivid detail, impeccable scholarship and great nuance, Mazower shows how the modern idea of the nation emerges out of the complex, sometimes random and often messy interactions between a plurality of agents ... An illuminating account of both the unifying power of myths about the past, and the dangers inherent when such myths are connected to political reality. -- Lea Ypi * New Statesman *As the subtitle of Mark Mazower's new book maintains, events in Greece 200 years ago helped shape modern Europe. His elegant and rigorous account also holds lessons for modern geopolitics: about the galvanising effects of violence, the role of foreign intervention and the design flaws in dreams. * The Economist *An epic narrative, both scholarly, breathlessly page-turning and packed with hauntingly romantic characters. Few historians dig so deep or with such sympathy into what history felt like to those living through it ... anyone in search of an opera plot should scour these drama-packed pages. -- Noonie Minogue * The Tablet *Broad in scope and colorful in detail, this is a masterful portrait of a historic watershed. ... [A] sweeping history of Greece's 1821 war of independence against the Ottoman Empire. [Mazower] recounts the revolution's inception among Greek emigrés with an idealistic dream of Hellenic nationalism and its actuality as a murky, eight-year struggle fought mainly by peasants and warlords who were motivated less by patriotism than by religious hatred of Muslims, factional vendettas, and mercenary self-interest ... A lucid, elegantly written, and often gripping account. * Publishers Weekly *On the bicentennial of the Greek revolution, a prominent scholar tracks the historical detail and enormous international significance of the improbable, largely grassroots uprising against the Ottoman Empire. Mazower, a Columbia professor and winner of the Wolfson Prize for History who has written extensively about Greece and the Balkans, ably ties together the many disparate threads of this complex history of Greek independence. ... An elucidating history that is relevant to understanding the geopolitics of Greece today. * Kirkus Reviews *

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Book SynopsisNAMED A BOOK OF THE YEAR 2020 BY THE SUNDAY TIMES, TIMES LITERARY SUPPLEMENT, THE TABLET AND THE LADY''This book is a terrific read ... I could not put it down'' Matthew Restall, Literary ReviewThe ''conquistadores'', the early explorers and settlers of Spanish America, have become the stuff of legends and nightmares. In their own time, they were glorified as heroic adventurers, spreading Christian culture and helping to build an empire unlike any the world had ever seen. Today, they stand condemned for their cruelty and exploitation, as men who decimated the ancient civilizations of the Aztecs and the Incas, and carried out horrific atrocities in their pursuit of gold and glory.In Conquistadores, Mexican historian Fernando Cervantes cuts through the layers of myth and fiction to immerse the reader in the world of the late-medieval imperialist. It is a world as unfamiliar to us as the Indigenous peoples of the New World were to the conquistadores themselves. Drawing upon a wide range of sources including diaries, letters, chronicles and treatises, Cervantes reframes the story of the Spanish conquest of the New World, set against the political and intellectual landscape from which its main actors emerged. At the heart of the story are the conquistadores, whose epic ambitions and moral contradictions defined an era.From Columbus to Cortés, Pizarro and beyond, the explorers we think we know come alive in this thought-provoking and illuminating account of a period that irrevocably altered the course of world history.''Enlightening ... Conquistadores makes for fascinating reading'' Jude Webber, Financial TimesTrade ReviewLively, complex, compelling ... Cervantes is too good a historian to try to whitewash the half-century of conquistador activities that is his focus. Atrocities accompanied conquistadores wherever they went, and Cervantes seldom shies away from detailing and condemning them ... This book is a terrific read ... I could not put it down. -- Matthew Restall * Literary Review *The arrival of the Spanish conquistadors in the Americas is one of the most exciting stories in history. Fernando Cervantes retells the story with learning and gusto, and is excellent on the wider context ... Blood flows at every turn, yet he persuasively argues that the conquistadors have been greatly misunderstood, and invites us to think again about one of the past's greatest turning points. -- Dominic Sandbrook * Sunday Times *Enlightening ... For a vivid portrayal of a clash of very different cultures, each equally astonishing to the other, and a group of men who "whatever their myriad faults and crimes ... succeeded more or less through their own agency, in fundamentally transforming Spanish and European conceptions of the world in barely half a century", Conquistadores makes for fascinating reading. -- Jude Webber * Financial Times *Superb ... Conquistadores tells the story of the discovery and conquest of the New World, and tells it very well. His portraits of Cortés, Pizarro, Hernando de Soto and the other conquistadors are as vivid as one could wish. -- Daniel Johnson * The Critic *Superlative ... subtly recasts Columbus, Cortés and Pizarro as ambiguous figures rooted in medieval ideas of holy war as much as in greed for gold. -- David Abulafia * Times Literary Supplement *Cervantes places the conquest of the Americas in Spain's political context ... a rich portrait of a period that is almost unimaginable today ... a persuasive reassessment. -- Daniel Rey * The Spectator *A superb new look at the conquistadors that puts them in their true context. -- Simon Sebag MontefioreA veritable compendium on the Spanish conquest of the Americas ... the book is welcome, and it most certainly meets its goal of presenting the colonisers as real people ... Professor Cervantes is a talented man, and his book is staggeringly thorough. -- Camilla Townsend * BBC History Magazine *Cervantes skilfully constructs a complex story, packed with disturbing nuance, which obliterates that simplistic narrative of brutal conquistadors subduing innocent indigenes. The depth of research in this book is astonishing, but even more impressive is the analytical skill Cervantes applies to his discoveries. He is equally at home in cultural, literary, linguistic, artistic, economic and political history. All this sophisticated scholarship could so easily result in an unwieldy book, easy to admire, but difficult to read. Cervantes, however, conveys complex arguments in delightfully simple language, and most importantly knows how to tell a good story. -- Gerard DeGroot * The Times *I found it impossible to put down Conquistadores: A New History by Fernando Cervantes. The Spanish conquerors of the Americas, usually despised as brutal men driven only by greed for gold, are shown to be more sophisticated, often more respectful of the dignity of the indigenous people than their British equivalents. The friars, Franciscan and Dominican, play a key role in these dramatic events, with emergence of a new understanding of universal human rights. -- Timothy Radcliffe * The Tablet *One of the best crossover academic books I've read for a long time. It's approachable, but breaks new ground in its assessment of the Spanish conquerors of Latin and Central America. Cervantes pitches it perfectly, immersing readers in the mental world of these historical figures, tracing the connections between their ideas and the reality it created. -- Rory Rapple * The Tablet *Fernando Cervantes has written a superb account of a world-changing half-century, interweaving narrative and analysis to compelling effect. The conquistadors were ruthless men, and did unspeakable things, but Cervantes wants us to understand them, rather than merely condemn. His book brilliantly illuminates a world-view which was in some ways closer to that of the indigenous peoples the conquistadors overpowered than it is to ours. -- Peter Marshall, author of Heretics and Believers: A History of the English ReformationWith reason, evidence, common sense, uncompromising candour and disciplined imagination Fernando Cervantes makes the conquistadores believable. He guides us expertly through the moral labyrinth of empire, amid warts and wonders, sins and saints, crimes and creativity. -- Felipe Fernández-Armesto, author of Out of Our Minds: What We Think and How We Came To Think ItA brilliant account of the men, from Columbus to Pizarro, who conquered and settled most of Central and South America. Fernando Cervantes tells a complex, subtle and persuasive story of their actions. It is a story not only of simple, brutal, conquest - but also of cooperation, of shifting alliances, of the infiltration of Europeans into regions which had for long been zones of almost ceaseless conflict, and of prolonged, if ultimately frustrated, attempts to build a society which would fuse European and indigenous legal, social and political systems. The entire history of European imperialism and colonization is in urgent need of complete revision. Conquistadors is an evocative, courageous, and immensely readable beginning. -- Anthony Pagden, author of The Enlightenment: And Why It Still MattersWritten with narrative flair and meticulous erudition, this splendid book strips away the stubborn fantasies and prejudices which tend to characterise accounts of the Spanish conquest of the Americas. Drawing on up-to-date scholarship, it describes the late-medieval mindset of the conquistadors and analyses the sophisticated political culture of the Spanish Monarchy to show how, from the violent encounters of mutually alien peoples, there emerged multi-ethnic and culturally diverse societies which proved to be surprisingly resilient and stable over three hundred years. This is an indispensable contribution to our understanding of the historical roots of our globalized world. -- Edwin Williamson, author of The Penguin History of Latin America

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Book SynopsisA NEW STATESMAN BOOK OF THE YEAR 2021''A model of research and analysis ... Townshend''s concise and intelligent book tells a painful story that is probably not yet over'' Simon Heffer, Daily Telegraph A compelling history of the turbulent journey to Irish independence, published for the centenary of the Partition In the aftermath of the horrors of the Irish Famine, the grim, distrustful relationship between Ireland and the rest of the United Kingdom deteriorated into a generations-long argument about ''Home Rule''. The unprecedented nature of the Irish problem - with most Irish people wanting to break away from the world''s largest Empire - made it extraordinarily difficult for either side to come up with a compromise. For many years actual independence seemed inconceivable. And then, as these bitter disputes continued, it became clear that under no circumstances would the Protestants be party to any of it. The Partition is a remarkable, clear-sighted and thoughtful account of how two unthinkable events - full Irish independence and the creation of the state of Northern Ireland - came to pass. The Irish nationalist claim to leave ran into a loyalist demand to remain, increasingly centred on the north-eastern Protestant community, threatening large-scale violent resistance. Here Charles Townshend lays out what is ultimately a tragic story, as partition became the only answer to an otherwise insoluble problem. The settlement of the Irish question drew in every major politician, conjured up heroes and villains, led to civil war and finally to Ulster''s catastrophic Troubles. The hard border has always been seen as a failure of both British and Irish statecraft, but has endured now for a century. The Partition brilliantly brings to life the contingency and uncertainty that created it. ''A timely and important book ... so much of its content remains relevant to understanding contemporary preoccupations and controversies'' Diarmaid Ferriter, Irish TimesTrade ReviewA model of research and analysis ... Townshend's concise and intelligent book ... tells a painful story that is probably not yet over. -- Simon Heffer * Daily Telegraph *A layered and mostly fair assessment of the dynamics, deal, prejudices and delusions that created the Border in Ireland ... This is a timely and important book, not just because of the centenary of the creation of Northern Ireland but because so much of its content remains relevant to understanding contemporary preoccupations and controversies. -- Diarmaid Ferriter * Irish Times *The completion of the trilogy is delivered with Townshend's characteristic scholarly panache ... he brings into unforgiving focus the carelessness, double-dealing and myopia which has bedevilled Britain's government of Ireland ... laconic but conclusive. -- Roy Foster * The Spectator *Townshend, a leading scholar of modern Irish history, has written an authoritative study of the origins of Ireland's partition. -- Tony Barber * Financial Times *An important book that provides not only a background to events one hundred years ago but is highly relevant to events that are still unfolding today ... Well written, full of insights and impressively topical. -- Taylor Downing * Aspects of History *

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Book SynopsisThis book covers in breadth issues of change, continuity, and cause and consequence. It will enable you to understand and make connections between the six key questions covered in the specification including: how was Britain governed, what pressures did governments face, how did the economy change, and how did society and social policy develop?Trade Review"5*. Excellent." * Amazon review, Nov 2015 *"How good can a textbook be? It has sections dividing the A Level and AS Level and just the A Level content, so you're not studying more than you need to. Has all the sections in depth for the brand new taught from 2015 specification. Will be using this to revise from next Summer". * 5* Amazon review, Oct 2015 *

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Book SynopsisThis Revolution and Dictatorship: Russia 1917-1953 Revision Guide is part of the bestselling Oxford AQA History for A Level series developed by Sally Waller. Written to match the new AQA specification, this series helps you deepen your historical knowledge and develop vital analytical and evaluation skills. This revision guide offers the clearly structured revision approach of Recap, Apply, and Review to prepare you for exam success. Step-by-step exam practice strategies for all AQA question types are provided (including Source Analysis and essays linked to Key Concepts), as well as well-researched, targeted guidance based on what we now know from the new AQA examiner''s reports on Russia. Our original author team is back, offering expert advice, AS and A Level exam-style questions and Examiner Tips. Contents checklists help monitor revision progress; example student answers and suggested activity answers help you review your own work. This guide is perfect for use alongside the Studen

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Book SynopsisBetween two attempts in 1800 and 1804 to assassinate Napoleon Bonaparte, the British government launched a campaign of black propaganda of unprecedented scope and intensity to persuade George III''s reluctant subjects to fight the Napoleonic War, a war to the death against one man: the Corsican usurper and tyrant.This Dark Business tells the story of the British government''s determination to destroy Napoleon Bonaparte by any means possible. We have been taught to think of Napoleon as the aggressor - a man with an unquenchable thirst for war and glory - but what if this story masked the real truth: that the British refusal to make peace either with revolutionary France or with the man who claimed to personify the revolution was the reason this Great War continued for more than twenty years? At this pivotal moment when it consolidated its place as number one world power Britain was uncompromising. To secure the continuing rule of Church and King, the British invented aTrade ReviewGroundbreaking -- Andrew Roberts * Sunday Times *What an astonishing story it all is, alternately inspiring and disturbing, a challenging addition to the Napoleonic canon . . . Clayton writes with a fine eye for detail. You smell the sewers in which these men (and some women) hid or escaped, the cells in which they were confined and sometimes died - and the fear * Spectator *In the era of fake news, this fascinating tale has obvious contemporary resonances * Times Literary Supplement *

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Book SynopsisA Time Travellers Guide to Ancient Rome - by one of the best historians of the ancient world

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Book SynopsisSince 1994, when the first Time Team programme was broadcast, archaeology has been brought to life for millions of people. This book combines the talents of two of the programme''s key players in an exciting series of reconstructions. Victor Ambrus has produced hundreds of sketches and drawings of archaeological sites and the lives of those who would have inhabited them. For the first time his drawings of individual excavations have been brought together to provide a dramatic chronological survey of British History. Add to this Mick Aston''s lively explanations and photographs and you have an archaeological collaboration which is guaranteed to delight. Mick Aston has contributed a passion and enthusiasm for archaeology which is infectious, so let Victor and Mick take you on a visual journey through history...

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Book SynopsisDr Janina Ramirez is a Sunday Times bestselling author, an Oxford lecturer, BBC broadcaster and researcher. She has presented and written over 30 hours of BBC history documentaries and series on TV and radio, and written seven books for children and adults.Trade ReviewWhat a wonderful book this is. Like the interlace stonework on an Anglo-Saxon cross, Janina Ramirez's themes are interwoven with a consummate skill. * Tom Holland *Ramirez blasts a powerful spotlight into the so-called Dark Ages and reveals a vibrant world, awash with colour and character. * Dan Snow *A wonderful book * Simon Schama *Entertaining ... carefully composed * Observer *Those who were recast as saints achieved a superhuman status, their real lives often obscured by hagiographies rich with legends of miracle-working from beyond the grave. Janina Ramirez's book portrays them historically – as living, breathing personalities within the world they knew, the places we have inherited. Her enthusiasm and instinct for relevance should welcome a broad new audience to medieval Church history. * Jonathan Foyle *What a wonderful book this is. Like the interlace stonework on an Anglo-Saxon cross, Janina Ramirez's themes are interwoven with a consummate skill. * Tom Holland *Ramirez blasts a powerful spotlight into the so-called Dark Ages and reveals a vibrant world, awash with colour and character. * Dan Snow *A wonderful book * Simon Schama *Entertaining ... carefully composed * Observer *Those who were recast as saints achieved a superhuman status, their real lives often obscured by hagiographies rich with legends of miracle-working from beyond the grave. Janina Ramirez's book portrays them historically – as living, breathing personalities within the world they knew, the places we have inherited. Her enthusiasm and instinct for relevance should welcome a broad new audience to medieval Church history. * Jonathan Foyle *What a wonderful book this is. Like the interlace stonework on an Anglo-Saxon cross, Janina Ramirez's themes are interwoven with a consummate skill. * Tom Holland *Ramirez blasts a powerful spotlight into the so-called Dark Ages and reveals a vibrant world, awash with colour and character. * Dan Snow *A wonderful book * Simon Schama *Entertaining ... carefully composed * Observer *Those who were recast as saints achieved a superhuman status, their real lives often obscured by hagiographies rich with legends of miracle-working from beyond the grave. Janina Ramirez's book portrays them historically – as living, breathing personalities within the world they knew, the places we have inherited. Her enthusiasm and instinct for relevance should welcome a broad new audience to medieval Church history. * Jonathan Foyle *

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Book SynopsisThrough runic inscriptions and behind the veil of myth, Jesch discovers the true story of viking women.Trade ReviewWell-illustrated, closely argued and fascinating. * THE GUARDIAN *A coherent, tangible and convincing picture of the age as a whole. * HISTORY *This excellent study gives a thorough and learned survey of the subject of the title, assembling evidence from a wide range of sources. * SCANDINAVICA *A fine example of the interdisciplinary nature of both viking and women's studies... the study demonstrates the author's mastery of an impressive array of linguistic and methodological tools. * JEGP (US) *A lively and compelling book...the author's particular strengths lie in her study of literature. Judith Jesch has captured the spirit of Viking women. Her book is a fitting tribute to them. * MEDIEVAL ARCHAEOLOGY *Table of ContentsPart 1 Life and death - the evidence of archaeology: the Westness woman; the archaeology of burials; woman in her home environment. Part 2 Women's lives in runic texts: runic inscriptions; objects with runes; memorial stones. Part 3 Female colonists: the evidence of names; the settlement of Iceland. Part 4 Foreign views: international contact in the Viking age; visitors to Scandinavia; Viking women outside Scandinavia. Part 5 Art, myth and poetry: female figures in the art of the Viking age; sexuality, wisdom and heroism - female figures in Norse myth and legend; women in Skaldic poetry; the audience of Viking poetry. Part 6 Warrior woman to nun - looking back at Viking women: warrior women; Old Norse literature; women in the sagas of Icelanders.

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Book SynopsisJoachim Fest was born in Berlin in 1926. He is the author of several highly regarded, award winning books on Nazi Germany including The Face Of The Third Reich; Hitler; Plotting Hitler's Death ; and Speer: The Final Verdict.

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a huge range and FREE tracked UK delivery on ALL orders.

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Book SynopsisAnyone who writes about the Tudor century puts his head into a number of untamed lions' mouths.' G.R. Elton, PrefaceGeoffrey Elton (19211994) was one of the great historians of the Tudor period. England Under the Tudors is his major work and an outstanding history of a crucial and turbulent period in British and European history. Revised several times since its first publication in 1955, England Under the Tudors charts a historical period that witnessed monumental changes in religion, monarchy, and government and one that continued to shape British history long after. Spanning the commencement of Henry VII''s reign to the death of Elizabeth I, Elton's magisterial account is populated by many colourful and influential characters, from Cardinal Wolsey, Thomas Cranmer, and Thomas Cromwell to Henry VIII and Mary Queen of Scots. Elton also examines aspects of the Tudor period that had been previously overlooked, such as empire and commonwealth, Trade Review‘The best full-length introductory history of the Tudor period… Written with great verve, it will delight both the scholar and the general reader.’ The Spectator‘Witty, muscular, clear, and above everything else, readable.’ Times Educational Supplement‘The best full-length introductory history of the Tudor period…Written with great verve, it will delight both the scholar and the general reader.’ – The Spectator‘Witty, muscular, clear and above everything else, readable.’ – Times Educational SupplementTable of ContentsForeword to the Routledge Classics Edition – Diarmaid MacCullochPreface to the third editionPreface to the second editionPreface to the first editionList of maps and diagrams The Tudor Problem Henry VII: Securing the Dynasty Henry VII: Restoration of Government The Great Cardinal The King’s Great Matter Thomas Cromwell and the Break with Rome The Tudor Revolution: Empire and Commonwealth The Crisis of the Tudors, 1540-58 England During the Price Revolution The Elizabethan Settlement The Growing Conflict, 1568-85 Seapower War, 1585-1603 The Structure of the Age: Conservatism The Structure of the Age: Renaissance The Last Years Revisions (1990) BibliographyIndex

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Book SynopsisThe No. 1 Bestseller in True Crime on KindleA major page-turner . . . fascinating' Nicola Tallant, Crime World podcast---November 1983. Early morning in suburban south Dublin. Businessman Don Tidey is snatched from his car and the IRA has its latest kidnap victim. Weeks later he is tracked down to an isolated Leitrim wood, but in saving Tidey's life a recruit garda and a soldier lose theirs.The Kidnapping is a brilliantly reported account of this landmark event by two accomplished journalists and Leitrim natives. Delving deep, they provide a chilling account of the lead-up to Tidey's abduction, the massive manhunt that followed, his bloody rescue, the botched attempts to capture his abductors and the devastating fall-out personal and national that followed.At the heart of The Kidnapping revealing interviews with Don Tidey speaking about his experience in detail for the first time and with the famili

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Book SynopsisIn the summer of 1553, against all odds, Mary Tudor was the first woman to be crowned Queen of England. This title tells of Mary's Spanish heritage and the unbreakable bond between Mary and her mother, Katherine of Aragon; of her childhood, adolescence, rivalry with her sister Elizabeth and finally her womanhood.Trade Review'An impressive and powerful debut' David Starkey Whitelock offers an unforgettable picture of Mary alone in darkness, waiting for labour to begin for a child that never was ... Her book gives us a woman who met impossible challenges with courage and conviction' Diane Purkiss, Financial Times 'A rollercoaster of a story' Antonia Fraser, Mail on Sunday 'Whitelock's fine new biography tells, instead, the story of the road that Mary did take, from cradle to throne' Sunday Telegraph

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Book SynopsisDepend on SHP''s comprehensive and best-selling core texts to enrich your understanding of A Level History.SHP Advanced History Core Texts are the Schools History Project''s acclaimed books for A level History. They offer:- clear and penetrating narrative - comprehensively explaining the content required for examination success- thought provoking and relevant activities that explore the content and help students think analytically about the subject- thorough exam preparation through carefully designed tasks that address the distinctive requirements of A Level history including guidance in essay writing and source-based investigations.- a wide range of revision strategies including structured content summariesAdditional features include: - A focus route pathway for independent learners- Learning Trouble Spots - which address common misunderstandings- diagrammatic summaries of key areas of content and historical issues - aTrade ReviewReview of the first edition:'This is a great book. You might have read Ron Grant's review of Hite and Hinton's Weimar and Nazi Germany in the same series. This is written at the same cracking standard.' * Andrew Hunt, Scottish Association of History, Resources Review *Table of Contents : SECTION 1: WHY DID THE TSARIST REGIME COLLAPSE IN 1917? 1.: What were the challenges facing the tsarist regime at the end of the nineteenth century? 2.: 1905 3.: Could Tsarism have survived? 1906–1917 : SECTION 2: WHY WERE THE BOLSHEVIKS SUCCESSFUL IN OCTOBER 1917? 4.: Was the Provisional Government doomed from the beginning? 5.: Was the Bolshevik seizure of power in October 1917 inevitable? : SECTION 3: THE CONSOLIDATION OF THE BOLSHEVIK STATE 1917–24 6.: How did the Bolsheviks survive the first few months in power? 7.: How did the Bolsheviks win the Civil War? 8.: How was the Bolshevik state consolidated between 1921 and 1924? : SECTION 4: FROM LENIN TO STALIN 9.: How significant is Lenin’s contribution to history? 10.: How did Stalin emerge as the sole leader of Russia? : SECTION 5: HOW DID STALIN TRANSFORM THE ECONOMY OF THE USSR IN THE 1930S? 11.: Why did Stalin make the Great Turn? 12.: Was collectivisation a success? 13.: How well planned were the Five-Year Plans? : SECTION 6: HOW DID STALIN CONTROL THE USSR? 14.: How far was Stalin responsible for the Great Terror? 15.: The cult of the personality : SECTION 7: SOVIET SOCIETY IN THE 1920S AND 1930S 16.: Were Soviet culture and society transformed by the October Revolution? 17.: Culture and society in a decade of turmoil : SECTION 8: FROM PARIAH TO SAVIOUR: THE SOVIET UNION AND EUROPE 1921–1945 18.: Alone in a hostile world: how did Soviet foreign policy develop between 1921 and 1941? 19.: How was the Soviet Union able to turn disaster into victory in the Great Patriotic War? : SECTION 9: STALIN'S FINAL YEARS AND CONCLUSION 20.: Stalin’s final years 1945–53 21.: Conclusion

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Book SynopsisA dramatic retelling of the desperate battle of the Rhineland during World War II from the German perspective.The Rhineland was where Adolf Hitler sowed the seeds for the Second World War when he remilitarized it in breach of the Treaty of Versailles in 1936, and by late 1944 the Rhine provided the last major obstacle to the advancing Allied armies that were threatening the Fatherland itself.In this new history of this vital campaign, respected military historian Anthony Tucker-Jones describes the race against time as the Germans fought to stave off the inevitable. It was essential that the Germans held the west bank in order to protect the Rhine crossings at Cologne, Bonn, Koblenz and Remagen, but Hitler was intent on counter-attacking in the Ardennes in the winter of 1944 and this meant there was little left to bolster the defences of the Rhine.Rhineland relates the course of this desperate defence, describing the build-up of forces and operational plans before going on to tell the story of the campaign from the point of view of the forces involved, from the ordinary German soldier through to the high command.

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