European history: medieval period, middle ages Books
Orion Publishing Co The Waiting Game
Book Synopsis''Written in a lively, accessible style, The Waiting Game is full of insight'' Suzannah Lipscomb, Literary ReviewEvery Tudor Queen had ladies-in-waiting. They were her confidantes and her chaperones. Only the Queen''s ladies had the right to enter her most private chambers, spending hours helping her to get dressed and undressed, caring for her clothes and jewels, listening to her secrets. But they also held a unique power. A quiet word behind the scenes, an appropriately timed gift, a well-negotiated marriage alliance were all forms of political agency wielded expertly by women. The Waiting Game explores the daily lives of ladies-in-waiting, revealing the secrets of recruitment, costume, what they ate, where (and with whom) they slept. We meet María de Salinas, who travelled to England with Catherine of Aragon when just a teenager and spied for her during the divorce from Henry VIII. Anne Boleyn''s lady-in-waiting Jane Parker was instrum
£17.60
Pen & Sword Books Ltd Under the Devils Eye
Book SynopsisA new and overdue definitive study of the British involvement in the (largely ignored) Salonika Campaign from the military angle.
£999.99
Oxford University Press The French Revolution A Very Short Introduction
Book SynopsisThe French Revolution is a time of history made familiar from Dickens, Baroness Orczy, and Tolstoy, as well as the legends of let them eat cake, and tricolours. Beginning in 1789, this period of extreme political and social unrest saw the end of the French monarchy, the death of an extraordinary number of people beneath the guillotine''s blade during the Terror, and the rise of Napoleon, as well as far reaching consequences still with us today, such as the enduring ideology of human rights, and decimalization.In this Very Short Introduction, William Doyle introduces the French old regime and considers how and why it collapsed. Retelling the unfolding events of the revolution, he analyses why the revolutionaries quarrelled with the king, the church and the rest of Europe, why this produced Terror, and finally how it accomplished rule by a general. Doyle also discusses how and why the revolution destroyed the age-old cultural, institutional, and social structures in France and beyond. In this new edition, Doyle includes new sections highlighting the main developments in the field since the first edition, before exploring the legacy of the revolution in the form of rationality in public affairs and responsible government.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.Table of Contents1: Echoes 2: Why it happened 3: How it happened 4: What it ended 5: What it started 6: Where it stands Timeline: Important dates of the French Revolution The Revolutionary CalendarFurther readingIndex
£9.49
Penguin Books Ltd The Hurlers
Book SynopsisIn 1882, a letter was published in the Irish Times, lamenting the decline of hurling. The game was now played only in a few isolated rural pockets, and according to no fixed set of rules. It would have been absurd to imagine that, within five years, an all-Ireland hurling championship would be underway, under the auspices of a powerful national organization.The Hurlers is a superbly readable account of that dramatic turn of events, of the colourful men who made it happen, and of the political intrigues and violent rows that marked the early years of the GAA. From the very start, republican and ecclesiastical interests jockeyed for control, along with a small core of enthusiasts who were just in it for the sport. In this authoritative and seriously entertaning book, Paul Rouse shows how sport, culture and politics swirled together in a heady, often chaotic mix.''Fascinating ... a brilliantly researched book on hurling in the early years of the GAA'' MTrade ReviewFascinating ... a brilliantly researched book on hurling in the early years of the GAA * Martin Breheny, Irish Independent *I heartily recommend it. Great picture of the emergence of modern Ireland amidst sport, nationalism, priests and assorted crazy hotheads ... Brilliant stuff * Dara Ó Briain *A story of pioneerism, passion, intrigue, skulduggery and commitment ... a must read for the many sports, and particularly hurling, supporters and admirers in today's version of Ireland * Irish Times *Brilliantly entertaining ... not just the gripping account of that first championship, but also of how the game of hurling itself was saved in the 1880s from what seemed certain extinction * Sunday Independent *Terrific -- Kieran Shannon * Irish Examiner *Both a sports and a history book, full of wonderful stories from a different time, with tales of passion, skullduggery and controversy, played out against the backdrop of what could be described as a civil war within the GAA and a land war that threatened to rip the country apart * RTE Culture *A brilliant piece of work * Matt Cooper *Can't recommend this enough. Amazing detail, brilliant story telling, full sweep of Irish life in the 1880's and all the seeds and fault lines of GAA life today brought to life * Ger Gilroy *Fascinating -- Frank McNally * Irish Times *Superb -- Jack Anderson * Irish Examiner *A page turner that continues to deliver chapter after chapter ... The Hurlers is a must read * Limerick Leader *A superbly readable account ... an authoritative and seriously entertaining book * Ireland's Own *Marries forensic historical research of the cultural and political contexts for the emergence of modern hurling with a polished style and storytelling ability that is rare among historians -- Diarmaid Ferriter * Irish Times Books of the Year *The perfect read for a brilliant hurling year -- Caitriona Lally * Irish Independent Top Books of 2018 *Brilliant -- Denis Walsh * Sunday Times *A vital look into the early years of the GAA and a perfect gift for both sport and history lovers -- Mark Gallagher * Mail on Sunday Books of 2018 *Marvellous ... the definitive account of this remarkable period when hurling came to life * Clonmel Nationalist *Flows along far more merrily and lightly than any history book has a right to and is especially enlightening when it comes to drawing the founding fathers Michael Cusack and Maurice Davin -- Malachy Clerkin * Irish Times, Sports Books of 2018 *Brilliant -- Kenny Archer * Irish News *
£10.44
Birlinn General William Wallace
Book SynopsisWilliam Wallace has always been one of the great heroes of Scottish history. By no means prepared by birth, education or training for leadership, Wallace nevertheless rose to prominence during the Wars of Independence, leading forces which broke the sequence of English victories and inspiring his countrymen in the process. While others yielded and collaborated, Wallace set an example of constancy and perseverence and became the Guardian of Scotland. Even his terrible death in London in 1305 can be seen as a victory as it provided inspiration for the continuance of the struggle against English domination. Despite Wallace's almost mythical status, modern-day perceptions of him are not always based on objective analysis of the historical facts. In this revised and expanded edition of his best-selling biography, Andrew Fisher investigates the man and his times to create a more authentic picture of Wallace than has ever been available previously. Trade Review'a tremendously popular account of one of Scotland's genuine heroes' * Scottish Life *'the first well-researched and reliable biography of Wallace . . . lively and interesting' * History Teaching Review *'the smartest, most savvy account of Wallace' -- Mel Gibson
£999.99
University of California Press Tales of Merlin Arthur and the Magic Arts
Book SynopsisTrade Review"For anyone interested in unique stories of historical myth, this book is worth it for the introduction alone. . . . Fantastic work has been done to bring this astounding historical epic to a wider twenty-first-century audience." * Buzz Magazine *Table of ContentsContents Introduction: Elis Gruffydd and His Chronicle Jerry Hunter Translator’s Note Patrick K. Ford THE TEXTS I. Earliest Times, Biblical and Ancient The Birth of Hercules The Birth of Alexander The Story of the Rood The Tower of Babel The Origins of Britain II. Merlin and Arthur The Birth of Merlin the Prophet Merlin and the Threefold Death Merlin and the Dreams of Gwenddydd Merlin’s Prophecy and the Reign of Caswalldan Custennin and the Rise of Gwrtheyrn/Vortigern Gwrtheyrn and Saint Germain Gwrtheyrn and the Falling Castle Gwrtheyrn’s Reign, Hengist, and Horsa Merlin and Stonehenge Merlin Explains the Dragon Image Uthyr Defeats the Saxons, Arthur Is Born The Death of Uthyr Pendragon Merlin Helps Arthur in His Earliest Battles Arthur and the Sword in the Stone The Death of Merlin Huail Son of Caw and Arthur Arthur Dreams of the Loss of Kingship Arthur and the Round Table The Final Battle, Arthur Dies Arthur’s Cave Found Charlemagne and Arthur III. Tales of Magic, Prophecy, and the Supernatural Maelgwn Gwynedd, His Wife, and the Ring The Story of Gwion Bach The Epiphany of Taliesin An Unfortunate Witch The Ring and the Necromancer Two Women and a Dead Husband A Sorcerer Who Fared Less Well Henry II: Piggyback Follies and an Ugly Priest The Prophesied Death of Edward I (the Confessor) Swearing on Bread in the Time of King Edward the Confessor The Reign of William II and His Death The Dream of Henry I and Matilda The Earl of Anjou Who Married a She-Devil Edward III and the Garter The Plague in the Time of Edward III Henry VI and His Gloves The Death of Edward I Llywelyn, Prince of Wales, and the Fool Richard I, the Lion, and the Heart Owain Tudur and Catherine de Valois and the Rise of the Tudors Henry VII and Necromancy Thomas More and the Garden of Pain Sir Thomas More and the Necromancer A Ghost Story for Henry VIII Rhobin Ddu Charles V and the Astronomer Glossary
£15.19
Cambridge University Press Hitlers Panzer Generals
Book SynopsisGermany''s success in the Second World War was built upon its tank forces; however, many of its leading generals, with the notable exception of Heinz Guderian, are largely unknown. This biographical study of four German panzer army commanders serving on the Eastern Front is based upon their unpublished wartime letters to their wives. David Stahel offers a complete picture of the men conducting Hitler''s war in the East, with an emphasis on the private fears and public pressures they operated under. He also illuminates their response to the criminal dimension of the war as well as their role as leading military commanders conducting large-scale operations. While the focus is on four of Germany''s most important panzer generals - Guderian, Hoepner, Reinhardt and Schmidt - the evidence from their private correspondence sheds new light on the broader institutional norms and cultural ethos of the Wehrmacht''s Panzertruppe.Trade Review'Already renowned for his brilliant studies of the war on the Eastern Front, David Stahel has once again used his forensic skills to great effect. Drawing on original research - notably a treasure trove of intimate correspondence, much of it never before published - Stahel has produced a revelatory portrait of the four Panzer commanders who spearheaded Germany's invasion of the Soviet Union in 1941. These military giants of historical myth re-emerge as complex, vulnerable and often deeply troubled human beings, who loved their families and their country but were also unswervingly loyal to the Nazi cause. This is revisionist history of the highest order. It is also a superb read.' Jonathan Dimbleby, author of Barbarossa: How Hitler Lost the War'In this penetrating, first-of-its-kind study, David Stahel critically examines the personal letters of the panzer generals. He skillfully strips away the layers of myth and exaggeration to reveal an intimate portrait of the men beneath-their personal lives, quirks, and flaws, as well as their complicity in Hitler's genocidal project. Readers will come away with a deeper understanding not only of Germany's command culture but the social world of the Third Reich.' David A. Harrisville, author of The Virtuous Wehrmacht: Crafting the Myth of the German Soldier on the Eastern Front, 1941–1944'Superb. David Stahel has become the foremost historian chronicling the war on the Eastern Front and this new study of four of the panzer generals is a major contribution to our understanding of how and why the German Army fought as it did and the consequences of their approach. Completely original in its study, this marks the first time any historian has so meticulously peeled back the layers of German high command in the war. The result is revelatory, immensely thought-provoking, compelling, and, frankly, eye-opening. It is a quite brilliant piece of work and deserves to be widely read for generations to come.' James Holland, author of Brothers in ArmsTable of ContentsIntroduction; 1. The letters of the Panzer generals: validity, veracity and verification; 2. The private generals: embracing family and war; body, mind and soul; Burdens of the heart; Burdens of command; 3. The public generals: military celebrity; Charm offensives; Status symbols; The power of privilege; 4. The criminal generals: enemy in the East; Criminal orders; The war behind the front; War of annihilation; 5. The military generals: Delusion and disclosure; Discord and dysfunction; Operational silences; Narcissistic command; Conclusion; Bibliography; Index.
£21.25
Yale University Press Queens of the Wild
Book SynopsisA concise history of the goddess-like figures who evade both Christian and pagan traditions, from the medieval period to the present dayTrade Review“Europe’s pagan traditions never seem to have been stamped out. Instead, parts of them have been with us all along, as [Hutton] demonstrates in his sprightly—and spritely—account of four female figures: Mother Earth; the Fairy Queen; the Lady of the Night; and the Cailleach of the Gaelic tradition.”—Peter Stanford, Daily Telegraph“Hutton’s arguments are thoughtful and convincing. . . . [He] propose[s] these archetypes as ‘new superhuman figures which operated outside of Christian cosmology.’”—Elizabeth Dearnley, Times Literary Supplement“This is Hutton at his most accessible. . . . It’s tempting but unsound to deduce that these commanding figures who stalk legend and poetry are the remnants of a pre-Christian religion, not least because Hutton unpicks the common assumption that an archaic, peaceful goddess- and Earth-worshipping culture predated a male-dominated sky religion.”—Suzi Feay, Spectator“What an extraordinary historian Ronald Hutton is. . . . Hutton’s account is an investigation not just into pagan goddess figures but into our abiding capacity to believe what we want to believe, and about how fashion governs thought. It’s salutary.”—Melanie McDonagh, The Tablet“Rather than being a pedant seeking to disenchant the world, Hutton treats mistakes and inventions as parts of the biographies of his superhuman subjects. Throughout, he is authoritative yet open-minded, scholarly without being needlessly combative.”—George Morris, Literary Review“From the first chapter on I was hooked, delighted by the way of the author’s clear, objective, rigorous but kindly thoughtful voice reads out from the pages; a wise voice indeed but also a hugely entertaining one.”—Eva Humphrey-Lahti, Druid Network“With his books on (to give only a selection) druids, witches and the ritual year, Ronald Hutton has established himself as a leading authority on paganism.”—Tom Shippey, London Review of Books“The book is a delight, beautifully designed and readable.”—Greenmantle“Complete with some wonderful, coloured illustrations, extensive notes and index, this is a must for anyone interested in the discussion concerning Pagan Survival.”—Morgana Over, Wiccan Rede“A wonderful book, deeply thoughtful and engaging, packed with great research and thought-provoking ideas.”—Marion Gibson, author of Witchcraft: The Basics“This splendid book greatly expands our knowledge of how apparently pagan divine figures of European tradition evolved. By deftly showing what we know—and what we only think we know—the author illuminates how these figures have mattered over the centuries, and continue to do so.”—Mark Williams, author of The Celtic Myths that Shape the Way We Think“England’s favourite historian has done it again! In this series of essays, he traces the histories of four popular feminine figures from folklore, showing us the vitality of human creativity and its shaping of tradition even under periods of religious domination.”—Sabina Magliocco, author of Witching Culture: Folklore and Neo-Paganism in America
£12.88
Regnery Publishing Inc The Last Imperialist
Book SynopsisThe British Empire, one of the most powerful forces in history, was also one of the most humane. Yet at its twilight, few were willing to defy the anti-colonial reaction that condemned millions to despotism under the regimes that replaced it. Sir Alan Burns was among them.In this lively and provocative work of history, Bruce Gilley vindicates Sir Alan’s view that decolonization was poorly managed and too swiftly executed, a view based not on imperialist nostalgia but on a sober assessment of the ravages of the twentieth century. Gilley demonstrates that Burns understood the benefits of colonial rule and correctly foretold the chaos that accompanied its rapid dissolution. Relying on previously unavailable documentation from Burns’s family, The Last Imperialist dethrones the revisionist historians and shatters their unbalanced accusations against European colonialism. This is history writing at its most courageous.
£999.99
Yale University Press Five Days in London May 1940
Book Synopsis
£12.00
Pen & Sword Books Ltd Stephen and Matildas Civil War
Book SynopsisThe Anarchy was the first civil war in post-Conquest England, enduring throughout the reign of King Stephen between 1135 and 1154. It ultimately brought about the end of the Norman dynasty and the birth of the mighty Plantagenet kings. When Henry I died having lost his only legitimate son in a shipwreck, he had caused all of his barons to swear to recognize his daughter Matilda, widow of the Holy Roman Emperor, as his heir and remarried her to Geoffrey, Count of Anjou. When she was slow to move to England on her father's death, Henry's favourite nephew Stephen of Blois rushed to have himself crowned, much as Henry himself had done on the death of his brother William Rufus. Supported by his brother Henry, Bishop of Winchester, Stephen made a promising start, but Matilda would not give up her birthright and tried to hold the English barons to their oaths. The result was more than a decade of civil war that saw England split apart. Empress Matilda is often remembered as aloof and high-h
£13.49
Simon & Schuster Ltd Tory Nation
Book Synopsis'A witty, lucid investigation into one of the great mysteries of our time' JONATHAN COE‘Should be read and enjoyed by readers on the left, right and centre’ David Edgerton, TIMES LITERARY SUPPLEMENT ________________________________________________Why do British politics so often play out on the Tories’ terms? What does this say about our democracy? In his revelatory book, Samuel Earle explores the roots of the current crisis and the real reasons for the Conservatives’ unsettling success, from their ruling-class origins in the eighteenth century and their disproportionate influence of the British press to their stranglehold over national identity. He sheds light on the Conservatives’ historic appeal among the working classes and why the Labour Party so often disappoints.Tory Nation describes the making of Britain through one party’s astonishing power oveTrade Review‘A witty, lucid investigation into one of the great political mysteries of our time: the enduring love felt by the British people for the party which regularly manages to persuade them, against all the evidence, that it has their best interests at heart’ -- Jonathan Coe, author of Bournville‘Finally, someone has explained why the British electorate behaves like Turkeys voting for Christmas. Sam Earle has set out clearly and eloquently why our democracy is incapable of solving our political problems’ -- Robert Verkaik, author of Posh Boys‘Eviscerating. Less a political book and more a mystery novel . . . untangles the riddle of the strange cognitive dissonance between the Tories’ bumbling, destructive political record and their inexplicable electoral success’ -- i-D'Explores the remarkable resilience of the Conservative party, which ought to be of interest to friend and foe alike’ * Spectator *Highly readable. Capably explains two innate Conservative traits that are beyond doubt: an unquenchable lust for power, and a deep belief in stooping to conquer. * Observer *'Not only brilliant but also steers well clear of facile ‘crisis of our politics’ analyses' -- Nesrine Malik, author of 'We Need New Stories'‘A rich, well-written and rewarding book narrated with brio and insight. It should be read and enjoyed by readers on the left, right and centre’ * David Edgerton, TLS *
£15.29
British Museum Press The world of Stonehenge
Book SynopsisA simply outstanding book' Astonishing' [A] rich treasure-trove of photographs of objects' The book truly is a delight, and is a book of the ancestors' in a very real sense.' Highly recommended.' - Sacred Hoop Magazine, March 2022 Stonehenge is one of the best known, but most misunderstood, monuments in the world. Contrary to common belief, it was not a static, unchanging structure built by shadowy figures or druids. Rather it represents the cumulative achievement of numerous generations who were woven into a complex and widespread network of cultural interactions, environmental change and belief systems. This publication, which accompanies the first exhibition about Stonehenge ever staged in London, uses the monument as a gateway to explore the communities and civilisations active at the time of its construction and beyond, between 4,000 and 1,000 BCE. Recent archaeological findings regarding the origin of Stonehenge's striking bluestones' have reignited interest in this ancient wonder, the people who built it and the beliefs they held. Through the iconic' structure, spectacular objects of precious and exotic material and more humble, personal objects, authors Duncan Garrow and Neil Wilkin examine the dramatic cultural and societal shifts that characterised the world of Stonehenge, including the introduction of farming and development of metalworking. Covering a period of thousands of years, the publication traces the appearance of the first monuments in the landscape of Britain around 4,000 BCE, the arrival of the bluestones from the Preseli Hills in Pembrokeshire 1,000 years later, all the way up to a remarkable era of cross-Channel connectivity and trade between 1,500 and 800 BCE. Through a new study of the enigmatic and beautiful objects made and circulated during the age of Stonehenge, connections are charted in the shared religious practices and beliefs of communities from across Britain, Ireland and continental Europe. The presence of other stone and wooden circles hundreds of miles from Salisbury Plain including Seahenge, discovered on a beach in Norfolk in 1998 is further evidence of these shared ways of thinking. At a critical moment in the narrative of Stonehenge, around 2,500 BCE, the significance of the cosmos and the heavens expressed through the construction of stone circles and megalithic passage tombs began to wane and portable objects gained increasing importance. This key transformation is demonstrated by a highlight object from Germany: the Nebra Sky Disc, a bronze disc inlaid with gold symbols believed to represent the sun, a crescent moon and the Pleiades constellation. More modest items found in tombs, burials and settlements are no less important in shedding light on the development of ideas relating to identity, religious practices, and relationships between the living and dead. Monuments such as Stonehenge cannot be understood in isolation. Stonehenge was not always a static, monolithic structure: over generations it was adapted and added to by communities that changed and developed the landscape on which it still stands today.Table of ContentsIntroduction – introduces the connections between people and nature, people and the heavens above, and between different peoples. Explores the relevance of Stonehenge and other stone circles to the wider world at the time. 1. Working with Nature – before Stonehenge; the first farmers; grave goods and belief 2. Sermons in Stone – major developments at Stonehenge and the surrounding landscape c. 3,000–2,500 BCE; other sites in Britain and Ireland; artistic expression 3. Under One Sky – the relationship of Stonehenge to the sun; the sun, moon and the cosmos 4. New Horizons: People and Pilgrims – modifications at and the significance of Stonehenge c. 2,500–2,000 BCE; new burial traditions; 5. Facing the Ocean: Cosmological Travellers – transformation around and across the Stonehenge landscape; cross-Channel connections; metalwork and its links to the natural world; economic and social change at the end of the early metal age. Conclusion – highlights the need to consider ‘iconic’ monuments and objects within a broader context to counter the narrative that Stonehenge can be understood in isolation. Bibliography Credits Index
£36.00
Vintage Publishing Richard III and the Princes in the Tower
Book SynopsisIncludes a new foreword by the author The story of the death, in sinister circumstances, of the boy-king Edward V and his younger brother Richard, Duke of York, is one of the most fascinating murder mysteries in English history. It is a tale with profound moral and social consequences, rich in drama, intrigue, treason, scandal and violence. In this gripping book Alison Weir re-examines all the evidence - including that against the Princes' uncle, Richard III, whose body was recently discovered beneath a Leicester car park. She brilliantly reconstructs the whole chain of events leading to their murder and reveals how, why and by whose order they died.Previously published as The Princes in the TowerTrade ReviewAlison Weir has examined all the contemporary and near-contemporary chronicles with care. Her book, lucidly written and well-researched, makes absorbing reading * Sunday Times *Readers of this book will care as much about two small boys foully done to death as the identity of their murderer… A deeply researched reappraisal -- Ruth Rendell * Daily Telegraph *
£11.69
Bloomsbury Publishing (UK) Germany Since 1945
Book SynopsisPeter C. Caldwell is Samuel G. McCann Professor of History at Rice University, USA. Professor Caldwell is a Humboldt Fellow, and has received grants from the DAAD and the Humboldt Foundation. He is the author of several books, including Dictatorship, State Planning, and Social Theory in the German Democratic Republic (2003) and Democracy, Capitalism, and the Welfare State: Debating Social Order in Postwar West Germany, 1949-1989 (2019). He is also a series editor for Bloomsbury's short-format German History in Focus series. Karrin Hanshew is Associate Professor of History at Michigan State University, USA. Professor Hanshew has received grants from the DAAD, the United States Institute of Peace, and the Social Science Research Council. She is the author of Terror and Democracy in West Germany (2012) and is currently working on a monograph entitled From Axis to Europe: German and Italian Entanglements in the Social (Re)construction of Eu
£27.54
Yale University Press Templars
Book Synopsis
£11.39
HarperCollins Publishers Fifty Things You Need To Know About British
Book SynopsisWhat are the 50 key events you need to understand to grasp British history?If you could choose the 50 things that define British history, events of significance not only in themselves, but in their importance to wider themes running through our past, what would they be? Hugh Williams has made that selection, and the result is a fascinating overview of Britain's past.He refines British history into a series of key themes that represent a crucial strand in our history, and pinpoints the seminal events within those strands - Roots, from the Roman invasion to Britain's entry into the Common Market; Fight, Fight and Fight Again, from the Battle of Agincourt to the Falklands War; The Pursuit of Liberty, from the Magna Carta through the Glorious Revolution to the foundation of the NHS; Home and Abroad, from Sir Francis Drake and Clive of India to the arrival of the SS Empire Windrush; and All Change, from Chaucer and the English language to the invention of the jet engine.With great clarity, Trade Review‘If history is your subject, then look no further than Fifty Things you Need to Know about British History. If you want an overview of what went on here, in bite-size chunks, throughout the centuries, this is the book for you’ The Lady ‘It offers insight and knowledge upon which to build a better understanding of the country we live in today’ Today’s History Best General History ‘Combining simplicity with significance and anecdote with fact, this book will have relevance for every modern British reader’ Family History Monthly
£13.49
Ebury Publishing The Pie At Night
Book SynopsisFactory, mine and mill. Industry, toil and grime. Its manufacturing roots mean we still see the North of England as a hardworking place. But, more than possibly anywhere else, the North has always known how to get dressed up, take itself out on the town and have a good time. After all, working and playing hard is its specialty, and Stuart Maconie is in search of what, exactly, this entails what it tells us about the North today. Following tip offs and rumour, Stuart takes trip to forgotten corners and locals' haunts. From the tapas bars of Halifax to the caravan parks of Berwick Upon Tweed, from a Westhoughton bowling green to Manchester's curry mile, via dog tracks and art galleries, dance floors and high fells, Stuart compares the new and old North, with some surprising results. The Pie at Night could be seen as a companion to the bestselling Pies and Prejudice, but it is not a sequel. After all, this is a new decade and the North is changing faster than ever. This is a revealing and digressive journey and a State of the North address, delivered from barstool, terrace, dress circle and hillside.Trade ReviewMaconie's enjoyment ... is obvious, and he makes it just as enjoyable for his readers * Daily Mail *Maconie's engaging, conversational prose is full of telling detail, jokes and deft quotation ... [he has a] rare ability to convey the sense of people having a really good time' * Telegraph *His engaging, conversational prose is full of telling detail, terrific jokes and unfailingly deft quotation * Daily Telegraph *History and politics are lightly woven through this account of a changing society, told with Maconie's typical gusto * New Statesman *Maconie's latest love letter to the North of England...is infectious, enlivened by terrific jokes * Radar Magazine, Sunday Telegraph *
£14.24
Cornerstone Ekaterinburg
Book SynopsisA vivid and compelling account of the final thirteen days of the Romanovs, counting down to the last, tense hours of their lives.On 4 July 1918, a new commandant took control of a closely guarded house in the Russian town of Ekaterinburg. His name was Yakov Yurovsky, and his prisoners were the Imperial family: the former Tsar Nicholas, his wife Alexandra, and their children, Olga, Tatiana, Maria, Anastasia and Alexey. Thirteen days later, at Yurovsky''s command, and on direct orders from Moscow, the family was gunned down in a blaze of bullets in a basement room.This is the story of those murders, which ended 300 years of Romanov rule and began an era of state-orchestrated terror and brutal repression.Trade ReviewStunning, chilling and poignant, this is how history books should be written. * Alison Weir *That perfect but rare blend of history, sense of place, human tragedy, drama and atmosphere -- Susan HillHelen Rappaport brilliantly assembles the intricacies of the story in untroubling prose with some colourful re-imaginings to make this account utterly compelling. * Daily Telegraph *To coincide with the anniversary (of the death's of the Romanovs), their last wretched days have been chronicled in an explosive new book. Using previously overlooked documents and witness accounts, it tells the story of the family's final moments in unprecedented detail. * Daily Mail *A deeply touching anniversary tribute * Independent on Sunday *
£9.49
Penguin Books Ltd The Northern Crusades
Book SynopsisThe ''Northern Crusades'', inspired by the Pope''s call for a Holy War, are less celebrated than those in the Middle East, but they were also more successful: vast new territories became and remain Christian, such as Finland, Estonia and Prussia. Newly revised in the light of the recent developments in Baltic and Northern medieval research, this authoritative overview provides a balanced and compelling account of a tumultuous era.Trade Review"The verve and vigour of Eric Christiansen's study illuminates developments vital in the early history of Eastern Europe and brings to life a story that had epic dimensions" Maurice Keen"For a one-volume history of the Northern Crusades, the reader has but one choice; this is it" William Urban in the American Historical Review"A fine study of the Baltic conquest" Hans Eberhard Meyer in the English Historical Reivew"Independent, erudite, lucid and witty a narrative that never flags" Christpher Tyerman"A fascinating and elegant book" Geoffrey Wheatcroft in the London Review of BooksTable of ContentsList of MapsAcknowledgmentsChronological TableNorthern RulersSpelling of NamesIntroduction1. North-East Europe on the Eve of the CrusadesLand and SeaPeoplesInteractions2. The Wendish Crusade in Theory and Practice, 1147-1185The Crusade of 1147Supporters and ChroniclersThe Slav Wars of Henry the Lion and Valdemar the Great3. The Armed Monks: Ideology and EfficiencyVarieties of Monastic Knighthood, 1128-1237The Monastic War-Machine, 1225-13094. The Conquest of the East Baltic Lands, 1200-1292LivoniaPrussiaEstoniaFinland5. The Theocratic Experiment, 1200-1273Popes and LeaguesThe Battle for the ConvertThe War on the Schismatics6. The Lithuanian Crusade, 1283-1410The Roads to Collision, 1203-1309The Morality and Recruitment of the CrusadeWars and Politics, 1304-1409Strategy and Tactics7. The Crusade Against Novgorod, 1295-1378The Debatable LandsThe Making of a Russo-Swedish Frontier, 1295-1326The Crusades of King Magnus8. The Crusading States of North-East EuropeSystems of GovernmentConditions of MenCivilizations9. The Withering of the Crusade, 1409-1525Tannenberg and After, 1409-14Confrontations at Constance, 1414-18The Survival and Extinction of the Order in Prussia, 1418-1525Livonia and the Russians, 1400-1562ConclusionFurther ReadingReferences to SourcesIndex
£10.44
Penguin Books Ltd Chronicles Penguin Classics
Book SynopsisOne of the greatest contemporary records of fourteenth-century England and FranceDepicting the great age of Anglo-French rivalry from the deposition of Edward II to the downfall of Richard II, Froissart powerfully portrays the deeds of knights in battle at Sluys, Crecy, Calais and Poitiers during the Hundred Years War. Yet they are only part of this vigorous portrait of medieval life, which also vividly describes the Peasants' Revolt, trading activities and diplomacy against a backdrop of degenerate nobility. Written with the same sense of curiosity about character and customs that underlies the works of Froissart's contemporary, Chaucer, the Chronicles are a magnificent evocation of the age of chivalry.For more than seventy years, Penguin has been the leading publisher of classic literature in the English-speaking world. With more than 1,700 titles, Penguin Classics represents a global bookshelf of the best works throughout history and across genres and discipliTable of ContentsChroniclesIntroductionAcknowledgmentsThe Chronological BackgroundBook One (1322-77)PrologueThe Beginning of a ReignDeposition of Edward II and Accession of Edward IIIThe Scots Invade EnglandEdward III Does Homage to Philip VIPreliminaries of the Hundred Years WarBattle of SluysThe Order of the GarterThe Campaign of CrecyThe Siege of CalaisBlack Death, Flagellants and JewsSea Battle off WinchelseaThe Siege of Breteuil and the Poitiers CampaignConsequences of PoitiersThe Three Estates; the Free CompaniesThe JacquerieThe Last Days of Étienne MarcelBrigandry, Warfare and PredictionsKing John's Return to England and His DeathThe Battle of Montiel and Death of Peter the CruelThe Sack of LimogesThe Turn of the TideDu Guesclin Appointed ConstableLa Rochelle Goes Over to the FrenchJohn of Gaunt's Fruitless ExpeditionThe End of a ReignBook Two (1376-85)Papal Affairs and the Great SchismThe Great SchismThe Peasants' Revolt in EnglandAffairs of FlandersBattle of RoosebekeCharles VI Marries Isabella of BavariaBook Three (1386-8)At the Court of the Count of FoixThe Haunting of Sir PeterReminiscences of the Bascot de Mauléon, FreebooterThe Tale of the FamiliarPreparations for a French Invasion of EnglandTrial by CombatRichard II's First Struggle with His UnclesJohn of Gaunt's Expedition to SpainThe Battle of Otterburn (Chevy Chase)Book Four (1389-1400)Queen Isabella's Entry into ParisA Royal VisitationTournament at Saint-InglevertThe Duke of Touraine in TroubleThe Death of the Count of FoixCharles VI Goes MadFroissart Revisits EnglandThe English in IrelandTwo MarriagesThe Downfall of Richard IIThe Murder of GloucesterThe Challenge and Bolingbroke's BanishmentRichard loses ControlThe Return of BolingbrokeThe Surrender of King RichardRichard's AbdicationCoronation of BolingbrokePlots against Henry IVThe End of Richard of BordeauxNotes in Form of GlossaryMap: France and Neighbouring Territories in the Fourteenth CenturyIndex of Persons
£11.69
Penguin Books Ltd Catilines War The Jugurthine War Histories
Book SynopsisSallust (86c. 35 bc) is the earliest Roman historian of whom complete works survive, a senator of the Roman Republic and younger contemporary of Cicero, Pompey and Julius Caesar. His Catiline's War tells of the conspiracy in 63 bc led by L. Sergius Catilina, who plotted to assassinate numerous senators and take control of the government, but was thwarted by Cicero. Sallust's vivid account of Roman public life shows a Republic in decline, prey to moral corruption and internal strife. In The Jugurthine War he describes Rome's fight in Africa against the king of the Numidians from 111 to 105 bc, and provides a damning picture of the Roman aristocracy. Also included in this volume are the major surviving extracts from Sallust's now fragmentary Histories, depicting Rome after the death of the dictator Sulla.
£10.44
Penguin Books Ltd Hitlers Empire
Book SynopsisMark Mazower''s Hitler''s Empire is a provocative account of the rise and fall of Nazi Europe by one of Britain''s leading historians. Hitler''s empire was the largest, most brutal and most ambitious reshaping of Europe in history. Inspired by the imperial legacy of those such as the British, the Third Reich cast its shadow from the Channel Islands to the Caucasus and ruled hundreds of millions. Yet, as Mark Mazower''s groundbreaking new account shows, it was an empire built on an illusion.From Hitler''s plans for vast motorways crossing an ethnically cleansed Russian steppe, to dreams of a German super-economy rivalling America''s, Mazower reveals the lethal fusion of mass murder, modern managerialism and colossal incompetence that underpinned the Nazi New Order. Ultimately Hitler''s empire ended up consuming its own, leaving destruction in its wake and finishing not just with the downfall of Germany, but an entire continent.''Remarkable ... provoTrade Review'[A] beautifully constructed account of life under the horrifying Nazi empire ! Splendid' - Norman Stone, Guardian 'Remarkable ! provocative ! an important new book' - Adam Tooze, Sunday Telegraph 'A brilliant account' - David Cesarani, Independent 'A first-class account' - Richard Overy, Literary Review 'Brilliant ! a must for anyone who has a serious interest in the dreadful Third Reich' - Justin Cartwright, Spectator 'Exposes the intellectual bankruptcy of the enterprise with forensic skill and wit' - Christopher Silvester, Daily Express
£17.09
Penguin Books Ltd Edward III and the Triumph of England
Book SynopsisThe destruction of the French army at Crécy in 1346 and the subsequent siege and capture of Calais marked a new era in European history. The most powerful, glamorous and respected of all western monarchies had been completely humiliated by England, a country long viewed either as a chaotic backwater or a mere French satellite.The young Edward III''s triumph would launch both countries, as we now know, into a grim cycle of some 90 years of further fighting ending with English defeat, but after Crécy anything seemed possible - Edward''s claim to be King of France could be pressed home and, in any event, enormous rewards of land, treasure and prestige were available both to the king and to the close companions who had made the victory possible. It was to enshrine this moment that Edward created one of the most famous of all knightly orders, the Company of the Garter.Barber writes about both the great campaigns and the individuals who formed the original membership of thTrade ReviewBarber [has an] infectious passion for and deep knowledge of his subject matter . . . elegant prose and rigorous historical analysis . . . a valuable and thorough addition to the body of work on this most impressive of English monarchs * Sunday Times *In Edward III and the Triumph of England [Barber] has written the kind of book that the king would have enjoyed: full of battles, glitter and ceremony . . . he has an original eye and an elegant pen -- Jonathan Sumption * Literary Review *Barber shares his hero's love of chivalry . . . The book sparkles with some of Edward's own glitz * Telegraph *This absorbing book is layered rather than linear, sifting with uncommon sensitivity through challenging sources to test the boundaries of what we can and cannot know . . . We discover the complexity of the world in which Edward and his commanders lived -- Helen Castor * The Times *
£17.09
Penguin Books Ltd Eichmann and the Holocaust
Book SynopsisThroughout history, some books have changed the world. They have transformed the way we see ourselves - and each other. They have inspired debate, dissent, war and revolution. They have enlightened, outraged, provoked and comforted. They have enriched lives - and destroyed them. Now Penguin brings you the works of the great thinkers, pioneers, radicals and visionaries whose ideas shook civilization and helped make us who we are.Inspired by the trial of a bureaucrat who helped cause the Holocaust, this radical work on the banality of evil stunned the world with its exploration of a regime''s moral blindness and one man''s insistence that he be absolved all guilt because he was ''only following orders''.
£7.59
Penguin Books Ltd Red Fortress The Secret Heart of Russias History
Book SynopsisWINNER OF THE WOLFSON PRIZE 2013HERALD BOOKS OF THE YEAR 2014The extraordinary story of the Kremlin - from prize-winning author and historian Catherine MerridaleBoth beautiful and profoundly menacing, the Kremlin has dominated Moscow for many centuries. Behind its great red walls and towers many of the most startling events in Russia''s history have been acted out. It is both a real place and an imaginative idea; a shorthand for a certain kind of secretive power, but also the heart of a specific Russian authenticity. Catherine Merridale''s exceptional book revels in both the drama of the Kremlin and its sheer unexpectedness: an impregnable fortress which has repeatedly been devastated, a symbol of all that is Russian substantially created by Italians. The many inhabitants of the Kremlin have continually reshaped it to accord with shifting ideological needs, with buildings conjured up or demolished to conform with the current ruler'Trade ReviewMagnificent ... [a] a superbly written book ... Merridale's idea was to use the Kremlin like a backdrop to an opera - a screen on which to project scenes from Russia's violent and dramatic history. That way she tells the fortress's story without lapsing into architectural didacticism or guidebook prose, and it works wonderfully -- George Walden * Telegraph *This simply superb chronicle of the Kremlin is really a brilliant and unputdownable history of Russia itself from the early Tsars via Lenin and Stalin to Putin; anyone who wants to understand Russia today will not only learn a lot but will enjoy every page ... wonderful -- Simon Sebag Montefiore * Telegraph *[Merridale] combines impeccable scholarship with a deep feeling for the humanity of the people she writes about. Her style is accurate, spare, direct and warm-hearted, about as far from the academy as you can get ... [Red Fortress] is a brilliant meditation on Russian history and the myths with which the Russians have sought to console themselves -- Rodric Braithwaite * Guardian *Addictively clever history ... Merridale whisks us through a series of terrific melodramas -- Dominic Sandbrook * Sunday Times BOOKS OF THE YEAR *A zingy, razor-keen history of the Kremlin -- Ian Thomson * Spectator BOOKS OF THE YEAR *Merridale captures very well the suffocating atmosphere of those overheated corridors, where every room was bugged and mere proximity to power was often a death sentence ... she writes superbly. She has a gift for the tart insight ... and an eye for the telling anecdote -- Tony Brenton * The Times *Exhilarating ... Both in its modernist sense of "time in flux" and in its style, Red Fortress is at the furthest possible remove from Soviet schoolroom sermons about "the period of feudal atomization" and the rise of the centralizing state ... This is a book of detail and imagination ... a neohistorical account of the Russian past ... Red Fortress made me remember the open-mouthed delight I took when, hardly old enough to know where Russia was, I studied the émigré artist Boris Artsybashev's elegant, aetiolated portraits of medieval Russian princes -- Catriona Kelly * Guardian *Red Fortress is a tour de force, as readable as it is extensively researched ... It never flags through nearly 10 centuries of Russian, Soviet and post-Soviet history ... [Merridale] is both mythbuster and pilgrim, captivated by her subject even while turning an eye of scholarly detachment to it -- Virginia Rounding * Financial Times *One of the best popular histories of Russia in any language * Times Literary Supplement *Immensely readable ... Merridale recounts [the Kremlin's] eventful history with great skill and tremendous narrative verve -- Ian Critchley * Sunday Times *Merridale is a historian by training, but she has a detective's nose and a novelist's way with words * Economist *As with many important books, the reader will wonder why nothing like Catherine Merridale's work ... has been written before ... Merridale has succeeded in stripping off the veneer... She has the skills to get guardians of secret places talking and to negotiate access with Russian archivists, and thus penetrate the inner workings of the Kremlin. At the same time, she has a feeling for the site that brings dry archaeological and architectural facts to life: few writers can write the biography of a city or a citadel ... The Kremlin's history is likely to be frozen for decades to come. This unique and stunningly well-illustrated book is going to be a definitive study for just as long -- Donald Rayfield * Literary Review *Catherine Merridale's sparkling new book shows that it is people who dominate architecture * BBC History Magazine *As usual, [Merridale's] engaging writing style combines a keen eye for detail with a human touch * Times Higher Education *[A] superb history of the Kremlin ... pages of lucid prose * Irish Times *
£12.34
Penguin Books Ltd Europe
Book SynopsisBrendan Simms''s formidable, game-changing history of EuropeIn this marvelously ambitious and exciting book, Brendan Simms tells the story of Europe''s constantly shifting geopolitics and the peculiar circumstances that have made it both so impossible to dominate, but also so dynamic and ferocious. It is the story of a group of highly competitive and mutually suspicious dynasties, but also of a continent uniquely prone to interference from ''semi-detached'' elements, such as Russia, the Ottoman Empire, Britain and (just as centrally to Simms''s argument) the United States.Trade ReviewBrendan Simms is a historian of unusual range and ability ... this book is driven by two great master-ideas, and there is hardly a page in it where their presence is not felt ... the reader always has the exhilarating sense of moving swiftly onwards, in a kind of turbocharged Rolls-Royce of historical argumentation ... truly powerful and original -- Noel Malcolm * Telegraph *Ought to sit on the desk of every politician, pundit and policy wonk ... [Simms] marshals the great events ... with a breath-stopping assurance. Panoramic, multi-faceted ... sweeping, well-paced narrative ... awesome command. This is top-down European history, diplomatic and political, seen from the soaring eagle's eye. But what an eagle; and what an eye -- Boyd Tonkin * Independent *Europe is a superb, sure-footed analysis of how this center of world civilization, technology, and warfare evolved since the fall of Constantinople in 1453. It is unabashedly political history, and the better for being so. Simms's acumen and sharp opinions are a joy to read. This book will be appreciated both by the general reader, and by history teachers everywhere -- Paul KennedyBrendan Simms's new history [is] especially timely. He has, in effect, dropped a big stone into the European pond and stood back to watch the ripples spread ... Compelling and provocative ... This is sweeping history, told with verve and panache, and it is all the more refreshing for that * Economist *This is a brilliant and beautifully written history. From the Holy Roman Empire to the Euro, Brendan Simms shows that one of the constant preoccupations of Europeans has always been the geography, the power and the needs of Germany. Europe is a work of extraordinary scholarship delivered with the lightest of touches. It will be essential, absorbing reading for anyone trying to understand both the past and the present of one of the most productive and most dangerous continents on earth -- William ShawcrossA stimulating, impressive history that starts with the Ottoman conquest of Constantinople in 1453 and extends to the present day ... perspicacious and flexible ... an excellent read and its insights into the grand themes of European history are penetrating and lucidly argued -- Tony Barber * Financial Times *Unrepentantly old-fashioned, lively and erudite ... The book is centrally concerned, rightly, with Germany, which Simms knows at first hand. Its great strength is that you are always reminded that European countries did not grow autonomously ... Europe is very ambitious in scope ... The references are prodigious, multilingual and extremely useful ... Simms knows what he is talking about -- Norman Stone * New Statesman *How do you write a history of Europe ... without making it seem like a list of dates? The answer of Brendan Simms in his new book is both simple and brilliantly successful: take a strong thesis and argue it through from start to finish ... Simms has the breadth of knowledge and clarity of vision to make his case compelling. His book is also immensely entertaining as well as instructive. There are few pages not enlivened by sharp insight, telling vignette or memorable turn of phrase. In short, this is a great book and everyone interested in European history will want to read it -- Tim Blanning * BBC History Magazine *There is nothing in the recent literature to match it ... Not only has Simms bitten off a huge chunk of history, he has mastered it with style and an awe-inspiring command of the literature ... [a] Herculean feat of synthesis -- Josef Joffe * Prospect *Exciting ... In [Simms's] survey of European power politics through six centuries and more, he dissects the economic, social, administrative and religious aspects of the "domestic" life of the states involved ... Simms's eye for the telling detail is shown ... [his] majestic prose flows impressively ... lucid and perceptive * Times Higher Education *[An] encyclopaedic, ambitious and fluent history of Europe ... [like] a great game of chess, except that as well as black and white pieces there are green, blue, orange and purple ones all moving around a multidimensional board. Place names swirl, battles are won and lost, and the pieces are reordered ... Inevitably readers will be drawn to Simms's fascinating picture of the origins of the European Union ... thoughtful and stimulating -- David Abulafia * Standpoint *A tour de force ... With phenomenal surefootedness, [Simms] picks out the patterns in what might otherwise appear a trackless waste of victories, defeats, treaties and coalitions, extracting from them provocative lessons for Europe's present and future. Big ideas animate the book ... This fascinating book deserves a wide readership. Even those who do not share Simms's fears and hopes for the European Union will be enthralled by the brilliance of his analysis and the dizzying breadth of his vision -- Christopher Clark * Mail on Sunday *Prodigious ... in its pages whole empires rise and fall ... Europe draws the reader forward with its grand epic of shifting alliances, clashing armies and ambitious statecraft. Mr. Simms ... is a skilled writer with a rare gift for compressed analysis. His focus on the military and diplomatic arc of European history lends his book a strong narrative line and thematic coherence -- Jeffrey Collins * Wall Street Journal *European history comes in many guises, but Brendan Simms's strategic and geopolitical approach provides a strong and lucid framework within which everything else fits into place. His emphasis on the centrality of Germany offsets more western-orientated accounts while also giving due prominence to Eastern Europe. Covering the whole of the modern period, this book is more than an excellent introduction; it's a major interpretational achievement -- Norman DaviesWorld history is German history, and German history is world history. This is the powerful case made by this gifted historian of Europe, whose expansive erudition revives the proud tradition of the history of geopolitics, and whose immanent moral sensibility reminds us that human choices made in Berlin (and London) today about the future of Europe might be decisive for the future of the world -- Timothy Snyder (author of Bloodlands)A tremendous feat ... Simms's pages teem with some of the greatest characters in European history -- Dominic Sandbrook * Sunday Times *Remarkably, such a large and complex book ... offers a very straightforward argument and thesis ... The more familiar the story, the more arresting is Simms's repositioning of it ... This isn't simply academic history but an account of how we came to be, albeit ambivalently and conflictedly, involved in a continental narrative that is still unfolding * Sunday Herald *
£15.29
Penguin Books Ltd Lovers and Strangers
Book SynopsisSHORTLISTED FOR THE ORWELL PRIZE 2018 TLS BOOKS OF THE YEAR 2017''Generous and empathetic ... opens up postwar migration in all its richness'' Sukhdev Sandhu, Guardian''Groundbreaking, sophisticated, original, open-minded ... essential reading for anyone who wants to understand not only the transformation of British society after the war but also its character today'' Piers Brendon, Literary Review''Lyrical, full of wise and original observations'' David Goodhart, The TimesThe battered and exhausted Britain of 1945 was desperate for workers - to rebuild, to fill the factories, to make the new NHS work. From all over the world and with many motives, thousands of individuals took the plunge. Most assumed they would spend just three or four years here, sending most of their pay back home, but instead large numbers stayed - and transformed the country.Drawing on an amazing array of unusual aTrade ReviewA lyrical account... deeply researched and full of wise and original observations about migration -- David Goodhart * The Times *Strangers and Lovers is brimming with new archival sources, careful cullings of governmental documents and oral histories - the book encompasses poetry and fiction as well as sociological accounts. -- Sukhdev Sandhu * Guardian *Essential reading for anyone who wants to understand not only the transformation of British society after the war but also its character today -- Piers Brendon * Literary Review *Masterful... these are the stories of Britain's yesterdays, todays and tomorrows, and they could hardly be more timely. -- Christopher Kissane * Financial Times *Her well-written, readable story evolves like a novel or film script with key characters. -- Times Higher EducationWhat you get in Lovers and Strangers is a mix of oral history, scholarly analysis and impressionistic essay -- Clive Davis * The Times *The perfect post-Brexit book -- Arifa Akbar * Evening Standard *Lovers and Strangers presents a historically rich view of immigration to Britain. Wills writes with both humour and detail about the lives of thousands of single men from Poland, Ireland, the West Indies and South Asia. Many of her tales are filled with the music, alcohol and nightlife which occupied the attentions of thousands of single men -- Burhan Wazir * Chatham House *
£10.99
Penguin Books Ltd The Russia Anxiety
Book Synopsis''This exciting and provocative book blows apart misconceptions about the Russian past'' Lara Douds, Times Higher Education Russia is an exceptional country, the biggest in the world. It is both European and exotic, powerful and weak, brilliant and flawed. Why are we so afraid of it? Time and again, we judge Russia by unique standards. We have usually assumed that it possesses higher levels of cunning, malevolence and brutality. Yet the country has more often than not been a crucial ally, not least against Napoleon and in the two world wars. We admire its music and its writers. We lavish praise on the Russian soul. And still we think of Russia as a unique menace. What is it about this extraordinary country that consistently provokes such excessive responses? And why is this so dangerous?Ranging from the earliest times to the present, Mark B. Smith''s remarkable new book is a history of this ''Russia Anxiety''. Whether ally or enemy, superpower or failing state, Russia grips our imagination and fuels our fears unlike any other country. This book shows how history itself offers a clearer view and a better future.Trade ReviewA fluent meditation on Russian history, a gallant attempt to reason with those who believe that Russia is condemned to an endless cycle of failed reform and resurgent authoritarianism ... a welcome antidote to the overwrought stuff about Russia so widespread in the West today. -- Rodric Braithwaite * History Today *Compelling... Russian history is many layered, Smith argues, and the deeper we dig the more apparent it becomes that the tropes of Russophobic history bear little or no relation to reality ... As a Russian history specialist, he deploys his deep knowledge of the country's culture, society and peoples to capture with verve and imagination the grand sweep of its history, and combines this with an astute commentary on contemporary politics. -- Geoffrey Roberts * Irish Times *Fizzing with energy, Mark B. Smith's book explodes many myths about the Russians and compels us to reflect critically on ourselves. -- Simon Dixon, author of Catherine the GreatIn this exciting and provocative book, Mark B. Smith blows apart misconceptions about the Russian past ... Smith's energy and dynamism carry the day. -- Lara Douds * Times Higher Education *The author is a highly informed guide, [who] prompts a review of prejudices ... Smith makes an important fundamental point: we must talk to the Russians and live alongside them. -- Max Hastings * The Times *Smith makes a very strong case that Russia's past needs to be considered as much more complex than it generally is. For that reason alone, this book deserves a large audience ... The Russia Anxiety is a very welcome book. It provides a provocative and much needed analysis of Russian history which ably shows the oversimplified nature of most Western understandings of Russia. -- Paul Robinson, author of RUSSIAN CONSERVATISM and Professor of History at the University of OttawaThe Russia Anxiety is a valuable effort to assess the long history of the West's Russia-related worries ... Regrettably, more than five years [since the annexation of Crimea], the United States seems no closer to developing either a strategy or a policy to manage its relationship with Russia. Mark Smith's provocative book won't solve that problem alone, but it does offer some valuable guidance in thinking about solutions. -- Paul Saunders * Russia Matters *
£12.34
Penguin Books Ltd The Light Ages
Book SynopsisChosen as a Book of the Year by The Times, Daily Telegraph, TLS, BBC History Magazine and Tablet''Compulsive, brilliantly clear and superbly well-written, it''s a charismatic evocation of another world'' Ian Mortimer, author of The Time Traveller''s Guide to Medieval EnglandThe Middle Ages were a time of wonder. They gave us the first universities, the first eyeglasses and the first mechanical clocks as medieval thinkers sought to understand the world around them, from the passing of the seasons to the stars in the sky. In this book, we walk the path of medieval science with a real-life guide, a fourteenth-century monk named John of Westwyk - inventor, astrologer, crusader - who was educated in England''s grandest monastery and exiled to a clifftop priory. Following the traces of his life, we learn to see the natural world through Brother John''s eyes: navigating by the stars, multiplying Roman numerals, curing disease and tTrade ReviewStunning: both exquisitely written and so very clever. By following the life of one little-known monk, John of Westwyk, Falk opens up for us the sophisticated and utterly different ways in which people in the Middle Ages thought and makes us question our assumptions about the medieval past. -- Suzannah Lipscomb * BBC History Magazine Books of the Year *Turns our understanding of medieval science on its head ... Falk shows how scientific inquiries central to the Renaissance actually began generations earlier than we thought, and despite our perception of the church as the enemy of science, those intellectual pioneers were often monks * The Telegraph Books of the Year *As fascinating as it is exquisitely written . . . the range of mathematics, astronomy, and engineering is impressive. More impressive still is the elegance with which Falk tells the tale -- Tom Whipple * Times Books of the Year *Remarkable ... a book that illuminates not just the visionaries of the past but also the troubled state of anti-intellectualism in the modern world * Financial Times *"Might it change minds?" is my criterion. The Light Ages might. Seb Falk's dazzling study of a late-medieval scientist is an uncontainably tentacular monograph, reaching from a windswept cell at Tynemouth, where John of Westwyck built an astrolabe, to penetrate unexplored recesses of the history and philosophy of science, and extending across Christendom into the cultures that surrounded and informed it. Falk excises errors about the Middle Ages without filleting their enchantment -- Felipe Fernández-Armesto * TLS Books of the Year *Unambiguously and successfully an antidote to the cliché of the 'Dark Ages' as a millennium of stagnation and regression . . . Falk's approach is to explain the things we share with our medieval forebears and the things we differ on: to reveal how they saw the universe * Literary Review *Riveting. . . a brilliant study of medieval astronomy and learning . . . I agree with Falk. We need to give more respect to the giants of the Middle Ages on whose shoulders we stand * Spectator *Fascinating . . . the Dark Ages were anything but dark; Falk's book is a lucid and eloquent reproof to anyone who says otherwise * Prospect *Seb Falk lays out the wonders of medieval science. . . The mechanical clock, spectacles, advances in navigation, a grasp of tides and currents - these were among the achievements of the Middle Ages * The Economist *A wonderful book, as at home bringing to life the obscure details of a Hertfordshire monk as it is explicating the infinite reaches of space and time. Required reading for anyone who thinks that the Middle Ages were a dark age -- Tom Holland, author of DominionCompulsive, brilliantly clear, and superbly well-written, The Light Ages is more than just a very good book on medieval science: it's a charismatic evocation of another world. Seb Falk uses the monk John of Westwyk to weld us into the medieval ways of imagining as well as thinking. And there are surprises galore for everyone, no matter how knowledgeable they may think they are. I can't recommend it highly enough -- Ian Mortimer, author of The Time Traveler’s Guide to Medieval EnglandIf you think the term 'medieval science' is a contradiction then you should read this hugely enlightening and important book -- Jim Al-Khalili, Author of The World According to PhysicsLike a fictional scientist cloning dinosaurs from wisps of DNA, Seb Falk takes barely surviving fragments of evidence about an almost forgotten astronomer in a storm-chilled, clifftop cell to conjure the vast, teeming world of scientific research, practice and invention in the late Middle Ages. Profoundly scholarly, wonderfully lucid and grippingly vivid, The Light Ages will awe the pedants and delight the public -- Felipe Fernández-Armesto, author of Out of Our MindsSeb Falk has framed a fascinating book around his personal quest to understand how scientific thinking flourished. The Light Ages reveals the intellectual sophistication that flourished against a backdrop of ritual and liturgy. It offers for most of us a novel perspective on a 'dark' historical era, and should fascinate a wide readership -- Lord Martin Rees, author of On the FutureLong before the word 'scientist' was coined, John of Westwyk devised a precision instrument to explore the universe and our place in it. Falk recreates the schooling of this ordinary (if gadget-obsessed) medieval monk in loving detail. There's a world of science on every page -- Nancy Marie Brown, author of The Abacus and the Cross
£11.69
Penguin Books Ltd Stephen Penguin Monarchs The Reign of Anarchy
Book Synopsis
£7.59
Penguin Books Ltd Plunder of the Commons
Book Synopsis''One of the most important books I''ve read in years'' Brian EnoWe are losing the commons. Austerity and neoliberal policies have depleted our shared wealth; our national utilities have been sold off to foreign conglomerates, social housing is almost non-existent, our parks are cordoned off for private events and our national art galleries are sponsored by banks and oil companies. This plunder deprives us all of our common rights, recognized as far back as the Magna Carta and the Charter of the Forest of 1217, to share fairly and equitably in our public wealth.Guy Standing leads us through a new appraisal of the commons, stemming from the medieval concept of common land reserved in ancient law from marauding barons, to his modern reappraisal of the resources we all hold in common - a brilliant new synthesis that crystallises quite how much public wealth has been redirected to the 1% in recent decades through the state-approved exploitation of everything from Trade ReviewBrilliant, insightful, terse, apposite, daring, and transformative. A must read to understand both the past and the future -- Danny Dorling, author of All That Is SolidGuy Standing brings great historical knowledge, political insight, and passion to documenting the market enclosures of our common wealth: the great unacknowledged scourge of our time. Plunder of the Commons is both a troubling exposé and a practical-minded call to reclaim the commons for ourselves and posterity. Sitting politicians will ignore this stirring book at their peril. Incoming reformers will learn how we might transform our predatory system of economics and the complicit political culture. -- David Bollier, Director of the Reinventing the Commons Program at the Schumacher Center for a New Economics and author of Free, Fair and Alive: The Insurgent Power of the CommonsIn an era of intensifying privatisation, we're rapidly losing sight of the idea that there are things that can be shared communally without being owned by anybody, things that stand outside of the market system - for example rivers, forests, and other natural resources. Many of them have already been sold off to private interests, and most of the rest are being pursued. This incendiary book exposes this process and explores its corrosive effect on society and resource maintenance. This clear and radical exposition is a call for the defence of the commons, and one of the most important books I've read in years. -- Brian EnoIn this majestic work, Guy Standing not only chronicles the historic plundering of our common wealth. More importantly, he shows how we can reclaim that wealth to address our most urgent contemporary problems: economic insecurity and ecological destruction. This is history, analysis and vision, all at their very best. -- Peter Barnes, author of Capitalism 3.0Standing not only wants to remind us how much common land in Britain has been enclosed by the wealthy few. His vision of the commons is extremely capacious...his provocation could hardly be timelier -- Duncan Kelly * Financial Times *
£10.44
Penguin Books Ltd This Sovereign Isle
Book SynopsisTHE TOP TEN SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLERGeography comes before history. Islands cannot have the same history as continental plains. The United Kingdom is a European country, but not the same kind of European country as Germany, Poland or Hungary. For most of the 150 centuries during which Britain has been inhabited it has been on the edge, culturally and literally, of mainland Europe.In this succinct book, Tombs shows that the decision to leave the EU is historically explicable - though not made historically inevitable - by Britain''s very different historical experience, especially in the twentieth century, and because of our more extensive and deeper ties outside Europe. He challenges the orthodox view that Brexit was due solely to British or English exceptionalism: in choosing to leave the EU, the British, he argues, were in many ways voting as typical Europeans.Trade Reviewconfident ... surprising and original ... and humble ... Tombs's opening chapter, putting Britain's relationship with Europe into a wider historical context, offers more insights than entire shelves of rival Brexit books. "Geography comes before history," he begins. "Islands cannot have the same history as continental plains. The United Kingdom is a European country, but not the same kind of European country as Germany, Poland or Hungary." ... Like all good historians, Tombs can be entertainingly bitchy [yet] all the time, with elegant wit, he punctures myth after myth -- Dominic Sandbrook * Sunday Times *The time has finally come for the whole issue [of Brexit] to pass from the hands of journalists into those of historians. Robert Tombs, emeritus professor of French history at Cambridge, has started the process of objective historical analysis with a profoundly thoughtful explanation of how Brexit happened, and why ... Tombs has a witty turn of phrase and agreeably ironic style that means that he never descends into polemic ... If journalism is the first draft of history, then This Sovereign Isle is its penultimate draft, and the best we will have for many years. -- Andrew Roberts * Daily Telegraph *A short, punchy, eloquent statement from such a distinguished historian -- Fintan O'Toole * The Guardian *Cambridge professor Tombs offers a fine first draft of history in this objective explanation of how and why Brexit happened. Tombs takes a witty, engagingly ironic approach to the false claims of Project Fear. -- Summer reading * The Telegraph *A rare intellectual proponent of Brexit, Robert Tombs infuriates pro-Europeans-even more so because of his undeniable calibre as a historian ... This Sovereign Isle argued that the Leave vote was inevitable as well as rational: the UK never fitted the European project. He understands this as a reaction to the traumas of the continent's story - traumas that Britain's distinctive journey has sometimes ducked ... His theme - national identity in a fracturing world - has contemporary significance far beyond these shores. -- The world’s top 50 thinkers, 2021 * Prospect *admirably independent-minded and well argued ... should indeed be made compulsory reading for all Brexiteers -- Richard Evans * New Statesman *To Remainers interested in reading a civilised & learned defence of Brexit, I highly recommend it -- Tom Holland
£10.44
Oxford University Press The Vikings
Book SynopsisThe Viking reputation is of bloodthirsty seafaring warriors, repeatedly plundering the British Isles and the North Atlantic throughout the early Middle Ages. Yet Vikings were also traders, settlers, and farmers, with a complex artistic and linguistic culture, whose expansion overseas led them to cross the Atlantic for the first time in European history. Highlighting the latest archaeological evidence, Julian Richards reveals the whole Viking world: their history, society and culture, and their expansion overseas for trade, colonization, and plunder. We also look at the Viking identity, through their artistic expression, rune stones, their ships, and their religion. The Viking story is also brought up to date, by examining their legacy from the medieval Icelandic sagas to 19th Century nationalism, Wagner, and the Nazis.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.Table of ContentsList of illustrations ; 1. Vikings then and now ; 2. Early Scandinavian kingdoms ; 3. Pagans and Christians ; 4. Changes in the countryside ; 5. Towns and trade ; 6. Across the ocean: ships and seafaring ; 7. Expansion overseas ; 8. Vikings in England ; 9. Raiders and settlers around the Irish Sea ; 10. Vikings and Picts: genocide or assimilation? ; 11. Landnam in the North Atlantic ; 12. The edge of the world: Greenland and North America ; 13. Re-inventing the Vikings ; Further reading ; Index
£9.49
Oxford University Press NineteenthCentury Britain
Book SynopsisFirst published as part of the best-selling The Oxford Illustrated History of Britain, Christopher Harvie and Colin Matthew''s Very Short Introduction to Nineteenth-Century Britain is a sharp but subtle account of remarkable economic and social change and an even more remarkable political stability. Britain in 1789 was overwhelmingly rural, agrarian, multilingual, and almost half Celtic. By 1914, when it faced its greatest test since the defeat of Napoleon, it was largely urban and English. Christopher Harvie and Colin Matthew show the forces behind Britain''s rise to its imperial zenith, and the continuing tensions within the nations and classes of the ''union state''.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.Table of Contents1. Reflections on the revolutions ; 2. Industrial development ; 3. Reform and religion ; 4. The wars abroad ; 5. Roads to freedom ; 6. Coping with reform ; 7. Unless the Lord build the city ; 8. The ringing grooves of change ; 9. Politics and diplomacy: Palmerstons years ; 10. Incorporation ; 11. Free trade: an industrial economy rampant ; 12. A shifting population: town and country ; 13. The masses and the classes: the urban worker ; 14. Clerks and commerce: the lower middle class ; 15. The propertied classes ; 16. Pomp and circumstance ; 17. A great change in manners ; 18. Villa Tories: the Conservative resurgence ; 19. Ireland, Scotland, Wales: Home Rule frustrated ; 20. Reluctant imperialists? ; 21. The fin-de-siecle reaction: new views of the State ; 22. Old Liberalism, New Liberalism, Labourism, and tariff reform ; 23. Edwardian years: a crisis of the State contained ; 24. Your English summers done ; Further reading ; Chronology ; Prime ministers 1789-1914 ; Index
£9.49
Oxford University Press Hitlers Personal Prisoner
Book SynopsisThis is the first fully researched biography of Martin Niemöller (1892-1984). It charts his life from his service in the Imperial German Navy, his work for the Inner Mission and as a Protestant pastor in the Berlin suburb of Dahlem from 1931. Niemöller''s work as a leading figure of the Confessing Church and his contribution to the conflicts over church policy during the Third Reich are analysed and contextualised. Chapters on the post-war period chart Niemöller''s contribution to ecumenism, anti-nuclear pacifism, and his role in rebuilding the West German Protestant Churches.From 1938 to 1945, Martin Niemöller was detained as ''Hitler''s Personal Prisoner'' in Nazi concentration camps. Liberated in April 1945, Niemöller was widely hailed as an icon of Christian resistance against the Nazi dictatorship. For many years, the Niemöller legend masked the problematic aspects of his life: his persistent antisemitism, on display even in the post-war period; his nationalism and support of the German war effort even whilst in concentration camp detention; and his disdain for parliamentary democracy. In his biography of the most important twentieth-century German Protestant, Benjamin Ziemann uncovers the ''historical'' Niemöller behind the legend of the resistance hero. Carefully situating Niemöller''s personal trajectory in his wider social milieu -- from the Imperial Navy to the West German peace movement -- Ziemann probes into core themes of twentieth century German history: militarism, National Socialism, German guilt, and moral reconstruction post-1945.Trade ReviewZiemann has written the definitive biography of Martin Niemöller. He replaces the post-war image of an iconic figure of resistance to Nazism with a compelling, far less flattering, interpretation. This emphasises the fervently held form of nationalist Protestantism, cultural antisemitism and rejection of liberal democracy that provided consistency to the seeming contradictions in Niemöller's thought and actions until well after 1945. * Ian Kershaw, Author of Personality and Power: Builders and Destroyers of Modern Europe *This book is a brilliant reexamination of one of the most obdurate of sacred cows, the myth of Martin Niemöller. Ziemann has done prodigious work in pushing past the postwar narrative so carefully curated by Niemöller's circle of confidants, to do what historians are supposed to do: get to the truth. By deploying a fact-driven methodology concerned with scrutinizing old truth-claims, Ziemann delivers the kind of probing reevaluation of Niemöller that we have waited literally decades to read. * Richard Steigmann-Gall, Author of The Holy Reich: Nazi Conceptions of Christianity, 1919-1945 *
£33.25
Oxford University Press Family and Feuding at the Court of James I
Book SynopsisIn early 1618, Anne Cecil (nee Lake), Lady Roos, accused Frances Cecil, countess of Exeter, of having committed adultery and incest with her husband, the countess''s step grandson, William Cecil, Lord Roos. The countess had attempted to poison her twice, first with a poisoned enema, and later with a poisoned syrup of roses. With the help of the countess, Lord Roos secretively fled England for Catholic Italy, leaving his wife and family behind. Now, the murderous countess was again planning to poison Lady Roos, and perhaps also her father, Sir Thomas Lake, the king''s Secretary of State. The countess vehemently denied these sensational charges, fell on her knees before the king, and asked for justice and restoration of her damaged honour. The accusations and the countess''s defence quickly became a public scandal. The king and council investigated and ordered the matter be solved in the Court of Star Chamber. The Lake and Cecil families promptly sued and counter-sued each other for slanTable of ContentsList of Illustrations List of Abbreviations Notes on Dates and Spelling List of Persons Prologue 1: Meet the Families 2: Wedded to Trouble 3: The Riot at Cannons 4: Leaving England 5: Tangled Estates 6: The Tales of the Summer of (Dis)Content 7: The Scandal Breaks 8: Interlude: Lord Roos's End 9: To the Court of Star Chamber 10: The Political Seesaw 11: Trial and Verdict 12: Fallout 13: Submissions and Restoration 14: Aftermath Epilogue Appendix: Lake Family Tree Cecil Family Tree Notes Bibliography Picture Credits Index
£33.25
Oxford University Press Inc Misfire The Sarajevo Assassination and the
Book SynopsisBy narrating the Sarajevo assassination in a broad historical context, Misfire contends that the most consequential political murder in modern history would have remained inconsequential if not for the decisions made by the leaders of Europe's Great Powers.Trade ReviewMiller-Melamed has done a service to the field with what should be a new point of departure for discussion of the diplomatic crisis that followed the Sarajevo assassination. * Choice *Miller-Melamed aims to refocus narratives of war's outbreak in 1914 on substantive causes rather than on the inevitable responses to Franz Ferdinand's assassination. Drawing from a robust, multilingual array of scholarship and published sources, he situates the outbreak of war as unfolding in the capitals of Europe's great powers, not Sarajevo, because of a diplomatic misfire....[He] aims to show why southeastern Europe before 1914 should be understood as a site of a great power diplomatic conflict, why an assassination might take place there, and how the event should be understood as a tragedy rather than a reflection of regional or national backwardness....He rightly discards the tired narratives of inevitability or laundry list recitations that emphasize the centrality of one empire over others. Miller-Melamed has done a service to the field with what should be a new point of departure for discussion of the diplomatic crisis that followed the Sarajevo assassination. * Choice *Misfire is without doubt a tremendously important addition to the 1914 literature. It is also, it has to be said, a stylishly written, absolutely entrancing work. In it, Miller-Melamed combines his agnosticism with massive erudition to demonstrate how the explanatory constructs in the narratives about the Sarajevo assassination in fact turn out to be, on closer inspection, no more than 'neat explanatory fiction'. This makes his book uniquely original in a sea of studies detailing the road to war....Misfire is certainly not just yet another account of how the war began. It is much, much more appealing and engaging than that: in showing how history can be so easily misconstrued and then widely transmitted, it is a striking reminder, and something of a reprimand, about how we end up processing the past through a mythological prism. * John Zametica, Balcanica: Annual of the Institute for Balkan Studies *In this authoritative and meticulously researched book, renowned Balkan expert Paul Miller-Melamed argues that the death of the Archduke has been overly romanticised and that the mythology surrounding the plot has served to detract from a more considered understanding of why tensions in the Balkans escalated into a conflict which claimed approximately forty million lives. * Phil Curme, Stand To! *Misfire is an interesting and valuable book... a rewarding read, richly detailed, well researched and argued. * Gary Sheffield, The Critic *Miller-Melamed's compelling account of the assassination at Sarajevo in 1914 is a welcome addition to the literature on the outbreak of the Great War. Turning myth into history, Miller shows that the men responsible for the outbreak of war were not assassins, but prime ministers, foreign ministers, and generals who turned one crime into the justification for another, greater, crime we know as the First World War. * Jay Winter, Yale University *Paul Miller-Melamed asks why Gavrilo Princip is mythologized as a pivotal figure in world history when it was the actions of others which brought about war in 1914. This fresh, engaging retelling of a familiar story highlights the extent and longevity of the 'Sarajevo myths' and paints a vivid portray of the assassin, his victims, and their different, yet similar, worlds which collided on 28 June 1914 * Annika Mombauer, The Open University *The story of the assassination of Franz-Ferdinand has been so often told that most now assume to know what 'Sarajevo, 1914' was and meant. Miller-Melamed's compelling narrative, steeped in his masterful and nuanced command of the scholarly literature, show how little those events are understood to this day. Misfire's retelling shows the characters in this plot should not be dismissed as bit-part actors in the wider drama of the First World War. Neither should the Balkans be treated as a peripheral backwater of Europe when its politics and peoples played a critical role in shaping modern Europe as we know it. Misfire is a remarkable demonstration of the craft of historical writing. Anyone with a keen interest in history, not merely World War I historians, will thoroughly enjoy this book and learn a great deal from it. * Pierre Purseigle, University of Warwick *An engrossing examination of how World War I began, how it is remembered, and the differences between the two, Misfire does not complicate the story of World War I's origins; rather, it serves as a reminder that history is always more complicated than its mythmakers and storytellers suggest. * Eileen Gonzalez, Foreword Reviews *Table of ContentsAcknowledgments Introduction: "I could have practically touched him" Chapter One: "Tools" of Progress Chapter Two: Worlds Apart Chapter Three: Vying Visions Chapter Four: An "Epic" Conspiracy! Chapter Five: "World History is Horrific From Up Close" Chapter Six: "The First Shots of the First World War" Conclusion: "The Bottom of the Matter" Notes Bibliography Index
£26.59
Oxford University Press Inc Conquistadors and Aztecs A History of the Fall of
Book SynopsisA new account of the conquest of Mexico that focuses on the fall of Tenochtitlan, the capital of the Aztecs, timed for the 500th anniversary of this world historical event.Table of ContentsAcknowledgments Introduction Chapter 1: Setting Off for the New World Chapter 2: The Expedition Begins Chapter 3: The World of the Mexica Chapter 4: Totonacapan Chapter 5: Tlaxcala Chapter 6: Tenochtitlan Chapter 7: War and Destruction Chapter 8: Endless Conquest Chapter 9: The Legacy of the Conquest Conclusion Notes Bibliography Index
£26.99
Oxford University Press Revolution and Dictatorship Russia 19171953
Book SynopsisPlease note this title is suitable for any student studying:Exam Board: AQALevel/Subject: AS and A Level HistoryFirst teaching: 2015First exams: June 2017Retaining well-loved features from the previous editions, Revolution and Dictatorship has been approved by AQA and matched to the new 2015 specification. This textbook explores in-depth the practice of communism in Russia. It focuses on key ideas such as Marxism, Leninism and Stalinism, ideological control and dictatorship, and covers events and developments with precision.Students can further develop vital skills such as historical interpretations and source analyses via specially selected sources and extracts. Practice questions and study tips provide additional support to help familiarise students with the new exam style questions, and help them achieve their best in the exam.
£39.78
Oxford University Press Challenge and Transformation Britain c18511964
Book SynopsisPlease note this title is suitable for any student studying:Exam Board: AQALevel/Subject: AS and A Level HistoryFirst teaching: 2015First exams: June 2017Retaining well-loved features from the previous editions, Challenge and Transformation has been approved by AQA and matched to the new 2015 specification. This textbook covers in-breadth issues of change, continuity, and cause and consequence in this period of British history through key questions such as how did democracy and political organisations develop in Britain, how important were ideas and ideologies, and how did society and social policy develop? Its aim is to enable you to understand and make connections between the six key thematic questions covered in the specification. Students can further develop vital skills such as historical interpretations and source analyses via specially selected sources and extracts. Practice questions and study tips provide additional support to help familiarise students with the new exam style
£41.87
Oxford University Press Oxford AQA History for A Level Democracy and
Book SynopsisThis Democracy and Nazism: Germany 1918-1945 Revision Guide is part of the bestselling Oxford AQA History for A Level series. 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 Democracy and Nazism Germany. 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 Student Books or
£11.50
Oxford University Press Me Me Me
Book SynopsisMany commentators tell us that, in today''s world, everyday life has become selfish and atomised--that individuals live only to consume. But are they wrong?In Me, Me, Me, Jon Lawrence re-tells the story of England since the Second World War through the eyes of ordinary people--including his own parents-- to argue that, in fact, friendship, family, and place all remain central to our daily lives, and whilst community has changed, it is far from dead. He shows how, in the years after the Second World War, people came increasingly to question custom and tradition as the pressure to conform to societal standards became intolerable. And as soon as they could, millions escaped the closed, face-to-face communities of Victorian Britain, where everyone knew your business. But this was not a rejection of community per se, but an attempt to find another, new way of living which was better suited to the modern world. Community has become personal and voluntary, based on genuine affection rather thTrade ReviewA vivid and convincing argument about the eternal tug between individualism and community. * Peter Mandler, History Today, Books of the Year 2019 *[A] lively and generous study ... Lawrence's argument is stronger for the way in which it goes against the grain of prevailing thought about social change ... Me, Me, Me? gives its readers a vital alternative prism through which to view present-day social divisions. * Lynsey Hanley, The Financial Times *This richly researched history [...] uncovers the reality behind romantic cliches of our postwar past. [Lawrence] convincingly suggests that the real history of community is one in which people have combined solidarity with self-reliance and privacy ... He makes his case with great clarity. * Selina Todd, The Guardian *A refreshingly optimistic and generally convincing study. * A. W. Purdue, The Times Higher Education Supplement *An evocative exploration of how working-class attitudes have evolved over time in Britain [...] which reads with the colour and interest of a novel. * Gordon Parsons, The Morning Star *Well-researched, engaging and highly informative, with real world examples from all over the country, this book is a must-read for anybody interested in learning about the complexities of British cultural heritage and society. * Colour PR Blog *Table of Contents1: Introduction 2: Family and Place 3: Community and Private Life in Post-war England 4: Moving Out 5: Getting On: The Booming South 6: The Swinging Sixties on Tyneside 7: The Dream is Over 8: Into the Millennium 9: Postscript: Where are We Heading? Appendix - Note on anonymity and sources Notes Bibliography Index
£26.77
Oxford University Press Penning Poison
Book SynopsisThis book is about anonymity, emotion, and detection. Gathering surviving anonymous letters penned in England between 1760-1939 together, it identifies possible authors and explores the impact they had on individuals and communities, charting how developments in postal services, detection, and the media influenced writers and their targets.
£11.69
Oxford University Press Cricket Country An Indian Odyssey in the Age of
Book SynopsisCricket is an Indian game accidentally invented by the English, it has famously been said. But India was represented by a cricket team long before it became a nation.Conceived by an unlikely coalition of imperial and local elites, it took twelve years and four failed attempts before the first Indian cricket team made its debut on the playing fields of imperial Britain. Drawing on an unparalleled range of original archival sources, Cricket Country is the story of this first ''All India'' national cricket tour of Great Britain and Ireland. It is also simultaneously the extraordinary tale of how the idea of India took shape on the cricket pitch long before the country gained its political independence.Replete with a highly improbable cast of characters, the tour took place against the backdrop of anti-colonial protest and revolutionary terrorism in the high noon of Edwardian imperialism, with an Indian team that included the young, newly enthroned ruler of the most powerful Sikh state in India as its captain and, remarkably for the day, two Dalit cricketers as well.Over the course of their historic tour in the blazing Coronation summer of 1911, these Indian cricketers participated in a collective enterprise that epitomizes the way in which sport - and above all cricket - helped fashion the imagined communities of both nation and empire.Trade ReviewCricket Country marks a very significant departure from the conventional writings on Indian cricket in "setting its narrative within a transnational frame"...It also significantly contributes to the genre of exploring neglected episodes of Indian sporting history and reconstructing the fascinating narratives of those episodes in the context of colonial and postcolonial India. * Kausik Bandyopadhyay, Journal of Modern History *For scholars involved in the humanities and social sciences of sport, there is much to learn and use from the findings reported by Kidambi from his archival research. For the philosophers of sport, this material should also prompt further reflection on the implications of spreading sports over large geographical areas while sticking to formally unified technical frameworks. * Jacob Kornbeck, The International Journal of the History of Sport *Shortlisted for the 2020 Wolfson History PrizeSelected as a 2019 Sport Book of the Year in The Financial TimesPrashant Kidambi tells the intriguing story of the first "All-India", and largely forgotten, team to reach British shores ... Kidambi's achievement is to retrieve from obscurity the backbone of the team, including a Dalit, or low-caste, bowler Palwankar Baloo, and Muslim cricketers from the Islamic educational centre of Aligarh. * James Lamont, The Financial Times *5* review: This book is an engagingly written and deeply researched social history of the last days of imperial Britain, and the first days of Modern India. The 1911 tour is used as a framing device through which the author explores the ties that bound the colony together and the slow beginnings of an Indian nationhood. It is a history book, not a cricket book, and all the better for it. * Theo Barclay, The Daily Telegraph *Kidambi's forensic eye and vast array of sources make for a ... nuanced revisionism. Not that he pulls his punches. * Shomit Dutta, The Times Literary Supplement *Cricket Country explores both the history of imperial British cricket in India and colonial Indian cricket in Britain, as well as cricket as a vehicle for nation-building, cultural diplomacy, imperial pedagogy and masculinity, but at its heart tells the tale of a group of men in search of sporting glory... Prashant Kidambi traces the story with great detail, which will delight cricket enthusiasts. * Shompa Lahiri, BBC History Magazine *You don't have to know a lot about cricket, or even be an enthusiast, to enjoy this book ... [Kidambi] uses a lot of archival material, and presents a lot of original research, but writes it in a very engaging way. * Richard Evans, Five Books (The Best History Books: the 2020 Wolfson Prize shortlist) *Kidambi has produced a masterly piece of sports scholarship, fit to be considered alongside books on more weighty historical subjects. The depth of his research is extraordinary and his knowledge of Indian history [...] is just as important as his knowledge of cricket ... this is a terrific book. * Richard Whitehead, The Cricketer *This is a richly detailed, rewarding, fascinating book. * Alex Massie, Wisden Cricketers' Almanack 2020 *The book is 10 years' work and it shows, in its elegance and detail. By going somewhere so unexplored, and producing something so original, Kidambi lays claim to being a Rahul Dravid among cricket historians. * Gideon Haigh, The Australian *a formidable piece of scholarship that recreates the time in staggering detail. * Sharda Ugra, ESPNcricinfo *The work that has gone into Cricket Country is astonishing... there is still a particular pleasure to be had from the experience of reading a book as well edited and produced as this one... Cricket Country goes well beyond the usual parameters of cricket writing... for those who are interested in where the Indian game has come from it really is a 'must read'. * Martin Chandler, Cricket Web *Meticulously researched and impeccably sourced, this is a first-rate book of serious history that also happens to be about cricket... A well written and important book on a little-known tour. * Richard Lawrence, The Cricket Statistician *A serious contribution to the literature on Indian cricket history and cricket's position in the British Empire. Beyond that, it is an engrossing and thoroughly engaging read. * Neil Robinson, MCC Magazine *With a nod to Edmund Blunden's famous book in his title, Kidambi tells the little-known tale of the first Indian cricket team to tour England, in the summer of 1911. This may well become a classic to rank alongside the very best of cricket books. * Mike Sansbury, The Grove Bookshop *This magnificent book recreates the forgotten story of the first All India cricket team, which toured England in 1911. Featuring Brahmins and Dalits, Parsis and Muslims, and led by a Sikh, this team was forging the idea of India on the sporting field while Mohandas K. Gandhi was still an expatriate in South Africa. It is a fascinating tale, and Prashant Kidambi tells it beautifully. He juxtaposes vivid quotations from primary sources with deft sketches of personalities, close accounts of cricket matches won and lost with thoughtful meditations on imperialism and nationalism. Scholars, students, history and sports buffs, will all find reading Cricket Country an enormously educative as well as hugely enjoyable experience. I certainly did. * Ramachandra Guha, author of Gandhi: The Years That Changed the World, 1914-1948 *More than a hundred summers ago, an All-India cricket team toured England for the first time. Prashant Kidambi's wonderful account of that pioneering team and its bid to represent a sub-continent is the story of a motley band of cricketers calling India into being. Through the history and itinerary of this would-be 'Indian' team, Kidambi cunningly explores the meaning of belonging and representation in British India. Cricket Country s easily the most enjoyable non-fiction book you'll read this year. * Mukul Kesavan, author of Men in White: A Book of Cricket *Kidambi tells an intriguing story exceptionally well. * Shreedutta Chidananda, The Hindu *heavily researched and stylishly written * The Tribune *Cricket Country tells [its] riveting story with passion and authority. * Suresh Menon, The Hindu *A beatifully researched history * Supriya Nair, Mumbai Mirror *Cricket Country ... is as much about the country as it is about cricket. It is a book of history that uses cricket as a framing device... [It] offers ... fascinating insights. * Salil Tripathi, Mint *Remarkably researched... The account of the tour is engrossing * Uddalak Mukherjee, Telegraph India *As you get pulled into the book, there is melodrama, rioting, political manoeuvring and sneering condescension in a tight partnership with nauseating sycophancy, drunkenness, sporting skulduggery and back-stabbing. * Ruchir Joshi, India Today *Table of ContentsPreface 1: Parsi Pioneers 2: Imperial Wanderers 3: Elusive Quest 4: Reviving the Dream 5: Men in White 6: The Captain's Story 7: City of the World 8: Indian Summer 9: Lost and Won 10: Beyond the Boundary 11: Ends and Beginnings Bibliography Index
£19.49
Oxford University Press Thinking with Dogs in Roman Britain
a huge range and FREE tracked UK delivery on ALL orders.
£33.25
Oxford University Press The French Revolution 17891799
Book SynopsisThis book provides a succinct yet up-to-date and challenging approach to the French Revolution of 1789-1799 and its consequences. Peter McPhee provides an accessible and reliable overview and one which deliberately introduces students to central debates among historians.The book has two main aims. One aim is to consider the origins and nature of the Revolution of 1789-99. Why was there a Revolution in France in 1789? Why did the Revolution follow its particular course after 1789? When was it ''over''? A second aim is to examine the significance of the Revolutionary period in accelerating the decay of Ancien Regime society. How ''revolutionary'' was the Revolution? Was France fundamentally changed as a result of it?Of particular interest to students will be the emphasis placed by the author on the repercussions of the Revolution on the practives of daily life: the lived experience of the Revolution. The author''s recent work on the environmental impact of the Revolution is also incorporated to provide a lively, modern, and rounded picture of France during this critical phase in the development of modern Europe.Trade ReviewOverall, I think [this book] is one of the best short histories of the Revolution to appear in many years. He is particularly successful in integrating specific case examples and quotations from the period into his general narrative and historiographic analysis and in thus conveying the drama and passion of the Revolution, so often passed over in texts of this kind. It also provides an excellent corrective to many recent "revisionist" texts, reasserting the importance of social dynamics before and during the Revolution and eshewing simplistic explanations of the Terror based solely on ideology or internal politics. Finally, I am impressed by his effective integration of a great deal of new scholarship published during the last decade, notably in his treatment of rural history and the experience of women during the Revolution. In sum, I would strongly recommend the book, and I look forward to trying it out in my own courses. * Timothy Tackett, University of California *Peter McPhee's history of the French Revolution is a real tour de force. More successfully than any other general history of the period, it combines an admirably clear narrative of this complex decade with an intelligent survey and analysis of other historians' perspectives. Beside them, McPhee sets out his own understandings of the Revolution sensibly and undogmatically so that readers can judge their merits. Beyond these strengths, the book is enriched by illuminating discussions of the effects of the Revolution on everyday lives of women and men and by a refreshing attention to rural France - the home of the great majority of French people at the time. Written in a lively and engaging way, this book cannot but draw readers more deeply into one of the most fascinating periods in world history. * Roderick Phillips, Carleton University *With an easy style and a clear purpose, Professor Peter McPhee pilots students past key questions of the origin and course, meaning and significance of the French Revolution. Touching most debates in the historiography, McPhee's history still offers a sound narrative of revolutionary events, egos and enactments, always in chapters of manageable length, always with an eye to evidence that's first-hand, fascinating and fresh. Scores of students and teachers will owe him a debt of thanks. * Adrian Jones, La Trobe University *Table of ContentsIntroduction ; 1. France in the 1780s ; 2. The Crisis of the Old Regime ; 3. The Revolution of 1789 ; 4. The Reconstruction of France, 1789-91 ; 5. A Second Revolution, 1792 ; 6. The Revolution in the Balance, 1793 ; 7. The Terror: revolutionary Defence or Paranoia? ; 8. Ending the Revolution, 1795-9 ; 9. The Significance of the Revolution ; Maps ; Appendix 1: Chronology ; Appendix 2: The Revolutionary Calendar ; A Guide to Further Reading
£28.97
Oxford University Press Enlightened Oxford
Book SynopsisEnlightened Oxford aims to discern, establish, and clarify the multiplicity of connections between the University of Oxford, its members, and the world outside; to offer readers a fresh, contextualised sense of the University''s role in the state, in society, and in relation to other institutions between the Williamite Revolution and the first decade of the nineteenth century, the era loosely describable (though not without much qualification) as England''s ancien regime.Nigel Aston asks where Oxford fitted in to the broader social and cultural picture of the time, locating the University''s importance in Church and state, and pondering its place as an institution that upheld religious entitlement in an ever-shifting intellectual world where national and confessional boundaries were under scrutiny. Enlightened Oxford is less an inside history than a consideration of an institutional presence and its place in the life of the country and further afield. While admitting the degree of corpTable of ContentsIntroduction 1: Fame, Form, and Function: the University's place and purpose in the long eighteenth century Intellectual Presence 2: Oxford and British academic contexts after the Glorious Revolution 3: The defence of the Church of England and Christian belief 4: Oxford and the Arts and Humanities 5: Oxford and contemporary science: anxiety, adaptation, and advance Institutional Presence and Interactions 6: University personnel: offices, influence, and the polity 7: Oxford and the Crown 8: Oxford, the world of Westminster, and the defence of the University's interests 9: Beyond the University: Outreach and connections in England, Wales, Scotland, and Ireland Cultural Constructions, Connections, and Tensions 10: The University as seen from outside 11: Oxford and the wider world: the European connections and imperial involvements of the University 12: Insider trading: family, friendship, connection, and culture beyond the University Conclusion: Oxford variations on an Enlightenment theme
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