European history Books

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

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Book SynopsisThe sensational second volume of Charles Moore''s bestselling authorized biography of the Iron LadyIn June 1983 Margaret Thatcher won the biggest increase in a government''s Parliamentary majority in British electoral history. Over the next four years, as Charles Moore relates in this central volume of his uniquely authoritative biography, Britain''s first woman prime minister changed the course of her country''s history and that of the world, often by sheer force of will.The book reveals as never before how she faced down the Miners'' Strike, transformed relations with Europe, privatized the commanding heights of British industry and continued the reinvigoration of the British economy. It describes her role on the world stage with dramatic immediacy, identifying Mikhail Gorbachev as ''a man to do business with'' before he became leader of the Soviet Union, and then persistently pushing him and Ronald Reagan, her great ideological soulmate, to order world affaTrade ReviewOne of the great biographical achievements of our times. -- Dominic Sandbrook * Sunday Times *This is a magnificent piece of work, and when he has completed it with the third volume, Moore will have done the justice she deserves to a great Prime Minister. -- William Waldegrave * Evening Standard *Moore's project is a study of detailed depth, and fine and transparent judgements, which rises to the largeness of a figure and a time that were of world significance. -- John Lloyd * FT *An awesomely thorough and authoritative portrait ... the definitive explanation of the strange person who most shaped modern Britain. -- Andy Beckett * Guardian *

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Book SynopsisThese nine biographies illuminate the careers, personalities and military campaigns of some of Rome''s greatest statesmen, whose lives span the earliest days of the Republic to the establishment of the Empire. Selected from Plutarch''s Roman Lives, they include prominent figures who achieved fame for their pivotal roles in Roman history, such as soldierly Marcellus, eloquent Cato and cautious Fabius. Here too are vivid portraits of ambitious, hot-tempered Coriolanus; objective, principled Brutus and open-hearted Mark Anthony, who would later be brought to life by Shakespeare. In recounting the lives of these great leaders, Plutarch also explores the problems of statecraft and power and illustrates the Roman people''s genius for political compromise, which led to their mastery of the ancient world.Table of ContentsMakers of RomeIntroduction1. Coriolanus2. Fabius Maximus3. Macellus4. Cato the Elder5. Tiberius Gracchus6. Gaius Gracchus7. Sertorius8. Brutus9. Mark AntonyAppendixMaps

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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.

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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 *

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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''.

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Book SynopsisGeorge IV spent most of his life waiting to become king: as a pleasure-loving and rebellious Prince of Wales during the sixty-year reign of his father, George III, and for ten years as Prince Regent, when his father went mad. ''The days are very long when you have nothing to do'' he once wrote plaintively, but he did his best to fill them with pleasure - women, art, food, wine, fashion, architecture. He presided over the creation of the Regency style, which came to epitomise the era, and he was, with Charles I, the most artistically literate of all our kings. Yet despite his life of luxury and indulgence, George died alone and unmourned. Stella Tillyard has not written a judgemental book, but a very human and enjoyable one, about this most colourful of all British kings.Trade Reviewexcellent... Tillyard offers insightful and balanced analysis of this ambivalent figure -- Jane Darcy * Times Literary Supplement *

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Book SynopsisTrade Reviewoutstanding ... Otte's colossal, learned and measured book presents a powerful case for the defence ... It is true that Grey failed to avert war, but probably nobody could have succeeded. As Otte's excellent book shows, he did his best. -- Dominic Sandbrook * Sunday Times *No biography of Grey has ever been so thorough and scholarly as this -- Simon Heffer * Sunday Telegraph *If you read just one book of history this Christmas, it should be T.G. Otte's re-evaluation in Statesman of Europe: A Life of Sir Edward Grey. This beautifully written biography of one of the most humane, perceptive and intelligent diplomats is a wistful reminder of what Britain might have been like if Lloyd George had not destroyed the Liberal party. -- Jonathan Sumption * Spectator Books of the Year *a magisterial account that is unlikely to be bettered -- Martin Pugh * Times Literary Supplement *T.G. Otte's Statesman of Europe: A Life of Sir Edward Grey is magnificent - its depth of analysis formidable and its humanity moving. -- Allan Mallinson * Spectator Books of the Year *a very well written and comprehensive ... This scholarly, readable and objective book will be the standard biography of Sir Edward Grey for decades to come. It triumphantly gives him his proper desserts as an eminent Edwardian gentleman who did his best to save his country from what he knew would be a catastrophic war -- Andrew Roberts * The Critic *In Statesman of Europe T.G. Otte brings Grey to the fore, presenting his life as "a useful prism through which the disruptions that produced modern Britain are thrown into sharper relief." Along the way, he takes up questions of crisis management and great-power rivalry that are still pressing today ... Otte, a leading British historian of diplomacy, emphasizes the complexity of Grey's personality along with the complexity of the problems he tried to manage ... . Otte, a deft chronicler and shrewd analyst, makes a strong case for Edward Grey as a great statesman-not least in his pursuit of what we would today call multilateralism -- William Anthony Hay * Wall Street Journal *In Statesman of Europe - the first full biography for half a century - T. G. Otte offers a sensitive and elegant portrait of our longest-serving foreign secretary (11 years on the trot): a politician whose principled pragmatism and sense of civic duty strike an appealing, if elegiac, note in 2020. -- David Reynolds * New Statesman Books of the Year *Thomas Otte, in this compendious and elegant biography, paints a portrait of a deeply moral, patient and conscientious figure who did not love the world of high politics, but felt it his duty to pursue a role in public life and did so for 48 years. ... Otte's is a rich and rounded portrait of Grey, whom he restore[s] to his place as a humane and dutiful Liberal politician of the old school -- Paul Lay * The Times *This book is a reading for our times. It is a stalwart defence of politics as the careful, sensitive and pragmatic management of constant change, and of political history as an education in these truths ... it makes a significant mark. -- Jonathan Parry * London Review of Books *an outstanding biography, beautifully written, richly documented and persuasively argued ... Otte has given us a superb biography of this important figure. Statesman of Europe is sub-titled A Life of Sir Edward Grey. For the foreseeable future it is likely to be the life of Sir Edward Grey. -- David Dutton * Journal of Liberal History *Otte has already made a name for himself with a series of books and publications on British foreign policy, and this biography, Statesman of Europe (2020), can be regarded as the provisional crown on his work. -- Beatrice de Graaf * NRC Handelsblad *Edward Grey belonged to an era when British foreign policy carried global consequences. Most importantly, in July 1914 he led international efforts to forestall war. In T.G.Otte, Grey has found a historian whose fluency, scholarship and empathy match his subject's principled and pragmatic diplomacy. Otte unravels Grey's enigmas - his marriage, his preference for rural life over politics and above all his thinking on war and peace. In Statesman of Europe, now much the fullest and most authoritative account of Grey's life, he has brought to the man the poise and balance that Grey sought for his country. -- Sir Hew Strachen

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Book SynopsisSHORTLISTED FOR THE CUNDILL HISTORY PRIZE''A masterpiece of biography ... a vivid account of a family at the heart of some of the great cultural shifts of the modern era'' John Gray, New Statesman''The whole of British intellectual life seems accessible through some branch of this sprawling family tree'' The GuardianIn his early twenties, poor, depressed, stranded in the Coral Sea on the seemingly endless survey mission of HMS Rattlesnake, hopelessly in love with the young Englishwoman Henrietta Heathorn, Thomas Henry Huxley was a nobody. And yet together he and Henrietta would return to London and go on to found one of the great intellectual and scientific dynasties of their age.The Huxley family through four generations profoundly shaped how we all see ourselves, as individuals and as a species, one among many. They worked as scientists, novelists, mystics, film-makers, poets and - perhaps above all - as pubTrade ReviewA vivid account of a family at the heart of some of the great cultural shifts of the modern era ... a masterpiece of biography. -- John Gray * New Statesman *An intellectual history of Britain through the radical shifts in science and society that gave birth to modernity ... The whole of British intellectual life seems accessible through some branch of this sprawling family tree. -- Stephen Buranyi * The Guardian *Balancing scholarly rigour with an eye for the absurd, her book reveals the human drama behind scientific fact. * The Economist *What a family, what a story, and so cleverly told. Alison Bashford constructs a narrative that intertwines the lives of four generations of Huxleys, boldly forgoing traditional chronology for illuminating synthesis. Absolutely fascinating. -- Andrea Wulf, author of The Invention of Nature: Alexander von Humboldt’s New WorldSuperbly original and evocatively stylish ... Bashford has ingeniously created a loosely chronological account that weaves their own lives and experiences within ever-shifting attitudes towards evolution. -- Patricia Fara * BBC History Magazine *A patient, sympathetic portrait of a family riven with flaws. -- AN Wilson * Spectator *A detailed, nuanced, and superbly written joint biography of the intellectual lineage of the Huxleys ... rich and compelling ... Bashford elegantly reminds us that science has never banished the sacred for the secular, the irrational for the logical. Rather, it creates opportunities for new syntheses, new configurations of life, mind, soul, body, nature, and society. -- Philip Ball * The Lancet *Ambitious, scholarly ... a biography of ideas, using one family's history to explore the development of theories about generations, genealogy and genes, chronicling shifting attitudes to religion, race, women and animal experimentation - from morphology to ethology. -- Annalena McAfee * Financial Times *Lucid, lively and addictive ... a panoramic view of an era of extraordinary and accelerated change ... a celebration of intellectual bravery. -- Morag Fraser * Inside Story *I was captivated from beginning to end by the richness of the detail, the flaws and all personal biographies and most of all blown away by the intimate narrative of how the biggest science stories of the age had a Huxley as ringmaster or provocateur at their heart. -- Tim SmitDaring and joyously intelligent ... It is an astounding achievement that Bashford has transformed such a super-abundance of material into a richly rewarding and comprehensible book. The Huxleys brings the reader into easy familiarity with great minds at work. -- Richard Davenport-Hines * Wall Street Journal *Full of surprises on every page, this book makes you wonder why all history can't have the engaging intimacy of a novel. Bashford brilliantly marries intellectual history with the story of four generations of a great family in a literary tour de force. -- Professor Jim Secord, author of Visions of ScienceOver three generations, the extraordinary Huxley family have changed and reshaped the way we see ourselves. Now Alison Bashford has written a fascinating book that links T H Huxley, the great Victorian scientist with a Caribbean-born wife, to their remarkable grandchildren, Aldous and Julian, in a way that shows how the family struggled with depression and even lunacy while emphasising the crucial role played by the wives, sisters and daughters of these strange and brilliant men. It's a wonderful and important story, one that held me enthralled from start to end. -- Miranda SeymourPacked with insights into the brilliance of three generations of the Huxley family, Bashford's book tells a magnificent story about the huge personalities and shortcomings that propelled evolutionary science and much else besides. Male and female, from Victorian patriarch to zoo director, authors, lovers, and poets: the pages dance with accounts of contemporary literature, psychology, politics, anthropology, religion, and art. -- Janet Browne, author of Charles Darwin: A Biography and The Quotable DarwinOne of the most compelling and tragic multigenerational scientific legacies ... Bashford tells the story of these intertwined lives with sympathy and candour but also with dexterity. Readers follow the Huxleys as they contemplate nonhuman animals, primates, man, and mind in their intergenerational quest to understand the implications of evolution on what it means, or might mean, to be human." -- Piers J. Hale * Science *Who are we? What is our place in nature? How can we design morality and religion in a world informed by science? Alison Bashford moves across the Huxley generations, tracing how Thomas Henry and his gifted brood struggled to answer these questions, in the process shaping outlooks we hold today. -- Manvir Singh * New Yorker *A scholarly study of T. H. Huxley and his grandson [and a] guide to the history of evolutionary thinking... it's impressive that Bashford can command both these types of writing with equal authority. -- Stefan Collini * London Review of Books *How did a biological theory become such a central part of modern life? ... Bashford traces a cultural phenomenon that has profoundly shaped society and revolutionized our understanding of what it means to be human. -- Stuart Mathieson * Nature *It would be difficult to overstate the debt of gratitude owed to the Huxley dynasty for our knowledge of evolution in all its forms. Bashford narrates the fascinating story of 200 years o modern science and culture through one family history. -- Jules Stewart * Geographical Magazine *Bashford has crafted a masterful biography of Thomas Henry Huxley, patriarch of an evolutionary dynasty, his inheritor and grandson Julian, and the families that sustained them. Interweaving their public contributions to science and private poems, she deftly charts a generational quest to understand and articulate the human condition. -- Erika Lorraine Milam, author of Creatures of CainAlison Bashford's intimate story of the Huxley clan reveals the ambiguities that arise if we apply modern values to past heroes. Here science, society and personalities interact to bring the past alive. -- Peter Bowler, author of Progress Unchained: Ideas of Evolution, Human History and the Future

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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

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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

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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.

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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

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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

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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

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Book SynopsisThis Very Short Introduction provides a concise, accurate, and lively portrait of Napoleon Bonaparte''s character and career, situating him firmly in historical context.David Bell emphasizes the astonishing sense of human possibility--for both good and ill--that Napoleon represented. By his late twenties, Napoleon was already one of the greatest generals in European history. At thirty, he had become absolute master of Europe''s most powerful country. In his early forties, he ruled a European empire more powerful than any since Rome, fighting wars that changed the shape of the continent and brought death to millions. Then everything collapsed, leading him to spend his last years in miserable exile in the South Atlantic. Bell emphasizes the importance of the French Revolution in understanding Napoleon''s career. The revolution made possible the unprecedented concentration of political authority that Napoleon accrued, and his success in mobilizing human and material resources. Without the political changes brought about by the revolution, Napoleon could not have fought his wars. Without the wars, he could not have seized and held onto power. Though his virtual dictatorship betrayed the ideals of liberty and equality, his life and career were revolutionary.Table of ContentsList of illustrationsIntroduction1. The Corsican, 1769-17962. The General, 1796-17993. The First Consul, 1799-18044. The Emperor, 1804-18125. Downfall, 1812-1815Epilogue: 1815-2015ReferencesIndex

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Book SynopsisAlexander * Demosthenes * Phocion * Eumenes * Demetrius * Pyrrhus * Agis and Cleomenes * Aratus * Philopoemen * FlamininusThis selection of ten Lives traces the history of Hellenistic Greece from the rise of Macedon and Alexander''s conquest of the Persian empire to the arrival of the Romans. Plutarch''s biographies of eminent politicians, rulers, and soldiers combine vivid portraits of their subjects with a wealth of historical information; they constitute a uniquely important source for the period. We see how Greek politics changed as Macedon''s power grew, and we learn of the warlords who followed Alexander. Resistance to Macedon is reflected in the Lives of Demosthenes and Aratus, and that of Agis and Cleomenes, two revolutionary kings of Sparta. The volume concludes with the emergence of Rome in Greek affairs, and the life of Flamininus, the Roman general who defeated Philip V of Macedon.Plutarch''s elegant style combines anecdote and erudition, humour and psychological insight, consummately translated by Robin Waterfield and introduced by Andrew Erskine. These Lives from the Hellenistic period complement Greek Lives and Roman Lives in Oxford World''s Classics. ABOUT THE SERIES: For over 100 years Oxford World''s Classics has made available the widest range of literature from around the globe. Each affordable volume reflects Oxford''s commitment to scholarship, providing the most accurate text plus a wealth of other valuable features, including expert introductions by leading authorities, helpful notes to clarify the text, up-to-date bibliographies for further study, and much more.Trade ReviewWith a chronology and maps, this is a practical and helpful book for the student of the Hellenistic period * Ray Morris, Classics for All Reviews *Table of ContentsINTRODUCTION; SELECT BIBLIIOGRAPHY; CHRONOLOGY; MAPS; ALEXANDER; DEMOSTHENES; PHOCION; EUMENES; DEMETRIUS; PYRRHUS; AGIS AND CLEOMENES; ARATUS; PHILOPOEMEN; FLAMININUS; TEXTUAL NOTES; EXPLANATORY NOTES; INDEX OF PROPER NAMES

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Book SynopsisOf one-and-a-half million photographs related to Nazi concentration camps, only four depict the actual process of mass killing perpetrated at the gas chambers. This book reveals that these photos of Auschwitz, taken clandestinely by one of the Jewish prisoners forced to help carry out the atrocities there, were made as a potent act of resistance.Trade Review"Images in Spite of All provides the carefully extended anguished engagement, both epitaph and caption, that the subject demands." (William T. Vollman, Bookforum)"

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Book SynopsisTrade Review"West’s learned, innovative study offers a cultural anthropology of the Elizabethan stage—of the language in play texts and contemporaneous discussions of theater. West does not provide extended readings of individual plays, though he comments briefly on many. Rather, he focuses on the intertwining of confusions and conclusions—a favorite rhyme of the playwrights—in a theater where 'performances' embodied 'provocations toward meaning rather than representations of a meaning.' . . . Summing Up: Highly recommended." * Choice *"West shows that playing, players, and playgoers were likened to a great many things, and it is in detailing these surprising affinities that he constructs a richly revealing account of the commercial theater as a social and embodied practice through the last quarter of the sixteenth century . . . Ingenious in its methodology and invaluable in its contribution, Common Understandings is a provocation to scholars of the early modern English theater and beyond: the book invites us not only to reconsider what counts as evidence of playing, but to recast our familiar stories about it in new light." * Modern Philology *“This exhilarating book reveals, in vivid detail, what early modern theater was like as an experience. By investigating not playing itself, but metaphors about it, West shows how theater was viewed at the time—as a place of fear or wonder, described in terms of chaos, fighting, being in a siege, eating, dancing. Common Understandings, Poetic Confusion enables us to understand, as never before, the edginess, thrill, and danger of plays and performance in the time of Shakespeare.” -- Tiffany Stern, author of Documents of Performance in Early Modern England“A dazzling account of how early modern playgoers experienced theater in the decades between 1575 and 1610, Common Understandings, Poetic Confusion links theatrical knowing and feeling to shared corporeal events and bodily sensations. Theoretically rich and brimming with telling examples, West’s book shows how the habitus of early modern playgoing was created by collective acts as simple as eating, drinking, and remembering within the bounded space of the theater.” -- Jean E. Howard, Columbia UniversityTable of ContentsA Note on Textual and Other Performances Introduction There Is Not Agreement of Opinion All the World’s a Stage Every Like Is Not the Same 1: Playing Merely Players What Learn You By That? But Mark This Show 2: Occupatio An Excellent Good Word Before It Was Ill Sorted Looking Well to Borders So Curious in New Fangles 3: Understanders Deep in Understanding Plain and Easy to Be Understanden All Readers to Be Understanders Feelingly Perceive 4: Confusion Nothing but Confusion and Errors Babylonical Confusion What More Fitter Occasion? Diverse Men of Diverse Minds Commons Knowledge Interlude. Playing, Thinking 5: Supposes Valedictions to Sense Brokers of Another’s Wit A Stalking-Stamping Player Authors of All the Content 6: Eating Between Meals Some Hungry Scenes Playing with Food 7: Non Plus I’ll Have a Challenge, Too Fencers, Bearwards, Common Players Non Plus Trying Conclusions Acknowledgments Notes Index

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Book SynopsisDiscover the 12 crucial moments in Britain''s past that will answer the greatest questions for our future in this richly insightful and fascinating history''A richly entertaining canter through the country''s past. Engrossing'' INDEPENDENT___________What is Britain?Where lie its boundaries?Why are they always changing?Are we a small island or a big idea?What will we look like next?In Small Island: 12 Maps that Explain the History of Britain, Philip Parker answers these and other crucial questions about this country and its peoples.By pondering our intertwined geography and history, he shows how the past has made Britain and how we might yet shape its future.Trade ReviewCharting the formation and then break-up of British rule, Small Island provides a richly entertaining canter through the country's past. An engrossing book, offering stimulating observations about our cultural evolution as well as predictions for Britain's future. * Independent *His rather bouncy style makes this a perfect book for a summer read that informs, engages and entertains * Great British Life *

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Book SynopsisThe bestselling book that inspired the Bafta-winning BBC dramaCorruption. Blackmail. Conspiracy to murder. A Very English Scandal has all the hallmarks of a classic thriller with one difference. It''s all true.In the late 1960s Jeremy Thorp, the charismatic leader of the Liberal Party, was at the height of his political career. But homosexuality had only just been legalized, and a former relationship with a younger man named Norman Scott threatened to destroy Thorp''s carefully curated facade. Helped by fellow politicians, Thorpe schemed, deceived and embezzled until he saw only one way to silence his ex-lover for good.Meticulously researched and endlessly extraordinary, Thorp''s trial captured the moment that British society discovered the truth about its political class - and learned just how far the Establishment will go to protect its own.''Gripping. A story of cack-handed assassins, buffoonish policemen, dodgy Home Secretaries'' Trade ReviewThe shocking true story of the first British politician to stand trial for murder * Publisher's description *This is a brilliant, sad, startling nonfiction novel about the Jeremy Thorpe murder-plot scandal. It is as funny and dark as anything by Evelyn Waugh or Jonathan Coe. And in these post Cyril Smith/Jimmy Saville days, it's so timely and relevant * Jon Ronson *A terrific book and brilliantly researched. John Preston writes wonderful dead-pan prose and reveals the depths of depravity, the absurd power of snobbery and the old boy networks of the time -- Claire TomalinA brilliant exploration of an extraordinary political scandal... deeply researched, fluently written, and darkly comic, it reads like a thriller -- Ben MacintyreI loved it; eccentric, dark, humane and English in the very best sense. It's going to be a sure fire-hit -- Alain de BottonThe most forensic, elegantly written, compelling account of one of the 20th century's great political scandals... a real page-turner' * Observer *Very funny and endlessly extraordinary... makes for amazing reading -- Catherine Shoard * Guardian *Impeccably researched... full of shocks, surprises and laugh-out-loud moments. Preston revives a forgotten era and delves into the personalities behind the headlines. * Times Crime Club *Retold with masterful skill... It grips like a detective story, as compelling as BBC2's Life of Duty and every bit as dirty in what it exposes about the upper echelons of society in the Sixties and Seventies * Daily Mail Book of the Week *This brilliant account made me feel I was hearing the tale for the first time ... Preston is an enthralling narrator * Mail on Sunday *Gripping ... cack-handed assassins, buffoonish policemen, dodgy Home secretaries and sozzled judges. The conclusion of an Establishment cover-up is hard to avoid * Daily Telegraph *The unbelievable truth... Preston is a natural storyteller ... he provides the context for actions that seem unbelievable today * The Times *Wonderfully readable ... John Preston is the ideal author, having researched for years many minor characters and talked to dozens of well-known political and literary friends and enemies of Thorpe * Standpoint *Fluent, readable ... a vivid tableau of the players in Thorpe's long, tragic downfall * Evening Standard *I spent a thrilling 48 hours reading it. The narrative is so vivid, the characterisation so brilliant... I thought I knew all about these events, but the full horror of them has only now become apparent -- Antonia FraserA gripping account of the Jeremy Thorpe case. The details make one laugh out loud or gasp with amazement -- Charles Moore * Spectator *The whole affair is retold here compellingly and fluently, bringing to life the cast of characters with some verve * The i *Nothing comes close to the eyepopping outrageousness of the gay murder shenanigans that engulfed and almost destroyed a Liberal leader. Reads like a comic thriller -- Rachel JohnsonA wonderful, wonderful read -- Nick Robinson, BBC Today Programme

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Book SynopsisBased on a close examination of letters, diaries and account books, this study offers an insight into the intimate and everyday lives of genteel women and transforms our understanding of the position of women in this period.Trade Review"The most important thing in English feminist history in the last ten years." Roy Porter; "The Gentleman's Daughter is the most important work of social history since Lawrence Stone's Family, Sex and Marriage. From now on, any historian writing about 18th-century women will have to address the arguments in Vickery's book... It is the first book to bring out into the open the debate about separate spheres. It succeeds on two levels, first as an academic argument of the highest order, and second as a fascinating and enjoyable read. Serious history is rarely this fun." Amanda Foreman, The Times; "Innovative, expertly researched and luminous in style." Linda Colley, London Review of Books; "Amanda Vickery's new history of women in Georgian England offers a revolutionary reinterpretation of the accepted script, both an academic triumph and a spell-binding read" Julie Wheelwright, The Independent

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Book SynopsisAn incisive, comparative study of the development of PostWorld War II progressive politics in the United States, Britain, and FranceTrade Review"It [The Postwar Moment] offers a sensitive reappraisal of the tensions and contradictions that both invigorated and stymied the post-war moment, charting a new course for comparative and transnational study."—Ben Huf, University of Sydney, Labour History"the book has unique value as the first to bring into conversation national trajectories of progressive histories in the West's largest traditional democracies."—Brian Shaev, Leiden University, Labour History ReviewSelected for Choice's 2019 Outstanding Academic Titles List “For decades when it was unpopular to do so for both leftists and liberals alike, Isser Woloch preserved a social democratic interpretation of the French Revolution and its implications for modern history. Today the heritage of that tradition in the middle of the twentieth century seems more relevant than ever, and we are fortunate in the extreme that Woloch’s newest magisterial book reconstructs a progressive moment after World War II in three countries with such finesse and novelty.”— Samuel Moyn, author of Not Enough: Human Rights in an Unequal World"Written with analytical verve, The Postwar Moment combines unflinching scrutiny with narrative power. From the riveting opening through its rich national histories and bracing comparative conclusion, this absorbing work reshapes how we understand the fate of progressive and democratic ambitions."—Ira Katznelson, author of Fear Itself: The New Deal and the origins of Our Time"In this brilliant synthesis, Isser Woloch fulfills the promise of comparative history by illuminating both the similarities and the differences in the way British, French, and American progressives responded to the challenges of the postwar era."—James J. Sheehan, author of Where Have All the Soldiers Gone? The Transformation of Modern Europe

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Book SynopsisThe Danube cuts across and connects central Europe, flowing through and alongside ten countries: Romania, Ukraine, Moldova, Bulgaria, Serbia, Croatia, Hungary, Slovakia, Austria and Germany. Travelling its full length from east to west, the author embarks on a year-long journey that leads to a new perspective on Europe today.Trade Review“A review can’t encompass the majestic canvas of Thorpe’s book. Wise, thoughtful, unprejudiced and consistently absorbing, it is also beautifully written.”—Miranda Seymour, Literary Review -- Miranda Seymour * Literary Review *“In this leisurely amalgam of travelogue and history, Nick Thorpe . . . has done the Danube and its ancient people proud.”—Ian Thomson, Sunday Telegraph -- Ian Thomson * The Sunday Telegraph *“Thorpe is a keen conversationalist who lets the multiple voices of riparian communities emerge on their own. The writing is graceful and the descriptions of landscape and, especially, birds are at times magnificent.”—Charles King, Times Literary Supplement -- Charles King * Times Literary Supplement *“A review can’t encompass the majestic canvas of Thorpe’s book. Wise, thoughtful, unprejudiced and consistently absorbing, it is also beautifully written . . . Thorpe’s inspired images quicken and animate the story of the dark and dreaming river to which he committed a well—spent year of travelling.”—Miranda Seymour, Literary Review -- Miranda Seymour * Literary Review *‘Early on, Thorpe asks whether, just as Herodotus labelled Egypt “the gift of the Nile”, Europe could likewise be called “the gift of the Danube”, with culture, religion, trade and people moving back and forth along its length. It’s a thought-provoking question, especially as you follow Thorpe on his meandering, enlightening journey.’—Kit Gillet, Geographical Magazine -- Kit Gillet * Geographical Magazine *‘Thorpe is a very good listener, offering wonderful portraits of the people he meets, particularly in the east. A vivid mix of geography, myths, natural history and human lives.’—P D Smith, The Guardian -- P D Smith * The Guardian *‘This book...leaves one in awe of the richness of the cultures of central Europe and with a longing for the humble pleasure of washing down a plate of fried pikeperch with a glass of Romanian white wine.’—Tom Moriarty, The Irish Times -- Tom Moriarity * Irish Times *‘A vivid mix of geography, myths, natural history and human lives.’—The Observer * The Observer *

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Book SynopsisTrade Review'This is a wonderful book, and an unusual addition to the gardening shelf. It reveals the democracy of gardening and its being both a craft and an art – a mixture of hard labour and passion. Margaret Willes's book shows how people with no money and little time to themselves produced riches on small plots – little paradises, even. How begging, borrowing (and stealing), they would create wealths of flowers and food, and find joy in doing so. How gardening would become their chosen taskmaster – and their deliverer. Willes's history is a constant statement of how green fingers have transformed lives. The book is a delight.' - Ronald Blythe, author of Akenfield 'An encyclopaedic and enjoyable read, so well written and so informative that it should appeal to anyone interested in history and horticulture.' - Bob Flowerdew, regular panel member of BBC Radio 4's Gardeners' Question Time 'Garden historians characteristically focus on the gardens of grand houses and their makers. By contrast, this is an intriguing study of an often overlooked area of both horticultural and social history. Through dauntingly energetic research, Margaret Willes has produced a colourful and remarkably detailed account of how a passion for flower and vegetable gardening has enriched the lives of millions.' - Michael Leapman, author of One Man and His Plot‘…in this wonderfully rich study, Margaret Willes reveals the forgotten history of Britain’s working-class horticulturalists’—PD Smith, the Guardian. -- P.D. Smith * The Guardian *

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Book SynopsisTrade Review'Thomas Mitchell has written a clear, lively and instructive account of the world’s first democracy in ancient Athens. He has mastered the latest scholarship in the field and put it to good use in interpreting the ancient sources and demonstrating its character and importance in shaping democratic thought and institutions throughout the millennia. The acuteness and balance of his judgments do justice to the strengths and weaknesses of such a regime, even as his belief in democracy ancient and modern enlivens analysis. All is set forth in an engaging style that will bring pleasure as well as enlightenment to his grateful readers.' - Donald Kagan, author of The Peloponnesian War'The story of democracy in classical Athens continues to be a story that raises acute questions about the principles and practices of democracies today. Thomas Mitchell's book explores that story with a light touch deeply embedded in the testimony of ancient writers and the research of modern scholars, offering an introduction that reveals the importance of understanding what Athenians thought about what they were doing, as well as the importance of what they were doing. This is the ideal foundation on which to build a critical appreciation of what Athenian democracy involved.' - Robin Osborne, author of Greece in the Making 1200–479 BC 'Democracy’s Beginning combines careful research with a passionate conviction in the potential of true democracy, as a form of government and as a way of life. Thomas Mitchell presents the full story of the rule of the people in ancient Athens, from early beginnings, through the imperial era of Pericles, to the culmination of participatory citizenship in the age of Plato and Aristotle. He warns us of the dangers of over-enthusiastic democratic foreign policy and notes the failings of Greek treatment women, slaves, and foreigners. But all the while he focuses our attention on how government of, for and by the people once did — and might again — produce a fairer, freer and more equal society.' - Josiah Ober, author of The Rise and Fall of Classical Greece"Lucid, sophisticated and elegant, Mitchell's fresh contribution to the field makes Athenian political history come alive and really matter. While its specific focus is on ancient Athens, the book never loses sight of how the study of the Athenian democracy enriches our understanding of modern democracies, and it leaves one with a sense of how the study of historical antecedents might help guide how we organize our societies in our own, and future, time."—Ralph Rosen, University of Pennsylvania'Democratic deficit is on everyone's lips these days, but Thomas Mitchell's lively and comprehensive new study harks back to the days of democratic surplus, when democracy - both the word and the thing - was young. Reading Democracy's Begnnining should be an inspiriting as well as an invigorating experience.' - Paul Cartledge, author of Ancient Greece: A History in Eleven Cities

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Book SynopsisThe fascinating story of the evolution of the country house in Britain, from its Roman precursors to the presentTrade Review“Some of those details are jawdropping. . . . What Aslet does best is provide a crisp, chronological survey of how the country house evolved architecturally from early Tudor times through to Lutyens in the early 20th century and to Quinlan Terry and the like today.”—Richard Morrison, Times (UK)“An eclectic scholarly account, tracing the evolution of the country house from the hunting lodges of the Middle Ages to the modern villas of today. . . . Mr. Aslet is an elegant writer with a wry sense of humor.”—Moira Hodgson, Wall Street Journal“Aslet, a former editor of the quietly influential magazine Country Life, provides a knowledgeable and briskly witty backdrop stretching back to the Romans and their well-built villas.”—Miranda Seymour, Financial Times“A wonderful survey of the architectural splendours of the British country house. Beginning with medieval manor houses, Aslet unfolds a history which moves through the centuries. . . . The tradition he celebrates so richly in this book still thrives.”—Nick Rennison, Daily Mail“The Story of the Country House is in many respects what we have been waiting for. . . . His book doesn’t just tell us who built what, and for whom, and in what style, but about the prevailing economic circumstances and fashions of each period.”—Simon Heffer, Daily Telegraph“The 223 pages can be read in one gripping sitting and create a desire to rush off and visit the many houses mentioned. . . . Mr Aslet’s nimble book is the perfect companion guide.”—Jeremy Musson, Country Life“Written in a wonderfully accessible style. . . . Examples abound, lively and amusing, but always subservient to the narrative. It’s a perfect primer for anyone new to the subject, but even aficionados will enjoy it for pleasure of reading a magisterial overview of Britain’s quintessential cultural form.”—Historic House Magazine“Leaving no stone unturned, this fascinating book allows readers to acquaint themselves with the architects of these houses, and their many interesting occupants.”—This England“The Story of the Country House, while based on impressive knowledge and experience, is neither a formal academic study nor a practical gazetteer. Its virtue is to encourage the reader to stop fretting about theoretical difficulties and enjoy a good story well told in amicable company.”—Stephen Bayley, Spectator“From a medieval manor house to a modern-day folly, Clive Aslet whisks us through time and place on a fascinating tour of British country houses.”—Beth Williamson, Studio International “[Aslet’s] account is enlivened not only by his descriptions of the genesis and purpose of the historical buildings he features here, but also by the stories of the owners and the architects and by an impressive evocation of the wider context and social history of the periods he covers. Add to this 60 illustrations, half of them in colour, and the result is a lively, informative and enjoyable book.”—Shiny New Books“Architecturally, every type of vast country abode is covered. . . . Along the way there are illustrations and plenty of biography, as the lives, talents and eccentricities of some of the architects and inhabitants of these edifices are revealed alongside the descriptions of the buildings themselves.”—Nic Bottomley, Bath Life“Elaborating on the idea that the country house is its own ‘little kingdom,’ architectural historian Clive Aslet explores some of the finest examples in Britain. . . . Organised by period, this is a book less about the architecture and more about the people and the context that shaped—and continues to shape—these estates.”—House & Garden, “Gifts for Bookworms”“An engaging, knowledgeable overview of this ever-developing subject, from eccentric owners to ha-has.”—Richard Hopton, Country & Town House, “Christmas Books”“Clive Aslet’s expertise is deployed masterfully in this beautifully produced new work. Modern, witty and slick, it is an excellent introduction to one of Britain’s most famous entities from the Roman period to today, successfully disentangling the ‘ghostly, indecipherable smudge’ of these houses, and their complex histories, in erudite prose packed with spice.”—Rory Fraser, The Victorian“The Story of the Country House is a witty, well-researched and absorbing retelling of the story of the British country house. Clive Aslet brings to life a fascinating cast of characters—the builders, their families, their servants and their architects, all living to nurture the beau idéal of the country house—and charts their changing fortunes and hidden histories.”—Julian Fellowes“Clive Aslet is the Capo dei Capi of British country houses—few people alive today understand them better, or better know where the bodies are buried. His decades as an architectural historian and editor, his authoritative eye and matchless prose, combine to make him the ideal person to explore this important topic.”—Nicholas Coleridge“Aslet has spent a lifetime exploring and investigating the architectural and social history of the country house and in this concise, but magisterial sweep he provides an elegant and perceptive introduction to the subject from the medieval to the present day. It is a must for the library of every country house enthusiast or anyone indeed anyone trying to understand this rich and dynamic subject in which so many threads of British culture and history meet. Aslet peppers his discerning fluent, scholarly overview with well chosen details and contemporary quotations which evoke country house culture in each period.”—Jeremy Musson“What an excellent book, an eloquent introduction to an everlasting British institution.”—Simon Jenkins

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Book SynopsisA new look which fundamentally overturns our understanding of this famously “out of touch” queenTrade Review“Marie-Antoinette: The Making of a French Queen presents [Marie-Antoinette] as much more than a symbol whose meaning is in the eye of her beholder. In Hardman’s telling she is neither martyr nor voluptuary but rather a serious participant in politics.”—Lynn Hunt, New York Review of Books“Hardman utilises years of researching the fall of the French monarchy, weaving in accounts by those who knew, loved or loathed Marie Antoinette, to offer a broadly convincing portrait of a woman who ‘inspired loyalty in strangers who were willing to risk their lives for her, even when the chances of success were slight.’ It is a thought-provoking portrait of a brave, well-intentioned, if often misguided queen.”—Gareth Russell, Times (UK)“Splendid. . . . Masterly. . . . A wonderfully gripping biography.”—Allan Massie, Wall Street Journal“[A] splendid biography. . . . It sheds genuine new light on a celebrated and tragic figure whose faults did not merit the appalling fate she suffered.”—Munro Price, Literary Review“The impressive depth of Hardman’s knowledge of the old regime’s factional court politics makes it essential reading for anyone who wants to know more about the decision-making that led France into revolution—decisions in which the queen played an active part.”—Marisa Linton, BBC History Magazine“In his new biography of the queen, John Hardman goes beyond the cliches of Marie-Antoinette’s life—the enormous wigs, her extravagant spending and ‘let them eat cake’—to reveal her as a political mover and shaker with real influence, particularly during the last months of the French monarchy.”—Laura O’Brien, History Today“It is worth making time for John Hardman’s Marie-Antoinette. . . . A well written and sympathetic life of a woman out of her depth in the world of politics, and a good companion piece to the same author’s life of her husband Louis XVI.”—Jonathan Sumption, Spectator, “Books of the Year”“Hardman is far more than a biographer, his works are key to understanding the politics of the reign of Louis XVI. Steeped in the original sources and well able to decode the plots and schemes of the factions, this is both an entertaining and convincing new interpretation of the tragic Queen.”—Peter Campbell, author of Power and Politics in Old Regime France“Superb. Hardman draws upon his vast knowledge of the period to present a new, deeply researched and compelling portrait of a much-maligned queen.”—Julian Swann, author of Exile, Imprisonment, or Death“A fresh perspective grounded in robust scholarship, Marie-Antoinette offers readers new insight into the political role of the last Queen of France.”—Will Bashor, author of Marie Antoinette’s Darkest Days

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Book SynopsisThe first complete history of Southwark, London’s stubbornly independent community over the ThamesTrade Review“A fascinating journey into a part of London which has been unjustly and unaccountably neglected – until now. Entertaining, informative and full of surprises. I loved it.”—Adrian Tinniswood, author of Noble Ambitions“A fascinating plunge into Southwark's past, ranging from Roman mosaics to the Tate Modern, bear-baiting to Borough Market. Essential reading for anyone interested in the evolution of modern London.”—Lee Jackson, author of Dickensland“No part of London has a more fascinating history than the ancient Borough of Southwark, yet no part of London has been more unjustly neglected. Margaret Willes puts matters right in this immensely readable book. It deserves pride of place on every Londoner’s bookshelves.”—Jerry White, author of Mansions of Misery“A compelling history of one of the most vibrant areas of London. A must-read for anyone who wants to find out about Southwark and its relationship with the City.”—Margarette Lincoln, author of London and the Seventeenth Century

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Book SynopsisA portrait of one of the ancient world’s first political celebrities, who veered from failure to success and back againTrade Review“Romm has long been one of the most energetic interpreters of ancient Greek history for a nonspecialist readership. . . . Romm knows how to tell a story; . . . his narrative of the epic siege of Rhodes is the most exciting I have ever read. . . . For anyone new to this tangled but thrilling period of history, Romm’s whirlwind Demetrius is now the place to start.”—Peter Thonemann, Wall Street Journal“This colorful biography of Demetrius, the vain and ambitious Macedonian monarch who sought to reunite Alexander the Great’s kingdom in the years after his death, explores his rich inner life and reveals an ancient world of violence and intrigue.”—New York Times Book Review“Romm offers a sensitive and well-judged account which will appeal to anyone wishing to contemplate what the 18th-century German naturalist Georg Forster called ‘the “incomprehensible force” in human nature that drives history’s conquerors, and their crimes.’”—Antony Spawforth, Literary Review“With great erudition, and elegance, Romm tells the story of the years after the death of Alexander the Great, revealing an ancient world whose politics, intrigue, and penchant for war will seem familiar to modern readers.”—Annette Gordon-Reed, Harvard University“Romm brilliantly sketches the life, character, and achievements of Demetrius the Besieger, the most charismatic and unstable of the Successors of Alexander the Great—and one of the most formidable.”—Robin Waterfield, author of Creators, Conquerors, and Citizens: A History of Ancient Greece“Romm’s gripping, sensitive biography traces the zigzagging career of Demetrius, cavalry commander at nineteen and notorious besieger of cities, as he strives to seize power as Alexander’s successor but ultimately languishes in luxury as a royal captive.”—Adrienne Mayor, author of The Poison King and The Amazons

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Book SynopsisVanity Fair Royals correspondent and bestselling author of William and Harry and Kate explores the remarkable life and reign of Queen Elizabeth II and the legacy she has handed down after her death to the next generation.

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Book SynopsisThe Routledge Handbook of British Politics and Society conducts a rigorous, innovative and distinctive analysis of the relationship between British politics and society, emphasizing that the UK is now far from a monolithic, and unshifting, entity. Examining the subject matter with unrivalled breadth and depth, it highlights and interrogates key contemporary debates on the future of the UK, the nature of ''Britishness'', and the merits of multiculturalism, as well as contemporary criticisms of traditional institutions and the nature of representative democracy itself. Including contributions from key authors in their respective fields who bring their authority to bear on the task of outlining the current state of the art in British Studies, the book provides a fresh examination of the contrasts and the continuities across the whole field of British Politics and Society, while setting out agendas for future research. The Routledge Handbook of British PolTrade Review"This is a particularly timely publication which deserves to be taken seriously. The key aspects of British politics are analysed in a rigorous and systematic way by leading experts. I wish it well."Kevin Hickson, University of Liverpool, UK."Not much is certain or fixed in British politics any longer. This book draws on a wide range of intellectual sources and different kinds of expertise to make sense of what is going on. The authors provide an essential and illuminating guide to political change in modern Britain."Andrew Gamble, University of Sheffield, UK."Comprehensive but approachable, this wide-ranging collection deserves to be read by anyone wanting to understand the UK's ever-changing political landscape."Tim Bale, Queen Mary University of London, UK."This is a particularly timely publication which deserves to be taken seriously. The key aspects of British politics are analysed in a rigorous and systematic way by leading experts. I wish it well."Kevin Hickson, University of Liverpool, UK."Not much is certain or fixed in British politics any longer. This book draws on a wide range of intellectual sources and different kinds of expertise to make sense of what is going on. The authors provide an essential and illuminating guide to political change in modern Britain."Andrew Gamble, University of Sheffield, UK."Comprehensive but approachable, this wide-ranging collection deserves to be read by anyone wanting to understand the UK's ever-changing political landscape."Tim Bale, Queen Mary University of London, UK.Table of ContentsIntroduction Part I: Institutions and Practice 1. The Core Executive 2. The Civil Service 3. UK Parliament 4. The Judiciary 5. Political Parties in Britain 6. Elections and Voting 7. Media 8. Politics and the Police: Recent developments in police governance and current issues surrounding police service delivery in England and Wales Part II: Issues 9. Britain in the World 10. Economic Policy 11. Social Policy Part III: Politics and Society 12. Gender and Political Representation 13. Ethnic Diversity 14. Politics in England 15. England: The North-South Divide 16. Scotland: Society and Culture 17. Scottish and UK Politics: Convergence and Divergence 18. Wales: Culture and Society 19. Politics in Wales since Devolution 20. The Politics of Northern Ireland 21. Northern Ireland: Society and culture

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Book SynopsisBritain has been inhabited by humans for over half a million years, during which time there were a great many changes in lifestyles and in the surrounding landscape. This book, now in its second edition, examines the development of human societies in Britain from earliest times to the Roman conquest of AD 43, as revealed by archaeological evidence. Special attention is given to six themes which are traced through prehistory: subsistence, technology, ritual, trade, society, and population. Prehistoric Britain begins by introducing the background to prehistoric studies in Britain, presenting it in terms of the development of interest in the subject and the changes wrought by new techniques such as radiocarbon dating, and new theories, such as the emphasis on social archaeology. The central sections trace the development of society from the hunter-gatherer groups of the last Ice Age, through the adoption of farming, the introduction of metalworking, and on to theTrade ReviewPraise for the first edition:'Excellent and readable, and informed by a love of the land.' – Financial Times'A lively up-to-date introduction.' – Oxbow News'Darvill's book provides a pleasing introduction to the story of British prehistory.' – TLS'Tim Darvill has shown that there is always a place for a well-written account of the subject that makes effective use of modern approaches.' – British Archaeological NewsTable of Contents1. Right Here! Right Now! Prehistory in the Present 2. Before the Flood: Early Hunter-gatherer Societies to 13,000 BC 3. Tales from Topographic Oceans: Post-glacial Hunter-gatherers 13,000–4000 BC 4. Blood on the Tracks: Hunter-farmers 4000–3200 BC 5. Rise Up Like the Sun: Early Chiefdom Societies 3200–2000 BC 6. Dark Sides of the Moon: Agrarian Societies 2000–800 BC 7. Brothers in Arms: Tribes and Chiefdoms 800–100 BC 8. On the Threshold of a Dream: Living Beside the Roman Empire 100 BC–AD 50 9. Let it Be: Patterns of Society and Change. Bibliography and Further Reading

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Book Synopsis"A must for anyone interested in the Roman Empire and its impact on world history. " -Tony Robinson star of Blackadder and Time Team. This entertaining and informative guide introduces readers to the amazing world of ancient Rome and its emperors, epic wars, awesome architecture, heroes, and villains.Table of ContentsIntroduction 1 Part I: Romans – The Big Boys of the Ancient World 7 Chapter 1: The Romans: Shaping Their World and Ours 9 Chapter 2: It’s the Cash That Counts: Roman Social Classes 29 Chapter 3: Stairway to the Stars: The Greasy Path to Power 47 Chapter 4: Rural Bliss – Roman Dreamland 61 Chapter 5: When We Were Soldiers 71 Part II: Living the Good Life 87 Chapter 6: The Urban Jungle 89 Chapter 7: Making the Roman Machine Work 103 Chapter 8: Entertainments: Epic and Domestic 121 Chapter 9: Divine Intervention 143 Part III: The Rise of Rome 165 Chapter 10: Kings? No, Maybe Not – Republicans 167 Chapter 11: This Town Isn’t Big Enough for All of Us – Seizing Italy 185 Chapter 12: Carthage and the First Two Punic Wars 199 Chapter 13: While We’re at It – Let’s Conquer Everywhere Else, Too 215 Part IV: When Romans Ruled the World 225 Chapter 14: Reform and Civil War 227 Chapter 15: Daggers Drawn – The Fall of the Republic 255 Chapter 16: Augustus and the Caesars – Plots, Perverts, and Paranoia 271 Chapter 17: The Five Good Emperors 303 Part V: Throwing the Empire Away 317 Chapter 18: More Civil War, Auctioning the Empire, and Paranoid Lunatics 319 Chapter 19: The Age of the Thug – The Third Century’s Soldier Emperors 331 Chapter 20: East Is East and West Is West: Diocletian and Constantine 347 Chapter 21: The Barbarians Are Coming! The End of Rome 369 Part VI: The Part of Tens 389 Chapter 22: Ten Turning Points in Roman History 391 Chapter 23: Ten Interesting and Occasionally Good Romans 395 Chapter 24: Ten (Mostly) Bad Romans 401 Chapter 25: Ten of Rome’s Greatest Enemies 407 Chapter 26: Ten (or So) Great Roman Places to Visit 413 Index 419

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Book SynopsisA notable account of an epic human experience'' Max Hastings, Sunday TimesHitler knows that he will have to break us in this island or lose the war' Sir Winston Churchill, speech to the House of Commons, 18 June 1940The Nazi Blitzkrieg was unlike any invasion the world had ever seen. It hit Europe with a force and aggression that no-one could counter. Within weeks the German armies were at the French coast and looking across at Britain. It seemed impossible that she would be able to resist invasion.Between the Nazis and glory stood an apparently fragile defence, but the men and women of Fighter, Bomber and Coastal Commands and the Royal Navy would not be cowed. Their heroics that summer would go down in history.In The Battle of Britain for the first time, James Holland tells this most epic of stories from a 360 perspective when the fate of the world truly hung by a thread.Trade ReviewHolland is excellent on telling detail... This is a notable account of an epic human experience, told with the informality and enthusiasm that distinguish Holland's work... If the story is familiar, Holland tells it with authority and exuberant panache -- Max Hastings * The Sunday Times *Holland is one of a new generation of historians who were born long after the war but who bring to the subject a freshness and proper spirit of enquiry. A great achievement -- John Sergeant * Sunday Express *Excellent on all the technicalities of the conflict... full of lively pen portraits and unusual insights * Spectator *Stuffed with personal accounts that drive the narrative along at a cracking pace -- Patrick Bishop * Mail on Sunday *Ambitious and comprehensive... the pace never flags as the narrative ranges effortlessly from the cockpit of the Spitfire to the gallery of the House of Commons -- Saul David * Daily Telegraph *

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Book SynopsisThe night of May 16th, 1943. Nineteen specially adapted Lancaster bombers take off from RAF Scampton in Lincolnshire, each with a huge 9,000lb cylindrical bomb strapped underneath it. Their mission: to destroy three dams deep within the German heartland, which provide the lifeblood to the industries supplying the Third Reich''s war machine.From the outset it was an almost impossible task, a suicide mission: to fly low and at night in formationover many miles of enemy-occupied territory at the very limit of the Lancasters'' capacity, and drop a new weapon that had never been tried operationally before from a precise height of just sixty feet from the water at some of the most heavily defended targets in Germany.More than that, the entire operation had to be put together in less than ten weeks. When visionary aviation engineer Barnes Wallis''s concept of the bouncing bomb was green lighted, he hadn''t even drawn up his plans for the weapon that was to smash the dams. WTrade ReviewIn his previous books... Holland combined a lively style with fresh insights based on deep historical research. Those qualities shine through this new account * Literary Review *Though it is such a well-known story, it has never been told in such depth before. James Holland has mastered every detail * Daily Mail *Holland tells the story with gusto and pace... he has truly and brilliantly plugged an enormous gap * Mail on Sunday *

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Book SynopsisPaul Ham is the author of the critically acclaimed Sandakan, Hiroshima Nagasaki, Vietnam: The Australian War, Kokoda and 1914: The Year the World Ended.A former correspondent for the Sunday Times (between 1998-2012), Paul was born in Sydney and educated in Australia and Britain, where he completed a Masters degree in Economic History at the London School of Economics and Political Science.He now writes history full-time, and lives in Sydney and Paris.

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Book SynopsisÉamon de Valera is the most remarkable man in the history of modern Ireland. Much as Churchill personified British resistance to Hitler and de Gaulle personified the freedom of France, de Valera personified Irish independence.

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Book SynopsisKatie Knowles is Assistant National Curator for Engagement at the National Trust. She specialises in interpretation and has contributed to content and publications on the Trust's rich and varied collections. She previously worked as the National Trust's Research Manager and held various communications roles before joining the Trust's Assistant Curator training programme.Table of ContentsIntroduction; 100 CURIOSITIES & INVENTIONS; Gazetteer of featured properties; Index; Acknowledgements; Picture credits

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Book SynopsisAlthough they have become more frequent in recent years, Irish political memoirs are still relatively rare. Even rarer still are political memoirs that still are frank, newsworthy and fun, like this one from Mary O'Rourke.She writes of personal and political events; of her family background and her early involvement in politics: of the many senior political figures to whom she was close, especially Charles Haughey and Bertie Ahern; of her two beloved Brians, her brother and nephew, both of whom died before their time; of her successes and disappointments. She does all this with honesty, energy and a complete absence of self-pity or self-justification.Mary O'Rourke has been one of the most successful and influential women in Irish public life in a generation. She has stories to tell that will surprise and amuse, as well as recalling moments of personal and political sadness. The book is like the woman herself: open, warm and shrewd.Trade Review'It's a fascinating story...a great read' -- John Spain * Irish Independent *This memoir is a fairly honest self-portrait of the Mary O’Rourke whom we have all come to love and hate. The Mary we have all seen over the years is the Mary we get in this book: emotional and exasperating; schoolmarmish and quite contrary; imbued with the Fianna Fáil gene and very party-political. -- Geraldine Kennedy * The Irish Times *

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Book SynopsisIT’S A TIME-TRAVELLING JOURNEY THROUGH IRELAND … IT’S A HISTOROPEDIA!

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Book SynopsisFrom Partition to Brexit provides an authoritative and accessible analysis of how successive Irish governments have tried to overcome the challenges presented by the division of Ireland, including the decades-long conflict that claimed thousands of lives.Trade Review'Enthralling, insightful and meticulously researched. Anyone who wants to understand how successive Irish Governments have engaged with Northern Ireland should read it.'Bertie Ahern, Taoiseach, 1997-2008, key negotiator of the Good Friday and St Andrews Agreements ‘Brilliant, lucid and thought-provoking - required reading for anyone who wants to understand relations between these islands and the importance of the Border.’David McCullagh. Presenter of the current affairs television programme Prime Time, and Political Correspondent with RTÉ News‘successfully expose[s] … the true extent of the [Irish Government’s] ambivalences and inconsistencies, using an impressive wealth of archival material in both Britain and Ireland unavailable to an earlier generation of researchers.’Diarmaid Ferriter, Irish Times, 5 January 2019‘The book is superb for anyone who wants to know why Ireland is where it is now and how the two parts of Ireland have treated each other for nigh on to a century.’Frank MacGabhann, Irish Examiner, 23 February 2019‘Ó Beacháin has broken new ground and provided a useful map for a generation of political scientists and historians.’Seán Donlon (former Secretary-General of the Irish Department of Foreign Affairs), History Ireland, March-April 2019'Ó Beachain’s familiarity with the subject and impressive archival research deserves recognition for composing a text that is both enjoyable and informative … This book offers a concise and engaging narrative of the evolution of Irish government policy towards Northern Ireland … Ó Beacháin’s sharp wit and eye for an entertaining quotation penetrates the weighty subject matter with great success'Aaron Ó Maonaigh, The Irish Story‘Donnacha Ó Beacháin’s lively, illuminating and occasionally tendentious study…provides not only a new perspective on the history of Northern Ireland, but also a fascinating glimpse into the inner workings and identity crises of the Irish government itself… It is particularly valuable for explaining the path that Dublin took from impotent onlooker to key participant in the peace process, and for the clarity with which it explains the competing pressures shaping Dublin’s policies at key moments. It will be essential reading for anyone wishing to understand the full sweep of Northern Ireland’s troubled near-century of existence.’Professor Mark Doyle, Middle Tennessee State University, USA, Irish Studies Review, June 2019'Ó Beacháin has made good use of governmental papers and political party archives and he has conducted interviews with a wide range of Irish and British politicians. He has marshalled these sources into a text that is admirably clear and informative … Brexit has raised profound questions regarding the relationship between the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland, as well as the relationship between Ireland and Britain. How the Irish government attempts to answer these questions will play a part in shaping the futures of both Ireland and the United Kingdom. Given the fine manner in which Ó Beacháin has explained the Northern Ireland policies of successive Irish governments, he would be ideally placed to write the next chapter of that history.'Small States and TerritoriesOne of the most striking features of Ó Beacháin’s timely overview is his assured tone on a particularly contentious topic. This reflects his experience in researching and writing on the complex, multi-faceted problem of the partition of Ireland that has afflicted the country, as well as its abettor, Britain, for 100 years. This is a work of mature assessment and often unexpected nuance. His preface and introduction contain very useful guidance on terminology, political parties and key themes for anyone reading themselves into the subject. Given the extraordinary breadth of the topic, it is to be expected that a volume of this nature would have something of the character of a synthesis. From Partition to Brexit does indeed comprise an amalgam of sources and its fresh take is rooted in the careful selection of items for the author’s skilful assessment.Studi irlandesi -- .Table of ContentsIntroduction: Parties and policy making in Ireland 1 The politics of partition, 1920–19322 De Valera’s Northern Ireland policy, 1932–19483 Failed campaigns, 1948–19694 War, 1969–1974 5 In fear of Armageddon, 1974–19796 Totality of relationships, 1980–1992 7 The age of consent, 1992–2018ConclusionAppendix 1: A century of government in Ireland, 1919–2018Appendix 2: Key personalities BibliographyIndex

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Book SynopsisReveals how the author chose to abandon her ambition to become Prime Minister in favour of another ambition - to have a life.Trade Review'Oona King delivers the most intimate political diary ever ... the Bridget Jones of the Commons' Mail on Sunday 'Painfully honest, frequently hilarious ... She tells her story with humility, wisdom and considerable wit' Guardian 'Pacy, perceptive, frank, funny, free of the sludge of most political diaries. This is authentic Oona. It would make a good novel - but people would think it a little far-fetched' Neil Kinnock 'Tremendous - funny, revelatory, and above all authentic' David Hare

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Book SynopsisEarth's history is embedded in its rocks, from dinosaur-trodden landscapes to new plastic-and-rock combinations. How to Read a Rock unearths stories buried in everything from grains of sand to mountain ranges, featuring over one hundred breathtaking illustrations that capture the planet's splendour. The book explores Earth's layers and landscapes, including caves, diamond volcanoes, ice strata, sand dunes, and lava flows, while also looking at space rocks beyond Earth to offer a sweeping history of rock formation unlike any other.How to Read a Rock delves into the geological past and what it can teach us about Earth's future, including evidence of the greening of the planet, the impact of natural forces, and clues on climate change and energy consumption. The book covers topics such as ancient coastlines and coral reefs, fossil fuels, deep earth, natural wonders, the contemporary limestone rock crisis, human-made minerals, technofossils, and so much more.

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Book SynopsisThe SS Great Britain Story is a concise account of one of the most famous steamships ever built. The great Victorian engineer Isambard Kingdom Brunel embraced the latest innovations, including an iron hull and a screw-propeller, to create an ocean liner that was decades ahead of its time. Launched by Prince Albert in 1843, the SS Great Britain was nearly lost three years later when she ran aground in Dundrum Bay, Ireland. Fortunately she weathered the winter storms and went on to enjoy a long and chequered career. She spent many years transporting emigrants to Australia, served as a cargo vessel, and almost ended her days stranded on the Falkland Islands. Following an incredible rescue mission in the 1970s, fully documented here, she was returned to dry-dock in Bristol, where she was originally built, and is now the centrepiece of a fascinating and ongoing restoration project.

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