European history Books

Book SynopsisThe infamous emperor Caligula ruled Rome as a tyrant who ultimately became a monster. An exceptionally smart and cruelly witty man, Caligula made his contemporaries worship him as a god. He drank pearls dissolved in vinegar and ate food covered in gold leaf. This book deals with his life and work.Trade Review"Seeks to rehabilitate one of the most infamous Roman emperors, commonly believed to have been deranged." New Yorker "A persuasive new Caligula emerges from this elegant revision: not mad at all, but just as bad and dangerous to know." Maclean's "In this lively biography of Rome's infamous third emperor, readers will not find the wild-eyed dictator ... but a thoughtful argument for his sanity." Publishers Weekly "A revisionist take on the man." Library Journal "An eloquent and compelling study of Roman imperial history, and especially of the difficult relations between the imperial monarch and the traditional aristocracy." London Review Of Books "Presents Roman emperor Caligula in a new light." Booklist "No Roman emperor cries out more obviously for redemption, but Aloys Winterling's Caligula, a calm reassessment of his reign, avoids revisionist whitewashing and takes the residue of hatred as inescapable." Cathnews Perspectives "Makes it clear that the behavior of the third emperor were the acts of a diffident, slightly paranoid youth, who lacked the patience that the most quarrelsome and important of his subjects required." The New Criterion "A worthy study, which covers significant aspects of Caligula's reign and provides some new interpretations on this fascinating subject." -- Geoff W. Adams Ancient History Bulletin "Winterling has produced an innovative biography which takes a novel approach to interpreting the historiography of Caligula's reign." Bryn Mawr Classical Review (BMCR) "[Winterling] gives us a biography that brings the man and his times to life." History "Accessible and graceful... Highly recommended." ChoiceTable of ContentsList of Abbreviations Introduction: A Mad Emperor? 1. Childhood and Youth 2. Two Years as Princeps 3. The Conflicts Escalate 4. Five Months of Monarchy 5. Murder on the Palatine Conclusion: Inventing the Mad Emperor Epilogue to the English Edition Notes Bibliography Index

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Book SynopsisOld English Lives of Saints, a series composed in the 990s by the Benedictine monk Aelfric, portrays an array of saints—including virgin martyrs, kings, soldiers, and bishops—whose examples modeled courageous faith, self-sacrifice, and individual and collective resistance at a turbulent time when England was under severe Viking attack.Trade ReviewBoth the first complete edition and the first complete translation of the Lives of Saints in 120 years…This is a stellar work in all respects…The translation is exceptionally elegant, accurate, and idiomatic…The volumes are not only well suited to classroom use but indeed constitute the new and definitive leading edition. -- P. S. Langeslag * Anglia *Filled with deep learning, energy, and good sense. Although the editors wear their learning lightly, these three volumes are the product of extensive knowledge and erudition. Scholars of all levels, as well as generalists interested in the early medieval past, will find much to admire in this accomplished and elegant edition. -- Stacy S. Klein * Medieval Review *

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Book SynopsisTrade Review"Wickham's expert analysis and meticulous academic approach build on previous. Limited examinations and substantial documentation to turn established research on its head, as he presents a fresh look into how communes in the mid-12th century successfully prepared Italian power structures for the cultural significance they would later have." * Publishers Weekly *"Wickham's analysis is meticulous and incisive, and he situates his conclusions clearly in light of the prior historiography." * Choice *"Wickham's passion for medieval Italian urban history comes across on every page."---Corinne Wieben, H-Net Reviews"This book provides a useful foray into the internal debates occurring in those movements and thus lends layers of complexity to the overall argument."---Brooke Sherrard, Nova Religio"Wickham has a deep knowledge of the previous literature in the topic and an awareness of how this is linked to debates with broad ideological implications, such as the origins of Renaissance and of Republican forms of government and values."---Michele Campopiano, Catholic Historical Review

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Book SynopsisTrade Review"National Book Award Finalist""Selected Entry for the National Book Critics Circle Award""Compact, sharp and withering. . . . A book to be read, a book to be reckoned with. . . . Like an oral tale transcribed by a folklorist, it has the ring of the eternal to it. My tale is simple and horrible, it seems to say; listen to it and remember it and pass it along. Hatred like this runs deep in human nature and is ever ready to erupt again. Be warned."---Michael Frank, Los Angeles Times"An important contribution to the literature of human bestiality unleashed by war. . . . [A] fine, careful book about the awful massacre in Jebwabne."---Steven Erlanger, New York Times Book Review"Astonishing. . . . The title, Neighbors, is an ice dagger to the heart."---George F. Will, Newsweek"Compelling and immediate."---Linda Matchan, Boston Globe"Nothing can make up for the horror. But if the screams of those burning alive at Jedwabne are heard at last, they may not have been completely in vain."---George Steiner, The Observer"Powerful. . . . Extraordinary."---Jaroslav Anders, New Republic"Horrifying and thoughtful."---István Deák, New York Review of Books"Neighbors strikes squarely at Poland's accepted historical narrative."---John Reed, Financial Times"[A] scrupulously documented study."---Abraham Brumberg, Times Literary Supplement"Neighbors tells a compelling story admirably. It should be widely read and discussed, for the complex, unsettling issues it raises still need to be fully explored."---Alvin H. Rosenfeld, New Leader"[Gross] is possessed of the key . . . virtues: moral energy, commitment to accuracy, and the maintenance of a continuing open dialogue between historian, sources, and reader."---Inga Clendinnen, London Review of Books"Compelling. . . . Gross’s dispassionate book is the most comprehensive effort to uncover the stark truth about Jedwabne."---Robert S. Wistrich, Commentary

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Book SynopsisBarcelona 1900 explores the city's artistic flowering in all its dimensions, including paintings by Picasso, Casas, and Santiago Rusiñol; Art Nouveau jewelry by Lluís Masriera; public and domestic architecture by Gaudí, Domènech, and Josep Puig.Trade Review"The subject of this catalog, edited by Sala and accompanying an exhibition at the Van Gogh Museum in Amsterdam, is turn-of-the-20th-century Barcelona and its great architectural, cultural, political, and societal changes. Coverage includes the works of dominant artists and architects (e.g., Antoni Gaudi's Temple Expiatori de la Sagrada Familia), notable landmarks (e.g., Els Quartes Gats, the cafe once frequented by Pablo Picasso and his bohemian circle of friends), and influences that include fin de siecle Paris, impressionism, and Norwegian artist Edvard Munch within the dynamics of the times. Art historian contributors capture the major highlights of this Catalan city's modernist transformation in eight brief and beautifully illustrated essays. An anthology of poems and prose follows the essays and provides a sampling of Barcelona's literary character. Readers are allowed a glimpse into the lives of the upper classes through interior photographs of their dwellings, and there are many exquisite full-page, full-color reproductions of decorative displays, architectural photographs, and poster art. An exciting chronicle of Barcelona's rich modern history for contemporary readers; recommended for all art-book collections." -- Library Journal, 15 March 2008

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Book Synopsis"You said that you would not fail to improve yourself according to my teaching and correction, and you would do everything in your power to behave according to my wishes." [Prologue] "I urge you to bewitch and bewitch again your future husband, and...Trade ReviewA cookbook section contains over 350 recipes, and if many of them are taken from authorities such as the royal chef Taillevent, the author is quite opinionated about what works and what doesn't; he improves some recipes and offers others that seem to be his own. No man before or since has known more about running an affluent household, from keeping vermin out of linen to shopping in the market to caring for hunting hawks. The work has a peculiar tone, bossy yet tender, even elegiac. In their introduction the translators emphasize the husband's firm desire to subordinate his wife, but acknowledge that they found the book more appealing than they had originally expected. -- Paul Freedman * Times Literary Supplement *Table of ContentsIntroduction. Maid to Order: The Good Wife of Paris The Book: Backgrounds, Narrator, Genre, Sources Contexts: Conduct Books and Household Books Glossing the Tale of Griselda: The Model Wife and Marriage in Le Ménagier de Paris Translation ProtocolsThe Good Wife's Guide: The English Text of Le Ménagier de Paris Prologue Introductory Note to Articles 1.1-1.3 Prayers and Orderly Dress (1.1) Behavior and Attire in Public (1.2) The Mass, Confession, the Vices and Virtues (1.3) On Chastity (1.4) Devotion to Your Husband (1.5) Obedience (including the Story of Griselda) (1.6) The Care of the Husband's Person (1.7) The Husband's Secrets (1.8) Introductory Note to Article 1.9 Providing Your Husband with Good Counsel (including the Story of Melibee) (1.9) Introductory Note to Article 2.1 Le Chemin de povreté et de richesse (2.1) Horticulture (2.2) 2 Choosing and Caring for Servants and Horses (2.3) Introductory Note to Article 3.2 Hawking Treatise (3.2) Menus (2.4) Recipes (2.5)Glossary of Culinary Terms Bibliography Index

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Book SynopsisTrade ReviewThere is plenty in the book to substantiate Fassbinder's position as the exemplary European filmmaker of his day, plenty to back up the claim staked by the films themselves for an engaged and provocative cinema that can rival Hollywood on its own terms. Sight and SoundTable of ContentsList of IllustrationsPrefaceIntroductionOn Translating Rainer Werner FassbinderAcknowledgmentsPart I. Cinema between Autobiography and Social CriticismPart II. Fellow Filmmakers Pro and ConPart III. Projects and ControversiesPart IV. Literary Past/Cinematic PresentPart V. Monologues and ConfessionsNotesFilmographySelect BibliographyIndex

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Book SynopsisExamines Irish novels of the post-crash era, addressing the proliferation of writing that downplays realistic and grammatical coherence in works of fiction. McGlynn argues that they are reflecting and responding to social and economic conditions during the global economic crisis and its aftermath of recession, austerity, and precarity.

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Book SynopsisIn the 1930s many Western intellectuals looked with hope and admiration at the great `Soviet experiment'', the planned transformation of the economy that was supposed to lay the foundation for the world''s first socialist society. Later, with the onset of the Cold War, the image of the `Evil Empire'' predominated in the mind of Westerners. Yet what was it really like to be a citizen of Soviet Russia during this period? Everyday Stalinism is a pioneering history of everyday life in Soviet Russia. Rather than consider the history of the period from the perspective of the Soviet Party and its leaders, Sheila Fitzpatrick considers what life was like for ordinary people. A highly accessible study, Everyday Stalinism shows the ways of life, behaviours, and skills developed by citizens in order to cope with the extraordinary social and political change that Stalinism brought, ranging from scarcity of consumer goods, to the condemnation of religion, to bureaucratic red tape and state regulation of education, jobs, and career advancement.Trade ReviewOf the two, Fitzpatrick is incomparably the finer historian . . . . There is no doubt abou the quality of Fitzpatrick's research . . . * THES, 12/04/2002 *"A fine work--engrossing, well written, superbly documented, and much needed to boot....[The book's sources] make absolutely fascinating reading....An assiduous scholar, Professor Fitzpatrick seems to have scrutinized every relevant scrap of paper. Her explication is a model of balance and judiciousness....Individual memoirs apart, most histories of this period were written from the top--that is, showing how the policies were shaped and implemented, rather than how they were perceived and experienced by their subjects. It is the latter...that constitutes the major distinction of Fitzpatrick's book."--Abraham Brumberg, The Nation"The author's rich materials challenge readers to build their own model of Stalin's people, their complicity and resistance."--Wilson Quarterly"A most welcome addition to the literature on Stalin's Russia....Fitzpatrick has used the entire range of sources available, from familiar memoirs and postwar interview material to contemporary research and an array of archival information....The book is a major contribution to understanding this extraordinary period. Its lucid prose and the inherent interest of its subject matter should make it accessible to undergraduates, as well as to more specialized readers."--Choice"One of the most influential historians of the Soviet period describes what it was like to live under Stalin in the 1930s--the frantic, heroic, tragic decade of collectivization, forced-draft industrialization, and purges, when ordinary Russians struggled to a find a wearable pair of shoes and lined up in subzero weather at two o'clock in the morning in the hope of getting 16 grams of bread....They were years of unimaginable hardship and brutality but also of idealism, a surreal melange that [Fitzpatrick] captures with admirable matter-of-factness."--Foreign Affairs"A fine crossover book for both upperlevel and introductory courses....Well written."--Roger W. Haughey, Georgetown University"Everyday Stalinism should prove invaluable for any course on Soviet history. Knowing how a nation's people actually lived, thought, and felt is essential to any real understanding of the past. On this, Fitzpatrick--who has done more than any other scholar to make the complexities of the social history of the Stalin years come alive--delivers as no one else can."--John McCannon, Norwich UniversityReview from previous edition "Fitzpatrick makes subtle use of the press and of police reports that assist in giving us one of the most comprhensive accounts of what it meant to live in Stalin's Russia in the 1930's" * Kirkus Reviews *Table of ContentsACKNOWLEDGMENTS; INTRODUCTION; CONCLUSION; NOTES; BIBLIOGRAPHY; INDEX

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Book SynopsisPeacemaker, politician, Nobel laureate: John Hume was a titan of Irish political history and a key architect of the Good Friday Agreement, bringing peace to Northern Ireland after decades of conflict.But who was the real John Hume? What motivated the former history teacher to reach beyond political lines? What sustained him during the bloody years of violence and how did he convince the IRA to end its long-running campaign? How did he persuade presidents and prime ministers to take risks and back his vision for Northern Ireland? How should John Hume be remembered?Stephen Walker combines over 100 interviews with many of Hume's colleagues, critics and family members, with never-before-published interviews with Hume himself to present a comprehensive portrait of one of the most significant political figures in Northern Ireland and around the world.

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Book SynopsisWill Ukraine ever be an EU member? Why don’t we have a European army yet? Does crisis make the EU stronger? The European Union has great influence on the lives of its citizens. That situation can prove to be controversial. Decisions made by the EU often lead to misunderstanding and resentment. Aside from these controversies, it is clear that the Union today, is the result of a myriad of choices by policy makers throughout the years. A better understanding of these choices and of the recent history of the EU allows us to better grasp its impact, and offers insight into why certain subjects are harder to place. Why Europe? offers a historical as well as thematical insight into the development of the European Union. Drawing from six questions that put main events, key figures as well as the defining moments of the past 70 years in the foreground, this book lays out the essence of European integration.

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Book SynopsisThe Anabasis by Xenophon (ca. 430–ca. 354 BC) is an eyewitness account of Greek mercenaries’ challenging “March Up-Country” from Babylon back to the coast of Asia Minor under Xenophon’s guidance in 401 BC.

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Book SynopsisEncompassing the period from Rome's founding in the eighth century BC through Justinian's rule in the sixth century AD, the author offers a distinctive perspective on the Romans and their civilization by employing fundamental Roman values as a lens through which to view both their rise and spectacular fall.Trade Review"In this survey of ancient Greek history and civilization, Martin skillfully blends social, cultural, political, and military data to create a panoramic view of the Greek world. Novices will find the work both comprehensible and entertaining."—Library Journal"Some 20 years after the success of his Ancient Greece: From Prehistoric to Hellenistic Times (Yale UP), Thomas R. Martin gives the same treatment to a potted history of Rome, with great success. . . . It is to the credit of the author that, even in a few pages, there seem to be no omissions of events, incidents or figures who helped shape the history of Rome. . . . It remains . . . an immensely readable and engaging history, which shows incredible breadth, given its brevity."—Geoff Lowsley, Minerva"Some 20 years after the success of his Ancient Greece: From Prehistoric to Hellenistic Times (Yale UP), Thomas R Martin gives the same treatment to a potted history of Rome, with great success. . . . It is to the credit of the author that, even in a few pages, there seem to be no omissions of events, incidents or figures who helped shape the history of Rome. . . . It remains . . . an immensely readable and engaging history, which shows incredible breadth, given its brevity."—Geoff Lowsley, Minerva

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Book SynopsisAlmost from the moment of its publication in 1863, Nikolai Chernyshevsky's novel, What Is to Be Done?, had a profound impact on the course of Russian literature and politics. The idealized image it offered of dedicated and self-sacrificing intellectuals transforming society by means of scientific knowledge served as a model of inspiration for...Trade ReviewNo work in modern literature, with the possible exception of Uncle Tom's Cabin, can compete with What Is to Be Done? in its effect on human lives and its power to make history. For Chernyshevsky's novel, far more than Marx's Capital, supplied the emotional dynamic that eventually went to make the Russian Revolution. * The Southern Review *In the Russian revolutionary movement, no literary work can compare in importance with Chernyshevsky's What Is to Be Done?.... Katz and Wagner have provided us with a version that is worthy of the novel's importance. Katz's translation is faithful to the original, yet cast in words that bring Chernyshevsky's meaning alive to modern readers.... Wagner, in turn, provides abundant notes, explaining obscure references, making connections between parts of the novel that could easily be missed on first reading, and alerting the reader to those many passages where Chernyshevksy hinted at what he could not say outright. * Russian History *

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Book SynopsisLONGLISTED FOR THE 2020 CUNDILL HISTORY PRIZEValkyries: the female supernatural beings that choose who dies and who lives on the battlefield. They protect some, but guide spears, arrows and sword blades into the bodies of others. Viking myths about valkyries attempt to elevate the banality of war to make the pain and suffering, the lost limbs and deformities, the piles of lifeless bodies of young men, glorious and worthwhile. Rather than their death being futile, it is their destiny and good fortune, determined by divine beings. The women in these stories take full part in the power struggles and upheavals in their communities, for better or worse. Drawing on the latest historical and archaeological evidence, Valkyrie introduces readers to the dramatic and fascinating texts recorded in medieval Iceland, a culture able to imagine women in all kinds of roles carrying power, not just in this world, but pulling the strings in the other-world, too. In the pTrade Review[Friðriksdóttir] brilliantly manages to make the Vikings feel far closer to us than ever before ... 4 stars. * Mail on Sunday *Valkyrie includes Old Norse poetry alongside archaeological finds and painted runestones to show how the lived experiences of women in the Viking world were varied and fascinating. -- Janina Ramirez * The Guardian *Friðriksdóttir weaves a complex picture in which different kinds of evidence successfully illuminate each other to provide a rich and detailed picture ... This book is intelligent, engaging and well written, with many new insights. * BBC History Magazine *Valkyries have an obvious appeal, but the real women of the Viking age are more exciting. In Jóhanna Katrín Friðriksdóttir’s significant new history, they are brought engagingly to life. * Times Literary Supplement *[A] fascinating overview of women's roles in the Viking world, from infancy to death. It's a period of history that continues to grip the popular imagination, here brought evocatively to life through archaeological discoveries and contemporary sources, including emotive stories and verse. * History Revealed *Valkyrie's true colour comes from the Old Norse literature that underpins much of the analysis. The pages sparkle with tales of the fierce Valkyries and vengeful wives of poetic legend, the goddesses of Asgard and the women who feature in the Old Norse sagas... Yeild[s] new insights into the complex nature of the Viking Age. * Literary Review *This deep dive into the lives of the women of the Viking era is a fascinating one, combining as it does both the realities and mythology of the time ... Friðriksdóttir's investigation merges these two worlds brilliantly ... 4 stars. * All About History *The author’s dilemma, in this scholarly study, is to reconcile the larger-than-life legends of monstrous mothers and terrifying shield maidens with the more mundane and complex reality of daily life for Viking women from childhood to old age. -- Fiona Capp and Cameron Woodhead * Brisbane Times *Through an excellent insight into both the written, as well as archaeological sources the author weaves a clear picture of women’s lives from birth to death in the Viking Age. Valkyrie: The Women of the Viking World is a significant book. * Professor Jón Viðar Sigurðsson, University of Oslo *Jóhanna Katrín Friðriksdóttir, has crafted a compelling study of Viking Age female life courses using her expertise in written sources to provide the first such comprehensive overview in almost three decades. It is a welcome update, guaranteed to become an invaluable tool, both for students and others seeking an accessible overview of a complex field. ... Valkyrie contributes a weighty redress of this imbalance, providing an accessible, wide-ranging, and not least enjoyable platform for future scholarship into varied life courses and gendered ways of being. * Journal of British Studies *Authoritative and provocative, bang up-to-date, yet steeped in historical knowledge, JKF’s Valkyrie is indispensable for all Viking enthusiasts. Her lively style, profound knowledge and brilliant insights signal a stunning new voice in the debate about the Vikings. * Carolyne Larrington, Professor of Medieval European Literature, University of Oxford *This is the new standard work on women in the Viking Age – a lively, authoritative and staunchly feminist survey that combines both textual and material sources in a ground-breaking study of the female life-course. With this superb book, Jóhanna Katrín has put Viking scholars in her debt. * Neil Price, Professor of Archaeology, Uppsala University *What a wonderful book. For the first time readers can understand the importance of the Valkyries in the Viking Age and see the impact these mythical women had more broadly on culture and society in the early medieval world. The scholarship is excellent, interpretation thorough, yet the writing style is accessible. It's a pleasure to read and be plunged into a world of sagas, runes, myth and magic. * Dr Janina Ramirez FRSA, University of Oxford *Table of ContentsIntroduction 1. Infancy and Childhood 2. Between Two Worlds: Teenage Girls 3. Adulthood 4. Pregnancy and Childbirth 5. Widows 6. Old Age and Death Epilogue

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Book SynopsisTrade ReviewA perfect Lysistrata for the new millennium: rich apparatus and a sparkling, metrical, accurate translation of this inexhaustible treasure of a play. --Rachel Hadas, Rutgers UniversityPresents a readable, clear translation with the assistance students will need to understand this play and the society that produced it. . . . A worthy addition to Hackett's growing series of translations of classical literature in accessible editions. --Anne Mahoney, New England Classical Journal

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Book SynopsisThe 1980s was the revolutionary decade of the twentieth century. To look back in 1990 at the Britain of ten years earlier was to look into another country. The changes were not superficial, like the revolution in fashion and music that enlivened the 1960s; nor were they quite as unsettling and joyless as the troubles of the 1970s. And yet they were irreversible. By the end of the decade, society as a whole was wealthier, money was easier to borrow, there was less social upheaval, less uncertainty about the future. Perhaps the greatest transformation of the decade was that by 1990, the British lived in a new ideological universe where the defining conflict of the twentieth century, between capitalism and socialism, was over. Thatcherism took the politics out of politics and created vast differences between rich and poor, but no expectation that the existence of such gross inequalities was a problem that society or government could solve - because as Mrs Thatcher said, 'There is no such thing as society ... people must look to themselves first.'From the Falklands war and the miners' strike to Bobby Sands and the Guildford Four, from Diana and the New Romantics to Live Aid and the 'big bang', from the Rubik's cube to the ZX Spectrum, McSmith's brilliant narrative account uncovers the truth behind the decade that changed Britain forever.Trade ReviewIt was a wild, wild decade: strong politics, riots, revival, bad hair, great comedy, some dreadful music, lurid newspapers and a war or two. The Margaret Thatcher rollercoaster carried so many of us into today's Britain, with so many bumps and shrieks, that it needs a writer of cool judgement and a reporter who misses nothing to tell its story. Andy McSmith has managed it, ranging from barcodes to TVam, feminism to Torvill and Dean, and Sloane Rangers to flying pickets. It's hard to see how this account could be bettered. * Andrew Marr *McSmith has a sharp eye for a revealing story. * The Sunday Times *A fine account of the decade. * Independent on Sunday *....an enjoyable romp through the decade. * The Spectator *A rollicking read. * Metro *(McSmith) presents his views and his recollections clearly, accurately and accessibly in a very readable, social document. * The Scotsman *

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Book SynopsisThe astonishing drama of Cold War nuclear poker that divided humanity - reissued with a new Postscript to commemorate the thirtieth anniversary of the fall of the wall. During the night of 12–13 August 1961, a barbed-wire entanglement was hastily constructed through the heart of Berlin. It metamorphosed into a structure that would come to symbolise the insanity of the Cold War: the Berlin Wall. Frederick Taylor tells the story of the post-war political conflict that led to a divided Berlin and unleashed an East–West crisis, which lasted until the very people the Wall had been built to imprison breached it on 9 November 1989. Weaving together history, original archive research and personal stories, The Berlin Wall, now published in fifteen languages, is the definitive account of a divided city and its people in a time when humanity seemed to stand permanently on the edge of destruction.Trade ReviewA gripping, impassioned history of the Cold War’s most malevolent symbol * New York Times *Superb, fast-paced and readable history * Evening Standard *Masterful * Guardian *Compulsive reading -- London Review of Books

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Book SynopsisThe Sunday Times Bestseller and insipration behind David Mitchell's Unruly'Entertaining and informative . . . Delightful' IndependentThere are many reasons to be fascinated by Germany: forests, architecture and fairy tales, not to mention its history and inhabitants’ penchant for very peculiar food. Our distant and often maligned cousin, this is a place in which innumerable strange characters have held power, in which a chaotic jigsaw of borders have moved about seemingly at random, and which at the dark heart of the 20th century fell into the hands of truly terrible forces. And now Simon Winder is here to tell us everything else there is to know about this mesmerizing, tortured and endlessly fascinating country.Germania is also a personal guide to the Germany that Simon Winder loves. In this startlingly vibrant account, Winder describes Germany’s past afresh, starting with the shaggy world of the ancient forests, all the way up to the present day – and in doing so, he sees and begins to understand a country much like our own: Protestant, aggressive and committed to betterment. Joining Danubia and Lotharingia in Winder’s endlessly fascinating retelling of European history, Germania is a brilliant, vivid and enthusiastic insight to the hidden wonders of GermanyTrade ReviewAn engrossing, informative and hilarious read * The Sunday Times *Magnificently crazy -- Will Self * Esquire *The high plateau of my year was my catching up with Simon Winder. Danubia and Germania are an idiosyncratic, often funny fusion of history writing, travel writing and disrespect. -- Sir Tom Stoppard * TLS *Travelogue and historical narrative are merged in a gloriously free-wheeling narrative of the entire sweep of German history. * The Telegraph *

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Book Synopsis'Dramatic and colourful' SUNDAY TIMES'Beautiful writing' GILES KRISTIAN Treason, heresy and revolt in Queen Elizabeth's England . . . The year is 1600. With a dying queen on the throne, war raging on the high seas and famine on the rise, England is on the brink of chaos. And in London's dark alleyways, a conspiracy is brewing. In the court's desperate bid to silence it, an innocent man is found guilty - the father of Nicholas Shelby, physician and spy. As Nicholas races against time to save his father, he and his wife Bianca are drawn into the centre of a treacherous plot against the queen.When one of Shakespeare's boy actors goes missing, and Bianca discovers a disturbing painting that could be a clue, she embarks on her own investigation. Meanwhile, as Nicholas comes closer to unveiling the real conspirator, the men who wish to silence him are multiplying. When he stumbles on a plan to overthrow the state and replace it with a terrifying new order, he may be forced to make a decision between his country and his heart . . .Trade ReviewThe third in Perry's series is as dramatic and colourful as the previous two. * The Sunday Times *An absolute belter of a read and another fabulous addition to the Jackdaw Mysteries series... I just gobbled up the pages as the story fairly roars along battling spies and pirates on route... S. W. Perry ensures the sights, smells and sounds of London and Morocco entered my very being. I love this series. -- Liz Robinson * LoveReading, Picks of the month *The writing is of such a quality, the characters so engaging and the setting so persuasive that, only two books in, S.W. Perry's ingeniously plotted novels have become my favourite historical crime series. * S. G. MacLean on The Serpent's Mark *A satisfyingly convoluted plot. * Sunday Times on The Serpent's Mark *No-one is better than S. W. Perry at leading us through the squalid streets of London in the sixteenth century. * Andrew Swanston on The Serpent's Mark *The Serpent's Mark is an excellent evocation of Elizabethan England, with espionage, intricate conspiracies, strange medical practises and a gripping story. A rattling good read. * William Ryan on The Serpent's Mark *A gorgeous book - rich, intelligent and dark in equal measure. It immerses you in the late 16th century and leaves you wrung out with terror. This is historical fiction at its most sumptuous. * Rory Clements on The Angel's Mark *Wonderful! Beautiful writing, and Perry's Elizabethan London is so skilfully evoked, so real that one can almost smell it. * Giles Kristian on The Angel's Mark *

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Book SynopsisThe lives of Tudor women often offer faint but fascinating footnotes on the pages ofhistory. The life of Catherine or Katryn as her husband would one day pen her name Carey, the daughter of Mary Boleyn and, as the weight of evidence suggests, Henry VIII, isone of those footnotes.As the possible daughter of Henry VIII, the niece of Anne Boleyn and the favourite ofElizabeth I, Catherine's life offers us a unique perspective on the reigns of Henry and hischildren. In this book, Wendy J. Dunn takes these brief details of Catherine's life and turns theminto a rich account of a woman who deserves her story told. Following the faint trailprovided of her life from her earliest years to her death in service to QueenElizabeth, Dunn examines the evidence of Catherine's parentage and views her worldthrough the lens of her relationship with the royal family she served.This book presents an important story of a woman who saw and experienced muchtragedy and political turmoil during the reigns of Hen

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Book SynopsisTrade Review[A] monumental history…Pandora’s Box is a major contribution to the historiography of the war, the best large-scale synthesis in any language of what we currently know and understand about this multidimensional, cataclysmic conflict…Leonhard has a rare gift for critical, intelligent narrative…A detailed, judicious and virtually comprehensive account of the war, its origins, its history and its consequences. -- Richard J. Evans * Times Literary Supplement *[An] epic and magnificent work—unquestionably, for me, the best single-volume history of the war I have ever read…It is the most formidable attempt to make the war to end all wars comprehensible as a whole. -- Simon Heffer * The Spectator *Extremely readable, lucidly structured, focused, and dynamic, Pandora’s Box shows that the world that emerges from the First World War is utterly transformed by the experience. Leonhard’s analysis is enlivened by a sharp eye for concrete situations and an ear for the voices that best convey the meaning of change for the people and societies undergoing it. -- Christopher Clark, University of Cambridge, author of The Sleepwalkers: How Europe Went to War in 1914A library of books were published to mark the centenary of the Great War, but none of them are as good as Jörn Leonhard’s gracefully written, deeply researched, and constantly illuminating account. This is a wonderful book, filled with new information and fresh insights. -- James Sheehan, Stanford University, author of Where Have All the Soldiers Gone? The Transformation of Modern Europe[A] great book on the Great War… Leonhard succeeds in being comprehensive without falling prey to the temptation of being encyclopedic. He writes fluently and judiciously. Footnotes are limited to the essentials. This is, one is tempted to say, a German history in the British style. -- Adam Tooze * Die Zeit *This is probably the meatiest and most comprehensive WWI book yet published… It is consistently intelligent and thoughtful. -- Tyler Cowen * Marginal Revolution *What makes it so compelling is the analysis of events after the peace agreement of 1918, complete with a political map of the world and a stark look at the intense violence that persisted in Europe. -- Shelby Blackley * Globe and Mail *Pandora’s Box stands out as the most comprehensive recent book on the First World War in any language. Leonhard provides us with a narrative analysis that combines intellectual precision and thematic focus with multiple perspectives. From the microcosm of the trenches to the home fronts, from the big battles in the East and the West to violent upheavals after 1918, Leonhard’s treatment of the war is wide-ranging while also giving ample space to the different layers of war experiences. -- Robert Gerwarth, University College Dublin, author of The Vanquished: Why the First World War Failed to EndA brilliant history of what people thought about the First World War—before, during and after. -- Beatrice Heuser * Times Higher Education *[A] very readable history of the war; thankfully, it is far more than a list of battles, but a thoughtful consideration of the epic destructive event in all its varied ramifications…There are more books on the First World War than anyone (even enthusiasts) could read, but Leonhard’s is an honorable addition, a large and weighty volume, literally and metaphorically, that is well worth the time dipping into. Well researched and detailed, Pandora’s Box never tosses the reader into a roiling overload of facts and figures, but looks at the horrors of WWI from many different, illuminating angles. -- Thomas Filbin * Arts Fuse *[Leonhard] presents a stunningly broad and detailed survey of the cataclysm that began the 20th century by first tracing its deep roots in the 19th century and searching out the conflict’s furthest ripples… The reading experience is…thrilling, particularly as the facts accumulate and gradually create a crushing realization of how fundamentally the war changed the world… [Leonhard] puts the whole conflict in a broader context than any historian has managed in a single volume in well over a generation… [An] enormously impressive undertaking… Readers…will be richly rewarded. -- Steve Donoghue * Open Letters Review *Leonhard sets out not simply to write a history of events, but to help his reader understand the greater meaning of the war for the participants…and to us in the twenty-first century…Far more comprehensive in its discussion of national attitudes than virtually all of the recent avalanche of studies on this the centennial of the Great War. * The Bridge *Provides a sweeping account of the war, one that incorporates its political, social, and cultural dimensions into a description of the campaigns on the various battlefields…The best single-volume history of the war yet written. * Choice *

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Book SynopsisOperation Overlord, the codename given to the Allied invasion of German-occupied Western Europe in 1944, was arguably the most challenging, complicated and risky military operation in history. It began on 6 June with Operation Neptune, the largest seaborne invasion ever seen, when 150,000 troops crossed the Channel and attempted to land on the beaches at Normandy. This assault would lay the foundation for the Allied victory on the Western Front, and is now commonly known as D-Day. This highly illustrated book, first published to mark the 75th anniversary of D-Day in 2019, will reconstruct the historic landings and the resultant battle for Normandy using artefacts, documents, interviews, film, art and photographs from the archives at IWM. Importantly, it will feature first-hand accounts of the action from the vast documents and sound collection, allowing the reader to follow a personal narrative throughout and experience what it was like to live through what was one of the most significant campaigns of the Second World War.Trade Review"Incredible photos reveal how D-Day unfolded hour-by-hour 75 years ago . . . . astonishing colour photographs . . . . The collected snaps vividly show the timeline of one of the most crucial military victories for the Allies in the Second World War."-- "The Sun" "Rare photos and historians' painstaking detective work map out [the] reality of how the Allies launched the world's biggest ever military op. . . . The shots, published chronologically for the first time ever, have brought to life one of the key turning points of the Second World War."-- "Daily Mail (UK)" "These images offer a rare insight into this decisive victory."-- "CNN Style"

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Book SynopsisA reexamination of the most extraordinary of ancient ceremonies, this book explores the magnificence of the Roman Triumphbut also its darker side, as it prompted the Romans to question as well as celebrate military glory. This work is a testament to the profound importance of the triumph in Roman cultureand for monarchs and generals ever since.Trade ReviewConjectures and conclusions grow from and around the triumphus like kudzu. It takes the mighty vorpal sword of Mary Beard to clear a path through this jabberwocky jungle, snicker-snack. She stands in the great tradition of myth-puncturing Latin classicists--scholars like Richard Bentley, Basil Gildersleeve. A. E. Housman. or Ronald Syme--when she points out that almost all the established views on the triumph are dubious or plain wrong...Her prose, for all its learning, is jaunty. Her book is, in short, a triumph. -- Garry Wills * New York Review of Books *[This] book succeeds as a case study in ancient history, but also as an implicit invitation to reconsider representations of victory and loss in our own culture. Beard ranges among literary, historiographical, artistic, architectural, numismatic, epigraphical, and archaeological sources with impressive ease and fluency, showing that the preoccupation with triumph haunts all these different fields of Roman cultural life--from Ovid's cheeky claim that triumphal processions can be good for picking up girls, and his presentation of himself as the victim of Cupid's triumphal chariot, to the many triumphal arches that the triumphalist Romans erected, which Beard reads as attempts to construct a permanent memorial from an essentially fleeting parade...Beard brilliantly shows that most of this story about the typical Roman triumph is a scholarly or literary fabrication, supported by very slender evidence, or by none at all; or it is a reconstruction based on evidence from authors in widely different time periods, each of whom has his own axe to grind...The demolition work is the most obvious accomplishment of her book. -- Emily Wilson * New Republic *This is no ordinary history. It is not a reconstruction but a deconstruction, a virtuoso display of how to interrogate one's sources. Not only that, it is written with sly subtlety, delightful humor and an agreeable absence of jargon. -- Christian Tyler * Financial Times *A book that manages to be simultaneously both brilliantly subtle and splendidly swaggering. Throughout it, [Beard] subjects our sources for the Roman triumph to merciless dissection, exposing with a pathologist's scalpel how beneath all its outward sheen there lurked profound insecurities and ambivalences...[It] can be enjoyed by readers far beyond the purlieus of classics departments...A book that is, in every sense of that complex word, a triumph. -- Tom Holland * Sunday Times *This rich and provocative book offers such a full account of what it means to call ancient Rome "a triumphal culture." -- William Fitzgerald * Times Literary Supplement *From the first (uncertain) moment when Romans came to think of triumph as a bundle of victory rites that could be repeatedly improved upon, generals fought and lobbied for their moment in the limelight. Enemies, rivals and spectators could not resist being drawn into the show. Beard's Roman Triumph will exercise a similar fascination on its readers. -- Greg Woolf * The Guardian *In The Roman Triumph, many cherished assumptions are robustly interrogated or put to the sword...Beard takes us on a dizzying trip back and forth across triumphs and centuries (Pompey, Romulus, Nero, Augustus). Only after she has unpicked accounts of Pompey's triumph, and reflected on captives, spoils, rules and ritual, does she pause briefly to end at origins...Simultaneously a re-evaluation of the triumph, of Roman culture more broadly, and of the problems of scholarship on ancient societies, this is an ambitious project. -- Maria Wyke * The Independent *Thorough, minutely detailed and closely argued...[Beard's] account certainly brings us closer to the complex and fascinating reality than any Rome according to MGM or Paramount. -- Christopher Hart * Independent on Sunday *This book gives a bracing lesson in the use and abuse of evidence, as Beard teases apart the various bits and pieces that have gone to make up the conglomerate picture of the timeless essence of the triumph. In the process, she unpicks many of our basic assumptions about those quintessentially Roman characteristics we normally see embodied in it. The triumph and its reception here become fractals of Roman culture--and of the way Roman culture is studied...Illuminating perspectives [are] offered throughout the book...This learned and spirited book could have been no more than an exercise is debunking and dismantling. Beard enjoys debunking and dismantling, and does it with panache, but her unpicking of the evidence and her demolition of the consensus is not meant to create an epistemological no-man's-land; she wants to highlight the rewarding difficulty of the project of history, not its impossibility. There are things to be known about the past, and there are things to be known about how we come to know them. Beard stages her own show, demonstrating by practice, and in the process has given us a piece of scholarship that has lessons to teach anyone engaged in the study of the past. -- Denis Feeney * London Review of Books *[Beard] is immensely knowledgeable, and lays forth one of the paradoxes of history (and not only ancient history, one may add). This is that the more we know, the less certain we can be of anything...This is a fascinating book which offers another paradox. By showing how much that we thought we knew is uncertain, Mary Beard teaches us far more than any confident account of the triumphal ceremony ever could. -- Allan Massie * Literary Review *So you thought you knew about the Roman Triumph? Conventional wisdom states that triumphant generals in Rome painted their faces red. They rode in a chariot with a slave who whispered to them: "Remember that you are a man." For that one day, they impersonated the king of the gods, Jupiter Best and Greatest, wearing his costume, consisting of a purple toga and a tunic decorated with a palm-leaf pattern, a laurel wreath and other accessories...If you thought you knew some or all of these facts, Mary Beard's excellent book will prove you wrong...It makes healthily astringent (as well as fascinating) reading...The book can be heartily recommended. -- Jonathan Powell * Times Higher Education Supplement *At every turn Beard happily strips away misconceptions and hypotheses, emphasizing the fragility of the facts...It's hard to imagine a more perceptive and questioning study of a central cultural practice that lasted into the Christian era, and was constantly being subverted, extended, and absorbed into representations of empire and even of divinity. -- Helen Meany * Irish Times *[Beard] strips layer after layer after layer away and the mystery and the excitement of the book is wondering what will be left at the end…She is almost the Miss Marple of Roman history because she sees to the heart of a mystery and how it works…She is not dumbing down but she is making accessible what is incredibly interesting. -- Tom Holland * Five Books *How much do we really know about Rome's supreme honor, and how much is myth and invention? Not much and quite a lot, it turns out. Beard's brilliant analysis locates the ritual in the shifting political, social and martial worlds of Rome. Illuminating moments abound. -- Marc Lambert * Scotland on Sunday *Brilliant, original and challenging, this book is a triumph in itself. * The Scotsman *[An] arresting and highly readable new book...A highly amusing as well as illuminating read...Overall, Beard is giving us a lesson in how to understand and study ritual. Its early students (not least Frazer, one of the founders of modern anthropology, in The Golden Bough), saw it as a strait-jacket, constraining behavior within tightly defined parameters. This book gives us the Roman triumph as a case study in the lessons of more recent anthropology. Parameters are broad: malleable enough for ritual to be used to attempt to justify behavior, and not just to dictate it...Instead of unchanging ritual, Beard gives us a world of invented precedent and "convenient amnesia," of substantial success but also manifold failure as individual Roman generals attempted to mold general practice to their own--usually political--purposes. -- Peter Heather * BBC History Magazine *Beard’s approach to the triumph is “uncomfortably subversive”, as she labels a quip of Seneca at the start of her study...Beard shows us throughout her study that, as the old cliché aptly puts it, the triumph is still good to think with and also “good to think about.” Her book is as much about doing ancient history as reconstructing the history of an ancient ceremony, and perhaps more about writing and the writing of an account of The Roman Triumph than actually writing the account itself..I found this an eminently readable and hugely entertaining book in which Beard enthusiastically conveys her commitment to reviewing the evidence for the triumph. -- Robert Tatam * Journal of Classics Teaching *Beautifully written, brilliantly insightful, this book is highly recommended to all those Romanists, professional and amateur, excavators and tourists, who want to get under the skin of the empire-builders of ancient Rome. -- Neil Faulkner * Current Archaeology *In this highly individual book Mary Beard plays havoc with conventional ideas about the Roman triumph, while at the same time scrupulously presenting the evidence with which we can make up our own minds. It is the most important statement to date by a major historian of Roman culture. -- William V. Harris, Shepherd Professor of History, Columbia UniversityOccasionally one comes across a work of history which lights up a whole era as if by a lightning flash. Mary Beard's new book falls into this rare category. By focusing on the specific ritual of the triumph, she brilliantly illuminates the Roman world in all its aspects—military and political, social and literary, religious and geographical—and also reminds us how much of our own language and culture of success is drawn from this gaudy and often bloody spectacle. -- Robert Harris, author of Imperium

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Book SynopsisTranslation of: Kafka, die Jahre der Entscheidungen.Trade ReviewOne of The Guardian Best Books of 2013, chosen by Colm Toibin "Most impressive is Stach's recounting of the creation of his subject's writings... Stach's own writing is wonderfully expressive."--Publishers Weekly (starred review) "A scrupulous, discriminating, and highly instructive account of Kafka's life."--Robert Alter, New Republic "[S]uperbly tempered... [T]hrough this robustly determined unearthing he rescues Kafka from the unearthliness of his repute... Shelley Frisch, Stach's heroic American translator, movingly reproduces his intended breadth and pace and tone... In this honest and honorable biography there is no trace of the Kafkaesque; but in it you may find a crystal granule of the Kafka who was."--Cynthia Ozick, New Republic "Stach aims to tell us all that can be known about [Kafka], avoiding the fancies and extrapolations of earlier biographers. The result is an enthralling synthesis, one that reads beautifully... I can't say enough about the liveliness and richness of Stach's book... Every page of this book feels excited, dynamic, utterly alive."--Michael Dirda, Washington Post Book World "Stach's is a splendid effort and will be hard to surpass."--William H. Gass, Harper's Magazine "A masterpiece of inspired biographical writing."--Choice "Probing... Essential reading."--Booklist (starred review) "Magnificent."--Die Zeit "Stach develops the various elements that play a role in Kafka's life brilliantly."--Der Spiegel "The first great biography of Franz Kafka ... exciting and instructive from the first to the last page."--Tagesanzeiger "This extraordinary biography fills the empty spaces between Kafka's own writings and the writings of friends, family, and contemporaries with so much empathy and imagination that one can't put it down."--Frankfurter Rundschau "[M]onumental... [A] superb English-language translation by Shelly Frisch ... now reprinted in a handsome paperback by Princeton... In this first volume, Stach sifts through that rubble with huge amounts of energy and discretion (and Frisch follows him without a misstep; it feels like exactly the book I read ten years ago in its original language)... His letters and journals are marshaled with sometimes breathtaking ingenuity, and the sheer scope of the work allows Stach to be expansive when painting his backgrounds... Always in these recountings, Stach is searching for his elusive subject, trying--as all previous biographers have tried, though none so well--to hear Kafka's strange, singular voice in the noise... Kafka: The Decisive Years was greeted with a loud chorus of praise when it first appeared in English, and the passage of almost a decade has cast no doubt on that verdict. Princeton has re-issued this classic so that it can stand next to the following volume, Kafka: The Years of Insight, newly published in hardcover. No one interested in Kafka (or, by almost inevitable extension, 20th century literature) should miss either."--Steve Donoghue, Open Letters Monthly "[F]lawlessly translated... [A] wonderfully intelligent and perceptive portrait of a uniquely powerful writer."--PD Smith, Guardian "Stach reads the work and the life with minute care and sympathy. He has a deep understanding of the world that Kafka came from and this is matched by an intelligence and tact about the impulse behind the work itself."--Colm Toibin, Irish Independent "[T]he definitive biography."--Jonathon Sturgeon, Flavorwire "Superbly translated from German by Shelley Frisch... Illuminating facts and intelligent commentary... The three volumes are so carefully composed and densely woven--blending history, literary analysis, psychological insights, quotes and commentary from others--that it would be practically impossible to produce an abridged version in a single volume."--Alexander Adams, Spiked ReviewTable of ContentsIntroduction 1 PROLOGUE: The Black Star 16 1At Home with the Kafkas 21 2Bachelors, Young and Old 42 3Actors, Zionists, Wild People 54 4Literature and Loneliness: Leipzig and Weimar 71 5Last Stop Jungborn 86 6A Young Lady from Berlin 94 7The Ecstasy of Beginning: "The Judgment" and "The Stoker" 108 8A Near Defenestration 119 9The Girl, the Lady, and the Woman 134 10Love and a Longing for Letters 145 11Exultant Weeks, Little Intrigues 159 12The Bauer Family 169 13America and Back: The Man Who Disappeared 175 14The Lives of Metaphors: "The Metamorphosis" 192 15The Fear of Going Mad 206 16Balkan War: The Massacre Next Door 226 171913 231 18 The Man Who Disappeared: Perfection and Disintegration 242 19Invention and Exaggeration 253 20Sexual Trepidation and Surrender 266 21The Working World: High Tech and the Ghostsof Bureaucracy 281 22The Proposal 297 23Literature, Nothing but Literature 324 24Three Congresses in Vienna 350 25Trieste, Venice, Verona, Riva 368 26Grete Bloch: The Messenger Arrives 379 27An All-Time Low 390 28Kafka and Musil 401 29Matrimonial Plans and Asceticism 413 30Tribunal in Berlin 433 31The Great War 444 32Self-Inflicted Justice: The Trial and "In the Penal Colony" 464 33The Return of the East 484 34The Grand Disruption 493 35No-Man's-Land 508 ACKNOWLEDGMENTS 517 TRANSLATOR'S NOTE 519 KEY TO ABBREVIATIONS 521 NOTES 523 BIBLIOGRAPHY 551 PHOTO CREDITS 563 INDEX 565

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Book SynopsisIncorporating exciting new material that has come to light since the last German edition of 1980, Herwig Wolfram places Gothic history within its proper context of late Roman society and institutions. He demonstrates that the barbarian world of the Goths was both a creation of and an essential element of the late Roman Empire.Table of ContentsPreface Introduction Gothic History as Historical Ethnography 1. The Names The Gothic Name The Dual Names of the Two Gothic Peoples Visigoths and Ostrogoths as Western Goths and Eastern Goths The Epic and the Derisive Names of the Goths Biblical and Classical Names for the Goths Gothic Royal Houses and Their Names 2. The Formation of the Gothic Tribes before the Invasion of the Huns Gutones and Guti Politics and Institutions of the Gutones The Trek to the Black Sea The Goths at the Black Sea The Gothic Invasions of the Third Century The Gothic Advance into the Aegean Aurelian and the Division of the Goths The Tervingian-Vesian Confederation at the Danube The Events of 291 to 364 The Era of Athanaric, 365-376/381 Ulfilas and the Beginning of the Conversion of the Goths The Ostrogothic Greutungi until the Invasion of the Huns Ermanaric's Greutungian Kingdom and Its Dissolution Political Organization and Culture of the Goths at the Danube and the Black Sea The Gutthiuda: The Land of the Tervingi and Taifali The Kuni: Community of Descent and Subdivision of the Gutthiuda The Harjis, the Tribal Army Gards, Batirgs, Sibja: Lordship, Retainers, Community of Law Haims (Village): The Social World of the Gothic Freeman Cult and Religion among the Goths Language and Daily Life The Ostrogothic-Greutungian Kingship 3. The Forty-year Migration and the Formation of the Visigoths, 376/378 to 416/418 The Invasion and Settlement of the Goths in Thrace From the Crossing of the Danube (376) to the Battle of Adrianople (378) Theodosius and the Settlement of the Goths in Thrace The Balkan Campaigns of 395-401 The Foedus of 397 and the Settlement of the Goths in Macedonia Alaric's Elevation to the Kingship Fravitta and Eriulf Gainas and Tribigild The Goths in the Western Empire, 401-418 Alaric's Italian Wars Athaulf and the Gothic Trek Westward Athaulf 's Contribution to the Visigothic Ethnogenesis The Visigoths Become Horsemen Radagaisus and His Contribution to the Visigothic Ethnogenesis Valia and the Goths "in Roman Service" 4. The Kingdom of Toulouse, 418 to 507 The Aquitanian Federates, 418-466 The Visigothic "Superpower," 466-507 Euric (466-484) and the Breach of the Foedus of 416/418 The Conquest of the Auvergne and Tarraconensis The Last Battles with the Empire The Organization and Development of Dominion Alaric II (484-507) The Legal and Ecclesiastical Policies of Euric and Alaric II The Legislation of Euric and Alaric II The Ecclesiastical Policies of Euric and Alaric II The King and the Royal Clan The Royal Family The King Court Life: Religion, Language, and Culture The Kingship: Its Functions and Functionaries Military Organization The Courtiers Royal Estates and Finances The Settlement of the Visigoths The Peoples of the Kingdom of Toulouse: Ethnic and Social Composition Goths and Romans in the Kingdom of Toulouse Jews, Greeks, and Syrians The Native Barbarians The Immigrant Barbarians Conditions of Dependency The End That Was No End 5. The "New" Ostrogoths The Division and Reunification of the Amal Goths, 375-451 Pannonian Greutungi, Hunnic Goths, and Ostrogoths The Ostrogothic Kingdom in Pannonia, 456/457-473 The Ostrogoths in the Balkans, 473-488 Theodoric's Battle for Italy, 488-493 The Ostrogothic March to Italy The Battles in Italy, 489-493 Flavius Theodericus Rex: King of the Goths and Italians, 493-526 Theodoric's Efforts To Obtain Imperial Recognition, 490/493-497 Some Questions Theodoric's Kingdom: An Attempt at a Constitutional Analysis Theodoric's Rule in Theory and Practice Exercitus Gothorum Comites Gothorum, Duces, Saiones, Millenarii, Mediocres, Capillati The Settlement of the Gothic Army Polyethnicity, Social Status, and Compulsory Military Service Ostrogothic Weapons and Fighting Techniques Theodoric's Barbarian Policy and the Securing of Italy The Vandals The Visigoths The Burgundians The Franks Raetia and Western Illyricum under Ostrogothic Dominion Barbarian Traditions and Ethnography Theodoric's Roman Policy and the End of His Kingship, 526 The Amal Successors of Theodoric, 526-536 Athalaric (526-534) Theodahad (534-536) The Non-Amal Kings and the Fall of the Ostrogothic Kingdom, 536-552 Vitigis (536-540) Hildebad and Eraric (540/541) Totila (541-552) The Epilogue: Teja (552) Appendixes 1. Roman Emperors 2. A Survey of Gothic History 3. Genealogical Charts of the Balthi and Amali Notes List of Abbreviations Bibliography Index Maps

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Book SynopsisThe Lacock Cup is a rare object with a unique English history. Made in the 1430s, it is one of a handful of pieces of secular silver from the Middle Ages, which both survived the changing culture of Tudor fashion and the turmoil of the Reformation. The remarkable story of this special cup is brought to life in this short and accessible book.

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Book SynopsisWhen it appeared in 1670, Baruch Spinoza's Theological-Political Treatise was denounced as the most dangerous book ever published - "godless," "full of abominations," "a book forged in hell ...by the devil himself." This title the tells of story of incendiary ideas and vicious backlash.Trade ReviewHonorable Mention for the 2011 PROSE Award in Philosophy, Association of American Publishers "In this clearly written and accessible book, Nadler offers up a historical and philosophical analysis of Spinoza's Theological-Political Treatise... Each chapter not only focuses on sections of the Treatise but also explains the historical context of the Treatise and why many saw it as such a dangerous and corrupting book... [Nadler] has definitely succeeded in writing an extremely rewarding and engaging book."--Library Journal (starred review) "[T]his is a groundbreaking analysis of an incendiary text."--Booklist "Steven Nadler's new study of the Treatise, A Book Forged in Hell, succeeds... While his tasks are primarily expository and contextual, Nadler, who is the author of the standard biography of Spinoza, puts forward a substantive thesis as well... Guided by this set of claims, Nadler takes us through the Treatise in a detailed but seamless account of Spinoza's arguments and aims. One measure of his integrity, indeed, is that while endorsing the common portrayal of Spinoza as a founder of modern secularism, Nadler is sensitive to some of the ways in which Spinoza is not to be taken as the harbinger of the secular mindset. In fact, A Book Forged in Hell raises the important question of how appropriate it is to view Spinoza as a philosophical founder of contemporary secularism and especially of contemporary liberalism. It also raises the question of whether Spinoza should be understood as a Jewish thinker, if so, to what extent."--Zachary Micah Gartenberg, Jewish Review of Books "Steven Nadler has written a delightfully lucid and philosophically thorough account of the Treatise that helps to explain how and why this singular text became the object of such opprobrium and why we should see its appearance as the 'the birth of the secular age.'... What makes Nadler's so welcome a contribution is the care and the clarity of his philosophical exposition, and his restraint when tracing the wider implications of Spinoza's work."--Peter Gordon, TNR.com's The Book "Without comparison the best among the available books on Spinoza in this category."--British Journal for the History of Philosophy "Nadler shows, for a general audience, why Spinoza's Tractatus Theologico-Politicus evoked such opposition from contemporary religious and political readers. Nadler places Spinoza and his book in their historical context, explains the issues that were at stake, and discusses the book's subsequent influence. Persons interested in the history of political liberalism, modern Judaism, biblical interpretation, and early modern philosophy will welcome this excellent book."--Choice "A Book Forged in Hell is ... without comparison the best among the available books on Spinoza in this category."--British Journal for the History of Philosophy "Steven Nadler, professor of philosophy at the University of Wisconsin-Madison has written a thoroughly engaging study of a book which, not only controversial in its day, may be said to have moved Biblical studies into a modern terminology and thrust. It will be a welcome addition to seminary and university libraries."--Morton J. Merowitz, Association of Jewish Library Reviews "[A]ccomplished... Few have accepted Spinoza's equation of God with Nature or his determinism. Yet his deconstruction of the Bible remains a towering achievement, a triumph of reason over ecclesiastical obfuscation. Nadler is to be applauded for making this achievement so accessible. God knows, the world still needs such enlightenment."--Jewish Chronicle "Philosophy professor Steven Nadler tells the story of the book that scandalized early modern Europe--and laid the groundwork for modern republican, anticlerical, and anti-sectarian movements--in his readable A Book Forged in Hell."--Reason "[L]ucid... Nadler does an excellent job of summarizing Spinoza's sometimes convoluted arguments."--Weekly Standard "Nadler's book is a biography of the treatise and very much a page turner, a philosophical and political thriller, which demands to be bought, read and shared."--Derek Wall, Morning Star Online "In this highly readable study, Steven Nadler persuasively shows that this scandalous work of modern philosophy deserves far more attention than it has actually received from scholars."--Grant Havers, European LegacyTable of ContentsPreface xi Acknowledgments xvii Chapter 1: Prologue 1 Chapter 2: The Theological-Political Problem 17 Chapter 3: Rasphuis 36 Chapter 4: Gods and Prophets 52 Chapter 5: Miracles 76 Chapter 6: Scripture 104 Chapter 7: Judaism, Christianity, and True Religion 143 Chapter 8: Faith, Reason, and the State 176 Chapter 9: Libertas philosophandi 200 Chapter 10: The Onslaught 215 A Note on Texts and Translations 241 Abbreviations 243 Notes 245 Bibliography 267 Index 277

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Book SynopsisVolume VI of the nine-volume Loeb edition of Early Greek Philosophy includes the later Ionian and Athenian thinkers Anaxagoras, Archelaus, and Diogenes of Apollonia, along with chapters on early Greek medicine and the Derveni Papyrus.Trade ReviewIn brief, André Laks and Glenn Most give us a brilliant and beautiful reference work that can, at the same time, be easily enough read straight through. And spending a few months doing so gives the reader almost all that she needs (perhaps along with Loeb #258, Greek Elegiac Poetry) to reconstruct for herself the origins of the discipline of philosophy. I should want any graduate student or colleague in ancient philosophy or intellectual history to acquire and make their way through it. -- Christopher Moore * Classical Journal *The publication of the Loeb Classical Library’s nine-volume set, Early Greek Philosophy, gives us a new edition of the original texts, with fresh translations. It is a monumental achievement—the result of many years of dedicated work on the part of the two editors/translators André Laks and Glenn W. Most… We owe a profound debt of gratitude to the editors/translators for their thorough and impeccable scholarship, and to the publishers for their usual high standards of production. If you can afford them, don’t hesitate: you will be all the richer for having these volumes on your shelves. -- Jeremy Naydler * Minerva *André Laks and Glenn W. Most have made available to the world of scholarship in early Greek philosophy a resource of immense value. Every study of a thinker or of an issue within the thematic ambit of Early Greek Philosophy must henceforth start by canvassing and taking into account the appropriate selections in the Loeb set. -- Alexander P. D. Mourelatos * Bryn Mawr Classical Review *The publication of a Loeb Classical Library edition of the evidence for early Greek philosophy is a major event in classical scholarship…The editors and their assistants are to be commended for their exemplary execution of such a vast and difficult task. They have succeeded in producing what is far and away the best available edition of the texts of the early Greek philosophers with accompanying English translation…More than that, their edition effectively supersedes Hermann Diels and Walter Kranz’s Die Fragmente der Vorsokratiker, which has long held sway as the standard edition of the Presocratics, but it only does so because Laks and Most have respectfully taken Diels-Kranz as their model…Laks and Most have set such a high standard with this work that it is hard to imagine that we will see a better general collection on early Greek philosophy in our lifetimes…Laks and Most’s philological acumen, judiciousness as editors, and excellence as translators is evident on every page. -- John Palmer * Arion *

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Book SynopsisIn a major reinterpretation, Sean McMeekin rejects the standard notion of the war’s beginning as either a Germano-Austrian pre-emptive strike or a miscalculation. The key to the outbreak of violence, he argues, lies in St. Petersburg. Russian statesmen unleashed the war through policy decisions based on imperial ambitions in the Near East.Trade ReviewThis book should forever change the ways we have understood the role of Russia in the First World War. -- Michael S. Neiberg, author of Dance of the Furies: Europe and the Outbreak of World War IA bold reinterpretation of the Russian Empire's entry into the First World War. McMeekin argues that Russia believed a European war to be in its interest, that it sought to humiliate Vienna, and that it hoped to conquer Constantinople and the Ottoman Straits. -- Mustafa Aksakal, author of The Ottoman Road to War in 1914The Russian Origins of the First World War is a polemic in the best sense. Written in a lively and engaging style, it should provoke a much-needed debate on Russia's role in the Great War. -- Michael Reynolds, author of Shattering Empires: The Clash and Collapse of the Ottoman and Russian Empires, 1908-1918Going against a century of received wisdom, Bilkent University professor McMeekin offers a dramatic new interpretation of WWI...Rifling the archives, analyzing battle plans, and sifting through the machinations of high diplomacy, McMeekin reveals the grand ambitions of czarist Russia, which wanted control of the Black Sea straits to guarantee all-weather access to foreign markets. Maneuvering France and England into a war against Germany presented the best chance to acquire this longed-for prize. No empire had more to gain from the coming conflict, and none pushed harder to ensure its arrival. Once unleashed, however, the conflagration leapt out of control, and imperial Russia herself ranked among its countless victims. * Publishers Weekly *Casting a contrarian eye on the first major conflict of the twentieth century, Sean McMeekin finds the roots of WWI inside Russia, whose leaders deliberately sought--for their own ends--to expand a brawl that the Germans wanted to keep local. The author tracks the fallout of these antique plots right down to the present geopolitical landscape. * Barnes & Noble Review *An entirely new take on the origins of World War I comes as a surprise. If war guilt is to be assigned, this book argues, it should go not only (or even primarily) to Germany--the long-accepted culprit--but also to Russia...Bold reading between the lines of history. -- Robert Legvold * Foreign Affairs *As Sean McMeekin argues in this bold and brilliant revisionist study, Russia was as much to blame as Germany for the outbreak of the war. Using a wide range of archival sources, including long-neglected tsarist documents, he argues that the Russians had ambitions of their own (the dismantling of the Austro-Hungarian and Ottoman empires, no less) and that they were ready for a war once they had secured a favorable alliance with the British and the French. -- Orlando Figes * Sunday Times *The book is a refreshing challenge to longstanding assumptions and shifted perspectives are always good. -- Miriam Cosic * The Australian *

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Book SynopsisTranslation of: Kafka, die Jahre der Erkenntnis.Trade ReviewWinner of the 2014 Helen and Kurt Wolff Translator's Prize Finalist for the 2013 National Jewish Book Award in History, Jewish Book Council One of Choice's Outstanding Academic Titles for 2014 One of The Guardian Best Books of 2013, chosen by Colm Toibin Longlisted for the 2014 PEN Translation Award, Pen American Center "[S]cholars and specialists lost and absorbed in the many rooms of the Kafka factory will find much to discuss in the labors of Reiner Stach."--Joy Williams, New York Times Book Review "[Stach's] resplendent Kafka: The Years of Insight, tracking Kafka's final eight years, meditates on the limits of the knowable even as it exhibits unparalleled dedication to the Kafka's life and work."--Gary Giddins, Wall Street Journal "This well-researched new biography details the last nine years of Franz Kafka's life and explores the personal, social, and political events that shaped his writing... Despite the narrow time frame, this insightful book is likely to become a standard by which future biographies are measured."--Publishers Weekly (Starred Review) "[S]uperbly tempered... [T]hrough this robustly determined unearthing he rescues Kafka from the unearthliness of his repute... Shelley Frisch, Stach's heroic American translator, movingly reproduces his intended breadth and pace and tone... In this honest and honorable biography there is no trace of the Kafkaesque; but in it you may find a crystal granule of the Kafka who was."--Cynthia Ozick, New Republic "Stach's book succeeds brilliantly at clearing a path through the thick metaphysical fog that has hung about Kafka's work almost since his death... [I]lluminating... It is common to say of biography that it sends you back to the work. Stach's book does this in spades, but, importantly for English readers, it also presents new aspects of the work in Shelley Frisch's superb and lucid translations... Between them, she and Stach have produced a superbly fresh imaginative guide to the strange, clear, metaphor-free world of Kafka's prose."--Tim Martin, Telegraph "Stach reads the work and the life with minute care and sympathy. He has a deep understanding of the world that Kafka came from and this is matched by an intelligence and tact about the impulse behind the work itself."--Colm Toibin, Irish Independent "This work is a monumental accomplishment with a first-rate translation by scholar Frisch."--Library Journal (Starred Review) "Conclusion of a massive, comprehensive life of the famed Czech/German/Jewish writer, chockablock with neuroses, failures and moments of brilliance... An illuminating book built, like its subject's life, on small episodes rather than great, dramatic turning points. Essential for students and serious readers of Kafka."--Kirkus Reviews (Starred Review) "With impressive insight into imaginative artistry, Stach illuminates the way Kafka responds to personal trauma and global firestorm, sometimes incorporating his negative circumstances into his fiction, but sometimes transcending those circumstances in metaphysical creations informed by a profoundly personal myth. This literary-biographical analysis will help scholars penetrate major Kafka works, including The Castle and The Trial, The Hunger Artist and The Burrow. Thanks to a lucid translation, English-speaking readers can now share the German enthusiasm for this masterful portrait."--Bryce Christensen, Booklist (Starred Review) "[T]he definitive biography of Kafka... [A] supple and accurate English translation by Shelley Frisch... Stach presents a full, nuanced treatment of Kafka's feelings about Jewishness. He is particularly adept in his depiction of Kafka's relationships with the women he loved."--David Mikics, Forward.com "[M]agnificent."--John Carey, Sunday Times "[S]uperlative, readable and ... genuinely gripping... Stach manages to recreate the worlds through which Kafka moved and in which he suffered in a manner that reads ... like high-quality fiction... Stach on Kafka is more than worthy to be put on a shelf of the magisterial literary biographies of the last few decades... It is quite splendid."--Kevin Jackson, Literary Review "No one will ever be able to write Kafka's story as well as he could, but Reiner Stach, a first-class German scholar, does remarkably well in Kafka: The Years of Insight."--Robert Fulford, National Post "The second volume of Reiner Stach's epic biography of Franz Kafka ... [is] a tangle of counter-grained and often under-sourced life stories, but reading Stach's magnificent narrative (wonderfully translated by Shelley Frisch) straight through brings death, not life, to the forefront. Stach is a compulsively readable writer... [A]s in the previous volume, the prose in The Years of Insight is supple and very appealingly complex--all of which, once again, is perfectly rendered by Frisch."--Steve Donoghue, Open Letters Monthly "[H]ighly readable."--Ian Thomson, Financial Times "[M]onumental... [A] superb English-language translation by Shelly Frisch ... now reprinted in a handsome paperback by Princeton... In this first volume, Stach sifts through that rubble with huge amounts of energy and discretion (and Frisch follows him without a misstep; it feels like exactly the book I read ten years ago in its original language)... His letters and journals are marshaled with sometimes breathtaking ingenuity, and the sheer scope of the work allows Stach to be expansive when painting his backgrounds... Always in these recountings, Stach is searching for his elusive subject, trying--as all previous biographers have tried, though none so well--to hear Kafka's strange, singular voice in the noise... Kafka: The Decisive Years was greeted with a loud chorus of praise when it first appeared in English, and the passage of almost a decade has cast no doubt on that verdict. Princeton has re-issued this classic so that it can stand next to the following volume, Kafka: The Years of Insight, newly published in hardcover. No one interested in Kafka (or, by almost inevitable extension, 20th century literature) should miss either."--Steve Donoghue, Open Letters Monthly "A definitive biography of a rare writer... [M]asterful... [T]his biography makes for an excellent read. Mr Stach, a German academic, expertly presents Kafka's struggles with his work and health against a wider background of the first world war, the birth of Czechoslovakia and the hyperinflation of the 1920s."--The Economist "A definitive biography of a writer as transcendent as Franz Kafka might be unattainable, but in his massive trilogy, Stach comes as close as one can."--Robert Legvold, Foreign Affairs "[A] further passionate attempt to reinscribe works such as Metamorphosis, A Report To An Academy, and The Castle on 21st century readers... Stach does us a great service... By dint of a rhythmic sequencing of narration and discussion, Stach illuminates the symbiosis of Kafka's inner catastrophes and vocational ardour with the violent military devastation of Europe, the birth of the Czech Republic and his frail body's tortuous decline."--Gregory Day, The Age Praise for Kafka: The Years of Insight: "It would be impossible to describe the work and essence of this key artist of the twentieth century in a livelier and more vibrant style... A masterpiece of the art of interpretation and of empathy."--Der Tagesspiegel Praise for Kafka: The Years of Insight: "Reiner Stach has recounted Kafka's life more vividly than any other biographer. The reader moves through his Kafka biography, which reads like a novel, in breathless anticipation... No one has written about Kafka as suggestively and insightfully, and in such a beautiful and clear language, as Reiner Stach."--Ulrich Greiner, Die Zeit "[E]xtensive ... impeccably translated... Each volume is crafted such that one simply must read the other two: Stach peppers his writing with tantalizingly vague references and foreshadowings to elsewhere in the series, and his allusions compel the reader to absorb Kafka's complete biography from start to finish... The author's meticulous chronicle of Kafka's life by no means precludes examination of the literary legacy that it produced; rather, it sharpens our understanding of some of Kafka's most obscure and abstract works... An utterly thorough biography, the three-volume set will prove a treasure to any admirer of Franz Kafka--or good research."--Nat Bernstein, Jewish Book Council "Kafka: The Years of Insight ... wonderfully translated ... is Volume III of what will surely be the definitive biography. Kafka is brought to vivid life by an author at once scholarly and entertaining."--John Banville, New Statesman "Stach's declared aim is to find out what it felt like to be Kafka, and he succeeds."--John Banville, Irish Times "Countering the prevailing notion that Kafka was out of touch with reality, Stach details how this quixotic modernist was actually well informed about the crisis and how this knowledge altered the course of his writing. In addition to being a skillful biographer, Stach is an authority on Kafka, having worked for more than a decade on the definitive critical edition of Kafka's writings... [T]his biography is an extraordinary accomplishment."--Choice "Stach's riveting narrative, which reflects the latest findings about Kafka's life and works, draws readers in with a nearly cinematic power, zooming in for extreme close-ups of Kafka's personal life, then pulling back for panoramic shots of a wider world."--World Book Industry "Reiner Stach's biography of Franz Kafka, planned for three volumes, has assumed a commanding position in a crowded field: this is a work that simply must be studied by anyone with a serious interest in Kafka... The appearance in English of this groundbreaking work is a publishing event of major importance."--Peter Zusi, Slavic Review "Stach pursues what can be known of Kafka so far and so exhaustively... Sometimes I thought of Stach as the captive and Kafka as the captor... Vivid and valuable."--Rivka Galchen "Masterly ... Stach's great achievement is to place the literary work into a biographical context that emphasises the interplay of memory, experience and symbolism in the writing... A triumph of biography and literary scholarship."--PD Smith, Guardian "[A] brilliant, authoritative portrait."--John Yargo, The Millions "Superbly translated from German by Shelley Frisch... Illuminating facts and intelligent commentary... The three volumes are so carefully composed and densely woven--blending history, literary analysis, psychological insights, quotes and commentary from others--that it would be practically impossible to produce an abridged version in a single volume."--Alexander Adams, Spiked ReviewTable of ContentsPROLOGUE The Ants of Prague 1 CHAPTER ONE Stepping Outside the Self 8 CHAPTER TWO No Literary Prize for Kafka 31 CHAPTER THREE "Civilian Kavka": The Work of War 46 CHAPTER FOUR The Marvel of Marienbad 83 CHAPTER FIVE What Do I Have in Common with Jews? 105 CHAPTER SIX Kafka Encounters His Readers 129 CHAPTER SEVEN The Alchemist 141 CHAPTER EIGHT Ottla and Felice 157 CHAPTER NINE The Country Doctor Ventures Out 170 CHAPTER TEN Mycobacterium tuberculosis 186 CHAPTER ELEVEN Zurau's Ark 201 CHAPTER TWELVE Meditations 222 CHAPTER THIRTEEN Spanish Influenza, Czech Revolt, Jewish Angst 244 CHAPTER FOURTEEN The Pariah Girl 266 CHAPTER FIFTEEN The Unposted Letter to Hermann Kafka 287 CHAPTER SIXTEEN Merano, Second Class 311 CHAPTER SEVENTEEN Milena 319 CHAPTER EIGHTEEN Living Fires 332 CHAPTER NINETEEN The Big Nevertheless 353 CHAPTER TWENTY Escape to the Mountains 380 CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE Fever and Snow: Tatranske Matliary 387 CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO The Internal and the External Clock 404 CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE The Personal Myth: The Castle 423 CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR Retiree and Hunger Artist 451 CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE The Palestinian 475 CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX Dora 497 CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN The Edge of Berlin 512 CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT Last Sorrow 546 EPILOGUE 573 Acknowledgments 577 Translator's Note 579 Key to Abbreviations 581 Notes 583 Bibliography 647 Photo Credits 665 Index 667

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Book SynopsisThe Battle of the Somme, which lasted from 1 July to 18 November 1916, is remembered as one of the most horrific and tragic battles of the First World War. On the first day alone nearly 19,000 British troops were killed the greatest one-day loss in the history of the British Army. By November the death toll from the armies of Britain, France and Germany had risen to over a million. This book tells the stories of fifty-one soldiers from the Commonwealth and Empire armies whose bravery on the battlefield was rewarded by the Victoria Cross, the highest military honour men like Private Billy McFadzean, who was blown up by two grenades which he smothered in order to save the lives of his comrades, and Private Todger' Jones, who single-handedly rounded up 102 German soldiers. Not only do we learn of heroic endeavours of these men at the height of battle, but we also read of their lives before 1914, ranging from the backstreets of Glasgow to a country house in Cheshire, and of what life was

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Book SynopsisAn international bestseller, this intimate biography vividly brings to life the story of an exceptional and courageous woman, well ahead of her time, who lived through a remarkable period in Turkish history.Trade Review`Rich, surprising and profound' Orhan Pamuk; `A daring biography' Independent; `Latife played a pivotal role in shaping the new Turkey - an acknowledgement of her contribution is long overdue.' New Internationalist; `This fascinating retelling highlights an important moment in the struggle for women's suffrage ... Poignant' The Lady; `A shining example of how history can and should be written' The Jordan Times

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Book SynopsisWho took part in the widespread disturbances that periodically shook 18th-century London? What really motivated the food rioters who helped to spark off the French Revolution? How did the movement of agricultural laborers destroying new machinery spread from one village to another in the English countryside? How did the sans-culottes organize in revolutionary Paris? George RudŽ was the first historian to ask such questions and in doing so he identified "the faces in the crowd" in some of the crucial episodes in modern European history. An established classic of "history from below," The Crowd in History is remarkable above all for the clarity with which it deals with the full sweep of complex events. Whether in Belgrade or Jakarta, crowds continue to make history, and George RudŽ''s work retains all its freshness and relevance for students of history and politics and general readers alike. This is an innovative discussion of the role of ordinary people in some of the turning-points of European history.

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Book SynopsisUpdated edition to commemorate the 80th anniversary of the Battle of Britain.It is difficult to overestimate the excitement that accompanied the birth of the Spitfire. An aircraft imbued with balletic grace and extraordinary versatility, it was powered by a piston engine and a propeller, yet came tantalisingly close to breaking the sound barrier. First flown in 1936, the Spitfire soon came to symbolize Britain's defiance of Nazi Germany in the summer of 1940.Spitfire: The Biography is a celebration of a great British invention, of the men and women who flew it and supported its development, and of the industry that manufactured both the aircraft and the Rolls-Royce engines that powered it. It is also about the ways in which the sight, sound and fury of this lithe and legendary fighter continue to stir the public imagination worldwide more than eighty years on.Trade ReviewHugely entertaining -- James HollandAn authoritative and comprehensive tribute to a unique aircraft. -- Adrian Swire * Spectator *A drama that cannot help take wing. The elements still excite the imagination and raise the heart. -- Tom Fort * Sunday Telegraph *Eclectic and entertaining -- Patrick Bishop * Literary Review *A wonderful book -- Rowland WhiteTable of Contents1: Of Monoplanes and Men 2: The Thin Blue Line 3: Survival of the Fittest 4: The Long Goodbye 5: First among Equals 6: The Spitfire Spirit

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Book SynopsisThe Political Martyrs memorial in Edinburgh looms large on the city's skyline but its history is relatively unknown. And that is not by accident. As Edinburgh's New Town was constructed, a narrative of kilts and loyalty was created for Scotland, with its radical history deliberately excluded. The French Revolution lit a spark in Scotland, inspiring radicals and working people alike, and uniting them in opposition to the King and his government. The oligarchy of landowners that ran Scotland was worried. Leading radicals like Thomas Muir and fellow political martyrs were later rounded up and transported to Botany Bay. But the radicals fought back and formed the United Scotsmen, seeking widespread political reform throughout the Union and prepared to use physical force in defence of their ideals and as social and economic hardship followed in Waterloo's wake, the flame of radicalism was further ignited. This is Scotland's Radical History.

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Book SynopsisTrade Review“Mr Wagner argues his case fluently and rigorously in this excellent book. The centenary would be as good a time as any to apologise for Amritsar. In Mr Wagner's telling, such contrition might apply to many other acts of cruelty and violence visited upon Britannia's imperial subjects.” —The Economist“The hideous story of Jallianwala Bagh has been told often and well, notably by Nigel Collett in The Butcher of Amritsar. Yet no one has told it quite like Wagner, a professor at Queen Mary University of London. He calls his book “a microhistory of a global event”, and he is true to his word. Local events from March 30 to April 30, 1919 are examined and parsed into a narrative as he assembles an elaborate forensic jigsaw. In less skilled hands this spare-no-detail approach might well have suffocated readers, but the book is written with a humane commitment to the truth that will impress.” — Tunku Varadarajan, The Times“Kim Wagner [. . .] skilfully maps a tale of growing tensions, precipitate action, and troubled aftermath.” —Andrew Lycett, The Telegraph“A compelling account” — Tony Barber, Financial Times“Amritsar 1919 chronicles the run up to Jallianwala Bagh with spellbinding, almost minute-by-minute focus. . . . Mr. Wagner’s achievement is one of balance—of minutiae and sweep and, above, all, of perspective. E. M. Forster observed in A Passage to India (1924): ‘It is impossible to regard a tragedy from two points of view.’ Mr. Wagner does so without sacrificing moral clarity or verve.”—Maxwell Carter, Wall Street Journal“The book is written with a humane commitment to the truth that will impress”— Tunku Varadarajan, The Times“An extremely well-researched and highly readable account, Wagner's book will appeal to anyone who has an interest in Anglo-Indian history or those with ancestors in India at the time.” —Mark Simner, Who Do You Think You Are?“Sober and impeccably researched, it stands as the finest of centennial memorials in its own right” —John Keay, Literary Review"[A] brilliantly clear and authoritative analysis of the massacre."—William Dalrymple, Spectator“Wagner's considerable research and diligence in putting together this account is admirable.” —Navtej Sarna, Times Literary Supplement“[The book] examines the Amritsar massacre and, even though this is already well-trodden ground, makes an important contribution to deepening our understanding”– Jonh Newsinger, Race & Class“Wagner has produced the best narrative of Amritsar 1919” — Tim Willasey-Wilsey, Chowkidar "Wagner's Amritsar 1919 is a timely and well-written work on the Amritsar massacre, reminding readers that the contingent choices exercised by the perpetrators of savage violence in Jallianwala Bagh were based on longer traditions of colonial authority in which violence was presented as just retribution"—Sharmishtha Roy Chowdhury, Queens College, City University of New York, Journal of British Studies "A vivid, finely researched account of the Amritsar massacre which will be of great interest to both specialist and general readers alike. It is also an important book for our postcolonial world more generally."—Yasmin Khan, author of The Great Partition“The fullest, and by far the most authoritative, account of the causes and course of the Jallianwala massacre in any language. Wagner’s exposition of the way fear caused an event that started the unravelling of the Raj will take its place as the definitive version of a story hitherto capable of controversy, but now finally exposed in its full, undeniable horror. This is now the standard work.”—Nigel Collett, author of The Butcher of Amritsar"In this compelling yet exacting study, Kim Wagner combines the intimacy of the storyteller and the distance of the historian to evoke the ‘microhistory’ of the massacre while understanding it as the ‘final stage of a much longer process’, stretching back to the Sepoy Uprising. Mining a variety of sources – diaries, memoirs and court testimonies - he uncovers fresh perspectives and examines the relation between colonial panic and state brutality with sophistication, sincerity and style rare in published accounts of this much-trodden ground."—Santanu Das, author of India, Empire, and First World War Culture"In the cautionary tale provided in Amritsar 1919, it is enduring racist fear that lies at the heart of precipitate violence. Analytically sharp but gripping to read, the book is a page-turner"—Barbara D. Metcalf, co-author of A Concise History of India

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Book Synopsis'An exceptional account.' Prospect'Enlightening.' SpectatorFor the first time in millennia we live without formal empires. But that doesn't mean we don't feel their presence rumbling through history. The Great Imperial Hangover examines how the world's imperial legacies are still shaping the thorniest issues we face today. From Russia's incursions in the Ukraine to Brexit; from Trump's 'America-first' policy to China's forays into Africa; from Modi's India to the hotbed of the Middle East, Puri provides a bold new framework for understanding the world's complex rivalries and politics. Organised by region, and covering vital topics such as security, foreign policy, national politics and commerce, The Great Imperial Hangover combines gripping history and astute analysis to explain why the history of empire affects us all in profound ways.Trade ReviewEnlightening... [Puri] makes a credible case for how, in the US and China, imperial legacies have left those powers withdifferent values that would be hard to reconcile. * Spectator *Puri has many penetrating insights into the way the legacies of empire still affect the behaviour of states and the international climate. * Financial Times *An exceptional account, both personal and scholarly. * Prospect *Masterly. I found new insights on almost every page. It achieves the remarkable feat of deepening our self-knowledge while at the same time broadening our understanding of the world around us. * Paul Strathern, author of Rise and Fall: A History of the World in Ten Empires *An excellent read. Samir Puri has written a calm, distilled and bracing book. * Robert D. Kaplan, author of The Return of Marco Polo's World *Well written, comprehensive and judicious... a stimulating book. * New York Times *This is a masterly, engaging, thought-provoking and wide-ranging study of how the vestiges of past empires shape the ways in which the world works today. * James Daybell, author of Histories of the Unexpected *A timely and important re-thinking of imperial dominion. * Sam Willis, author of The Struggle for Sea Power *Table of Contents1: America's Imperial Inheritance 2: Britain's Grandeur and Guilt of Empire 3: The European Union's Post-Imperial Project 4: Russia's Embrace of its Imperial Legacy 5: China's Janus Faces of Empire 6: India's Overcoming of the 'Intimate Enemy' 7: The Middle East's Post-Imperial Instability 8: Africa's Scramble Beyond Colonialism 9: The World's Intersecting Imperial Legacies

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Book SynopsisWith the publication of their previous book on the battleships of the _Littorio_ class, the authors set new standards for the detailed coverage and sophisticated analysis of Italian warship design. Inspired by its success, both critically and commercially, the authors were inspired to follow up with a similar study of the earlier Italian battleships that were built in the First World War but survived to fight in the Second. Given the level of new research required, this has taken a decade to achieve but the result is a similarly comprehensive coverage. Originally comprising five ships in two related classes, they entered service at the beginning of the Great War. As designed, they were powerful examples of the second generation of dreadnoughts, with a combination of twin and triple turrets producing a unique main armament of thirteen 12-inch guns. One ship, _Leonardo da Vinci_, was sunk by an internal explosion at Taranto in 1916, and although the hull was raised post-war, the plan to rebuild the ship was abandoned as it was not deemed cost-effective. However, the remaining four ships were to undergo one of the most radical reconstructions of any battleship class during the 1930s, emerging with an entirely new profile, more powerful machinery and all the characteristics of a modern fast battleship. In this form they became an important element in the Italian fleet that opposed the British after 1940\. This book covers all the technical details of the ships, both as built and as rebuilt, but also provides an extended history of their active service, including battle plans and track charts. Thoroughly illustrated with photographs, ship and armament plans, detail drawings and colour camouflage schemes, the book is a fitting companion to _The Littorio Class_.

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Book SynopsisFrom bestselling and prize-winning author Paddy Ashdown, a revelatory new history of German opposition to Hitler.Ashdown has a great gift for narrative history. He unearths little known stories and places them in context with great dexterity.His new book throws fresh and important light on a crucial topic.' JONATHAN DIMBLEBYIn his last days, Adolf Hitler raged in his bunker that he had been betrayed by his own people, defeated from the inside. In part, he was right. By 1945, his armies were being crushed on all fronts, his regime collapsing with many fleeing retribution for their crimes. Yet, even before the war started, there were Germans very high in Hitler's command committed to bringing about his death and defeat.Paddy Ashdown tells, for the first time, the story of those at the very top of Hitler's Germany who tried first to prevent the Second World War and then to deny Hitler victory. Based on newly released files, the repeated attempts of the plotters to warn the Allies about HiTrade Review‘A powerful account of an extraordinary story.’ The Times ‘A fine account.’ 5*, Daily Telegraph ‘It moves at the pace of a thriller and it’s real’ Nick Ferrari, Sunday Express ‘Fascinating and fast moving’ Literary Review ‘No doubt many more books will be written about the war, but I hope this becomes a model for them since, though the heroism of our boys is stirring stuff, history only makes real sense if you can see it from all sides.’ Daily Telegraph ‘Paddy Ashdown has sifted the facts from the myths to write a fascinating and very personal account.’ Independent ‘Ashdown’s insights and his extensive research in an impressive range of archives will ensure that yet another work on the subject will not be required in the foreseeable future.’ Times Literary Supplement 'Paddy Ashdown has a great gift for narrative history. He unearths little known stories and places them in context with great dexterity. His new book throws fresh and important light on a crucial topic.' Jonathan Dimbleby 'One cannot read too much about the 1930s to inoculate against its evils, so I recommend Paddy Ashdown’s excellent new book 'Nein!' … Ashdown writes movingly about the repeated attempts of German patriots to warn the Allies about Hitler and to frustrate or assassinate him … A roll call of heroism … Ashdown brings them together in a compelling narrative of a decade of resistance to evil at the heart of ‘European civilisation’.' Lord Adonis

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Book SynopsisA biography of the boldest and most unsettling of the early modern philosophers, Spinoza, examining the man's life, relationships, career, and writings, while forcing us to rethink how we previously understood his reception in the fields of philosophy, religion, ethics, and political theory in his own time and in the years following his death.Trade ReviewMonumental...a brilliant biography... Jonathan Israel has more than done justice to this ultimately elusive genius * Daniel Johnson, The Critic *Definitive * Andrew Robinson, Nature *This biography is a worthy conclusion to Israel's immense Enlightenment project. * Michiel Leezenberg, NRC Handelsblad *This monumental work should be added to the short list of modern biographies of Baruch Spinoza (1632-77)...Recommended. Graduate students, researchers, faculty * Choice *Table of ContentsPart I: Setting the Scene 1: Introduction 2: Unparalleled Challenge Part II: The Young Spinoza 3: Youthful Rebel 4: Secret Legacy from Portugal 5: Childhood and Family Tradition 6: Schooldays 7: Honour and Wealth 8: Teaching Skills: Van den Enden (1656-1661), Latin, and the Theatre 9: Collegiants, Millenarians, and Quakers: the Mid- and Late 1650s 10: 'Monstrous Heresies': Ties with Marrano Deists Part III: Reformer and Subverter of Descartes 11: Forming a Study Group 12: Rijnsburg Years (1661-63) 13: Spinoza and the Scientific Revolution 14: 'Reforming' Descartes' Principles 15: Writing the Ethics 16: Voorburg 17: Spinoza and the Second Anglo-Dutch War (1664-1667) 18: Invasion, Slump, and Comets (1665-66) 19: Spinoza, Meyer, and The 1666 Philosophia Controversy 20: From the Jaws of Defeat Part IV: Darkening Horizons 21: The Tragedy of the Brothers Koerbagh (1668-1669) 22: Nil Volentibus Arduum: Spinoza and the Arts 23: Twilight of the 'True Freedom' 24: Revolution in Bible Criticism 25: Spinoza Subverts Hobbes 26: Publishing the Theological-Political Treatise 27: Intensifying Reaction (early 1670s) 28: Spinoza's Libertine '"French Circle' 29: Reshaping the Republic: from Oligarchic to Democratic Republicanism Part V: Last Years 30: Disaster Year (1672) 31: Denying the Supernatural 32: Entering (or Not Entering) Princely Court Culture (1672-73) 33: Creeping Diffusion 34: Mysterious Trip to Utrecht (July-August 1673) 35: Expanding the 'Spinozist Sect' 36: Amsterdam Revisited (1673-75) 37: Hebrew in Spinoza's Later Life 38: Encounter with Leibniz (1676) 39: Fighting Back 40: Last Days, Death, and Funeral (1677) 41: A Stormy Aftermath 42: Conclusion: Philosophy integrated with Bible Critique and Political Theory

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Book SynopsisShortlisted for the An Post Irish Book Awards Non-Fiction Book of the Year 2019 'Anyone who wishes to understand why Brexit is so intractable should read this book. I can think of several MPs who ought to.' The Times For the past two decades, you could cross the border between Northern Ireland and the Republic half a dozen times without noticing or, indeed, turning off the road you were travelling. It cuts through fields, winds back-and-forth across roads, and wends from Carlingford Lough to Lough Foyle. It is frictionless - a feat sealed by the Good Friday Agreement. Before that, watchtowers loomed over border communities, military checkpoints dotted the roads, and smugglers slipped between jurisdictions. This is a past that most are happy to have left behind but might it also be the future? The border has been a topic of dispute for over a century, first in Dublin, Belfast and Westminster and, post Brexit referendum, in Brussels. Yet, despite the passions of Nationalists and Unionists in the North, neither found deep wells of support in the countries they identified with politically. British political leaders were often ignorant of the conflict's complexities, rarely visited the border, and privately disliked their erstwhile unionist allies. Southern leaders' anti-partition statements masked relative indifference and unofficial cooperation with British security services. From the 1920 Government of Ireland Act that created the border, the Treaty and its aftermath, through the Civil Rights Movement, Thatcher, the Troubles and the Good Friday Agreement up to the Brexit negotiations, Ferriter reveals the political, economic, social and cultural consequences of the border in Ireland. With the fate of the border uncertain, The Border is a timely intervention by a renowned historian into one of the most contentious and misunderstood political issues of our time.Trade ReviewClear-eyed ... It isn't often that writing on Brexit and Ireland is so uniformly unsparing and devoid of lazy moralism. This is a rare pleasure ... Anyone who wishes to understand why Brexit is so intractable should read this book. I can think of several MPs who ought to. -- Patrick Maguire * Times *A clear and concise history ... Ferriter's judicious book shows that Brexiters' recklessness, such "contemptuous arrogance", is nothing new, and that it has always been the ordinary people of Northern Ireland who have paid its price. They deserve better. -- Christopher Kissane * Guardian *A wide-ranging history of Irish partition ... skilfully condenses a vast amount of research into a coherent narrative packed with striking quotes and acerbic commentaries ... erudite and insightful -- Andrew Lynch * Irish Independent *A timely historical essay * Economist *The Border is an invaluable new addition to the growing canon of Border literature... a very readable book ... it has a chronological precision one expects from a historian, yet its pacy and concise narrative runs to just 144 pages and takes readers up to last week's headlines. One can't help wondering if it has the immediacy of a background executive summary for the next round of on-off Brexit negotiations. -- Darach MacDonald * Irish Times *Richly detailed ... Ferriter is scrupulous in striving for historical objectivity -- Andrew Anthony * Observer *Ferriter is particularly interesting on the origins and early history of the border... his timely book explains all this and more, deftly interweaving history and current affairs. -- Cormac Ó Gráda * BBC History Magazine *The Border could hardly be more timely ... Ferriter is particularly lively on the delusion of hardline Brexiteers ... and equally strong on the implications of a return to a hard border ... the most that can be hoped for now is a taking up of the lessons of history, as Ferriter concludes. This book provides a small step, at least, in that direction. -- Catherine Healy * Sunday Business Post *A rat-a-tat of history, forensic in detail, sober and sobering, its timely publication a riposte to all the blather and bluster written and spoken in recent times about Brexit and backstops and borders. -- Donal O'Donaghue * RTE Guide *Ferriter ends with the hope that the oppressive weight of a century of Anglo-Irish history can be lifted ... Reading this book would be a good starting point for all concerned [with Brexit]. -- Colm Larkin, adviser to Northern Ireland’s deputy first minister, 1998- 2001 * FT *Succinct and engaging ... Ferriter weaves a lively narrative, cutting briskly from angle to angle. -- Garrett Carr * New Statesman *

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Book SynopsisIn the two centuries before the Norman invasion of England, Anglo-Saxon and Viking forces clashed repeatedly in bloody battles across the country. Repeated Viking victories in the 9th century led to their settlement in the north of the country, but the tide of war ebbed and flowed until the final Anglo-Saxon victory before the Norman Conquest. Using stunning artwork, this book examines in detail three battles between the two deadly foes: Ashdown in 871 which involved the future Alfred the Great; Maldon in 991 where an Anglo-Saxon army sought to counter a renewed Viking threat; and Stamford Bridge in 1066, in which King Harold Godwinesson abandoned his preparations to repel the expected Norman invasion in order to fight off Harald Hard-Counsel of Norway.Drawing upon historical accounts from both English and Scandinavian sources and from archaeological evidence, Gareth Williams presents a detailed comparison of the weaponry, tactics, strategies and underlying military organiza

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Book SynopsisThe definitive companion for anyone seeking to delve beneath the surface of Naples. Naples is an Italian city like no other. Drama and darkness are often associated with the Naples, which rests beneath active Mount Vesuvius and is the home of the Camorra - its version of the mafia. But beyond this, Naples reveals itself to be one of the most historically and culturally vibrant cities in Europe. From its origins in Homer's Odyssey and its founding nearly 3,000 years ago, Naples has long attracted travellers, artists and foreign rulers - from the visitors of the Grand Tour to Goethe, Nelson, Dickens and Neruda. The stunning beauty of its natural setting coupled with the charms of its colourful past and lively present - from the ruins of Pompeii to the glittering performances of the San Carlo opera house - continue to seduce all those who explore Naples today. In the Shadow of Vesuvius is a sparkling portrait of the city - the definitive companion for anyone seeking to delve beneath its surface.Trade ReviewThis is a study not only of Pompeii but of the whole Golfo di Napoli, which Jordan Lancaster feels to be her spiritual home. She takes us from Hercules and Odysseus to Virgil and Spike Milligan . . . take Lancaster as a handbook. -- Jane Gardam * The Spectator *Rich with well known events and tasty anecdotes. A delight for the soul. * Il Matino *This is a fascinating history of an enchanting city. Jordan Lancaster takes us on an entertaining journey that brings history to life. An ideal guide for anyone visiting Naples. * Italy Magazine *Despite the huge scope of the subject matter, Lancaster keeps things lively, ensuing the pace never sags. * The Italian Magazine *If you are planning to travel to south Italy, then reading Jordan Lancaster’s In the Shadow of Vesuvius will stand you in good stead. * The Lady *Table of ContentsPreface Maps Introduction: In the Shadow of Vesuvius 1. Ancient Naples 2. Medieval Naples 3. Spanish Naples 4. Bourbon Naples 5. Italian Naples Appendix 1. Neapolitan Monarchs Appendix 2. La Smorfia Napoletana Neapolitan History: An Essential Bibliography Index

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