European history Books

Book SynopsisTrade Review"An intellectual tour de force that does not mince words."---Abdullah Drury, Muslim World Book Review"An impressive book, well written, making good use of both Ottoman and Western sources, and crafted to keep the reader engaged." * Michigan War Studies Review *"[W]hen it comes to the role of the Ottomans in the history of central Europe . . . the book succeeds brilliantly… Ágoston has also succeeded in what I think will stand for a long time as the definitive political and military narrative of the Ottomans in southeastern and central Europe. Over and over again his command of the facts provides the reader with a strong basis for comparing the various powers and their capabilities at the level of population, natural resources, military technology and so on and so forth. . . . Any future research on this area in the early modern period will find Ágoston’s book to be enormously useful, indeed essential, when writing their own studies."---Molly Greene, European Legacy"Gábor Ágoston has written a much-needed overview of Ottoman warfare from the early state along the Byzantine frontier to the empire’s wars with the Holy League in the late seventeenth century. The Last Muslim Conquest successfully combines the work of several regional historiographies and makes important interventions. Along with a narrative and analysis of the wars in this period, Ágoston includes detailed chapters on Ottoman military organization, tactics, and technology. The Last Muslim Conquest also balances both older historiography that over-emphasized religious antagonism as well as newer research that focuses more on cultural contacts between the Ottomans and Europe."---Samuel Stevens, International Journal of Military History and Historiography"Ottomanists, military historians, and non-specialists will find The Last Muslim Conquest an accessible book and one that can provide starting points for further research. Ágoston’s work is an analytical narrative of early modern Ottoman military history that has been needed for some time."---Samuel Stevens, International Journal of Military History and Historiography"Unique."---Colin Imber, Journal of the American Oriental Society"Remarkable in combining a high level of detail with a remarkable clarity of exposition. . . . The richness and brilliant organization of his material and the careful attention to detail invite wider speculation."---Colin Imber, Journal of the American Oriental Society"An outstanding, highly readable study of the Ottoman military, a calm defense of the emphasis on Europe and on conflict on the European frontier in Ottoman historiography, and a work of deeply informed, mature scholarship."---Douglas Howard, Journal of the Ottoman and Turkish Studies Association

Read more less

Book SynopsisThe real Master and Commander 'There is no man I envy so much as Lord Cochrane' Lord ByronTrade Review'The real Master and Commander' Sunday Telegraph 'Cordingly is a brilliant historian' Daily Telegraph 'Intriguing and satisfying ... Cochrane packed enough drama and history to shame both Horatio Nelson and Sir Francis Drake ... O'Brian fans will find great satisfaction in smoking out similarities and differences between Cochrane and Aubrey' Washington Post 'By rights, Thomas Cochrane should be as well known today as Francis Drake ... Cochrane's adventures in Chile, Peru and Brazil are among the most amazing in naval history' Sunday Times

Read more less

Book SynopsisGilbert Markus brings a stimulating approach to studying this elusive period, analysing both its litter of physical evidence and literary sources, as a method of shedding light on the reality of the period. In doing so, he reforms our historical perceptions of what has often been dismissed as a `dark age .Table of Contents1. Introduction/The field and the sources; 2. Into the Light-Britain under Rome; 3. Four peoples, five languages - up to c.800; 4. Christianity: conversion and consolidation; 5. Society; 6. The Corpse-Herring's Din'-Vikings and Scandinavian Scotland; 7. The emergence: Alba and Scotia.

Read more less

Book SynopsisAt the beginning of the twentieth century, competition between the North Atlantic shipping lines was fierce. While Britain responded to the commercial threat posed by the growing German merchant marine, there was also rivalry between the great Cunard Line and its chief competitor, the White Star Line.

Read more less

Book Synopsis

Read more less

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

Read more less

Book SynopsisAn authoritative account of political and military history, art, architecture and culture, fully illustrated throughout.Table of ContentsThe Glory that was Greece 8 Part One The Rise and Fall of Ancient Greece 10 Introduction 12 Timeline 14 Classical Greece 18 I: The Greek Awakening, c.2000-500bc 20 II: The Persian Wars, 499bc-478bc 42 III: Athens at its Zenith, 478-431bc 58 IV: World War in Miniature, 431-404bc 72 V: The Greeks: The First Individuals, c.650bc-ad147 88 VI: The Struggle for Supremacy, 404-322bc 112 Alexander the great and his Heirs 132 VII: The Rise of Macedonia, 359-336bc 134 VIII: The Young Alexander, 356-336bc 146 IX: The Great Victories, 334-330bc 164 X: The Lord of Asia, 330-323bc 184 XI: Arms and Armour, c.2000bc-ad138 202 XII: From Alexander to Hadrian, 323bc-ad138 218 Part Two The Ancient Greek World 254 Introduction 256 Timeline 260 Architecture and Art 264 XIII: The Rise of Greek Architecture 266 XIV: Building Styles and Techniques 294 XV: Cities of the Greeks 306 XVI Sculpture 324 XVII Vase Painting 356 XVIII Wall Paintings and Mosaics 368 Greek Society 378 XIX Religion and Mythology 380 XX Theatre 404 XXI Literature 416 XXII Philosophy and Science 430 Chapter XXIII Athletics and Sport 458 Chapter XXIV Work and Leisure 468 Index 500 Acknowledgements 511

Read more less

Book Synopsis

Read more less

Book SynopsisTrade Review"It is hard to overstate the attractions of this translation. In a rhythm sinewy and flexible, with language that is precise, lyrical and fresh, Lombardo's Iliad pulses with all the power and luminosity of the Greek. He shows extraordinary sensitivity to the images and aural effects of the ancient poem. There are brilliant touches on every page. . . . Altogether this is as good as Homer gets in English." —Richard P. Martin, Princeton University"The most daring, rapid and colloquial translation of Homer's Iliad that I know. [Lombardo's] taut and punchy verse conveys admirably and accurately the excitement and desperation of the battle, the urgency of the commanders, the occasional flashes of humor, the passion of Homer's narrative and the vivid and subtle humanity of his characters." —Richard Janko, University College, London"Lombardo's Iliad should be required for every History of Civilization class in America!" —David R. Wilson, Brigham Young University"[R]emarkably true to the centrality of performance in Homer, the varied pacing and tone, the clarity, speed, narrative drive, and moments of breathtaking beauty." —Rachel Hadas, Rutgers University"Homer has been well served in recent years by good translators. But this reviewer predicts that the dominant translation for the 21st century will be this masterful version by Stanley Lombardo. . . . In her extremely useful Introduction, Murnaghan lucidly summarizes and makes available for the student and general reader the results of complex scholarship on Homer, and she offers sensitive guidance for reading the Iliad as a work that documents the triumph of the human spirit and not merely as a war poem." —Leon Golden, CHOICE"Accessible as Lombardo's translation is, it is rendered even more so by the superb Introduction by Sheila Murnaghan, which provides a rich but lucid discussion of the classical context of the epic. This handsome, superbly done Iliad will be enjoyed by everyone. Highly recommended." —T. F. Merrill, Library Journal

Read more less

Book SynopsisThis translation with notes is primarily for classroom use. It aims to be true to the basic meaning of the text and tries to bring across some of the beauty of the poetry as well as the rhetorical power of the dialogue and speeches.Trade ReviewThis is a very useful edition, excellent for classroom purposes. The translation is clear and lively, and several students commented on how much they enjoyed it. The introduction provides an excellent overview of the issues in the play, as well as of earlier scholarship, making it a good resource for more advanced classes. The cover photo is an added bonus and provided the starting point for stimulating class discussion. --James B. Rives, York UniversityAn excellent translation which captures Bacchae's combination of colloquial and lyric language. The Notes and Introduction are also very helpful. --Mary-Kay Gamel, University of California, Santa Cruz

Read more less

Book SynopsisPeter Meineck and Paul Woodruff's collaboration on this new translation combines the strengths that have recently distinguished both as translators of Greek tragedy: expert knowledge of the Greek and of the needs of the teaching classicist, intimate knowledge of theatre, and an excellent ear for the spoken word. Their Oedipus Tyrannus features foot-of-the-page notes, an Introduction, stage directions and a translation characterized by its clarity, accuracy, and power.Trade ReviewA clear, vigorous, spare, actable translation, and with it, excellent apparatus (Intro., notes, bibliography); all in a slim and affordable volume. I will use when I next teach Oedipus. Hackett is an invaluable resource!--Rachel Hadas, Rutgers UniversityI have enjoyed all of the recent Hackett editions of translations of Greek literature and "Oedipus Tyrannus” is certainly no exception. Meineck and Woodruff got things just right, from employing "Tyrannus” instead of "Rex” in the title (as has become traditional, though it lends an erroneous sense to the play from the outset) to Woodruff’s very fine and accessible Introduction to the suspenseful, poetic and powerful rendering of the play itself. Meineck’s theatrical sensibility and knowledge are evident, yet the text never becomes too "stagey” nor wanders far from the Greek. I will definitely use this text along with other terrific Hackett editions in my courses.--Lisa Rengs George, Arizona State UniversityAn excellent translation. . . . Paul Woodruff’s Introduction, written for a general audience, is clear and well-informed.--Herman Van Looy, L'Antiquité Classique

Read more less

Book SynopsisCovering the origins, key features, and legacy of the Islamic tradition, the third edition of A New Introduction to Islam includes new material on Islam in the 21st century and discussions of the impact of historical ideas, literature, and movements on contemporary trends. Includes updated and rewritten chapters on the Qur'an and hadith literature that covers important new academic research Compares the practice of Islam in different Islamic countries, as well as acknowledging the differences within Islam as practiced in Europe Features study questions for each chapter and more illustrative material, charts, and excerpts from primary sources Table of ContentsList of Illustrations xi Preface to the Third Edition xv Source Acknowledgments xvii Part I The Formation of the Islamic Tradition 1 1 Islam in Global Perspective 3 The Problem of Defining Islam 3 Mapping the Islamic World 5 Arabs and Non-Arabs 9 Sunnis and Shiʿites 10 Islamic Ritual 11 What to Expect from This Book 14 Essential Resources for the Study of Islam 16 Questions for Study and Discussion 17 2 Arabia 19 Geography 19 Pre-Islamic Poetry 21 Arab Religion 25 Women in Pre-Islamic Arabia 27 Mecca and the Quraysh 28 The Gifts of the Arabs 31 Resources for Further Study 34 Questions for Study and Discussion 35 3 The Pre-Islamic Near East 37 Christianity in the Near East 39 Saints and Relics 45 Zoroastrianism 46 Judaism 47 Manichaeism 49 Mazdak 49 The Place of the Arabs in the Near East 50 Chronology of the Near East of Late Antiquity 52 Resources for Further Study 53 Questions for Study and Discussion 54 4 The Life of Muhammad 55 Prologue and Setting 56 Birth and Childhood 57 Early Adulthood 59 The Beginning of Revelation 61 Opposition 63 The Night Journey and Ascent to Heaven 65 The Hijra 66 The Battle of Badr 68 Confrontation with the Jews of Medina 69 The Battle of Uh. ud 70 The Peace of al-H. udaybiya and the Farewell Pilgrimage 72 Evaluation 73 Resources for Further Study 74 Questions for Study and Discussion 75 5 The Qur ʾan 77 The Qurʾan in Modern Imagination 77 The History of the Text 79 The Language of the Qurʾan 84 The Context of the Qurʾan 87 Jesus in the Qurʾan 88 The Qurʾan in Muslim Piety 90 The Eternity of the Qurʾan 91 The Inimitability of the Qurʾan 93 Interpreting the Qurʾan 94 Central Themes 95 Qurʾanic Narratives 96 Qurʾanic Law and the Problem of Abrogation 97 Women and Gender in the Qurʾan 98 Qurʾan, Sīra, and Hadith 99 Resources for Further Study 99 Questions for Study and Discussion 100 6 The Tradition Literature 103 The Science of Hadith 104 The Origins of the Hadith 108 In Quest of the Historical Muhammad 111 The Sīra and the Shaping of an Islamic Worldview 115 Resources for Further Study 119 Questions for Study and Discussion 120 Part II The Expansion of Islam 121 7 The Conquests 123 Psychological Impact 127 Archeological Data: The “Invisible” Conquests 129 Resources for Further Study 131 Questions for Study and Discussion 132 8 Religion of Empire 133 Early Arab Administration 134 Conversion to Islam 137 Leadership 138 The First Civil War 139 The Martyrdom of Ḥusayn 140 The Deputy of God 141 Personal Piety 142 The Dome of the Rock 144 The Constitution of Medina 149 Resources for Further Study 151 Questions for Study and Discussion 151 9 The Caliphate 153 Ibn al-Muqaffaʿ 153 The Shiʿite Vision 156 The ʿAbbasids 158 Twelvers 159 Ismāʿīlīs 160 Nizārī “Assassins” 161 Kharijites 163 The Sasanian Revival 164 Al-Māwardī and the Sunni Compromise 166 Resources for Further Study 169 Questions for Study and Discussion 170 Part III Islamic Institutions 171 10 Islamic Law 173 The Coffee Debate 173 Revelation and Reason 175 Qiyās 176 The Schools of Law 177 Islamic Law and the State 179 Ijmāʿ 180 The Uṣūl al-Fiqh 181 The Substance of the Law 183 Ritual Purity 184 Acts of Worship 185 Marriage and Divorce 186 The Origins of Islamic Law 189 Al-Shāfiʿī and Islamic Legal Theory 189 Resources for Further Study 192 Questions for Study and Discussion 193 11 Islamic Theology and Philosophy 195 Freedom and Determinism 196 God’s Attributes 198 Anthropomorphism 200 Faith and Works 200 Leadership 203 The Sunni Consensus 203 Aḥmad ibn Ḥanbal 204 Al-Ashʿarī 205 Kalām 206 Al-Māturīdī and other Alternatives to Ashʿarite Kalām 208 Jewish and Christian Influences 209 The Challenge of Philosophy 210 Prophecy and Revelation in Islamic Philosophy 212 Philosophy and Mysticism 215 Resources for Further Study 216 Questions for Study and Discussion 217 12 Sufism 219 The Parliament of Birds 219 Stages on the Path 221 The Spiritual Master 223 Sufi Brotherhoods 224 Sufi Ritual 226 The Destination 229 Sufi Cosmology 230 Sufism in History: The Case of al-Ḥallāj 233 Beginnings to the Tenth Century 237 Classical Manuals and the Growth of Ṭarīqas 239 Resources for Further Study 241 Questions for Study and Discussion 242 Part IV Crisis and Renewal in Islamic History 243 13 Turks, Crusaders, and Mongols 245 The Saljūqs 245 Al-Ghazālī and the Sunni Revival 246 Slave Soldiers 248 The Crusades 250 The Mongols 254 The Impact of the Mongol Invasions 257 Resources for Further Study 261 Questions for Study and Discussion 262 14 Revival and Reform 263 The Ottoman, Safavid, and Mughal Empires 263 The Rise of European Power 266 The Religious Environment 267 The ʿUlamāʾ 267 Sufi Reformers 269 The Wahhabi Movement 274 Resources for Further Study 277 Questions for Study and Discussion 278 15 Islam and the West 279 Napoleon’s Invasion of Egypt 279 The Birth of Orientalism 282 Jihad Movements 284 Al-Afghānī 285 Sayyid Ahmad Khan and Aligarh 287 Resources for Further Study 289 Questions for Study and Discussion 289 16 The Turbulent Twentieth Century 291 The Abolition of the Caliphate 291 Nationalism 293 Secularism 295 Rashīd Riḍā and al-Manār 298 The Muslim Brotherhood 299 Jihad and Martyrdom 300 From Shariʿa to Secular Law and Back 302 Modern Qurʾan Interpretation 304 The Problem of Sunna 305 Ijtihād and Ijmāʿ 306 A New Kalām? 307 Muhammad ʿAbdūh 307 Muhammad Iqbal 309 Sufism and Modernity 311 The Modernist Moment 314 Resources for Further Study 315 Questions for Study and Discussion 315 17 Salafism 317 Café Salafis 317 Salafi Doctrine 319 The Ibn Taymiyya Connection 320 The Albanian Watchmaker’s Son 322 Salafi Apocalypse 324 Salafi Spring? 329 The Appeal of Salafism 331 Salafis and Sufis 332 Resources for Further Study 334 Questions for Study and Discussion 334 18 Islam in the Twenty-First Century 335 The Challenge of Pluralism 336 Islamic Liberalism 340 Islam in the West 342 Islamic Feminism 346 The Challenge of Islam 350 Questions for Study and Discussion 351 Glossary 353 Bibliography 367 Index 391

Read more less

Book SynopsisDuring a Biblical seven years in the middle of the nineteenth century, fully a quarter of Ireland''s citizens either perished from starvation or emigrated in what came to be known as Gorta Mor, the Great Hunger. Waves of hungry peasants fled across the Atlantic to the United States, with so many dying en route that it was said, you could walk dry shod to America on their bodies. In this sweeping history Ireland''s best-known historian, Tim Pat Coogan, tackles the dark history of the Irish Famine and argues that it constituted one of the first acts of genocide. In what The Boston Globe calls his greatest achievement, Coogan shows how the British government hid behind the smoke screen of laissez faire economics, the invocation of Divine Providence and a carefully orchestrated publicity campaign, allowing more than a million people to die agonizing deaths and driving a further million into emigration. Unflinching in depicting the evidence, Coogan presents a vivid and horrifying pic

Read more less

Book SynopsisWhy did the Vikings sail to England? Were they indiscriminate raiders, motivated solely by bloodlust and plunder? One narrative, the stereotypical one, might have it so. But locked away in the buried history of the British Isles are other, far richer and more nuanced, stories; and these hidden tales paint a picture very different from the ferocious pillagers of popular repute.In this book, Eleanor Parker unlocks secrets that point to more complex motivations within the marauding army that in the late-9th century voyaged to the shores of eastern England in its sleek, dragon-prowed longships. Exploring legends from forgotten medieval texts, and across the varied Anglo-Saxon regions, she depicts Vikings who came not just to raid but also to settle personal feuds, intervene in English politics and find a place to call home. Native tales reveal the links to famous Vikings like Ragnar Lothbrok and his sons, Cnut, and Havelok the Dane. Each myth shows how the legacy of the newcomerTrade ReviewMeticulously researched, impressively informative, thoughtfully insightful, and an inherently fascinating read from cover to cover, "Dragon Lords: The History and Legends of Viking England" is an extraordinary work of scholarship that is exceptionally accessible for both academia and non-specialist general readers with an interest in the subject. * Midwest Book Review *Summing Up: Recommended. -- D.J. Shepherd, independent scholar * CHOICE *An absorbing and authoritative account of the survival of Scandinavian legends and history in post-Conquest England. This beautifully written book succeeds in casting Viking invaders and settlers in an unexpected new light. -- Carolyne Larrington, University of Oxford, UKDragon Lords tells the fascinating and hitherto unknown story of how the Viking invasions of England were turned into myth and legend by those whom the Scandinavians raided and later ruled. -- Heather O'Donoghue, University of Oxford, UKPart literary study, part historical investigation and part folkloric inquiry, it makes a riveting and rewarding read. -- Levi Roach, University of Exeter, UKTable of ContentsList of Illustrations Timeline of Key Texts and Events Acknowledgements A Note on Names Map of Anglo-Saxon England Introduction 1. 'From the north comes all that is evil': Vikings, Kings and Saints, c. 985-1100 2. The Sons of Ragnar Lothbrok 3. The Story of Siward 4. Danish Sovereignty and the Right to Rule 5. 'Over the salt sea to England': Havelok and the Danes Epilogue: The Danes in English Folklore Notes Bibliography Index

Read more less

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

Read more less

Book SynopsisThis definitive biography of Anne Boleyn establishes her as a figure of considerable importance and influence in her own right. A full biography of Anne Boleyn, based on the latest scholarly research. Focuses on Anne's life and legacy and establishes Anne as a figure of considerable importance and influence in her own right.Trade Review"[Ives is] splendidly successful... Ives's Boleyn, a portrait at all points supported by the evidence he gives, is clever, independent-minded and politically astute. Ives has gone as far as anyone can... in solving the enigma of Boleyn in a narrative at once profoundly researched and lively." Antonia Fraser, The Sunday Times "Eric Ives has made it unnecessary for anyone else to even make the attempt [to write a biography of Anne Boleyn]. The Life and Death of Anne Boleyn is a stunning portrait of the most controversial woman ever to have been queen consort of England." The Independent on Sunday "Eric Ives, a scholar utterly at home in early Tudor politics, has been writing about the Boleyns for more than two decades. His book represents a triumphant culmination of all that research, presented with clarity, wit and human sympathy." Diarmaid MacCulloch, The Telegraph "Ives has written an excellent book on Anne Boleyn. Its great strength is its sophisticated understanding of aristocratic women's involvement in 16th-century politics, and precisely how this worked in practice. ...Ives rises effectively to the human drama of Anne Boleyn's life and in the process illuminates both the inner workings of the Tudor court and its relationship to the larger dramas of the Reformation and European politics." Jane Stevenson, Scotland on Sunday "The best full-length life of Anne Boleyn and a monument to investigative scholarship." David Starkey "Magnificently researched. Eric Ives has written the finest, most accurate study of Anne Boleyn we are ever likely to possess. He leaves no stone unturned in his quest to discover the truth. Never has the historical Anne been so satisfyingly portrayed." John Guy "What is most exciting about The Life and Death of Anne Boleyn is not just that it has confirmed and solidified Ives's earlier work and presented it in a more accessible format. (Like John Guy, Ives has discovered that the Starkey model really does work and that popularisation -- 'to place among the people' -- should not be a term of opprobrium.) Rather, it is the development in methodology, the indication that cultural studies and the history of the book have provided us with new ways to evaluate evidence, to interpret the past." The Spectator "Eric Ives achieves the notable feat of combining magisterial historical authority with a gripping style, and sets the reader's mind buzzing with debate about the complex reasons behind the astounding events of Anne's life." Times Literary Supplement "[Ives] delicately pieces together a believable identity ... [and] gives, too, a lucid and coherent exposition of the circumstances that led to Anne's death." The Guardian "What Ives doesn't know ... about the high politics and court life of Henry VIII's England will either never be known or is not worth knowing. If there is a truth about Anne Boleyn's rise and fall, he will tell it to us." London Review of Books "There is no questioning the impact of Professor Eric Ives on the historiography of Tudor England. There is a keen sense of the evidence, of diplomatic affairs, of the minutiae of the record and its context. The writing is fluent and well-paced, drawing the reader along." The Tyndale Society Journal "This is a moving and compelling account by an author who is the absolute master of his subject. I read it with great excitement and admiration." Susan Brigden, Lincoln College, Oxford "Ives demonstrates triumphantly the potential of the biographical approach in a pre-modern setting. He evinces a deep empathy for his subject without ever becoming an apologist for her, and ... he provides a narrative which is genuinely moving. He has also given us a fully rounded and persuasive account of Anne’s life as a whole, and its significance for understanding the politics and political culture of the early Tudor decades." Reviews in History "The best book on Anne Boleyn ever written. This is a must for all lovers of Tudor history, academics and general readers alike." Alison Weir, BBC History Magazine Books of the Year "Eric Ives has cut through the myths and misconceptions. The result surpasses all previous work.When Ives describes Anne herself. he is utterly convincing." Renaissance QuarterlyTable of ContentsPreface. List of Illustrations. Part I: Background and Beginnings. 1. A Courtier’s Daughter. 2. A European Education. 3. Debut at the English Court. 4. The Sources. 5. Passion and Courtly Love. 6. A Royal Suitor. Part II: A Difficult Engagement. 7. A Marriage Arranged. 8. Anne Boleyn and the Fall of Wolsey. 9. Stalemate, 1529–1532. 10. The Turning-point, 1532–1533. 11. Wedding Nerves. 12. A Coronation and a Christening. Part III: Anne the Queen. 13. A Royal Marriage. 14. Anne the Queen: Influence, Power and Wealth. 15. Anne Boleyn: Image. 16. Anne Boleyn: Art and Taste. 17. Anne Boleyn: Life at Court. 18. Anne Boleyn and the Advent of Reform. 19. Personal Religion. Part IV: A Marriage Destroyed. 20. The Rival, 1535–1536. 21. The Coup, April–May 1536. 22. The Response, January–April 1536. 23. Judgment. 24. Finale. Epilogue. Bibliographical Abbreviations.

Read more less

Book SynopsisAbove, a city thriving with life. Beneath, a city filled with the dead. London. A vast, labyrinthine, ever-moving place that shimmers as the jewel of Britain. But what about beneath it? What of it''s history? It''s mishaps? It''s dead? Catharine Arnold invites us on a gloriously macabre tour - across London''s many graveyards, cemeteries and burial plots in a quest to discover whether what has departed can teach us anything about what is to come. It''s an intriguing, occasionally dark, occasionally humorous journey that reaches right back to the Romans and concludes with the most recent display of mass public mourning: Princess Diana''s funeral. Utilising archaeology, anthropology, anecdote and history, Arnold explores the presence of death in people''s lives and the developments and changes in mourning and burial through two millennia. London''s greatest disasters, including the Great Fire and the Black Plague, are explored and analysed for their m

Read more less

Book Synopsis'Remarkable . . . Infidel shows that a determined woman can change more history than her own' Christopher Hitchens, Sunday Times 'If there is one book that really addresses the existential issues of our civilisation, then Hirsi Ali's autobiography is it' Michael Burleigh, Sunday Telegraph Ayaan Hirsi Ali is one of today's most admired and controversial political figures. She burst into international headlines following the murder of Theo van Gogh by an Islamist who threatened she would be next. An international bestseller, her life story INFIDEL shows the coming of age of this elegant, distinguished – and sometimes reviled – political superstar and champion of free speech. Ultimately a celebration of triumph over adversity, Hirsi Ali's story tells how a bright, curious, dutiful little girl evolves into a pioneering freedom fighter. As Western governments struggle to balance democratic ideals wi

Read more less

Book SynopsisThucydides called his account of two decades of war between Athens and Sparta “a possession for all time,” and indeed it is the first and still the most famous work in the Western historical tradition.Considered essential reading for generals, statesmen, and liberally educated citizens for more than 2,000 years, The Peloponnesian War is a mine of military, moral, political, and philosophical wisdom. However, this classic book has long presented obstacles to the uninitiated reader. Written centuries before the rise of modern historiography, Thucydides'' narrative is not continuous or linear. His authoritative chronicle of what he considered the greatest war of all time is rigorous and meticulous, yet omits the many aids to comprehension modern readers take for granted—such as brief biographies of the story''s main characters, maps and other visual enhancements, and background on the military, cultural, and political traditions of ancient GTrade Review"This is the best book with which to start study of Thucydides and the Peloponnesian War. It presents the finest English translation. Its maps, scholarly appendices, and notes permit the beginner to understand the text and to move easily and at once to a higher level of study than has been possible up to now." -- Donald Kagan, author of On the Origins of War and Pericles of Athens"Reading Thucydides remains an indispensable part of a liberal education. But this text has been wanting a useful English language, annotated version that would make it easier for the contemporary reader to encounter its brilliance and eloquence. Strassler's meticulous and imaginative achievement is as welcome as it is astonishing. Students of history and politics will be forever in his debt." -- Leon Botstein President, Bard College"At last readers of The Peloponnesian War can have at their fingertips the background information they need to read the narrative with understanding." -- W. Robert Connor Director, National Humanities Center"Thucydides knew that human nature was unlikely to change over time, and it is this awareness that has allowed his work to be, as he hoped it would, a 'possession for all time.' But even he did not imagine how much warfare and customs would have changed over 2,500 years, or how the differences between past and present practices would make his work difficult for modern readers to follow. This new edition helps make Thucydides accessible once again by providing readers with the maps and detailed background information they will need to understand the full significance of his work." -- Mary Lefkowitz, Andrew Mellon Professor in the Humanities, Wellesley College

Read more less

Book SynopsisBestselling classical historian Barry Strauss delivers “an exceptionally accessible history of the Roman Empire…much of Ten Caesars reads like a script for Game of Thrones” (The Wall Street Journal)—a summation of three and a half centuries of the Roman Empire as seen through the lives of ten of the most important emperors, from Augustus to Constantine.In this essential and “enlightening” (The New York Times Book Review) work, Barry Strauss tells the story of the Roman Empire from rise to reinvention, from Augustus, who founded the empire, to Constantine, who made it Christian and moved the capital east to Constantinople. During these centuries Rome gained in splendor and territory, then lost both. By the fourth century, the time of Constantine, the Roman Empire had changed so dramatically in geography, ethnicity, religion, and culture that it would have been virtually unrecognizable to AugusTrade Review“An exceptionally accessible history of the Roman Empire. . . . Much of TEN CAESARS reads like a script for Game of Thrones. . . .This superb summation of four centuries of Roman history, a masterpiece of compression, confirms Barry Strauss as the foremost academic classicist writing for the general reader today.” -- Andrew Roberts * The Wall Street Journal *“To cover 360-odd years in a similar number of pages means going at quite a lick. . . .The strength of this approach is that it offers perspective. All too often books on Rome, like literary grand tourists, revisit the familiar sites, lingering over the naughty Neros, the effective armies and the efficient bureaucracy. But, as Strauss shows, Rome was far more complex and far more interesting than that. . . . Enlightening.” -- Catherine Nixey * The New York Times Book Review *“No one knows the secrets, the curses, the power and the glory of the Imperial families of Rome better than Barry Strauss. His Ten Caesars is captivating—essential reading for Romanophiles and for everyone who seeks to understand the most formidable personalities of the Roman Empire.” -- Adrienne Mayor, author of The Amazons and The Poison King"In a single volume, Barry Strauss delivers the near-impossible: a straightforward, factual, insightful survey of the vast and turbulent history of Rome’s emperors from Augustus to Constantine. Any reader, from novice to expert, will arrive at the final page with a clearer understanding of the men (and sometimes women) who oversaw the shifting fortunes of Rome for over three hundred years." -- Steven Saylor, author of The Throne of Caesar and the New York Times bestseller Roma: The Novel of Ancient Rome“Strauss has mastered a vivid narrative line, a practiced skill at demystifying the past. . . . Readers will learn a lot from his book and the fables will make the lessons a bit sweeter along the way.” -- Steve Donoghue * Christian Science Monitor *

Read more less

Book Synopsis‘Quite simply the best short history of the war in print . . . Strachan has emerged as the master of us all who write of war in English’ Dennis Showalter A brilliant and penetrating new history of the First World War by one of the world's foremost experts on the conflict. With an introduction from the author. The popular view of the First World War is dominated by cliché: young British soldiers, many of them budding poets, led to early and ghastly deaths in muddy wastes by incompetent generals for reasons that were seemingly futile. As this magisterial new one volume history of the war illustrates, however, the cliché is only part of the truth. Hew Strachan argues that the war had become a ‘world war’ long before the involvement of the United States, and that for those liberal countries struggling to defend their freedoms, the war was far from futile. Accessible, compelling and utterly convinci

Read more less

Book SynopsisAn extraordinary exploration of the ancestry of Britain through seven burial sites. By using new advances in genetics and taking us through important archaeological discoveries, Professor Alice Roberts helps us better understand life today.‘This is a terrific, timely and transporting book - taking us heart, body and mind beyond history, to the fascinating truth of the prehistoric past and the present’ Bettany Hughes We often think of Britain springing from nowhere with the arrival of the Romans. But in Ancestors, pre-eminent archaeologist, broadcaster and academic Professor Alice Roberts explores what we can learn about the very earliest Britons, from burial sites and by using new technology to analyse ancient DNA. Told through seven fascinating burial sites, this groundbreaking prehistory of Britain teaches us more about ourselves and our history: how people came and went and how we came to be on this island. It expTrade Review'This is a book everyone should read. Roberts is the new Da Vinci, able to shift between science and humanities, the objective and subjective, the global and the individual. There is such a scope of knowledge between the covers of this book that you feel like a better and more knowledgeable person having read it. A mind-altering, life-altering book.' -- Dr Janina Ramirez‘While the rest of us read words, Alice reads bones - and what stories they have to tell. In her hands they seem slick with life, bearing messages from ancient worlds. I was captivated.' -- Neil Oliver'Another classic from Alice Roberts. She writes as a scholar with the intensity and flair of a novelist.' -- Dan Snow‘Roberts is a prolific TV presenter, and Ancestors skilfully deploys the arts of screen storytelling: narrative pace, a sense of mysteries being unfolded. […] [It] is above all a tribute to the archaeological profession.’ -- Dan Hitchens * The Times *

Read more less

Book SynopsisTo coincide with the 2015 bicentennial of the Battle of Waterloo, Osprey publishes Waterloo 1815, a definitive three volume history of the historic battle. Based on new research drawn from unpublished first-hand accounts and illustrations, Waterloo 1815 provides a detailed resource for all aspects of the famous battle.This first volume of the trilogy, Quatre Bras, focuses on the lead-up to Waterloo itself. Two days before the main battle, an initial 8,000 Allied troops faced the 48,000 men of the French Armée du Nord under Marshal Ney at the strategically vital crossroads of Quatre Bras. Having been tricked by Napolean who was trying to drive a wedge between the Prussians and the Anglo-allied army, Wellington concentrated his troops at Quatre Bras, hoping to link up with the Prussians. There Wellington just managed to hold off Ney''s attacks. The battle ended in a tactical stalemate but, because he was unable to join with Blücher''s Prussians, Wellington retreated back alongTable of ContentsIntroduction / Chronology / Opposing commanders / Opposing forces / Orders of battle / Opposing plans / The campaign opens / Aftermath / The battlefield today / Further reading / Index

Read more less

Book SynopsisAs the outbreak of World War II approached, Nazi Germany ordered artillery manufacturers Krupp and Rheimetall-Borsig to build several super-heavy siege guns, vital to smash through French and Belgian fortresses that stood in the way of the Blitzkrieg. These ''secret weapons'' were much larger than the siege artillery of World War I and included the largest artillery piece of the war, the massive 80cm railway gun ''schwere Gustav'' (Heavy Gustav). However, these complex and massive artillery pieces required years to build and test and, as war drew near, the German High Command hastily brought several WWI-era heavy artillery pieces back into service and then purchased, and later confiscated, a large number of Czech Skoda mortars. The new super siege guns began entering service in time for the invasion of Russia, notably participating in the attack on the fortress of Brest-Litovsk. The highpoint for the siege artillery was the siege of Sevastopol in the summer of 1942, which sTable of ContentsIntroduction The Return of Fortress Europe Design and Development Operational History Conclusion Bibliography Index

Read more less

Book SynopsisFrom classicist James Romm comes a “striking…fascinating” (Booklist) deep dive into the last decades of ancient Greek freedom leading up to Alexander the Great’s destruction of Thebes—and the saga of the greatest military corps of the time, the Theban Sacred Band, a unit composed of 150 pairs of male lovers.The story of the Sacred Band, an elite 300-man corps recruited from pairs of lovers, highlights a chaotic era of ancient Greek history, four decades marked by battles, ideological disputes, and the rise of vicious strongmen. At stake was freedom, democracy, and the fate of Thebes, at this time the leading power of the Greek world. The tale begins in 379 BC, with a group of Theban patriots sneaking into occupied Thebes. Disguised in women’s clothing, they cut down the agents of Sparta, the state that had cowed much of Greece with its military might. To counter the Spartans, this group of patriots would form the Sacred Band, a corps whose history plays out against a backdrop of Theban democracy, of desperate power struggles between leading city-states, and the new prominence of eros, sexual love, in Greek public life. After four decades without a defeat, the Sacred Band was annihilated by the forces of Philip II of Macedon and his son Alexander in the Battle of Chaeronea—extinguishing Greek liberty for two thousand years. Buried on the battlefield where they fell, they were rediscovered in 1880—some skeletons still in pairs, with arms linked together. From violent combat in city streets to massive clashes on open ground, from ruthless tyrants to bold women who held their era in thrall, The Sacred Band recounts “in fluent, accessible prose” (The Wall Street Journal) the twists and turns of a crucial historical moment: the end of the treasured freedom of ancient Greece.Trade Review"Romm, a Bard College professor, has an unusual knack for writing about ancient history for general readers ... I was most stirred by a parallel narrative examining how the story of the Sacred Band both inspired the beginnings of the struggle for gay acceptance in the 19th century and was also long a source of discomfort for many professional classicists." —The New York Times, New & Noteworthy "[Romm] deftly pieces the story together ... Mr. Romm negotiates artfully in fluent, accessible prose. But he really comes into his own when describing the Sacred Band’s dramatic and elegiac end." —Wall Street Journal "An impressive achievement ... Romm illustrates how fantasies about the Sacred Band have captivated different ages ... [Thebes], late to emerge onto the Greek political scene, dreamed big; just not big enough." —Times Literary Supplement "Romm’s book not only details the history of the Sacred Band, but illuminates this murky and murderously internecine period of Greek history ... Romm has an eye for interesting characters—such as the sociopathic tyrant Jason of Pherae, who made his spear into a god." —The American Scholar "The Sacred Band of Thebes was founded to protect the Boeotian League, the federation of cities that Thebes led. The band was the first professional standing army funded by the state in Greek history ... it was founded on the principle that men so intimately devoted to one another would fight as a cohesive unit ... This fascinating period of Greek history is the subject of classicist James Romm’s new book The Sacred Band." —Humanities: The Magazine of the National Endowment for the Humanities "A vivid portrait of ancient Thebes ... A spirited, informative classical history from an expert on the subject." —Kirkus "In this excellent work, Romm ... convincingly argues that Thebes was as important as Athens and Sparta during the last century of its history ... Excellent vignettes of contemporary non-Thebans (particularly Xenophon, an Athenian student of Socrates who was an unabashed partisan for Sparta) enhance the narrative ... [The Sacred Band] is highly recommended and will appeal to fans of Thebes, by Paul Cartledge, as well as readers of LGBTQ+ history." —Library Journal "Romm lucidly describes the era’s complex power struggles and explains how the pro-Sparta bias of Xenophon, who wrote the only surviving contemporaneous account of “the era of Theban greatness,” has colored modern perceptions of Thebes. This is an eye-opening and immersive portrait of a little-known aspect of ancient history." —Publishers Weekly "Striking ... [a] fascinating unit." —Booklist"Lively and captivating ... this first full-length popular account dedicated to the “Sacred Band” performs a vital and overdue service: for classical history buffs, for readers interested in gay history and culture, and for anyone who appreciates a fascinating story, grippingly told." —Daniel Mendelsohn, author of An Odyssey: A Father, a Son, and an Epic "Bound by love, virtue, and valor, the Sacred Band of Thebes fought for Greek freedom and democracy, for more than a generation in a turbulent era ended by Macedonian conquest in 338 BC. James Romm has delved deep into the history and even the archaeology of this famous, little-understood corps of 300 lover-companions. The result is an exhilarating story of eros and power." —Adrienne Mayor, author of Gods and Robots and The Amazons "There are several famous 300s in human history but few deserve to be commemorated as does the Sacred Band of the ancient Greek city of Thebes — as James Romm, already very well known as a reviewer, translator, commentator and Herodotus expert, so amply demonstrates in this splendid, pioneering, indeed loving book." —Paul Cartledge, author of Thebes: The Forgotten City of Ancient Greece "Using contemporary language and interpreting through an enlightened sensibility, James Romm brings energy and relevance to an epic chapter of ancient history." —Mary Norris, author of Greek to Me: Adventures of the Comma Queen "James Romm has written a wonderfully readable book about one of the most fascinating and least known stories from the ancient world. Beginning with the Theban rebellion throwing off Spartan control to the destruction of the city by Alexander the Great, the tale of the rise and fall of Theban freedom resonates even today." —Philip Freeman, author of Alexander the Great "An immersive and deeply atmospheric story of strength and power – a power founded, above anything else, on love and belief. I can think of 300 reasons to recommend this book." —Daisy Dunn, author of The Shadow of Vesuvius: A Life of Pliny

Read more less

Book SynopsisTrade ReviewThe Reader is a kind of belated debutante ball for Hans Blumenberg, inviting a new audience to view Blumenberg not only at his entrance to scholarly life in the 1940s but also to key moments in his ascent of the rarefied staircase of German intellectual history, leading to rooms unintended for commoners. * Critical Inquiry *The Reader provides us with an impressive cross-sectional sample of important essays by Blumenberg, essays that will make his ideas available in a serious form, but without the months-long labors necessary for any reader to make his or her way through the six to eight hundred page tomes that constitute the cornerstones of Blumenberg's approach. * PHILOSOPHICAL QUARTERLY *A landmark contribution to English-language work on Blumenberg. It gathers in a single paperback volume Blumenberg's most important essays, many of which also appear here in English for the first time. This will allow Blumenberg's thought to be read, cited, taught, and studied in English-speaking contexts on an entirely different scale and in entirely different ways than before... Here, in pieces intended for solo publication that range in length from four to approximately forty pages, the Reader presents a version of Blumenberg's thought that is sharper, spryer, more focused and more accessible than those that have appeared before. * The Germanic Review *Bajohr, Fuchs, and Kroll have gathered, in the best translation this great prose stylist has received, fundamental short texts by Blumenberg that were the seeds of his later encyclopedic volumes * Common Knowledge *Bound to provide much needed nourishment, History, Metaphors, Fables provides readers with a sample broad enough to appreciate the prolific scope of the author's interests, in subject matters and genres alike, yet reasoned enough to prevent a loss of bearings. The resulting compilation should enable inquiries for guiding threads across a vast and variegated corpus. * Contributions to the History of Concepts *Table of Contents1. The Linguistic Realityof Philosophy (1946/1947) 2. World Pictures and World Models (1961) 3. "Secularization": Critique of a Category ofHistorical Illegitimacy (1964) 4. The Concept of Realityand the Theory of the State(1968/1969) 5. Preliminary Remarks on the Concept of Reality(1974) 6. Light as a Metaphorfor Truth: At the PreliminaryStage of Philosophical Concept Formation (1957) 7. Introduction to Paradigms for a Metaphorology(1960) 8. An Anthropological Approach to the ContemporarySignificance of Rhetoric(1971) 9. Observations Drawn from Metaphors(1971) 10. Prospect for a Theory of Nonconceptuality (1979) 11. Theory of Nonconceptuality (circa 1975, excerpt) 12. The Relationship between Nature and Technologyas a Philosophical Problem(1951) 13. "Imitation of Nature":: Towarda Prehistory ofthe Idea of the Creative Being (1957) 14. Phenomenological Aspects on Life-Worldand Technization (1963) 15. Socrates and the objet ambigu: Paul Valéry'sDiscussion of the Ontology of the AestheticObject and Its Tradition (1964) 16. The Essential Ambiguity of the AestheticObject (1966) 17. Speech Situation and Immanent Poetics (1966) 18. The Absolute Father(1952/1953) 19. The Mythos and Ethos of Americain the Workof William Faulkner (1958) 20. The Concept of Realityand the Possibility of theNovel (1964) 21. Pensiveness (1980) 22. Moments of Goethe (1982) 23. Beyond the Edge of Reality: Three Short Essays (1983) 24. Of Nonunderstanding: Glosses on Three Fables (1984) 25. Unknown Aesopica: From Newly Found Fables (1985) 26. Advancing into Eternal Silence: A Centuryafterthe Sailing of the Fram (1993)

Read more less

Book SynopsisThe Everyday Nationalism of Workers upends common notions about how European nationalism is lived and experienced by ordinary people—and the bottom-up impact these everyday expressions of nationalism exert on institutionalized nationalism writ large. Drawing on sources from the major urban and working-class centers of Belgium, Maarten Van Ginderachter uncovers the everyday nationalism of the rank and file of the socialist Belgian Workers Party between 1880 and World War I, a period in which Europe experienced the concurrent rise of nationalism and socialism as mass movements. Analyzing sources from—not just about—ordinary workers, Van Ginderachter reveals the limits of nation-building from above and the potential of agency from below. With a rich and diverse base of sources (including workers' "propaganda pence" ads that reveal a Twitter-like transcript of proletarian consciousness), the book shows all the complexity of socialist workers' ambivalent engagement with nationhood, patriotism, ethnicity and language. By comparing the Belgian case with the rise of nationalism across Europe, Van Ginderachter sheds new light on how multilingual societies fared in the age of mass politics and ethnic nationalism.Trade Review"The relationships of workers and the modern labor movement to social categories such as nationality, ethnicity, class, and religion are complex and poorly understood, usually treated separately from everyday experiences. Drawing on a wide range of sources, including a unique set of 'proletarian tweets,' this superb book both illuminates the Belgian case and provides a model for future research."—John Breuilly, London School of Economics"The Everyday Nationalism of Workers challenges the assumption that nationalism was imposed from above in the decades before the First World War. Based in extensive evidence, including the equivalent of 'tweets' from Belgian workers, Maarten Van Ginderachter's vivid examples build a convincing argument that will engage historians and political scientists interested in working-class patriotism."—Janet Polasky, University of New Hampshire"This well-written, innovative, and engaging study pushes us to reorient our understanding not only of language and national identity in Belgium, but also how to go about studying them. Students unfamiliar with Belgian history will have no problem jumping right into this book, for Van Ginderachter concisely introduces and contextualizes all key issues. One could even say that it serves as a kind of primer on modern Belgian history. It will be useful not only to readers interested in Belgian history, but also to those studying nationalism, language, ethnicity, and labor movements in modern European history."—Matthew G. Stanard, Journal of Social History"Van Ginderachter presents in vivid detail personal stories and interactions among different social classes....[This] volume is a valuable contribution to the study of nationalism."—Zeying Wu, Political Science Quarterly"Van Ginderachter gives a penetrating account of the attitudes of Flemish and Walloon workers toward the fragile Belgian national project and toward their respective and increasingly politicized ethnic identities.Showing that nationalism has been instrumental in the democratic critique of power, and not only in the exercise of exclusivist and antidemocratic power, is among this book's significant accomplishments."—Jakub Benes, H-Nationalism"All too often, nationalism studies and labour studies have followed separate paths, making it difficult to explore the way in which ordinary working-class people interpreted nationalist discourses. With this book, Maarten Van Ginderachter makes a significant contribution to counterbalance this trend while helping scholars and the general public to get acquainted with the role that national discourses played in Belgian history."—Lucas Poy, The Low Countries Journal of Social and Economic History"This sociohistorical narrative provides insights of contemporary significance, as it coincides with projects of nationbuilding that seem to be rampant alongside the rise of rightwing populism across the world....The Everyday Nationalism of Workers offers useful reading not only for scholars interested in the intersections of labour, history, and colonialism or methodological innovations but also for practitioners of labour activism."—Asmita Bhutani Vij, Studies in Ethnicity and Nationalism"Van Ginderachter provides us with a refreshing look at national identities among the socialist urban working class of a society with several competing narratives of nationhood."—David J. Hensley, Journal of Modern History"[The Everyday Nationalism of Workers] has made a major contribution to the study of nationalism by investigating the complexities of class, religion, and ethnic identity in Belgium before the First World War....Van Ginderachter makes a powerful argument about nationalism as both pervasive and malleable."—Carl Strikwerda, American Historical Review"Martin van Ginderachter's brilliant study entitled The Everyday Nationalism of Workers provides a detailed case study of the Belgian Workers Party (BWP) and its attempt to forge a sense of national identity that appealed to their core constituency, i.e. industrial workers, but that was still capable of differentiating the BWP's vision of nation from that of its bourgeois rivals."—Stefan Berger, Moving the SocialTable of ContentsIntroduction: Workers into Belgians, Flemings and Walloons 1. A Socialist Pillar of a Hyperliberal State 2. Voting the Nation 3. Nationalist Celebrations and Mass Entertainment 4. An Anti-Militaristic State in Militaristic Times 5. The Royal and Colonial Paradox 6. Schooling the Nation 7. Encounters with the Belgian Flag and the National Anthem 8. Proletarian Tweets 9. Language, the Flemish Movement, and the Nation Epilogue: The First World War

Read more less

Book SynopsisEurope where the sun dares scarce appear For freezing meteors and congealed cold.' - Christopher Marlowe In this innovative and compelling work of environmental history, Philipp Blom chronicles the great climate crisis of the 1600s, a crisis that would transform the entire social and political fabric of Europe. While hints of a crisis appeared as early as the 1570s, by the end of the sixteenth century the temperature plummeted so drastically that Mediterranean harbours were covered with ice, birds literally dropped out of the sky, and ‘frost fairs’ were erected on a frozen Thames – with kiosks, taverns, and even brothels that become a semi-permanent part of the city. Recounting the deep legacy and sweeping consequences of this ‘Little Ice Age’, acclaimed historian Philipp Blom reveals how the European landscape had ineradicably changed by the mid-seventeenth century. While apocalyptic weather patterns destroyed entire harvests and incited mass migrations, Blom brilliantly shows how they also gave rise to the growth of European cities, the appearance of early capitalism, and the vigorous stirrings of the Enlightenment. A sweeping examination of how a society responds to profound and unexpected change, Nature’s Mutiny will transform the way we think about climate change in the twenty-first century and beyond.Trade ReviewA book that skilfully creates a historical panorama, in such a gripping and thrillingly informative way that it’s a joy. * Giessener Allgemeine Zeitung *An exciting history book, and an educational one. * Stern *A case study that connects the birth of the modern world with the climate change of the time. A fascinating panorama of a whole era. * Freie Presse *An imposing panorama of politics, economics and intellectual history ... [Blom] has written an informative history of the early modern age, which also prompts us to think about the connections between climate and innovation. * Deutschlandfunk Andruck *“Drawing on rich sources, including diaries, letters, account ledgers, paintings, and religious sermons as well as data gleaned by climate historians and scientists, journalist and translator Blom creates a vivid picture of the European landscape during the Little Ice Age and of social, political, and cultural changes that may have been accelerated by climate change ... An absorbing and revealing portrait of profound natural disaster. * Kirkus Reviews *A sweeping story, embracing developments in economics and science, philosophy and exploration, religion and politics. Blom delivers much of his argument through compressed, beautifully clear life sketches of prominent men. […] Blom’s hypothesis is forceful, and has the potential to be both frightening and, if you hold it up to the light at just the right angle, a little optimistic. The idea can be put like this: climate change changes everything -- John Lanchester * New Yorker *Lively . . . an eye-catchingly grand thesis * Sunday Times *Provocative . . . lively and intelligent * Literary Review *Table of ContentsUnit - 1: PROLOGUE: Winter Landscape Chapter - 1: Life without Money Chapter - 2: The Great Experiment Unit - 2: "GOD HAS ABANDONED US": Europe, 1570-1600 Chapter - 3: A Monk on the Run Chapter - 4: God’s Wind and Waves Chapter - 5: Harsh Frosts and Burning Sun Chapter - 6: A Time of Confusion and a Fiery Mountain Chapter - 7: Pilgrims and Their Hunger Chapter - 8: Truth and Wine Chapter - 9: Wine in Vienna Chapter - 10: The Lights Go Out Chapter - 11: Witches and Spoiled Harvests Chapter - 12: The Truth in the Stars Chapter - 13: Doctor Faustus Chapter - 14: Infinite Worlds Chapter - 15: The Tower of Books Unit - 3: THE AGE OF IRON Chapter - 16: Hortus Botanicus Chapter - 17: Revolutionary Places Chapter - 18: The City Devours Its Children Chapter - 19: The Magic of Green Cheese Chapter - 20: The Great Transformation Chapter - 21: A Picture of the World Chapter - 22: Idle Talk and Fabrications Chapter - 23: A Warning and a Call to Repent Chapter - 24: Tears Too Plentiful to Count Chapter - 25: The Revolution of the Barrel of a Musket Chapter - 26: Sell More to Strangers Chapter - 27: The State as Machine Chapter - 28: A Profitable Trade Chapter - 29: The Curse of Silver Chapter - 30: Officer, Retired Chapter - 31: The Subversive Republic of Letters Chapter - 32: Germanus incredibilis Chapter - 33: Virtue in the Drowning Cell Chapter - 34: Leviathan Chapter - 35: An Inventory of Morality Unit - 4: ON COMETS AND OTHER CELESTIAL LIGHTS Chapter - 36: The Madness of Crowds Chapter - 37: The Antichrist Chapter - 38: The Messiah and the Whore Chapter - 39: The Fair on the Ice Chapter - 40: The Face of Change Chapter - 41: The Price of Change Chapter - 42: Tapissier du roi Chapter - 43: The Public Sphere and the Vices of Bees Chapter - 44: The Floating Reverend Unit - 5: EPILOGUE: Supplement to The Fable of the Bees Chapter - 45: Songbirds, Wood Lice, and Corals Chapter - 46: Freedom and Luxury Chapter - 47: Inherited Compromises Chapter - 48: New Metaphors Chapter - 49: The Theology of the Market Chapter - 50: The Market and the Fortress Acknowledgements - i: Acknowledgments Section - ii: Notes Section - iii: Bibliography Section - iiii: Illustration Credits Index - v: Index

Read more less

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

Read more less

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 *

Read more less

Book Synopsis'Excellent' Financial Times'Stirring, impressively detailed' Time magazineThe Battle for the Falklands is a thoughtful and informed analysis of an astonishing chapter in modern British history from journalist and military historian Sir Max Hastings and political editor Simon Jenkins.Ten weeks. 28,000 soldiers. 8,000 miles from home.The Falklands War in 1982 was one of the strangest in British history. At the time, many Britons saw it as a tragic absurdity - thousands of men sent overseas for a tiny relic of empire - but the British victory over the Argentinians not only confirmed the quality of British arms but also boosted the political fortunes of Thatcher's Conservative government. However, it left a chequered aftermath and was later overshadowed by the two Gulf wars.Max Hastings’ and Simon Jenkins’ account of the conflict is a modern classic of war reportage and the definitive book on the conflict.Trade ReviewSkilfully woven with Simon Jenkins' sharp political passages are Max Hastings' wonderful dispatches * Sunday Times *Excellent * Guardian *An excellent account of the war * Financial Times *Stirring, impressively detailed * Time Magazine *Authoritative and very readable * Newsweek *Will probably endure as the standard history of the campaign. * New York Times *Table of ContentsSection - i: List of Maps Introduction - ii: Introduction Section - iii: Foreward Chapter - 1: Forgotten Islands Chapter - 2: The Seventeen Years' War Chapter - 3: Galtieri's Gamble Chapter - 4: The Admiral's Hour Chapter - 5: Task Force Chapter - 6: Haig's Doves Chapter - 7: Ascension to South Georgia Chapter - 8: Failure of a Mission Chapter - 9: A War at Sea Chapter - 10: Clearing the Decks Chapter - 11: Operation Sutton Chapter - 12: San Carlos Chapter - 13: Goose Green Chapter - 14: The Politics of the Land War Chapter - 15: Triumph on Kent, Tragedy at Fitzroy Chapter - 16: The Battle for the Mountains Chapter - 17: Aftermath Section - iv: Appendix A: Chronology of Military and Political Events Section - v: Appendix B: The Falkland Islands Task Force Section - vi: The Falkland Honours List Section - vii: Appendix D: The Franks Report Section - viii: Glossary Index - ix: Index

Read more less

Book SynopsisA Sunday Times Book of the YearQueen Of Our Times is the definitive biography of Queen Elizabeth II by one of Britain’s leading royal authorities, Robert Hardman. This commemorative edition includes an epilogue reflecting upon Her Majesty’s Platinum Jubilee, her passing and her funeral.'Sensational' – Kirsty Young, The Platinum Pageant (BBC)With fascinating revelations from those who knew her best and special access to unseen royal papers granted by Elizabeth II herself, author and royal expert Robert Hardman explores the full, astonishing life of our longest reigning monarch in this authoritative yet intimate biography.The book also charts the way in which the Queen raised the future King Charles III as both son and heir.Elizabeth was not born to be queen, being third in line to the throne. Yet from her accession as a young mother of two in 1952 to the age of Covid-19, she proved an astute and quietly determined figure, leading her family and her people through more than seventy years of unprecedented social change. She faced constitutional crises, confronted threats against her life, unified the Commonwealth, saw fifteen British prime ministers come and go, charmed world leaders, and steered her family through a lifetime in the public eye. Her Platinum Jubilee was celebrated in June 2022 and her death mourned months later, both events a reminder of the huge impact she had made.Queen of Our Times is a must-read study of dynastic survival and renewal, spanning abdication, war, romance, danger and tragedy. It is a compelling portrait of a leader whose legacy of steadfast service lives on.Trade ReviewThe essential authoritative biography of the Queen that everyone needs to read - packed with new research, gripping details and telling anecdotes on every page, equally masterful on matters high and low, power and family. -- Simon Sebag MontefioreRobert Hardman has written a truly exceptional biography of an equally exceptional monarch, rich in new material, wit and original thought. With intimate and unrivalled access to those who really know the story. -- Andrew RobertsA compendious new biography . . . closely observed . . . I relished the incidental details * The Times (Book of the Week) *Hardman’s exhaustive and endlessly enthusiastic biography paints a vivid picture of a phenomenal sovereign * The Telegraph *Authoritative . . . scrupulously well researched, thoughtful and sensitive to the sweep of history * Mail on Sunday *Revelatory . . . Queen of Our Times shows why her extraordinary lifetime of service should be celebrated, honoured and cherished -- William Shawcross, The SpectatorThis is a beautifully-crafted, deeply informed and rounded portrait of the gold standard monarch and the age to which she has given her name. Queen of Our Times has depth, feel and insight in abundance -- Peter Hennessy, award-winning historian[A] fascinating and thoughtful biography from one of Britain's leading Royal writers . . . * Good Housekeeping *

Read more less

Book Synopsis“Gretchen Starr-LeBeau’s Seven Myths of the Spanish Inquisition provides an excellent introduction to Habsburg Spain’s most reviled and misunderstood institution. Drawn from archival sources and modern scholarship, this concise study presents the long and tortured history of the Spanish Inquisition in an accessible format for readers interested in the intersection of religion and jurisprudence. Addressing common misconceptions about the procedures, effectiveness, and reach of the Inquisition, this work argues convincingly for an updated assessment encompassing change over time and variations across Spain and its empire. Students of the early modern period will benefit from the volume’s logical organization, glossary of terms, and suggestions for further reading.” —Benjamin Ehlers, University of GeorgiaTrade Review“Gretchen Starr-LeBeau has given us a deeply researched, wide-ranging correction of the various myths attached to the Spanish Inquisition. Her ability to track and explain the development of those myths over time is remarkable. The volume is wonderfully written and consistently accessible for a student audience. I learned a great deal from it and look forward to assigning it in my classes.” —Lu Ann Homza, William and Mary

Read more less

Book Synopsis'Philosophy begins in wonder.'                                      --PlatoHave you ever wondered about the development of civilization? What topics were discussed in the days of Ancient Greece? This collection of thoughts from Plato, Aristotle, and other masters of philosophy will lead your mind on a journey of enlightened exploration into ethics, morality, law, medicine, and more. With an introduction by a distinguished scholar of classic literature, this beautiful Canterbury Classics bonded-leather volume with gilded edges and specially designed endpapers is sure to be a favorite keepsake edition in your library.

Read more less

Book Synopsis

Read more less

Book SynopsisStephen Bungay’ s magisterial history is acclaimed as the account of the Battle of Britain. Unrivalled for its synthesis of all previous historical accounts, for the quality of its strategic analysis and its truly compulsive narrative, this is a book ultimately distinguished by its conclusions – that it was the British in the Battle who displayed all the virtues of efficiency, organisation and even ruthlessness we habitually attribute to the Germans, and they who fell short in their amateurism, ill-preparedness, poor engineering and even in their old-fashioned notions of gallantry. An engrossing read for the military scholar and the general reader alike, this is a classic of military history that looks beyond the mythology, to explore all the tragedy and comedy; the brutality and compassion of war.Trade Review‘Stephen Bungay delves into new ground. These threads have been woven together to form an eloquent and informative tapestry€¦ It will be difficult for a new work on this subject to add any more to our knowledge of those months in 1940’ ‘The magnitude and vital importance of the Battle of Britain has found a superb chronicler in Stephen Bungay, whose book is the best single-volume history to be published in over a decade’'A fascinating case history in illusion and reality. He dispels the myths and kills the cliches... Admirable''The most exhaustive and detailed account of the Battle of Britain that has yet appeared''A fascinating case history in illusion and reality. He dispels the myths and kills the cliches... Admirable'‘The magnitude and vital importance of the Battle of Britain has found a superb chronicler in Stephen Bungay, whose book is the best single-volume history to be published in over a decade’‘Stephen Bungay delves into new ground. These threads have been woven together to form an eloquent and informative tapestry… It will be difficult for a new work on this subject to add any more to our knowledge of those months in 1940’

Read more less

Book SynopsisIn almost every army in the World, the Military Police rank amongst those who are least liked by other soldiers despite the essential duties that they carry out, often being amongst the first in and last out in any theatre of war. In the German armed forces, however, opinions of the military police were often those of fear as much as dislike, so great were the powers held by these troops. Germany created a plethora of different branches of what were termed 'Ordnungstruppe' - Troops for Maintaining Order. Many wore a distinctive metal gorget plate on a chain around the neck, leading to their pejorative nickname 'Kettenhund' or Chain Dogs. Despite certainly being involved in often brutal treatment of partisans and other unfortunates who fell into their grasp, their skills were sufficiently appreciated by the allies that on Germany's surrender, a number of military police units of the Wehrmacht were allowed to remain in post under allied control to assist in controlling the vast number of now disarmed German troops. Kettenhund!The German Military Police in the Second World War, using primarily previously unpublished photographic material from private sources, provides a detailed study of the organisation of these units and the distinctive uniforms and insignia they wore.

Read more less

Book Synopsis'Gripping' Wall Street Journal________________________At first, gunner Clarence Smoyer and his fellow crewmen in the legendary 3rd Armored Division - 'Spearhead' - thought their tanks were invincible. Then they met the German Panther, with a gun so murderous it could shoot through one Sherman and into the next. Soon a pattern emerged: the lead tank always gets hit. After seeing his friends cut down breaching the West Wall and holding the line in the Battle of the Bulge, Clarence and his crew are given a weapon with the power to avenge their fallen brothers: the Pershing, a state-of-the-art 'super tank', one of twenty in the European theatre. But with it comes a harrowing new responsibility: now they will spearhead every attack and, in doing so, will lead the US Army into its largest urban battle of the war, the fight for Cologne, the 'Fortress City' of Germany...'Spearhead shimmers in eclipsing moments of valor, luck and compassion.' Washington TimesTrade ReviewMakos drops the reader back into the Pershing's turret and dials up a battle scene to rival the peak moments of Fury. . . Brilliant . . . Gripping * Wall Street Journal *A detailed, gripping account . . . the remarkable story of two tank crewmen, from opposite sides of the conflict, who endure the grisly nature of tank warfare. * USA Today *Spearhead shimmers in eclipsing moments of valor, luck and compassion. A gripping read. * Washington Times *A compelling, exciting adventure of a hard-driving American force. * Kirkus Reviews *This moving story of bravery and comradeship is an important contribution to WWII history that will inform and fascinate both the general reader and the military historian. * Publishers Weekly (starred review) *The engrossing book is a war story and a mystery. * CNN.com *Table of Contents0: Introduction 1: The Gentle Giant 2: Baptism 3: "Bubi" 4: The Fields 5: The Foray 6: Beyond the Wall 7: Respite 8: The Fourth Tank 9: Hope 10: Something Bigger 11: America's Tiger 12: Two Miles 13: Hunting 14: The Fire Department of the West 15: Going First 16: Victory or Siberia 17: The Monster 18: The Conquerors 19: The Breakout 20: The American Blitz 21: The Fatherless 22: Family 23: Come Out and Fight 24: The Giant 25: Getting Home 26: The Last Battle

Read more less

Book Synopsis'A great achievement' Timothy Garton Ash Bloodshed. Invasions. Nationalist fervor. In this classic and celebrated history of the Balkans, Misha Glenny shows how the countries on the South-Eastern edge of Europe are seen by the rest of the world, and how the real story of the last 200 years is much more surprising. There are groups we think of as implacable enemies, who have, over the centuries, formed unlikely alliances, disrupting the idea that conflict in the Balkans is the inevitable product of ancient grudges. And there is the often-catastrophic relationship between the Balkans and the rest of Europe, a dark history that raises profound questions about Western intervention. From the region's turbulent nineteenth century to the recent brutal conflicts in Kosovo and Macedonia, the surge of organised crime, the rise of Turkey and the rocky road to EU membership, The Balkans remains the essential and peerless study of Europe's most complex and least understood region. 'An endeavour which deserves extraordinary admiration and as yet has no rival' Guardian 'Glenny is the wisest and most reflective of all the Western journalists who have covered this part of Europe in the past two decades... This was an enormously ambitious book to undertake, but it is the book which Europe and America need' ObserverTrade ReviewAn endeavour which deserves extraordinary admiration and as yet has no rival * Guardian *A great achievement -- Timothy Garton AshMisha Glenny is the wisest and most reflective of all the Western journalists who have covered this part of Europe in the past two decades... This was an enormously ambitious book to undertake, but it is the book which Europe and America need * Observer *Sweeping, fair-minded and authoritative...admirably full of uncomfortable messages for nationalist historians * Economist *His engaging passion never clouds his objective eye...Above all the book is justified by the insights which add up to a convincing picture of the problems * Sunday Times *Compelling reading...Glenny's book should be required reading for all those wishing to know what has gone wrong in the region * Irish Times *Its great strengths are evocation, fascinating detail and narrative sweep...a great achievement * The Mail on Sunday *His achievement is immense, a mix of great intellect, real humanity and intense passion. His mission is to explain, and his book will surely become an essential read for anyone who wants to understand the Balkans rather then just have an opinion about the region * The Scotsman *It is the merit of Misha Glenny's book, and its usefulness for dispelling our ignorance, that patronising distortions of the region's history are swept away * Spectator *

Read more less

Book SynopsisTHE SUNDAY TIMES TOP THREE BESTSELLER; Winner of the Los Angeles Times Book Prize for History 2018; One of the Daily Telegraph's Best Books of 2017; A Guardian 'Readers' Choice' Best Book of 2017; Without the benefit of hindsight, how do you interpret what's right in front of your eyes?; The events that took place in Germany between 1919 and 1945 were dramatic and terrible but there were also moments of confusion, of doubt - of hope. How easy was it to know what was actually going on, to grasp the essence of National Socialism, to remain untouched by the propaganda or predict the Holocaust?; Travellers in the Third Reich is an extraordinary history of the rise of the Nazis based on fascinating first-hand accounts, drawing together a multitude of voices and stories, including students, politicians, musicians, diplomats, schoolchildren, communists, scholars, athletes, poets, journalists, fascists, artists, tourists, even celebrities like Charles Lindbergh and Samuel Beckett. Their experiences create a remarkable three-dimensional picture of Germany under Hitler - one so palpable that the reader will feel, hear, even breathe the atmosphere.; These are the accidental eyewitnesses to history. Disturbing, absurd, moving, and ranging from the deeply trivial to the deeply tragic, their tales give a fresh insight into the complexities of the Third Reich, its paradoxes and its ultimate destruction.Trade Review"A compelling historical narrative ... both flatters and challenges our hindsight. [Boyd] lets her voices, skilfully orchestrated, speak for themselves, which they do with great eloquence" - The Daily Telegraph; "Fascinating ... surreal scenes pepper Boyd's deep trawl of travellers' tales from the scores of visitors who were drawn to the `new Germany' in the 1930s" - The Spectator; "Contains many amazing anecdotes ... It warns us that we, with our all-seeing hindsight, might ourselves have been fooled or beguiled or inclined to make excuses, had we been there at the time. I can thoroughly recommend it as a contribution to knowledge and an absorbing and stimulating book in itself" - Peter Hitchens, Mail on Sunday; "A fascinating book" -- Robert Elms, BBC Radio London; "To a younger generation it seems incomprehensible that after the tragic Great War people and political leaders allowed themselves to march into the abyss again. Julia Boyd's book, drawing on wide experience and forensic research, seeks to answer some of these questions." -- Randolph Churchill; "With an almost novelistic touch, [Boyd] presents a range of stories of human interest ... The uncomfortable moral of Travellers in the Third Reich is that people see and hear only what they already want to see and hear" -- David Pryce-Jones, Standpoint; "Fascinating ... This absorbing and beautifully organised book is full of small encounters that jolt the reader into a historical past that seems still very near" - Lucy Lethbridge, The Tablet; "In the 1930s the most cultured and technologically advanced country in Europe tumbled into the abyss. In this deeply researched book Julia Boyd lets us view Germany's astonishing fall through foreign eyes. Her vivid tapestry of human stories is a delightful, often moving read. It also offers sobering lessons for our own day when strong leaders are again all the rage" -- Professor David Reynolds, author of The Long Shadow: The Great War and the 20th Century; "Drawing on the unpublished experiences of outsiders inside the Third Reich, Julia Boyd provides dazzling new perspectives on the Germany that Hitler built. Her book is a tour de force of historical research" - Dr Piers Brendon, author of The Dark Valley: A Panorama of the 1930s"What was Nazi Germany really like in the run up to the Second World War? Julia Boyd's painstakingly researched and deeply nuanced book shows how this troubled country appeared to travellers of the 1930s who did not have the benefit of hindsight. A truly fascinating read" -- Keith Lowe, Sunday Times bestselling author of Savage Continent and Inferno; "Engrossing ... skilfully woven together to create a three-dimensional picture of Germany under Hitler that has many resonances for today" -- Caroline Sanderson, The Bookseller; "A revealing and original account. Some of Adolf Hitler's fellow travellers, lulled by self-deception, gulled by propaganda, deluded themselves about Nazi Germany as they deceived others" - Sir John Tusa; "Julia Boyd has conducted a vast range and volume of research. The numerous witnesses of Germany under Hitler whom she quotes have different ages, nationalities, backgrounds and opinions. Out of the multitude of first-hand accounts she spins a tapestry which is full of vivid detail and gradually creates a coherent whole. The horrors of the Hitler regime and how it came to power, and the suffering of ordinary people, are brought to life. The book is comprehensive, informative and full of life. I wish I could have read it before I first worked in post-war Germany. I would have understood better the Germans whom I knew and admired even more what West Germans achieved after 1945. A glorious read for anyone with an interest in the history of the twentieth century" - Sir Christopher Mallaby, former ambassador to Germany and France; "Unique, original and engagingly written. This account of visitors and tourists to Germany brings to life these difficult decades in a most refreshing way [and] should attract a wide circle of readers" - Dr Zare Steiner, author of The Lights that Failed: European International History 1919-1933 and Triumph of the Dark: 1933-193; "An entertaining popular history ... a fascinating book. Boyd lets the voices from the past speak to us ... opinions that are sometimes shocking and often thought provoking. Traveller attitudes give an insight into the feelings before the war, often at odds with or in more depth than many standard histories ... very readable" - Paul Burke, nudge-book.comTable of ContentsContents; Introduction.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1; Map. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-11; 1 Open Wounds.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13; 2 Deepening Pain.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29; 3 Sex and Sun.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47; 4 `The Seething Brew'. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 67; 5 The Noose Tightens.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 85; 6 Monster or Marvel?. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 103; 7 Summer Holidays.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 123; 8 Festivals and Fanfares.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 141; 9 Heiling Hitler. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 161; 10 Old Soldiers.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 183; 11 Literary `Tourists'.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 205; 12 Snow and Swastikas.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 231; 13 Hitler's Games. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 247; 14 Academic Wasteland.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 263; 15 Dubious Overtures.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 285; 16 Travel Album.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 305; 17 Anschluss. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 323; 18 `Peace' and Shattered Glass.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 337; 19 Countdown to War. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 355; 20 War.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 375; 21 Journey's End.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 389; Afterword.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 411; Acknowledgements.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 417; Bibliography. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 421; Archives Consulted. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 429; The Travellers. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 431; Notes. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 449; Index.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 477

Read more less

Book SynopsisThe #1 Irish Times bestseller WINNER of the An Post Irish Book Awards 'A clear-eyed, myth-dispelling masterpiece' Marian Keyes 'Sweeping, authoritative and profoundly intelligent' Colm Tóibín, Guardian 'With the pace and twists of an enthralling novel' Irish Times 'Evocative, moving, funny and furious' Dominic Sandbrook, Sunday Times 'An enthralling, panoramic book' Patrick Radden Keefe 'A book that will remain important for a very long time' An Post Irish Book Award We Don't Know Ourselves is a very personal vision of recent Irish history from the year of O'Toole's birth, 1958, down to the present. Ireland has changed almost out of recognition during those decades, and Fintan O'Toole's life coincides with that arc of transformation. The book is a brilliant interweaving of memories (though this is emphatically not a memoir) and engrossing social and historical narrative. This was the era of Eamon de Valera, Jack Lynch, Charles Haughey and John Charles McQuaid, of sectarian civil war in the North and the Pope's triumphant visit in 1979, but also of those who began to speak out against the ruling consensus – feminists, advocates for the rights of children, gay men and women coming out of the shadows. We Don't Know Ourselves is an essential book for anyone who wishes to understand modern Ireland.Trade ReviewA clear-eyed, myth-dispelling masterpiece. Engaging, analytical, insightful, fascinating, this is a hugely important book. Rooting the politics in the personal makes a potentially overwhelming read into a book that reads as easily as a novel -- Marian KeyesWhile his sweeping, authoritative and profoundly intelligent book sees modern Ireland through the lens of his own life and that of his family, it also offers sharp and brilliant analysis of what form change took when it arrived in Ireland -- Colm Tóibín, GuardianScintillating... Combines personal with political on a journey to the heart of Irish identity' * Business Post *A remarkably original, fluent and absorbing book, with the pace and twists of an enthralling novel and the edge of a fine sword, underpinned by a profound humaneness -- Diarmaid Ferriter, Irish TimesOur leading public intellectual has written the bible on incorrigible Irish roguery * Irish Independent *Fintan is now routinely described as 'Ireland's leading public intellectual'... If we must have a hegemony, the best by a long way is the liberal kind. And to know how it happened here, this is the bible' * Sunday Independent *At heart, it's an investigation of the arrival of modernity in Ireland and just how much upheaval it caused * Herald *Ireland's past is here painted by Fintan O'Toole mainly through villains, victims, eccentrics and scandals * BBC History Magazine *An enthralling, panoramic book, a personal history of six decades of Irish life, from one of the foremost chroniclers of contemporary Ireland. With his customary deep erudition and sly wit, O'Toole weaves together an astonishing array of material... Jostling with anecdotes and arresting statistics, We Don't Know Ourselves is a feast: a deeply absorbing chronicle of the 'known and unknowable' and of the profound transformation of a place' -- Patrick Radden KeefeA sweeping thesis about Irish identity... We Don't Know Ourselves may well be the best thing he's ever written' * Sunday Business Post *A personal and empathetic account of the social upheavals his country has weathered since 1958... This is an uplifting, almost playful read, with suggestive analysis lying beneath skilful vignettes' * Financial Times *An illuminating, provocative and very entertaining look at how Ireland has changed over the author's lifetime, with the massive social, economic and political changes since his birth in 1958 linked to episodes in his own story * RTÉ *There's no shirking the stark reality of postwar Ireland, as Fintan O'Toole takes us on a personal journey that mirrors Ireland's seismic shift to modernity... This book's early chapters are among the best I've read about Ireland in the decades after the Second World War, at once evocative, moving, funny and furious' * Sunday Times *Told in beautiful, crisp prose and enlivened by anecdotes from the front line, We Don't Know Ourselves is the story of that victory – with all its ups and downs. Balanced and fearless, it is essential reading for anyone who wants to understand modern Ireland – or thinks they already do * Irish Examiner *A wonderfully readable account of the Irish State's turbulent coming of age and, to my mind, it is the nearest we will come to making sense of who we are how we got here * Irish Independent *This is an essential read for anyone who wishes to understand modern Ireland * The Clare Champion *I'm sure we all have books we're looking forward to over Christmas. Fintan O'Toole's We Don't Know Ourselves [...] is top of my stack * Sunday Independent *An astonishing book, fresh and passionate. Deeply moving but often funny and wry, a chronicle for our times. The most remarkable Irish nonfiction book I've read in the last 10 years -- David McRedmond, Irish TimesTruly, this is a book for the ages -- Maria Dickinson, Irish TimesMasterly, fascinating and frequently horrifying * TLS *Only a writer with O'Toole's experience and finesse could pull off a memoir as audacious as this * Meath Chronicle *A brilliant interweaving of memories (though this is emphatically not a memoir) and engrossing social and historical narrative... An essential book for anyone who wishes to understand modern Ireland * Irish Central *An essential read for anyone who wishes to understand modern Ireland * The Clare Champion *It is a mark of O'Toole's intense gaze that while he does cover the northern tragedy by far the greater part of this powerful book is devoted to the Republic in which he grew up in a working-class Dublin family in the late 1950s * Slugger O'Toole *

Read more less

Book SynopsisPrior accounts have portrayed Islamic Spain either as a paradise of enlightened tolerance, or as the site where civilisations clashed. Award-winning historian Brian A. Catlos taps a wide array of original sources to paint a more complex picture, showing how Muslims, Christians, and Jews together built a sophisticated civilisation that transformed the Western world, even as they waged relentless war against each other and amongst themselves. Religion was often the language of conflict, but seldom its cause--a lesson we would do well to learn in our own time. Kingdoms of Faith rewrites Spain's Islamic past from the ground up, evoking the cultural splendour of al-Andalus and the many forces that shaped it.Trade Review'A rich narrative account of al-Andalus . . . a reminder that Islam in Europe is set in stone - in marble and mortar - and it cannot be chiselled away.' -- Financial Times'Catlos has produced a substantial new synthesis . . . a gripping, colourful and humane account of a period that ought to be better known.' -- History Today‘Catlos imparts an intimate sense of how members of different ethnic and religious communities negotiated subtle alliances and engaged in long-lasting cultural exchanges.' -- The New Yorker‘The ambition of Brian Catlos in this excellent new account is to provide not just a thoroughly up-to-date history but one that resists the narrative tug of both Right and Left. . . . he has forged a tight synthesis of the latest research in a fresh portrait of nearly a millennium of history.’'A lively, engaging history.' -- Library Journal‘A richly layered tapestry . . . Catlos knows how to tell a story.’ -- Asian Review of Books'A brilliant narrative history of the rise and fall of Muslim Spain... a balanced, lucid, and myth-breaking account of a unique society that has too often been demonised, romanticised or simplified.' -- Matt Carr, author of Blood and Faith: The Purging of Muslim Spain, 1492–1614‘A lively … account of medieval Spain and Portugal which steers away from the usual stereotypes and gives us a new, and much more nuanced account of relations and interactions between the various communities and faith groups in the peninsula.’ -- Hugh Kennedy, Professor of Arabic and author of 'Caliphate: The History of an Idea', SOAS, University of London‘In Kingdoms of Faith, Brian A. Catlos takes us through the kaleidoscopic interplay of Muslim-Christian relations, bringing clarity to a complex narrative. His deft analysis illuminates the forces brought to bear in creating both the myth and reality of life in “Moorish” Spain.’ -- Thomas F. Glick, Emeritus Professor of History, Boston University and author of 'Islamic and Christian Spain in the Early Middle Ages'‘Spirited, probing and original, this is a key history of Muslim Spain. It’s unique perspective illuminates the vexed issue of religious, political and cultural interaction between Christians, Jews and Muslims, underlining the complexity and ambiguity of medieval Spain and revealing its vital importance to the history of modern Europe too.’ -- Elizabeth Drayson, author of 'The Moor’s Last Stand: How Seven Centuries of Muslim Rule in Spain Came to an End', University of Cambridge‘Mediterranean studies have been shaped in an informative and innovative way by Brian Catlos’s contributions in the recent decades. His incursion now into the history of a specific region and polity — that of al-Andalus (Medieval Iberia under Muslim rule) — brings to the fore the same qualities that characterize his previous work: an inquisitive and incisive mind that homes in on perceptive questions, combined with the ability to recreate past events in an appealing manner for a wide audience.’ -- Maribel Fierro, Research Professor, Institute of Languages and Cultures of the Mediterranean, CSIC, Madrid‘'Kingdoms of Faith' constitutes a fresh and original contribution to the history of al-Andalus, rooted in the author’s profound knowledge of medieval Iberian history. Brian Catlos has managed to produce a very well-written and lively narrative that provides an up-to-date synthesis of the most recent developments in this field of history.’ -- Alejandro García Sanjuán, University of Huelva

Read more less

Book SynopsisAn alternative account of the EU as a racialised project The European Union is often seen as a cosmopolitan rejection of violent nationalism. Yet the idea of Europe has a long, problematic history—in medieval times, it was synonymous with Christianity; in the modern era, it became associated with ‘whiteness’. Eurowhiteness exposes the EU as a vehicle for imperial amnesia. Narratives of European integration emphasise the lessons of war and the Holocaust, but not the lessons of colonial history. The EU is about power as much as peace—and civic ideas of Europe are being displaced by ethnic and cultural ones. Since the 2015 refugee crisis, whiteness has become even more central to European identity—a troubling new turn in Europe’s long civilisational project. It is time to confront the relationship between ideas of Europe and ideas of race.Trade Review‘Hans Kundnani has been on an intellectual journey over several years, close to the heart of the European mythmaking machine... What has emerged from this slow disenchantment is a clear, elegantly written polemic. Some people won’t like it, which is probably why they should read it. … Kundnani’s book is more than an insightful one, it is a necessary one.’ -- Financial Times‘[A] short and punchy book [that] exposes the often hidden and frequently denied foundations of European integration.’ -- The Irish Times‘[Eurowhiteness] decries the continent's subtler form of chauvinism. ... By highlighting the way colonial horrors were memory-holed, Mr Kundnani rightly points out that other sins were mostly ignored.’ -- The Economist‘A timely intervention.’ -- TLS‘[A] well-researched, interesting little book.’ -- The New Statesman‘Kundnani is right that some Europeans… cling to the misguided idealist belief that the EU should be hailed as a “universal model” that can eradicate genocide, war, colonialism, human rights abuse, and other global problems. This book remains a useful counterpoint to such complacency by showing how the world’s most peaceful, egalitarian, green, and increasingly diverse continent is still far from utopia.’ -- Foreign Affairs‘Kundnani deftly bursts the bubble of those who idealize the EU as a cosmopolitan project.’ -- Jacobin‘Fresh and exciting perspectives like Kundnani’s are hard to come by.’ -- Engelsberg Ideas‘The most intriguing section of Eurowhiteness is Kundnani’s discussion of Brexit.’ -- Areo Magazine‘Many of [Kundnani’s] points… [are] instructive, useful and true.’ -- Martin Sandbu, Financial Times‘Kundnani finds a way to provide not only a succinct overview of the existing literature on nationalism, but he also describes… the on-going debates in the European identity scholarship. He takes the necessary leap from there and dives right into the emerging scholarship on post-colonial theories and decolonizing approaches, giving ample credit to those who have paved the way for him.’ -- EuropeNow‘[A] stimulating new book … [an] illuminating discussion of (Western) Europe and imperialism. … Kundnani articulates justified criticisms of West European parochialism.’ -- CEU Review of Books'[Eurowhiteness] offers an intellectually stimulating and policy-relevant departing point to any discussion about the future of Europe.' -- Informed Comment'Deeply honest and kind.' -- International Affairs'Kundnani's widely debated book has already become a springboard for a discussion about today's EU and for rethinking our ways of writing the history of the process that created it.' -- Klaus Kiran Patel, H-Soz-Kult, Historisches Seminar, Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München'A fascinating book challenging the myths surrounding the EU. For some, this will be uncomfortable reading.' -- Anand Menon, Director of UK in a Changing Europe'Kundnani shows that ideas of race are central to European thinking about politics. In the shadow of Ukraine, it's important for us to face this truth.' -- Kwame Anthony Appiah, author of 'The Lies That Bind: Rethinking Identity''A bracing challenge to the myths underlying the "European Project", and to the hollowness of contemporary cosmopolitanism.' -- Kenan Malik, author of 'Not So Black and White''Kundnani asks some hard and important questions about the EU's history, and his answers illuminate a great deal about European self-understanding.' -- Helen Thompson, co-host of Talking Politics'Elegantly logical -- and sure to challenge many readers' assumptions.' -- Brendan Simms, author of 'Europe: The Struggle for Supremacy' and 'Britain's Europe'‘A game changer - the first book seriously to explore the racial and ethnic motivations internal to the process of European integration and the formation of the EU.’ -- Simon Glendinning, Head of the European Institute and Professor in European Philosophy, London School of Economics

Read more less

Book SynopsisChina Miéville's brilliant reading of the modern world's most controversial and enduring political document: The Communist Manifesto. 'It's thrilling to accompany Miéville... as he wrestles – in critical good faith and incandescent commitment – with a manifesto that still calls on us to build a new world' Naomi Klein 'Read this and be dazzled by its contemporaneity' Mike Davis 'A rich, luminous reflection of and on a light that never quite goes out' Andreas Malm 'Reading with [Miéville] today sharpens our senses to contemporary internationalist movements from below' Ruth Wilson Gilmore '[Written] with diligence and a ruthlessly critical eye worthy of Marx himself' Sarah Jaffe In 1848, a strange political tract was published by two German émigrés. Marx and Engles's apocalyptic vision of an insatiable system, which penetrates every corner of the globe, reduces every relationship to that of profit, and bursts asunder the old forms of production and of politics, remains a picture of our world. And the vampiric energy of that system is once again highly contentious. The Manifesto shows no sign of fading into antiquarian obscurity, and remains a key touchstone for modern political debate. China Miéville is not a writer hemmed in by conventions of disciplinary boundaries or genre, and this is a strikingly imaginative take on Marx and what his most haunting book has to say to us today. Like the Manifesto itself, this is a book haunted by ghosts, sorcery and creative destruction.Trade ReviewThe Manifesto is one of history's most profound prophecies. In Miéville's brilliant interpretation it is like a great comet whose periodic return blinds the sky with its light and urgency. Read this and be dazzled by its contemporaneity -- Mike DavisChina Miéville's elegant book patiently explains composition – style, structure, class – to reveal the Communist Manifesto's spectral energies. Reading with him today sharpens our senses to contemporary internationalist movements from below -- Ruth Wilson GilmoreAn excellent book, very lively and engaging, written in clear and readable prose... For today's readers Miéville does excellent work presenting and reviewing a huge amount of twentieth-century history -- Professor Terrell CarverIt's thrilling to accompany Miéville, one of the greatest living world-builders, as he wrestles – in critical good faith and incandescent commitment – with a manifesto that still calls on us to build a new world -- Naomi KleinVery enjoyable and well done... Properly scholarly and thorough in its apparatus of discussion and issue-identification... Lively, politically driven appreciation -- Professor Gregor McLennanWith diligence and a ruthlessly critical eye worthy of Marx himself, China Miéville expands upon the Communist Manifesto, calling us into renewed struggle for the best of what humanity could be. Against the million little cruelties and death-making of capitalism, this book builds a case for the value of the Manifesto to today's struggles without demanding fealty. It turns long-standing complaints about Marx on their heads to challenge the reader even while seducing with luminous prose. I didn't know I needed this book, but I did -- Sarah JaffeA book about another book might sound boring, but The Communist Manifesto is more than a book: it represents a bulging galaxy of historical struggle, ever moving and shining, even if only on the periphery of our vision. Here, China Miéville opens up the pages of the Manifesto and transmits the energy of communism across the pallid present. Close reading, historical essay, political commentary and a manifesto of sorts: A Spectre, Haunting is a rich, luminous reflection of and on a light that never quite goes out -- Andreas MalmChina Miéville, mind, soul and pen ablaze, guides his readers through Marx and Engels's unignorable, inextinguishable, eternally uncomfortable and always essential Manifesto. This is both a history of critical thought and a magnificent exemplar of reading and thinking critically. Miéville has written a thrillingly lively and lucid exegesis on the Manifesto, its contents and its discontents. He's gathered together an astonishingly heterogenous array of voices and responses, making a case for the Manifesto as a locus of politically engaged analysis and argument for nearly two centuries. Miéville adjudicates and synthesizes with unfailing clarity, wit, courage, decency and passion, writing brilliantly about nationalism, race, gender, literary style, and – my particular favorite section – about the perils and necessity of hate. He gives us a Manifesto that is simultaneously a central artifact of our species and a means for understanding our present, hazardous moment, a historical work that remains absolutely, ferociously alive -- Tony Kushner, author of Angels in AmericaA rare combination, both scholarly and exciting to read * The Prisma *Whatever the reader's position on these questions, A Spectre, Haunting ultimately succeeds. It is a clear, fair, and non-doctrinaire introduction * TLS *

Read more less

Book SynopsisSixty years after the defeat of the Third Reich, the complexities of Nazi ideology are still being unravelled. This enormously influential book has provided the first serious account of these ideological origins. The book demonstrates the way in which Nazism was influenced by powerful occult and millenarian sects that thrived in Germany and Austria at the turn of the century. These sects (principally the Ariosophists) promoted doctrines of popular nationalism, 'Aryan' racism and occultism to support their advocacy of German world-rule. Their ideas and symbols filtered through to nationalist-racist groups associated with the infant Nazi party, and in time exerted a strong influence on Himmler's SS. Their fantasies were played out with terrifying consequences in the Third Reich: Auschwitz, Sobibor and Treblinka are the hellish museums of the Nazi apocalypse, the roots of which lay in the millennial visions of occult sects. This bizarre and fascinating story contains lessons we cannot afford to ignore.Trade ReviewGoodrick-Clarke's now classic work triumphantly demonstrates that scrupulous scholarship and sound judgement can illuminate a crucial episode in the genesis of Nazism. The political dangers of the new century posed by the mixture of modernity with faith and esoteric mysticism make it particularly timely. -- Professor Roger Griffin, author of The Nature of FacismAn extensive survey of...theology, astrology, and 'ariosophy' (Aryan-racists-occult-theories)... An intriguing study of apocalyptic fantasies... * Times Literary Supplement *If anyone still questions the power which myth exercises over the human mind, he should read The Occult Roots of Nazism. -- Anthony Storr, Fellow, Royal College of PsychiatristsTable of ContentsAcknowledgements Illustrations Author's Preface to 2004 Edition Foreword Introduction Part 1: The Background 1. The Pan-German Vision 2. The modern German Occult Revival 1880-1910 Part 2: The Ariosophists of Vienna 3. Guido von List 4. Wotanism and Germanic Theosophy 5. The Armanenschaft 6. The Secret Heritage 7. The German Millennium 8. Jörg Lanz von Liebenfels and Theozoology 9. The Order of the New Templars Part 3: Ariosophy in Germany 10. The Germanenorden 11. Rudolf von Sebottendorff and the Thule Society 12. The Holy Runes and the Edda Society 13. Herbert Reichstein and Ariosophy 14. Karl Maria Wiligut: The Private Magus of Heinrich Himmler 15. Ariosophy and Adolf Hitler Appendix A: Genealogy of Lanz von Liebenfels Appendix B: Genealogy of the Sebottendorff Family Appendix C: The history of Ariosophy Appendix D: New Templar Verse Appendix E: The Modern Mythology of Nazi Occultism Notes and References Bibliography Index

Read more less