European history Books
Harvard University Press Early Greek Philosophy Volume VIII
Book SynopsisVolume VIII of the nine-volume Loeb edition of Early Greek Philosophy includes the so-called sophists Protagoras, Gorgias, Prodicus, Thrasymachus, and Hippias, along with testimonia relating to the life, views, and argumentative style of Socrates.Trade ReviewIn brief, André Laks and Glenn Most give us a brilliant and beautiful reference work that can, at the same time, be easily enough read straight through. And spending a few months doing so gives the reader almost all that she needs (perhaps along with Loeb #258, Greek Elegiac Poetry) to reconstruct for herself the origins of the discipline of philosophy. I should want any graduate student or colleague in ancient philosophy or intellectual history to acquire and make their way through it. -- Christopher Moore * Classical Journal *The publication of the Loeb Classical Library’s nine-volume set, Early Greek Philosophy, gives us a new edition of the original texts, with fresh translations. It is a monumental achievement—the result of many years of dedicated work on the part of the two editors/translators André Laks and Glenn W. Most… We owe a profound debt of gratitude to the editors/translators for their thorough and impeccable scholarship, and to the publishers for their usual high standards of production. If you can afford them, don’t hesitate: you will be all the richer for having these volumes on your shelves. -- Jeremy Naydler * Minerva *André Laks and Glenn W. Most have made available to the world of scholarship in early Greek philosophy a resource of immense value. Every study of a thinker or of an issue within the thematic ambit of Early Greek Philosophy must henceforth start by canvassing and taking into account the appropriate selections in the Loeb set. -- Alexander P. D. Mourelatos * Bryn Mawr Classical Review *The publication of a Loeb Classical Library edition of the evidence for early Greek philosophy is a major event in classical scholarship…The editors and their assistants are to be commended for their exemplary execution of such a vast and difficult task. They have succeeded in producing what is far and away the best available edition of the texts of the early Greek philosophers with accompanying English translation…More than that, their edition effectively supersedes Hermann Diels and Walter Kranz’s Die Fragmente der Vorsokratiker, which has long held sway as the standard edition of the Presocratics, but it only does so because Laks and Most have respectfully taken Diels-Kranz as their model…Laks and Most have set such a high standard with this work that it is hard to imagine that we will see a better general collection on early Greek philosophy in our lifetimes…Laks and Most’s philological acumen, judiciousness as editors, and excellence as translators is evident on every page. -- John Palmer * Arion *
£23.70
C Hurst & Co Publishers Ltd Croatia: A History
Book SynopsisWhen the Roman Empire split in the 4th century AD into the Western and Eastern empires, the boundary between the two stretched from the Montenegrin coast up the river Drina to the confluence of the Slava and the Danube and then further north. This boundary has remained virtually unchanged for 1500 years: the European, Catholic west and the Orthodox east meet on Slav territory. With Croatia having become an independent state in the 1990s, this text traces the history of the region and its people. It is divided into major sections on: the early medieval Croatian state (until 1101); the periods of union with Hungary (1102-1526) and with Austria (1526-1918); incorporation in Yugoslavia (1918-91); and the creation of a sovereign state.
£18.99
Little, Brown Book Group The Day Of Battle
Book SynopsisIn An Army at Dawn - winner of the Pulitzer Prize - Rick Atkinson provided a dramatic and authoritative history of the Allied triumph in North Africa. Now, in The Day of the Battle, he follows the strengthening American and British armies as they invade Sicily in July 1943 and then, mile by bloody mile, fight their way north.The Italian campaign''s outcome was never certain; in fact, Roosevelt, Churchill and their military advisors engaged in heated debate about whether an invasion of the so-called soft underbelly of Europe was even a good idea. But once underway, the commitment to liberate Italy from the Nazis never wavered, despite the agonizingly high price. The battles at Salerno, Anzio, and Monte Cassino were particularly difficult and lethal, yet as the months passed, the Allied forces continued to push the Germans up the Italian peninsula. And with the liberation of Rome in June 1944, ultimate victory at last began to seem inevitable.Drawing on a
£15.29
Orion Publishing Co Napoleon
Book SynopsisA short and vivid biography, which deconstructs the Napoleonic myth and reveals the reality of his rule.'Written with his customary verve and certainty' Andrew Roberts, SUNDAY TELEGRAPHWritten with great wit and panache, this biography also has a serious purpose: to make us face up to the moral bankruptcy of Napoleon's dictatorship. Johnson tells the whole story: his astonishing gift for battle tactics and his complete control of propaganda. His audacious, hyperactive and aggressive leadership alongside his failure as an international statesman, as Europe grew to hate him. His marshals and ministers; his wives, mistresses. The mistakes he made; the escape from Elba, and the world-changing events leading up to Waterloo and the battle itself. This riveting account is a fascinating look at one of the most notorious military leaders of all time.Trade ReviewIt is lucidly written, and enlivened by personal details and well-chosen quotations -- William Doyle * TLS *Written with his customary verve and certainty -- Andrew Roberts * SUNDAY TELEGRAPH *Thoughtful and incisive * INDEPENDENT *
£9.99
Vintage Publishing A History of Britain - Volume 1: At the Edge of
Book SynopsisChange - sometimes gentle and subtle, sometimes shocking and violent - is the dynamic of Simon Schama's unapologetically personal and grippingly written history of Britain, especially the changes that wash over custom and habit, transforming our loyalties. What makes or breaks a nation? To whom do we give our allegiance and why? And where do the boundaries of our community lie - in our hearth and home, our village or city, tribe or faith? What is Britain - one country or many? Has British history unfolded 'at the edge of the world' or right at the heart of it?Schama delivers these themes in a form that is at once traditional and excitingly fresh. The great and the wicked are here - Becket and Thomas Cromwell, Robert the Bruce and Anne Boleyn - but so are countless more ordinary lives: an Irish monk waiting for the plague to kill him in his cell at Kilkenny; a small boy running through the streets of London to catch a glimpse of Elizabeth I. The first in a series, this volume paints a rich and vivid portrait of the life of the British people and their nation.Trade ReviewAn exciting, intensely seductive presentation of history. * Independent *He remains a master storyteller, admirably and sceptically well read in current revisionist histories, and a wonderful guide to a new history of Britain. * The Times *A History of Britain, its text supplemented by wonderful illustrations, affords the rare joy of witnessing a scholar at the peak of his powers convincing the reader that he has a cracking good tale to tell and that he is loving every minute of the telling. * Literary Review *Simon Schama's A History of Britain is far more than the book of the TV series... The book is far richer and fuller, covering a huge span so economically that there is room for plenty of arresting detail... It is the sort of vivid history that keeps you awake. * Daily Mail *Remarkably vivid pictures... A decade on, Schama's study remains a terrific read. -- Paul Lay * History Today *
£24.00
HarperCollins Publishers The Five Giants
Book SynopsisAn accessible and entertaining narrative history of the establishment, development and unravelling of the British Welfare State now fully revised to cover Blair's first term. Lively writing in the style of Peter Hennessy.Giant Want. Giant Disease. Giant Ignorance. Giant Squalor. And the insidious Giant Idleness, which destroys wealth and corrupts men. These were evils to be vanquished by the postwar reconstruction of Britain. Timmins' book recaptures brilliantly the high hopes of the period in which the Welfare State began to be created, and conveys the cranky zeal of its inventor, William Beveridge. The onslaught on the five Giants was the work of five gargantuan programmes that made up the core of Beveridge's Welfare State. These were social security, health, education, housing and a policy of full employment. It is notoriously difficult to write about such subjects and keep the reader reading, but Timmins performs wonders of narrative clarity, anecdote and human detail in a book thTrade Review‘A splendid book – knowledgeable, readable and fair.’ Sunday Telegraph ‘A tour de force – thoroughly researched and vividly written…a masterpiece.’ Sunday Times ‘Extraordinarily comprehensive without ever being incomprehensible.’ Roy Hattersley, Independent
£14.39
Wordwell Boyne and Beyond: Essays in appreciation of
Book Synopsis
£16.99
Oxford University Press The Islandman
Book SynopsisTomas O''Crohan was born on the Great Blasket Island in 1865 and died there in 1937, a great master of his native Irish. He shared to the full the perilous life of a primitive community, yet possessed a shrewd and humorous detachment that enabled him to observe and describe the world. His book is a valuable description of a new vanished way of life; his sole purpose in writing it was in his own words, ''to set down the character of the people about me so that some record of us might live after us, for the like of us will never be again''. The Blasket Islands are three miles off Irelands Dingle Peninsula. Until their evacuation just after the Second World War, the lives of the 150 or so Blasket Islanders had remained unchanged for centuries. A rich oral tradition of story-telling, poetry, and folktales kept alive the legends and history of the islands, and has made their literature famous throughout the world. The 7 Blasket Island books published by OUP contain memoirs and reminiscences from within this literary tradition, evoking a way of life which has now vanished.Trade ReviewPart of a unique and remarkable Irish literary archive ... compelling. * Neil Johnston, Belfast Telegraph, 24/6/00 *
£999.99
Penguin Books Ltd Elizabeth
Book SynopsisHistory has pictured Elizabeth I as Gloriana, an icon of strength and power -- and has focused on the early years of her reign. But in 1583, when Elizabeth is fifty, there is relentless plotting among her courtiers -- and still to come is the Spanish Armada and the execution of Mary, Queen of Scots. We have not, until now, had the full picture.This gripping and vivid portrait of her life and times -- often told in her own words (and including details such as her love of chess and marzipan) -- reveals a woman who was insecure, human (''You know I am no morning woman''), and unpopular even with the men who fought for her. This is the real Elizabeth, for the first time.Trade ReviewA beautifully rounded portrait of both the woman and the queen . . . This is a masterful biography. -- Amanda ForemanA gripping story of Queen Elizabeth's last years, authoritatively researched and engagingly recounted by the leading Tudor historian of our age -- James Shapiro, author of 1599 and 1606One of the very best historians we have in the country . . . It is brilliant, vigorous history, and a triumph of storytelling and scholarship -- Jessie Childs * Telegraph *Guy's careful work with documents known and unknown, scattered throughout Europe's archives, allows him to paint a novel portrait of a complex - maybe even unknowable - queen -- John Gallagher * Guardian *The best biography ever written of the Virgin Queen - a revisionist, sensitive, compelling, majestic masterwork that you can't put down -- Simon Sebag-Montefiore * Evening Standard *A gripping story of Queen Elizabeth's last years, authoritatively researched and engagingly recounted by the leading Tudor historian of our age. It will be of special interest to anyone interested in the political world in which Shakespeare's Elizabethan drama is steeped-from anxiety over royal succession to England's costly war in Ireland -- James Shapiro, author of 1599 and 1606John Guy's Elizabeth presents a beautifully rounded portrait of both the woman and the queen. Thanks to Guy's prodigious use of previously untapped material, we see, for the very first time, the full panoply of ambition and insecurity, plotting and deceit that marked the middle years of her reign. This is a masterful biography. -- Amanda ForemanAs you'd expect from John Guy, this is a very good read, a vivid and fascinating warts-and-all portrait of the ageing Elizabeth, backed by meticulous research -- Claire TomalinOne of the very best historians we have in the country. Guy is in his element prising off the myths that are barnacled to the queen. It is brilliant, vigorous history, and a triumph of storytelling and scholarship -- Jessie Childs * Telegraph *John Guy is arguably the world's leading expert on Tudor history. When he writes a book, especially this, his first on Elizabeth's life, it should be taken very seriously as having something new to say, and so it does ... a wonderful book and a magisterial account of the latter half of Elizabeth's reign that calmly reassesses every claim and myth by simply reading all the original manuscript correspondence. The result puts the record straight, but it also allows Guy to produce a pacy and compelling story -- Jerry Brotton * Sunday Times *Guy pored through 250,000 manuscripts in his quest to understand the ageing Elizabeth. Intimidated by that mountain of parchment, most historians have tended to recycle the myths of Gloriana and Good Queen Bess. Not Guy. Guy is no ordinary historian. Few can match his ruthless obsession for accuracy. Between every line comes whispered reassurance: "You can trust me; I touched those documents." Guy the scholar melds perfectly with Guy the storyteller. Small tales are used to illustrate big issues. Under the weight of Guy's scrutiny, familiar myths crumble. The weight of evidence suggests that he understands Elizabeth better than any historian has -- Gerald DeGroot * Book of the Week, The Times *[A] most excellent biography. It puts a cruel but clarifying lends on the vain monarch's twilight years. She has never been more exposed than in Guy's tome. A contender for history book of the year -- John Lewis-Stempel * Sunday Express *What emerges from the author's great efforts to mine the archives for a truer picture is a more flawed Elizabeth - but perhaps a more human one * The Economist *John Guy, as eminent a Tudor historian as they come, has set himself the explicit task of correcting Strachey's colourful narrative of Elizabeth's old age. The result is 400 pages of outstandingly documented scholarly detail ... scholarship that should earn the respect of popular and expert reader alike -- Kate Maltby * Spectator *Superb ... John Guy persuades us that pretty much everything we think we know about Elizabeth is wrong -- Andrew Roberts * Wall Street Journal *There is a lot to like about this book. Energetic [in] tone... Guy is a lively guide ... Guy is especially good when describing the political machinations of Burghley and Walsingham ... [and] Guy gives us a clean sense of a man [the Earl of Essex] who was brilliant, vain, petulant and self-serving in equal measure * History Today *Enthralling... the book is also beautifully illustrated * Editor's Choice, The Bookseller *Guy is exceptionally good on how various myths took root -- Craig Brown * Mail on Sunday *Outstanding. This page-turning book is history, biography, scholarship personified, and a crystal-clear look at Elizabeth in the war years that erases the myths and presents the real woman. Absolutely one of the best biographies of Elizabeth ever * Kirkus (starred review) *With the remarkable advantage of access to long-buried and misfiled primary sources [...] the aging monarch receives a balanced treatment. [Gives] readers a fuller view of the confident, experienced, and adaptable queen * Publishers Weekly *The dean of living Tudor-era historians * Christian Science Monitor *Meticulously researched and highly readable revisionist biography. Recommended for lovers of British history and feminist biography * Library Journal *A fresh, thrilling portrait -- Stacy Schiff * New York Times *Oft portrayed as fierce, this reveals an Elizabeth I who is in fact fallible and insecure * New Day *Significant, forensic and myth-busting, John Guy inspires total confidence in a narrative which is at once pacy and rich in detail -- Anna Whitelock * Times Literary Supplement *The brilliance of Elizabeth: The Forgotten Years lies in the energy of its narrative, as well as in Guy's eye and ear for scene and conversation. To interweave all of this with the life of the queen is a formidable achievement. He has captured the complexity of contemporary politics. ... Most striking is Guy's portrait of Elizabeth -- Stephen Alford * London Review of Books *
£11.69
Harvard University Press Roman History Volume III Books 3640 Trans. Cary
Book SynopsisDio Cassius (Cassius Dio), ca. AD 150–235, was born in Bithynia. Dio’s work is a vital source for the last years of the Roman republic and the first four Roman emperors.
£23.70
Ebury Publishing Terry Jones Barbarians
Book SynopsisTerry Jones'' Barbarians takes a completely fresh approach to Roman history. Not only does it offer us the chance to see the Romans from a non-Roman perspective, it also reveals that most of those written off by the Romans as uncivilized, savage and barbaric were in fact organized, motivated and intelligent groups of people, with no intentions of overthrowing Rome and plundering its Empire. This original and fascinating study does away with the propaganda and opens our eyes to who really established the civilized world. Delving deep into history, Terry Jones and Alan Ereira uncover the impressive cultural and technological achievements of the Celts, Goths, Persians and Vandals. In this paperback edition, Terry and Alan travel through 700 years of history on three continents, bringing wit, irreverence, passion and scholarship to transform our view of the legacy of the Roman Empire and the creation of the modern world.Trade ReviewI have enormously enjoyed this book - it is very lively and really does get to grips with perceptions of the Barbarians. It's just what we need to readdress the balance and to put the Romans in their correct perspective. -- Barry Cunliffe, Professor of European Archaeology, University of OxfordJones laces the latest academic research with his own increasingly avuncular humour. Who says history can't be fun? In the hands of Professor Jones, how could it be anything else? -- ObserverI wish all historical books written by non-historians were so informed, and all books by historians so well written. -- Dr Walter Pohl, Head of the Institute for Medieval History Research, Vienna Academy of Sciences
£15.29
Taylor & Francis The British And The Grand Tour Routledge Revivals
Book SynopsisFirst published in 1985, this is a scholarly analysis of the Grand Tour, undertaken by young men in the eighteenth century to complete their education - a tour usually to France, Italy and Switzerland, and sometimes encompassing Germany.Table of Contents1. Numbers, Routes and Destinations 2. Transport 3. Accomodation, Food and Drink 4. War, Disputes, Accidents and Crime 5. Love, Sex, Gambling and Drinking 6. Health and Death 7. Cost and Finance 8. Social and Political Reflections 9. Religion 10. The Arts 11. The Debate over the Grand Tour: Conclusions
£43.99
Oxford University Press The Dawn of the Roman Empire
Book SynopsisBooks 31 to 40 of Livy's history chart Rome's emergence as an imperial nation and the Romans tempestuous involvement with Greece, Macedonia and the near East in the opening decades of the second century BC; they are our most important source for Graeco-Roman relations in that century. Livy's dramatic narrative includes the Roman campaigns in Spain and against the Gallic tribes of Northern Italy; the flight of Hannibal from Carthage and his death in the East; thedebate on the Oppian law; and the Bacchanalian Episode.Trade ReviewAltogether [Yardley and Heckel] have combined their efforts to produce an exemplary volume which, as the only modern unabridged English translation of Livy 31-40, will do much to promote a renewed interest in this decade of Livy among both students and scholars. * John Jacobs, Bryn Mawr Classical Review *
£12.34
Penguin Books Ltd Masters and Commanders
Book SynopsisAndrew Roberts''s Masters and Commanders: The Military Geniuses who led the West to Victory in WWII tells the story of how four great leaders fought each other over how best to fight Hitler. During the Second World War the master strategy of the West was shaped by four titanic figures: Winston Churchill and Franklin Roosevelt, and their respective military commanders - General Sir Alan Brooke and General George C. Marshall. Each man was tough-willed and strong minded. And each was certain he knew best how to achieve victory. Drawing on previously unpublished material, including for the first time verbatim reports of Churchill''s War Cabinet meetings, Andrew Roberts''s acclaimed history recreates with vivid immediacy the fiery debates and political maneuverings, the rebuffs and the charm, the explosive rows and dramatic reconciliations, as the masters and commanders of the Western Alliance fought each other over the best way to fight Adolf Hitler. Trade Review'This is an important book which ! sees Mr Roberts lay claim to the title of Britain's finest contemporary military historian' Economist 'A masterpiece of robust historical analysis, steeped in scholarship and alive to every nuance of personality' Daily Express 'His interpretation of British/US strategic relations is unlikely to be superseded' - Vernon Bogdanor, Financial Times
£19.55
Schiffer Publishing Ltd Tupolev Tuâ144
Book Synopsis
£43.99
Five Leaves Publications Curious Camden Town
Book SynopsisPlenty of people think they know Camden ... but what about the spiritualist temple that Sherlock Holmes helped build or the folk dance revival that started in a Camden Hay Market or the site of the Camden Town Murder? Camden might have the best eels and mash shop in North London but it was also the home of a local priest who was deported as a political undesirable and of a Black revolutionary who was known all over the world. Curious Camden Town explores thirty or so locations across this lively locality and brings to life the remarkable stories attached to them.
£9.99
Gill The Pocket Book of Great Irish Speeches Inspiring
Book SynopsisSome of the finest speeches ever made have been spoken in Ireland. This book highlights 45 eminent and influential speeches, from Robert Emmet''s defiant speech from the dock on the eve of his execution, to Panti Bliss''s passionate 21st century oratory in support of gay marriage in Ireland. With a short biography of each speaker and highlights of their selected speech, this book features some of Ireland''s most inspiring and evocative speakers, from politics to the arts.
£6.99
John Murray Press Spitfire Portrait of a Legend
Book SynopsisIn June 1940, the German Army had brought the rest of Europe to its knees. ''Hitler knows that he will have to break us in this island or lose the war. If we can stand up to him, all Europe may be free and the life of the world will move forward into broad, sunlit uplands,'' said Churchill. The future of Europe depended on Britain. A self-confident Herman Göring thought that it would be only a matter of weeks before his planes had forced Britain to surrender. The courage, resourcefulness and brilliant organisation of the RAF were to prove him wrong. By late September 1940, the RAF had proved invincible, thanks to the Vickers Supermarine Spitfire. It exceeded anything that any other air force possessed. RJ Mitchell, a shy and almost painfully modest engineer, was the genius behind the Spitfire. On the 5th March 1936, following its successful maiden flight, a legend was born. Prize-winning historian Leo McKinstry''s vivid history of the Spitfire brings together a rich Trade ReviewPraise for ROSEBERY: * . *Stunning ... As well as being meticulously researched, it is beautifully written and has tremendous pace * Literary Review *Absorbing ... McKinstry has here proved himself to be a first-class historical biographer * Mail on Sunday *With masterly skill and sympathy, Leo McKinstry resurrects him as the Hamlet of late Victorian England * Daily Mail *An authoritative and original biography which is also a riveting read' * Spectator *Superbly well-researched and well-written ... A truly first-class addition to the genre of Prime Ministerial biography * Sunday Telegraph *'An absolutely wonderful biography ... gripping and entertaining' * Evening Standard *'A first class biography, scholarly, judicious and always interesting' * Glasgow Herald *'Remarkable' * Country Life *'Judicious, well-researched and engrossing' * Sunday Times *'This is undoubtably the definitive biography of Rosebery. Written with elegance, clarity and well-judged colour' * Jonathan Parry, Times Literary Supplement *'It does a wonderful job of conjuring up the lost world of late Victorian politics' * Dominic Sandbrook, Daily Telegraph *'Admirable biography of a paradoxical figure whose tenure at No 10 was a disaster' * Jeremy Lewis, Sunday Times *
£12.34
Manchester University Press Martial Races
Book SynopsisThis book provides an exploration of how and why Scottish Highlanders, Punjabi Sikhs and Nepalese Gurkhas became linked as the British Empire's fiercest, most manly soldiers in nineteenth century discourses of martial races.' -- .Trade ReviewAn excellent book, lucid and fluent throughout. An impressive contribution to the history of military thought and an original addition to imperial studies -- .Table of ContentsIntroduction1. The transformation of the British and Indian Armies in the Rebellion of 18572. ‘Side by side in generous rivalry’: Highlanders, Sikhs and Gurkhas in the Rebellion3. A ‘question on which the safety of the Empire depends’: the European threat, recruiting, and the development of martial race ideology after 18704. ‘A power which a man should try to manage for himself’: military influence and martial race discourse in British popular culture5. Martial races: the Inter-imperial uses of a racially gendered language6. Representation versus experience: life as a martial race soldierConclusionBibliographyIndex
£23.84
Loeb Civil War
Book SynopsisCivil War provides a vigorous, direct, clear, third-personal, impassioned account of Caesar’s campaigns during the civil war of 49–48 BC, drawn from his three books of commentarii.
£23.70
Harvard University Press Early Greek Philosophy Volume V
Book SynopsisVolume V of the nine-volume Loeb edition of Early Greek Philosophy includes the western Greek thinkers Parmenides, Zeno, Melissus, Empedocles, Alcmaeon, and Hippo.Trade ReviewIn brief, André Laks and Glenn Most give us a brilliant and beautiful reference work that can, at the same time, be easily enough read straight through. And spending a few months doing so gives the reader almost all that she needs (perhaps along with Loeb #258, Greek Elegiac Poetry) to reconstruct for herself the origins of the discipline of philosophy. I should want any graduate student or colleague in ancient philosophy or intellectual history to acquire and make their way through it. -- Christopher Moore * Classical Journal *The publication of the Loeb Classical Library’s nine-volume set, Early Greek Philosophy, gives us a new edition of the original texts, with fresh translations. It is a monumental achievement—the result of many years of dedicated work on the part of the two editors/translators André Laks and Glenn W. Most… We owe a profound debt of gratitude to the editors/translators for their thorough and impeccable scholarship, and to the publishers for their usual high standards of production. If you can afford them, don’t hesitate: you will be all the richer for having these volumes on your shelves. -- Jeremy Naydler * Minerva *André Laks and Glenn W. Most have made available to the world of scholarship in early Greek philosophy a resource of immense value. Every study of a thinker or of an issue within the thematic ambit of Early Greek Philosophy must henceforth start by canvassing and taking into account the appropriate selections in the Loeb set. -- Alexander P. D. Mourelatos * Bryn Mawr Classical Review *The publication of a Loeb Classical Library edition of the evidence for early Greek philosophy is a major event in classical scholarship…The editors and their assistants are to be commended for their exemplary execution of such a vast and difficult task. They have succeeded in producing what is far and away the best available edition of the texts of the early Greek philosophers with accompanying English translation…More than that, their edition effectively supersedes Hermann Diels and Walter Kranz’s Die Fragmente der Vorsokratiker, which has long held sway as the standard edition of the Presocratics, but it only does so because Laks and Most have respectfully taken Diels-Kranz as their model…Laks and Most have set such a high standard with this work that it is hard to imagine that we will see a better general collection on early Greek philosophy in our lifetimes…Laks and Most’s philological acumen, judiciousness as editors, and excellence as translators is evident on every page. -- John Palmer * Arion *
£23.70
Pan Macmillan The King's Assassin: The Fatal Affair of George
Book SynopsisNow a major TV series starring Julianne Moore and Nicholas GalitzineThe rise of George Villiers from minor gentry to royal power seemed to defy gravity. Becoming gentleman of the royal bedchamber in 1615, the young gallant enraptured James, Britain’s first Stuart king, royal adoration reaching such an intensity that the king declared he wanted the courtier to become his ‘wife’. For a decade, Villiers was at the king’s side – at court, on state occasions and in bed, right up to James’s death in March 1625.Almost immediately, Villiers’ many enemies accused him of poisoning the king. A parliamentary investigation was launched, and scurrilous pamphlets and ballads circulated London’s streets. But the charges came to nothing, and were relegated to a historical footnote.Now, new historical scholarship suggests that a deadly combination of hubris and vulnerability did indeed drive Villiers to kill the man who made him. It may have been by accident – the application of a quack remedy while the king was weakened by a malarial attack. But there is compelling evidence that Villiers, overcome by ambition and frustrated by James’s passive approach to government, poisoned him.In The King’s Assassin, acclaimed author Benjamin Wooley examines this remarkable, even tragic story. Combining vivid characterization and a strong narrative with historical scholarship and forensic investigation, Woolley tells the story of King James’s death, and of the captivating figure at its centre. What emerges is a compelling portrait of a royal favourite whose charisma overwhelmed those around him and, ultimately, himself.Trade ReviewColourful * The Times *A fascinating portrait of a flawed and complex man, demonstrating how Buckingham achieved greatness but lacked the substance to retain it. It is an utterly gripping read, vivid with incidental detail and dark Jacobean politics, that offers a ringside seat for the spectacle of a powerful man, very publicly, sowing the seeds of his owndemise . . . I devoured it. -- Elizabeth Fremantle, author of Queen’s Gambit and The Girl in the Glass Tower
£13.49
Hackett Publishing Co, Inc Poems and Fragments
Book Synopsis Little remains today of the writings of the archaic Greek poet Sappho (fl. late 7th and early 6th centuries B.C.E.), whose work is said to have filled nine papyrus rolls in the great library at Alexandria some 500 years after her death. The surviving texts consist of a lamentably small and fragmented body of lyric poetry--among them, poems of invocation, desire, spite, celebration, resignation, and remembrance--that nevertheless enables us to hear the living voice of the poet Plato called the tenth Muse. Stanley Lombardo''s translations give us a virtuoso embodiment of Sappho''s voice, whose telltale charm, authority, immediacy, directness, intensity, and sudden changes of tone are among the hallmarks of his masterly translation. Pamela Gordon introduces us to the world of Sappho, discusses questions surrounding the transmission of her manuscripts, offers advice on reading these texts, and concludes with an enlightening discussion of same-sex desire in Sappho. Trade ReviewThe four sections of this book [Introduction, Translator's Note, translations, Notes on Ancient Sources] work remarkably well together, presenting the fragments of Sappho according to 'the idea of the isolated message' (xvii). The dominant and characteristic interest shared by both Lombardo as translator and Gordon as introducer is their concerted effort to validate 'fragments as esthetic wholes' (xxvi). Lombardo's translations are pleasantly distinct from those of any other I am aware of both for their sonorous but straightforward rendering in modern spoken American English . . . [an edition] better both for its clear translations, and for the breadth and depth of the critical Introduction. Lombardo's strategy as translator is to convey not only the Greek by means of English, but also the experience of reading 'Sappho as a pure, received text' (xxvi) by means of direct, plain presentation of the poem . . . A unique and welcome contribution to the diversity of English translations available. --Travis Feldman, The Bryn Mawr Classical Review I have long been an admirer of Stanley Lombardo's translations of Homer, and I was curious to see how he would adapt his fast-paced, lively style to Sappho. He has succeeded admirably. His translation of 73 poems of Sappho is clear, energetic, and close to the Greek. Pamela Gordon's Introduction gives a lucid and useful guide for the non-specialist to the last fifty years of scholarly debate on Sappho. This edition will be particularly useful for instructors of courses in translation seeking an introduction to Sappho for the Greekless student. It is also a pleasure to read. --Laurel Bowman, The Classical Bulletin Gordon's Introduction is a clear summation of the poetic and scholarly aura surrounding the figure of Sappho and these literary fragments. . . . This essay, complete with selective bibliography at the end, could be assigned to undergraduates as a first introduction to both the poetry and the phenomenon of Sappho. . . . Lombardo's translations are lively and accessible; Sappho lives anew for the English reader. . . . Ideal for teaching at the undergraduate level. --Cashman Kerr Prince, New England Classical Journal
£12.34
Birlinn General The Truth About St. Kilda: An Islander's Memoir
Book SynopsisThe Truth about St Kilda is a unique record of the isolated way of life on St Kilda in the early part of the twentieth century, based on seven handwritten notebooks written by the Rev. Donald Gillies, containing reminiscences of his childhood on the island of Hirta. It provides a first-hand account of the living conditions, social structure and economy of the community in the early 1900s, before the evacuation of the remaining residents in 1930. The memoirs describe in some detail the St Kildans' way of life, including religious life and the islanders' diet. The puritanical form of religion practised on St Kilda has often been interpreted by outsiders as austere and draconian, but Gillies' account of the islanders' religious practices makes clear the important role that these had in reinforcing the spiritual stamina of the community. This book is a lasting tribute to the adaptability and courage of a small Gaelic-speaking society which endured through two millennia on a remote cluster of islands, until its way of life could no longer be sustained.Trade Review'a remarkable document' * The Herald *
£9.99
Bloomsbury Publishing PLC Hitlers Eastern Legions 194245
Book SynopsisThis illustrated study details the organization, battle orders, combat history, uniforms, and insignia of the World War II units recruited by Nazi Germany from ethnic minorities in the USSR.Between 194145, the Germans recruited around 175,000 men from a number of minorities in the USSR, distinguishing between Turkomans (predominantly Muslims) and Caucasians (predominantly Orthodox Christians). Of these, many formed rear-area auxiliary units, but at least 55,000 were combat troops. The first recruits formed two battalions in the 444th Security Division raised as early as November 1941; during 194243 seven legions were formed, each of several battalions, eventually totaling some 53 battalions (equivalent to about 6 full divisions). However, with one exception (162nd Turkoman Division), they were not deployed as whole formations; after training in Poland, individual battalions were posted to fill out German regiments in the front lines, at first in Army Group South but lTable of ContentsIntroduction German Intelligence in the Caucasus The Eastern Legions: Overview Uniforms & Insignia: Overview The Eastern Legions: Profiles Campaign Deployments Crimean Tatar Forces Kalmyk Forces Select Bibliography Charts Index
£13.49
C Hurst & Co Publishers Ltd Anglo-India and the End of Empire
Book SynopsisThe standard image of the Raj is of an aloof, pampered and prejudiced British elite lording it over an oppressed and hostile Indian subject population. Like most caricatures, this obscures as much truth as it reveals. The British had not always been so aloof. The earlier, more cosmopolitan period of East India Company rule saw abundant 'interracial' sex and occasional marriage, alongside greater cultural openness and exchange. The result was a large and growing 'mixed-race' community, known by the early twentieth century as Anglo-Indians. Notwithstanding its faults, Empire could never have been maintained without the active, sometimes enthusiastic, support of many colonial subjects. These included Indian elites, professionals, civil servants, businesspeople and minority groups of all kinds, who flourished under the patronage of the imperial state, and could be used in a 'divide and rule' strategy to prolong colonial rule. Independence was profoundly unsettling to those destined to become minorities in the new nation, and the Anglo-Indians were no exception. This refreshing account looks at the dramatic end of British rule in India through Anglo-Indian eyes, a perspective that is neither colonial apologia nor nationalist polemic. Its history resonates strikingly with the complex identity debates of the twenty-first century.Trade Review‘Essential reading for people interested in issues of colour and race, of passing, and of comparisons between US history and mixed-race history in other settings, it also enlarges the conversation about colonialism and empire.’ -- Digital Journal‘Uther Charlton-Stevens’ new book is a vivid and stimulating account of the British empire’s dramatic disintegration viewed through the complex perspectives of the Anglo-Indian community.’ -- International Journal of Anglo-Indian Studies'[An] excellent and detailed study.' -- Gibraltar Chronicle‘A significant and multi-faceted masterpiece within the realm of Indian history.’ -- International Journal of Asian Studies'Uther Charlton-Stevens describes in unparalleled detail the political and social circumstances of the Anglo-Indian community in India. An innovative, informative and distinctive work.' -- David Arnold, Emeritus Professor of History, University of Warwick, and author of Pandemic India'A significant contribution to the extensive and growing body of historical literature about the late British Raj period.' -- Michael H. Fisher, Robert S. Danforth Professor of History, Emeritus, Oberlin College, and author of Counterflows to Colonialism: Indian Travellers and Settlers in Britain 1600–1857'As this ambiguous, hybrid Anglo-Indian identity is stretched to breaking point, we get a valuable insight, available from no other position, into what was at stake in the racial categories of the Empire. Original, fascinating and gripping.' -- Benjamin Kingsbury, author of An Imperial Disaster: The Bengal Cyclone of 1876
£23.75
The Historic Towns Trust An Historical Map of Oxford From Medieval to
Book Synopsis
£9.49
Helion & Company Never Ready: Nato'S Flexible Response Strategy,
Book Synopsis
£16.96
Pen & Sword Books Ltd Founder Fighter Saxon Queen
Book SynopsisA lively and illuminating biography of England's founding mother'.
£13.49
Oxford University Press One Hundred Letters From Hugh TrevorRoper
Book SynopsisA carefully chosen selection from the correspondence of Hugh Trevor-Roper, one of the most gifted and famous historians of his generation and one of the finest letter-writers of the twentieth centuryTrade ReviewHugh Trevor-Roper was probably the greatest letter writer of what Noel Annan called 'our age', corresponding with almost anybody who was anybody, and in a style that was both inimitable and incomparable. This latest anthology is by turns memorable, fascinating, wicked and malicious, and impossible to put down. * Sir David Cannadine *A superb selection ... The book makes a hugely entertaining volume ... it should be treated as a salient part of [Trevor-Ropers'] oeuvre. * Paul Johnson, Standpoint *100 letters that show this brilliant, difficult man in a new light ... The many Trevor-Ropers of this collection ... together make a complex but fascinating creature ... ' * John Gallagher, Sunday Telegraph *A splendid introduction to this delightful, funny, ebullient and relentless person ... The present volume is beautifully produced and the selection from the voluminous correspondence is particularly well judged. * John Banville, The Guardian *Beguiling ... This volume isn't peripheral, but central to a career of fluctuating accomplishment ... Tom Sharpe's Porterhouse Blue couldn't have blended sugar and acid more silkily. * Peter Preston, The Observer *The quality of the prose is so sparkling, the wit is so sharp, and the Enlightenment standpoint so carefully nourished, that the book serves not only as entertainment, but as a manifesto for the intellectual values that were Hugh Trevor-Roper's lodestar. * A.N Wilson, Times Literary Supplement *What better way to celebrate the centenary of Trevor-Roper's birth than to treat the reading public to a hundred of his letters? ... Collected by two editors who really know the territory and who really understand the ethos of the period, Hugh Trevor-Roper's letters are a marvellous evocation of a world now completely vanished. * Leslie Mitchell, Literary Review *Trevor-Roper was ... one of the great prose stylists of our times ... and in this magnificent collection of letters dating from the war years until shortly before his death in 2003, he lays into "impertinent adversaries" with wit and gusto ... He would have been delighted to know that his letters ... have been impeccably edited. * Jeremy Lewis, The Oldie *A masterly editorial touch ... [the editors have] succeeded both in choosing letters of the highest standard and in creating what amounts to a supplementary biography, enhanced by vital, Gibbonian footnotes ... [Trevor-Roper] would surely be delighted that the last ten years have already produced a fruitful harvest of posthumous books, to which these Hundred Letters are both a stylish addition and an admirable tribute to his hundredth birthday. * John Saumarez Smith, Country Life *This is a significant reference work without many, if any, serious competitors for both scope and content. Any libraries supporting a literature collection need to update their reference holdings by including this Companion. * Reference Reviews *Table of ContentsList of Illustrations Introduction Prefatory Note The Letters Index
£17.99
Oxford University Press A History of the Irish Language
Book SynopsisIn this book, Aidan Doyle traces the history of the Irish language from the time of the Norman invasion at the end of the 12th century to independence in 1922, combining political, cultural, and linguistic history. The book is divided into seven main chapters that focus on a specific period in the history of the language; they each begin with a discussion of the external history and position of the Irish language in the period, before moving on to investigate the important internal changes that took place at that time. A History of the Irish Language makes available for the first time material that has previously been inaccessible to students and scholars who cannot read Irish, and will be a valuable resource not only for undergraduate students of the language, but for all those interested in Irish history and culture.Trade Reviewthe historiography of the Irish language is vibrant at the moment, and Aidan Doyle has made a very constructive contribution to it. * Niall Ó Ciosáin, Historical Sociolinguistics *Table of Contents1. Introduction ; 2. The Anglo-Normans and their heritage (1200-1500) ; 3. The Tudors (1500-1600) ; 4. The Stuarts (1600-1700) ; 5. Two Irelands, two languages (1700-1800) ; 6. A new language for a new nation (1800-1870) ; 7. Revival (1870-1922) ; 8. The modernization of Irish (1870-1922) ; 9. Conclusion ; Glossary ; References ; Index
£25.99
Oxford University Press Alexander the Great
Book SynopsisAlexander the Great became king of Macedon in 336 BC, when he was only 20 years old, and died at the age of 32, twelve years later. During his reign he conquered the Achaemenid Persian Empire, the largest empire that had ever existed, leading his army from Greece to Pakistan, and from the Libyan desert to the steppes of Central Asia. His meteoric career, as leader of an alliance of Greek cities, Pharaoh of Egypt, and King of Persia, had a profound effect on the world he moved through. Even in his lifetime his achievements became legendary and in the centuries that following his story was told and retold throughout Europe and the East. Greek became the language of power in the Eastern Mediterranean and much of the Near East, as powerful Macedonian dynasts carved up Alexander''s empire into kingdoms of their own, underlaying the flourishing Hellenistic civilization that emerged after his death. But what do we really know about Alexander? In this Very Short Introduction, Hugh Bowden goes behind the usual historical accounts of Alexander''s life and career. Instead, he focuses on the evidence from Alexander''s own time -- letters from officials in Afghanistan, Babylonian diaries, records from Egyptian temples -- to try and understand how Alexander appeared to those who encountered him. In doing so he also demonstrates the profound influence the legends of his life have had on our historical understanding and the controversy they continue to generate worldwide.ABOUT THE SERIES: The Very Short Introductions series from Oxford University Press contains hundreds of titles in almost every subject area. These pocket-sized books are the perfect way to get ahead in a new subject quickly. Our expert authors combine facts, analysis, perspective, new ideas, and enthusiasm to make interesting and challenging topics highly readable.Trade ReviewBowden covers all the highlights of Alexander's career * Steve Craggs, Northern Echo *It's an interesting read for those who do know something of Alexander, as well as for initiates * Adrian Spooner, Classics for All *Table of ContentsIntroduction ; 1. Before Alexander ; 2. Prince: Alexander in the Macedonian Court ; 3. Warrior: Alexander's army ; 4. Commander Alexander and the Greeks ; 5. Pharaoh: Alexander and Egypt ; 6. King of the world: Alexander and Persia ; 7. Traveller: Alexander in Afghanistan and Pakistan ; 8. Doomed to die: Alexander in Babylon ; 9. After Alexander ; References ; Further reading ; Index
£9.49
Vintage Publishing The First Ladies of Rome
Book SynopsisLike their modern counterparts, the ''first ladies'' of Rome were moulded to meet the political requirements of their emperors, be they fathers, husbands, brothers or lovers. But the women proved to be liabilities as well as assets - Augustus'' daughter Julia was accused of affairs with at least five men, Claudius'' wife Messalina was a murderous tease who cuckolded and humiliated her elderly husband, while Fausta tried to seduce her own stepson and engineered his execution before boiled to death as a punishment. In The First Ladies of Rome Annelise Freisenbruch unveils the characters whose identities were to reverberate through the ages, from the virtuous consort, the sexually voracious schemer and the savvy political operator, to the flighty bluestocking, the religious icon and the romantic heroine. Using a rich spectrum of literary, artistic, archaeological and epigraphic evidence, this book uncovers for the first time the kaleidoscopic story of some of theTrade ReviewWhat a great idea for a book this is - what a record of filial loathing, sexual scheming, parental neglect, suicide, fratricide, matricide, patricide, infanticide, incest and abuse... The result is a book both scholarly and racy... She has produced a book to be commended: one that restores to life some of the toughest, most colourful and most bizarre women who ever existed -- Robert Harris * Sunday Times *[An] extraordinary story...a colourful, pacy survey of dominant Roman women -- Tom Payne * Daily Telegraph *A beautifully observed, gripping chronicle and a triumphant achievement -- Alison WeirAt last. A book that does not sell us the powerful, intriguing women of Rome simply as poisoners, schemers, femmes fatales, but that brings a wonderfully rich, varied and original range of evidence to bear on the reality of their extraordinary lives -- Bettany Hughes, author of 'Helen of Troy' and 'The Hemlock Cup'A tour de force of research... an illuminating story * Dailiy Mail *
£15.29
Yale University Press Gallipoli The End of the Myth
Book SynopsisThe Gallipoli campaign of 1915-16 was an ill-fated Allied attempt to shorten the war by eliminating Turkey, creating a Balkan alliance against the Central Powers, and securing a sea route to Russia. This book assesses the many myths that have emerged about Gallipoli and provides answers to questions that have lingered about the operation.Trade Review“History of a very high order…. the best account by far of the campaign in 1915-16.”—Jay Winter, Yale University -- Jay Winter“This is a detailed account, with excellent photos, of a failed military expedition that took the lives of 46,000 Allied soldiers and left another 86,000 wounded.” - Fergus Mulligan, Irish Times -- Fergus Mulligan * Irish Times *“Prof. Robin Prior has consulted the archives to provide a full account that demolishes many myths … Students of history will welcome this definitive work.” - A. G. Noorani, Frontline -- A G Noorani * Frontline *"It might seem that everything worth saying about World War I has already been said, but then along comes a book such as Robin Prior's Gallipoli and it's time to make room on the shelf for another essential title. Reviewer Robert Messenger praised Mr. Prior's depiction of Britain's disastrous attempt in 1915 to force open the Dardanelles—the heavily defended entrance to straits off northern Turkey, a key link between the Mediterranean and the Black Sea. Gallipoli, according to Mr. Messenger, is 'a near-definitive analysis of the campaign . . . . It is military history of the highest order.'"—Mark Lasswell, "Standout Selections: The Year in Books," Wall Street Journal -- The Year in Books * Wall Street Journal *"It's a well-written book, complete with a great bibliography and some of the most outstanding maps to be delivered with any account of war and battle. That the author could assemble such a plethora of information and then distill it into such a readable account would be a story unto itself. For anyone who wants to know where, when and what Gallipoli was, this book is for you."—Vice Adm. Robert F. Dunn, The Washington Times -- Vice Adm. Robert F. Dunn * Washington Times *"[Prior's] narrative is fluid and internally coherent. He makes excellent use of archival material to expose the serious flaws in previous narratives, including the "official" history of the campaign. . . . certainly the best account yet published [of the Dardanelles campaign]."—Nicholas A. Lambert, The Journal of Military History -- Nicholas A. Lambert * Journal of Military History *Selected as one of ten Best of 2009 Books, The Wall Street Journal * Wall Street Journal *"[This] book sets a new standard for assessing the Allied Dardanelles campaign in 1915."—Mustafa Aksakal, American Historical Review -- Mustafa Aksakal * American Historical Review *"It might seem that everything worth saying about World War I has already been said, but then along comes a book such as Robin Prior's Gallipoli and it's time to make room on the shelf for another essential title . . . . It is military history of the highest order.'"—Mark Lasswell, "Standout Selections: The Year in Books," Wall Street Journal -- The Year in Books * Wall Street Journal *"This work is an excellent addition to the current body of scholarhsip with something for both the neophyte and the seasoned historian."--Blake Whitaker, Canadian Journal of History -- Blake Whitaker * Canadian Journal of History *"Wootton is at his most illuminating in his discussion of Galileo’s place in the history of science (although he is not so pedestrian as to use the phrase) and the blend of personal ambition, politics and chance that made him, by virtue of his emphasis on the tension between empiricism and deduction."—Claudio Vita-Finzi, Times Literary Supplement -- Claudio Vita-Finzi * Times Literary Supplement *“This is an excellent text with new insights, and one which is sure to provoke further debate.”—Matthew Hughes, English Historical Review -- Matthew Hughes * English Historical Review *
£14.99
Yale University Press Mary I Englands Catholic Queen
Book SynopsisA new appraisal of the first Tudor queen, her European connections, her ambitions and intentions, and the religious violence that stained her short reignTrade Review"[T]he most comprehensive and convincing account to date."—J.H. Elliott, The New York Review of Books -- J.H. Elliott * The New York Review of Books *“Edwards has comprehensively defeated a persistent and painful historical myth and replaced it with something more complicated, more human and much more accurate. This is the best biography of Mary we have yet seen.”—Lucy Wooding, Times Higher Education -- Lucy Wooding * Times Higher Education *
£18.04
Oxford University Press A Small Town Near Auschwitz
Book SynopsisThe story of a small town near Auschwitz and of its local Nazi administrator. An ordinary functionary and family man without whose help, and those of thousands like him, the murderous plans of the Nazi elite could never have been fully realized.Trade ReviewIn many ways, A Small Town near Auschwitz is about seeing and not seeing, of integrating and not integrating. The book itself illuminates more than it hides, includes more than it omits. It is the work of a sensitive professional historian examining a matter of urgent personal interest: how could someone close to her family have perpetrated one of the great crimes of the century? Catherine Epstein, American Historical ReviewTable of ContentsPreface ; 1. Legacies of Violence ; 2. Bedzin before 1939 ; 3. Border Crossings ; 4. The Making of a Nazi Landrat ; 5. An Early Question of Violence ; 6. 'Only administration' ; 7. Means of Survival ; 8. Escalation, 1941-42 ; 9. Towards Extermination ; 10. The Deportations of August 1942 ; 11. Ghettoization for the 'Final Solution' ; 12. Final Thresholds ; 13. Afterwards and After-words ; Notes ; Index
£18.99
Savas Beatie German Ground Forces of World War II: Complete
Book SynopsisThis massive new reference work is broken up into sections presenting a detailed analysis of each corresponding order of battle for every German field formation above division. Additional new ground is broken by describing the orders of battle of the myriad German and Axis satellite formations assigned to security commands throughout occupied Europe and the combat zones, as well as those attached to fortress commands and to the commanders of German occupation forces in Eastern and Western Europe. An accompanying narrative describes the career of each field formation and includes the background and experience of many of their most famous commanding officers.Unlike similar works, these orders of battle are dynamic, and so account for the continuously changing character of Germany’s ground forces at war. For the first time, readers can follow the career of every German division, corps, army, and army group as the German armed forces shifted units to and from theatres of war, from the period of triumphant successes to the years of grinding defensive warfare and eventual defeat.Trade ReviewAfter decades of effort, William McCroden and Thomas Nutter . . . have accomplished that seemingly impossible task.'' * Misc US Reviewer *
£999.99
Gill Ireland's Ancient East
Book SynopsisFrom medieval Carlingford in Louth to Blarney Castle in Cork, discover the top 100 places to visit in Ireland’s Ancient East. Wander through time at sites such as Clonmacnoise, Newgrange and the Rock of Cashel, as well as at hidden gems like Athassel Priory in Tipperary, Loughcrew Passage Tombs in Meath and Heywood Gardens in Laois. From dolmens to round towers, Anglo-Norman castles to historic gardens, over 5,000 years of Ireland’s history, heritage, archaeology and folklore are waiting to be discovered. Find out - which round towers can be climbed - where there is a 2,000-year-old trackway across a bog - which famous garden features a piece of the Berlin Wall - where St Nicholas is buried Included is practical information about each location and what to expect from the visitor experience. With easy-to-follow maps and specially commissioned photographs, this is the first guide to Ireland’s Ancient East.Trade Review'Excellent.' * Irish Mountain Log *'Fantastic.' * LateLunch, LMFM *
£14.24
HarperCollins Publishers The Thirties
Book SynopsisAs Wartime' did for the 1940s, this book will grasp the broad spectrum of events in the 1930s in the words of contemporary witnesses drawn from metropolitan and provincial letters and diaries, newspapers, periodicals, books and the range of rich material available in the British Library.J.B. Priestley famously described the ''three Englands'' he saw in the 1930s: Old England, nineteenth-century England and the new, post-war England. Thirties Britain was, indeed, a land of contrasts, at once a nation rendered hopeless by the Depression, unemployment and international tensions, yet also a place of complacent suburban home-owners with a baby Austin in every garage.Now Juliet Gardiner, acclaimed author of the award-winning Wartime, provides a fresh perspective on that restless, uncertain, ambitious decade, bringing the complex experience of thirties Britain alive through newspapers, magazines, memoirs, letters and diaries.Gardiner captures the essence of a people part-mesmerised by ''moderTrade Review‘The cinematic clarity of Gardiner’s descriptions of accidents and ceremonies tells more about the decade than a page of statistics.…or the depth of its research, the quality of the writing and the sheer richness and vibrancy of the material, this is a quite outstanding work of social history’ Telegraph ‘It is comfortably the definitive account of a decade that has been much maligned’ Daily Telegraph ‘A definitive, vividly detailed book on a complex decade, which is a joy to read’ History Today
£17.09
Little, Brown Book Group 1848 Year Of Revolution
Book Synopsis* A brilliant, colourful narrative history of a pivotal year in European historyTrade ReviewAcross Europe an unprecedented wave of revolutions toppled old orders from Krakow to Paris. This lively history gives an impressive overview and examines how those insurrections shape modern Europe * SCOTLAND ON SUNDAY *
£13.49
Bloomsbury Publishing PLC Alesia 52 BC: The final struggle for Gaul
Book SynopsisIn 52 BC Caesar’s continued strategy of annihilation had engendered a spirit of desperation, which detonated into a revolt of Gallic tribes under the leadership of the charismatic young Arvernian noble Vercingetorix. Major engagements were fought at Noviodunum, Avaricum, and Gergovia, with the last action being the most serious reverse that Caesar faced in the whole of the Gallic War. However, Vercingetorix soon realized that he was unable to match the Romans in pitched battle. Taking advantage of the tribesmen’s superior knowledge of their home territory, Vercingetorix began a canny policy of small war and defensive manoeuvres, which gravely hampered Caesar’s movements by cutting off his supplies. For Caesar it was to be a grim summertime – his whole Gallic enterprise faced disaster. In the event, by brilliant leadership, force of arms, and occasionally sheer luck, Caesar succeeded in stamping out the revolt in a long and brutal action culminating in the siege of Alesia. Vercingetorix finally surrendered and Alesia was to be the last significant resistance to the Roman will. Never again would a Gallic warlord independent of Rome hold sway over the Celts of Gaul.Table of ContentsOrigins of the campaign /Chronology /Opposing commanders /Opposing armies /Orders of battle /Opposing plans /The campaign /Aftermath /The battlefields today /Further reading /Index
£999.99
The University of Chicago Press Marlborough His Life and Times Book 2
Book SynopsisJohn Churchill, the Duke of Marlborough (1644-1722), was one of the greatest military commanders and statesman in the history of England. His descendant, Sir Winston Churchill wrote this work as both an act of homage, and as an historical insight into the man behind the statesman.Trade Review"The greatest historical work written in our century, an inexhaustible mine of political wisdom and understanding, which should be required reading for every student of political science." - Leo Strauss, University of Chicago "Rarely in the history of historical writing have author and subject seemed so made for each other." - Henry Steele Commager
£42.75
Transworld Publishers Ltd The Town Below the Ground: Edinburgh's Legendary
Book SynopsisBelow Scotland's capital, hidden for almost two centuries, is a metropolis whose very existence was all but forgotten. For almost 250 years, Edinburgh was surrounded by a giant defensive wall. Unable to expand the city's boundaries, the burgeoning population built over every inch of square space. And when there was no more room, they began to dig down . . . Trapped in lives of poverty and crime, these subterranean dwellers existed in darkness and misery, ignored by the chroniclers of their time. It is only in the last few years that the shocking truth has begun to emerge about the sinister underground city.
£9.49
Indiana University Press Russias Steppe Frontier
Book SynopsisA comprehensive history of the transformation of Russia's southern steppes from border territories to Empire.Trade ReviewThis innovative and fascinating book examines the relationship between Russia and its neighbors on the Eurasian steppe, which stretches from the northern Caucasus area into the Central Asian region of present-day Kazakhstan, from about 1500 to 1800. During these formative years, Russia's continual southern expansion into the borderlands helped transform it from a fragmented and weak frontier society into a formidable colonial empire. Kohdarkovsky (Loyola Univ.) considers the complex relationship between the Russian state and the indigenous nomadic and seminomadic societies that inhabited the steppe, emphasizing their fundamental differences in social organization, political and economic structures, and values. The author argues that Russia's southward expansion was, contrary to commonly accepted views, a deliberate process designed to colonize the new regions and to subdue their inhabitants. However, Russia's policies gradually changed during these three centuries from defending its vulnerable frontier against nomadic incursions to deliberate colonization by means of pacifying, settling, and converting the new subjects to Orthodox Christianity. Recommended for advanced undergraduates and above.September 2002 -- N. M. Brooks * New Mexico State University *Table of ContentsIntroduction1. The Sociology of the Frontier, or Why Peace Was Impossible2. Frontier Concepts and Policies in Muscovy3. Taming the "Wild Steppe," 1480-1600s4. From Steppe Frontier to Imperial Borderlands, 1600-18005. Concepts and Policies in the Imperial Borderlands, 1690s-1800ConclusionGlossaryList of AbbreviationsNotesBibliographyIndex
£18.89
Bloomsbury Publishing PLC Turkey: A Modern History
Book SynopsisThis revised edition builds upon and updates its twin themes of Turkey's continuing incorporation into the capitalist world and the modernization of state and society. It begins with the forging of closer links with Europe after the French Revolution, and the changing face of the Ottoman Empire in the 19th century. Zurcher argues that Turkey's history between 1908 and 1950 should be seen as a unity, and offers a strongly revisionist interpretation of Turkey's founding father, Kemal Ataturk. In his account of the period since 1950, Zurcher focuses on the growth of mass politics; the three military coups; the thorny issue of Turkey's human right's record; the alliance with the West and relations with the European Community; Turkey's ambivalent relations with the Middle East; the increasingly explosive Kurdish question; and the continuing political instability and growth of Islam.
£21.84
Helion & Company Last Blood on Pomerania: Leon Degrelle and the
Book Synopsis
£16.10
Luath Press Ltd The Whisky River: Distilleries of Speyside
Book SynopsisWhich river has half the distilleries in Scotland found along its length and in its surrounding glens? Why were monks at the forefront of developing whisky? Which Speyside distillery has an annual migration of toads? How did Glenrothes distillery expel its ghost?Robin Laing - singer-songwriter, author of The Whisky Muse, and chair of the Scotch Malt Whisky Society's Tasting Panel - set out to visit every distillery in the Speyside area, from Benromach to Tomintoul, and presents a guide to each of them here. There are descriptions of over 50 distilleries in Speyside, including The Macallan, The Glenlivet, Cardhu, Aberlour, Glenfiddich and Glengrant.Each entry is part history, part travelogue and part commentary on the changes in the whisky industry. Includes personal musings by the author, stories associated with the distillery and snippets of poetry and song. Laing's 'spirit' guide in his journey is Alfred Barnard, author of 1887's The Whisky Distilleries of the United Kingdom. Barnard visited many of the same distilleries that Laing visits now and similarly left his impressions of the state of the facilities and the beauty of the surroundings. Much of this present book compares what Barnard found with what exists now, and the differences - and similarities - are often fascinating.Trade ReviewThe author-singer-songwriter of The Whisky Muse and chairperson of the Scotch Malt Whisky Society’s Tasting Panel – set out to visit every distillery in the Speyside area, and presents his guide to each in this 206 page paperback. Over 50 distilleries are described, including Cardhu, Aberlour and Glen Grant. Each entry is part history, part travelogue and part commentary. Illustrated by Bob Dewer. - THE SCOTS MAGAZINE Robin Laing’s The Whisky River is the kind of book I immediately fall in love with, even before reading the first line. It brings together two passions of mine, whisky and song. […] This is essential reading for the whisky connoisseur. There might be other guide books about Scotland in general and Speyside in particular, there might be other books about Scottish whisky – but forget them, you only need this guide to the heartbeat of a small country in the North West of Europe. Slainte! - FOLKWORLD
£11.69
John Donald Publishers Ltd The Kingdom of the Isles: Scotland's Western
Book SynopsisThis study explores the history of the western seaboard of Scotland (the Hebrides, Argyll and the Isle of Man) in a formative but often neglected era: the central middle ages, from the mightly Somerled to his descendant John MacDonald, the first Lord of the Isles (c. 1336). Drawing on a variety of sources, this very readable narrative deals with three major and closely interrelated themes: first, the existence of the Isles and coastal mainland as a kingdom from c.1100 to 1266; second, the rulers of the region, Somerled and his descendants, the MacDougalls, MacDonalds and MacRuaris; and third, the often complex relations among the Isles, Scotland, Norway and England. A fully rounded history emerges, which transcends national viewpoints. While political history predominates, the changing nature of society in the isles is emphasised throughout, and separate chapters address the church and monasticism as well as the monuments – the castles, monasteries, churches and chapels that form an enduring legacy.
£23.75
