European history Books

Book SynopsisFrom 1563 to 1736 Scotland put thousands of women to death for witchcraft. Their supposed crimes have much to tell us about attitudes to women in the past, and in the present day. This book introduces sixteen women who lost their lives or lived in the long shadow of the persecutions.'Witches' who, like MARGARET AITKEN, confessed, implicated others, even aided the hunters before they were burned.Nonconforming women like MARY MACLEOD, who saw their reputations tarnished when they did not bend to society's expectations.Creatures of the imagination, like Robert Burns's NANNY, who embody deep-seated associations between womanhood and the occult.Weaving fiction with the facts where these are known, We Are All Witches invites the reader to explore the forces at work in one of the darkest episodes of Scotland's history and consider their echoes in the present day.Trade ReviewSpringing directly from the pioneering Witches of Scotland campaign, Kidd has imagined lively and convincing voices from the past to commemorate the lost lives of Scotland's witches, reminiscent of Jenni Fagan's Hex. * Sara Sheridan, author of The Fair Botanists *We Are All Witches is a compelling, moving book that invites the reader to consider not only the background to the Scottish witch trials and the mythology surrounding witches, but also the lives of those affected. * Elizabeth Lee, author of Cunning Women *

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Book SynopsisExplores how runes relate to the cycles of time. Detailing the significance of natural time cycles in the Northern Tradition, Nigel Pennick explores how the stars, planets, seasons, months, and the precessional year relate to the runes. The author explains how the runes are more than just an ancient European alphabet—they encapsulate particular spiritual and symbolic meanings to individually and collectively express deep eternal truths. Discussing the pagan wheel of the year, whose eightfold path later served the Church as the basis for the eight holy celebrations of its religious calendar, he looks at the meanings and temporal qualities of the 24 runes of the Elder Futhark and their rapport with ancient timekeeping and star-reading methods. He offers charts and calculations to discern which rune is the primary influence on a particular day, week, month, season, or year. He also examines runic elemental and color associations and their esoteric spatial roles, where they represent the four directions, the eight airts, and other cycles critical to understanding the sacred nature of the material world. Exploring runic astrology, Pennick looks at the runes as they relate to the planets and their cycles. He then presents ways to use this knowledge for calculating runic birth charts and runic horoscopes. Revealing the importance of the patterns and cycles of time operating in our world, the author provides a means for reconnecting with these primal principles—which underlie our existence as beings in time—through the ancient wisdom of runes.Trade Review“Nigel Pennick’s Runes and Astrology presents the runes in perhaps the most relatable and accessible way—through an intimate relationship with time and place. His gift of making the personal transform into mythic through the power of the runes shines.” * S. Kelley Harrell, author of Runic Book of Days *“A few thousand years ago, ancient cultures lived in the context of a traditional worldview that was framed by the cycles of Sun, Moon, and planets and was expressed by multivalent symbols systematically organized. Examples of these include ancient Mesopotamia, India, China, and Mesoamerica. In Runes and Astrology, Nigel Pennick has worked a kind of reconstruction and updating of the Northern Tradition, the northern European culture north of the Alps that later served as the template on which the Roman Church built its own version of reality. We learn about the coherent sequence and multiple uses of the runes, ideas about fate and destiny, the power of the 8 directions that frame the seasonal cycle, and the astounding breakdown of time applied to the cycle of the day. While the Northern Tradition did not produce a horoscopic astrology, it did produce a complex map of time that the author argues is a lot more real than the conventions we live in today. In this sense, Runes and Astrology offers another path to a more holistic vision of nature and human life.” * Bruce Scofield, author of The Nature of Astrology *"It’s difficult to assess the target audience for Runes and Astrology. Astrologers will find quite a few of the entries and historical overviews highly useful. People involved in Northern Tradition spirit work will find the annual time-keeping and naming ideas attractive. There’s a detailed discussion of the origin and messy implementation of the modern Gregorian calendar during the 16th-17th centuries. It’s one of the best and most complete descriptions of this monumental global calendrical shift I’ve ever read. Rune readers will discover much useful material in the first few chapters and descriptions of rune meanings, but divination methods are absent. It’s a lengthy and detailed text with a great deal of valuable information that’s rarely found in any kind of book in the esoteric genre. Eccentric polymaths will revel in this book if they’re not thrown off by the title. This is a book that cannot be judged by its cover! There’s far more to it than meets the eye." * FacingNorth.net *"Runes and Astrology is a must for anyone interested in the Runes or in the Northern Tradition and I also highly recommend it to anyone who is interested in history, spirituality … or who just loves a good book!" * June Kent, Indie Shaman Magazine *Table of ContentsAcknowledgments A Note on Terminology and Dating Introduction 1 The Basic Concepts 2 The Runes and Their Meaning 3 Cycles of Space and Time 4 Solar Runepower 5 The Eightfold Way—The Year Cycle6 The Runes, the Planets, and Their Cycles7 The Runes in the Circling Heavens 8 Interpretaion of Runic Cycles Postscript APPENDIX 1 The Runes and Their Correspondences APPENDIX 2Runic Half-Months APPENDIX 3 The Northern Tradition Planetary Hours APPENDIX 4 Correspondences of the Days of the Week APPENDIX 5 Zodiacal Correspondences APPENDIX 6The Eight Tides of the Day APPENDIX 7 The Twelve Palaces APPENDIX 8 The Solar System: Astronomical Data Glossary BibliographyIndex

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Book SynopsisTHE NO 1 SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLER NOW FEATURING EXCLUSIVE MATERIAL ABOUT CHARLES III''s CORONATION WITH ADDED PHOTOGRAPHSA personal account of the life and character of Britain''s longest-reigning monarch, from the writer who knew her family best''Compelling . . . Fascinating'' DAILY MAIL''The writer who got closest to the human truth about our long-serving senior royals'' THE TIMES''The book overflows with nuggets of insider knowledge'' TELEGRAPHPaints a unique picture of the remarkable woman who reigned for seven decades. Fascinating insights'' HELLO!__________Gyles Brandreth first met the Queen in 1968, when he was twenty.Over the next fifty years he met her many times, both at public and at private events. Through his friendship with the Duke of Edinburgh, he was given privileged access to Elizabeth II.He kept a record of all those encounters, and his convTrade ReviewCompelling . . . Fascinating—Daily MailThe book overflows with nuggets of insider knowledge—TelegraphPaints a unique picture of the remarkable woman who reigned for seven decades. Offers fascinating insights into her life—Hello!What Brandreth can uniquely offer us are verbatim replies to the questions he asked the Queen and Philip over many years—The Times[Brandreth] paints a vivid picture of the Queen . . . Don't miss this trusted account of the incredibe life of the most famous and arguably best-loved Head of State on Earth—This England

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Book SynopsisOn 14 April 1912, less than a week into a transatlantic trip from Southampton to New York, the largest luxury cruise liner in the world struck an iceberg off the coast of Labrador, causing the hull to buckle. The massive 50,000 ton ship hailed as ‘unsinkable’ was soon slipping into the cold Atlantic Ocean, the crew and passengers scrambling to launch lifeboats before being sucked into the deep. Of the 2,224 passengers and crew aboard, more than 1,500 died, making the sinking one of the deadliest for a single ship up to that time. The sinking has captured the public imagination ever since, in part because of the scale of the tragedy, but also because the ship represented in microcosm Edwardian society, with the super-rich sharing the vessel with poor migrants seeking a new life in North America. Other factors, such as why there were only enough lifeboats to hold half the passengers, also caused controversy and led to changes in maritime safety. In later years many survivors told their stories to the press, and Titanic celebrates these accounts. A final chapter examines the shipwreck today, which has been visited underwater by explorers, scientists and film-makers, and many artifacts recovered as the old liner steadily disintegrates. Titanic offers a compact, insightful photographic history of the sinking and its aftermath in 180 authentic photographs.Trade Review"fine illustrations on almost every page… make a good – and safe – gift for an enthusiast" * Nautilus Telegraph *Table of Contents1: Background to a Tragedy Up to the late 1850s, few people crossed the Atlantic Ocean unless driven by necessity or force. From the European and British explorers of the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries, to the venturesome colonists of the seventeenth and eighteenth (and the infamous slave traffic that followed), human movement westward across the Atlantic grew steadily. 2: Three Giant Sisters Titanic was the largest ship afloat at the time she entered service and the second of three Olympic-class ocean liners operated by the White Star Line. This chapter describes the construction of the Titanic, its launch, and sea trials. At the peak of construction, Harland and Wolff shipyard employed approximately 14,000 men to build the enormous ship. 3: Trans-Atlantic Route Titanic departed from Southampton on 10 April 1912, then stopped at Cherbourg, France, and Queenstown (now Cobh), Ireland, before heading west towards New York. The first-class accommodation was designed to be the pinnacle of comfort and luxury, with a gymnasium, swimming pool, libraries, high-class restaurants, and opulent cabins. A high-powered radiotelegraph transmitter was available for sending passenger ‘marconigrams’ and for the ship’s operational use. 4: The Collision On 14 April, four days into the crossing and about 375 miles (600 km) south of Newfoundland, she hit an iceberg at 11:40 p.m. ship’s time. The collision caused the hull plates to buckle inwards along her starboard (right) side and laid five of her sixteen watertight compartments open to the sea; she had been designed to survive the flooding of up to four compartments. Some passengers and crew members were evacuated in lifeboats, many of which were launched only partially loaded. A disproportionate number of men were left aboard because of a ‘women and children first’ protocol for loading lifeboats. Titanic was under the command of Captain Edward Smith, who went down with the ship. Archibald Gracie IV, one of the wealthiest hoteliers in the world, also drowned. 5: Rescue The ship was equipped with 16 lifeboat davits, each of which were capable of lowering three lifeboats, for a total of 48 boats. And yet the Titanic carried only 20 lifeboats, four of which were collapsible and proved hard to launch while the ship was sinking. Together, the 20 lifeboats were capable of holding 1,178 people – which was only about half the number of passengers on board. The nearby Carpathia arrived at the distress call’s position at 4:00 AM, approximately an hour and a half after the ship went down, claiming more than 1,500 lives. For the next four and a half hours, Carpathia took on the 705 survivors of the disaster. 6: Aftermath The disaster was met with worldwide shock and outrage, both at the huge loss of life, and at the regulatory and procedural failures that had led to it. Even before the survivors arrived in New York, investigations were being planned to discover what had happened, and what could be done to prevent a recurrence. Inquiries were held in both the United States and the United Kingdom. Many survivors later told their stories to the press and in books, including the ‘Navratil Orphans’, ‘The Unsinkable Molly Brown’, Eliza ‘Millvina’ Dean, Frederick Fleet, Masabumi Hosono, Charles Lightoller, Harold Bride, and Archibald Gracie IV. The wreck of Titanic was discovered in 1985 by a Franco-American expedition sponsored by the United States Navy. The ship was split in two and is gradually disintegrating at a depth of 12,415 feet (2,069.2 fathoms; 3,784 m). Thousands of artefacts have been recovered and displayed at museums around the world.

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Book SynopsisThough Michel Foucault is one of the most important thinkers of the twentieth century, little is known about his early life. Even Foucault’s biographers have neglected this period, preferring instead to start the story when the future philosopher arrives in Paris. Becoming Foucault is a historical reconstruction of the world in which Foucault grew up: the small city of Poitiers, France, from the 1920s until the end of the Second World War. Beyond exploring previously unexamined aspects of Foucault’s childhood, including his wartime ordeals, it proposes an original interpretation of Foucault’s oeuvre. Michael Behrent argues that Foucault, in addition to being a theorist of power, knowledge, and selfhood, was also a philosopher of experience. He was a thinker intent on making sense of the events that he lived through. Behrent identifies four specific experiences in Foucault’s childhood that exercised a decisive influence on him and that, in various ways, he later made the subject of his philosophy: his family’s deep connections to the medical profession; his upbringing in a bourgeois household; the German Occupation during World War II; and his Catholic education. Behrent not only reconstructs the specific nature of these experiences but also shows how reference to them surfaces in Foucault’s later work. In this way, the book both sheds light on a formative period in the philosopher’s life and offers a unique interpretation of key aspects of his thought.Trade Review"In this innovative and thought-provoking intellectual history, Michael Behrent paints an intimate portrait of the young Foucault and his family, as well as a panorama of early twentieth-century Poitiers, the town in central France in which they made their lives. In doing so, he gives us a radically new perspective on one of the most important thinkers of modern times. Becoming Foucault should be on the bookshelf of every scholar interested in postwar French thought." * Edward G. Baring, Princeton University *"In what may very well be the definitive work on the topic, Michael Behrent’s innovative and insightful Becoming Foucault shows how understanding the thinker’s early milieu—born of a family of doctors, submitted to middle-class strictures, navigating wartime occupation, surviving local schooling—casts new light on his mature projects and positions. Neither traditional biography nor conventional intellectual history, Behrent’s book breaks new ground by demonstrating the mutual, irreducible relations between thought and experience. Well-written and accessible, based on remarkable archival research, and imaginatively argued, Becoming Foucault will interest anyone devoted to experiencing thought and thinking about experience." * Julian Bourg, Boston College *

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

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Book SynopsisRecent scholarship has recognized that Philip II and Alexander the Great adopted elements of their self-fashioning and court ceremonial from previous empires in the Ancient Near East, but it is generally assumed that the advent of the Macedonian court as a locus of politics and culture occurred only in the post-Alexander landscape of the Hellenistic Successors. This volume of ground-breaking essays by leading scholars on Ancient Macedonia goes beyond existing research questions to assess the profound impact of Philip and Alexander on court culture throughout the ages. The papers in this volume offer a thematic approach, focusing upon key institutional, cultural, social, ideological, and iconographical aspects of the reigns of Philip and Alexander. The authors treat the Macedonian court not only as a historical reality, but also as an object of fascination to contemporary Greeks that ultimately became a topos in later reflections on the lives and careers of Philip and Alexander. This collection of papers provides a paradigm-shifting recognition of the seminal roles of Philip and Alexander in the emergence of a new kind of Macedonian kingship and court culture that was spectacularly successful and transformative.

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Book SynopsisJames VI & I, the namesake of the King James Version of the Bible, had a series of notorious male favourites. No one denies that these relationships were amorous, but were they sexual? Michael B. Young merges political history with recent scholarship in the history of sexuality to answer that question. More broadly, he shows that James's favourites had a negative impact within the royal family, at court, in Parliament, and in the nation at large. Contemporaries raised the spectre of a sodomitical court and an effeminized nation; some urged James to engage in a more virile foreign policy by embarking on war. Queen Anne encouraged a martial spirit and moulded her oldest son to be more manly than his father. Repercussions continued after James's death, detracting from the majesty of the monarchy and contributing to the outbreak of the Civil War. Persons acquainted with the history of sexuality will find surprising premonitions here of modern homosexuality and homophobia. General readers will find a world of political intrigue coloured by sodomy, pederasty, and gender instability. For readers new to the subject, the book begins with a helpful overview of King James's life.

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Book SynopsisIn this sumptuous guide to twelve centuries of military development, Peter Connolly combines a detailed account of the arms and armies of Greece and Rome with his superb full-colour artwork. Making use of fresh archaeological evidence and new material on the manufacture and use of the weapons of the period, the author presents an attractive and impressive volume that is both scholarly and beautifully presented with illustrations that are, quite rightly, recognised as being the best and most accurate representation of how the soldiers from these formidable military empires appeared. Greece and Rome at War lucidly demonstrates the face of battle in the ancient world. Covering the wars between the Greeks and the Persians and the epic contest between the Romans and their most capable opponent, Hannibal, as well as organisation, tactics, armour and weapons, and much more, this excellent work brings the armies of Greece, Macedon and Rome vividly to life. This new revised edition contains a Preface by Adrian Goldsworthy.

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Book SynopsisThis book is a unique reference source for the uniform collector, modeller and student of military dress and equipment. For the first time the reader can trace the development of the colour and design of the Waffen-SS uniforms with confidence: all the uniforms worn in the 150 colour photographs presented here are rare, original items, from private collections. All major types of service uniform are illustrated, together with a full range of the unique camouflage clothing which was the hallmark of these much-feared divisions.

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Book SynopsisThere are roughly eight million Muslims in south-east Europe, among them Albanians, Bosniaks, Turks and Roma -- descendants of converts or settlers in the Ottoman period. This new history of the social, political and religious transformations that this population experienced in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries -- a period marked by the collapse of the Ottoman, Austro-Hungarian and Russian Empires and by the creation of the modern Balkan states -- will shed new light on the European Muslim experience. Southeast Europe's Muslims have experienced a slow and complex crystallisation of their respective national identities, which accelerated after 1945 as a result of the authoritarian modernisation of communist regimes and, in the late twentieth century, ended in nationalist mobilisations that precipitated the independence of Bosnia-Herzegovina and Kosovo during the break-up of Milosevic's Yugoslavia. At a religious level, these populations have re--mained connected to the institutions established by the Ottoman Empire, as well as to various educational, intellectual and Sufi (mystic) networks. With the fall of communism, new transnational networks appeared, especially neo-Salafist and neo- Sufi ones, although Europe's Balkan Muslims have not escaped the wider processes of secularisation.Trade Review‘This is an excellent contribution to the study of both Islam and Muslims in post-communist lands. … Clayer and Bougarel present their findings in an entirely accessible manner and the volume will appeal to a broad audience with diverse interests.’ -- Islam and Christian-Muslim Relations'Written by two of the most distinguished French scholars of Southeastern Europe and Islam, and appearing here in an outstanding translation from French, this is the most comprehensive existing survey of the Balkan Muslims in the last two centuries. Its interpretative strength lies in the rare combination between sophisticated historiographical analysis and clarity of exposition.' -- Maria Todorova, University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign'This welcome translation of this collaborative work ... helps introduce readers to an important clarification of European Islam that has evolved over centuries ... [An] excellent study...' -- Dr. Isa Blumi, Senior Lecturer and Associate Professor of Turkish Studies, Stockholm University, CHOICE

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Book SynopsisRobert. J. Donia explores the city's history from its founding in the fifteenth century to the present. In its Ottoman heyday Sarajevo was synonymous with learning, its skyline punctuated by the minarets and domes of mosques and madrasas. Under Tito it was a haven of multiculturalism where Yugoslavs lived and worked together, irrespective of their ethnic or religious affiliations. The Siege of Sarajevo (1992-5) and its aftermath receive particular attention in Donia's compelling account, the most detailed to appear in English to date.Trade Review'Donia's Sarajevo: A Biography is an exceptionally significant work, the result of years of research, archival exploration and scholarly interest in Sarajevo and its history. A work of comprehensive scholarship, it is also profoundly personal, and the tale of the city's history unwinds like a novel. As a biography of the city in the true sense of the word, it is an extraordinary achievement. The author's innovative approach treats Sarajevo from a wholly different perspective, not only as the setting for historical events but as a primary hero in a biography.' * The Association of Publishers and Booksellers of Bosnia-Herzegovina *'Dr. Robert Donia has written the best book in any language on the recent history of Sarajevo-one of the most complex, fascinating, and misunderstood cities in the world. Dr. Donia has known Sarajevo intimately since the 1970s, and understands the richness, and the sometimes tragic complexity of its multi-cultural heritage. "Sarajevo: A Biography" is informed by a profound historical understanding and a broad human sympathy. It is mercifully free from ethno-religious bias or political partisanship, although, precisely for that reason, it will no doubt be attacked by bigots and and chauvinists of several persuasions.' * Prof. William Hunt, Department of History, St. Lawrence University, Canton, New York *'This is not just a biography, but a labor of love that is evident throughout this engaging and erudite account. Nobody knows more than Donia about Sarajevo's storied past, its rich legacy of multiethnic coexistence, and the challenges that have been imposed upon it by the alien forces of ethnic nationalism.' * Charles Ingrao, Professor of History, Purdue University *

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

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Book SynopsisWhen the Romans came north to what is now modern Scotland they encountered the fierce and proud warrior society known as the Picts, who despite their lack of discipline and arms, managed to prevent the undefeated Roman Army from conquering the northern part of Britain, just as they later repulsed the Angles and the Vikings. A New History of the Picts is an accessible true history of the Picts, who are so often misunderstood. New historical analysis, recently discovered evidence and an innovative Scottish perspective will expose long held assumptions about the native people. This controversial text contests that Scottish history has long since been dominated and distorted by misleading perspectives. A New History of the Picts discredits the idea that the Picts were a strange historical anomaly and shows them to be the descendants of the original inhabitants of the land, living in a series of loose tribal confederations gradually brought together by external forces to create one of the earliest states in Europe: a people, who after repulsing all invaders, merged with their cousins, the Scots of Argyll, to create modern Scotland. All of Scotland descends from the fierce Picts.Trade ReviewWritten and arranged in a way that is both accessible and scholarly, this is an excellent addition to the growing body of work on the Picts. THE COURIER A New History is a very valuable contribution to historical debate and cultural understanding. It also serves to bring issues often reserved to specialists to a general readership. DONALD SMITH, SCOTTISH STORYTELLING CENTRE

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

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Book SynopsisThe first book to detail the forgotten work of the Royal Navy Auxiliary Patrol Station on the Isles of Scilly.

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Book SynopsisIn the days when Columbus sailed the ocean and Da Vinci painted the Mona Lisa, a German banker named Jacob Fugger became the richest man in history.     Fugger lived in Germany at the turn of the sixteenth century, the grandson of a peasant. By the time he died, his fortune amounted to nearly two percent of European GDP. In an era when kings had unlimited power, Fugger dared to stare down heads of state and ask them to pay back their loans, with interest. It was this coolness and self-assurance, along with his inexhaustible ambition, that made him not only the richest man ever, but a force of history as well. Before Fugger came along it was illegal under church law to charge interest on loans, but he got the Pope to change that. He also helped trigger the Reformation and likely funded Magellan’s circumnavigation of the globe. His creation of a news service gave him an information edge over his rivals and customers and earned Fugger a footnote in the historyTrade Review“Fugger was the first modern plutocrat. Like his contemporaries Machiavelli and Cesare Borgia, he knew the world as it was, not how he wanted it to be. This is the absorbing story of how, by being indispensable to customers and ruthless with enemies, Fugger wrote the playbook for everyone who keeps score with money. A must for anyone interested in history or wealth creation.” -- Bryan Burrough, author of Days of Rage and co-author of Barbarians at the Gate"Greg Steinmetz has unearthed the improbable yet true story of the world’s first modern capitalist. Born in fifteenth-century Germany, Jakob Fugger overcame a common birth to build a fortune in banking, textiles, and mining that, relative to the size of the economy of that era, may be the greatest fortune ever assembled. Schooled in Renaissance Venice, he became a banker to successive Hapsburg emperors and kings in the dynamic decades when duchies and principalities were clawing to independence from the grasping clutches of the Holy Roman Empire. Steinmetz not only depicts the rise of novel industrial trends from metallurgy to mercantilism, he shows us the nation-state in its early, tentative incubation. At the story’s center is Fugger, a wily lender and capitalist who courted risk, defied potential bankruptcy, and made kings his virtual dependents. He emerges from this solidly researched and briskly narrated biography as surprisingly recognizable—a moneymaker from a distant time that, one suspects, would be thoroughly at home with the Midases of today." -- Roger Lowenstein, author of When Genius Failed and Buffett: The Making of an American Capitalist“Jacob Fugger was the Rockefeller of the Renaissance. He was a capitalist genius who, in Greg Steinmetz, has finally found the English-language biographer he deserves. Steinmetz’s fast-moving tale—of money-making, religious tumult, political chicanery and violent clashes between the disciples of capitalism and communism—is one for all time, but especially for our time.” -- James Grant, author of The Forgotten Depression: 1921, the Crash That Cured Itself"One of the most influential financiers who ever lived, Jacob Fugger has long been shrouded in mystery. If you want to understand this visionary (he backed Magellan's circumnavigation of the globe), controversial (he vigorously challenged Martin Luther), and daring money man, read Greg Steinmetz's captivating, clear-eyed account. You'll be richer for it." -- Laurence Bergreen, author of Columbus: The Four Voyages and Over the Edge of the World: Magellan's Terrifying Circumnavigation of the Globe"Greg Steinmetz has rescued from the footnotes of history the Renaissance equivalent of a modern day Zelig. Master money man Jacob Fugger pops up at virtually every critical moment of his era. Kings, emperors and popes all knew him. Now, thanks to this remarkably researched and fascinating book, we do, too." -- Steve Stecklow, Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist"Enjoyable . . . readable and fast-paced." * The Wall Street Journal *"The tale of Fugger's aspiration, ruthlessness and greed is riveting." * The Economist *"Provides a fascinating and useful cautionary tale of the dangers of unbridled capitalism, particularly in economies dominated by autocratic rulers." * The New York Times *"A colorful introduction to one of the most influential businessmen in history." * The New York Times Book Review *"Who says the biography of a German Renaissance banker has to be as dense and as dull as the Fed’s latest annual report? Certainly not journalist and Wall Street securities analyst Greg Steinmetz. In his first full-length history, a biography of a Renaissance industrialist and financier named Jacob Fugger, Steinmetz is witty, highly knowledgeable and always entertaining. . . . [A] brilliantly written story. . . . pure reading pleasure." * The Buffalo News *"Makes a persuasive case that Fugger was 'the most influential businessman of all time.' " * The New York Post *“[Steinmetz] writes about Fugger in thoroughly modern terms . . . a swift and compelling read.” * BookPage *"Steinmetz makes a convincing case for the value of studying enigmatic banker Jacob Fugger. . . . A straightforward, engaging look at this 'German Rockefeller.'" * Kirkus Reviews *"Fascinating." -- Andrew Ross Sorkin * The New York Times *"Steinmetz lays out the fascinating story of a man who shaped modern business practices and the borders of Europe." * The New Yorker *

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Book SynopsisAn epic tale of Vladimir Putin''s path to power, as he emerged from obscurity to become one of the world''s most conflicted and important leaders. Former New York TimesMoscow Bureau Chief Steven Lee Myers has followed Putin since well before the recent events in the Ukraine, and gives us the fullest and most engaging account available of his rise to power. A gripping, page-turning narrative about Russian power and prestige, the book depicts a cool and calculating leader with enormous ambition and few scruples. As the world struggles to confront a newly assertive Russia, the importance of understanding Putin has never been greater. Vladimir Putin rose out of Soviet deprivation to the pinnacle of influence in the new Russian nation. He came to office in 2000 as a reformer, cutting taxes and expanding property rights, bringing a measure of order and eventually prosperity to millions whose only experience of democracy in the early years following the Soviet collapse was instabilityTrade Review'Myers casts valuable light on the nexus of financial dealings involving Putin's St Petersburg cronies' -- John Kampfner * Observer *'Myers has the accuracy and readable style of the best New York Times journalists' -- Donald Rayfield * Literary Review *'Steven Lee Myers’s The New Tsar is not the first biography of Putin, but it is the strongest to date. Judicious and comprehensive, it pulls back the veil… from one of the world’s most secretive leaders. What is most striking, given the aura of steely consistency that Putin cultivates, is how he has changed over the years… The great strength of Myers’s book is the way it shows how chance events and Putin’s own degeneration gradually cleared the path to the Ukraine crisis… Putin emerges as ... a flawed individual who made his own choices at crucial moments and thereby shaped history.' -- Daniel Treisman * Washington Post *'What Steven Lee Myers gets so right in The New Tsar, his comprehensive new biography - the most informative and extensive so far in English - is that at bottom Putin simply feels that he’s the last one standing between order and chaos… What Myers offers is the portrait of a man swinging from crisis to crisis with one goal: projecting strength… A knowledgeable and thorough biography… Putin himself now represents the chaos he so abhors - the chaos that will surely come in his wake.' -- Gal Beckerman * New York Times Book Review *'Personalities determine history as much as geography, and there is no personality who has had such a pivotal effect on 21st century Europe as much as Vladimir Putin. The New Tsar is a riveting, immensely detailed biography of Putin that explains in full-bodied, almost Shakespearean fashion why he acts the way he does.' -- Robert D. Kaplan'The reptilian, poker-faced former KGB agent, now Russian president seemingly for life, earns a fair, engaging treatment in the hands of New York Times journalist Myers… [who] clearly knows his material and primary subject… Myers shows how Putin convinced everyone that this way of operating was part of the Russian soul and how he perpetuated it through an archaic form of Russian corruption… Myers astutely notes how Putin’s speeches increasingly harkened back to the worst period of the Cold War era’s dictates by Soviet strongmen… A highly effective portrait of a frighteningly powerful autocrat.' * Kirkus (starred review) *'Such an understanding of Putin’s early life and the evolution of his leadership is lacking. [Myers’s] methodology is sound and, I believe, the only way to capture such an intimate understanding of Russia’s iron man.' -- Ian Bremmer, author of Superpower'Combining skilled story telling, psychological examination and political investigation, Steven Lee Myers succeeds brilliantly in this biography of Vladimir Putin. Explaining the dangers that Putin’s Russia may and does pose, Myers effortlessly and expertly guides the reader through the complexities of the Russian Byzantine governing style and the country’s politics and identity. In the end, the book provides one of the most comprehensive answers to a puzzling question: despite all the changes that Russia has gone through during communism and post-communism, why is it still an empire of the tsar?' -- Nina Khrushcheva

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Book SynopsisTrade Review“[A] remarkable book” —Nick Rennison, Daily Mail (Book Of The Week)“Interesting, informative, enlightening” — All About History“This is a great book and a valuable contribution to scholarship on the Second World War” — Michael Goodman, BBC History Magazine“The world has long been familiar with Bletchley Park, where German codes were cracked by a secret army of listeners intercepting enemy wireless transmissions. But now, another clandestine intelligence operation that played an equally important part in the war has come to light.”—Tony Rennell, Daily Mail (War Books of the Year) “Quite brilliantly tells of the intelligence bonanza gained from bugging the rooms where captured Nazi generals were held as they let their tongues wag”—Gerald Seymour, Daily Express ‘Best Books of 2020'“Fry provides a riveting account, through the use of surviving transcripts from the bugging operations at Trent Park, of how a captured German prisoner of war spoke to his ‘minders’ – and fellow inmates – about the extent and number of concentration camps throughout German occupied territories.”—Bailey Schwab, Intelligence and National Security“A fascinating, well-researched glimpse into a hitherto neglected corner of the intelligence history of the Second World War."—Nigel West, author of Double Cross in Cairo"Fry shines a revealing light into a dark and forgotten corner of the British wartime intelligence effort, with truly remarkable results."—Mark Felton, author of Operation Swallow“Fry has uncovered an astonishing story of wartime espionage, featuring prisoners of war, microphones hidden in vegetation and interrogations so subtle that the subjects never realised what was happening. Almost as amazing as the operation itself is that it stayed secret so long.”—Robert Hutton, author of Agent Jack“Fry traces the development and growing sophistication of interrogation technique during the Second World War, the overlay of apparent British eccentricity and creative deception on a determined intelligence operation … Fascinating.”—Michael Jago, author of The Man Who Was George Smiley

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Book SynopsisTrade Review“Throughout, discussions of treaty negotiations in particular are excellent. The reader is left with a clear sense of the stakes, the skulduggery and machinations, and the full implications of the final terms reached. Rahe’s prose is engaging and dramatic.”—Thomas O. Rover, International Journal of Military History and Historiography“Written in a rich, rewarding style…Its coverage of ancient sources and modern literature in the notes is impressively exhaustive and it includes numerous and very good maps. Related to this, topography is Rahe’s strong point – several passages have benefitted from his detailed personal knowledge of the landscape.”—Pavel Nývlt, Eirene, Studia Graeca et Latina“The general reader will find the narrative stimulating, while, even if scholars disagree with some of R.’s conclusions, they will find them provocative, intriguing and cogently argued.”—David Stuttard, Classics for All“[Enriches] the existing literature by providing a fresh and convincing argument about the importance of domestic politics in international conflict”—Konstantinos Xypolytos, Strife JournalWinner of the Themistocles Prize awarded by the University of Piraeus“Paul Rahe stands out as one of the world’s leading scholars on the Peloponnesian War. His latest volume on Sparta’s protracted struggle with Athens, Sparta’s Second Attic War, provides insight into enduring problems of politics and strategy in wartime, into why and how peoples fight, both in the ancient world and in our own troubled times.”—John H. Maurer, Naval War College“The West’s victory in the Cold War may not have been the equal of the early 5th century Greek victory over the Persians. But, as Paul Rahe’s Sparta’s Second Attic War explains in elegantly crafted language, the notion of resolving global-sized confrontations is a modern conceit. Based on an understanding that equals that of any contemporary strategic thinker, Rahe examines the upheavals in the Hellenic world that followed Persia’s defeat, the roots of dissension in the geography of Sparta and Athens, and the influence of domestic policy on the contestants’ diplomatic and military maneuvers.”—Seth Cropsey, former deputy Undersecretary of the Navy“Rahe’s far-reaching and audacious reconstruction of ancient Greek history proceeds apace. This is more than military history, more than diplomatic history. It exhibits not only his magisterial command of a vast, complicated body of facts, but his comprehensive understanding of the larger context of strategic thinking then and now.”—Ralph Lerner, The University of Chicago

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Book SynopsisMade from walrus ivory some time between AD 1150 and 1200, the Lewis Chessmen are iconic artefacts from the early medieval period. This concise book provides a guide to the history of these chess pieces including the story of their discovery in 1831, followed by skulduggery, deception and controversy as they were sold off to various parties including the British Museum, where most of them are found today. Issues of the raw materials used, the skill of the craftsmen, their place of origin, stylistic features are placed within the context of the game of chess in medieval Europe.

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Book SynopsisFor more than two thousand years the people of St Kilda remained remote from the world. Their society was viable, utopian even; but in the nineteenth century the islands were discovered by missionaries, do-gooders and tourists, who brought with them money, disease and despotism. In 1930, the few remaining islanders were evacuated, no longer able to support themselves.An exploration of the life and death of the remote Hebridean society, Island on the Edge of the World is a moving account of human endeavour.Trade ReviewA story like a marvellous pebble, wet from the sea, strange and comic like all things out of step with time, sad as the old songs the women sang, splendidly told * * Sunday Times * *Reawakened my awe at the strangeness of our world -- WILL SELFA profound moral for our time . . . A beautiful, well-written book * * Washington Post * *A fascinating book . . . Charles Maclean is an excellent writer . . . he describes the story of St Kilda with powerful compassion -- MAGNUS MAGNUSSONAn evocative study of the island * * Scotsman * *Excellent * * Esquire * *

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Book SynopsisTrade Review"Winner of a 2018 Gourmand World Cookbook Award, U.S. National Winner in “Tea”""Winner of the 2018 PCCBS Book Prize, Pacific Coast Conference on British Studies""Co-Winner of the 2018 ASFS Book Award, Association for the Study of Food and Society""Winner of the 2018 Jerry Bentley Prize in World History, American Historical Association"

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Book SynopsisKeith Dowen tells the absorbing story of the arms and armour of the English Civil Wars, and demonstrates how emerging weaponry contributed to one of the greatest political and social upheavals in British history.

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

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Book SynopsisA Financial Times Economics Book of the Year A brilliant narrative of early capitalism's most famous scandal, a speculative frenzy that nearly bankrupted the British state during the hot summer of 1720 – and paradoxically led to the birth of modern finance. The South Sea Company was formed to trade with Asian and Latin American countries. But it had almost no ships and did precious little trade. Instead it got into financial fraud on a massive scale, taking over the government's debt and promising to pay the state out of the money received from the shares it sold. And how they sold. In the summer of 1720 the share price rocketed and everyone was making money. Until the carousel stopped, and thousands lost their shirts. Isaac Newton, Alexander Pope and others lost heavily. Thomas Levenson's superb account of the South Sea Bubble is not just the story of a huge scam, but is also the story of the birth of modern financial capitalism: the idea that you can invest in future prosperity and that governments can borrow money to make things happen, like funding the rise of British naval and mercantile power. These dreamers and fraudsters may have bankrupted Britain, but they made the world rich. Praise for Money For Nothing: 'A scholar who makes complicated and subtle matters not just accessible but fun. Utterly relevant to the 2008 financial crisis and 2020 pandemic' SIMON SEBAG MONTEFIORE 'Thoroughly researched and vibrantly written, Money For Nothing captures those heady, heartbreaking times, which still hold lessons for today' DAVID KAISER 'A gripping story of scientists and swindlers, all too pertinent to our modern world' JAMES GLEICK 'It's easy to look back and think of the South Sea bubblers, like the tulip-mad Dutch of the 1630s, as financially naive – until you remember how many people jumped in on various other more recent crazes (from Beanie Babies to Pets.com and Bitcoin). This is not a new tale, but Levenson tells it with a light touch' SPECTATORTrade ReviewSuperb, fascinating and totally timely, Money for Nothing is a gripping history of the South Sea Bubble by a scholar who makes complicated and subtle matters not just accessible but fun – the story of a world crisis with a flashy cast of grifters, scientists, politicians and charlatans that Levenson makes utterly relevant to the 2008 financial crisis and 2020 pandemic. Essential reading -- Simon Sebag MontefioreDoes a stockmarket crash and a plague sound somehow familiar? Leverson's new book is proof – very cleverly told – of how enlightening history can be. There is no excuse not to learn from the past -- Andrea WulfInspired by Isaac Newton's example, clever schemers sought to conquer the chaos of human affairs by abstracting financial value from tangible goods. Their calculations unleashed the notorious South Sea Bubble, which destroyed fortunes and roiled nations. Thoroughly researched and vibrantly written, Money for Nothing captures those heady, heartbreaking times, which still hold lessons for today -- David KaiserThomas Levenson is a brilliant synthesizer with a grand view of history. Here is the birth of modern finance amid catastrophe and fraud – a gripping story of scientists and swindlers, all too pertinent to our modern world -- James GleickA brilliant history of the South Sea Bubble, an astounding episode from the early days of financial markets that to this day continues to intrigue and perplex historians. Deeply researched and featuring a colorful cast of characters out of 18th century England – mathematical geniuses, unscrupulous financiers, greedy aristocrats, venal politicians – Money for Nothing is narrative history at its best, lively and fresh with new insights -- Liaquat AhamedThis erudite and entertaining history offers a fresh take on high finance * Publishers Weekly *An enthralling account of an economic revolution that emerged from a scandal * Kirkus Reviews *Levenson is very fluent in his descriptions... This is not a new tale, but Levenson tells it with a light touch' * Spectator *The book has helped me better understand a number of different institutions... If you want an embarkation point from which to understand the history of the City of London as a financial rather than simply mercantile or population centre then this book is a useful one, and one to whet your appetite' * London Historian's Blog. *A vivid account of the development of share trading in the coffee shops of Exchange Alley in the City, with fascinating asides such as Newton's extraordinarily modern management techniques when running the Royal Mint... A compelling read' * Financial Times. *Levenson is a talented writer * Money Week *A beautifully written account of the seminal bubble of capitalism * Financial Times *Levenson is a talented writer who does a good job explaining the complicated nature of the South Sea Company and how it paradoxically saved the British state from bankruptcy * Money Week *Levenson explored the murky tale in a wide ranging study of political intrigue, cultural attitudes and – his strength as a historian of science – the emergence of mathematical reasoning about the value of assets * BBC History Magazine *Levenson is very good on the deep history of the bubble... Building on recent scholarship and especially the work of his MIT colleague William Deringer, Levenson proposes instead that we see the era's scientific accomplishments and speculative bubbles as equal manifestations of a newly mathematical way of knowing and being' * TLS *

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Book SynopsisAs he prepared to wage his war of annihilation on the Eastern Front, Adolf Hitler repeatedly drew parallels between the Nazi quest for Lebensraum in Eastern Europe and the US's westward expansion under the banner of Manifest Destiny. Edward Westermann examines the validity, and value, of this claim in this volume.Trade ReviewThis thoughtful, provocative book compares the Nazi occupation of Eastern Europe with the United States's conquest of the American West. Its insights and conclusions are sure to stimulate new debates among a broad array of scholars."" - Robert Wooster, author of The American Military Frontiers: The United States Army in the West, 1783 - 1900""…this sensitive and incisive book…has set a high standard for future work on mass violence and genocide."" - American Historical Review

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Book SynopsisThis vivid and engaging book weaves together the history, architecture and archaeology of Syracuse and is an essential companion for anyone visiting the city. Dubbed 'the greatest Greek city and the most beautiful of them all' by Cicero, Syracuse also boasts the richest history of anywhere in Sicily. This is the first modern historical guide to the city, exploring Syracuse's place within the island and the wider Mediterranean and revealing why it continues to captivate visitors today, more than two and a half millennia after its foundation. Over its long and colourful life, Syracuse has been home to many creative figures, including Archimedes, the greatest mathematician of the ancient world, as well as host to Plato, Scipio Africanus, conqueror of Hannibal, and Caravaggio, who have all contributed to the rich history and atmosphere of this beguiling and distinctive Sicilian city. Generously illustrated, Syracuse, City of Legends offers detailed descriptions of the principal monumenTrade ReviewFor newcomers exploring Sicily for the first time, as well as for returning visitors, Jeremy Dummett’s Syracuse, City of Legends is a welcome travelling companion whose enthusiasm is catching. Dummett offers a rich trove of information about its deep past, which he helpfully links to the places that can be visited today, including the more intimate places off the beaten path. -- Judith Harris, author of Pompeii AwakenedAt last Syracuse is receiving the attention it deserves. Congratulations to Jeremy Dummett for his celebration of this Sicilian gem. Don’t leave for Sicily without this guide. -- Jordan Lancaster, author of In the Shadow of Vesuvius: A Cultural History of NaplesTable of ContentsList of Illustrations Preface Acknowledgements Prologue Part 1. The Story of Syracuse: From Greek City State to Modern Times 1. Foundation and the Rule of Gelon and Hiero I 2. The Athenian Expedition to Sicily 3. Dionysius I: Tyrant and Warlord 4. Five More Tyrants 5. Hiero II and the Roman Siege 6. Cicero and the Rise of Rome 7. Santa Lucia and the Early Christians 8. Byzantium and the Arab Siege 9. Outline to 1945 10. Modern Syracuse Part 2. The Principal Monuments: A Commentary 11. The Greek Era 12. The Roman Era 13. The Early Christian Era 14. Baroque Syracuse 15. Other Important Monuments Notes Further Reading Bibliography Chronological Table Glossary Index

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Book SynopsisTrade Review“[A] rollicking narrative…[An] absorbing and original book…Superb”—Ben Wilson, Times“There is much in Taylor’s book. It is interesting to see how pragmatically humane the navy could be, particularly in peacetime.”—David Mills, Sunday Times“[A]n accessible, humanistic portrait of a life characterised by hardship and comradeship.”— History Revealed“Episodes [are] gripping to read and fascinating in their particulars”—Ian Garrick Mason, Spectator“Taylor's research, skilful exposition, and elegant integration of text, archive and image has produced a compelling account of the men who made modern Britain, one that supplants all those that has gone before. Essential reading for sailors of the open ocean and the armchair.”—Andrew Lambert, BBC History Magazine“If most of these men's names have seeped into oblivion like so much sea froth, Taylor has brought their experiences back to vivid and exhilarating life: he stitches together the brutality and wonder of their lives with intelligence, judgement and compassion.”—Mathew Lyons, Literary Review“Sons of the Waves is the heir apparent to [John] Masefield's book as the best introduction for the general reader to the lives of eighteenth-century British seamen…Using the full range of available sources, Taylor has brought out the authentic, rarely heard, voice of Jack Tar.”—John B. Hattendorf, Times Literary Supplement“A vivid and engaging 'history from below' which provides a rich and readable demonstration of the ways in which the skills and experiences of seafarers helped to shape our society”—Nautilus Telegraph ‘Book of the Month’“The best introduction for the general reader to the lives of 18th century British seamen … Taylor has brought out the authentic, rarely heard voice of Jack Tar.” —John B. Hattedorff, Times Literary Supplement“Engrossing … suffused with a dark Dickensian melancholy.” —Roger Lewis, Daily Mail,Book of the Week“Fascinating and satisfying … A kaleidoscope of individual personalities and adventures” — N.A.M. Rodger, London Review of Books “Taylor’s experience as a writer of maritime history is evident in his adroit crafting of narrative, vivid portrayal of his characters and clear familiarity with his archival sources.” —Global Maritime History Certificate of Merit, Mounbatten Book Prize awards, 2020"An excellent book, combining an original approach to the subject with original research. Jack Tar, the quintessential British hero, emerges from this collective biography as a self-confident fellow, part of the collective body that sustained national prosperity, security and power.”—Andrew Lambert, author of Nelson"This enthusiastic account gives a vivid picture of life below decks in the era of the sailing navy. It is a classic of its kind, brimful with riotous episodes and gripping anecdotes anchored in detailed research."—Margarette Lincoln, author of Trading in War"The Royal Navy had some great leaders but what made their achievements possible was the thousands of unknown and unheard-from seamen who manned these vessels. This book starts the exploration of those fascinating lives."—Sir Robin Knox-Johnston

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Book Synopsis'A brilliant tour-de-force' - Times Literary SupplementBomber Command is acclaimed historian Sir Max Hastings' compelling account of one of the most controversial struggles of the Second World War.RAF Bomber Command’s offensive against the cities of Germany was one of the epic campaigns of the Second World War. More than 56,000 British and Commonwealth aircrew and 600,000 Germans died in the course of the RAF’s attempt to win the war by bombing. The struggle began in 1939 with a few primitive Whitleys, Hampdens and Wellingtons, and ended six years later with 1,600 Lancasters, Halifaxes and Mosquitoes razing whole cities in a single night.Max Hastings traced the developments of area bombing using a wealth of documents, letters, diaries and interviews with key surviving witnesses. Bomber Command is, in turn, a fascinating, meticulously-researched, and vivid assessment of the RAF's integral role in the Second World War.Trade ReviewProbably the most brilliant use of anecdotal material that has so far come out of the Second World War . . . A brilliant tour-de-force. * Times Literary Supplement *This is the most critical book yet written about Bomber Command . . . it is also far and away the best * The Economist *Table of ContentsSection - i: List of Illustrations Section - ii: Foreward Section - iii: Prologue: Norfolk and Heligoland Bight, 18 December 1939 Chapter - 1: In the Beginning, Trenchard: British Bomber Policy, 1917-40 Chapter - 2: 82 Squadron, Norfolk, 1940-41 Chapter - 3: 10 Squadron, Yorkshire, 1940-41 Chapter - 4: Crisis of Confidence, 1941-42 Chapter - 5: The Coming of Area Bombing Chapter - 6: 50 Squadron, Lincolnshire, 1942 Chapter - 7: Protests and Policy, 1942-43 Chapter - 8: 76 Squadron, Yorkshire, 1943 Chapter - 9: The Other Side of the Hill: Germany 1940-44 Chapter - 10: Bomber Command Headquarters, Buckinghamshire, 1943-44 Chapter - 11: Conflict and Compromise, 1943-44 Chapter - 12: Pathfinders: 97 Squadron, Lincolnshire, 1944 Chapter - 13: 'A Quiet Trip All Round': Darmstadt, 11/12 September 1944 Chapter - 14: Saturation Chapter - 15: The Balance Sheet Section - iv: Appendix A: Bomber Command sorties dispatched and aircraft missing and written off, 1939-45 Section - v: Appendix B: Specifications and performance of the principal aircraft of Bomber Command and Luftwaffe night-fighters, 1939-45 Section - vi: Appendix C: Letter to Sir Norman Bottomley from Sir Arthur Harris Section - vii: Appendix D: British and German production of selected armanents, 1940-44 Section - viii: Appendix E: Schedule of German Cities subjected to area attack by Bomber Command, 1942-45 Section - ix: Appendix F: Comparative Allied and German aircraft production, 1939-45 Section - x: Bibliography and a note on sources Section - xi: Notes and references Section - xii: Glossary od ranks, abbreviations and codenames Acknowledgements - xiii: Acknowledgements Index - xiv: Index

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Book SynopsisHow did Jews go from lives organized by synagogues, shul, and mikvehs to lives that—if explicitly Jewish at all—were conducted in Hillel houses, JCCs, Katz's, and even Chabad? In pre-emancipation Europe, most Jews followed Jewish law most of the time, but by the turn of the twentieth century, a new secular Jewish identity had begun to take shape. Homes Away From Home tells the story of Ashkenazi Jews as they made their way in European society in the late nineteenth and twentieth centuries, focusing on the Jewish communities of Paris, Berlin, and St. Petersburg. At a time of growing political enfranchisement for Jews within European nations, membership in the official Jewish community became increasingly optional, and Jews in turn created spaces and programs to meet new social needs. The contexts of Jewish life expanded beyond the confines of "traditional" Jewish spaces into sites of consumption and leisure, sometimes to the consternation of Jewish authorities. Sarah Wobick-Segev argues that the social practices that developed between 1890 and the 1930s—such as celebrating holydays at hotels and restaurants, or sending children to summer camp—fundamentally reshaped Jewish community, redefining and extending the boundaries of where Jewishness happened. Trade Review"Drawing on a stunning array of sources, Sarah Wobick-Segev transports readers through the spaces and places of Jewish life in three European cities, showing the centrality of new sites of leisure and consumption to modern Jewish identities and sensibilities. A fresh and original contribution to several fields, Homes Away from Home challenges the once intractable divide between Eastern and Western European experiences, showing how Jews and Jewish communities responded to the opportunities and challenges of modernity." -- Paul Lerner * University of Southern California *"Sarah Wobick-Segev's brilliant combination of spatial history with how Jews felt about these spaces offers readers an entirely new lens through which to understand evolving Jewish identities in Western, Central, and Eastern Europe." -- Marion Kaplan * New York University *"Wobick-Segev explores the ways in which modern Jews slowly became members of European society while maintaining a Jewish identity. She focuses on 19th- and 20th-century Jews in France, Germany, and Russia, and her study is a welcome addition to the immense literature on Jewish assimilation. Working through both primary and secondary sources in German, French, and Yiddish, Wobick-Segev examines ways that Jewish communities met the twin challenges of the modern world: greater acceptance by society was accompanied—seemingly paradoxically—by increased hostility. She covers a lot of ground cogently and concisely. Recommended." -- G.R. Sharfman * CHOICE *"[A] pleasure to read. Engaging and well-written, Homes Away from Home draws from a wide array of archival source materials in different languages, shedding light on urban Jews forging modern identities and sensibilities. It is a welcome addition to the fields of Jewish Studies, urban and spatial history." -- Saskia Coenen Snyder * H-France *Table of ContentsContents and AbstractsIntroduction chapter abstractPointing to the larger claims of the book, the introduction argues that the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries were a key moment in the creation of the Jewish individual—a moment when forms and structures of religious, familial, and communal authority were subsumed under the needs and concerns of the individual. As a result, personal desire increasingly defined the limits and scope of Jewishness, resulting in the creation of voluntary Jewish communities. Critically, the emergence and evolution of the Jewish individual occurred roughly at the same time as another pivotal social and cultural development: Leisure sites, including cafés, restaurants, hotel halls, and sports clubs, were gaining increased popularity in European society as available free time increased. The Introduction explores the relevant historiographic and theoretical debates connected to the spatial turn and highlights how they would become important for the Jewish communities of Berlin, Paris, and St. Petersburg. 1A Room of Their Own: Friendship, Fellowship, and Fraternity chapter abstractThe first chapter explores how Jews integrated into European society while at the same time used leisure and consumer places to maintain senses of group cohesion and collective identity. In aiming to preserve but also in effect to recreate a sense of collectivity, an increasing number of Jewish individuals turned to new social spaces to make and nurture friendships and solidify networks and solidarity. The chapter is thus about boundaries: the boundaries between Jews and non-Jews and the boundaries between different Jewish groups as they were expressed in social spaces. In particular, the chapter explores how writers, intellectuals, artists, immigrants, and the working classes used cafés to create friendship and fraternity, and how they used hotels and restaurants for new forms of conviviality and community building. 2A Place for Love: Autonomy, Choice, and Partnership chapter abstractThe second chapter examines the transition from arranged to companionate marriages among Ashkenazic Jews in the three cities and, in particular, as a reaction to the expanding market of leisure spaces in the process. The formation of the contemporary Jewish family underwent a dramatic shift as the notions of individual autonomy came to supersede the predominant influence of the extended family. In the process, the changing needs and expectations of the Jewish family imposed new expectations on the community as a whole regarding how and where the Jewish family was to be formed. 3Room to Grow: Children, Youth, and Informal Education chapter abstractChapter 3 examines the growing anxiety over the future of Judaism and Jewishness as it was expressed toward children and youth. Vacation camps and youth movements were seen as ideal venues for formal and informal education. Their creators and organizers hoped that such spaces would create bonds between Jewish children and instill in them a sense of Jewish belonging. Parents, too, had a role to play in this story. Just as they had come to use leisure and social spaces to solidify belonging with other Jews and to find a spouse, they hoped that children and youth would develop a sense of Jewish self-identification through social and leisure practices. Together, parents and leaders wanted children to develop a sense of Jewish belonging and for this reason encouraged them to participate in Jewish organizations and play in Jewish environments. 4A Space for Judaism: Rites of Passage and Old-New Jewish Holy Days chapter abstractChapter 4 explores how the largely Ashkenazic Jewish community began to alter the ways in which it celebrated holy days, weddings, and bar mitzvahs. The chapter examines the ways in which Jewish celebration patterns were changed as they were moved out of traditional Jewish spaces and into consumer and leisure spaces. Through an examination of these religious practices, the chapter reveals debates between religious authorities and lay members of the community. Religious leaders sought both to infuse rituals with new meaning and create new practices that would strengthen individuals' connection to the synagogue and to Judaism. The final part of the chapter explores how different Jewish groups began to change the celebration of Jewish holidays by taking a look at the popularization of holiday balls as a new means to celebrate Jewish holidays. 5Rebuilding After the Shoah: The Challenges of Remembering and Reconstruction chapter abstractChapter 5 demonstrates that the patterns developed before World War II were vital to the reconstruction of Jewish communities after the Shoah, especially in Paris and Berlin. By this time, the Jewish public had come to expect a wider social and cultural program that would cater to different guises of Jewish belonging beyond strict religious definitions. Individuals wanted Jewish sociability based not only on the synagogue but also on youth groups and children's summer camps and on social groups that met at local cafés or restaurants. At the same time, this chapter assesses the vast and critical changes wrought by the Holocaust and explores its repercussions in the postwar communities. Beyond pointing to these important historical continuities, however, this final chapter explores why these patterns were not replicated in Leningrad, despite periodic attempts to recreate public Jewish sociability in the former capital along similar models. Epilogue chapter abstractThe epilogue returns to the theme of community building and the contexts under which Jewish life can and has flourished. It argues strongly against narratives in which persecution is seen as the cement that binds Jewish communities together over time. Instead, the Epilogue asserts that Jewish belonging thrives in places of choice and that Jews find more reasons and ways to remain connected to their culture and to each other in cities and countries with multiple viable options. It also asks an open-ended question regarding the future of Jewish belonging in a time of continued individualistic belonging. Taking an optimistic approach, the Epilogue concludes with a call for increased and pluralistic contexts for the perpetuation of Jewish belonging and self-identification.

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Book SynopsisRevolution, the fourth volume of Peter Ackroyd's enthralling History of England begins in 1688 with a revolution and ends in 1815 with a famous victory. In it, Ackroyd takes readers from William of Orange's accession following the Glorious Revolution to the Regency, when the flamboyant Prince of Wales ruled in the stead of his mad father, George III, and England was – again – at war with France, a war that would end with the defeat of Napoleon at Waterloo.Late Stuart and Georgian England marked the creation of the great pillars of the English state. The Bank of England was founded, as was the stock exchange, the Church of England was fully established as the guardian of the spiritual life of the nation and parliament became the sovereign body of the nation with responsibilities and duties far beyond those of the monarch. It was a revolutionary era in English letters, too, a time in which newspapers first flourished and the English novel was born. It was an era in which coffee houses and playhouses boomed, gin flowed freely and in which shops, as we know them today, began to proliferate in our towns and villages. But it was also a time of extraordinary and unprecedented technological innovation, which saw England utterly and irrevocably transformed from a country of blue skies and farmland to one of soot and steel and coal.Trade ReviewAckroyd is a fascinating mix of a 19th-century narrative historian and modern social analyst. Elements of thisbook seem very old-fashioned and formal - in a good way. Yet the author eschews the detached third person preferred by stuffy professionals, favouring instead a more intimate "you" that brings the reader into the dark alleys of industrial towns to sniff the urine, vomit and suppurating sores of industrial England. Those perfect sentences are scattered throughout. -- Gerard DeGroot * The Times *Table of ContentsSection - i: List of illustrations Chapter - 1: What do you think of predestination now? Chapter - 2: A bull or a bear? Chapter - 3: The idol of the age Chapter - 4: Hay day Chapter - 5: The prose of gold Chapter - 6: Waiting for the day Chapter - 7: The great Scriblerus Chapter - 8: The Germans are coming! Chapter - 9: Bubbles in the air Chapter - 10: The invisible hand Chapter - 11: Consuming passions Chapter - 12: The What D’Ye Call It? Chapter - 13: The dead ear Chapter - 14: Mother Geneva Chapter - 15: The pack of cards Chapter - 16: What shall I do? Chapter - 17: Do or die Chapter - 18: The violists Chapter - 19: A call for liberty Chapter - 20: Here we are again! Chapter - 21: The broad bottom Chapter - 22: The magical machines Chapter - 23: Having a tea party Chapter - 24: The schoolboy Chapter - 25: The steam machines Chapter - 26: On a darkling plain Chapter - 27: Fire and moonlight Chapter - 28: The red bonnet Chapter - 29: The mad kings Chapter - 30: The beast and the whore Chapter - 31: A Romantic tale Chapter - 32: Pleasures of peace Section - ii: Further reading Index - iii: Index

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Book SynopsisKing Richard III remains one of the most infamous and recognisable monarchs in English or British history, despite only sitting on the throne for two years and fifty-eight days. His hold on the popular imagination is largely due to the fictional portrayal of him by William Shakespeare which, combined with the workings of five centuries of rumour and gossip, has created two opposing versions of Richard. In fiction he is the evil, scheming murderer who revels in his plots, but many of the facts point towards a very different man. Dissecting a real Richard III from the fictional versions that have taken hold is made difficult by the inability to discern motives in many instances, leaving a wide gap for interpretation that can be favourable or damning in varying degrees. It is the facts that will act as the scalpel to begin the operation of finding a truth obscured by fiction. Richard III may have been a monster, a saint, or just a man trying to survive, but any view of him should be based in the realities of his life, not the myths built on rumour and theatre. How much of what we think we know about England's most controversial monarch will remain when the facts are sifted from the fictions?

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Book Synopsis*A TIMES AND TELEGRAPH BOOK OF THE YEAR*WHAT CAUSED THE FALL OF THE MOST PROGRESSIVE GOVERNMENT IN TWENTIETH-CENTURY EUROPE, AND THE RISE OF THE MOST TERRIFYING?In the 1930s, Germany was at a turning point, with many looking to the Nazi phenomenon as part of widespread resentment towards cosmopolitan liberal democracy and capitalism. This was a global situation that pushed Germany to embrace authoritarianism, nationalism and economic self-sufficiency, kick-starting a revolution founded on new media technologies, and the formidable political and self-promotional skills of its leader.Based on award-winning research and recently discovered archival material, The Death of Democracy is a panoramic new survey of one of the most important periods in modern history, and a book with a resounding message for the world today.'Extremely fine... with careful prose and scholarship, he brings these events close to us.' Timothy Snyder, The New York Times'Intelligent, well-informed... intriguing.' The Times'With the injection of fresh contemporary voices, The Death of Democracy is also a thoughtful reflection of how our time more resembles the Thirties than the Noughties.' Daily TelegraphTrade ReviewExtremely fine... with careful prose and scholarship, with fine thumbnail sketches of individuals and concise discussions of institutions and economics, he brings these events close to us. Hett... sensitively describes a moral crisis that preceded a moral catastrophe. -- Timothy Snyder * The New York Times *Intelligent, well-informed... intriguing. Hett provides a lesson about the fragility of democracy and the danger of that complacent belief that liberal institutions will always protect us. -- Gerard DeGroot * The Times *Readable and well-researched, with the injection of fresh contemporary voices, The Death of Democracy is also a thoughtful reflection of how our time more resembles the Thirties than the Noughties. * Daily Telegraph *Benjamin Carter Hett deftly summarises this dismal period... Hett refrains from poking the reader with too many obvious contemporary parallels, but he knew what he was doing when he left "German" out of his title. On the book's final page, he lays his cards on the table... "Suddenly, the whole thing looks close and familiar." Yes, it does. -- Alex Ross * New Yorker *A superb explanation of how democracy died in Weimar Germany. Too much of this story seems painfully familiar today. -- Gerard DeGroot * The Times, 'Books of the Year' *

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Book SynopsisThe conflict in Northern Ireland was one of the most devastating in post-war Europe, claiming the lives of 3,500 people and injuring many more. This book is a riveting new history of the radical politics that drove a unique insurgency that emerged from the crucible of 1968. Based on extensive archival research, One Man's Terrorist explores the relationship between the IRA, a clandestine army described as 'one of the most ruthless and capable insurgent forces in modern history', and the political movement that developed alongside it to challenge British rule. From Wilson and Heath to Thatcher and Blair, a generation of British politicians had to face an unprecedented subversive threat whose reach extended from West Belfast to Westminster. Finn shows how Republicans fought a war on several fronts, making use of every weapon available to achieve their goal of a united Ireland, from car bombs to election campaigns, street marches to hunger strikes. Though driven by an uncompromising revolutionary politics that blended militant nationalism with left-wing ideology, their movement was never monolithic, its history punctuated by splits and internal conflicts. The IRA's war ultimately ended in stalemate, with the peace process of the 1990s and the Good Friday Agreement that has maintained an uneasy balance ever since.Trade ReviewProvides us with one of the best analyses available of the politics that motivated and drove different currents within insurrectionary Irish republicanism over the past 60 years. Well researched and scrupulously objective, the author is ever academically critical. Nevertheless, he does not suffer from the endemic hostility to his subject that mars so many other works in this genre. -- Tommy McKearney, author of The Provisional IRAThere are numerous current treatments of the modern IRA, its rivals, and its allies. Daniel Finn's stands out for its concise clarity, and because, free of jargon, it is written from the left. -- Brendan O’Leary, Lauder Professor of Political Science, University of PennsylvaniaA fine, subtle analysis of the Provisional IRA's armed campaign and the movement's political development over three decades. Daniel Finn provides sharp insights into the leadership's strategic thinking as it manoeuvred towards a ceasefire in the 1990s. He shows how this militant Republican movement transformed itself into an electorally successful left-wing political party in Ireland North and South. -- Niall Ó Dochartaigh, Professor of Political Science and Sociology, National University of Ireland, Galway[Finn is] studious in his research and solid in his writing * Irish Times *A concise yet detailed discussion of the modern Irish Republican movement. -- Ron Jacobs * CounterPunch *This book's account of how Sinn Fein's leaders played an instrumental role in making this possible is an indispensable guide to understanding how this template can - and cannot - be applied to resolving other terrorist conflicts, as well. -- Joshua Sinai * Washington Times *This slim volume packs a resonant, intelligent power. * RTÉ Guide *Given the outpouring of academic books and articles on the Northern Ireland conflict that has occurred since the 1960s...Does Daniel Finn's book represent an oasis in this intellectual and moral desert? The judgement has to be a qualified affirmative. * Dublin Review of Books *

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Book SynopsisThe Historia Augusta is a biographical collection written by a single author under six pseudonyms that covers the lives of the Roman emperors from Hadrian (r. 117–138) to Carinus (r. 283–285). While it is our most detailed surviving source for this period, it has more value as an enigmatic work of literary fiction than as history.Trade ReviewThe task of editing and revising the work of another scholar cannot be an easy task. Yet Rohrbacher has handled his endeavour with admirable skill and respect. The result is a welcome and, one might add, needed addition to the Loeb Classical Library, and will surely serve anglophone readers of this most beguiling of texts for years to come. -- Christopher Mallan * Bryn Mawr Classical Review *

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