General and world history Books

Book Synopsis· · A Daily Mail Book of the Week · ·The sensational story of the rise and fall of one of the most notorious families in history.____________________ 'A wickedly entertaining read' The Times____________________The Borgias have become a byword for evil. Corruption, incest, ruthlessness, avarice and vicious cruelty - all have been associated with their name. But the story of this remarkable family is far more than a tale of sensational depravities - it also marks the golden age of the Italian Renaissance and a decisive turning point in European history. From the family's Spanish roots and the papacy of Rodrigo Borgia, to the lives of his infamous offspring, Lucrezia and Cesare - the hero who dazzled Machiavelli, but also the man who befriended Leonardo da Vinci - Paul Strathern tells the captivating story of this great dynasty and the world in which they flourished.'A vivid insight into the hothouse world of papal politics in the tumultuous years before the Reformation.' Daily Telegraph'Authoritative and well-written' Wall Street JournalTrade ReviewStrathern strikes a successful balance between gorblimey Horrible Histories and the reverence due to Renaissance men. Don't be beside a pool or under a loggia in Italy this summer without a copy from which to read (luridly) aloud... This history of ruthlessness, intrigue and men broken on Fortune's Wheel is a wickedly entertaining read. * The Times *A vivid insight into the hothouse world of papal politics in the tumultuous years before theReformation. * Daily Telegraph *Authoritative and well-written... Strathern has an admirable talent for the biographical sketch, particularly of artists and writers. * Wall Street Journal *The Borgias, Mr Strathern explains, did not merely acquire their reputation through roistering and making the bureaucracy run on time. They also earned it through the ruthless elimination of their enemies - and friends... This is a book rich in such telling details. * The Economist *Strathern's latest venture into Renaissance Italy proves just as exciting as his previous histories... One of the author's great strengths has always been his ability to keep the many assorted players from confusing readers, and that holds true in his latest. Strathern's smooth narrative and comprehensive insight bring the Borgias to life. * Kirkus Reviews (Starred Review) *Engaging and informative... To be immersed in this group biography is to visit a particularly exciting and consequential period in European history in all its high drama and richness of character... Outstanding * Booklist *In this accessible look behind the curtain, Strathern lays out the history of the infamous Italian clan. Strathern makes a tangled and thorny history readable. * Publishers Weekly *Highly recommended for readers interested in the drama surrounding the Borgias that spurred a number of scandalous rumors that continue to circulate today. * Library Journal (Starred Review) *Table of Contents0: Prologue: The Crowning Moment 1: Origins of a Dynasty 2: The Young Rodrigo 3: Cardinal Rodrigo Borgia Emerges in His True Colours 4: The Way to the Top 5: A New Pope in a New Era 6: 'The Scourge of God' 7: The Best of Plans... 8: A Crucial Realignment 9: A Royal Connection 10: Il Valentino's Campaign 11: Biding Time 12: The Second Romagna Campaign 13: The Borgias in excelsis 14: Cesare Strikes Out 15: Changing Fortunes 16: Cesare Survives 17: Borgia's 'Reconciliation' 18: Lucrezia in Ferrara 19: The Unforeseen 20: Desperate Fortune

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Book SynopsisJulia Lovell is Professor of Modern China at Birkbeck College, University of London.Her two most recent books are The Great Wall and The Opium War (which won the 2012 Jan Michalski Prize). Her many translations of modern Chinese fiction into English include Lu Xun's The Real Story of Ah Q, and other Tales of China (2009). She is currently completing a new translation of Journey to the West by Wu Cheng'en.She writes about China for several newspapers, including the Guardian, Financial Times, New York Times and Wall Street Journal.Trade ReviewRevelatory and instructive… [a] beautifully written and accessible book -- David Aaronovitch * The Times *There is not a dull sentence in this scintillating and wry account of the global impact of Maoism -- Michael Burleigh * Evening Standard, *Book of the Week* *Wonderful -- Andrew Marr * New Statesman *An exciting, alternative history of the 20th century that deviates from the well-rehearsed narrative that relays between Washington and Moscow -- Tanjil Rashid * Financial Times *A landmark work giving a global panorama of Mao's ideology filled with historic events and enlivened by striking characters -- Jonathan Fenby, author of The Penguin History of Modern ChinaJulia Lovell has given us a masterful corrective to the greatest misconception about today’s China. For too long, visitors who marveled at China’s new luxuries and capitalist zeal assumed that Maoism had gone the way of its creator. That was a mistake. Lovell’s account - eloquent, engrossing, intelligent - not only explains why Xi Jinping has revived some of Mao’s techniques, but also why Mao's playbook for the “People’s War” retains an intoxicating and tragic appeal to marginalized people the world over -- Evan Osnos, author of The Age of AmbitionLovell takes us on an exhilarating journey, tracing the spread of Maoist theories across South-east Asia and then Africa, ending up in today’s China… The historical sweep of this book is impressive -- Christopher Coker * Literary Review *Lovell has produced a work which may well be the most harrowing, fascinating and occasionally hilarious book on the subject thus far -- Stuart Kelly * Scotland on Sunday *Lovell is an accomplished storyteller with a nuanced and sophisticated understanding of China’s relationship with itself and the world -- Isabel Hilton * Prospect *Lovell has a gift for compressing long and convoluted histories via just the right stories, characters, moments, and statistics… In vivid, often grim detail, Lovell shows us how and why Maoism has proven better, both inside and outside China, at attacking state infrastructure than building it up * Daily Telegraph *Lovell breaks new ground and does so in a wonderfully well-written account packed with horrors, extraordinary characters and occasionally macabre humour -- Chris Patten * Tablet *Lovells’s descriptions of…global strands of Maoism are well-researched and colourful * Economist *Highly readable and well-researched book… timely -- David Priestland * New Statesman *A fascinating account of the influence of Maoism, during the cold war and beyond -- Gideon Rachman * Financial Times, *Books of the Year* *[A] superb and chilling study -- Dominic Sandbrook * Sunday Times, *Books of the Year* *A fascinating and timely work on one of the most influential and disruptive strands of Marxist thought: that of Mao Zedong… the book reveals the relevance of Mao to our current populist age * London Review of Economics, *Books of the Year* *

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Book SynopsisAward-winning historian Joanne M. Ferraro's The Renaissance and the Wider World skillfully surveys the economic, political, social, and cultural history of Europe for the period between 1250 and 1600. The book examines how the Renaissance manifested itself through developments in the high culture of art, architecture, philosophy, science, technology, and education, as well as material culture in the form of worldly goods and consumption patterns. Ferraro expertly shows how Renaissance high culture began in 13th-century Italy, with important ancient and medieval legacies and cultural infusions from China, North Africa, and Islam and, from the 16th century, the Ottomans and the Americas; she also examines some of the ways in which this Renaissance then impacted the rest of Europe, the Americas, and the Ottoman Empire during the 15th and 16th centuries. Vital and innovative themes that permeate the text's discussions of science, art, architecture, philosophy, andTrade ReviewA compelling reconceptualization of the Renaissance in Italy as not insular but part of an expansive transnational network. Ferraro, an historian well versed in scholarly debates, poses and answers new questions with original findings and ground-breaking information. A marvelous achievement and indispensable reading for students, scholars and a broad audience! * Margaret F. Rosenthal, Professor of Italian, University of Southern California, USA *Ferraro’s Renaissance deftly introduces the great artists and thinkers of this period. But, at the same time, her text – with its attention to women, workers, and global interactions – offers the most inclusive portrait we have yet of this transformative period. In short, this a major work of humanistic scholarship * John Jeffries Martin, Professor of History, Duke University, USA *This groundbreaking book presents the major cultural developments of the Italian Renaissance in an expansive context, both chronologically (beginning with its origins in classical antiquity) and spatially (in a global setting that reaches beyond the Italian peninsula). * Patricia Fortini Brown, Professor Emerita of Art & Archaeology, Princeton University, USA *Well-written and thoughtfully organized, this textbook on Renaissance Italy provides a lively synthesis of cutting-edge recent scholarship on the period and returns it to its deserved place at the center of the Western tradition and world history as well. Ferraro at her best and a text that students will read with excitement and enthusiasm. * Professor Guido Ruggiero, Emeritus, University of Miami, USA *Table of ContentsList of Figures List of Maps List of Boxes Acknowledgements Introduction: The Invention of the Renaissance 1. Foundations: The Ancient and Medieval Legacies 2. Urban Revitalization and Political Organization: 1000-1350 3. Spheres of Culture: 1000-1375 4. Daily Life and Modes of Socialization 5. Fifteenth-Century Politics 6. Humanism and the Circulation of Knowledge 7. Fifteenth Century Art and Its Patrons 8. A Shifting World: Italy in the Sixteenth Century 9. Sixteenth-Century Cultural and Intellectual Life 10. Worldly Connections: the Renaissance Exchange Glossary Index

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Book SynopsisFrom Tristram Hunt, award-winning author of The Frock-Coated Communist and leading UK politician, Ten Cities that Made an Empire presents a new approach to Britain''s imperial past through the cities that epitomised itSince the return of Hong Kong to China in 1997 and the end days of Empire, Britain''s colonial past has been the subject of passionate debate. Tristram Hunt goes beyond the now familiar arguments about Empire being good or bad and adopts a fresh approach to Britain''s empire and its legacy. Through an exceptional array of first-hand accounts and personal reflections, he portrays the great colonial and imperial cities of Boston, Bridgetown, Dublin, Cape Town, Calcutta, Hong Kong, Bombay, Melbourne, New Delhi, and twentieth-century Liverpool: their architecture, culture, and society balls; the famines, uprisings and repressions which coursed through them; the primitive accumulation and ghostly bureaucracy which ran them; the British supremacTrade ReviewA grand history of the British empire ... this is a book about ideas, for all that it is rich in architectural description, economic fact and colourful anecdote ... well-written, cleverly constructed and beautifully balanced -- James McConnachie * Spectator *A fascinating and readable book -- Justin Huggler * Independent *Ingenious and timely ... Hunt skilfully constructs his itinerary to provide a lively and cliché-busting survey of imperial history ... he uses the urban lens to terrific effect -- Maya Jasanoff * Guardian *An original and inventive approach to tackling empire ... This is a book which is experienced through the life on the streets, in the buildings and across the physical layout of large urban centres, where jostled men and women of different races and creeds ... readable and engaging ... It is a work of great ambition ... impressive -- Kwasi Kwarteng * Standpoint *

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Book SynopsisWritten from a consciously anti-enthnocentric approach, this fascinating work is a survey of the civilizations of the modern world in terms of the broad sweep and continuities of history, rather than the event-based technique of most other texts.Table of ContentsList of MapsTranslator's IntroductionBy Way of PrefaceIntroduction: History and the Present DayI. A History of Civilizations1. Changing Vocabulary2. The Study of Civilization Involves All the Social Sciences: Civilizations as geographical areas; civilizations as societies; civilizations as economies; civilizations as ways of thought.3. The Continuity of Civilizations: Periods within civilizations; underlying structures; history and civilizationII. Civilizations Outside EuropePart I. Islam and the Muslim World4. History: Islam as a successor civilization: the Near East in new form; the history of the Near East; Muhammad, the Koran and Islam; Arabia: the problem of a barely urbanized culture.5. Geography: Islam's lands and seas; a continent as intermediary: trade-routes and towns.6. The Greatness and Decline of Islam: No Muslim civilization before the eighth or ninth century; the golden age of Islam: eighth to twelfth centuries; science and philosophy; stagnation or decadence: twelfth to eighteenth centuries.7. The Revival of Islam Today: The end of colonialism and the birth of new nationalist movements; Muslim States in the modern world; Muslim civilization in the twentieth century.Part II: Africa8. The Past: Geography; the dark past.9. Black Africa: Today and Tomorrow: The awakening of Africa; economic and social issues at stake; art and literature.Part III: The Far East10. An Introduction to the Far East: What geography shows; barbarism against civilization: the evidence of history; distant origins: the reasons for cultural immobility.11. The China of the Past: Religion; politics; social and economic affairs.12. China Yesterday and Today: The time of imposed treaties: China as humiliated victim (1839-1949); China renewed; Chinese civilization in the modern world.13. India Yesterday and Today: Ancient India (before the British Raj); British India (1757-1947): an ancient economy at grips with the modern West; Will India be spared a Chinese-style revolution?14. The Maritime Far East: Indo-China; Indonesia; The Philippines; Korea.15. Japan: Japan before Chinese influence; Japan learns from Chinese civilization; modern Japan.III. European CivilizationsPart I: Europe16. Geography and Freedom: Europe takes shape: fifth to thirteenth centuries; liberty and rights: eleventh to eighteenth centuries.17. Christianity, Humanism, and Scientific Thought: Christianity; humanism and humanists; scientific thought before the nineteenth century.18. The Industrialization of Europe: The origins of the first Industrial Revolution; the spread of industrialism in Europe (and beyond); socialism and industrialism.19. Unity in Europe: Outstanding art and culture; economic interdependence; political delay.Part II: America20. Latin America, the Other New World: Geography; nature and society: literature bears witness; racial problems: quasi-fraternity; the economy: civilizations on trial.21. America par excellence: The United States: A reassuring past: opportunities and setbacks; colonization and independence; conquering the West; industrialization and the growth of towns.22. Failures and Difficulties: From Yesterday to the Present: An old nightmare: Black America, an ineradicable colony; capitalism: from the trusts to State intervention and oligopoly; the United States in the world.23. An English-speaking Universe: In Canada: France and Britain; Southern Africa: Dutch, British, and Blacks; Australia and New Zealand, or Britain at last unchallenged.Part III: The Other Europe: Muscovy, Russia, the USSR and the CIS24. From the Beginning to the October Revolution of 1917: Kiev; the Russian Orthodox Church; Greater Russia.25. The USSR After 1917: From Marx to Lenin; Marxism and Soviety civilization; the Congress of October 1961.Index

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Book SynopsisWhen the first atomic bomb was dropped on Hiroshima in August 1945, killing 100,000 men, women and children, it was the beginning of a terrifying new episode in human history. Written only a year after the disaster, John Hersey brought the event vividly alive with this heart-rending account of six men and women who survived despite all the odds. He added a further chapter when, forty years later, he returned to Hiroshima to discover how the same six people had struggled to cope with catastrophe and with often crippling disease. The result is a devastating picture of the long-term effects of one very small bomb.Trade Review'To this day nothing tells better the horror of Hiroshima ... One of the most powerful writers of modern times' Washington Post 'A vision of hell ... its terrible images are reminiscent of Dante's Inferno' The Times

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Book SynopsisTHE SUNDAY TIMES TOP 10 BESTSELLER''The best new narrative of the battle thus far, reflecting his gifts for fluent prose and moving quotations.'' Max Hastings, Sunday Times No conflict better encapsulates all that went wrong on the Western Front during World War I than the Battle of the Somme in 1916. The tragic loss of life and stoic endurance by troops who walked towards their death is an iconic image - but this critically-acclaimed bestseller, on the four months of battle, shows the extent to which the Allied armies were in fact able to break through the German front lines again and again. In eight years of research, Hugh Sebag-Montefiore -- the author of Dunkirk -- has found extraordinary new material from Australians, New Zealanders, Canadians, and the British - from heartbreaking diaries and letters to hitherto unseen Red Cross files - recounting their experiences amid the horror of war. It has been hailed as the best Trade ReviewMagisterial, exemplary, heartbreaking. So original is the material, and so inventive is Sebag-Montefiore's approach . . . that this well-known tale is rendered strange again. Written with great style and sensitivity, superbly illustrated with many original plates and beautifully drawn maps, Sebag-Montefiore's brilliant new study will set the benchmark for a generation -- Saul David * David Telegraph *Sebag-Montefiore tells it with gusto, a remarkable attention to detail . . . The sense of confusion, anxiety, uncertainty, and intrepid courage which characterized this disastrous campaign is captured more successfully than any other existing account -- Richard Overy * Daily Telegraph *A beautifully crafted, blow-by-blow account with deep insight into the lives of these diverse young men * Kirkus Reviews *In his previous book, Dunkirk, one of Sebag-Montefiore's talents as a historian is never to lose sight of the variety of individual experience. It is impossible to read this book without being stuck afresh by the ripples of mourning and anxiety spreading out from the battlefield in France -- Daniel Todman * The Financial Times *Hugh Sebag-Montefiore's heroes are the junior officers and the ordinary soldiers. Their voices emerge loud and clear in his pages . . . The best historians of the war have always made good use of the words written by the participants themselves, but few have done so as effectively as here -- Nick Rennison * Daily Mail *The author's combination of thoughtful analysis with first-hand testimony from army soldiers, cameramen and diarists lends a gritty immediacy -- Ian Thomson * Observer *Comprehensive, authoritative and meticulously researched... [Of recent publications] it is the weightiest and best written -- Simon Humphrey * Mail on Sunday *Having read almost everything that has been written on this battle, I can vouch this is the best account yet. -- Gerard DeGroot * The Times *Comprehensive, authoritative and meticulously researched... [Of recent publications] it is the weightiest and best written. -- Simon Humphrey * Mail on Sunday *

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Book Synopsis''It will change the way you remember the 20th century and read the news in the 21st'' Steven Pinker''A clarion call to preserve law and order across our planet'' Philippe Sands''A fascinating and important book ... given the state of the world, The Internationalists has come along at the right moment'' Margaret MacMillan, Financial TimesSince the end of the Second World War, we have moved from an international system in which war was legal, and accepted as the ultimate arbiter of disputes between nations, to one in which it was not. Nations that wage aggressive war have become outcasts and have almost always had to give up their territorial gains. How did this epochal transformation come about? This remarkable book, which combines political, legal, and intellectual history, traces the origins and course of one of the great shifts in the modern world.''Sweeping and yet personable at the same time, The Internationalists<Trade ReviewGenuine originality is unusual in political history. The Internationalists is an original book. -- Louis Menand * New Yorker *An impassioned history of how the liberal international order came into being and why it must be defended as never before * Economist *The Internationalists is a fascinating and challenging book, which raises gravely important issues for the present. -- Margaret MacMillan * Financial Times *An extraordinary high-wire act ... this book is a lively firecracker that illuminates not only the past, but also the present -- Adam Roberts * Telegraph *

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Book SynopsisRetaining well-loved features, this book covers in depth the challenges faced by the USA at home and abroad as it emerged from the Second World War as a superpower. It focuses on key concepts such as American identity, anti-communism and ethnic identities, and covers events and developments with precision.

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Book SynopsisRefreshes the parts other history books can't reach...A bit ropy on the Renaissance?In the dark about the Enlightenment?Or, in fact, do you need a revision course on the entire history of the world and want to read a witty, irreverent, definitely not boring romp through everything that has ever happened on planet earth from 15 billion years BC to the present day? Good.A Less Boring History of the World tells you everything you need to know from the Big Bang to Barack Obama, taking in the Byzantines, the Black Death, Bin Laden and the fall of bankers along the way, all boiled down to bite size chunks so that you can finally piece together all the different bits of history - and see how on earth we ended up in the mess we are today. A Less Boring History refreshes your memory and broadens your mind. And, if that's not enough, it will also make you laugh. A lot.

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Book Synopsis''Pulse-pounding'' Sinclair McKay ''Truly masterful'' Damien Lewis ''Who needs spy fiction, when fact can provide as thrilling a story as this?'' Lindsey HilsumThe Spymaster of Baghdad is the gripping story of the top-secret Iraqi intelligence unit that infiltrated the Islamic State. More so than that of any foreign power, the information they gathered turned the tide against the insurgency, paving the way to the killing of ISIS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi in 2019.Against the backdrop of the most brutal conflict of recent decades, we chart the spymaster''s struggle to develop the unit from scratch in challenging circumstances after the American invasion of Iraq in 2003, we follow the fraught relationship of two of his agents, the al-Sudani brothers - one undercover in ISIS for sixteen long months, the other his handler - and we track a disillusioned scientist as she turns bomb-maker, threatening the lives of thousands.With unprecTrade ReviewAuthentic, moving, visceral, chilling, utterly revelatory, truly masterful. A stunning tour de force by an author who has lived every word of it on the ground. A story of our time that absolutely needs to be told -- Damien Lewis, bestselling author of Zero Six BravoSearing, pulse-pounding, yet also acutely human, this compelling account of how Iraqi agents infiltrated ISIS takes us deep beneath the lurid Baghdad and Mosul headlines and into a sharply focused world of courage, ingenuity, terror and love. This is not just a story of dry-mouthed espionage, but also of its profound repercussions upon loved ones and family; the intense struggle to live in peace in a land where extremists of all varieties seek to bring death. Greatly illuminating and powerful -- Sinclair McKay, bestselling author of DresdenCoker's book would do John le Carré - and undoubtedly any number of Operations Officers - proud for her treatment of the role, value, and challenges of human intelligence and agent running. This book is not about the high-tech gadgetry of surveillance drones, signals intercepts, or cyber intelligence, though all three play a role in this story. It is about the unrivaled value of the man or woman on-the-ground or in the loop with access to the information. It is about the delicate art of handling a source, an agent, or an informant -- Joshua C. Huminski, Director of the Mike Rogers Center for Intelligence & Global Affairs at the Center for the Study of the Presidency & Congress * Diplomatic Courier *This eye-opening account of the Iraqi intelligence unit which infiltrated Islamic State may read like a thriller, yet it is also grounded in the experiences of everyday Iraqis . . . a unique masterpiece in the genres of espionage writing and spy biography -- Vin Arthey * Scotsman *Margaret Coker, formerly of The Wall Street Journal and The New York Times, continued to cover Iraq after most of the American press corps had moved on; she has produced a gripping new book about the shadow war between Iraqi intelligence officers and the Islamic State, The Spymaster of Baghdad . . . Her subject is an elite Iraqi espionage unit called "the Falcons," composed of ordinary men who helped save their country from the onslaught of ISIS. Coker's reporting on these men, their families, and the family of a young woman recruited by terrorists is so meticulous that it lets her enter invisibly a closed, sometimes frightening world and portray it with cinematic detail -- George Packer * Atlantic *Fast-moving and suspenseful -- Samuel Sweeney * Wall Street Journal *

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Book SynopsisInvestigates how the CIA tried to influence scholars and governmentsDuring the early Cold War, the Central Intelligence Agency created dozens of funding fronts to support work that aligned with CIA goals, from clandestine operations and research to liberal anticommunist programs. While investigative journalists and congressional inquiries exposed many of these fronts, little is known about their daily internal workings. With a specific focus on the 1950s and 1960s Asia Foundation, Cold War Deceptions provides a rare view into the bureaucratic functioning of a covert operation in which most employees did not know they were working for the CIA. Drawing on the foundation's extensive surviving archival records and thousands of pages of declassified CIA documents, David H. Price examines how the foundation, secretly created and funded by the CIA, tried to shape Asian political, economic, intellectual, and cultural developments during the early years of t

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Book SynopsisA trenchant look at how the coronavirus reveals the dangerous fault lines of contemporary societyTrade Review“A stirring alarm addressed to an unsettled world.”—Kirkus Reviews“This is an important work— one that offers a powerful challenge as to where our political leaders have taken us in the past few months. The voice of Bernard-Henri Levy must be heard.”—Stephen Leah, Methodist RecorderPraise for the Author “Bernard-Henri Lévy does nothing that goes unnoticed. He is an intellectual adventurer who brings publicity to unfashionable political causes.”—New York Times “Only France could produce a phenomenon like Bernard-Henri Lévy, . . . As celebrated as any rock star, he speaks uncomfortable truths.”—Vanity Fair “We need Mr. Lévy’s voice—clear, unconstructed, unconstrained, real—to help us.”—Wall Street Journal “A writer of enormous power and vitality.”—San Francisco Chronicle “Bernard-Henri Lévy, perhaps the most prominent intellectual in France today, [speaks] truth to power.”— Boston Globe

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Book SynopsisHow objects associated with the American, French, and Haitian revolutions drew diverse people throughout the Atlantic world into debates over revolutionary idealsTrade Review“By excavating the power of material objects and visual images to express the fervor and fear of the revolutionary era, Ashli White brings us closer to more fully embodied, more fully human, figures.”—Richard Rabinowitz, author of Objects of Love and Regret: A Brooklyn Story“In this important, innovative book, Ashli White moves nimbly between North America, Europe, and the Caribbean to capture the richness and complexity of material culture in the Age of Revolutions.”—Michael Kwass, Johns Hopkins University“Envisioning revolution as the turning of a wheel—a cycling and circulating material thing—rather than as a new beginning offers fresh insights into how times of massive transformation can encompass enduring ways of life. White’s vivid and deeply researched account of the Atlantic Age of Revolutions takes its shape from the contested meanings of objects made, disseminated, and used in ways that show how even the most successful revolts against empires could still leave people firmly within their orbit.”—Vincent Brown, author of Tacky’s Revolt: The Story of an Atlantic Slave War“By focusing not on inspirational texts but on the circulation of the material culture of everyday life, Ashli White’s exciting and deeply-researched study makes the Age of Revolutions look all the more intriguing.”—Colin Jones, author of The Great Nation: France from Louis XV to Napoleon

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Book SynopsisDiscover the fascinating and outrageously readable account of the roguish acts of the first pirates to raid the Pacific in a crusade that ended in a sensational trial back in England-perfect for readers of Nathaniel Philbrick and David McCullough (Douglas Preston, #1 New York Times bestselling author of The Lost City of the Monkey God)The year is 1680, in the heart of the Golden Age of Piracy, and more than three hundred daring, hardened pirates-a potent mix of low-life scallywags and a rare breed of gentlemen buccaneers-gather on a remote Caribbean island. The plan: to wreak havoc on the Pacific coastline, raiding cities, mines, and merchant ships. The booty: the bright gleam of Spanish gold and the chance to become legends. So begins one of the greatest piratical adventures of the era-a story not given its full due until now.Inspired by the intrepid forays of pirate turned Jamaican governor Captain Henry Morgan-yes, that Captain Morgan-the company crosses Panama on foot, slashing its way through the Darien Isthmus, one of the thickest jungles on the planet, and liberating a native princess along the way. After reaching the South Sea, the buccaneers, primarily Englishmen, plunder the Spanish Main in a series of historic assaults, often prevailing against staggering odds and superior firepower. A collective shudder racks the western coastline of South America as the English pirates, waging a kind of proxy war against the Spaniards, gleefully undertake a brief reign over Pacific waters, marauding up and down the continent.With novelistic prose and a rip-roaring sense of adventure, Keith Thomson guides us through the pirates'' legendary two-year odyssey. We witness the buccaneers evading Indigenous tribes, Spanish conquistadors, and sometimes even their own English countrymen, all with the ever-present threat of the gallows for anyone captured. By fusing contemporaneous accounts with intensive research and previously unknown primary sources, Born to Be Hanged offers a rollicking account of one of the most astonishing pirate expeditions of all time.

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Book SynopsisIn this fascinating and enlightening collection of essays, one of the most important historians of our time reflects on the ways our understanding of Nazi Germany have been transformed in the twenty-first century. Richard Evans examines new historical perspectives on the Third Reich, such as showing how it is increasingly viewed in a broader international - even global - context, as part of the age of imperialism. He investigates how Nazi policies in Europe drew on Hitler''s image of the American colonisation of the Great Plains, how companies like Volkswagen and Krupp operated on a global scale and - perhaps most controversial of all - how historians have come to see the Holocaust not as a unique historical event but as a genocide with parallels and similarities in other countries and at other times. THE THIRD REICH IN HISTORY AND MEMORY explores how these new perspectives have brought dividends, but also offers a critical perspective on the ways they are changing our perc

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Book SynopsisOn 30 July 1945 the USS Indianapolis was steaming through the South Pacific, on her way home having delivered the bomb that was to decimate Hiroshima seven days later, when she was torpedoed by a Japanese submarine. Of a crew of 1196 men an estimated 300 were killed upon impact; the remaining 900 sailors went into the sea. Undetected for five days, they struggled to stay alive, fighting off sharks, hypothermia and madness. By the time rescue arrived, only 317 men were left alive. Interweaving the stories of some of these survivors (including the ship''s Captain Butler McVay, who would be unjustly court-martialled for the loss of his ship and, twenty years later and tormented by the experience, take his own life), Doug Stanton brings this incredible human drama to life in a narrative that is at once immediate and timeless. The definitive account of a near-forgotten chapter in the history of the last war, In Harm''s Way has become a classic.And, some 72 years laTrade ReviewThe story of the 1945 sinking of the USS Indianapolis ... 1196 men went into the Pacific... their entire ordeal, from the intial fireball to the 1968 suicide of the captian, is spelt out here in vivd, horrific detail. Brilliant stuff. * Later *A thoroughly researched, powerfully written account of a nightmare at sea, one of the most poignant tragedies and injustices of World War II -- Mark Bowden, author of Black Hawk DownSuperb...it's the stuff about the men in the sea that'll make you weep. Four days without water, being picked off one by one by sharks...and no-one in the world even realising they are missing. Gripping * FHM *How could a WWII battleship carrying over 1,000 men be torpedoed by a Japanese submarine and sink, leaving the survivors to bob in the Pacific Ocean at the mercy of elements and predators, without anyone realizing the loss for more than four days? Stanton not only offers a well-researched chronicle of what is widely regarded as the worst naval disaster in U.S. history, but also vividly renders the combatants' hellish ordeal during the sinking, and the ensuing days at sea as well as attempts to cope with the traumatic aftermath . . . absorbing, novelistic . . . illuminating and emotional without being maudlin * Publishers Weekly *

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Book SynopsisTrade Review"The accomplished historian Jennifer Delton has written an extremely important book on one of the United States’ leading business organizations, the National Association of Manufacturers . . . . [A] meticulously researched study." * Business History Review *

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Book SynopsisAn overview of the provision, or lack thereof, for girls' education from before the Norman Conquest to the twentieth century.Table of Contents1. Introduction 2. Before the Norman Conquest 3. Medieval England 4. Tudor England 5. The Early Stuarts and the Commonwealth 6. The Restoration 7. More Advice to the Girls 8. The Charity Schools 9. The Decline of the Charity School Movement 10. Precept and Practice 11. More Eighteenth-Century Boarding Schools 12. Women Learned and Romantic 13. Into the Nineteenth Century 14. The Nineteenth Century 15. Miss Buss and Miss Beale 16. Education for All 17. And Now? Books Consulted Index

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Book SynopsisIn Einstein: A Biography, Jurgen Neffe presents a clear and probing portrait of the man behind the myth. He recounts Einstein's life with detail and accuracy, presenting a comprehensive account of the educational, religious, psychological and historical conditions that enabled Einstein to become the ber-physicist of all time.Trade Review"Exhilarating [...] Neffe's zingy, dramatic style - for which we must offer congratulations to his translator, Shelley Frisch - sometimes calls to mind the New Yorker's John McPhee: his pages are rich in odd facts, take us deep into what one might call the Einstein industry and display both reverence for the genius and lèse-majesté before the man." Washington Post

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Book SynopsisThis second edition has been updated to include an assessment of economic relations up to the COVID-19 pandemic. It focuses on three main threads that tie national economies together: flows of goods, of people and of finance.Since the end of the Second World War, the international economy transformed from a tightly controlled trading system to the financial globalization of the late 20th century. This book traces the organisation of international economic relations from the 1944 Bretton Woods conference through to the 2008 financial crisis and its aftermath. By outlining the development of economic policy of both national and international institutions like the International Monetary Fund and the European Union, this volume examines how the global system was constructed and explores the sources of inequality and instability. The changing political context is also emphasised, especially the Cold War and its end, the rise of China and other emerging market economies and the prospect of a retreat from globalisation in the wake of the 2008 crisis.Using non-technical language and providing clear examples and evidence, the book is an accessible introduction to international economic relations that will be useful for all students of modern world history since 1945.Trade ReviewPraise for previous edition:"Schenk deals with complex subjects, periods, and organizations clearly and concisely, giving a broad introduction to the making of the contemporary global financial infrastruct. [...] Would I recommend it to students? Yes. Will I dip into it again during the course of teaching? Yes, probably, because of its clarity and conciseness; because it is well written; but mostly because it is well signposted and has clear, simple, and up-to-date graphs and tables; and because it is well referenced but not cluttered."Paul Strong, The Economic History Review, 2012Table of Contents1. Introduction and Overview 2. Rebuilding the international economic system 1945-50 3. Years of Growth 1950-70 4. Years of Crisis 1970-1985 5. The Start of the Second Globalization 6. The Acceleration of globalisation and renewed crises 7. Lessons not learned: the 2000s 8. Reconstructing international economic relations: 2010-2020

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Book SynopsisLukacs explores problems of consciousness and organization, drawing on Luxemburg and Lenin. When the proletariat proclaims the dissolution of the existing social order, Marx declares, it does no more than disclose the secret of its own existence, for it is the effective dissolution of that order. ..theory is essentially the intellectual expression of the revolutionary process itself. In it every stage of the process becomes fixed so that it may be generalised, communicated, utilised and developed. Because the theory does nothing but arrest and make conscious each necessary step, it becomes at the same time the necessary premise of the following one -Trade Review"one of the indispensable works of the twentieth century." Raymond Williams, Guardian. "It is unquestionably, a work of extraordinary intellectual power. A central feature is the importance Luka?s attached to ideology as a weapon in the class struggle." TribuneTable of ContentsContents: Preface (1967): What is Orthodox Marxism: The Marxism of Rosa Luxemburg: Class Consciousness, Reification and the Consciousness of the Proletariat: The Changing Function of Historical Materialism: Legality and Illegality: Critical Observations on Rosa Luxemburg's "Critique of the Russian Revolution": Towards a Methodology of the Problem of Organisation, Notes: Index.

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Book SynopsisAlthough the Battle of Arnhem was fought over sixty years ago. It still evokes such interest that it would seem to rank with the great victories of Agincourt, Trafalgar, Waterloo and the Battle of Britain, all of which proved to be turning points in the history of our nation. Arnhem was not a victory, but its outcome may have had results equally vital to the more recent history of the world. To many people the Battle of Arnhem was the Battle of Arnhem Bridge, which has now passed into history as The Bridge Too Far. This is understandable

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Book SynopsisRulers (and would-be rulers) have always faced the possibility of a violent death. Between the seventh and eighteenth centuries over 20% of all British and European monarchs suffered such a fate. Some died in battle or in accidents but most of them were murdered or executed. During the time of the Tudors and Stuarts some monarchs were the victims of lone assassins, some were killed after palace coups led by relatives or royal officials, and others after being defeated in a civil war. Their manner of death included public beheading, internal injury as a result of a knife attack, being hacked down by a group of noblemen, and ritual strangulation with a silk cord. Killing Monarchs takes us on a journey across Europe. Starting in England and Scotland (Lady Jane Grey and Mary Queen of Scots), it moves to France (Kings Henry III and Henry IV), and then further east to Russia (Tsar Feodor II and various pretenders to the throne) and the Ottoman Empire (Sultans Osman II and Ibrahim I). It then returns to Britain to consider why Charles I was executed. It provides a clear picture of the various forces that existed in society at the time and these are reflected in the motives of the regicides - the killers of monarchs even though many were not honest about them. The lust for power, the desire for a more effective leader, religious differences, and occasionally the wish to do away with monarchy altogether, all played a significant role.

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Book SynopsisFrom the Occupy protests to the Black Lives Matter movement and school strikes for climate action, the twenty-first century has been rife with activism. Although very different from one another, each of these movements has created alliances across borders, with activists stressing that their concerns are not confined to individual nation states.In this book, Daniel Laqua shows that global efforts of this kind are not a recent phenomenon, and that as long as there have been borders, activists have sought to cross them. Activism Across Borders since 1870 explores how individuals, groups and organisations have fostered bonds in their quest for political and social change, and considers the impact of national and ideological boundaries on their efforts. Focusing on Europe but with a global outlook, the book acknowledges the importance of imperial and postcolonial settings for groups and individuals that expressed far-reaching ambitions.From feminism and socialism to anti-war campaigTrade Review'Laqua's richly illustrated study considers an extraordinary array of political, social and ecological causes, exploring how transnational activists have both shaped - and been shaped by - the contemporary world. Drawing on impressive primary research and diverse analytical literatures, this volume provides a fascinating and sophisticated account of a topic of wide interest.' * Thomas Davis, City, University of London, UK *'This book offers an enormously rich insight into the way activists shaped the social fabric of modern societies. The impressive array of topics is both enriching and revealing as it systematically includes the dark sides of activism and invites us to rethink the history of modern societies as a result of competing, intersecting or colliding forms of collective action.' * Isabella Löhr, Centre Marc Bloch, Berlin, Germany *'This is an impressive book. It offers a wide-ranging and nuanced analysis of various forms of internationalism in engaging prose. Laqua focuses not only on better-studied countries but also relatively under-researched ones in Europe. Crucially, this monograph systematically considers both the benevolent elements and the blind spots manifest in internationalist visions and practices.' * Nikolaos Papadogiannis, Stirling University, UK *Table of ContentsIntroduction: Making Sense of Transnational Activism 1. Empire and Activism 2. Humanitarianism in War and Peace 3. Building a Peaceful World 4. Class, Revolution and Social Justice 5. The Politics of Gender and Sexuality 6. Encountering Racism and Discrimination 7. The Rights of Others 8. Going Green Conclusion

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Book SynopsisGuiding the reader through the many guises of global economic history, this book uncovers its key issues, debates and subjects. With contributions from leading scholars around the world, it delves into the economic histories of Africa, Europe, Asia and the Americas from the 16th to the 20th centuries. From the environment to The Great Divergence, finance, consumption, trade, industrialisation, commodities and labour regimes, it demonstrates the global nature of economic history, and highlights how indispensable it is and has been.Updated throughout, this new edition boasts an expanded introduction and four new chapters on capitalism and political economy, European empires and colonialism, North Africa and the Middle East, and the North American Economy. A comprehensive introduction to global economic history, this textbook provides students with a confident grasp of the field, its key debates and essential issues.

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Book SynopsisA captivating biography of two famous women whose sons, Winston Churchill and Franklin D Roosevelt, would change the course of the 20th century—by award-winning historian Charlotte Gray. Born into upper class America in the same year, 1854, Sara Delano and Jennie Jerome refused to settle into predictable, sheltered lives as little-known wives to prominent men. Instead, both women concentrated their energies on enabling their sons to reach the epicentre of political power on two continents. In the mid-19th century, the British Empire was at its height, France’s Second Empire flourished and the industrial vigour of the USA was catapulting the republic towards the Gilded Age. Sara and Jennie, raised with privilege but subject to the constraints of women’s roles at the time, learned how to take control of their destinies, Sara in the prosperous Hudson Valley and Jennie in the glittering world of Imperial London.Trade Review‘Gray’s impeccable research and insightful look into social constraints of the time bring these women to life, highlighting the often overlooked ways Jennie and Sara shaped not only their own destinies but those of their sons. Perfect for literary nonfiction, history, women’s history and biography readers’ * Booklist *'A fascinating two-way mirror onto a world of privilege' * Country Life *'Gray has managed to do the virtually impossible, and that is to say something new and poerceptive about Winston Churchill and Franklin Delano Roosevelt. With her usual keen eye for the telling detail and her sympathy for her subjects, she argues for the importance of the statemen's relationships with their two very different but forceful mothers' -- Margaret MacMillan, author of Paris 1919

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Book SynopsisCollects together for the first time essays devoted to a detailed historical and systematic discussion of the topic of life in Kant''s work.Kant and the Feeling of Life positions Kant''s concept of life as a guiding thread for understanding not only Kant''s approach to aesthetics and teleology but the underlying unity of the Critique of Judgment itself. The "feeling of life," which Kant describes as affecting us in various ways-as animating, enlivening, and quickening the mind-lies at the heart of Kant''s philosophical project, but it has remained understudied for a theme of such centrality. This volume brings together, for the first time, essays focused on the topic of life in Kant''s work, providing a wealth of perspectives and analyses ranging from the Critique of Judgment to Kant''s early aesthetics, his social and political philosophy, his work connected to the body and health, and his moral theory.

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Book SynopsisThis brilliantly concise history of the Pacific Ocean nevertheless succeeds in examining both the indigenous presence on ocean''s islands and Western control or influence over the its islands and shores. There is a particular focus on the period from the 1530s to 1890 with its greater Western coastal and oceanic presence in the Pacific, beginning with the Spanish takeover of the coasts of modern Central America, Colombia, Ecuador and Peru, and continuing with the Spaniards in the Philippines. There is also an emphasis on the very different physical and human environments of the four quadrants of the Pacific - the north-east, the north-west, the south-east and the south-west - and of the ''coastal'' islands, that is the Aleutians, Japan and New Zealand, and continental coastlines. The focus is always on the interactions of Japan, California, Peru, Australia and other territories with the ocean, notably in terms of trade, migration and fishing.Black looks first at the Trade ReviewPraise for Jeremy Black's The Holocaust: A demanding but important work. -- R. S. Levy, University of Illinois at ChicagoPraise for Jeremy Black's Insurgency and Counterinsurgency: A Global History: A significant and timely contribution to understanding the new meaning of war. * Choice *

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Book Synopsis''This is history with a surgeon''s touch: deft, incisive and sometimes excruciatingly bloody'' The Sunday Times''Utterly eccentric and riveting'' Mail on Sunday ''Eye-opening and, frequently, eye-watering . . . a book that invites readers to peer up the bottoms of kings, into the souls of rock stars and down the ear canals of astronauts'' The Daily TelegraphHow did a decision made in the operating theatre spark hundreds of conspiracy theories about JFK? How did a backstage joke prove fatal to world-famous escape artist Harry Houdini? How did Queen Victoria change the course of surgical history?Through dark centuries of bloodletting and of amputations without anaesthetic to today''s sterile, high-tech operating theatres, surgeon Arnold van de Laar uses his experience and expertise to tell an incisive history of the past, present and future of surgery.From the dark centuries of bloodletting and of aTrade ReviewThis is history with a surgeon's touch: deft, incisive and sometimes excruciatingly bloody . . . A fascinating combination of art, medical science and - still - daring butchery * The Sunday Times *Utterly eccentric and riveting * Mail on Sunday *Irresistible . . . Van de Laar renders complex surgical procedures not only understandable, but also immensely entertaining . . . A lot of fun * The Times *[A] fascinating history of surgery . . . eye-opening and, frequently, eye-watering . . . a book that invites readers to peer up the bottoms of kings, into the souls of rock stars and down the ear canals of astronauts -- Helen Brown * The Daily Telegraph, 5* review *Fascinating . . . a brisk but revealing tour of the human body. Each story shines a light on the wonders and weaknesses of our biology, and on the science we have used to treat it * Irish Independent *Fascinating . . . The author's sense of humour is as sharp as his scapel * Spectator *In this witty chronicle, surgeon Arnold van de Laar dissects thousands of years' worth of remarkably gruesome stories. From anaesthetic-free amputations and bloodletting to Albert Einstein's aneurysm, these are key insights into the cut and thrust of medicine * Nature *

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Book SynopsisThis book explores the life courses of children born of war in different twentieth-century conflicts, including the Second World War, the Vietnam War, the Bosnian War, the Rwandan Genocide and the LRA conflict. It investigates both governmental and military policies vis-à-vis children born of war and their mothers, as well as family and local community attitudes, building a complex picture of the multi-layered challenges faced by many children born of war within their post-conflict receptor communities. Based on extensive archival research, the book also uses oral history and participatory research methods which allow the author to add the voices of the children born of war to historical analysis.Table of Contents1 Children born of war: an introduction2 Children born of war: who are they? Experiences of children, mothers, families and post-conflict communities 3 Children born of war during and after the Second World War 4 Bui Doi: the children of the Vietnam War5 Bosnia: a new dimension of genocidal rape and its children6 African conflicts7 Unintended consequences…Epilogue: children born of war: lessons learnt?Index

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Book SynopsisWhat do we really know about how and where religions began, and how they spread? In this bold new book, award-winning author Robin Derricourt takes us on a journey through the birth and growth of several major religions, using history and archaeology to recreate the times, places and societies that witnessed the rise of significant monotheistic faiths. Beginning with Mormonism and working backwards through Islam, Christianity and Judaism to Zoroastrianism, Creating God opens up the conditions that allowed religious movements to emerge, attract their first followers and grow. Throughout history there have been many prophets: individuals who believed they were in direct contact with the divine, with instructions to spread a religious message. While many disappeared without trace, some gained millions of followers and established a lasting religion. In Creating God, Robin Derricourt has produced a brilliant, panoramic book that offers new insights on the origins of major religions and raises essential questions about why some succeeded where others failed.Trade Review‘Religions are among the most potent inventions of the human imagination. This magisterial study will help us understand them not as divine, but as human constructs.’Richard Holloway, author of Stories We Tell Ourselves'An intriguing and sensitively presented survey of the often surprising links and continuities between some of the world's great religions over three millennia.'Diarmaid MacCulloch, author of A History of Christianity: The First Three Thousand Years'Creating God is an attempt to recreate the worlds in which the founders of several major religions lived and laboured. The result is a book rich in detail, consummate in its scholarship, and revelatory in exposing for modern eyes the conditions that allowed religious movements to flourish. Derricourt’s approach is to work backwards chronologically through Mormonism, Islam, Christianity, Judaism to Zoroastrianism. The outcome of all this work is one of the most exciting books of modern times.'Queensland Reviewers Collective'If you are a student of Theology, History or simply someone who enjoys discovering much about the history of humanity, the good, the bad and the indifferent and where the fundamental beliefs that form a part of our society and bloody history were formed, Creating God is a very good place to begin. Fascinating, well researched and very readable Creating God is not a light read but one that is very worthwhile.'BlueWolf Reviews, Janet Mawdesley'The book is comprehensively annotated, and, in addition, contains a very useful ‘select’ bibliography for further reading. It provides an excellent entry point for those seeking secular perspectives on the origins of the five religions that are its focus, and for those seeking secular perspectives on the origins of religions more broadly'Journal of Religious History -- .Table of Contents1 Introduction: religions’ origins in context2 Frontiers of place and belief: Mormon origins and journeys3 Vision, faith and conquest: the source and power of Islam4 Rural Galilee to imperial cities: the beginnings and spread of Christianity5 Scribes, priests and exiles under foreign rule: the emergence of monotheistic Judaism6 Ahura Mazda and the enigmas of Zoroastrian origins7 Prophets, texts, religions and history: some conclusionsIndex

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Book Synopsis‘Our childhood came to an end when our parents parted and from then on Jennifer was placed in the impossible position of having to be a parent to me, her sister. I shall always be grateful for her protection . . .’Millions have fallen in love with Jennifer Worth and her experiences in the East End as chronicled in Call the Midwife, but little is known about her life outside this period. Now, in this moving and evocative memoir, Jennifer’s sister Christine takes us from their early idyllic years to the cruelty and neglect they suffered after their parents divorced, from Jennifer being forced to leave home at fourteen to their training as nurses.After leaving nursing Jennifer took up a career in music, her first love, and Christine became a sculptor, but through marriages and children, joy and heartbreak, their lives remained intertwined. Absorbing and emotional, The Midwife’s Sister by Christine Lee is testimony to an enduring bond between two extraordinary women.

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Book SynopsisStalin gets Roosevelt and Churchill to meet at Yalta. Roosevelt wants the United Nations to be established, Churchill and Stalin want sovereign nations within their empires to be recognised at the United Nations. Germany is defeated but war continues in the east until the atom bomb is delivered.

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Book SynopsisThe fifth edition of this indispensable history of photography spans the history of the medium, from its early development to current practice, and providing a focused understanding of the cultural contexts in which photographers have lived and worked throughout, this remains an all-encompassing survey.Mary Warner Marien discusses photography from around the world and through the lenses of art, science, travel, war, fashion, the mass media and individual photographers. Professional, amateur and art photographers are all represented, with 'Portrait' boxes devoted to highlighting important individuals and 'Focus' boxes charting particular cultural debates. Mary Warner Marien is also the author of 100 Ideas that Changed Photography and Photography Visionaries.New additions to this ground-breaking global survey of photography includes 20 new images and sections on advances in technology and the influence of social media platforms. An essential text for anyone studying photography.Trade ReviewIt is extremely comprehensive and a wide view of the history of photography. ELIZABETH CALVI - UNIVERSITY OF NEW HAVENExcellent history of photography that discussed key issues clearly and succinctly. -- Bibiana Obler * George Washington University *It takes a broad, updated, thoughtful approach to the field. -- Ash Anderson * Boston College *The book covers the best material in a way that is useful, and has excellent reproductions of the works. -- ERIC ZEIGLER * UNIVERSITY OF TOLEDO *The book maintains a good balance between history and theory and has a nice selection of images. * HAYAN KIM – AUGUSTANA COLLEGE *

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