General and world history Books

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Book SynopsisThroughout the centuries, royal mistresses have been worshiped, feared, envied, and reviled. They set the fashions, encouraged the arts, and, in some cases, ruled nations. Eleanor Herman''s Sex with Kings takes us into the throne rooms and bedrooms of Europe''s most powerful monarchs. Alive with flamboyant characters, outrageous humor, and stirring poignancy, this glittering tale of passion and politics chronicles five hundred years of scintillating women and the kings who loved them.Curiously, the main function of a royal mistress was not to provide the king with sex but with companionship. Forced to marry repulsive foreign princesses, kings sought solace with women of their own choice. And what women they were! From Madame de Pompadour, the famous mistress of Louis XV, who kept her position for nineteen years despite her frigidity, to modern-day Camilla Parker-Bowles, who usurped none other than the glamorous Diana, Princess of Wales.The successful royal mistress made herself irreplaceable. She was ready to converse gaily with him when she was tired, make love until all hours when she was ill, and cater to his every whim. Wearing a mask of beaming delight over any and all discomforts, she was never to be exhausted, complaining, or grief-stricken.True, financial rewards for services rendered were of royal proportions -- some royal mistresses earned up to $200 million in titles, pensions, jewels, and palaces. Some kings allowed their mistresses to exercise unlimited political power. But for all its grandeur, a royal court was a scorpion''s nest of insatiable greed, unquenchable lust, and vicious ambition. Hundreds of beautiful women vied to unseat the royal mistress. Many would suffer the slings and arrows of negative public opinion, some met with tragic ends and were pensioned off to make room for younger women. But the royal mistress often had the last laugh, as she lived well and richly off the fruits of her sins.From the dawn of time, power has been a mighty aphrodisiac. With diaries, personal letters, and diplomatic dispatches, Eleanor Herman''s trailblazing research reveals the dynamics of sex and power, rivalry and revenge, at the most brilliant courts of Europe. Wickedly witty and endlessly entertaining, Sex with Kings is a chapter of women''s history that has remained unwritten -- until now.Trade Review"Sexy, Dishy and Funny" -- New York Times "An irreproachably researched and amusingly written history of European monarchs' jezebels." -- Kirkus Reviews (starred review) "Sex With Kings is...a lot more fun than Danielle Steel or Dan Brown." -- Washington Post Book World "Addictively Good Dish" -- Entertainment Weekly An enlightening social history that is great fun to read" -- New York Times Book Review "With all the suspense of a thriller... this book is simply ideal for a historical bestseller!" -- Barbara Wegmann, Amazon Germany in-house critic "Herman's spirited history of royal "mistresshood" is certainly a catchy read... History made as buoyant as fiction." -- Booklist "An irresistible book... Deliciously bawdy, outrageously entertaining... Herman's writing sparkles off the pages." -- Boston Globe "A smart, keenly researched history written with wry wisdom." -- Dallas Morning News

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Book Synopsis''They will have to choose between giving us freedom or giving us death''So said,in 1913 ,the brilliant orator and suffragette ,Emmeline Pankhurst, just one of the inspiring women who won the vote for women. She remains a heroine for those determined to go to any lengths to change our world and one of those inspirational souls who feature in Rosalind Miles'' gallery of famous, infamous and little-know rebels. We begin with the French Revolution when women took on the fraternite of man, then it''s off to America to round up the rebels fighting side by side for freedom with their men, before heading back to Britain to witness the courage of the suffragettes. From Australia to Iceland, from India to China and from many other countries, we track women who - often at a very high cost to themselves - have stood up to age-old cruelties and injustices. Recording the important milestones in the long march of women towards equality through a colourful pageant of astonis

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Book SynopsisThe story of the everyday heroism of British bomber crews in 1944 - the turning point year in Bomber Command's war against Germany.Trade ReviewTales of everday heroism * GOOD BOOK GUIDE *

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Book SynopsisTrade Review"The 2018 Medieval Book of the Year"

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Book SynopsisIf your response to a mention of the Wars of the Roses, the Sumerians or the Reformation is, ‘Hmm, I’ve heard of that – what was that again?’, then this is the book for you. This entertaining yet informative book travels back through time to fill in those embarrassing gaps in your knowledge, from the invasions of Britain, the Renaissance and the Cold War, to the American, French and Russian Revolutions, the World Wars ... and everything else you have forgotten from your school history lessons. In I Used to Know That: History, information is broken down into manageable, bite-sized chunks, refreshing your memory of all those things you once knew but have forgotten, and filling you in on the bits that the school syllabus didn’t include. From building the pyramids in Egypt to the fall of the Berlin Wall, everything you used to know – and much that you didn’t – is here.

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Book SynopsisUPDATED FOR THE 75TH ANNIVERSARY OF PARTITION ‘Puri does profound and elegant work bringing forgotten narratives back to life. It’s hard to convey just how important this book is’ Sathnam Sanghera ‘The most humane account of partition I’ve read ... We need a candid conversation about our past and this is an essential starting point’ Nikesh Shukla, Observer 'Thanks to Ms. Puri and others, [that] silence is giving way to inquisitive—and assertive—voices. In Britain, at least, the partitioned have learned to speak frankly of the past—and to search for ways to reckon with it' Wall Street Journal ________________________ Newly revised for the seventy-fifth anniversary of partition, Kavita Puri conducts a vital reappraisal of empire, revisiting the stories of those collected in the 2017 edition and reflecting on recent developments in the lives of those affected by partition. The division of the Indian subcontinent in 1947 into India and Pakistan saw millions uprooted and resulted in unspeakable violence. It happened far away, but it would shape modern Britain. Dotted across homes in Britain are people who were witnesses to one of the most tumultuous events of the twentieth century. But their memory of partition has been shrouded in silence. In her eye-opening and timely work, Kavita Puri uncovers remarkable testimonies from former subjects of the Raj who are now British citizens – including her own father. Weaving a tapestry of human experience over seven decades, Puri reveals a secret history of ruptured families and friendships, extraordinary journeys and daring rescue missions that reverberates with compassion and loss. It is a work that breaks the silence and confronts the difficult truths at the heart of Britain’s shared past with South Asia.Trade ReviewPuri does profound and elegant work bringing forgotten narratives back to life. It’s hard to convey just how important this book is -- Sathnam SangheraProbably the closest thing to a partition memorial … Heartfelt and beautifully judged -- John Keay * Literary Review *Kavita Puri's book is the most humane account of partition I've read … Partition Voices is important because Puri does not flinch as she dissects the tumultuous event, never shying away from the trauma … We need a candid conversation about our past and this is an essential starting point -- Nikesh Shukla * Observer *Opens a fascinating and necessary conversation about contemporary Britain and its people – where they have come from, what they have done, and who they may now want to be -- Anjali Joseph * Times Literary Supplement *An original and moving collection of testimonies from British Sikhs, Muslims and Hindus about the transformative era of India's partition * Guardian, 50 Best Books of the Summer *Thanks to Ms. Puri and others, [that] silence is giving way to inquisitive—and assertive—voices. In Britain, at least, the partitioned have learned to speak frankly of the past—and to search for ways to reckon with it - Wall Street JournalWith a masterful mix of history, biography and contemporary reportage, Puri crafts a fascinating account of the living memory of South Asia in modern Britain. This book brings together a rich and disparate chronicle of lives ripped apart and remade by the trauma of partition, and deftly traces how the diaspora of post-colonial India and Pakistan helped to reshape the UK. Perceptive, enriching, shocking and joyful, Puri’s is a powerful and courageous book for multicultural Britain -- Tristram HuntConfronts the difficult truths at the heart of Britain’s shared – and often ignored – shared history with South Asia * Stylist, Best non-fiction books of 2019 *One of my favourite books and an important one ... Changed the way I see the world -- Jeremy VineAn intimate, moving and important book by a daughter of partition. Kavita Puri reveals untold stories of those who lived through one of the most violent political earthquakes of the twentieth century. These are stories we need to hear -- Kirsty WarkThis collection reveals how families are still impacted generations down the line and is a crucial read for understanding South Asian history * Cosmopolitan *An amazing, deeply moving book -- Dan SnowThe most extraordinary book. The prologue already had me in tears. This is history – often being told out loud for the very first time ... The book of 2019 that opened my eyes more than anything else. Seminal work, beautifully told -- Emily MaitlisA powerful and timely work. Kavita Puri coaxes often unspeakable and unspoken memories from a time of unimaginable trauma. A must-read for those interested in the fault lines in today's geopolitics -- Anita AnandPowerful, compelling and heartbreaking – these are stories of division and conflict rescued from the past that offer valuable lessons for the present -- Sarfraz ManzoorPartition Voices takes its place alongside other valuable books on partition such as Khushwant Singh's Train to Pakistan and Urvashi Butalia's The Other Side of Silence -- Amit Roy * Eastern Eye *An evocative book that leaves you breathless with its human predicament and gives voice to stories long held prisoner to silence ... Nobody has ever brought out the stories of South Asians now settled in the United Kingdom ... Kudos to Kavita Puri for documenting Partition’s lasting legacy in Britain, an irony in itself. It is a unique book, one that lives with you long after the stories end -- Ziya Us Salam * Frontline Magazine *Puri’s excellent book is a welcome antidote to British amnesia over its colonial legacy. Partition is not just an Indian story, it is a British one too * All About History *An important document of those turbulent times - raw and unbiased -- Bishwanath Ghosh * The Hindu *This is an essential book, remarkable in its reach and power. It brings the difficulty of how we pass on stories across generations into a moving and beautiful focus. Partition Voices is a book of witness and testimony that should have the widest readership possible. * Edmund de Waal *

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Book SynopsisThis book describes how liberalization, deregulation, and privatization had catastrophic effects on former Soviet Bloc countries from the period of 1989 to the present.Trade Review"Winner of the Leipzig Book Fair Prize 2015""Finalist for the 2017 Prix du Livre Européen, Esprit d’Europe"

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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 SynopsisFrom the bestselling author Simon Winchester, a human history of land around the world: who mapped it, owned it, stole it, cared for it, fought for it and gave it back.In 1889, thousands of hopeful people raced southward from the Kansas state line and westward from the Arkansas boundary to stake claims on the thousands of acres of unclaimed pastures and meadows. Across the twentieth century, water was dammed and drained in Holland so that a new province, Flevoland, rose up, unchartered and requiring new thinking. In 1850, California legislated the theft of land from Native Americans. An apology came in 2019 from the governor, but what of the call for reparations or return? What of government confiscation of land in India, or questions of fairness when it comes to New Zealand's Maori population and the legacy of settlers?The ownership of land has always been complicated, opaque, and more than a little anarchic when viewed from the outside. In this book, Simon Winchester explores the the stewardship of land, the ways it is delineated and changes hands, the great disputes, and the questions of restoration particularly in the light of climate change and colonialist reparation.A global study, this is an exquisite exploration of what the ownership of land might really mean not in dry-as-dust legal terms, but for the people who live on it.Trade Review‘The intricate vocabulary used to talk about land is one of the many pleasures … The theme could not be more topical … It packs in a wealth of ideas and human drama – and gives a fresh view of centuries of social conflict seen through a geographer’s lens’Financial Times ‘Spend some time with Simon Winchester, and you will sail oceans, survive earthquakes, peer into volcanoes, pore over maps, mine the origins of language and measure the immeasurable world … Poignant … Winchester is good … adding dashes of drama, narrative, indignation and, above all, connection to disparate historical accounts … There is soul in this book … A stirring call for communal imperatives, even if its history recounts the constant allure of private ownership’Washington Post ‘Moving across varied histories and geographies, he offers us one case study after another of how the once seemingly inexhaustible surface of the Earth has devolved into a commodity … Winchester is a master at capturing the Old World wonder and romance … His prose frequently exudes the comfort and charm of a beloved encyclopaedia come to life, centuries and continents abutting through the pages’New Yorker ‘Few authors of narrative nonfiction have ranged across the global landscape more widely … In his latest engrossing voyage, the author turns to the land itself, covering a sizable portion of the 37 billion acres that compose the Earth … [A] unique blend of wide-eyed curiosity, meticulous research, and erudite analysis … Of course, this being Winchester, ‘Land’ abounds with dozens of eye-opening factoids to please any fan of popular history … But this is no mere bathroom book packed with intriguing facts. His storytelling talents on full display … Winchester’s colourfully rendered capsule biographies help to convey the gravity of certain historical milestones, and nearly 60 illustrations and photographs add to the experience … Winchester is, once again, a consummate guide’Boston Globe

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Book SynopsisIn Empire's Crossroads, Carrie Gibson offers readers a vivid, authoritative and action-packed history of the Caribbean. For Gibson, everything was created in the West Indies: the Europe of today, its financial foundations built with sugar money: the factories and mills built as a result of the work of slaves thousands of miles away; the idea of true equality as espoused in Saint Domingue in the 1790s; the slow progress to independence; and even globalization and migration, with the ships passing to and fro taking people and goods in all possible directions, hundreds of years before the term 'globalization' was coined. From Cuba to Haiti, from Dominica to Martinique, from Jamaica to Trinidad, the story of the Caribbean is not simply the story of slaves and masters - but of fortune-seekers and pirates, scientists and servants, travellers and tourists. It is not only a story of imperial expansion - European and American - but of global connections, and alsoTrade ReviewVivid and thought-provoking * Spectator *Carrie Gibson manages to weave 500 years of complex history into a brilliant narrative ... [A] strikingly assured debut. * Observer *Carrie Gibson has written a compelling history of the Caribbean, rightly placing it at the heart of European imperialism. This is a gripping account by a gifted scholar and story-teller -- Tristram HuntA fine introduction to the history of a turbulent and fascinating region * The Times *Carrie Gibson has written a judicious, readable and extremely well-informed account of a part of the world whose history is seldom acknowledged. Too many people know the Caribbean only as a tourist destination; she takes us, instead, into its fascinating, complex and often tragic past. No vacation there will ever feel quite the same again. -- Adam Hochschild, author of King Leopold's GhostSharp, gripping ... packed with the stories of tyrants and insurgents, and images of violence and beauty ... A great read about some fantastically absorbing - and to many people, little-known - history ... An exceptionally impressive debut. -- Alex von Tunzelman * Literary Review *

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Book SynopsisTrade Review"Korda clearly has command of his subject...[Clouds of Glory] is well-considered and amply documented. Military buffs will find much to feast on." -- Christian Science Monitor "Masterful...Korda delivers the goods." -- Kirkus Reviews (starred review) "Superbly engaging." -- Publishers Weekly (starred review) "Monumental." -- BookPage "Lively, approachable, and captivating...Llike Lee himself, everything about Clouds of Glory is on a grand scale." -- Boston Globe

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Book SynopsisThe order of the Temple was a military-religious organisation that was set up to protect pilgrims and settlers in the Holy Land. The Templars believed they were God''s warriors fighting on God''s behalf and developed a fearsome reputation among the neighbouring Muslim rulers. This book examines the men who joined the order and why they joined it, focusing on those who fought in the Holy Land. Based on contemporary sources it provides an effective insight into the daily lives of the warriors, from their admission ceremony to their training, organisation in the field, and how they fought in battle.

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Book Synopsisbig history and the future of humanity This remains the best single attempt to theorize big history as a discipline that can link core concepts and paradigms across all historical disciplines, from cosmology to geology, from biology to human history. With additional and updated material, the Second Edition also offers a fine introduction to the history of big history and a superb introductory survey to the big history story. Essential reading for anyone interested in a rapidly evolving new field of scholarship that links the sciences and the humanities into a modern, science-based origin story.David Christian, Macquarie University Notable for its theoretic approach, this new Second Edition is both an indispensable contribution to the emerging big history narrative and a powerful university textbook. Spier defines words carefully and recognizes the limits of current knowledge, aspects of his own clear thinking.Cynthia Brown, EmTable of ContentsList of Figures viii List of Text Boxes x Preface and Acknowledgments xi A Short Time Line of Big History xx Chapter One Introduction to Big History 1 Introduction 1 Studying the Past 2 A Very Short History of Academic History 12 A Short History of Big History 18 A Historical Theory of Everything? 29 Chapter Two General Approach 42 Introduction 42 Matter and Energy 45 Complexity 48 Energy Flows and the Emergence of Complexity 54 The Goldilocks Principle 63 Chapter Three Cosmic Evolution: The Emergence of Simple Forms of Complexity 74 Introduction 74 The Big Bang: No Complexity 75 Recent Issues Concerning the Big Bang Scenario 77 The Radiation Era: The Emergence of Complexity at the Smallest Scales 80 The Matter Era: The Emergence of Complexity at Atomic and Molecular Scales 86 Galaxy Formation: The Emergence of Complexity at Larger Scales 89 The Emergence of Stars 95 Stars as Nuclear Forges 100 Chapter Four Our Cosmic Neighborhood: The Emergence of Greater Complexity 107 Introduction 107 The Galactic Habitable Zone 110 The Emergence of Our Cosmic Neighborhood 111 The Solar System Habitable Zone 116 Major Characteristics of Earth 118 Early Inner Planetary History 122 Early Earth History 125 Life Is Very Special 126 The Emergence of Life 130 Chapter Five Life on Earth: The Widening Range of Complexity 140 Life, Energy and Complexity 140 Planetary Energy Flows and Life 147 The Gaia Hypothesis 149 The Emergence of Energy Harvesting from Outside 153 The Emergence of the Biological Food Web 156 The Emergence of Multicellular Organisms 160 The Emergence of Brains and Consciousness 162 The Increase and Expansion of Biological Complexity 166 Conquest of the Land 168 Further Increasing Complexity 170 Chapter Six Early Human History: The Emergence of the Greatest Known Complexity 179 Introduction 179 What Makes Humans Different 180 Energy and Complexity 183 The Emergence of Early Humans 185 Improving Social Coordination 188 Tool Making and Brain Growth 189 Brains and Intestines 193 Fire Control 194 Migration 197 The Rise of Modern Humans 200 Early Religion 205 Chapter Seven Recent Human History: The Development of the Greatest Known Complexity 214 Introduction 214 The Agrarian Revolution 220 The Developing Agrarian Regime 229 Social Effects of the Agrarian Revolution 232 The Emergence of Agrarian Religions 234 Increasing Agricultural Complexity and Declining Untamed Complexity 235 Early State Formation 240 The Emergence of Big States 245 The Emergence of Moral Religions 247 Energy and Complexity in State Societies 251 The First Wave of Globalization 256 Industrialization: The Second Wave of Globalization 264 Informatization: The Third Wave of Globalization 271 Energy, Complexity and Goldilocks Circumstances 276 Chapter Eight Facing the Future 295 Introduction 295 A Very Short Overview of the Long Future of the Universe 299 The Future of Earth and Life 300 The Future of Humanity 301 The Availability of Matter and Energy 304 Exhaustion of Critical Resources and Growing Entropy 309 Will Humans Migrate to Other Planets? 311 Final Words 313 Index 318

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Book SynopsisAelian's Historical Miscellany (Varia Historia) is a pleasurable example of light reading for Romans of the early third century. Offering engaging anecdotes about historical figures, retellings of legendary events, and enjoyable descriptive pieces, Aelian's collection of nuggets and narratives appealed to a wide reading public.Trade ReviewAelian’s Historical Miscellany (Varia Historia) is mainly a potpourri of historical, literary, and other information concerning the Greek past…which apparently entertained educated readers [of the 3rd century] as well as provided them with exempla. Wilson gives us a smooth and very readable translation, syntactically reflecting Aelian’s ‘studied simplicity.’ -- Robert J. Penella * Religious Studies Review *Classicists no longer have an excuse not to check a citation in Aelian, and a general reader who wants to find out what a bedside book from antiquity might have looked like has the means ready to hand… Aelian’s Greek can be quite tricky and with his translation Wilson puts us further in his debt: besides being clear and accurate it is often sprightly and even eloquent. -- A. J. Podlecki * Scholia *

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Book SynopsisThe slave ship was the instrument of history''s greatest forced migration and a key to the origins and growth of global capitalism, yet much of its history remains unknown. Marcus Rediker uncovers the extraordinary human drama that played out on this world-changing vessel. Drawing on thirty years of maritime research, he demonstrates the truth of W.E.B DuBois''s observation: the slave trade was the most magnificent drama in the last thousand years of human history. The Slave Ship focuses on the so-called golden age of the slave trade, the period of 1700-1808, when more than six million people were transported out of Africa, most of them on British and American ships, across the Atlantic, to slave on New World plantations. Marcus Rediker tells poignant tales of life, death and terror as he captures the shipboard drama of brutal discipline and fierce resistance. He reconstructs the lives of individuals, such as John Newton, James Field Stanfield and Olaudah Equiano, and the collective experience of captains, sailors and slaves. Mindful of the haunting legacies of race, class and slavery, Marcus Rediker offers a vivid and unforgettable portrait of the ghost ship of our modern consciousness.Trade Review'A shockingly vivid work . . . from a gifted chronicler of history's lower decks, at home in the unruly Atlantic world of pirates, slavers, sailors, runaways and rebels' * Boyd Tonkin, Independent *'Enlightening and moving . . . Rediker comes closer than anyone so far to recreating the horrifying social reality of the Atlantic slave ship . . . If anyone doubts the reality of that human story, they only need to read Rediker's book' * James Walvin, BBC History Magazine *'Meticulously researched . . . a terrible tale told here with great skill, clarity and compassion' Siobhan Murphy, Metro * Siobhan Murphy, Metro *'The slave ship is a powerful focus for a profound drama' * Iain Finlayson, The Times *'A brilliantly organised and compelling study of the Atlantic slave trade . . . A truly magnificent book' * Sunday Telegraph *'The Slave Ship provides eloquent testimony to the high human drama of Atlantic 'trafficking'; the greed of the few and the manifold misery of the many that was endured in the trivial cause of sweetness' * Ian Thomson, Spectator *'Rediker has made magnificent use of archival data; his probing, compassionate eye turns up numerous finds that other people who've written on the subject, myself included, have missed' * Adam Hochschild, International Herald Tribune *'Rediker has produced a gripping study of one aspect of a great evil' * Sunday Herald *'Gripping drama of human suffering' * Lucy Sholes, Observer *'Brilliant study' * Socialist Review *'The Slave Ship is dramatic, moving and kaleidoscopic' * London Review of Books *'In this compelling books Marcus Rediker extends his widely known and highly respected mastery of the social history of the Anglo-American North Atlantic to the slave ship ... the book is intricately conceptualized and written beautifully' * International Journal of Maritime History *

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Book SynopsisIncludes many acquisitions and discoveries, such as Picasso's Vollard Suite and the intriguing Vale of York Viking hoard, and showcases a selection of more than 250 of the most beautiful and important objects drawn from across the Museum.

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Book SynopsisA groundbreaking historical study, Norman Stone''s The Eastern Front 1914-1917 was the very first authoritative account of the Russian Front in the First World War to be published in the West. In this now-classic history he dispels the myths surrounding a still relatively little-known aspect of the war, showing how inefficiency rather than economic shortage led to Russia''s desperate privations and eventual retreat. He also interprets the connection between the war and the chaos that followed, arguing that although fighting had almost ceased by the end of 1916, Russia was still in turmoil - undergoing a period of change that would inexorably lead towards revolution. ''A landmark in its field ... it is still the best book on the eastern front''  Orlando Figes ''A classic account ... that even after thirty years remains essential reading''  Sunday Times ''Without question one of the classics of poTable of ContentsThe army and the state in Tsarist Russia; the military imperative, July 1914; the opening round - East Prussia; the opening round -Galicia; the first war-winter, 1914-1915; the Austro-Hungarian emergency; the shell-shortage, 1915; the retreat, 1915; the political war-economy, 1916-1917; the second war-winter, 1915-1916; summer 1916; the Romanian campaign, 1916-1917; war and revolution, 1917.

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Book SynopsisSince Devolution in 1999 Scotland has become a focus of intense interest both within Britain and throughout the wider world. In this Very Short Introduction, Rab Houston explores how an independent Scottish nation emerged in the Middle Ages, how it was irrevocably altered by Reformation, links with England and economic change, and how Scotland influenced the development of the modern world. Examining politics, law, society, religion, education, migration, and culture, he examines how the nation''s history has made it distinct from England, both before and after Union, how it overcame internal tensions between Highland and Lowland society, and how it has today arrived at a political, social and culture watershed. Authoritative, lucid, and ranging widely over issues of environment, people, and identity, this is Scotland''s story without myths: an ideal introduction for those interested in the Scots, but also a balanced yet refreshing challenge to those who already feel at home in Scotland past and present. ABOUT THE SERIES: The Very Short Introductions series from Oxford University Press contains hundreds of titles in almost every subject area. These pocket-sized books are the perfect way to get ahead in a new subject quickly. Our expert authors combine facts, analysis, perspective, new ideas, and enthusiasm to make interesting and challenging topics highly readable.Trade ReviewHouston's survey is clear and certainly concise. * Clare Beck, The Scotsman *A whistle-stop tour through the history of Scotland's politics, religion, education, economy and culture...both complex and rich. * Clare Beck, The Scotsman *Table of ContentsIntroduction ; 1. Politics and Government ; 2. Religion ; 3. Education ; 4. Society ; 5. Economy and Environment ; 6. Scotland and the Wider World ; 7. Culture ; Conclusions

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Book Synopsis''Far and wide was [Redgauntlet] hated and feared. Men thought he had a direct compact with Satan - that he was proof against steel -.''Set in the summer of 1765, Redgauntlet centres around a third, fictitious, Jacobite rebellion. Kidnapped by Edward Hugh Redgauntlet, a fanatical supporter of the Stewart cause, the young Darsie Latimer finds himself caught up in the plot to enthrone the exiled Prince Charles Edward Stewart. The novel follows Darsie''s adventures and those of the advocate Alan Fairford, who sets out to rescue him. These two young men from very different backgrounds are united by friendship and their optimistic belief in the settled Hanoverian establishment.First published in 1824, this is the last of Scott''s major Scottish novels, and perhaps his most complex statement about the relation between history and fiction. This edition uses the Magnum text of 1832. ABOUT THE SERIES: For over 100 years Oxford World''s Classics has made available the widest range of literature

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Book SynopsisOf the more than one hundred books that H. G. Wells published in his lifetime, this is one of the most ambitious. Spanning the origins of the Earth to the outcome of World War I, A Short History of the World is an engrossing account of the evolution of life and the development of the human race. Wells brings his monumental learning and penetrating historical insight to bear on the Neolithic era, the rise of Judaism, the Golden Age of Athens, the life of Christ, the rise of Islam, the discovery of America, the Industrial Revolution, and a host of other subjects. Breathtaking in scope, this thought-provoking masterwork remains one of the most readable and rewarding of its kind.For more than seventy years, Penguin has been the leading publisher of classic literature in the English-speaking world. With more than 1,700 titles, Penguin Classics represents a global bookshelf of the best works throughout history and across genres and disciplines. Readers trust the series to prov

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Book SynopsisThis new historical atlas - richly illustrated with photographs, artwork recreations and full-colour maps - explores the Middle Ages from the coming of the barbarian invasions in the fourth century to the first voyages to the New World in the sixteenth. Coverage of major events - the Hundred Years'' War, the Christian Reconquest of Spain - is supplemented by discussion of such key topics as the medieval economy, the growth of towns and the spread of printing, resulting in a rich and multi-faceted introduction to Europe and its neighbours in the Middle Ages.

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Book SynopsisRecords of prices span the entire range of history, from medieval grain prices to modern statistics. Going beyond the economic data, this text gives a history of the people of the Western world: the economic patterns they lived in, and the politics, culture and society they created as a result.Trade Reviewa work of phenomenal scope and erudition ... Fischer's history of inflation is a thoroughly good read ... He should send the Treasury a copy. * Mark Archer, The Sunday Telegraph *a provocative and thoughtful journey through history * The Economist *

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Book SynopsisDiscover how to practice God's presence at all times and see His glory in every facet of life. Includes Spiritual Maxims--two classics in one!

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Book SynopsisBarely two centuries ago, most of the world's productive land still belonged either communally to traditional societies or to the higher powers of monarch or church. But that pattern, and the ways of life that went with it, were consigned to history as a result of the most creative and, at the same time, destructive cultural force in the modern era: the idea of individual, exclusive ownership of land. This notion laid waste to traditional communal civilisations, displacing entire peoples from their homelands, and brought into being a unique concept of individual freedom and a distinct form of representative government and democratic institutions. Other great civilizations, in Russia, China, and the Islamic world, evolved very different structures of land ownership, and thus very different forms of government and social responsibility. The seventeenth-century English surveyor William Petty was the first man to recognise the connection between private property and free-market capitalTrade ReviewA sweeping history of land ownership is the final work of a master ... Linklater’s loss is felt all the more keenly because in Owning the Earth he has written a beautifully measured and extremely important book on the idea that “one person could own part of the Earth exclusively” * Sunday Telegraph Book of the Week *Powerful polemic of wide scope and scholarship * The Times *Andro’s own writing was as varied and colourful as his much-travelled life ... A comprehensive account of global land ownership … A sprawling, sparkling, off-the-wall political history of the globe * Scotsman *This impressive book fuses politics, economics, philosophy and anthropology as it explores the complex, often fraught relationship between humans and land * Sunday Times *Masterly ... His intellectual range is as wide as his geographic or temporal range, spanning from Hobbes to Greenspan and including philosophers, politicians, religious figures and academics; an extensive notes section and bibliography allow readers to further pursue his source ideas. By focusing on land ownership, the emphasis in historical interpretation shifts from economics to politics, giving a much different perspective. This reinterpretation of global history will give readers of history, politics, and economics much to think about * Publishers Weekly *Ambitious global history of land ownership ... Linklater succeeds in this gargantuan task * Independent *If the gentle reader has any concerns that a study of land ownership might tend to the dry, they will be dispelled in the very first pages of this book by the spectacular flamboyance of its opening ... A book that is never less than fascinating in its range, argument and erudition … In an age of pigmy specialisation, there is something heroically larger-than-life about the book’s global range and polymath accomplishment. And though Linklater did not live long enough to enjoy its plaudits, Owning the Earth is an appropriate monument to its author’s distinguished mind and ardent humanity * Spectator *Linklater is always an impartial and insightful referee ... The crucial insight of this book is that ownership depends not only on possession but on recognition ... Beguiling and provoking * Ferdinand Mount, London Review of Books *

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Book SynopsisThe Oxford Illustrated History of the Holy Land covers the 3,000 years which saw the rise of Judaism, Christianity, and Islam--and relates the familiar stories of the sacred texts with the fruits of modern scholarship. Beginning with the origins of the people who became the Israel of the Bible, it follows the course of the ensuing millennia down to the time when the Ottoman Empire succumbed to British and French rule at the end of the First World War.Parts of the story, especially as known from the Bible, will be widely familiar. Less familiar are the ways in which modern research, both from archaeology and from other ancient sources, sometimes modify this story historically. Better understanding, however, enables us to appreciate crucial chapters in the story of the Holy Land, such as how and why Judaism developed in the way that it did from the earlier sovereign states of Israel and Judah and the historical circumstances in which Christianity emerged from its Jewish cradle. Later parts of the story are vital not only for the history of Islam and its relationships with the two older religions, but also for the development of pilgrimage and religious tourism, as well as the notions of sacred space and of holy books with which we are still familiar today. From the time of Napoleon on, European powers came increasingly to develop both cultural and political interest in the region, culminating in the British and French conquests which carved out the modern states of the Middle East. Sensitive to the concerns of those for whom the sacred books of Judaism, Christianity, and Islam are of paramount religious authority, the authors all try sympathetically to show how historical information from other sources, as well as scholarly study of the texts themselves, enriches our understanding of the history of the region and its prominent position in the world''s cultural and intellectual history.Trade ReviewFor those interested in the Bible, history or spiritual pilgrimage, this is a captivating guide and will be a great asset to anyone who has travelled, or will travel, to the Holy Land. * Mark W. Scarlata, Journal for the Study of the Old Testament *The Oxford Illustrated History of the Holy Land is full of ... remarkable details. Thirteen fact-packed chapters, each by an expert in his or her field, take us on a tour from the earliest recorded history onwards. It is a remarkable, readable, and useful achievement one that will illuminate a thousand sermons and provide much to think about for anyone interested in the subject. * William Whyte, Church Times *Three great world faiths have invested so many hopes and passions in one relatively small part of the eastern Mediterranean seaboard and its hinterland, that there are risks even in calling it by a single name. This collective study of the "God-trodden land" is a richly informative, reliable, and sane guide to its troubled history: one valuable contribution to crafting it a more peaceful present and future. * Diarmaid MacCulloch, Professor of the History of the Church, University of Oxford *A fascinating read overall. * Medieval Archaeology Journal vol 67.2 *Table of ContentsIntroduction 1: Avraham Faust: The Birth of Israel 2: Lester L. Grabbe: Iron Age: Tribes to Monarchy 3: André Lemaire: Israel and Judah: c. 931-587 BCE 4: H. G. M. Williamson: Babylonian Exile and Restoration: 587-325 BCE 5: John J. Collins: The Hellenistic and Roman Era 6: Konstantin Klein: A Christian Holy Land: 284-638 CE 7: Milka Levy-Rubin: The Coming of Islam 8: Carole Hillenbrand: The Holy Land in the Crusader and Ayyubid periods: 1099 - 1250 9: Nimrod Luz: The Holy Land from the Mamluk Sultanate to the Ottoman Empire: 1260-1799 10: Robert Fisk: From Napoleon to Allenby: the Holy Land and the wider Middle East 11: Robert G. Hoyland and Peter Walker: Pilgrimage 12: Richard S. Hess and Denys Pringle: Sacred Spaces and Holy Places 13: Adam Silverstein: Scripture and the Holy Land Further Reading Index

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Book SynopsisAt dawn on March 18, 1871, Parisian women stepped between cannons and French soldiers, using their bodies to block the army from taking the artillery from their working-class neighborhood. When ordered to fire, the troops refused and instead turned and arrested their leaders. Thus began the Paris Commune, France’s revolutionary civil war that rocked the nineteenth century and shaped the twentieth. Considered a golden moment of hope and potential by the left, and a black hour of terrifying power inversions by the right, the Commune occupies a critical position in understanding modern history and politics. A 72-day conflict that ended with the ferocious slaughter of Parisians, the Commune represents for some the final insurgent burst of the French Revolution’s long wake, for others the first “successful” socialist uprising, and for yet others an archetype for egalitarian socio-economic, feminist, and political change. Militants have referenced and incorporated its ideas into insurrections across the globe, throughout the twentieth and into the twenty-first centuries, keeping alive the revolution’s now-iconic goals and images. Innumerable scholars in countless languages have examined aspects of the 1871 uprising, taking perspectives ranging from glorifying to damning this world-shaking event. The Commune stands as a critical and pivotal moment in nineteenth-century history, as the linchpin between revolutionary pasts and futures, and as the crucible allowing glimpses of alternate possibilities. Upending hierarchies of class, religion, and gender, the Commune emerged as a touchstone for the subsequent century-and-a-half of revolutionary and radical social movements. Trade Review"This compelling account of the Paris Commune makes a complicated event understandable and vivid. Eichner’s rich portraits bring to life the freedom and empowerment the Communards experienced, juxtaposed with the bloody repression of its final days."— Sarah Fishman, author of From Vichy to the Sexual Revolution: Gender and Family Life in Postwar France Like the Commune itself, Eichner’s history is brief, complex, and full of drama. A fresh and compelling account for scholars and students of 1871 and its legacies.— Roxanne Panchasi, author of Future Tense: The Culture of Anticipation in France between the Wars New Books Network: New Books in French Studies: An interview with Carolyn J. Eichner— New Books Network: New Books in French Studies New Books Network: New Books in French Studies: An interview with Carolyn J. Eichner— New Books Network: New Books in French Studies Like the Commune itself, Eichner’s history is brief, complex, and full of drama. A fresh and compelling account for scholars and students of 1871 and its legacies.— Roxanne Panchasi, author of Future Tense: The Culture of Anticipation in France between the Wars "This compelling account of the Paris Commune makes a complicated event understandable and vivid. Eichner’s rich portraits bring to life the freedom and empowerment the Communards experienced, juxtaposed with the bloody repression of its final days."— Sarah Fishman, author of From Vichy to the Sexual Revolution: Gender and Family Life in Postwar France "Eichner’s narrative weaves together many aspects–religious secularism, economic policies, cooperative economics and property rights, education, culture, and the arts–precisely because the Commune affected all of it. The Paris Commune is an enjoyable, brilliant, scholarly, and readable adventure."— Capital & Class "[An] informative and moving new history."— David A. Bell, The NationTable of Contents1. Illumination 2. Fluorescence 3. Explosion Acknowledgments Notes Bibliography Index

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Book SynopsisThe existence of an Indo-European linguistic family, allowing for the fact that several languages widely dispersed across Eurasia share numerous traits, has been demonstrated for several centuries now. But the underlying factors for this shared heritage have been fiercely debated by linguists, historians, archaeologists, and anthropologists. The leading theory, of which countless variations exist, argues that this similarity is best explained by the existence, at one given point in time and space, of a common language and corresponding population. This ancient, prehistoric, population would then have diffused across Eurasia, eventually leading to the variation observed in historical and modern times. The Indo-Europeans: Archaeology, Language, Race, and the Search for the Origins of the West argues that despite its acceptance and use by most researchers from different disciplines, such a model is inherently flawed. This book describes how, beginning in the late eighteenth century, EuropTrade ReviewWith this ambitious volume, Jean-Paul Demoule exposes and criticises the theoretical and methodological flaws inherent to the 'tree model,' which propounds that Indo-European languages and speakers dispersed and branched out from a unique point in space and time. An impressive display of historiographical knowledge stretching across several centuries and disciplines, including linguistics, archaeology, history of religions, biological anthropology, and politics. * Marc Vander Linden, Bournemouth University *A scholarly labour of many decades, Demoule's erudite but accessible treatment of the Indo-Europeans is indispensable reading for anyone interested in the relationship between language, archaeology, and biological anthropology. It is also a shrewd analysis of the slippage between science and mysticism that plagues its topic, from the seventeenth century down to the present day, exposing the roots of a tenacious, often dark undercurrent of thought about the origins and destiny of 'the West'. * David Wengrow, University College London *With this ambitious volume, Jean-Paul Demoule exposes and criticises the theoretical and methodological flaws inherent to the 'tree model,' which propounds that Indo-European languages and speakers dispersed and branched out from a unique point in space and time. An impressive display of historiographical knowledge stretching across several centuries and disciplines, including linguistics, archaeology, history of religions, biological anthropology, and politics. * Marc Vander Linden, Bournemouth University *A scholarly labour of many decades, Demoule's erudite but accessible treatment of the Indo-Europeans is indispensable reading for anyone interested in the relationship between language, archaeology, and biological anthropology. It is also a shrewd analysis of the slippage between science and mysticism that plagues its topic, from the seventeenth century down to the present day, exposing the roots of a tenacious, often dark undercurrent of thought about the origins and destiny of 'the West'. * David Wengrow, University College London *Table of ContentsPreface The official Indo-European hypothesis: the 12 canonical theses OVERTURE From the Renaissance to the French Revolution 1. The search for a long-anticipated discovery The Indo-European golden legend Uncertain inventors The search for an anticipated discovery A recurring discovery Why was Leibniz unable to publish in German? Schizophrenic Europeans The slow secularization of the world India, an alternative myth FIRST MOVEMENT (FROM 1814 TO 1903) All is resolved! 2. The invention of comparative grammar The search for origins On the superiority of (Indo-) European languages Comparative grammar, a German science? Colonialism as an understanding of history August Schleicher and the botany of languages The young Turks of comparative grammar Other possible models so soon? 3. From India to Germania, the return of the wheeled cradle The Indian cradle An ephemeral Earthly Paradise The return of the homeland Those who refused to repatriate the homeland From texts to objects Imaginary communities The rise of archeological excavations More primitive Bathing, kissing and chastity Linguistics of absence The return to Germania Pan-Germanism and anti-Semitism Occultist beliefs The ambiguities of official linguistics 4. The invention of "scientific racism" God and the polygenists The art of measuring skulls From divine right to nation The terrors of the "Count" de Gobineau A science of man? Who are the French? On the origins of the Aryans Are the Prussians German? The three positions of French anthropologists on the Indo-European question Moderation among German anthropologists Does "race" exist? The Count and the Aryan Sex, fantasies and racisms The first symptoms of political racism The mismeasure of man SECOND MOVEMENT (FROM 1903 TO 1945) Crimes and errors 5. From comparative grammar to linguistics: a language of leaders? The ambiguities of Ferdinand de Saussure Antoine Meillet, chief and master A language of chiefs Do you speak a "language of civilization"? An instinct for conquest and a love of wide open spaces Linguistic sentiment? Meillet versus Schuchardt The triumph of structural linguistics And what if there never had been an Original People? 6. From Aryan Pan-Germanism to Nazism The methods of archeology Kossinna's law The Kossinnian Indo-German narrative "A pre-eminently German discipline" Erasing the memory of Kossinna Nazism, one of the possible horizons for the Aryans The Atlantis of the Far North Sects and secret societies Hitler himself was not a believer The rallying of archeologists SS against SA, and the pillaging of conquered lands International cowardice and complicity 7. A circling cradle "Culture circles" of the European Neolithic Uncertain European chronologies Childish, not Childeish! Regarding the superiority of declensions Skulls and words The dominance of the Nordic theory Eminently respectable universities Weaknesses in the Nordic hypothesis A die-hard Asiatic cradle Excavations in central Asia A return to (Eastern) Europe The Pontic steppes endure Marxism and archeology Marr, Stalin and linguistics 8. Excesses and crimes of racial theories Ordinary racism and institutional racism The anthropological dead-end Genetics to the rescue Eugenics and scientific charlatanism The dreams of German geneticists From skulls to crimes And what of France? Those who collaborated THIRD MOVEMENT (FROM 1945 TO THE 3RD MILLENNIUM) All is re-resolved! 9. The Return of the Aryan, pagan, extreme right (from 1945 to the present) A truly "New" Right? The "magician" prodromes A view from the (extreme) right From Gobineau to Konrad Lorenz A re-armed extreme right The limits of "entryism" Contemporary "Aryan" ideology A racial "Que sais-je"? The "racist" International Close collaborations 10. From racial anthropology to biological anthropology The twilight of the "races" Medals and survivals From skulls to red blood cells A truly new synthesis? We have rediscovered the Indo-Europeans! Racism by means of psychology and IQ 11. What archaeology tells us today The first Europeans The Neolithic revolution Sedentary hunter-gatherers The rise of chiefdoms What happened on the steppes? From the Copper Age to the Bronze Age New power networks From proto-history to history The search for the Indo-Europeans 12. Archeology: What if the Indo-Europeans had always been there? A nebulous autochthony Paleolithic continuity? 13. Did the Indo-Europeans really come from Turkey? Ex oriente lux A new hypothesis? The language of the original Homeland From Indo-European to Indo-Hittite? Part of the family tree of all the world's languages? Concerning the difficulties of classification The linguistic impacts of agriculture? The return of Trubetzkoy A non-verifiable model How can we rid ourselves of the initial brief An incomplete critical approach 14. Did the Indo-Europeans really come from the Black Sea Steppes? A (very) old hypothesis From Vilnius to Los Angeles Initial cautiousness The return of the steppes Feminism and invaders A new demonstration? A unified and coherent theory? The horse, of course and the chariot, naturally! Warrior invasions or a vicious circle? And what of genetics? 15. From prehistory to history: the rediscovered routes taken by the Indo-Europeans? How do we prove a migration? The coming of the Greeks An early Bronze Age arrival Tiles, gray ware and princely tombs The arrival of the "Aryans" in India? The world of the steppes and national issues Invisible migrations and Kulturkugel The mysteries of the Tocharians Our ancestors, the Celts Romans and Italics Hittites and Anatolians Their ancestors, the Germani Slavs or Germani? 16. Georges Dumézil, a French hero A sense of the epic The three functions The original texts The "Dumézil affair" Occupation and occultism One College, two Academies and a New Right Trifunctionality and Indo-Europeanness By excess and by default Heritages and heredities The unavoidable detour into archeology Other mythologists? Dumézil and the myths 17. Linguistic reconstructions and models in the 21st century Discovering original sounds? What exactly are we reconstructing? Of roots and words Thinking in trees The tree of all the world's languages An apple, a hat and a car Measuring the speed of language evolution From the tree to the network 18. Words and things of the Indo-Europeans The dead-ends of linguistic paleontology Demonstration by absence From words to meaning Regarding Indo-Europeanness A primordial poetry? From words to things, and creating the "impression of reality" Indo-European, or universal? How to always be right FINALE AND 2ND OVERTURE 19. Models, counter-models, ideologies and errors of logic: are there any alternatives? How languages change Invisible conquerors and secular empires Cultures and ethnic groups Archeological culture as Nation State? Lessons from the barbarians Languages and material cultures Languages without frontiers The inadequacy of trees "No language is totally pure" Mixes and interferences Substrates, adstrates and superstrates Pidgins and creoles Sprachbund and the Balkan laboratory "Areal" linguistics The tools of sociolinguistics Epilogue An alternative vision: the 12 Indo-European antitheses Appendices 1. Simplified chronological table of the main archaeological cultures and civilizations in Eurasia (from - 300 000 BC to the present). 2. Dates of emergence of the major Indo-European languages. 3. August Schleicher's tree of the Indo-European languages. 4. The development of the Indo-European languages according to Gamkrelidze and Ivanov (1985). 5. A map of some of the solutions of the Indo-European homeland problem proposed since 1960. 6. Map of the main archaeological cultures defined in the 1930s. 7. The Indo-European migrations, after Gustav Kossinna. 8. The early historical distribution of the main Indo-European speaking peoples. 9. The neolithization of Europe. 10. The spread of Indo-European languages, after Colin Renfrew. 11. Spread of Indo-European people, after Marija Gimbutas' theories. 12. Map of the Chalcolithic cultures in the 5th millennium BC. 13. Map of the Chalcolithic cultures in the 4th millennium BC. 14. Map of the Chalcolithic cultures in the 3rd millennium BC. 15. Map of the Chalcolithic cultures in the 2nd millennium BC. 16. Comparative trees of human genes and language families. 17. The Indian linguistic area, after Colin Masica 18. Relationships between the Indo-European languages, after Paul Heggarty 19. Relationships between the Indo-European languages, after Alfred Kroeber Bibliography Index

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Book SynopsisGold is not what we think. It is usually discussed in the context of wealth and art but this book has a broader subject, so fundamental that it has been largely unremarked. Informed by a mass of recent discoveries and a South American indigenous perspective, it offers a new way of understanding the history of civilization. Gold has been coinage, treasure and adornment. But it has been much more, as the hidden driver of wars and revolutions, the rise and fall of empires and the transformation of societies. As the sun travelled east to west across the sky, gold, incorruptible and corrupting, flowed west to east, hand to hand across the world.That flow has brought empires to grow and collapse and driven plunder, conquest and colonization. It brought about wars and revolutions, empowered new forms of arts and science and created the capitalist consumer economy that dominates us now. All the gold people ever shaped still exists, shining as new; it can be mislaid but never decays. Right

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Book SynopsisThe greatest conquest in historyGenghis Khan left an empire more than twice the size of Alexander’s: his successors went on to conquer and govern an area stretching from Korea to the River Danube. How did a band of nomadic herdsmen achieve so much, so fast?Despite these stunning achievements, many writers dismiss the Mongols as just ferocious barbarians. This bestselling book sets the record straight. The epic starts in 1206 - when Genghis became master of ‘all the people with felt tents’ and an unknown tribe took the first steps towards world domination - and ends with the empire’s decline and fall, after Khubilai Khan’s triumphant unification with China.Robert Marshall describes their devastating invasions, including that of feudal Europe and Christendom’s clumsy attempts to understand and fend off these legendary warriors. Full of extraordinary events, painted on a vast and colourful canvas, Storm from the East brings to life a time when East and West finally came face to face and the contours of modern Asia were set.‘Storm from the East does not seek to excuse Mongol excesses - yet Robert Marshall appears to speak for the Mongols… A fascinating voyage through time and space’ Thomas Nivison Haining in the Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society

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Book SynopsisFrom bra burning and body hair to Beyoncé and body positivity, feminism has come a long way.The illustrated story of the women's movement, Badly Behaved Women is a compelling and entertaining journey through the four waves of feminism and beyond. Featuring rare photographs and paraphernalia, reading lists, playlists and timelines, Anna-Marie Crowhurst's new history of an ongoing battle captures the pop culture and politics that have shaped modern feminism, and where the fight for equal rights will take us next.Personal testimony essays from: Alice Coffin; Juno Dawson; Diana Evans; Nadia Ghulam; Susie Orbach; Helen Pankhurst; Gisela Pérez de Acha; Laura Perlongo; Emeli Sandé; Anne Wafula Strike; Hibo Wardere; Harriet Wistrich; Rosie Wolfenden.Trade Review'Such a joyful book. You'll be needing an extra copy for your daughter too' -- Lucy WorsleyTable of ContentsIntroduction - Early Feminism • 1970s • 1980s • 1990s • 2000s • 2010s • Conclusion • Afterword.

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Book SynopsisAward-winning New York Times reporter Donald G. McNeil, Jr. reflects on twenty-five years of covering pandemics?how governments react to them, how the media covers them, how they are exploited, and what we can do to prepare for the next one?in this ?fascinating, ferocious fusillade against humanity?s two deadliest enemies: disease and itself? (The Economist).For millions of Americans, Donald G. McNeil, Jr. was a comforting voice when the COVID-19 pandemic broke out. He was a regular reporter on The New York Times?s popular podcast The Daily and told listeners early on to prepare for the worst. He?d covered public health for twenty-five years and quickly realized that an obscure virus in Wuhan, China, was destined to grow into a global pandemic rivaling the 1918 Spanish flu. Because of his clear advice, a generation of Times readers knew the risk was real but that they might be spared by taking the right precautions. Because of his prescient work, The New York Times won the 2021 Pulitzer Gold Medal for Public Service. The Wisdom of Plagues is ?must-reading for preparing us better for the next unavoidable epidemic? (Peter Piot, MD, co-discoverer of Ebola) as McNeil shares his account of what he learned over a quarter-century of reporting in over sixty counties. Many science reporters understand the basics of diseases?from how a virus works to what goes into making a vaccine. But very few understand the psychology of how small outbreaks turn into pandemics, why people refuse to believe they?re at risk, or why they reject protective measures like quarantine or vaccines. The COVID-19 pandemic was the story McNeil had trained his whole life to cover. His expertise and breadth of sources let him make many accurate predictions in 2020 about the course that a deadly new virus would take and how different countries would respond. By the time McNeil wrote his last New York Times stories, he had not lost his compassion?but he had grown far more stone-hearted about how governments should react. He had witnessed enough disasters and read enough history to realize that while every epidemic is different, failure was the one constant. Small case-clusters ballooned into catastrophe because weak leaders became mired in denial. Citizens refused to make even minor sacrifices for the common good. They were encouraged in that by money-hungry entrepreneurs and power-hungry populists. Science was ignored, obvious truths were denied, and the innocent too often died. In The Wisdom of Plagues, ?one of the most enlightening books on public health? (Lena Wen, MD), McNeil offers tough, prescriptive advice on what we can do to improve global health and be better prepared for the inevitable next pandemic.

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Book SynopsisTikTok sensation Katie Kennedy, aka @TheHistoryGossip, serves up a delicious blend of fascinating, witty and salacious history tea for every day of the year.With infectious wit and historical insight, The History Gossip brings you the mad, bad and dangerous tales from around the world. With entries for every day of the year, this is history … but not as you know it.Equal parts fascinating and funny, Katie's unique brand of humour takes readers on a romp through the history books and answers burning questions such as ‘Was Anne of Cleves a minger’, ‘Did Mary Shelley lose her V-card on her mother’s grave’ and ‘Did George IV eat himself to death’ and more.What better way to start your day than find out what other people have done before? The History Gossip reveals the funny, strange and utterly juicy tidbits throughout world history, each with a modern twist of pop culture refe

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Book SynopsisThe newest best-seller by Patrick Modiano: a beautiful tapestry that brings together memory, esoteric encounters, and fragmented sensationsTrade Review“Memories from some fifty years before return . . . blurring the lines between reality, dreams, and fiction. These are dark, at times violent recollections . . . but [the narrator] maintains a wry wistfulness about the comings and goings of a long life.”—New Yorker“Sleep of Memory is a throwback to a Paris where life still happened on the terrasses, before everyone retreated into laptops and phones and before time was money, when some happenstance meeting in the morning might turn into an afternoon with an unknown ending.” —Elisabeth Zerofsky, International New York Times“A splendid, wistful book.”—Olivia de Lamberterie, Elle“Once again, Modiano masterfully demonstrates the ‘art of memory’ that won him the Nobel and accounts for the engrossing charm of all his work.”—Nelly Kaprièlian, Vogue (France)“A beautiful narrative, mysteriously haunted and poignant.”—Jérôme Garcin, Le Nouvel Observateur“Brief but vast and echoing, impossible to summarize, Sleep of Memory is Modiano at his most sublime.”—Luc Sante, author of The Other Paris"It’s thrilling to read Modiano’s narratives of a cosmic mystery so substantive, yet so personal, that it need not be named. Though names do appear everywhere, lit up like stars above a dark landscape, mapping locations, naming the players (often with fluid identities) in a shape shifting, yet eternal drama. In Modiano, mysteries don’t exist to be solved; instead, they are compounded. I love the metaphorical connotations here of people one might assume have vanished, though 'they only changed neighborhoods.'"—Ann Beattie"A lapidary master, Modiano compellingly evokes a particular city (Paris) in a historical moment, through the recollections of his idiosyncratic protagonist. Simultaneously illusory and utterly precise, Sleep of Memory reverberates powerfully in the reader's imagination."—Claire Messud, author, most recently, of The Burning Girl

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Book SynopsisTHE NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLERDo tough times create tougher people? Can humanity handle the power of its weapons without destroying itself? Will human technology ever peak or regress? And why, since the dawn of time, has it always seemed as though death and destruction are waiting just around the corner?Combining his trademark thrilling, expansive storytelling with rigorous history and thought experiment, Dan Carlin connects past with future to explore the tipping points of collapsing civilisations from the plague to nuclear war.Looking across every brush with apocalypse, crisis and collapse, this book also weighs, knowing all we do about human patterns, whether our world is likely to become a ruin for future archaeologists to dig up and explore.FROM THE CREATOR OF THE AWARD-WINNING, 100+ MILLION DOWNLOAD PODCASTHARDCORE HISTORYTrade Review‘Carlin puts the 'hardcore' in Hardcore History by focusing his narratives on the most violent and dramatic moments in human history, filling his show with colorful anecdotes that were most likely left out of your high school history class.’Time ‘A master of storytelling, Dan Carlin uses vivid detail and intuitive empathy to imagine what it was like to live through the end of the world … Carlin's engaging and accessible style invites us to ponder the rise and fall of civilizations and ask where we are headed. The end of the world is not merely a catastrophe that waits for us down the road; it is a ghost that haunts the places we've already been.’Mike Duncan, New York Times bestselling author of The Storm Before the Storm ‘This is the perfect thought experiment for anyone who believes the world is doomed, if only to remind them of one essential reality: the world has always, always seemed doomed…It feels odd to classify a book about barbarians and flu pandemics and the morality of nuclear war as fun, but that's the single best modifier for The End is Always Near. It's an apocalyptic discotheque.’Chuck Klosterman, author of But What If We're Wrong? ‘For podcast fanatics, each new release is akin to the Super Bowl … Host Dan Carlin, a former radio broadcaster, brings both passion and showmanship as he unspools historical narratives with a flair for tension and intensity.’AV Club ‘Walking listeners through Operation Barbarossa, the German attempt to capture Moscow, the Battle of Stalingrad, and Germany's ouster from the Soviet Union, Carlin is a wide-eyed, colorful guide to a dreadful story.’Slate ‘Carlin serves as a notable example of… a person who can discuss issues deeply and idiosyncratically.’Los Angeles Times

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Book SynopsisOne of the government's former behavioural scientists reveals how you can do what you want, whilst everybody tries to influence you into doing what they want.

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Book SynopsisThe #1 New York Times bestselling memoir of U.S. Navy Seal Chris Kyle, and the source for Clint Eastwood’s blockbuster movie which was nominated for six academy awards, including best picture.From 1999 to 2009, U.S. Navy SEAL Chris Kyle recorded the most career sniper kills in United States military history.Trade Review"Chris Kyle tells his story with the same courage and grit he displayed in life and on the battlefield. American Sniper is a compelling read." -- CLINT EASTWOOD "An amazingly detailed account of fighting in Iraq--a humanizing, brave story that's extremely readable." -- PATRICIA CORNWELL, New York Times Book Review "In the elite community of warriors, one man has risen above our ranks and distinguished himself as unique. Chris Kyle is that man. A master sniper, Chris has done and seen things that will be talked about for generations to come." -- MARCUS LUTTRELL, author of Lone Survivor "Chris Kyle was incredible, the most celebrated war hero of our time, a true American hero in every sense of the word." -- D Magazine "The raw and unforgettable narrative of the making of our country's record-holding sniper, Chris Kyle's memoir is a powerful book, both in terms of combat action and human drama. Chief Kyle is a true American warrior down to the bone, the Carlos Hathcock of a new generation." -- CHARLES W. SASSER, Green Beret (US Army Ret.) and author of One Shot, One Kill "Reads like a first-person thriller narrated by a sniper. The bare-bones facts are stunning. ... A first-rate military memoir." -- BOOKLIST #1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER -- No Source "American Sniper is the inside story of what it's like to be in war. A brave warrior and patriot, Chris Kyle writes frankly about the missions, personal challenges, and hard choices that are part of daily life of an elite SEAL Sniper. It's a classic!" -- RICHARD MARCINKO (USN, Ret.), First Commanding Officer of SEAL Team Six and #1 bestselling author of Rogue Warrior

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Book SynopsisA panoramic view of global history from the end of World War Two to the dawn of the new millennium, and a portrait of an age of unprecedented transformation.In this ambitious, groundbreaking, and sweeping work, Jonathan Sperber guides readers through six decades of global history, from the end of World War Two to the onset of the new millennium. As Sperber''s immersive and propulsive book reveals, the defining quality of these decades involved the rising and unstoppable flow of people, goods, capital, and ideas across boundaries, continents, and oceans, creating prosperity in some parts of the world, destitution in others, increasing a sense of collective responsibility while also reinforcing nationalism and xenophobia. It was an age of transformation in every realm of human existence: from relations with nature to relations between and among nations, superpowers to emerging states; from the forms of production to the foundations of religious faith. These changes took place on an unpreTrade ReviewThe book, most exclusively based on western materials, gives more space to developments in western Europe and America than to those in other parts of the world...Jonathan Sperber has written a landmark study of the twentieth century. A monumental work of scholarship, it will shape our thinking about the most global era in human history. * David Motadel, Times Literary Supplement *Jonathan Sperber has provided the first genuinely global history of the late twentieth century. It is a work of massive intelligence and erudition, beautifully rendered in eloquent and moving prose. Sperber really shows how interconnections work, and how apparently unrelated trends or events fit in with each other. A must-read for anyone interested in global order, and in the precarious legacy the twentieth century left for the new millennium. * Harold James, author The War of Words: A Glossary of Globalization *A preeminent historian of the nineteenth century has turned his attention to the second half of the twentieth, with spectacular results. Jonathan Sperber tackles the largest and most important themes head-on, with intellectual energy and a remarkable command of telling detail. The Age of Interconnection is bold, original, imaginatively organized, and exceptionally well written. This is a deeply serious book that is also exciting to read, a true tour de force. * David Blackbourn, author of The Conquest of Nature and the forthcoming Germany in the World, 1500-2000: A Global History *A truly brilliant, gripping, and readable history of the 1945-2001 world, making a very persuasive case that globalization is the main thread for economics, politics, and sociology in moving toward not utopia but at least a world in which a smaller proportion of us are in dire want and desperate fear. * J. Bradford DeLong, author of Slouching to Utopia: An Economic History of the Twentieth Century *An excellent volume, particularly given Sperber's apparent ability to remain optimistic through it all. * Choice *Table of ContentsIntroduction Part 1: The Material World Chapter 1: Nature Chapter 2: Disease Chapter 3: Technologies Part 2: Interactions Chapter 4: Markets Chapter 5: Migrations Chapter 6: The Powers Part 3: Varieties of the Social Chapter 7: Societies Chapter 8: Labor Chapter 9: Leisure Chapter 10: Consumers Part 4: Dreams and Nightmares Chapter 11: Beliefs Chapter 12: Murder Chapter 13: Utopias Epilogue: The Zeroes Conclusions Select Bibliography Index

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Book Synopsis''it appeared to me that the greatest and best feelings of the human heart were paralyzed by the relative positions of slave and owner''In Domestic Manners of the Americans, Frances Trollope recounts her travels through America between 1827 and 1830, describing her voyage up the Mississippi from New Orleans, a two-year stay in Cincinnati, and a subsequent tour of Washington, Baltimore, Philadelphia, and New York. A transatlantic best-seller on publication in 1832, its forthright criticisms of American manners encompassed spitting, religious extremism, ladies'' dress, the relentless pursuit of money, and the unequal treatment of women, slaves, and Native Americans. Witty, satiric, and hugely entertaining, Trollope also had a serious purpose in warning her compatriots of the consequences of democratic freedoms at a time of great social change in England. Deploring slavery and the hypocrisy that sanctioned it, she fuelled abolitionist debate on both sides of the Atlantic and so impressed Trade ReviewIt's a hugely entertaining and informative read, and the new Oxford World Classics edition has all the extras youd expect from this publisher, including an excellent introduction and notes, and even some of the illustrations from the original 1832 edition. Splendid stuff. * Harriet Devine, Shiny New Books *Published in 1832, this feisty journal of a three-year spell in America remains delectably hilarious. * Christopher Hirst, Independent *

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Book SynopsisSince before recorded history, people have congregated near water. But as growing populations around the globe continue to flow toward the coasts on an unprecedented scale and climate change raises water levels, our relationship to the sea has begun to take on new and potentially catastrophic dimensions. The latest generation of coastal dwellers lives largely in ignorance of the history of those who came before them, the natural environment, and the need to live sustainably on the world's shores. Humanity has forgotten how to live with the oceans. In The Human Shore, a magisterial account of 100,000 years of seaside civilization, John R. Gillis recovers the coastal experience from its origins among the people who dwelled along the African shore to the bustle and glitz of today's megacities and beach resorts. He takes readers from discussion of the possible coastal location of the Garden of Eden to the ancient communities that have existed along beaches, bays, and bayous since the begin

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Book SynopsisAn examination of world history, told through 50 key documents. Table of ContentsCode of Hammurabi • Tutankhamun wishing cup • I Ching • Mahabharata • Homer's Odyssey • Greek ostraka • Rosetta Stone • Dead Sea Scrolls • Res Gestae • Koran • Book of Kells • Magna Carta • Da Vinci notebooks • Treaty of Tordesillas • Codex Mendoza • Copernicus, On the Revolution of the Heavenly Spheres • Shakespeare First Folio • Treaty of Westphalia • Declaration of Independence • Tennis Court Oath • Wollstonecraft, Vindication of the Rights of Women • Beethoven's Fifth Symphony • Key, 'O Say Can You See' • Napoleon 1 March 1815 proclamation • Brunel letter on propulsion • Communist Manifesto • Soccer Rules • Darwin, On the Origin of Species • Gettysburg Address • British North America Act • Congress of Berlin • New Zealand Suffrage Petition • Wright brothers telegram • Tubb Gallipoli diary • Einstein, General Relativity paper • Wilson, Fourteen Points • Coco Chanel sketch • Anne Frank diary • Einstein, Manhattan Project latter • D-Day map • Churchill-Stalin 'percentages' paper • UN Charter • 'A Structure for DNA' • Treaty of Rome • Beatles itinerary • Mandela courtroom speech • Tickets to Woodstock 1969 • Apollo 11 report • Tim Berners-Lee Web memo • Map of the universe.

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