General and world history Books

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Book SynopsisFrom the internationally bestselling author of The Silk Roads: everything you need to know about the present and future of the world ‘Masterly mapping out of a new world order’ Evening Standard 'Frankopan is a brilliant guide to terra incognita' The Times Peter Frankopan's highly anticipated follow-up to the 'Book of the Decade', The New Silk Roads takes a fresh look at the network of relationships being formed along the length and breadth of the Silk Roads today. The world is changing dramatically and in an age of Brexit and Trump, the themes of isolation and fragmentation permeating the western world stand in sharp contrast to events along the Silk Roads, where ties have been strengthened and mutual cooperation established. Following the Silk Roads eastwards from Europe through to China, by way of Russia and the Middle East, The New Silk Roads provides a timely reminder that we live in a world that is profoundly interconnected. In this prescient contemporary history, Peter Frankopan assesses the global reverberations of these continual shifts in the centre of power – all too often absent from headlines in the west. This important – and ultimately hopeful – book asks us to reread who we are and where we are in the world, illuminating the themes on which all our lives and livelihoods depend.Trade ReviewMasterly mapping out of a new world order . . . Peter Frankopan has gone up in the world since his bestselling Silk Roads history was published to great acclaim in 2015 – and deservedly so -- Justin Marozzi * Evening Standard *I enjoyed The New Silk Roads. I learnt a great deal about recent developments in Central Asia and elsewhere. Frankopan is a brilliant guide to terra incognita -- Niall Ferguson * Sunday Times *The book is diverting, eclectic and has serious intent. Its thesis that Eurasia is developing a sense of cohesion, largely powered by China’s restless ambition, is a sound one -- Roger Boyes * The Times *Absorbing . . . One of the slightly dizzying effects of reading this book is realising the sheer amount of change that has taken place globally in just three years * Irish Times *Peter Frankopan has written as prescient a modern history as possible . . . Frankopan’s skill is that he able to step back a few more paces from the world map and global events than most modern commentators, whilst encouraging us to use history as a way of looking forward than regressing into the past -- Total PoliticsIf you are only going to read one non-fiction book in the coming year, let it be The New Silk Roads by Dr Frankopan . . . This book has all the answers and some more * News on Sunday Pakistan *Entertaining . . . Peter Frankopan has a sharp eye for startling facts, and no reader will leave The New Silk Roads with her sense of the state of the world unchanged -- Richard Drayton * Times Literary Supplement *Frankopan has written another valuable and idiosyncratic book. He has the gift of perspective – the capacity to see the wood for the trees – which he combines with a Tolstoyan knack for weaving little details into the broader sweep of human affairs * Daily Telegraph *Peter Frankopan’s surprise 2015 bestseller The Silk Roads was a gripping world history that centred on the east. His follow-up The New Silk Roads takes the story right up to the present, as a resurgent China seeks to recreate the old trade routes -- Books of the Year * Prospect *A stimulating primer on modern geopolitics, written with a historian’s eye for colour and detail * Daily Telegraph *Superb -- Amol Rajan * BBC *An entertaining and carefully researched account of a new Chinese chapter in global history, and one where it finally makes sense to see Eurasia, with Europe at one end and China at the other, as a single connected whole * Spectator *Filled with an avalanche of remarkable facts . . . Peter Frankopan is on a mission to show that the world is no longer all about Europe and the West * Het Financieele Dagblad NL *

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Book SynopsisOscar Wilde said, 'Life imitates Art far more than Art imitates Life.' Was he right? In Cult of Progress, David Olusoga travels the world to piece together the shared histories that link nations. We discover what happened to art in the great Age of Discovery, when civilisations encountered each other for the first time. Although undoubtedly a period of conquest and destruction, it was also one of mutual curiosity, global trade and the exchange of ideas. A few hundred years on, we see how the Industrial Revolution transformed the world, impacting every corner and every civilisation from the cotton mills of the Midlands to Napoleon's conquest of Egypt, the decimation of both Native American and Maori populations, and the advent of photography in Paris in 1839. Incredible art - both looted and created - relays the key events and their outcomes throughout the world.Trade ReviewOlusoga is a smart and inventive narrator, with a keen historical curiosity and effortless style -- Faramerz Dabhoiwala * Guardian *Told with great fluency and clarity of style ... a highly readable and engaging account -- Kwasi Kwarteng * Sunday Times *An insightful take from a great writer * History Revealed *Praise for Black and British: A Forgotten History You could not ask for a more judicious, comprehensive and highly readable survey of a part of British history that has been so long overlooked or denied. David Olusoga is a superb guide -- Adam HochschildGroundbreaking * Observer *[A] comprehensive and important history of black Britain ... Written with a wonderful clarity of style and with great force and passion -- Kwasi Kwarteng * Sunday Times *A radical reappraisal of the parameters of history, exposing lacunae in the nation's version of its past -- Arifa Akbar * Guardian *Praise for The Kaiser's Holocaust [A] haunting book ... an unforgettable and unflinching account of a neglected atrocity * Sunday Telegraph *[A] provocative and uncomfortably absorbing book ... Impressively researched ... Olusoga and Erichsen, with their novelist's flair for narrative, provide a grimly readable history ... Deserves to be read widely -- Ian Thomson * Daily Telegraph *

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Book SynopsisA former US Navy SEAL, the author tells the story of his legendary career, from 1999-2009, during which time he recorded the most confirmed sniper kills in the history of the United States military, any branch, from 1776 to present. He also tells the story of the men of SEAL Team 3 who fought and died as brothers with him.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 SynopsisJames Crowden is Britain's best cider writer Cider Country is the book we've all been waiting for.' Oz ClarkeJoin James Crowden as he embarks on a journey to distil the ancient origins of cider, uncovering a rich culture and philosophy that has united farmer, maker and drinker for millennia.LONGLISTED FOR THE 2021 ANDRE SIMON FOOD AND DRINK AWARDCidermaking has been at the heart of country life for hundreds of years. But the fascinating story of how this drink came into existence and why it became so deeply rooted in the nation's psyche has never been told. In order to answer these questions, James Crowden traces an elusive history stretching back to the ancient, myth-infused civilisations of the Mediterranean and the wild apple forests of Kazakhstan.Meeting cider experts, farmers and historians, he unearths the surprising story of an apple that travelled from east to west and proved irresistible to everyone who tasted it. Upon its arrival in Britain, monks, pirates and politicians foTrade ReviewPraise for CIDER COUNTRY ‘James Crowden is Britain’s best cider writer. I always turn to his work first when I want top research and inspiring opinions. His new ‘Cider Country’ is the book we have all been waiting for.’ OZ CLARKE ‘Crowden writes with an intoxicating lyricism about the great love of his life – cider. Packed with cider flavoured nuggets of history, magic and folklore, this book will not just make you want to drink the stuff, it will have you packing your bags and move to the West Country to make it.’ Ned Palmer, author of A Cheese-monger’s History of the British Isles ‘Wonderful … From the ancient orchards of Kazakhstan to the cider presses of Somerset, fizzing with fruity stories and yeasty historical tales!’ Alice Roberts ‘James Crowden takes us on the most immersive journey through this drink and tells us of the story of the origins of the apple through Kazakhstan… It’s such a friendly book, a cosy feel…This drink fell into decline particularly in the seventies and eighties, and in more recent years we’ve had this revival of fine cider…This book tells that story. Dan Saladino, Radio 4 Food Programme ‘Books of the Year’ ‘Cider Country is a vivid ramble through orchards and history …Enormous fun, and effortlessly readable.’ Caroline Eden, author of Red Sands ‘Fascinating … Crowden knows this world intimately. He has a gift for evoking the rhythms and smells of cider-making.’ SPECTATOR ‘Imagine that Falstaff's got a handful of PhDs, and that he's holding court late at night in a West Country cider house, rombustiously, outrageously, learnedly, rapturously, fascinatingly. That's Crowden here. Don't miss it.’ Charles Foster, author of Being a Beast

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Book SynopsisA journey through the great mass-extinction events that have shaped our Earth: 'Deeply informed and readable' Nature In this vast sweep of our Earth's history, Michael Benton brings the deep past to life as never before. Deploying the cutting-edge tools in biology, chemistry, physics and geology that are transforming our understanding of previous environmental cataclysms including the incredible new discovery of a hitherto unknown extinction event he uncovers not only their lethal effects but also the processes that brought about such large-scale destruction. Beginning with the oldest extinction, Benton investigates the Late Ordovician, which set the evolution of the first animals on an entirely new course; the late Devonian, brought on by global warming; the cataclysmic End-Permian, which wiped out over 90 per cent of all life on Earth; and, book-ending the age of the dinosaurs, the newly discovered Carnian Pluvial Event and the End-Cretaceous asteroid. He examines how global warming, acid rain, ocean acidification, erupting volcanoes and meteorite impact have affected conditions on Earth, the drastic consequences for global ecology, and how life in turn survived, adapted and evolved. This expert retelling of scientific breakthroughs allows us to link long-ago upheavals to our modern crises. As today's climate scientists and political leaders grapple to understand these processes and our planet enters the sixth great extinction, these insights from the past may hold the key to survival.

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Book SynopsisTHE AGE OF EXTREMES is eminent historian Eric Hobsbawm''s personal vision of the twentieth century. Remarkable in its scope, and breathtaking in its depth of knowledge, this immensely rewarding book reviews the uniquely destructive and creative nature of the troubled twentieth century and makes challenging predicitions for the future.Trade ReviewA magnificent piece of historical exposition... an essential read. * INDEPENDENT *A masterpiece * GUARDIAN *A brilliant and stimulating book. * FINANCIAL TIMES *The power of Hobsbawm's exploration of the age of hot and cold wars lies in its brilliant synthesis of familiar, though sometimes forgotten, facts and ideas. It combines an Olympian, multi-lingual erudition and an addictive, readable style. * Ben Pimlott, INDEPENDENT on Sunday Books of The Year *

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Book SynopsisFor over three thousand years, the Mediterranean Sea has been one of the great centres of civilization. David Abulafia''s The Great Sea is the first complete history of the Mediterranean, from the erection of temples on Malta around 3500 BC to modern tourism. Ranging across time and the whole extraordinary space of the Mediterranean from Gibraltar to Jaffa, Genoa to Tunis, and bringing to life pilgrims, pirates, sultans and naval commanders, this is the story of the sea that has shaped much of world history.Trade ReviewThe greatest living historian of the Mediterranean -- Andrew RobertsA towering achievement. No review can really do justice to the scale of Abulafia's achievement: in its epic sweep, eye for detail and lucid style. -- Dominic Sandbrook * Sunday Times *Brocaded with studious observation and finely-tuned scholarship, the overall effect is mesmerising. -- Ian Thomson * Independent *A memorable study, its scholarship tinged with indulgent humour and an authorial eye for bizarre detail. -- Jonathan Keates * Sunday Telegraph *The story is teeming with colourful characters, and Abulafia wears his scholarship lightly, even dashingly. -- Simon Sebag Montefiore * Financial Times *

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Book Synopsis''A thrilling blow-by-blow account'' The Times''A first-rate popular history of a fascinating and neglected battle... a veritable page-turner'' BBC HistoryIn February 1944, a rag-tag collection of clerks, drivers, doctors, muleteers, and other base troops, stiffened by a few dogged Yorkshiremen and a handful of tank crews managed to hold out against some of the finest infantry in the Japanese Army, and then defeat them in what was one of the most astonishing battles of the Second World War.What became know as The Defence of the Admin Box, fought amongst the paddy fields and jungle of Northern Arakan over a fifteen-day period, turned the battle for Burma. Not only was it the first decisive victory for British troops against the Japanese, more significantly, it demonstrated how the Japanese could be defeated. The lessons learned in this tiny and otherwise insignificant corner of the Far East, set up the campaign in Burma that would folloTrade ReviewHolland is good on the mechanics of warfare and gives a thrilling blow-by-blow account of the fighting, which will please military buffs. There are also crisp vignettes of the commanders . . . But it is the voices of the fighting men that lift this book above the level of a simple battle narrative. Holland has a good ear. * The Times *Up there with Rorke’s Drift . . . in rescuing the Battle of the Admin Box from oblivion, Holland has performed a signal service for all the men who fought – and died – in its defence * Telegraph *In this superb account of an obscure but decisive battle fought in almost indescribably difficult jungle terrain, the always excellent James Holland tells a tale of heroism and grit to match any in the annals of war * The Mail on Sunday *Vivid . . . military historian James Holland conjures the heroism and horror of this gallant stand by a motley force of doctors, clerks and other base troops against highly trained Japanese infantry. * Daily Mail *A gripping account of one of the war’s lesser-known episodes * Soldier *

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Book SynopsisThis book examines key cases of terrorist violence to show that the invention of terrorism was linked to the birth of modernity in Europe, Russia and the United States, rather than to Tsarist despotism in 19th century Russia or to Islam sects in Medieval Persia. Combining a highly readable historical narrative with analysis of larger issues in social and political history, the author argues that the dissemination of news about terrorist violence was at the core of a strategy that aimed for political impact on rulers as well as the general public. Dietze's lucid account also reveals how the spread of knowledge about terrorist acts was, from the outset, a transatlantic process. Two incidents form the book's centerpiece. The first is the failed attempt to assassinate French Emperor Napoléon III by Felice Orsini in 1858, in an act intended to achieve Italian unity and democracy. The second case study offers a new reading of John Brown's raid on the arsenal at Harpers Ferry in 1859, as a decisive moment in the abolitionist struggle and occurrences leading to the American Civil War. Three further examples from Germany, Russia, and the US are scrutinized to trace the development of the tactic by first imitators. With their acts of violence, the "invention" of terrorism was completed. Terrorism has existed as a tactic since then and has essentially only been adapted through the use of new technologies and methods.Trade Review"The book builds an extraordinarily careful argument about the specificities of context in the 1850s and 60s necessary to an understanding of how terrorism as a distinctive body of political thinking and practice arrived in the modern world, focusing on the field of understanding that coalesced around "freedom, nation and violence" in the epoch framed by the French Revolution and Revolutions of 1848. It does not fall into common trap of the available literatures, viz. to approach the 'genealogies' from an excessively presentist point of view. Instead, Dietze approaches the 1850s and 60s as a generative crucible for the conjunction of ideas and influences that need to be very carefully historicized as such if we're to have any chance of understanding the subsequent intellectual and political histories concerned. In its willingness to engage explicitly and at length with the literatures in political science as well as the writing theoretically about terrorism in general, Dietze's book has unusual strength for a historian."The book is impressively "transnational" in the terms that have become aspiringly normative for so many theoretically self-aware and ambitious historians during the past decade.""Dietze brilliantly makes these familiar and well-established histories and perceptions strange.""Another vital and original aspect of the study is its emphasis on media history and the particular characteristics of the mid 19th century public sphere -- BOTH in terms of the circulatory conditions needed for the transnational quality of the history she's trying to reconstruct AND for the key argument she's making about impact and reception. In other words, this is partly an argument about mechanics and the particular means of transmission and circulation. But it's also about the ontological grounds of political thought and political agency created out of this remarkable transnational circuitry." -- Geoff Eley, Karl Pohrt Distinguished University Professor of Contemporary History at the University of MichiganThis book may well revolutionize our understanding of the origins of terrorism in the 19th century. In highly original fashion, it closely links together the actions of terrorists in France, Russia, and the United States and shows how between 1858 and 1866 two key terrorists influenced three copycats who altogether ignited the explosion of modern terrorism. The depth of Dietze's research, drawing upon archives not only in Europe and the United States, but also in Russia, is staggering. A must read for anyone interested in the history of terrorism. -- Richard Bach Jensen, Louisiana Scholars’ College at Northwestern State University, author of The Battle against Anarchist Terrorism

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Book SynopsisForgotten is a search for hidden or neglected memorials and places in historic Palestine - now Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territories - and what they might tell us about the land and the people who live on our small slip of earth between the Mediterranean Sea and the Jordan River.From ancient city ruins to the Nabi ''Ukkasha mosque and tomb, acclaimed writers and researchers Raja Shehadeh and Penny Johnson ask: what has been memorialised, and what lies unseen, abandoned or erased - and why? Whether standing on a high cliff overlooking Lebanon or at the lowest land-based elevation on earth at the Dead Sea, they explore lost connections in a fragmented land.In elegiac, elegant prose, Shehadeh and Johnson grapple not only with questions of Israeli resistance to acknowledging the Nakba - the 1948 catastrophe for Palestinians - but also with the complicated history of Palestinian commemoration today.

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Book SynopsisBill Bryson was born in Des Moines, Iowa, in 1951. His bestselling books include The Road to Little Dribbling, Notes from a Small Island, A Walk in the Woods, One Summer and The Life and Times of the Thunderbolt Kid. In a national poll, Notes from a Small Island was voted the book that best represents Britain. His acclaimed work of popular science, A Short History of Nearly Everything, won the Aventis Prize and the Descartes Prize, and is the biggest selling non-fiction book of the 21st century. The Body: A Guide for Occupants was shortlisted for the Royal Society Science Book Prize and is an international bestseller.Bill Bryson was Chancellor of Durham University 2005-2011. He is an Honorary Fellow of the Royal Society. He lives in England.Trade ReviewBill Bryson is a true master of popular narrative. Over the course of his career, he has bestowed a beautiful clarity on even the most recondite of subjects...Has history ever been so enjoyable? -- Craig Brown * Mail on Sunday *A fascinating snapshot of a season during which America, for better or worse, ushered in the modern world. * Sunday Times *A gifted raconteur...The book is filled with eccentric, flamboyant characters and memorable stories...highly amusing. * Guardian *A great new form of literature: biography of a few months in one country. -- Matt Ridley * The Times (Books of the Year) *Few writers of nonfiction, and,let's be honest,few enough writers of novels, can crack the narrative whip like Bryson. One Summer fairly whirls along...full of exhilarating, fact-filled fun...surely the most sublime distraction published this year. * Observer *

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Book SynopsisRoman Krznaric is a social philosopher who writes about the power of ideas to create change. His internationally bestselling books, including The Good Ancestor, Empathy, and Carpe Diem Regained, have been published in more than twenty-five languages. He is Senior Research Fellow at Oxford University's Centre for Eudaimonia and Human Flourishing and founder of the world's first Empathy Museum.After growing up in Sydney and Hong Kong, Roman studied at the universities of Oxford, London and Essex, where he gained his PhD in political science. His writings have been widely influential amongst political and ecological campaigners, education reformers, social entrepreneurs and designers. An acclaimed public speaker, his talks and workshops have taken him from a London prison to the TED global stage.Roman is a member of the Club of Rome and a Research Fellow of the Long Now Foundation. He previously worked as an academic, a gardener and a human rights campaigner. He is also a fanatical player of the medieval sport of real tennis.

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Book Synopsis**THE NUMBER ONE BESTSELLER**In twenty-one bite-sized lessons, Yuval Noah Harari explores what it means to be human in an age of bewilderment.How can we protect ourselves from nuclear war, ecological cataclysms and technological disruptions? What can we do about the epidemic of fake news or the threat of terrorism? What should we teach our children?The world-renowned historian and intellectual Yuval Noah Harari takes us on a thrilling journey through today's most urgent issues. The golden thread running through his exhilarating new book is the challenge of maintaining our collective and individual focus in the face of constant and disorienting change.Faced with a litany of existential and real crises, are we still capable of understanding the world we have created?'[Harari] has teed up a crucial global conversation about how to take on the problems of the 21st century' Bill Gates, New York Times'21 Lessons is, simply put, a crucial book' Adam Kay, author of UndoctoredTrade ReviewTruly mind-expanding… Ultra-topical… Harari’s big selling point [is] the ambition and breadth of his work, smashing together unexpected ideas into dazzling observations. * Guardian *There is surely no one alive who is better at explaining our world than Yuval Noah Harari - he is the lecturer we all wish we’d had at university. Reading this book, I must have interrupted my partner a hundred times to pass on fascinating things I’d just read. Harari has done it again - 21 Lessons is, simply put, a crucial book. -- Adam KayErudite, illuminating, vivid. [Harari’s] lessons suggest new ways of thinking about current problems… a splendid, sobering, stirring call to arms. * Sunday Times *Fascinating… compelling… [Harari] has teed up a crucial global conversation about how to take on the problems of the 21st century. -- Bill Gates * New York Times *The great thinker of our age. * The Times *Harari… is a rare voice of calm reassurance, slicing through the chaos and uncertainty of the modern age. -- Allan Hunter * Sunday Express *Harari thrills his readers because he addresses the biggest possible topics with confidence and brio. Compared with the subjects he tackles, anything else we might read looks piffling and parochial. * Evening Standard *Harari’s genius at weaving together insights from different disciplines, ranging from ancient history to neuroscience to philosophy to artificial intelligence, has enabled him to respond to the clamour to understand where we have come from and where we might be heading… 21 Lessons is lit up by flashes of intellectual adventure and literary verve. * Financial Times *Modern life can seem overwhelming. Fortunately, Yuval Noah Harari's new book, 21 Lessons for the 21st Century, is on hand to guide us through it. Poolside reading with purpose. * Elle *[Harari’s] purpose is to reveal the hard-learned lessons we have all already encountered this century… the persuasiveness of Harari’s philosophical analysis, and the engaging quality of his writing, is hard to deny. * Esquire *

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Book Synopsis'A gripping and illuminating picture of how strongmen have deployed violence, seduction, and corruption' Daniel Ziblatt, co-author of How Democracies Die 'A timely analysis of how a certain kind of charisma delivers political disaster' Timothy Snyder, author of On Tyranny Ours is the age of the strongman. Countries from Russia to India, Turkey to America are ruled by men who combine populist appeal with authoritarian policy. They have reshaped their countries around them, creating cults of personality which earn the loyalty of millions. And they do so by drawing on a playbook of behaviour established by figures such as Benito Mussolini, Muammar Gaddafi and Adolf Hitler. So why - despite the evidence of history - do strongmen still hold such appeal for us? Historian Ruth Ben-Ghiat draws on analysis of everything from gender to corruption and propaganda to explain who these political figures are - and how they manipulate our own history, fears and desires in search of power at any cost. Strongmen is a fierce and perceptive history, and a vital step in understanding how to combat the forces which seek to derail democracy and seize our rights.Trade ReviewWith a steady gaze and an eye for the telling detail, Ruth Ben-Ghiat delivers a timely analysis of how a certain kind of charisma delivers political disaster - and some valuable hints about how it can be resisted, and the virtues we will need to rebuild democracy -- Timothy Snyder, author of On TyrannyRuth Ben-Ghiat is an indispensable resource on authoritarianism, past and present. Everyone who cares about American democracy should read this book -- Sarah Kendzior, author of Hiding in Plain Sight: The Invention of Donald Trump and the Erosion of AmericaBen-Ghiat's portrayal of fascist era tyrants, murderous Cold War dictators, and would-be tyrants in our own day gives us a gripping and illuminating picture of how strongmen have deployed violence, seduction, and corruption. History, Ben-Ghiat shows, offers clear lessons not only about how these regimes are built, but also how they must be opposed, and how they inevitably end -- Daniel Ziblatt, co-author How Democracies DieSimultaneously intimate and sweeping in scope, STRONGMEN brings us in close to dictators and would-be dictators across decades and continents. We are left with a disturbing look in the mirror. Throughout, Ben-Ghiat's clear prose rings with a rhythm and cadence that today's nonfiction too often lacks -- Sarah Chayes, author of On Corruption in America: And What Is at Stake and Thieves of StateDeep insight and a vigorous style ... a brilliant contribution to the political psychology of democracy -- Joy Connolly, President of the American Council of Learned SocietiesPraise for Ruth Ben-Ghiat: [A] surpassingly brilliant public intellectual... -- Virginia Heffernan on Slate Trumpcast

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Book SynopsisA masterful introduction to world mythology, shedding light on the impact it has had on cultures past and present and untangling the complex web of deities, monsters and myths.From the signs of the zodiac to literature and art, the influence of world mythology can still be seen in everyday life. With a stunning array of fascinating tales, World Mythology in Bite-sized Chunks gets to grips with the ancient stories of Aboriginal, Sumerian, Egyptian, Mesoamerican, Maori, Greek, Roman, Indian, Norse and Japanese cultures, encompassing legends from the most diverse societies and the most ancient cultures from across the globe.Learn about why Odin, the Father of the Gods in Norse mythology, was so keen to lose an eye, the importance of the Osiris myth of Ancient Egypt, and much more besides.Entertaining, authoritative and incisive, this is an enlightening journey into the fascinating world of mythology.Trade ReviewThis handy little book documents different stories that proliferate across world mythology... it's all here in bite sized chunks * The Good Book Guide *

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Book SynopsisFrom Moses to Nelson Mandela, speeches have changed the way we see the world and the way the world is shaped.The Penguin Book of Historic Speeches gathers together the world''s greatest speeches, bringing together the words of over one hundred men and women. These brilliant and passionate declarations by Socrates, Robespierre, Lincoln, Queen Elizabeth I, Churchill, Washington, Pankhurst, Gandhi and many others provide a vivid glimpse of history in the making while retaining their power to move and inspire today.''Impeccable. MacArthur prefaces each address with a short but scholarly historical explanation that sets the scene perfectly. An attractive volume'' Andrew Roberts, Sunday Times''Works well not just as an anthology but as a history'' Independent on SundayTrade ReviewImpeccable. MacArthur prefaces each address with a short but scholarly historical explanation that sets the scene perfectly. An attractive volume with a splendidly pithy introducton -- Andrew Roberts * Sunday Times *MacArthur wisely [concentrates] on certain political conflicts - gathering together the oratory of the American Civil War or the campaign for female suffrage. His book works well not just as an anthology but as a history of those episodes * Independent on Sunday *A collection to stir the blood and lift the heart * Daily Mail *

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Book SynopsisGraeme Lawson is an archaeologist, musician and historian with a lifelong fascination for music's fossil record. He has held senior research fellowships at Cambridge and the Freie Universität Berlin, pioneering the application of science to music's prehistory and tracing musical continuities through time and across continents.An acknowledged authority in his field, his ability to communicate with the wider public has made him much sought after, both as performer and speaker, and has done much to raise the profile of music archaeology. His writing brings into sharp focus humankind's profound and enduring relationship with sound and music.

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Book SynopsisThe Imperium series continues in this asymmetric card-based civilisation building game for 14 players, charting the rise and fall of fourteen of the greatest civilisations from history.Formidable adversaries are arrayed against you. Your people stand ready. History beckons.In your hands lies the destiny of one of the most storied peoples of history. Under constant threat of attack, you must conquer new lands, oversee dramatic scientific and cultural advances, and lead your people into the era of empire. Expand too rapidly and unrest will bring your civilisation to its knees; build up too slowly, however, and you might find yourself a mere footnote of history. As one of fourteen radically asymmetric civilisations, you will compete to become the most dominant empire the world has ever seen.Imperium: Horizons is a standalone game that contains the Abbasid, Askumite, Cultist, Gupta, Inuit, Japanese, Magyar, Martian, Mayan, Polyn

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Book SynopsisThe international million copy bestseller recounting the epic turning point of the WW2______________In October 1942, an officer wrote ''Stalingrad is no longer a town . . . Animals flee this hell; the hardest stones cannot bear it for long; only men endure''.The battle for Stalingrad became the focus of Hitler and Stalin''s determination and its citizens endured unimaginable hardship as a result. But the eventual victory of the Red Army, and the failure of Hitler''s Operation Barbarossa, was the first defeat of Hitler''s territorial ambitions in Europe, and the start of his decline.An extraordinary story of tactical genius, civilian bravery, obsession, carnage and the nature of war itself, Stalingrad will act as a testament to the vital role of the soviet war effort.______________''He reveals the full awfulness and human cost of the conflict with scholarly verve and deep sympathy'' Ben Macintyre''A superb re-telling. Beevor combines a soldier''s understanding of war''s realities with the narrative techniques of a novelist'' Orlando Figes, Sunday Telegraph''A brilliantly researched tour de force of military history'' Sarah Bradford, The TimesTrade Review'Captivating . . . Jingoistic statues never pay a proper tribute to the dead, but honest books, like this one, certainly do' -- Vitali Vitaliev * Guardian *Antony Beevor gained access to the unplumbed records, and he reveals the full awfulness and human cost of the conflict with scholarly verve and deep sympathy. The pity of war has seldom been rendered so well -- Ben MacintyreA brilliantly researched tour de force of military history -- Sarah Bradford * The Times *Antony Beevor's account of this historic turning-point is truly powerful, written with a compelling narrative drive . . . This is a fine achievement -- David Pryce-Jones * Daily Mail *A superb re-telling. Beevor combines a soldier's understanding of war's realities with the narrative techniques of a novelist . . . This is a book that lets the reader look into the face of battle -- Orlando Figes * Sunday Telegraph *

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Book SynopsisA RADIO 4 BOOK OF THE WEEK 'Full of delightful nuggets' Guardian online 'Entertaining, informative and philosphical ... An essential read' All About History 'Extraordinary range ... All the world and more is here' Evening Standard 165 million years ago saw the birth of rhythm. 66 million years ago came the first melody. 40 thousand years ago Homo sapiens created the first musical instrument. Today music fills our lives. How we have created, performed and listened to music throughout history has defined what our species is and how we understand who we are. Yet it is an overlooked part of our origin story. The Musical Human takes us on an exhilarating journey across the ages – from Bach to BTS and back – to explore the vibrant relationship between music and the human species. With insights from a wealth of disciplines, world-leading musicologist Michael Spitzer renders a global history of music on the widest possible canvas, from global history to our everyday lives, from insects to apes, humans to artificial intelligence. 'Michael Spitzer has pulled off the impossible: a Guns, Germs and Steel for music' Daniel Levitin 'A thrilling exploration of what music has meant and means to humankind' Ian Bostridge Trade ReviewEntertaining, informative and philosophical ... An essential read * All About History Magazine *Extraordinary range ... All the world and more is here -- Evening Standard * Julian Glover *An ambitious and total history of music -- Charlotte Runcie * Daily Telegraph *Full of delightful nuggets ... sends the reader back to a world of musical examples time and time again * Guardian *Extraordinary ... Ranging from the Geissenklösterle caves to K-Pop, from the lost music of the Aztecs to the role of song in hunter-gatherer societies, and drawing on a vast array of specialisations, from archaeoacoustics to ornithology, Spitzer utilises a breath-taking variety of sources ... The Musical Human will make you think differently about music, about its place in your life and about its importance to human life tout court -- Mathew Lyons * Literary Review *Bold, compelling and ear-opening -- Michael Prodger * New Statesman *A hugely ambitions work, but never daunting, and there's something thought-provoking on every page ... With scholarship, wit and passion, this book demonstrates that there is truly a soundtrack to human lives -- Catherine Bott, Classic FMA thrilling exploration of what music has meant and means to humankind -- Ian BostridgeMusic changed my life. It changes my mood, my thoughts, my feelings and changes the way I move. Now I know why. This book has connected me to not only the language of love but the language of life. If you can just hum, whistle out of tune or shake a leg at a wedding then open the pages of this book and know why! A revelation -- Michael CashmanBlurring the lines between musical theory, anthropology, biology and history, Spitzer posits that music is one of our most defining achievements, fundamental to the human experience -- Rhiannon Thomas * Radio Times *An amazing book, tying together research in archaeology, anthropology, music history, and human origins to form a compelling and exciting account of the many ways music has developed across the world and across time. Michael Spitzer has pulled off the impossible: a Guns, Germs and Steel for music -- Daniel Levitin

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Book SynopsisWINNER OF THE WOLFSON HISTORY PRIZEPaul Kennedy's international bestseller is a sweeping account of five hundred years of fluctuating economic muscle and military might.Kennedy's masterwork begins in the year 1500, at a time of various great centres of power including Minh China, the Ottomans, the rising Mughal state, the nations of Europe. But it was the latter which, through competition, economic growth and better military organisation, came to dominate the globe until challenged later by Japan, the Soviet Union, and the United States. Now China, boosted by its own economic prowess, rises to the fore. Throughout this brilliant work, Kennedy persuasively demonstrates the interdependence of economic and military power, showing how an imbalance between the two has historically led to spectacular political disaster.Erudite and brilliantly original, The Rise and Fall of the Great Powers is essential reading for anyone with an interest in the politics of power.Trade Review‘A brilliantly original book…It is intended for the intelligent layman as well as the academic historian, combining in Toynbee-esque manner the sweeping conception with careful attention to historical detail’ Financial Times ‘This book is falling out of briefcases all over Washington DC, both because it looks and sounds erudite and because it purports to answer an increasingly common question: Has the United States already embarked on its journey into the sunset of empire? It is administering a lot of frissons to trend-watchers’ Christopher Hitchens ‘Outstanding…He ranges across five centuries and around the whole world. He seems to have read every relevant book in every possible language. And he has produced a general argument so deceptively simple that no politician, however busy, should ignore or misunderstand it’ Observer ‘One of the masterpieces of modern historical writing’ Daily Telegraph ‘A masterpiece of exposition. It is erudite and elegantly written’ New Society ‘A remarkable book…long, clever, often funny, and crammed with remarkable insights; it is tinged with the genius that unravels complexity’ Evening Standard ‘Shows a master historian’s ability to use evidence like a boxing champion’s uppercut’ TES ‘One of those rare (and irresistible) books which successfully combine the scope and sweep of ‘popular’ history with the discriminating rigour of professional historiography, making it both a bloody good read and a thought-provoking one’ Listener

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Book SynopsisIn the middle of the eighteenth century, British entrepreneurs unleashed the astounding energies of steam and coal and the world changed forever. Factories, railways and gunboats then propelled the West's rise to power, and computers and nuclear weapons in the twentieth century secured its global supremacy. Today, however, many worry that the emergence of China and India spell the end of the West as a superpower. How long will the power of the West last? In order to find out we need to know: why has the West been so dominant for the past two hundred years? With flair and authority, historian and achaeologist Ian Morris draws uniquely on 15,000 years of history to offer fresh insights on what the future will bring. Deeply researched and brilliantly argued, Why The West Rules - For Now is a gripping and truly original history of the world.Trade ReviewA provocative and extraordinary contribution to wide-screen comparative history... a true banquet of ideas -- Boyd Tonkin * Independent *An important book - one that challenges, stimulates and entertains. Anyone who does not believe there are lessons to be learned from history should start here * Economist *Perhaps the smartest and sanest guide to the twenty-first century so far * South China Morning Post *One doffs one's hat to Morris's breadth, ambition and erudition -- Paul Kennedy * Sunday Times *Morris is the world's most talented ancient historian, a man as much at home with state of-the-art archaeology as with the classics as they used to be studied. Here, he has brilliantly pulled off what few modern academics would dare to attempt -- Niall Ferguson * Foreign Affairs *Morris handles huge ideas and transglobal theories with a breathtaking ease and humour -- Artemis Cooper * Evening Standard, Books of the Year *[an] enjoyable and thought-provoking book -- Nicholas Shakespeare * Telegraph *A lucid thinker and a fine writer * New York Times *The nearest thing to a unified field theory of history we are ever likely to get. With wit and wisdom, Ian Morris deploys the techniques and insights of the new ancient history to address the biggest of all historical questions: Why on earth did the West beat the Rest? I loved it. -- Niall FergusonAt last - a brilliant historian with a light touch. We should all rejoice. -- John Julius NorwichA formidable, richly engrossing effort to determine why Western institutions dominate the world . . . Readers will enjoy [Morris's] lively prose and impressive combination of scholarship . . . with economics and science. A superior contribution to the grand-theory-of-human-history genre * Kirkus Reviews (starred review) *

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Book SynopsisIt's been said that, after 9/11, the 2008 financial crash and the Covid-19 pandemic, we're a more fearful society than ever before. Yet fear, and the panic it produces, have long been driving forces - perhaps the driving force - of world history: fear of God, of famine, war, disease, poverty, and other people. In Fear: An Alternative History of the World, Robert Peckham considers the impact of fear in history, as both a coercive tool of power and as a catalyst for social change. Beginning with the Black Death in the fourteenth century, Peckham traces a shadow history of fear. He takes us through the French Revolution and the social movements of the nineteenth century to modern market crashes, Cold War paranoia and the AIDS pandemic, into a digital culture increasingly marked by uniquely twenty-first-century fears. What did fear mean to us in the past, and how can a better understanding of it equip us to face the future? As Peckham demonstrates, fear can challenge as well as cement authority. Some crises have destroyed societies; others have been the making of them. Through the stories of the people and the moments that changed history, Fear: An Alternative History of the World reveals how fear and panic made us who we are.Trade ReviewCompelling * Economist *An ambitious deep dive into history * Irish Independent *[An] elegant synthesis of centuries of intellectual history ... Peckham's mapping of fear across centuries of thought offers an opportunity to reflect on a persistent political geography of anxiety * Lancet *Clear and engaging ... readers keen to grasp a better understanding of the history of the world will be entranced by Peckham's ability to communicate complex political, religious, economic, artistic, medical, military, technological and cultural trends * BBC History Magazine *Brilliant and breathtakingly wide-ranging ... As Peckham shows in gripping and beautifully written detail, fear isn't just the stock in trade of wicked despots; in some circumstances it can be turned to positive effect. Could it, now, be that fear is our friend? Read Peckham and judge for yourself. -- Simon SchamaExtraordinary. This exceptional and thought-provoking book sheds light on the intricate position fear occupies in the unavoidable realities of politics and our spiritual existence. -- Ai WeiweiWe all know what fear is, but who amongst us have considered its history? Peckham is fear's astute historian-translator in this big, brave, honest, and learned book. He moves us back and forth across time and place, from fourteenth-century century plague to bombs in Afghanistan, in a profoundly human history of the politics of one emotion. It's gripping as well as uncomfortable reading, that shows us the stakes when fear and freedom are twinned -- Alison Bashford, author * The Huxleys: An Intimate History of Evolution *Robert Peckham's deeply informed and lucidly staged anatomy of fear is a remarkable achievement. Peckham shapes a fundamentally transformative account of the sociology of fear - and of fear as a constitutive element of modern sociality itself. A groundbreaking study. -- Mark Seltzer, author * The Official World *Fascinating, compelling and erudite. I have written quite a lot about fear and the brain, but learned so much about fear itself from this book. -- Joseph LeDoux, author * The Deep History of Ourselves *

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Book SynopsisThis eye-catching hardback guide introduces the great rivers of the world and how they have shaped our society, brought to life with spectacular, full-colour photography. From the majestic waters of the Nile to the mighty Yellow and Yangtze rivers to the immense Amazon river, the great rivers of the world have captured the human imagination and impacted our history. In this fascinating guide, Geordie Torr explores the natural forces that have created these rivers, their impacts on the environment, and the myriad ways they have affected societies and cultures.In this volume, you will:• Explore the natural features of a river from their source in the mountains down to the estuaries where they reach the sea.• See how rivers like the Tigris and Euphrates rivers gave birth to the first civilizations.• Learn how rivers like the Rhine and the Mississippi have facilitated trade along their lengths.• Discover the importance of rivers to our well-being, through their impacts on agriculture, drought, migration and much, much more.ABOUT THE SERIES: Arcturus Visual Reference Library brings together wonderfully illustrated reference guides on scientific and historical topics, made bold and fascinating through full-colour maps, timelines, photographs, feature boxes and other visual elements.

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Book Synopsis''A fascinating story about a religion in a surprisingly precarious position'' Dan Jones, Sunday Times''Superb storytelling ... captivating and profound'' Literary Review''A page-turner'' The SpectatorIn the fourth century AD, a new faith exploded out of Palestine. Overwhelming the paganism of Rome, and converting the Emperor Constantine in the process, it resoundingly defeated a host of other rivals. Almost a thousand years later, all of Europe was controlled by Christian rulers, and the religion, ingrained within culture and society, exercised a monolithic hold over its population. But, as Peter Heather shows in this compelling history, there was nothing inevitable about Christendom''s rise to Europe-wide dominance.In exploring how the Christian religion became such a defining feature of the European landscape, and how a small sect of isolated congregations was transformed into a mass movement centrally directed from Rome, Heather shows how Christendom constantly battled against both so-called ''heresies'' and other forms of belief. From the crisis that followed the collapse of the Roman Empire, which left the religion teetering on the edge of extinction, to the astonishing revolution in which the Papacy emerged as the head of a vast international corporation, Heather traces Christendom''s chameleon-like capacity for self-reinvention and willingness to mobilize well-directed force.Christendom''s achievement was not, or not only, to define official Christianity, but - from its scholars and its lawyers, to its provincial officials and missionaries in far-flung corners of the continent - to transform it into an institution that wielded effective religious authority across nearly all of the disparate peoples of medieval Europe. This is its extraordinary story.Trade ReviewHeather's sweeping and engaging history of the making of Christendom over a thousand years is full of reinterpretations and new insights... his approach makes for a startlingly fresh look at a familiar story, a non-triumphalist history of the triumph of Christianity, and his book is all the more powerful for it. -- Jane Shaw * Financial Times *Heather casts his eye across the whole medieval period as he unfolds a fascinating story about a religion in a surprisingly precarious position. -- Dan Jones * Sunday Times *It is more pressing than ever to understand how exactly Christianity came to dominate in Europe. Heather's account cuts through the myth of an innately Christian, culturally monolithic Europe... [and] sheds light on the mechanics of state coercion and intermittent violence which led to the birth of Christendom. It's no light reading - but there's enough drama to make it a page-turner. -- Eleanor Myerson * Spectator *A brilliant exercise in disenchantment ... superb storytelling ... Heather more than delivers. While Christendom is fabulously rich in telling detail, Heather is always mindful of the big picture. The book is at once captivating and profound. -- Costica Bradatan * Literary Review *One of the many delights of this weighty book is the abundance of little-heard but illuminating and intriguing stories that he weaves into the narrative to show how Christianity endlessly reinvented itself to maintain a winning formula .... the tale of how Christianity, from unlikely beginnings, became one of the great mass-member institutions of the world is expertly and entertainingly told. -- Peter Stanford * Daily Telegraph *

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Book SynopsisIt is the year 2019, and fear looms in on the world. A deadly virus, one with the ability and venom to wipe away half of the world's 7.8 billion people, or even extinct humanity forever, has emerged. And now, mankind must summon all the strength, knowledge, experiences, science, technology, resilience, courage, and everything else that they have at their disposal, to combat this dark, mysterious, dangerous disease and all its entities. World War III could just end up being between man and the Coronavirus Disease.Table of Contents1. Introduction viii 2. Chapter 1 - Brief history of pandemics and how they changed the world? 1 3. Chapter 2 - Life before COVID-19 7 4. Chapter 3 - Living in fear 13 5. Chapter 4 - How COVID-19 attacks the body? 24 6. Chapter 5 - Living with Anosmia and Parosmia 33 7. Chapter 6 - UK government's unprecedented stimulus package response 37 8. Chapter 7 - COVID-19 and the rest of the world 43 9. Chapter 8 - The second wave 56 10. Chapter 9 - The vaccines and their problems 63 11. Chapter 10 - The out of control second wave and the new variants 73 12. Chapter 11 - A third deadly wave 85 13. Chapter 12 - Track and trace and privacy concerns 90 14. Chapter 13 - A new global financial crisis 94 15. Chapter 14 - When pandemics collide. COVID-19 and Obesity 103 16. Chapter 15 - COVID-19 and mental health 108 17. Chapter 16 - New Coronavirus UK government's acts 117 18. Chapter 17 - How COVID-19 changed the world? 124 19. Chapter 18 - Learning from the mistakes. WHO and UK government's errors 131 20. Chapter 19 - Is it fair? 139 21. Chapter 20 - COVID-19 conspiracies 145 22. Epilogue - Will COVID-19 ever be eradicated? 152 23. Confirmed cases and death tolls country by country table data 156 24. Country by country vaccine data 172 25. Bibliography 174

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Book SynopsisAn archival delve into the remarkable life, expeditions and voyages of Thor Heyerdahl, author of the bestselling adventure classic The Kon-Tiki Expedition Norwegian archaeologist, anthropologist, migration theorist, author and explorer Thor Heyerdahl (1914–2002) spent decades substantiating unorthodox migration theories, with equally unconventional research methodologies: namely, practicable experiments that employed the construction of ancient vessels, driven across open oceans and waterways to retrace the movement and settlements of our ancestors. With October 2022 commemorating the 75th anniversary of Thor Heyerdahl’s extraordinary 1947 voyage upon a balsa-wood raft, Kon-Tiki, from coastal South America to Polynesia across the Pacific Ocean, an enviable opportunity arises to reexplore Heyerdahl’s innovative yet frequently contested theories and expeditions. Afforded unprecedented access to Oslo’s Kon-Tiki Museum’s extensive Heyerdahl archive, Thor Heyerdahl: Voyages of the Sun assembles a wealth of little-known and previously unseen correspondence, expedition logbooks, journals and photographs. Offering readers new and unexamined narratives from an explorer famed for his radical ideas and vehement rejections of abstracted academic theory, Thor Heyerdahl: Voyages of the Sun reviews the enduring relevance of the explorer’s research and assesses it within larger narratives of modern archaeological, anthropological, marine science and migration research; international conservation initiatives; evolving globalization; and essential human–nature symbiosis.

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Book SynopsisHein de Haas, PhD, is Professor of Sociology at the University of Amsterdam, The Netherlands. He is a founding member and former director of the International Migration Institute (IMI) at the University of Oxford, United Kingdom, and now directs the IMI at its current home at the University of Amsterdam. Dr. de Haas is also Professor in migration and development at Maastricht University /United Nations UniversityMERIT. His research focuses on the linkages between migration and broader processes of social transformation and development in origin and destination countries.Stephen Castles, DPhil, was Honorary Professor of Sociology at the University of Sydney, Australia, before retiring in 2017, and served as the first director of the International Migration Institute at the University of Oxford, United Kingdom. His research has focused on international migration dynamics, global governance, migration and development, and migration trends in Africa, Asia, and EuroTrade ReviewThe Age of Migration offers the most comprehensive guide to understanding global migration patterns, both historically and in the present day, and the latest edition only confirms this assessment. Drawing expertly on the latest theories and evidence, the authors illuminate the causes of international migration as well as the consequences for the societies that send and receive the resulting flows of people. Their critical assessment of the policies by which nations attempt to manage these flows is a must-read for policy makers and the public alike. * Douglas S. Massey, Princeton University, USA *At a time when migration has become profoundly integral to social, economic and political change across the global stage, The Age of Migration gives us an incisive, state-of-the-art, yet accessible account of migratory processes and their implications for increasingly interconnected and diversifying societies. Updated with recent statistics and expanded to include forms of mobility linked to education, marriage, retirement and temporary labour migration, the sixth edition confirms its longstanding place on the book shelves of scholars and students of global migrations. * Brenda Yeoh, National University of Singapore *For scholars and students alike, The Age of Migration remains the most comprehensive guide to global mobility. The authors bring clarity to this complex phenomenon by addressing key theories and debates, regional patterns and histories, and emergent developments. The sixth edition, simply outstanding, updates this essential resource with new sections on emigration and migration governance, among others. * Kristin Surak, SOAS, UK *The latest edition of The Age of Migration provides an expanded and detailed assessment of global migration patterns within a comparative context. It provides a sophisticated account of how these patterns speak back to and are informed by theories of migration. This will make a great addition to scholars and students of migration. * Vince Marotta, Deakin University, Australia *Theoretically sophisticated and empirically wide-ranging, The Age of Migration keeps on getting better with each edition. With new, revised and updated chapters this is essentially a new book. Whether as core or background reading, using this textbook in your migration course is a no-brainer. * Maarten Vink, Maastricht University, the Netherlands *Migration is a transformative force. At a time when it seems that everybody has an opinion on international migration, The Age of Migration remains the go-to reference to learn about international migration in many of its aspects – it reliably informs and solidly sobers a field of knowledge that is often riddled with prejudice. The sixth edition combines consistency of argument with exposition of data that broadens beyond an exclusive Western-centric perspective and is more expansive on a variety of theoretical lenses woven through the chapters through which learning about and understanding of international migration can be approached. The Age of Migration occupies a central place in migration studies. * Christina Oelgemoller, Loughborough University, UK *By now a classic text on international migration, this sixth edition of The Age of Migration is the best so far. Understanding cross-border mobility is one of the major challenges of the 21st century, and this volume sets the gold standard for studies of migration across both the Western and the non-Western world. A must read for students, scholars, and policymakers alike. * Gerasimos Tsourapas, University of Birmingham, UK *The authors have updated the fifth edition to produce this definitive text on migration. New sections ensure that the book offers a rigorous and critical analysis of migration covering migration theories, patterns of migration, gender and migration and much more besides. Consequently, it will be useful to students, researchers and policymakers alike. The book challenges popular myths about migration, including that it is a peculiarity to the modern age, offering robust evidence to dispel such misconceptions. I strongly recommend The Age of Migration. * Ruth McAreavey, Newcastle University, UK *Table of Contents1. Introduction 2. Categories of Migration 3. Theories of Migration 4. Migration, Ethnicity and Identity 5. International Migration before 1945 6. Migration in Europe since 1945 7. Migration in the Americas 8. Migration in the Asia-Pacific Region 9. Migration in Africa and the Middle East 10. The State, Politics and Migration 11. The Evolution and Effectiveness of Migration Policies 12. Migrants and Minorities in the Labour Force 13. New Ethnic Minorities and Society 14. Migration and Development in Origin Societies 15. Conclusion: Global Migration Futures.

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Book Synopsis*THE SUNDAY TIMES TOP TEN BESTSELLER*As seen on Apple TV - 1971: The Year That Music Changed EverythingThe Sixties ended a year late - on New Year's Eve 1970, when Paul McCartney initiated proceedings to wind up The Beatles. Music would never be the same again.The next day would see the dawning of a new era. 1971 saw the release of more monumental albums than any year before or since and the establishment of a pantheon of stars to dominate the next forty years - Led Zeppelin, David Bowie, the Rolling Stones, Pink Floyd, Marvin Gaye, Carole King, Joni Mitchell, Rod Stewart, the solo Beatles and more.January that year fired the gun on an unrepeatable surge of creativity, technological innovation, blissful ignorance, naked ambition and outrageous good fortune. By December rock had exploded into the mainstream. How did it happen? This book tells you how. It's the story of 1971, rock's golden year.Trade ReviewDavid Hepworth's argument is simple: 1971 was "the most febrile and creative time in the entire history of popular music". It's an enormous assertion but he makes his point with infectious enthusiasm . . . Whether you agree is beside the point. This is a compelling love letter to a year of timeless music. * Q *A clever and entertaining book . . . Hepworth proves a refreshingly independent thinker. His style is pithy and his eye for anecdotal detail sharp . . . a thoroughly provoking delight * Daily Telegraph *This is no ‘my generation is cooler than yours’ nostalgia trip. Just as movements in art, jazz or TV undeniably had Golden Ages then so too with the long-playing record and its seismic effect on subsequent generations. David Hepworth’s forensic sweep of this astonishing twelve months is thoroughly absorbing and appropriately rollicking, expertly guiding us through one miraculous year in all its breathless tumble of creation. -- Danny BakerA good mix of entertainment, insight and odd facts. Hepworth’s thesis is largely convincing * Mojo *An engaging and thought-provoking read. It’s a dry-eyed but deeply felt love note to the date when rock was still busy inventing itself. Hepworth points out more than once that at the time he had no idea how lucky he hwas. He knows now – and so do we * Mail on Sunday *

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Book SynopsisTrade ReviewWestad has demonstrated that it is possible to tell the vast story of the Cold War in just 600 pages...a clear and well-written summary of a global conflict -- Gerard Degroot * The Times *A tremendous and timely history lesson for our age * Kirkus Reviews *Westad's panoramic history is an impressive feat * Publisher's Weekly *The Cold War evinces a lifetime of research and thought on the subject. Compelling ideas and valuable insights appear frequently... * National Interest *For generations, the Cold War was context, the inescapable setting of political life. This history sets the Cold War itself in context, within the greater landscape of world history, deeply understood, and masterfully presented. It is a powerful synthesis by one of our great historians -- Timothy Snyder, author of Bloodlands: Europe Between Hitler and StalinWestad has produced a grand narrative of the Cold War. Defining it as a struggle between capitalism and socialism as well as a bipolar international system, Westad brilliantly illustrates its ideological, geopolitical, technological, and economic dimensions. Westad, the world's foremost scholar of the Cold War, once again dazzles readers with the scope and depth of his analysis -- Melvyn P. Leffler, Edward Stettinius Professor of American History, Miller Center, University of VirginiaThe Cold War is the history of the twentieth century and the foundation for our current world. Arne Westad provides a powerful analysis of why the Cold War occurred, what it meant, and why it still matters. He is especially strong in elucidating the ideas of perfection that drove very imperfect, often brutal, leaders. Westad's book links the Cold War to globalization, recent wars in the Middle East, and American rivalries with Russia and China. This is a book that everyone interested in politics and foreign policy should read. It is a riveting story, told by one of the foremost world historians -- Jeremi Suri, author of The Impossible Presidency: The Rise and Fall of America’s Highest OfficeHis ambitious book wrests attention away from the classic arenas of Moscow, Berlin and Washington, and looks instead at Indonesia, Chile, Angola, China and Korea, showing how the Cold War affected the globe and how it was, in turn, shaped by events in seemingly distant lands. * Herald Scotland *Ambitious, perspicacious and panoramic in scope * Financial Times *

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Book SynopsisThe Sunday Times-bestselling author of Dresden returns with a monumental biography of the city that defined the twentieth century - Berlin''I loved this book . . . apposite and wise . . . To anyone who knows Berlin a little and is fascinated by it, but would like to understand it better, this is a wonderful aid'' David Aaronovitch, The TimesThroughout the twentieth century, Berlin stood at the centre of a convulsing world. This history is often viewed as separate acts: the suffering of the First World War, the cosmopolitan city of science, culture and sexual freedom Berlin became, steep economic plunges, the rise of the Nazis, the destruction of the Second World War, the psychosis of genocide, and a city rent in two by competing ideologies. But people do not live their lives in fixed eras. An epoch ends, yet the people continue - or try to continue - much as they did before. Berlin tells the story of the city as seen t

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Book SynopsisJohn Haywood presents a grand sweep of global history in an immediately accessible format via concise, insightful and engaging text summaries alongside timelines, maps and illustrations. There are 50 sections, each dealing with significant moments in the human story from the origins of our first ancestors right up to the present day. A short essay introduces and summarizes the most important political and cultural landmarks with a clear timeline then presenting events in four categories: Politics & Economy, Religion & Philosophy, Science & Technology and Arts & Architecture. Maps revealing the changes in our physical world at key junctures in human history as well as galleries of images illustrating the rich and diverse products of our cultural heritage, offer a visual path through time. From this the reader is able to access a whole new understanding of contemporary events across the globe, making unexpected and surprising links and connections across history. Who knew, for example, t

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Book SynopsisThe humorous history of humanity's game-changers.

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Book Synopsis* BBC RADIO 4 BOOK OF THE WEEK *'Anybody who loves the printed word will be bowled over by this amusing, erudite, beautiful book about books. It is in every way a triumph. One of the loveliest books to have been published for many, many years' Alexander McCall Smith 'Quite simply the best gift for any book lover this year, or perhaps ever' Lucy Atkins, Sunday Times Literary Book of the Year'An utterly joyous journey into the deepest eccentricities of the human mind… The most cheering, fascinating book I’ve read for ages' GuardianFrom the author of the critically acclaimed and globally successful The Phantom Atlas, The Golden Atlas and The Sky Atlas comes a stunning new work. The Madman’s Library is a unique, beautifully illustrated journey through the entire history of literature, delving into its darkestTrade Review'This gorgeous collection of bizarre books through the ages... My favourite - and the jaw-dropping bar is high here - is the beautiful, tubercular, 19th-century countess who asked an author to bind his next novel in her skin (he obliged; who wouldn't?). Quite simply the best gift for any book lover this year, perhaps ever.' -- Lucy Atkins * Sunday Times, Literary Book of the Year *'An astonishing book about books... This profusely illustrated book is a bibliophile’s dream: massive books, tiny books, coded books, books of fathomless eccentricity – they are all here. One of the most amusing and engaging books to be published for years.’ -- Alexander McCall-Smith * New Statesman *‘Fabulously entertaining…a tour of the world, a cross-cultural paean to literary ingenuity in all its forms. The book itself is a handsome tome, full of extraordinary images: illuminated manuscripts, visions of the Devil, early anatomical texts. It is a strangely hopeful book: humankind in all its wild variety, set down somehow on paper.’ -- Erica Wagner * Financial Times *'The most beautiful objects in literature. You're going to love this. Extraordinary' -- Dan Snow‘The strangest books ever written, from tomes bound in human skin to a bible that conceals a pistol and a passage of Martian writing channelled through a psychic. A cornucopia of curiosities. Spellbinding…a fascinating tome.’ * Daily Mail *'Brooke-Hitching’s prose is elegant and witty [and] the images...make the book a real joy' * Spectator *'Intriguing...it is a bibliophile's paradise, bringing together the weirdest and most eccentric books ever published. It is a treasure trove of peculiarity, presented in the most captivating way.' * The Lady, Books of the Year *‘Sit back and enjoy the ride as the book sails off into ever more outlandish territory…The Madman’s Library owes as much to his journalistic eye for a good story as it does to bibliographic expertise. It fairly barrels along, delivering a riot of colourful episodes and even more colourful images. Special mention should be made of the illustrations, in fact, since they carry the book every bit as much as the text…This is a book to dip into, browse, fondle and ogle rather than read cover to cover. For bibliophiles who have missed the serendipitous delights of actual libraries over the past few months, it’s the ideal tonic.’ -- Gill Partington * Literary Review *‘This riotous history of weird and wonderful books… It’s suitably lively…but never loses sight of the history among the hijinks.’ * History Revealed *'For a bibliophile's reading pleasure, Brooke-Hitching brings together weird and wondrous tomes from antiquity and all corners of the globe.' * Saga magazine *'The book veers from compulsively gross to deliciously odd, but always fascinating.' -- Francesca Carington * Tatler *'A lavishly illustrated compendium of literary oddities' * Radio Times *

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