History and Archaeology Books

Book SynopsisTHE SUNDAY TIMES TOP THREE BESTSELLER; Winner of the Los Angeles Times Book Prize for History 2018; One of the Daily Telegraph's Best Books of 2017; A Guardian 'Readers' Choice' Best Book of 2017; Without the benefit of hindsight, how do you interpret what's right in front of your eyes?; The events that took place in Germany between 1919 and 1945 were dramatic and terrible but there were also moments of confusion, of doubt - of hope. How easy was it to know what was actually going on, to grasp the essence of National Socialism, to remain untouched by the propaganda or predict the Holocaust?; Travellers in the Third Reich is an extraordinary history of the rise of the Nazis based on fascinating first-hand accounts, drawing together a multitude of voices and stories, including students, politicians, musicians, diplomats, schoolchildren, communists, scholars, athletes, poets, journalists, fascists, artists, tourists, even celebrities like Charles Lindbergh and Samuel Beckett. Their experiences create a remarkable three-dimensional picture of Germany under Hitler - one so palpable that the reader will feel, hear, even breathe the atmosphere.; These are the accidental eyewitnesses to history. Disturbing, absurd, moving, and ranging from the deeply trivial to the deeply tragic, their tales give a fresh insight into the complexities of the Third Reich, its paradoxes and its ultimate destruction.Trade Review"A compelling historical narrative ... both flatters and challenges our hindsight. [Boyd] lets her voices, skilfully orchestrated, speak for themselves, which they do with great eloquence" - The Daily Telegraph; "Fascinating ... surreal scenes pepper Boyd's deep trawl of travellers' tales from the scores of visitors who were drawn to the `new Germany' in the 1930s" - The Spectator; "Contains many amazing anecdotes ... It warns us that we, with our all-seeing hindsight, might ourselves have been fooled or beguiled or inclined to make excuses, had we been there at the time. I can thoroughly recommend it as a contribution to knowledge and an absorbing and stimulating book in itself" - Peter Hitchens, Mail on Sunday; "A fascinating book" -- Robert Elms, BBC Radio London; "To a younger generation it seems incomprehensible that after the tragic Great War people and political leaders allowed themselves to march into the abyss again. Julia Boyd's book, drawing on wide experience and forensic research, seeks to answer some of these questions." -- Randolph Churchill; "With an almost novelistic touch, [Boyd] presents a range of stories of human interest ... The uncomfortable moral of Travellers in the Third Reich is that people see and hear only what they already want to see and hear" -- David Pryce-Jones, Standpoint; "Fascinating ... This absorbing and beautifully organised book is full of small encounters that jolt the reader into a historical past that seems still very near" - Lucy Lethbridge, The Tablet; "In the 1930s the most cultured and technologically advanced country in Europe tumbled into the abyss. In this deeply researched book Julia Boyd lets us view Germany's astonishing fall through foreign eyes. Her vivid tapestry of human stories is a delightful, often moving read. It also offers sobering lessons for our own day when strong leaders are again all the rage" -- Professor David Reynolds, author of The Long Shadow: The Great War and the 20th Century; "Drawing on the unpublished experiences of outsiders inside the Third Reich, Julia Boyd provides dazzling new perspectives on the Germany that Hitler built. Her book is a tour de force of historical research" - Dr Piers Brendon, author of The Dark Valley: A Panorama of the 1930s"What was Nazi Germany really like in the run up to the Second World War? Julia Boyd's painstakingly researched and deeply nuanced book shows how this troubled country appeared to travellers of the 1930s who did not have the benefit of hindsight. A truly fascinating read" -- Keith Lowe, Sunday Times bestselling author of Savage Continent and Inferno; "Engrossing ... skilfully woven together to create a three-dimensional picture of Germany under Hitler that has many resonances for today" -- Caroline Sanderson, The Bookseller; "A revealing and original account. Some of Adolf Hitler's fellow travellers, lulled by self-deception, gulled by propaganda, deluded themselves about Nazi Germany as they deceived others" - Sir John Tusa; "Julia Boyd has conducted a vast range and volume of research. The numerous witnesses of Germany under Hitler whom she quotes have different ages, nationalities, backgrounds and opinions. Out of the multitude of first-hand accounts she spins a tapestry which is full of vivid detail and gradually creates a coherent whole. The horrors of the Hitler regime and how it came to power, and the suffering of ordinary people, are brought to life. The book is comprehensive, informative and full of life. I wish I could have read it before I first worked in post-war Germany. I would have understood better the Germans whom I knew and admired even more what West Germans achieved after 1945. A glorious read for anyone with an interest in the history of the twentieth century" - Sir Christopher Mallaby, former ambassador to Germany and France; "Unique, original and engagingly written. This account of visitors and tourists to Germany brings to life these difficult decades in a most refreshing way [and] should attract a wide circle of readers" - Dr Zare Steiner, author of The Lights that Failed: European International History 1919-1933 and Triumph of the Dark: 1933-193; "An entertaining popular history ... a fascinating book. Boyd lets the voices from the past speak to us ... opinions that are sometimes shocking and often thought provoking. Traveller attitudes give an insight into the feelings before the war, often at odds with or in more depth than many standard histories ... very readable" - Paul Burke, nudge-book.comTable of ContentsContents; Introduction.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1; Map. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-11; 1 Open Wounds.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13; 2 Deepening Pain.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29; 3 Sex and Sun.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47; 4 `The Seething Brew'. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 67; 5 The Noose Tightens.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 85; 6 Monster or Marvel?. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 103; 7 Summer Holidays.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 123; 8 Festivals and Fanfares.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 141; 9 Heiling Hitler. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 161; 10 Old Soldiers.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 183; 11 Literary `Tourists'.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 205; 12 Snow and Swastikas.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 231; 13 Hitler's Games. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 247; 14 Academic Wasteland.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 263; 15 Dubious Overtures.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 285; 16 Travel Album.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 305; 17 Anschluss. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 323; 18 `Peace' and Shattered Glass.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 337; 19 Countdown to War. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 355; 20 War.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 375; 21 Journey's End.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 389; Afterword.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 411; Acknowledgements.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 417; Bibliography. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 421; Archives Consulted. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 429; The Travellers. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 431; Notes. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 449; Index.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 477

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Book SynopsisRenowned Israeli historian, Ilan Pappe's groundbreaking work on the formation of the State of Israel. 'Along with the late Edward Said, Ilan Pappe is the most eloquent writer of Palestinian history.' NEW STATESMAN Between 1947 and 1949, over 400 Palestinian villages were deliberately destroyed, civilians were massacred and around a million men, women, and children were expelled from their homes at gunpoint. Denied for almost six decades, had it happened today it could only have been called 'ethnic cleansing'. Decisively debunking the myth that the Palestinian population left of their own accord in the course of this war, Ilan Pappe offers impressive archival evidence to demonstrate that, from its very inception, a central plank in Israel’s founding ideology was the forcible removal of the indigenous population. Indispensable for anyone interested in the current crisis in the Middle East. *** 'Ilan Pappe is Israel's bravest, most principled, most incisive historian.' JOHN PILGER 'Pappe has opened up an important new line of inquiry into the vast and fateful subject of the Palestinian refugees. His book is rewarding in other ways. It has at times an elegiac, even sentimental, character, recalling the lost, obliterated life of the Palestinian Arabs and imagining or regretting what Pappe believes could have been a better land of Palestine.' TIMES LITERARY SUPPLEMENT 'A major intervention in an argument that will, and must, continue. There's no hope of lasting Middle East peace while the ghosts of 1948 still walk.' INDEPENDENTTrade Review'A major intervention in an argument that will, and must, continue. There's no hope of lasting Middle East peace while the ghosts of 1948 still walk.' * Independent *'Along with the late Edward Said, Ilan Pappe is the most eloquent writer of Palestinian history.' * New Statesman *'Pappe has opened up an important new line of inquiry into the vast and fateful subject of the Palestinian refugees. His book is rewarding in other ways. It has at times an elegiac, even sentimental, character, recalling the lost, obliterated life of the Palestinian Arabs and imagining or regretting what Pappe believes could have been a better land of Palestine.' * Times Literary Supplement *'Ilan Pappe is Israel's bravest, most principled, most incisive historian.' * John Pilger - director of The War on Democracy and author of Freedom Next Time *'Superb account of how, and why, Palestinians were driven out of their homes.' * Socialist Review *'Pappe’s book is an essential read for anyone trying to understand the politics and history of the Middle East.' * Frontline Magazine (an Independent Marxist review from Scotland) *'Leading Israeli historian Ilan Pappe delves into his country's bloodied past in search of answers in the present.' * Morning Star *'Pappe is one of the brave few voices to stand up and be counted in the oppressive atmosphere of Israeli society. Pappe's book is a searing account of the horrific brutality perpetrated during the birth of the state of Israel.' * Morning Star *'Pappe is well positioned to lob a grenade such as this one into the twin worlds of Middle Eastern studies and politics. Pappe's book should shock and shame the academic world' * Arab Banker *'Pappe's ethical clarity and humane vision permeate The Ethnic Cleansing of Palestine... Given the meticulous research and compelling moral imperative embodied in The Ethnic Cleansing of Palestine, Zionism itself may be in trouble.' * Race and Class *'Pappe offers a scorching indictment of Israel's treatment of the Palestinian people in The Ethnic Cleansing of Palestine.' * Metro *'A bold expose of Israel's purge of its Arab population in the early years of its existence. It should be read by anyone wanting to grasp the seemingly unfathomable background to the Israel-Palestine conflict. Pappe himself should be supported and applauded.' * Morning Star *'Ilan Pappe's The Ethnic Cleansing of Palestine is a vital contribution to the scholarship from these new historians… Pappe forever puts to rest any doubt that Palestinians were systematically and brutally expelled from their homeland.' * Against the Current (An independent socialist organisation) *'Pappe’s book will command attention.' * Washington Report on Middle East Affairs *'Superb account of how, and why, Palestinians were driven out of their homes. Pappe explains why there can be no peace until this crime has been acknowledged and redressed.' * Scottish Review *'The organization of the material in this book leaves almost nothing to be desired. The twelve sections substantially challenge and considerably undermine the ostensibly convincing Israeli discourse on the refugees question and the 1984 events.' * Arab Studies Quarterly *'Shocking, telling and illuminating.' * Emel *Table of ContentsList of Illustrations, Maps and Tables Acknowledgements Preface 1. An 'Alleged' Ethnic Cleansing? 2. The Drive for an Exclusively Jewish State 3. Partition and Destruction: UN Resolution 181 and its Impact 4. Finalising a Master Plan 5. The Blueprint for Ethnic Cleansing: Plan Dalet 6. The Phony War and the Real War over Palestine: May 1948 7. The Escalation of the Cleansing Operations: June--September 1948 8. Completing the Job: October 1948--January 1949 9. Occupation and its Ugly Faces 10. The Memoricide of the Nakba 11. Nakba Denial and the 'Peace Process' 12. Fortress Israel Epilogue Endnotes Chronology Maps and Tables Bibliography Index

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Book SynopsisHow can we reduce inequalities? How can we make work get better recognition and better pay?Philippe Askenazy in this new book shows that the current share of wealth is far from natural; it results from rising rents and their capture by the actors best endowed in the economic game. In this race for rents, the world of work is the big loser: while many workers feed capital rents by increased productivity and worsened working conditions, they are stigmatized as unproductive and their earnings stagnate. By proposing a new description of the capital-work relationship, calling for a remobilization of the world of work, and particularly poorly paid employees, Askenazy shows that there is a more radical alternative to neoliberalism beyond simply redistribution.Trade ReviewThe latest book by Philippe Askenazy is extraordinarily refreshing and innovative and deserves a wide international readership. Askenazy shows convincingly that is above all the relationship of forces and the legal and institutional system in which these relations are expressed that determine the share of wealth. The descriptions of the possible emergence of a new, participatory trade unionism are particularly successful: by describing the innovative mobilisations of subway drivers in New York, London or Paris, of American nurses, not to speak of cleaning workers in the luxury hotels in Paris's 'golden triangle' or bus drivers in Silicon Valley, Askenazy gives one hope again and shows that several futures are possible in the framework of the existing globalisation that is underway. -- Thomas Piketty

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Book SynopsisThe vast military campaigns in Africa during World War I were among the most ambitious of the Great War. Many histories, however, have regarded these campaigns as side-shows to the war on the Western Front. World War One in Africa looks afresh at the impact of the strategy of the German and Allied campaigns, and at the great rivalry between General Jan Christian Smuts, who took on the German forces in East Africa, and General Lettow-Vorbeck, celebrated as the only German general to occupy British territory and whose troops finished the war undefeated. Using primary material from British and South African archives, this book is a detailed study of the giants of the campaign, and the battles which would shape the outcome of the Great War as well as the future of the African continent and the British Empire.Table of ContentsIntroduction Chapter 1: Position on the eve of war Chapter 2: To war, 1914 Chapter 3: The outbreak of war: Southern Africa, 1914 Chapter 4: German South West Africa, Angola and Southern Africa - 1915 Chapter 5: War on the waters and in the air - 1915-1917 Chapter 6: East Africa 1915-1917 Chapter 7: Personal, personnel and materiel Chapter 8: Last days - 1918 Chapter 9: Behind the scenes - 1915-1918 Chapter 10: The war in London - 1915-1917 Chapter 11: All for what? Chapter 12: Conclusions Notes Bibliography Forces Index Person Index Place Index General Index

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Book SynopsisDan Jones narrates in his inimitably vivid and authoritative fashion the remarkable story of the Knights Templar. 'Exhilarating, epic, sword-swinging history' TLS 'Jones is certainly an entertainer, but also a fine historian who knows how to render serious scholarship into accessible prose' The Times 'Another triumphant tale from a historian who writes as addictively as any page-turning novelist' Observer ‘When it comes to rip-roaring medieval narratives, Jones has few peers, and in the Templars he finds the perfect subject' Sunday Times The Knights Templar were the wealthiest, most powerful – and most secretive – of the military orders that flourished in the crusading era. Their story – encompassing as it does the greatest international conflict of the Middle Ages, a network of international finance, a swift rise in wealth and influence followed by a bloody and humiliating fall – has left a comet's tail of mystery that continues to fascinate and inspire historians, novelists and conspiracy theorists.Trade ReviewExhilarating, epic, sword-swinging history... A skilful storyteller [...] he enlivens the narrative with bloodcurdling details and arresting turns of phrase... There is also fine scholarly intuition' * TLS *Told with all Jones's usual verve and panache, this is a dramatic and gripping tale of courage and stupidity, faith and betrayal * Mail on Sunday *Jones is certainly an entertainer, but also a fine historian who knows how to render serious scholarship into accessible prose * The Times *Another triumphant tale from a historian who writes as addictively as any page-turning novelist * Observer *When it comes to rip-roaring medieval narratives, Jones has few peers, and in the Templars he finds the perfect subject * Sunday Times *A fresh, muscular and compelling history of the ultimate military-religious crusading order, combining sensible scholarship with narrative swagger, featuring a cast of exuberantly monstrous sword-swingers spattering Christian and Islamic blood from Spain to Jerusalem -- Simon Sebag Montefiore, author of Jerusalem: The BiographyThe story of the Templars, the ultimate holy warriors, is an extraordinary saga of fanaticism, bravery, treachery and betrayal, and in Dan Jones they have a worthy chronicler. The Templars is a wonderful book! -- Bernard Cornwall, author of The Last KingdomSnappy, well-paced... The author's ambition, he says, is to tell the story of the Templars in a straightforward way and "to write a book that will entertain as well as inform". He has done precisely that' * Daily Telegraph *Full of tales of bloodshed, bravery and betrayal, this is a passionate guide to the unstoppable rise and spectacular fall of the poster boys of the Middle Ages * The Tablet, Books of the Year *[The Templars'] colourful story is grippingly told by the excellent Dan Jones * Mail on Sunday *

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Book SynopsisTHE TIMES TOP 10 BESTSELLERSHORTLISTED FOR THE WAINWRIGHT PRIZEDrowned. Buried by sand. Decimated by plague. Plunged off a cliff.This is the forgotten history of Britain''s lost cities, ghost towns and vanished villages: our shadowlands.''Brilliant.'' TOM HOLLAND''A beautiful book, truly original . . . It is a marvellous achievement.''IAN MORTIMER, author of The Time Traveller''s Guide to Medieval England''Well researched, beautifully written and packed with interesting detail.''CLAIRE TOMALIN''An exquisitely written, moving and elegiac exploration.''SUZANNAH LIPSCOMB''Consistently interesting . . . Green's passion and historical vision bursts from the page, summoning up the past in surround sound and sensual prose.''CAL FLYN, THE TIMES, author of Islands of AbandonmentHistorian Matthew Green traTrade Review'A miraculous work of resurrection, stinging in a perpetual present'. - IAIN SINCLAIR, author of The Gold Machine'Beautifully written.' - SUNDAY TIMES'Startling.' - FINANCIAL TIMES'Splendid.' -THE HERALD'Compelling.' - HISTORY TODAY'Excellent.' - THE SPECTATOR'Fascinating.' -DAILY MAIL'Accomplished.' - CAUGHT BY THE RIVER'Outstanding.' - MIRROR

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Book SynopsisA biography of the historian and public intellectual Sir Lewis Namier from his origins in a secular Jewish family in Poland to recognition as the most important historian of his day, whose ‘revolutionary’ method was enshrined in the verb to Namierise.Trade Review'Judicious, balanced, thorough … David Hayton’s book will be accepted as the definitive biography of a fascinating man.' Adam Sisman, author of A.J.P. Taylor and Hugh Trevor-Roper‘Hayton has left hardly any relevant archive or printed source uncombed … The result is a definitive account of its subject. As histories of historians go, it definitely ranks with Haslam on E. H. Carr, Sisman on Taylor and Trevor-Roper, and Bentley on Butterfield.’ Miles Taylor, author of The Age of Asa: Lord Briggs, Public Life and History in Britain since 1945 'One of the most important books in British historiography for decades. Nobody is better placed than David Hayton to recover Namier’s unsurpassed technical mastery of historical problems. But Hayton is equally alert to Namier’s chequered life and overpowering personality, while his deft and unobtrusively witty style makes this a pleasure to read. A masterpiece.'Colin Kidd, author of The Forging of Races: Race and Scripture in the Protestant Atlantic World, 1600–2000 'An important and compelling study. The product of many years of research, this scholarly and well-written biography goes beyond a familiar English environment to expand Namier's significance as a major figure in European and Jewish historiography.' Michael Bentley, author of The Life and Thought of Herbert Butterfield: History, Science and God 'Lewis Namier (1888-1960), has long held a legendary status among historians. When I was an undergraduate, my teachers told me he had revolutionised the study of our subject. DW Hayton’s startlingly honest biography, Conservative Revolutionary: The Lives of Lewis Namier (Manchester University Press), puts him in his contexts – a Polish-Jewish immigrant to the UK, a painstakingly exact scholar, a Freudian who thought that ideas played no part in history or in the motivation of individuals, a Zionist who disliked Israel, and a thoroughly unpleasant man. Hayton shows both why his work on 18th-century politics was hailed as revolutionary on its first appearance, and why it is no longer influential today. Masterly. 'New Statesman'That is a bald summary of a life brilliantly covered by Hayton, and with a great mastery not only of obvious sources but also of an astonishing range of obscure ones. The back cover has Adam Sisman claim the book as definitive, which is wrong as no historical work can be, but it is certainly excellent. Hayton’s conclusion makes it apparent that he came to like Namier, a difficult man; but not even Namier’s most devoted pupils and friends were blind to his faults and this is an even-handed biography. It is not the sort of cosy study recently produced for Hobsbawm. Instead, this is a psychologically grittier work and one that asks tougher questions of a man who struggled to provide a consistency to his life and work.'History Today'Until now the standard version of Namier’s life was the biography by his widow, whose inclinations were mystical rather than historiographical. Hayton’s is triumphantly comprehensive, unobtrusively weaving high politics with historiography, the life of the mind (and its whimsies) with the body: Namier’s minor obsession with graphology, his years in psychoanalysis, the botched sinus operation of his adolescence, his writer’s cramp, his insomnia.' London Review of Books ‘Namier, an extraordinarily talented man, had an extraordinarily unhappy life … This book is especially good in revealing the central European and Zionist dimensions of Namier's work and knowledge, including his writings on nineteenth- and twentieth-century European history … a carefully researched biography'J. C. D. Clark, The Critic‘deeply researched… a work of mature and exact scholarship’Jim Smyth, Dublin Review of Books‘D. W. Hayton’s biography – scrupulous, humane and leavened with dry wit – does its subject justice.’Richard Viven, Literary Review'Books are often described as definitive when they are nothing of the sort. This magnificent biography truly deserves the accolade.'Lord Lexden, Conservative History -- .Table of ContentsPrologue: In search of Namier1 Avenues of history: the child and the man, 1888–19132 Personalities and powers, 1913–19173 Facing east, 1917–1920 4 In the margin of history,1920–19285 Skyscrapers, 1928–326 Europe in decay, 1932–87 In the Nazi era, 1938–478 Crossroads of power, 1947–569 Conflicts, 1956–6010 Vanished supremacies: Namier in retrospectIndex

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Book SynopsisShortlisted for the Wolfson History Prize 2018 A Book of the Year for the Evening Standard and the Observer A black porter publicly whips a white Englishman in the hall of a Gloucestershire manor house. A Moroccan woman is baptised in a London church. Henry VIII dispatches a Mauritanian diver to salvage lost treasures from the Mary Rose. From long-forgotten records emerge the remarkable stories of Africans who lived free in Tudor England… They were present at some of the defining moments of the age. They were christened, married and buried by the Church. They were paid wages like any other Tudors. The untold stories of the Black Tudors, dazzlingly brought to life by Kaufmann, will transform how we see this most intriguing period of history.Trade Review‘That rare thing: a book about the 16th century that said something new.’ * Evening Standard, Books of the Year *‘This is history on the cutting edge of archival research, but accessibly written and alive with human details and warmth. Black Tudors is a critical book that allows us to better understand an era that fascinates us like no other.’ -- David Olusoga, author of Black and British: A Forgotten History‘Splendid…that rare thing – a work of history about the Tudors that actually says something fresh and new…a cracking contribution to the field.’ * Dan Jones, Sunday Times *‘This is history on the cutting edge of archival research, but accessibly written and alive with human details and warmth. Black Tudors is a critical book that allows us to better understand an era that fascinates us like no other.’ -- David Olusoga, author of Black and British: A Forgotten History‘Enlightening and constantly surprising… Far too many popular studies of the Tudors return the same faces. To its great credit, Black Tudors presents fresh figures and challenges the way we look at them.’ * Jessie Childs, Financial Times *‘Consistently fascinating, historically invaluable…the narrative is pacy, the research sympathetically thorough.. Anyone reading it will never look at Tudor England in the same light again'. * Daily Mail *‘[The] audience will find itself in the hands of a historian of excellent investigative skills, who shows attention to detail, uses evidence with appropriate caution, and has the sensibility of a scholar.’ * Times Literary Supplement *‘The industry and skill with which Miranda Kaufmann has hunted for these sources and teased out their meanings are exemplary… Kaufmann’s greatest skill is her ability to fill in the background on every topic that arises, from piracy to silk-weaving to brothels to Anglo-Moroccan diplomacy…In the hands of a lesser writer this would be mere padding with secondary material, but she investigates every subject in the same depth… a fascinating book, which brings a sadly neglected part of our history to life, and grinds no ideological axes in the process’. * Daily Telegraph *‘Both an eye-opener and a good read.’ * Sorted *‘Miranda Kaufmann writes engagingly as she reveals the untold stories of Africans who lived free, worked for wages, married and died in 16th and 17th century England.’ * CHOICE *‘Fascinating.’ * Sunday Telegraph *‘Meticulous research draws on sources from letters to legal papers…The detail [Kaufmann] unearths brings to life those absent from the pages of history.’ * Observer *‘A thought-provoking account of 10 remarkable people, and a valuable corrective to some unthinking assumptions about both Tudor society and the role of racial minorities in English history.’ * Times Higher Education *‘A powerful and perceptive reassessment of a time that has too long been sidelined by popular historical storytelling.’ * Press Association *‘Impressively detailed and persuasively argued.’ * Diplomat *‘Thought-provoking… [Kaufmann] takes readers on fascinating excursions through Moroccan history, the European exploration of South America, and the seedier side of London.’ * Christian Science Monitor *‘An absolute joy.’ * Leanda de Lisle, The Times *‘Black Tudors demonstrates the way understanding of history is constantly changing based on changing contemporary values and perspectives. For someone dedicated to an awareness of oppression throughout history, Black Tudors is an important but difficult read, inspiring a desire for more information.’ -- The Riveter Magazine‘In a work of brilliant sleuthing, engagingly written, Kaufmann reclaims long-forgotten lives and fundamentally challenges our preconceptions of Tudor and Jacobean attitudes to race and slavery.’ -- John Guy, bestselling author of Elizabeth: The Forgotten Years‘Miranda Kaufmann has written a superb antidote both to the cliches of Tudor history and to the assumption that Black migration to Britain began with the Windrush. Her vivid portrait of Black Tudor lives sweeps readers around the world in the company of Diego, manservant to Sir Francis Drake, and back to the life of single woman Cattelena in the Gloucestershire countryside. Grounded in precise and detailed historical research, Black Tudors promises to change perceptions of a period at the heart of Britain’s national identity.’ -- Catherine Fletcher, author of The Black Prince of Florence‘The book is based on impeccable research in a rich array of sources. But Dr Kaufmann wears her learning lightly and she tells a series of fascinating stories with an elegance and wit that should appeal to many readers.’ -- Clive Holmes, Emeritus Fellow and Lecturer in History, University of Oxford‘A brilliant example of how to use the most detailed kind of archival data to present a broadly accessible picture of the past, and one which has enormous relevance to the present controversies about immigration and diversity.’ -- Paul Kaplan, Professor of Art History, State University of New York, Purchase‘The very concept of black Tudors may sound unlikely, but in this highly readable yet intensively researched book, Kaufmann…makes clear that people of African descent were residing in England centuries before the postwar Windrush generation and were not necessarily enslaved. By examining in detail the lives of 10 previously obscure men and women, Kaufmann depicts the great diversity of their experiences in 16th- and early-17th-century England… Kaufmann also persuasively argues that the enslavement of Africans emerged as a response to the socioeconomic conditions of England’s Caribbean and North American colonies, rather than as an inevitable result of a supposedly inherent racism within early modern English culture. Kaufmann’s crucial contention, in conjunction with her lively prose and fascinating microhistories, should draw some well-deserved attention.’ * Publishers Weekly, starred review *‘An eminently readable book that offers contemporary readers valuable insights into racial relations of centuries past.’ * Kirkus *‘Tudor England’s legendary history is a rich locus in the popular imagination. Full of pageantry and larger-than-life personalities, the period is a favorite of the Anglophilic world. But what if that seemingly monolithic world was also black?… For a modern audience acculturated to thinking of Africans in the West as either enslaved or altogether absent, the picture that emerges challenges the centrality of whiteness and slavery in the Tudor period. Kaufmann takes pains to situate Great Britain on the national stage as a minor nation emerging from civil war and fighting to be acknowledged at the international level… Black Tudors concentrates on individuals who are enmeshed in the historical narrative and effectively places them right back where they’ve always belonged.’ * Foreword Reviews *‘Who knew that a diver from West Africa worked to salvage Henry VIII’s flagship the Mary Rose? Based on a wealth of original research, Miranda Kaufmann’s Black Tudors restores the black presence to sixteenth- and seventeenth-century England in all its lively detail. Africans lived and worked not as slaves but as independent agents, from mariners to silk weavers, women and men, prince and prostitute. Black Tudors challenges assumptions about ethnic identity and racism in Tudor England. It will be required reading for anyone interested in new directions in Tudor history.’ -- Dr John Cooper, Senior Lecturer in History, University of York, and author of The Queen’s Agent‘This meticulously researched book… it’s remarkable that she’s created a book that so vividly paints a broad picture of Tudor life, making it both entirely readable and utterly fascinating.’ -- Dorset Magazine

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Book SynopsisTrade ReviewA very valuable book. The research and organization are extremely impressive. * A.J. Langguth, author and former New York Times bureau chief *A valuable reference for anyone interested in the conduct of US foreign policy. * Choice (American Library Association) *I enjoyed it immensely. * Gore Vidal *Each chapter I read makes me more and more angry. * Helen Caldicott *The single most useful summary of CIA history. * John Stockwell, former CIA officer and author *Far and away the best book on the topic. * Noam Chomsky *I bought several more copies to circulate to friends with the hope of shedding new light and understanding on their political outlooks. * Oliver Stone *A marvelous job of bringing together a lot of loose ends from many sources. * Philip Agee, former CIA officer and author *I am impressed. It is a valuable contribution. * Ramsey Clark, former Attorney General of the United States *Blum has performed a very important service in collecting this information in one place, and the documentation is praiseworthy. * Teresa Pelton Johnson, Assistant Managing Editor, International Security, Harvard University *A very useful piece of work, daunting in scope, important. * Thomas Powers, author and Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist *Table of ContentsAuthor's note Introduction to the new edition Introduction to the original edition 1. China 1945 to 1960s: Was Mao Tse-Tung just paranoid? 2. Italy 1947-1948: Free elections, Hollywood style 3. Greece 1947 to early 1950s: From cradle of democracy to client state 4. The Philippines 1940s and 1950s: America's oldest colony 5. Korea 1945-1953: Was it all that it appeared to be? 6. Albania 1949-1953: The proper English spy 7. Eastern Europe 1948-1956: Operation Splinter Factor 8. Germany 1950s: Everything from juvenile delinquency to terrorism 9. Iran 1953: Making it safe for the King of Kings 10. Guatemala 1953-1954: While the world watched 11. Costa Rica mid-1950s: Trying to topple an ally, Part one 12. Syria 1956-1957: Purchasing a new government 13. The Middle East 1957-1958: The Eisenhower Doctrine claims another backyard for America 14. Indonesia 1957-1958:War and pornography 15. Western Europe 1950s and 1960s: Fronts within fronts within fronts 16. British Guiana 1953-1964: The CIA's international labour Mafia 17. Soviet Union late 1940s to 1960s: From spy planes to book publishing 18. Italy 1950s to 1970s: Supporting the Cardinal's orphans and techno-fascism 19. Vietnam 1950-1973: The Hearts and Minds Circus 20. Cambodia 1955-1973: Prince Sihanouk walks the high-wire of neutralism 21. Laos 1957-1973: L'Armee Clandestine 22. Haiti 1959-1963: The marines land, again 23. Guatemala 1960: One good coup deserves another 24. France/Algeria 1960s: L'etat, c'est la CIA 25. Ecuador 1960-1963: A textbook of dirty tricks 26. The Congo 1960-1964: The Assassination of Patrice Lumumba 27. Brazil 1961-1964: Introducing the marvellous new world of death squads 28. Peru 1960-1965: Fort Bragg moves to the jungle 29. Dominican Republic 1960-1966: Saving democracy from communism by getting rid of democracy 30. Cuba 1959-1980s: The unforgivable revolution 31. Indonesia 1965: Liquidating President Sukarno…and 500,000 others. East Timor 1975: and 200,000 more 32. Ghana 1966: Kwame Nkrumah steps out of line 33. Uruguay 1964-1970: Torture - as American as apple pie 34. Chile 1964-1973: A hammer and sickle stamped on your child's forehead 35. Greece 1964-1974: 'Fuck your Parliament and your Constitution,' said the President of the United States 36. Bolivia 1964-1975: Tracking down Che Guevara in the land of coup d'etat 37. Guatemala 1962 to 1980s: A less publicised 'final solution' 38. Costa Rica 1970-1971: Trying to topple an ally, Part two 39. Iraq 1972-1975: Covert action should not be confused with missionary work 40. Australia 1973-1975: Another free election bites the dust 41. Angola 1975 to 1980s: The Great Powers Poker Game 42. Zaire 1975-1978: Mobutu and the CIA, a marriage made in heaven 43. Jamaica 1976-1980: Kissinger's ultimatum 44. Seychelles 1979-1981: Yet another area of great strategic importance 45. Grenada 1979-1984: Lying - one of the few growth industries in Washington 46. Morocco 1983: A video nasty 47. Suriname 1982-1984: Once again, the Cuban bogeyman 48. Libya 1981-1989: Ronald Reagan meets his match 49. Nicaragua 1981-1990: Destabilisation in slow motion 50. Panama 1969-1991: Double-crossing our drug supplier 51. Bulgaria 1990: Teaching Communists what democracy is all about 52. Iraq 1990-1991: Desert holocaust 53. Afghanistan 1979-1992: America's Jihad 54. El Salvador 1980-1994: Human rights, Washington style 55. Haiti 1986-1994: Who will rid me of this man? 56. The American Empire: 1992 to the present. Notes Appendix I: This is how money goes round Appendix II: Instances of use of United States Armed Forces abroad, 1798-1945 Appendix III: US Government assassination plots

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Book Synopsis28 January 1457. England is in the grip of the Wars of the Roses. Inside the walls of Pembroke Castle a thirteen-year-old girl gives birth to a boy. The ordeal nearly kills them both, forging a powerful bond that will see mother and son work together to found the most famous dynasty in British history: the Tudors.___________‘A compelling portrayal of a woman of extraordinary courage, vision and passion. A must read.’ – Tracy Borman‘A pacy narrative, written with a clear love for and detailed knowledge of her subject.’ – Spectator ___________As the battle for royal supremacy raged between the houses of Lancaster and York, Margaret Beaufort, who was descended from Edward III and proved to be a critical threat to the Yorkist cause, was forced to give up her son – she would be separated from him for fourteen years. Surrounded by conspiracies in the enemy Yorkist court, Margaret remained steadfast, only just escaping the headman’s axe as she plotted to overthrow Richard III and secure her son the throne. Against all odds, in 1485 Henry Tudor was victorious on the battlefield at Bosworth. Margaret’s unceasing efforts and royal blood saw her son crowned King Henry VII, and Margaret became the most powerful woman in England.Nicola Tallis unmasks the many myths that have attached themselves to Margaret and reveals the real woman: an independent and vibrant character, who would risk everything to become Queen in all but name.Trade ReviewA compelling portrayal of a woman of extraordinary courage, vision and passion. A must read. -- Tracy BormanStunning – informed, assured and compulsively readable. -- Sarah GristwoodA pacy narrative, written with a clear love for and detailed knowledge of her subject. * Spectator *

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Book SynopsisRussia's invasion of Afghanistan, told by a former British Ambassador Twenty-five years ago, when the Soviets pulled out of Afghanistan after a gruelling nine-year occupation, they left a legacy obscured by distortion and distrust. Fuelled by Cold War propaganda and the myths of the nineteenth-century Great Game, in many ways it remains so. The USSR entered the country in 1979 as part of efforts to quash growing anti-Soviet feeling in Kabul. What followed was a particularly brutal and bloody episode in world history - and one that is often credited as setting the stage for the Taliban's takeover in 1996. Basing his account on Russian sources and interviews, Rodric Braithwaite shows the conflict through the eyes of the Russians who fought it - politicians, officers, soldiers, advisers and journalists - moving seamlessly from the high politics of the Kremlin to lonely Russian conscripts in isolated mountain outposts. This is a powerful and sweeping history of the Soviets in Afghanistan, told with the unique insights of a former Ambassador to Moscow.Trade ReviewThis book finally dispels many of the Cold War myths surrounding the Soviet-Afghan war. It offers the most nuanced, sympathetic and comprehensive account yet. -- Rory StewartAn outstanding book ... these accounts provide a fascinating insight not only into the war but also into Soviet society * THES *A splendid read, full of interesting material, and essential for anyone trying to understand the Russians * BBC History Magazine *This bids fair to become the standard history, but it is a kind of parable too. Here is a battery of facts, intervoven with human stories, soldiers' tales and a thousand flashes of individual experience gathered in interview. For the mountain of evidence he has assembled before a generation passes away, historians (including Russian historians) will always be grateful; but Braithwaite's immense, urgent project offers more than a history, but a cool and deadly assessment of the mess that Power can get itself into. He never overstates; there is more tragedy here than villainy, more confusion than conspiracy; and the abiding impression is not so much shocking as unutterably sad. The read-across to other nations' wars leaps at you from every page. -- Matthew Parris

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Book SynopsisExam board: OCRLevel: A LevelSubject: History First teaching: September 2015First exams: AS: Summer 2016, A Level: Summer 2017An OCR endorsed resourceSuccessfully cover Unit Group 2 with the right amount of depth and pace. This bespoke series from the leading History publisher follows our proven and popular approach for OCR A Level, blending clear course coverage with focused activities and comprehensive assessment support.- Develops understanding of the period through an accessible narrative that is tailored to the specification content and structured around key questions for each topic- Builds the skills required for Unit Group 2, from explanation, assessment and analysis to the ability to make substantiated judgements- Enables students to consolidate and extend their topic knowledge with a range of activities suitable for classwork or homework- Helps students achieve their best by providing step-by-step assessment guidance and practice questions- Facilitates revision with useful summaries at the start and end of each chapter- Ensures that students understand key historical terms and concepts by defining them in the glossary

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Book SynopsisFor over three centuries, the inhabitants of North Britain faced the might of Rome, resulting in some of the most extraordinary archaeology of the ancient world. This richly illustrated new history of Roman Scotland explores the complex, often tumultuous and frequently brutal interaction between the world's first superpower and the peoples who lived north of Hadrian's Wall. With reference to the latest research and featuring all the key sites, it offers though-provoking re-assessments of many aspects of the story of the Romans in Scotland, from the loss of the IXth Legion and the reasons for building and maintaining Hadrian's Wall, to considering what spurred at least four Roman emperors to personally visit the edge of the empire.Trade Review'Superbly researched, accessibly written and thoughtfully and convincingly argued, this book presents a chronological history of the Romans in Scotland' -- Ken Lussey * Undiscovered Scotland *'A new detailed history of Roman Scotland, offer[ing] an opportunity to re-examine the legend' * West Highland Free Press *'[a] comprehensive, accessible, and thought-provoking study' * Scotland on Sunday *'offers thought-provoking re-assessments of the loss of the IXth Legion, the reasons for building Hadrian's Wall, and why at least four Roman emperors personally visited the edge of the empire' * Southern Reporter *'sifts through the evidence for the impact of the Romans on the country that would become Scotland... sheds new life on brutal conflict' * Sunday Post *'[A] comprehensive, accessible and thought-provoking study' -- David Robinson * The Scotsman *'a new and thought-provoking history of Roman Scotland by an acclaimed expert' * Edinburgh Life *'Reid has an enjoyable writing style... he also tackles areas of scholarly dispute head-on, outlining rather than glossing over key controversies' * Current Archaology Magazine *

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Book Synopsis'The unofficial voice of modern Irish history' EconomistWhen President of the Irish Republic Michael Collins signed the Anglo-Irish Treaty in December 1921, he remarked to Lord Birkenhead, 'I may have signed my actual death warrant.' In August 1922 at the height of the Irish Civil War, that prophecy came true - Collins was shot and killed by a fellow Irishman in a shocking political assassination.So ended the life of the greatest of all Irish nationalists, but his visions and legacy lived on.This authorative and comprehensive biography presents the life of a man who became a legend in his own lifetime, whose idealistic vigour and determination were matched only by his political realism and supreme organisational abilities. Coogan's biography provides a fascinating insight into a great political leader, whilst vividly portraying the political unrest in a divided Ireland, that can help to shape our understanding of Ireland's past, present and future.'There have been several other lives of Collins, but none has assembled such wealth of detail' Independent on SundayTrade ReviewThere have been several other lives of Collins, but none has assembled such wealth of detail * Independent on Sunday *A lively and colourful adventure story with a fascinating yet recognisably human hero * Dublin Sunday Press *Enjoyable and valuable * David Puttnam *

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Book SynopsisThe history of the Russian Orthodox Church in Australia is diligently chronicled within the wider context of the place of Russians in the dominantly anglophone society of what was at first a British colony and then an independent state. It begins with the first contact of Russian naval ships with the Australian continent in the early nineteenth century and progresses through to the establishment of the first parish of Orthodox believers in Melbourne in the 1890s and ultimately the creation of a diocese. The catalyst for this was the arrival of thousands of Russians fleeing their homeland via Siberia after the Bolshevik revolution of 1917. For these disposed refugees Australia was a haven of safety and the Russian Orthodox Church a symbol of the Motherland they had lost. They were later joined by successive waves of fellow Russian after World War II and then the fall of communism in 1991. Together they created a unified organism, retained a sense of heritage and purpose and taking their rightful place in Australia's multi-cultural society.In writing this work the author has drawn on extensive archival sources spread over several continents together with his own life experience, having arrived as a small boy in Australia over six decades ago. First published in 2006 this new edition includes an added chapter recounting the ongoing story from the beginning of the twenty-first century through 2020.Table of ContentsFOREWORD INTRODUCTION 1 A RUSSIAN PRESENCE 2 REVOLUTION 3 BRISBANE 4 SYDNEY 5 MELBOURNE 6 ECCLESIOLOGICAL PERSPECTIVES 7 ARCHBISHOP THEODORE RAFALSKY 8 ARCHBISHOP SAVA RAEVSKY 9 ARCHBISHOP ATHANASY MARTOS 10 ARCHBISHOP THEODOSY PUTILIN 11 RUSSIAN MONASTICISM IN AUSTRALIA 12 ARCHBISHOP PAUL PAVLOV 13 BISHOP DANIEL ALEXANDROV 14 ARCHBISHOP HILARION KAPRAL 15 CONSIDERATIONS FOR THE FUTURE 16 A POSITIVE DIRECTION NOTES APPENDIX BIBLIOGRAPHY ARCHIVAL SOURCES INDEX

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In February of 1917 Russia was a backward, autocratic monarchy, mired in an unpopular war; by October, after not one but two revolutions, it had become the world's first workers' state, straining to be at the vanguard of global revolution. How did this unimaginable transformation take place?In a panoramic sweep, stretching from St Petersburg and Moscow to the remotest villages of a sprawling empire, Miéville uncovers the catastrophes, intrigues and inspirations of 1917, in all their passion, drama and strangeness. Intervening in long-standing historical debates, but told with the reader new to the topic especially in mind, here is a breathtaking story of humanity at its greatest and most desperate; of a turning point for civilisation that still resonates loudly today. China Miéville tells the extraordinary story of this pivotal moment in history.

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Book SynopsisHong Kong was first captured on camera when the British arrived to lay claim to its ‘fragrant harbour’ in 1841. Its fascinating history has been documented through photography ever since – from its rapid expansion as a Crown Colony to its handover to China in 1997 and its present status as one of the world’s leading international financial centres. Pairing rare and previously unpublished photographs with contemporary views taken from the same location, Hong Kong Then and Now highlights the rich and varied history of this constantly evolving metropolis, from Victoria Harbour, the Hong Kong Club and the Star Ferry to Kowloon Walled CIty, Chek Lap Kok Airport and the gleaming skyscrapers of its central banking district. Sites include: Victoria Harbour, the Peak, the Star Ferry Pier, Man Ho Temple, Ladder Street, Queen's Road Central, Hong Kong Club, Prince's Building, HSBC, Noonday Gun, Happy Valley Racecourse, Tiger Balm Garden, Peninsula Hotel, Kai Tak Airport, Kowloon Walled City, Shenzhen, Repulse Bay, Chek Lap Kok Airport, St. Paul's (Macau).

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Book SynopsisThe war on heresy obsessed medieval Europe in the centuries after the first millennium. R. I. Moore's vivid narrative focuses on the motives and anxieties of those who declared and conducted the war: what were the beliefs and practices they saw as heretical? How might such beliefs have arisen? And why were they such a threat? In western Europe at AD 1000 heresy had barely been heard of. Yet within a few generations accusations had become commonplace and institutions were being set up to identify and suppress beliefs and practices seen as departures from true religion. Popular accounts of events, most notably of the Albigensian Crusade led by Europe against itself, have assumed the threats posed by the heretical movements were only too real. Some scholars by contrast have tried to show that reports of heresy were exaggerated or even fabricated: but if they are correct why was the war on heresy launched at all? And why was it conducted with such pitiless ferocity? To find the answers to these and other questions R. I. Moore returns to the evidence of the time. His investigation forms the basis for an account as profound as it is startlingly original.Trade ReviewThis is a jaw-dropping book. Thrilling, unsettling, revelatory. -- Tom HollandMoore makes a very powerful case ... if only half of his revolutionary new claims are accepted, every encyclopedia entry on the Cathars will have to be completely rewritten * Daily Telegraph *Brilliantly told, profoundly thought-provoking. * History Today *Moore's latest book is as good, and as provocative, as anything he has produced. The book is one of the finest accounts of medieval heresy that you are likely to encounter ... serves to enhance Moore's status as one of the finest historians of medieval heresy. * BBC History Magazine *Elegant and intelligent. * Literary Review *Wide-ranging, beautifully written, and compellingly argued, this is a book that overturns the traditional picture. * Times Literary Supplement *Moore's approach to Catharism is intriguing and provocative. [This is] an accessible and up-to-date history of the rise of heresy persecution in the medieval West. The book will inspire ample criticism and defenses among scholars. Amateur historians will find a pleasing expository style burnished with colorful details. * America *A bold new vision. * The Historian *An intellectual thriller ... An absolute page-turner ... Startling, unsettling and revelatory, The War on Heresy is Homeland in cowls. -- Tom Holland * Toronto Globe and Mail *The The War on Heresy is an important and well-argued book that will force scholars to re-examine the history of medieval heresy and provides the methodological blueprint for the study of heresy in the Middle Ages. * The Medieval Review *A very impressive study, made all the more accessible by the author's admirably lucid writing style * Church History *The book under review here is a brilliant and sobering meditation on this theme ... The War on Heresy is a triumph. * Standpoint *Beautifully written, measured, searching, and sublimely free from jargon. We are presented with eye-witness accounts that are not knocked into pre-conceived patterns. The effect is to draw the reader into not just the story but into how the story became a story in the first place. Inevitably this affords a double-take perspective, in which history and stories excitingly grow together and the reader becomes a participant. -- René Weis * Professor of English, University College London, and author of The Yellow Cross: The Story of the Last Cathars, 1290-1329 *The War on Heresy is social and religious history at its best, the fruit of many decades of intense engagement with one of the most complex and difficult problems of medieval history. With admirable clarity, R. I. Moore tells the deeply troubling story of how heretics became a persecuted minority, not so much because of their beliefs, but because of the anxieties, needs, and ambitions of their persecutors. This is a masterfully researched and deeply thought book that tells its exciting and still relevant story with verve and with sympathy for the victims of the war on heresy. -- Anders Winroth * Professor of History, Yale University, and author of The Conversion of Scandinavia: Vikings, Merchants, and Missionaries in the Remaking of Northern Europe *Fierce competition for power produces fierce discursive competition. In this grand and sane book, armed with many lights (intelligence, narrative skill, learning) R. I. Moore re-enters the territory of Europe's ferocious medieval competition for theological orthodoxy; wherever he ventures, he illumines what had been dark. -- James Simpson * Professor of English, Harvard University, and author of Idolatry and Iconoclasm *

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Book SynopsisAn accessible overview of Ireland's War of Independence, 1919-21. From the first shooting of RIC constables in Soloheadbeg, Co Tipperary, on 21 January 1919 to the truce in July 1921, the IRA carried out a huge range of attacks on all levels of British rule in Ireland.

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Book SynopsisIn 922 AD, an Arab envoy from Baghdad named Ibn Fadlan encountered a party of Viking traders on the upper reaches of the Volga River. In his subsequent report on his mission he gave a meticulous and astonishingly objective description of Viking customs, dress, table manners, religion and sexual practices, as well as the only eyewitness account ever written of a Viking ship cremation.Between the ninth and fourteenth centuries, Arab travellers such as Ibn Fadlan journeyed widely and frequently into the far north, crossing territories that now include Russia, Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan. Their fascinating accounts describe how the numerous tribes and peoples they encountered traded furs, paid tribute and waged wars. This accessible new translation offers an illuminating insight into the world of the Arab geographers, and the medieval lands of the far north.Trade ReviewExceptional...a fascinating book, with a nugget of curious information on each page, adding up to a picture that turns preconceptions on their head...Delightful and intriguing * The Scotsman *

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Book SynopsisThis Revolution and Dictatorship: Russia 1917-1953 Revision Guide is part of the bestselling Oxford AQA History for A Level series developed by Sally Waller. Written to match the new AQA specification, this series helps you deepen your historical knowledge and develop vital analytical and evaluation skills. This revision guide offers the clearly structured revision approach of Recap, Apply, and Review to prepare you for exam success. Step-by-step exam practice strategies for all AQA question types are provided (including Source Analysis and essays linked to Key Concepts), as well as well-researched, targeted guidance based on what we now know from the new AQA examiner''s reports on Russia. Our original author team is back, offering expert advice, AS and A Level exam-style questions and Examiner Tips. Contents checklists help monitor revision progress; example student answers and suggested activity answers help you review your own work. This guide is perfect for use alongside the Studen

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Book SynopsisBetween two attempts in 1800 and 1804 to assassinate Napoleon Bonaparte, the British government launched a campaign of black propaganda of unprecedented scope and intensity to persuade George III''s reluctant subjects to fight the Napoleonic War, a war to the death against one man: the Corsican usurper and tyrant.This Dark Business tells the story of the British government''s determination to destroy Napoleon Bonaparte by any means possible. We have been taught to think of Napoleon as the aggressor - a man with an unquenchable thirst for war and glory - but what if this story masked the real truth: that the British refusal to make peace either with revolutionary France or with the man who claimed to personify the revolution was the reason this Great War continued for more than twenty years? At this pivotal moment when it consolidated its place as number one world power Britain was uncompromising. To secure the continuing rule of Church and King, the British invented aTrade ReviewGroundbreaking -- Andrew Roberts * Sunday Times *What an astonishing story it all is, alternately inspiring and disturbing, a challenging addition to the Napoleonic canon . . . Clayton writes with a fine eye for detail. You smell the sewers in which these men (and some women) hid or escaped, the cells in which they were confined and sometimes died - and the fear * Spectator *In the era of fake news, this fascinating tale has obvious contemporary resonances * Times Literary Supplement *

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Book SynopsisAnyone who writes about the Tudor century puts his head into a number of untamed lions' mouths.' G.R. Elton, PrefaceGeoffrey Elton (19211994) was one of the great historians of the Tudor period. England Under the Tudors is his major work and an outstanding history of a crucial and turbulent period in British and European history. Revised several times since its first publication in 1955, England Under the Tudors charts a historical period that witnessed monumental changes in religion, monarchy, and government and one that continued to shape British history long after. Spanning the commencement of Henry VII''s reign to the death of Elizabeth I, Elton's magisterial account is populated by many colourful and influential characters, from Cardinal Wolsey, Thomas Cranmer, and Thomas Cromwell to Henry VIII and Mary Queen of Scots. Elton also examines aspects of the Tudor period that had been previously overlooked, such as empire and commonwealth, Trade Review‘The best full-length introductory history of the Tudor period… Written with great verve, it will delight both the scholar and the general reader.’ The Spectator‘Witty, muscular, clear, and above everything else, readable.’ Times Educational Supplement‘The best full-length introductory history of the Tudor period…Written with great verve, it will delight both the scholar and the general reader.’ – The Spectator‘Witty, muscular, clear and above everything else, readable.’ – Times Educational SupplementTable of ContentsForeword to the Routledge Classics Edition – Diarmaid MacCullochPreface to the third editionPreface to the second editionPreface to the first editionList of maps and diagrams The Tudor Problem Henry VII: Securing the Dynasty Henry VII: Restoration of Government The Great Cardinal The King’s Great Matter Thomas Cromwell and the Break with Rome The Tudor Revolution: Empire and Commonwealth The Crisis of the Tudors, 1540-58 England During the Price Revolution The Elizabethan Settlement The Growing Conflict, 1568-85 Seapower War, 1585-1603 The Structure of the Age: Conservatism The Structure of the Age: Renaissance The Last Years Revisions (1990) BibliographyIndex

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Book SynopsisNew B paperback edition of the first ever full biography of England's Viking king and how he conquered England.

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Book SynopsisAn in-depth look at the development history of Mazda's rotary power plant, and the model timelines of the vehicles these engines powered. You will discover how one small Japanese automaker remained independent and became famous by using a unique and pioneering engine. This book examines the commercial ups and downs in North America, using rotaries to become a high performance icon and V8 alternative, and charting the racetrack achievements of Mazda rotary racers around the world, including in home-country Japan. The story also reveals the pollution control and fuel economy challenges facing Mazda as they strove to keep rotary engines in production to satisfy high performance fans globally.Trade Reviewa definitive look at this entertaining and highly individualistic cars, which has never been told in this much detail before. - Jim Donnelly On WheelsTable of Contents1 Mazda's Sporty Cosmo 110S 2 Rico, the family rotary 3 RX-2 Mazda's Midsize Rotary 4 RX-3 Mazda's grand family rotary! 5 RX-4 The Big Sports Rotary! 6 The RX-5, REPU of Roadpacer Rotary Trio! 7 The original RX-7 8 FC RX-7 Hirsohima chases Zuffehnausen! 9 FD RX-7 The Great Entertainer 10 RX-8 The Family Rotary 11 Appendices

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Book SynopsisThe 1790s is one of the most critical decades in the history of modern Ireland. The decade witnessed the birth of the modern ideology of separatist Irish republicanism, the creation of the Orange Order, and the greatest bloodletting in modern Irish history in the form of the 1798 rebellion. In the aftermath of the rebellion came the Act of Union that brought Ireland into the United Kingdom for the next 121 years, and the smaller rebellion of Robert Emmet, possibly one of the most famous - and, to later generations, inspirational - of Irish republicans. Now, in the second instalment of the collaboration between Pen and Sword and History Ireland magazine, some of the world's leading experts on the 1790s explore the origins, nature and aftermath of the decade from a range of perspectives: from the individuals involved and their international links, to the events of the rebellion and the responses of the government, to the manoeuvres that led to the Act of Union, this volume explore the motives, actions and legacies of the republicans, loyalists, and propagandists who shaped one of the most important decades in Ireland's modern history.

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Book SynopsisThe first volume of the remarkable autobiography of Arthur Koestler, author of Darkness at Noon.In 1931, Arthur Koestler joined the Communist Party, an event he felt to be second only in importance to his birth in shaping his destiny. Before that point, he lived a tumultuous and varied existence. He was a member of the duelling fraternity at the University of Vienna; a collective farm worker in Galilee; a tramp and street vendor in Haifa; the editor of a weekly paper in Cairo; the foreign correspondent of the biggest continental newspaper chain in Paris and the Middle East; a science editor in Berlin; and a member of the North Pole expedition of the Graf Zeppelin. Written with enormous zest, joie de vivre and frankness, Arrow in the Blue is a fascinating self-portrait of a remarkable young man at the heart of the events that shaped the twentieth century. The second volume of Arthur Koestler's autobiography is The Invisible Writing.Trade ReviewA brilliant and deeply moving record of a whole generation as well as of an individual * Observer *The cumulative effect is overwhelming * New Republic *He is a journalist of ideas on a very high level - the kind we lack and need in this country - who functions midway between the realms of art and of society, but whose function is indispensable, if thought is to be part of culture * Saturday Review *Perhaps the most remarkable autobiography since the confessions of Rousseau -- V. S. Pritchett * New Statesman *

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Book SynopsisThe extended critical interview is especially flexible as a form, by turns tenacious and glancing, elliptical or sustained, combining argument and counter-argument, reflection, history and memoir with a freedom normally denied to its subjects in conventional writing formats. Lives on the Left brings together sixteen such interviews from New Left Review in a group portrait of intellectual engagement in the twentieth century and since.Four generations of intellectuals discuss their political histories and present perspectives, and the specialized work for which they are, often, best known. Their recollections span the century from the Great War and the October Revolution to the present, ranging across Europe, the Americas, Africa and Asia. Psychoanalysis, philosophy, the gendering of private and public life, capital and class formation, the novel, geography, and language are among the topics of theoretical discussion. At the heart of the collection, in all its diversity of testimony and judgement, is critical experience of communism and the tradition of Marx, relayed now for a new generation of readers.Lives on the Left includes interviews with Georg Lukács, Hedda Korsch, Jean-Paul Sartre, Dorothy Thompson, Jir?i Pelikan, Ernest Mandel, Luciana Castellina, Lucio Colletti, K. Damodaran, Noam Chomsky, David Harvey, Adolfo Gilly, João Pedro Stédile, Asada Akira, Wang Hui and Giovanni Arrighi.New Left Review was founded in 1960 in London, which has remained its base ever since. In fifty years of publication, it has won an international reputation as an independent journal of socialist politics and ideas, attracting readers and contributors from every part of the world. A Spanish-language edition is published bi-monthly from Madrid.Trade ReviewThe biography of the review cannot be reduced to a formula: its experience so far has been too rich and too contradictory... It is up to date without being merely journalistic; it is scholarly but unscarred by citation-compulsion; and it is analytical about the long-term forces at work in politics rather than obsessed by the spume of the latest wavelet of manoeuvring and posturing... That's what I admire above all about NLR: its intellectual seriousness-its magnificently strenuous attempt to understand, to analyse, to theorise. -- Stefan Collini * Guardian *

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Book Synopsis

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Book Synopsis

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Book SynopsisSeven old stories to chill the blood for teenage readers. A collection of old half-forgotten Welsh folktales have been updated and re-told for a new generation in this collection - with the seven tales and characters interweaving with each other to create a larger storyline. Ghosts, strange beasts from murky waters, demons and cruel fairies combine to send shivers down the spine.

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Book SynopsisIn Afterlives, Nancy Mandeville Caciola explores this extraordinary phenomenon of the living's relationship with the dead in Europe during the five hundred years after the year...Trade ReviewAfterlives is an enlivening read for anyone tickled by ghost stories or the recurrent need to represent the social unconscious; its occasional repetitions notwithstanding, it delivers on the author's promise to "chart... a history of the unknown: of pure, unslaked curiosity," a quest as true of its illumination of medieval afterlives as it is of resourcing the medieval period itself. * MAKE Literary Magazine *A reader wishing to be informed of the theories and responses governing the returned dead in the Middle Ages should look no further than here. The book is a pleasure to read: elegantly written and well produced (with an excellent index). The book acts as a timely and lucid appraisal of recent work in the area of the premodern ghost, and is a stimulating survey of the varieties of its representation and understanding. It is a powerful and rewarding reading of surviving evidence, and of a cultural fascination that shows no sign of resting quietly. * American Historical Review *Whatever interpretative standpoint one brings to belief in revenance in the Middle Ages, Afterlives provides a wealth of evidence combined with insightful commentary and discussion. This book is a major contribution to scholarship, and a highly recommended read. * The Folklore Society *Table of ContentsIntroduction Part One: Imagining Mortality 1. Mors, A Critical Biography 2. Diagnosing Death Part Two: Corporeal Revenants 3. Revenants, Resurrection, and Burnt Sacrifice 4. The Ancient Army of the Undead 5. Flesh and Bone: The Semiotics of Mortality Part Three: The Disembodied Dead 6. Psychopomps, Oracles, and Spirit Mediums 7. Spectral Possession Conclusion

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Book SynopsisA sparkling new translation of one of the greatest travel books ever written: Marco Polo''s seminal account of his journeys in the east, in a collectible clothbound edition. Marco Polo was the most famous traveller of his time. His voyages began in 1271 with a visit to China, after which he served the Kublai Khan on numerous diplomatic missions. On his return to the West he was made a prisoner of war and met Rustichello of Pisa, with whom he collaborated on this book. His account of his travels offers a fascinating glimpse of what he encountered abroad: unfamiliar religions, customs and societies; the spices and silks of the East; the precious gems, exotic vegetation and wild beasts of faraway lands. Evoking a remote and long-vanished world with colour and immediacy, Marco''s book revolutionized western ideas about the then unknown East and is still one of the greatest travel accounts of all time.For this edition - the first completely new English translation of the Travels in over fifty years - Nigel Cliff has gone back to the original manuscript sources to produce a fresh, authoritative new version. The volume also contains invaluable editorial materials, including an introduction describing the world as it stood on the eve of Polo''s departure, and examining the fantastical notions the West had developed of the East.Marco Polo was born in 1254, joining his father on a journey to China in 1271. He spent the next twenty years travelling in the service of Kublai Khan. There is evidence that Marco travelled extensively in the Mongol Empire and it is fairly certain he visited India. He wrote his famous Travels whilst a prisoner in Genoa.Nigel Cliff was previously a theatre and film critic for The Times and a regular writer for The Economist, among other publications, and now writes historical nonfiction books. His first book, The Shakespeare Riots, was published in 2007 and shortlisted for the Washington-based National Award for Arts Writing. His second book, The Last Crusade: Vasco da Gama and the Birth of the Modern World appeared in 2011 and was shortlisted for the PEN Hessell-Tiltman Prize.Trade ReviewFew books can truly be said to have changed the world; for all its naysayers, Marco Polo's Travels is one of them -- Nigel Cliff

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Book SynopsisSir James Brooke was an extraordinary ''eminent'' Victorian, whose life was the stuff of legend.His curious career began in 1841 when he was caught up in a war in Brunei which had started because a party of local Dayaks had refused to furl their umbrellas in the presence of the Sultan. Brooke was an opportunist who, with the Sultan''s backing, made war on the Dayaks tribespeople and eventually found himself ruling over Sarawak - a kingdom the size of England - as a result. How he achieved it is a romantic, sometimes horrifying story. Brooke is someone that George Macdonald Fraser would scarcely dare to invent. Errol Flynn wanted to play him in a movie, seventy years after his death and his dynasty is remembered throughout South-East Asia.Trade ReviewFascinating reading * LITERARY REVIEW *As a brief, even-handed and witty introduction to this extraordinary man [WHITE RAJAH] is hard to beat * BBC HISTORY MAGAZINE *WHITE RAJAH is a unique biography of one of the most fascinating and influential men of the British Empire * GEOGRAPHICAL *

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Book SynopsisThe first book to tell the remarkable Studio Lisa story and showcase their unique Royal Family photographic collection

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Book Synopsis**LONGLISTED FOR THE BAILLIE GIFFORD PRIZE FOR NON-FICTION 2021****SHORTLISTED FOR THE DUFF COOPER PRIZE 2021** **SHORTLISTED FOR THE JAMES TAIT BLACK PRIZE****FINALIST FOR THE 2022 PLUTARCH AWARD**D. H. Lawrence is no longer censored, but he is still on trial and the jury is still out on the verdict. Delving into the memoirs of those who both loved and loathed him, Burning Man follows Lawrence from the peninsular underworld of Cornwall in 1915 to post-war Italy to the mountains of New Mexico, and traces the author's footsteps through the pages of his lesser-known work. Wilson presents a complex, courageous and often comic fugitive, careering around a world in the grip of apocalypse, in search of utopia; and, in bringing the true Lawrence into sharp focus, shows how he speaks to us now more than ever. ''A work of art in its own right'' OBSERVER ''Utterly enthralling'' GEOFF DYER ''Brilliantly unconventional'' RICHARD HOLMES ''A red-hot, pTrade ReviewWilson’s Dantesque excursion detracts only marginally from the brilliance of her book. Her great strength is the aliveness of her writing, which constantly interweaves glowing phrases from Lawrence into its fabric -- JOHN CAREY * SUNDAY TIMES *D. H. Lawrence’s reputation has plummeted in recent decades. This defiantly positive biography sets out to rescue him from his critics and place him back on a literary pedestal * THE TIMES, 100 Best Books for Summer 2022 *[A] brilliant biography * THE TIMES, Best Paperbacks of 2022 *I cannot remember the last time one left me feeling so exhilarated, so challenged and absorbed ... Burning Man is a work of art in its own right, as wanton and as magnificently flawed as anything Lawrence ever wrote … The chorus of voices builds and builds. Sometimes ecstatic and sometimes shrill, it brings Lawrence alive in all his derangement: his ridiculousness as well as his glory; his perspicacity and his blindness … Wilson writes so brilliantly, and with such conviction. If you believe, as I do, that to live life well is to fail in ways that may be unimaginably huge, this strange and confounding book is for you -- RACHEL COOKE * OBSERVER *Not only does Frances Wilson revive her subject, she lifts the whole genre. Biography of this calibre is rare ... Our most original biographer * NEW STATESMAN *[Wilson] gives it to you straight … and leaves you to decide for yourself … This is a red-hot, propulsive book. The impression it leaves is of Lawrence not so much as a phoenix (his chosen personal emblem) rising from the flames, but of a moth coming too close to a candle and, singed and frantic, flying into and into and into the wick * THE TIMES *DH Lawrence’s reputation has plummeted in recent decades. This defiantly positive biography sets out to rescue him from his critics and place him back on a literary pedestal. “Her great strength,” John Carey said in his review of Wilson’s book, “is the aliveness of her writing" * THE TIMES, 100 Best Books for Summer 2022 *The challenge for any biographer of one Lawrence is to come to terms with his many contradictions - his rage, impotence, silliness and genius. This elegantly written, intelligent and witty account lays them all bare with admirable skill * EVENING STANDARD *Wilson tells the story well. It was a period of uncertainty, of bonds being shed and reforged; of the immense growth of Lawrence’s reputation -- PHILIP HENSHER * SPECTATOR *Wilson’s Guilty Thing, her life of Thomas De Quincey, is one of the finest recent literary biographies ... Burning Man is in the same league. … This is a book that performs a rare and laudable task: of saving a writer, posthumously, from himself. We are all beneficiaries of Wilson’s articulate and persuasive advocacy -- David Wheatley * Literary Review *Heady, entrancing, comedic… Outstanding … Without condoning Lawrence’s temper at all – quite the opposite, indeed – Wilson reveals an achingly flawed, ultimately sympathetic human being, who wrote mostly imperfect novels, but whose immense contribution to the twentieth-century literary scene is worth both acknowledging and commemorating. And whatever you have thought of Lawrence, or will think after reading this book, Frances Wilson’s Burning Man is a virtuoso performance in the art of biography-writing -- Gerri Kimber * TLS *A brilliantly unconventional biography, passionately researched and written with a wild, playful energy. Above all Frances Wilson’s great achievement is to liberate Lawrence from the old, heavy, moth-eaten “priest of love” mythology, instead breathing new life into his big novels as contemporary “autofiction”, and lovingly stoking the furious fires in his letters, poetry and short stories. A new Lawrence emerges: a thinker, travel writer and essayist of strange, absurd, irrepressible genius -- RICHARD HOLMES‘"How can biography do justice to Lawrence's complexities?" asks this book. Frances Wilson shows us exactly how. Hers is the most original voice in life-writing today -- LUCASTA MILLER, author of KeatsNo biography of Lawrence that I have read comes close to Burning Man in getting across both his unquenchable fire and his appalling ruthlessness. After reading almost every page, you think "what a monster!" but then at the same time "what an eye!" - for people, landscape, birds, the whole world really. It’s a wonderful book -- FERDINAND MOUNT, author of Kiss Myself GoodbyeDare we hope that Lawrence might soon assume his rightful place – neither messiah nor pariah – as a writer of boundless freshness, originality and breadth? If so Frances Wilson’s stimulating and utterly enthralling book will be seen to play a vital role in the long-awaited rehabilitation of the man who, in the words of poet Tony Hoagland, “burned like an acetylene torch/ from one end to the other of his life” -- GEOFF DYER[An] engrossing, entertaining and illuminating biography … Wilson, whose previous books include a compelling life of Thomas de Quincey, eloquently makes the case for Lawrence’s genius and the need for his revaluation -- Rosemary Goring * HERALD *This is in many ways a superb biography … Her writing about him is gloriously vivid * THE WEEK, Book of the Week *Meticulously researched and energetic … She converts this seemingly incendiary and unapologetic radical into a patron saint of passionate intensity … It is a job well done in illuminating Lawrence’s many complexities -- Nicholas Opfermann * REACTION, Books Digest *Wilson captures the ferocity and aggression of this driven author … Burning Man presents a rounded, empathetic portrait of Lawrence -- Martin Chilton * INDEPENDENT, Books of the Month *Beautifully written * THE TIMES *A vivid picture of a complex, difficult, haunted man whose art was driven by conflict * BBC HISTORY MAGAZINE *Thrillingly unusual ... If you want a cool, dispassionate biography, this is not it ... At times she seems to be almost channelling Lawrence, especially in her landscape descriptions, which are as good as Lawrence’s own. * DAILY TELEGRAPH *[A] witty and rigorous reappraisal of this divisive, divided figure * STANDPOINT *Frances Wilson's spirited defence of D. H. Lawrence is a work of art in its own right ... Burning Man is a work of both non-fiction and imagination, impeccably handled by a writer in command of her craft * NEW ZEALAND LISTENER *

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Book SynopsisHans Talhoffer's professional fencing manual of 1467 illustrates the intricacies of the medieval art of fighting, covering both the 'judicial duel' (an officially sanctioned fight to resolve a legal dispute) and personal combat. Combatants in the Middle Ages used footwork, avoidance, and the ability to judge and manipulate timing and distance to exploit and enhance the sword's inherent cutting and thrusting capabilities. These skills were supplemented with techniques for grappling, wrestling, kicking and throwing the opponent, as well as disarming him by seizing his weapon. Every attack contained a defence and every defence a counter-attack. Talhoffer reveals the techniques for wrestling, unarmoured fighting with the long sword, pole-axe, dagger, sword and buckler, and mounted combat. This unparalleled guide to medieval combat, illustrated with 268 contemporary images, provides a glimpse of real people fighting with skill, sophistication and ruthlessness. This is one of the most popular and influential manuals of its kind.

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Book SynopsisThe Italian Renaissance marked a period of political and military turmoil. Many regional wars were fought between the states ruled by Milan, Venice, Genoa, Florence, the Papacy, Siena and Naples. For more than 50 years starting in 1494, major foreign powers also exploited these divisions to invade Italy; both France and Spain made temporary alliances with city states to further their ambitions, and early in the 16th century the Emperor Charles V sent armies from his German realms to support the Spanish.These wars coincided with the growth of disciplined infantry carrying not only polearms and crossbows but also handguns which proved capable of challenging the previously dominant armoured knights. The widespread use of mercenaries ushered in the early development of the ''pike and shot'' era that succeeded the ''High Middle Ages''. During this period costumes, armour and weapons varied greatly due to their national origins and to the evolution of tactics and technology.Table of ContentsIntroduction The Italian States The Armies: Duchy of Milan Republic of Venice Republic of Florence The Papal States Kingdom of Naples France Spain Holy Roman Empire Select Bibliography Plate Commentaries Index

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Book SynopsisTrade ReviewThe book...is instructive, and logical. * Peter Grace, Listener *One of America's greatest historians takes on one of America's most controversial wars. With his customary professionalism, thoroughness, balanced perspective, and vivid prose, Prof. Leffler brings the reader inside the Bush administration's decision-making process as no other writer has yet done. Finally, a serious book about Iraq. * Robert Kagan, Senior Fellow, Brookings Institution *A measured, balanced, and brilliant explanation of how the United States went to war to remove Saddam Hussein. Stressing a fatal combination of fear, power, and hubris in the White House, Leffler shows, with great empathy, how President Bush was at the center of a policymaking process gone awry. * O.A. Westad, author of The Cold War: A World History *Melvyn Leffler, the nation's leading historian of American foreign relations, has written the most balanced and dispassionate account of the Bush Administration's policies toward Iraq. Henceforth all serious studies of the Iraq War will start here. This book should be read by scholars, policymakers, and anyone interested in understanding the decision making untainted by partisan bias. * Eric S. Edelman, former US Ambassador to Turkey, Under Secretary of Defense for Policy, and Principal Deputy National Security Advisor to Vice President Richard B. Cheney *Agree or disagree with his conclusions, Mel Leffler has unearthed fascinating new information about the decisions that led to America's invasion of Iraq. Anyone interested in understanding that seminal event needs to grapple with this book. * Peter Beinart, author, The Crisis of Zionism *In this deeply researched, luminously written book, Mel Leffler explores why the United States invaded Iraq. His sympathetic, nuanced, but by no means uncritical, account may not convince opponents of that war, but even they will not see it quite the same way again. This is an exceptional book by an outstanding scholar. * Rajan Menon, Anne and Bernard Spitzer Professor Emeritus of International Relations, The Powell School, City College of New York, and author of The Conceit of Humanitarian Intervention (Oxford, 2016) *Such is the force of Melvyn P. Leffler's insightful analysis that it broke through my long held convictions about the Bush administration's invasion of Iraq. In Confronting Saddam Hussein, one of America's most respected historians assembles stunning new evidence from personal interviews and archival documents. This brilliant account will remain an indispensable source for many years. * Frank Costigliola, Board of Trustees Distinguished Professor of History, University of Connecticut *The Bush Administration's invasion of Iraq in 2003 tops any list of strategic failures in the long history of American foreign relations. Conversely, Mel Leffler tops any list of the nation's finest scholars of American strategic decision-making. The two come together in this gripping, illuminating, fair-minded, and undoubtedly landmark exploration of how American leaders, at the height of their power and influence yet simultaneously driven by fear, got it all so very, very wrong. * Jeffrey A. Engel, Director, Center for Presidential History *The war in Iraq was a disaster that diminished American power and divided the American people. Leffler explains how a fearful, well-intentioned, but poorly-informed president led our country down this damaging road. This book is essential reading for any leader who hopes to avoid disaster, and any citizen who wants to elect better leaders. * Jeremi Suri, Author of Civil War by Other Means: America's Long and Unfinished Fight for Democracy *Confronting Saddam Hussein offers a welcome antidote to flip assessments of the Bush administration's decision to invade Iraq in 2003. Mel Leffler's provocative new account shows that the invasion was not a result of cartoonish bumbling or single-minded warmongering, but rather careful debate poisoned by a disastrous mix of fear and hubris. * Nicole Hemmer, Director of the Carolyn T. and Robert M. Rogers Center for the Study of the Presidency, Vanderbilt University *In the vast literature on the Iraq tragedy, this incisive, readable book stands above all others...Highly recommended. Lower-division undergraduates through faculty; professionals. * Choice *Confronting Saddam Hussein...is necessary in both correcting the historical record and offering a map of the mistakes that we should never repeat. * Abe Greenwald, The Commentary *Table of ContentsPreface Acknowledgments 1. Saddam Hussein 2. George W. Bush 3. 9/11 and the Global War on Terror 4. Iraq 5. Coercive Diplomacy 6. A Special Relationship 7. Deciding 8. Resolve 9. Mission Awry 10. Conclusion: Fear, Power, Hubris Notes Bibliography Index

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Book SynopsisVoltaire''s description of the Holy Roman Empire as ''neither holy, nor Roman, nor an empire'' is often cited to underline its worthlessness. German historians traditionally despised it because it had allegedly impeded German unification. Since 1945 scholars have been more positive but the empire''s history and significance is still largely misunderstood.In this Very Short Introduction Joachim Whaley outlines the fascinating thousand-year history of the Holy Roman Empire. Founded in 800 on the basis of Charlemagne''s Frankish kingdom, its imperial title went to the German monarchy which became established in the ninth and ten centuries. They claimed Charlemagne''s legacy, including his role as protector of the papacy and guardian of the Church. Around 1500 the title Holy Roman Empire of the German Nation was adopted. An elective monarchy, the empire gradually developed from a feudal monarchy into a legal system that pacified the territories and cities of German-speaking Europe. By 1519 it had a supreme court and a regional enforcement system ended feuding. Throughout its lifetime, the empire''s growth and history was shaped by the major developments in Europe, from the Reformation, to the Thirty Years War, to the French revolutionary wars, which led to Napoleon destroying the empire in 1806. The sense of a common history over a thousand years and the legal traditions established by the empire have shaped the history of German-speaking Europe ever since. Joachim Whaley analyses the empire''s crucial impact and role in the history of European power and politics, and shows that there has never been a more durable political system in German history. 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 ReviewBy analysing and narrating the essentials of one of the most complex and long-lived of all European institutions, and moreover doing it lucidly and entertainingly, Whaley has performed something of a miracle. * Tim Blanning, University of Cambridge *A crisp, authoritative and notably accessible introduction to the Holy Roman Empire, which occupied a central place in Europe's history for an entire millennium before its dissolution in 1806. * Professor Hamish Scott, FBA, Jesus College, Oxford. *Table of ContentsIntroduction - What was the Holy Roman Empire? 1: Roman Empire and German Kingdom: From Charlemagne to the Ottonians 2: The High Medieval Empire: From the Salians to the Hohenstaufen 3: The Later Medieval Empire: The emergence of the Habsburgs 4: The Early Modern Empire (1): From Maximilian I to the Thirty Years War 5: The Early Modern Empire (2): From the Peace of Westphalia to 1806 Conclusion: The Legacy of the Holy Roman Empire Maps Chronology Further Reading Index

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Book SynopsisA thorough account of the Catholic Left and its resistance to the Vietnam war.

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Book SynopsisBlamed for the bloody disasters of the 20th century: Auschwitz, the Gulags, globalisation, Islamic terrorism; heralded as the harbinger of reason, equality, and the end of arbitrary rule, the Enlightenment has been nothing if not divisive. To this day historians disagree over when it was, where it was, and what it was (and sometimes, still is). Kieron O'Hara deftly traverses these conflicts, presenting the history, politics, science, religion, arts, and social life of the Enlightenment not as a simple set of easily enumerated ideas, but an evolving conglomerate that spawned a very diverse set of thinkers, from the radical Rousseau to the conservative Burke.

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Book SynopsisSingapore Then and Now brings together rare archival images of this global city-state and matches them with specially commissioned photos of the same sites as they appear today. Vaughan Grylls (author/photographer of Oxford Then and Now, Cambridge Then and Now and Hong Kong Then and Now) has rounded up all of the key sites that make up this fascinating and diverse place, from gleaming new skyscrapers and shopping malls to magnificent temples and ancient rainforests. The breathtaking contrast between past and present make this a fascinating addition to the long-running Then and Now series. Sites include: Elgin Bridge, Empress Place Building, Victoria Theatre and Concert Hall, Fullerton Hotel, Johnston’s Pier, Singapore Cricket Club, the Supreme Court, Capitol Theatre, Raffles Hotel, Masjid Sultan Mosque, Ellison Building, Coleman Bridge, Fort Canning, National Museum, YMCA Building, Cathay Building, Thian Hock Keng Temple, Sri Mariamman Temple, Tanjong Pagar Dock, Marina Bay Sands Hotel, Johor–Singapore Causeway, Ford Factory, Changi Village.

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Book SynopsisWhat did a Victorian lady wear for a walk in the park? How did she style her hair for an evening at the theatre? And what products might she have used to soothe a sunburn or treat an unsightly blemish? Mimi Matthews answers these questions and more as she takes readers on a decade-by-decade journey through Victorian fashion and beauty history. Women's clothing changed dramatically during the course of the Victorian era. Necklines rose, waistlines dropped, and Gothic severity gave way to flounces, frills, and an abundance of trimmings. Sleeves ballooned up and skirts billowed out. The crinoline morphed into the bustle and steam-moulded corsets cinched women's waists ever tighter. As fashion was evolving, so too were trends in ladies' hair care and cosmetics. An era which began by prizing natural, barefaced beauty ended with women purchasing lip and cheek rouge, false hairpieces and pomades, and fashionable perfumes made with expensive spice oils and animal essences. Using research from nineteenth century beauty books, fashion magazines, and lady's journals, Mimi Matthews brings the intricacies of a Victorian lady's toilette into modern day focus. In the process, she gives readers a glimpse of the social issues that influenced women's clothing and the societal outrage that was an all too frequent response to those bold females who used fashion and beauty as a means of asserting their individuality and independence.

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