History: specific events and topics Books

Book SynopsisAdd to this the thousands of farms that have grown back to woods since the Civil War, and you have the most forested state, by percentage, in the United States. But the “uninterrupted forest” that Henry David Thoreau first saw in the 1840s was never exactly that. Loggers had cut it severely, European settlers had gnawed into it, and, much earlier, native people had left their mark. This book takes you deep into the past to understand the present, allowing you to hear the stories of the people and events that have shaped the woods and made them what they are today.

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Book SynopsisIn the turbulent years of China's War of Resistance against Japan (19311945), a unique and complex narrative unfolded far from the battlefields in Australia. Chinese Propaganda and Australia: A case study of the 1930s and 1940s delves into the intricate web of Chinese wartime propaganda efforts, revealing how the Chinese Kuomintang (KMT) and Chinese Australian communities mobilised support for China's struggle against Japanese aggression. Chinese Propaganda and Australia uncovers the multifaceted relationships between China, Australia, and the Australian Chinese diaspora, highlighting the political, racial and class dynamics that shaped these interactions. Bolin Hu explores the pivotal role of Chinese-language newspapers and schools in preserving Chinese heritage and loyalty; the intense political rivalries within the Australian Chinese community; and the profound impact of memorial services and fundraising campaigns on fostering Chinese patriotism and community cohesion. Hu also brings to light the diverse contributions of various Chinese Australian groups including leftists, women, and Australian-born Chinese to China's war effort, and the fierce propaganda battles between Chinese and Japanese authorities on Australian soil. Chinese Propaganda and Australia offers a nuanced exploration of the socio-political dynamics within the Australian Chinese community, while challenging the traditional narrative of distant allies, presenting new evidence and perspectives on the Sino-Australian relationship during a critical period in history.

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Book SynopsisHunger deepened in Ireland in 1848 as the potato crop failed again. In London, the government, alarmed by austerity in England and revolution in Europe, refused to re-open the soup kitchens in Ireland. But, worse still, they refused to halt food exports from the starving country. Emigration quickened as many were evicted, and many more fled from a wasted land. They worked the waterfronts and coal mines of America and the railways and building sites of England. But hunger still stalked them. 'Cold is the Dawn' follows these men and women and their bitter fight for survival in Ireland, England and America.

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Book Synopsis'Banned History' is all the juicy bits of History which were excluded from your lessons at school. It unashamedly probes into the darker side of some of Britain’s most admired leaders, as well as exploring the hateful and depraved nature of humanity across the last 5000 years. 'Banned History' answers questions which are deliberately avoided by the school curriculum due to the negative light Britain may be portrayed such as the real reason why Britain didn't bomb Auschwitz and how the Transatlantic Slave Trade came into being. Topical issues such as whether Churchill was a racist and how homophobia developed and spread across the world are explored in depth. Concepts which are too horrific to ever feature in the school curriculum are investigated to reveal how many years it takes for incest to wipe out a family; what the most effective method of torture is; and what kind of person tastes best. Written in a bright and breezy tone, 'Banned History' is full of fascinating facts such as who discovered dolphins (and who fell in love with one); why America got involved in the Vietnam war; why Russia turned communist; how Martin Luther King got his name; how many people Europe killed with their colonisation of the Americas; and when and why the British government legalised men hitting their wives. Welcome to the sort of History you definitely didn’t get taught at school.Trade Review"An accomplished and fascinating book." - Jenny, editor at Grosvenor House Publishing

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Book SynopsisThe extraordinary tale of the wildfire spread of a drink which is embedded in our history and our daily cultural life – and which provides a compelling allegory for corporate greed, mercantile ruthlessness and global expansion. Arguably the most valuable legally traded commodity in the world after oil, coffee's dark five-hundred year history links alchemy and anthropology, poetry and politics, and science and slavery. Revolutions have been hatched in coffee houses, secret socities and commercial alliances formed, and politics and art endlessly debated. With over a hundred million people looking to it for their livelihood, the coffee industry is now the world's largest employer and the financial lifeblood of many third-world countries (or the blood with which they feed the global capitalist vampire, depending on your point of view). But with world prices at a historic low, the future looks uncertain. In this thought-provoking exposé, Antony Wild, coffee trader and historian, explores coffee's dismal colonial past and its perilous corporate present, revealing the shocking exploitation at the heart of the industry. To many people, coffee has become largely just another commodity. Black Gold restores our faith in the mystery of this unique beverage.Trade Review'an aromatic blend of colonial history and globalisation criticism' Ecologist 'an impressive mix of historical overview and contemporary analysis' Time Out 'Perfect ammo for destroying your Starbucks-guzzling workmates' Arena ‘an elegantly written, witty book, so wide in scope, so rich in detail, so thought-provoking in the subtle way that it develops its central thesis, that it is a challenge to do justice to it’ Joanna Blythman ‘This adrenalised swipe through the story of the mightiest of elixirs is written by a genius with all the economic facts and figures at his fingertips’ Good Book Guide ‘full of fascinating anecdotal detail about our favourite stimulant’ Geographical

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Book SynopsisThe German Police study made by SHAEF and other more clandestine agencies shows clearly why the German Police was so different to their British and American counterparts. German Police covers the history of the German Police and particularly Himmler''s involvement in initially the Gestapo and later with the secret organisations which were all included in the general term "Police".This detailed study examines Himmler''s acolytes, the Higher SS Police Commanders, and the ever present SS involvement in internal security matters in the Third Reich. It also gives details of the regular police, as well as the more sinister Security Police (SiPo) and the Security Service (SD). Gestapo and Kripo are included.The volume is also important in that it contains nine uniform colour plates, sixteen black and white photographs and a very important colour section on official papers - identity documents for the regular police, the SS (including the SS pay book), the fire service and the Hitler Youth fire service, the SiPo, the SD, the Gestapo, the German standard ID card, Racial German ID cards and other important ID documents.

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Book SynopsisPredating the wheel, the ski has played an important role in our history. This is brilliantly brought to life in this engaging book. Roland Huntford's brilliant history begins 20,000 years ago in the last ice age on the icy tundra of an unformed earth. Man is a traveling animal, and on these icy slopes skiing began as a means of survival.That it has developed into the leisure and sporting pursuit of choice by so much of the globe bears testament to its elemental appeal. In polar exploration, it has changed the course of history. Elsewhere, in war and peace, it has done so too. The origins of skiing are bound up with the emergence of modern man and the world we live in today.Trade Review'This is a deeply scholarly work ... Fortunately scholarly in this instance is not synonymous with dull ... Huntford manages to to bind a wealth of material together with a strong narrative thread.' Simon Redfern, The Independent on Sunday"The breadth of his scholarship, which includes an easy familiarity with Scandinavian texts, is extraordinary." Literary Review"What elevates Huntford is his comprehensive approach ... accessible and enjoyable, even to the most armchair bound of 'schussers'." Paul Watkins, The Times"Could the outcome of the Second World War have been decided by the humble ski? That's the bold but surprisingly convincing claim made by Roland Huntford in Two Planks and a Passion." Roger Cox, The ScotsmanReview in The Daily Telegraph."Huntford's book will be a perfect stocking present for piste fantasists like me", Max Hastings, Sunday Times‘Huntford has also undertaken the monumental task of tracing and explaining the development of the sport of skiing outside Scandinavia, particularly in Alpine Europe. As such, he has provided us with a much richer and more complex picture than was previously available from Arnold Lunn's highly partial The Story of Skiing.' -- oxfordjournals.orgFeatured at number 6 in the top 10 bestselling winter sports books in 2011 feature in The Times.'This will be skiing's definitive history for years to come...' Alex Wade, Times Literary Supplement'[A] fine, erudite history of the sport', Hugh Thompson, The Independent"Roland Huntford's book is an amazingly detailed history of skiing's Scandinavian origins." BBC History MagazineTitle mention in The Guardian.Title mention in Skier & Snowboarder Magazine.'Our choice - pick of the paperbacks ... Huntford tells the ski story straightforwardly and simply' - Sunday Times"This is a compelling acount, and definitive history, of an activity that has evolved over time into one of our most thriving leisure industries." Sunday Telegraph"An engaging and insightful work" Sport Magazine"The most in-depth study of skiing currently in the English language and it will no doubt remain the defining record for some time." The GuardianMention in The Daily Mail, 28 November 2008.Mentioned in Skier and Snowboarder Magazine, 01 November 2008."In his early books, Huntford chronicled the race to the South Pole ("The Last Place on Earth") and wrote biographies of Ernest Shackleton and Fridtjof Nansen. "Two Planks" seems a natural progression for him ... Huntford deserves praise for bringing together a lot of rich material." New York Times Book Review.Table of ContentsWorking chronologically from Nordic mythology through to the modern leisure pursuit and Olympic stars of today.

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Book SynopsisWith so much focus on contemporary theory, it is easy to forget that the serious analysis of clothing and fashion has a long history. In fact, they have been the subject of intense cultural debate since the nineteenth century. Fashion Classics provides an interpretative overview of the groundbreaking and often idiosyncratic writings of eight theorists whose work has profoundly influenced the conceptual and theoretical basis of our contemporary understanding of clothes and the fashion system. Carter fully revives early fashion theorists -- some canonical and others less well known -- and examines them in light of more recent work. From Carlyles fantastical character Professor Teufelsdrockh, through the first Freudian analysis of clothes by J.C. Flugel, the pioneering work of Spencer, Veblen, Simmel, Kroeber, Laver and finally Barthes monumental work on the modern fashion system, this book explores and explains the foundations of fashion theory. Not only does it provide an historical outline of Western conceptions of clothes and fashion, but it also highlights how ideas intermix and build on one another. Carters lively narrative clearly shows that views on fashion have always been impassioned perhaps most notably Carlyles notorious attack on Dandyism and Veblens suggestion that clothes should be made out of old newspaper. This book also makes sense of complex theory and is essential reading for anyone seeking an overview of the history of fashion theory.Trade Review'Michael Carter has fashioned, with clarity and wit, not only an important historical account of fashion classics, but an entertaining narrative that illuminates the cultural currents of two centuries. It should make us think more than twice about what we wear and how we describe it. For myself, this is a book that I will constantly refer to - for pleasure as well as enlightenment.'Studies in English LiteratureTable of Contents1. Thomas Carlyle and Sartor Resartus 2. Herbert Spencer's Sartorial Protestantism 3. Thorstein Veblen's Leisure Class 4. Georg Simmel: Clothes and Fashion 5. Alfred Kroeber and the Great Secular Wave 6. J. C. Flgel and the Nude Future 7. James Laver, the Reluctant Expert 8. Roland Barthes and the End of the Nineteenth Century Appendix: Questionnaire Issued by J.C. Flgel in 1929 Bibliography Index

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Book SynopsisEvery lawyer knows of Woolmington v. Director of Public Prosecutions, the ruling which established the ‘Golden thread of English law’ whereby the burden of proof lies with the prosecutor in a criminal trial. But who was Woolmington and how many people know that he escaped the death penalty at the eleventh hour, or that he was in fact twice tried for murder? ‘Lords give man back his life’ as the Western Gazette put it. In the civil law, how and why did a Mrs. Donoghue come to be drinking a bottle of ginger beer containing the remnants of a snail, an event which would determine that ‘the categories of negligence are never closed’? And how did the tranquil market town of Wednesbury become shorthand for ‘unreasonableness’? In Famous Cases: Nine Trials that Changed the Law the authors have painstakingly assembled the less well-known background to a selection of leading cases. From Mareva (synonymous with a type of injunction) to Lord Denning’s classic ruling in the High Trees House case (the turning point for equitable estoppel) to that of the former Chilean head of state General Pinochet (in which the House of Lords heard the facts a second time) the authors offer a refreshing perspective to whet the appetite of newcomers, students and seasoned practitioners alike. The book has an authoritative introduction describing ‘The Origins of the Common Law’ and is enhanced by key extracts from the law reports reproduced courtesy of the Incorporated Council of Law Reporting for England and Wales and the Butterworths Division of Reed Elsevier (UK) Ltd — making it not just an absorbing read but an important work of reference for every legal library and collection.Trade Review'An excellent book'-- Justice of the Peace.Table of ContentsPart I: Introduction - 1: Origin And Growth Of The Common Law; Part II: Criminal Trials - 2: George Joseph Smith And The Brides In The Bath”; 3: Woolmington’s Case; 4: Gypsy Jim Smith; Part III: Civil Cases - 5: Donoghue v. Stevenson; 6: Lord Denning’s “High Trees” Case; 7: Rookes v. Barnard; 8: The Mareva Injunction; 9: Wednesbury Unreasonableness; Part IV: International Law - 10:The Trials Of Augusto Pinochet. Index.

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Book SynopsisHere is unfolded the fascinating history and development of the Tarot, from its fifteenth-century beginnings as a conjunct to playing cards, to the massive explosion of its popularity as a system of occult symbolism. Gareth Knight presents his analysis of the basic archetypal principle behind each card and gives practical examples of magical work with the Tarot images in pathworkings and rituals. Several different approaches are adopted which can be used to develop familiarity and skill with the Tarot system. Originally published in 1986 as The Treasure House of Images, and later re-issued in the USA as Tarot & Magic, this new, expanded edition includes six extra chapters, pulling together many of the new insights garnered over the 25 years since it was first published.

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Book SynopsisThis study is devoted to the work of two early British filmmakers, George Albert Smith and James Williamson, and the films that they made around 1900. Internationally, they are known collectively as the ‘Brighton School’ and are positioned as being at the forefront of Britain’s contribution to the birth of film. The book focuses on the years 1896 to 1903, as it was during this short period that film emerged as a new technology, a new enterprise and a new form of entertainment. Beginning with a historiography of the Brighton School, the study goes on to examine the arrival of the first 35mm films in Britain, the first film exhibitions in Brighton and the first projection of film in Brighton. Both Smith and Williamson’s work features a progression from the production of single shot unedited films to multi-shot edited films. Their subject matter was inspired by a knowledge of contemporary pantomime, humour, literature, theatre, mesmerism, the magic lantern and current affairs and their practices were underpinned by active involvement in the new film trade. Through the exploration of how these filmmakers cultivated a new way of understanding film and its commercial potential, this book establishes them as key figures in the development of British film culture. Table of Contents1. Introduction.- 2. Investigating the Brighton School.- 3. Invention and Wonder: The Arrival of Film in Britain and Brighton, 1894-96.- 4. Wonders and Marvels - Smith’s Early Years.- 5. 1897: Smith Turns to Film.- 6. Smith’s Visions and Transformations: the Films of 1898.- 7. Smith’s Edited Films, 1899-1903.- 8. Williamson’s Kinematograph Films.- 9. Williamson’s Picture Stories.- 10. Transitions, Chains and Flows.

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Book SynopsisThis book explores the representation of London’s nightlife in popular films and newspapers of the interwar period. Through a series of case-studies, it analyses how British popular media in the 1920s and 1930s displayed the capital after dark. It argues that newspapers and films were part of a common culture, which capitalized on the transgressive possibilities of the night. At the same time both media ensured that those in authority, such as the police, were always shown to ultimately be in control of the night. The first chapter of the book provides an overview of the British film and newspaper industries in the interwar period. Subsequent chapters each explore a specific aspect of London’s nightlife. In turn, these chapters consider how films and newspapers of the interwar period depicted women navigating the street at night; the Metropolitan Police’s involvement in nightlife; and the capital’s newly built and expanded suburbs and public transport network. Finally, the book considers how newspapers and films depicted themselves and one another. Trade Review“One of the most impressive aspects of Interwar London After Dark is its catalogue of interwar films. … This makes the book an important resource, as readers will learn about films they might not have heard about otherwise.” (Michael McCluskey, The London Journal, August 29, 2023)Table of Contents1. Introduction: ‘Dancing Goes On Until Dawn’.2. Interwar London: Nights, Newspapers, Films.3. Women On The Night-Time Streets.4. The Metropolitan Police in Interwar Film and Newspapers.5. Suburbs and Public Transport at Night.6. Mirror Image: Newspapers and Films Reflecting Each Other.7. Conclusion.

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Book SynopsisThis book—along with its companion volume Writing Mary I: History, Historiography, and Fiction—centers on representations of Queen Mary I in writing, broadly construed, and the process of writing that queen into literature and other textual sources. It spans an equally wide chronological and geographical scope, accounting for the years prior to her accession in July 1553 through the centuries that followed her death in November 1558 and for her reach across England, and into Ireland, Spain, Italy, Russia, and Africa. Its intent is to foreground words and language—written, spoken, and acted out—and, by extension, to draw out matters of and conversations about rhetoric, imagery, methodology, source base, genre, narrative, form, and more. Taken together, these two volumes find in England’s first crowned queen regnant an incomparable opportunity to ask new questions and seek new answers that deepen our understanding of queenship, the early modern era, and modern popular culture.Table of Contents1. Introduction: "In the worde of a prince” - Jessica S. Hower and Valerie Schutte .- 2. “By your loving mother”: Lessons in Queenship from Catherine of Aragon to her Daughter, Mary - Theresa Earenfight .- 3. Negotiating Queenship: Ritual Practice, Material Evidence, and Mary I’s Narrative of Authority - Michaela Baca .- 4. “More to be feared than fearful herself”: Contrasting Representations of Mary I in Sixteenth-Century Chronicles and First-Hand Accounts - Courtney Herber.- 5. “Marie our Maistresse”: The Queen at Her Accession - Valerie Schutte .- 6. What Mary Did First: Re-assessing the Biblical Analogies of England’s First Female King - Aidan Norrie .- 7. “Horrible and Bloudye” or “Most Serene and Potent”: Mary I and Empire - Jessica S. Hower.- 8. Mary’s Participation in the Ritual of the New Year’s Gift Exchange as Princess and Queen - Jane Lawson .- 9. Accounting Legitimacy in Purple & Gold: Mary Tudor, Household Accounts, and the English Succession - Elizabeth McMahon .- 10. – Happily Ever After?: Posthumous Representations of Mary I and Philip II’s Marriage - Johanna Strong .- 11. “She…yielding a mild and gracious spirit into the hands of her Maker”: Three Catholic Accounts of the Death of Mary I - Carolyn Colbert .- 12. Mary I During the Popish Plot and Exclusion Crisis: Memory and Catholic Remembrance - Eilish Gregory.

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Book SynopsisSport is everything, but never solely sport. The commodification of human pleasure in or about many sports led to an increased political interest and dimension with regard to the major leagues and their stars. Corruption and scandals increased, while the human being in sports was and still is very often exploited or mistreated. These problems often relate to the political dimension as well. Consequently, it seems very promising and necessary alike to take a closer look at the interrelation of sports and politics. The present volume addresses this interrelation from different angles, when talking about issues like racism, gender inequality, or classism.

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