History Books

Book SynopsisIn An Army at Dawn - winner of the Pulitzer Prize - Rick Atkinson provided a dramatic and authoritative history of the Allied triumph in North Africa. Now, in The Day of the Battle, he follows the strengthening American and British armies as they invade Sicily in July 1943 and then, mile by bloody mile, fight their way north.The Italian campaign''s outcome was never certain; in fact, Roosevelt, Churchill and their military advisors engaged in heated debate about whether an invasion of the so-called soft underbelly of Europe was even a good idea. But once underway, the commitment to liberate Italy from the Nazis never wavered, despite the agonizingly high price. The battles at Salerno, Anzio, and Monte Cassino were particularly difficult and lethal, yet as the months passed, the Allied forces continued to push the Germans up the Italian peninsula. And with the liberation of Rome in June 1944, ultimate victory at last began to seem inevitable.Drawing on a

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Book SynopsisIn April 1586, Queen Elizabeth I acquired a new and exotic title. A tribe of North American Indians had made her their weroanza - ''big chief''.The news was received with great joy, both by the Queen and her favourite, Sir Walter Ralegh. His first American expedition had brought back a captive, Manteo, whose tattooed face had enthralled Elizabethan London. Now Manteo was returned to his homeland as Lord and Governor. Ralegh''s gamble would result in the first English settlement in the New World, but it would also lead to a riddle whose solution lay hidden in the forests of Virginia.A tale of heroism and mystery, BIG CHIEF ELIZABETH is illuminated by first-hand accounts to reveal a remarkable and long-forgotten story.Trade ReviewLike Giles Milton's previous book, ... Big Chief Elizabeth is a cracking read, a successful attempt at popular history * Evening Standard *'It's almost impossible to summarise Milton's book, from which marvellous, vivid stories spill out like swagsack booty. ... Milton is a very contemporary historian' Guardian'The story of the first Virginia colonies, now told in pacy style in Big Chief Elizabeth, is stirring and fitfully tragic...This is a marvellous story well retold' Sunday TimesMilton is a great storyteller ... he sets about filling in the historical gaps with relish, using his considerable imagination to conjure mood from dry parchment * Sunday Express *Grippingly told true adventure story * Daily Mail *Milton ... draws a vivid picture of the terrible hardships the settlers endured * The Times *'Milton knits together the most vivid anecdotes and descriptions from a very colourful literature of exploration and colonization, and anyone wanting easy access to them has it here'. * The Times Literary Supplement *Milton has a terrific eye for the kind of detail that can bring the past vividly to life off the page * The Spectator *Splendid stuff ... fascinatingly told ... An excellent book * Time Out *A wonderfully colourful story told with pace and verve * Sunday Telegraph *

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Book SynopsisA quirky collection of stories from London's stranger side, featuring a tiny prison cell in Trafalgar Square, a train disguised as a ship, and a church that's completely the wrong way round. London’s Strangest Tales takes a walk on London’s weirder side with an absorbing collection of curious tales from one of the world’s greatest cities. This fascinating book is packed with amazing things you didn’t know about Britain’s capital, like the fact that it’s still forbidden to run, carry an umbrella or whistle in the Burlington Arcade, and the fat lamppost at the corner of Trafalgar Square that is secretly a tiny prison cell. And did you know that the entrance to Buckingham Palace you see from the Mall is actually the back door and not the front? The stories within these pages are bizarre, fascinating, hilarious and, most importantly, true. Revised, redesigned and updated for a new generation of London-lovers, this book is a brilliant alternative guide to the city, whether you’re a visitor, a daily commuter or one of its 8 million inhabitants. Word count: 45,000

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Book SynopsisWhat are the imagined communities that compel men to kill or to die for an idea of a nation? This notion of nationhood had its origins in the founding of the Americas, but was then adopted and transformed by populist movements in nineteenth-century Europe. It became the rallying cry for anti-Imperialism as well as the abiding explanation for colonialism. In this scintillating, groundbreaking work of intellectual history Anderson explores how ideas are formed and reformulated at every level, from high politics to popular culture, and the way that they can make people do extraordinary things. In the twenty-first century, these debates on the nature of the nation state are even more urgent. As new nations rise, vying for influence, and old empires decline, we must understand who we are as a community in the face of history, and change.Trade ReviewSparkling, readable, densely packed. * Guardian *Anderson's knowledge of a vast range of relevant historical literature is most impressive; his presentation of the gist of it is both masterly and lucid. * New Statesman *A brilliant little book. * Neal Ascherson, The Observer *

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Book Synopsis'Profoundly powerful not only in observations and stories, but in how courageously and carefully it speaks to our present moment' Madeleine Thien, Guardian Over three years, journalist and novelist Ben Ehrenreich travelled to the West Bank's largest cities and smallest villages, and stayed with the Palestinian families who live there. Here, he weaves together the stories of these women, men and children: the extremes to which they are pushed, the daily absurdities and tragedies they face, and the strategies they construct to survive. What follows is a testimony, a provocation, and an unflinching act of witness. 'I am gripped... Ehrenreich lived with many of those he writes about, and so his story is wonderfully intimate... I feel more like I'm involved in a pacey novel than struggling to swallow yet more unpalatable truths' Observer 'The myriad ordeals suffered by the Palestinian people during the last eighty years are minutely reported here. It's a chronicle of their daily lives. Read it! It recognises and respects hope' John Berger 'Capture[s] events unfolding on the West Bank with sympathy and restraint' Colm Tóibín, Irish TimesTrade ReviewPowerful... Palestinian lives matter to Ehrenreich, and he writes about them from the bottom-up, with hard-boiled lyricism, novelistic intimacy and a revolutionary's sense of urgency. [This] is more than a work of journalism. It is a freedom song, burning with humanity... Heartbreaking and joyful -- Adam ShatzA chillingly beautiful, albeit heartbreaking, chronicle of Palestinian life in the West Bank. It's written with immense empathy, but is equally grounded, and urgently real -- Yasmine El Rashidi * Guardian *The myriad ordeals suffered by the Palestinian people during the last eighty years are minutely reported here. It's a chronicle of their daily lives. Read it! It recognises and respects hope -- John BergerBen Ehrenreich's rendition of the Palestinian experience is powerful, deep and heartbreaking, so much closer to the ground than the Middle East reporting we usually see. I wish there were more writers as brave -- Adam Hochschild, author * To End All Wars: A Story of Loyalty and Rebellion, 1914-1918 *An astonishing book. And that's shocking in itself: Ben Ehrenreich takes a detailed, up-close look at the lives of people whose ordeal, though relentless, remains, most of the time, just below the radar of our governments and mass media. We generally pride ourselves on our willingness to speak for the disadvantaged, but remain truculent and evasive in the case of Palestinians. There can be no more excuses, if The Way to the Spring is given the widespread attention it deserves, for such uncharacteristic moral cowardice -- Robert WyattI loved The Way To The Spring. Ehrenreich is excellent on the nuances of suffering and survival. The book is to be read with acceptance, subtlety and an open mind - just as it was written -- BidishaSo much has been written about the occupation of the Palestinian territories by Israel but rarely with such vividness, eloquence and success in illuminating complex historical and political realities. The Way to the Spring is a superbly intelligent, informative and critical book about one of the fundamental issues of our time -- Raja ShehadehWritten with fire in the belly and a hawk's eye for the telling fact. The Way to the Spring is an unforgettable read but not an easy one, full of uncomfortable and inconvenient truths. Ehrenreich's great talent is for testimony; the individual human stories that disrupt gross injustice by asking questions about morality, legality and the actual historical record. Ehrenreich's non-fiction debut is a powerful and unwavering pursuit of the through-lines of freedom -- Rachel HolmesMr Ehrenreich did not set out to write an objective book; he does not even think it is possible. This is simply a description, details [...] of what the facts on the ground look like if you are one of a particular group of Palestinians in the West Bank. It should be read by friends and foes of Israel alike * Economist *

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Book Synopsis‘Joyous … a book that makes other journalists weep with envy’ The Economist 'Provocative, touching, and sensitively written … an eloquent, brilliantly researched account’ Sunday Times One of The Economist’s best books by foreign correspondents. A story of grim comedy amid the apocalypse and a celebration of the sheer indestructibility of the human spirit in a nation run riot: Michela Wrong’s vision of Congo/Zaire during the Mobutu years is incisive, ironic and revelatory. Mr Kurtz, the colonial white master, brought evil to the remote upper reaches of the Congo River. A century after Conrad’s 'Heart of Darkness' was first published, Michela Wrong revisits the Congo as the era of Mobutu Sese Seko collapses into absurdity, anarchy and corruption. Hers is a brilliant portrait of the grotesque as confusion takes over: pink lipsticked rebel soldiers mingle with tracksuited secret policemen in hotels where fin de siecle dinner parties are ploughing through hotel wine cellars rather than see bottles lost to the new regime. Congo, Africa’s richest country in terms of its natural resources, has institutionalised kleptomania: everyone is on the take. In a country where the minimum wage has dropped to below $150 a year, the government over twenty-five years spent $250 million providing courtesy cars. Congo has a vanity nuclear reactor built on a subsiding slope and one of its uranium rods is missing… The Mobutu reign, successor to Belgium’s failed imperial experiment in Africa, was fed by World Bank dollars and IMF loans. Having presided over unprecedented looting of the country’s wealth, Mobutu, like Kurtz, retreated deep within the jungle to his absurdly overwrought palace of marble floors and gold taps. A century on, nothing seems to have changed at the heart of Africa: it is lawless, graceless and it slaughters its own.Trade Review‘A brilliant account of Africa’s most extraordinary dictator told with wry wit and delicious irony… this book will become a classic’ The Economist ‘Provocative, touching, and sensitively written … an eloquent, brilliantly researched account and a remarkably sympathetic study of a tragic land’ Sunday Times ‘Michela Wrong made the so-called ‘Heart of Darkness' much less opaque to me when I visited the Congo. She can do the same for you if you read this brave and witty book’ Christopher Hitchens, author of God Is Not Great ‘Michela Wrong nimbly balances absurdity and outrage in her portrait of Mobutu Sese Seko and the wreckage he visited – with steady Western sponsorship – on the country he called Zaire. Her book is charged with pity and terror, and with the sort of sustaining humour that she rightly admires in Mobutu’s former subjects’ Philip Gourevitch, author of We Wish to Inform You that Tomorrow We will be Killed With Our Families

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Book SynopsisIn the tradition of the best writing on human behaviour and moral choices in the face of disaster, physician and reporter Sheri Fink reconstructs five days at New Orleans' Memorial Medical Center during Hurricane Katrina and draws the reader into the lives of those who struggled mightily to survive and to maintain life amidst chaos. After Katrina struck and the floodwaters rose, the power failed, and the heat climbed, exhausted caregivers chose to designate certain patients last for rescue. Months later, several health professionals faced criminal allegations that they deliberately injected numerous patients with drugs to hasten their deaths. Five Days at Memorial, the culmination of six years of reporting, unspools the mystery of what happened in those days, bringing the reader into a hospital fighting for its life and into a conversation about the most terrifying form of health care rationing.In a voice at once involving and fair, masterful and intimate, Fink exposes the hidden dilemmas of end-of-life care and reveals just how ill-prepared we are for the impact of large-scale disasters - and how we can do better. A remarkable book, engrossing from start to finish, Five Days at Memorial radically transforms our understanding of human nature in crisis.Trade ReviewExtraordinary... A profound and unforgettable piece of journalism * Sunday Times *The gripping and complex account of what happened in a New Orleans hospital in the immediate aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. -- Geoff Dyer * New Statesman, Books of the Year *Gripping... an illuminating investigation into the chaos that consumed a hospital during Hurricane Katrina... It reminds an international audience that literature can soar to artistic and intellectual heights undreamed of in other realms of media. * Independent *[A] superb and remarkable book... Gripping * Mail on Sunday *Riveting * Financial Times *Masterfully and compassionately reported and as gripping as a thriller, the book poses reverberating questions about end-of-life care, race discrimination in medicine and how individuals and institutions break down during disasters. * New York Times *In this astonishing blend of Pulitzer-Prize winning journalism and breathtaking narration, [Fink] chronicles the chaotic evacuation of the hospital and the agonizing ethical, physical and emotional quandaries facing Memorial nurses and doctors * Publishers Weekly, Starred Review *Fink offers a stunning re-creation of the storm, its aftermath, and the investigation that followed... Both a breathtaking read and an essential book for understanding how people behave in times of crisis * Booklist, Starred Review *Fink draws those few days in the hospital's life with a fine, lively pen, providing stunningly framed vignettes of activities in the hospital and sharp pocket profiles of many of the characters * Kirkus Reviews, Starred Review *

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Book SynopsisA classical historian confronts our crises of time, radically calling into question our relations to the past, present, and future.Trade ReviewSince his classic Mirror of Herodotus, Francois Hartog has emerged as the most significant theorist of history and chronicler of our changing relationship to our own past that France has produced. In this series of meditative chapters, he takes us from the Greeks to the present once more, emphasizing how the theory of history must move from diagnosing the modern gap between expectation and experience to confronting the exigency of historical crisis today. Hartog's reflections are valuable for all humanists. -- Samuel Moyn, Columbia University In a book that should be required reading for anyone interested in history's role in contemporary society, Francois Hartog shows how unexamined assumptions about the past shape our understandings of ourselves and our place in history. -- Lynn Hunt, University of California, Los Angeles Francois Hartog's pioneering work on the concept of 'regimes of historicity' makes this book a must for scholars in both the social sciences and the humanities. A distinguished classical historian, Hartog uses specific, well-chosen examples to explain how understanding regimes of historicity will allow us to better understand the conditions of possibility for producing histories and, more generally, our own relationship to time. -- Robert Morrissey, University of Chicago Francois Hartog is perhaps the most important historian of historiography today... Regimes of Historicity should be required reading for anyone interested in the past, present, and future writing of history. American Historical Review Regimes of Historicity should be required reading for anyone interested in the past, present, and future writing of history. Time's BooksTable of ContentsPresentism: Stopgap or New State? Introduction: Orders of Time and Regimes of Historicity Orders of Time 1 1. Making History: Sahlins's Islands 2. From Odysseus's Tears to Augustine's Meditations 3. Chateaubriand, Between Old and New Regimes of Historicity Orders of Time 2 4. Memory, History, and the Present 5. Heritage and the Present Our Doubly Indebted Present: The Reign of Presentism Notes Index

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Book SynopsisThis is a very thorough account of the experience of the Jews of Europe during World War II. It is virtually a day-by-day account, in men and women's own words, of the horrifying events of the Holocaust - the Nazi attempt to exterminate the Jewish race.

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Book Synopsis''Bracingly apocalyptic stuff: atmospheric, chock-full of information and with a constantly escalating sense of pace and tension'' Sunday TelegraphSimon Winchester''s brilliant chronicle of the destruction of the Indonesian island of Krakatoa in 1883 charts the birth of our modern world. He tells the story of the unrecognized genius who beat Darwin to the discovery of evolution; of Samuel Morse, his code and how rubber allowed the world to talk; of Alfred Wegener, the crack-pot German explorer and father of geology. In breathtaking detail he describes how one island and its inhabitants were blasted out of existence and how colonial society was turned upside-down in a cataclysm whose echoes are still felt to this day.

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Book SynopsisMary Beard is one of the world's best-known classicists - a brilliant academic, with a rare gift for communicating with a wide audience both though her TV presenting and her books. In a series of sparkling essays, she explores our rich classical heritage - from Greek drama to Roman jokes, introducing some larger-than-life characters of classical history, such as Alexander the Great, Nero and Boudicca. She invites you into the places where Greeks and Romans lived and died, from the palace at Knossos to Cleopatra's Alexandria - and reveals the often hidden world of slaves. She takes a fresh look at both scholarly controversies and popular interpretations of the ancient world, from The Golden Bough to Asterix. The fruit of over thirty years in the world of classical scholarship, Confronting the Classics captures the world of antiquity and its modern significance with wit, verve and scholarly expertise.Trade ReviewWith such a champion as Beard to debunk and popularise, the future of the study of classics is assured * Daily Telegraph *She's pulled off that rare trick of becoming a don with a high media profile who hasn't sold out, who is absolutely respected by the academy for her scholarship ... what she says is always powerful and interesting * Guardian *witty, erudite collection...To Beard, the classical past is alive and kicking - and she has the great gift of being able to show just why classics is still a subject worth arguing about * Sunday Times *an irrepressible enthusiast with a refreshing disregard for convention * FT *She stands in the great tradition of myth-puncturing Latin classicists * New York Review of Books *Beard is the best...communicator of Classics we have * Independent on Sunday *highly engaging * Sunday Telegraph *sparkling * The Lady *so engaging, and at times so very funny -- Edith Hall * Times *this is the perfect introduction to classical studies, and deserves to become something of a standard work in the future * Observer *

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Book SynopsisThe history of the Normans began a long time before 1066. Originating from the 'Norsemen' they were one of the most successful warrior tribes of the Dark Ages that came to dominate Europe from the Baltic Sea to the island of Sicily and the borders of Eastern Europe. Beginning as Viking raiders in the eighth century, the Normans not only changed the landscape of Europe but were changed by their new conquests. As a military force they became unstoppable. As Conquerors, they established their own kingdom in Normandy from where they set out on a number of devastating campaigns, where they also introduced innovations in politics, architecture and culture. In A Brief History of the Normans leading French historian, Francois Neveux, gives an accessible and authoritative introduction.

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

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Book SynopsisA short and vivid biography, which deconstructs the Napoleonic myth and reveals the reality of his rule.'Written with his customary verve and certainty' Andrew Roberts, SUNDAY TELEGRAPHWritten with great wit and panache, this biography also has a serious purpose: to make us face up to the moral bankruptcy of Napoleon's dictatorship. Johnson tells the whole story: his astonishing gift for battle tactics and his complete control of propaganda. His audacious, hyperactive and aggressive leadership alongside his failure as an international statesman, as Europe grew to hate him. His marshals and ministers; his wives, mistresses. The mistakes he made; the escape from Elba, and the world-changing events leading up to Waterloo and the battle itself. This riveting account is a fascinating look at one of the most notorious military leaders of all time.Trade ReviewIt is lucidly written, and enlivened by personal details and well-chosen quotations -- William Doyle * TLS *Written with his customary verve and certainty -- Andrew Roberts * SUNDAY TELEGRAPH *Thoughtful and incisive * INDEPENDENT *

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Book Synopsis''Man perishes; his corpse turns to dust; all his relatives pass away. But writings make him remembered''In ancient Egypt, words had magical power. Inscribed on tombs and temple walls, coffins and statues, or inked onto papyri, hieroglyphs give us a unique insight into the life of the Egyptian mind. Egyptologist Toby Wilkinson has freshly translated a rich and diverse range of ancient Egyptian writings into modern English, including tales of shipwreck and wonder, obelisk inscriptions, mortuary spells, funeral hymns, songs, satires and advice on life from a pharaoh to his son. Spanning over two millennia, this is the essential guide to a complex, sophisticated culture.Translated with an Introduction by Toby WilkinsonTrade ReviewUntil now few people beyond specialists have been able to read the texts, many of them inaccessible within tombs ... hieroglyphs were pictures but they conveyed concepts in as sophisticated a manner as Greek or Latin script, [Toby Wilkinson] said. Filled with metaphor and symbolism, they reveal life through the eyes of the ancient Egyptians. Tales of shipwreck and wonder, first-hand descriptions of battles and natural disasters, songs and satires make up the anthology. -- Dalya Alberge * The Guardian *This book offers a taste of the vast body of ancient Egyptian literature. In addition to glamorous accounts of war and royalty, it's packed with extraordinarily personal tales of life and the social anxieties of the time. -- Caitlin Hu * Quartz *

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Book SynopsisAn eyewitness account of one of the greatest-ever battles as a few men under the Knights of St John took on a huge Turkish armada. This is the history of one of the great battles of the world, written by a private soldier who was an eye-witness. The siege of Malta was a crucial moment in the long struggle between Islam and Christendom for domination of the Mediterranean, fought out by unequal forces on the small island which commands the sea-routes at the centre of that sea. The Knights of St John were a survival from the medieval world, the largest of the surviving crusading orders,and they had been driven out of their base on Rhodes in the eastern Mediterranean after a great onslaught by the Turks in 1522. Now, forty-three years later, the Turkish ruler, Suleyman the Magnificent, who had been the victor atRhodes, was determined to finish them off. He sent out a huge armada, carrying the pick of his army, under two commanders. Against this powerful force, the Knights could only raise a handful of men and mercenaries, and had to depend on the fortifications they had raised in the thirty-five years since they first came to Malta, which bore no comparison to the massive walls and ditches on Rhodes. Francisco Balbi di Correggio was a humble soldier of fortune who enlisted under the charismatic command of the Grand Master of the Order, Jean de la Valette. The extraordinary drama that unfolded after the first appearance of the Turkish fleet in the summer of 1565 is told in his own words, giving equal credit to the courage and leadership of the Knights and the grim determination of the ordinary people of Malta.Trade ReviewThis is a carefully-presented, well-translated and well-edited book, with an excellent commentary to accompany the original source documents. [...] Thanks are due to Boydell Press for making this serious academic publication available. * BRITISH BULLETIN OF PUBLICATIONS *Will serve as a useful primary source for undergraduates and as well as for scholars. * SIXTEENTH CENTURY JOURNAL *An extremely welcome reprint...of a seminal work on the subject and the prime reference source for all those who have written about the 1565 siege. An extremely readable account. * CASEMATE *

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Book SynopsisThe first dictionary of medieval terms intended for the non-specialist with an interest in the medieval world. An interest in the middle ages often brings the non-specialist reader up short against a word or term which is not understood or only imperfectly understood. This dictionary is intended to put an end to all that: it has been designed to be of real help to general readers and specialists alike. The dictionary contains some 3,400 terms as headwords, ranging from the legal and ecclesiastic to the more prosaic words of daily life. Latin was the language of the church, law and government, and many Latin terms illustrated here are frequently found in modern books of history of the period; similarly, the precise meaning of Old English and Middle English terms may elude today's reader: this dictionary endeavours to provide clarity. In addition to definition, etymologies of many words are given, in the belief that knowing the origin and evolution of a word gives a better understanding. There are also examples of medieval terms and phrases still in use today, a further aid to clarifying meaning. CHRISTOPHER COREDON has also compiled the Dictionary of Cybernyms. Dr ANN WILLIAMS, historical consultant on the project, was until her retirement Senior Lecturer in medieval history at the Polytechnic of North London.Trade ReviewWill attract any student and teacher and librarian keen to get a reasonably-priced all-purpose quick reference guide to some 3,000-4,000 terms regularly used in, and often found in, sources from and about the Middle Ages. [...] A dictionary, then, very clear to use, general-purpose as well as a useful desk-source for the expert, and suitable for the academic library where the medieval period is seriously studied. * LIBRARY REVIEW *A superb example of clarity and concision...with a generous and readable layout. * TLS *[Intended] to provide the enthusiast with a guide to medieval language.it succeeds magnificently. [...] It is an invaluable resource. * HISTORICAL NOVELS REVIEW *Whoever reads about medieval subjects will wish to own this handy and reliable reference work, and all reference libraries should have it. * INTERNATIONAL REVIEW OF BIBLICAL STUDIES *A very useful book. * REFERENCE REVIEWS *Has many good points; [and is] a pleasure to browse through. [...] More than fulfils its promise to be of assistance to any non-academic reader of history and as such should be on the shelf of all avid readers of medieval history. * JNL of the AUSTRALIAN EARLY MEDIEVAL ASSOCIATION *This wondrous dictionary...an excellent and accessible publication that would greatly enhance any historical collection. www.randlesreviews.co.uk * . *

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Book SynopsisChange - sometimes gentle and subtle, sometimes shocking and violent - is the dynamic of Simon Schama's unapologetically personal and grippingly written history of Britain, especially the changes that wash over custom and habit, transforming our loyalties. What makes or breaks a nation? To whom do we give our allegiance and why? And where do the boundaries of our community lie - in our hearth and home, our village or city, tribe or faith? What is Britain - one country or many? Has British history unfolded 'at the edge of the world' or right at the heart of it?Schama delivers these themes in a form that is at once traditional and excitingly fresh. The great and the wicked are here - Becket and Thomas Cromwell, Robert the Bruce and Anne Boleyn - but so are countless more ordinary lives: an Irish monk waiting for the plague to kill him in his cell at Kilkenny; a small boy running through the streets of London to catch a glimpse of Elizabeth I. The first in a series, this volume paints a rich and vivid portrait of the life of the British people and their nation.Trade ReviewAn exciting, intensely seductive presentation of history. * Independent *He remains a master storyteller, admirably and sceptically well read in current revisionist histories, and a wonderful guide to a new history of Britain. * The Times *A History of Britain, its text supplemented by wonderful illustrations, affords the rare joy of witnessing a scholar at the peak of his powers convincing the reader that he has a cracking good tale to tell and that he is loving every minute of the telling. * Literary Review *Simon Schama's A History of Britain is far more than the book of the TV series... The book is far richer and fuller, covering a huge span so economically that there is room for plenty of arresting detail... It is the sort of vivid history that keeps you awake. * Daily Mail *Remarkably vivid pictures... A decade on, Schama's study remains a terrific read. -- Paul Lay * History Today *

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Book SynopsisThe Face of Battle is military history from the battlefield: an imperishable account of the direct experience of individuals at 'the point of maximum danger'. It examines the physical conditions of fighting, the particular emotions and behaviour generated by battle, as well as the motives that impel soldiers to stand and fight rather than run away. In this stunningly vivid reassessment of three battles, John Keegan conveys their reality for the participants, whether facing the arrow cloud of Agincourt, the levelled muskets of Waterloo or the steel rain of the Somme.Trade ReviewThe book which changed how military history is written. Keegan set out to discover what it must have been like to be present at Agincourt, Waterloo and the Somme - and he succeeded brilliantly. -- Bernard Cornwell (Chosen as number one of his six best books) * Daily Express *This without any doubt is one of the half-dozen best books on warfare to appear in the English language since the end of the Second World War. -- Michael Howard * Sunday Times *In this book, which is so creative, so original, one learns as much about the nature of man as of battle. -- J. H. Plumb * New York Times Book Review *

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Book SynopsisThe last Ice Age, which came to an end about 12,000 years ago, swept the bands of hunter gatherers from the face of the land that was to become Britain and Ireland, but as the ice sheets retreated and the climate improved so human groups spread slowly northwards, re-colonizing the land that had been laid waste. From that time onwards Britain and Ireland have been continuously inhabited and the resident population has increased from a few hundreds to more than 60 million. Britain Begins is nothing less than the story of the origins of the British and the Irish peoples, from around 10,000BC to the eve of the Norman Conquest. Using the most up to date archaeological evidence together with new work on DNA and other scientific techniques which help us to trace the origins and movements of these early settlers, Barry Cunliffe offers a rich narrative account of the first islanders - who they were, where they came from, and how they interacted one with another. Underlying this narrative throughout is the story of the sea, which allowed the islanders and their continental neighbours to be in constant contact. The story told by the archaeological evidence, in later periods augmented by historical texts, satisfies our need to know who we are and where we come from. But before the development of the discipline of archaeology, people used what scraps there were, gleaned from Biblical and classical texts, to create a largely mythological origin for the British. Britain Begins also explores the development of these early myths, which show our ancestors attempting to understand their origins. And, as Cunliffe shows, today''s archaeologists are driven by the same desire to understand the past - the only real difference is that we have vastly more evidence to work with.Trade ReviewThere are clear and helpful illustrations, and there is enough information here to fill any semester-long course on the history of England, or rather Albion. * NJCSS Journal *Table of ContentsPreface ; 1. In the Beginning: Myths and Ancestors ; 2. Britain Emerges: the Stage is Set ; 3. Interlude: Enter the Actors ; 4. Settlement Begins 10,000 - 4200 BC ; 5. New People, New Ideas 4200 - 3000 BC ; 6. Mobilizing materials: a New Connectivity 3000 - 1500 BC ; 7. Interlude: Talking to Each Other ; 8. The Productive Land in The Age of Warriors 1500 - 800 BC ; 9. Episodes of Conflict 800 - 60 BC ; 10. Interlude: Approaching the Gods ; 11. Integration: the Roman Episode 60 BC - AD 350 ; 12. 'Its Red and Savage Tongue', AD 350 - 650 ; 13. The Age of the Northmen AD 600 - 1100 ; 14. Of Myths and Realities: an epilogue ; A Guide to Further Reading ; Index

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Book Synopsis''I will do as the Senate decrees.''These words from one of Rome''s opponents encapsulate the authority Rome achieved by its subjugation of the Mediterranean. The Third Macedonian War, recounted in this volume, ended the kingdom created by Philip II and Alexander the Great and was a crucial step in Rome''s eventual dominance. For Livy, the story is also a fascinating moral study of the vices and virtues that hampered and promoted Rome''s efforts in the conflict. He presents the war not so much as a battle against Perseus, Alexander''s last and unworthy successor, than as a struggle within the Roman national character. Only traditional moral strength, embodied in Lucius Aemilius Paullus, the general who ultimately defeats Perseus, ensures the Roman victory.This edition also includes the Periochae, later summaries of Livy''s entire original 142-book history of Rome from its founding to the age of Augustus (of which only 35 books survive).The complete Livy in English, available in five volumes from Oxford World''s Classics. ABOUT THE SERIES: For over 100 years Oxford World''s Classics has made available the widest range of literature from around the globe. Each affordable volume reflects Oxford''s commitment to scholarship, providing the most accurate text plus a wealth of other valuable features, including expert introductions by leading authorities, helpful notes to clarify the text, up-to-date bibliographies for further study, and much more.

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Book SynopsisIn Books 6 to 10 of his monumental history of Rome, Livy deals with the period in which Rome recovered from its Gallic disaster to impose mastery over almost the entire Italian peninsula in a series of ever greater wars. Vivid portrayals of personalities, politics, warfare, and religion bring 4th-century Italy vividly alive in this new translation.

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Book SynopsisThe Death of Yugoslavia is a survey of the pressures and events that contributed to the break-up of former Yugoslavia, considered from a historical rather than a political or sociological point of view.

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Book SynopsisPart of the Penguin History of Britain series, An Imperial Possession is the first major narrative history of Roman Britain for a generation. David Mattingly draws on a wealth of new findings and knowledge to cut through the myths and misunderstandings that so commonly surround our beliefs about this period. From the rebellious chiefs and druids who led native British resistance, to the experiences of the Roman military leaders in this remote, dangerous outpost of Europe, this book explores the reality of life in occupied Britain within the context of the shifting fortunes of the Roman Empire.

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Book SynopsisFollowing Rome's long road to peace after decades of civil war, Cassius Dio provides the fullest account of the reign of the first emperor in Books 50 through 60 of his Roman History.For more than seventy years, Penguin has been the leading publisher of classic literature in the English-speaking world. With more than 1,700 titles, Penguin Classics represents a global bookshelf of the best works throughout history and across genres and disciplines. Readers trust the series to provide authoritative texts enhanced by introductions and notes by distinguished scholars and contemporary authors, as well as up-to-date translations by award-winning translators.Table of ContentsRoman History: The Reign of AugustusIntroduction by John CarterBibliographical NoteAcknowledgmentsA Note on the TextThe Roman HistoryNotesChronological TableList of ConsulsKey to Place-NamesMaps1. Italy2. North-West Europe3. Germany4. South-East and Western Anatolia5. The Middle East6. North-Western Africa7. Egypt8. The Balkans9. South Russia10. Plan of Rome11. SpainIndex

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Book SynopsisA three-volume study of the Holocaust. First published in 1961, Raul Hilberg's account of how Germany annihilated the Jewish community of Europe spurred discussion and shaped the field of Holocaust studies. This expanded edition includes new material, particularly from archives in Eastern Europe.

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Book SynopsisA new, fully updated edition of the world's leading guide to the historical sites of the Holy Land, providing the ultimate guide to all the main Jewish, Christian, and Muslim sites.Trade ReviewAll who plan to visit the Holy Land in the coming years should buy a copy of this excellent guide * J. Day, Journal for the Study of the Old Testament *Table of ContentsPART 1; PART 2

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Book SynopsisRobert Service is the author of Lenin: A Biography, and Russia: Experiment with a People and is the author of numerous other books on Russian history, including his History of Twentieth Century Russia

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Book SynopsisA survey of the Spanish Inquisition, that sets the notorious Christian tribunal into the broader context of Islamic and Jewish culture in the Mediterranean, reassesses its consequences for Jewish culture, measures its impact on Spain's intellectual life, and rebuts the myths and exaggerations that have distorted understandings of the Inquisition.Trade Review"Kamen’s 1965 The Spanish Inquisition set a standard of clarity and objectivity in a traditionally contentious field. This new edition, the fruit of 50 years of scholarship and meditation, corrects with hard facts and penetrating analysis many entrenched myths about Spain and her 350-year-long Inquisition. It will set the agenda for the next generation of Spanish intellectual historians."—David Gitlitz, author of Secrecy and Deceit: The Religion of the Crypto-Jews"Kamen's work remains the most accessible, comprehensive, and substantively argued English-language introduction to the Spanish Inquisition."—Kimberly Lynn, Western Washington University

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Book Synopsis"The Radical Enlightenment" was a set of ideas which helped lay the foundations of the modern world on the basis of equality, democracy, secularism, and universality. This study by cultural historian, Jonathan Israel, shows how Spinoza and his thought set the intellectual current towards the political revolutions of the later 18th century.Trade ReviewThe tributes which Israel has received for Radical Enlightenment are thoroughly merited; this book will become a modern classic upon the subject. * David J. Sturdy, Cultural and Social History 2004-2006 *Deserves to be widely read because it is an example of ground-breaking vastly well-informed and thoroughly new history * David Horspool, The Guardian *The scholarship is breathtaking. Israel has read everything, absorbed every nuance, followed up every byway ... Five years from now, our views of the Enlightenment will have been enormously influenced by Israel. * Peter Watson, New Statesman *There is much to praise in Israel's majestic account of the Enlightenment and his detective work in placing Spinoza at the heart of it. * A.C. Grayling, FT Weekend *Magnificent and magisterial, Radical Enlightenment will undoubtedly be one of truly great historical works of the decade. * John Adamson, Sunday Telegraph *We have gained a much more detailed and fine-grained view of the sheer diversity and intellectual creativity not just amongst those who may have been influenced by Spinoza, but also amongst their critics, and those who may be deemed part of either the moderate Enlightenment or even a Counter-Enlightenment. * Professor Thomas Munck, Reviews in History *Table of ContentsI. THE 'RADICAL ENLIGHTENMENT'; II. THE RISE OF PHILOSOPHICAL RADICALISM; III. EUROPE AND THE 'NEW' INTELLECTUAL CONTROVERSIES 1680-1720; IV. THE INTELLECTUAL COUNTER-OFFENSIVE; V. THE CLANDESTINE PROGRESS OF THE RADICAL ENLIGHTENMENT 1680-1750

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Book SynopsisPerhaps the most readable history ever written' Time OutLords of the Horizons charts the Ottoman Empire''s swirling epic history; dramatic detailed and alive a journey, and a world all in one.The Ottoman Empire has long exerted a strong pull on Western minds and hearts. For over six hundred years the Empire swelled and declined; rising from a dusty fiefdom in the foothills of Anatolia to a power which ruled over the Danube and the Euphrates with the richest court in Europe. But its decline was prodigious, protracted, and total.A fascinating read...a perfect companion for anyone who visits Turkey and wants to make sense of it' The TimesTrade ReviewA fascinating read... a perfect companion for anyone who visits Turkey and wants to make sense of it and those countries it once ruled' * The Times *As plush as a Turkish carpet... Godwin weaves together the threads of barbarism and civilisation with dazzling panache -- Piers Brendon * Mail on Sunday *So rich, so detailed and so astonishing as to be a book of wonders in itself -- Jan Morris * Independent *Perhaps the most readable history ever written on anything * Time Out *

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

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Book SynopsisA moving and extraordinary book about courage and survival, friendship and endurance a portrait of ordinary women who faced the horror of the holocaust together.On an icy morning in Paris in January 1943, a group of 230 French women resisters were rounded up from the Gestapo detention camps and sent on a train to Auschwitz the only train, in the four years of German occupation, to take women of the resistance to a death camp. Of the group, only 49 survivors would return to France. Here is the story of these women told for the first time. A Train in Winter is a portrait of ordinary people, of their bravery and endurance, and of the friendships that kept so many of them alive. A story of stunning courage, generosity and hope' Mail on SundaySerious and heartfelt...profound' Sunday TimesTrade ReviewThis serious and heartfelt book does deliver on its promise of a tale of how female friendship "can make the difference between living and dying"... Profound -- Brian Schofield * Sunday Times *A harrowing but also uplifting shared story of friendship, courage and endurance * Independent *A story of stunning courage, generosity and hope. They risked their lives to defeat Fascism, by printing subversive literature, hiding Jewish friends or, in the case of one girl, simply insulting a French youth because he had decided to co-operate with the Nazis. The price they paid for their bravery was terrible. A Train in Winter could have been a sad, almost morbid book. In Moorehead's expert hands it is a triumphant one -- Kathryn Hughes * Mail on Sunday *Compassionate, meticulous and compulsively enthralling... This book is essential reading. The litany of names at the end, with their brief biographies (Yolande, Cecile, Poupette, Mitzy, Lucie...) reminds us weeping is not enough. It bears witness - and warns -- Bel Mooney * Daily Mail *Moorehead tells her appalling story in measured prose that sets off perfectly the reader's growing sense of wonder that such heroism is possible * Guardian *

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Book SynopsisCairngorms: A Secret History is a series of journeys exploring barely known human and natural stories of the Cairngorm Mountains. It looks at a unique British landscape, its last great wilderness, with new eyes. History combines with travelogue in a vivid account of this elemental scenery. There have been rare human incursions into the Cairngorm plateau, and Patrick Baker tracks them down. He traces elusive wildlife and relives ghostly sightings on the summit of Ben Macdui. From the search for a long-forgotten climbing shelter and the locating of ancient gem mines, to the discovery of skeletal aircraft remains and the hunt for a mysterious nineteenth-century aristocratic settlement, he seeks out the unlikeliest and most interesting of features in places far off the beaten track. The cultural and human impact of this stunning landscape and reflections on the history of mountaineering are the threads which bind this compelling narrative together.Trade Review'Describing a series of walks, Baker illuminates the bleak landscape, revealing the many stories linked to its ruined bothies, ancient gem mines and even haunted summits' * FT Weekend *'Packed with great stories and vivid descriptions' * Scotland Outdoor *'Exploring the Cairngorms has been a lifetime fascination for Patrick Baker and in this book he generously shares the results' * Scotland Magazine *

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Book SynopsisThe Oxford Handbook of the History of International Law provides an authoritative and original overview of the origins, concepts, and core issues of international law. The first comprehensive Handbook on the history of international law, it is a truly unique contribution to the literature of international law and relations. Pursuing both a global and an interdisciplinary approach, the Handbook brings together some sixty eminent scholars of international law, legal history, and global history from all parts of the world. Covering international legal developments from the 15th century until the end of World War II, the Handbook consists of over sixty individual chapters which are arranged in six parts. The book opens with an analysis of the principal actors in the history of international law, namely states, peoples and nations, international organisations and courts, and civil society actors. Part Two is devoted to a number of key themes of the history of international law, such as peace and war, the sovereignty of states, hegemony, religion, and the protection of the individual person. Part Three addresses the history of international law in the different regions of the world (Africa and Arabia, Asia, the Americas and the Caribbean, Europe), as well as ''encounters'' between non-European legal cultures (like those of China, Japan, and India) and Europe which had a lasting impact on the body of international law. Part Four examines certain forms of ''interaction or imposition'' in international law, such as diplomacy (as an example of interaction) or colonization and domination (as an example of imposition of law). The classical juxtaposition of the civilized and the uncivilized is also critically studied. Part Five is concerned with problems of the method and theory of history writing in international law, for instance the periodisation of international law, or Eurocentrism in the traditional historiography of international law. The Handbook concludes with a Part Six, entitled People in Portrait, which explores the life and work of twenty prominent scholars and thinkers of international law, ranging from Muhammad al-Shaybani to Sir Hersch Lauterpacht.The Handbook will be an invaluable resource for students and scholars of international law. It provides historians with new perspectives on international law, and increases the historical and cultural awareness of scholars of international law. It is the standard reference work for the global history of international law.Trade ReviewThe Handbook on the History of International Law is an excellent and up-to-date contribution to a broad topic that has increasingly attracted the interest of academia in the last years. The editors certainly succeeded in bringing together a broad range of renowned experts on the various fi elds covered. It certainly deserves its place in the bookshelves of any international lawyers library. * Ralph Janik, Austrian Review of International and European Law Online *Shelley's interlocutor in Ozymandias paints a bleak picture of the fate which has befallen the Pharaoh's statue: 'Nothing beside remains. Round the decay / Of that colossal wreck, boundless and bare / The lone and level sands stretch far away ' ... Thanks to interventions such as those organised by Fassbender and Peters in this excellent volume, the historians of international law need not fear such a fate befalling their discipline-indeed, its future has never seemed brighter or more vibrant. * Cameron A. Miles, The British Yearbook of International Law *By any measure, the book is a substantial achievement, and it will be widely and rewardingly consulted for many years to come. * Jacob Katz Cogan, University of Cincinnati, American Journal of International Law *Impressive and timely volume * Rose Parfitt, Global Law Books *The volume does a marvelous job of hemming the topic in, but pays a price for its breadth and the erudition of its contributors by leaving the reader ungratefully greedy for further contextualization and (historical) policy detail - sparking this hunger in the reader though is a true vindication of a handbook of this sort. * Wouter P. F. Schmit Jongbloed, ASIL Cables *The Oxford Handbook of the History of International Law innovatively and comprehensively provides a timely and ambitious global history of international law from the sixteenth century to the mid-twentieth century. Under the skilled editorship of Bardo Fassbender and Anne Peters, the contributors, experts who themselves come from all parts of the world, present a history that imagines international law as the product of different regions, cultures, actors, and eras. Setting a new agenda for the field, the Handbook will be the indispensable starting point for students and researchers exploring the history of international law. * ASIL Award Citation *There is no doubt that The Oxford Handbook of the History of International Law will become what editors and authors intended," the new standard reference work for the global history of international law," provides the reader with a broad spectrum of useful information on a high level which is not easily assembled. * Karl Heinz Ziegler, German Yearbook of International Law *Table of ContentsPART ONE: ACTORS; PART TWO: THEMES; PART THREE: REGIONS; I. AFRICA AND ARABIA; II. ASIA; III. THE AMERICAS AND THE CARIBBEAN; IV. EUROPE; V. ENCOUNTERS; PART FOUR: INTERACTION OR IMPOSITION; PART FIVE: METHODOLOGY AND THEORY; PART SIX: PEOPLE IN PORTRAIT

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Book SynopsisRead this book and the world''s most famous image will never look the same again. For the world''s greatest cultural icon still has secrets to reveal - not the silly secrets that the ''Leonardo loonies'' continue to advance, but previously unknown facts about the lives of Leonardo, his father, Lisa Gherardini, the subject of the portrait, and her husband Francesco del Giocondo. From this factual beginning we see how the painting metamorphosed into a ''universal picture'' that became the prime vehicle for Leonardo''s prodigious knowledge of the human and natural worlds. We learn about the new money of the ambitious merchant who married into the old gentry of Lisa''s family. We discover Lisa''s life as a wife and mother, her association with sexual scandals, and her later life in a convent. We meet, for the first time, previously undiscovered members of Leonardo''s immediate family and discover new information about his early life. The tiny hill town of Vinci is placed before us, with itTrade ReviewKemp analyses the painting as a key to all of Leonardos thinking and works, describing it as the 'window of the soul', in which is reflected all the knowledge acquired by the artist-scientist in the course of his life spent in the study of anatomy, optics, perspective, geology, atmosphere, hydrology and the science of painting. * Pietro C. Marani, The Burlington Magazine *Elegantly-produced study. * Richard Owen, The Tablet *This well-researched book is also highly readable: after so many bunkum theories, the sober truth about the Mona Lisa's origins comes across as surprisingly radical and refreshing. * Alastair Smart, Prospect *Riveting reading... This book is a veritable mine of information. Beautifully written, it reaches out in an engaging and fluid way to those who know relatively little about the subject, whilst still imparting fascinating new evidence to the more experienced on the origins of the painting, and also about Mona Lisa herself. It is not just a further paean to 'the most famous painting in the world', it also offers to the reader a rich and tantalising picture of the world in which Leonardo da Vinci inhabited, and the huge part that an insignificant bourgeois woman, Mona Lisa del Gioconda, played in history. * Sandra Callard, On: Yorkshire Magazine *This book is state of-the-art informative and will be mightily useful for students. * James Hall, Literary Review *A model of clear-headed rationality, succinct, intriguing and marvellously readable. * Michael Bird, Daily Telegraph *[Kemp & Pallanti] marshal meticulous research into the family histories of painter, patron and subject; deep knowledge of the traditions and allusions of Renaissance art; and scientific analyses of the venerated object. * Philip Ball, Nature *Brings the portrait of the enigmatic Lisa into a sharper focus than ever before. * Ross King, Woodstock and Bladon News *Fascinating... revelatory... with their scholarly and fluent book Kemp and Pallanti have given Lisa Gherardini, mother and silk merchants wife, a new lease of authentic life and re-established the Mona Lisa as an extraordinary painting with ordinary origins. * Michael Prodger, The Sunday Times *[A] stimulating study grounded in documentary and literary sources, not to mention the painting itself.Readable and informative, this book is invaluable for offering a better understanding of the painting.Essential * na, CHOICE *Table of ContentsPreface Acknowledgments Introduction 1: Old Gentry and New Money: Lisa and Francesco 2: Leonardo from Vinci 3: Ser Piero and Francesco 4: An intermittent History 1: Renaissance Records 5: An intermittent History 2: The Rise to Fame 6: From Portrait to Poetry 1: Dolce still nuovo 7: From Portrait to Poetry 2: Painter and Poets 8: The Universal Picture 9: Close Observation: Science Intervenes Conclusion Index Further Reading

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Book SynopsisThe history of Ancient Babylonia in ancient Mesopatamia is epic. After playing host to three great empires, the Hammurabic and Kassite empires, and the Neo-Babylonian Empire ruled by Nebuchadnezzar, it was conquered by the Persians. Entered triumphantly by Alexander the Great, it later provided the setting for the Conquerer''s deathbed. Squabbled over by his heirs, Babylonia was subsequently dominated by the Parthian and Roman empires.In this Very Short Introduction, Trevor Bryce takes us on a journey of more than 2,000 years across the history and civilization of ancient Babylonia, from the emergence of its chief city, Babylon, as a modest village on the Euphrates in the 3rd millennium BC through successive phases of triumph, decline, and resurgence until its royal capital faded into obscurity in the Roman imperial era. Exploring key historical events as well as the day-to-day life of an ancient Babylonian, Bryce provides a comprehensive guide to one of history''s most profound civilizations. 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 ReviewIntroductory, readable, no footnotes. Excellent for the general reader seeking a starting point. * Ancient East & West *Fast-paced and gripping, written by a master scholar, this is a sweeping yet concentrated history of Babylon and Babylonia in the full context of the ancient Near East, from Sumerians to Romans. Jam-packed with details, maps, and interesting information, from Hammurabi's Law Code to Nebuchadnezzar's Ishtar Gate and beyond, this brief volume is well worth reading and rereading! * Eric H. Cline, George Washington University *Table of ContentsIntroduction 1: The Old Babylonian Period 2: Babylonian Society through the perspective of Hammurabi's Laws 3: Old Babylonian Cities 4: The Kassites 5: Writing, Scribes and Literature 6: The Long Interlude 7: The Neo-Babylonian Empire 8: Nebuchadnezzar's Babylon 9: In the Aftermath Appendix: Astrology and astronomy Chronology of major events, periods, and rulers Further Reading References Index

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Book SynopsisThe Special Boat Squadron was Britain''s most exclusive Special Forces unit during World War II. Highly trained, totally secretive, and utterly ruthless, the SBS was established as an entity in its own right in early 1943, having previously operated under the auspices of the SAS during the war in North Africa. Unlike its sister unit, which numbered more than one thousand men, the SBS never comprised more than one hundred. Led by men such as the famed Victoria Cross recipient Anders Lassen, the SBS went from island to island in the Mediterranean, landing in the dead of night in small fishing boats and launching savage hit-and-run raids on the Germans. By the end of the war they had served in Italy, the Balkans, and mainland Greece, and following the cessation of hostilities, their deeds were airbrushed out of history by an establishment that had never warmed to their piratical exploits. Through unrivaled access to the SBS archives and interviews with the surviving members ofTable of ContentsDedication /Acknowledgements /Introduction /Chapter 1. Birth of the Boat Service /Chapter 2. From Service to Squadron /Chapter 3. Sick in Sardinia /Chapter 4. A Close Call in Crete /Chapter 5. Armistice and Uncertainty /Chapter 6. The Germans Fight Back /Chapter 7. Defeat in the Dodecanese /Chapter 8. New Recruits for a New Year /Chapter 9. Piracy on the High Seas /Chapter 10. Turkish Deceit for the SBS /Chapter 11. Caught, Questioned, Vanished /Chapter 12. Vengeance /Chapter 13. Germany on the Run /Chapter 14. Into the Balkans /Chapter 15. The Nazis’ Greek Tragedy /Chapter 16. Adriatic Offensive /Chapter 17. Andy Lassen’s Big War /Chapter 18. The End of the Odyssey /Glossary /Notes /Bibliography /Index

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Book SynopsisBob Woodward exposes one of the final pieces of the Richard Nixon puzzle in his new book The Last of the President's Men. Woodward reveals the untold story of Alexander Butterfield, the Nixon aide who disclosed the secret White House taping system that changed history and led to Nixon's resignation. In 46 hours of interviews with Butterfield, supported by thousands of documents, many of them original and not in the presidential archives and libraries, Woodward has uncovered new dimensions of Nixon's secrets, obsessions and deceptions. Butterfield provides the intimate details of what it was like working and living just feet from the most powerful man in the world as he sought to navigate the obligations to his president and the truth of Nixon's obsessions and deceptions.The Last of the President's Men could not be more timely and relevant as the public in America and around the world quest

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Book SynopsisIslam is the only major world religion that resists the juggernaut of alcohol consumption. In many Islamic countries, alcohol is banned; in others, it plays little role in social life. Yet, Muslims throughout history did drink, often to excess—whether sultans and shahs in their palaces, or commoners in taverns run by Jews or Christians. This evocative study delves into drinking’s many historic, literary and social manifestations in Islam, going beyond references to ‘hypocrisy’ or the temptations of ‘forbidden fruit’. Rudi Matthee argues that alcohol, through its ‘absence’ as much as its presence, takes us to the heart of Islam. Exploring the long history of this faith—from the eight-century Umayyad dynasty to Erdoğan’s Turkey, and from Islamic Spain to modern Pakistan—he unearths a tradition of diversity and multiplicity in which Muslims drank, and found myriad excuses to do so. They celebrated wine and used it as a poetic metaphor, even viewing alcohol as a gift from God—the key to unlocking eternal truth. Drawing on a plethora of sources in multiple languages, Matthee presents Islam not as an austere and uncompromising faith, but as a set of beliefs and practices that embrace ambivalence, allowing for ambiguity and even contradiction.Trade Review'[A] sensitive and nuanced exploration of the inner lives of people with whom, though remote in time and place from us, we would have enjoyed sharing a drink.' -- Asian Review of Books‘This evocative study delves into drinking’s many historic, literary and social manifestations in Islam.’ -- H-Net'That Islamic culture makes no room for alcohol is a myth that has long clouded views of and within Islam. Rudi Matthee debunks this myth with the deftness and authority we have come to expect from one of our most accomplished scholars of Islamic cultures. Intoxicatingly good.' -- Christopher de Bellaigue, author of 'The Islamic Enlightenment' and 'The Lion House''Matthee's fascinating study of wine and wine-drinking in the Muslim world explores not only production and consumption but a rich culture of poetic ecstasy and revelry. Erudite and yet accessible, this outstanding book will find its deserved place within a growing body of sociocultural histories.' -- Abbas Amanat, William Graham Sumner Professor of History Emeritus, Yale University, and author of 'Iran: A Modern History''An excellent and important book covering the entire history of Islam and a very large part of the Islamic world. Drawing on a wide variety of sources, it is engaging and well written throughout.' -- Devin Stewart, Professor of Arabic and Islamic Studies, Emory College of Arts and Sciences'The first comprehensive engagement with the history of alcohol in the Islamic world, from the early days of the revelation to the nuances of contemporary alcohol policy and practice in major Muslim-majority countries. A novel, timely and compelling contribution.' -- Maziyar Ghiabi, Senior Lecturer in Medical Humanities and Politics, University of Exeter

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Book SynopsisMichael Hoffen is the youngest-ever recipient of the annual Emerson Prize, awarded by the Concord Review for outstanding promise in history. While still in middle school he was introduced to the joys of translating ancient texts and never looked back. During the pandemic, Michael decided to embark on an ambitious project to bring ancient Egyptian literature to life outside the classroom. Be A Scribe! is Michael's first book in a series intended for young readers. When not chasing down new stories to translate or write, Michael enjoys biking, swimming, and rock climbing. He lives with his family in New York. Dr. Christian Casey is an Egyptologist who specializes in the study of ancient Egyptian languages. He obtained his PhD in Egyptology from Brown University in 2020 and now works as a researcher at Freie Universität Berlin. He is especially interested in sharing the exciting world of ancient Egypt with young people and other interested members of the public. <

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Book SynopsisTrade Review"Winner of the Fondazione Roma Sapienza Book Prize""Longlisted for the Runciman Award, Anglo-Hellenic League""[A] transformational account."---Abigail Green, London Review of Books"Isabella’s book resists sub-disciplinary pigeonholing. At a push, it might be described as a peculiarly richly-textured combination of social, political, intellectual, institutional and cultural history. It adds up to a genuinely new history of revolutionary cultures in post-Napoleonic Europe, and it is, in a word, brilliant."---Alex Middleton, The Critic"[A] pathbreaking book."---Andrew Moravcsik, Foreign Affairs"[A] very considerable achievement."---Roger Price, Intelligence and National Security"An impressive book. . . . Exemplary of how revolutions and revolutionary culture should be studied. . . .[The] book will no doubt become a standard work for future research on the age of (counter)revolution."---Matthijs Lok, Austrian History Yearbook"An ambitious, highly analytical study of revolutionary movements in Southern Europe during the early 19th century." * Choice Reviews *"With magisterial fairness, Isabella assesses the ultimate failure and legacy of these revolutions, showing how they were a vital checkpoint on the road to defining representative government and our democratic practices."---Ambrogio A. Caiani, Shepherd.com

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Book Synopsis‘A wonderful gallery of period items related to the Titanic and Olympic, presented and shared by some of the top researchers and collectors in the field. Many of these items are quite rare or unique, and are not often seen by the general public.’ – Bill Wormstedt, co-author of Recreating the TitanicThe basic facts of the Titanic’s story are well known: in April 1912 the largest ship in the world, described as ‘practically unsinkable’, set off on her maiden trip to New York. She would never make it there. Instead she would strike an iceberg just days into her journey and sink to the depths of the North Atlantic Ocean, taking nearly 1,500 people with her. She would remain there undisturbed for seventy-three years.Titanic Collections: Fragments of History is a two-part series showcasing rare and important artefacts relating to the history of RMS Titanic. Many collectors prefer to hide their treasures away, but the items presented in these beautiful books have been gathered by six well-known and respected researchers, authors, historians and collectors who want to share their acquisitions with the world.The Ship focuses on artefacts relating to the Titanic herself, ranging from carpet squares and floor tiles to crockery and bath tickets. Each beautifully photographed item brings the story of the Titanic to life, and all come together as a museum for your bookshelf.Trade ReviewA wonderful gallery of period items related to the Titanic and Olympic, presented and shared by some of the top researchers and collectors in the field. Many of these items are quite rare or unique, and are not often seen by the general public. -- Bill Wormstedt * co-author of Recreating the Titanic *In Titanic Collections: Fragments of History, the authors have shared generously from their extensive collections. We see rare objects which bring to life Titanic’s story – her brief life and its disastrous end. Highly recommended! -- Mark Chirnside * author of Olympic, Titanic, Britannic: An Illustrated History of the Olympic Class Ships *In an era where so many items disappear into private collections, never to be seen again, it is a pleasure to be able to experience the story of the brief life of Titanic in such an engaging and unique way … The esteemed group of authors behind Titanic Collections: Fragments of History has done a great service. -- Tad Fitch * co-author of On a Sea of Glass: The Life and Loss of the RMS Titanic *

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Book SynopsisFrom the Highlands of Scotland to the plains of northern India, Castles of the World is a beautiful examination of past worlds viewed through strongholds that continue to enrich the modern landscape. They evoke an imagined age of aristocratic warriors and noble aspirations. Presented in a handy, pocket-sized format, arranged chronologically and illustrated with more than 200 colour photographs, Castles of the World examines more than 150 fortifications from across the world, from Cathar castles and Alpine schlösser to Norman keeps and Samurai strongholds. Discover how the 13th-century Eilean Donan Castle in Scotland was destroyed during the Jacobite rebellion of 1719; learn about Turkey’s Marmaris Castle, built in 1522 by Suleiman the Magnificent to support his attack on neighbouring Rhodes; and explore the Mughal-constructed Red Fort in Delhi, home of Muslim rulers from 1648 until 1803, and today a symbol of Indian nationalism.Table of ContentsIntroduction Ancient Forts Maiden Castle, near Dorchester, Dorset, England Chittorgarh, Rajasthan, India Masada, Judea, Israel Euryalus, near Syracuse, Sicily, Italy Qasr al-Hayr al-Sharqi, Homs Governorate, Syria Early Medieval Castles Pembroke Castle, Pembrokeshire, Wales Château de Chillon, Lake Geneva, Switzerland Mehrangarh, Jodhpur, Rajasthan, India Rayen Castle, Iran Bam Citadel, Iran Berat Citadel, Albania Alcazar Castle, Segovia, Spain Hochosterwitz Castle, Austria Blagai Castle, Bosnia Herzegovina Rabati Castle, Georgia Warwick Castle, England Corfe Castle, England Rudkhan Castle, Iran Kantara Castle, Cyprus Burg Gussing, Austria Elz Castle, Trier, Germany Edinburgh Castle, Scotland Guaita Fortress, San Marino Leeds Castle, Kent, England Crusader's citadel, Island of Pharaohs, Egypt 1100s Krak des Chevaliers, Syria Trim Castle, Ireland Nafpaktos Castle, Greece Heidelberg Castle, Germany Bran Castle, Romania Conwy Castle, Wales La Iruela, Cazoria, Spain Late Medieval Genoese Fortress, Sudak, Crimea, Ukraine Beersel Castle, Belgium Belogradchik Fortress, Bulgaria Bodiam Castle, England Castle Stalker, Scotland Eilean Donan Castle, Scotland Karlstein Castle, Czech Republic Koluvere Castle, Estonia Malbork Castle, Poland Olavinlinna, Finland Early Modern Castles and Palaces Château de Pierrefonds, Oise, France Osaka Castle, Japan Camber Castle, Rye, East Sussex, England Chateau de Chambord, France Egskov Castle, Denmark Morro Castle, Havana, Cuba Red Fort, India Castillo San Felipe de Barajas, Colombia Castle of Good Hope, South Africa Four Metal Cross, Ghana Romantic Palaces and Modern Strongholds Citadelle Henry Christophe, Haiti Neuschwanstein, Bavaria, Germany Hohenschwangau, Bavaria, Germany Hohenzollern Castle, Germamy Bojnice Castle, Slovakia Palacio Da Pena, Sintra, Portugal Vajdahunyad Castle, Hungary Watchtower, Gull Bay, Torteval, Guernsey, Channel Islands Maunsell Forts, English Channel

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Book SynopsisDetailed chronology of William Bligh, Fletcher Christian and their explosive relationship.

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Book SynopsisIn this inspirational and practical guide to country life, passionate and hugely knowledgeable countryman Alan Titchmarsh explores the heritage of rural Britain, its landscapes and wildlife, its traditions, customs and crafts. The Lost Skills and Crafts Handbook will help you rediscover your love of the countryside, including:- a checklist of British butterflies and where to find them- how to keep chickens, ducks, goats and sheep- how to make soap, candles and your own herbal remedies- how to track animals and forage for food- essential knot tying- how to build a campfire without matches- how to create a kitchen garden- the origins of country superstitionsAnd much more. With beautiful line art illustrations throughout, this compendium of the British countryside and its delights will be an essential read for any nature lover in your life.

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