History Books

Book SynopsisA brilliantly researched and vividly written history of the English Civil Wars, from one of Britain''s most prominent Civil War historiansThe sequence of civil wars that ripped England apart in the seventeenth century was the single most traumatic event in this country between the medieval Black Death and the two world wars. Indeed, it is likely that a greater percentage of the population were killed in the civil wars than in the First World War. This sense of overwhelming trauma gives this major new history its title: God's Fury, England's Fire. The name of a pamphlet written after the king's surrender, it sums up the widespread feeling within England that the seemingly endless nightmare that had destroyed families, towns and livelihoods was ordained by a vengeful God that the people of England had sinned and were now being punished. As with all civil wars, however, God's fury' could support or destroy either side in the conflict. Was God angry at Charles I for failing to support the true, protestant, religion and refusing to work with Parliament? Or was God angry with those who had dared challenge His anointed Sovereign?Michael Braddick's remarkable book gives the reader a vivid and enduring sense both of what it was like to live through events of uncontrollable violence and what really animated the different sides. God's Fury, England's Fire allows readers to understand once more the events that have so fundamentally marked this country and which still resonate centuries after their bloody ending.

Read more less

Book SynopsisDrawn from Peter H. Lee's Sourcebook of Korean Civilization, Volume One, this abridged introductory collection offers students and general readers primary readings in the social, intellectual, and religious traditions of Korean from ancient times through the sixteenth century.Trade ReviewA monumental accomplishment. Korean Studies Beginning scholars of Asian Studies...will find this a challenging but worthwhile book to read. Korean QuarterlyTable of ContentsPreface Explanatory Note Contributors Part I. Three Kingdoms and Unified Silla 1. Origins of korean culture 2. The Rise of the Three Kingdoms 3. The Introduction of Buddhism 4. Consolidation of the State 5. The Rise of Buddhism 6. Poetry and Song 7. Local Clans and the Rise of the Meditation School Part II. Koryo Introduction 8. Early Koryo Political Structure 9. Koryo Society 10. Military Rule and Late Koryo Reform 11. Buddhism: The Ch'ont'ae and Chogye Schools 12. Popular Beliefs and Confucianists Part III. Early Choson Introduction 13. Founding the Choson Dynasty 14. Political Thought in Early Choson 15. Culture 16. Social Life 17. Economy 18. Thought 19. Buddhism Notes Bibliography Index

Read more less

Book SynopsisThe Top 10 Sunday Times BestsellerNOW A MAJOR MOTION PICTUREOscar Nominated For Best Picture and Best Adapted ScreenplaySet amid the civil rights movement, the never-before-told true story of NASA's African-American female mathematicians who played a crucial role in America's space program.Before Neil Armstrong walked on the moon, a group of professionals worked as Human Computers', calculating the flight paths that would enable these historic achievements. Among these were a coterie of bright, talented African-American women. Segregated from their white counterparts, these colored computers' used pencil and paper to write the equations that would launch rockets, and astronauts, into space.Moving from World War II through NASA's golden age, touching on the civil rights era, the Space Race, the Cold War, and the women's rights movement, Hidden Figures interweaves a rich history of mankind's greatest adventure with the intimate stories of five courageous women whose work forever changed Trade ReviewA TIME Magazine Top 10 Nonfiction Book of 2016 ‘Clearly fueled by pride and admiration, a tender account of genuine transcendence and camaraderie.The story warmly conveys the dignity and refinements of these women’ New York Times Book Review ‘Much as Tom Wolfe did in ‘The Right Stuff’, Shetterly moves gracefully between the women’s lives and the broader sweep of history … Shetterly blends impressive research with an enormous amount of heart in telling these stories … Genuinely inspiring book’ Boston Globe ‘A fascinating and important document about the hitherto unknown impact of NASA’s endeavours’ BBC Sky at Night magazine ‘Shetterly’s highly recommended work offers up a crucial history that had previously and unforgivably been lost. We’d do well to put this book into the hands of young women who have long since been told that there’s no room for them at the scientific table’ Library Journal ‘Inspiring and enlightening’ Kirkus ‘Exploring the intimate relationships among blackness, womanhood, and 20th-century American technological development, Shetterly crafts a narrative that is crucial to understanding subsequent movements for civil rights’ Publishers Weekly ‘This an is incredibly powerful and complex story, and Shetterly has it down cold. The breadth of her well-documented research is immense, and her narrative compels on every level. The timing of this revelatory book could not be better, and book clubs will adore it’ Booklist ‘Meticulous … the depth and detail that are the book’s strength make it an effective, fact-based rudder with which would-be scientists and their allies can stabilise their flights of fancy’ Seattle Times

Read more less

Book SynopsisA lavishly illustrated retrospective in celebration of 100 years since Judith Kerr's birth, author of The Tiger Who Came to Tea and many other iconic books.Judith Kerr was one of the best-loved authors and illustrators to ever put pencil to paper. The books she created, including The Tiger Who Came to Tea, Mog the Forgetful Cat, When Hitler Stole Pink Rabbit and many many more, have become classics of children's literature, loved by generations of readers.But what of the life behind the iconic characters? Judith's own story is riveting, from her early childhood in Berlin, dramatically cut short by the family having to flee the rising Nazi Party, to her time at the BBC in the 1950s and her long and happy marriage to the celebrated screenwriter Nigel Kneale, creator of British television's first major hit, The Quatermass Experiment.The joy of this very special book is in hearing this story from Judith herself, accompanied by a treasure trove of illustrations and memorabilia. All combine Trade Review“… captures the colourful innocence of the 1950s and 1960s, with its harlequin tights, squat stoves and fathers in hats…Kerr’s world is one in which the small and lost come to be treasured.” – The Times “176 large, beautiful pages of nostalgia for anyone who has been a child in the past half century.” – The Independent

Read more less

Book SynopsisThis book details the growth of the European Fur trade in North America and how it drew the Native Americans who lived in the Great Lakes region, notably the Huron, Dakota, Sauk and Fox, Miami and Shawnee tribes into the colonial European Wars. During the French and Indian War, the American Revolution, and the War of 1812, these tribes took sides and became important allies of the warring nations. However, slowly the Indians were pushed westward by the encroachment of more settlers. This tension finally culminated in the 1832 Black Hawk's War, which ended with the deportation of many tribes to distant reservations.Table of ContentsIntroduction /Tribal groups broken down by language /History: French Wars (1740s) – French-Indian War (1750s) – Pontiac’s Rebellion (1760s) – The American Revolution (1770s–80s) – The Prophet, Tecumseh, and the War of 1812 (1805–16) – The Black Hawk War and aftermath (1832–40) /Religion /Material culture /Indian leaders

Read more less

Book SynopsisDoomed queen of Henry VIII, mother to Elizabeth I, the epic story of Anne Boleyn.Anne Boleyn was the most controversial and scandalous woman ever to sit on the throne of England. From her early days at the imposing Hever Castle in Kent, to the glittering courts of Paris and London, Anne caused a stir wherever she went. Alluring but not beautiful, Anne's wit and poise won her numerous admirers at the English court, and caught the roving eye of King Henry. Anne was determined to shape her own destiny, first through a secret engagement to Henry Percy, the heir of the Earl of Northumberland, and later through her insistence on marriage with the king, after a long and tempestuous relationship as his mistress. Their love affair was as extreme as it was deadly, from Henry's 'mine own sweetheart' to 'cursed and poisoning whore' her fall from grace was total.Table of ContentsIntroduction 1. Sir Thomas Boleyn's Daughter 2. So Pleasing in Her Youthful Age 3. Mademoiselle Boleyn 4. A Secret Love 5. Fair Brunet 6. For Caesar's I Am 7. A King's Great Matter 8. The Night Crow 9. The Concubine 10. Pope in England 11. The Most Happy 12. Queen Anne 13. Rebels & Traitoresses 14. No More Boys by Her 15. Sick & Tired of the Concubine 16. Turned Trust to Treason 17. The Lady in the Tower 18. Out of Hell into Heaven Notes Bibliography List of Illustrations Index

Read more less

Book SynopsisWINNER OF THE POLITICAL BOOK AWARDS POLITICAL HISTORY BOOK OF THE YEAR 2014.Published to coincide with the fiftieth anniversary of the Profumo scandal, An English Affair is a sharp-focused snapshot of a nation on the brink of social revolution.Britain in 1963 Harold Macmillan was the Prime Minister of a Conservative government, dedicated to tradition, hierarchy and, above all, old-fashioned morality. But a breakdown of social boundaries saw nightclub hostesses mixing with aristocrats, and middle-class professionals dabbling in criminality. Meanwhile, Cold War paranoia gripped the public imagination.The Profumo Affair was a perfect storm, and when it broke it rocked the Establishment. In An English Affair', the author of the critically-acclaimed Titainic Lives' Richard Davenport-Hines brings Swinging London to life. The cast of players includes the familiar louche doctor Stephen Ward, good-time girls Christine Keeler and Mandy Rice-Davies, and Secretary for War John Profumo himself. BTrade ReviewIndependent on Sunday Books of the Year ‘Wonderful and exacting’ Mail on Sunday Books of the Year ‘A breakneck thriller and a brilliant dissection of the times’ Independent on Sunday Books of the Year ‘This is more than simply an overview of the affair…Davenport-Hines skewers an entire society’ ‘A wonderful evocation of the period; a Rolls-Royce ride, with that hugely enjoyable sense of a writer being op top of his material and perfectly attuned to his subject’ David Kynaston, author of ‘Austerity Britain’ ‘An outstandingly evocative portrait of a hinge moment in our recent history, as well as a treasure trove of anecdotes’ Dominic Sandbrook, Sunday Times ‘Fascinating … a meticulous and witty portrait of a society built on the shaky foundations of snobbery, suspicion, hypocrisy and sexual anxiety’ Mail on Sunday ‘Mesmerising. Brilliantly researched, irresistibly readable, fiercely polemical, ‘An English Affair’ ought to sit on the desk of everyone who voices a view on the entanglement of politics, media and celebrity … No book about the British past this year will cast a fiercer light on the British present’ Independent ‘His research is impeccable and the story told with lip-smacking relish’ Daily Express ‘A superb book’ Evening Standard ‘[The Profumo Affair] has found a marvellous chronicler in Davenport-Hines, an incisive writer with a terrific eye for detail’ Sunday Telegraph ‘[A] superb account of the scandal’ Mail on Sunday, ‘[This] livid, lurid but enthralling history of “sex, class and power in the age of Profumo” boasts a rare passion and bravado’ Independent ‘Davenport-Hines is superb on the English … His eye is as shrewd and telling as Anthony Powell’s’ Times ‘It is written in a wonderfully sharp and witty style, and packed with illuminating details’ Craig Brown, Books of the year, Daily Mail

Read more less

Book SynopsisThe Iranian Revolution of 1979 was a turning-point in modern history. The destruction of the Iranian monarchy not only upset the political order in the Middle East and brought on a quarter-century of warfare, but introduced a new way to look at history. In Days of God James Buchan lives each moment of the revolution through the eyes of ordinary people as he tries to answer his own troubling question: why did his friends, with their peculiar Iranian dreaminess and charm, act the way they did?Trade Review'James Buchan trains a more scientific eye on how Iran's wealth-creator king was replaced with a Shia divine uninterested in modern government. He mines the literature in Persian and English to better effect than any historian so far . . . Why did the shah's subjects not accept his notion of history racing to a conclusion in prosperity's glow? In this fine, elegantly written book, Mr Buchan lays out the answer in detail' * The Economist *'Marvellous book. It is hard to imagine anyone else possessing the combination of qualities Buchan brings. He has the journalist's analytical eye and the novelist's imagination . . . He can segue between the theology of Qom and the gossip of the Shah's improvised, petrodollar-funded Versailles, swooping all the while onto details either grim or hilarious or both at once that leave the reader scratching his head and wondering how the author can know so much . . . It is written with the ancient historian's ambition - the ambition that Gibbon, Macaulay and Marx would recognise - that the record of humanity's blunders and bloodbaths and half-understandings should itself be an object of elegance and ironic beauty' * Francis Spufford, Evening Standard *'Buchan's prose is excellent, with the vocabulary, range and atmosphere of a literary master, the clout of the sharp historian, and the ability to leaven history with fascinating snippets of intimate information, delightful, droll or horrifying. His research is thorough . . . This is a compelling, beautifully written history of a country which has produced great literature, art and a warm people whose lives have been manipulated by other countries with ulterior motives and by their own autocratic and theocratic dictators' * Independent *'This book comes alive with a wonderfully detailed and authoritative account of the Shah's final days and the murder and mayhem that followed' * The Spectator *'Sharply written and persuasive . . . Days of God offers a number of valuable, if frightening insights' * Scotsman *'Buchan enlists all his narrative skill, learning and panache in this story of modern Iran' * i *Praise for James Buchan:'James Buchan writes like a dream' * The Times *'A succinct elegant book, written in an easy, conversational tone which never makes its big ideas or profound implications seem intimidating' * Sunday Telegraph *'James Buchan's elegant prose sparkles on the page' * New Statesman *'Combines deft broad strokes with intricate details, shading in apparent dry subjects with innumerable and delightful anecdotes' * The Economist *'A soundly argued account of the causes, course and consequences of the revolution . . . Buchan, a Persian scholar and former Financial Times foreign correspondent, puts his first-hand experience of Iran to perceptive use' * Financial Times *'A superb and original history of the Iranian Revolution. It's essential reading' * Simon Sebag Montefiore, Mail on Sunday Books of the Year 2012 *'Buchan is capable of delivering assessment of stark precision' * Sunday Telegraph *'An elegant and textured analysis' * The Economist *'Buchan has a sure touch with narrative. Days of God is skilfully constructed, deftly weaving a path through the thickets of complex events while displaying the wider historical background against which this political earthquake was staged' * Literary Review *Rejecting theory, Buchan relies on old-fashioned virtues: a careful reading of the Persian and foreign sources, his immersion in the country's culture (he was a star Persionist at Oxford) and an instinct for the events and personalities that turned Iran from Middle East poster boy to society in upheaval. Buchan brings a keen, satirical eye to the story of a corrupt, intrigue-ridden court and a modernising Shah who cut through traditional Iran as if "the conflicts of centuries were being squeezed into half a dozen years" * Prospect *Elegant and pugnacious * Daily Telegraph *His story of the revolution is the best book on Iran I have ever read. He has the pen of the travel writer Robert Byron, and a trove of Persian poetry and lore shines from every page. Shafts of insight alternate with piercing wit, and his ironic dissection of both the shah and the ayatollah would do credit to Gibbon * Sunday Times *An outstanding analysis of the legacy of Iran's revolution * Sunday Times *Buchan's story of the Iranian revolution is the best book on Iran I have ever read * Sunday Times *

Read more less

Book SynopsisShipwrecks have captured our imagination for centuries. Here acclaimed historian Sam Willis traces the astonishing tales of ships that have met with disastrous ends, along with the ensuing acts of courage, moments of sacrifice and episodes of villainy that inevitably occurred in the extreme conditions. Many were freak accidents, and their circumstances so extraordinary that they inspired literature: the ramming of the Essex by a sperm whale was immortalized in Herman Melville's Moby Dick. Some symbolize colossal human tragedy: including the legendary Titanic whose maiden voyage famously went from pleasure cruise to epic catastrophe. From the Kyrenia ship of 300 BC to the Mary Rose, through to the Kursk submarine tragedy of 2000, this is a thrilling work of narrative history from one of our most talented young historians.Trade Review'The stories of these wrecks are fascinating and well told - even poetic. But it is what each tells us of the maritime world, naval history and the nature of warfare at sea that gives this selection its great interest and shows the erudition and intelligence of the author' Dr Oliver Walton, National Maritime Museum, Greenwich. * Dr Oliver Walton *

Read more less

Book SynopsisThe definitive biography of the world''s most important body of water the Atlantic.One hundred and ninety million years ago, the shifting of two of the world''s tectonic plates led to the creation of an immense chasm. This giant gash in the flanks of the planet slowly opened up and eventually evolved into the most important and most travelled ocean in our world.In this utterly original biography, Simon Winchester explores the life of the Atlantic; it''s birth, its relationship with mankind, and what lies in store for it once man has left the stage. He charts the development of the first settlements by the Oceanside the communities of Celts and Vikings and whose lives depended on the sea and delves into the age of exploration, venturing to forgotten worlds. The building of some of the world''s most beautiful port cities London, Rio de Janeiro, New York, Casablanca is also examined, along with the creation of settlements and colonies in and around the sea.Completely unique and highlTrade Review'Winchester unfolds this epic narrative with admirable simplicity: his prose style is conversational, and crackles with strange images. He marries even-handed scholarship with a gift for storytelling, neither dumbing down nor assuming any specific knowledge in his readership. This is from start to finish an enthralling book, and one that does justice to the magnitude of its subject' Edmund Gordon, Sunday Times 'Illuminating…a] wonderful, encyclopaedic book, pinpointing key moments in the narrative of an entire ocean and our relationship to it' Philip Hoare, Sunday Telegraph ‘[A] fabulous book’ Scotsman ‘An engaging account’ Mail on Sunday ‘[Winchester] is maddeningly gifted … a rollicking ride’ Washington Post ‘Enjoyable and richly informative’ Telegraph

Read more less

Book SynopsisAs Wartime' did for the 1940s, this book will grasp the broad spectrum of events in the 1930s in the words of contemporary witnesses drawn from metropolitan and provincial letters and diaries, newspapers, periodicals, books and the range of rich material available in the British Library.J.B. Priestley famously described the ''three Englands'' he saw in the 1930s: Old England, nineteenth-century England and the new, post-war England. Thirties Britain was, indeed, a land of contrasts, at once a nation rendered hopeless by the Depression, unemployment and international tensions, yet also a place of complacent suburban home-owners with a baby Austin in every garage.Now Juliet Gardiner, acclaimed author of the award-winning Wartime, provides a fresh perspective on that restless, uncertain, ambitious decade, bringing the complex experience of thirties Britain alive through newspapers, magazines, memoirs, letters and diaries.Gardiner captures the essence of a people part-mesmerised by ''moderTrade Review‘The cinematic clarity of Gardiner’s descriptions of accidents and ceremonies tells more about the decade than a page of statistics.…or the depth of its research, the quality of the writing and the sheer richness and vibrancy of the material, this is a quite outstanding work of social history’ Telegraph ‘It is comfortably the definitive account of a decade that has been much maligned’ Daily Telegraph ‘A definitive, vividly detailed book on a complex decade, which is a joy to read’ History Today

Read more less

Book Synopsis‘Engaging and highly entertaining’ Sunday Times The dramatic confrontation between the two 'mighty opposites' of the Victorian age, brilliantly recreated by a talented young historian. Gladstone and Disraeli were the fiercest political rivals of the modern age. Their intense hatred was ideological and deeply personal. Victorian Britain ruled the oceans and vast territories 'on which the sun never set'. The vitriolic duel between Gladstone and Disraeli was nothing less than a battle to lead the richest and most powerful nation on earth. To Disraeli, his antagonist was an 'unprincipled maniac' characterised by an 'extraordinary mixture of envy, vindictiveness, hypocrisy and superstition'. For Gladstone, his rival was 'The Grand Corrupter' whose destruction he plotted 'day and night, week by week, month by month'. Victorians were electrified by the confrontation. No wonder that when Lewis Carroll's Through the Looking-Glass appeared in 1871, so many readers recognised the great adversaries as the warring lion and unicorn 'fighting for the crown'. Richard Aldous gives us the first modern telling of this dramatic story of an intense and momentous rivalry. His vivid narrative style - at turns powerful, witty, stirring and theatrical - breathes new life into a familiar, half-remembered tale that is pivotal in Britain's island history. The Lion and the Unicorn is a brilliant rethinking of the Gladstone and Disraeli story for a new generation.Richard Aldous confirms a perennial truth: in politics, everything is personal.Trade ReviewA first-class historical drama, expertly told. * Literary Review *Engaging and highly entertaining. * Sunday Times *A hugely enjoyable joint biography. * Independent *Aldous does a splendid job of gleaning the ears of corn from earlier studies. * Daily Telegraph *A romp... a startling reworking of traditional views... Aldous has written an entertaining and thought-provoking book that reads like a novel. * Spectator *

Read more less

Book SynopsisTHE STORY OF ANDERS BREIVIK AND THE INSPIRATION FOR THE NETFLIX FILM 22 JULY, FROM THE BESTSELLING AUTHOR OF THE BOOKSELLER OF KABULOn 22 July 2011 Anders Behring Breivik killed 77 of his fellow Norwegians in a terrorist atrocity that shocked the world. One of Us is the definitive account of the massacres and the subsequent trial. But more than that, it is the compelling story of Anders Breivik and a select group of his victims. As we follow the path to their inevitable collision, it becomes clear just what was lost in that one day.SHORTLISTED FOR THE CWA NON-FICTION DAGGER 2015A NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER

Read more less

Book SynopsisThe Battle of Culloden has gone down in history as the last major battle fought on British soil: a vicious confrontation between Scottish forces supporting the Stuart claim to the throne and the English Royal Army. But this wasn''t just a conflict between the Scots and the English, the battle was also part of a much larger campaign to protect the British Isles from the growing threat of a French invasion. In Trevor Royle''s vivid and evocative narrative, we are drawn into the ranks, on both sides, alongside doomed Jacobites fighting fellow Scots dressed in the red coats of the Duke of Cumberland''s Royal Army. And we meet the Duke himself, a skilled warrior who would gain notoriety due to the reprisals on Highland clans in the battle''s aftermath. Royle also takes us beyond the battle as the men of the Royal Army, galvanized by its success at Culloden, expand dramatically and start to fight campaigns overseas in America and India in order to secure British interests; we see the revolutionary use of fighting techniques first implemented at Culloden; and the creation of professional fighting forces. Culloden changed the course of British history by ending all hope of the Stuarts reclaiming the throne, cementing Hanoverian rule and forming the bedrock for the creation of the British Empire. Royle''s lively and provocative history looks afresh at the period and unveils its true significance, not only as the end of a struggle for the throne but the beginning of a new global power.Trade ReviewTrevor Royle is an accomplished military historian of the 17th and 18th centuries, and of the martial Scots generally, and describes the Forty-five with shrewdness and balance . . . His prose is lyrical but hardheaded, and the people-centred narrative is always engaging -- Allan Mallinson * Spectator *[A] refreshing, incisive book . . . Royle's vivid narrative resembles a picaresque novel in which the characters are beset by unexpected strokes of good luck and misfortune -- Lawrence James * The Times *[An] excellent account . . . splendid history * Sunday Telegraph *Even someone tolerably well-acquainted with eighteenth century history is likely to find much that is new . . . Royle tells the story splendidly and makes his argument cogently. His book deserves a wide readership -- Allan Massie * Scotsman *This lovely, exciting book is the perfect introduction to Culloden and why it matters. Trevor Royle is a lucid, elegant writer who excels at explaining the tactics and techniques of warfare and the dynamics of battle * BBC History Magazine *An absorbing, fast-paced chronicle * History Revealed *

Read more less

Book SynopsisThe opening of the pioneering Liverpool and Manchester Railway in 1830 marked the beginning of the railways' vital role in changing the face of Britain. Fire and Steam celebrates the vision and determination of the ambitious Victorian pioneers who developed this revolutionary transport system and the navvies who cut through the land to enable a country-wide network to emerge. From the early days of steam to electrification, via the railways' magnificent contribution in two world wars, the chequered history of British Rail, and the buoyant future of the train, Fire and Steam examines the social and economical importance of the railway and how it helped to form the Britain of today.Trade ReviewA marvellously informative, entertaining and rightly partisan book... that has given me more pleasure than any I can remember in quite a while. -- Rod Liddle * Sunday Times *Expertly explored and explicated, Wolmar never forgets the human dimension... A beautifully written, detailed (but never anoraky) history of two centuries of life on the iron road. -- Judith Flanders * Daily Telegraph *From the prolific pen of the nation's most passionate and well-known advocate of rail transport and travel... rich in anecdotes without being anecdotal, firmly rooted and referenced in a broad knowledge of our railways yet still an entertaining read. -- Peter Lyth * BBC History Magazine *A wonderful account of how our railways came to be. -- Jon Snow

Read more less

Book Synopsis* A brilliant, colourful narrative history of a pivotal year in European historyTrade ReviewAcross Europe an unprecedented wave of revolutions toppled old orders from Krakow to Paris. This lively history gives an impressive overview and examines how those insurrections shape modern Europe * SCOTLAND ON SUNDAY *

Read more less

Book SynopsisCan you handle mornings without a brew? No? Multiply that. Imagine an entire population under a cloud of lethargy, unable to kick start their days. Now introduce coffee. Bingo. The brain moves into over-drive and it's time for empire building.So goes Stewart Lee Allen's crazy theory. Only thing is, after retracing coffee's journey to world domination - by train, rickshaw, cargo freighter and donkey - he has plenty of evidence to back it up.Stewart Lee Allen has filtered out the richest beans from coffee's hot and frothy history . . . serving up a steamy, high-energy brew that will stimulate you more than a triple-strength espresso.Trade Reviewthis is lively, interesting stuff, laced with dry wit and canny observations. * * Scotland on Sunday * *Stewart Lee Allen certainly delivers ... he cuts a caffeine-fuelled arc that runs from coffee's Ethiopian origins, through its Arabian distillation, across its European domestication, before terminating in a cross-country search for the worst cup of American coffee ... a funny book that takes some funny routes. * * The Independent * *Two parts travelogue and history to one part caffeine-fuelled theory ... From the genteel cafes of Vienna to wired, late night email conversations on the internet, the book celebrates coffee's ability to sharpen the mind and give society a jolt. Not just mocha do about nothing. * * The Face * *I loved this informal bio of the humble cup of joe... Allen's funky history provides the answer and sets the standard. * * Sunday Herald * *

Read more less

Book Synopsis

Read more less

Book SynopsisA lifetime's scholarship enabled John Morris to recreate a past hitherto hidden in myth and mystery. He describes the Arthurian Age as 'the starting point of future British history', for it saw the transition from Roman Britain to Great Britain, the establishment of England, Scotland, Ireland and Wales from the collapse of the Pax Romana. In exploring political, social, economic, religious and cultural history from the fourth to the seventh century, his theme is one of continuity. That continuity is embodied in Arthur himself: 'in name he was the last Roman Emperor, but he ruled as the first medieval king.'

Read more less

Book SynopsisIn 1322 Sir John Mandeville left England on a pilgrimage to Jerusalem. Thirty-four years later, he returned, claiming to have visited not only Jerusalem, but India, China, Java, Sumatra and Borneo as well.His book about that voyage, THE TRAVELS, was heralded as the most important book of the Middle Ages as Mandeville claimed his voyage proved it was possible to circumnavigate the globe.In the nineteenth century sceptics questioned his voyage, and even doubted he had left England.THE RIDDLE AND THE KNIGHT sets out to discover whether Mandeville really could have made his voyage or whether, as is claimed, THE TRAVELS was a work of imaginative fiction. Bestselling historian Giles Milton unearths clues about the journey and reveals that THE TRAVELS is built upon a series of riddles which have, until now, remained unsolved.Trade ReviewMilton 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 has a terrific eye for the kind of detail that can bring the past vividly to life'. * The Spectator *

Read more less

Book SynopsisOffers an overview and critique of the foreign policy of an emerging great power whose claims to rightness often spill over into self-righteousness, whose ambitions conflict with power realities, whose judgmentalism precludes the interests of other states, and whose domestic politics frequently prevent prudent policies and result in overstretch.Trade Review"A book about foreign policy by a man who really knows something about foreign policy." (New York Times) "A classic foreign policy text." (Washington Post Book World) "These celebrated lectures, delivered at the University of Chicago in 1950, were for many years the most widely read account of American diplomacy in the first half of the twentieth century." (Foreign Affairs, Significant Books of the Last 75 Years)"

Read more less

Book SynopsisWritten during the prolonged world war between totalitarian and democratic forces, this book takes up the question of how democracy as a political system can best be defended.Trade Review"I love him. He's one of my favorite philosophers." (President Barack Obama) "Dr. Niebuhr is in our time one of the ablest spokesmen among theologians. And he brings to his chosen task rare gifts and wide-ranging interests." (New Republic) "[A] clear and impressive statement of [Niebuhr's] views on fundamental political and social problems." (Spectator) "[A] brilliant and creative vindication of democracy... a theology of Western culture which remains intellectually unsurpassed." (Larry Rasmussen in Reinhold Niebuhr: Theologian of Public Life)"

Read more less

Book SynopsisRevolutionary practitioner, theorist, factional chief, sparkling writer, ‘ladies’ man’ (e.g., his affair with Frieda Kahlo), icon of the Revolution, anti-Jewish Jew, philosopher of everyday life, grand seigneur of his household, father and hunted victim, Trotsky lived a brilliant life in extraordinary times. Robert Service draws on hitherto unexamined archives and on his profound understanding of Russian history to draw a portrait of the man and his legacy, revealing that though his followers have represented Trotsky as a pure revolutionary soul and a powerful intellect unjustly hounded into exile by Stalin and his henchmen. The reality is very different, as this masterful and compelling biography reveals.

Read more less

Book SynopsisIt was the British victory at the Battle of El Alamein in November 1942 that inspired one of Winston Churchill's most famous aphorisms: 'This is not the end, it is not even the beginning of the end, but it is, perhaps, the end of the beginning'. And yet the significance of this episode remains unrecognised. In this thrilling historical account, Jonathan Dimbleby describes the political and strategic realities that lay behind the battle, charting the nail-biting months that led to the victory at El Alamein in November 1942. It is a story of high drama, played out both in the war capitals of London, Washington, Berlin, Rome and Moscow, and at the front in Egypt, Libya, Tunisia, Morrocco and Algeria and in the command posts and foxholes in the desert. Destiny in the Desert is about politicians and generals, diplomats, civil servants and soldiers. It is about forceful characters and the tensions and rivalries between them. Drawing on official records and the personal insights of those involved at every level, Dimbleby creates a vivid portrait of a struggle which for Churchill marked the turn of the tide - and which for the soldiers on the ground involved fighting and dying in a foreign land. Now available in paperback in time, Destiny in the Desert, which was shortlisted for the Hessell-Tiltman prize 2012-13, is required reading for anyone with an interest in the Desert War.Trade ReviewDimbleby takes the investigative and narrative approach - superbly paced and expressed - and is justifiably wary of academic certainties. -- Allan Mallinson * The Times *Read this fresh and provocative account and you'll be in little doubt that this was - for Britain - the single most critical battle of the Second World War. -- Peter SnowCovers a broad canvas - as wide as the desert itself. Dimbleby expertly weaves the dramatic events of the desert war together with the decisions and dilemmas of the great war leaders. He tells this story with real pace, drama and insight. -- Dr Niall Barr, author of Pendulum of War: The Three Battles of El AlameinAn engrossing read, focusing on grand strategy -- Martin Kitchen, author of Rommel's Desert WarDimbleby persuasively explains why it was the side-show which wasn't a side-show and links his explanation to a vivid portrayal of life - and death - in the desert -- Stephen Bungay, author of AlameinBy turns fascinating, thought-provoking and entertaining - and always beautifully written - 'Destiny in the Desert' explodes a number of self-serving myths about the Desert War and its apogee, the battle of El Alamein, while letting the reader appreciate why this incredible story has spawned so many of them. In their place emerges a tale of heroism and sacrifice, told from the point of view of the highest grand strategist down to the lowliest serviceman, which is far more entrancing than any comforting myth. Jonathan Dimbleby lets us see El Alamein anew. * Andrew Roberts *A wonderfully incisive, superbly written history that underlines the key role the Desert War played in Hitler's downfall. What Dimbleby has nailed so brilliantly is what so many war historians miss: the big picture. -- Saul David, author of All The King's MenInsightful * Choice *

Read more less

Book SynopsisAn order of warrior monks founded to protect pilgrims to Jerusalem, the Templars were among the wealthiest and most powerful bodies in the medieval world. Yet two centuries later, they were arrested, accused of blasphemy, heresy and orgies, and their leaders were burnt at the stake. Part guide, part history, this book investigates the Templar legends and legacy - from the mysteries of Solomon's Temple in Jerusalem, via nineteenth century development of the Freemasons, through to Templar appearances in Dan Brown and Indiana Jones. This book explains the whole context of Templar history, including the recent evidence discovered by the Vatican that the Templars were not guilty of heresy. It also features a guide to Templar castles and sites.Trade ReviewMichael Haag, in his well-knit narrative gets through an enormous spread of history * Daily Telegraph *An essential guide for anyone who wants a comprehensive guide to the Templars ... a perfect place to begin your quest. * Good Book Guide *Admirably comprehensive and balanced * Birmingham Mail *An intriguing and revealing work that surprises and entertains * Nottingham Evening Post *The true story of the templars, revealed in Haag's book, is even more astonishing than the legends they spawned * Waterstone's Books Quarterly *Michael Haag's comprehensive and considered book covers a multitude of topics related to the group... -- Fachtna Kelly * Sunday Business Post *

Read more less

Book SynopsisSexual desire has long played a key role in Western judgments about the value of Arab civilization. This title reveals the history of how Arabs represented their own sexual desires. It assembles a compendium of Arabic writing to chart the changes in Arab sexual attitudes and their links to Arab notions of cultural heritage and civilization.Trade Review"A pioneering work on a very timely yet frustratingly neglected topic.... I know of no other study that can even begin to compare with the detail and scope of [this] work." - Khaled El-Rouayheb, Middle East Report "In Desiring Arabs, Edward Said's disciple Joseph A. Massad corroborates his mentor's thesis that orientalist writing was racist and dehumanizing.... Massad brilliantly goes on to trace the legacy of this racist, internalized, orientalist discourse up to the present." - Financial Times"

Read more less

Book SynopsisIn 52 BC Caesar’s continued strategy of annihilation had engendered a spirit of desperation, which detonated into a revolt of Gallic tribes under the leadership of the charismatic young Arvernian noble Vercingetorix. Major engagements were fought at Noviodunum, Avaricum, and Gergovia, with the last action being the most serious reverse that Caesar faced in the whole of the Gallic War. However, Vercingetorix soon realized that he was unable to match the Romans in pitched battle. Taking advantage of the tribesmen’s superior knowledge of their home territory, Vercingetorix began a canny policy of small war and defensive manoeuvres, which gravely hampered Caesar’s movements by cutting off his supplies. For Caesar it was to be a grim summertime – his whole Gallic enterprise faced disaster. In the event, by brilliant leadership, force of arms, and occasionally sheer luck, Caesar succeeded in stamping out the revolt in a long and brutal action culminating in the siege of Alesia. Vercingetorix finally surrendered and Alesia was to be the last significant resistance to the Roman will. Never again would a Gallic warlord independent of Rome hold sway over the Celts of Gaul.Table of ContentsOrigins of the campaign /Chronology /Opposing commanders /Opposing armies /Orders of battle /Opposing plans /The campaign /Aftermath /The battlefields today /Further reading /Index

Read more less

Book SynopsisThe Atlas of the Irish Revolution is a landmark publication that presents scholarship on the revolutionary period in a uniquely accessible manner. Featuring over 200 original maps and 300 images, the Atlas includes 120 contributions by leading scholars from a range of disciplines. They offer multiple perspectives on the pivotal years from the 1912 Home Rule crisis to the end of the Irish Civil War in 1923. Using extensive original data (much of it generated from newly-released archival material), researchers have mapped social and demographic change, political and cultural activity, state and non-state violence and economic impacts. The maps also portray underlying trends in the decades before the revolution and capture key aspects of the revolutionary aftermath. They show that while the Irish revolution was a 'national' event, it contained important local and regional variations that were vital to its outcomes. The representation of island-wide trends stand alongside street-level, parish, county and provincial studies that uncover the multi-faceted dynamics at play.The Atlas also captures the international dimensions of a revolution that occurred amidst the First World War and its tumultuous aftermath. Revolutionary events in Ireland received global attention because they profoundly challenged the British imperial project. Key revolutionaries operated transnationally before, during and after the conflict, while the Irish diaspora provided crucial support networks. The often neglected roles of women and workers are illuminated, while commentators consider the legacies of the revolution, including collective memories, cultural representations and historical interpretations. The Atlas of the Irish Revolution brings history to life for general readers and students, as well as academics. It represents a ground-breaking contribution to the historical geography of these compelling years of conflict, continuity and change.Table of ContentsCONTENTSPreface President Michael D. HigginsINTRODUCTIONSection I BEFORE THE REVOLUTIONChapter 1 Nineteenth-century Ireland: transformed contexts and class structures (Willie Smyth)Chapter 2 Conflict, Reaction and Control in the Nineteenth Century: the archaeology of revolution (Willie Smyth)Box: Arrests Made Under the Protection of Persons and Property Act, between March 1881 and July 1882 (Frank Rynne)Case study: Living Conditions in 1911 as Reflected in the Census Record Urban and Rural Examples (Catriona Crowe)Chapter 3 Irish Elites: continuity and change (Peter Hession)Chapter 4 Violence and Moderation: the dilemmas of constitutional nationalism (Patrick Maume)Case study: Ranch War (Patrick Cosgrove)Chapter 5 Literary Revival (Margaret Kelleher)Case study: Theatre and the Coming Revolution (Lionel Pilkington)Chapter 6 The Gaelic Revival (Timothy McMahon)Box: The Coming Revolution: 1913 Oireachtas, Galway (Dara Folan)Chapter 7 Horace Plunkett, the Co-operative Movement and the Cultural Revival (Ray O'Connor and Noreen Byrne)Chapter 8 A Revolutionary Generation (Roy Foster)Case study: The Irish Republican Brotherhood (Owen McGee)Chapter 9 Feminism and Nationalism: women and political activism (Margaret Ward)Section II CRISIS Chapter 10 The Home Rule crisis (Frank Callanan)Case study: Curragh Mutiny (Frank Callanan)Chapter 11 'Ulster Will Fight' (Timothy Bowman)Case study: Ulster Solemn League and Covenant, 1912 (Martin Mansergh)Box: Ulster Women's Unionist Council (Diane Urquhart)Chapter 12 'They have rights who dare maintain them': the Irish Volunteers, 1913-15 (Gerry White)Box: Na Fianna Eireann (Marnie Hay)Case study: 'An Abundance of First Class Recruits': The GAA and the Irish Volunteers 1913-15 in County Kerry (Richard McElligott)Chapter 13 The Irish Volunteers in County Galway: evolution, growth and pre-revolutionary configuration, 1913-16 (Mark McCarthy and Shirley Wrynn)Chapter 14 Larkin, Connolly and the Cause of Labour (Emmet O'Connor)Case study: Lockout 1913 (Padraig Yeates)Box: The Irish Citizen Army 1913-16 (Ann Matthews)Box: The Labour Movement in Belfast, 1900-16 (John Gray)Section III WORLD WAR and the EASTER RISINGChapter 15 Ireland and the 'Greater War' (John Horne)Case study: Gallipoli (Myles Dungan)Box: Funeral of Jeremiah O'Donovan Rossa (Gabriel Doherty)Chapter 16 The Battle of the Somme and the Ulster Protestant Imagination (Phillip Orr)Chapter 17 Ireland's War and the Easter Rising in a European Context (Jerome aan de Weil)Case study: Rebellion, Objects, Empire and 1916 (Nicholas Allen)Chapter 18 The Easter Rising (Fearghal McGarry)Case study: Child Casualties 1916 (Joe Duffy) Box: The Irish Citizen Army in the Rising (Ann Matthews)Chapter 19 1916 Proclamation (John A. Murphy)Case study: Court Martial and Executions (Brian Barton)Box: The Rebel King Brothers of Liverpool (Padraig King)Chapter 20 Staging the Rising (Clair Wills)Case study: The Easter Rising in the French Press (Grace Neville)Chapter 21 Ernest Kavanagh (James Curry)Chapter 22 Britain's Irish Question (Ronan Fanning)Section IV THE RISING TIDE Chapter 23 A Political Revolution (Michael Laffan)Case study: Reorganiation of the Irish Volunteers, 1917 (John Borgonovo)Case study: Imprisonment, 1915-18 (William Murphy)Chapter 24 The Conscription Crisis and the General Election of 1918 (Pauric Travers)Case study: 'The day when Irish Labour found itself': the general strike against conscription, 23 April 1918 (Fiona Devoy-McAuliffe)Chapter 25 The First Dail (Mary Daly)Case study: Commission of Inquiry into Resources and Industries (Mary Daly)Case study: The Democratic Programme of the First Dail (Ruan O'Donnell)Section V WAR OF INDEPENDENCE (1)MILITARY DIMENSIONSChapter 26 The War of Independence (Joost Augusteijn)Case study: Brothers-In-Arms: The Tormeys (John Sheehan)Chapter 27 The British Army in Ireland (William Sheehan)Chapter 28 The Royal Irish Constabulary, Black and Tans and Auxiliaries (D.M. Leeson)Box: Reprisals (D.M. Leeson)Case study: Irish Newspapers (Ian Kenneally)Chapter 29 The Irish Republican Army (John Borgonovo)Chapter 30 Cumann na mBan in the War of Independence (Marie Coleman)Chapter 31 Ambushes in the War of Independence 1919-1921 (William Kautt)Chapter 32 Capture of Brigadier General Lucas (Aideen Carroll and Tom Toomey)Chapter 33 Michael Collins and the Intelligence War (Michael Foy)Box: Florence O'Donoghue (John Borgonovo)Box: Paddy O'Donoghue and Violet Gore's Wedding Photograph (John O'Connell)Case study: 'Spies and informers beware!' - IRA executions of alleged civilians spies during the War of Independence (Padraig Og O Ruairc)Chapter 34 Imprisonment and the War of Independence (William Murphy)Box: Hunger Strikes (Justin Stover)Chapter 35 The War of Independence and the Burning of Irish Country Houses, 1921 (Terence Dooley)Section VI. WAR OF INDEPENDENCE (2)POLITICAL, SOCIAL AND INTERNATIONAL PERSPECTIVESChapter 36 Politics in a Time of War (Michael Laffan) Case study: Dail Courts: a case study of mid Cork 1920-22 (Niall Murray)Box: The Belfast Boycott (Robert Lynch)Chapter 37 Making the Case for Irish Independence (Arthur Mitchell)Case study: Press Coverage from Abroad (Oliver O'Hanlon)Box: The Irish Bulletin (Ian Kenneally)Chapter 38 Losing a War it Never Fought: labour, socialism and the War of Independence (Donal O Drisceoil)Box: Land, Revolution and Counter-Revolution in the West of Ireland (Tony Varley)Chapter 39 The Catholic Church (Brian Heffernan)Chapter 40 The Friends of Irish Freedom (Michael Doorley)Case study: The Irish Revolution in Great Britain (Darragh Gannon)Chapter 41 The British perspective (Ronan Fanning)Section VII WAR OF INDEPENDENCE (3)REGIONAL PERSPECTIVESChapter 42 The Geography of the War of Independence (David Fitzpatrick)Chapter 43 Munster: a military overview (John O'Callaghan)Box: Creamery Attacks (Proinnsias Breathnach)Chapter 44 Cork (John Borgonovo)Box: An IRA Observation Post at Candroma, County Cork (Aidan Harte and Colm Chambers)Case study: Limerick (John O'Callaghan)Chapter 45 Leinster (Marie Coleman)Chapter 46 Dublin (Padraig Yeates)Case study: Longford (Marie Coleman)Chapter 47 Connacht (Conor MacNamara)Chapter 48 Sligo (Michael Farry)Case study: 'The terror' in Galway Town (Conor MacNamara)Chapter 49 Ulster (Robert Lynch)Chapter 50 Belfast (Robert Lynch)Case study: Tyrone (Fearghal McCluskey)Section VIII TREATY and CIVIL WAR Case study: The Anglo-Irish Treaty (Michael Kennedy)Chapter 51 The Politics of the Treaty Split and Civil War (Bill Kissane)Box: The IRA Convention, April 1922 (John Borgonovo)Chapter 52 Civil War: the opening phase (Michael Hopkinson)Box: Free State Versus Republic: the opposing armed forces in the Irish Civil War (Gerry White)Chapter 53 Final Phase of the Civil War (Michael Hopkinson)Case study: Michael Collins and the Civil War (T. Ryle Dwyer)Case study: Everyday Violence in the Civil War (Gemma Clark)Box: Imprisonment During the Civil War (William Murphy)Chapter 54 Locating the 'Lost Legion': IRA emigration and settlement after the revolution' (Gavin Foster)Section IX AFTER THE REVOLUTIONOUTCOMES AND LEGACIESChapter 55 Fatalities in the Irish Revolution (Andy Bielenberg)Chapter 56 The Irish Revolution and its Aftermath: the economic dimension (Eoin McLaughlin)Box: Ireland, India and Empire: international impacts of the Irish revolution (Kate O'Malley) Chapter 57 Southern Irish Protestant Experiences of the Revolution (Andy Bielenberg)Chapter 58 The Irish Free State: politics and government (J.J. Lee)Case study: Culture and Society (Terence Brown)Case study: Legion of the Rearguard: The IRA after the revolution (Brian Hanley)Box: Civil War Continued? The Blueshirts versus the IRA (Brian Hanley)Case study: Women in the Free State: gender and the legacy of revolution (Margaret Ward)Chapter 59 'Cold House': The Unionist counter-revolution and the invention of Northern Ireland (Brendan O'Leary)Case study: The Boundary Commission (Robert Lynch)Box: The IRA in the North (Brian Hanley)Case study: Women in Northern Ireland (Myrtle Hill)Section X HISTORY, MEMORY AND CULTUREChapter 60 Cultures of Commemoration: remembering the First World War in Ireland (Heather Jones)Chapter 61 Commemoration and the Irish Revolution (Roisin Higgins)Case study: 'Insurrection' on Irish Television (Luke Gibbons)Box: The Easter Lily (Roisin Kennedy)Chapter 62 The Historiography of the Irish Revolution (Gearoid O Tuathaigh)Case study: The Bureau of Military History (Eve Morrison)Case study: The Military Service Pensions Collection (Marie Coleman)Chapter 63 The Rebel Song (Fintan Vallely)Case study: The Gaelic Athletic Association and the Revolution (William Murphy)Chapter 64 Stories of the Irish Revolution (Frances Flanagan)Chapter 65 The Visual Culture of the Revolution (Roisin Kennedy)Box: The Death of Cuchulainn in the GPO (Roisin Kennedy)Case study: Film and the Irish Revolution (Kevin Rockett)

Read more less

Book Synopsis1314. On a marsh-fringed plain south of Stirling Castle, King Robert the Bruce led the Scottish army in a singularly devastating victory over the English. Bannockburn was Scotland's greatest battlefield triumph, achieved against the odds by a combination of brilliant tactical leadership and the fatal overconfidence of the English King, Edward II.On the 700th anniversary of the battle, Peter Reese's definitive history shines a spotlight on this pivotal moment in Scottish History and considers the wider implications of this momentous victory.Trade ReviewAn admirably vivid account of the Scots' greatest victory over the English . . .The measured, precise build-up makes the final eruption of violence all the more compelling and impresses upon the reader just how much was at stake on the battlefield of Bannockburn in the summer of 1314. * * Scotsman * *A cracker of a book, which reads like a novel yet has the authority of many a weightier tome * * Sunday Herald * *A thoroughly researched overview of this crucial period of Scotland's history . . . it is the sense of calm progression that makes this book so effective * * Scots Magazine * *Peter Reese has vision, insight and understanding. * * The Herald * *

Read more less

Book SynopsisImmaculée Ilibagiza grew up in a country she loved, surrounded by a family that she cherished.But in 1994 her idyllic world was ripped apart as Rwanda descended into bloody holocaust. Immaculée's family was brutally murdered during a killing spree that lasted three months and claimed the lives of nearly a million Rwandans. Incredibly, Immaculée survived the slaughter. For 91 days, she and seven other women huddled silently together in the cramped bathroom of a local pastor while hundreds of machete-wielding killers hunted for them.The triumphant story of this remarkable young woman's journey through the darkness of genocide will inspire anyone whose life has been touched by fear, suffering and loss. Following the transformation of her life in the ten year's since Left to Tell's first publication, this new edition of her bestselling memoir reflects on her spiritual transformation since those dark days.Trade ReviewImmaculee's searing account of her ordeal and survival is a moving testament to the indestructibility of the human spirit. The Times To have witnessed such horror, to have endured such agony and to have survived intact is almost beyond comprehension. The Daily Telegraph Rwanda's answer to Anne Frank. Catholic Times

Read more less

Book SynopsisWhat difference do individuals make to history? Are we all swept up in the great forces like industrialisation or globalisation, or is the world we inhabit shaped just as much by real people - leaders for example - and the decisions that they make? For better or for worse, the personalities of the powerful can affect millions of people and the future of countries: it matters who is in the driving seat, and who is making plans. Equally important: how is history itself made by those who keep the records? In History's People Margaret Macmillan explores the lives of the great and lesser-known figures of the past: men, women, explorers, rulers, dreamers, politicians, observers, campaigners. She looks at the concept of leadership, from Bismarck to Franklin Delano Roosevelt, but also at the role of observers such as Babur, first Mughal emperor of India, and asks how explorers and visionaries such as Fanny Parkes and Elizabeth Simcoe managed to defy or ignore the constraints of their own societies. And, in doing so, she uncovers the important and complex relationship between biography and history, and between individuals and their times. Like all the best history, this book will change the way you see the past, as well as your own times - and perhaps introduce you to some people you didn't know.Trade ReviewIrreverent and highly enjoyable * Observer *Combines erudition and enthusiasm * Independent *As entertaining and illuminating a work of popular history as one could possibly wish for * Prospect *She yet again shows that she is not only a consummate storyteller; she is also a brilliant historian * New Statesman *A wise and necessary book * The Times *Her enthusiasm ... really shines through. * Financial Times *Exhilarating * Guardian *

Read more less

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

Read more less

Book Synopsis

Read more less

Book SynopsisA monumental, wholly accessible work of scholarship that retells human history through the story of mankind's relationship with the sea.An accomplishment of both great sweep and illuminating detail, The Sea and Civilization is a stunning work of history that reveals in breathtaking depth how people first came into contact with one another by ocean and river, and how goods, languages, religions, and entire cultures spread across and along the world's waterways.Lincoln Paine takes us back to the origins of long-distance migration by sea with our ancestors' first forays from Africa and Eurasia to Australia and the Americas. He demonstrates the critical role of maritime trade to the civilizations of ancient Egypt and Mesopotamia, and the Indus Valley. He reacquaints us with the great seafaring cultures of antiquity like those of the Phoenicians and Greeks, as well as those of India, Southeast and East Asia who parlayed their navigational skills, shipbuilding techniques, and commercial acumen to establish vibrant overseas colonies and trade routes in the centuries leading up to the age of European overseas expansion. His narrative traces subsequent developments in commercial and naval shipping through the post-Cold War era. Above all, Paine makes clear how the rise and fall of civilizations can be traced to the sea.Trade ReviewA magnificently sweeping world history that takes us from the people of Oceania and concludes with the container. In contrast to most books on maritime history, the majority of The Sea and Civilization covers the history of the world before Columbus sailed the ocean blue and at least as much of the narrative focuses on Asia as it does on Europe. -- Ben Wilson * Daily Telegraph *The Sea and Civilization is, without doubt, the most comprehensive maritime history ever produced... Some of the most exciting history published today is by freelancers like Paine who can ignore the rules of academia * The Times *A brilliantly researched and ambitious affirmation of the sea and civilisation -- Philip Hoare * New Statesman *A true expert, Paine offers up treats... and drenches his pages with diverse, immersive detail -- Bettany Hughes * Prospect *The most enjoyable, the most refreshing, the most stimulating, the most comprehensive, the most discerning, the most insightful, the most up-to-date - in short, the best maritime history of the world. -- Felipe Fernández-ArmestoElegantly written and encyclopedic in scope, with an expert grasp of the demands of seamanship in every age, The Sea and Civilization deserves a wide readership. * Wall Street Journal *Fascinating and beautifully written . . . Paine steps back from [an] Eurocentric view to tell the story of maritime travel through the entire sweep of human history. . . With its richness of detail, [The Sea and Civilization offers] an eloquent vision of how the sea served as a path to the modern world. * Foreign Affairs *

Read more less

Book SynopsisJohn Churchill, the Duke of Marlborough (1644-1722), was one of the greatest military commanders and statesman in the history of England. His descendant, Sir Winston Churchill wrote this work as both an act of homage, and as an historical insight into the man behind the statesman.Trade Review"The greatest historical work written in our century, an inexhaustible mine of political wisdom and understanding, which should be required reading for every student of political science." - Leo Strauss, University of Chicago "Rarely in the history of historical writing have author and subject seemed so made for each other." - Henry Steele Commager

Read more less

Book SynopsisEmpedocles played a crucial role in the development of western culture; yet little is known or understood about this man, who lived in Sicily in the fifth-century BC. This is mainly becuase his teaching has been reconstructed by modern shcolars first and formost on the basis of Aristotle''s hostile reports - producing a picture which is disconnected and lacking in depth. Using material never exploited before, Peter Kingsley presents the first full-scale study of Empedocles to situate his fragmentary writings in their original context of philosophy as a way of life, mystery religion and magic, and of the struggle to realize one''s own divinity. This study also explores fresh evidence which proves Empedocles was not an isolated figure and reveals new links between his work and ancient Pythagoreanism. The process of establishing these links now makes it possible to demonstrate, in detail, the Pythagorean origin of Plato''s myths. Kingsley re-examines problems regarding the connections betTrade ReviewHighly polemical new book ... The thesis is argued with immense learning. * Times Higher Education Supplement *An original, lucid and intriguing narrative on Empedocles. * Phronesis *a remarkable, indeed pioneering, book which will compel scholars not only to re-examine the paradigms and traditional sources of evidence upon which they have hitherto relied, but also perhaps to question the category of philosophy itself as a viable notion outside the orbit of mystery, magic and myth ... Kingley's Ancient Philosophy is a brilliant, provocative, occasionally quirky, but gripping, urgent and important story which is bound to delight some and offend others. On these terms, it is a unique pioneering work which has all the ingredients to fall under Meyerhold's definition of a masterpiece. * Kevin Corrigan, University of Saskatchewan, European Review of History *a remarkable achievement: challenging, learned, and at the same time enthralling to read ... A consequence of K.'s approach, and one of the impressive things about his book, is that it is not just a book for the specialist in ancient philosophy. K.'s work will also be important for students of ancient religion and magic and for anyone interested in what made Sicilian and Western Greek culture distinctive in the fifth century. K. writes with elegance and vigour ... anyone with a serious interest in early Greek philosophy should read this book. * Anne Sheppard, Royal Holloway, University of London, The Classical Review, Vol. XLVI, No. 2, '96 *an original, lucid and intriguing narrative on Empedocles ... he has put forward a powerful, wide-ranging and coherent case that deserves a hearing, and at the least, a reassessment of the role of the western Presocratics in the history of philosophy. * Phonesis: A Journal for Ancient Philosophy, Vol. XLI, No. 1 1996 *Reading Kingsley's Ancient Philosophy, Mystery, and Magic is like walking into the middle of a rarefied discussion that has been going on for thousands of years. * Bruce Nelson, Parabola *a remarkable achievement: challenging, learned, and at the same time enthralling to read. ... A consequence of K.'s approach, and one of the impressive things about his book, is that it is not just a book for the specialist in ancient philosophy. K.'s work will also be important for students of ancient religion and magic and for anyone interested in what made Sicilian and Western Greek culture distinctive in the fifth century. ... Despite its learning, the book is one of the most readable academic works I have encountered. K. writes with elegance and vigour. ... anyone with a serious interest in early Greek philosophy should read this book. * The Classical Review *a remarkable, indeed pioneering, book which will compel scholars not only to re-examine the paradigms and traditional sources of evidence upon which they have hitherto relied, but also perhaps to question the category of philosophy itself as a viable notion outside the orbit of mystery, magic and myth. The work amasses, for the first time in this form, a truly impressive array of textual, archaeological, and papyrological evidence. ... Kingsley contrives to do this in such an interesting way that the reader is drawn artfully into the process of detection itself as into the unravelling of an urgent mystery. ... it is a unique pioneering work which has all the ingredients to fall under Meyerhold's definition of a masterpiece. * European Review of History, vol.3, no.2 *In this work Kingsley has brought a vast amount of scholarship to bear on the subject. ... Kingsley's work, while firmly rooted in the academic tradition, is unique in teasing out new insights from texts that have been studied but misunderstood for decades. Kingsley's scholarship is wide-ranging and impeccable ... provides a storehouse of new insights and expands our understanding of the complex background of Greek philosophical thought. Without doubt, its central arguments are compelling and backed up with an intimidatingly vast scholarly apparatus. ... this is without question an important volume that will stimulate discussion for many years to come. * Gnosis Magazine, Winter 1997 *This work is without doubt the most important book on Empedocles in recent years and one of the most significant in early Greek thought since the writings of F. Cornford saw the light of day. This book is of great significance for the study of early Greek thought and presents a major transformation of view as far as Empedocles and Pythagoras as well as the relation of Pythagoreanism to Plato are concerned ... the book of Kingsley is of singular importance in the study of the Islamic intellectual tradition, while being of an even greater singificance for the field of Greek and Western philosophy, since it challenges the commonly held view of the whole foundation of Western philosophical thought. * Seyyed Hossein Masr, George Washington University, The Journal of Islamic Studies, Vol. 8, No. 2 '97 *Dramatic and provocative. He presents a stimulating, learned, and wide-ranging interpretation of Empedocles and Pythagoreanism ... this book provides a great deal of information in a thoroughly original package. * Religious Studies Review *The author has successfully accumulated fairly extensive material and convincing arguements to make his point! * The Journal of Indo-European Studies *Remarkable book...it is good to have his researches gathered in one volume...there can be no doubt that Kingsley's book, precisely in cutting across the narrow boundries of classical studies and departing from the well-worn avenues by which we approach the history of ancient philosophy, poses a serious challenge for most future work in the field...Kingsley's book will be a hard act to follow...I cannot think of many scholars in ancient philosophy who could afford to ignore this book without peril; it is not recommended but required reading! * Ancient Philosophy *In this work Kingsley has brought a vast amount of scholarship to bear on the subject...Kingsley's work...is unique in teasing out new insights from texts that have been studied but misunderstood for decades. Kingsley's scholarship is wide-ranging and impeccable...provides a storehouse of new insights and expands our understanding of the complex background of Greek philosopical thought. Without doubt, its central arguements are compelling, and backed up with an intimidatingly vast scholarly apparatus...this is without question an important volume that will stimulate discussion for many years to come. * Gnosis Magazine *This is a most remarkable book, learned, discursive, but yet sharply focussed, on a subject which might seem to lend itself readily to various sorts of intemperate speculation ... this is splendid book, and one that should generate much discussion. * John Dillon, Trinity College, Dublin, Hermathena, no 164, summer 98 *

Read more less

Book SynopsisBelow Scotland's capital, hidden for almost two centuries, is a metropolis whose very existence was all but forgotten. For almost 250 years, Edinburgh was surrounded by a giant defensive wall. Unable to expand the city's boundaries, the burgeoning population built over every inch of square space. And when there was no more room, they began to dig down . . . Trapped in lives of poverty and crime, these subterranean dwellers existed in darkness and misery, ignored by the chroniclers of their time. It is only in the last few years that the shocking truth has begun to emerge about the sinister underground city.

Read more less

Book SynopsisMore than ever before, the Renaissance stands as one of the defining moments in world history. Between 1400 and 1600, European perceptions of society, culture, politics and even humanity itself emerged in ways that continue to affect not only Europe but the entire world. This wide-ranging exploration of the Renaissance sees the period as a time of unprecedented intellectual excitement and cultural experimentation and interaction on a global scale, alongside a darker side of religion, intolerance, slavery, and massive inequality of wealth and status. It guides the reader through the key issues that defined the period, from its art, architecture, and literature, to advancements in the fields of science, trade, and travel. In its incisive account of the complexities of the political and religious upheavals of the period, the book argues that Europe''s reciprocal relationship with its eastern neighbours offers us a timely perspective on the Renaissance that still has much to teach us todayTrade ReviewReview from previous edition a young Turk who likes to entertain . . . Brotton's book is full of arts and crafts . . .engaging and alluring . . .This is a Renaissance you can touch and feel * Sunday Times *energetic and committed agenda * Financial Times *offers some impressive fresh evidence * Independent *this is a Renaissance you can touch and feel * Felipe Fernandez-Armesto *Table of ContentsIntroduction ; 1. A global Renaissance ; 2. The humanist script ; 3. Church and state ; 4. Brave New Worlds ; 5. Science and Philosophy ; 6. Rewriting the Renaissance ; Timeline ; Further Reading ; Index

Read more less

Book SynopsisThis is a book about the Irish Question, or more specifically about Irish Questions. The term has become something of a catch-all, a convenient way to encompass numerous issues and developments which pertain to the political, social, and economic history of modern Ireland.The Irish Question has of course changed: one of the main aims of this book is to explore the complicated and shifting nature of the Irish Question and to assess what it has meant to various political minds and agendas. No other issue brought down as many nineteenth-century governments and no comparable twentieth-century dilemma has matched its ability to frustrate the attempts of British cabinets to find a solution; this inability to find a lasting answer to the Irish Question is especially striking when seen in the context of the massive shifts in British foreign policy brought about by two world wars, decolonization, and the cold war. Senia Paseta charts the changing nature of the Irish Question over the last 200 years, within an international political and social historical context. 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.Table of ContentsIntroduction: The Irish Question in Context ; 1. The Act of Union ; 2. The Catholic Question ; 3. The Land Question ; 4. The National Question ; 5. The New Nationalism ; 6. The Irish Revolution ; 7. The National Questions ; 8. New Acts of Union

Read more less

Book SynopsisA comprehensive history of the transformation of Russia's southern steppes from border territories to Empire.Trade ReviewThis innovative and fascinating book examines the relationship between Russia and its neighbors on the Eurasian steppe, which stretches from the northern Caucasus area into the Central Asian region of present-day Kazakhstan, from about 1500 to 1800. During these formative years, Russia's continual southern expansion into the borderlands helped transform it from a fragmented and weak frontier society into a formidable colonial empire. Kohdarkovsky (Loyola Univ.) considers the complex relationship between the Russian state and the indigenous nomadic and seminomadic societies that inhabited the steppe, emphasizing their fundamental differences in social organization, political and economic structures, and values. The author argues that Russia's southward expansion was, contrary to commonly accepted views, a deliberate process designed to colonize the new regions and to subdue their inhabitants. However, Russia's policies gradually changed during these three centuries from defending its vulnerable frontier against nomadic incursions to deliberate colonization by means of pacifying, settling, and converting the new subjects to Orthodox Christianity. Recommended for advanced undergraduates and above.September 2002 -- N. M. Brooks * New Mexico State University *Table of ContentsIntroduction1. The Sociology of the Frontier, or Why Peace Was Impossible2. Frontier Concepts and Policies in Muscovy3. Taming the "Wild Steppe," 1480-1600s4. From Steppe Frontier to Imperial Borderlands, 1600-18005. Concepts and Policies in the Imperial Borderlands, 1690s-1800ConclusionGlossaryList of AbbreviationsNotesBibliographyIndex

Read more less

Book SynopsisThis comprehensive examination of eighteenth and nineteenth-century architecture explores its extreme diversity within the context of tremendous social, economic and political upheaval. Bergdolls offers a penetrating analysis of the very ways issues of style functioned to make architecture one of the most vitally experimental of art forms in a period of sweeping political, social, and economic change. Never before had the functional requirements and expressive capacities of architecture been tested so thoroughly and with such diversity of invention. Bergdoll traces this experimentation in a broad range of contexts, focusing in particular on the relation of architectural design to new theories of history, new categories of scientific inquiry, and the broadening audience for architecture in this period of transformation. Unlike traditional surveys with long lists of buildings and architects, the themes are elucidated by in-depth coverage of key buildings which in turn are situated in both their local and European context.Trade Reviewit has an unrivalled consistency of argument ... this book makes a substantial contribution to present knowledge and provides a clear window on the one art form you cannot ignore.Table of ContentsINTRODUCTION; 1. NEOCLASSICISM: SCIENCE, ARCHAEOLOGY AND THE DOCTRINE OF PROGRESS; 2. WHAT IS ENLIGHTENMENT? THE CITY AND THE PUBLIC, 1750-1789; 3. SENSATIONALISM FROM LANDSCAPE GARDEN TO THE ARCHITECTURE OF REFORM, 1750-1800; 4. REVOLUTIONARY ARCHITECTURE; 5. NATIONALISM AND DEBATES ON ARCHITECTURAL STYLE; 6. HISTORICISM AND NEW BUILDING TYPES; 7. NEW TECHNOLOGY AND ARCHITECTURAL FORM; 8. THE CITY TRANSFORMED; 9. FIN-DE-SIECLE; BIBLIOGRAPHICAL ESSAY; TIMELINE; GLOSSARY; INDEX

Read more less

Book SynopsisThis is an authoritative and comprehensive guide to the history of theatre, ranging from Ancient Egyptian festivals to contemporary performance arts. Lavishly illustrated in black and white and colour throughout, this is the perfect book for theatre goer and student alikeTrade Reviewtellingly charts the impact not just of exceptional individuals but of social and economic factors and technological change on theatre. A spread of deftly selected illustrations informatively and handsomely embellishes the text. * TLS *Table of Contents1. THE FIRST THEATRES; 4. ITALIAN RENAISSANCE THEATRE; 8. EIGHTEENTH-CENTURY THEATRE; 12. ORIENTAL THEATRES

Read more less

Book SynopsisFirst published as part of the best-selling The Oxford Illustrated History of Britain, John Gillingham and Ralph A. Griffiths' Very Short Introduction to Medieval Britain covers the establishment of the Anglo-Norman monarchy in the early Middle Ages, through to England's failure to dominate the British Isles and France in the later Middle Ages.Table of Contents1. The Norman kings ; 2. The Plantagenet kings ; 3. Politics, law, and religion in the early Middle Ages ; 4. The economy in the early Middle Ages ; 5. England at war, 12901390 ; 6. Wealth, population, and social change in the later Middle Ages ; 7. Still at war, 1390-1490 ; 8. Towards a nation ; Further reading ; Chronology ; Genealogies of royal lines ; Index

Read more less

Book SynopsisDON'T MISS THE MAJOR FILM INSPIRED BY CHASE'S NARRATIVE, IN THE HEART OF THE SEA On 20 November 1820, just south of the equator, the whaling ship Essex, spotted and pursued a shoal of sperm whales. As the crew started harpooning, the largest whale – some 85 feet long – rammed the Essex twice and 'stove in her bows'. What followed was an epic three-month voyage in open boats across storm-tossed seas. Only eight men survived, sustained by eating those who died.This edition includes Owen Chases’s famous account, as well as memoirs by two other crew members and a facsimile of Herman Melville's notes on Chase’s narrative.Trade ReviewThe effect is kaleidoscopic. A vivid portrait emerges of the shipwrecked men's privatations and fundamental moral dilemma: literally to eat or be eaten -- Lawrence NorfolkChase's book still has an almost Biblical power * Mail on Sunday *An incredibly vivid journal of survival * Scotsman *The reading of this wondrous story...had a surprising effect on me -- Herman MelvilleWhen I found myself popping the notes I attach to potential quotes to virtually every page, I realised I might as well just deliver a rousing injunction to read the book for yourselves -- Christina Hardyment * Independent *

Read more less

Book SynopsisThis revised edition builds upon and updates its twin themes of Turkey's continuing incorporation into the capitalist world and the modernization of state and society. It begins with the forging of closer links with Europe after the French Revolution, and the changing face of the Ottoman Empire in the 19th century. Zurcher argues that Turkey's history between 1908 and 1950 should be seen as a unity, and offers a strongly revisionist interpretation of Turkey's founding father, Kemal Ataturk. In his account of the period since 1950, Zurcher focuses on the growth of mass politics; the three military coups; the thorny issue of Turkey's human right's record; the alliance with the West and relations with the European Community; Turkey's ambivalent relations with the Middle East; the increasingly explosive Kurdish question; and the continuing political instability and growth of Islam.

Read more less