History Books

Book SynopsisThe story of the Winter War between Finland and Soviet Russia is a dramatic David versus Goliath encounter. When close to half a million Soviet troops poured into Finland in 1939 it was expected that Finnish defenses would collapse in a matter of weeks. But they held firm. The Finns not only survived the initial attacks but succeeded in inflicting devastating casualties before superior Russian numbers eventually forced a peace settlement. This is a rigorously detailed and utterly compelling guide to Finland''s vital, but almost forgotten role in the cataclysmic World War II. It reveals the untold story of iron determination, unparalleled skill and utter mastery of winter warfare that characterized Finland''s fight for survival on the hellish Eastern Front. Now publishing in paperback, Finland at War: the Winter War 193940 is the premiere English-language history of the fighting performance of the Finns, drawing on first-hand accounts and rare photographs to explain juTable of ContentsPreface and Acknowledgements /Chronology /1. The Rise of Finland /2. The Road to War /3. The Karelian Isthmus, December 1939 /4. Ladoga Karelia, December 1939 /5. Group Tavela /6. North Finland Group /7. Lapland Group, 1939–40 /8. A Watching World /9. The Battle for Ladoga Karelia, 1940 /10. The Karelian Isthmus, 1940 /11. An Interim Peace /Bibliography /Appendix /Index

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Book Synopsis'If you are susceptible to Miss Marple and Harriet Vane you must read The Adventures of Maud West. You will never know the difference between fact and fiction again.' – Jill Paton Walsh, author of the Peter Wimsey/Harriet Vane mysteries.Maud West ran her detective agency in London for more than thirty years, having started sleuthing on behalf of society’s finest in 1905. Her exploits grabbed headlines throughout the world but, beneath the public persona, she was forced to hide vital aspects of her own identity in order to thrive in a class-obsessed and male-dominated world. And – as historical researcher Susannah Stapleton reveals – she was a most unreliable witness to her own life. Who was Maud? And what was the reality of being a female private detective in the Golden Age of Crime? Interweaving tales from Maud West’s own ‘casebook’ with social history and extensive original research, Stapleton investigates the stories Maud West told about herself in a quest to uncover the truth. With walk-on parts by Dr Crippen and Dorothy L. Sayers, Parisian gangsters and Continental blackmailers, The Adventures of Maud West, Lady Detective is both a portrait of a woman ahead of her time and a deliciously salacious glimpse into the underbelly of ‘good society’ during the first half of the twentieth century.Trade ReviewTerrific ... A brilliant literary sleuth tracks down a real one, uncovering a flabbergasting hidden life along the way. -- Lissa Evans, author of Old Baggage and Crooked HeartDeliciously entertaining, meticulous and affectionate ... Criminally good. I loved it. -- Mel McGrath, author of Give Me the Child and The Guilty PartyA powerhouse of a book ... The Adventures of Maud West, Lady Detective is, as one suspects Maud herself was, sweet, and wonderful company, and absolutely determined to discover the truth. -- Judith Flanders, author of The Invention of Murder and the Sam Clair mysteriesMaud West is a gloriously English eccentric - think Miranda Hart meets Margaret Rutherford - brought to vigorous life by present day sleuth Susannah Stapleton. -- Sean O'Connor, author of Handsome BruteSusannah Stapleton’s dogged sleuthing of Maud’s own complicated, messy, spunky life reveals the wider story of a little-explored sliver of life between the wars. I loved it. -- Kate Colquhoun, author of Mr Briggs' Hat and Did She Kill Him?If you are inclined to regard the “Golden Age” detective stories as obviously a fantasy form — and never more fantastic than when the sleuth is a woman, Susannah Stapleton’s book will astound you. “Maud West” was a real woman detective, but her story blurs the margin between possible truth and impossible invention till your head spins. If you are susceptible to Miss Marple and Harriet Vane you must read The Adventures of Maud West. You will never know the difference between fact and fiction again. -- Jill Paton Walsh, author of the Lord Peter Wimsey-Harriet Vane novelsCompulsively absorbing . . . delightfully well written, with both sympathy and empathy; it is jaunty, engaging and witty without being arch. A triumph. -- Lucy Lethbridge * Literary Review *[A] charming light-hearted investigation into the life of Maud West, a lady detective. A sort of “Miss Marple on the trail of Miss Marple” . . . frank and funny. -- Ysenda Maxtone-Graham * The Times Review *Intriguing * Woman’s Weekly *Impressive . . . more fascinating than any fictional detective story * Choice *Susannah Stapleton’s erudite but hugely entertaining debut is a true-life detective story about a true-life detective . . . [an] exhilarating eye-opener of a book * Spectator *Highly entertaining * The District Messenger, The Newsletter of the Sherlock Holmes Society of London *Although Stapleton does not engage in much literal leg-work – she is able to do a lot of her research in her pyjamas – this account of her pursuit of the will-o’-the-wisp-like Maud through the maze of online archives and registries is utterly enthralling, often even thrilling * Daily Telegraph *Shot at in Paris, blackmailed in Bloomsbury: the self-promoting cases, and many faces, of a fearless female sleuth . . . breezy * Guardian *This romp through the life of one of Britain’s first female detectives sets out to solve one central mystery: who was Maud West? Her story is told in tantalising detail by Susannah Stapleton * 5 stars, Mail on Sunday *Fascinating * Sunday Times *A gripping read * Daily Mirror *Meet a fantasizing, sharpshooting, cross-dressing, self-advertising female star of the early twentieth century . . . It's all about women, this book. -- Libby Purves * TLS *A glorious, gripping read, constructed just like the detective stories Stapleton so admires, with clues, cliffhangers, blind alleys and revelations aplenty, uncovering the many truths about Maud and her exceptional life. -- Charlotte Heathcote * The Sunday Express *Table of ContentsSection - i: Prologue: The Lady Vanishes Chapter - 1: The Documents in the Case Section - ii: The Creeping Tiger by Maud West Chapter - 2: The Body in the Library Section - iii: The Lady with the Blue Spectacles by Maud West Chapter - 3: Crooked House Section - iv: The Apaches of Saint-Cloud by Maud West Chapter - 4: They Do It With Mirrors Section - v: The Diamond Necklace by Maud West Chapter - 5: The Shadow in the House Section - vi: The Prince of Lovers by Maud West Chapter - 6: To Love and Be Wise Section - vii: The Chelsea Artist by Maud West Chapter - 7: A Kiss Before Dying Section - viii: A Lady's Folly by Maud West Chapter - 8: The Secret Adversary Section - ix: The Clairvoyante Case by Maud West Chapter - 9: Wanted: Someone Innocent Section - x: The Countess and the Snowman by Maud West Chapter - 10: Tracks in the Snow Section - xi: An Unusual Pastime: as related by the San Francisco Examiner Chapter - 11: Partners in Crime Section - xii: The Fatal Letter by Maud West Chapter - 12: The Wrong Man Section - xiii: A Poisonous Revenge by Maud West Chapter - 13: Sweet Danger Section - xiv: The End of His Tether by Maud West Chapter - 14: Look to the Lady Section - xv: Such a Dull Job! Or, Fifteen Minutes with a London Section - xvi: Woman Detective: Interview with Maud West Chapter - 15: A Case of Identity Chapter - 16: Farewell, My Lovely Acknowledgements - xvii: Acknowledgements Section - xviii: Bibliography Section - xix: Notes Picture - xx: Picture Acknowledgements

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Book SynopsisIt is impossible to understand capitalism without analyzing slavery, an institution that tied together three world regions: Europe, the Americas, and Africa. The exploitation of slave labor led to a form of proto-globalization in which violence was indispensable to the production of wealth. Against the background of this expanding circulation of capital and slave labor, the first revolution in Latin America took place: the Haitian Revolution, which began in 1791 and culminated with Haiti’s declaration of independence in 1804. Taking the Haitian Revolution as a paradigmatic case, Grüner shows that modernity is not a linear evolution from the center to the periphery but, rather, a co-production developed in the context of highly unequal power relations, where extreme forms of conquest and exploitation were an indispensable part of capital accumulation. He also shows that the Haitian Revolution opened up a path to a different kind of modernity, or “counter-modernity,” a path along which Latin America and the Caribbean have traveled ever since. A key work of critical theory from a Latin American perspective, this book will be of great interest to students and scholars of critical and cultural theory and of Latin America, as well as anyone concerned with the global impact of capitalism, colonialism, and race.Trade Review“Eduardo Grüner’s remarkable book is not only a brilliant discussion of slavery and the Haitian Revolution; it is also a profound philosophical and critical reflection, from the viewpoint of the slaves’ rebellion, on the contradictions of Eurocentric Enlightenment and of Western (capitalist) modernity.”Michael Löwy, author of The Theory of Revolution in the Young Marx “What is revolutionary today about the Haitian Revolution, in which African slaves brought Napoleon's army to ignominious defeat? How does it fundamentally challenge ways of thinking not just about modern history, but about thinking itself? Read Grüner’s book to find the answers to these pertinent questions.”Michael Taussig, Professor, Columbia University, Class of 1933Table of ContentsPreface by Gisela CatanzaroPrologueChapter 1: The Category of Slavery and Modern Racism Elements for an Ethno-Historical Sociology of Ancient and Modern SlaveryThe Question of RacismRacism in “Early Modernity” The Traces of Time A Better World? Chapter 2: The Rebellion of the (Slave) Masses and the Haitian Revolution On the Combined and UnevenFrom Particularism to (False) Universalism: A “Philosophical Revolution”The (Uncertain) Logic of Slave RebellionsThe Rest of the Americas Enter Saint-Domingue/Haiti A Portrait of Saint-Domingue/Haiti in 1791An Excursus on Vodou and its Revolutionary CharacterThe Social Complexities of Saint-DomingueThe Confused Dynamic of the RevolutionThe Meaning(s) of the Haitian RevolutionOn “Creative” ViolenceChapter 3: The Disavowed “Philosophical Revolution”: From Enlightenment Thought to the Crisis of Abstract Universalism Shadows in the Enlightenment: Rousseau, Montesquieu, Voltaire, and Slavery Slavery without Scare Quotes: Between Hegel and MarxThe Black Enlightenment: The Haitian “Constitutional Revolution” The Difficulties of Theorizing (Haitian) RevolutionLiterature and Art Have Their SayEpilogue

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Book SynopsisTrade Review"Winner of the Charles J. Goodwin Award of Merit, Society for Classical Studies"

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Book SynopsisTrade ReviewEngrossing and magnificently researched… Corton’s book combines meticulous social history with a wealth of eccentric detail. Thus we learn that London’s ubiquitous plane trees were chosen for their shiny, fog-resistant foliage. And since Jack the Ripper actually went out to stalk his victims on fog-free nights, filmmakers had to fake the sort of dank, smoke-wreathed London scenes audiences craved. It’s discoveries like these that make reading London Fog such an unusual, enthralling and enlightening experience. -- Miranda Seymour * New York Times Book Review *Corton’s eye for social history is superb. We are led with wit and intelligence through a London in which clerks in counting-houses are forbidden to leave their books lying open lest the sooty fogs blacken the pages… Corton is excellent on the extent to which, in the twentieth century and since, the close association between Victorian London and Gothic fog has clouded perceptions of Victorian life and art. -- Richard Smyth * Times Literary Supplement *Christine Corton takes a subject that is now scarcely more than a heritage item—like gaslight and hansom cabs—and puts it where it belongs among the great public-health movements of the 19th and 20th centuries… Of course, fog was not solely a public-health problem. With the help of wonderful contemporary illustrations, Corton vividly describes the chaos it brought—pedestrians groping, traffic crawling, accidents, crime and drunkenness soaring. The melting, blurring, looming transformations of fog seemed to symbolize the dissolution of society itself. Writers saw the possibilities, and Corton pursues their metaphorical fogs through every kind of moral, psychological and social disintegration. Charles Dickens, Henry James, Joseph Conrad, Robert Louis Stevenson, all are here—plus a mass of fascinating and forgotten popular literature—their cultural meanings perceptively analyzed… This is a rich and multifaceted book. * The Economist *In Christine L. Corton’s beautifully illustrated London Fog: The Biography, the mysterious mist takes center stage in all its noxious, stygian, primeval delicacy…Drawing on novels and poems, paintings and films, Corton’s [book] is crammed with thought-provoking elucidations. It sounds hokey to say it, but she has shed a bright light on the fog. -- Alexandra Mullen * Wall Street Journal *Corton’s wonderfully detailed and original exploration of foggy London ranges from the earliest mists to the last great pea-souper of 1962… Her account is rich in memorable anecdotes and descriptions, gleaned from popular culture, literature, journals and contemporary letters as well as cartoons and art history: the book is also splendidly illustrated. -- P. D. Smith * The Guardian *Christine L. Corton, clad in an overcoat, with a linklighter before her, takes us into the gloomier, long 19th century, where she revels in its Gothic grasp. Beautifully illustrated, London Fog delves fascinatingly into that swirling miasma. -- Philip Hoare * New Statesman *Brilliant… Corton has a deft historical, literary and visual eye. While tracing the birth, maturity and death of fog, she pays careful attention to the ways it affected everyday lives and locations… But her real interest is in the way fog played in the imagination. For centuries, she shows, novelists, essayists, cartoonists and painters used fog as a metaphor for human relationships and the moral order… Corton’s book is an unsentimental and elegant reflection on a world that has passed. -- Joanna Bourke * Daily Telegraph *In London Fog, Christine L. Corton guides us through the history of the ‘pea-souper’ (the phrase first used in print in 1849 by Herman Melville); from Victorian women, fearful of attack in the impenetrable murk, to the poets, artists and film-makers who thrived on its metaphorical potential; from the political rows over domestic coal fires to the dreadful 1952 Great Smog which claimed thousands of lives and was so thick that, even indoors, office workers could not see to the end of the corridor. -- Sinclair McKay * Daily Telegraph *London’s ‘pea-soupers’—opaque, yellowish smogs—were an environmental catastrophe, a cloak for nefarious activities and an artistic inspiration. An odiferous wig of soot from coal fires, sulfur dioxide and mist settled regularly over the city from the 1840s to the 1960s. In this richly nuanced history, scholar Christine Corton takes us from polymath Robert Hooke spotting a pall of smoke over London in 1676 through the killer fogs that felled zoo animals, spurred crime and caused traffic accidents, and that ultimately galvanized scientists and the government to craft the 1956 Clean Air Act. -- Barbara Kiser * Nature *[Corton’s] fascinating history traces London’s unique brand of photochemical smog from its surprisingly early birth in the 13th century, when complaints about the burning of ‘sea coal’ in London hearths began, through its malign maturity in the 19th, to its death throes in the second half of the 20th… The many well-chosen images in London Fog include works by minor painters of London scenes and by various illustrators, photojournalists and cartoonists playing on the terror, confusion and comedy caused by fog. These add greatly to the interest of Corton’s book. -- Catherine Peters * Literary Review *Christine Corton’s excellent book explores three questions: how people accounted for London fog, what they did about it, and how it became such an enormous, apparently inexhaustible cultural resource and metaphor… Corton has assembled an astonishing display of fog fiction… Corton has written a thoughtful, vivid, very memorable book. -- Neal Ascherson * London Review of Books *As Christine Corton emphasizes in her well-informed, original, and stimulating survey, the history of London fog is humorous and cozy but has aspects of the awesome and apocalyptic too. -- Fiona MacCarthy * New York Review of Books *It’s a definite must-read for anyone concerned with air quality and environmental history. -- Ashley Macey * Brit + Co. *Ambitious… The book is substantial, well illustrated and beautifully written, with approachable scholarship… [An] illuminating book. -- Philippa Stockley * Country Life *Christine L. Corton’s London Fog is an illuminating expedition through the literal and metaphorical meanings of pollution in the company of such artists as Dickens, Conrad, Monet and Hitchcock. -- Mark Sanderson * Evening Standard *[A] thorough and enjoyable book, not only for its historical account of what London fog was and when it began but for the rich seam of literature, spleen and death that they caused. -- Philippa Stockley * Evening Standard *What makes Christine Corton’s London Fog: The Biography special is that it demystifies the sulphurous yellow mass that once plagued the city. In this nicely written and beautifully illustrated book, fog gets its proper due as the coal-laden, murderous monstrosity it really was, beloved of novelists from Dickens to Stevenson. -- Philippa Stockley * Evening Standard *The sheer scale of the pollution described by Corton is hard to grasp… Corton leads the way, like a linklighter of old, through the poisonous clouds of times gone by, and arrives, eventually, at present day Oxford Street, where nitrogen dioxide concentrations are ‘worse than they are anywhere on earth.’ -- Charlie Gilmour * The Independent on Sunday *Excellent, if dark. * The Lady *This is an unexpectedly riveting book, scholarly, thorough yet eminently readable. * Londonist *No one, not even the most frenzied fog obsessive, could find fault with Christine Corton’s thoroughness. Wherever there’s a reference to fog in nature or art, she seems to have tracked it down. But her book is far more than just a glorified laundry list of foggy facts. Rather it’s a genuine biography in which she very cleverly treats fog less as an atmospheric phenomenon and more as though it’s a real character—sinister, beautiful and elusive, but no less fascinating for that. -- John Preston * The Mail on Sunday *Christine Corton’s absorbing and handsomely produced book directs a steady beam at both the phenomenon and the place that made [fog] famous: London. -- Anthony Quinn * The Observer *Endlessly entertaining… Corton has done a prodigious amount of research into the phenomenon of the ‘pea-soup’ fogs that enveloped London at regular intervals throughout the Industrial Age… Corton’s book is merrily chock-full of illustrations… But the real star attraction in these pages is Corton’s exuberant omniscience about her subject. She seems to have read every tenth-rate serialized novel in the whole of the Victorian and Edwardian literary shrubbery, hunting out every mention and dramatization of the great fogs and in the process giving some truly wretched writers what will surely be the most intelligent reading they’re ever likely to get. And she’s got an equally good ear for reportage, finding piercing quotes from every era of the fog’s domination… London Fog has enjoyed a nicely wide critical reception since its appearance, and it deserves every accolade it gets. This is tight-focus popular history at its finest. -- Steve Donoghue * Open Letters Monthly *If you want to know every last thing to know about London fog—the toxic, impenetrable moist soot that used to blanket the city in the winter—this is the book for you. Even to an outsider, it is fascinating, even astonishing, that the English put up for so long with a condition that killed people and often caused commerce to grind to a halt. -- Donald D. Breed * Providence Journal *A thoroughly researched and generally enjoyable account of the social, natural and cultural history of the peasoupers, from their first appearance in the early 1800s to the final fog of 1962. -- David B. Williams * Seattle Times *As Christine L. Corton shows in her lively and engaging cultural history, for more than 100 years London fog did not only creep into people’s homes and bodies. It saturated their way of thinking. If fog was an inescapable part of city life—in Dickens’s famous opening to Bleak House, the word is repeated so often it sounds more like a curse—it was an equally omnipresent element in the cultural imagination. -- Robert Douglas-Fairhurst * The Spectator *This detailed, well-researched study is copiously illustrated with prints, cartoons, paintings and photos of the metropolitan health hazard. It is the photos which convince us that it was not a myth… London fog became inextricably linked with the image of the Victorian capital. Sherlock Holmes, Jack the Ripper and Soames Forsyte all loom out at us from the past, under gaslight, wreathed in fog… The best place to read this engrossing but goose-bump-making book is under a sunshade on a Mediterranean beach in mid August. -- Robert Carver * The Tablet *[An] engrossing book… This book could almost make one nostalgic for the days of the pea souper were it not for the fact that it was clearly a terrible threat to health. -- Daisy Goodwin * The Times *The idea of a biography of fog in London might initially appear a doubtful enterprise, but in Christine Corton’s capable hands it works brilliantly. The liveliness of metropolitan fog is beautifully charted here in a long chronology from the Stuart era to the Clean Air Acts of the 1950s to 1990s… [A] most extraordinarily rich collection of material from scientific, journalistic, literary, humorous, artistic and medical sources… She has created a history of fog’s material and immaterial culture… The text is interspersed with some astonishing visual material, appropriately placed, making the book a visual feast especially of little-known artworks, caricatures and photographs of great beauty. Corton’s use of the perceptions of foreign visitors, especially those from China and Japan, is revelatory… London Fog is not just a literary exercise; it also charts the long trajectory of a deeply serious public health matter that we have yet to confront, as we should, once again… This fine book has real substance, generously shared, and is very timely indeed. -- Ruth Richardson * Times Higher Education *London Fog: The Biography successfully captures the enormous impact this atmospheric had on a major city’s everyday life. Ironically, the result is a portrait that is both well-defined and sharply delineated. -- Amy Henderson * Weekly Standard *An intriguing biography of the weather effect that defined a national character… An eye-opening and highly readable picture of London’s reactions to the killer fog that has characterized it for centuries. * Kirkus Reviews *Corton undertakes a definitive study of London’s ‘pea-souper’ fogs, deftly tracing the history of a weather condition that became a defining feature of the city in the world’s imagination. As Corton shows, the fog, which first appeared early in the 19th century, proved a ready metaphor for an array of Victorian anxieties, from Jack the Ripper’s reign of terror to a perceived decline in public morals. She perceptively examines the literary manifestations of these fears in chapters covering a number of famous authors, including Charles Dickens, Robert Louis Stevenson, and T.S. Eliot. Readers may be surprised that the history of London fog requires a detour through the politics of the day as much as through literature; however, Corton proves a sensible guide through the labyrinthine parliamentary measures arising from public outrage over the ‘great killer fog’ and bureaucratic inaction in service of the manufacturers that were largely responsible for the pollution. Though the ‘London particular’ was finally legislated out of existence in the 1960s, Corton asserts convincingly that the fog will remain enshrined in cultural memory, a romantic if no longer accurate symbol of a great city. * Publishers Weekly *In the history of London, the Fog is a character in its own right. Now along comes a biography to do justice to this mysterious entity. Christine Corton’s London Fog is a valuable addition to the London canon. -- Catharine Arnold, author of Bedlam: London and Its MadThis anatomy of the impenetrable London pea-souper—from Dickens to modern times—is a delight. It is beautifully written, its historical learning is lightly worn, and its literary insights are intelligent, entertaining, and apt. -- Andrew LycettAn admirable and enjoyable book, full of exemplary research. The writing is always clear and accessible, even breezy. -- Jerry White, University of LondonOne of the most characteristic and important features of London was its ‘pea-souper’ fogs, or smogs, which determined so many aspects of Londoners’ lives until the 1950s—crime, romance, commerce, and of course, health. A comprehensive work on the impact and influence of fog upon the denizens of London is overdue. -- Anthony Wohl, Vassar College

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Book SynopsisTrade Review[Nguyen] produces close readings of the novels, films, monuments, and prisons that form ‘the identity of war’ in Vietnam, ‘a face with carefully drawn features, familiar at a glance to the nation’s people.’ Nguyen draws insights from Levinas, Ricoeur, and other philosophers, and his approach has affinities with that of hybridists such as W. G. Sebald and Maggie Nelson. The book is also notable for its inclusivity, addressing Cambodian, Laotian, Hmong, and Korean experiences and the competition for narrative dominance in bookstores and box offices. * New Yorker *In Nothing Ever Dies, Nguyen has written a powerful meditation on the manner in which memories are produced, cultivated, even empowered and subdued…He’s a lucid and robust voice for the forgotten—forgotten people, forgotten places, and forgotten memories most of all…Nothing Ever Dies is one man’s powerful entreaty to a country which has seen nearly endless conflict (one war running upon the next) for generations. -- Matthew Snider * PopMatters *Readers will discover the roots of Nguyen’s powerful fiction in this profoundly incisive and bracing investigation into the memory of war and how war stories are shaped and disseminated…Ultimately, Nguyen’s lucid, arresting, and richly sourced inquiry, in the mode of Susan Sontag and W. G. Sebald, is a call for true and just stories of war and its perpetual legacy. -- Donna Seaman * Booklist (starred review) *Nguyen’s work is a powerful reflection on how we choose to remember and forget. * Kirkus Reviews *This thought-provoking book is recommended for all students of the Vietnam War and those interested in historical memory. -- Joshua Wallace * Library Journal *[An] eloquent…narrative of the Vietnam War’s psychological impact on combatants and civilians…This is primarily a work that comes to grips with memory and identity through the arts…Nguyen succeeds in delivering a potent critique of the war and revealing what the memories of living have meant for the identities of the next generation. * Publishers Weekly *Is there hope for an ethics of memory, or for peace? Nothing Ever Dies reveals that, in our collective memories of conflict, we are still fighting the Forever War. Nguyen’s distinctive voice blends ideas with family history in a way that is original, unique, exciting. A vitally important book. -- Maxine Hong Kingston, author of To Be a PoetInspired by the author’s personal odyssey, informed by his wide-ranging exploration of literature, film, and art, this is a provocative and moving meditation on the ethics of remembering and forgetting. Rooted in the Vietnam War and its aftermath, it speaks to all who have been displaced by war and revolution, and carry with them memories, whether their own or of others, private or collective, that are freighted with nostalgia, guilt, and trauma. -- Hue-Tam Ho Tai, editor of The Country of Memory: Remaking the Past in Late Socialist VietnamNothing Ever Dies provides the fullest and best explanation of how the Vietnam War has become so deeply inscribed into national memory. Nguyen’s elegant prose is at once deeply personal, sweepingly panoramic, and hauntingly evocative. -- Ari Kelman, author of A Misplaced Massacre: Struggling over the Memory of Sand CreekBeautifully written, powerfully argued, thoughtful, provocative. -- Marilyn B. Young, author of The Vietnam Wars, 1945-1990In Nothing Ever Dies, his unusually thoughtful consideration of war, self-deception and forgiveness, Viet Thanh Nguyen penetrates deeply into memories of the Vietnamese war…[An] important book, which hits hard at self-serving myths. -- Jonathan Mirsky * Literary Review *By taking the reader on a sweeping and sobering global tour of artifacts, places, art, texts, and monuments associated with Vietnam, Nguyen argues that our cultural need to reflect accurately upon our history and fully absorb its lessons is forever at war with the impossibility of ever fully knowing the truth, or retelling it accurately…Cautioning that we cannot remember what we do not see, he lists the ways in which the U.S. has failed to fully recognize its own role in Vietnam, let alone the Vietnamese citizens it ostensibly went to Vietnam to protect…It’s fitting that Nothing Ever Dies has emerged at a moment when the U.S. and most of Europe are fiercely questioning America’s ability to reconcile with the past. Nguyen might say that the only way we can truly acknowledge the past is to contend with how fallible our memories actually are. -- Aja Romano * Vox *Nothing Ever Dies is an account of humanity at its darkest, a realm of war, memory, identity and pain that ventures from the jungles of Vietnam to the killing fields of Cambodia. -- Jeffrey Fleishman * Los Angeles Times *A penetrating analysis by the Pulitzer Prize–winning Nguyen on how the Vietnam War has been remembered by the countries and people that have been most affected by it. * Listener *In this elegantly written book, Pulitzer Prize–winning author Nguyen offers a comprehensive, balanced analysis of how the Vietnam War has been remembered and forgotten—both privately and collectively…Examining a medley of cultural forms—novels, monuments, cemeteries, souvenirs, video games, photography, museum exhibits, and movies—Nguyen calls attention to the inequality in the industrial production of memory and to the power of art to disable future wars. One of the book’s most original—and perhaps controversial—arguments is that to avoid simplifying the other, people need to recognize both their humanity and their ever-present inhumanity and those of others as well. -- Y. L. Espiritu * Choice *[A] gorgeous, multifaceted examination of the war Americans call the Vietnam War—and which Vietnamese call the American War…As a writer, [Nguyen] brings every conceivable gift—wisdom, wit, compassion, curiosity—to the impossible yet crucial work of arriving at what he calls ‘a just memory’ of this war. -- Kate Tuttle * Los Angeles Times *Impassioned yet forensic. -- Peter Pierce * The Australian *

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Book SynopsisNew B-format paperback edition - The fascinating story of the exceptional woman who wrested power from Edward II and changed the course of English history.Trade Review‘An utterly compelling biography, rich in detail, yet in possession of a realistic world view.’ -- History of Royals Magazine

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Book SynopsisTrade Review"As Benjamin Madley writes in An American Genocide, by 1873, roaming bands of Indian-killers played a major role in reducing native numbers by more than 80 percent. . . . The mass murders raise the question: Did they constitute genocide by official design? [Madley] thinks so. He thoroughly documents the extent of the killings and their horrific consequences. . . . Emphasizing 'intention and repetition' in the California massacres, Madley [underscores] the designing role of state and federal officials."—Alan Taylor, New York Times Book Review, Editors’ Choice"Gruesomely thorough. . . . Others have described some of these campaigns, but never in such strong terms and with so much blame placed directly on the United States government."—Alexander Nazaryan, Newsweek"By removing any doubt that genocide against Native people took place in the most populous and prosperous state in the US, Madley is aiming for a profound revisioning of US history as a whole. . . . No longer will genocide be something that happened in some distant locale—Namibia, Germany, Cambodia or Rwanda. Instead, it took place in the same sunny clime that American culture has long celebrated with images of fun and frolic: Disney, Hollywood, the Beach Boys and surfers in search of the endless summer."—Karl Jacoby, Journal of Genocide Research"An American Genocide has settled the issue on whether or not genocide occurred in California."—William Bauer Jr., Journal of Genocide Research"Madley has written an intensely disturbing and invaluable account of the genocide that white Americans carried out against California’s Indian peoples. . . . Madley’s book should move historians of the American West to consider genocide studies as a serious framework for analysing settler–Indian relations, and it should also compel genocide studies scholars to reconsider their understandings of genocide."—Margaret D. Jacobs, Journal of Genocide Research "[A] stellar example of an unflinching commitment to document and analyse . . . invasion’s often horrific consequences."—Jeffrey Ostler, Journal of Genocide Research Winner, Los Angeles Times Book Award for HistoryWinner, Gold Medal, California Book Award for CalifornianaWinner, Heyday History Award from Heyday Books PublishingTrue West Best New Western AuthorIndian Country Today Hot List Book"An American Genocide provides one of the most detailed and stunning narratives of violence, murder, and state-sponsored genocide in North America, making this book a major achievement in the fields of both Native American history and Genocide Studies."—Ned Blackhawk (Yale University), author of Violence Over the Land: Indians and Empires in the Early American West"Madley has far exceeded previous scholarship in making a persuasive case for concluding that what happened to California Indians from 1846 to 1873 qualifies as genocide."—Jeffrey Ostler (University of Oregon), author of The Plains Sioux and U.S. Colonialism from Lewis and Clark to Wounded Knee"This book is a powerful contribution to the study of Native Americans, to California history, and to genocide studies as a whole. It should be read by every Californian."—Norman Naimark (Stanford University), author of Stalin’s Genocides"Benjamin Madley has changed the conversation on genocide and American Indians. After An American Genocide, it will no longer be possible to debate whether or not genocide took place. Instead we will need to confront the questions of how and why genocide against American Indians took place and what the United States owes its indigenous communities."—Karl Jacoby (Columbia University), author of Shadows at Dawn: A Borderlands Massacre and the Violence of History"Benjamin Madley’s book is brilliant, unsettling, and necessary. It will change forever how we understand the history of California, and it will make historians of other places and periods wonder what they have missed. An American Genocide will have a long legacy."—Pekka Hämäläinen (Oxford University), author of The Comanche Empire

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Book SynopsisThe extraordinary real stories that inspired the major BBC series Have you ever illegally downloaded a DVD? Taken drugs? Fallen for a phishing scam?Organised crime is part of all our worlds - often without us even knowing. McMafia is a journey through the new world of international organised crime, from gunrunners in Ukraine to money launderers in Dubai, by way of drug syndicates in Canada and cyber criminals in Brazil.This edition comes with a new introduction and epilogue from author Misha Glenny.Trade ReviewLike a journalistic Indiana Jones he has travelled the world in search of his prey, displaying impressive stamina, intellectual chutzpah and physical bravery on the way.... This is the most important non-fiction book of the year so far - organised crime's version of Fast Food Nation * Mail on Sunday *To be regarded as one of the essential non-fiction works of our time. Exhaustively researched and reported, it's sobering in the extreme, but also riveting, filled with exotic locations, staggering facts, acts of incredible brutality and colourful, if deadly, characters.... Anyone with even the smallest interest in how the world really works should read this book * GQ *The great merit of Glenny's book is that it does not just chronicle the foul deeds of international crime syndicates. It probes the imbalances and injustices that propel people and nations towards criminal behaviour... This, racy, well-researched and highly entertaining book should be essential reading for law reformers everywhere * Irish Times *His message is that the global marketplace has empowered criminals on a huge and terrifying scale.... He tells a grisly story very well... A pacey, riveting, eye-opening account * Sunday Times *This is a big, noble book by a proper reporter who travels the world and gives the Mr Bigs of global crime a poke in the eye... uncomfortable but compelling reading... You must read it * Literary Review *

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Book SynopsisA gripping account of the infamous Nazi doctor from a former US Justice Department official tasked with uncovering his fate.Trade Review"It must be the most thorough-going account of Mengele's life available to date, a calm and professional read, but one that inevitably makes you want to look away." -- The Spectator"What specifically distinguishes Marwell’s account from previous studies concerns his personal involvement in the Justice Department’s Office of Special Investigations (O.S.I.) and the search for and identification of Mengele." -- The International New York Times"Gripping... sober and meticulous." -- David Margolick - The Wall Street Journal"Marwell’s life has much new to tell us, both about Mengele himself and, more significant, about the social and scientific milieu that allowed him to flourish." -- Adam Gopnik - The New Yorker"Compelling... At once a compact biography of the notorious war criminal, a detailed account of Mengele’s flight to South America, and an absorbing narrative of the quest to bring him to justice." -- Patricia Heberer Rice - Science

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Book SynopsisThis highly-illustrated volume, by bestselling author Richard Barber, shows how medieval princes proclaimed their special status through displays of magnificence. The book is stunning, in every respect, and will be the gold standard in its subject for years to come. ALISON WEIR "This is glorious! It's a peach-and-peacock of a book, as befits its subject: scholarly, always accessible, with a wealth of fabulous illustrations, superbly designed." KEVIN CROSSLEY-HOLLAND How do you recognise a king when you see one? By the thirteenth century, the special status, which had evolved over thecenturies, was matched by the display of kingly grandeur. This was enshrined in the idea of "magnificence". Magnificence was seen as the king's duty, was applied to everything: his person, the garments he wore, his courtiers, the artists, the musicians and architects he employed. Above all, it was on show in his public appearances, his feasts and ceremonies. The "magnificent" collections of jewels, manuscripts and holy relics were displayed to a handfulof favoured visitors. Those visitors also had to be entertained, and royal feasts developed into an amazing form of performance art. This book is not only about objects and occasions, but also about the people who created them, from the kings themselves and their court servants to the artists, craftsmen and musicians of all kinds, down to the scribes and clerks, the showmen, dancers and acrobats, and the servants at table. All this is explored in this wide-ranging survey, covering the whole of western Europe, but centring on France, the wealthiest of the kingdoms, members of whose extended royal family were at different times kings of Poland, Hungary, Naples, Jerusalem, England, and, most spectacularly, dukes of Burgundy. Pageantry and displays of splendour always catch our attention, and medieval feasts and tournaments are among the most popular forms of historical re-enactment today. Magnificence celebrates many of the high points of the medieval world, drawing them together in a sumptuous volume.Trade ReviewThe book is stunning, in every respect, and will be the gold standard in its subject for years to come. * ALISON WEIR *This luxuriously illustrated volume offers a rich account of the rationale and means of medieval princely display....Embodying the boundlessness that is its subject, the book overflows with information. * FRENCH STUDIES *Magnificence is indeed a glorious book....A gilded and sumptuous sourcebook; a joy to read and peruse. * MEDIEVAL HISTORIES *Richly illustrated and rigorously researched. * ASPECTUS *This is glorious! It's a peach-and-peacock of a book, as befits its subject: scholarly, always accessible, with a wealth of fabulous illustrations, superbly designed. * KEVIN CROSSLEY-HOLLAND *Barber's expert command and passionate enjoyment of his subject is evident throughout the luxuriously illustrated text...[A] rich and accessible synthesis. All readers will find new and fascinating details in these pages....The book offers much to enjoy and will prove a valuable addition to course reading lists. * ROYAL STUDIES JOURNAL *Bold, compelling and beautiful this is a princely offering in its own right. * INTERNATIONAL TIMES *How do you show people that you are a king? Gorgeous architecture, sumptuous feast and of course, enviable feasts. This fascinating book explores how medieval monarchs projected their own 'magnificence'. These were the original PR gurus. * DAILY MAIL *This book crowns the extensive publication activity of one of the most widely read medievalists of the English world. At every turn I found interesting statements, unknown material, and new interpretations. The author has transformed huge knowledge and endless material into a wide-ranging synthesis of considerable extent. Despite its appearance, in the style of a coffee table book, it will be the reference work on the question of Magnificence, illuminating every aspect of the subject. -- Professor WERNER PARAVICINI, University of KielThe book is well-written, beautifully illustrated, and succeeds at making its case about the conspicuous display of wealth. . . . [F]or anyone who wants to learn more about courtly ceremonial, dress, foodstuffs, and the like, this is an excellent starting point. * HISTORIANS OF NETHERLANDISH ART *Magnificence and Princely Splendour in the Middle Ages is a sweeping work that brings its audience into contact with a wide breadth of texts and objects. Although this extensive amount of information can be overwhelming, Barber compiles his sources into a clearly written work that is accessible to a non-scholarly audience. The structure of the book itself, with its many beautiful images and convenient organizational guides, similarly makes Magnificence an appealing introduction to the splendid world of medieval politics and kingly luxury. * PEREGRINATIONS *The particular achievements of the book are that it covers a vast geographical area and presents images and text in a way that tells a cohesive story of the propaganda of medieval magnificence. Barber incorporates primary source quotations in a clever and enlightening way. . . . The work is a very accessible, and so will serve as an introduction to the subject. Highly recommended. * CHOICE *Table of ContentsPreface and acknowledgements The princes of Europe Introduction: Splendour and Magnificence Dynasties, Kings and Courts The Culture of Kingship Defining Magnificence The Image and Person of the Prince Queens and Princesses The Prince's Entourage Magnificence and the Arts Magnificent Architecture Magnificence on Display Magnificent Ceremonies and Festivals Magnificent Extravagance: the prince's feasts Devising the festival Financing, Organising and Creating Magnificence The Spirit of Medieval Magnificence Appendix A: More on Magnificence Appendix B: Giles of Rome, excerpts from On the Government of Princes and biography Bibliography

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Book SynopsisThis extraordinary book is the roadmap for a new kind of effective activism.'' -- Brian EnoThis book is for people who are angry with the ways things are and want to do something about it; for people who are frustrated with the system, or worried about the direction the country is going. Maybe they''ve been on a march, posted their opinions on social media, or shouted angrily at something they''ve seen on the news but don''t feel like it''s making any difference. It is for people who want to make a change but they''re not sure how. -- Matthew BoltonTrade ReviewAn amazingly inspiring book coming at just the right moment. A leading light in an invaluable organisation, Matthew Bolton really knows how to make stuff happen - and he wants you to know too. You might have heard that things don't have to be this way - here's the official guidebook to changing them -- Marina HydeMatthew is one of the great thought and action leaders of his generation. This book will give people the power to change their communities -- Tessa JowellPopulism is the most important political development of our time and How to Resist makes a powerful call for a populism of mass democratic participation. We've got to put power back in people's hands and this vital guide tells us how. It's a must-read -- Steve HiltonIf anyone knows how to do social change, it's Matthew Bolton who has been at the heart of London Citizen's successful Living Wage campaign. He's a smart, sophisticated operator and his book imparting nuggets on how to take on the system will be eagerly pored over by people who are keen to make a difference but don't quite know how to go about it -- David Cohen, Campaigns Editor and Chief Feature Writer, London Evening StandardWith expertise and a track record that is compelling, Matthew offers tools for citizens to become more powerful and stand up to vested interests of the market and state. This book offers a vision and a method to revitalise our democracy -- Philip Blond, Director of Res Publica, author of 'Red Tory'The Living Wage is perhaps the most successful grassroots campaign of the last decade and in How to Resist, Matthew gives us the key lessons and tactics behind the impact. This vital book will help turn the political energy of today into lasting change in communities and constituencies up and down the country -- Polly Toynbee, GuardianThere’s a huge appetite right now for radical change and How to Resist can equip a generation of politically engaged young people with the practical tools to organise and campaign -- Paul MasonI want to congratulate you on the brilliant way, and the ruthless way, that you bend us politicians to your will, and you get us to deliver -- Boris Johnson, then Mayor of London, to Citizens UKI talk about the Big Society; you are the Big Society -- David Cameron, then Leader of the Conservative Party, to Citizens UKIf you’re worried about the state of the world, Matthew Bolton’s brilliant How to Resist shows how each of us can do our bit to fight populism -- Rohan Silva * Observer *If there’s anyone worth listening to about the politics and strategy of protest, it’s Matthew Bolton. After all, this is the man who led the hugely effective campaign for the living wage, and here he sets out a persuasive case for being proactive, rather than moaning about the state of the nation on social media. How to Resist is genuinely a “how to” guide … inspiring stuff * Observer *[Bolton’s] pragmatism is welcome … Democracy is too important to leave to other people * Evening Standard *Perhaps it isn’t you that needs to change but the world. Matthew Bolton, who led the campaign for a living wage, here lists seven principles for those who want to do more than just rant on twitter, showing how to transform from armchair warrior to activist -- Five Books to Solve All Your Problems * Evening Standard *

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Book SynopsisMorocco is a country that has been much invaded, much traveled though, and much written about in many languages. Positioned at the entrance to Africa—or the entrance to Europe—it has seen deep cultural cross-fertilization and the emergence of a very distinct culture at the threshold of two worlds. Its history is exciting and colorful; its ancient cities extraordinary in their preservation; and its people magnetic. It has drawn travelers and writers for many centuries, and continues to do so today, with the result that there exists a rich seam of description and sometimes quizzical (but generally very fond) appreciation, which Martin Rose, a long-time resident of the country, has been able to mine for this fascinating anthology.

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Book SynopsisThe new edition of a prize-winning memoir-in-poems, a meditation on life as a queer Indigenous man—available for the first time in the United States “i am one of those hopeless romantics who wants every blowjob to be transformative.” Billy-Ray Belcourt’s debut poetry collection, This Wound Is a World, is “a prayer against breaking,” writes trans Anishinaabe and Métis poet Gwen Benaway. “By way of an expansive poetic grace, Belcourt merges a soft beauty with the hardness of colonization to shape a love song that dances Indigenous bodies back into being. This book is what we’ve been waiting for.” Part manifesto, part memoir, This Wound Is a World is an invitation to “cut a hole in the sky / to world inside.” Belcourt issues a call to turn to love and sex to understand how Indigenous peoples shoulder their sadness and pain without giving up on the future. His poems upset genre and play with form, scavenging for a decolonial kind of heaven where “everyone is at least a little gay.” Presented here with several additional poems, this prize-winning collection pursues fresh directions for queer and decolonial theory as it opens uncharted paths for Indigenous poetry in North America. It is theory that sings, poetry that marshals experience in the service of a larger critique of the coloniality of the present and the tyranny of sexual and racial norms.Trade Review"This Wound Is a World is a decolonial wildfire from which the acclaimed writer Billy-Ray Belcourt builds a new world and it’s the brilliant, radiant, f*cked up Indigenous world I want to live in. . . . [His book] redefines poetics as a refusal of colonial erasure, a radical celebration of Indigenous life and our beautiful, intimate rebellion. This is a breathtaking masterpiece."—Leanne Betasamosake Simpson, Mississauga Nishnaabeg writer and musician"This book is a monument for the future of poetic possibility. It is rare to be able to call a book something so grand and full—and have it be utterly true. That's what This Wound Is a World affords us: myth and hyperbole pressed into a lived and realized life. A reckoning for and of the wreck—bravely buoyant, alive, and finally here."—Ocean Vuong, author of Night Sky with Exit Wounds"This Wound Is a World is a wonder. It is filled with humor, sadness, sadness about sadness, sex, profound and profane lyricism, and above all power. Billy-Ray Belcourt’s voice is uniquely plangent and self-aware. The book is a world with worlds inside it. It means to de-colonize any possible reader’s pre- or mis-conceptions about what it means to be alive and Indian today."—Tommy Orange, author of There There"This luminous collection’s formal experimentation arises from an urgent need to address the complexity of learning “how to love and be broken at the same time.” As the title suggests, woundedness is a resource for forging avenues toward a yet unimagined future."—Star Tribune"This collection is an answer to and a reckoning with story and with sadness itself: its ever-presence in the telling of the Indigenous body, the queer body, the body moving through stages of love and loss."—American Poets"Belcourt makes good on the promise of his title through poetry in which sadness, grief, and death are seamlessly entwined with love, sex, and cruising both within and across racial lines."—Native American and Indigenous Studies Table of Contents

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Book SynopsisA highly entertaining read for anyone with even a passing interest in art and art history. This myth-busting book takes you on a great ride through the lives of starving (and not so starving) artists, unusual exhibitions and painting blunders throughout history. In the intriguing, outrageous and often provoking world of the visual arts, nothing is quite as it seems. From the world’s first intance of photobombing in 1843 to the Damien Hirst spot painting that landed on Mars, the destruction of Vincent van Gogh’s Sunflowers during World War II and the £3,500 sheet of paper crumpled into a ball, Everything You Know About Art is Wrong will confound your assumptions about the world of art – and perhaps even the place of art in the world.

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Book SynopsisMichael Fisher holds the Robert S. Danforth Chair in History at Oberlin College and in 2007 was awarded the Teaching Excellence Award for Social Sciences by Oberlin.Table of ContentsIntroduction 1. From Central Asia into the Alien Land of India 2. Establishment of the Mughal Indian Empire 3. Efflorescence of the Imperial Court 4. Building up the Empire 5. Expanding the Frontiers and Facing Challenges 6. Hollowing Out the Imperial System 7. Vestiges of Imperium 8. Contested Meanings of the Mughal Empire Conclusion Bibliography

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Book SynopsisA new and overdue definitive study of the British involvement in the (largely ignored) Salonika Campaign from the military angle.

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Book SynopsisExplores the story behind some of the great liners of the twentieth century.

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Book SynopsisTrade Review“A book that seems long overdue. As the former longtime libraries curator for the National Trust, Purcell is singularly qualified to discuss these troves.”—Adrian Higgins, Washington Post“Magisterial (and beautifully illustrated)”—David Jenkins, Tatler“For those who love books and the libraries in which they are stored this book is an essential volume to own.”—Social & Personal"As a whole, this book is a tremendous achievement."—John Goodall, Country Life"beautifully written, cogently argued and lavishly illustrated book"—Jason McElligott, Irish Arts ReviewIncluded in the Irish Independent end of year list for 2017."boundlessly informative"—David Ekserdjian, Evening Standard"Its title is unassuming, but it constitutes, in fact, a significant contribution to the scholarly discipline of book history."—Alexandra Marracini, TLS"the definitive account of the country house library in Britain and Ireland"—Matthew Sanders, Ancient Monuments Society Newsletter"beautifully produced and gorgeously, lavishly illustrated"—Leah Galbraith, Fiction Fan blog"And with 150 magnificent colour plates is it really only £45? Buy it quickly before the publishers notice their mistake."—Stephen Halliday, Times Higher Education Supplement“This is a ground-breaking book […] a cracking good read.” – John Martin Robinson, Literary Review. “[An] all-encompassing study” —Jeremy Musson, Art Newspaper“This book is the first major work to redress this imbalance and to put the contents of the library into its proper context” —Robert L. Betteridge, EBS“Beautifully illustrated with striking new photography, together with historical paintings and engravings, the book provides an outstanding overview of this important and strangely neglected subject.”—James W.P. Campbell, The Burlington Magazine

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Book SynopsisThe ancient Egyptians presented themselves as superior to all other people in the world; on temple walls, the pharaoh is shown smiting foreign enemies - people from Nubia, Libya and the Levant - or crushing them beneath his chariot. Officially, foreigners represented disorder and chaos - the opposite of Egypt's perfect land of justice and order. But despite such imagery, from the beginning of their history, the Egyptians also enjoyed friendly relations with neighbouring cultures; both Egyptians and foreigners crossed the deserts and seas exchanging goods gathered from across the known world. They shared knowledge and technology, and sometimes settled abroad, marrying and acculturating. Through such interactions, the Egyptians influenced other cultures, and at the same time were themselves shaped by foreign contacts and external events.War & Trade with the Pharaohs explores Egypt's connections with the wider world over the course of 3,000 years, introducing readers to ancient diplomacy, travel, trade, warfare, domination, and immigration - both Egyptians living abroad and foreigners living in Egypt. It covers military campaigns and trade in periods of strength - including such important events as the Battle of Qadesh under Ramesses II and Hatshepsut's trading mission to the mysterious land of Punt - and Egypt's foreign relations during times of political weakness, when foreign dynasties ruled parts of the country. From early interactions with traders on desolate desert tracks, to sunken Mediterranean trading vessels, the Nubian Kingdom of Kerma, Nile fortresses, the Sea Peoples, and Persian satraps, there is always a rich story to tell behind Egypt's foreign relations.

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Book SynopsisIn 70 CE, the Jews were an agrarian and illiterate people living mostly in the Land of Israel and Mesopotamia. By 1492 the Jewish people had become a small group of literate urbanites specializing in crafts, trade, moneylending, and medicine in hundreds of places across the Old World, from Seville to Mangalore. What caused this radical change? TheTrade ReviewWinner of the 2012 National Jewish Book Award in Scholarship One of Jewish Ideas Daily.com's 40 Best Jewish Books of 2012 "[A]mbitious ... systematically dismantle much of the conventional wisdom about medieval Jewish history."--Jonathan B. Krasner, Forward "[W]here so many have simply taken as a given universal literacy among Jews, [Botticini and Eckstein] find that a majority of Jews actually weren't willing to invest in Jewish education, with the shocking result that more than two-thirds of the Jewish community disappeared toward the end of the first millennium... The astonishing theory presented here has great implications for both the Jewish community and the broader world today."--Steven Weiss, Slate "[E]ventually, The Chosen Few will have changed the course of history in the Middle East ... as part of a broad reinterpretation of the history of the peopling of the world, underway for a century and a half, that has begun gathering force since the 1990s... This may be the first you have heard about The Chosen Few, but I pretty much guarantee you that it will not be the last."--David Warsh, Economic Principals "[P]rovocative."--Choice "Botticini and Eckstein's simple yet sophisticated human capital analysis provides new insights into Jewish history for the fourteen centuries covered in this book... [Their] methodology yields a very convincing Cliometric analysis that we can expect to inform all future economic histories of the Jews between 70 and 1492."--Carmel U. Chiswick, EH.net "I found The Chosen Few, a book on Jewish economic history by Maristella Botticini and Zvi Eckstein, enormously enlightening and relevant to the draft-the-Haredim debate."--Shlomo Maital, Jerusalem Report "If you've ever wondered how the Chosen People survived the vagaries of history, reading The Chosen Few will give you answers you cannot find anywhere else."--Huffington Post "This is a trailblazing, original, illuminating and horizon-broadening book."--Manuel Trajtenberg, HaaretzTable of ContentsList of Illustrations xi List of Tables xiii Preface xv Introduction 1 Chapter 1 70 CE-1492: How Many Jews Were There, and Where and How Did They Live? 11 From Jesus to Muhammad (1 CE-622): A World of Farmers 15 From Muhammad to Hulagu Khan (622-1258): Farmers to Merchants 31 From Hulagu Khan to Tomas de Torquemada (1258-1492): The End of the Golden Age 44 Jewish History, 70 CE-1492: Puzzles 51 Chapter 2 Were the Jews a Persecuted Minority? 52 Restrictions on Jewish Economic Activities 52 Taxation Discrimination 58 Physical versus Portable Human Capital 59 Self-Segregated Religious Minority 61 The Economics of Small Minorities 62 Summary 65 Chapter 3 The People of the Book, 200 BCE-200 CE 66 The Two Pillars of Judaism from Ezra to Hillel (500-50 BCE): The Temple and the Torah 66 The Lever of Judaism: Education as a Religious Norm 69 The Destruction of the Second Temple: From Ritual Sacrifices to Torah Reading and Study 73 The Legacy of Rabbinic Judaism: The Mishna and Universal Primary Education, 10 CE-200 74 Judaism and Education: The Unique Link in the World of the Mishna 78 Chapter 4 The Economics of Hebrew Literacy in a World of Farmers 80 Heterogeneity and the Choices Facing Jewish Farmers circa 200 82 The Economic Theory: Basic Setup 84 The Economic Theory: Predictions 87 Life in a Village in the Galilee circa 200 through the Lens of the Theory 88 Annex 4.A: Formal Model of Education and Conversion of Farmers 89 Chapter 5 Jews in the Talmud Era, 200-650: The Chosen Few 95 An Increasingly Literate Farming Society 96 Conversions of Jewish Farmers 111 Summary 122 Chapter 6 From Farmers to Merchants, 750-1150 124 The Economics of Hebrew Literacy in a World of Merchants 125 The Golden Age of Literate Jews in the Muslim Caliphates 130 Summary 150 Annex 6.A: Formal Model of Education and Conversion of Merchants 150 Chapter 7 Educated Wandering Jews, 800-1250 153 Wandering Jews before Marco Polo 154 Jewish Migration within the Muslim Caliphates 163 Migration of Byzantine Jewry 172 Jewish Migration to and within Christian Europe 173 Migration of the Jewish Religious Center 195 Summary 200 Chapter 8 Segregation or Choice? From Merchants to Moneylenders, 1000-1500 201 The Economics of Money and Credit in Medieval Europe 202 Jewish Prominence in Moneylending: Hypotheses 209 The Dynamics of Jewish Moneylending in Medieval Europe 212 Jewish Moneylending in Medieval Italy: A Detailed Analysis 219 Attitudes toward Moneylending 232 Facts and Competing Hypotheses 237 From Merchants to Moneylenders: Comparative Advantage in Complex Intermediation 241 Annex 8.A: The Charter to the Jews of Vienna 244 Chapter 9 The Mongol Shock: Can Judaism Survive When Trade and Urban Economies Collapse? 248 The Mongol Conquest of the Muslim Middle East 249 Socioeconomic Conditions in the Middle East under the Mongols 252 Jewish Demography under Mongol and Mamluk Rule: An Experiment 254 Why Judaism Cannot Survive When Trade and Urban Economies Collapse 258 Summary 259 Chapter 10 1492 to Today: Open Questions 261 Portrait of World Jewry circa 1492 261 Jewish History, 70 CE-1492: Epilogue 264 Trajectory of the Jewish People over the Past 500 Years 266 Persistence of Jewish Occupational Structure 268 Appendix 274 Bibliography 287 Index 317

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Book SynopsisNamed "Man of the Millennium" in 1999, Johannes Gutenberg was the creator of one of the most influential and revolutionary inventions in Europe's history: a printing press with mechanical movable type. This development sparked the printing revolution, which is regarded as the milestone of the second millennium and represents one of the central contributions in the turn to modernity. His printing press came to play a key role in the development of the Renaissance, the Reformation, and the Age of Enlightenment, providing the material foundation for the modern knowledge-based economy and the spread of learning to the masses. His invention revolutionized the way that information is shared and broadened the boundaries of who has access to written knowledge. Paving the way for bibliophiles of today, the Gutenberg Bible of 1454 remains one of the most famous books in history. Gutenberg's technical innovations remained unrivalled for almost 350 years, until industrialization of the printing industry and the digital revolution built on the advances that he began, increasing the rate at which information is spread. Despite his significance in forming the world as we know it, there has not yet been a rigorous and accessible biography of Gutenberg published in English. Written by the leading expert on Gutenberg, F ssel's biography brings together high academic standards and thorough historical details in a highly readable text that conveys everything you need to know about the man who changed printing forever.

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Book SynopsisTrade Review"Convincing . . . fascinating."—Rosemary Sullivan, Wall Street Journal"Joshua Rubenstein, in his vivid, brisk account, describes the months on each side of Stalin’s death to give the reader a sense of the significance of this turning point."—Robbie Millen, Times"[Stalin’s] last days make a dramatic story, and Rubenstein tells it well."—Sheila Fitzpatrick, The Guardian“Meticulously researched.”—Masha Gessen, NewYorker.com"A fascinating work."—Amy Lewonstin, Library Journal"The Last Days of Stalin is a fascinating and often chilling reconstruction of the months surrounding the Soviet dictator’s death and the opportunities that arose for meaningful change–not all of them taken."—Saul David, Evening Standard"Joshua Rubenstein’s account of Stalin’s death and the responses to it is very well done . . . an accessible and engaging book."—Geoffrey Roberts, Irish Times"Joshua Rubenstein’s extremely interesting account of the ailing Stalin’s last days draws upon personal memoirs and new research—and conveys the deep fear inculcated during 'the Black Years of Soviet Jewry.'"—Colin Shindler, Jewish Chronicle"A clear, sober and emotionally powerful narrative that brings to life the last years of Joseph Stalin’s rule, showing vividly how the death of the tyrant changed Soviet and international politics and brought relief to millions of his existing and potential victims, and first and foremost the Soviet Jews."—Serhii Plokhy, author of The Gates of Europe: A History of Ukraine "Based on a plethora of primary Soviet sources, Rubenstein has produced a persuasive and well-written account of the convoluted time that followed Stalin's death in March 1953. He discusses the complex succession politics in the Kremlin and provides much new information. Rubenstein also explores Eisenhower's and Dulles' disinterest in taking up Churchill's proposals to exploit the 'narrow window of opportunity' to embark on constructive negotiations with Moscow once Stalin had gone. This is an enlightening and important book."—Klaus Larres, author of Churchill's Cold War: The Politics of Personal Diplomacy"Stalin’s death in March 1953 cut short another spasm of blood purges he was planning, but triggered only limited Soviet reforms. To some Westerners it promised an extended period of peace, but others feared it would leave the West even more vulnerable. Joshua Rubenstein’s lively, detailed, carefully crafted book chronicles a key twentieth-century turning point that didn’t entirely turn, revealing what difference Stalin’s death did and didn’t make and why."—William Taubman, author of Khrushchev: The Man and His Era

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Book SynopsisTake the ultimate trip around IrelandBestselling author Christopher Winn takes us on a fascinating journey around Ireland, to discover the tales buried deep in Irish history. Packed full of myths and legends, firsts, birthplaces, inventions and adventures, this fact book visits each of the four provinces - Ulster, Leinster, Munster and Connaught - and unearths the hidden gems that each county in these provinces holds. Discover where people and ideas were born, where dreams were inspired and where the unforgettable figures of Ireland's past now slumber. You'll be able to visit the holy mountain, Croagh Patrick in Country Mayo, where St Patrick is said to have driven all the snakes in Ireland into the sea. At Lismore Castle in County Waterford you will uncover the bathroom dedicated to Fred Astaire, whose sister Adele was the hugely popular Chatelaine of Lismore in the 1930s and 40s. On the winter solstice you can bathe in the sunlight that fills the burial chamber at Newgrange, County Meath - the oldest solar observatory in the world. This irresistible compendium of facts and stories will give you a captivating insight into the Irish, and the ideas and events that have shaped the individual identity of every place you visit, and will have you exclaiming again and again: 'Well, I never knew that!'Trade Review'there's stuff in here that would have taken St Patrick aback...Hibernia will stand astonished' * Terry Wogan *a colourful array of Irish trivia...If you are holidaying in Ireland, this would serve as an amusing companion to a conventional guidebook * Sunday Telegraph *'If you thought you knew about Ireland, think again...irresistible reading' * Good Book Guide *'Chock full of fascinating facts, funny stories and exquisitely fine drawings...This is a fabulous book * Hugh Montgomery-Massingbird *'A marvellously entertaining and instructive read - a compendium of facts and anecdotes that offers an exciting new kind of guide to England' Simon Jenkins on I Never Knew That About England

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Book SynopsisThe new, fully-updated edition of the acclaimed textbook covering 200 years of African history A History of Modern Africa explores two centuries of the continent's political, economic, and social history. This thorough yet accessible text help readers to understand key concepts, recognize significant themes, and identify the processes that shaped the modern history of Africa. Emphasis is placed on the consequences of colonial rule, and the links between the precolonial and postcolonial eras. Author Richard Reid, a prominent scholar and historian on the subject, argues that Africa's struggle for economic and political stability in the nineteenth century escalated and intensified through the twentieth century, the effects of which are still felt in the present day. The new third edition offers substantial updates and revisions that consider recent events and historiography. Greater emphasis is placed on African agency, particularly during the colonial perioTable of ContentsList of Maps xiv List of Plates xv Acknowledgements for the Third Edition Acknowledgments for the Second Edition xvii Acknowledgments xviii 1 Introduction: Understanding the Contours of Africa's Past 1 A Brief History of the Study of Africa 5 Land 8 People 12 Part I Polity, Society, and Economy: Ingenuity and Violence in the Nineteenth Century 17 2 Western Transitions: Slave Trade and "Legitimate" Commerce in Atlantic Africa 23 States and Societies during the Atlantic Slave Trade 24 "Illegal" Traffic: The Nineteenth-Century Slave Trade 28 Mineral and Vegetable: "Legitimate" Commerce 32 Change and Continuity in Forest and Savannah 35 3 Eastern Intrusions: Slaves and Ivory in Eastern Africa 42 Commercial Horizons: Slaves and Ivory 43 Maritime Empire: Zanzibar 48 Statehood, Conflict, and Trade (1): The Lacustrine Zone 52 Statehood, Conflict, and Trade (2): Northeastern Africa 59 4 Southern Frontiers: Colony and Revolution in Southern Africa 65 African State and Society to around 1800 65 War, Revolution, and the Zulu Impact 67 Cape Colonialism: White Settlement and the “Native Question” 71 Voortrekkers: White Communities in the Interior 74 Balances of Power to around 1870 75 Part II Africa and Islam: Revival and Reform in the Nineteenth Century 77 5 Revival and Reaction: North African Islam 81 Old and New Identities: Brotherhoods of the Desert 81 Trade and Conflict in the Mediterranean World: Ottoman and European Frontiers 82 Changing Society (1): The Maghreb 86 Changing Society (2): Egypt 89 6 Jihad: Revolutions in Western Africa 94 Islam in Western Africa to the Eighteenth Century 94 The Wandering Fulani 96 Prophets and Warriors 97 7 The Eastern Crescent: The Islamic Frontier in Eastern Africa 103 Swahili Islam: Coastal Frontiers in the Nineteenth Century 103 Islam in the Central East African Interior 105 Cross and Crescent in Northeast Africa 106 Islam on the Nile 108 Part III Africa and Europe: Commerce, Conflict and Co-option, to c.1920 113 8 The Compass and the Cross 119 Interested Gentlemen and Learned Bodies: Explorers and Exploration 119 Creeping Hegemony and the Invention of Africa 123 European Missionary Activity in Africa to around 1800 125 Evangelical Humanitarians: Missionary Revival 126 The Christian Impact on Culture, State, and Society 129 Mission and Empire 134 9 "Whatever Happens …": Towards the Scramble 139 Africa and Theories of Imperialism 140 Race and Culture 142 Disorder and Civilizing Violence: Political and Economic Justifications 145 10 Africans Adapting: Conquest and Partition 150 Explaining the "Conquest" 150 Spears and Water: Violent Resistance 155 Histories Old and New: Colonialism and Historical "Knowledge" 165 Realities Old and New: Colonialism and Political "Knowledge" 168 Bush Wars and Distant Shadows: Africa in Global War 175 Part IV Colonialisms 183 11 "Pax Colonia"? Empires of Soil and Service 189 Monopolies on Violence 190 Slaves and Labor 193 Cash Crops 194 White Settlement 199 Industry 201 Social Change and Emergent Crisis 204 Hearts and Minds 207 Environment and Medicine 210 12 Hard Times: Protest, Identity, and Depression 218 Making Tribes 218 Emergent Protest in the Islamic World 221 Salvation and Resistance: The African Church 223 Class and Tribe: The Industrial Complex 224 Cash Crops, Rural Crises, and Peasant Protest 227 Other Voices 230 13 Battles Home and Away: Africa in Global War (Again) 236 The War in the Continent 236 Shifts in Politics and Society 241 Part V The Dissolution of Empire 245 14 The Beached Whale: Colonial Strategies in the Postwar World 251 Postwar Africa and the International Climate 252 Economic Policies and Visions, c. 1945–50 253 Political Plans, c. 1945–50 256 15 Conceiving and Producing Nations 259 The Widening Horizons of Belonging 260 Tensions and Transitions: From Political Consciousness to Political Parties 261 Irresistible Force and Immovable Object: Nationalists and Settlers 268 A Time of Contrasts 273 16 Compromising Conflict: Routes to Independence 276 Debate and Debacle: "Constitutional" Transfers of Power 276 Violence: Growth, Form, and Impact 286 From Suez to Sharpeville, and Beyond: The End of High Imperialism 291 Part VI Legacies, New Beginnings, and Unfinished Business 297 17 Unsafe Foundations: Challenges of Independence 303 Building the Nation (1): Economy and Society 303 Building the Nation (2): Polity 310 Political Stability and Islam 316 Crowded House: Africa and the Cold War 320 18 Violence and the Militarization of Political Culture 328 The Military in African Politics 328 The Politics and Cultures of Insurgency 332 New Wars, Old Problems, and Expanding Military Horizons 337 19 Rectification, Redemption, and Reality: Issues and Trends in Contemporary Africa 339 Africa and the Contemporary World 339 Democracy and Authoritarianism: Trends in Governance 343 Body and Mind 352 Contemporary Economics: Assessing "development" and "growth"” 355 Further Reading 363 Index 365

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Book SynopsisThis is the second, and extensively revised, edition of the first full-scale scholarly study of what is arguably the only fully-formed religion that England has ever given the world: that of modern pagan witchcraft, which has now spread from English shores across four continents. Ronald Hutton examines the nature of that religion and its development, and offers a history of attitudes to witchcraft, paganism and magic in British society since 1800. Its pages reveal village cunning folk, Victorian ritual magicians, classicists and archaeologists, leaders of woodcraft and scouting movements, Freemasons, and members of rural secret societies. We also find some of the leading figures of English literature, from the Romantic poets to W. B. Yeats, D. H. Lawrence and Robert Graves, as well as the main personalities who have represented pagan witchcraft to the public world since 1950. Thriller writers like Dennis Wheatley, and films and television programmes, get similar coverage, as does tabloid journalism. The material is by its very nature often sensational, and care is taken throughout to distinguish fact from fantasy, in a manner not hitherto applied to most of the stories involved. Consistently densely researched, Triumph of the Moon presents an authoritative insight into an aspect of modern cultural history which has attracted sensational publicity but has hitherto been little understood. This edition incorporates all of the new research carried out into the subject by the author, and by others who have often been inspired by this book, during the twenty years since it was first published.Trade ReviewHutton's book is a must-read not only for anyone interested in modern Paganism, or the occult, but it also embodies a deep insight into the development of British society and culture. * Pavel Horák, Czech Academy of Sciences, Religious Studies Review *Table of ContentsPreface Acknowledgements Macrocosm 1: Finding a Language 2: Finding a Goddess 3: Finding a God 4: Finding a Structure 5: Finding a High Magic 6: Finding a Low Magic 7: Finding a Folklore 8: Finding a Witchcraft 9: Matrix 10: God (and Goddess) Parents Microcosm 11: Gerald Gardner 12: Gerald's People 13: The Wider Context: Hostility 14: The Wider Context: Reinforcement 15: Old Craft, New Craft 16: The Man in Black 17: Royalty from the North 18: Uncle Sam and the Goddess 19: Coming of Age 20: Grandchildren of the Shadows Notes Index

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Book SynopsisThe French Revolution is a time of history made familiar from Dickens, Baroness Orczy, and Tolstoy, as well as the legends of let them eat cake, and tricolours. Beginning in 1789, this period of extreme political and social unrest saw the end of the French monarchy, the death of an extraordinary number of people beneath the guillotine''s blade during the Terror, and the rise of Napoleon, as well as far reaching consequences still with us today, such as the enduring ideology of human rights, and decimalization.In this Very Short Introduction, William Doyle introduces the French old regime and considers how and why it collapsed. Retelling the unfolding events of the revolution, he analyses why the revolutionaries quarrelled with the king, the church and the rest of Europe, why this produced Terror, and finally how it accomplished rule by a general. Doyle also discusses how and why the revolution destroyed the age-old cultural, institutional, and social structures in France and beyond. In this new edition, Doyle includes new sections highlighting the main developments in the field since the first edition, before exploring the legacy of the revolution in the form of rationality in public affairs and responsible government.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 Contents1: Echoes 2: Why it happened 3: How it happened 4: What it ended 5: What it started 6: Where it stands Timeline: Important dates of the French Revolution The Revolutionary CalendarFurther readingIndex

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Book SynopsisOver recent decades China has experienced massive change and development. China is the world's fastest growing economy, and has become a global superpower once again. But this development has thrown up a number of seemingly intractable contradictions, both political and economic. In this panoramic study of Chinese history in the twentieth century and its place in the development of global capitalism, Lin Chun argues that the paradoxes of contemporary Chinese society are not simply the product of the development of capitalism or modernity in the country. They are instead the product of the contradictions of its long revolutionary history, as well as the social and political consequences of its post-socialist transition. Published to coincide with the 100th anniversary of the founding of the Chinese Communist Party, Revolution and Counterrevolution in China charts China's epic revolutionary trajectory in search of a socialist alternative to the global system, and asks whether market reform must repudiate and overturn the revolution and its legacy.Trade ReviewThis brilliant book makes a great contribution to the historical research, theoretical exploration, and political debates surrounding China. Lin Chun locates her reflections in a broad historical context, which ranges from classical questions posed by Adam Smith, Max Weber, and Karl Marx to the diverse new trends of historical interpretation. Her succinct and incisive analysis offers a much-needed perspective. -- Wang Hui, author of The End of the Revolution (Praise for China and Global Capitalism)While most people have already cast China as a capitalist country with a communist government, Lin Chun shows that there may be life in Chinese socialism yet. Combining erudition, passion, and an engaging writing style, Lin challenges a lot of conventional wisdom about China. This book should be on the shelf of everyone who has any interest in the course of the Chinese economy and society. -- Meghnad Desai (Praise for The Transformation of Chinese Socialism)Even in the increasingly crowded field of scholars analyzing how the CCP intends to govern China, Lin's voice is worth paying attention to, not just for her insight into many of the events that she describes, but also as a window into the thinking of a contemporary and critic of the generation currently in power in China. -- Xiaochen Su * The News Lens *

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Book SynopsisFor 270 years, the House of Braganza provided the kings and queens of Portugal. During a period of momentous change, from 1640 to 1910, this influential family helped to establish Portuguese independence from their powerful Spanish neighbours. They ruled the vast empire of Brazil from 1822 to 1889, successfully creating a unified nation and preventing the country from splitting into small warring states, and they saved the monarchy and government from total destruction by the marauding armies of Napoleon. In his fascinating reappraisal of the Braganza dynasty, Malyn Newitt traces the rise and fall of one of the world’s most important royal families. He introduces us to a colourful cast of innovators, revolutionaries, villains, heroes and charlatans, from the absolutist Dom Miguel to the `Soldier King’ Dom Pedro I, and recounts in vivid detail the major social, economic and political events that defined their rule. Featuring an extensive selection of artworks and photographs, Newitt offers a timely look at Britain’s `oldest ally’ and the role of monarchy in the early modern European world.

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Book SynopsisThe story of the Battle of Waterloo - of the ultimate defeat of Napoleon and the French, the triumph of Wellington, Bl cher and their allied armies - is most often told from the viewpoint of the victors, not the vanquished. Even after 200 years of intensive research and the publication of hundreds of books and articles on the battle, the French perspective and many of the primary French sources are under-represented in the written record. So it is high time this weakness in the literature - and in our understanding of the battle - was addressed, and that is the purpose of Andrew Field's thought-provoking new study. He has tracked down over ninety first-hand French accounts, many of which have never been previously published in English, and he has combined them with accounts from the other participants in order to create a graphic new narrative of one of the world's decisive battles. Virtually all of the hitherto unpublished testimony provides fascinating new detail on the battle and many of the accounts are vivid, revealing and exciting. .

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Book SynopsisDrink your way through Japan (even from home) with the help of this book! Japan is home to some of the world's most interesting alcoholic beverages from traditional Sake and Shochu to Japanese whisky, beer, wine and cocktails that are winning global acclaim and awards. In this comprehensive survey of Japanese drinks, experts Stephen Lyman and Chris Bunting cover all the main types of beverages found in Japanese bars and restaurants, as well as supermarkets and liquor stores around the world. The book has chapters on Sake, Shochu, whisky, wine, beer, Awamori (a moonshine-like liquor from Okinawa), Umeshu plum wine and other fruit wines. There is also a fascinating chapter on modern Japanese-style cocktails complete with recipes so you can get the authentic experience, including: Sour Plum Cordial; Sakura Martini; Improved Shochu Cocktail; Far East Side Cocktail. Thorough descriptions of the varieties of each beverage are given along with the history, production methods, current trends and how to drink them. Detailed bar and buyer's guides at the back of the book list specialist establishments where readers can go to enjoy and purchase the drinks, both in Japan and cities around the world, including London, Paris, New York, San Francisco, Chicago, Washington DC, Shanghai and more! This is an indispensable book for anyone interested in brewing, distilling, new cocktails or Japanese culture, travel and cuisine. Kampai! Cheers!Trade Review"Perfect for the traveler or epicurean, [The Complete Guide to Japanese Drinks] reveals the secrets of Japan's varied alcoholic beverages. Written in a conversational yet informative voice, every chapter delivers valuable insight into how these drinks evolved, found favor at home, and are often misunderstood overseas." --Christopher Pellegrini, Author, The Shochu Handbook"Following Brian Ashcraft's excellent Japanese Whisky, Tuttle has brought out this compendious guide to the full range of Japanese beverages…Written in an easy, flowing style, it covers a lot of ground in a short space of time…a beautiful, carefully put together coffee-table book full of insights, anecdotes and thirst-inducing pictures that leaves the reader yearning not just for a warm cup of sake or a stiff Yamazaki, but for individual titles devoted to each type of drink."-- The Japan Times"There's nowhere I'd rather drink than Japan, and no one I'd rather have telling me what, where, and how to drink than Stephen Lyman and Chris Bunting, whose bibulosity is matched only by their curiosity." --Matt Gross, formerly the New York Times Frugal Traveler

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Book SynopsisThroughout late-1943 into early-1944, an epic struggle raged over the skies of Germany between RAF Bomber Command and the Luftwaffe. This campaign had been undertaken by the Commander-in-Chief Bomber Command, Air Chief Marshal Sir Arthur Harris, and was baptized The Battle of Berlin'. The Berlin campaign was a hard, desperate slog. Struggling against dreadful and bitter winter weather, Bomber Command went' to Berlin a total of sixteen times, suffering increasingly severe losses throughout the winter of 1943/44 in the face of a revitalized German air-defence. The campaign remains controversial and the jury, even today, is ultimately undecided as to what it realistically achieved. Illustrated throughout with full-colour artwork depicting the enormous scale of the campaign, this is the story of the RAF's much debated attempt to win the war through bombing alone.Table of ContentsIntroduction /Chronology /Attacker's Capabilities /Defender's Capabilities /Campaign Objectives /Order of Battle /The Campaign /Analysis /Conclusion /Bibliography /Index

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Book SynopsisIt is a little-known fact that during the Cold War, two U.S. Army Special Forces detachments were stationed far behind the Iron Curtain in West Berlin. The existence and missions of the two detachments were highly classified secrets.The massive armies of the Soviet Union and its Warsaw Pact allies posed a huge threat to the nations of Western Europe. US military planners decided they needed a plan to slow the juggernaut they expected when and if a war began. The plan was Special Forces Berlin. The first 40 men who came to Berlin in mid-1956 were soon reinforced by 60 more and these 100 soldiers (and their successors) would stand ready to go to war at only two hours’ notice, in a hostile area occupied by nearly one million Warsaw Pact forces, until 1990.Their mission should hostilities commence was to wreak havoc behind enemy lines, and buy time for vastly outnumbered NATO forces to conduct a breakout from the city. In reality it was an ambitious and extremely dangerous mission, even suicidal. Highly trained and fluent in German, each man was allocated a specific area. They were skilled in clandestine operations, sabotage, intelligence tradecraft and able to act if necessary as independent operators, blending into the local population and working unseen in a city awash with spies looking for information on their every move.Special Forces Berlin was a one of a kind unit that had no parallel. It left a legacy of a new type of soldier expert in unconventional warfare, one that was sought after for other deployments including the attempted rescue of American hostages from Tehran in 1979. With the U.S. government officially acknowledging their existence in 2014, their incredible story can now be told.Trade ReviewThe reader learns not only the history, but also the individual soldier’s motivations and way of thinking. The work leaves nothing to be desired and closes gaps in the history of the Cold War…I recommend this book highly. * Colonel Friedrich Jeschonnek (German Army Retired), Editor, Hardthöhenkurier *The Cold War in Europe is an often overlooked part of American military history because it stayed cold. But as this book shows, for the men serving on the front lines next to the Iron Curtain, conflict was always a real possibility that could happen at any time. Their sacrifice and service helped ensure the eventual collapse of communism in Eastern Europe and the peaceful reunification of Germany. * New York Journal of Books *More akin to a spy thriller...Truly a fascinating time, which this intriguing book examines from an entirely fresh perspective. * History of War Magazine *A fascinating look inside special ops in the Cold War period. * The Armourer *This study is rewarding for anyone interested in the Cold War, Special Forces, or Berlin. In fact, this is a considerable achievement, a contribution to history that gives the reader a micro-view of the realities of military life. * Dr Jonathan House, Professor Emeritus at USACGSC *This book is excellent and it is well written. One characteristic the Directorate of Operations and the Directorate of Intelligence at CIA had in common: understandable diction. Every sentence and every word is understandable. * International Journal of Intelligence and Counterintelligence *Special Forces Berlin is a must-read for military historians and should be mandatory reading for future generations of professional military leaders. In addition to adding to the body of knowledge of the Cold War years, the author—himself a former Green Beret—has lifted the veil of secrecy surrounding an elite Special Forces organization. * Association of the United States Army *I strongly recommend this book...this is one of the best examples of applied unconventional warfare in special operations history. * Small Wars Journal.com *Reads like a thriller for much of the time - a small, select force ready for action should the Soviets escalate their activities in Western Europe - nothing much has changed in the last sixty years or so! * Books Monthly *

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Book SynopsisAn inspiring reminder of the great strength of twentieth century Communism in the Global South.Trade Review'This is the real story of the Russian Revolution and no one tells it more powerfully, poetically, and honestly than Vijay Prashad' -- Robin D. G. Kelley, author of 'Freedom Dreams: The Black Radical Imagination''An original and much needed analysis of an important but neglected aspect of the legacy of the Russian Revolution. Prashad insightfully explains how Lenin's development of Marxist theory has inspired revolutionary practice in the Third World. Essential reading' -- Mary Davis, Marx Memorial Library'An almost perfect mix of history and analysis in this slender book ... packs a revolutionary punch' -- Ron Jacobs, CounterPunchTable of ContentsPreface 1. Eastern Graves 2. Red October 3. Follow the Path of the Russians! 4. The Lungs of Russia! 5. Peasant Soviets 6. Soviet Asia 7. Enemy of Imperialism 8. Eastern Marxism 9. To See the Dawn 10. Colonial Fascism 11. Polycentric Communism 12. Memories of Communism

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Book SynopsisIn 1882, a letter was published in the Irish Times, lamenting the decline of hurling. The game was now played only in a few isolated rural pockets, and according to no fixed set of rules. It would have been absurd to imagine that, within five years, an all-Ireland hurling championship would be underway, under the auspices of a powerful national organization.The Hurlers is a superbly readable account of that dramatic turn of events, of the colourful men who made it happen, and of the political intrigues and violent rows that marked the early years of the GAA. From the very start, republican and ecclesiastical interests jockeyed for control, along with a small core of enthusiasts who were just in it for the sport. In this authoritative and seriously entertaning book, Paul Rouse shows how sport, culture and politics swirled together in a heady, often chaotic mix.''Fascinating ... a brilliantly researched book on hurling in the early years of the GAA'' MTrade ReviewFascinating ... a brilliantly researched book on hurling in the early years of the GAA * Martin Breheny, Irish Independent *I heartily recommend it. Great picture of the emergence of modern Ireland amidst sport, nationalism, priests and assorted crazy hotheads ... Brilliant stuff * Dara Ó Briain *A story of pioneerism, passion, intrigue, skulduggery and commitment ... a must read for the many sports, and particularly hurling, supporters and admirers in today's version of Ireland * Irish Times *Brilliantly entertaining ... not just the gripping account of that first championship, but also of how the game of hurling itself was saved in the 1880s from what seemed certain extinction * Sunday Independent *Terrific -- Kieran Shannon * Irish Examiner *Both a sports and a history book, full of wonderful stories from a different time, with tales of passion, skullduggery and controversy, played out against the backdrop of what could be described as a civil war within the GAA and a land war that threatened to rip the country apart * RTE Culture *A brilliant piece of work * Matt Cooper *Can't recommend this enough. Amazing detail, brilliant story telling, full sweep of Irish life in the 1880's and all the seeds and fault lines of GAA life today brought to life * Ger Gilroy *Fascinating -- Frank McNally * Irish Times *Superb -- Jack Anderson * Irish Examiner *A page turner that continues to deliver chapter after chapter ... The Hurlers is a must read * Limerick Leader *A superbly readable account ... an authoritative and seriously entertaining book * Ireland's Own *Marries forensic historical research of the cultural and political contexts for the emergence of modern hurling with a polished style and storytelling ability that is rare among historians -- Diarmaid Ferriter * Irish Times Books of the Year *The perfect read for a brilliant hurling year -- Caitriona Lally * Irish Independent Top Books of 2018 *Brilliant -- Denis Walsh * Sunday Times *A vital look into the early years of the GAA and a perfect gift for both sport and history lovers -- Mark Gallagher * Mail on Sunday Books of 2018 *Marvellous ... the definitive account of this remarkable period when hurling came to life * Clonmel Nationalist *Flows along far more merrily and lightly than any history book has a right to and is especially enlightening when it comes to drawing the founding fathers Michael Cusack and Maurice Davin -- Malachy Clerkin * Irish Times, Sports Books of 2018 *Brilliant -- Kenny Archer * Irish News *

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Book SynopsisIn The Black Shoals Tiffany Lethabo King uses the shoal—an offshore geologic formation that is neither land nor sea—as metaphor, mode of critique, and methodology to theorize the encounter between Black studies and Native studies. King conceptualizes the shoal as a space where Black and Native literary traditions, politics, theory, critique, and art meet in productive, shifting, and contentious ways. These interactions, which often foreground Black and Native discourses of conquest and critiques of humanism, offer alternative insights into understanding how slavery, anti-Blackness, and Indigenous genocide structure white supremacy. Among texts and topics, King examines eighteenth-century British mappings of humanness, Nativeness, and Blackness; Black feminist depictions of Black and Native erotics; Black fungibility as a critique of discourses of labor exploitation; and Black art that rewrites conceptions of the human. In outlining the convergences and disjunctions bTrade Review"Tiffany Lethabo King's concept of the shoal breaks new ground for thinking through the relationships between Indigenous peoples and African Americans and genocide and slavery as well as how they have formed our contemporary politics. Her rigorous engagement with Black and Indigenous studies will create a better dialogue between the two fields." -- Mishauna Goeman, author of * Mark My Words: Native Women Mapping Our Nations *“In this innovative contribution to both Black and Native studies, Tiffany Lethabo King dares to think the simultaneously distinct yet edgeless relationship between Blackness and Indigeneity. It's the geological formation of the shoal—that zone just offshore, neither land (often reductively linked to the Native) nor sea (often reductively linked to the Black)—that allows King to pull off this ethical project. Indeed, The Black Shoals is Black ethics, where the ethical emerges as that distinct, ever-developing gathering of Black and Native life under shared conditions of settler terror.” -- J. Kameron Carter, Professor of Religious Studies, Indiana University“King’s scholarship represents a masterful mix of precision and sensitivity in describing the historical Native anti-blackness, as well as the historical cooperation between Africans and the European settlers King identifies as ‘conquistador humans,’ in dispossessing Natives of their land.” -- Darryl Barthé * Ethnic and Racial Studies *“King’s book is an important participant in a small but growing scholarly movement seeking to understand and unravel the logics of settler colonialism and conquest by breaking down scholarly silos between groups that frequently interacted and interact. Moreover, what King has so well begun can be built on by other scholars.” -- Laura Goldblatt * Lateral *“Tiffany King’s poetic and theoretically compelling text is both an invitation and disturbance, or a provocation to be unmoored, to be thrown into chaos and to place one’s feet at the shoal of something other than traditional (normative) notions of sovereignty, nation, and citizenship.” -- Shanya Cordis * GLQ *“A multivocal, wide-ranging, inter-disciplinary project, . . . Tiffany Lethabo King’s book is both timely and prescient. . . . For those who would like to explore Black and Indigenous thought, especially the conceptual and methodological overlaps between the two fields, this book is an exceptional primer.” -- Michael J. Kennedy * The Black Scholar *“The Black Shoals offers a rich analysis of how scholars, activists, and art­ists have contended with conquest, conquistador-settler epistemologies, and Black-Native relations. . . . King’s ‘shoal’ offers an analytic through which to theorize what ethical and sus­tained exchanges between Black studies and Native studies might look like.” -- Mary McNeil * Native American and Indigenous Studies *Table of ContentsPreface ix Acknowledgments xvii Introduction: The Black Shoals 1 1. Errant Grammars: Defacing the Ceremony 36 2. The Map (Settlement) and the Territory (The Incompleteness of Conquest) 74 3. At the Pores of the Plantation 111 4. Our Cherokee Uncles: Black and Native Erotics 141 5. A Ceremony for Sycorax 175 Epilogue: Of Water and Land 207 Notes 211 Bibliography 263 Index 277

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Book SynopsisNiccolò Machiavelli taught that political leaders must be prepared to do evil so that good may come of it, and his name has been a byword ever since for duplicity and immorality. Is his sinister reputation deserved? In answering this question Quentin Skinner traces the course of Machiavelli''s adult life, from his time as Second Chancellor of the Florentine republic, during which he met with kings, the pope, and the Holy Roman Emperor; to the fall of the republic in 1512; to his death in 1527. It was after the fall of the Republic that Machiavelli composed his main political works: The Prince, the Discourses, and The History of Florence. In this second edition of his Very Short Introduction Skinner includes new material on The Prince, showing how Machiavelli developed his neo-classical political theory, through engaging in continual dialogue with the ancient Roman moralists and historians, especially Cicero and Livy. The aim of political leaders, Machiavelli argues, should be to act virtuously so far as possible, but to stand ready ''to be not good'' when this course of action is dictated by necessity. Exploring the pivotal concept of princely virtù to be found in classical and Renaissance humanist texts, Skinner brings new light to Machiavelli''s philosophy of a willingness to do whatever may be necessary - whether moral or otherwise -to maintain a position of power. 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 ReviewQuentin Skinner's Machiavelli: A short introduction, published nearly forty years ago and now issued in a new edition, remains a frontrunner in the field. [...] The excellence of Skinner's book lies chiefly in its cool treatment of Machiavelli in his immediate context including his encounters with princes, Florence's political tergiversations, Italy being overrun by foreign armies, and his family background, education and readings in the classics. Skinner's aim was "to serve as a recording angel, not a hanging judge", and he therefore sought to avoid the "defeasible standards of the present as a means of praising or blaming the past". * Laura Martines, The Times Literary Supplement *Table of ContentsIntroduction 1: The Diplomat 2: The Adviser to Princes 3: The Theorist of Liberty 4: The Historian of Florence Further reading Index

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Book SynopsisSteph Gillett documents the history of this fascinating line, marking the sixtieth anniversary since its closure.

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