History Books

Book SynopsisThe Prehistoric Rock Art of Portugal presents significant interpretive perspectives in Portuguese rock art research and offers an excellent representation of core rock art areas, along with current thinking and interpretations. The various chapters deliver a personal approach to the many issues, themes and approaches that are embedded within the rock art of the outpost of western Atlantic Europe. Ethnographical perspectives have often dominated the study of rock art but unlike other well-studied regions, the western Iberian Peninsula is absent of an ethnographical or ethno-historical past and therefore the production of rock art can only be archaeologically assessed. Thus, the work promotes interpretive perspectives on Portuguese rock art, illustrating the richness, chronology and context of these unique artistic expressions and explores the variability of rock art imagery and the diversity of landscapes and social contexts in which it was produced. Although focusing on Portuguese rock art the book includes a number of universal themes that will appeal to a broad range of scholars researching in archaeology and anthropology, history of art, as well as professionals engaged in rock art heritage and conservation.Table of ContentsIntroduction: Changes and dynamics in western Iberian prehistoric rock art; 1. The Discovery of Paleolithic Art in Portugal: The Escoural Cave; 2. Looking Through Rock Eyes: Being Upper Palaeolithic in The Côa Valley and its Territory of Lithic Raw Material Sourcing; 3. The Palaeolithic Rock Art of Northern Portugal and Galicia (Spain); 4. Philosophical Mechanics of An Engraved Horse: The Upper Palaeolithic Open-Air Rock Art Within The Tagus River Basin, Central Portugal; 5. From Hunter Gatherer to Farmer or Something in Between: The Rock Art of Early Holocene; 6. Understanding the Painted Form: The Archaeometric Studies; 7. Schematic Art Paintings in Northern Portugal; 8. Painted Schematic Rock Art Within Central and Southern Portugal; 9. The Tagus River Rock Art (Central Portugal); 10. The Guadiana Valley Rock Art Complex; 11. Picturing In Western Iberian Neolithic Dolmens; 12. Atlantic Rock Art of the Northwest Portugal; 13. Thinking about the Bronze Age Rock Art of Portugal. What's New?; 14. Iron Age Rock Art: Old and New Figures; 15. The Use of Geographic Information Systems [Gis] in the Field of Rock Art

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Book SynopsisLandnámabók, thought to have been first compiled in the twelfth century, documents the settlement of Iceland through accounts of some 430 settlers, their families and descendants. It was copied repeatedly throughout the Middle Ages and later, and survives in several redactions, all more or less fragmentary. This new translation is based on the version made by Haukr Erlendsson in the early fourteenth century, never before translated into English. The translator, Matthias Egeler, gives special attention to the texts sense of place, as conveyed in the place names bestowed on the land by the settlers and in the anecdotes told about them. The book is illustrated by numerous black and white photographs taken by the translator. It includes an introduction and an index of primary settlers, showing the relationship of the Hauksbók recension to that of Sturlubók.

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Book Synopsis Dan Moore joined the Marines to serve in Vietnam and contribute to the anticipated American victory over communism. After completing officer training and artillery school, he deployed as a forward observer with an infantry company. His letters home described day-to-day events and revealed a growing skepticism about the war. During the Battle of Hue City, Moore lost his assistant forward observer, soon followed by another close friend. Fighting to maintain equilibrium, he suppressed his critical views of the war, even after returning home to oversee Marine recruit training. His memoir unpacks his letters, his recollections of the war and 50 years of introspection.Table of Contents Table of Contents Preface and Acknowledgments  1. Generational Wars  2. Keep on Truckin'  3. Welcome Aboard  4. Storm Clouds  5. No Holiday Cheer  6. Calm Before the Storm  7. Hue  8. Decompression and Reflection  9. Echo Battery in Action 10. Dead Man Walking 11. Coming Home Epilogue: Aftermath and Return Glossary Recommended Reading Index

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Book SynopsisThis book will bring to life the king's many illegitimate children and tell their stories.

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Book SynopsisIn the second edition of The New Middle East: What Everyone Needs to Know, renowned Middle East scholar James L. Gelvin explains how in the aftermath of the collapse of the USSR, the American invasion of Iraq, and the Arab uprisings of 2010-11, a new Middle East has emerged. Syria, Libya, and Yemen have become crisis states, where warlords vie against governments and each other. The economies of Iran, Turkey, and Lebanon, weakened by corruption, sanctions, and neoliberal economic policies, have imploded. Some states have doubled-down on repression, while others intervene in the internal affairs of their neighbors with impunity. The revised and expanded edition explores these hallmarks of the New Middle East, along with the end of American hegemony in the region, the expansion of conflict zones, the continued centrality of the Saudi-Iranian competition, and the ramifications of the breakdown of the Israel-Palestine peace process. It also highlights the crisis of human security brought oTrade ReviewBalanced, rigorous, and sparkling with insights, The New Middle East: What Everyone Needs to Know is a wonderful primer on a region long dominated by polemics and easy generalizations. James L. Gelvin brings a historian's sensibility and jargon-free prose to illuminate the afflictions that have wracked the modern Middle East-civil war, militancy, and authoritarianism, to name a few-while never losing sight of its enormous human potential. This is a must-read for veteran observers and newcomers alike. * Frederic Wehrey, Senior Fellow, Middle East Program, Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, author of Sectarian Politics in the Gulf: From the Iraq War to the Arab Uprisings? *

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Book SynopsisThis multi-disciplinary anthology provides new perspectives on the journalistâs role in knowledge generation in the newspaper ageâcovering diverse topics from fake news to new technologies.Fake news, journalistic authority, and the introduction of cutting-edge technologies are often viewed as new topics in journalism. However, these issues were prevalent long before the twenty-first century. Connecting for the first time two burgeoning strands of researchâa newly perceived history of knowledge and the study of journalismâJournalists and Knowledge Practices provides insights into the journalistâs role in the world of knowledge in the newspaper age (ca. 1860s to 1970s). This multi-disciplinary anthology asks how journalists conducted their work and reconstructs histories of journalistic practices in specific regional constellations in Europe and North America. From fake news writing to inventing psychological concepts, integrating electric telegrams to fabricating phot

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a huge range and FREE tracked UK delivery on ALL orders.

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Book SynopsisWho was Rome’s greatest general, statesman, and nation-builder: Caesar or Pompey? Few people have had as many words written about them down through the centuries as Julius Caesar—the brilliant general who made Queen Cleopatra of Egypt his mistress. He has captured the imagination of playwrights, historians, soldiers, and emperors. Little has been written about his ally, son-in-law, and eventual enemy Pompey the Great, who crashed onto the Roman scene as a victorious twenty-three-year-old general and who, at the height of his career, was arguably more famous, more popular, and more successful than Caesar. Caesar Versus Pompey tells the parallel life stories of Julius Caesar and Pompey the Great, as their lives and loves became intertwined and interdependent, as they grew from rivals to partners, then from joint rulers to warring

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Book SynopsisStonehenge is one of the world's most famous monuments. Who built it, how and why are questions that have endured for at least 900 years, but modern methods of investigation are now able to offer up a completely new understanding of this iconic stone circle. Stonehenge's history straddles the transition from the Stone Age to the Bronze Age, though its story began long before it was built. Serving initially as a burial ground, it evolved over time into a sacred place for gathering, feasting and building, and was remodelled several times as different peoples arrived in the area along with new technologies and customs. In more recent centuries it has found itself the centre of excavations, political protests and even conspiracy theories, embedding itself in the consciousness of the modern world. In this book Mike Parker Pearson draws on two decades of research, the results of recent excavations and cutting-edge scientific analyses to uncover many of the secrets that this prehistoric sTrade ReviewStartling in its detail, exciting in its broad historical implications and robust in its scientific evidence. -- Timothy R. Pauketat, Professor of Anthropology, University of Illinois, USACuts across boundaries of archaeology, history and history of science to reintroduce Stonehenge to the 21st century. -- Nena Galanidou, Professor of Prehistoric Archaeology, University of Crete, GreeceTable of ContentsList of Illustrations Preface 1. Investigating Stonehenge: How We Know What We Know 2. Before Stonehenge 3. The First Stonehenge 4. The Second Stonehenge 5. Stonehenge (Stage 3) in the Age of Copper 6. Stonehenge (Stage 4) in the Age of Bronze 7. Stonehenge (Stage 5) in the Age of Gold 8. After Stonehenge: The Age of Silence? 9. Stonehenge into the Modern Era 10. Druids, Free Festivals and Development Pressures: Stonehenge in Contention 11. Stonehenge: The Never-Ending Story Notes Chronology of the Building of Stonehenge Glossary Chronological dramatis personae of Deceased Authors, Personalities and Investigators of Stonehenge Further Reading Bibliography Index

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Book Synopsis'Absorbing' - Guardian'Arnold-Forster is a shrewd critic and delightful guide . . . She carries weighty learning lightly – embracing everything relevant, from dubious neuroscience to cod sociology.' - The TelegraphIn Nostalgia: A History of a Dangerous Emotion, Agnes Arnold-Forster blends neuroscience and psychology with the history of medicine and emotions to explore the evolution of nostalgia from its first identification in seventeenth-century Switzerland (when it was held to be an illness that could, quite literally, kill you) to the present day (when it is co-opted by advertising agencies and politicians alike to sell us goods and policies).Nostalgia is a social and political emotion, vulnerable to misuse, and one that reflects the anxieties of the age. It is one of the many ways we communicate a desire for the past, dissatisfaction with the present and our visions for the future. Arnold-Forster’s f

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Book SynopsisA NEW YORKER BEST BOOK OF 2022'Well-researched and readable' - Financial Times'An absorbing, pacy read' - New Statesman'The story of lycra-clad feminism' Stylist'Canny and informative' - The New YorkerThe untold history of women's exercise culture, from jogging and Jazzercise to Jane Fonda.Author of The Cut's viral article shared thousands of times unearthing the little-known origins of barre workouts, Danielle Friedman explores the history of women's exercise, and how physical strength has been converted into other forms of power.Only in the 60s, thanks to a few forward-thinking fitness pioneers, did women begin to move en masse. In doing so, they were pursuing not only physical strength, but personal autonomy.Exploring barre, jogging, aerobics, weight training and yoga, Danielle Friedman tells the story of how, with the rise of late-20th century feminism, women discovered the joy of physical competence - and how, going forward, we can work to transform fitness from a privilege into a right.Trade ReviewA well-researched and readable account of how female pioneers broke the taboos that stopped most women exercising until at least the 1960s. Friedman, a journalist, emphasises that fitness has remained accessible primarily to white women with time and resources. Now some pioneers are trying to break those exclusionary barriers too. * Financial Times, best summer books of 2022 *An absorbing, pacy read - and her enthusiasm for exercise is contagious. * New Statesman *Fact-packed but bouncy ... Most enjoyable is when Friedman shines light on less hallowed figures, like Judi Sheppard Missett, the relentlessly upbeat founder of Jazzercise, whose classes "changed the rhythm of women's days"; and Bonnie Prudden, "the lady in the leotite" and a descendant of Davy Crockett...[Friedman's] book is very much "pro" exercise, but for the right reasons: not slimming down but mood management, community, spirituality in the corporal. * The New York Times *Astute and entertaining ... With an emphasis on barrier breakers, business dynamos, and exceptional athletes, Friedman explores how physical training can be a means of personal liberation ... This zippy history is bursting with energy. * Publishers Weekly *Canny and informative. * The New Yorker *The story of Lycra-clad feminism and how women went from being banned at races to dominating fitness. * Stylist, the best non-fiction health and fitness books for women to read *There are few areas of American culture as complicated-and as understudied-as women's exercise. Which is why I feel like I've been waiting for a book like Let's Get Physical for decades: something that takes the history and importance of fitness seriously, but is also incisive and curious and readable and fun. -- Anne Helen Petersen, author of Too Fat, Too Slutty, Too Loud: The Rise and Reign of the Unruly WomanFriedman's study of modern fitness culture is as illuminating as it is enthralling. She reveals the wild characters, political agendas, and social movements that changed not only our exercise behaviors but our understanding of exercise itself. Behind every workout there is a story, and it's usually a good one. -- Kelsey Miller, author of I’ll Be There for You: The One About FriendsA fascinating and complicated history, masterfully shared. Let's Get Physical made me grateful to the women of the past and hopeful about the future of fitness. My favorite read of the year! -- Kelly McGonigal, author of The Joy of MovementIt's easy to critique the class, race, and gender stereotypes perpetuated by many fitness industry advertising campaigns, but Friedman reminds us how revolutionary it was, not so long ago, to encourage women to do strenuous physical exercise. An engaging account of the complicated, unconventional individuals who pioneered today's fitness culture for women. -- Stephanie Coontz, author of A Strange Stirring: The Feminine Mystique and American Women at the Dawn of the 1960sDon't read this book because it's 'good for you.' Read it because it's an eye-opening cultural history of the fitness pioneers who put the 'move' into the feminist movement. Let's Get Physical reminded me of why feeling strong feels so good. -- Brooke Hauser, author of Enter Helen: The Invention of Helen Gurley Brown and the Rise of the Modern Single WomanHow did we get from the notion that exercise was unladylike, even dangerous for women, to the 1980s fitness craze and beyond that has totally transformed women's lives? In this lively book, Danielle Friedman uses fitness pioneers and icons, from Bonnie Prudden to Jane Fonda to Lilias Folan, to trace how regular exercise became central to millions of women's pursuit of vitality, confidence, and happiness. Full of fun and inspiring stories, Let's Get Physical reminds us that this is not just a history of sports bras or leg warmers, but also of how feminism itself enabled and drew from women finding empowerment in the strength of their own bodies. -- Susan J. Douglas, author of In Our Prime: How Older Women are Reinventing the Road AheadDanielle Friedman's wildly engaging Let's Get Physical answered the questions I didn't even know I had about the origins of women's fitness (Jane Fonda sold how many copies of her Workout?!), and left me with a huge debt of gratitude to the trailblazing women who had the foresight to do things like sneak into the Boston Marathon and invent the sports bra so that we could swan into the gym without a second thought. A fascinating, meticulously researched read that left me with a much greater appreciation for the burn of barre class. -- Doree Shafrir, author of Thanks for Waiting and Startup: A NovelWith lively writing and compelling storytelling-tales of bamboo swords, spandex, and a sexy gerbil included-Danielle Friedman teases out the complicated relationship between exercise culture and feminism in this engaging exploration of modern fitness history. You'll want to hit the barre afterward. -- Haley Shipley, author of Strong Like Her: A Celebration of Rule Breakers, History Makers, and Unstoppable AthletesIt is all too easy to look at the history of women's fitness as an unconnected timeline of fads and celebrities. In Let's Get Physical, Danielle Friedman weaves together the cultural history of a movement that is nothing less than the story of the modern American woman-and she does it with fascinating and fun storytelling that will appeal to anyone who has ever wondered why thighs need to be mastered or buns should be made of steel. -- Dan Koeppel, author of Banana: The Fate of the Fruit That Changed the World and Every Minute Is a Day: A Doctor, an Emergency Room, and a City Under SiegeLet's Get Physical is a delicious deep dive into fitness culture that features an eclectic cast of women who deviously ran men-only marathons in the 1960s, turned Jazzercise, aerobics, and barre into mainstream mega fads, and who power-lifted notions of femininity until they included muscles and strength. Author Danielle Friedman tracks exercise culture into the 21st century, debunking myths and delighting readers with diamond-sharp prose, wry humor and rigorous research. -- Sarah Everts, author of The Joy of Sweat: The Strange Science of PerspirationFriedman's engaging stories of the women who created and transformed the fitness industry illustrate an evolution built upon strong female shoulders. * The Washington Post *

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Book Synopsis** A FINANCIAL TIMES, NEW STATESMAN AND GUARDIAN BOOK OF THE YEAR **''A must read'' - Janina Ramirez, bestselling author of Femina''An eye-opening history of Britain''s enduring fixation with its own past'' - Jeremy Paxman''Rule, Nostalgia announces Woods as one of the most interesting new historians of her generation'' - Dan SnowLonging to go back to the ''good old days'' is nothing new. For hundreds of years, the British have mourned the loss of tradition and called for a revival of ''simpler'', ''better'' ways of life, from modern politicians indulging in fantasies of an imperial past, to Victorian artists yearning to retreat into a medieval dream of Merry England. But were the ''good old days'' ever quite how we remember them?Rule, Nostalgia is a surprising, timely new history of Britain that separates the history from the fantasy and tracTrade ReviewIndispensible and fascinating * The Guardian (A 2022 Book of the Year) *A sharp new history of longing for the good old days. Hannah Rose Woods pens a rich account of all that has been lost to chauvinism and conservatism over the past decade * Tristram Hunt, Financial Times *Rule, Nostalgia announces Woods as one of the most interesting new historians of her generation * Dan Jones, Sunday Times *An impressive book that ranges from the 16th-century Reformation to Brexit * Financial Times (A 2022 Book of the Year) *Hannah Rose Woods explores how illusory and contested golden ages have haunted Britain since medieval times... [An] intelligent and eminently readable book * Richard Evans, New Statesman (Book of the Day) *A dark history of nostalgia... a timely book... Woods selects and deploys her material well, persuading the reader, in the course of an enjoyable book, that a feeling full of sweetness and sadness is also a dark and dangerous force * The Times *Woods is a sharp, iconoclastic writer... A great book * John Harris, The Guardian, Politics Weekly UK’s summer reading list *Eye-opening and thoughtful... Woods has a bright future ahead of her * The Telegraph *A must read for anyone wanting to see current events and ideologies in light of the past, and understand where the roots of our sense of a nation originated * Janina Ramirez, bestselling author of Femina *Fascinating and timely, Rule, Nostalgia is an eye-opening history of Britain's enduring fixation with its own past * Jeremy Paxman *I heartily recommend Rule, Nostalgia. [It] helps explain where we are, as well as where we came from * Dan Jones, bestselling author of Powers and Thrones *I love this book, a witty, acerbic but warm look at how our national character is built on yearning for a glorious past that is just gone, and actually probably never existed. Nostalgia ain't what it used to be * Adam Rutherford, bestselling author of How to Argue With a Racist *Our national story is so much stranger than we think: this book brilliantly insists that we look at it afresh * James Hawes, bestselling author of The Shortest History of England *Well-argued, timely and hugely entertaining. A great piece of popular history * Jonathan Coe, bestselling author of Middle England *A great, scholarly history, and so searingly relevant * Dan Snow, author of On This Day in History *An utterly eye-opening and enthralling debut, clearly laying out our uniquely British obsession with nostalgia. Required reading for anyone who wants to use the term 'culture war'... I absolutely loved it * Fern Riddell, author of Death in Ten Minutes: The forgotten life of radical suffragette Kitty Marion *A smart, entertaining and meticulously researched backwards look (quite literally) at Britain's history of looking over its shoulder. Deconstructs the lure of the fictitious 'good old days' and how they have been weaponised throughout history. Excellent * Otto English, author of Fake History *Outstanding. A thrilling, elegant and highly original interrogation of how we use our pasts * Musa Okwonga, author of One of Them: An Eton College Memoir *Nostalgia was once considered a terminal condition. Hannah Woods suggests that the culture needs to book itself in for a check-up. Provocative and well-argued, Rule, Nostalgia offers the diagnosis that might lead us to a cure * Matthew Sweet, author of Inventing the Victorians *A triumphal backwards tour through the history of Britain's relationship with its own past. This funny, sad, wise and brilliantly informative book is a crash course in the many pasts that have made our presents * Peter Mitchell, author of Imperial Nostalgia: How the British Conquered Themselves *Rule, Nostalgia is radiant with an enthusiast's passion for their subject, and makes a convincing case that Britain's history is sufficiently weird, fascinating and marvellous, without rewriting it into comforting fables * The New Humanist *Rule, Nostalgia is a triumphal backwards tour through the history of Britain's relationship with its own past, a chronicle of our state of perpetual longing for a paradise just gone. Woods' eye is ironic, but never without sympathy as she teases apart the nested structures of mourning and nostalgia on which out national identity is built. This funny, sad, wise and brilliantly informative book is both a plea for historiographical literacy and a crash course in the many pasts that have made our presents * Peter Mitchell, author of Imperial Nostalgia: How the British Conquered Themselves *

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Book Synopsis''An utterly enjoyable voyage under Paris'' - THE OLDIE''Delightful and diverting... Martin is the most unpretentious and companionable of guides; the book is great fun'' - LITERARY REVIEW''An eclectic blend of engineering and travelogue, urban planning and anecdote... a sincere love letter'' -THE ECONOMISTAndrew Martin has been described as ''the laureate of railways'', having written many books with railway themes. But Andrew has always been obsessed with the Paris Metro, hence Metropolitain: An Ode to the Paris Metro, the first English history of the Metro for the general reader.Metropolitain is as stylish as the Metro itself and laced with cultural references. Andrew explains why Last Tango in Paris is a great Metro film, and what the Metro chase scene in the classic thriller, Le Samourai, says about Parisian culture. He describes how he came to appreciate the beauty of GuTrade Review'An utterly enjoyable voyage under Paris' * Christopher Howse, THE OLDIE *'Andrew Martin's entertaining study of the Parisian underground is a welter of timetables, carriage types, ticket colours and technical savvy' * Telegraph *'no tunnel goes unvisited, no track uninspected... it is an eclectic blend of engineering and travelogue, urban planning and anecdote... a sincere love letter' * The Economist *'Delightful and diverting... Martin is the most unpretentious and companionable of guides; the book is great fun' * Literary Review *

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Book SynopsisPublished on the 100th anniversary of the discovery of Tutankhamun’s tomb and the 200th anniversary of the deciphering of the Rosetta stone, this book responds to the ever-growing enthusiasm and curiosity for Egyptomania. This concept refers to a collective imagination which was nurtured throughout the 19th and 20th centuries by archaeological digs and exploratory trips. These key discoveries were crucial for creation and particularly for the Art Deco artists who found their inspiration in Egyptian lines and patterns. Art Déco & Egyptomanie explores the origins and functioning of this cultural and artistic movement shaped by many fields: architecture, cinema, sculpture, popular art, theatre and fashion. Art Déco & Egyptomanie comes with an explicit and previously unseen iconography. Text in French.

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Book SynopsisAn official BBC book that celebrates the life of Queen Elizabeth II through photographs, some rarely seen, drawn largely from archives of the BBC.The longest-reigning monarch in British history, Queen Elizabeth II has been at the centre of British life for almost a century. She's led a very public life, seen by millions through photographs, film and television, from the time of her birth in 1926 to the final years of her reign. The embodiment of Britain, she has been a constant, knowledgeable presence in our politics and culture since she came to the throne in 1952. This book celebrates the life of Queen Elizabeth II through photographs and still images, drawn largely from the archives of the BBC, an organisation that received its royal charter only one year after she was born. From her earliest days and first moments of public life, to her Platinum Jubilee and the weddings of her children and grandchildren, this is a lavish tribute to the most public of monarchs, an iconic figure in the hearts and minds of millions throughout the world.

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Book SynopsisTHE INTERNATIONAL BESTSELLERBest Books of the Year, GuardianThe poignant story of the visionary surgeon who rebuilt the faces of the First World War''s injured heroes, and in the process ushered in the modern era of plastic surgeryFrom the moment the first machine gun rang out over the Western Front, one thing was clear: mankind''s military technology had wildly surpassed its medical capabilities. The war''s new weaponry, from tanks to shrapnel, enabled slaughter on an industrial scale, and given the nature of trench warfare, thousands of soldiers sustained facial injuries. Medical advances meant that more survived their wounds than ever before, yet disfigured soldiers did not receive the hero''s welcome they deserved.In The Facemaker, award-winning historian Lindsey Fitzharris tells the astonishing story of the pioneering plastic surgeon Harold Gillies, who dedicated himself to restoring the faces - and the identities - of a brutalized generation. Gillies, a Cambridge-educated New Zealander, became interested in the nascent field of plastic surgery after encountering the human wreckage on the front. Returning to Britain, he established one of the world''s first hospitals dedicated entirely to facial reconstruction in Sidcup, south-east England. There, Gillies assembled a unique group of doctors, nurses and artists whose task was to recreate what had been torn apart. At a time when losing a limb made a soldier a hero, but losing a face made him a monster to a society largely intolerant of disfigurement, Gillies restored not just the faces of the wounded but also their spirits.Meticulously researched and grippingly told, The Facemaker places Gillies''s ingenious surgical innovations alongside the poignant stories of soldiers whose lives were wrecked and repaired. The result is a vivid account of how medicine and art can merge, and of what courage and imagination can accomplish in the presence of relentless horror.Trade ReviewIn this fascinating book, Fitzharris reminds us there is nothing superficial about plastic surgery's ability to heal minds as well as bodies. Five stars -- Kathryn Hughes * Mail on Sunday *Scholarly yet deeply moving... This is a fascinating book about a remarkable man, and of how teamwork is such an important part of good surgery. Despite the grim subject matter, it is a deeply moving and uplifting story -- Henry Marsh * New Statesman *Careful... sensitive... [Fitzharris] has successfully pieced together the story of a team of doctors, hospital workers and patients "battling" together during the First World War to modernize reconstructive plastic surgery... Fitzharris constructs a variegated and tender account of the First World War, its brutality and its narratives of human redemption... Tenderness and pathos pervade the personal stories of surgery and recovery, as well as Fitzharris's engagement with the ethics of facial difference and display -- Christine Slobogin * TLS *The Facemaker is an engaging biography of a masterful surgeon as well as a heartening account of medical progress * Economist *Meticulously researched... Five stars -- Catharine Arnold * Telegraph *Sometimes distressing, sometimes thrilling, The Facemaker had me gripped; it is elegantly written and endlessly fascinating. Employing just the right balance between diligent research and ingenious reanimation, Fitzharris brings to life a neglected slice of medical history, telling both Gillies' story as well as that of many of the men whose faces - and lives - he saved -- Lucy Scholes * Financial Times *Engrossing... Fitzharris presents an intensely moving and hugely enjoyable story about a remarkable medical pioneer and the men he remade -- Wendy Moore * Guardian *A skilled storyteller, Fitzharris takes the reader back to the front, making them trudge and slide through mud filled with missing limbs to find the people who stagger into Gillies's casebooks... Properly contextualised, these faces become not objects of horror or surgery, as they have been all too often used, but pathways into understanding what it is to lose a face, and with it, not only the ability to eat, drink and breathe, but also social acceptance and love -- Fay Bound Alberti * The Lancet *With rich, glossy strokes The Facemaker restores a sense of immediacy to the daily struggles facing Gillies and his colleagues as they improvised under constant pressure -- James Riding * The Times *Out of war's most awful wounds, out of gore and terror and pain, Lindsey Fitzharris has - like Sir Harold Gillies himself - crafted something inspiring and downright miraculous. I cannot imagine the sweat and sleuthing and doggedness that went into gathering the details and building the narratives of these men's struggles. This book is riveting. It is gruesome but it is also uplifting. For as much as there is blood and bone and pus in these pages, there is heart. As Fitzharris shows us, the scalpel is mightier than the grenade, and the pen is mightiest of all. What a triumph this book is -- Mary RoachLike Harold Gillies himself, Lindsey Fitzharris has taken something we might think of as grim and transformed it into something beautiful. Gillies will be an unsung hero no more -- Sam KeanWow, what a book. Enthralling. Harrowing. Heartbreaking. And utterly redemptive. Lindsey Fitzharris hit this one out of the park -- Erik Larson, author of THE SPLENDID AND THE VILEHere is that rare thing: a little-known story of the Great War, featuring a pioneering surgeon every bit as daring as the soldiers he saved. Beautifully written, illuminating, and bursting with fascinating detail, The Facemaker is a groundbreaking work that deserves its own genre: medical noir. You won't be able to put it down -- Karen Abbott, author of THE GHOSTS OF EDEN PARKI was an admirer of Fitzharris's award-winning first book, The Butchering Art, about Joseph Lister. This is her absorbing account of another surgeon: Harold Gillies, who established one of the world's first hospitals dedicated entirely to facial reconstruction -- Editor's pick * The Bookseller *Equal parts devastating and inspiring. The horrors of war are laid bare here, but the stories of each of the soldiers, doctors, nurses, and artists are incredibly poignant and fascinating. I couldn't put it down -- Jenny LawsonAn extraordinary story about a remarkable man whose work, determination and skill changed countless lives -- Peter Frankopan, author of THE SILK ROADSGraphic yet inspiring, engaging... [Fitzharris] delivers a consistently vivid account... An excellent biography of a genuine miracle worker -- Starred review * Kirkus *Wonderful... It was written with a clarity that I loved - although the book is packed with fascinating information, it read as easily as a novel... It is really inspiring and beautifully written -- Lucy Nathan * Bookbrunch *A fascinating portrait of pioneering plastic surgeon Harold Gillies and the soldiers whose faces he rebuilt during WWI... Meticulously researched and compulsively readable, this exceptional history showcases how compassion and innovation can help mitigate the terrible wounds of war * Starred Review, Publishers Weekly *Sometimes, you just know. From the moment I read The Facemaker's excellent prologue, I knew I had a book on my hands... Fitzharris is a gifted storyteller and delights in just about the right amount of detail -- Matthew Shipsey * Irish Times *Informative... A powerful portrait of a gifted man -- Oliver-James Campbell * New Scientist *The Facemaker conveys the emotional, physical and psychical effects of having an injured and altered face, directly from those who had to deal with them... Powerful -- Sharrona Pearl * Washington Post *In The Facemaker, Fitzharris rescues another vital yet largely forgotten figure from history. Blending scrupulous research with a novelist's eye, the author charts Gillies's extraordinary contribution to reconstructive surgery and weaves in touching accounts of the soldiers he treated. Stark and occasionally unsettling, the book reveals Gillies as both a craftsman and an artist, and underlines how by restoring the faces of the maimed Gillies was also restoring their lives and identities -- Brendan Daly * Business Post *Vividly thrilling * Nature *

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Book SynopsisThis groundbreaking, five-volume series offers a comprehensive, fully illustrated history of Egypt and Western Asia (the Levant, Anatolia, Mesopotamia, and Iran), from the emergence of complex states to the conquest of Alexander the Great. Written by a diverse, international team of leading scholars whose expertise brings to life the people, places, and times of the remote past, the volumes in this series focus firmly on the political and social histories of the states and communities of the ancient Near East. Individual chapters present the key textual and material sources underpinning the historical reconstruction, paying particular attention to the most recent archaeological finds and their impact on our historical understanding of the periods surveyed.The fourth volume of the Oxford History of the Ancient Near East covers the period from the end of the second to the middle of the first millennium BC, ca. 1100-600 BC, corresponding with Egypt''s Third Intermediate Period. Fifteen chTable of ContentsPreface Time Chart The Contributors Abbreviations 35: Egypt before the Saites (Jean Li) 36: Kush under the Dynasty of Napata (Geoff Emberling) 37: Assyria from Tiglath-pileser I to Ashurnasirpal II (Daisuke Shibata) 38: The Assyrian Empire: A View from Within (Heather D. Baker) 39: The Assyrian Empire in Contact with the World (Jamie Novotny) 40: The Assyrian Empire: Perspectives on Culture and Society (Frederick Mario Fales) 41: Babylonia from Nebuchadnezzar I to Tiglath-pileser III (John P. Nielsen) 42: Elam in the Iron Age (Alexa Bartelmus) 43: The Medes and the Kingdom of Mannea (Andreas Fuchs) 44: The Kingdom of Urartu (Yervand Grekyan) 45: The Kingdom of Phrygia (Annick Payne) 46: The Iron Age States of Southeastern Anatolia and Northern Syria (Mark Weeden) 47: The Iron Age States on the Phoenician Coast (Françoise Briquel Chatonnet) 48: The Kingdoms of Israel and Judah (Omer Sergi) Index

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Book SynopsisTrade ReviewThe Macedonian king Philip V is usually remembered as the man whose alliance with Hannibal triggered the Roman expansion in the East. Drawing upon epigraphic discoveries of the last decades that document Philip's military and administrative reforms and responses to crises and correct the hostile account of the historian Polybius, Ian Worthington has composed a nuanced and up-to-date narrative of a life that started with ambitions and triumphs, and ended with defeats and tragedies. Philip's actions generated a process that Polybius calls symploke: the entanglement of political developments in Europe, Africa, and Asia. With this book, he now takes the place that he deserves among the greatest protagonists of the Hellenistic Age. * Angelos Chaniotis, Institute for Advanced Study, Princeton *A brilliant and much-needed volume on the last kings of ancient Macedonia. Worthington duly gives Philip V, Perseus, and Andriscus (Philip VI) the attention they deserve, challenging the view that they are mere 'postscripts' to Macedonia's Classical past and losers in the fight for supremacy in the second century BC Mediterranean. This updated history will undoubtedly foster interest in the last Antigonid kings and revise our understanding of the conflict between Macedonia and Rome. * Emma Nicholson, University of Exeter *Table of ContentsPreface Figures Abbreviations Maps Introduction: We Three Kings 1. The Kingdom of Macedonia 2. Introducing Philip V 3. The Social War 4. Taking on Rome 5. From the First to the Second Macedonian Wars 6. The Second Macedonian War 7. Fall of the Phalanx 8. Macedonia Renascent 9. Perseus: Last of the Antigonids 10. The Third Macedonian War 11. Dismembering Macedonia 12. Provincia Macedonia Appendix: "Fake News:" The Sources on Philip V and Perseus Bibliography, Index

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Book SynopsisIt can seem as though the Cold War division of Europe was inevitable. But Stalin was more open to a settlement on the continent than is assumed. In this powerful reassessment of the postwar order, Norman Naimark returns to the four years after WWII to illuminate European leaders’ efforts to secure national sovereignty amid dominating powers.Trade ReviewNaimark selects seven case studies to illustrate the complexity of Stalin’s aims in Europe, as he brings his superlative knowledge of the Soviet leader to bear on present-day realities…Naimark has few peers as a scholar of Stalinism, the Soviet Union and 20th-century Europe, and his latest work Stalin and the Fate of Europe is one of his most original and interesting. * Financial Times *Details the negotiations, the intrigues, and the showdowns that dominated the febrile politics of the postwar years…Those endeavoring to defend the independence of their territories and governments today would do well to look to the pragmatism, dexterity and resourcefulness of the politicians of the late 1940s. The book is a timely and instructive account not merely of our own history but also of our fractious, unsettling present. -- Daniel Beer * The Guardian *[Naimark’s] archival research and reading of the scholarly literature here adds shades of nuance and intricacy to ‘the well-honed dark images and paradigms of traditional Cold War history.’ -- Joshua Rubenstein * Wall Street Journal *The narrative of the early years of the Cold War has long since grown stale through repeated retellings of US–Soviet confrontations. Naimark, citing sources in six different languages, Europeanizes the story…Stalin and the Fate of Europe exemplifies the best qualities of Cold War history-writing. It is also, I think, a book for our time. -- Lewis H. Siegelbaum * Times Literary Supplement *Norman Naimark adds an abundance of fresh knowledge to a time and place that we think we know, clarifying the contours of Soviet–American conflict by skillfully enriching the history of postwar Europe. -- Timothy Snyder, author of On TyrannyThrough case studies ranging from Denmark to Italy and Finland to Albania, Naimark shows us just how open and contested European politics was in the immediate postwar years—and how European leaders pushed back for sovereignty even against Stalin. An important contribution to both Cold War and European history. -- Timothy Garton Ash, author of In Europe’s NameThis original, provocative, and revisionist work on the origins of the Cold War demonstrates the dynamic tension between Stalin’s surprisingly flexible view of Soviet aims and the complex internal politics of several European countries striving to maintain their sovereignty in an international context not yet divided into two camps. -- Alfred J. Rieber, author of Stalin and the Struggle for Supremacy in EurasiaAre the United States and China fated to clash? For an answer look to Norman Naimark’s wonderfully surprising Stalin and the Fate of Europe, which reexamines the onset of the original Cold War. Naimark’s splendidly judicious book restores the partial open-endedness of 1945 to 1949, and demonstrates that statesmanship or the lack thereof was decisive in shaping the world that emerged. The achievement of a lifetime. -- Stephen Kotkin, author of StalinExcavates the hidden histories of Stalin’s shifting policies in postwar Europe, undermining conventional understandings of Soviet ambitions and showing Stalin to have been more cautious and pragmatic in his foreign policy than earlier accounts proposed. Naimark is a probing analyst, balanced in his judgments, as well as a masterful storyteller. -- Ronald Grigor Suny, author of The Soviet ExperimentA masterful account of Stalin’s European policies in the first postwar years; by far the best study of this central issue for understanding the Cold War in Europe. -- Odd Arne Westad, author of The Cold WarNorman Naimark is one of the foremost authorities on Soviet history and the reign of Joseph Stalin…The book is the culmination of many years of research and is destined to become a point of reference for many years to come. -- Silvio Pons * Inference *

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Book SynopsisHow herbaria illuminate the past and future of plant scienceTrade Review“This book opens a window on a fascinating, rarely explored subject.”—Jack Watkins, Country Life“Access to most herbaria is restricted: biologist Maura Flannery knew ‘almost nothing’ about them until 2010, when a US curator took her behind the scenes at one and she fell in love with them. Her history dramatizes this revelation, discussing global collections and collectors using fine period drawings.”—Andrew Robinson, Nature“This book is the fruit of [Flannery’s] exploration into [plant’s] vital importance but also what they tell us about history, culture, aesthetics and ethnobotany.”—Ursula Buchan, The Spectator“An enchanting travelogue ranging across centuries of plant collecting, In the Herbarium is also an urgent reminder of the value of natural history collections to science, the humanities, and art.”—Yota Batsaki, Dumbarton Oaks“In this engaging, never-before-told story, Maura Flannery shows us how the herbarium has been at the center of our centuries-long quest to understand the world of plants.”—Peter Crane, author of Ginkgo and president, Oak Spring Garden Foundation“Maura Flannery’s love of all things botanical permeates through her writing, creating a story of botany past, present, and future seen through the lens of the herbarium.”—Caroline Cornish, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew“A stimulating and informative book to be read (and re-read) from cover to cover as a source of enjoyment, enlightenment and inspiration.”—D. S. Ingram, joint lead author/editor of Science and the Garden“A very useful and timely overview of the long history of engagement with botanical knowledge.”—Vassiliki Betty Smocovitis, author of Unifying Biology: The Evolutionary Synthesis and Evolutionary Biology

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Book SynopsisThe first full-scale biography of Robert Welch, who founded the John Birch Society and planted some of modern conservatism's most insidious seeds. Though you may not know his name, Robert Welch (1899-1985)founder of the John Birch Societyis easily one of the most significant architects of our current political moment. In A Conspiratorial Life, the first full-scale biography of Welch, Edward H. Miller delves deep into the life of an overlooked figure whose ideas nevertheless reshaped the American right. A child prodigy who entered college at age 12, Welch became an unlikely candy magnate, founding the company that created Sugar Daddies, Junior Mints, and other famed confections. In 1958, he funneled his wealth into establishing the organization that would define his legacy and change the face of American politics: the John Birch Society. Though the group's paranoiac right-wing nativism was dismissed by conservative thinkers like William F. Buckley, its ideas gradually moved from the far-right fringe into the mainstream. By exploring the development of Welch's political worldview, A Conspiratorial Life shows how the John Birch Society's rabid libertarianismand its highly effective grassroots networkingbecame a profound, yet often ignored or derided influence on the modern Republican Party. Miller convincingly connects the accusatory conservatism of the midcentury John Birch Society to the inflammatory rhetoric of the Tea Party, the Trump administration, Q, and more. As this book makes clear, whether or not you know his name or what he accomplished, it's hard to deny that we're living in Robert Welch's America. Trade Review“In this highly readable, insightful biography of Robert Welch, Miller uses his unique access into Welch's papers to reveal a man much more important to modern American conservatism than we have previously understood. Miller shows how, far from being marginalized to the fringes of the movement, Welch was central to creating the destructive conspiratorial worldview that now dominates our politics.” * Heather Cox Richardson, author of “Letters from an American” *“[A] terrific biography. . . In Miller’s hands, the story of Robert Welch shows that there was no real dividing line between the responsible and radical right.” * Times Literary Supplement *"The rise of Trump, Q-anon, and a Republican Party seemingly allergic to the ordinary canons of decency and expertise, has led historians to a reexamination of brands of American conservatism previously considered too extreme to be relevant to understanding the present. This work demands a rare combination of talents: an ability to empathize with ways of thinking from which reason recoils, and a moral sense that refuses to normalize it. Miller possesses both in abundance, which is what makes this groundbreaking biography of Robert Welch of the John Birch Society so very valuable." * Rick Perlstein, author of Reaganland: America's Right Turn, 1976-1980 *“In this immersive biography, Miller traces the roots of today’s right-wing conspiracy theories to John Birch Society founder Robert Welch . . . Scrupulously researched and lucidly written, this is an enlightening study of an overlooked yet influential figure in American politics.” * Publishers Weekly *“Miller’s study of Robert Welch, the founder of the John Birch Society, presents a plausible account of America’s slow descent from the 1950s into the abyss of post-truth politics.” * London Review of Books *"Traces the origins and history of the John Birch Society and, in the process, provides historical perspective on the far-right populism of the Trump era. . . . On the whole, as Miller’s book makes clear, Republican politicians of the early 1960s were more eager to court the John Birch Society than to distance themselves from it." * New York Review of Books *“A Conspiratorial Life is the first comprehensive biography of Robert Welch. It is revelatory about his role in the development of modern American conservatism.” * Foreword Reviews *"Offers a good angle from which to appraise the fractured state of American conservatism." * Financial Times *“[An] impressively researched and nuanced reconsideration of the modern American right. . . Miller makes a provocative and persuasive case that Welch was a vanguard figure rather than a retrograde one.” * The New Republic *“A reminder that outlandish conspiracism has a long history on the right.” * Los Angeles Review of Books *"Miller makes an important contribution to understanding how conspiracy theories have altered American politics in this biography of Robert Welch (1899–1985) . . . Although Welch died in 1985, Miller argues that his use of the “Big Lie” still resonates today, manifesting in the Tea Party's xenophobic anger; Donald Trump's election as president in 2016; and the aftermath of the 2020 presidential election, which culminated in the January 6 insurrection. Recommended." * Choice *“Miller has undertaken the definitive biography of John Birch Society founder Robert Welch, and he has succeeded. A Conspiratorial Life is incredibly thorough, carefully researched and written, and enlivened by energetic prose.” * Heather Hendershot, author of Open to Debate: How William F. Buckley Put Liberal America on the Firing Line *"A welcome contribution to the history of modern right-wing politics at its extremes." * Kirkus Reviews *“[An] eye-opener of a biography." -- Robert Siegel * Moment Magazine *"In the standard origin story of the modern US right, today's conservative movement was born with an excommunication: when William F. Buckley, the erudite, upper-crust founder of the National Review, turned on his onetime ally, Robert Welch of the John Birch Society, driving Welch and the rest of the conspiracy-hunting "Birchers" out of the respectable right. The truth, as always, is much messier, as Edward H. Miller demonstrates in his new book. . . The deeper imperative of the book, Miller writes, is to correct historians' long-standing misapprehensions about conservatism, and what the field has missed by dismissing the darker, stranger corners of the right, and how its apparent losers may have won the long game." * Salon *"An eye-opening look at the deep roots of rightwing politics in the United States. Sweeping in scope, the book takes a deep dive into the fears at the heart of the John Birch Society . . . [Miller] provides a deep, thoughtful, and accessible account of Welch’s lasting hold on U.S. politics." * The Progressive *"An engaging and penetrating dive into the enduring influence of the John Birch Society and the group’s founder Robert Welch." * Political Research Associates *"Most accounts of the rise of conservatism in the twentieth century follow a familiar set of characters: William F. Buckley, Barry Goldwater, Ronald Reagan. Historian Edward Miller suggests an alternative leading man: Robert Welch. His new biography of the founder and leader of the John Birch Society, the anticommunist grass-roots organization founded in 1958, makes the case that the scholarly focus on the politically respectable right has led to a distorted understanding of the history of conservatism—one that is especially problematic given the prevalence of loony conspiracy theories on the right today." -- Kim Phillips-Fein * Society for US Intellectual History *"A comprehensive account. . . Miller’s central contention that Welch 'paved the way for the conservatism of the twentieth century, shaped events in the twentieth-first century, and will continue to do so far into the future' is as disturbing as it is compelling." * The Review of Politics *"Miller’s contribution to this revisionist historiography constitutes a cleverly written, finely textured, and badly needed study of a pivotal and too-often marginalized figure in the development of the modern American Right." * Journal of Southern History *Table of ContentsIntroduction 1 Chowan County, North Carolina 1700–1899 2 Stockton, 1899–1910 3 Elizabeth City, Raleigh, Annapolis, 1910–1919 4 The Candyman, 1919–1927 5 Professional Breakdown and the Great Depression, 1928–1940 6 America First, 1940–1945 7 Postwar Dreams and Delusions, 1946–1950 8 The Candidate, 1950 9 May God Forgive Us, 1951–1952 10 There’s Just Something about Ike, 1952 11 A Republican Looks at His President, 1953–1954 12 The Saga of John Birch, 1954 13 Adventures in the Far East, 1954–1955 14 Arrivals and Departures, 1955–1958 15 The Indy Eleven, 1957–1959 16 Revelations, 1959–1960 17 Goldwater in ’60, 1960 18 Staccato Jabs, 1961–1962 19 Succession? 1961–1962 20 “Where Were You in ’62?,” 1962 21 Revolution in the Streets and the Paranoid Style in Belmont, 1963 22 Two Novembers, 1963–1964 23 Nadir, 1965–1966 24 Avenging the Insiders, 1966–1968 25 The Fifty-Foot Cabin Cruiser, 1969–1975 26 Bunker, 1970–1978 27 Making Morning in America . . . , 1970–1985 Epilogue Acknowledgments Notes Index

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Book SynopsisTrade Review"In Conchophilia seven scholars dissect why Renaissance-era collectors braved maritime hazards to beachcomb. Finding the pearliest treasures at shorelines called for avoiding crocodiles, spiny urchins and ‘burning sea slime’. . . . Painters depicted shells, with names as wonderful as ‘precious wentletrap’ and ‘speckled episcopal miter,’ arrayed on banquet tables or in the hands of exulting deities. Metalsmiths set nautiluses on gold pedestals sculpted with mermaid and sea foam motifs. Collectors had favorite shells cemented onto grotto walls, sometimes in the bristly shapes of pine cones and artichokes."---Eve M. Kahn, New York Times"This richly illustrated collection of essays conceptualises the shell and how it was used in material and visual culture, philosophy, and aesthetics as a ‘vessel’ to comprehend early modern society, primarily in a Dutch and German context. . . . [A] well-produced and beautiful book, even its softly glowing endpapers reminiscent of polished shells and nacre. Of interest to art historians, historians of science, and historians of visual and material culture, the essays are also clearly written and approachable, offering many pearls of wisdom. I highly recommend it."---Anna Marie Roos, Early Modern Low Countries"The exquisitely illustrated, thought-provoking book examines the complicated provenances, varied uses, and key role of shells in shaping this period’s visual and aesthetic culture."---Lauren Moya Ford, Hyperallergic"[Conchophilia does] an excellent job in surveying both art history and the history of science to discuss the uses of shells in art. . . . The lavish illustrations alone are worth the price of purchase. . . . Truly a feast for the eyes."---Alan R. Kabat, American Conchologist"Conchophilia is well-designed and beautifully illustrated, a book that deploys wonderful narratives about the love of shells in early modern Europe. . . . A captivating combination of the material and the social, of shells and people."---Marlise Rijks, Early Science and Medicine"A very handsome book replete with full-color photographs, Conchophilia is a joy to read, as appealing and stimulating as the curiosities it considers."---James Clifton, Historians of Netherlandish Art Reviews"All the studies in this beautiful book command respect: they are distinctly original and relevant and unfold with keen intelligence. With a novel, methodical approach, and by means of very subtle and magnificently illustrated analyses, they illuminate European collections of the first modern era."---Myriam Marrache-Gouraud, Renaissance and Reformation"A thought-provoking and beautifully produced book. . . . [A]s all authors convincingly show in their chapters, a case can be made for the particular poignant love of shells from the early sixteenth century onward. Both as literal and metaphorical vessels, it is argued, shells prompted reflection, contemplation, and discussion, as material manifestations of exoticness, (natural and divine) craftmanship, and aesthetics."---Marika Keblusek, Renaissance Quarterly"A fascinating book."---Christopher Stocks, Country Life

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Book SynopsisIlluminates how new modes of artistic production in colonial India shaped the British state’s nationalisation of the East India Company, transforming the relationship between nation and empire This pioneering book explores how art shaped the nationalisation of the East India Company between the loss of its primary monopoly in 1813 and its ultimate liquidation in 1858. Challenging the idea that parliament drove political reform, it argues instead that the Company’s political legitimacy was destabilised by novel modes of artistic production in colonial India. New artistic forms and practices—the result of new technologies like lithography and steam navigation, middle-class print formats like the periodical, the scrapbook and the literary annual, as well as the prevalence of amateur sketching among Company employees—reconfigured the colonial regime’s racial boundaries and techniques of governance. They flourished within transimperial networks, integrating middle-class societies with new political convictions and moral disciplines, and thereby eroding the aristocratic corporate cultures that had previously structured colonial authority in India. Unmaking the East India Company contributes to a reassessment of British art as a global, corporate and intrinsically imperial phenomenon—highlighting the role of overlooked media, artistic styles and print formats in crafting those distinctions of power and identity that defined ‘Britishness’ across the world. Distributed for the Paul Mellon Centre for Studies in British ArtTrade Review“[A] pioneering book. . . . Tom Young has risen to the challenge brilliantly. The book is lavishly illustrated and extremely well produced. . . . Every facet of this book is admirable.”—Charles Greig, Chowkidar“Unmaking the East India Company is theoretically engaged but eminently readable and beautifully illustrated.”—John Mcaleer, H Soz Kult

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Book SynopsisA comprehensive survey of Syriac Christianity from its origins in Hellenistic and ancient Near Eastern cultures to the presentTrade Review“In this extraordinarily learned and wide-ranging book, an entire lost world is brought into the light. The Syriac World reminds us of the vigor and diversity that made up the culture and religion of the Middle East from Late Antiquity until today.”—Peter Brown, author of Through the Eye of a Needle“This is a marvelous gem of a book. In one short volume, we are given three thousand years of history. Readers will learn an enormous amount about Syriac literature and the history of Middle Eastern Christianity. This book is a small classic.”—Jack Tannous, author of The Making of the Medieval Middle East“The authors have provided a wonderfully readable, and beautifully illustrated, guide to the various aspects of the Syriac world: the narrative is exceptionally well informed, and the attention paid to material culture is particularly welcome. This is a book that every self-respecting library ought to have.”—Sebastian Brock, author of An Introduction to Syriac Studies“The Syriac World is a fine piece of scholarship, and a truly valuable contribution to the literature on Christian history. The authors present a picture of the Syriac world that is at once authoritative and attractive to the non-specialist reader.”—Philip Jenkins, author of Crucible of Faith: The Ancient Revolution That Made Our Modern Religious World

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Book SynopsisBritain has historically been seen as an upholder of international norms, at least in its relations with western powers. This has often been contrasted with the violence perpetrated in colonial contexts on other continents. What is often missed, however, is the extent to which the state with its capital in Londonfirst England, then Great Britaininflicted extreme violence on its European neighbours, even when still using the rhetoric of neighbourliness and friendship.This book comprises eleven case-studies of Anglo- British strategic violence, from the siege of Harfleur in 1415 to the fire-bombing of Hamburg in 1943. Chapters examine actions that were top-down and directed, and perpetrated for specific geopolitical reasonsmany of them at, or well beyond, the bounds of what was sanctioned by prevailing international norms at the time. The contributors look at how these actions were conceived, executed and perceived by the English/British public, by the international legal c

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Book SynopsisSchindler's List meets The Sound of Music as best-selling New York Post investigative journalist Isabel Vincent delves into pre-World-War-II history to recover the amazing story of two British spinsters who masterminded a plan to spirit dozens of Jewish stars and personnel of the German and Austrian opera to England and save them from a terrible fate under the Third Reich. Will resonate with readers of The Nazi Officer's Wife and The Dressmakers of Auschwitz.A Secret Aria of Courage and Suspense Europe, 1937. Two British sisters, one a dowdy typist, the other a soon-to-be famous romance novelist. One shared passion for opera. With prospects for marriage and families of their own cut down by the scythe of World War I, the Cook sisters have thrown themselves into their love of music, with frequent pilgrimages to Germany and Austria to see their favorite opera stars perform. But now with war clouds gathering and harassment increasing, the stars of Continental opera, many of whom are Jewish, face dark futures under the boot heel of the Nazis. What can two middle-aged British spinsters do about such matters? They can form a secret cabal right under Hitler's nose and get to work saving lives. Along with Austrian conductor Clemens Krauss (a favorite of Hitler, but quietly working with the Cooks) the sisters conspire to bring together worldwide opera aficionados and insiders in an international operation to rescue Jews in the opera from the horrific fate that everyone intuits is coming. By the time war does arrive, the Cooks and their operatives have plucked over two dozen Jewish men and women from the looming maw of the Holocaust and spirited them to safety in England. Packed with original research and vividly told with suspense, hope, and wonder by award-winning New York Post investigative journalist Isabel Vincent, author of nationally best-selling memoir Dinner with Edward, this singular tale reveals many new details of the seemingly naïve and oblivious Cook sisters' surreptitious bravery, daring, and passionate commitment as the two mount a successful rescue mission that saves dozens of lives and preserves the opera they love for another generation. “A profoundly moving history of vision, courage, love and commitment.”—Blanche Wiesen Cook, author of national bestseller Eleanor Roosevelt "A riveting, improbable, uplifting tale, made all the more exciting because it really happened!”—Opera great and 17-time Grammy Award winner Renée Fleming

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Book SynopsisNina Möntmann's timely book extends the decolonisation debate to the institutions of contemporary art. In a thoughtfully articulated text, illustrated with pertinent examples of best practice, she argues that to play a crucial role within increasingly diverse societies museums and galleries of contemporary art have a responsibility to 'decentre' their institutions, removing from their collections, exhibition policies and infrastructures a deeply embedded Euro-centric cultural focus with roots in the history of colonialism. In this, she argues, they can learn from the example both of anthropological museums (such as the Rautenstrauch-Joest-Museum in Cologne), which are engaged in debates about the colonial histories of their collections, about trauma and repair, and of small-scale art spaces (such as La Colonie, Paris, ANO, Institute of Arts and Knowledge, Accra or Savvy Contemporary, Berlin), which have the flexibility, based on informal infrastructures, to initiate different kinds of conversation and collective knowledge production in collaboration with indigenous or local diasporic communities from the Global South. For the first time, this book identifies the influence that anthropological museums and small art spaces can exert on museums of contemporary art to initiate a process of decentring.Table of ContentsForeword; Introduction: Why Decentre Museums, and Why Now?; 1 The Colonial Dilemma of the Modern Museum; 2 Central Theoretical Concepts: From Decolonising to Decentring; 3 Repairing the Anthropological Museum; 4 Decolonial Sensibilities and Decentring Practices of Small-Scale Art Organisations; 5 The Contemporary Art Museum: Between the Anthropological Museum and Small Art Spaces; Epilogue: Decentred Museums as Infrastructures of People; Further Reading; Index

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Book SynopsisTrade Review"A New Statesman Essential Non-Fiction Book of 2021""Winner of the PROSE Award in the History of Science, Medicine, and Technology, Association of American Publishers""A Choice Outstanding Academic Title of the Year""[A] superb new history of infectious disease. Be so grateful you live now!"---David Frum"Magisterial. . . . [Harper’s] mastery of the science is only matched by the ease of his prose. If I were to nominate a book of the year, it would be this one."---Andrew Sullivan, The Dishcast"[A] sweeping masterpiece. . . . It’s difficult for me to think of anyone who will not find something eye-opening and enlightening in the pages of this comprehensive, beautifully written and eloquent book." * Forbes *"Plagues upon the Earth is a remarkable achievement."---Talha Burki, The Lancet"This magnificent book stood out as much for its nuance and academic rigour as it did for its readability." * Inquisitive Biologist *"An ambitious, engaging, and unified history of humanity’s interaction with infectious disease."---Gregory J. Morgan, Science"By integrating history, demography, economics, evolutionary biology and genomics into a seamless narrative, [Harper] does something that I, for one, have never seen before done so eloquently or persuasively: he demonstrates that any thorough understanding of health requires the kind of sweeping perspective that the humanities offers."---Steve Mintz, Inside Higher Ed"Comprehensive."---Tyler Cowen, Marginal Revolution"A remarkable accomplishment that weaves together microbiology, history, and economics to understand the role of diseases in shaping human history. Harper, an established historian known for his first three books on Rome and late antiquity, has an impressive command of virology, bacteriology, and parasitology as well as history and economics. In 'Plagues Upon the Earth.' he explains all of these clearly and with many arresting turns of phrase and insights."---Alex Tabarrok, Marginal Revolution"Well-conceived. … [Kyle] Harper combs through the literature of history, economics, epidemiology, and other disciplines to deliver a solid study of the role of infectious disease in the human story. ... Harper’s long-view study is a welcome addition to the spate of recent books on epidemic disease." * Kirkus Reviews *"This is a solid book, superbly referenced and interdisciplinary, covering disease from pre-human origins to the present, and making extensive use of published DNA comparisons and descriptions of plagues by historical observers." * Choice *"Completing the reading of this book leaves one with more than a feeling of satisfaction. Admiration for a major task that was written in an engaging style that retains a facile elegance throughout its 700 pages, that presents comprehensive and detailed information as though it were the sort of material that readers come across every day, is what one might not expect, but welcomes, in a serious work of this size."---Ian Lipke, Queensland Reviewers Collective"This timely work is the book of extraordinary brilliance and scope and the most significant in the field since William McNeill’s Plagues and Peoples from the mid-1970s."---David Lorimer, Paradigm Explorer"Magisterial." * Prospect *"Plagues Upon the Earth is a highly provoking and enjoyable read. It shows that our success as a species is equally paralleled to the success of pathogens"---Makayla Alderson Fox, World History Encyclopedia

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Book SynopsisEdward Jenner is a giant of modern medicine. Throughout history, smallpox had plagued humanity with disfigurement, blindness and death. It was an incurable blight, the suffering of which Jenner helped to end.Surmising from the immunity of milkmaids that cowpox might be some defence against the ravages of smallpox, in 1793 he took some of the matter from a human case of cowpox and inserted it into the arm of a young boy. To test this, the first human-to-human vaccination, he subsequently inoculated the boy with smallpox itself, and found him to be immune from the disease. In 1979 smallpox was declared extinct.In this concise biography, Rob Boddice tells the story of Jenner’s life, his medical vision and his profound legacy. It is a story that encompasses revolutions in medical experimentation, public health provision and the prevention of other diseases, from anthrax to measles, but above all it highlights the profound impact that Jenner’s vision has had upon humanity’s battle against disease.

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Book SynopsisAn absorbing, joyous, and colorful collection of stories from the qissa genre. Fabulous Machinery for the Curious presents the first English translation of some of the finest texts from the qissa genre. In this book, acclaimed translator Musharraf Ali Farooqi gathers the greatest of these tales, written or transcribed in the Urdu language by master storytellers in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. Spreading from Persia to Arabia to South Asia over 1,500 years, the qissa appropriated verse and prose narratives to become the preeminent storytelling genre. The combined traditions of the many cultures of Indo-Islamic civilization resulted in a flowering of qissas in Urdu. This collection distills a vast body of oral and written literature, from resplendent sagas of romantic love and thrilling adventures in fairyland to picaresque stories of deception and haunting tales of nobility and viciousness. Fabulous Machinery for the Curious brings these forgotten gems to a new generatTable of ContentsContents Acknowledgements Introduction Qissa 1: The Ingenious Farkhanda and the Two Conditions Translation of Char Gulshan by Rai Beni Narayan Qissa 2: The Adventures of a Soldier Translation of Qissa Sipahizada by Khushdil Kiratpuri Qissa 3: Chhabili the Innkeeper Translation of Qissa Chhabili Bhattiyari by unknown author Qissa 4: Azar Shah and Saman Rukh Bano Translation of Nau Aaeen-e Hindi by Mehr Chand Khatri Mehr Qissa 5: The Victim of Malice Translation of Qissa-e Maqtool-e Jafa by Amiruddin Khan Maani Qissa 6: A Girl Named King Agar Translation of Qissa Agar o Gul by Saadat Khan Nasir About the Authors and Narrators About the Translator

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Book SynopsisBrave and vivid.New York Review of BooksThese enchanting stories from early modern Bengal reveal how Hindu and Muslim traditions converged on timeless themes of human morality, social culture, and survival. The Bengali stories in this collection are first and foremost tales of survival. Each story in Needle at the Bottom of the Sea underscores the need for people to work togethernot just to overcome the challenges of living in the Sundarban swamps of Bengal, but also to ease hostilities born of social differences in religion, caste, and economic class. Translated by award-winning scholar of early modern Bengali literature Tony K. Stewart, Needle at the Bottom of the Sea brims with fantasy and excitement. Sufi protagonists travel through a world of wonder where tigers talk and men magically grow into giants, a Hindu princess falls in love with a Muslim holy man, and goddesses rub shoulders with kings and merchants. Across religion, class, and gender, what binds these fabulous stories together is the characters' pursuit of living honorably and morally in a difficult, corrupt world.Trade Review"Brave and vivid . . . [Stewart's translation] helps the anglophone reader enter this world in which karma supplies the ultimate explanation of the often bizarre adventures of the human spirit so richly explored in these stories." -- Wendy Doniger * The New York Review of Books *“Needle at the Bottom of the Sea allows access to local stories of quotidian struggles of common people and their belief system. The kathas in this anthology are useful for locating the time and space in South Asian history that led to the incorporation of Islamic cultural strands into the socio-literary corpus of Bengali. The translation of these tales entailed meticulous research. . . . Overall, this is a work of great scholarship, which will interest literary historians as well as avid readers having interest in traditional South Asian romances.” * Asian Review of Books *Table of ContentsContents Introduction The Auspicious Tale of the Lord of the Southern Regions The Rāy mangal of Krsnarām Dās Scouring the World for Cāmpāvatī Gāji kālu o cāmpāvatī kanyār puthi of Ābdul Ohāb Glorifying the Protective Matron of the Jungle Bonbibī jahurā nāmā of Mohāmmad Khater Wayward Wives and Their Magical Flying Tree Satya nārāyaner puthi of Kavi Vallabh Curbing the Hubris of Moses Khoyāj Khijir’s Instruction to Musā in Nabīvamśa of Saiyad Sultān translated with Ayesha A. Irani Glossary Acknowledgments

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Book SynopsisThe Crusader States and their Neighbours (Winner, The Verbruggen Prize, The Society for Medieval Military History) explores the military history of the Medieval Near East, piecing together the fault-lines of conflict which entangled this much-contested region. This was an area where ethnic, religious, dynastic, and commercial interests collided and the causes of war could be numerous. Conflicts persisted for decades and were fought out between many groups including Kurds, Turks, Armenians, Arabs, and the crusaders themselves. Nicholas Morton recreates this world, exploring how each faction sought to advance its own interests by any means possible, adapting its warcraft to better respond to the threats posed by their rivals. Strategies and tactics employed by the pastoral societies of the Central Asian Steppe were pitted against the armies of the agricultural societies of Western Christendom, Byzantium, and the Islamic World, galvanising commanders to adapt their practices in response to their foes. Today, we are generally encouraged to think of this era as a time of religious conflict, and yet this vastly over-simplifies a complex region where violence could take place for many reasons and peoples of different faiths could easily find themselves fighting side-by-side.Trade Review'For general readers, perhaps the most important conclusion of Morton's book is that because such a complex and evolving political, cultural, and religious climate characterized the Near East, both alliances and wars were not driven by religious ideology alone ... This volume therefore breaks new ground in military history and should become required reading for those interested in the history of the crusades, conflicts in the Near East, and the Mediterranean.' * Jessalynn Bird, Sehepunkte *'Morton ambitiously sets out to offer a comprehensive analysis of all the military activity of the region in the twelfth century, with as many military episodes considered as possible, from the smallest to the largest. In this, he has succeeded impressively. The results of his extensive research have led to not only an invaluable book on warfare in the Middle East in the twelfth century, but one which also contributes notably to our understanding of medieval warfare in general. It is a thoroughly engrossing read.' * Sean McGlynn, Global Military Studies Review *Table of ContentsIntroduction 1: Frankish Expansion 2: Friends and Foes (1099-1129) 3: Aleppo and Damascus (1117-1129): The challenge of the Big Cities 4: The evolving balance of power (1130s-1148) 5: The rise of Nur al-Din 1149-1174 6: Saladin and the battle Hattin 7: Innovation and cross-cultural exchange in the evolution of Near Eastern warfare Why did the Crusader States lose the contest for the Near East?

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Book SynopsisA new wave of aspiring neo-Nazi terrorists has arisenincluding the infamous Atomwaffen Division. And they have a bible: James Mason's Siege, which praises terrorism, serial killers, and Charles Manson. Neo-Nazi Terrorism and Countercultural Fascism, based on years of archival work and interviews, documents for the first time the origins of Siege.First, it shows how Mason's vision arose from debates by 1970s neo-Nazis who splintered off the American Nazi Party/National Socialist White People''s Party and spun off a terrorist faction. Second, it unveils how four 1980s countercultural figuresmusicians Boyd Rice and Michael Moynihan, Feral House publisher Adam Parfrey, and Satanist Nikolas Schreckdiscovered, promoted, and published Mason. Neo-Nazi Terrorism and Countercultural Fascism explores a previously overlooked period and unearths the hidden connections between a countercultural clique and violent neo-Naziswhich together have set the template for

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Book SynopsisJade E. Davis contests the value of empathy as an affective or critical tool, proposing mutual recognition as a way to create a more meaningful affective engagement with the world.Trade Review“In this deeply original and thoughtful book, Jade E. Davis takes affect theory into new territory. Her writing makes the reader uncomfortable and curious at the same time, which is rare and wonderful. Dispelling many myths about empathy while executing an innovative stylistic and theoretical model, Davis has written a radical book that will spark conversation, debate, and new directions for research.” -- Zizi Papacharissi, author of * Affective Publics: Sentiment, Technology, and Politics *Table of ContentsPreface ix Acknowledgments xiii By way of an introduction 1 1. The other side of human zoos? 15 2. We have names 35 3. New media and emerging technology will kill us all, though 65 Some end thoughts 93 Notes 99 Bibliography 109 Me, myself, and you: A biography 117 Index

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Book SynopsisOffering a history of travel, tourism and Egyptology, Tea on the terrace follows Egyptologists between home and field sites, revealing how their activities in hotels and on dahabeahs impacted the development of the discipline. -- .

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Book SynopsisThis book is the essential guide to the extraordinarily complicated and developing situation in Israel/Palestine. Fully updated to reflect the tense and troubling changes in the region since 7 October 2023, this book puts the present situation into its broader context and, examining all perspectives, it unravels the origins and development of issues which make the headlines daily. Each aspect of this complex conflict is explained with engaging objectivity which will ensure you can examine the issues from all perspectives and in a social, political, historical and international framework.

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Book SynopsisA Times Best Book on the Royal Family of the Year 2022This is a biography of the Queen Mother with all the dull bits stripped out.When told that Lady Mountbatten was being buried at sea, the Queen Mother replied cheerfully. Dear old Edwina, she always did like to make a splash!'During her lifetime, the Queen Mother was as famous for her clever quips, pointed observations and dry-as-a-Martini delivery style as she was for being a member of the Royal Family. She was also famed for her fondness for drinky-poos' usually a gin and Dubonnet or three. Now, Do Let's Have Another Drink recounts 101 biographical vignettes one for each year of her long, remarkable life, including her coming-of-age during World War I, the abdication of her brother-in-law, the truth about her tragic nieces and her relationship with her two daughters over half a century of widowhood.The book is a skimming-stone biography the story of a life without the boring bits and a travel guide to a world that no longer exiTrade Review‘A warm, funny, and above all, sympathetic picture of a remarkable woman… Russell’s ‘skimming-stone’ biography has managed to capture both the laughter and the wisdom – I raise a glass to him’ Daily Telegraph, Four star review ‘Utterly compelling… This drink-infused, deliciously gossipy account of a privileged life is guaranteed to raise the spirits of anyone lucky enough to read it.’ Anne Sebba, author of That Woman: The life of Wallis Simpson, Duchess of Windsor ‘Wonderful prose, telling stories that are hilarious and moving by turns. Immensely enjoyable.’ Suzannah Lipscomb ‘Utterly glorious.’ Emerald Fennell ‘Do Let’s Have Another Drink is a joyful corrective. A triumph.’ Owen Emmerson, co-author of The Boleyns of Hever Castle ‘I absolutely adored this book! It’s wonderful.’ Deanna Raybourn, New York Times bestselling author ‘Gareth Russell brings the Queen Mother’s humanity, courage and spirit to life… a compulsive read.’ Nichelle Tramble Spellman, Showrunner Truth Be Told (Apple TV+) ‘Russell balances titillating gossip and heartfelt poignancy in this sparkling snapshot of Lady Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon… Russell interweaves brisk and informative history lessons with royal family intrigue. Fans of The Crown will lap this up.’ Publisher’s Weekly ‘Affectionate, scholarly, and side-splittingly funny. I couldn’t put it down.’ Adrian Tinniswood, author of Noble Ambitions: The Fall and Rise of the Post-War Country House ‘Utterly captivating… this wonderful book achieves something that none of the conventional biographies has quite managed: to humanise the Queen Mother’ Tracy Borman, author of Elizabeth’s Women

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Book SynopsisIn the days of Egyptian antiquity, many of the gods were abstract concepts rather than the actual anthropomorphic god-pictures familiar to us today. Many of the later fully-morphed deities were originally theological concepts represented by a distinctive hieroglyph, very similar to the correspondences used in modern ritual magic. As the need for a controlling religion grew, so did the spiritual need for more tangible forms on which to focus the common people's devotions. The common man's mind dwelt on the concrete, not the abstract, and so the gods took on those strange but easily recognisable animal-human shapes to satisfy the religious-teaching-by-pictures demands of less scholarly folk. The images recorded in tomb paintings, bas-relief and statuary were intended to represent living forms of the gods themselves, or Pharaoh as a god. There was a simple reason behind this. Egyptian life, magic and religion were inextricably intertwined, one could not, and did not exist, without the oth

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Book SynopsisGold is not what we think. It is usually discussed in the context of wealth and art but this book has a broader subject, so fundamental that it has been largely unremarked. Informed by a mass of recent discoveries and a South American indigenous perspective, it offers a new way of understanding the history of civilization. Gold has been coinage, treasure and adornment. But it has been much more, as the hidden driver of wars and revolutions, the rise and fall of empires and the transformation of societies. As the sun travelled east to west across the sky, gold, incorruptible and corrupting, flowed west to east, hand to hand across the world.That flow has brought empires to grow and collapse and driven plunder, conquest and colonization. It brought about wars and revolutions, empowered new forms of arts and science and created the capitalist consumer economy that dominates us now. All the gold people ever shaped still exists, shining as new; it can be mislaid but never decays. Right

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