History Books
Princeton University Press The End of Empires and a World Remade
Book Synopsis
£29.75
Princeton University Press Denmark Veseys Bible
Book SynopsisA timely and provocative account of the Bible's role in one of the most consequential episodes in the history of slaveryOn July 2, 1822, Denmark Vesey, a formerly enslaved man, was hanged in Charleston, South Carolina. He was convicted of plotting what might have been the largest insurrection against slaveholders in US history. Witnesses claimed that Vesey appealed to numerous biblical texts to promote and justify the revolt. While sentencing Vesey to death, Lionel Henry Kennedy, a magistrate at the trial, accused Vesey not only of treason but also of attempting to pervert the sacred words of God into a sanction for crimes of the blackest hue. Denmark Vesey's Bible tells the story of this momentous trial, examining the role of scriptural interpretation in the deadly struggle against American white supremacy and its brutal enforcement. Jeremy Schipper brings the trial and its aftermath vividly to life, drawing on court documents, personal letters, sermons, speeches, and editorials. HeTrade Review"Winner of the Award of Merit for History & Biography, Christianity Today""A must-read."---Michael Henry Adams, The Guardian"Jeremy Schipper has given us a great gift with this book. He has uncovered the truth of Denmark Vesey’s day and brought it to bear on our own."---Jeremy Rutledge, Post and Courier"A book to be read, studied, discussed, and used in discussions of United States history, African American history, and scriptural appropriation. It is a book that truly matters." * The Catholic Biblical Quarterly *
£16.50
Princeton University Press Write like a Man
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£27.00
Princeton University Press The Campus Color Line
Book SynopsisTrade Review"Winner of the ASHE Outstanding Book Award, Association for the Study of Higher Education""Winner of the AESA Critics’ Choice Book Award, American Educational Studies Association""Winner of the Frederic W. Ness Book Award, Association of American Colleges & Universities""Winner of the HES Outstanding Book Award, History of Education Society""Winner of the Outstanding Publication Award, American Educational Research Association""This extensively researched, well-written examination of racism, integration, and violence in the postsecondary environment is a major contribution to the field of higher education."---Jacqueline Snider, Library Journal"In this intensely researched narrative, Cole focuses on one institutional president—as a member of the wider community of presidents—per chapter and examines how he or she worked within the circumstances of their colleges. Perhaps most importantly, the author explores the silent networks of Black college presidents whose efforts slipped under the radar." * Kirkus Reviews *"The Campus Color Line is enlightening for advanced students and scholars interested in the study of higher education history." * Choice Reviews *"Cole artfully makes the case that higher education played a central role in shaping one of the most significant social movements in American history. . . . The Campus Color Line is essential not just for filling this gap in the historical literature or because it shows another way that universities influence society. It is essential because it challenges those of us in higher education, both educators and administrators, to be mindful of our actions and, above all else, to do more."---Lucian Bessmer, Harvard Educational Review"A brilliant and richly detailed study. . . . Cole’s ambitious collection of intimate and masterfully researched institutional histories make The Campus Color Line a must-read for upper-level undergraduate courses or graduate students examining the legacy of student activism and social movements, or the history of education."---Jelani M. Favors, History of Education Quarterly"Cole’s ability to connect college presidential challenges, racial turmoil, and political climate make this work groundbreaking. This is especially insightful since Cole takes the approach of focusing his work on the dominant white community which had their own way of working against the desegregation within the confines of American society."---Jesse R. Ford & Kaleb L. Briscoe, Teachers College Record"The Campus Color Line should be required reading for academics or anyone interested in how issues of racial justice became enmeshed in higher education."---E. Masghati, Ph.D., International Social Science Review"Eddie R. Cole brilliantly narrates the untold stories of America's college leaders and their many contributions toward the decolonization of higher education. . . . Cole’s book is a testament to the difficulty of these challenges faced by leaders, and it offers a guide for how to overcome them—if a leader knows how to pay close attention to our past and aims not to repeat the mistakes in the future."---Mary F. Howard-Hamilton & Kelsey Bogard, Journal of College Student Development "Cole’s lucid and pragmatic description of networks of power in the 1950s and 60s provides current scholars, administrators, and students a useful road map for effecting social change today."---Abigail Fagan, Amerikastudien/American Studies
£21.00
Princeton University Press The Campus Color Line
Book SynopsisThe remarkable history of how college presidents shaped the struggle for racial equalitySome of America's most pressing civil rights issues-desegregation, equal educational and employment opportunities, housing discrimination, and free speech-have been closely intertwined with higher education institutions. Although it is commonly known that coTrade Review"Winner of the ASHE Outstanding Book Award, Association for the Study of Higher Education""Winner of the AESA Critics’ Choice Book Award, American Educational Studies Association""Winner of the Frederic W. Ness Book Award, Association of American Colleges & Universities""Winner of the HES Outstanding Book Award, History of Education Society""Winner of the Outstanding Publication Award, American Educational Research Association""This extensively researched, well-written examination of racism, integration, and violence in the postsecondary environment is a major contribution to the field of higher education."---Jacqueline Snider, Library Journal"In this intensely researched narrative, Cole focuses on one institutional president—as a member of the wider community of presidents—per chapter and examines how he or she worked within the circumstances of their colleges. Perhaps most importantly, the author explores the silent networks of Black college presidents whose efforts slipped under the radar." * Kirkus Reviews *"The Campus Color Line is enlightening for advanced students and scholars interested in the study of higher education history." * Choice Reviews *"Cole artfully makes the case that higher education played a central role in shaping one of the most significant social movements in American history. . . . The Campus Color Line is essential not just for filling this gap in the historical literature or because it shows another way that universities influence society. It is essential because it challenges those of us in higher education, both educators and administrators, to be mindful of our actions and, above all else, to do more."---Lucian Bessmer, Harvard Educational Review"A brilliant and richly detailed study. . . . Cole’s ambitious collection of intimate and masterfully researched institutional histories make The Campus Color Line a must-read for upper-level undergraduate courses or graduate students examining the legacy of student activism and social movements, or the history of education."---Jelani M. Favors, History of Education Quarterly"Cole’s ability to connect college presidential challenges, racial turmoil, and political climate make this work groundbreaking. This is especially insightful since Cole takes the approach of focusing his work on the dominant white community which had their own way of working against the desegregation within the confines of American society."---Jesse R. Ford & Kaleb L. Briscoe, Teachers College Record"The Campus Color Line should be required reading for academics or anyone interested in how issues of racial justice became enmeshed in higher education."---E. Masghati, Ph.D., International Social Science Review"Eddie R. Cole brilliantly narrates the untold stories of America's college leaders and their many contributions toward the decolonization of higher education. . . . Cole’s book is a testament to the difficulty of these challenges faced by leaders, and it offers a guide for how to overcome them—if a leader knows how to pay close attention to our past and aims not to repeat the mistakes in the future."---Mary F. Howard-Hamilton & Kelsey Bogard, Journal of College Student Development "Cole’s lucid and pragmatic description of networks of power in the 1950s and 60s provides current scholars, administrators, and students a useful road map for effecting social change today."---Abigail Fagan, Amerikastudien/American Studies
£14.39
Princeton University Press Strangers Within
Book Synopsis
£34.20
Princeton University Press Devotion to the Administrative State
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£25.20
Princeton University Press Slouch
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£22.50
Princeton University Press A History of the Muslim World
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£29.75
Princeton University Press Adam Smiths America
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£19.00
Princeton University Press Sunni Chauvinism and the Roots of Muslim Modernism
a huge range and FREE tracked UK delivery on ALL orders.
£19.80
Princeton University Press Provenance and Possession
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£34.20
Princeton University Press Cannibal Island
Book Synopsis
£15.19
Princeton University Press The Diplomats 19391979
a huge range and FREE tracked UK delivery on ALL orders.
£117.00
Princeton University Press The Improvement of Humanity Education and the
Book Synopsis
£45.00
Taylor & Francis Ltd Propaganda and Information in Eastern India
Book SynopsisThis is a study of the social, political, economic and public health aspects of the Second World War in South Asia, with particular attention being accorded to colonial Eastern India, which was treated as a single administrative unit during the course of the conflict for strategic purposes. The conclusion deals with the long term effects of the war: its effects on political formations, bureaucratic re-negotiation and the de-colonisation of the British Indian empire.Trade Review'A well-crafted and presented addition to the field, and a valuable contribution to our understanding of the organisation and operation of the Raj in its final, fraught years.' - Contemporary South Asia 'An important book.' - Studies in HistoryTable of ContentsIntroduction; Chapter 1 The Second World War, Indian Nationalism and the Challenges of State Mobilisation in Eastern India: A Survey; Chapter 2 State Propaganda and Civilian Audiences in Eastern India 1939–45: Forms, Applications and Scope; Chapter 3 An Ancillary to Propaganda: State Censorship and the Civilian Population in Eastern India 1939–45; Chapter 4 The Colonial State, ‘Neutrals’ and the Propaganda Campaign against the Indian National Congress 1939–1944; Chapter 5 Propaganda, Censorship and the British Indian Army: Eastern India 1942–45; conclusion Conclusion;
£128.25
Scholastic All About Hanukkah Things to Make and Do
Book SynopsisThe ULTIMATE book of Hanukkah fun!
£7.59
National Trust 100 Curiosities Inventions from the Collections
Book SynopsisKatie Knowles is Assistant National Curator for Engagement at the National Trust. She specialises in interpretation and has contributed to content and publications on the Trust's rich and varied collections. She previously worked as the National Trust's Research Manager and held various communications roles before joining the Trust's Assistant Curator training programme.Table of ContentsIntroduction; 100 CURIOSITIES & INVENTIONS; Gazetteer of featured properties; Index; Acknowledgements; Picture credits
£9.50
The Crowood Press Ltd Webley Air Pistols
Book SynopsisDespite a long history of involvement in the design and production of firearms, the Birmingham firm of Webley & Scott is probably better known to the general public for its manufacture of airguns than for any other product. This book offers a history and development of Webley air pistols as well as the traditional British craftsmanship.
£40.50
The Crowood Press Ltd Genealogy
Book SynopsisThis book is the ideal companion for anybody researching their family tree. It provides advice and inspiration on methods and problem-solving and helps the amateur family historian understand what successful professionals do to get results, and why we should copy them. Over ten chapters, it examines the various themes that affect the success or failure of all genealogy research. This begins with an overview of common challenges genealogists encounter and continues with an examination of how to both search effectively and find the right documentary sources. Using examples from her own family history as well as client work, teacher and professional genealogist Helen Osborn demonstrates how to get the most from documents, analyze problems and build research plans. These subjects lead on to recording results, how to ensure relationships are correctly proved, organizing information and presenting your findings. Although the book deals mainly with research in England and Wales, the skills ta
£14.24
The Crowood Press Ltd Witchcraft Out of the Shadows
Book SynopsisA complete history of witchcraft from Ancient Greece to the present day, charting the rise and development of witchcraft and the modern witchcraft religion of Wicca. Witchcraft is commonly spoken of in popular culture, but few know, or are even able to guess at, its shadowy history. This in-depth investigation discovers how the ideas we have about witchcraft took shape thousands of years ago in the myths and religions of the ancient world. It also looks at why these ideas were expressed so violently during the era of the witch trials. Finally, it reveals how witchcraft has been transformed into one of the most radical and fastest growing religionsa religion of equality and compassion that still has the power to unsettle even the bravest of newcomers. With new analyses, fresh insights, and groundbreaking material drawn from the author''s research into the mysticism, magic, and social meaning of Wicca, this is the first book to bring witchcraft fully out of the shadows.
£9.49
Crecy Publishing DDay Piercing the Atlantic Wall
Book SynopsisMany books have been written about the Normandy landings, but Robert Kershaw brings a new perspective by drawing heavily on German and Allied sources little used in the standard accounts. The actual landings and the subsequent few days of battle often resolved themselves into a multitude of desperate small-scale struggles - for the next few yards of beach, to cross the next field, or to reach the next hedgerow. By looking at the battle at this level through the eyes of both Allied and German participants, the author is able to develop new insights into the successes and failures of both sides. He also shows why the battle for Normandy developed into the long and bitter struggle that has become so well known.The book features extracts from the German telephone log for Omaha Beach, bringing the landings to life. The author also analyses the failure by both sides to balance tank and infantry forces in the difficult Normandy terrain, and examines why the Allies, with local superiority in t
£8.54
Quarto Publishing PLC To the Ends of the Earth
Book SynopsisThis lavishly illustrated book provides a unique insight into the evolution of mapmaking and the science behind it, from the stone age to the digital age. Britain’s leading cartographic author takes us on a historical journey through how the greatest maps were created. Exploring key cartographers and mapmaking methods, as well as fascinating interludes on subjects such as the very first maps, deliberate mistakes, and superlative maps, this comprehensive guide explores how the techniques and technology have developed throughout human history: • Evolving methods of surveying: from the Roman groma, through the naval instruments of the magnetic compass, astrolabes and sextants, to the 20th century revolution of aerial photography • Drawing tools and materials: from Babylonian maps carved in clay, to digital maps created via touchscreen • The introduction of various mapping conveTable of ContentsINTRODUCTION 1. IN THE BEGINNING The First Maps 2. SURVEYS AND SKETCHES Gathering the Information 3. WHYS AND WHEREFORES The Purpose of Maps 4. OLD TIMERS The First Map-makers 5. IN THE ROUND Globes and Spheres 6. SURFACE MATTERS Materials for Drawing Maps 7. A MAP OF MANY PARTS The Components of a Map 8. GOING NOWHERE Places Which Weren’t There 9. THE DRAWING ROOM Key Cartographers from the Golden Age to the Modern Age 10. MIGHTY MAPS Mapping Superlatives 11. A MAP IN HAND The Purposes to Which Maps Have Been Put CONCLUSION FURTHER RESOURCES INDEX CREDITS ABOUT THE AUTHOR & ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
£21.25
British Library Publishing Mapping the Heavens
Book SynopsisIn this beautifully illustrated book, Peter Whitfield reveals some of the ways in which the structure of the universe has been conceived, explained and depicted. This new edition is updated to include a wider range of stunning maps of the skies in full colour, including imagery from the latest voyages of space exploration.
£13.49
British Library Publishing The Philosophy of Tattoos
Book SynopsisBeginning with the birth of the tattoo, John Miller explores this unique expression of personal, cultural and national identity, the tension between tattoo's status as a fashion item and its roots in subculture, and the relevance of magic -- a crucial part of tattooing's origins -- in contemporary society.
£9.50
British Library Publishing Atlas
Book SynopsisThis is an atlas with a difference. This atlas can help us to travel in a way that regular atlases do not, because by looking at old maps and getting to know their stories we can be transported back to the times in which they were made. This fabulous collection of maps is now available in paperback.
£17.09
British Library Publishing A General History of the Lives Murders and
Book SynopsisOriginally published in folio size complete with fine engravings, this new collection of Captain Charles Johnson's tales of rogues includes the very best of the bunch, along with decorative plates from the British Library collections.
£17.00
British Library Publishing The Philosophy of Beer
Book SynopsisJoin Jane Peyton, the UK's first Beer Sommelier of the Year, as she distils practical advice from the incredible history of the nation's favourite beverage, spanning the earliest evidence of beer 13,000 years ago, its central role in monasteries and on naval ships, its significance in the discovery of cholera, and its enduring popularity today.
£9.50
British Library Publishing The Philosophy of Gin
Book SynopsisFew if any alcoholic drinks have the dramatic and multi-faceted history of gin. This book explores how a spirit once given a wide berth by the middle and upper classes now attracts such a large proportion of the British public to choose gin as their tipple of choice.
£9.50
British Library Publishing Alexander the Great
Book SynopsisAccompanying the first ever exhibition on the storytelling around Alexander the Great, King of Macedon, this book charts the evolution of a legend that continues to captivate audiences today.
£24.00
British Library Publishing Dancing in Time
Book SynopsisWith a foreword by Oti Mabuse. Choreographer Robert Hylton navigates an extraordinary array of photographs, periodicals and ephemera from the British Library collections, which reveal the true origins of the popular dance styles that have, at one point or another, swept the population off their feet.
£21.25
British Library Publishing A History of Britain in 100 Maps
Book SynopsisIn A History of Britain in 100 Maps Jeremy Black takes readers deep into the unparalleled collections of the British Library Map Room to tell a new story of the British Isles through acknowledged treasures and previously undiscovered and unpublished items.
£32.00
British Library Publishing Alexander the Great
Book SynopsisAccompanying the first ever exhibition on the storytelling around Alexander the Great, King of Macedon, this book charts the evolution of a legend that continues to captivate audiences today.
£32.00
British Library Publishing The Philosophy of Pickles and Fermented Foods
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£9.50
British Library Publishing The Spice Ports
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£32.00
Vintage Publishing Lenin Stalin and Hitler
Book SynopsisBetween 1914 and 1945 European society was in almost continuous upheaval, enduring two world wars, the Russian Revolution, the Holocaust and the rise and fall of the Third Reich. This title argues that these tragedies are all inextricably linked and that to consider them as discrete events is to misunderstand their entire genesis and character.Trade ReviewA book that is both sensible and sophisticated, scholarly and very readable -- Simon Sebag MontefioreGellately sets a high standard... Lucid prose and vivid examples make the book admirably accessible to non-specialists... it also engages expertly in one of hte most closely fought historiographical battles of past decades, the Historikerstreit * The Economist *Approachable... The book is strong in highlighting the almost unbelieveable terror and utterly ruthless assault on humanity in both regimes -- Ian Kershaw * BBC History Magazine *
£15.29
Vintage The Napoleonic Wars 18031815
Book SynopsisKnown collectively as the ''Great War'', for over a decade the Napoleonic Wars engulfed not only a whole continent but also the overseas possessions of the leading European states. A war of unprecedented scale and intensity, it was in many ways a product of change that acted as a catalyst for upheaval and reform across much of Europe, with aspects of its legacy lingering to this very day. There is a mass of literature on Napoleon and his times, yet there are only a handful of scholarly works that seek to cover the Napoleonic Wars in their entirety, and fewer still that place the conflict in any broader framework. This study redresses the balance. Drawing on recent findings and applying a ''total'' history approach, it explores the causes and effects of the conflict, and places it in the context of the evolution of modern warfare. It reappraises the most significant and controversial military ventures, including the war at sea and Napoleon''s campaigns of 1805-9. The studTrade ReviewThis is a compact, stimulating, and at times surprisingly polemical account * The International History Review *Napoleon helped shape modern French politics, as much as he determined the nature of modern warfare... Dr Gates's book is a sure guide to the wars whose effects were felt well into the twentieth century -- Hew Strachan, Chichele Professor of the History of War, Oxford University
£999.99
Vintage The Forgotten Man
Book SynopsisChallenging conventional history, Amity Shlaes offers a striking reinterpretation of the Great Depression that devastated America in the early part of the twentieth century. She shows how both Presidents Hoover and Roosevelt failed to understand the prosperity of the 1920s and heaped massive burdens on the country that more than offset the benefit of New Deal programs. From 1929 to 1940, federal intervention helped to make the Depression great by forgetting the men and women who sought to help themselves. In this illuminating work of history, Shlaes follows the struggles of those now forgotten people, from a family of butchers in Brooklyn who dealt a stunning blow to the New Deal, to Bill W., who founded Alcoholics Anonymous, and Father Divine, a black cult leader. She takes a fresh look at the great scapegoats of the period, from Andrew Mellon to Sam Insull of Chicago. Finally, she traces the mounting agony of the New Dealers themselves. Authoritative, original, and utterlyTrade ReviewThat rare thing - an original, readable, compelling book about economic depression and how politicians can make things worse. The Forgotten Man by Amity Shlaes is a counterintuitive study of the Wall Street Crash and how politics turned chaos into crisis * The Times *Amity Shlaes not only manages to keep you wide awake, she also sets your blood to boiling. Even if you don't always agree with her conclusions, she defines the debate over what we ought to do and gets you thinking constructively about the problems she identifies * New York Times *Combines the lively narrative style of a first-rate journalist with the careful scholarship of a born historian. But her book is much more than an enjoyable narrative. It is a highly original reinterpretation that turns the received wisdom about the Depression on its head * Sunday Telegraph *Readers have waited eagerly for this book for decades. Amity Shlaes has delivered it -- Paul JohnsonAmity Shlaes' brilliant and highly readable book surely must be the best analysis of the Great Depression ever * Washington Times *
£17.09
Vintage Publishing The Lady In The Tower
Book SynopsisAlison Weir is one of Britain's top-selling historians. She is the author of numerous works of history and historical fiction, specialising in the medieval and Tudor periods. Her bestselling history books include The Six Wives of Henry VIII, Eleanor of Aquitaine, Elizabeth of York and The Lost Tudor Princess. Her novels include Innocent Traitor, Katherine of Aragon: The True Queen and Anne Boleyn: A King's Obsession. She is an Honorary Life Patron of Historic Royal Palaces and a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts. She lives and works in Surrey.Trade ReviewOne of our best popular historians...with an impressive scholarly pedigree in Tudor history * Independent on Sunday *It is testament to Weir's artfulness and elegance as a writer that The Lady in the Tower remains fresh and suspenseful, even though the reader knows what's coming... One of the pleasures of The Lady in the Tower is that it invites the reader into the historiographical process as Weir's emphasis on primary sources allows us to evaluate them alongside her * Independent *Weir...knows her sources well. She writes in an engaging way and adopts an even-handed approach * Irish Times *This is vintage Weir: a thrilling episode of history superbly related and treated with penetrating analysis and a great dollop of common sense -- Jessie Childs * Literary Review *The research is exhaustive... It would be hard to imagine a more thorough examination of any comparable historical issue... Weir is to be congratulated on her impartiality and sound judgement * BBC History Magazine *
£13.49
Vintage Publishing Henry VIIIs Last Victim The Life and Times of
Book SynopsisHenry Howard, Earl of Surrey was one of the most flamboyant and controversial characters of Henry VIII''s reign. A pioneering poet, whose verse had a profound impact on Shakespeare, Surrey was nevertheless branded by one contemporary as ''the most foolish proud boy that is in England''. He was the heir of England''s premier nobleman, first cousin to two of Henry VIII''s wives - Anne Boleyn and Catherine Howard - and best friend and brother-in-law to the King''s illegitimate son, Henry Fitzroy. Celebrated for his chivalrous deeds both on and off the battlefield, Surrey became, at only twenty-eight, the King''s Lieutenant General in France. But his confident exterior masked insecurity and loneliness. A man of intriguing contradictions, Surrey was both law enforcer and law breaker, political conservative and religious reformer and his life, replete with drunken escapades, battlefield heroics, conspiracy and courtroom drama, sheds new light on the opulence and artifice oTrade ReviewRarely have I felt so utterly captivated by a history book. It is stunning! Jessie Childs is a major new talent. She brings her characters to life so vividly, and the narrative just flows, packed with amazing detail. This, for me, is a surprisingly fresh view on a period with which I am very familiar. -- Alison WeirA truly superb biography. -- A. N WilsonClatters along like an epic gangster movie... gripping. -- Roger Lewis * Daily Express *Jessie Childs is a rising star among historians. Just when we thought everything had been said about Henry VIII she makes us see him from a completely new angle - through the eyes of a poet aristocrat. -- Desmond SewardChilds's description of these complex manoeuvrings [at Henry's court], as of the French wars, is excellent...this book opens a fascinating window on the mid-Tudor world. * Guardian *
£12.99
Vintage The Peoples War
Book SynopsisThe Second World War was, for Britain, a ''total war''; no section of society remained untouched by military conscription, air raids, the shipping crisis and the war economy. In this comprehensive and engrossing narrative Angus Calder presents not only the great events and leading figures but also the oddities and banalities of daily life on the Home Front, and in particular the parts played by ordinary people: air raid wardens and Home Guards, factory workers and farmers, housewives and pacifists. Above all this revisionist and important work reveals how, in those six years, the British people came closer to discarding their social conventions than at any time since Cromwell''s republic.Winner of the John Llewellyn Rhys prize in 1970, The People's War draws on oral testimony and a mass of neglected social documentation to question the popularised image of national unity in the fight for victory.Trade ReviewFull of vivid anecdote … and of epigrammatic flair … it is a dense, detailed, moving chronicle. -- Richard Eyre * Independent on Sunday *A tour de force of historical reconstruction * Sunday Times *The People's War is more than a salutary iconoclastic analysis of its period and more than an immensely fastidious social history. It is full of vivid anecdote...and of epigrammatic flair... I've read Angus Calder's book several times and passed it on to friends. I've commissioned and directed several plays and films which have been inspired by it. It is a dense, detailed, moving chronicle that I am still unable to read without feeling both nostalgia and pain for the unfulfilled promise of the world I was born into -- Richard Eyre * Independent on Sunday *No verdict can I pronounce on The People's War other than, read it -- Elizabeth Bowen * Spectator *He has provided an engrossing, beautifully organized book that could provide a valuable education for the post-war generation and a salutary re-education for his elders -- Phillip French * Financial Times *
£19.00
Vintage Europes Inner Demons The Demonization of
Book SynopsisIn this ground-breaking book, Professor Norman Cohn traces popular beliefs about witches to their origins. He examines the fantasies that inspired the great European witch-hunt of the 16th and 17th centuries when thousands of innocent people were tortured and burned alive. It is a fascinating history of the need to imagine antihuman conspiracies and an investigation of how those fantasies made the great European witch-hunt possible. In addition, Professor Cohn''s discovery that some influential sources on witch trials were forgeries has revolutionized the field of witchcraft studies, making this one of the most essential books ever written on the subject.Trade ReviewIt is not too much to say that Professor Cohn has revolutionised the study of the subject - It is a brilliant book. -- Bernard Levin * Observer *An indispensable study. -- Robin Lane Fox * Financial Times *This is a book of real stature which I hope will have a side impact. Only if we begin to understand the horrifying recesses of the human imagination can we prevent the recurrences of those dreadful, irrational persecutions which have so disfigured human history. -- Anthony Storr
£13.49
Vintage 1066 The Year of The Three Battles
Book SynopsisEveryone knows what William the Conqueror won the Battle of Hastings in 1066, but in recent years is has become customary to assume that the victory was virtually inevitable, given the alleged superiority of Norman military technology. In this new study, underpinned by biographical sketches of the great warriors who fought for the crown of England in 1066, Frank McLynn shows that this view is mistaken. The battle on Senlac Hill on 14 October was a desperately close-run thing, which Harold lost only because of an incredible run of bad fortune and some treachery from the Saxon elite in England. Both William and Harold were fine generals, but Harold was the more inspirational of the two. Making use of all the latest scholarship, McLynn shows that most of our ''knowledge'' of 1066 rests on myths or illusions: Harold did not fight at Hastings with the same army with which he had been victorious at Stamford Bridge three weeks earlier; the Battle of Senlac was not won by Norman arcTrade ReviewA splendid book... fascinatingly rich and thorough. -- Julian Rathbone * Independent on Sunday *An exciting story well told... A most lively and rewarding book. -- Jeremy Black * Literary Review *One of our most readable historians * Daily Express *McLynn is an astonishingly prolific historian. His books are always elegantly written, highly opinionated and enormously enjoyable * Sunday Times *Has anybody done more – done as much – as Frank McLynn in writing intelligent, combative, thoroughly researched and thoroughly readable history? * Independent *
£15.29
Vintage The Dark Valley A Panorama of the 1930s
Book SynopsisPiers Brendon''s magisterial overview of the 1930s is the story of the dark, dishonest decade - child of one world war and parent of the next - that determined the course of the twentieth century. Dealing individually with each of the period''s great powers - the USA, Germany, Italy, France, Britain, Japan, Spain and Russia - Brendon takes us through the ten years dominated by the Great Depression and political turmoil. When Broadway, Piccadilly Circus, the Kurfurstendamm and the Ginza - neon metaphors of hope after four years of carnage - grew dim as the giants of unemployment, hardship, strife and fear took their hold. From the concentration camps of Dachau and Kolyma, the Ukraine famine and the American Dust Bowl, to the Moscow metro, the Empire State Building and the Paris Exposition, The Dark Valley brings the 1930''s back to life through meticulous scholarship. Brendon examines the great leaders - Hitler, Stalin, Mussolini, Mao Tse-Tung, Haile Selassie aTrade ReviewA fantastic, sweeping history of the 1930s… Brendon is a superb writer, taking an exceptionally complex, dense topic and building a compelling narrative. -- John Stepek * Money Week *The best history book I've read since Orlando Figes' A People's Tragedy... Wonderful and enthralling -- Ruth Rendell * Daily Telegraph *Brilliant, cinematic, utterly illuminating... No other historical account I know can rival this... Masterly -- Valentine Cunningham * Financial Times *A delight to read, a literary triumph sparkling with moments of real humour and compassion -- Richard Overy * Sunday Telegraph *Piers Brendon's long book has such brilliance and narrative power, and contains so much fascinating detail, that reading it has all the excitement of novel -- John Grigg * Evening Standard *
£21.25
Vintage The Man Who Drew London Wenceslaus Hollar in
Book SynopsisThe seventeenth-century London Wenceslaus Hollar knew is now largely destroyed or buried. Yet its populous river, its timbered streets, fashionable ladies, old St Paul''s, the devestation of the Fire, the palace of Whitehall and the meadows of Islington live on for us in his etchings.Drawing on numerous sources, Gillian Tindall creates a montage of Hollar''s life and times and of the illustrious lives that touched his. It is a carefully researched factual account, but she has also employed her novelist''s skill to form an intricate whole - a life''s texture which is also an absorbing and occasionally tragic story.Trade ReviewHer intention is that fact and fiction should complement each other. They do perfectly -- Frances Spalding * Sunday Times *With clarity of purpose and clarity of style, she has written a book that is both elegant and thoughtful -- Michael Prodger * Sunday Telegraph *Gillian Tindall is a tapestry maker. She finds patterns in history - woven from close research into people and places - that no one else would have the persistence and insight to pursue * Independent *
£16.14
Vintage Publishing The Trader The Owner The Slave Parallel Lives in
Book SynopsisJames Walvin offers a new and an original interpretation of the barbaric world of slavery and of the historic end to the slave trade in April 1807.John Newton (1725-1807), author of 'Amazing Grace', was a slave captain who marshalled his human cargoes with a brutality that he looked back on with shame and contrition.Trade ReviewMuch more than just a catalogue of horrors... James Walvin is extraordinarily alert to the contradictions within the human heart... Walvin is never blind to the horrors of slavery, nor to the responsibility of individuals for their actions. But he recognises that the world was different then and that the institution of slavery encouraged individual acts of evil that would otherwise never have occurred -- Craig Brown * Mail on Sunday *Taken together, their stories provide a remarkably intimate insider's perspective on the slave trade, and give us some sense of its staggering human cost -- Michael Kerrigan * Scotsman *How did Britain, the 'slave trading poacher' of the 18th century, transform herself into the 'abolitionist game-keeper' of the 19th century?... James Walvin, a renowned historian of black people in Britain, finds answers to this mystery in the lives of three men who contributed, sometimes unwittingly, to the demise of a seemingly unassailable evil -- Esther Godfrey * Daily Telegraph *James Walvin here addresses the enormity of the slave trade by looking in depth at three individuals inextricably bound up in it * London Review of Books *A remarkable and gripping story, asking profound questions * Independent *
£11.69
Vintage Publishing The Decline And Fall Of The British Empire
Book SynopsisNo empire has been larger or more diverse than the British Empire. At its apogee in the 1930s, 42 million Britons governed 500 million foreign subjects. Britannia ruled the waves and a quarter of the earth''s surface was painted red on the map. Yet no empire (except the Russian) disappeared more swiftly. Within a generation this mighty structure collapsed, often amid bloodshed, leaving behind a scatter of sea-girt dependencies and a ghost of an empire, the Commonwealth, overshadowed by Imperial America. It left a contested legacy: at best a sporting spirit, a legal code and a near-universal language; at worst, failed states and internecine strife. Full of vivid particulars, brief lives, telling anecdotes, comic episodes, symbolic moments and illustrative vignettes, The Decline and Fall of the British Empire is popular history at its scholarly best.Trade ReviewA monumental new history * The Times *This is a huge and hugely impressive book, mighty in scale as its subject, elegantly written and rigorous in its research * Daily Telegraph *Magnificent...a narrative masterpiece. The settings are exotic, the cast of thousands full of the most eccentric, egotistical, paranoid, swashbuckling players you are likely to meet in any history -- Richard Overy * Sunday Telegraph *A provocative, marvellously readable account * Financial Times *Brilliant... A masterpiece of historical narrative. No review can hope to do justice to the depth of Brendon's research, the balance and originality of his conclusions, or the quality and humour of his prose. Our imperial story has been crying out for a top-flight historian who can write. Now it has one * Literary Review *
£15.29
Vintage Darien Disaster
Book SynopsisJohn Prebble was born in the UK in 1915 but spent his boyhood in a predominantly Scottish township in Canada. He became a journalist in 1934 and went on to become an historian, novelist, film-writer and the author of several highly praised plays and dramatised documentaries for BBC TV and Radio. He died in January 2001.Trade ReviewPrebble describes this almost forgotten episode as a raw cross-section of human aspirations for freedom, noble in its inception, foolish, petty and shocking in its end... Prebble's canvas is immense, his characterisations excellently drawn * Publisher's Weekly *This is a welcome and long-overdue reissue of the late John Prebble's 1968 classic about Scotland's disastrous venture into creation of a trading colony... His writing is as compelling as are the salutary incidents he relates * Kirkus Reviews *
£13.49
