History Books
John Wiley and Sons Ltd The Mongols
Book SynopsisThe revised second edition of this highly praised introduction to the Mongol Empire takes account of recent scholarship in the field. Provides an overview of the government, religion, and politics of the Mongolian Empire Considers the effects of Mongol military campaigns on other countries and peoples in China, Russia, Persia and Europe Assesses the astonishing military career of Chingiz (Genghis) Khan Now includes a new epilogue assessing the contribution of recent scholarship to our understanding of the Mongols' history Well-illustrated by maps and photographs throughout Trade Review“The remarkable success of David Morgan's book on the Mongols is partly a reflection of the persistent interest in the Mongol phenomenon … and partly on the skill, humour, and authority that he brings to bear on the subject. An attractive and useful re-edition of an excellent textbook, which beneath its accessible and engaging manner contains a wide-ranging account of the Mongol empire and thorough exposition of the issues being addressed in current research.” International History Review "The second edition of The Mongols remains the standard work on the Mongols. With the additional chapter and bibliography it is unlikely to be superseded in the near future and will be a useful reference to any scholar." H-Net Reviews "I have used this book continually for many years as one of the central textbooks for my courses on Mongols and related subjects and will do so with the new edition. The Mongols has a nice mixture of narrative chapters and those devotes to themes … provide a chronological framework … and in-depth discussion." Bulletin of the School of Oriental and African Studies Praise for the previous edition: "Well-written, well-documented presentation, with an excellent - exceptionally accurate - bibliography. I know of no better book to give a general view of the 'great' epoch of Mongol History." English Historical Review "The appearance of a new, well-done general history is a welcome event. The outcome is an excellent and readable account." Middle East Studies Association Bulletin "Excellent work, the best that we have of its kind." Journal of the Royal Asiatic SocietyTable of ContentsList of Maps and Illustrations. Preface to the Second Edition. Preface to the Paperback Edition. Preface to the First Edition. Maps. Introduction. 1. The Study of Mongol History. The Secret History of the Mongols. Chinese Sources. Persian Sources. European Sources. Modern Studies. 2. Nomads of the Steppe: Asia before Chingiz Khān. Steppe Society. Mongol Religious Beliefs. The Mongols’ Steppe Predecessors. Asia at the Beginning of the Thirteenth Century. 3. Chingiz Khān and the Founding of the Mongol Empire. Chingiz Khān’s Rise to Power. Chingiz Khān’s Campaigns of Conquest. The Effects of the Mongol Conquests. 4. Nature and Institutions of the Mongol Empire. The Mongol Army. Law. Taxation. Communications. The Mongol Approach to Government. 5. The Mongols in China. Chingiz Khān’s Successors. The Reign of Qubilai. The Mongols and Buddhism. Mongol Rule in China. The Decline of Yüan Power. 6. Expansion to the West: The Mongols in Russia and Persia. The Invasion of Russia and Eastern Europe. The Golden Horde. The Mongols and the Middle East. Hülegü’s Expedition. The Īlkhāns of Persia. Ghazan and Reform. The Last Īlkhāns. 7. The Mongols and Europe. Europe and Asia. The First Direct Contacts. The Īlkhāns and Western Christendom. Eastern Images of Europe. The Mongol Legacy. 8. What Became of the Mongols?. 9. The Mongol Empire since 1985. Sources. Studies. References. Supplementary Bibliography. Chronology of Events. Dynastic Tables. The Great Khāns. Yüan Emperors of China. Khāns of the Golden Horde. Īlkhāns of Persia. Index
£31.30
John Wiley and Sons Ltd Visigothic Spain 409 711
Book SynopsisThis history of Spain in the period between the end of Roman rule and the time of the Arab conquest challenges many traditional assumptions about the history of this period. Presents original theories about how the Visigothic kingdom was governed, about law in the kingdom, about the Arab conquest, and about the rise of Spain as an intellectual force. Takes account of new documentary evidence, the latest archaeological findings, and the controversies that these have generated. Combines chronological and thematic approaches to the period. A historiographical introduction looks at the current state of research on the history and archaeology of the Visigothic kingdom. Trade Review"Readers interested in more detailed accounts of Spanish history will ... find this book very accessible." British Bulletin of Publications "There is much to admire and enjoy in this volume … highly readable and impressively researched work." HistoryTable of ContentsList of Maps. Introduction: Visigothic Spain in the Twenty-First Century. Part I: A Political History:. 1. From Empire to Kingdom, 409-507:. A Turning Point. The Visigoths. The Gothic Conquests of Hispania, 456-507. 2. The Imposition of Unity, 507-586:. A Fractured Kingdom. The Reign of Leovigild, 569-586. 3. The Catholic Kingdom, 586-672:. Conversion and Reaction, 586-590. Changing Dynasties, 590-642. Kings and the Political Elite, 642-672. 4. Visigothic Twilight, 672-710:. Court Conspiracies, 672-681. The Uneasy Throne, 681-710. 5. The End of the Kingdom:. The Coming of the Arabs. The Last Kings, 710-713. Part II: Society and Culture:. 6. Books and Readers:. The Legacy of Africa. The Golden Age. 7. Archaeology: Cemeteries and Churches:. Goths in the Ground. A Visigothic Architecture?. 8. Archaeology: Rural and Urban Settlements:. Country Dwellers. Towns in Transition. 9. Law and Ethnic Identity:. The Fog of the Law. Gothia and Hispania. Bibliographical Essay. Index
£41.75
John Wiley and Sons Ltd A Companion to NineteenthCentury Britain
Book SynopsisA Companion to Nineteenth-Century Britain presents 33 essays by expert scholars on all the major aspects of the political, social, economic and cultural history of Britain during the late Georgian and Victorian eras. Truly British, rather than English, in scope. Pays attention to the experiences of women as well as of men. Illustrated with maps and charts. Includes guides to further reading. Trade Review"This book is an excellent companion... It is an ideal book for anyone interested in the history of the nineteenth century." Reference Reviews "This most recent addition to the ambitious Blackwell 'Companions' series in British history is thorough and up-to-date ... For scholars, it will become a well-thumbed historiographical source on their office shelves. Essential." Choice A Choice Outstanding Academic Title of the Year “The Companions to British History…is [an] example of how organization has made a difference in terms of informing the wider public about serious history.” H-Net ReviewsTable of ContentsList of Maps, Diagrams and Tables x Contributors xi Introduction 1 Chris Williams Part I Britain and the World 15 1. Britain and the World Economy 17 Anthony Howe 2. Britain and the European Balance of Power 34 John R. Davis 3. Britain and Empire 53 Douglas M. Peers 4. The Armed Forces 79 Edward M. Spiers Part II Politics and Government 93 5. The Monarchy and the House of Lords: The ‘Dignified’ Parts of the Constitution 95 William M. Kuhn 6. The State 110 Philip Harling 7. Political Leadership and Political Parties, 1800–46 125 Michael J. Turner 8. Political Leadership and Political Parties, 1846–1900 140 Michael J. Turner 9. Parliamentary Reform and the Electorate 156 Michael S. Smith 10. Politics and Gender 174 Sarah Richardson 11. Political Thought 189 Gregory Claeys Part III Economy and Society 203 12. Agriculture and Rural Society 205 Michael Winstanley 13. Industry and Transport 223 William J. Ashworth 14. Urbanization 238 Simon Gunn 15. The Family 253 Shani D’Cruze 16. Migration and Settlement 273 Ian Whyte 17. Standard of Living, Quality of Life 287 Jane Humphries 18. Class and the Classes 305 Martin Hewitt 19. Economic Thought 321 Noel Thompson Part IV Society and Culture 335 20. Religion 337 Mark A. Smith 21. Literacy, Learning and Education 353 Philip Gardner 22. The Press and the Printed Word 369 Aled Jones 23. Crime, Policing and Punishment 381 Heather Shore 24. Popular Leisure and Sport 396 Andy Croll 25. Health and Medicine 412 Keir Waddington 26. Sexuality 430 Lesley A. Hall 27. The Arts 443 Patricia Pulham 28. The Sciences 457 Iwan Rhys Morus Part V The United Kingdom 471 29. Politics in Ireland 473 Christine Kinealy 30. Economy and Society in Ireland 489 Christine Kinealy 31. Scotland 504 E. W. McFarland 32. Wales 521 Matthew Cragoe 33. British Identities 534 Chris Williams Bibliography of Secondary Sources 553 Index 591
£43.65
John Wiley and Sons Ltd The Birth of Europe
Book SynopsisIn this ground-breaking new study,Jacques Le Goff, arguably the leading medievalist of his generation, presents his view of the primacy of the Middle Ages in the development of European history. [A] superb and necessary book. This provocative assessment from a lifetime of scholarship might help us to place ourselves, not just territorially, but in that other precious element of history: time.The Guardian A book that never fails to be informative, readable and provocative. Le Goff... has been the bravest and best of champions for medieval history. This book... is in every sense an inspiration.BBC History Magazine Praised by prominent figures in Europe and history including: Rt Hon Christopher Patten, CH, Former Member of the European Commission, and Neil Kinnock, Vice-President, European Commission. Trade Review"Recommended ... .Illustrate[s] the continuing differences on how scholars treat the past, differences found among early modern scholars as well as medievalists." (Sixteenth Century Journal, Summer 2009) "A book that never fails to be informative, readable and provocative. [Le Goff] has been the bravest and best of champions for medieval history. This book, written by its author at the age of 80, is in every sense an inspiration." (BBC History Magazine) "[A] superb and necessary book. This provocative assessment from a lifetime of scholarship might help us to place ourselves, not just territorially, but in that other precious element of history: time." (The Guardian) "Le Goff authoritatively traces the initial development of virtually all aspects of modern society." (The Morning Star) "A fine survey of medieval Europe that will benefit both specialists and non-specialists alike." (History: Reviews of New Books) "Le Goff's book not only embodies his long-term project of a new political history but is a politically engaged history in the most valuable sense: it should be on the compulsory reading list of politicians everywhere." (Reviews in History)Table of ContentsSeries Editor’s Preface ix Acknowledgments xi Maps xii Introduction 1 Preludes: Before the Middle Ages 6 1 The Conception of Europe (Fourth to Eighth Centuries) 14 2 An Aborted Europe: The Carolingian World (Eighth to Tenth Centuries) 29 3 A Dream of Europe and the Potential Europe of the Year 1000 40 4 Feudal Europe (Eleventh and Twelfth Centuries) 49 5 The ‘‘Fine’’ Europe of Towns and Universities (Thirteenth Century) 99 6 The Autumn of the Middle Ages or the Spring of a New Age? 154 Conclusion 194 Chronology 202 A Selective Thematic Bibliography 211 Index 252
£27.50
John Wiley and Sons Ltd Greek Archaeology
Book SynopsisChristopher Mee presents an extensive examination of the material culture of the Greek world from its Neolithic roots in 7000 B.C. to the close of the Hellenistic period in 146 B.C. Features a unique thematic approach to the study of Greek archaeology Includes extensive use of illustrations, many of which are not commonly featured Allows for the study of a particular period of time by its chronological arrangement within each chapter Trade Review"Despite such conservatism, the book manages to keep an essential balance between the detail of the archaeological material and the grand picture of socio-historical phenomena. It shifts between different spatial and temporal scales smoothly and it is certainly recommendable to any student wishing to introduce her/himself to Greek archaeology." (Bryn Mawr Classical Review, 7 November 2011) "Christopher Mee's Greek Archaeology is a thoroughly contemporary and innovative overview, which I recommend warmly to students from the sixth form to their sixties (and later) as an excellent introduction to the subject . . . This is a book for all who want to start to understand the whole of the glory that was Greece from its material culture. It also has good illustrations." (The Anglo-Hellenic Review, 1 September 2011) Table of ContentsIntroduction. 1. Settlement and Settlements. 2. The Architecture of Power. 3. Residential Space. 4. The Countryside. 5. Technology and Production. 6. Trade and Colonisation. 7. Warfare. 8. Death and Burial. 9. Religion. Bibliography.
£31.30
John Wiley and Sons Ltd Biomolecular Archaeology
Book SynopsisIllustrated thoroughly, Biomolecular Archaeology is the first book to clearly guide students through the study of ancient DNA: how to analyze biomolecular evidence (DNA, proteins, lipids and carbohydrates) to address important archaeological questions. The first book to address the scope and methods of this new cross-disciplinary area of research for archaeologists Offers a completely up-to-date overview of the latest research in this innovative subject Guides students who wish to become biomolecular archaeologists through the complexities of both the scientific methods and archaeological goals. Provides an essential component to undergraduate and graduate archaeological research Trade Review"Thenumerous figures and tables are clear and useful throughout, and a valuableglossary is also provided." (Journalof the Royal Anthropological Institute, 25 January 2013)Table of ContentsList of Figures. List of Tables. Preface. Part I: Biomolecules and How They Are Studied. Chapter 1 What is Biomolecular Archaeology? Chapter 2 DNA. Chapter 3 Proteins. Chapter 4 Lipids. Chapter 5 Carbohydrates. Chapter 6 Stable Isotopes. Part II: Preservation and Decay of Biomolecules in Archaeological Specimens. Chapter 7 Sources of Ancient Biomolecules. Chapter 8 Degradation of Ancient Biomolecules. Chapter 9 The Technical Challenges of Biomolecular Archaeology. Part III: The Applications of Biomolecular Archaeology. Chapter 10 Identifying the Sex of Human Remains. Chapter 11 Identifying the Kinship Relationships of Human Remains. Chapter 12 Studying the Diets of Past People. Chapter 13 Studying the Origins and Spread of Agriculture. Chapter 14 Studying Prehistoric Technology. Chapter 15 Studying Disease in the Past. Chapter 16 Studying the Origins and Migrations of Early Modern Humans. Glossary. Index.
£34.15
John Wiley and Sons Ltd A History of Florence 1200 1575
Book SynopsisIn this history of Florence, distinguished historian John Najemy discusses all the major developments in Florentine history from 1200 to 1575. Captures Florence''s transformation from a medieval commune into an aristocratic republic, territorial state, and monarchy Weaves together intellectual, cultural, social, economic, religious, and political developments Academically rigorous yet accessible and appealing to the general reader Likely to become the standard work on Renaissance Florence for years to come Trade Review"Based on wide reading of the available secondary and printed sources, A History of Florence represents the achievement of a lifetime's devotion to the study of the city. Moreover, Najemy's categories of analysis should provoke debates and conversations for future lifetimes." (Renaissance and Reformation, 2009) "There is much to praise about this book. It is a model historical synthesis of the history of a great premodern European city. It is also a sophisticated political history in which class-based ideas and values matter as much as individual details of political events." (The Catholic Historical Review, July 2010)"[This] is the best history of Florence in any language, and it will long remain so, for Najemy has mastered the relevant literature more thoroughly than any other historian in living memory." (Times Literary Supplement) "John Najemy is a pre-eminent historian of Renaissance Florence ... a scholar of learning, imagination and intellectual penetration, with a profound knowledge of Florentine history from the thirteenth to the sixteenth century and with a remarkable range of interests in political, social and intellectual history. There has been no credible attempt to write a history of Florence in this period since the time of Perrens's multi-volume work, finished in 1883. Najemy has risen admirably to the challenge. He has assimilated the vast secondary literature on Florence, from the beginning of the thirteenth to the late sixteenth century. The range of his analysis and explication stretches across a vast range of fundamental social, political, economic, diplomatic, military and biographical topics. Nor is Najemy indifferent to intellectual history, especially questions involving political thought and ideology. This book is no mere synthesis of other scholars' work. Indeed, Najemy offers a distinctive interpretation, one which has already stimulated controversy and will doubtless continue to do so." (Reviews in History) "Highly recommended." (Choice) "An extraordinary accomplishment. Deserves rich praise as a fundamentally new and authoritative interpretation of four key centuries of this remarkable city's development.” Speculum“[Najemy], a veteran Renaissance historian offers a big and impressive survey of the Florentine city-state …. One of the justifications for the book [is] the need for an updated and accessible synthesis of the superabundance of recent specialized scholarship on Florence. He succeeds admirably at that task … [and] manages to explain and contextualize detailed scholarship while remaining a lively and engaging political narrative. [It] will surely become the definitive narrative of medieval and Renaissance Florence, a point of departure for students of Florentine politics and culture as well as a major interpretive statement providing much for specialists to engage with for some time." (Sixteenth Century Journal)Table of ContentsList of Illustrations viii List of Maps ix Acknowledgments x Introduction 1 1 The Elite Families 5 Lineages 6 Knighthood and Feuds 11 Political Alignments and Factions 20 Culture and Religion 27 2 The Popolo 35 Definitions 35 Guilds 39 Culture and Education: Notaries 45 Religion 50 Critique of Elite Misrule 57 3 Early Conflicts of Elite and Popolo 63 Before 1250 64 Primo Popolo 66 Angevin Alliance 72 Priorate of the Guilds 76 Second Popolo and the Ordinances of Justice 81 Elite Resurgence: Black and White Guelfs 88 4 Domestic Economy and Merchant Empires to 1340 96 Population: City and Contado 96 Textiles, Building, and Provisioning 100 Merchant Companies and the Mercanzia 109 Taxation and Public Finances 118 5 The Fourteenth-Century Dialogue of Power 124 Elite Dominance, 1310–40 124 Crisis of the 1340s and the Third Popular Government 132 Funded Public Debt and Bankruptcies 139 Elite Recovery and Popular Reaction 144 War against the Church 151 6 Revolution and Realignment 156 Workers’ Economic Conditions 157 The Ciompi Revolution 161 The Last Guild Government 166 Counterrevolution 171 Fear of the Working Classes 176 Consensus Politics 182 7 War, Territorial Expansion, and the Transformation of Political Discourse 188 First Visconti Wars 189 Territorial Dominion: The Conquest of Pisa 194 Civic Humanism 200 The Civic Family 211 8 Family and State in the Age of Consensus 219 The Family Imaginary 219 Households, Marriage, Dowries 225 Women, Property, Inheritance 232 Children, Hospitals, Charity 238 Policing Sodomy 244 9 Fateful Embrace: The Emergence of the Medici 250 A New Style of Leadership 250 Fiscal Crisis and the Catasto 254 Cosimo’s Money and Friends 262 Showdown 269 10 The Medici and the Ottimati: A Partnership of Conflict Part I: Cosimo and Piero 278 Institutional Controls 280 External Supports: Papacy and Sforza Milan 286 Cosimo’s Coup 291 The Ottimati Challenge Piero 298 11 The Luxury Economy and Art Patronage 307 Poverty and Wealth 307 Public and Private Patronage 315 Family Commemoration and Self-Fashioning 323 12 The Medici and the Ottimati: A Partnership of Conflict Part 2: Lorenzo 341 Lorenzo’s Elders 344 Lorenzo’s Volterra Massacre 348 Pazzi Conspiracy and War 352 The (Insecure) Prince in All but Name 361 Building a Dynasty 369 13 Reinventing the Republic 375 French Invasion and Expulsion of the Medici 375 The Great Council 381 Savonarola’s Holy Republic 390 Domestic Discord and Dominion Crises 400 Soderini, Machiavelli’s Militia, and Pisa 407 14 Papal Overlords 414 The Cardinal and a Controversial Marriage 415 Fall of the Republic and Return of the Medici 419 A Regime Adrift 426 Aristocratic and Popular Republicanisms 434 The Nascent Principate 441 15 The Last Republic and the Medici Duchy 446 Revolution 447 Siege 453 Imposition of a New Order 461 Ducal Government 468 Finances and Economy 473 Courtly and Cultural Discipline 478 Victor and Vanquished 482 Epilogue: Remembrance of Things Past 486 Index 491
£31.30
John Wiley and Sons Ltd A History of Rome
Book SynopsisSpanning over 1,300 years, this popular history of Rome combines an overview of political events with a balanced analysis of social and economic change, and of religious and cultural life. This new edition includes increased coverage of the late republic, and more attention is devoted to the impact of material culture.Trade Review“The fourth edition of this highly successful text retains the virtues of its predecessors while judiciously revising, expanding, and updating the presentation of material. In its new form A History of Rome will continue to provide excellent support for courses in Roman history, culture, and society.” Richard Tarrant, Harvard University “The new edition of this comprehensive and widely-used history of ancient Rome improves an already valuable and authoritative textbook, augmenting the range of maps and illustrations, expanding the historical horizons with additional literary material and discussion of inscriptional evidence, and updating the notes on further reading. The combination of visual material and detailed narrative offers a vivid and multidimensional perspective on the most powerful and enduringly influential of ancient empires.” Alan Bowman, University of Oxford Praise for the third edition: "Edition 3 maintains a good balance betweena general survey and a deeper analysis of Roman history, combining a traditional biographical and factual approach with thematic discussions of socio-political developments and institutions. I highly recommend all the new materials for both personal research and classroom use." Bryn Mawr Classical Review "A History of Rome is a solid textbook. With a strong and topical vision of the city's political, military and cultural history, the empire is brought firmly into the picture." AntiquityTable of ContentsList of Plates ix List of Figures and Maps xii List of Chronologies, Genealogies, and Boxes xiv Preface to the Fourth Edition xvi Preface to the Third Edition xvii Preface to the Second Edition xviii Preface to the First Edition xix List of Abbreviations xxi Introduction xxii The Sources for Roman History xxii Rome and the Mediterranean xxv The Origins of the “Roman Miracle” xxvii Part I: From the Origins to the Empire 1 1 Italy before Rome 3 1.1 The Peoples of Prehistoric Italy 5 1.2 The Cultures of Prehistoric Italy 7 1.3 The East’s Influence on the West 14 2 The Formation of Rome: From Romulus to the Tarquins 19 2.1 Latin and Sabine Kings 21 2.2 Etruscan Rome 26 2.3 The Religion of Archaic Rome 33 3 The Young Republic: The Fifth and Fourth Centuries BCE 41 3.1 The Birth of the Republic and the Struggle of the Orders 43 3.2 The Decemvirs and their Task 46 3.3 In Search of Equilibrium: 449–312 bce 49 3.4 The Republic’s Institutions at the End of the Fourth Century 56 vi Contents 4 The Growth of the Republic: War and Conquest in the Third Century BCE 61 4.1 Economy, Society, Army 63 4.2 The Conquest of Central and Southern Italy 66 4.3 The Hellenization of Art and Religion 68 4.4 The Punic Wars 73 4.5 Gladiatorial Combat: Rise and Early Development 82 5 Consequences of Conquest: The Second Century BCE 89 5.1 What Was Roman Imperialism? 91 5.2 Conquests from 200 to 148 bce: Defensive Imperialism 93 5.3 Conquests from 148 to 133 bce: Conscious Imperialism 95 5.4 War and Conquest: 133–96 bce 100 5.5 Roman Triumphs: Spectacles of Military Victory 103 5.6 The Economic, Social, and Political Consequences of the Conquests 107 5.7 Cultural Consequences 115 6 The Late Republic: The First Century BCE 121 6.1 Personal Ambitions and the Civil Wars 123 6.2 Toward a New Order 159 6.3 Social and Cultural Transformations 169 Part II: Rome, Master of the World 185 7 The Roman World in 31–28 BCE 187 7.1 Actium and its Aftermath 189 7.2 Rome and Italy 194 7.3 The Provinces 197 7.4 Boundaries and Frontiers 203 8 Augustus: The Birth of the Imperial Regime: 29 BCE–14 CE 207 8.1 The Formation of the Principate 209 8.2 The Emperor and his Entourage 218 8.3 A Hierarchy of Offices 224 8.4 The Army and its Conquests 230 8.5 The Administration of the Empire 237 8.6 Augustus: Showman and Gamesmaster of Rome 243 8.7 Religious Policy 249 8.8 The Succession 254 9 The Julio-Claudians: The System Under Stress: 14–68 CE 257 9.1 Four Personalities: Tiberius, Gaius (Caligula), Claudius, Nero 259 9.2 The Institutions and Innovations of the Julio-Claudians 271 9.3 Development of the Administration 285 10 The Flavians: Consolidating the Imperial Order: 68–96 CE 289 10.1 Events and Contenders 291 10.2 Interpretations 293 10.3 The Flavian Dynasty 294 10.4 Domitian and Tyranny: 81–96 ce 305 10.5 A Developing Municipal Life and a Changing Society 311 10.6 Social Changes 315 11 The Antonine Empire: 96–192 CE 319 11.1 Italo-Provincial Emperors 321 11.2 Italy in Decline, the Provinces Expanding 350 11.3 Romanization 364 11.4 A Mediterranean Economy 366 11.5 The Army 373 11.6 Spectacles and the Roman Empire 382 11.7 Religious Life 394 12 The African and Syrian Emperors: 193–235 CE 405 12.1 The Crisis of 193–197 ce 407 12.2 Septimius Severus and his Sons 408 12.3 Macrinus, Elagabalus, Severus Alexander 426 12.4 Provincial Upsurge and the Orientalization of the Empire? 431 Part III: Another Roman World: Third to Fifth Century CE 437 Introduction to Part III: The Nature of the Times 438 13 Equilibrium: 235 CE 439 13.1 A Fragile Balance 441 13.2 Rome and Italy 443 13.3 The Western Provinces 446 13.4 The Eastern Provinces 449 13.5 Beyond the Limes 452 13.6 Balance and Instability 454 14 A Disintegrating Order: 235–284 CE 457 14.1 Sinking into Crisis: 235–260 ce 459 14.2 The Nature and Limits of the Crisis 462 14.3 The Reaction of the Imperial Government: 260–284 ce 467 15 A Different Order: 284–361 CE 471 15.1 Diocletian and the Tetrarchy: 284–305 ce 473 15.2 Constantine: 306–337 ce 477 15.3 Constantine’s Sons: 337–361 ce 481 15.4 Three Emperors and their Achievements 484 16 Different Institutions: Reorganization 485 16.1 Central Government 487 16.2 The Army 491 16.3 Territorial Authorities 496 16.4 Cities and Municipal Life 498 16.5 An Absolute Monarchy 502 17 A Different Socio-Economic World: Recovery and State Control 503 17.1 The Economic Recovery 505 17.2 Society and the State 509 17.3 Towns and Villas 517 17.4 Expansion and Lifestyles 521 18 Between Paganism and Christianity 523 18.1 The Fourth-Century ce Renaissance 525 18.2 Paganism on the Defensive 526 18.3 Judaism between the Empire and the Church 533 18.4 Christianity Takes the Offensive 535 18.5 Boom and Decline 543 19 The End of the Roman World? 545 19.1 Julian: 361–363 ce 547 19.2 A New Crisis: 364–395 ce 550 19.3 The End of Rome? 554 Chronological Table 559 Glossary 578 Guide to Greek and Roman Writers 584 Guide to Further Reading 595 Index 617
£30.35
John Wiley and Sons Ltd A History of Byzantium
Book SynopsisThis revised and expanded edition of the widely-praised A History of Byzantium covers the time of Constantine the Great in AD 306 to the fall of Constantinople in 1453. Expands treatment of the middle and later Byzantine periods, incorporating new archaeological evidence Includes additional maps and photographs, and a newly annotated, updated bibliography Incorporates a new section on web resources for Byzantium studies Demonstrates that Byzantium was important in its own right but also served as a bridge between East and West and ancient and modern society Situates Byzantium in its broader historical context with a new comparative timeline and textboxes Table of ContentsList of Figures vii List of Maps x List of Boxes xi Preface to the Second Edition xiv Preface to the First Edition xvi Introduction 1 1 The Crisis of the Third Century 23 2 The Revival under Diocletian 36 3 The Age of Constantine the Great 49 4 The Fourth Century: Constantius II to Theodosios I 72 5 The Fifth Century 103 6 The Age of Justinian 129 7 The Byzantine "Dark Ages": Late Sixth and Seventh Centuries 160 8 The Isaurian Dynasty and Iconoclasm 198 9 Continued Struggle over Ikons 220 10 The Beginnings of the Macedonian Dynasty 242 11 The Apogee of Byzantine Power 265 12 The Komnenoi 290 13 The Aftermath of the Fourth Crusade 330 14 The Beginnings of Decline 347 15 The End of the Empire 383 16 Byzantium after the Fall of the City 401 Glossary 421 General Bibliography 428 A Selection of Primary Sources in English Translation 435 List of Byzantine Rulers 438 Comparative Chronology 444 Electronic Resources 448 Index 451
£32.25
John Wiley and Sons Ltd Modern Spain
Book SynopsisModern Spain: 1808 to the Presentis a comprehensive overview of Spanish history from the Napoleonic era to the present day.Table of ContentsList of Maps xi Preface xii Acknowledgments xvi Abbreviations and Glossary of Foreign Terms xviii Political Chronology of Spanish History, 1808–2016 xxii Part I: 1808–1868: The Era of the Liberal Revolution 1 1 Spain in the “Age of Revolutions” 3 Spain in Europe and the World, 1780s–1820 4 A Snapshot of the Economy: Gradual Growth 7 Uneven Regional Development: Center/Periphery Divide 10 The Mediterranean Regional Network 10 The North Atlantic Regional Network 11 Regional Networks of the Center 12 Demography: A Growth Pattern 14 Characteristics of the Population: Occupation and Social Structure 15 Culture and Community 18 Political Crisis, 1808–1814 20 Dynastic Crisis 20 War and Resistance 21 The Cortes of Cádiz and the Constitution of 1812 22 A Spanish “Constitutional Culture” 23 The End of the Revolutionary Era 25 Conclusion 26 2 Political Transformation: From the Old Regime to the Liberal State, 1814–1868 28 Introduction: The Liberal Revolution in Comparative Context 28 The Major Players 31 Moderate and Progressive Parties 31 The Military and Pronunciamientos 32 The Crown 32 Popular/Local Mobilization 33 Counter]revolution: Carlists 33 The Catholic Church 34 Chronology: From the Restoration of Absolutism to the Construction and Crisis of the Liberal State, 1814–1868 35 1814–1833: The Restoration and Demise of the Absolutist State 35 Restoration of Absolutism, 1814–1820 35 The Liberal “Trienio,” 1820–23 36 Return to Absolutism, 1823–34 38 1833–1845: The Construction of the Liberal State 39 The Carlist War 39 Moderate and Progressive Constitutions and Platforms 40 The Parameters of a Liberal Political, Juridical and Administrative Order, 1833–45 42 1845–1868: The Liberal State: From Consolidation to Crisis 44 Conclusion: Achievements and Limits of the Liberal Political Transformation 45 Part II: 1868–1923: The Emergence of Mass Politics 49 3 Politics on the Margins of the Liberal State: From 1848 to the “Sexenio” (1868–1874) 51 Introduction: Mid]Nineteenth]century Popular Politics in Comparative Perspective 51 The Major Players 54 Carlists 54 Cuban Separatists 55 Democrats and Republicans 56 The Labor Movement and the First International 58 The First Democracy: The Sexenio, 1868–1874 60 The September 1868 Revolution 60 The Democratic Monarchy (June 1869–February 1873) 61 The Republic (February 12, 1873–January 4, 1874) 63 Conclusion 65 4 A New Era of Liberal Politics: The Second Restoration, 1875–1898 67 The Restoration in Comparative Context: State, Nation, Empire and Democracy 68 The Multiple Faces of the Restoration Regime 71 Constructing a New Constitutional Regime: Antonio Cánovas del Castillo and the turno pacífico 71 The Dark Side of the Turno: Electoral Fraud and Caciquismo 74 Evaluating the Constraints and Opportunities of Restoration Politics 75 Constraints on Political Liberties Imposed by the State 75 Political Constraints and Opportunities: The View “From Below” 77 The “Disaster” of 1898: The Start of a New Era? 80 5 Restoration Politics: From Fin de Siècle to Postwar Crisis, 1898–1923 83 Introduction: Early Twentieth]Century Spanish Politics in Comparative Context 83 1898–1914: Efforts to Reform the Regime “From Above” 85 The Conservative Party and Antonio Maura 86 The Liberal Party and José Canalejas 87 1914–23: From Elite Reform to Mass Mobilization: Alternative Political Projects 90 The First World War in Spain 90 From the Turno to Fragmentation of the Liberal and Conservative Parties, 1913–23 91 Movements on the Right 92 Catholic Mobilization 92 Basque Nationalism (PNV/CNV) 93 Mauristas/Spanish Nationalism 94 Movements on the Left 95 Socialists (PSOE/UGT) 95 Anarcho]syndicalists (CNT) 96 Movements of the Center 97 Republicanism 97 Catalanism/LLiga 98 Turning Points in the Crisis of the Restoration, 1917–23 99 The Democratic Assembly Movement, 1917 100 The La Canadiense Strike, 1919 101 A Last Effort at Reform “From Above,” 1920–23? 102 Conclusion 103 Part III: The Long View: Social, Economic and Cultural Change, 1830–1930 105 6 Economic and Demographic Evolution: 1830–1930 107 Spain in the World Economy, 1830–1930 108 General Economic and Population Trends: Gradual Growth and Structural Evolution 110 The Agricultural Sector 113 The Industrial Sector 115 Uneven Regional Development: Center/Periphery Divide 118 Conclusion: Missed Opportunities or Inherent Constraints? 120 7 Culture and Society, 1830–1930 122 Introduction: Social and Cultural Evolution in Comparative Perspective 122 The Social Order: Evolution and Diversity 124 A Hybrid Elite 125 The Urban Middle Classes 126 The Popular Classes or “el pueblo” 127 Rural Society 128 Sociability and Identity: A Diverse and Evolving Cultural Landscape 129 A New Urban Culture: Encoding Social Hierarchy in the Public Sphere 130 On the Margins of Middle Class Culture: The Avant]Garde and the Modern Woman 133 Urban Popular Sociability and Mass Culture 134 The Catholic Church, Religion and Rural Society 136 Local, Regional and National Cultures and Identities 139 Conclusion 142 Part IV: Dictatorship and Democracy, 1923–Present 143 8 The First Dictatorship: The Primo de Rivera Regime, 1923–1930 145 Introduction: The Primo Regime in Comparative Perspective 145 From Coup to “Temporary” Dictatorship, 1923–1925 148 Elements of a New Kind of Dictatorship: The Civil Directory, 1925–1929 149 Labor Relations 150 Nationalization Campaigns 151 Authoritarian Development 153 End of the Dictatorship, 1929–1930 154 Political Transition to a Republic, 1930–1931 155 Conclusion 156 9 The Second Republic: 1931–1936 158 The Second Republic in Comparative Perspective 159 Periodization: The Shifting Majority Coalitions of the Second Republic 161 The First Biennium (1931–1933): Pursuing a Center/Left Majority Coalition 164 What Went Wrong with the First Biennium? 167 Mobilizing against the Coalition 167 A Disintegrating Majority Coalition 169 The Second Biennium, 1933–1935: Pursuing a Center/Right Majority Coalition 173 What Went Wrong with the Second Biennium? 175 Mobilizing against the Coalition 176 An Unconsolidated Majority Coalition 178 The Popular Front, February–July 1936 180 What Went Wrong with the Popular Front? 181 Conclusion 182 10 The Civil War: 1936–1939 184 The Civil War in Comparative Perspective 185 From Military Coup to Civil War: The Summer of 1936 187 The Rebel Forces in the Summer of 1936 188 Ideology and Violence in Rebel Territory 190 The Loyalist Forces during the Summer of 1936 191 Revolution in Republican Territory 191 Violence in Republican Territory 194 Organizing for the Long War: The Republicans 195 Foreign Aid 196 Reconstructing a Republican State 198 Organizing for the Long War: The Nationalists 201 Constructing a “New State” 201 Foreign Aid 203 The Military Stages of the War 204 Conclusion 207 11 The Second Dictatorship: The Franco Regime, 1939–1976 209 The Franco Regime in Comparative Perspective 210 Periodization: The Stages of the Franco Dictatorship 212 Phase One, 1936–1945: Militarization, Fascist Influence and Extreme Repression 214 Phase II, 1945–1957: National Catholicism, Monarchist Restoration and International Integration 218 Phase III, 1957–1969: Authoritarian Development and Institutionalization 221 Phase IV, 1969–1975: Collapse of the Coalition and Death of the Dictator 227 Conclusion 229 12 Economic, Social and Cultural Transformation, 1930s–1970s 230 Economy, Society and Culture in Comparative Perspective 230 Economic and Demographic Trends 232 The “Years of Hunger”: Deprivation, Disease and Death in the 1940s 232 From Economic Stagnation to Rapid Growth: 1950s–1970s 234 Structural shift from Agriculture to Industry and Service Sectors 235 Consumption and Population Trends 236 Uneven Benefits 237 Social and Cultural Trends 238 Society and Culture in the Years of Hunger 239 Rupture and Restitution for Winners and Losers 239 Family and Gender 240 The Church, Religion and Education 241 The Public Sphere: Associations and Sociability 242 Social and Cultural Evolution in the Growth Years: 1960s–1970s 244 Migration and Social Mobility 244 Diversification of the Public Sphere 245 The Decline of “Tradition”: Youth, Gender and Religion 247 Conclusion 248 13 The Last Democratic Transition: 1976–1982 250 The Transition to Democracy in Comparative Perspective 251 Origins of the Transition: Favorable Factors vs. the 1930s 252 Economic Development 252 Geographic Location: Western Europe 252 Civil Society Mobilization 253 Francoist Elites: Reformers and the Bunker 254 The Institutional Transition: July 1976–December 1978 254 Elite Actors and the “Push from Below,” 1976–77 255 The June 1977 Elections and Building Consensus Through “Pacts” 257 The Constitution of 1978 259 The Basque Exception 261 From Transition to Consolidation, 1978–1982 261 Autonomous Governments 262 Local Governments 262 Leadership Crisis and Attempted Coup, 1981 263 The 1982 Election 264 Conclusion 265 14 Democratic State and Social Transformation, 1982–2016 266 The Democratic Era in Comparative Perspective 266 Democratic government under PSOE leadership: 1982–1996 270 Institutionalization and European Integration 270 Neo]Liberalism and Social Welfare 272 The End of the PSOE Era 273 From Consolidation to Crispación: PP and PSOE alternation from 1996 to 2011 274 Political Polarization 275 State/Regional Polarization 277 Democratic Society 277 2008–2016: Crisis and Uncertainty 278 Conclusion 280 Notes 282 Works Cited 314 Index 336
£22.75
John Wiley and Sons Ltd Remaking the Modern World 1900 2015
Book SynopsisThe sequel and companion volume to C.A. Bayly''s ground-breaking The Birth of the Modern World, 1780-1914, this wide-ranging and sophisticated study explores global history since the First World War, offering a coherent, comparative overview of developments in politics, economics, and society at large. Written by one of the leading historians of his generation, an early intellectual leader in the study of World History Weaves a clear narrative history that explores the themes of politics, economics, social, cultural, and intellectual life throughout the long twentieth century Identifies the themes of state, capital, and communication as key drivers of change on a global scale in the last century, and explores the impact of those ideas Interrogates whether warfare was really the pre-eminent driving force of twentieth-century history, and what other ideas shaped the course of history in this period Explores the causes behind the Trade Review"Overall, the great value of this last of Christopher Bayly's books is nonetheless beyond question: Remaking the Modern World is truly thought provoking and speaks to may different discussions, be it on the approach of global history...or the problems and possibilities of presentist history writing." Global Histories, Vol. 5, No. 1 (May 2019) “As with Birth, the value of Remaking lies in the ways in which it re-reads many well-known topics. By placing them in a global perspective, it often ascribes to them very new meanings.” -- Australian Journal of Politics and History: Volume 66, Number 1, 2020 “The book is excellent for students, historians whose expertise lies outside of modern history, and scholars of other disciplines interested in modern history, especially those not in the social sciences or humanities.” -- HNet: Humanities and Social Science Reviews Online, August, 2021 Table of ContentsList of Figures and Photo Credits vii Series Editor’s Preface ix Christopher Bayly and the Making of World History xiii Preface xix Introduction 1 1 The World Crisis, c.1900–1930: Europe and the “Middle East” 12 2 The World Crisis, c.1900–1930: Africa, Asia and Beyond 29 3 Authoritarianism and Dictatorship Worldwide, c.1900–1950 49 4 Democracies and Their Discontents, c.1900–1950 67 5 The Depression: State Intervention and Popular Resistance 84 6 The Second World War and its Consequences 96 7 Peripheral Conflicts and the End of Old Regimes, c.1945–1955 118 8 America’s Hegemony and Colonialism’s Finale, mid-1950s to 1970s 139 9 The “Tipping Point”: World Politics and the Shock of the “Long 1980s” 162 10 The Expansion of Human Knowledge: The Twentieth-Century Person and Society 179 11 The Self and Human Society 194 12 Arts, Literature and Entertainment: Crisis and Recovery 215 13 Religion: Contestation and Revival 231 14 A Century of Killing and a Century of Crime 247 15 Internationalism and Transnationalism in Theory and Practice 263 16 The Shadow of Empire in the Modern World 270 17 The Pressure of People 287 18 Between Two Centuries: Economic Liberalisation and Political Fragmentation, c.1991 to 2015 298 Conclusion: Periods and Prophecy 323 Notes 333 Bibliography 363 Index 379
£26.55
Wiley-Blackwell A Companion to Sparta 2v Set C
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£235.76
John Wiley and Sons Ltd A History of Babylon 2200 BC AD 75
Book SynopsisDuring most of its history, Babylon was the capital of a kingdom that corresponded roughly to the southern and central parts of Iraq. This work presents a narrative history of Babylon from the time of its First Dynasty (1880-1595) until the last centuries of the city's existence during the Hellenistic and Parthian periods (ca 331-75 AD).Table of ContentsList of Illustrations xii List of Tables xiv List of Maps xvi Preface xvii List of Abbreviations xix Author’s Note xx 1 Introductory Concerns 1 1.1 Assyriology and the Writing of History 3 1.1.1 Cuneiform Texts as Historical Sources 4 1.2 Historical Science and the Handling of Sources 17 1.3 Chronology 20 2 The Sumero-Akkadian Background 24 2.1 Babylonia as Geographic Unit 24 2.2 The Natural Environment 25 2.3 The Neolithic Revolution 28 2.4 The Ubaid Period (6500–4000) 29 2.5 The Uruk Period (4000–3100) 30 2.6 The Jemdet Nasr Period (3100–2900) 31 2.7 The Early Dynastic Period (2900–2350) 34 2.7.1 The State of Lagash 38 2.7.2 Babylon in the Early Dynastic Period 40 2.8 The Sargonic (Old Akkadian) and Gutian Periods (ca. 2334–2113) 41 2.8.1 Akkadian and Sumerian Linguistic Areas 42 2.8.2 The Early Sargonic Period (ca. 2334–2255) 44 2.8.3 The Classical Sargonic Period (ca. 2254–2193) 46 2.8.4 Babylon in the Sargonic Period 50 2.8.5 The Late Sargonic (ca. 2193–2154) and Gutian Periods (ca. 2153–2113) 51 2.9 The Third Dynasty of Ur (2112–2004) 52 2.9.1 King of Sumer and Akkad 53 2.9.2 Shulgi’s Babylonia 54 2.9.3 Failure of the Ur III State 56 2.9.4 Babylon during the Ur III Period 57 3 The Rise of Babylon 60 3.1 The First Dynasty of Isin (2017–1794) 62 3.2 The Amorites 64 3.2.1 Amorite Genealogies and Histories 66 3.3 Date Lists and King Lists of Babylon I 68 3.4 Elusive Beginnings 69 3.5 Sumu-la-el (1880–1845) 70 3.5.1 The Letter of Anam and the Babylon-Uruk Alliance 71 3.6 Half a Century of Stability (1844–1793) 72 3.6.1 The Battle for Kazallu 74 3.6.2 The Apex of Larsa 75 3.7 Hammu-rabi (1792–1750) 76 3.7.1 In the Shadow of Samsi-Addu (1792–1775) 77 3.7.2 Eshnunna’s Bid for Hegemony (1772–1770) 79 3.7.3 A Fragile Equilibrium (1769–1766) 80 3.7.4 The Elamite Intervention and its Aftermath (1766–1764) 82 3.7.5 Showdown with Larsa (1764–1763) 83 3.7.6 The Capture and Sack of Mari (1761–1759) 85 3.7.7 Towards an Empire (1759–1750) 85 3.7.8 The Code of Hammu-rabi 86 3.7.9 Hammu-rabi as Administrator 92 4 Decline of the First Dynasty 97 4.1 The Reign of Samsu-iluna (1749–1712) 97 4.1.1 The Rebellion of Rim-Sin II (1742–1740) 99 4.1.2 The Rebellion of Rim-Anum (1742–1740) 100 4.1.3 The Invasion of the Kassites (1742) 101 4.1.4 Samsu-iluna Strikes Back 101 4.1.5 Sargonic Reveries 102 4.1.6 Loss of Southern Babylonia 103 4.1.7 Northern Exertions 104 4.1.8 Loss of Central Babylonia and Rise of the Sealand 108 4.1.9 From Sumerian to Akkadian Literature 108 4.1.10 Samsu-iluna as Administrator and Legislator 109 4.2 The Last Century of Babylon I (1711–1595) 111 4.2.1 Abi-eshuh (1711–1684) 111 4.2.2 Ammi-ditana (1683–1647) 113 4.2.3 Ammi-saduqa (1646–1626) 114 4.2.4 Samsu-ditana (1625–1595) 117 4.2.5 The City of Babylon during the First Dynasty 119 5 Kassite Ascendancy 122 5.1 The Kassites as Linguistic and Cultural Group 122 5.2 The Early Kassite Period (1595–ca. 1400) 125 5.2.1 The Texts from Tell Muhammad 125 5.2.2 The Early Kassite Rulers (Sixteenth Century) 127 5.2.3 The First Dynasty of the Sealand (ca. 1725–1475) 129 5.2.4 The Reunification of Babylonia 131 5.3 Kassite Babylonia: The Documentary Evidence 132 5.3.1 A New Source: The Kudurrus 133 5.4 Karduniash: A New Babylonia 135 5.4.1 Kurigalzu I 137 5.4.2 Dur-Kurigalzu: A Kassite Royal Residence 137 5.5 The Age of Amarna 140 5.6 The Rise of Assyria 142 5.7 The Middle Kassite Period (1332–1225) 143 5.7.1 Ruralization of Babylonia 145 5.7.2 Nippur as Southern Capital 146 5.8 The Intervention of Tukulti-Ninurta I and its Aftermath 147 5.9 End of the Kassite Regime (1186–1155) 150 5.10 Akkadian Literature under the Kassites 151 6 Second Dynasty of Isin 154 6.1 Marduk and Nabu 157 6.2 Renewed Conflict with Assyria 158 6.3 Nebuchadnezzar I (1121–1100) 159 6.3.1 The Elamite Campaign and the Return of Marduk 159 6.3.2 Enuma Elish and the Supremacy of Marduk 161 6.3.3 Nebuchadnezzar I and Royal Legitimacy 163 6.4 Sealand Memories under Enlil-nadin-apli (1099–1096) 164 6.5 Marduk-nadin-ahhe (1095–1078) 164 6.5.1 Aramean Invasions 167 6.6 Marduk-shapik-zeri (1077–1065) 167 6.7 Adad-apla-iddina (1064–1043) 168 6.8 The End of Isin II (1042–1022) 169 7 Arameans and Chaldeans 171 7.1 The Arameans 172 7.2 The Chaldeans 173 7.3 Three Short Dynasties 176 7.4 The Dynasty of E 178 7.4.1 Nabu-mukin-apli (974–939) 179 7.4.2 Assyrian Resurgence 179 7.4.3 Nabu-apla-iddina 180 7.4.4 Marduk-zakir-shumi I 182 7.4.5 Descent into Anarchy (819–770?) 183 7.4.6 Eriba-Marduk 186 7.4.7 Nabu-shuma-ishkun (760?–748) 186 7.4.8 Nabonassar (747–734) 188 8 The Assyrian Century 193 8.1 The Rebellion of Mukin-zeri 196 8.2 The palû of Baltil (728–722) 197 8.3 Marduk-apla-iddina II and Chaldean Resistance (721–709) 198 8.4 The palû of Habigal (709–694) 201 8.5 The Two Shuzubus (694–689) 204 8.6 Sennacherib’s Desecration of Babylon (689–681) 206 8.7 Esarhaddon Restores Babylon (681–669) 208 8.7.1 A New Generation of Opponents 209 8.8 Regnant Siblings (669–652) 211 8.9 Civil War (652–648) 214 8.10 Ashurbanipal and Kandalanu (647–630/27) 216 9 Imperial Heyday 219 9.1 Sources 220 9.1.1 Neo-Babylonian Archives 221 9.1.2 Spread of Aramaic 222 9.2 Power Struggle for Babylonia (630–620) 223 9.3 A Chaldeo-Aramean Empire 224 9.4 The Fall of Assyria (616–609) 225 9.5 Nabopolassar and the Restoration of Babylonia 227 9.6 Nebuchadnezzar in the Levant 227 9.7 The Climax of Babylon 229 9.7.1 Economic Expansion 232 9.7.2 Administration of Babylonia 233 9.7.3 Methods of Imperial Control 235 9.8 A Problematic Succession (562–556) 237 9.9 Babylon’s Twilight: The Reign of Nabonidus (555–539) 238 9.9.1 The Conquest of North Arabia 239 9.9.2 Geopolitical Upheaval 240 9.9.3 The Last Days of Imperial Babylon 243 10 Babylon under Foreign Rule 246 10.1 Cyrus Enters Babylon 247 10.2 A Smooth Transition 248 10.3 The Babylonian Pretenders of 522–521 250 10.4 The Reforms of Darius I 251 10.5 The Babylonian Pretenders of 484 253 10.6 Babylonia in the Late Achaemenid Period 254 10.7 Hellenistic Babylonia 256 10.8 Alexander and his Successors in Babylon (331–311) 257 10.9 Babylon and Seleucia 259 10.10 An Age of Renewal 261 10.11 Hellenization of Babylonia 263 10.12 Parthian Takeover 265 10.13 Sic Transit 266 Appendix: Checklist of Chronicles 269 Bibliography 271 Index 273
£30.35
John Wiley and Sons Ltd A History of Greece 1300 to 30 BC
Book SynopsisA History of Greece: 1300?30 BC, offers a comprehensive introduction to the foundational political history of Greece, from the late Mycenaean Age through to the death of Cleopatra VII, the last Hellenistic monarch of Egypt. Introduces textual and archaeological evidence used by historians to reconstruct historical events during Greece's Bronze, Archaic, Classical, and Hellenistic periods Reveals the political and social structure of the Greek world in the late Mycenaean period (thirteenth century BC) through analysis of the Linear B tablets, the oldest surviving records in Greek Features numerous references to original source materials, including various fragmentary papyri, inscriptions, coins, and other literary sources Provides extensive coverage of the Hellenistic period, and covers areas excluded from most Greek history texts, including the Greek West Features judicious use of illustrations throughout, and considers Table of ContentsList of Figures ix List of Tables xii List of Boxes xiii Abbreviations and Reference Conventions xvi Preface xxii Introduction xxvii 1 The Geography of Greece 1 Part I: Bronze and “Dark Age”: circa 1300–800 BC 21 2 The Mycenaean Age 23 3 The End of the Bronze Age and the Great Migrations 46 4 Greece in the Later “Dark Age” (circa 900–750 BC) 58 Part II: The Archaic Period: circa 800–479 BC 73 5 Colonization 75 6 Sparta from the Messenian Wars to the Creation of the Peloponnesian League 93 7 Tyranny 106 8 Athens from Cylon to Cleisthenes 121 9 Persia and the Ionian Revolt 138 10 The Persian Wars 151 Part III: The Classical Period: 479–323 BC 169 11 The Athenian Empire 171 12 Sparta and Athens during the Pentecontaetia 182 13 From the Outbreak of the Peloponnesian War to the Peace of Nicias 196 14 From the Peace of Nicias to the Surrender of Athens 210 15 The Lacedaemonian Ascendancy in Greece 227 16 The Boeotian Ascendancy in Greece and the Second Athenian League 243 17 The West from the Sicilian Expedition to the Campaigns of Timoleon 257 18 Philip of Macedon and the Conquest of Greece 272 19 Alexander the Great and the Conquest of Persia 293 Part IV: The Hellenistic Period: 323–30 BC 317 20 The Wars of the Diadochi 319 21 The Creation of the Hellenistic States 336 22 Sicily and the West from Agathocles to the First Punic War 351 23 The Hellenistic World in Equilibrium 364 24 The Coming of Rome 387 25 Twilight of the Hellenistic World 409 Tables of Rulers 429 Glossary 434 Index 458
£29.40
John Wiley and Sons Ltd A History of the Classical Greek World
Book SynopsisThoroughly updated and revised, the second edition of this successful and widely praised textbook offers an account of the classical' period of Greek history, from the aftermath of the Persian Wars in 478 BC to the death of Alexander the Great in 323 BC. Two important new chapters have been added, covering life and culture in the classical Greek world Features new pedagogical tools, including textboxes, and a comprehensive chronological table of the West, mainland Greece, and the Aegean Enlarged and additional maps and illustrative material Covers the history of an important period, including: the flourishing of democracy in Athens; the Peloponnesian war, and the conquests of Alexander the Great Focuses on the evidence for the period, and how the evidence is to be interpreted Table of ContentsList of Illustrations vii List of Figures ix List of Maps x Preface xi Note on References xiii Chronological Table xv 1 Introduction 1 2 The Formation of the Delian League 14 3 The Peloponnese in the Early Fifth Century 24 4 Athens After the Persian Wars 34 5 The Athenian Empire in the Mid Fifth Century 47 6 Periclean Athens 59 7 The Greeks in the West: The Rise of Syracuse 77 8 The Peloponnesian War: Origins 87 9 The Peloponnesian War: Resources and Strategies 96 10 The Peloponnesian War: 431–421 107 11 The Athens of Cleon 122 12 The Peloponnesian War: 421–413 131 13 The Peloponnesian War: 413–404 149 14 Athens in the Late Fifth Century 163 15 The Athenian Empire: Retrospect 183 16 Life in the Classical Greek World 200 17 Culture in the Classical Greek World 209 18 Introduction to the Fourth Century: The Common Peace 224 19 Sparta’s Imperialism and Collapse 239 Appendix: Persia and its Rebels 256 20 The Second Athenian League 261 21 Thebes and Northern Greece 279 22 Athens After the Peloponnesian War 293 23 The Western Greeks from Dionysius I to Timoleon 311 24 Philip II of Macedon 332 Appendix: Persia and the Greeks in the Reign of Artaxerxes III 361 25 Demosthenic Athens 367 Appendix: Sparta 384 26 Alexander the Great: Sources and Outline 388 27 Alexander the Great: Topics 401 28 Epilogue 427 Glossary 431 Bibliography 435 Index 445
£32.25
John Wiley and Sons Ltd The Aztecs
Book SynopsisThe Aztecs brings to life one of the best-known indigenous civilizations of the Americas in a vivid, comprehensive account of the ancient Aztecs. A thorough examination of Aztec origins and civilization including religion, science, and thought Incorporates the latest archaeological excavations and research into explanations of the Spanish conquest and the continuity of Aztec culture in Central Mexico Expanded coverage includes key topics such as writing, music, royal tombs, and Aztec predictions of the end of the world Table of ContentsList of Figures x List of Tables xiv Preface xv Guide to Pronunciation and Spelling xviii 1 The Aztecs of Mesoamerica 1 Who Were the Aztecs? 3 Mesoamerican Context 5 The Aztec Environment 7 Sources of Information 12 Ethnohistory 13 Archaeology 20 Art History 27 Aztec Studies Today 28 2 The Rise of Aztec Civilization 30 Timetables 31 Pre-Aztec Civilizations 33 The Aztlan Migrations 36 Toltecs, Chichimecs, and Aztec Identity 39 The Growth of City-States: The Early Aztec Period 40 Tenochtitlan and Empire: The Late Aztec Period 46 3 People on the Landscape 60 How Many Aztecs? 61 The Aztec Diet 65 Farming Systems 69 Rural Settlement 77 The Rural Landscape 81 4 Artisans and their Wares 82 Utilitarian Crafts 82 Luxury Crafts 94 Otumba: An Aztec Craft Center 103 5 The Commercial Economy 108 Marketplaces 109 Money 116 Material Evidence for Aztec Commerce 119 A Complex Economy 124 6 Family and Social Class 127 Growing up Aztec 128 Adult Life and Social Roles 131 Social Classes 134 Commoners 135 Nobles and their Palaces 143 7 City-State and Empire 152 City-States 153 Relations Among City-States 159 The Empire of the Triple Alliance 163 Imperial Strategies and Control 165 Mexica Propaganda and the Limits of Empire 177 8 Cities and Urban Planning 179 City-State Capitals 180 Provincial Cities and Towns 184 Tenochtitlan 189 9 Creation, Death, and the Gods 197 Myths of Creation 198 Aztec Religion: Historical Background 201 The Gods 204 Death, Burial, and the Afterlife 211 10 Temples and Ceremonies 217 Priests 217 Human Blood Offerings 219 The Templo Mayor 225 Public Ceremonies 235 Private Rituals 239 11 Science, Writing, and Calendars 244 Writing 244 Calendars and Astronomy 249 Technology 259 Medicine 260 12 Art, Music, and Literature 263 Art 263 Literature and Poetry 271 Music and Dance 274 13 Final Glory, Conquest, and Legacy 278 The Final Century: 1428–1519 279 Conquest by Spain 282 The Nahuas under Spanish Rule 290 Continuity and Change 296 The Aztec Legacy: Modern Nahua Indian Culture 298 The Aztec Past and the Mexican Present 300 A Wider Perspective 303 Notes 305 Glossary of Nahuatl Terms 337 References 339 Index 385
£27.50
Dorling Kindersley Ltd World History
Book SynopsisThe full story of human endeavour - complete with its dramas, wars, schemes, discoveries, and personalities - is laid out before you in this illustrated guide to the history of our world.Who were the Mongols, the Maya, or Isis? How far did the Roman or the British empire stretch? Why did apartheid or Communism begin, and what were the issues in the Vietnam War?World History is your convenient reference, answering all your questions. But it also tells you why events happen and explains key issues. Its timelines trace events as they happen, from the appearance of the first humans in Africa to first civilisations and then on to recent wars in Afghanistan and Iraq and the space race. It succinctly explains how one event led to another, and sums up topics that include ancient Egypt, the Romans, the Renaissance, World Wars I and II, slavery and empire, and Communist China.Dotted throughout this comprehensive volume are sumptous images that reveal hist
£16.19
Taylor & Francis Ltd The Second World War in Europe
Book SynopsisThis is an updated edition of the first truly concise introduction to the history of World War II in the West. The author, S. P. MacKenzie traces the major events on both fighting front and home front, explaining what happened and, just as importantly, why the balance of fortunes swung first towards the Axis and then towards the Allies. Along with overviews of the origins and consequences of the conflict, the book: Provides a narrative account of the course of events on land throughout the war Contains sections specifically devoted to societies and economies; resistance movements and collaboration; technology and intelligence; alliances and strategy; the war in the air and at sea Assesses the impact of the war and introduces the key historiographical debates surrounding it Far from being a blow-by-blow account, the book shows how the Second World War can only be understood by taking all the contributing factors - military, economic and social Table of ContentsList of maps Note on referencing system Preface AcknowledgementsChronologyWho’s WhoGlossaryPART ONE: BACKGROUND1. THE ROAD TO WARThe Origins of the Second World War Preparing for WarPART TWO: THE SECOND WORLD WAR 2. THE FLOW OF BLITZKRIEG, 1939–42 Campaigns East and West, 1939–40 Strategies for Survival and Expansion, 1940–41 The Limits of Blitzkrieg, 1941–42 3. PEOPLES AT WAR Economies and Societies at War Barbarism and the Holocaust Collaboration and Resistance 4. CONDUCTING WAR Technology and Intelligence Alliances and Strategy Strategic Bombing and the U-Boat War 5. THE EBB OF BLITZKRIEG, 1942–45 The Changing Balance of Fortune, 1942–43 Success and Failure South and East, 1943–44 Closing the Ring, 1944–45 PART THREE: ASSESSMENT 6. THE END OF THE WAR AND AFTER Costs and the Division of Europe Historical Debates Winning and LosingPART FOUR: DOCUMENTS Guide to Further Reading ReferencesIndex
£33.29
Taylor & Francis Ltd An Immigration History of Britain
Book SynopsisImmigration, ethnicity, multiculturalism and racism have become part of daily discourse in Britain in recent decades yet, far from being new, these phenomena have characterised British life since the 19th century. While the numbers of immigrants increased after the Second World War, groups such as the Irish, Germans and East European Jews have been arriving, settling and impacting on British society from the Victorian period onwards. In this comprehensive and fascinating account, Panikos Panayi examines immigration as an ongoing process in which ethnic communities evolve as individuals choose whether to retain their ethnic identities and customs or to integrate and assimilate into wider British norms. Consequently, he tackles the contradictions in the history of immigration over the past two centuries: migration versus government control; migrant poverty versus social mobility; ethnic identity versus increasing Anglicisation; and, above all, racism versus mTrade Review“This timely and engaging book, written by a leading authority on the subject, is a must-read for anyone who wants to find out how British society has been transformed by immigration in the period since 1800.” Professor John Solomos, author of Race and Racism in Britain“This is a brave and wide-ranging book that will challenge the reader to think about the nature of British society.” Professor Tony Kushner, University of Southampton, UKTable of ContentsPreface. List of illustrations. 1. A Country of Immigration? 2. Migration to Britain 3. Three Paths to Integration? Geography, Demography and Economics 4. Ethnicity, Identity and Britishness 5. Xenophobia and Racism 6. The Evolution of Multiculturalism 7. Conclusions, Contradictions and Continuities Bibliography. Index
£36.99
Taylor & Francis Ltd The Crusades 10951197
Book SynopsisThis new and considerably expanded edition of The Crusades, 1095-1204 couples vivid narrative with a clear and accessible analysis of the key ideas that prompted the conquest and settlement of the Holy Land between the First and the Fourth Crusade. This edition now covers the Fourth Crusade and the Sack of Constantinople, along with greater coverage of the Muslim response to the Crusades from the capture of Jerusalem in 1099 to Saladin's leadership of the counter-crusade, culminating in his struggle with Richard the Lionheart during the Third Crusade. It also examines the complex motives of the Italian city states during the conquest of the Levant, as well as relations between the Frankish settlers and the indigenous population, both Eastern Christian and Muslim, in times of war and peace. Extended treatment of the events of the First Crusade, the failure of the Second Crusade, and the prominent role of female rulers in the Latin East feature too.Underpin
£46.73
Penguin Books Ltd Elizabeth the Queen
Book SynopsisQueen. Mother. Servant. Friend. This is the most intimate portrait of our longest serving monarch, an inspiration to her country: Queen Elizabeth II.Get to know the real Elizabeth in the definitive biography from the bestselling British Royal Family writer ''To have any understanding of the Queen you must first read this book'' Amanda Foreman''Emotional, personal, human, insightful and moving. You will be a better person for reading and learning from this book'' 5***** Reader Review ''Extensively researched, fluently written and containing a lot of intriguing information. Much to recommend'' Daily Telegraph ________We knew her as the Queen. But she was so much more.Playing with her children at the Palace, crawling on her stomach to stalk deer, donning yellow Marigolds to wash up after Balmoral cookouts; this was Queen Elizabeth going about her daily life. Performing a dTrade ReviewSally Bedell Smith offers her readers the illusion of knowing the queen as a friend * The Economist *The book has much to recommend it, being extensively researched, fluently written and containing quite a lot of intriguing "new" information * The Telegraph *A worthy addition to the shelves of royal watchers everywhere * Sunday Independent *Incisive... well researched * Choice Magazine *A thoroughly good read * Daily Mail *
£12.34
Penguin Books Ltd Charles
Book SynopsisHeir. Prince. King. Discover the real Charles - our King - in the definitive biography from the bestselling author of Elizabeth the Queen ''Brilliant, startling. The royal biography everyone''s talking about'' Daily Mail_________His destiny was to become King. But for 70 years, he was a Prince.From his declared heirdom aged three to his years spent fulfilling royal duty in support of his mother, Queen Elizabeth II, Charles has spent his entire life serving the nation. But there is still so much we don''t know.In this fascinating exploration of his public and private lives, Sally Bedell Smith - the acclaimed, bestselling biographer of Elizabeth the Queen - has drawn extensively on her access to the Royal Family''s inner circle to reveal a portrait of a misunderstood prince.Beginning with his lonely childhood, Smith details his intellectual quests, his entrepreneurial pursuits, and his Trade ReviewBrilliant, startling. The royal biography everyone's talking about * Daily Mail *What a story. To read this book is to feel... immense pity and sympathy for the man * The Times *Prince Charles: The passions and paradoxes of an impossible life is the first major biography of Prince Charles in more than two decades, with new insights into his family and his two marriages, from the bestselling author of Elizabeth the Queen. * From the publisher's description *Prince Charles is an eighteenth-century gentleman with a twenty-first-century mission. His love of tradition combines with an outlook that can be bracingly avant garde. Sally Bedell Smith captures his contradictions and his convictions in this fascinating book that is not just about a man who would be king, but also about the duties that come with privilege. -- Walter IsaacsonFor all we know about Prince Charles, there is so much we didn't know until now. Sally Bedell Smith has given us a complete and compelling portrait of the man in the shadow of the throne. It's all here, from the back stairs of the palaces to the front pages of the tabs. Read all about it! -- Tom BrokawNo one writes about life at the top with more panache than Sally Bedell Smith. Her Prince Charles is a delicious blend of glamour and grandeur, jealousy and rivalry, greatness and human foible. Smith writes with wisdom and sympathy and a sharp and knowing eye about the struggles and maturation of the man who would be King. -- Evan ThomasThis great biography is an indispensable guide for anyone eager to understand Prince Charles and the British monarchy in the twentieth and twenty-first centuries. What an achievement, what work went into it, and all of it presented with such ease. It is so fair, while suggesting so much. -- Peggy Noonan
£11.69
Penguin Books Ltd Six Weeks of Blenheim Summer
Book Synopsis''DESERVES TO JOIN REACH FOR THE SKY AND THE LAST ENEMY AS ONE OF THE GREAT RAF BOOKS OF THE SECOND WORLD WAR'' - ANDREW ROBERTSAs I write, I can clearly recall the stinging heat of aburning Blenheim, smells, tastes, expressions, sounds of voices and, most ofall, fear gripping deep in me.Flying Officer Alastair Panton was just twenty-three when his squadron deployed across the Channel in the defence of France. They were desparate days.Pushed back to the beaches as the German blitzkrieg rolled through the Low Countries and into France, by June 4th 1940 the evacuation ofthe Allies from Dunkirk was complete. A little over two weeks later France surrendered.Flying vital, dangerous, low-level missions throughout the campaign in support of the troops on the ground, Panton''s beloved but unarmed Bristol Blenheim was easy meat for the marauding Messerschmitts. At the height of fighting he was losing two of his small squadron''s crewTrade ReviewThis totally gripping account of the air war of May and June 1940 was written by one of the bravest of "The Few". Its short pages encompass all the timeless themes of war: comradeship, sacrifice, patriotism, fear, and sheer, raw courage. Panton's engaging and immediate prose style recalls the Battle of France in all its pity and tragedy, with his Mark IV Blenheim bomber as much a character in the story as any of his comrades. This deserves to join Reach for the Sky and The Last Enemy as one the great RAF books of the Second World War. -- ANDREW ROBERTSThis is a wonderfully vivid account of those forgotten heroes of 1940. It deserves to become one of the great aerial memoirs of the Second World War. It's an absolutely brilliant book -- JAMES HOLLANDThis is a gem of a memoir. An RAF pilot of rare tenacity and courage, Alistair Panton writes vividly but artlessly and with no hint of bravado about the grimly chaotic weeks of Dunkirk when he and his crew brushed with death in the sky most every day. His front-line story - humane, modest, and compassionate - inspires admiration to the point of awe -- JONATHAN DIMBLEBYA hidden gem of a diary on a little known episode of the Second World War. It speaks to everyone with its drama, pathos, humour and above all, compassion. It should be read by every history student -- PAUL BEAVER, author of SPITFIRE PEOPLESimply wonderful. One of the best accounts of WWII that I have ever read -- JOHN NICHOLThe soldiers on the Dunkirk beaches who jeered the RAF for not making their presence felt in the skies above them would have cheered if they had read this stirring vivid account of the torment suffered by one of Britain's most heroic pilots during the battle for France in May to June 1940. -- HUGH SEBAG-MONTEFIOREIt is the best account of the chaos and confusion of war outside the pages of Evelyn Waugh -- BORIS JOHNSONOne can't help feeling awe and reverence. There are enough adventures here for a lifetime, let alone six weeks -- LOUIS DE BERNIERESAn amazing story of bravery and courage in the air and on the ground -- GENERAL THE LORD DANNATTThis story grips you by the lapels and sometimes by the throat, and all who love tales of war will devour every page -- MATTHEW PARRISExtraordinary ... The clarity of this book is as surprising as its humanity ... both great drama and poignant social commentary ... His story deserves to be told * THE TIMES *What comes over is the extraordinary life of these airmen, who were living in care-free comfort one moment and dying horrible deaths only a few minutes later * SHROPSHIRE STAR *
£11.69
Penguin Books Ltd The Few
Book SynopsisIn the summer of 1940 a handful of volunteer pilots defied their country to fight when we needed them most. This is the story of their Battle of Britain.In the early days of World War Two when Britain stood alone against the terror of Hitler''s all-conquering Third Reich, her future hung in the balance; her defence in the hands of the Spitfires and Hurricanes of the Royal Air Force''s Fighter Command. They were Churchill''s Few. This is their story - and a fresh perspective on the greatest air battle the world has ever seen.''Fine, deeply movingm scintillating...in the battle scenes this book soars heavenward like one of the Spitfires.'' - Andrew Roberts, Sunday Telegraph Trade ReviewFine, deeply moving, scintillating...in the battle scenes this book soars heavenward like one of the Spitfires -- Andrew Roberts * Sunday Telegraph *Praise for Alex Kershaw * - *Kershaw digs deep into the folk memories of young men who survived virtually impossible odds...harrowing, intimate, excellent. * Herald *Outstanding heroism...compelling. Kershaw's writing gives you a sense of "being there" * Daily Express *Fascinating, remarkable, riveting, terrifying. Kershaw does justice to the veterans and makes accessible their amazing story * Big Issue *
£13.49
Penguin Books Ltd Malas Cat
Book SynopsisThe remarkable true story of friendship, resilience and survival against the odds''A remarkable tale of survival'' Jeremy Dronfield, bestselling author of The Boy Who Followed His Father into Auschwitz''It''s an account of astounding courage and resourcefulness . . . The real miracle here is the vitality of Kacenberg''s faith and determination'' Mail on Sunday__________In a small Polish village, Mala Kacenberg grew up in the comfort of her family. Until the Nazis arrived.Her village was torn apart. Her family were murdered. And Mala had no one left.Except she wasn''t alone. Her beloved cat, Malach, remained by her side. They were forced to hide in the forest. Food was impossible to find. And with German soldiers hunting them at every turn, they were never safe.Alone, they would have died.But could they somehow survive together?__________This is the astonishing true stTrade ReviewA remarkable tale of survival, in which Jewish life in pre-war Poland and the atrocities of the Holocaust appear through an almost dreamlike lens of childhood memory * Jeremy Dronfield, bestselling author of The Boy Who Followed His Father into Auschwitz *This book has a unique spiritual richness * Jewish Tribune *Mala's Cat is fresh, unsentimental and utterly unpredictable... This memoir, rescued from obscurity by the efforts of Mala Kacenberg's five children, should be read and cherished as a new, vital document of a history that must never be allowed to vanish * Julie Orringer for the New York Times *A haunting saga with classic potential * Daisy Styles *In this gorgeous debut, Kacenberg shares her harrowing and courageous story of surviving the Holocaust. This moving account is a welcome addition to the canon of WWII memoirs * Publisher’s Weekly *It's an account of astounding courage and resourcefulness . . . The real miracle here is the vitality of Kacenberg's faith and determination * Mail on Sunday *To read Mala's Cat is to enter a dreamscape of horrors seen through innocent eyes * Jewish Chronoicle *
£10.44
Penguin Books Ltd Our Enemies Will Vanish
Book SynopsisTHE COMPELLING ACCOUNT FROM THE FRONT LINES OF THE WAR IN UKRAINE A revelatory eyewitness account of Russia's invasion of Ukraine and heroism of the Ukrainian resistance by Pulitzer Prize finalist Yaroslav Trofimov, the chief foreign-affairs correspondent for The Wall Street Journal.----A stunning work of eyewitness reportage and literary nuance. Clear-eyed, memorable. An instant classic' STEVE COLL, Pulitzer Prize winning author of Ghost Wars Brilliant and stirring. By layering detail upon telling detail, Trofimov builds up a vivid picture of how the men and women of Ukraine repulsed the Russian blitzkrieg with cleverness and courage' Economist For verve, knowledge and detail Trofimov can seldom be beaten and his writing is rich in local colour' The Times Part war correspondence, part road trip. Captures some of the most difficult, gruesom
£10.44
Scholastic Ignatius Sancho
Book SynopsisMy Story: Ignatius Sancho is the extraordinary true story of a youngboy's journey from slave to abolitionist. Greenwich 1738, and eight-year-old Ignatius lives with three sisters. He fetches and carries, does their bidding and all without thanksor a smile. Ignatius must escape and start to build a realand brilliant life for himself.
£6.99
Bloomsbury Publishing PLC The Rookie
Book SynopsisChess was invented more than 1,500 years ago, and is played in every country in the world. Stephen Moss sets out to master its mysteries, and unlock the secret of its enduring appeal. What, he asks, is the essence of chess? And what will it reveal about his own character along the way?In a witty, accessible style that will delight newcomers and irritate purists, Moss imagines the world as a board and marches across it, offering a mordant report on the world of chess in 64 chapters 64 of course being the number of squares on the chessboard. He alternates between black chapters where he plays, largely uncomprehendingly, in tournaments and white chapters, where he seeks advice from the current crop of grandmasters and delves into the lives of great players of the past. It is both a history of the game and a kind of Zen and the Art of Chess; a practical guide and a self-help book: Moss's quest to understand chess and become a better player is really an attempt to escape a lifetime of diTrade ReviewThe Rookie is actually a life lesson much more relevant than all of those self-help books * The Daily Mail *Stephen Moss’s highly readable book, The Rookie, is a brilliant account of the emotional roller coaster of an average club player trying to become seriously strong ... Many will empathise with Stephen’s tribulations and can learn something about themselves. Recommended. -- Leonard Barden * The Guardian *There is wit and humour in abundance in the book * Surbiton Chess Club *Deserves to do for chess what Fever Pitch did for football -- Charles CummingAn engaging memoir [and] a… spiritual journey * Daily Mail *
£13.49
Taylor & Francis Ltd The Cathars
Book SynopsisIn the second half of the twelfth century, the Catholic Church became convinced that dualist heresy was taking root within Christian society and that it was particularly strong in southern France. The nature and extent of this heresy and the reaction of the Church to the perceived threat have been the focus of extensive research since the mid-nineteenth century, research which has become especially intense in the last decade. Malcolm Barber''s second edition of The Cathars (which first appeared in 2000) brings readers up-to-date with the challenges to previous conclusions of recent scholarship. At the same time, the wider implications of the subject remain relevant, most importantly the fundamental questions raised by the belief in the existence of evil, the ethical problems presented by the use of coercion to suppress forms of dissent believed to threaten the social and religious fabric, and the distortion of the past to underpin present-day policies and arguments.<Trade ReviewThis book is beautifully written. While it is, generally, a work of synthesis, the sources have been read afresh in the context of recent research. Barber's cool common sense gives a chance to see the religion and the society in which it became rooted in a new light. Highly recommended, but it will disappoint romantics. Jonathan Riley-Smith, Times Higher Educational SupplementThe book is especially notable for its careful and sensitive attempt to see the Cathars and their beliefs in a concrete, localised context. The author has done his homework on the regional geography and topography of Languedoc to good effect; the location, role and significance of the castrum, or fortified village, which made Catharism as much a rural as an urban heresy, is particularly well set out.Malcolm Vale, English Historical ReviewTable of ContentsIllustrations, tables, maps, Series editor’s preface to the first edition, Preface to the first edition, Author’s preface to the second edition, Acknowledgements, Abbreviations, Introduction, 1. The spread of Catharism, 2. The Cathars and Languedocian society, 3. The Cathar Church, 4. The Catholic reaction, 5. The decline of Catharism, 6. The last Cathars, 7. Cathars after Catharism, Further reading, References, Tables, Maps, Index
£49.48
Little, Brown Book Group One Fine Day
Book Synopsis''Breathtaking... vital and important. A wonderful read'' PETER FRANKOPAN''Marvellous... escapes the inane, balance-sheet view of Empire and sees its full complexity'' SATHNAM SANGHERA''Excellent... his mastery of detail is impeccable'' DOMINIC SANDBROOK, Sunday Times''Extraordinary... [brings] the world of a century ago to fresh, vivid life'' ALEX VON TUNZELMANNTHE STORY OF THE BRITISH EMPIRE AT ITS MAXIMUM TERRITORIAL EXTENTOn Saturday 29 September 1923, the Palestine Mandate became law and the British Empire now covered a scarcely credible quarter of the world''s land mass, containing 460 million people. It was the largest empire the world had ever seen. But it was beset by debt and doubts. This book is a new way of looking at the British Empire. It immerses the reader in the contemporary moment, focusing on particular people and stories from that day, gleaned from newspapers, letters, diaTrade ReviewCompelling... we remain in a state of suspense throughout * Observer *Extraordinary... superb... It is a book for serious people who can handle difficult moral contradictions, and will undoubtedly annoy zealots of all stripes * Daily Telegraph *I greatly enjoyed Matthew Parker's One Fine Day... hugely impressive in its research and balance and fully deserving of its many plaudits * Spectator, Books of the Year *Excellent... his mastery of detail is impeccable -- Dominic Sandbrook * Sunday Times *A refreshingly nuanced montage of the Empire on its last legs... Empire was many things and Parker belongs to that vanishing minority that recognises this. What we have here is a fair appraisal of the life of the land, elegantly synthesised... By 1923, Parker shows with suggestive brilliance in his montage, Empire was on its last legs -- Pratinav Anil * The Times *Marvellous... escapes the inane, balance-sheet view of Empire and sees it in its full complexity * Sathnam Sanghera *Breathtaking, extraordinarily rich and beautifully written. One Fine Day is a vital and important history that is truly global in scope and ambition. A wonderful read * Peter Frankopan *An engrossing and wide-ranging account of the zenith of the British Empire - with all the contradictions, brittleness, ambition and hubris that moment entailed. Across Continents and characters, Matthew Parker provides a new, global history of British imperialism which feels both epic and immediate. * Tristram Hunt *Extraordinary. Matthew Parker's magisterial sweep through one day of British imperial history and culture plunges us into the global complexity of the British Empire, bringing the world of a century ago to fresh, vivid life. An astonishing achievement. * Alex von Tunzelmann *An epic portrait of the British Empire on the brink... Parker paints a brilliant picture, teeming with fresh faces and new voices * Jessie Childs *There is something Shakespearian about Matthew Parker's insightful argument that it was at exactly the time that the British Empire reached its greatest territorial size that the factors coalesced which were to destroy it... Parker has rendered a signal service by convincingly pinpointing the exact fulcrum moment in its half-millennium long history * Andrew Roberts *Exquisitely crafted and beautifully written, full of delicious detail and extraordinary insight * Augustus Casely-Hayford OBE, curator, cultural historian, and director of V&A East *A panoramic view of the British Empire on September 29, 1923... Parker vividly demonstrates the empire's vast reach and the 'impossibly conflicting interests between government [and] the governed' ... Accessible and sturdy, this expansive account provides solid ground for understanding the decline of the British Empire. It's an eye-opening and a unique vantage point from which to study 20th-century history * Publishers Weekly *An ambitious history of the beginning of the end of vast dominions of the British Empire on Sept. 29, 1923... a multilayered portrait, with deep contextual background... An impressive work of research and synthesis tracing the end of an empire * Kirkus *Epic in scale yet intimate in detail... a vast historical canvas on which each individual brushstroke had been brought vividly to life. A narrative triumph * Giles Milton, author of Checkmate in Berlin *An engrossing read sprung from an impressive archival sweep... Parker tells the unwieldy story of empire through a microcosm, and in so doing captures it in all its chaotic contradictions... An impressive feat that few historians are capable of * David Veevers, author of The Great Defiance: How the world took on the British Empire *A picture of an empire straining under the weight of its own contradictions... Mr Parker points this out with copious examples and meticulous research * The Economist *One Fine Day takes an engrossing trip round [the British Empire] at the very moment, almost exactly 100 years ago, when it reached its greatest extent -- Robert Tombs * Daily Mail *A clever concept that works extraordinarily well... Exhaustively researched and sensitively written, One Fine Day is a superbly nuanced snapshot of the British Empire at its apogee -- Saul David * Literary Review *[An] impressive history... Parker has scoured newspapers, letters and diaries for nuanced, first-person accounts of the reality of empire -- Michael Prodger * New Statesman *
£21.25
Little, Brown Book Group British Summer Time Begins
Book SynopsisBritish Summer Time Begins is about summer holidays of the mid-twentieth century and how they were spent, as recounted to Ysenda Maxtone-Graham in vividly remembered detail by people who were there. Through this prism, it paints a revealing portrait of twentieth-century Britain in summertime: how we were, how families functioned, what houses and gardens and streets were like, what journeys were like, and what people did all day in their free time. It explores their expectations, hopes, fears and habits, the rules or lack of rules under which they lived, their happiness and sadness, their sense of being treasured or neglected - all within living memory, from pre-war summers to the late 1970s. Ysenda takes us back to the long stretch of time from the last days of June till the early days of September - those months when the term-time self was cast off and you could become the person you really were, and you had (if you were lucky) enough hours in the endless succession Trade ReviewThis book has enough stories for a hundred novels . . . it is unbearably touching, probably because it is tales of children; their vulnerability, their talents, their dreams. It recalls a shabbier, parochial England . . . I wept -- Tanya Gold * Oldie *[A] joyously addictive history of British summer holidays . . . Maxtone Graham is a wonderfully spry and eloquent writer . . . she has a fine ear for others' words - and a high sense of comedy -- Laura Cumming * Observer *Hilarious, nostalgic and tragic in turns, this captivating social history is a must * Country Life *I defy anyone who lived in it not to be irresistibly transported back to their eight-year-old self, reliving the wild, eccentric, poor-yet-rich fun of pre-internet, pre-neurotic-parented childhood. This is a joyous book, one to make you smile in recognition, yearn to talk to your best pals from the time and wish to record your own memories -- Melanie Reid * The Times *This splendid book rings bells galore . . . with her beady eye, Maxtone Graham keeps things tight and purposeful. The sweet aroma of nostalgia is never far away . . . this perfect little book serves as both a celebration, and a lament -- Craig Brown * Mail on Sunday *A wonderfully evocative and unashamedly nostalgic account of how our childhood minds were formed * Guardian *British Summer Time Begins does a remarkable job of awakening the reader's deepest and most tender memories: witha deceptively light touch it took me by the hand, and led me across sunlit lawns towards my own childhood . . . Graham evokes the muted magic of empty hours and nearsilences -- Laura Thompson * Times Literary Supplement *Glorious nostalgia . . . A Miss Marple of memory, she detects all the things that made us us . . . Almost every page of this glorious book triggers a Proustian rush of recollection . . . Lots of books have tried to capture the essence of the summer holidays. Maxtone Graham's is the best. There are moments when the quality of her noticing allied to a deep sympathy for the men and women who lent her their younger selves achieves a rare poetry -- Allison Pearson * Telegraph *British Summer Time Begins is shot through with brilliant phrases and vignettes that have nothing and everything to do with the subject at hand . . . I wonder whether Maxtone Graham has founded a new school of historical writing -- Tom Crewe * London Review of Books *This hugely enjoyable book, ranging from 1930 to 1980, is not just about seaside holidays. Its subject is that 'vast stretch of untimetabled time' which began with the school bell ringing for the last time in July and went on until lessons began again in September. Drawing on the memories of dozens of people, it's a wonderful portrait of long summer weeks when so many of us, free from adult scrutiny ('My parents had no idea where I was'), found our true selves through play * Daily Mail *
£9.49
Little, Brown Book Group Let Me Take You by the Hand
Book SynopsisIn 1861, the great journalist and social advocate Henry Mayhew published London Labour and the London Poor, an oral history of those living and working on the streets of Victorian London. Nothing on this scale had been attempted before.On the surface, the streets of London in 1861 and in 2019 are entirely different places. But dig just a little and the similarities are striking and, in many cases, shocking. Taking Mayhew''s book as inspiration, Jennifer Kavanagh explores the changes and continuities by collecting and mapping stories from today''s London. Beggars, street entertainers, stalls selling a variety of food, clothes, second-hand goods, thieves and the sex trade are all still predominant. The rise of the gig economy has brought a multitude of drivers and cyclists, delivering and moving goods, transporting meals and people, all organized through smart phones but using the same streets as Mayhew''s informants. The precarity faced by this new workforcTrade ReviewDuring my long years as a hostage I had no books and no contact whatsoever with the outside world. Using my imagination I walked along the streets of London and had many imaginary conversations with the people I met there. If only I had had this book with me then. Jennifer Kavanagh has actually walked the length and breadth of this great city and recorded the many conversations she had with people. Apart from being a fascinating snapshot of London in the 21st century, it's a valuable social commentary -- Terry WaiteWhat shines through this wonderfully engaging book is the author's genuine assumption that every life matters and, if we care to listen, has important things to tell us about our own. -- Kathryn Hughes * Guardian *The openness of the people she spoke to, and the empathy and skill she devised in winning their trust, are remarkable features of this humane and attractive book -- Jerry White * Times Literary Supplement *Jennifer Kavanagh's [work is a] richly detailed mapping of the stories of those who have least, are often invisible, and bear the brunt of market forces they cannot influence. -- Richard Derecki * OnLondon *
£13.59
Little, Brown Book Group Jobs for the Girls
Book SynopsisA unique take on women''s history from the bestselling author of British Summer Time Begins ''Witty, clever and warm-hearted'' The Times''Maxtone Graham [has a] unique blend of high comedy and shrewd social observation'' Spectator''Terrific'' Daily TelegraphDrawn from real life, from interviews with women from all sections of society who have ever had a job, this book is a portrait of British women''s working lives from 1950, through cardigans and pearls, via mini-skirts and bottom-pinching, to shoulder pads and the ping of the first emails (early 1990s), never forgetting overalls, aprons and uniforms.Graham conveys the full range of experience: to convey the flavour and atmosphere of workplaces in all their character: the jollities as well as the drudgeries, the good men as well as the vile ones, the nasty women as well as the heroines, the office crushes and romances, the daily Trade ReviewMaxtone Graham, who mined the memories of more than 200 women for their personal job stories, excels in the quirky, comic and often poignant details that resonate with her readers... Witty, clever and warm-hearted, Jobs for the Girls is a book to remind women of how universal our experiences were -- Melanie Reid * The Times *When she seems to be most nostalgic for a dear British past, she shocks the reader by the devastating but always humorous accuracy with which she describes the sheer horror of it. She is a sort of George Orwell, who has taken journalism to a soaring literary height - only she is even better than Orwell. I actually do not know of any writer alive in the English language, in verse or prose, who is cleverer, more observant or who has told us more about ourselves -- A.N. Wilson * Spectator, Book of the Year *Terrific... What struck me, as I devoured the recollections of 200-plus women, is how recently all this thwarting of female lives went on... How poignant and powerful is this secret history as it tells us her story * Daily Telegraph *Ysenda Maxtone Graham has a talent for conjuring the atmosphere of times past, both comical and tragic * Country Life *Maxtone Graham [has a] unique blend of high comedy and shrewd social observation... The book thrums with life and noise... With freshness and immediacy, Jobs for the Girls illuminates a period of our very recent history * Spectator *A riotous new history of women's decades-long struggle to be taken seriously at work * Mail on Sunday *There are many beguiling stories... in Jobs for the Girls, receding echoes of another century, bound together by the author's equally beguiling voice and the crisp intelligence of her observations -- Lucy Lethbridge * Tablet *
£18.70
Little, Brown Book Group A Brief History of the Caribbean
Book SynopsisA concise history of the Caribbean''s long and fascinating history, from pre-contact civilisations to the present day This is a concise history, intended for travellers, but of inestimable value to anyone looking for an overview of the Caribbean and its mainland coastal states, with a focus on the past few centuries. The history of the Caribbean does not make much sense without factoring in the cities - Pensacola, New Orleans, Galveston - and the ambitions of the states on its continental shores, notably the United States. This account is grounded in a look at the currents and channels of the sea, and its constraints, such as the Mosquito Coast, followed by the history of ''pre-contact'' civilisations, focusing on the Maya and the Toltec Empire.With the arrival of the Europeans, from the late fifteenth century to the early years of the seventeenth century, the story becomes one of exploration, conquest and settlement. Black charts the rise of Trade ReviewPraise for Jeremy Black's The HolocaustA demanding but important work. -- R. S. Levy, University of Illinois at ChicagoPraise for Jeremy Black's Insurgency and Counterinsurgency: A Global HistoryA significant and timely contribution to understanding the new meaning of war. * Choice *
£9.99
Little, Brown Book Group Pharaohs of the Sun
Book SynopsisFor more than two centuries Egypt was ruled by the most powerful, successful, and richest dynasty of kings in its long end epic history. They included the female king Hatshepsut, the warrior kings Thutmose III and Amenhotep II, the religious radical Akhenaten and his queen Nefertiti, and most famously of all for the wealth of his tomb the short-lived boy king Tutankhamun. The power and riches of the Pharaohs of the 18th Dynasty came at enormous cost to Egypt''s enemies and most of its people. This was an age of ruthless absolutism, exploitation, extravagance, brutality, and oppression in a culture where not only did Egypt plunder its neighbours but Egyptian kings and their people robbed one another.3,500 years ago ancient Egypt began two centuries in which it became richer and more powerful than any other nation at the time, ruled by the kings of the 18th Dynasty. They presided over a system built on war, oppression, and ruthlessness, pouring Egypt''s wealth into grandiose mTrade ReviewAn impressive amalgamation of scholarly research with popular history * The Times *A scrupulous yet accessible history of ancient Egypt under the 18th dynasty... Complemented by striking illustrations and valuable appendices, this impressive survey will be welcomed by ancient history buffs * Publishers Weekly *Superb... de la Bédoyere lays out the elusive history of Egypt's 18th dynasty * Library Journal *Packed with big names, from Tutankhamun to Nefertiti, and de la Bédoyere sets their stories alongside those of the populations they so often exploited... Along the way, he offers an evocative account of an era of epic riches and ruthlessness * History Revealed *De la Bédoyere tells the story with not just an archaeologist's eye for accuracy but also a broadcaster's nose for a colourful story... His book is peppered with lively details * Radio Times *
£21.25
Little, Brown Book Group Populus
Book SynopsisA Time Travellers Guide to Ancient Rome - by one of the best historians of the ancient worldLiving in ancient Rome was superbly and vividly recorded by Rome''s historians, philosophers, and poets who were acutely aware of the seething and voluptuous nature of a city that ruled the known world. Through the words of Tacitus, Seneca, Martial, and a host of others including ordinary Romans, Guy de la Bédoyère takes the reader into a world of violent politics, civil disorder, unspeakably brutal entertainments, extravagance, decadence, eroticism, exotica, and staggering inequality, participated in daily by the Roman people from the hyper-rich elite to the lowliest slaves. Populus places those who experienced Rome in person at the forefront of their story, from the rabble-rousing senator Clodius Pulcher to Pliny the Elder and Hortensia who defended the rights of women in court to the ex-slave and celebrity baker Eurysaces.''A superb combination of wit, firs
£21.25
Little, Brown Book Group The New India
Book SynopsisThe New India is the unforgettable account of the struggle between modern forces and ancient ideas to shape the young country''s destiny. It reveals a picture of a nation on the precipice of dramatic change.''Remarkable... fascinating... brilliant'' GuardianBased on six years of detailed research and on-the-ground reporting, the book builds - authoritatively, vividly, indelibly - to become the story of post-colonial India. Using hundreds of interviews, and letters, diary entries, Partition-era police reports, and an astonishing range of sources, Bhatia shows how history plays a recurring role in the present: in politics, in the minds of citizens, in notions of justice and corruption.Bhatia examines the connections between the Delhi riots of 2020 and the emergence of nineteenth-century revolutionary secret societies, the rise of Hindu nationalism, whose early advocates drew lessons from Hitler and Mussolini, the political use
£21.25
Little, Brown Book Group Historic Pub Crawls Through England
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£14.44
Little, Brown Book Group Historic Pub Crawls Through London Vol. 2
Book Synopsis
£15.29
Little, Brown Book Group Historic Pub Crawls Through New York
£15.29
Little, Brown Book Group UKRAINE The Forging of a Nation
Book Synopsis''Both pioneering and fundamental. This is the essential history of Ukraine, from one of the greatest Ukrainian thinkers and scholars.'' Timothy Snyder #1 New York Times and #1 Sunday Times bestselling author of On Tyranny ''Ukrainian historian Yaroslav Hrytsak''s vivid, sweeping book lays bare the enduring pride that persuaded his countrymen to resist Russian aggression and offers grounds for hope.'' Luke Harding, Observer With ''ambition and originality... [this is written with both an] honesty and common sense that are the book''s trademark.'' Financial Times ''People and nations are forged in the fires of adversity.'' John Adams UKRAINE The Forging of a Nation delves into the events that led to the creation of Ukraine, examining crucial moments of Ukrainian and world history and how connected the
£21.25
Little, Brown Book Group Lighting Can Strike Twice
Book Synopsis
£14.70
Bloomsbury Publishing PLC Family Britain 19511957
Book SynopsisFamily Britain continues David Kynaston's groundbreaking series Tales of a New Jerusalem, telling as never before the story of Britain from VE Day in 1945 to the election of Margaret Thatcher in 1979.Trade ReviewPRAISE FOR AUSTERITY BRITAIN: 'This wonderful volume is only the first in a series that will take us to 1979 and the election of Margaret Thatcher. When complete, Kynaston's skill in mixing eyewitness accounts and political analysis will surely be one of the greatest and most enduring publishing ventures for generations.' Brian Thompson, Observer 'Even readers who can remember the years Kynaston writes about will find they are continually surprised by the richness and diversity of his material ... mouth-watering' John Carey, Sunday Times 'The book is a marvel ... the level of detail is precise and fascinating' John Campbell, Sunday Telegraph 'A wonderfully illuminating picture of the way we were' Roy Hattersley, The Times
£15.29
Bloomsbury Publishing PLC No time to wave goodbye
Book SynopsisAn intensely moving personal record of the experiences of children who were evacuated in World War IITrade Review'This vivid collection of memories recreates the whole traumatic story' * New Statesman *'Unique ... Wicks has caught all the pathos and the humour of those traumatic times in a moving book' * Yorkshire Evening Post *'An absorbing and frequently touching compilation of personal testimonies' * The Listener *
£7.59
Bloomsbury Publishing PLC The Berlin Wall
Book SynopsisThe astonishing drama of Cold War nuclear poker that divided humanity - reissued with a new preface to commemorate the twentieth anniversary of the fall of the wall.Trade ReviewPRAISE FOR 'DRESDEN' 'In narrative power and persuasion, he has paralleled in Dresden what Antony Beevor achieved in Stalingrad' Independent on Sunday 'Well-researched and unpretentious fascinating Taylor skilfully interweaves various personal accounts of the impact of the raids' Michael Burleigh, Guardian 'Impressive Taylor weaves a chilling narrative from eyewitness accounts and painstaking documentary research, particularly with German sources. He explains the conceptual and strategic background with admirable clarity. His account of the air operation itself is quite superb' The Times
£14.24
Bloomsbury Publishing PLC The Cypress Tree
Book Synopsis_______________''A memoir to inspire'' - Aminatta Forna''I cannot recommend this book highly enough'' - Nassim Assefi, author of Aria''Fascinating insight on a topic much discussed but rarely understood from a human perspective. Recommended reading for anyone with an interest in the Middle East'' - Image Magazine_______________The story of three generations of Iranian women - Kamin, her mother and her grandmother - which portrays the history of twentieth century IranKamin Mohammadi was nine years old when her family fled Iran during the 1979 Revolution. Bewildered by the seismic changes in her homeland, she turned her back on the past and spent her teenage years trying to fit in with British attitudes to family, food and freedom. She was twenty-seven before she returned to Iran, drawn inexorably back by memories of her grandmother''s house in Abadan, with its traditional inner courtyard, its noisy gatherings and its very walls steTrade ReviewA memoir to inspire * Aminatta Forna *I cannot recommend this book highly enough * Nassim Assefi, author of Aria *Fascinating insight on a topic much discussed but rarely understood from a human perspective. Recommended reading for anyone with an interest in the Middle East * Image Magazine *Her descriptions are so incredibly lush you feel as much as read them – I could smell the cardamom in the chai, the camellias in the garden. Here is a portrait of a country completely at odds with the media’s portrayals: the sensuous, intellectual and social Iran that Mohammadi left behind. It was a particular joy to read this memoir in the wake of the recent presidential election, for in the author’s nostalgic depiction, one finds both a world that has passed away and one being born again. * Taiye Selasi, author of Ghana Must Go *
£11.69
Bloomsbury Publishing PLC The Dreyfus Affair
Book SynopsisIntelligent, ambitious and a rising star in the French artillery, Captain Alfred Dreyfus appeared to have everything: family, money, and the prospect of a post on the General Staff. But his rapid rise had also made him enemies - many of them aristocratic officers in the army''s High Command who resented him because he was middle-class, meritocratic and a Jew.In October 1894, the torn fragments of an unsigned memo containing military secrets were retrieved by a cleaning lady from the waste paper basket of Colonel Maximilien von Schwartzkoppen of the German embassy in Paris. When French intelligence discovered they harboured a spy in their midst, Captain Dreyfus, on slender evidence, was charged with selling military secrets to the Germans, found guilty of treason by unanimous verdict and sentenced to life imprisonment on the notorious Devil''s Island.The fight to free the wrongfully convicted Dreyfus - over twelve long years, through many trials - is a story rife with heroes and villainTrade ReviewThe author effectively deploys his considerable literary talents to master the contortions of the affair and humanise the large cast of villains and heroes. The result is compelling and tense * Sunday Times *Piers Paul Read admirably demonstrates why we still find the subject fascinating more than a century after it resolved * Daily Telegraph *Splendidly is conveys the drama of this episode. He brings to life the tension of trials and court martials * Independent *Masterly and eminently balanced ... Piers Paul Read's narrative is compelling. He disentangles the complicated web of the Affair and is just to both sides. I can't think the story could be better, or more fairly, told * Spectator *In bringing his novelist's eye to bear on events, Read ensures they unfold with a compelling sense of drama. And what an extraordinary story it is ... In admirably clearheaded fashion, he disentangles the facts from the myths and shows that this was far more morally ambiguous story than has often been presented * Sunday Telegraph *Brings an original perspective to The Dreyfus Affair * Financial Times *His intention is to tell the story as it stands and he does so vividly and intelligently * New Statesman *
£16.99
Bloomsbury Publishing PLC The North
Book SynopsisA celebratory and beautiful mixture of memoir, social history and cultural observation, Paul Morley''s The North is a unique portrait of Northern England and almost everything within it''Breathtaking tour de force'' Mail on Sunday''Packed with raw emotions and ambivalent passions Morley writes with care and precision, though, and his rhythm is such that his book is a lively, breezy read'' Sunday TimesPaul Morley grew up in Reddish, less than five miles from Manchester and even closer to Stockport. Ever since the age of seven Morley has always thought of himself as a northerner. What that meant, he wasn''t entirely sure. It was for him, as it is for millions of others in England, an absolute, indisputable truth. Forty years after walking down grey pavements on his way to school, Paul explores what it means to be northern and why those who consider themselves to be believe it so strongly.Like industrial towns dotted across gTrade ReviewBreathtaking tour de force … His youthful insecurities, set against the limestone and industrial certainties of the north, make the memoir strands of this book engaging and truthful. The sheer scope of his interest is a delight … A dizzy and delightful pleasure-beach ride. And I love the little asides; they are more than digressions or tributaries to the abandoned slip road in the sky just off the Mancunian Way. The North is a major achievement that has kept Morley at the coal-face of the keyboard for so many years. But it’s been time well-spent: the result is as bold, broad and sweeping as the north itself, and just as quirky and contradictory ***** * Stuart Maconie, Mail on Sunday *A personal odyssey going north by north-west and a tour de force * Simon Armitage *An impressive, sprawling attempt by the former NME journalist to capture the north of England. In its springing from topic to topic, and its curiously arbitrary apportioning of attention to subjects that interest him, it almost resembles Morley’s offbeat sleeve notes for 1980s agit-popsters Frankie Goes to Hollywood … Packed with raw emotions and ambivalent passions … Morley writes with care and precision, though, and his rhythm is such that his book is a lively, breezy read * Sunday Times *A fascinating attempt to define what it means to be a northerner, to try to capture a sense of difference that cuts deeper than just an accent ... A journey that is part family memoir, part history book, part cultural and social commentary and wholly northern in its outlook ... Like an early spring walk in Wordsworth’s Lake District or a stroll along Blackpool’s breezy Golden Mile, the journey has its moments ... If there is one thing his ambitious work shows it’s that we may not have the weather or the wealth of the south but true northerners will always have soul **** * Daily Express *Morley’s writing skipped and span, whirled out from specifics to ghosts, those hard-to-capture feelings around the north. He examined northern clichés, our “standardised national story”, used the insights of musicians and writers to test theories and prejudices ... The ideas are insightful and the execution inspired * Miranda Sawyer, Observer *He combines memoir with fragments of his region’s own social and cultural background to show that the differences go deeper than just an accent. As a Midlands native, living in the south but with strong Northern roots, it’s just my cup of Tetley * Bookseller *Paul’s book is a delight: as vast, mysterious and romantic as the north itself * Radio Times *A loving portrait of England’s other half * London Review of Books *An idiosyncratic rumination on what it means to be northern … It’s bound to deposit a certain amount of iron in the soul * Guardian *A passionate, irresistible encouragement to listen more, and to listen better * Sunday Times *Compulsive, thought-provoking and intriguing * Glasgow Herald *There is an enjoyably subtle mordancy about much of the book * Financial Times *At his best he's the Brian Eno of the sentence, setting the whole page buzzing with oblique strategies: the missing link, maybe, between Kenneth Tynan and John Lydon * Time Out *Essentially a treasure trove almanac wedded to a wistful coming-of-age memoir. Some passages soar *** * Metro *A typically sprawling, deliberately disjointed book – part memoir, part history * Guardian *Paul Morley’s weighty new work probably deserves a section to itself: the poetic, stream-of-conscious, socio-historical, non-linear memoir-cum-gazetteer ... He soars above the landscape with daring and verve and ambition and brings it to life with his usual heady and mesmerising prose gymnastics. There are delicious, dizzying switches of perspective, Escher-like switchbacks, blind alleys and diversions. He is catholic in his tastes, and thinks nothing of corralling the inscrutable novelist W G Sebald and blowsy Julie Goodyear, Coronation Street’s Bet Lynch, in a single paragraph. This is the sort of stuff that’s had many of us hanging on his every word (and there are generally lots of them) since his NME days. But there are things here that will surprise even devotees. There’s history, geology, geography, all conveyed with clarity and concision. There are delightful, unexpected riffs and obbligatos, such as a paean to “the crystalline elegance” of cricket. This being Morley country, there are also constant but consistently illuminating digressions, meandering from Alan Turing through to Bernard Manning ... I learned something on pretty much every page ... He is superb at conjuring the orbit of a northern child in the Sixties and Seventies ... The illustrations alone give a flavour of the book’s charming and eccentric eclectism ... The book unfolds like a recalcitrant OS map, opens up like an advent calendar, accrues meaning and detail like barnacles, but core themes and threads anchor it in Morley’s experience ... For everyone who is exasperated by Morley’s oblique, mazy, impressionistic style, there will be others who will be seduced by its heft, even if they don’t realise quite how good it is. Yet it is more than just an ox-stunning tome. It is rich and dense, and its sprawling nature encourages one to luxuriate, exploring it at your leisure and finding the odd tracks that link say, Ken Dodd to LS Lowry ... Morley has done well to find the right voice and tone for the huge, kaleidoscopic work and he sustains it, measured but lyrical and with a kind of bottom note of melancholy ... This is a book to lose oneself in, as long as you’re not too worried about where you emerge or when you might get there * Stuart Maconie, New Statesman *With this mournful, gentle memoir of his childhood and family ... Morley, only half-Northern himself, does his adopted region proud *** * The Lady *Paul Morley’s memoir of the north has been 50 years in the making – it’s been worth the wait ... Irresistible, fragmentary new book * Irish Times *This is endless fun for fact fans and it’s hard for any Northerner not to feel stirred by Morley’s pride in the area *** * Yorkshire Post *A fascinating exploration of northern-ness * Grazia *Such a joy ... This great, whirling, baggy compendium of a book is a travelogue, a geographical study, a potted history and a rich encyclopedia ... Where he triumphs is in his evocation of the rich life of the North ... This unfolding chronicle throws up a satisfying number of riveting facts. The oddness of the juxtapositions simply adds to the pleasure ... The North is both a star turn and a labour of love. Its weight meant I could barely pick it up; but once lifted, I could hardly put it down **** * Daily Telegraph *Impressive and sometimes amusing * Catholic Herald *With this mournful, gentle memoir of his childhood and family, particularly his father, mixed in with history, geography and touching on the lives of many Northern innovators from the present day to the distant past, Morley, only half-Northern himself, does his adopted region proud *** * The Lady *Varied and illuminating pop-cultural content ... A wildly multi-stylistic book that sets memoir alongside socio-geographical history alongside postmodern pranksterism ... Let’s reveal in the sheer wilfulness of this mad mash-up and highlight the highlights ... This long and winding road leaves you much more inspired than tired. The closing valedictory sections are memorably poetic **** * Mojo *Impressionistic * Choice Magazine *Fascinating ... This affectionate tribute is more a nostalgic bow to a largely lost working class community than an objective account of a region, but is no less endearing for that * Leyla Sanai, Independent On Sunday *Morley’s account of the ways in which he’s defined by his Manchester roots is both a confessional memoir and a cultural history covering everything from music to poetry to the Blackpool Tower * GQ Magazine *Beneath the grey council estate scene, author Paul Morley paints a romantic picture of everything above Watford Junction. Peppered with random facts (who knew the crossword was dreamt up in Liverpool or the first Corrie swear word was ‘bloody’?) it’s an anthropological look at the author’s home province * Escapism *There’s a certain bravery in calling a book The North (And Almost Everything In It). But then Paul Morley has never been afraid to stick his neck out ... The North (And Almost Everything In It) is a part memoir and part-history, reflecting on his upbringing in Reddish, Stockport, in the 60s and 70s, and sprawling with digressions into the North and its people. Everything from the Romans to Bernard Manning, Jodrell Bank to Julie Goodyear is covered in an engrossing read * Yorkshire Post *Rambling and vast compendium * The Times *Personal memoir meets general history, a book as much about the mythology of what the north has come to mean, to those who live there and others, like me, who opted to move away, as it is an inventory of hard facts and figures * The Wire *My favourite book this year is Paul Morley’s The North … the book pushed me to go to the Lowry exhibition at the Tate and made me listen again to George Formby and the Buzzcocks. The book filled my head * Roddy Doyle, Guardian *
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