History Books

Book SynopsisThe British Labour Party has at times been a force for radical change in the UK, but one critical aspect of its makeup has been consistently misunderstood and underplayed: its Britishness. Throughout the party's history, its Britishness has been an integral part of how it has done politics, acted in government and opposition, and understood the UK and its nations and regions. The People's Flag and the Union Jack is the first comprehensive account of how Labour has tried to understand Britain and Britishness and to compete in a political landscape defined by conservative notions of nation, patriotism and tradition. At a time when many of the party faithful regard national identity as a toxic subject, academics Gerry Hassan and Eric Shaw argue that Labour's Britishness and its ambiguous relationship with issues of nationalism matter more today than ever before, and will continue to matter for the foreseeable future, when the UK is in fundamental crisis. As debate rages about Brexit, and the prospect of Scottish independence remains live, this timely intervention, featuring contributions from a wealth of pioneering thinkers, offers an illuminating and perceptive insight into Labour's past, present and future.

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Book SynopsisWhen Otto Frank unwrapped his daughter's diary with trembling hands and began to read the first pages, he discovered a side to Anne that was as much a revelation to him as it would be to the rest of the world. Little did Otto know he was about to create an icon recognised the world over for her bravery, sometimes brutal teenage honesty and determination to see beauty even where its light was most hidden. Nor did he realise that publication would spark a bitter battle that would embroil him in years of legal contest and eventually drive him to a nervous breakdown and a new life in Switzerland. Today, more than seventy-five years after Anne's death, the diary is at the centre of a multi-million-pound industry, with competing foundations, cultural critics and former friends and relatives fighting for the right to control it. In this insightful and wide-ranging account, Karen Bartlett tells the full story of The Diary of Anne Frank, the highly controversial part it played in twentieth-century history, and its fundamental role in shaping our understanding of the Holocaust. At the same time, she sheds new light on the life and character of Otto Frank, the complex, driven and deeply human figure who lived in the shadows of the terrible events that robbed him of his family, while he painstakingly crafted and controlled his daughter's story.

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Book SynopsisWinner of the Society for Theatre Research Book Prize 2020 Vivien Leigh was perhaps the most iconic actress of the twentieth century. As Scarlett O’Hara and Blanche Du Bois she took on some of the most pivotal roles in cinema history. Yet she was also a talented theatre actress with West End and Broadway plaudits to her name. In this ground-breaking new biography, Alan Strachan provides a completely new full-life portrait of Leigh, covering both her professional and personal life. Using previously unseen sources from her archive, recently acquired by the V&A, he sheds new light on her fractious relationship with Laurence Olivier, based on their letters and diaries, as well as on the bipolar disorder which so affected her later life and work. Revealing new aspects of her early life as well as providing glimpses behind-the-scenes of the filming of Gone with the Wind and A Streetcar Named Desire, this book provides the essential and comprehensive life-story of one of the twentieth century’s greatest actresses.Trade ReviewWhat makes this account of a familiar story outstanding is that Strachan wins the reader’s trust ... As an experienced man of the theatre, he suggests, qualifies and adds interesting views of his own. * The Spectator *[Vivien Leigh’s] life, lived to the full at every second, will never be better told than it is in these pages. * The Sunday Times *A gripping new biography. * The Daily Mail *Strachan’s meticulously researched, elegantly written volume is an eye-opener. Strachan’s attention to detail is striking ... a valuable, authoritative record that supports [Leigh's] status as a great stage and screen actress. * The Herald *An immensely readable biography ... [Strachan] argues convincingly that there was far more to Leigh than her mesmerizing beauty, which could blind critics to the power behind her performances. * ABC News *This is a well-written biography of a much-loved star. Strachan achieves that rare thing of exposing his subject whilst maintaining their integrity. Leigh, who was fiercely private, would have been proud of this book. * The Lady *Alan Strachan does a fine job in reasserting [Vivien Leigh’s] status, not merely re-examining her stage work, but also becoming the first biographer to give due attention to the underrated films she made. * Country Life *Offers an effective defence not only of Leigh’s artistry across different media but also of Leigh herself as (in the words of one associate) ‘a most charming, able, intelligent woman afflicted by a manic depressive illness who with courage and marked strength of character has taken a heavy and continuous emotional strain in her stride’. * Journal of British Cinema and Television *A welcome appraisal of a remarkable artist. * Bay Area Reporter *'Reading this book is like meeting Vivien Leigh in her glory and her despair. One of the most revealing showbiz biographies ever.' -- Sir Ian McKellen'This is an enthralling book. It enthrals you by its meticulous research, its lucid language and its depiction of a Legend and a World that do not exist anymore. Alas.' -- Michael CodronThis is a fine insightful biography that captures the vigour and life-enhancing qualities of its subject, her acting husband, and their high-achieving circle of friends. * Plays International and Europe *'A wonderful tribute to a great actress and a fascinating insight into her troubled life and the machinations of the West End theatre during the middle of the twentieth century. Unputdownable.' -- Dame Penelope Keith DBE, DL'Impeccable research into this fascinating actress make Dark Star a page turner. The reader is as desperate to see past her ravishing beauty to the tender, tortured woman beneath as is the author.' -- Maureen Lipman'Three cheers for this. Alan Strachan’s long overdue perceptive insight into one of the most fascinating, complex, troubled and talented actors of her time.' -- Alan AyckbournTable of ContentsList of Plates Acknowledgements Prologue 1. A Child of the Raj 2. Hours Nearer Death 3. Young Wife and Mother 4. Enter Olivier 5. Altered States 6. Printing a Legend 7. Star-Crossed 8. Wartime Dramas 9. From Sabina to Anna 10. Down Under 11. The Kindness of Strangers 12. Two on the Nile 13. Crack-Up 14. Avonside 15. At Court 16. Ending A Legend 17. Worlds Elsewhere 18. Last Acts Epilogue Appendix Facts/“False Facts” Notes on Sources Select Bibliography Index

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Book SynopsisJames Holland is an internationally acclaimed and award-winning historian, writer, and broadcaster. The author of a number of best-selling histories including most recently Brothers In Arms and Normandy '44, he is also the author of ten works of fiction and a dozen Ladybird Experts.He is the co-founder of the annual Chalke Valley History Festival which is now in its twelfth year, and he has presented - and written - many television programmes and series for the BBC, Channel 4, National Geographic and the History and Discovery channels. With Al Murray, he has a successful Second World War podcast, We Have Ways of Making You Talk, which also has its own festival, and is a research fellow at St Andrew's University and a Fellow of the Royal Historical Society. He can be found on Twitter as @James1940 and on Instagram as @jamesholland1940.

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Book SynopsisMany remarkable things about Fife''s origins never understood before are set out in detail here a must read for all Fifers and those with an interest in the County. Drawn together for the first time: The name Fife has a complete explanation. Shakespeare''s story of Macduff is refuted and the correct narrative offered. Why St Regulus was invented and the true story of the arrival of the Bones of St Andrew. Evidence of Kenneth mac Alpin''s genocide in Fife is laid bare. St Serf''s true story is told so different from what so many believe. A proper explanation is given for the many Viking place names in Fife. Corrected explanations for many place names (including Kirkcaldy and Dunfermline) are given for the first time. And much much more. The book also foreshadows several centenaries which fall in the period 2025-2030 in the hope that they will be celebrated appropriately.

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Book SynopsisWales is often considered to be one of the most anti-Conservative parts of Britain, with the party unable to connect with voters. The Conservative Party in Wales, 19451997 offers a more nuanced perspective as the first book-length study of Wales's second political party in the decades after the Second World War. From the places where Conservatism was often successful, the book questions why it failed to find any purchase in other parts of Wales, discussing how the party communicated its policies, who its candidates were, and how the party deliberately crafted specific policies for the nation' from introducing the first Minister for Welsh Affairs to making Welsh a compulsory subject in schools. Adopting an holistic approach to the party, the book scrutinises activists and prominent Tories at the grassroots, asking what they reveal about understudied aspects of Welsh history, particularly the lives of the Anglicised and socially conservative middle class.

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Book Synopsis A detailed chronicle of a significant opening battle in the Anglo-Zulu War: 'The Zulu attack on Rorke's Drift thrillingly retold' (Richard Holmes). On January 22nd, 1879, the British Army in South Africa was swept aside by the seemingly unstoppable Zulu warriors at the Battle of Isandlwana. Nearby, at a remote outpost on the Buffalo River, a single company of the 24th Regiment and a few dozen recuperating hospital patients were passing a hot, monotonous day. By the time they received news from across the river, retreat was no longer an option. It seemed certain that the Rorkes Drift detachment would share the same fate. And yet, against incredible odds, the British managed to defend their station. In this riveting history, Colonel Snook brings the insights of a military professional to bear on this fateful encounter at the start of Anglo-Zulu War. It is an extraordinary talea victory largely achieved by the sheer bloody-mindedness of the British infantryman. Recounting in detail how the Zulu attack unfolded, Snook demonstrates how 150 men achieved their improbable victory. Snook then describes the remainder of the war, from the recovery of the lost Queens Colour of the 24th Regiment to the climactic charge of the 17th Lancers at Ulundi. We return to Isandlwana to consider culpability, and learn of the often tragic fates of many of the wars participants.

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Book SynopsisBEFORE THEM, WE is an anthology that explores the lives of migrant grandparents and elders from Africa, unpacking the intimate details of their lives before the families they went on to establish: who they loved, where and why they migrated, why they had families. A collaborative act of sharing by poets of African descent, bringing their personal stories into conversation with each other, BEFORE THEM, WE is a multi-layered meditation on how we engage with the practice of memory. Featuring a mix of commissioned writers, and poets who responded to a call-out, ranging from Gen Z to mature voices, BEFORE THEM, WE's 24 contributors include: multi-disciplinary artist, poet and playwright Dzifa Benson; Nigerian-born, award-winning poet, playwright and performer Inua Ellams; Zimbabwean literary and sound artist Belinda Zhawi; queer non-binary Nigerian/Togolese writer and performer Michelle Tiwo; Ghanaian-British producer and writer Nii Ayikwei Parkes, who has won acclaim as a children's author, poet, broadcaster and novelist; Hodan Yusuf, a writer, actress, multimedia journalist and trainer in conflict resolution; Somali digital cultural archivist and independent researcher Ibrahim Hirsi; and Ola Elhassan, a Sudanese poet and electrical engineer.

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Book SynopsisBristol's early days, politics, business, law and order, public protest, mines, plagues and public health and much more... Manson's Bristol Miscellany is the search for the soul of the city. Accessibly written the book contains an array of fascinating, enjoyable and sometimes shocking accounts of Bristol's past. It is extensively illustrated.

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Book Synopsis‘I tried to contact my own GP last week. I counted 19 redials and 20 minutes on hold before I was able to speak to a receptionist… only to be told that all the appointments for the day had gone. My experience echoes a familiar tale told up and down the country, but just why is it that you can’t see your GP anymore? This book provides some answers to that question…’ UK general practice has reached crisis point. The impact of the Covid-19 pandemic has placed a strain on an already crumbling primary care service, leaving both patients and NHS staff struggling. Seventy-five years after the NHS was created, Dr Ellen Welch lifts the curtain on general practice. She looks back on the history of the profession exploring how the job has changed– particularly since the pandemic – then ahead to what the future of general practice might look like. Why Can’t I See My GP features personal accounts from practicing GPs, including Dr Aman Amir, whose surgery was subject to an arson attack; GP leaders Dr David Wrigley, Dr Lizzie Toberty and Dr Paul Evans, alongside commentator Roy Lilley, and bereaved husband Chris Milligan. Those on the frontline try to answer the question: how did we get here? Is it better overseas? And what can be done to make things better for us all in the future? If you’ve ever found yourself frustrated by the length of time it took to get a GP appointment, then this book is for you.Table of ContentsForeword Dr Amir Khan Acknowledgements Introduction Dr Ellen Welch Chapter 1 A brief history of NHS general practice Ellie Philpotts with Dr Ellen Welch – A brief history of NHS general practice Roy Lilley – Gone 16 Dr Eric Rose – The history of out-of-hours GP services Dr David Wrigley – NHS GPs aren’t private companies Chapter 2 How the role has changed Dr Christine Hunter with Dr Ellen Welch – Thirty years as a Cornish GP Dr Louise Hyde – The magic of general practice Dr Ayan Panja – Expert generalism – the power, the magic and the pitfalls Chapter 3 GPs and the pandemic Dr Neena Jha – Being a GP during the pandemic Dr Aman Amir – Rising levels of abuse towards GPs Chris Milligan – The personal toll of being a GP Dr Elizabeth Croton – GPs are not lazy, we’re working harder than ever Chapter 4 What does a GP do in today’s Britain? Dr Lizzie Toberty – On the pressures Dr Catriona McNicol – On home visits Dr Ellen Welch – On remote working Dr Paul Evans – On workload caps Dr Lizzie Toberty – On pay restoration Dr Zainab Batool – On the 10-minute consult Ron Templeton – What do the patients think? Chapter 5 Does it work better elsewhere? Dr Neil Barnard with Dr Ellen Welch – Anywhere is better than the NHS Dr Sarah Rushworth – From Merseyside to Nova Scotia Dr Robin Kåss – General practice in Norway Dr Lois Mugleston – General practice in New Zealand and the UK Dr Ellen Welch – The American system – fees at sea Chapter 6 The future of general practice Anonymous GP – Are allied healthcare professionals a solution to the GP crisis? Dr Ellen Welch – Are part-time GPs the problem? Over to you – Solutions to the GP crisis in a nutshell You and your GP Doctors’ Association UK (DAUK) List of contributors Glossary Help for GPs Further reading Endnotes About the author

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Book SynopsisIn this book, Bernard Chiang records the history of his family and their contributions to Singapore's community in the country's early years. The book traces his family history, which spans across the countries of Singapore, China and Thailand, and across more than half a century. Following different branches of the Chiang family tree, it delves into his paternal family's ancestral roots and their ancestral home in the ancient port township of Zhanglin in Chenghai district of Shantou Prefecture, China, his extended family in Thailand, and his maternal family and their culture.The history of Chia Keng Village and its development via local bottom-up grassroots efforts are also chronicled in this volume. Of particular interest are the family's efforts in developing the kampong spirit in Chia Keng Village, including initiatives such as free clinics for the needy, a fire-fighting unit, and even an amateur Teochew Opera troupe. Through this book, the legacy of the Chiang family and Chia Keng Village lives on. It captures in its pages important events in the history of Singapore from a grassroots perspective, such as Konfrontasi and the racial riots of the 1960s.

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Book SynopsisCovers the military history of a region encompassing Afghanistan, Central and South Asia, and West Asia, over some 2,500 years. This is the first comprehensive study in any language published on the millennia-long competition for domination and influence in one of the key regions of the Eurasian continent.Trade ReviewAli Ahmed Jalali has produced the first military history of ancient, medieval, and early modern Afghanistan on a scale commensurate with the subject. This work will be invaluable to military historians and area specialists; it combines sound scholarship and accurate translations from the full range of sources." - Jeremy Black, author of Military Strategy: A Global History

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Book SynopsisBritainâs churches, great houses and civic buildings are treasure houses, adorned with a collection of vivid stained glass that is the envy of the world. This is the perfect introduction to this too-often overlooked art form.

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Book SynopsisExam Board: AQALevel: AS/A-levelSubject: HistoryFirst Teaching: September 2015First Exam: June 2016AQA approvedEnhance and expand your students'' knowledge and understanding of their AQA breadth study through expert narrative, progressive skills development and bespoke essays from leading historians on key debates.- Builds students'' understanding of the events and issues of the period with authoritative, well-researched narrative that covers the specification content- Introduces the key concepts of change, continuity, cause and consequence, encouraging students to make comparisons across time as they advance through the course- Improves students'' skills in tackling interpretation questions and essay writing by providing clear guidance and practice activities- Boosts students'' interpretative skills and interest in history through extended reading opportunities consistin

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Book SynopsisA NEW YORK TIMES, WASHINGTON POST AND ECONOMIST BOOK OF THE YEAR''I read it in a fever, swept up in the kind of rapture you fall into when your most audacious friend kicks off on a hilarious, outrageous, but deeply sincere rant'' Torrey Peters, Guardian Books of the Summer''A beautiful novel about an American son and his immigrant father that has echoes of THE GREAT GATSBY'' New York TimesA deeply personal novel of identity and belonging in a nation coming apart at the seams, HOMELAND ELEGIES blends fact and fiction to tell an epic story of belonging and dispossession in the world that 9/11 made. Part family drama, part satire, part picaresque, at its heart it is the story of a father and son, and the country they call home.Ranging from the heartland towns of America to palatial suites in Europe to guerrilla lookouts in the mountains of Afghanistan, Akhtar forges a narrTrade ReviewAn urgent, intimate hybrid of memoir and fiction, HOMELAND ELEGIES thrusts us into the heart of a father-son relationship and in the process - improbably - does nothing short of laying bear the broken heart of our American dream turned reality TV nightmare... Stunning * A M Homes *A beautiful novel about an American son and his immigrant father that has echoes of The Great Gatsby * New York Times *Ayad Akhtar offers up his heart and life with an honesty that astonishes. Never have I experienced such a reading thrill * Maria Semple *Perhaps the best American novel I have read in several years -- Richard FlanaganA passionate, wrenching portrayal of Americans exiled into otherness by a post 9/11 world * Jennifer Egan *The challenge of remembering one's identity in a racist culture is at the heart of Akhtar's remarkable new book, HOMELAND ELEGIES...It would not surprise me if it wins him a second Pulitzer Prize * Washington Post *A triumph. Akhtar rages, he sings, he indicts, he falls in love, he sorrows, he dreams, he mourns, he transcribes! - and finally he transmutes injustice into the sublimest art * Joshua Ferris *The astonishing work of an absolutely brilliant writer. With exquisite prose and lacerating honesty, Ayad Akhtar reveals the intersections of art, finance, race, religion, academia and empire * Philip Klay *This is the book of the year * Oprah Magazine *Part fiction, part memoir, and all brilliant * Ron Charles *Provocative and urgent... a revelation * Publishers Weekly *

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Book SynopsisA labourer, journalist and a professor who lived through four successive periods of German political history from the German Empire, through the Weimar Republic and the Nazi state through to the German Democratic Republic Victor Klemperer is regarded as one of the most vivid witnesses to a tumultuous century of European history. First published in 1957, The Language of the Third Reich arose from Klemperer''s conviction that the language of the Third Reich helped to create its culture. As Klemperer writes: ''It isn''t only Nazi actions that have to vanish, but also the Nazi cast of mind, the typical Nazi way of thinking, and its breeding ground: the language of Nazism.''Trade ReviewIt is obscene, in a sense, to relate Klemperer's situation to any subsequent intellectual enquiry conducted unmolested by tyranny. But studies of language - whether social, political or aesthetic - owe him a debt. They implicitly gesture towards his act of witness, and towards others like it. * Times Higher Educational *This book is an honest narrative of hope and oppression, touching in places and well written, in an accessible translation. -- M. Aaij * CHOICE *This book is a breathtaking balancing act, by turns horrifying and heroic, saddening and sardonic [...] of major historical importance and grippingly well-written -- Philip Riley, Book Review for The International Journal of Applied LinguisticsThis important, stimulating and necessary book should be required reading for all who want to understand what politicians are doing to us today ... it is full of anecdotes and details that illustrate the effect of the changes in language ... This is a vital book. -- Eric Hester, Catholic Times, April 2007On the basis of his painstaking ethical-linguistic examinations, Klemperer is one of the most valuable witnesses to the methods of totalitarian mental corruption. The lasting message of this book is one of constant vigilance: wherever the machinery of atrocity is in motion, the misuse of language will be supporting it. -- TImes Higher Educational, 17 June 10Equal parts linguistic analysis and survivor’s memoir, Victor Klemperer’s The Language of The Third Reich (LTI) is noteworthy for its insight, intelligence, clarity, and even caustic humor … LTI is also a book that, given its author’s travails, is remarkably absent of bitterness. Though a victim, Klemperer does not write as a victim but rather as a once-captive though now-distant (even with the space of one year) observer to a language simultaneously terrifying and spellbinding. A Dresden Jew who had lived through the dark night of the Third Reich, Klemperer writes about his oppression with cool subjectivity. Yet in his cool subjectivity, Klemperer does not leave Nazism unscathed. * Rhetoric & Public Affairs *Table of ContentsHeroism (Instead of an Introduction) \ 1. LTI \ 2. Prelude \3. Distinguishing Feature: Poverty \ 4. Partenau \ 5. From the Diary of theFirst Year \ 6. The First Three Words of the Nazi Language \ 7. Aufziehen \ 8. Ten Years of Fascism \ 9.Fanatical \ 10. Autocthonous Writing \ 11. Blurring Boundaries \ 12.Punctuation \ 13. Names \ 14. Kohlenklau\ 15. Knif \ 16. On a Single Working Day \ 17. 'System' and 'Organisation' \ 18. I Believe In Him \ 19. Personal Announcementsas an LTI Revision Book \ 20. What Remains? \ 21. German Roots \ 22. A Sunny Weltanschauung (Chance Discoveries WhileReading) \ 23. If Two People Do the Same Thing... \ 24. Café Europa \ 25. TheStar \ 26. The Jewish War \ 27. The Jewish Spectacles \ 28. The Language of theVictor \ 29. Zion \ 30. The Curse of the Superlative \ 31. From the GreatMovement Forward... \ 32. Boxing \ 33. Gefolgschaft \ 34. The One Syllable \ 35.Running Hot and Cold \ 36. Putting the Theory to the Test \ ''Cos of Certain Expressions' (AnAfterword) \ Index.

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Book SynopsisIllustrated by over 100 photographs, the majority sourced from Russian archives and previously unpublished.

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Book SynopsisThe story of the 51st (Highland) Division during 1939 and 1940 is a short and largely tragic one and although it firmly burnt itself into the minds of Scotsmen it has never been granted the recognition it deserves. Even in Scotland it is often forgotten that the men, and attached troops, of the 51st Division, were fighting for survival in Normandy for some ten days after the evacuation from Dunkerque had been completed. Most present-day accounts of the Second World War in 1939/40 deal with the Phoney War' and the evacuation from Dunkerque but few mention the rearguard action at St Valery-en-Caux, other than a giving it a passing mention. Nevertheless, the action of the 51st Division against the might of German forces won the admiration of General Erwin Rommel and Charles De Gaulle, who fought against and alongside them. One of the enduring beliefs is that Churchill deliberately sacrificed the 51st Division in an attempt to keep France in the war; this, apart from being palpably incor

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Book SynopsisTraces the Miss America pageant's long and complicated history. Mandy McMichael demonstrates that the pageant is a little explored window into American culture, one that reveals a complex cocktail of all Americans hold dear.Table of Contents Introduction 1. Miss America as Sex 2. Miss America as Entertainment 3. Miss America as Competition 4. Faith of the Pageant, Faith and the Pageant 5. Faith in the Pageant Conclusion: Born Again: Miss America 2.0

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Book SynopsisPublishing to mark the University of Manchester's bicentenary, this book is packed with compelling stories about the great scholars and scientists who have shaped the institution and helped to advance numerous fields of knowledge. -- .

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Book SynopsisThis is the only fully illustrated military life of the Emperor Publius Licinius Egnatius Gallienus (253-268). Considered the most blatantly military man of all of the soldier emperors of the third century, Gallienus is the emperor in Harry Sidebottom's bestselling Warrior of Rome novels. Gallienus faced more simultaneous usurpations and foreign invasions than any other emperor, but somehow he managed to survive. Dr. Ilkka Syvanne explains how this was possible. It was largely thanks to the untiring efforts of Gallienus that the Roman Empire survived for another 1,200 years. Gallienus was a notorious libertarian, womanizer, and cross-dresser, but he was also a fearless warrior, duellist and general all at the same time. This monograph explains why he was loved by the soldiers,yet so intensely hated by some officers that they killed him in a conspiracy. The year 2018 is the 1,800th anniversary of Gallienus' date of birth and the 1,750th anniversary of his date of death. The Reign of Gallienus celebrates the life and times of this great man.

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Book SynopsisFrederick the Great is one of history's most controversial leaders. Famed for his military successes and domestic reforms, his campaigns were a watershed in the history of Europe, securing Prussia's place as a continental power and inaugurating a new pattern of total war that was to endure until 1916\. However, much myth surrounds this enigmatic man, his personality and his role as politician, warrior and king. Showalter's cleverly written book provides a multi-dimensional depiction of Frederick the Great and an objective, detailed reappraisal of his military, political and social achievements. Early chapters set the scene with an excellent summary of 18th century Europe - The Age of Reason; an analysis of the character, composition and operating procedures of the Prussian army; and explore Frederick's personality as a young man. Later chapters examine his stunning victories at Rossbach and Leuthen, his defeats at Prague and Kolin, and Prussia's emergence as a key European power. Impeccably researched and written with style and pace, this book offers important insights into the turbulent history of 18th century Europe and a first-class analysis of one history's most famous rulers.

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Book SynopsisIn his timely new book, Mikhail Shishkin, argues that Russia is not a 'riddle wrapped in a mystery inside an enigma': we just don't know enough about it. So what is the real story behind Putin's autocratic regime and its invasion of Ukraine?In My Russia: War or Peace? Shishkin traces the roots of Russia's problems, from the 'Kievan Rus' via the Grand Duchy of Moscow, empire, revolution and Cold War, to the now thirty-year-old Russian Federation. He explores the uneasy relationship between state and citizens, explains Russian attitudes to people's rights and democracy, and proposes that there are really two Russian peoples: the disillusioned and disaffected, who suffer from 'slave mentality', and those who embrace 'European' values and try to stand up to oppression.Both deeply personal and taking a broader historical view, My Russia is a passionate, eye-opening account of a state entangled in a complex and bloody past, as well as a love letter to a conflicted country. Will Russia continue its vicious circle of upheaval and autocracy, or will its people find a way out of history - and how can we help?Trade ReviewShishkin is the most prominent Russian novelist of his generation. To compare him to Solzhenitsyn is no exaggeration... [An] important book * Sunday Times *An elegant blend of history, biography and polemic * Daily Telegraph * Often sings with powerfully estranged, original observations... minutiae and grand philosophy collide on every page. * Boris Fishman, The New York Times Book Review (on The Light and The Dark) *Shishkin is interested in what is most precious and singular in classic Russian fiction: the passionate inquiry into what, in Maidenhair, is called the 'soul, quintessence, pollen.' * Sam Sacks, The Wall Street Journal (on The Light and The Dark) *

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Book SynopsisA Wall Street Journal and Amazon Charts bestseller. Two-time Man Booker Prize winner Hilary Mantel names An American Princess as one of her favorite books of the year: “light and gracefully written, it dances through a century of history…” (The Guardian) Born to a pioneering family in Upstate New York in the late 1800s, Allene Tew was beautiful, impetuous, and frustrated by the confines of her small hometown. At eighteen, she met Tod Hostetter at a local dance, having no idea that the mercurial charmer she would impulsively wed was heir to one of the wealthiest families in America. But when he died twelve years later, Allene packed her bags for New York City. Never once did she look back. From the vantage point of the American upper class, Allene embodied the tumultuous Gilded Age. Over the course of four more marriages, she weathered personal tragedies during World War I and the catastrophic financial reversals of the crash of 1929. From the castles and châteaus of Europe, she witnessed the Russian Revolution and became a princess. And from the hopes of a young girl from Jamestown, New York, Allene Tew would become the epitome of both a pursuer and survivor of the American Dream.Trade Review“Set against the tumultuous history of the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, this biography is certainly entertaining, but it is also a fascinating story about a remarkable woman’s indomitable spirit and will to survive. A concise, thoughtful, and well-researched biography.” —Kirkus Reviews “Readers will love this captivating true story of triumph, and the pursuit of the American Dream.” —SheReads “What could I choose, but Diarmaid MacCulloch’s masterly Thomas Cromwell: A Life, published by Allen Lane? For those less Tudor, An American Princess by Annejet van der Zijl (AmazonCrossing, trans. Michele Hutchinson) is the story of Allene Tew, a small-town banker’s daughter five times wed, to gamblers, stockbrokers, finally royals. Light and gracefully written, it dances through a century of history, costing out the American dream like a feminine complement to the National Theatre’s absorbing Lehman Trilogy.” —Hilary Mantel, from the Guardian’s “Best Books of 2018”

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Book SynopsisAn internationally-renowned cartoonist and reluctant war vet details Japan's involvement in World War II. Showa 1939-1944: A History of Japan continues Eisner award-winning author Shigeru Mizuki's historical and autobiographical account of Japanese life in the twentieth century. This volume covers the devastation of the Sino-Japanese War and the first few years of the Pacific War a chilling reminder of just how harsh life in Japan was during this hostile era. Pivotal events like the attack on Pearl Harbor are reframed as part of a larger context detailing the country's brutal military expansion into Southeast Asia and elsewhere. Its effects on the otherwise unseen Japanese populace similarly come to the fore. On a personal level, these years mark a dramatic transformation in Mizuki's life too. His idyllic youth in the countryside comes to an abrupt halt when he is conscripted into the Imperial Japanese Army against his will. On the tiny island of Rabaul in Papua New Guinea, a constant struggle for survival ensues. Not only must he fend off attacks from Allied forces, but from the harsh discipline of his own commanding officers too. It is here that Mizuki comes to understand the misery and beauty of the island itself, a place that will permanently mark and haunt him for the rest of his life.

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Book SynopsisJust over a century ago, Our Island Story entranced a nation's children by telling their history in stories. Short, simply written chapters, packed with living characters and thrilling action - and illustrated with vivid colour pictures - illuminate all the main events from Britain's earliest days to the end of Victoria's reign. And its glorious fusion of myth and legend with sober fact - Canute and King Arthur with Cromwell and the Indian Mutiny - is as seductive now as it ever was. 'I was given H.E. Marshall's Our Island Story at Christmas 1936 and I've still got that copy. It was a direct inspiration for me in my career as a historian' Antonia Fraser'It is written in a way that really captured my imagination and which nurtured my interest in the history of our great nation' David Cameron'One of the most influential works of history of the 20th century' Times Educational SupplementTrade ReviewEntertaining, accessible and exciting, it puts people and events in context and makes them live again * Good Book Guide *

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Book SynopsisWritten to assist teachers and students to meet the requirements of CCEA's GCE History AS Unit 2 `Russia 1914-41' This book examines the complex and compelling story of the transformation of Russia (as it was in 1914) into the USSR (as it was in 1941). When the Tsarist regime collapsed in February 1917 and the Bolsheviks seized power that October, the course of Russian history would be irrevocably changed. It became a country dominated by strong personalities - from Lenin to Trotsky to Stalin - while its people were subject to unspeakable atrocities, including the Red Terror of 1918 and the Great Purges of the 1930s. The book examines the key events and personalities of the era and outlines the economic policies implemented by Stalin and Lenin. It looks at the impact of terror, propaganda and the cult of personality and touches upon the position of women, family, religion and the arts in Russian society. Contents Chapter 1 The Revolutions of February and October 1917 Chapter 2 Lenin's Russia, 1917-24 Chapter 3 Stalin's Rise to Power and Dictatorship 1924-41 Chapter 4 Stalin and the Soviet Economy 1924-41 Biographical Notes Glossary Bibliography Copyright Information Exam Guidance Index Table of ContentsContents: Publisher’s Note Author’s Preface and Acknowledgements Chapter 1 The Revolutions of February and October 1917 Chapter 2 Lenin’s Russia, 1917–24 Chapter 3 Stalin’s Rise to Power and Dictatorship 1924–41 Chapter 4 Stalin and the Soviet Economy 1924–41 Biographical Notes Glossary Bibliography Copyright Information Exam Guidance Index

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Book Synopsis'A history that makes perfect sense when the sky is falling down.' - The Sunday TimesBeneath the psychedelic utopianism of the sixties lay a dark seam of apocalyptic thinking that seemed to rupture into violence and despair by 1969.Literary and cultural historian James Riley descends into this underworld and traces the historical and conspiratorial threads connecting art, film, poetry, politics, murder and revolt. The Beatles and the Rolling Stones, the Manson Family and Roman Polanski, ley-line hunters and Illuminati believers, Aldous Huxley, Joan Didion and the Beat poets, radical protest movements and occult groups all come together in Riley's gripping narrative. Steeped in the hopes, dreams and anxieties of the late 1960s and early '70s, The Bad Trip tells the strange stories of some of the period's most compelling figures as they approached the end of an era and imagined new worlds ahead.Trade ReviewDense with conspiracies, chaos and apocalyptic death drives, The Bad Trip is a history that makes perfect sense when the sky is falling down. -- The Sunday TimesA fascinating look at one of the most intoxicating eras of pop - when flower power blossomed and then wilted as it gave way to its darker side. -- Mark RadcliffeThe Bad Trip is a good trip: an essay on the power of art in dark times. In our own dark times, half a century later, that's something worth reading. -- The Business Post'Brilliant ... a total trip" -- Paul Ross, talkRADIOA useful guidebook to the self-regarding Sixties counterculture -- Mail on SundayA fresh take on an altogether over-discussed, if rarely very carefully analysed, era. His chapter The Omega Men is particularly good at steering a path through cinema and publications that predicted a bleak future, or suggested how that might be averted. -- The HeraldEssential reading for enthusiasts of 1960s transatlantic counter-culture, written with verve and brio. Riley is an expert tour guide -- Douglas Field, senior lecturer in literature, University of ManchesterA dazzling account of the decline and fall of the 60s dream, forging links between US and UK countercultural practices. -- Mark Goodall, author & senior lecturer in film, University of BradfordWhile the depth of knowledge is impressive ... it's the joining of the (micro) dots linking occult energies to these events which will keep 60s obsessives up at night -- Paul Moody, Classic Rock MagazineSuffice to say this is one timely and captivating tome ... Impressively in-depth, wide-reaching and thought-provoking. ***** -- ShindigRefreshingly deep and provocatively different [...] reinstalling the vanishing art of good writing -- Record Collector Magazine

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Book SynopsisExplore the fascinating history of humankind and its many wonders in this highly-visual hardback guide, richly illustrated throughout with full-colour photographs, timelines, maps and more. In just a blink of geological time, the human species emerged and spread to every corner of the globe, subjugating the new environments they came across to their will. But how did humanity become so dominant so quickly? And what did they then do with this new power? Homo Sapiens tells the story of the species from its earliest evolutions through the development of the first civilizations up to the industrial and information revolutions that have shaped the modern age. William Potter''s thrilling new account asks us to reconsider our traditional notions of history by examining the power of the environment, the influence of language, the ideas that have transformed society, the power of transformative technology, and much, much more.Filled with beautiful illustrations throughout and helpful easy-to-read information panels, Homo Sapiens presents the history of the species in a bold and brilliant new fashion.ABOUT THE SERIES: Arcturus Visual Reference Library brings together wonderfully illustrated reference guides on scientific and historical topics, made bold and fascinating through full-colour maps, timelines, photographs, feature boxes and other visual elements.

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Book SynopsisSuddenly there is a blow to my face, I am hurled to one side. 'My child, I have to go with her!' I scream. But Dr Mengel is standing before me, whip raised. 'Maul halten, shut up!' His eyes gleam. Filled with fear I cower down. In 1943, as the Nazi power swept across central Europe, Rosa, her husband Emanuel and their daughter, Judy, were forced into hiding. But after a year and a half of living a terrifying, day-by-day existence, they were betrayed. As they arrived in Auschwitz, Rosa was torn from her husband and her only daughter. Could she dare to hope she would see either of them again? Somehow, Rosa fought the horror and humiliation of the camp, on occasion coming dangerously close to death. In nursing the people trapped beside her, she helped others survive, but tragically she also watched them die - including a mother she had met before, with a similar story and a daughter the very same age. Her name was Edith Frank. Wri

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Book SynopsisFor three decades after the Second World War, the ‘Butcher of the Balkans’ lived an idyllic life with his family in a Los Angeles suburb. Andrija Artuković was a senior member of the Ustasha, a Croatian fascist and nationalist movement, and was responsible for the wartime murders of hundreds of thousands of men, women and children. Wanted in Yugoslavia to stand trial for war crimes, he had illegally entered and claimed political asylum in the United States – and his powerful supporters sought to keep him there.Meanwhile, just 10 miles away, David Whitelaw lived with his mother, Judith, who fled Germany in 1938. Seventy-six of her relatives were killed in the Holocaust. When David learned Artuković was living comfortably nearby, he vowed to ensure his deportation to stand trial as a war criminal. But when a firebomb, thrown with the sole intention of causing fear, saw the young man sent to jail, a battle began for his own freedom, while the war criminal remained at large.A true David-versus-Goliath battle, The Fierce is the story of the teenager who helped take down the worst mass murderer and war criminal in America.Trade Review‘Los Angeles during the turbulent 1960s and ’70s is the perfect backdrop for this remarkable page turner. Filled with a cast of unbelievable characters I had to keep reminding myself this was a true story. Judy Piercey has unearthed one of the great untold stories of our time, this book is a must read!’ – Graham Neil, CTV News -- Graham Neil * CTV News *‘A groundbreaking portrayal of the trauma and burden imposed on the children of Holocaust survivors. Teenager David Whitelaw was a force of nature that inspired his government to seek justice for the unspeakable crimes unleashed against innocent people.’ – Phil Blazer, founder of Jewish Life Television -- Phil Blazer‘The Fierce forces us to ask ourselves if we’d have the courage and fearlessness to seek justice regardless of the personal consequences. It’s hard to fathom that a teenager was able to demand and help secure justice for the savage murders of so many. Truly one of the most heart wrenching, yet inspiring family stories of the twentieth century.’ – Liisa Jorgensen, author of Far Side of the Moon -- Liisa Jorgensen‘Judy Piercey expertly captures the remarkable and complicated relationship between David Whitelaw and his mother Judith. An inspiring story that reminds us what it means to be human and the responsibility we all have to make the world around us a better place.’ – Barbara Smith, bestselling author -- Barbara Smith‘It’s impossible to read this expertly told story and not ask yourself if you’re doing your part to make the world a better place. An unbelievable account that reminds us all that one person can change the world.' – Rabbi Mark Blazer, CEO of the Jewish Life Foundation -- Rabbi Mark Blazer‘Author Judy Piercey shines a brilliant light into this dark corner of post-war history, one that has been concealed for too long. You’ll find yourself cheering for the Jewish teenager who struggled to bring down one of the worst Nazi killers in history, sickened by the crimes this mass murderer committed, and aghast that he was protected by the United States government. Meticulously researched and skilfully written, this book provides a significant contribution to our body of historical knowledge about the Holocaust.’ – Elinor Florence, author of Bird’s Eye View -- Elinor Florence‘This is an exciting, adventurous book, based on an inspiring true story of courage and persistence resulting in the righting of an old wrong.’ – Bob Zellner, lifelong fighter for social justice and author of The Wrong Side of Murder Creek -- Bob Zellner

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Book SynopsisSHORTLISTED FOR THE EDWARD STANFORD TRAVEL BOOK OF THE YEAR''A dazzlingly brilliant book'' Hannah Dawson''Fascinating, often exhilarating ... Albinia is an intrepid, imaginative guide'' TLSThe Britannias tells the story of Britain''s islands and how they are woven into its collective cultural psyche.From Neolithic Orkney to modern-day Thanet, Alice Albinia explores the furthest reaches of Britain''s island topography, once known (wrote Pliny) by the collective term, Britanniae. Sailing over borders, between languages and genres, trespassing through the past to understand the present, this book knocks the centre out to foreground neglected epics and subversive voices.The ancient mythology of islands ruled by women winds through the literature of the British Isles - from Roman colonial-era reports, to early Irish poetry, Renaissance drama to Restoration utopias - transcending and subverting the mo

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Book SynopsisA fabulous collection of ghost hauntings in Suffolk, from the infamous Black Dog of Bungay to the headless Anne Boleyn stalking visitors at Blickling Hall. The serene, low-lying countryside of Suffolk, with its scattered farms, water-meadows and extensive coastline, seems an unlikely area to be associated with ghosts and demons. Yet, a motley array are said to haunt the region. The most famous is the Black Dog, a spectral hound, which in the year 1577 terrorised and killed parishioners in the churches of Bungay and Blythburgh, and continues to exert a strong presence today. Other strange phenomena include phantom coaches, rattling through the countryside at night, drawn by spectral horses and driven by a headless coachman, and the freshwater mermaids who lure young children to their deaths in pools and rivers. Tobias Gill the black drummer haunts the crossroads near Blythburgh where he was hanged for the murder of a servant girl, and Mrs. Short, the 'Queen of Hell', can still raise the hairs on your neck if you wander in the region of Boulge Hall near Woodbridge. Famous characters such as Anne Boleyn, Earl Hugh Bigod, and St. Edmund add an additional lustre to folk tales of the area, and strange happenings occur in many of the churchyards, Suffolk having more churches per acre than almost any other county. This fascinating account of local 'sightings' deals with all the traditional historical legends as well as modern day sightings, and investigates their relevance and significance for the modern age.

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Book SynopsisFamed for its breathtaking isolation, Easter Island was a verdant South-Sea idyll when a small canoeful of Polynesians arrived in c. AD 700. Centuries later the island's statues were famous throughout the world. This book presents a comprehensive history of Easter Island told by a writer who is intimately familiar with the island, its people and their extraordinary story. When voyaging in the South Pacific became far less widespread around 1500, Easter Islanders became stranded on their desert-like isle, and were forced to adapt to survive. The first European visitors, in 1722, encountered a people thriving in total isolation, surrounded by huge architectural platforms of fitted stones topped by hundreds of monolithic busts. Subsequent intruders brought trade, disease, violence, and the Easter Islanders adapted to this change, too, through cultural re-invention: new leaders, new rituals, new gods. Steven Roger Fischer relates the compelling history of this unique region: how wars, smallpox and the Great Death decimated the island, how Catholic missionaries arrived in 1866 to relieve the suffering of the dying people, and how a despotic Frenchman claimed the island for himself, but who was then killed by the remaining islanders a population of only 111. The author also examines the modern history of the island, its colonization and annexation by Chile, and its peaceful but insistent civil rights movement in 1964-65. Today, the population has increased, as has tourism of the island from 2,000 visitors in 1991 to 20,000 in 2001 and continues to be managed by the indigenous Rapanui people. Foreign interest in Easter Island has never been so keen, and this book is a much-needed history of this little-known but remarkable island.Trade Review'a fascinating and highly readable history of one of the most exotic islands on earth.' - The Economist 'There is a moving drama in [Fischer's] charting of a remarkable community that has lost its cultural identity and faces a uniquely challenging future.' - Daily Telegraph 'Steven Roger Fischer's exhaustive study ... touches all the bases.' - Geographical Magazine 'unlocks not only the mystery of the island but also its people and their extraordinary history.' - Graduate Journal of Asia-Pacific Studies

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Book Synopsis12,000 years ago the area that now forms the southern North Sea was dry land: a vast plain populated by Mesolithic hunter-gatherers. By 5,500 BC the entire area had disappeared beneath the sea as a consequence of rising sea levels. Until now, this unique landscape remained hidden from view and almost entirely unknown. The North Sea Palaeolandscape Project, funded by the Aggregates Levy Sustainability Fund, have mapped 23,000 km2 of this “lost world” using seismic data collected for mineral exploration. "Mapping Doggerland" demonstrates that the North Sea covers one of the largest and best preserved prehistoric landscapes in Europe. In mapping this exceptional landscape the project has begun to provide an insight into the historic impact of the last great phase of global warming experienced by modern man and to assess the significance of the massive loss of European land that occurred as a consequence of climate change.Table of Contents1) Mapping Doggerland Vincent Gaffney and Kenneth Thomson ; 2) Coordinating Marine Survey Data Sources (Mark Bunch, Vincent Gaffney and Kenneth Thomson) ; 3) 3D Seismic Reflection Data, Associated Technologies and the Development of the Project Methodology (Kenneth Thomson and Vincent Gaffney) ; 4. Merging Technologies: The integration and visualisation of spatial data sets used in the project (Simon Fitch, Vincent Gaffney and Kenneth Thomson) ; 5) A Geomorphological Investigation of Submerged Depositional Features within the Outer Silver Pit, Southern North Sea (Simon Fitch, Vincent Gaffney and Kenneth Thomson ; 6) Salt Tectonics in the Southern North Sea: Controls on Late Pleistocene-Holocene Geomorphology (Simon Holford, Kenneth Thomson and Vincent Gaffney) ; 7) An Atlas of the Palaeolandscapes of the Southern North Sea (Simon Fitch, Vincent Gaffney, Kenneth Thomson with Kate Briggs, Mark Bunch and Simon Holford) ; 8) The Potential of the Organic Archive for Environmental Reconstruction: An Assessment of Selected Borehole Sediments from the Southern North Sea (David Smith, Simon Fitch, Ben Gearey, Tom Hill, Simon Holford, Andy Howard and Christina Jolliffe) ; 9) Heritage Management and the North Sea Palaeolandscapes Project (Simon Fitch, Vincent Gaffney and Kenneth Thomson).

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Book SynopsisIn 1976, the High Speed Train arrived on a British railway scene where trains were predominantly in three colours; blue and grey with a large patch of yellow at the front. On the new trains the yellow warning panel was now strikingly extended down the sides of the power cars, thus beginning a transformation both in terms of the trains themselves as well as in their liveries, from BR''s corporate years to the variety that we see today. HST The Train that Saved Britain''s Railways is a photographic tribute to a train widely credited with rescuing Britain''s railway system from further decline. Few items of rolling stock have stayed in front line service for so long, more than forty years, least of all on longer distance duties. The HST has achieved this whilst leading the move away from traditional patterns of operational practice utilising locomotives and coaches, towards one of fixed formations. This was something of a gamble and it has had its down sides, but is now accepted as the norm. The book focuses on the numerous liveries carried by the HST fleet, particularly since privatisation, rather than on their technical and operational achievements.This colourful celebration of these magnificent trains shows HSTs in action in a wide range of locations across the network from the lineside and at stations and depots. It is a celebration of a great British success story which will be relished by the legions of enthusiasts who admire them.

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Book SynopsisDr Surendranath Dasgupta''s in-depth work is mainly intended to provide a holistic exposition of Indian thought, based on original texts and commentaries. Occasionally, however, the author has discussed the views of other writers in the assessment of the chronology of facts.Years of dedicated study and painstaking collation of data yielded this phenomenal collection of all the strains of philosophic thought propagated by various schools and philosophers in India down the ages. Originally published in five volumes, theast being posthumous, A History of Indian Philosophy remains a seminal work for scholars and students alike.This edition presents the original work in three volumes for the first time, making it more accessible and easier to handle. Nothing of the original has been abridged or sacrificed to the book.

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Book SynopsisA richly illustrated look at the book collections of all 46 American presidents to date—and what we can learn from them about their owners. With a few exceptions, American presidents have been readers. This book surveys an outstanding collection by Susan Jaffe Tane that encompasses books every US president owned and collected as a part of their personal libraries, as well as books they wrote. From a 1793 Memoir of a Map of Hindoostan that once belonged to George Washington, to Promise me, Dad, a 2017 memoir by Joe Biden, these books provide an intimate glimpse into the lives of our presidents and offer insight into their private personalities and, consequently, their political personae. Table of ContentsGeorge WashingtonJohn AdamsThomas JeffersonJames MadisonJames MonroeJohn Quincy AdamsAndrew JacksonMartin Van BurenWilliam Henry HarrisonJohn TylerJames K. PolkZachary TaylorMillard FillmoreFranklin PierceJames BuchananAbraham LincolnAndrew JohnsonUlysses S. GrantRutherford B. HayesJames A. GarfieldChester A. ArthurGrover ClevelandBenjamin HarrisonWilliam McKinleyTheodore RooseveltWilliam TaftWoodrow WilsonWarren HardingCalvin CoolidgeHerbert HooverFranklin D. RooseveltHarry S. TrumanDwight D. EisenhowerJohn F. KennedyLyndon B. JohnsonRichard NixonGerald FordJames CarterRonald ReaganGeorge H. W. BushWilliam ClintonGeorge W. BushBarack ObamaDonald TrumpJoseph R. Biden

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