History Books

Book SynopsisAdel Guindy has produced a timely and authoritative account of the Copts'' story. It deserves to be widely read... this timely and excellent book will act as a wakeup call.... It reminds us that historically, the Copts have been Egypt''s beating heart and that Egypt''s future, without them, would be bleak indeed. PROFESSOR LORD ALTON, MEMBER OF THE BRITISH HOUSE OF LORDS A Sword Over the Nile is a most welcome book and contribution to the existing literature. Here in one volume, we have the largely unknown historical experiences of Egypt''s Coptic Christians under Islam--and from the most primary if previously inaccessible or untranslated sources. Not only is it a window to the past; it may be an ominous look to the future. RAYMOND IBRAHIM, AN EXPERT ON ISLAMIC DOCTRINEAND HISTORY, IS AUTHOR OF SWORD AND SCIMITAR:FOURTEEN CENTURIES OF WAR BETWEEN ISLAM AND THE WEST

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Book SynopsisExplores how the haunted, magical world of medieval times still surrounds us

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Book SynopsisAn epic, decade-long reported history of National Public Radio that reveals the unlikely story of one of America’s most celebrated but least understood media empires.Founded in 1970, NPR is America’s most powerful broadcast news network. Despite being overshadowed by the larger and more glamorous PBS, public radio has long been home to shows such as All Things Considered, Morning Edition, and This American Life that captivate millions of listeners in homes, cars, and workplaces across the nation. NPR and its hosts are a cultural force and a trusted voice, and they have created a mode of journalism and storytelling that helps Americans understand the world in which we live. In On Air, a book fourteen years in the making, journalist Steve Oney tells the dramatic history of this institution, tracing the comings and goings of legendary on-air talents (Bob Edwards, Susan Stamberg, Ira Glass, Cokie Roberts, and many others) and the rise and fall and occasional rise again of brilliant and sometimes venal executives. It depicts how NPR created a medium for extraordinary journalism—in which reporters and producers use microphones as paintbrushes and the voices of people around the world as the soundtrack of stories both global and local. Featuring details on the controversial firing of Juan Williams, the sloppy dismissal of Bob Edwards, and a $230 million bequest by Joan B. Kroc, widow of the founder of McDonalds, On Air also chronicles NPR’s daring shift into the digital world and its early embrace of podcasting formats, establishing the network as a formidable media empire. Fascinating, revelatory, and irresistibly dishy, this is a riveting account of NPR’s unlikely launch, chaotic ascent, and ultimate triumph—a must-read for anyone interested in the history of public radio and its impact on American culture.

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Book SynopsisOne historian’s journey to find the end of the Civil War—and, along the way, to expand our understanding of the nature of war itself and how societies struggle to draw the line between war and peaceWe set out on the James River, March 25, 1865, aboard the paddle steamboat River Queen. President Lincoln is on his way to General Grant’s headquarters at City Point, Virginia, and he’s decided he won’t return to Washington until he’s witnessed, or perhaps even orchestrated, the end of the Civil War. Now, it turns out, more than a century and a half later, historians are still searching for that end.  Was it April 9, at Appomattox, as conventional wisdom holds, where Lee surrendered to Grant in Wilmer McLean’s parlor? Or was it ten weeks afterward, in Galveston, where a federal commander proclaimed Juneteenth the end of slavery? Or perhaps in August of 1866, when President Andrew Johnson simply declared “the insurrection is at an end”? That the answer was elusive was baffling even to a historian of the stature of Michael Vorenberg, whose work served as a key source of Steven Spielberg’s Lincoln. Vorenberg was inspired to write this groundbreaking book, finding its title in the peace Lincoln hoped for but could not make before his assassination. A peace that required not one but many endings, as Vorenberg reveals in these pages, the most important of which came well more than a year after Lincoln’s untimely death. To say how a war ends is to suggest how it should be remembered, and Vorenberg’s search is not just for the Civil War’s endpoint but for its true nature and legacy, so essential to the American identity. It’s also a quest, in our age of “forever wars,” to understand whether the United States's interminable conflicts of the current era have a precedent in the Civil War—and whether, in a sense, wars ever end at all, or merely wax and wane.

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Book Synopsis'Essential reading' John Bradshaw, author of In Defence of Dogs'Fascinating' Telegraph'Funny, irreverent and enthusiastic, [Pearson] parades his love for all things canine' The Times'Thought-provoking and often surprising' Country LifeDogs are our constant companions: models of loyalty and unconditional love for millions around the world. But these beloved animals are much more than just our pets - and our shared history is far richer and more complex than you might assume. Here, historian and dog lover Chris Pearson reveals how the shifting fortunes of dogs hold a mirror to our changing society, from the evolution of breeding standards to the fight for animal rights. Wherever humans have gone, dogs have followed, changing size, appearance and even jobs along the way - from the forests of medieval Europe, where greyhounds chased down game for royalty, to the frontlines of twentieth-century conflicts, where dogs carried messages and hauled gun carriages. Despite vast social change, ho

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Book Synopsis'Jennet Preston lies heavy upon me', cried Thomas Lister on his deathbed. We are told that his corpse bled when she touched it...and Jennet was convicted of witchcraft. Was there really a satanic coven on Pendle side? Or was Jennet framed by Lister's son? And were the other 'witches' actually caught up in a much broader and more disturbing pattern of religious persecution? Jonathan Lumby presents a remarkable series of new insights. By placing the events in their wider European context, he explains far more satisfactorily than ever before exactly why these disturbing events occurred.Trade Review'... this book comes as a complete revelation ... Jonathan Lumby has done himself proud. This is a fascinating book, well written, and is above all a highly intriguing read.'

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Book SynopsisFollow in the footsteps of the Romantic poets and Brunel. Learn about Bristol's council housing, commerce and public life. Discover the myths people tell about the city. Experience arts, music and nature. And see how the city might have looked if some projects had gone ahead. This book brings together a series of walks to help you explore the city.

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Book SynopsisThis book charts the journey of Black feminist researcher and artist Nydia Swaby in piecing together a biography of Amy Ashwood Garvey from her scattered archive and, in the process, offers a reflection on the future of Black feminist archival practice.

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Book Synopsis The Lives They Saved is the story in artifacts and oral histories of the 300,000 New Yorkers who were evacuated from Manhattan on 9/11by boat. It is a story that has not yet been written about or told. It includes hundreds of oral histories and many photographs of this high drama, set against the terrifying backdrop of the day when the Earth stood still, every airport in the U.S. was closed down, and Manhattan was seized by gridlock. For perspective, the boatlift that saved Britain's expeditionary force from the beaches of Dunkirk removed approximately the same number of people: 300,000. Trade ReviewNetGalley Review: 5 starsLast updated on 13 Jul 2021"There are some books you finish and right away you write the review, with a book like this I think it takes serious processing time. What can I say? How do I feel or what do I even write? This story is absolutely gut wrenching and truthfully or shamefully one I wasn’t aware of. I always like to read about September 11 around this time of year and this book hit the mark for me. I knew about the boats the led massive people to safety but I really didn’t know about them and how many times have I ridden the Staten Island Ferry or the Seastreak? I think it’s so important to know as much as possible about September as to truly never forget! Again, I’d highly recommend this! I loved how it was written because it was easy to put down and then come back to it because with books like this sometimes you need that. So many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for my gifted ebook copy." —Jamie Iannuzzelli, reviewer at 1982NetGalley Review: 5 starsLast updated on 03 Aug 2021"This is a story of heroes, An unseen look in word and photo of the day that shook this country and the world to its very core. Amidst the horrific events of the day and the gridlock in NYC, a magnificent effort was underway by the individuals that worked the waterways; the Staten Island Ferry, the Seastreak (as an example) to bring hundreds of thousands to safety. I was unaware of the enormity of this evacuation. I as you, have seen hundreds of photos and read many accounts of 9/11. In some photographs, the boats on waterway are the foreground to the backdrop of the burning towers. I haven’t thought of the work and unending diligence of those that were accountable for ferrying people out of the city. This is an emotional and heart wrenching account that needed to be told. As a portion of the book subtitle reads “The Untold Story of Medics, Mariners and the Incredible Boatlift” it is all that and so much more.This is a day that I will never forget and L. Douglas Keeney has given us an oral history that will add to the unconditional efforts of the human spirit."—Susan Derbacher, consumer reviewer

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Book SynopsisThis book charts the county's amazing history, with strange-but-true anecdotes and characters from the last 2,000 years, and tales from all the county's major towns, villages, fens, wolds and fields.

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Book SynopsisA masterful account of the Hapsburg Empire's bumbling entrance into World War I, and its rapid collapse on the Eastern Front The Austro-Hungarian army that attacked Russia and Serbia in August 1914 had a glorious past but a pitiful present. Speaking a mystifying array of languages and lugging obsolete weapons, the Habsburg troops were hopelessly unprepared for the industrialized warfare that would shortly consume Europe. As prizewinning historian Geoffrey Wawro explains in A Mad Catastrophe, the disorganization of these doomed conscripts perfectly mirrored Austria-Hungary itself. For years, the Empire had been rotting from within, hollowed out by complacency and corruption at the highest levels. When Germany goaded Austria into starting the world war, the Empire's profound political and military weaknesses were exposed. By the end of 1914, the Austro-Hungarian army lay in ruins and the course of the war seemed all but decided. Reconstructing the climax of the Austrian campaign in gripping detail, A Mad Catastrophe is a riveting account of how Austria-Hungary plunged the West into a tragic and unnecessary war.Trade ReviewFinancial Times Best History Books of 2014 "In a year glutted with first world war books, this study stands out for its devastating portrayal of the reckless diplomacy, internal political disarray and incompetent battlefield leadership that dragged Austro-Hungary towards the abyss in 1914. Wawro ... offers a remarkably fresh and unsentimental analysis of an empire on its last legs." Wall Street Journal "Exceptionally accessible to the general reader, Wawro offers a picture of an Austro-Hungarian leadership that was reckless in the extreme ... with a fatalistic sense of 'now or never.'" San Francisco Book Review "A Mad Catastrophe finally brings some clarity to how the death of one Archduke, while admittedly tragic, could lead to the deaths of millions... Wawro's excellently written book, in chilling detail, explains all the frustrating and infuriating blundering. The war was completely senseless, the insane war-lust of a failing state; this book gives Austria-Hungary its rightful, starring role as cause of the conflict." Macleans (CAN) "Wawro writes about the Austro-Hungarian Empire's role in the start and unfolding of the Great War with verve, inescapable black humour and a certain note of there-but-for-the-grace-of-God." Brendan Simms, author of Europe: The Struggle for Supremacy from 1453 to the Present "A Mad Catastrophe is an absorbing and shocking look at a now neglected aspect of the origins of the First World War. The author--a master military historian, whose works are standard accounts of late nineteenth century Austro-Prussian wars--shows just how reckless Viennese policy before and after the outbreak of hostilities was. Wawro's book should be on every reading list and in the hands of every policymaker." Sir Michael Howard "This is not just a story of the part played by the Hapsburg Empire in precipitating the First World War, and of the truly lamentable performance of its armies once the war began. It is a devastating indictment of a whole regime, whose slovenly incompetence resulted in a military catastrophe of which Geoff Wawro gives a truly horrifying account. Of all the histories of 1914 that are now pouring from the press, this will rank among the very best." Brigadier General Peter Zwack, US Army "A distinctly unique and long overdue contribution to the historiography of early WWI. The aficionados of Barbara Tuchman's Guns of August and Istvan Szabo's film Colonel Redl will find this a marvelous, engrossing and distinctly well written read that gives necessary balance to the already well-covered narrative of WWI's Western Front. Understanding the challenges and ultimate fate of the creaky, polyglot, decrepit yet also curiously progressive Austrian-Hungarian Empire is essential for comprehending the furies that erupted and boiled over the subsequent century within the vast, complicated, multi-ethnic expanse it spanned. Master historian Geoff Wawro does a tour de force job in colorfully bringing this to light." Dennis Showalter, author of Patton and Rommel: Men of War in the 20th Century "A Mad Catastrophe systematically eviscerates Austria-Hungary's final, fatal efforts to play the role of a great power. Wawro presents a case study of culpable, comprehensive, synergistic incompetence at every level of policy-making, strategic planning, and operational effectiveness. A decaying empire went to war fecklessly, conducted war haphazardly, and pulled Europe down into its final vortex. Brilliantly acerbic and comprehensively researched, this is a book difficult to put down." Sean McMeekin, author of July 1914: Countdown to War "Considering the central role played by the Dual Monarchy in the outbreak of First World War, it is astonishing that so little is known to this day about the fighting on the Austro-Hungarian fronts. Geoffrey Wawro's A Mad Catastrophe triumphantly fills this gaping hole in our knowledge. The most important study of the Eastern Front in decades, Wawro's brilliant and thoroughly researched narrative easily replaces existing books on the subject. Eschewing the Radetzky March nostalgia which so often suffuses books on the last years of the Dual Monarchy, Wawro summons forth a searing indictment of the lethal Austro-Hungarian blundering which helped unleash the First World War and brought all the horrors of the modern age to Eastern Europe." History of War, UK "A Mad Catastrophe is a highly readable and cogently argued book that, once again, shows the level of sheer idiocy that lay behind this pivotal period of history." MHQ: The Quarterly Journal of Military History "A fascinating addition to the military and diplomatic scholarship surrounding Austria-Hungary's inept move toward war and its incompetent execution of the conflict... Wawro's book is an excellent account of where plunging over a cliff will land you: in pieces." Publishers Weekly "Wawro's authoritative account is a damning analysis of an empire and a people unready for war." Kirkus "Wawro offers a crucial insight into the Eastern Front... On this centennial of the Great War's beginning, Wawro has composed a thoroughly researched and well-written account, mercilessly debunking any nostalgia for the old monarch and the deeply dysfunctional empire over which he presided." Library Journal "Wawro's contribution lies in his focus on how the overall decline of Austria-Hungary broke relations with the Balkan states and Russia and how its military blundering caused its ultimate destruction. A worthwhile read." Literary Review, UK "Wawro is a historian of the US military, but his damning portrait of the neurotic empire...well reflects the surreal fiction of Hasek and Musil." BBC History Magazine "A Mad Catastrophe is a welcome contribution to the small but growing number of scholarly studies of the eastern front that have appeared in English over the last few years." Providence Journal "2014 marks the centennial of the outbreak of World War I, and Geoffrey Wawro's A Mad Catastrophe is a welcome addition to the growing list of books covering the causes and development of the horrific war. Even in a crowded field, however, Wawro's study will, I think, stand out, thanks to its focus on the much-neglected eastern front...Battle by battle, Wawro catalogs the collapse. Accompanied by detailed maps, his descriptions are blow-by-blow accounts, all written in lively prose. His is a sad story of carnage and destruction that drives home, yet again, the futility and stupidity of this 'Great War.'" Army Magazine "An engaging case study in the disaster that can happen when interests and capabilities get greatly out of kilter...Readable and entertaining." Military History "A riveting account of a neglected face of WWI."Table of ContentsIntroduction 1. The Sick Man of Europe 2. Between Blunder and Stupidity 3. The Balkan Wars 4. Murder in Sarajevo 5. The Steamroller 6. Misfits 7. Krasnik 8. Komarow 9. Lemberg and Rawa-Ruska 10. Death on the Drina 11. Warsaw 12. The Thin Gray Line 13. Serbian Jubilee 14. Snowmen Epilogue

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Book SynopsisDeVries has focused on an intriguing problem, and his detailed analysis of battles provides an important reassessment of the way in which infantry and dismounted cavalry achieved such striking successes. HISTORYTrade ReviewProfessor DeVries has focused on an intriguing problem, and his detailed analysis of battles provides an important reassessment of the way in which infantry and dismounted cavalry achieved such striking successes. HISTORY [Michael Prestwich] This remarkable study of fourteenth-century battles confirms [DeVries's] emergence as one of the major scholars of his generation. JOURNAL OF MILITARY HISTORY A very useful contribution to our understanding of how war at the end of the middle ages came to be fought. WAR IN HISTORY A good - and, at times, an exciting - read... an enjoyable and rewarding study of infantry battle tactics. * ENGLISH HISTORICAL REVIEW *Table of ContentsThe Battle of Courtrai, 1302; the Battle of Arques, 1303; the Battle of Mons-en-Pevele, 1304; the Battle of Loudon Hill, 1307; the Battle of Kephissos, 1311; the Battle of Bannockburn, 1314; the Battle of Boroughbridge, 1322; the Battle of Cassel, 1328; the battles of Dupplin Moor, 1332, and Halidon Hill, 1333; the Battle of Laupen, 1339; the Battle of Morlaix, 1342; the battles of Staveren, 1345, and Votem, 1346; the Battle of Crecy, 1346; the Battle of Neville's Cross, 1346; three infantry ambushes - the battles of Morgarten, 1315, Auberoche, 1345, and La Roche-Derrien, 1347.

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Book SynopsisThis fascinating selection of photographs traces some of the many ways in which Harwich & Dovercourt has changed and developed over the last century.

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Book SynopsisDid early modern people care about their health? And what did it mean to lead a healthy life in Italy and England? Through a range of textual evidence, images and material artefacts Conserving health in early modern culture documents the profound impact which ideas about healthy living had on daily practices as well as on intellectual life and the material world in this period. In both countries staying healthy was understood as depending on the careful management of the six ‘Non-Naturals’: the air one breathed, food and drink, excretions, sleep, exercise and repose, and the ‘passions of the soul’. To a close scrutiny, however, models of prevention differed considerably in Italy and England, reflecting country-specific cultural, political and medical contexts and different confessional backgrounds.The following two chapters are available open access on a CC-BY-NC-ND license here: http://www.oapen.org/search?identifier=6331803 'Ordering the infant': caring for newborns in early modern England - Leah Astbury4 'She sleeps well and eats an egg': convalescent care in early modern England - Hannah NewtonTrade Review‘This volume represents a significant contribution to the burgeoning discussion of the non-naturals and to the comparative history of early modern European health care that will hopefully inspire further comparisons of other European examples.’Jennifer Evans, University of Hertfordshire, Social History of Medicine Vol. 32, No. 1History of emotions -- .Table of ContentsIntroductionConserving health: the Non-Naturals in early modern culture and society – Sandra CavalloPart I: A comparative perspective on preventive literature1 Regimens, authors and readers: Italy and England compared – Sandra Cavallo and Tessa StoreyPart II: The Non-Naturals and the vulnerable body 2 ‘What to expect when you’re always expecting’: frequent childbirth and female health in late Renaissance Italy – Caroline Castiglione3 ‘Ordering the infant’: caring for newborns in early modern England – Leah Astbury (available open access) 4 ‘She sleeps well and eats an egg’: convalescent care in early modern England – Hannah Newton (available open access)Part III: Airs and places5 Neapolitan airs: health advice and medical culture on the edge of a volcano – Maria Conforti6 The afterlife of the Non-Naturals in early eighteenth-century Hippocratism: from the healthy individual to a healthy population – Maria Pia DonatoPart IV: Spiritual health and bodily health7 Sleep-piety and healthy sleep in early modern English households – Sasha Handley8 English and Italian health advice: Protestant and Catholic bodies – Tessa StoreyPart V: Spaces, paintings and objects: performing and portraying health9 Chasing ‘good air’ and viewing beautiful perspectives: painting and health preservation in seventeenth-century Rome – Frances Gage10 Hot drinking practices in the late-Renaissance Italian household: a case-study around an enigmatic pouring vessel – Marta AjmarIndex

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Book SynopsisFrom the dawn of the atomic age to today, nuclear weapons have been central to the internal dynamics of US alliances in Europe and Asia. But nuclear weapons cooperation in US alliances has varied significantly between allies and over time. This book explores the history of America’s nuclear posture worldwide, delving into alliance structures and interaction during and since the end of the Cold War to uncover the underlying dynamics of nuclear weapons cooperation between the US and its allies.Combining in-depth empirical analysis with an accessible theoretical lens, the book reveals that US allies have wielded significant influence in shaping nuclear weapons cooperation with the US in ways that reflect their own, often idiosyncratic, objectives. Alliances are ecosystems of exchange rather than mere tools of external balancing, the book argues, and institutional perspectives can offer an unprecedented insight into how structured cooperation can promote policy convergence.Trade Review'Long a footnote to US nuclear strategy, extended deterrence is rising in salience and urgency as the United States and its allies contend with a deteriorating security environment. This important new study combines historical research, political science, and policy analysis to generate valuable new insights into past and present practices in both Europe and Asia and thereby lays the foundation for future policy development.'Brad Roberts, Director of the Center for Global Security Research at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, California'Partners in deterrence offers a fresh perspective on an enduring question: what motivates states to form nuclear alliances? As US alliances in Europe and Asia face growing nuclear threats, strategists would be well-served to understand what brings in security partners - and what helps them stay. This book makes a valuable contribution, blending classic theory with meticulous examination of well-selected case studies to explain contemporary nuclear alliances. By going beyond the traditional fixation on proximate security threats as the main driver of nuclear alliances, the book widens the aperture of contemporary debates, providing a valuable perspective for academics and policymakers alike.'Matthew Kroenig, Professor of Government and Foreign Service at Georgetown University and the author of The Logic of American Nuclear Strategy -- .Table of ContentsIntroduction1 Realism, institutionalism, and nuclear weapons cooperation2 Nuclear sharing and mutual dependence: Germany and NATO nuclear weapons cooperation3 Local accommodation: Norway and nuclear weapons cooperation in NATO4 Security at arm’s length: US–Japan nuclear weapons cooperation5 Assurance and abandonment: Nuclear weapons in the US–South Korea alliance6 Informal bargaining: Nuclear weapons cooperation and the US–Australia alliance7 Understanding the drivers of nuclear weapons cooperationIndex

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Book SynopsisThis ground-breaking history explores the figure of Jacob Harris, a Jewish pedlar who committed a notorious triple-murder in 1734. Tracing Harris's legend through three-hundred years of British history, it offers a new perspective on Jewish life in Britain and beyond. -- .

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Book SynopsisChallenging, forensic, compelling'' SATHNAM SANGHERAPure centrist erotica. A myth-busting chronicle of bad-tempered, Brexit-riven England'' SUNDAY TIMESWonderfully evocative. Too honest, too nuanced and too deep for any party manifesto'' MATTHEW PARRISAfter an election where people voted for a politics that our new Prime Minister describes as ''treading more lightly on people's lives'', this must-read book charts a gentler course for a country that has suffered the ructions of profound change in recent decades.Some politicians will still talk of restoring an English birthright of liberty and the swashbuckling self-confidence to rule the waves. Others yearn for the old-fashioned morality which they claim once civilised a savage world or want to look inwards to a story of an enchanted island that can stand alone and isolated against the world. But England, by Tom Baldwin, the bestselling biographer of Keir Starmer, and Marc Stears, an influential think tank head, unravels the myths that have distorted ideas of this country and provided ammunition for culture warriors from both left and right. Instead of vainly promising to solve everything all at once, Baldwin and Stears provide clues for how a humbler, less grandiose, set of ideas rooted in real lives can help fix some of the things that have gone so badly wrong in recent years. They travel from muddy fields in the Home Counties to the ports of Plymouth and Hull. They visit the old industrial heartland of Wolverhampton, spend weekends in the worn-down seaside resort of Blackpool, then gaze up the gleaming towers of modernity on the edge of London and the dreaming spires of Oxford. Along the way, they speak with many different people who tell stories of England, including politicians Nigel Farage and David Lammy, campaigner Chrisann Jarrett, playwright James Graham and scientist Sarah Gilbert. What emerges is a startlingly fresh and vivid picture of an old country that belongs to everyone, or at least, to no one in particular.

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Book Synopsis'An outstanding revisionist portrait of an age' Telegraph'Targoff tells their stories with vim and vigour' i Paper'[A] fascinating excavation of four intellectual powerhouse women' Tina Brown, New York TimesA New Yorker Book of the YearDiscover the lives and work of four ambitious Renaissance women who, against all odds, made themselves heard-and read-in the time of ShakespeareIn an innovative and engaging narrative of everyday life in Shakespeare's England, Ramie Targoff carries us from the sumptuous coronation of Queen Elizabeth in the mid-16th century into the private lives of four women writers working at a time when women were legally the property of men. Some readers may have heard of Mary Sidney, accomplished poet and sister of the famous Sir Philip Sidney, but few will have heard of Aemilia Lanyer, the first woman in the 17th century to publish a book of original poetry, which offered a feminist take on the crucifixion, or Elizabeth Cary, who published the first original play by a woman, about the plight of the Jewish princess Mariam. Then there was Anne Clifford, a lifelong diarist, who fought for decades against a patriarchy that tried to rob her of her land in one of England's most infamous inheritance battles. These women had husbands and children to care for and little support for their art, yet against all odds they defined themselves as writers, finding rooms of their own where doors had been shut for centuries. Targoff flings them open to uncover the treasures left by these extraordinary women; in the process, she helps us see the Renaissance in a fresh light, creating a richer understanding of history and offering a much-needed female perspective on life in Shakespeare's day.

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Book SynopsisCunning Folk transports us to a time when magic was used to solve life's day-to-day problems as well as some of deadly importance. A brilliant book, written with wit and vigour' MALCOLM GASKILL, author of The Ruin of All WitchesAbsolutely fascinating' IAN MORTIMER, author of The Time-Traveller's Guide to Medieval EnglandIt's 1600 and you've lost your precious silver spoons, or maybe they've been stolen. Perhaps your child has a fever. Or you're facing trial. Maybe you're looking for love or escaping a husband. What do you do? In medieval and early modern Europe, your first port of call might well have been cunning folk: practitioners of magic who were a common, even essential part of daily life, at a time when the supernatural was surprisingly mundane. Charming, thought-provoking and based on original research, Cunning Folk is an immersive reconstruction of a bygone world by an expert historian, as well as a commentary on the beauty and bafflement of being human. I adore Cunning Folk. A truly fascinating and human book' Ruth Goodman, author of How To Be a TudorPacked with vivid historical anecdotes, this is an intriguing insight into the magical lives of past people and the history of our own superstitions today' Marion Gibson, author of WitchcraftFascinating . . . opens a window into another world' Tracy Borman, author of Anne Boleyn & Elizabeth IFull of such magical tips and colourful vignettes . . . crackles with incident' Kate Maltby, Financial TimesSpirited and richly detailed' New York Times

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Book SynopsisThe U.S. Army regards the Hurtgen Forest as one of the most desperate battles it has ever fought. Flanking the key German city of Aachen, the forest was one of the formidable natural barriers interspersed with German fortifications in the West Wall in September 1944.

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Book SynopsisAs the Holocaust recedes in time, the guardianship of its legacy is being passed on from its survivors and witnesses to the next generation. How should they, in turn, convey its knowledge to others? What are the effects of a traumatic past on its inheritors? And what are the second-generation's responsibilities to its received memories? In this meditation on the long aftermath of atrocity, Eva Hoffman- a child of Polish Jews who survived the Holocaust with the help of neighbours, but whose entire families perished- probes these questions through personal reflections, and through broader explorations of the historical, psychological, and moral implications of the second-generation experience. She examines the subterranean processes through which private memories of suffering are transmitted, and the more willful stratagems of collective memory. She traces the "second generation's" trajectory from childhood intimations of horror, through its struggles between allegiance and autonomy, and its complex transactions with children of perpetrators. As she guides us through the poignant juncture at which living memory must be relinquished, she asks what insights can be carried from the past to the newly problematic present, and urges us to transform potent family stories into a fully informed understanding of a forbidding history.Trade Review"New in paperback, Eva Hoffman's "extraordinarily clear-eyed and unsentimental meditation" on our relationship to the Holocaust. New York Times Book Review "Hoffman believes in supplanting moral passion with moral thorught, which means incorporating memory into our consciousness of the world. Her graceful and honorific book is the sincere expression of that belief" The Guardian "The wisest and most sensitive writer about the Polish background to the Shoah...(a) wonderful memoir..." Financial Times"

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Book SynopsisMONA has done a lot more than just rescue a flagging tourism economy. It has changed the city’s body language, teaching it to stand up straight and look others squarely in the eye, even putting on a swagger in its step. From Hobart’s convict legacy, its spectacular natural setting, heritage architecture and climate, to crime rates, economic hardship and new developments, not to mention the game-changer that is MONA, Timms brings a wealth of fresh insights, exploring the city with a mixture of affection, admiration, frustration and sadness. He interviews a wide range of residents along the way – many of whom, given the weather, might be found in Gore-Tex and beanies. Those who have experienced Hobart as tourists will be surprised and intrigued by the complex society and history this book reveals. Those who live here will surely discover their city anew, propelled by the author’s fondness for it. Now with a new introduction where Tims reflects on what has been nothing short of a tourism-driven revolution since Hobart was first published in 2009. New edition of a classic with a new Introduction in which Timms reflects on how much – and how little – Hobart has changed since his book was first published in 2009, before MONA, before more people started moving there and before water restrictions in summer The writing is wonderfully evocative – literary non-fiction at its finest Foreword by Robert Dessaix Originally published as In Search of Hobart, this was the first book published in the City Series – the arrival of MONA means it has already been updated once Will be supported with marketing campaign and local events Trade Review... Exudes a discriminat-ing fondness for the city...""- Sydney Morning Herald;""... Sometimes it takes an outsider to skewer a city more accurately than someone with a lifetime of familiarity with it. I simply couldn't put it down.""- Leo Schofield.

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Book SynopsisThe chronicles of Jean le Bel are one of the most important sources for the beginning of the Hundred Years' War. This is the first English translation of a work written from eyewitness accounts and personal experience. The chronicles of Jean le Bel, written around 1352-61, are one of the most important sources for the beginning of the Hundred Years' War. They were only rediscovered and published at the beginning of the twentieth century, thoughFroissart begins his much more famous work by acknowledging his great debt to the "true chronicles" which Jean le Bel had written. Many of the great pages of Froissart are actually the work of Jean le Bel, and this is the first translation of his book. It introduces English-speaking readers to a vivid text written by a man who, although a canon of the cathedral at Liège, had actually fought with Edward III in Scotland, and who was a great admirer of the English king. He writes directly and clearly, with an admirable grasp of narrative; and he writes very much from the point of view of the knights who fought with Edward. Even as a canon, he lived in princely style, with a retinue oftwo knights and forty squires, and he wrote at the request of John of Hainault, the uncle of queen Philippa. He was thus able to draw directly on the verbal accounts of the Crécy campaign given to him by soldiers from Hainault who had fought on both sides; and his description of warfare in Scotland is the most realistic account of what it was like to be on campaign that survives from this period. If he succumbs occasionally to a good story from one of theparticipants in the wars, this helps us to understand the way in which the knights saw themselves; but his underlying objective is to keep "as close to the truth as I could, according to what I personally have seen and remembered, and also what I have heard from those who were there". Edward may be his hero, a "gallant and noble king", but Le Bel tells the notorious story of his supposed rape of the Countess of Salisbury because he believed it to be true,puzzled and shocked though he was by his material. It is a text which helps to put the massive work of Jean Froissart in perspective, but its concentrated focus and relatively short time span makes it a much more approachable and highly readable insight into the period.Trade ReviewBryant has done a very good job of balancing accuracy and readability. ... [The volume] is invaluable in making this fascinating source readily accessible [and] deserves a place on the bookshelf of every historian of Anglo-Scottish warfare, and indeed, of anyone interested in chivalry and warfare generally. * INTERNATIONAL REVIEW OF SCOTTISH STUDIES *This handsome edition does not disappoint with a direct and spirited translation. * HISTORY SCOTLAND *Nigel Bryant has given the English read a fine translation of this work which pays full tribute to the vivacity of the original's style. This is a book much to be welcomed, especially for teachers and students of medieval warfare and politics. * FRENCH HISTORY *[Bryant's] work on Jean's historiographical prose is exemplary, reproducing both the simplicity and engagement of the French. This translation is certain to bring Jean le Bel's chronicles to a new and wider audience, who will find a great deal to engage and inform them. . It is a very welcome addition to the field. * HISTORY *This translation, the first of its kind, casts valuable light on Le Bel himself and reveals the deep influence he had on Froissart's concept of storytelling and social analysis. [It] is clear and straightforward, accompanied by helpful footnotes. Recommended. * CHOICE *[I]ntroduces English-speaking readers to a vivid text written by a man who [...] had actually fought with Edward III in Scotland [...] and was a great admirer of the English king. * MEDIEVALISTS.NET *Table of ContentsIntroduction Prologue Edward III's Accession The Campaign in the Borders 1327 'The Black Douglas' The Claims to the French Crown War with Scotland The War with France begins 1340-1358 The War of the Breton Succession Edward and the Countess of Salisbury The War in Brittany Edward and the Countess of Salisbury The War in Gascony Crécy and Calais King John's Reign begins The Prince of Wales's Campaigns Edward's Last Campaign

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Book SynopsisThe profound effects of the British Empire's actions in the Arab World during the First World War can be seen echoing through the history of the 20th century. The uprising sparked by the Husayn-McMahon correspondence and led by 'Lawrence of Arabia'; the Sykes-Picot agreement which undermined that rebellion; and memoranda such as the Balfour Declaration all have shaped the Middle East into forms which would have been unrecognizable to the diplomats of the 19th century. Undertaken during the First 'World' War, these actions were not part of a coordinated British strategy, but in fact directed by several overlapping and competing departments, some imperfectly referred to as the 'Arab Bureau'. The British and the Middle East is unique in its comprehensive treatment of how and why the British generals and diplomats acted as they did. By taking as his starting point the voluminous, contradictory and revealing records of the policy-makers in the British government, Robert H. Lieshout shows convincingly that many concerned with foreign policy making were quite oblivious to the history and complexities of the Islamic World.Covering the full sweep of British involvement in Arabia, Lieshout makes a lasting contribution to our understanding of the period in which the British Empire changed the world, and shows how shallow and confused the understanding of those that shaped the future of the Middle East really was.

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Book SynopsisOn 7 May 1915, one of the most legendary liners of the North Atlantic met a terrible end via a German submarine, taking 1,200 passengers and crew to an untimely demise. The ship's memory quickly became mired in a firestorm of international politics, accusations over blame overshadowing both the human tragedy and pre-tragedy triumph of this beautiful ship,filled with technical wonders and firsts. This volume, the second in a two-volume set, tells Lusitania''s story through the Great War, to her violent sinking and the repercussions in her wake. Sumptuously illustrated, this book also showcases the beautiful artwork and recreations from HFX Studios' forthcoming Lusitania: The Greyhound's Wake museum experience.

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Book SynopsisThe Falklands War, in the words of the British soldiers, sailors, pilots and nurses who fought it.From the author of Forgotten Voices of the Great War.

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Book SynopsisStephen Fisher is an archaeologist and historian specialising in twentieth-century warfare and maritime history. He has been researching landing craft and the D-Day fleets for a number of years while working on a huge range of other projects.Previous work has included advising on the restoration of LCT 7074, the world's last surviving D-Day landing craft tank, and compiling a comprehensive assessment of the Second World War archaeology of the New Forest National Park. At present he undertakes archaeological surveys if the New Forest and sails with National Geographic/Lindbald Expeditions as a historian.

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Book SynopsisA reissue of the classic guide to the origins, purpose and identity of the great castles of England and Wales, built after the arrival of the Normans. Castle studies have been shaped and defined over the past half-century by the work of R. Allen Brown. His classic English Castles, renamed here to acknowledge its definitive approach to the subject, has never been superseded by other more recent studies, and is still the foundation study of the English, and Welsh, castles built between the Norman Conquest and the mid 1500s. As the subject evolved, so too did this book, and for the most recent edition a considerable amount of French comparative material was added, though it remains essentially a study of English castles. For Allen Brown, castles were fortified residences (or residential fortresses), and developed, from European precursors, to support political and social realities as the Norman and Angevin kings secured their realm. Once these political ends had been largely met, the castle and castle-building entered a period of decline, and domesticand military interests went in opposite directions. This book, with numerous photographs and plans, remains the outstanding guide to the origins, purpose and identity of the great castles of England and Wales. R. ALLEN BROWN was also the author of The Normans, The Norman Conquest of England and The Normans and the Norman Conquest and founder of the annual Battle Conference on Anglo-Norman Studies.Trade ReviewAnyone with any interest in castles should own and read this book. * CASEMATE *A good solid book, full of interesting information, which has to be a must for anyone writing or researching the subject of castles. * MEDIEVAL HISTORY *

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Book SynopsisChina is a nation like no other. Once a constellation of fractured states, today it reigns supreme as the greatest power in the Eastern Hemisphere. From the Great Wall and the Forbidden City to the Belt and Road Initiative and the unrelenting rollout of the electric vehicle industry, the scale and grandeur of China? s enterprises have always staggered the Western world. From its ancient origins to the birth of the People? s Republic, the rise of Xi Jinping and the race to dominate the world of tomorrow, China is an endlessly intriguing place, one whose past continues to shape its future. Take a journey into the history of this awe-inspiring and multifaceted nation and discover some of the people, events and beliefs that have shaped the Land of the Dragon.

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Book SynopsisThe story of Russia''s historic opening to the West (1992-2022), where it succeeded and why it has failed, the impact of war and sanctions, and the prospects for Russia''s future.Russia''s invasion of Ukraine in 2022 brought a tragic close to a thirty-year period of history that began with the collapse of the Soviet Union and the reopening of Russia to the West after six decades of Soviet isolation. The opening lasted for three tumultuous decades and ended with a new closing, driven by the Ukrainian war, the imposition of Western sanctions, and the Russian responses to them.In Perfect Storm, Russia analyst Thane Gustafson reinterprets the story of Russia''s failed opening to the West, focusing on its economic, technological, and social aspects, and the role they played in its ultimate failure. These parallel events are essential for understanding what happened and what went wrong. Yet they have received much less attention than the military and geopolitical aspects of the current conflict. Gustafson tells the story of the West''s entry into Russia, the arrival of Russians into the West, and the conflicting emotions and responses these aroused on both sides, contributing to the ultimate breakdown of relations and the unprecedented hurricane of Western sanctions. The book concludes with an examination of possible futures under a new generation of leaders.A measured and nuanced account of the evolution of Russia''s economic relations with the world, Perfect Storm illuminates the longer history of Russia''s opening to the West, from its achievements and disappointments to the complexity of the post-invasion sanctions regime and Russia''s responses to them.

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