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Book SynopsisThe frontiers of the Roman Empire together form the largest monument of one of the world’s greatest ancient states. They stretch for some 7,500 km through 20 countries which encircle the Mediterranean Sea. The remains of these frontiers have been studied by visitors and later by archaeologists for several centuries. Many of the inscriptions and sculptures, weapons, pottery and artefacts created and used by the soldiers and civilians who lived on the frontier can be seen in museums. Equally evocative of the lost might of Rome are the physical remains of the frontiers themselves. The aim of this series of books is not only to inform the interested visitor about the history of the frontiers but to act as a guidebook as well. In this important and beautifully illustrated book, David Breeze elucidates the context of the most famous frontier, Hadrian’s Wall. The zone to north and south of the Wall was a heavily militarised landscape of roads, bridges, forts, fortlets and towers, but also the towns, settlements and supply infrastructure on which the army depended. As the invaluable gazetteer shows, the area is now rich in superb sites and museums, allowing modern people countless rich insights into the world of the soldiers and civilians of the period.Table of ContentsFRONTIERS OF THE ROMAN EMPIRE Foreword by Kate Mavor Common cultural heritage of the Roman Empire The Roman Empire Frontiers and trade The ‘Frontiers of the Roman Empire’ World Heritage Site The definition of a World Heritage Site The task ahead History and extent of frontiers Rome´s foreign policy The location of frontiers The army and frontiers The purpose of frontiers Soldiers and civilians Military administration Research on Roman frontiers Inscriptions and documents Survey and excavation Aerial survey and remote sensong Protection and presentation of frontiers Future perspectives THE HINTERLAND OF HADRIAN’S WALL Introduction Some Ancient Geography History Military deployment A Roman soldier’s life Supply Civilians The end of Roman Britain Gazetteer Bibliography

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Book SynopsisIn the fifth century, the Roman Empire collapsed and Western Europe began remaking itself in the turmoil that followed. In south-west Britain, old tribal authorities and identities reasserted themselves and a ruling elite led a vibrant and outward-looking kingdom with trade networks that stretched around the Atlantic coast of Europe and abroad into the Mediterranean. They and their descendants would forge their new kingdom into an identity and a culture that lasts into the modern age.The Western Kingdom is the story of Cornwall, and of how its unique language, culture and heritage survived even after politically merging with England in the tenth century. It’s a tale of warfare, trade and survival – and defiance in the face of defeat.Trade Review"With 'The Western Kingdom', Fletcher reviews the known sources which provide evidence for early mediaeval Cornwall and challenges the usual assumption that it's primary focus was on events on its eastern border. Instead he presents a case for Cornwall emerging from the post-Roman period as a westward and Mediterranean facing dynamic polity that maintained its centuries - old connections to the wider world. An interesting and useful addition to the field of early mediaeval studies." -- Matt Bunker * The Sword in Anglo Saxon England: From the 5th to 7th Century *

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Book SynopsisThere had been stars before. There had been films prior to Cleopatra. But in all the cynical, greedy, magical, histrionic history of the movies, there had never been a combination like that of Elizabeth Taylor and Cleopatra.Other films may have taken more money, won more awards or attracted better reviews, but none have come close to the legend that is Cleopatra.What began in 1958 as a remake of the 1917 Theda Bara film, which starred Joan Collins and was projected to cost $2 million, would open five years later, having cost nearly twenty times as much. The budget had skyrocketed enormously as the production went through extravagant sets in two different countries, two directors and six leading men – and this was on top of Elizabeth Taylor’s $1 million fee.But it was the off-screen romance between the two on-screen leads that really cemented Cleopatra’s place in cinema history. Within weeks of Richard Burton’s arrival in Italy, he and Taylor embarked on a tumultuous and passionate love affair that kept the Cuban Missile Crisis off the front pages and was denounced by the Vatican. Cleopatra and the Undoing of Hollywood is a story of lust, excess and hubris – and how one film nearly brought Hollywood to its knees.

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Book SynopsisMore than 27 million Americans today can trace their lineage to the Scots, whose bloodline was stained by centuries of continuous warfare along the border between England and Scotland, and later in the bitter settlements of England's Ulster Plantation in Northern Ireland. When hundreds of thousands of Scots-Irish migrated to America in the eighteenth century, they brought with them not only long experience as rebels and outcasts but also unparalleled skills as frontiersmen and guerrilla fighters. Their cultural identity reflected acute individualism, dislike of aristocracy and a military tradition; and, over time, the Scots-Irish defined the attitudes and values of the military, of working-class America and even of the peculiarly populist form of American democracy itself. Born Fighting is the first book to chronicle the epic journey of this remarkable ethnic group and the profound but unrecognised role it has played in shaping the social, political and cultural landscape of America from its beginnings through to the present day.Trade ReviewAn extraordinary and ambitious book, written with power and perfect clarity * Scotland Magazine *Powerful stuff . . . an absorbing book * BBC Who Do You Think You Are? Magazine *An entertaining and thought-provoking read * Scottish Field *A comprehensive account of the effect the Scots-Irish had on the American people of today . . . a scholarly work * Scottish Home and Country *Certainly provides some illuminating historical perspectives . . . definitely worth a read * Morning Star *

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Book SynopsisStep back in time to 1964, a year of cultural upheaval and political transformation. From the rise of the Civil Rights movement in the United States to the global phenomenon of Beatlemania, this was the year that gave us bold fashion, unforgettable music and social change that continues to shape society across the world today.While Britain's new Labour government promised the white heat of technology', on the world stage 1964 saw the escalation of the Vietnam War, Nelson Mandela's sentence to life imprisonment and the continued brinkmanship of the global arms race. Brand-new subcultures clashed at Margate beach, where thousands of Mods and Rockers fought over their differing values, while London's Carnaby Street shone vibrantly in the country's capital and women flocked to Mary Quant's iconic designs, empowered by changing social sensibilities and rising hemlines.In this captivating blend of historical events, cultural trends and personal anecdotes, Ch

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Book SynopsisThe German Tiger heavy tank was a monster of a machine that dominated the battlefields of Europe. One of the most feared weapons of World War II, the Tiger gained an aura of invincibility that was only shattered by the introduction of the Sherman Firefly during the summer of 1944. Specifically designed by the British to combat the Tiger, the Sherman Firefly was based on the standard American M4A4 Sherman medium tank, but was fitted with a powerful 17-pounder gun which made it a deadly opponent for the Tiger.This book describes the design and development of these two fierce opponents, analyzing their strengths and weaknesses and assessing their tactics, weaponry and training. Innovative gun-sight artwork puts the reader inside the tanks during famous real-life battle scenarios, including the infamous Panzer ace Michael Wittman leading four Tigers into battle against eight Fireflies, a clash of steel that was a victory not only for superior Allied numbers, but also for Allied

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Book SynopsisPickup an old stamp album and flick through it. You’ll find a host of exotic and unfamiliar names: Cyrenaica, Fernando Poo, Fiume, North Ingria, Obock, Stellaland, Tuva, – distant lands, vanished territories, lost countries. Do they still exist? If not, where were they? What happened to them?From My Old Stamp Album goes in search of the truth about these and many other amazing places. Stuart Laycock and Chris West unearth stories of many kinds. Some take you to long-disappeared empires; others throw light on the modern era’s most pressing wars. You are invited to enjoy them all, in a collection of historical narratives as broad and enticing as that old stamp album that you’ve just discovered in the attic.

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Book SynopsisJeremy Paxman's unique portrait of the Victorian age takes readers on an exciting journey through the birth of modern Britain. Using the paintings of the era as a starting point, he tells us stories of urban life, family, faith, industry and empire that helped define the Victorian spirit and imagination.To Paxman, these paintings were the television of their day, and his exploration of Victorian art and society shows how these artists were chronicling a world changing before their eyes. This enthralling history is Paxman at his best - opinionated, informed, witty, surprising - and a glorious reminder of how the Victorians made us who we are today.Trade ReviewA real contribution to art history, introducing the reader to a rich mix of the familiar and the unfamiliar... the book certainly taught me things about the Victorians that I either did not know or had not thought about with sufficient imagination -- A.N. Wilson * The Guardian *A wonderful introduction to the sheer vibrancy of the Victorian era... genuinely impressive -- Dominic Sandbrook * The Evening Standard *

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Book SynopsisAre war and inequality inevitable, because evolution made men competitive and dominant? Think again with this entertaining yet powerful new history of ‘true’ human nature. How did humans, a species that evolved to be cooperative and egalitarian, develop societies of enforced inequality? Why did our ancestors create patriarchal power and warfare? Did it have to be this way? Elites have always called hierarchy and violence unavoidable facts of human nature. Evolution, they claim, has caused men to fight, and people—starting with men and women—to have separate, unequal roles. But that is bad science. Why Men? tells a smarter story of humanity, from early behaviours to contemporary cultures. From bonobo sex and prehistoric childcare to human sacrifice, Joan of Arc, Darwinism and Abu Ghraib, this fascinating, fun and important book reveals that humans adapted to live equally, yet the earliest class societies suppressed this with invented ideas of difference. Ever since, these distortions have caused female, queer and minority suffering. But our deeply human instincts towards equality have endured. This book is not about what men and women are or do. It’s about the privileges humans claim, how they rationalise them, and how we unpick those ideas about our roots. It will change how you see injustice, violence and even yourself.Trade Review'The evidence Lindisfarne and Neale present is eye-opening and eclectic. … 'Why Men?' is conceived as a tonic against popular grand histories of humanity … whose naturalising of inequality the authors chastise, together with their purportedly related neoliberal politics. … [A] refreshing book.' -- Oren Harman, The Spectator'A brilliant, funny, unputdownable book for our times, spectacularly puncturing dominant myths about human nature to explain how wealth creates war, why the "dark ages" weren’t so dark, and how we were once much less violent. Wonderful.' -- Danny Dorling, author of 'Peak Inequality' and 'All That Is Solid''Fantastic storytelling and exhaustive research. This book takes us on a journey through civilisations and mythology to uncover the roots of gendered violence and inequality. Like nothing I have read before.' -- Pragya Agarwal, author of 'Sway', '(M)otherhood' and 'Hysterical''Whether you're a hater or a fan of Harari, Diamond and Pinker, this is a must-read: a fantastic historical thriller, and an insightful, expansive look at a great mystery of our time, showing that human oppression and violence are not inevitable.' -- Chip Colwell, author of 'Stuff: Humanity's Epic Journey from Naked Ape to Nonstop Shopper''A provocative counter-history of that elusive entity, "human nature". This book gives us much to think about.' -- Priyamvada Gopal, author of 'Insurgent Empire''Eye-opening. Evolutionary accounts stressing the selfish, violent and male-dominated nature of our species--or our primate relative--often reflect thinly disguised ideological biases, as "Why Men?" so clearly shows.' -- Frans de Waal, author of 'Chimpanzee Politics' and 'Different: Gender Through the Eyes of a Primatologist'

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Book SynopsisFrom the 1850s, as the United States pushed west, Chinese migrants met ordinary Americans for the first time. Alienation and xenophobia lost the US this chance for cultural and economic enrichment—but America gave the Chinese new perspectives and connections. They developed a dream of their own. As teenagers, Hugo Wong’s great-grandfathers fled poverty in China for California. A decade later, they were excluded from the States. They helped establish a Chinese settlement across the border in Mexico, led by a world-famous dissident-in-exile with visions of a New China overseas. They would be among the Americas’ first Chinese magnates, meeting with presidents, generals and missionaries, living through astonishing victories and humiliating defeats. The bitterest of all would be the colony’s tragic demise amid a violent Mexican revolution, leading to the largest massacre and deportation of Chinese in American history. This epic 100-year drama follows the lives of the author’s ancestors, via untouched personal papers. Though no Chinese group had ever gained such influence over a Western population and territory, their home in Mexico would long be forgotten. Today, this family story is reborn: one of nationhood, state racism and a turbulent century; of exile, grit and new ways of belonging.Trade Review'When you thought there was nothing more to be written about the story of Chinese immigration to America, along comes Hugo Wong with an absorbing account of his families’ history in Mexico … Both in human terms as well as historical ones, Wong’s tale is worth reading … 'America’s Lost Chinese' tells a tale that we should know, but up to this point, probably did not.' -- Asian Review of Books'An incredible and beautiful family story still relevant to today's world. I recommend this to anyone who wants to understand China and its diaspora, and to explore Chinese history and culture with a human narrative.' -- Karoline Kan, journalist and author of 'Under Red Skies''A fascinating social history of early Chinese migrants who gave the prime of their lives to building industries and wealth of America, and struggled to find their place within and beyond its margins. A brilliant and informative book.' -- Hsiao-Hung Pai, journalist and author of 'Scattered Sand: The Story of China's Rural Migrants''A vivid telling of global politics, and a social and critical understanding of the changing landscape of the Americas, whilst also keeping an intimate family story at its heart. A gripping and touching read.' -- Anna Sulan Masing, author of 'Chinese and Other Asian''Spanning the trans-Pacific from China to America to Mexico, Wong’s family memoir is at once riveting and passionate in capturing the diasporic spirit of patriarchs Leung Hing and Wong Foon Chuck, and sober and dispassionate in carefully situating them in the turbulent histories of three countries.' -- Evelyn Hu-DeHart, Professor of History, American Studies and Ethnic Studies, Brown University'The aspirational Chinese Dream espoused by Xi Jinping speaks of the rejuvenation of a proud nation after a painful century of humiliation. In America's Lost Chinese, Hugo Wong brings that dream to life through a remarkable saga of his family's diaspora. An important perspective that deepens our understanding of the West's conflicts with China.' -- Stephen Roach, author of 'Accidental Conflict: America, China and the Clash of False Narratives''The intertwined stories of two migrant families follow key figures in the rise and fall of the forgotten Chinese community of Mexico and its complex ties with diaspora networks in both the United States and China. A riveting and moving story of resilience, identity and cosmopolitanism.' -- David Palmer, Professor of Sociology, University of Hong Kong'A well-researched account of Wong's ancestors who experienced pivotal changes in both the US and Mexico, most notably the Mexican Revolution. Inspired by the documents and artefacts found in a family trunk, we are lucky to have such an intimate portrait written with insight and depth.' -- Jason Oliver Chang, author of 'Chino: Anti-Chinese Racism in Mexico, 1880–1940'Hugo Wong grew up between Paris and Mexico City. Since 1995, he has lived intermittently in Beijing, where he has helped to found Sino–foreign joint ventures, including China’s first investment bank. He built his career in emerging markets investment at major Hong Kong, London and New York financial institutions.

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Book SynopsisA brilliant, concise account of the painting often described as the most important work of art produced in the twentieth century, as part of the stunning Landmark Library series. Pablo Picasso had already accepted a commission to create a work for the Spanish Republican Pavilion in 1937 when news arrived of the bombing of the undefended Basque town of Gernika. James Attlee offers an illuminating account of the genesis, creation and complex afterlife of Picasso's Guernica. He explores the historical and cultural context from which the painting sprang and the meanings it accrued during its travels across Europe and the Americas, as well as its influence on artists both living and dead. Finally, he argues for its continuing importance as a warning of what happens when the forces of darkness go unchallenged. Praise for Guernica: 'Helps you appreciate Guernica's daring and resonance' Literary Review 'An impressive overview of the painting's conception and execution, and its subsequent life as an exhibit and a symbol... Attlee's book succeeds in showing how influential Guernica has been' Sunday Times 'Attlee digs up rich examples of the debate and devotion that invariably attended the painting... Guernica literature abounds; but this book is a worthwhile addition' SpectatorTrade ReviewAn impressive overview... Succeeds in showing how influential Guernica has been, and how it continues to be used as a reference point in political and military conflicts of today' * Sunday Times *Attlee digs up rich examples of the debate and devotion that invariably attended the paining... Guernica literature abounds; but this book is a worthwhile addition' * Spectator *[Guernica], which is clearly written and beautifully produced, both updates the tale and adds something fresh to the mix... Attlee's book helps you appreciate [Guernica's] daring and resonance' * Literary Review *

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Book SynopsisThe deeds and personalities of famous pirates have received significant attention in recent years: however, no detailed depiction of their vessels has ever been produced. This title redresses the imbalance, conducting a detailed exploration of the wide variety of pirate vessels that sailed the high seas during the ''golden age'' of piracy (16901730), from gun-bristling warships to smaller craft such as sloops, brigantines and early schooners. It incorporates the latest archaeological evidence to produce a fascinating account of these vessels, detailing their origins, development and tactical engagement. Packed with contemporary illustrations and superbly detailed colour artwork, the ships of the ''golden age'' are brought vividly to life.

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Book SynopsisIn this scintillating book, Ian Buruma peels away the myths that surround Japanese culture. With piercing analysis of cinema, theatre, television, art and legend, he shows the Japanese both 'as they imagine themselves to be, and as they would like themselves to be.'A Japanese Mirror examines samurai and gangsters, transvestites and goddesses to paint an eloquent picture of life in Japan. This is a country long shrouded in enigma and in his compelling book, Buruma reveals a culture rich in with poetry, beauty and wonder.

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Book Synopsis''Lets us see how power really worked, in public and private ... Stothard tells this story superbly''Dominic Sandbrook, SUNDAY TIMES14 CE: The first Roman emperor is dead. A second is about to succeed. The Forum of Rome, once fought over so fiercely, has become hardly more than a museum. The house of all power is up above on the Palatine Hill, about to become the birthplace of Western bureaucracy, a warren of banqueting and bedrooms, a treacherous household where it takes special talents to survive. This is a Roman history with a cast of new men and newly dominant women, those reviled too often in the past as flatterers and gluttons, uppity slaves and former slaves, lawyers-for-hire, chancer arrivistes and unhinged party animals. Palatine uncovers the lives of the Vitellii, perhaps Rome''s least admired imperial clan, of Publius, an old-fashioned soldier snared in the politics of the new age, of Lucius, an exceptionally skilled and sTrade ReviewLets us see how power really worked, in public and private. We glimpse the emperors at work and at play, in the dining room and in the bedroom. And we see how even they, despite the sycophants, were often prisoners, not architects, of the system. One false step and it would all be over ... Stothard tells this story superbly -- Dominic Sandbrook * Sunday Times *This is a story you think you know, told through the eyes of people you don't ... Not so much an alternative history as an alternative epic, farce and satire rolled into one. Palatine is an absorbing saga of battles and banquets, as densely populated and richly depicted as Game of Thrones -- Rachel Cunliffe * The Times *Profound scholarship written with the verve and expertise of an accomplished novelist. On every page lapidary phrases evoke the reality of life in the ancient world . . . Wonderful, evocative stuff! -- Harry Sidebottom * Daily Telegraph *Fans of Peter Stothard's previous books - On the Spartacus Road (2010), The Last Assassin (2020), and Crassus (reviewed here October 2022) - will need no urging towards his latest, a wonderfully evocative study of that dynasty, leading up to the fall of Vitellius in the Year of Four Emperors (AD 69). Palatine, like its predecessors, is imaginatively constructed from a series of realistic vignettes charting the imperial court from the last days of Augustus through to the arrival of the Flavians ... Stothard tells the familiar story in a very original way, making the two Vitellii his central characters ... it's a brilliant device that illustrates how, with some paternal scheming, a relatively ordinary man could push his way through the corridors of power and emerge on top ... This hugely readable novel-like account [is] a Succession for the Julio-Claudian years -- Sir Michael Fallon, Founder of the Parliamentary Classics Group * CLASSICS FOR ALL *

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Book SynopsisBy the author of Ashes Under Water (Lyons Press), here is one of the great untold stories of World War II. The Hidden Hindenburg at last reveals the cause of aviation's most famous disaster and the duplicity that kept the truth from coming to light for three generations. It also finally catches up with a German legend who misled the world about the Hindenburg to bury his own Nazi connections. Drawing on previously unpublished documents from the National Archives in Washington, along with archival collections in Germany, this definitive account explores how the Hindenburg was connected to the Dachau concentration camp, a futuristic German rocket that terrified the Allies, and a classified project that imported Nazi scientists to America after the war. It took author Michael McCarthy four years to get to the bottom of this epic disaster, in which the largest object civilization has ever managed to fly burnt up in less than one minute. Along the way, he found a talTrade ReviewAbout Ashes Under Water: “This is a tour-de-force from an enormously gifted writer. In quickly sketched chapters McCarthy depicts a mysterious early-twentieth-century shipping disaster—the weather, the moguls, the greed, the ads, the hundreds of working people setting out for a picnic who ended up in a makeshift morgue. The second half of the book brilliantly tracks the legal maneuvering and the murky trial that ultimately exonerated the crew, government inspectors, and the owners. Ashes Under Water is prodigiously researched and richly imagined. McCarthy’s vivid images kept bringing me back to our own contemporary society with its increasing disparity between the middle class and the powerful rich.”—Jeanne Murray Walker, author of The Geography of Memory“After more than a decade of research, journalist and Chicago resident Michael McCarthy shares a heartbreaking history in Ashes Under Water: The SS Eastland and the Shipwreck That Shook America. McCarthy gives this little-known Lake Michigan tragedy a thorough and compassionate telling and covers the media frenzy and indictments that followed. . . . Plentiful notes and a lengthy bibliography provide opportunity for further study for those interested. Ashes Under Water is carefully researched yet compellingly told and combines the appeal of famous historical figures and places with everyday men and women struggling to survive. In this thoughtful treatment, the Eastland’s story will deservedly capture the sympathy and imagination of diverse readers.”—Foreword Reviews

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Book SynopsisOne of our most distinguished military historians tells the story of six defining battles . . .Every battle is different. Each takes place in a different context - the war, the campaign, the weapons. However, battles across the centuries, whether fought with sticks and stones or advanced technology, have much in common. Fighting is, after all, an intensely human affair; human nature doesn''t change. So why were battles fought as they were? What gave them their shape? Why did they go as they did: victory for one side, defeat for the other? In exploring six significant feats of arms - the war and campaign in which they each occurred, and the factors that determined their precise form and course - The Shape of Battle answers these fundamental questions about the waging of war.Hastings (1066) - everyone knows the date, but not, perhaps, the remarkable strategic background.Towton (1461) - the bloodiest battle to be fought on English

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Book SynopsisAS HEARD ON RADIO 4 WOMAN'S HOUR'Captivating . . . a brilliant many-layered social history of women's ambition and a rapidly changing New York' Observer'A fascinating look at a piece of forgotten female history' Sunday Times'A treat, elegantly spinning a forgotten story of female liberation, ambition and self-invention' Guardian'A deeply researched history, leavened with gossip . . . offers a full sweep of the changing status of American women in the twentieth century' TLSWELCOME TO THE BARBIZON, NEW YORK'S PREMIER WOMEN-ONLY HOTELBuilt in 1927 as a home for the 'Modern Woman' seeking a career in the arts, the Barbizon became the place to stay for ambitious, independent women, who were lured by the promise of fame and good fortune. Sylvia Plath fictionalized her time there in The Bell Jar, and over the years, its 688 tiny floral 'highly feminine boudoirs' also housed Joan Crawford, Grace Kelly (notorious for sneaking in men), Joan Didion, Candice Bergen, Charlie's Angel Jaclyn Smith, Ali MacGraw, Cybil Shepherd, Elaine Stritch, Liza Minnelli, Eudora Welty, The Cosby Show's Phylicia Rashad, Grey Gardens's Edith Bouvier Beale, and writers Mona Simpson and Ann Beattie, among many others. Mademoiselle boarded its summer interns there - perfectly turned-out young women, who would never be spotted hatless - as did Katherine Gibbs Secretarial School its students - in their white-gloves and kitten heels - and the Ford Modelling Agency its young models.THE BARBIZON is a colourful, glamorous portrait of the lives of the young women, who -- from the Jazz Age New Women of the 1920s to the Liberated Women of the 1960s -- came to New York looking for something more.'The story of the Barbizon is in many ways the story of American women in the twentieth century' Economist 'Illuminating . . . this vivid, well researched account is testament to its vibrant history and the women who made it such a powerhouse' Daily ExpressTrade Review[An] insightful, well-written account...[Bren] details the lives of some of the Barbizon's most well-known residents, including Molly Brown, Grace Kelly, Sylvia Plath, and Joan Didion, and provides historical context about midcentury single women, careers, and sex...A must read for anyone interested in the history of 20th-century women's lives, fashion, publishing, and New York. * Library Journal *Varying delectably in cadence, from high-heel tapping and typewriter clacking to sinuous and reflective passages analyzing the complex forms of adversity Barbizon women faced over the decades, Bren's engrossing and illuminating inquiry portrays the original Barbizon as a vital microcosm of the long quest for women's equality. * Booklist *A rare glimpse behind the doors of New York's famous women-only residential hotel...Drawing on extensive research, extant letters, and numerous interviews, Bren beautifully weaves together the political climate of the times and the illuminating personal stories of the Barbizon residents...Elegant prose brings a rich cultural history alive. * Kirkus Reviews *An entertaining and enlightening account of New York's Barbizon Hotel and the role it played in fostering women's ambitions in 20th-century America...Carefully researched yet breezily written, this appealing history gives the Barbizon its rightful turn in the spotlight. * Publishers Weekly *Before Sex and the Single Girl, before "Sex and the City," there was the Barbizon. It was a romantic building with a romantic purpose: It fixed a woman up with her dreams. Paulina Bren has written a stylish, charming history of a unique institution, brimming with aspiration and idiosyncrasy, and one that allowed a woman to survive without either marrying someone or cooking him dinner - even when she was barred from so much as taking a seat at the bar. * STACY SCHIFF, author of The Witches and Pulitzer Prize Winner *Residents of the Barbizon Hotel were once described as 'young women alone.' Thanks to Paulina Bren, they are alone no longer. The Barbizon is a fascinating social history of a forgotten place and time and an intimate portrait of women, trying to find their way in a pre-feminist world. I'll never look at a hotel and think the same way again. * KEITH O'BRIEN, New York Times bestselling author of Fly Girls *This is the history I've been wanting to read all my life. I just didn't know where to look. How delightful to find it in the legacy of this magical hotel, captured in brilliant detail by the masterful Paulina Bren. Even if you can't move into the Barbizon, reading this book will make you feel like you've lived there for years. You'll never want to move out. * MEGHAN DAUM, author of The Problem With Everything: My Journey Through The New Culture Wars *From famous models to Joan Didion, from hopeful stenographers to Sylvia Plath. The Barbizon housed women who eagerly sought independence, adventure, and careers in New York City. Besides the story of the famous women-only hotel, The Barbizon chronicles key aspects of American women's history in the first half of the twentieth century. A compelling read! * LYNN DUMENIL, author The Second Line of Defense: American Women and World War I *Touching in its loyalty to these women, the ones who arrived with suitcases and dreams in the Barbizon's grand lobby. Bren draws on an impressive amount of archival research, and pays tender attention to each of the women she profiles. * International New York Times *This vivid, well-researched account is testimony to its vibrant history and the women who made it such a powerhouse. * Daily Express *A fascinating look at a piece of hidden female history. The fortunes of the hotel are entwined with the changing role of women in the 20th century. It's timely too: 100 years afterit was built, in the wake of #MeToo and the death of Sarah Everard, the idea of a women-only hotel feels not anachronistic but liberating. * The Sunday Times *The stories of Candice Bergen, Joan Crawford, Liza Minnelli and many more (as well as the importance of Mademoiselle magazine's guest editorships) weave in and out of the story of the hotel and the country. A pleasurable, fascinating read that is superbly researched and told. * WA Today *

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Book SynopsisThis fine Palladian house known as New Park was built between 1777 and 1783 and became part of the golden age of the Georgian country house. Its owner, James Sutton, was one of a new breed of landowners, benefitting from the proceeds of the boom in late eighteenth century trade and from local political influence. The house was a celebration of the dynamism and success of Georgian Devizes, built on its thriving wool trade. As neoclassicism became the defining style for the late eighteenth English country house, New Park, later re-named Roundway Park, perfectly represented the high ambition of the age, the product of the prestigious architect, James Wyatt, and landscape designer, Humphry Repton. Roundway continued to prosper in the Victorian and Edwardian eras under the ownership of the Colston family of Bristol fame. In 1938, on the death of Rosalind Colston, the first Lady Roundway, the house and estate were, on the surface, indistinguishable from their Victorian heyday. But just sixteen years later, the estate had been sold and the house largely demolished as the effects of family tragedy and the weight of social and economic change took their toll. The Forgotten Country House tells for the first time the story of Roundway's rise and fall, the people who built and owned it, lived and worked there, and the contribution they made to their local community. It paints a vivid picture of the lives of gentry families who far outnumbered their more aristocratic counterparts and who played a central role in the rural communities that characterised much of Britain up until the mid-twentieth century. Part family history, part love letter to the English country house, Simon Baynes draws on family papers and new research to pay a fitting, evocative tribute not just to his ancestors, but also to a lost world and the people who lived in it.Trade ReviewHistories of lost country houses involve sophisticated detective work. Simon Baynes’ new book is impressive for its wide ranging research and his absorbing text illustrates just how many stories these houses have to tell. -- Marcus BinneyThe Forgotten Country House is a fascinating history of a colourful family and a remarkable building told with passion and authority. -- Simon ThurleyThis book is a comprehensive record of a notable country house in Wiltshire. Many long lost photographs and personal family details have been documented under one cover by Simon Baynes and his late father to create this excellent publication. -- John GirvanThis handsomely produced volume recounts the history of Roundway Park in Wiltshire, a now mostly demolished Georgian mansion... Part house, part family history, the final decades at Roundway are tinged with sadness... [The] book is a fitting tribute to the house and estate that it commemorates. -- Historic HousesQuiller Publishing has once again done an excellent job in presenting this enthralling photographic and literary exposition which has been researched thoroughly by author Simon Baynes... Highly recommended, especially for those interested in English social and cultural history, Georgian architecture and Wiltshire history. -- Gary Creighton * British Country Sports *You can read this book like a novel, from cover to cover, or dip into it like a coffee table book, drawn in by its mix of beautiful illustrations and photographs... The Forgotten Country House is a delight. As the book jacket says, it is 'part family history, part love letter to the English country house.' It succeeds brilliantly at both. -- David Ross * Britain Express *Table of ContentsPreface PART 1: RISE 1 The High Summer of Georgian Devizes 2 James Wyatt and Humphry Repton at New Park 3 The Suttons, Addingtons and Estcourts 4 The Colstons: Honeymoon and Grand Tour 5 The Colstons at Roundway Park 6 Lives Cut Short 7 Love and Marriage 8 Family Life PART 2: HEYDAY 9 Roundway Park’s Victorian Heyday 10 A Day in the Life of Roundway Park 11 Henry Robinson: Butler Extraordinaire 12 The New Century 13 The World at their Feet 14 The Great War PART 3: DECLINE 15 ‘Never Glad Confident Morning Again!’ 16 The Inter-war Years 17 Loyal Service 18 The Beginning of the End 19 Sounding the Last Post 20 The Sale of Roundway Park 21 White Knight EPILOGUE

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Book SynopsisCommunity journalism has long been a part of the lifeblood of America, but never have the stakes been so high for the people behind it. In Beacons in the Darkness, award-winning journalist Dave Hoekstra interviews the people trying to keep the lights on at community newspapers across the country amid buyouts, declining revenues, fake news, and a pandemic. This book is not another account of the death of local journalism—but rather a celebration of the community ties, perseverance, and empathy that’s demonstrated in community newsrooms from Hillsboro, Illinois, to Charleston, South Carolina, to Marfa, Texas. Hoekstra recounts the sometimes-scandalous but always-industrious stories of the families who built these newspapers and passed them down through generations. Modern publishers and owners describe in their own words their struggles and experiments to stay alive in the digital age, not just for their businesses and their families but also for the communities they serve and the neighbors whose stories they tell in their reporting. Beacons in the Darkness provides an intimate view inside the organizations that still publish photos of the local bowling league and the outlandishly large mushrooms on the edge of town, leaving you with a rekindled fondness for your own community paper—and a renewed appreciation of what we all stand to lose without one.Table of ContentsList of newspapers featured in Beacons in the Darkness, by state:Arkansas Arkansas Democrat-Gazette Eureka Springs Independent California Bakersfield Californian FloridaMiami Times Illinois Champaign News-Gazette Chicago Reader Evanston RoundTable Hillsboro Journal-News Paddock Publications Pana News-Palladium Shaw Media IndianaMadison Courier Iowa Carroll Times Herald Missouri Eldon Advertiser South Carolina Post and Courier Tennessee Tri-State Defender Texas Big Bend Sentinel

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Book Synopsis The story of the United States military is the story of the country itself. Both have grown and changed over time. Learn about the unique histories, traditions, weapons, leaders, stats, and fun facts of the Army, Navy, Marine Corps, Coast Guard, Air Force, and Space Force, and their roles within the military in this fun and fascinating guide! From the few hundred soldiers in its ranks when it was first established, to the over one million service members today, the U.S. military has grown in power and size over its 250-year history. Its organization and branches have changed to adapt to new technologies and national needs. The Handy Armed Forces Answer Book: Your Guide to the Whats and Whys of the U.S. Military looks at each branch of the U.S. military. It answers more than 500 of the most intriguing questions, including … How is the U.S. military organized? How do the branches work together? When did the Army Air Corps become the U.S. Army Air Force? What is the selection process like for Special Forces? Who was the Continental Army’s first Commander in Chief? How does the military rank structure function? How does somebody become an Air Force officer? What was the “Brown Water Navy”? What is the motto of the Coast Guard? How many bases does the military have? What is the Marine Corps Hymn? Did any Coast Guard vessels serve in combat? What type of aircraft is Air Force One? Who said “Retreat? Hell! We just got here!” Who were the Buffalo Soldiers? What are the Blue Angels? What is the most challenging USAF plane to fly? What is the origin of the Coast Guard “racing stripe”? Does the Space Force have any operational bases? How did a mutiny help establish the United States Naval Academy? What is the longest-serving personal weapon used by the American soldier? What is the difference between a UAV and a drone? What attack submarines does the Navy deploy? Who defends the United States against cyberattacks and other digital threats? The Army, Navy, Air Force, Marines, Coast Guard, and Space Force are uniquely American, each in their own way. Learn what makes each branch special in The Handy Armed Forces Answer Book! With more than 140 photos and graphics, this fascinating to me is richly illustrated. Its helpful bibliography and extensive index add to its usefulness.

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Book SynopsisOn 24 April 1916, as President of the Provisional Government, Patrick Pearse appeared under the GPO Grand Portico on Dublin's O'Connell Street and read aloud the Proclamation of the Irish Republic. Nine days later, he was the first of the rebel leaders to be executed.In the 16Lives biography series.

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Book SynopsisBorn in Limerick in 1891, John Edward or 'Ned' Daly was the only son in a family of nine. Ned's father, Edward, an ardent Fenian, died before his son was born, but Ned's Uncle John, also a radical Fenian, was a formative influence. John Daly was prepared to use physical force to win Ireland's freedom and was imprisoned for twelve years for his activities. Ned's sister Kathleen married Tom Clarke, a key figure of the Easter Rising. Nationalism was in the Daly blood. Yet young Ned was seen as frivolous and unmotivated, interested only in his appearance and his social life. How Edward Daly became a professional Volunteer soldier, dedicated to freeing his country from foreign rule, forms the core of this biography. Drawing on family memories and archives, Edward Daly's grandniece Helen Litton uncovers the untold story of Edward Daly, providing an insight into one of the more enigmatic figures of the Easter Rising. As commandant during the Rising, Ned controlled the Four Courts area. On 4 May 1916, Commandant Edward Daly was executed for his part in the Easter Rising. Ned was twenty-five years old. His body was consigned to a mass grave.Trade Reviewsuccinct and articulate -- Books Irelandintimate and insightful -- Books Ireland

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Book SynopsisThis volume—the companion book to the special exhibition Back to School in Babylonia of the Institute for the Study of Ancient Cultures of the University of Chicago—explores education in the Old Babylonian period through the lens of House F in Nippur, excavated jointly by the University of Chicago and the University of Pennsylvania in the early 1950s and widely believed to have been a scribal school. The book’s twenty essays offer a state-of-the-art synthesis of research on the history of House F and the educational curriculum documented on the many tablets discovered there, while the catalog’s five chapters present the 126 objects included in the exhibition, the vast majority of them cuneiform tablets.Table of ContentsContents Foreword. Theo van den Hout Foreword. Eleanor Robson Preface. Marc Maillot Acknowledgments. Susanne Paulus List of Contributors Part I: Essays 1. Back to School in Babylonia: The Aims of Babylonian Education. Susanne Paulus 2. Old Babylonian Nippur in Its Environmental and Historical Settings. Hervé Reculeau 3. The Archaeology of Nippur’s House F and Its Neighborhood. Augusta McMahon 4. Living the Edubbaʾa: School as Sensory Experience and Social Identity. Madeline Ouimet 5. Economic Life in the Scribal Quarter of Nippur. Anne Goddeeris 6. Literacy in the Old Babylonian Period. Dominique Charpin 7. Reconstructing the Elementary Nippur Curriculum. Niek Veldhuis 8. Learning the Basics: The First Steps at School. Klaus Wagensonner 9. Complex Lists: Between Didactics and Erudition. Marta Díaz Herrera 10. Bilingualism and Akkadian. Jay Crisostomo 11. Sumerian Grammar for Babylonians. Colton G. Siegmund 12. Sumerian Proverbs. William A. Younger 13. What Did They Learn about Mathematics? Barbora Wichterlová 14. Practicing Law. Susanne Paulus 15. The Decad and Scribal Errors. Paul Delnero 16. Adventures in a Legendary Past: Tales of Long-Ago Kings as Cultural Education. Jane Gordon 17. Learning History. Piotr Michalowski 18. What Did They Learn about Myths and Religion? Christopher Metcalf 19. Learning Rhetoric through Sumerian Disputations. Catherine Mittermayer 20. What Did They Learn about Women? Jana Matuszak Part II: Catalog 21. Discovering a School in Nippur. Madeline Ouimet and Susanne Paulus, with Laura D'Alessandro and Alison Whyte 22. School Life in House F. Marta Díaz Herrera, Jane Gordon, Danielle Levy, Madeline Ouimet, Susanne Paulus, and Ryan D. Winters 23. The Curriculum: From Signs to Literature. Marta Díaz Herrera, Jane Gordon, Madeline Ouimet, Susanne Paulus, and Colton G. Siegmund 24. Topics of Education. Marta Díaz Herrera, Jane Gordon, Jana Matuszak, Madeline Ouimet, Susanne Paulus, Colton G. Siegmund, Barbora Wichterlová, and Ryan D. Winters 25. After School. Susanne Paulus, Colton G. Siegmund, and Ryan D. Winters List of Compositions Concordance of Museum Registration Numbers Bibliography

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Book SynopsisA comprehensive study of the iron objects found in Tutankhamun's tomb that include daggers, quivers, arrows, and an elaborately decorated bow caseA century after Howard Carter and Lord Carnarvon's sensational discovery in 1922 of the virtually intact tomb of Tutankhamun in the Valley of the Kings, the boy-king and his treasures continue to fascinate people all over the world. Although nearly 5,400 objects accompanied the young pharaoh on his journey to the afterlife, many of them have not been investigated in detail.Iron from Tutankhamun's Tomb analyzes iron artifacts from the tomb in depth for the first time. This group consists of small iron chisels set into wooden handles, an Eye of Horus amulet, a miniature headrest, and the blade of a richly decorated golden dagger. The most important of these were placed in close proximity to the king's mummy, emphasizing the high value attributed to this rare material in late Bronze Age Egypta time when iron smelting was not yet known in the land of the Nile.Written by a research team of archaeologists, scientists, and conservators, this comprehensive study explores in fascinating detail the context and meaning of these artifacts, while establishing for the first time that Tutankhamun's iron came from meteorites. They complete their examination with the results of chemical analyses, offering in the process a rich overall understanding of iron and its significance in ancient Egypt.

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Book SynopsisUpdated edition with many more biographies and a new introduction by the author. Spies, snipers, couriers, gun-runners, medics, women played a major role in the fight for Ireland's freedom, risking loss of life and family for a cause to which they were totally committed. This book highlights a time when vast numbers of Irish women were politicised and imprisoned for their beliefs, with a special emphasis on one prison, Kilmainham Gaol. They came from every class in society and all walks of life: titled ladies and shop assistants, doctors, housewives, laundry workers, artists and teachers. Some were married with children, others widowed and some mere schoolchildren. These are hidden stories that vividly recreate the characters, personalities and courage of Ireland's revolutionary women.Trade Reviewabsolutely riveting -- South East Radio’s Morning Miximpressive contribution to the decade of centenaries … a fine book and a very worthwhile counterweight to the overwhelmingly male view of the Rising and War of Independence that still prevails -- The Tuam HeraldAn outstanding book, painstakingly researched, accessibly structured and beautifully presented ... This is a book about who we are, peopled by familiar faces. Its pages are friends. Yes, it is a monument of sorts; certainly a tribute and a rich resource. More than anything, it is a great story waiting too long to be told. -- Irish Independent * Irish Independent *This book is important to the study of the period and to the hidden history of women in Ireland -- Dermot Bolger - The Sunday Tribune * The Sunday Tribune *a remarkable book -- Irish Examiner'What amazed me was the extraordinary bravery of the women, which would never have been recorded had it not been for this book' -- Irish ExaminerTable of ContentsIntroduction by Dr Margaret Ward 11 Foreword: Finding Women 12 Chapter 1: Women Activists (1900–1916) 20 Chapter 2: The Women of the Rising 34 Chapter 3: Women and the Road to Independence (1917–1921) 59 Chapter 4: The Civil War (1922–1923) 88 Biographies 139 Appendix 1: Prisoner List – 1916 242 Appendix 2: Prisoner List – Civil War 244 Notes 266 Bibliography 286 Picture Credits 312 Index 313

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Book SynopsisIn his anticipated second poetry collection, Doppelgangbanger, Cortney Lamar Charleston examines the performance of Black masculinity in the U.S., and its relationship to family, love and community. With the wit and musicality fitting of a 90s baby raised during the Golden age of hip-hop, Cortney Lamar Charleston grapples with the landscapes of Chicago’s South Side and surrounding suburbs, and the tensions that impact a Black boy’s struggle through self-destructive definitions of manhood. While the language in these poems is playful, Charleston’s vulnerability invites readers to intimately witness the speaker’s journey from adopted persona to an authentic self that defies traditional molds.Trade ReviewWith stunning knowledge and sharp vulnerability, Cortney Lamar Charleston has rendered a classical epic of love, war, and self-discovery, in the tradition of Milton, Homer, and Virgil if they were Bone Thugs-n-Harmony. —Morgan Parker, author of Magical Negro “Cortney Lamar Charleston burns his signature into these stanzas. With an unrelenting intimacy, he dares us into a narrative we think we know—Black boy vs. the scheming wiles of the city vs. the rest of his life—then backhand slaps us toward a singular experience marked by choices that can only guide the life of one man.” —Patricia Smith, author of Incendiary Art “Cortney Lamar Charleston is one of our most necessary observers of Black boyhood in all its beauty and difficulty. These poems sing to us of us.” —Nate Marshall, author of Finna

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Book SynopsisIn 1947, James Hickman shot and killed the landlord he believed was responsible for a tragic fire that took the lives of four of his children on Chicago 's West Side. But a vibrant defense campaign, exposing the working poverty and racism that led to his crime, helped win Hickman 's freedom. With a true-crime writer 's eye for suspense and a historian 's depth of knowledge, Joe Allen unearths the compelling story of a campaign that stood up to Jim Crow well before the modern civil rights movement had even begun. As deteriorating housing conditions and an accelerating foreclosure crisis combine to form a hauntingly similar set of circumstances to those that led to the Hickman case, Allen 's book restores to prominence a previously unknown story with profound relevance today.Trade Review"What I appreciate about Joe Allen's work is that he demonstrates as a historian…the power of information—meticulous, distilled, coherent, principled.” —John Pilger, author of Freedom Next Time "In a remarkable feat of historical excavation and taut storytelling, Joe Allen tells the incredible story of James Hickman, an African-American man who struck back after a black Chicago slumlord and arsonist decimated his family and nearly destroyed his life. A stark look into a past of big city racism and poverty that we shouldn't forget—and an important contribution to the history of social justice in America.” —Alex Heard, author of The Eyes of Willie McGee "James Hickman was one of the hundreds of thousands of black Mississippians to move to Chicago in the 1940s. The nightmarish tragedy that befell the Hickman family there, as well as the actions of the dedicated activists who fought to save Hickman's life by revealing the institutional foundations of that tragedy, are vividly depicted in Joe Allen's important and moving history. Hickman's story illustrates the toxic nature of racial segregation and economic exploitation. The outraged community that united to support Hickman is a refreshing reminder of people's power to organize for change.” —Beryl Satter, author of Family Properties: Race, Real Estate, and the Exploitation of Black Urban America "[A] remarkable book... Allen tells the story in admirably straightforward fashion...[painting] a horrific portrait of the inhumane conditions in which blacks were forced to live in the post WWII Chicago." –Rick Kogan, Chicago Tribune "People Wasn't Made to Burn presents the 1947 Hickman trial in Chicago and its revelations as a metaphor for racial prejudice and its effects on the lives of ordinary people. The book's story tells of James Hickman's frustration over his inability to get justice in the arson death of his four children, his subsequent killing of the landlord who was deliberately responsible for the fire, and the efforts of the heroic and conscience-arousing Hickman Defense Committee that enabled him to walk out of court a free man.” —Kenan Heise, author of Chicago Afternoons With Leon

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Book SynopsisAs a child, all Aatish Taseer ever had of his father was his photograph in a browning silver frame. Raised by his Sikh mother in Delhi, his father, a Pakistani Muslim, remained a distant figure. It was a fractured upbringing which left Aatish with many questions about his own identity. Stranger to History is the story of the journey Aatish made to try to understand what it means to be Muslim in the twenty-first century. Starting from Istanbul, Islam's once greatest city, he travels to Mecca, its most holy, and then home through Iran and Pakistan. Ending in Lahore, at his estranged father's home, on the night Benazir Bhutto was killed, it is also the story of Aatish's own divided family over the past fifty years.Trade ReviewA subtle and poignant work by a young writer to watch. -- V.S. NaipaulTaseer uses this intensely personal prism to spring a narrative that darts deftly between physical journey and childhood memoir. The paternal relationship he never had becomes the backbone of the book, which is all the better for it. Uncomfortable reading for Daddy, certainly, but gripping for the rest of us. * * Literary Review * *Probing, exhilarating and shot through with pinpoint observations of people, places and situations. -- Kenny Hodgart * * Herald * *Stranger to History is remarkable. The souks, the landcapes and the people are described in simple, poetic language . . . Indispensable reading for anyone who wants a wider understanding of the Islamic world, of its history and its politics. -- Emmanuelle Smith * * Financial Times * *A memorable read that engages the mind as well as the heart. -- Tom Adair * * Scotsman * *Engrossing and provocative . . . Part travelogue, part memoir, this honest and revealing book is an attempt to form a better relationship with his father. Throughout, he confronts the concerns of religion and politics head on, unafraid to question the basic principles of faith and the Islamic view of history. -- Duncan Mills * * Traveller Magazine * *A revealing personal odyssey . . . Illuminating. * * The Bookseller * *Stranger to History is remarkable. The souks, the landcapes and the people are described in simple, poetic language . . . Indespensable reading for anyone who wants a wider understanding of the Islamic world, of its history and its politics. * * Financial Times * *

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Book SynopsisRenowned journalist Malaika Jabali debunks myths, centres forgotten socialists of colour who have shaped our world, and shows us socialism is not all Marx and Bernie Bros-it can be pretty sexy.We've all dated someone who took control of the relationship-you know, someone who makes you feel like you're unhappy because you're just not putting in the work, or it's all in your head. But when you think about trying to meet new people, it feels terrifying. Like, have you looked at Tinder recently? It's rough out there! Your tough-love new best friend, award-winning journalist, policy attorney, and life-long socialist Malaika Jabali is here to say: we are all in a generations-long toxic relationship with Capitalism, and it is time to get the h*ll out of there and move ALONG. She gives you everything you need to know about what a healthy relationship could actually look like, issue by issue-from healthcare and housing to the whole concept of American democracy-with our new boo: Socialism. And no, Socialism isn't the boring, grey, authoritarian, Cold-War-era monster that you've heard about. With accessible explanations and illustrations, often surprising graphs and stats, and some Drake memes, this book will show you that we NEED to build a world that's safer, kinder, cleaner, healthier, and more equal. And that this isn't a utopian dream - it's within our grasp, if we collectively decide to call out Capitalism for what it really is and wake up to a better future. Fun, smart, and inspiring, It's Not You It's Capitalism is the hottest new relationship in your life!

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Book SynopsisThrough creative combinations of ethnohistoric evidence, iconography, and contextual analysis of faunal remains, this work offers new insight into the mechanisms involved in food provisioning for complex societies.

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Book SynopsisAn intimate history of the Holocaust, drawn from the final days of a Jewish family in Munich Postcards to Hitler tells the story of a Jewish family in Munich living as close neighbors to the demagogue who becomes the Nazi Führer?Adolf Hitler. In a story passionately told by one of their descendants, the narrative begins as Benno Neuburger, a modest German land investor from Munich, and Anna Einstein, daughter of a cattle dealer, meet at a seder in Laupheim and soon marry. The year is 1907, a relatively prosperous, optimistic time for German Jews, and there is little hint that this good fortune might soon unravel. Of all the Jews in Europe, Germans like the Neuburgers feel most secure.When, on a warm July day in 1914, an assassination strikes an ?obscure? Balkan corner of the continent, the news passes through Munich?s beer-gardens like a cold wind. Far from a fleeting chill, what follows is the time of prolonged bloodshed known as World War I, followed by a period of German humiliation, resurgent revolution, and a brief left-led democratic interlude in Munich. What might have been a site of socialist experimentation instead becomes the epicenter of German fascism, and as Benno and Anna and their extended families cling with vain hope to a peaceful resolution, their beloved haven degenerates into a state of racialized madness. A bloody pogrom is chased by a second world war, followed by evictions, ?resettlements? and far worse, sounding an inescapable knell despite desperate and defiant acts of resistance.Postcards to Hitler is a deeply researched history drawn from personal interviews and archival documents including Benno?s and Anna?s final letters?written amid a slow-moving parade of horror until the frail boundaries between themselves and the Holocaust ultimately vanish.

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Book SynopsisWhen the Japanese invade in 1942, the Australian men and women stationed at the New Guinea port of Rabaul flee into the jungle.Written off by their government as ‘hostages to fortune’, the little-known garrison on Australia’s tropic frontier has been left with no modern equipment, no lifeline to the outside, and no means of escape. Most are captured and killed in the sinking of the prison ship Montevideo Maru, which remains Australia’s worst sea disaster. But the surviving soldiers and nurses carry on, to fight the Japanese on other fronts, or to witness the collapse of the Japanese Empire from the inside. Having borne the brunt of defeat, their letters and diaries also record the turning point of the war and the march to victory. Rich in detail drawn from first person accounts, Should We Fall To Ruin illuminates this untold period in military history. It is a compelling tale of bravery and resilience in the face of a seemingly unstoppable enemy.Trade Reviewan important addition to the Australian wartime canon * The Saturday Paper *

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Book SynopsisWinner, Melva J. Dwyer AwardHonourable Mention, Canadian Museums Association Award for Outstanding Achievement (Research)Qummut Qukiria! celebrates art and culture within and beyond traditional Inuit and Sámi homelands in the Circumpolar Arctic — from the continuance of longstanding practices such as storytelling and skin sewing to the development of innovative new art forms such as throatboxing (a hybrid of traditional Inuit throat singing and beatboxing). In this illuminating book, curators, scholars, artists, and activists from Inuit Nunangat, Kalaallit Nunaat, Sápmi, Canada, and Scandinavia address topics as diverse as Sámi rematriation and the revival of the ládjogahpir (a Sámi woman’s headgear), the experience of bringing Inuit stone carving to a workshop for inner-city youth, and the decolonizing potential of Traditional Knowledge and its role in contemporary design and beyond.Qummut Qukiria! showcases the thriving art and culture of the Indigenous Circumpolar peoples in the present and demonstrates its importance for the revitalization of language, social wellbeing, and cultural identity.Trade Review“The diversity of the texts in Qummut Qukiria! ... This book may be specialized, but any reader can find much here to enjoy. This is a book that seems destined to be useful and relevant for a long time.” -- Ray Cronin * Billie *

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Book SynopsisRussia and Britain were never natural bedfellows. But the marriage, in 1894, of Queen Victoria's favourite granddaughter, Alicky, to the Tsarevich Nicholas marked the beginning of an uneasy Anglo-Russian entente that would last until the Russian Revolution of 1917. The Imperial Tea Party draws back the curtain on the three extraordinary meetings that took place between the British and Russian royal families during those years. These pivotal encounters, although well-intentioned and generally hailed as successes, were beset by misunderstandings and misfortunes. In this wonderfully droll account, Frances Welch presents a vivid snapshot of two dynasties at a time of social unrest. The two families could not know, as they waved each other fond goodbyes from their yachts at Cowes in 1909, that they would never meet again.Trade Review"With her quick wit and light touch, Welch conducts a relentless inquiry into conscience, family loyalty and the nature of the past... an unsettling portrait of moustaches, murder, and lèse-majesté.’ Frances Wilson, The Spectator "In this funny, touching and ultimately tragic book, Welch brilliantly exposes how the British family courted and then abandoned their royal cousins in the run-up to World War I." Kathryn Hughes, Mail on Sunday "A fascinating book... Welch is an excellent writer." The Daily Telegraph "Delightfully witty and entertaining." The Times Literary Supplement "Excellent history... Intrigue aplenty." The Times "Deeply affecting." Daily Mail

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Book SynopsisTHE ALL-NEW DIARIES; "Alastair Campbell's diaries have the quality of Pepys ...people will be looking for insights and finding them in 100 years' time." Lord Alex CarlileLaunched to a blaze of critical acclaim, Alastair Campbell's explosive diaries became an instant classic. Now, this eagerly anticipated new volume picks up where its predecessor left off, with Campbell standing down as Tony Blair's director of communications in 2003. Leaving Downing Street, however, isn't as easy as it seems, with Campbell persistently drawn back to the epicentre of power - often to the frustration of his partner, Fiona.As Lord Hutton prepares to publish his report, thus sparking a huge crisis for the BBC, any joy in No. 10 is dwarfed by continuing difficulties in Iraq. Meanwhile, the Blair/Brown relationship is fracturing almost beyond repair, and Campbell is tasked with devising a plan that will enable the two men to fight a united election campaign. At home, Campbell writes frankly of his continuing battles with mental health issues as he attempts to adapt to a new life beyond the confines of Westminster.Lifting the lid on the power battles at the heart of the Labour Party that sowed the seeds of today's turmoil, Outside, Inside is a vivid and compelling insight into modern political history, and a candid reflection on the personal impact of life in the corridors of power.Trade Review"Endlessly fascinating... Alastair Campbell's diaries are a unique historical document, providing testimony from the day things happened, unedited by memory and hindsight." - John Rentoul, The Independent; "Hugely gripping" - Sunday Times; "This is the most fascinating of all the volumes. He is at the centre of everything but with a different perspective" - Steve Richards; "Unputdownable. [A] truly remarkable, fascinating and historic account. Could this be a record of Labour's last ever election win?" - Richard Madeley

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