History Books

Book SynopsisGermanicus (a.k.a. Germanicus Iulius Caesar) was regarded by many Romans as a hero in the mould of Alexander the Great. His untimely death, in suspicious circumstances, ended the possibility of a return to a more open republic and ambitions for the outright conquest of Germania Magna (Germany). This, the first modern biography of Germanicus, is in parts a growing-up story, a history of war, a tale of political intrigue and a murder mystery. It is a natural sequel to the author's first book, Eager for Glory, which discussed the life of Germanicus' natural father, Nero Claudius Drusus, for the first time. Born in 15 BC, Germanicus grew up to be a skilled diplomat and bold soldier. Married to the granddaughter of Augustus (by whom he fathered the future Emperor Caligula) and responsible for avenging Rome's humiliating defeat at the Teutoburg Forest through victory at Idistaviso (AD16) and the recovery of one of the lost standards, his reputation and popularity were immense. The Emperor Ti

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Book SynopsisA vivid first-hand account of a SOE agent's missions in Nazi occupied France.

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Book SynopsisNarrates the military history of 'the rise of the Sui and Tang dynasties who reunified China.

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Book SynopsisThe SS-Polizei Division became one of the most effective and ruthless fighting formations of WW2.

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Book SynopsisIn The Wives of George IV: The Secret Bride & the Scorned Princess, Maria and Caroline navigate the choppy waters of marriage to a capricious, womanising king-in-waiting.

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Book SynopsisThe only comprehensive listing of French sailing warships in EnglishTrade ReviewFrench Warships in the Age of Sail 1626-1786: Design, Construction, Careers and Fates by naval historian Rif Winfield with the assistance of Stephen S. Roberts is the first comprehensive listing of these ships in English, and follows the pattern set by its companion volume, British Warships in the Age of Sail, 1793-1817: Design, Construction, Careers and Fates in providing an impressive depth of information. Profusely illustrated with b/w illustrations and ship construction images, French Warships in the Age of Sail 1626-1786 is impressively informative and comprehensive, making it an ideal and unreservedly recommended for personal, community, college, and university library Naval History collections and supplemental studies reading lists." --Midwest Book Review "This is very useful to those of us who need a handy and quick reference to a variety of vessels. The citations plentiful…. [I]f you need a … top notch reference book to explore the careers of warships in the age of sail, there's really no better source." --British Tars, 1740-1790

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Book SynopsisA previously unpublished first-hand account describing the Scots Greys at Waterloo.

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Book SynopsisAmbitious new approach to the subject of ancient warfare.

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Book SynopsisLooks at te local areas of Wimbledon, Merton & Morden in the Second World War.

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Book SynopsisEverything you never knew about the powerful Tudor dynasty.

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Book SynopsisAn insight into the aircraft that is widely regarded as the Luftwaffe's finest fighter.

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Book SynopsisThe timeless stories of three contemporary Latin Americans whose lives represent three driving forces that have shaped the character of the region: exploitation, violence, and religion.Leonor Gonzales, a miner''s widow, lives in a tiny community perched in the Andean cordillera of Peru, the highest human habitation on earth.Carlos Buergos is a Cuban who fought in the civil war in Angola and was among hundreds of criminals Cuba expelled to the USA.Xavier Albó is a Jesuit priest from Barcelona who emigrated to Bolivia, where he works among the indigenous people.In Silver, Sword and Stone Marie Arana seamlessly weaves these stories with the history of the past millennium to explain three enduring themes that have defined Latin America since pre-Columbian times: the foreign greed for its mineral riches, an ingrained history of violence, and the abiding power of religion. What emerges is a vibrant portrait of a people whose lives are increasingly iTrade ReviewArana's strength is the power and passion of her storytelling, and her explanation of what has shaped Latin America over the past half-millennium has the ring of truth . . . [a] marvelous book * WASHINGTON POST *Like a Condor soaring above the Andes, Marie Arana gives a sweeping overview of Latin American history. History is usually written by the winners, but this book throbs with passion for the victims and underdogs. It also celebrates the cultural triumphs, exuberance, and generosity that make Latin America so lovable -- John Hemming, author of THE CONQUEST OF THE INCASTo trace the soul of a continent is an extraordinary feat, and Marie Arana does it with scholarly precision, moral thoroughness, and elegance of style. For anyone interested in understanding what Latin America is and where it comes from, SILVER, SWORD AND STONE has to be the very first step -- Juan Gabriel Vásquez, author of THE SOUND OF THINGS FALLINGAn elegant and incisive writer and observer, Marie Arana has given us a thoughtful and revealing portrait of the fabled - and too-little-understood - world of Latin America. Combining history with contemporary reportage, SILVER, SWORD AND STONE is compelling reading -- Jon Meacham, author of THE SOUL OF AMERICAThrough the power and beauty of her writing, Arana brings extraordinary clarity to one of the most complex regions of the world. I have never before read a book of such astonishing breadth and intricate depth, capturing both the magnificent sweep of history and the gripping immediacy of journalism. The stories she tells will break your heart and blow your mind, but they will also give you a much clearer understanding of Latin America and a deep sense of wonder at the strength and resilience of its people -- Candice Millard, author of HERO OF THE EMPIREHer energy and verve will no doubt attract many readers. -- Carrie Gibson * GUARDIAN *Arana's timely and excellent volume is not a history. It's not one of those cultural safaris one often sees substituted for thoughtful writing about global regions. Her book is a combination of stories, journalism, history and most important, insight... Arana gives us an epic story of stories - of regions conjoined by desire for treasure, power and control, and of the emotional mortar which binds people together through endurance. * NPR *

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Book Synopsis** Selected as a Book of the Year in The Times, Sunday Times and Observer **''Compulsively readable - the pages seem to turn themselves'' John Carey, Sunday Times ''Brings one of the very greatest [artists] vividly to life'' Literary ReviewThomas Gainsborough lived as if electricity shot through his sinews and crackled at his finger ends. He was a gentle and empathetic family man, but had a shockingly loose, libidinous manner and a volatility that could lead him to slash his paintings. James Hamilton reveals the artist in his many contexts: the talented Suffolk lad, transported to the heights of fashion; the rake-on-the-make in London, learning his craft in the shadow of Hogarth; the society-portrait painter in Bath and London who earned huge sums by charming the right people into his studio. With fresh insights into original sources, Gainsborough: A Portrait transforms our understandinTrade ReviewWith great imaginative verve [Hamilton recreates] the social atmosphere of the places where the artist and his family settled ... [Hamilton] is constantly fascinating about the paintings ... His book is gorgeously illustrated and compulsively readable - the pages seem to turn themselves. Almost as good as owning a Gainsborough -- John Carey * Sunday Times *A shrewd and entertaining biography ... Hamilton's approach is influenced by his perception that Gainsborough owed much to Hogarth ... This valuable insight informs both Hamilton's exploration of Gainsborough's art and his thorough and imaginative interpretation of the life ... Hamilton's book brings one of the very greatest [artists] vividly to life -- Robin Simon * Literary Review *Colourful and thoughtful ... What Hamilton's vivid book makes clear is just how lucky some of his sitters were; what they got for their guineas was not simply a likeness of imperishable glamour, but the company of a man who was every bit as lively and engaging as his paintings -- Michael Prodger * The Times Book of the Week *Although [Hamilton's] primary focus is the life rather than the work ... the vivid descriptions of Gainsborough's studio practice breathe an authentic whiff of turps and linseed oil into the story ... Highly readable and brilliantly reconstructed -- Michael Bird * Daily Telegraph *Hamilton is a first-rate art historian ... He gives us deft explanations of mysterious artistic effects - Gainsborough's use of ground glass in the medium, and how he might have learnt about it, and what it does to the surface. But the question of money is Hamilton's core expertise: how much Gainsborough earned and how much of it went on necessary display, such as grand houses in Bath and Pall Mall. And fascinating it is, too ... Gainsborough is one of the most lovable of great artists, and his personality shines through. This is an enjoyable biography by a writer who understands him -- Philip Hensher * The Spectator *[A] richly humane biography of the artist ... [An] astute yet generous book -- Kathryn Hughes * Guardian *[A] wonderful new biography ... Hamilton is fascinating on Gainsborough's experimental and innovative technique, how he moved from what he calls the 'dabbing' of the artist's early paintings, with their more doll-like figures and outlines, to the characteristic loose sweeps, the 'brushing' style of his later work -- Lucy Lethbridge * Financial Times *James Hamilton's wholly absorbing biography is very different from the usual kind of art historical study that often surrounds such a major figure as Thomas Gainsborough (1727-88). Hamilton is positively in love with his subject, and writes with verve and enthusiasm, yet grounds it on vast research with primary and secondary sources, all impeccably noted -- Marina Vaizey * The Arts Desk *Hamilton's Gainsborough is a 'Jack-the-Lad', a 'swigging, gigging, kissing, drinking, fighting' good-time city boy in London and Bath ... [Hamilton] is strong both on the Gainsborough who is stirred by harvest gleaners and woodland cottages, and the Gainsborough who frets about his framing fees and boasts about the musical instruments he has bought ... [The book] gallops along at highwayman's pace -- Laura Freeman * Apollo Magazine *Spendthrift, talking nineteen to the dozen, laddish, musical and often resentful of the sitters that he had to paint in order to earn a living ("confounded ugly creatures"), [Gainsborough] is brought to lively and likeable life in Gainsborough: A Portrait by James Hamilton. The painter was, Hamilton says, more serious about his art than he let on, but it is those trace elements of his personality that give his pictures their sparkle -- Michael Prodger * Sunday Times Art Books of the Year 2017 *This affectionate and intricately researched biography is a memorable account of Gainsborough as 'one of the most joyous eccentrics' of his time -- Jane Shilling * Daily Mail Must Reads *Were Mr and Mrs Andrews complete pricks? In his delightfully racy portrait of one of our most renowned British portraitists, the art historian James Hamilton suggests that Thomas Gainsborough's wedding picture of a pair of snooty Suffolk landowners is adorned with more pictures of penises than the wall of a public loo. This is just one of many new lights cast on Gainsborough, a "swigging, gigging, kissing, drinking, fighting" Jack-the-lad who, with his gift of the gab and his canny eye on the main chance, cavorts through Georgian England -- Rachel Campbell-Johnston * The Times Art Books of the Year 2017 *This account of the Georgian portrait painter's life is set against a backdrop of dirt and highwaymen and skeletons on gibbets on Hounslow Heath. An 18th-century Scottish sex therapist even makes an appearance. But for all the fun the author has with the painter's penchant for drink and sex, the writing really takes off when Hamilton engages with Gainsborough's paintings themselves in all their swimmy, silken sheen -- Teddy Jamieson * Sunday Herald Books of the Year *Glitters from beginning to end -- Jonathan Wright * Catholic Herald Books of the Year *A fine and empathetic portrait [of] a man who was as lively as his brushwork -- Michael Prodger * RA Magazine *[Gainsborough's] tetchiness animates this enjoyable biography, which also shows how his techniques were ahead of their time * Daily Telegraph *

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Book Synopsis''A triumph'' INDEPENDENT''A thought-provoking and indispensable book'' DAILY MAIL''An instant classic ... I have been reading it with unalloyed admiration and delight'' EVENING STANDARDRoy Strong has written an exemplary introduction to the history of Britain, as first designated by the Romans. It is a brilliant and balanced account of successive ages bound together by a compelling narrative which answers the questions: ''Where do we come from?'' and ''Where are we going?''Beginning with the earliest recorded Celtic times, and ending with the present day of Brexit Britain, it is a remarkable achievement. With his passion, enthusiasm and wide-ranging knowledge, he is the ideal narrator. His book should be read by anyone, anywhere, who cares about Britain''s national past, national identity and national prospects.Trade ReviewCombining an unsurpassed eye for detail with a visceral understanding of what it means to be British, Strong unfolds a saga of passionate intensity ... No one should be permitted to leave school until they have first read Sir Roy's rich, thought-provoking and indispensable book -- Roger Lewis * DAILY MAIL *Our forebears had the Bible and The Pilgrim's Progress. We have Stephen Hawking and Delia Smith. This book, for British people, has that kind of status. It is an instant classic ... I have been reading it with unalloyed admiration and delight -- A. N. Wilson * EVENING STANDARD *Elegantly written, beautifully illustrated and scrupulously fair ... Classic popular history -- Andrew Roberts * MAIL ON SUNDAY *His narrative steams along, his judgements are sharp and generally fair ... Essential reading -- Linda Colley * THE TIMES *A triumph ... The Story of Britain succeeds better than any other contemporary survey in conveying a sense of British identity -- Amanda Foreman * INDEPENDENT *A must for anyone interested in history -- Beryl Bainbridge * SUNDAY EXPRESS Books of the Year *A delight to read ... An admirably conceived and richly enjoyable book -- Richard Davenport-Hines * TIMES LITERARY SUPPLEMENT *A brave, lucid, lively, majestically illustrated volume -- Blair Worden * SPECTATOR *Splendid ... a most enjoyable read -- Michael Kerrigan * SCOTSMAN *A magnificently produced book ... that will enlighten and inform his readers about the past of the land they live in, and how we arrived at where we are today -- Simon Heffer * DAILY MAIL *A writer of clear, unflashy, deeply well-informed prose ... This history of Britain, an updated version of his 1996 book, is a perfect example of it. No meretricious opinions; no show-off expressions. Just a considered explanation of British history, from the Celts to the present day. Every history-starvedschoolchild in the country should be given a copy ... an utterly enthralling picture of a country that remains as exceptional as it was when Virgil first mentioned Britain in literature in his First Eclogue: "penitus toto divisos orbe Britannos" - "the Britons, utterly separated from the whole world"' -- Harry Mount * CATHOLIC HERALD *A richly entertaining account of our island story -- Jane Shilling * DAILY MAIL *This is history at its best: clear, comprehensive, and told with huge aplomb and elegance of style -- Antonia Fraser

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Book SynopsisThe complete story of how the German Enigma codes were broken. Perfect for fans of THE IMITATION GAME, the new film on Alan Turing''s Enigma code, starring Benedict Cumberbatch.Breaking the German Enigma codes was not only about brilliant mathematicians and professors at Bletchley Park. There is another aspect of the story which it is only now possible to tell. It takes in the exploits of spies, naval officers and ordinary British seamen who risked, and in some cases lost, their lives snatching the vital Enigma codebooks from under the noses of Nazi officials and from sinking German ships and submarines. This book tells the whole Enigma story: its original invention and use by German forces and how it was the Poles who first cracked - and passed on to the British - the key to the German airforce Enigma. The more complicated German Navy Enigma appeared to them to be unbreakable.Trade ReviewCracking stuff -- Robert Harris * THE TIMES *Unquestionably deepens and enriches our understanding of the Bletchley story ... Sebag-Montefiore demonstrates superbly that the seizure of the Enigma codebooks was among the crucial episodes in Britain's prosecution of the war * OBSERVER *

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Book SynopsisTHE PORTLAND SPY RING was one of the most infamous espionage cases from the Cold War. People the world over were shocked when its exposure revealed the shadowy world of deep cover KGB ''illegals'' - spies operating under false identities stolen from the dead.The CIA''s revelation to MI5 in 1960 that a KGB agent was stealing crucial secrets from the world-leading submarine research base at Portland in Dorset looked initially like a dangerous but contained lapse of security by a British man and his mistress. But the couple were tailed by MI5 ''watchers'' to a covert meeting with a Canadian businessman, Gordon Lonsdale. The unsuspecting Lonsdale in turn led MI5''s spycatchers to an innocent-looking couple in suburban Ruislip called the Krogers.But within weeks the CIA rang the alarm - their critical source of intelligence was to defect within hours - and MI5 was forced to act immediately. The Krogers were exposed as two of the most important Russian ''illegals'' ever, wTrade ReviewThe definitive account of the famous Portland Spies - fascinating, detailed and completely gripping -- Richard J Aldrich, author GCHQI read DEAD DOUBLES with admiration...fascinating and meticulous...Using all available American, British and Russian sources, Trevor Barnes has produced a remarkable book -- Harvey Klehr, co-author SPIES: THE RISE AND FALL OF THE KGB IN AMERICAA highly readable account of a classic Cold War MI5 investigation. Assiduously researched and a real page-turner -- Nigel West, author of MI5 and THE ILLEGALSExcellent and riveting, with a cast of characters as engaging as in any novel. Former KGB officer Vladimir Putin's modern-day Russia employs the same espionage methods now against the West. The themes of Dead Doubles - deception, betrayal, blackmail, chemical and biological weapons, atomic secrets, international rivalry - are as topical today as in the 1960s -- John Sipher, Former Head CIA Russian Operations and CIA Station Chief in Asia and EuropeA gripping and brilliantly researched history of the rise and fall of the Portland Spy Ring, which reveals much about the operations and personnel of Russian, British and American intelligence at the height of the Cold War -- Christopher Andrew, author of DEFENCE OF THE REALM and THE SECRET WORLDAn enthralling account of one of the last great spy mysteries of the 20th Century - I loved it -- John Preston, author of A VERY ENGLISH SCANDALDead Doubles will keep readers on the edge of their seats, turning its pages like a delicious spy novel. Its pace and wide scope of research take us into a hidden corner of Cold War England in the early 1960s -- Katherine Sibley, author of FIRST LADY FLORENCE HARDING and RED SPIES IN AMERICAReads like a le Carré thriller - only true. Rich in detail. A must read -- Ray Batvinis, former FBI Supervisory Special Agent of Counterintelligence and author of Hoover's Secret War Against Axis SpiesA rare combination of thrilling story and carefully documented history, the writing has a remarkable "you are there" quality that transports the reader back to the height of the Cold War -- Nicholas Reynolds, former CIA Officer and author of NYT bestseller WRITER, SAILOR, SOLDIER, SPYAn exemplary work of historical scholarship that is also highly entertaining, Dead Doubles is the definitive history of the Portland spy ring -- John Earl Haynes, co-author of EARLY COLD WAR SPIESGordon Lonsdale was a classic KGB illegal resident who never gave up his true name, background, or his agents' identity after his arrest and imprisonment, before he was exchanged for Greville Wynne. Even his memoirs, ghosted by Kim Philby, didn't answer these questions. But Trevor Barnes sets the record straight in his new book based on archival MI5 records and Russian sources. It is well written, thoroughly documented, and a most valuable contribution to the intelligence literature -- Hayden B Peake, Colonel, Military Intelligence, USA, Ret.Even better than any spy novel -- Matt Chorley * TIMES RADIO *Fact outdoes fiction in this fascinating, revealing and gripping account of how MI5 tracked down the infamous Portland Spy ring, from the first clue to their arrest in 1961 * CHOICE *Winston Churchill once wrote of the world of espionage that 'the actual facts of many cases were in every respect equal to the most fantastic inventions of romance and melodrama'. His words could certainly be applied to the Portland Spy Ring, memorably recounted here by Trevor Barnes. After the CIA told MI5 in 1960 someone was stealing secretsfrom the submarine research base at Portland, Dorset, the information led to extraordinary revelations. Unlikely spies were living in suburban Ruislip and, under false identities stolen from the dead, a circle of deep-cover KGB agents was operating in Britain -- Nick Rennison * DAILY MAIL *

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Book SynopsisWho built Stonehenge, and why? Was the Voynich Manuscript - written in a script not even World War Two codebreakers could crack - just an elaborate hoax? When were the first crop circles reported, and why do they mostly appear in the UK? What can recent underwater archeological discoveries tell us about the fabled Lost City of Atlantis?The Orion Book of Unsolved Mysteries sifts through the evidence and conspiracies to provide an authoritative guide to the most inscrutable myths and phenomena of human history.

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Book SynopsisThe wry and amusing second volume of the journals of royal biographer and Sunday Telegraph journalist Kenneth Rose, one of the most astute observers of the Establishment in 20th-century BritainTrade ReviewIntimate with the highest levels of society, politics, the arts and the Royal Family, Kenneth Rose has left us one of the most vivid, full and revealing records of the postwar era * Andrew Roberts *[Kenneth Rose] has written a historian's journal ... Nevertheless, Rose does cast a critical and acute eye over Vanity Fair ... this is how Kenneth wished to be remembered by the world: as a suave, amusing columnist and gifted historian who walked with the great -- James Stourton * LITERARY REVIEW *Kenneth Rose provides a fascinating window on the establishment in the second volume of his gossipy, scandalous and insightful diaries, * CHOICE magazine *Addictive stuff. Each entry is only a few lines long; it's like reading an extremely good newspaper diary for page after page. If you're a newspaper addict like me - and a gossip addict, too, again like me - you'll love it. You feel as if you're tucking into an enormous box of chocolates, happily dropping down into infinite layers of new chocs below, without ever feeling sick. * CATHOLIC HERALD *

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Book SynopsisIn December 1936, Britain faced a constitutional crisis that was the gravest threat to the institution of the monarchy since the execution of Charles I. The ruling monarch, Edward VIII, wished to marry the American divorcée Wallis Simpson and crown her as his Queen. His actions scandalised the Establishment, who were desperate to avoid an international embarrassment at a time when war seemed imminent.An influential coalition formed against him, including the Prime Minister Stanley Baldwin, his private secretary Alec Hardinge, the Archbishop of Canterbury and the editor of The Times. Edward seemed fated to give up Wallis and remain a reluctant ruler, or to abdicate his throne. Yet he had his own supporters, too, including Winston Churchill, the Machiavellian newspaper proprietor Lord Beaverbrook and his brilliant adviser Walter Monckton. They offered him the chance to remain on the throne and keep Wallis. But was the price they asked too high?Using previously uTrade ReviewExcellent, well written, deeply researched, THE CROWN IN CRISIS is a dynamic revisionist history of the Abdication that brings to life a national and personal drama with a flamboyant cast of princes, charlatans, socialites, courtiers, press barons, politicians and adventurers that is both heartbreaking and glamorous, scholarly and very entertaining. * Simon Sebag Montefiore author of The Romanovs *Alexander Larman's well-researched and well-written THE CROWN IN CRISIS is both scholarly and highly readable. He has mastered the sources superbly, and his analysis of the extraordinary story is full of thought-provoking insights. * Andrew Roberts, author of Churchill: Walking with Destiny *Larman combines the personal with the political, high drama with low morals, to create a compulsively readable and comprehensive account. Anyone who wants to deepen their understanding of one of the key events of the 20th century, whose reverberations are still with us today, must read this engagingly fun and detailed book. * Anne Sebba *A completely fascinating and authoritative account of the Abdication Crisis, written with tremendous sophistication and insight. * William Boyd *Larman's retelling zips along, infusing a well-known narrative with impressive suspense. His scholarly rummaging hasturned up fresh insights, too, notably into the role played by MI5. An enduringly relevant chapter of British history, brought to life with panache * THE OBSERVER *Larman is an amiable and talented young writer ... rendered with brio and dispatch ... always interesting -- David Aaronovitch * THE TIMES 'Book of the Week' *The person we must feel most pity for, at the end of this great and well-told story, is Wallis Simpson .. she comesacross as much more sensible and conscientious than Edward * THE OLDIE *A fresh look at a time of catastrophe for the royals, with new ideas about a plot to assassinate Edward VIII ... Larman shows a delicate touch too in not banging home the obvious contemporary resonances. Instead he lets us find our own fun * THE GUARDIAN *forensically researched ... Larman has done a fine job of explaining the religious, social and political issues involved * BUSINESS POST IRELAND *A gripping new book on the abdication crisis reveals how the ambitious former Champagne salesman wooed Wallis to ingratiate himself with King Edward VIII... fuelling rumours of an affair * DAILY EXPRESS *In this absorbing new book, Alexander Larman takes us through the whole, tangled story with great clarity. * READER'S DIGEST 'Recommended Read' *His friends loathed her. He fell out with his beloved brother over her. His sister-in-law couldn't stand her diva demands. And when Edward VIII relinquished his throne to emigrate with glamorous American divorcee Wallis Simpson, the very future of the British monarchy hung in the balance ... Alexander Larman brings together unpublished archive material and witness testimonies to reveal exactly what went on at the Palace - almost a century before 'Megxit' * DAILY TELEGRAPH *Documenting the personal and national reverberations of the love affair, it's an engaging, detailed, and suspenseful read; one that is equal parts empathetic and entertaining. You will be gripped. * THE INDEPENDENT *A sharply-drawn character study...an enthralling look at the abdication of Edward VIII...Larman charts the events of 1936 with a dynamic sense of drama...surely offers new insights into the episode * BBC HISTORY REVEALED MAGAZINE *Alexander Larman has done a thoroughly researched job in retelling this oft-told tale and has made some fresh discoveries that shed new light on the affair -- Nigel Jones * BBC HISTORY MAGAZINE *Many of the central characters so vividly brought to life in Alexander Larman's The Crown in Crisis appear as if drawn from a period matinee at the Aldwych...Larman's account could scarcely have been better timed given the lamentations of Harry and Meghan...the achievement of The Crown in Crisis is to be both judiciously weighed and ceaselessly entertaining * THE CRITIC *A suspense thriller about the abdication, complete with end-of-chapter cliff-hangers that leaveyou on the edge of your chaise longue...fresh and engaging...a thrilling, eloquent and witty tale -- Gustav Temple * THE CHAP *[A] gripping day-by-day account ... compelling... You get the sense, from reading this countdown to the Abdication, that Edward was secretly enjoying every minute of the chaos and upset he was causing. By refusing to budge from his determination to marry Wallis Simpson, he was in a position of supreme power * Ysenda Maxtone Graham *A juicy account of the events leading up to and following British monarch King Edward VIII's abdication in December 1936 ... Even dedicated royal watchers will learn something new from this comprehensive account of one of the biggest scandals in the history of the British monarchy * PUBLISHER'S WEEKLY (USA) *An entertaining, multi-layered study of the abdication crisis of 1936 and the many traitorous and sycophantic characters surrounding King Edward VIII...absorbing...Larman captures the era's delicious wit, spite, and malice * KIRKUS REVIEWS (USA) *

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Book SynopsisIn Lives Between the Lines, Michael Vatikiotis traces the journey of his Greek and Italian forebears from Tuscany, Crete, Hydra and Rhodes, as they made their way to Egypt and the coast of Palestine in search of opportunity. In the process, he reveals a period where the Middle East was a place of ethnic and cultural harmony - where Arabs and Jews rubbed shoulders in bazaars and teashops, intermarried and shared family history.While lines were eventually drawn and people, including Vatikiotis''s family, found themselves caught between clashing faiths, contested identities and violent conflict, this intimate and sweeping memoir is a paean to tolerance, offering a nuanced understanding of the lost Levant.Trade ReviewLives Between the Lines is the moving and beautifully written story of a journey to explore [Vatikiotis's] identity by visiting the places - primarily Egypt and Israel - in which several generations of his Levantine ancestors made their homes. As well as being a highly personal family-memoir-cum-travelogue, it is a paean to tolerance between diverse faiths and different communities at a time when much of the Middle East is being consumed by bigotry, fanaticism and sectarian violence -- Justin Marozzi * FINANCIAL TIMES *Vatikiotis's pen portraits left me wanting more of this amazing cast of characters. For the family are bit-part players in what is in fact a potted history of the late Levant, living proofs in his view of the Ottoman Empire's enlightened approach to minority cultures . . . Vatikiotis's final two chapters describe and acknowledge the ambiguities consequent on Britain's eventual imperial retreat and the region's expulsions of foreigners - British, Jewish, Greek, Italian alike. They are easily the finest and worth the cover price alone . . . fascinating -- Richard Spencer * THE TIMES *Vatikiotis is quietly opinionated, a quality which makes him an admirable guide for this evocation of an era - a journey of personal discovery, where, despite complexities, everything stands neatly in historical and topographical context -- Andrew Lycett * SPECTATOR *[A] human and fascinating insider view of Levantine families in the mid-twentieth century * TIMES LITERARY SUPPLEMENT *A brilliant evocation of an era when the Middle East was a haven of peace and prosperity for people fleeing Europe. Lives Between the Lines interweaves a fascinating family history with a portrait of a lost world - which has many echoes and lessons for today -- Gideon Rachman

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Book SynopsisSarajevo, 28 June 1914: The story of the assassination that changed the world.''Outstanding'' SPECTATOR''A fine piece of political and literary detective work, which held this reader enthralled'' TRIBUNEYoung Gavrilo Princip arrived at the Vlajnic pastry shop in Sarajevo in Bosnia-Herzegovina on the morning of 28 June 1914. He was greeted by his fellow conspirators in the plot to kill Archduke Franz Ferdinand. The Archduke, next in line to succeed as Emperor of Austria, was beginning a state visit to Sarajevo later that morning. Ferdinand was not a very popular character - widely thought of as bad-tempered and arrogant and perhaps even deranged. To the young students he embodied everything they loathed about imperial oppression. They planned to kill him at about 11 o''clock as he paraded down Appel Quay to the town hall in his open top car.What happened in those few hours - leading as it did to the First and Second World Wars - iTrade ReviewDavid James Smith's achievement is to contextualise the conspiracy ... an informed and nuanced account * SUNDAY TIMES *This outstanding new account of events and characters ... is the most comprehensive study of the assassination yet published in English * SPECTATOR *He is to be congratulated on a fine piece of political and literary detective work, which held this reader enthralled * TRIBUNE *

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Book SynopsisMargot Asquith was perhaps the most daring and unconventional Prime Minister''s wife in British history. Known for her wit, style and habit of speaking her mind, she transformed 10 Downing Street into a glittering social and intellectual salon. Yet her last four years at Number 10 were a period of intense emotional and political turmoil in her private and public life. In 1912 rumblings of discontent and cries for social reform were encroaching on all sides - from suffragettes, striking workers and Irish nationalists. Against this background of a government beset with troubles, the Prime Minister fell desperately in love with his daughter''s best friend, Venetia Stanley; to complicate matters, so did his Private Secretary. Margot''s relationship with her husband was already bedevilled by her stepdaughter''s jealous adoration of her father. The outbreak of the First World War only heightened these swirling tensions within Downing Street. Drawing on unpublished material from personal papeTrade ReviewThis is a plot that Downton Abbey would die for! ... Anne de Courcy keeps this steaming, erotic merry-go-round whirling with admirable skill. * DAILY MAIL *Margot Asquith's sharp humour, modern style, intelligence and wealth fascinated men... Anne de Courcy has a firm grasp of politics, an acute eye for social detail and a keen perception of Margot's pains and pleasures. Her narrative is concise and compelling. -- Iain Finlayson * THE TIMES *De Courcy, author of the celebrated The Fishing Fleet: Husband Hunting in the Raj, indulges us with generous quotes from contemporary correspondence and detailed observation, describing life at a time of turbulent change through engaging anecdotes and descriptions -- Elizabeth Freemantle * SUNDAY EXPRESS *A proper sex in high places scandal... Though Margot Asquith, nee Tennant, is its main character, her husband's scandalous obsession with young Venetia Stanley is inevitably centre stage -- Andy McSmith * THE INDEPENDENT 'Books of the Year' *A superb evocation of an extraordinary time * CHOICE Book of the Month *Fascinating ... Anne de Courcy is sympathetic to her subject. She's a journalist with a keen eye for detail and no-nonsense directness -- Melanie McDonagh * THE TABLET *Covers everything from Asquith's infidelity to politics and parties * CATHOLIC HERALD *It conveys Margot's milieu with a nice touch and takes time away from this enclosed self-regarding world to give us vivid sharp vignettes of the harder times being experienced by other classes. De Courcy records very well Margot's tortured jealousy, not only of her husband's dalliance with Venetia Stanley but of his daughter Violet's almost incestuous passion for her father -- Ferdinand Mount * LONDON REVIEW OF BOOKS *A love triangle that nearly brought down the British government is at the heart of Margot at War by Anne de Courcy. Margot Asquith, whose husband was Prime Minister from 1908 to 1916, is the star of this riveting biography about war, love, marriage and secret goings-on at 10 Downing Street * GOOD HOUSEKEEPING *Margot scandalised society. She refused chaperonage and said what she thought. Plain, with a broken nose from hunting, she dressed beautifully, and was immensely rich when she married Herbert Henry Asquith, subsidising his love of luxury... The research is impressive and the eventful historical context covered with a light touch. Enlightening, especially on Asquith's intractable opposition to the suffragettes. -- Jackie Wilkin * WI LIFE *There are many instances in this engaging book, where, as well us giving us an informed account of events, the writer includes observations that are both logical and empathetic. This is a useful, entertaining and impressive publication * HISTORICAL NOVEL SOCIETY *Margot was a rare bird indeed: stylish, idiosyncratic and never less than controvserial ... Superbly blending the private and public, domestic dramas with international crises, Anne de Courcy proves that Mrs Asquith, flamboyant and opinionated, but also isolated and vulnerable, was peculiarly well suited to a period when her celebrity, if not her influence, had never been greater -- Martin Williams * COUNTRY LIFE *A riveting, brilliantly researched picture of Downing Street during the crucial years in which the world changed irrevocably * GOOD BOOK GUIDE *The story of this fascinating character and London socialite is told with both a storyteller's flourish and a historian's clear head for the facts by Anne de Courcy in Margot at War. The torrid personal life of the flamboyant prime minister's wife is pieced apart by de Courcy, revealing a saga of glamour, affairs and relationship dysfunction, all unravelling alongside the first attacks of the Suffragette movement, the swelling unrest over Irish Home Rule and of course the lead up to the outbreak of the Great War. File under the "couldn't make it up" category -- Hilary A White * IRISH SUNDAY INDEPENDENT *

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Book SynopsisAn extraordinary account - from firsthand sources - of upper class women and the active part they took in the WarPre-war debutantes were members of the most protected, not to say isolated, stratum of 20th-century society: the young (17-20) unmarried daughters of the British upper classes. For most of them, the war changed all that for ever. It meant independence and the shock of the new, and daily exposure to customs and attitudes that must have seemed completely alien to them. For many, the almost military regime of an upper class childhood meant they were well suited for the no-nonsense approach needed in wartime. This book records the extraordinary diversity of challenges, shocks and responsibilities they faced - as chauffeurs, couriers, ambulance-drivers, nurses, pilots, spies, decoders, factory workers, farmers, land girls, as well as in the Women''s Services. How much did class barriers really come down? Did they stick with their own sort? And what aboutTrade ReviewA wonderful slice of social history, and Anne de Courcy is a skilled interviewer with a sure eye for the telling quotation or the stand-out detail * MAIL ON SUNDAY *Produces some memorable cameos. Among the most memorable are those of a young girl delivering local post from her grandmother's Scottish estate with a 4.10 rifle slung over her shoulder, ready to fire at German planes, oddest of all, perhaps, is an account from one of Lord Rothermere's daughters, of tea being served on the terrace by a butler in white gloves while a dogfight raged overhead -- Miranda SeymourDespite their odd upbringing and closeted lives, the young gels of upper-class England rose to the challenge of the Second World War with grit and gumption * DAILY TELEGRAPH *This book records the extraordinary diversity of challenges, shocks and responsibilities they faced - as chauffeurs, couriers, ambulance-drivers, nurses, pilots, spies, decoders, factory workers, farmers, land girls, as well as in the Women's Services. * EVENING STANDARD *She captures within one book a vivid impression of those years, a short history of the women's services, a closely focused view of an exotic corner of social history, and a lot of human interest. It all makes riveting reading * LITERARY REVIEW *A tale of derring-do, make do and make-up... De Courcy reveals the innocence and bravery of these young women. * EXPRESS *DEBS AT WAR covers a quirky and original subject and tells some cracking human interest stories. * HAM & HIGH *an irresistible account of high spirits, derring-do and real old-fashioned bravery * EVENING STANDARD *

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Book SynopsisVictory in Japan Day (VJ Day) on August 15, 1945 officially marked the end of World War II, but in fact conflict continued throughout the month. This fascinating title from Barrett Tillman explore the final weeks of the war, until the shooting finally stopped.In the 44 months between December 1941 and August 1945, the Pacific Theater absorbed the attention of the American nation and military longer than any other. Despite the Allied grand strategy of Germany first, after the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, the U.S. especially was committed to confronting Tokyo as a matter of urgent priority. But from Oahu to Tokyo was a long, sanguinary slog, averaging an advance of just three miles per day. The U.S. human toll paid on that road reached some 108,000 battle deaths, more than one-third the U.S. wartime total. But by the summer of 1945 on both the American homefront and on the frontline there was hope. The stunning announcements of atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Trade ReviewA superb achievement. This fast-paced and riveting account of the final weeks of the Pacific War is filled with fresh material, including personal stories and vivid historical detail. Another Barrett Tillman triumph. * Robert J. Mrazek, award-winning author of 'The Indomitable Florence Finch: The Untold Story of a War Widow Turned Resistance Fighter and Savior of American POW's' *[A] shrewd, fast-paced, and wide-angle account exploring one of the most intriguing but seldom pursued topics about all of World War II: the ragged ending of the Asia Pacific War. There was no neat finale on the decks of the Missouri in Tokyo Bay. This work musters the full panorama of days, weeks, and longer that shaped the fates of nations and peoples, but colors it brightly with well-chosen stories of individuals in combat, in liberation, in defeat, in tragedy, and in joy. * Richard B. Frank, author of Downfall: The End of the Japanese Empire *It's all here in this excellent account of the last month of WWII. * The Armourer *This is an excellent study of the last few weeks of the Second World War, showing that the surrender of Japan was a rather more complex and confused affair than the earlier collapse of Nazi Germany.” -- John Rickard * Historyofwar.org *It's a complex story, very well told here. - New York Journal of BooksOnly an author of Tillman’s experience, breadth and skill could pull off such a work: a multi-layered, nuanced and compelling book… . When the Shooting Stopped is a fine work, worthy of the author’s reputation. Readable, informative, and compelling, it is deserving of the time to contemplate and absorb. - Naval Historical FoundationTable of ContentsPrologue: August 1945 List of Illustrations Introduction 1. War or Peace? 2. August Storm 3. The Day the Shooting Stopped 4. Around the World 5. Uneasy Peace 6. Tokyo Bay 7. Downstream from VJ Day Acknowledgments Endnotes Bibliography Index

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Book SynopsisUsing diary entries, interviews and first-hand accounts, this vivid narrative brings to life the struggle in the air over the island of Guadalcanal between August 20 and November 15, 1942.The battle of Guadalcanal was the first offensive operation undertaken by the US and its allies in the Pacific War. The three months of air battles between August 20, 1942, when the first Marine air unit arrived on the island, and November 15, when the last enemy attempt to retake the island was defeated, were perhaps the most important of the Pacific War. Cactus, the code name for the island, became a sinkhole for Japanese air and naval power, as they experienced losses that could never be made good. For 40 years, the late Eric Hammel interviewed more than 150 American participants in the air campaign at Guadalcanal, none of whom are still alive. These interviews are the most comprehensive first-person accounts of the battle assembled by any historian. More importantly, they

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Book SynopsisFully illustrated with specially commissioned artwork and mapping plus carefully chosen archive illustrations, many in color, this lively study investigates the Mexican soldiers and Texian volunteers who fought one another in three key battles during the Texas Revolution.Following unrest throughout Mexico, in 1835 a revolt began in Texas among the Anglophone and Tejano-speaking settlers, known as Texians. Having retreated after their defeat at Bexar in December 1835, Mexican troops were ordered to re-occupy Texas in early 1836. In this volume, US military history expert Ron Field explores in detail three key battles that ensued. From February 23, Mexican forces besieged the Texian forces at the Alamo at San Antonio de Bexar; in the subsequent battle on March 6, almost all of the Texian defenders were killed. On March 19, forces en route to join the main Texian army were surrounded by Mexican troops at Coleto Creek. Following their surrender, about 340 Texian prisonersTable of ContentsIntroduction The Opposing Sides The Alamo, March 6, 1836 Coleto Creek, March 19-20, 1836 San Jacinto, April 20-21, 1836 Analysis Aftermath Orders of Battle Select Bibliography Index

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Book SynopsisRoman and Hunnic fighting men are assessed and compared in this fully illustrated study of Attila's bid to conquer Europe in the 5th century AD.The Huns burst on to the page of western European history in the 4th century AD. Fighting mostly on horseback, the Huns employed sophisticated tactics that harnessed the formidable power of their bows; they also gained a reputation for their fighting prowess at close quarters. Facing the Huns, the Roman Army fielded a variety of cavalry types, from heavily armed and armoured clibanarii and cataphractii to horse archers and missile cavalry. Many of these troops were recruited from client peoples or cultures, including the Huns themselves. After carving out a polyglot empire in eastern and central Europe, the Huns repeatedly invaded Roman territory, besieging the city of Naissus in 443. With Constantinople itself threatened, the Romans agreed to pay a huge indemnity. In 447, Attila re-entered Roman territory, confronting the Table of ContentsIntroduction The Opposing Sides Naissus 443 The Utus River 447 The Catalaunian Plains 20 June 451 Analysis Aftermath Bibliography Index

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Book SynopsisWith over 260 images, this is a highly illustrated history of the ships and operations of the Royal Navy during the reign of the late Queen Elizabeth II.During the 70 years spanned by the reign of the late Queen Elizabeth II, the Royal Navy changed out of all recognition. Its status as a superpower navy with worldwide bases and operations has been eclipsed, but it remains a powerful force because of its potency if not its size. Maritime history author Paul Brown takes us through each decade in turn, outlining the key events and developments, and charting the changes to the size, structure and capabilities of the Navy. Fully illustrated with over 260 colour and black and white images, this book also provides a stunning visual record of the ships and operations that featured most prominently in each decade.Trade ReviewThis is a visual treat. * The Armourer *Dr Brown's clear passion and in-depth expertise make for a thoroughly enjoyable read. * History of War *A well-presented book with hundreds of photographs reproduced in superb clarity, Elizabeth’s Navy is a new addition to the publisher’s roster of titles and a delightful focus on the Royal Navy... See the power of sea power in a well laid-out package. * Britain at War *Table of ContentsIntroduction 1. The Big Navy: 1952–1959 2. Rebuilding the Navy: 1960–1969 3. Eastern Atlantic Focus: 1970–1979 4. The Falklands Decade: 1980–1989 5. Peace and War: 1990–1999 6. Millennium Retrenchment: 2000–2009 7. Broadening Horizons: 2010–2022 Appendix 1: Organisation of the Fleets, May 1952 Appendix 2: Fleet Organisation, 10 March 1964 Glossary Endnotes Select Bibliography Index

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Book SynopsisWith specially commissioned artworks and dynamic combat ribbon diagrams, this volume reveals how the ''last of the gunfighters'', as the F-8 was dubbed by its pilots, prevailed against the growing MiG threat of the Vietnamese People''s Air Force.When the Vietnam War began, the F-8 was already firmly established as a fighter and reconnaissance aircraft. It entered combat as an escort for Alpha strike packages, braving the anti-aircraft artillery and surface-to-air missiles alongside the A-4 Skyhawk bombers and meeting MiGs for the first time on 3 April 1965. Although the Crusader was nicknamed ''last of the gunfighters'', its pilots employed ''secondary'' AIM-9D Sidewinder missiles in all but one of their MiG kills, with guns also used as back-up in three. Its 20 mm guns were unreliable as they often jammed during strenuous manoeuvres, although they were responsible for damaging a number of MiGs. However, in combat the F-8 had the highest ''exchange ratio'' (kilTable of Contents(Subject to confirmation) 1. In Battle 2. Setting the Scene 3. Path to Combat 4. Weapon of War 5. Art of War 6. Combat Aftermath Bibliography Index

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Book SynopsisAn illustrated study of premier US anti-ship missile, the AGM/RGM-84 Harpoon, and its 1986 and '88 uses against Libyan and Iranian naval vessels.In this study, defence technology expert Lon Nordeen details the role played by the Harpoon missile in two Cold War flare-ups in the 1980s. The Harpoon was the first tactical anti-ship missile developed by the US Navy to provide a counter to the anti-ship missiles exported around the world by the Soviet Union and China. It was deployed on ships, aircraft, submarines and land vehicles and soon became the most widely used anti-ship missile system in the West, with 7,000+ having been produced since 1977, operated by the military forces of more than 30 nations. This exciting book explores the engagements of the Harpoon by the US Navy against its Libyan and Iranian adversaries, using original photographs and specially commissioned artwork to examine the naval systems and weapons employed by both counterparts. Drawing upon Table of Contents(Subject to Confirmation) Introduction Chronology Design and Development Doctrine, Tactics, Leadership, Deployment of Forces The Strategic Situation The Combatants Combat Statistics and Analysis Aftermath Further Reading Index

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Book SynopsisSomewhere in a German forest 200 years ago, during the darkest, wettest summer for centuries, the story of cycling began. The calls to ban it were more or less immediate.Re:Cyclists is the tale of the following two centuries. It tells how cycling became a kinky vaudeville act for Parisians, how it was the basis of an American business empire to rival Henry Ford''s, and how it found a unique home in the British Isles. The Victorian love of cycling started with penny-farthing riders, who explored lonely roads that had been left abandoned by the coming of the railways. Then high-society took to it--in the 1980s the glittering parties of the London Season featured bicycles dancing in the ballroom, and every member of the House of Lords rode a bike. Twentieth-century cycling was very different, and even more popular. It became the sport and the pastime of millions of ordinary people who wanted to escape the city smog, or to experience the excitement of a Trade ReviewAs witty, accurate and eloquently written a history of the bicycle as you are ever likely to read -- Chris BoardmanAn essential look at how cycling has taken over the world -- Sir Chris HoyAs if Bill Bryson had taken to two wheels * FT *A thorough and fascinating read, as you would expect from Dr Hutch. It charts the strange evolution of what we now unthinkingly accept: cycling is cool. How it came to be is another story altogether. -- Ned BoultingAn excellent history of the two-wheeled machine … Hutchinson plots his way through the physical, social and sporting history of cycling with immense pleasure, pace and humour. * Daily Express *Michael Hutchinson will already be known to many for his entertaining and humorous writing, and this book carries on in the same vein * road.cc *Michael Hutchinson has written a funny book about what could be – and often is – dry-as-sticks: the history of the bicycle. * bikebiz.com *Re:Cyclists is an enjoyable romp through Britain's cycling history ... If you want to know how the British got from the hobby-horse to hipsters on fixies, this is as good a place as any to start finding the answers. * Podiumcafe *Whether you’re a city boy banker racing into the Square Mile or a hipster wheeling around Shoreditch, this is for you. * Gentleman’s Journal *An historical and fascinating account of the last 200 years of the progression of cycling … A well-written and intelligent read. * Outdoor Fitness *Table of ContentsIntroduction: A Man Walks into a Bar 1 1817: The Big Bang 2 The 1860s: Parisian Perversions and the World's First Bicycle Race 3 The Dignity of the Victorian Clubmen 4 1870 – 1900: American Cycling and the Genius of Colonel Albert Pope 5 1874: The Honourable Ion Keith-Falconer 6 Safety Bicycles and Extreme Danger: Mile-a-Minute Murphy and the Lion's Den 7 The 1890s: The Great Society Cycling Craze 8 Twentieth-Century Racing and the Loneliness of the Time Triallists 9 1900 – 1920: Cycling and Moting 10 1920 – 1958: The Tourists 11 1942 – 1959: The British League of Racing Cyclists 12 1957: 'Most of Our People Have Never Had it so Good' 13 1960 – 1990: An Ugley Situation 14 1992 – 2016: The Life of Lottery 15 Towards a Cycling Tomorrow Endnotes Acknowledgements Index

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Book SynopsisBrings the science of biological anthropology to bear on understanding how our evolutionary history has shaped a phenomenon everyone has experienced childhood.Tracking deep into our evolutionary history, anthropological science has begun to unravel one particular feature that sets us apart from the many, many animals that came before us our uniquely long childhoods. Growing Up Human looks at how we have diverged from our ancestral roots to stay forever young' or at least what seems like forever and how the evolution of childhood is a critical part of the human story.Beginning with a look at the ways animals invest in their offspring, the book moves through the many steps of making a baby, from pair-bonding to hidden ovulation, points where our species has repeatedly stepped off the standard primate path. From the mystery of monogamy to the minefield of modern parenting advice, biological anthropologist Brenna Hassett reveals how differences betweeTrade ReviewSuperb … and often hilarious. Growing Up Human is what happens when science meets an unusually entertaining and uninhibited writer … should be appreciated by anyone pregnant, planning to be pregnant, or who has ever had a child or been one. * Wall Street Journal *A thought-provoking discussion about why humans experience a long childhood ... Hassett artfully dissects the sometimes problematic dogma surrounding growth and development, such as whether physical size predicts life span; debunks common myths, such as the idea that the reproductive cycles of women who regularly interact with one another will synchronize; and rejects falsehoods, such as the idea that toxins are produced during the menstrual cycle. * Science *Bioarchaeologist Brenna Hassett’s intriguing, entertaining book looks at childhood. She examines distinctive aspects from messy mating and dangerous pregnancies to the puzzling human fondness for formal education and love of the written word. * Nature *With characteristic wit, humour and verve, Brenna Hassett delves deep into our evolutionary past and inner nature to explain why humans are ‘the ape who never grew up’. * Alice Roberts *Bursting with fascinating ideas and surprising facts, Growing Up Human pulls off a masterly trick, with such lucid and entertaining writing that even complex scientific ideas slip down a treat. This is human evolution at its most captivating; clever and charming, just like our amazing babies. * Rebecca Wragg Sykes, author of Kindred *It is a comprehensive, thorough, accurate review of recent anthropological findings on everything from pregnancy and birth to lactation, tooth development, play, and learning... This is an excellent book for mothers * Choice *Table of ContentsChapter 1: Mary, Mary, Quite Contrary: An Introduction Chapter 2: Pop! Goes the Weasel: Life History and Why it Matters Chapter 3: Two Little Monkeys Jumping on the Bed: Making More Monkeys Chapter 4: A Froggy Would A-Courting Go: How Weird is Monogamy? Chapter 5: Georgie Porgie, Pudding and Pie: Conception and Fertility and Fat Chapter 6: Bake Me a Cake as Fast as You Can: the Joys of Gestation Chapter 7: Cackle, Cackle, Mother Goose: Having a Baby Chapter 8: See-Saw, Margery Daw: Cultural Adaptations to Birth Chapter 9: Bye, Baby Bunting: Caring for a Child the Old-Fashioned Way Chapter 10: Old Mother Hubbard’s Cupboard: the Magic of Milk Chapter 11: Hey Diddle Diddle: the Cultural Life of Milk

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Book SynopsisThe Sasanian Empire was one of the largest empires of antiquity, stretching from Mesopotamia to modern Pakistan. This book explores key phenomena which contributed to its wealth and power, from the empire's armed forces to agriculture, trade and treatment of minorities. The latest discoveries feature prominently.

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Book SynopsisPresents the experiences of two burgeoning cities and the Irish people that helped to establish what it is 'to be Irish' within themTrade Review"Her observations about the integrated Irish world press as well as how religious and political thought in Ireland informed the attitudes of diasporic communities confirm the importance of both comparative and transnational approaches in investigating the diasporic experience. [...] Throughout this excellently researched, eloquently written and methodologically innovative work, Cooper unearths elements of the Irish world experience that adds depth and texture to our understanding of the field. Her interpretation of Irish communities in Chicago and Melbourne is an important contribution because of its comparative focus and elucidation of the nuances and complexities involved in immigrant identity formation." -Dr Regina Donlon, Carlow College St. Patrick's

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Book SynopsisTobias Buck arrived in Madrid in December 2012, in time to celebrate the bleakest Christmas the city had seen in a generation. Capital and country were reeling from a series of economic shocks that had brought Spain to the brink of ruin. The housing boom had dramatically turned to bust, a large chunk of the nation''s banking system was in state hands, businesses were closing across the country, debt was spiralling out of control and unemployment levels had reached a record high.AFTER THE FALL presents a rich and vivid portrait of contemporary Spain at a critical moment in the country''s history. The book tells the story of Spain''s long boom and sudden bust, the brutal economic crisis that followed, and the political and social aftershocks that reverberate to this day. It explores the origins of the separatist movement in Catalonia, and its bitter clash with the Spanish government that culminated in a failed secession referendum and a divisive declaration of independence. ItTrade ReviewMixing forensic reporting with insightful analysis, AFTER THE FALL captures the chaos of Spain's turbulent recent history with aplomb . . . a superbly documented, diligent account on Spain's recent travails - and its slow, painful route out of them -- Oliver Balch * FINANCIAL TIMES *Buck understands economics, but he also understands people. Spain's crisis is told as an engaging story of human folly. This is a superb book about a fascinating country - an easy read about difficult times -- Gerard DeGroot * THE TIMES *An elegant and insightful examination of Spain . . . the book goes beyond politics to offer a deeply sympathetic portrayal -- Matthew Campbell * THE SUNDAY TIMES *Buck is a good listener and an intelligent observer who is not judgemental and does not claim to know all the answers.After the Fall is an excellent guide to what has been happening in Spain in recent years -- David Gilmour * LITERARY REVIEW *[An] insightful and readable study of modern Spain -- Gideon Rachman * FINANCIAL TIMES, Best Books of 2019 *Tobias Buck belongs in the distinguished lineage of writing about Spain that was so brilliantly started by Richard Ford. Much like Ford in the 1830s, as clear-sighted and unflattering as deeply sympathetic to the many charms of the country and the predicaments of its people, Tobias Buck has written a most accurate account of what Spain looks like right now and what seemingly insurmountable challenges it is having to live up to . . . required reading -- ANTONIO MUÑOZ MOLINAWhen Spain ran the gauntlet of Basque terrorism and military subversion to reach democracy, it garnered universal admiration. In the years that followed, that image was tarnished by endemic corruption but countered by the spectacular international impact of Spanish companies. When Tobias Buck arrived in 2012, Spain was in the midst of an existential crisis. The financial crash, political corruption, the mismanagement of the Catalan independence movement and the impact of the crisis on ordinary Spaniards are perceptively analysed in his illuminating and elegant account. It is a grim story but a treat to read -- PAUL PRESTON

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Book Synopsis The ground has shifted from the days in which serious history and boring went hand in glove. Textbooks and lectures have their place, but less traditional classrooms can be powerfully immersive and insightful. Take the 1929 Marx Brothers film The Cocoanuts and what it teaches about both the Great Depression and early sound films. The Marx Brothers are among the funniest comedy teams of all time. Four of their 13 films are on the American Film Institute''s list of the 100 greatest American comedies ever made. For many contemporary viewers, though, getting the jokes is not always easy because the humor can be subjective and timebound. This work looks at the American past through the lens of the Marx Brothers'' films and other projects. Each of the chapters focuses on a specific film, contextualizing the world at the time and how the Marx Brothers lampooned those subjects. Along the way, the book demonstrates what the Marx Brothers revealed about weighty topics like

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Book SynopsisParish churches have been at the heart of communities for more than a thousand years. But now, fewer than two in one hundred people regularly attend services in an Anglican church, and many have never been inside one. Since the idea of ''church'' is its people, the buildings are becoming husks - staples of our landscapes, but without meaning or purpose. Some churches are finding vigorous community roles with which to carry on, but the institutional decline is widely seen as terminal.Yet for Richard Morris, post-war parsonages were the happy backdrop of his childhood. In Evensong he searches for what it was that drew his father and hundreds like him towards ordination as they came home from war in 1945. Along the way we meet all kinds of people - archbishops, chaplains, campaigners, bell-ringers, bureaucrats, archaeologists, gravediggers, architects, scroungers - and follow some of them to dark places.Part personal odyssey, part lyrical history, EvensongTrade ReviewAt its best when reminding us how deeply embedded these buildings are in the English landscape and when exploring, how the intimate meanings they have held can be rediscovered . . . At the book's heart is the question of the place of faith in the modern world . . . a warm, thoughtful and generous-spirited book with a profound sense of the importance of traditional spiritual devotions in the modern world. * Catholic Herald *It can sometimes be regarded as an institution out of time but, as this intimate, idiosyncratic account notes, the Church of England continues to influence public life and private morality well into the 21st century. Centred around a series of reminiscences of the author's relationship with the church's practices, places and people, the book also has much to say about issues of community and identity. * BBC History *In Evensong, Richard Morris, whose father was himself a parish priest, considers the history and current fragile state of the Church of England * Choice *This memoir pulls off a difficult task . . . the story that it tells is a very human story of a father and son, a vicar and an archaeologist - and a compelling story it is . . . Richard Morris avoids nostalgia, and, as one would expect from an archaeologist, sets out a layered story of the different people and places whose character is vividly drawn here . . . On one level, it is a celebration of the parish; on another, it is a ringing affirmation of the importance of our church buildings * Church Times *An exploration of the current state of the Church of England amid messy legacies of colonialism and Empire * The Tablet *Extraordinary . . . Again and again he picks something up and it causes his mind to roam in a new direction, so the number of subjects covered, from steam engines to an unsolved murder in Zimbabwe, is impossible to list or put into any real order . . . Morris delves archaeologically deep into the foundations of Christian belief in England and explains the survival into today of ideas and rhythms that are almost impossibly old. * Peter Hitchens, Mail on Sunday *A song of praise to England's vanishing Church . . . Evensong is an apt title for this beautifully written and moving meditation on the history and current state of the Church of England . . . Morris is a man of extraordinary learning . . . The result is something extraordinarily rich, which interweaves past and present and illuminates many aspects of post-war Britain, including shifting class relations, housing and industrial policy, and the cultural tensions between conservationists and gung-ho modernisers - the latter especially important for the Church, which was torn between the two . . . wonderful * The Sunday Telegraph *Packed with quirky historical diversion . . . he writes beautifully about his parents and allows their love letters, which he discovered after his father's death, to speak largely for themselves . . . There are informative detours about bell-ringing and bell-casting, organ-building and choirs, 16th-century burial practices and a long account of Morris's involvement in a dig at Kellington, North Yorkshire, where 30 years ago the church had to be saved from subsidence caused by coal-mining . . . there is an elegiac decency to this book. In its restrained, courtly way it reminds us of the Christian context to British life that we are losing with each ahistorical shrug from our leaders * The Times *Eclectic, discursive, and multi-layered (as befits an archaeologist). Reading it is like sitting by the fire, listening to a skilled raconteur pouring out an endless stream of anecdotes . . . You could describe this wonderfully serendipitous book as an absorbing account of the history of archaeology from somebody who has played (and continues to play) an influential part - but it is so much more * Current Archaeology *With warm sentiment but no sentimentality, he communicates the ties of love that bound his family together . . . [Evensong] is like an archaeologist's diagnostic slice or test pit, exposing human history . . . Morris's narration of the wonders of Marloes, St Brides and the Pembrokeshire coast makes a moment of shared historical experience. But the greater pleasure of the book comes from its meta-narrative: if it is fair to say that the author is haunted by the past, then it must be added that the ghosts than haunt him are not fearsome but friendly -- Cally Hammond * TLS *

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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 s

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Book SynopsisA NEW YORK TIMES NOTABLE BOOK OF 2020 From the bestselling author of Nixonland and The Invisible Bridge comes the dramatic conclusion of how conservatism took control of American political power.Over two decades, Rick Perlstein has published three definitive works about the emerging dominance of conservatism in modern American politics. With the saga’s final installment, he has delivered yet another stunning literary and historical achievement. In late 1976, Ronald Reagan was dismissed as a man without a political future: defeated in his nomination bid against a sitting president of his own party, blamed for President Gerald Ford’s defeat, too old to make another run. His comeback was fueled by an extraordinary confluence: fundamentalist preachers and former segregationists reinventing themselves as militant crusaders against gay rights and feminism; business executives uniting against regulation in an era of econoTrade Review"An absorbing political and social history of the late 1970s...The joy of this book, and the reason it remains fresh for nearly a thousand pages of text, is that personality and character constantly confound the conventional wisdom. Perlstein’s broad theme is well known, partly because he has made it so through his three earlier volumes (Before the Storm, Nixonland and The Invisible Bridge) on the rise of the New Right in American politics. In the 1960s and 70s, liberals overplayed their hand and failed to see the growing disaffection of Americans who felt cut out or left behind. (Sound familiar?) But Perlstein is never deterministic, and his sharp insights into human quirks and foibles make all of his books surprising and fun...The 1980 election marks the end of this book, and, Perlstein says in his acknowledgments, the end of his four-volume saga on the rise of conservatism in America, from the early stirrings of Barry Goldwater to the dawn of the Age of Reagan. One hopes Perlstein does not stop there. Reaganland is full of portents for the current day."—Evan Thomas, The New York Times Book Review “The pointillist canvas of Reaganland is mesmerizing…Perlstein’s book certainly presents the fullest picture we have of the Reagan years.” —Thomas Meaney, The Nation "Perlstein masterfully connects deep currents of social change and ideology to prosaic politics, which he conveys in elegant prose studded with vivid character sketches and colorful electoral set-pieces....The result is an insightful and entertaining analysis of a watershed era in American politics."—Publishers Weekly (starred review) "If you don’t think a chronicle of the rise of conservatism in American politics can be just as entertaining and illuminating as A Song of Ice and Fire, think again. Perlstein, a local historian, wraps up his acerbic, thoroughly researched, and energetic series on the conservative movement with this tome covering the four years just before Ronald Reagan began his tenure at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue."—Chicago Magazine “[M]ajestic…Perlstein sees American culture holistically, and his method is to implant you into the whole of a living tissue. Reaganland is so mammoth in scope and so scrupulously agnostic in presentation, each reader will likely find their own book in there. I walked away grateful for its larger arc.” —Stephan Metcalf, The Los Angeles Times "One comes away from this book with a better understanding of how Carter was so thoroughly defeated....Perlstein casts a broad net, riffing on everything from Ted Bundy to New York Mayor Ed Koch, but that is part of the package here; by the end readers have more insight on the rising tide of conservative politics."—Library Journal “A valuable road map that charts how events from 40 years ago helped lead us to where we are now.” —Kirkus Reviews (starred review) "At more than 1,100 pages, Reaganland is the fourth and final volume of Perlstein’s massive, sweeping history of American conservatism in the postwar era...Reaganland is terrific, a work whose characteristic insight and soaring ambition make it a fitting and resonant conclusion to Perlstein’s astounding achievement....Perlstein’s rapid-fire style of chronological narrative is riveting, like the world’s most exciting microfilm scroll...Perlstein’s epic series shows political history and cultural history cannot be disentangled." —Jack Hamilton, Slate “In Perlstein’s new book, the final volume of his series charting the ascendancy of the right in America, he traces Reagan’s political comeback and how he reinvigorated the Republican Party’s base with his pledge to ‘Make America Great Again.’ Perlstein, an engaging storyteller, offers a clear guide to the intellectual and ideological debates of the time.”—Joumana Khatib, The New York Times (“13 Books to Watch for in August 2020”) “It’s all here—the proposed Equal Rights Amendment, brother Billy, the Panama Canal Treaty, California’s Proposition 13 cutting property taxes, supply side economics, the ‘killer rabbit,’ direct mail, the Ford Pinto, Ted Kennedy, Three Mile Island, malaise and a hundred other incidents and stories that defined these tumultuous years…Reaganland is essentially sociopolitical history, focusing on the movements and causes that animated public debate so virulently and the impacts of major social changes, such as women’s rights, on American life…[A] meticulously researched narrative history.”—John S. Gardner, The Guardian “To reduce Perlstein’s works to political biographies would not be accurate. What he is writing is more of an excavation of the sediment produced by the media of the time: Especially in recent works, he uses archival documents sparingly, but reads deeply in the public record. The books are primarily political history, but they also take up cultural changes…Perlstein’s works are less X-rays of the internal structures of the nation at a given time than an MRI of its nervous system, showing when different regions of the brain lit up: here, activated by fear, here by sex, here by joy, here by anger. This is what has made his books grow in size—Reaganland runs to over 1,000 pages—they resemble reading several years of news, with the benefit of hindsight. They succeed when they can make sense of the structure of people’s feelings in a time of significant social division.”—Patrick Iber, The New Republic “Rick Perlstein brings his series on the rise of conservatism in the U.S. to a conclusion with Reaganland. Examining the four years before Reagan took office, this volume pinpoints what led the country to elect the first man to run with the slogan ‘Make America Great Again,’ and the ruthless political tactics devised to secure his win that endure to this day.”—Juliet Helmke, Observer (“5 Most Anticipated Books of August 2020”) “Perlstein is a great read for both the history and the narrative.”—John Warner, The Chicago Tribune "[Perlstein's] books are an epic examination of the political, societal, and cultural tides that have brought us to today’s political shores."—Jeff Beer, Fast Company

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Book SynopsisWhen Thomas Harding discovered that his mother''s family had made money from plantations worked by enslaved people, what began as an interrogation into the choices of his ancestors soon became a quest to learn more about Britain''s role in slavery. It was a history that he knew surprisingly little about - the myth that we are often taught in schools is that Britain''s role in slavery was as the abolisher, but the reality is much more sinister.In WHITE DEBT, Harding vividly brings to life the story of the uprising by enslaved people that took place in the British colony of Demerara (now Guyana) in the Caribbean in 1823. It started on a small sugar plantation called ''Success'' and grew to become a key trigger in the abolition of slavery across the empire. We see the uprising through the eyes of four people: the enslaved man Jack Gladstone, the missionary John Smith, the colonist John Cheveley, and the politician and slaveholder John Gladstone, father of a future prime ministe

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Book SynopsisThe campaigns fought against Napoleon in the Iberian peninsula, in France, Germany, Italy and Russia and across the rest of Europe have been described and analyzed in exhaustive detail, yet the history of the fighting in the Mediterranean has rarely been studied as a separate theater of the conflict. Gareth Glover sets this right with a compelling account of the struggle on land and at sea for control of a region that was critical for the outcome of the Napoleonic Wars. The story of this twenty-year conflict is illustrated with numerous quotes from a large number of primary sources, many of which are published here for the first time.

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Book SynopsisThe American Indian—origin, culture, and language—engaged the best minds of Europe from 1492 to 1729. Were the Indians the result of a co-creation? Were they descended from the Ten Lost Tribes of Israel? Could they have emigrated from Carthage, Phoenicia, or Troy? All these and many other theories were proposed.How could scholars account for the multiplicity of languages among the Indians, the differences in levels of culture? And how did the Indian arrive in America—by using as a bridge a now-lost continent or, as was later suggested by some persons in the light of an expanding knowledge of geography, by using the Bering Strait as a migratory route?Most of the theories regarding the American Indian were first advanced in the sixteenth century. In this distinctive book Lee E. Huddleston looks carefully into those theories and proposals. From many research sources he weaves an historical account that engages the reader from the very first.The twTable of Contents Preface Introduction: The Discovery of the American Indian Chapter I: The Early Origin Literature, Oviedo to Acosta Beginnings of the Origin Literature, 1535–1540 Expansion of the Argument, 1540–1580 The Ten Lost Tribes of Israel and the Ophirites Chapter II: Acosta and García, 1589–1607 Joseph de Acosta and the Acostan Tradition Gregorio García and the Garcían Tradition Chapter III: Spanish Scholarship after García, 1607–1729 Chapter IV: The Debate on the Origins of the Indians in Northern Europe Expansion of the Debate to Northern Europe, 1600–1640 The Grotius–De Laet Controversy The Jews in America and The Hope of Israel, 1644–1660 Toward New Criteria: La Peyrère and the Pre-Adamites General Conclusions Bibliography Index

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Book SynopsisThe German armoured forces lost some 10,000 armoured fighting vehicles. Today there are very few surviving vehicles from the Wehrmacht. We are fortunate therefore that these unique photographs detail the fate of the Panzers destroyed in action in the west.

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Book SynopsisThis book shows the development of women's status in the Mongol Empire from its original homeland in Mongolia up to the end of the Ilkhanate of Iran in 1335.

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Book Synopsis2021 Finalist Raul Yzaguirre Best Political/Current Affairs Book, International Latino Book AwardsWinner of the Texas Association of Chicanos in Higher Education Inaugural Book AwardUnraveling the intertwined histories of Latino radicalism and religion in urban America, this book examines how Latino activists transformed churches into staging grounds for protest against urban renewal and displacement. In the late 1960s, the American city found itself in steep decline. An urban crisis fueled by federal policy wreaked destruction and displacement on poor and working-class families. The urban drama included religious institutions, themselves undergoing fundamental change, that debated whether to stay in the city or move to the suburbs. Against the backdrop of the Black and Brown Power movements, which challenged economic inequality and white supremacy, young Latino radicals began occupying churches and disrupting services to compel church Trade ReviewHinojosa does an excellent job of showing the importance of religious spaces to Latina/o justice movements in the late 1960s and early 1970s—a reality that has often been overlooked by historians…[Apostles of Change] is important for anyone interested in social movements, Latina/o history, and urban studies. The case studies also offer wisdom that community workers and activists might draw on for their work. * The Christian Century *Written in clear and engaging prose, Hinojosa’s Apostles of Change is an important work that teaches us that people can be agents in the creation of a brighter future for themselves and their community. This work is well researched and will only become more influential in years to come, particularly in the fields of Latino religious studies, Latino Civil Rights, as well as Mexican American history. * Western Historical Quarterly *In the late 1960s and early ’70s, Latino activists occupied church buildings across the country as a way of taking back control of their communities and calling attention to local residents’ poverty, lack of educational opportunities and displacement amid revitalization plans that hiked up rents...Hinojosa gives this little remembered movement a new look. * Religion News Service *[Apostles of Change] highlights the organizing of community members, organizers, and activists as they transformed churches into staging grounds to challenge poverty, racism, urban renewal, and police brutality...In redefining the politics of faith, Hinojosa analyzes the histories of organizing from spaces of occupation to spaces of sanctuary within churches. Apostles of Change is a vital addition to the research on social movements within religious studies, Chicana/o/x studies, and Latina/o/x studies. * CHOICE *In fifty years of incredible productivity in Chicano history, surprisingly few studies of religious history were written. One of the exciting new changes in this historiography is the increased study of religion, especially the link between religion and community activism. A new generation of historians is leading the way, and Felipe Hinojosa is a key member of this vanguard...In successfully resurrecting these histories, Hinojosa has written a significant addition to the growing historiography of Chicano/Latino religious history. Well-written and organized, it should be welcomed by historians of the Chicano/Latino experience and by those interested in American religions. * Southwestern Historical Quarterly *Apostles of Change accomplishes Hinojosa’s goals of providing a religious history of 'Latina/o freedom movements,' and a social movement history of religion...Apostles of Change is a welcomed contribution to the literature on Latina/o political movements for its utilization of religion and urban history as frameworks of analysis. Scholars of social movements, urban history, and religion will find Hinojosa’s study imperative for understanding how grassroots activists challenged gentrification, discrimination, and power that connects the stories in the book to present obstacles facing Latina/os. * Pacific Historical Review *Hinojosa takes seriously both the religiosity of seemingly secular activists and the politics of organized religion; at the nexus, he charts a new Latina/o religious history that took its cues directly from the streets...Hinojosa's occupiers offered radical visions for their community's liberation, breathed new life into their barrios, and remade their spiritual universes in both theological and practical terms. They were true apostles of change. Hinojosa's account of their exploits is a must-read for historians of social movements, religion, and working-class studies alike. * Labor: Studies in Working-Class History of the Americas *A revolutionary contribution to Latinx church history in the United States...Apostles of Change is an expertly crafted text that integrates first-hand testimony, archive, and historical sources to present this lesser-known side of Latinx activism in American history. * Perspectivas *Apostles of Change is expertly researched and written—a tribute to 'short but fertile' moments that bring religion to the forefront of Latinx social movements. * Marginalia Review of Books *Hinojosa provides an in-depth understanding of how faith-based politics and social movements—rooted in religious institutions and neighborhoods across the nation—became central to civil rights activism, self-determination, and neighborhood empowerment...Apostles of Change is a welcome addition to the fields of civil rights history, religious history, and urban history...Hinojosa’s excellent study leaves the reader wanting to know more about how these occupations affected other cities in their regions. Indeed, he has set a foundation for future scholars to build on with this wealth of knowledge of occupations, movements, and activism. * Journal of Southern History *Apostles of Change is a game-changer in how we view U.S. Latina/o history. In this meticulously crafted and researched book, the author urges his reader to move beyond the single-origin narratives that historians tend to embrace and retell about movements, in favor of a more complex, multi-layered story...Apostles of Change is a must-read for anyone interested in U.S. Latina/o history and in how Latinas and Latinos worked to raise awareness of the entanglements of racism, white privilege, and institutional churches’ complicity in perpetuating broken systems...I am grateful to the author for his revisionist work that is essential reading for anyone interested in U.S. history. * Catholic Historical Review *Table of Contents Preface Acknowledgments Abbreviations Introduction: The People’s Church 1. Thunder in Chicago’s Lincoln Park 2. “People—Yes, Cathedrals—No!” in Los Angeles 3. The People’s Church in East Harlem 4. Magic in Houston’s Northside Barrio Conclusion: When History Dreams Notes Bibliography Index

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Book SynopsisThis is the first book to focus on the Tetrarchy as an imperial dynasty.

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Book SynopsisThe grassroots queer activism and legal challenges that led to a landmark Supreme Court decision in favor of gay and lesbian equality.

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