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Book Synopsis''Dazzling ingenuity and cleverness'' Independent''Chilling ... the writing is crisp and brutal'' Daily TelegraphOf all the mysteries Bernard Samson has encountered, the greatest is his wife Fiona. Dedicated agent of the Service and a woman of secrets, she will risk everything to play the long game. As the truth about the decision that shattered their marriage is gradually revealed, the web of deception that has snared Bernard for ten years begins to unravel. In the gripping, tragic finale of the Hook, Line and Sinker trilogy, everything we thought we knew is brought into question.A BERNARD SAMSON NOVELTrade ReviewAll done with the chilling competence we expect from Mr Deighton ... No padding, no slowing of pace, and the writing is crisp and brutal. * Daily Telegraph *Dazzling ingenuity and cleverness. * The Independent *The poet of the spy story. * Sunday Times *Deighton's outstanding achievement is the nine-volume series chronicling the life and times of Bernard Samson ... Deighton's Samson trilogies are as much about the elusiveness of human interactions as espionage. Spying is not a secret world sealed off from ordinary life but an extension of the world we all live in. -- John Gray * New Statesman *

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Book SynopsisCharman 'writes with intelligence and generosity, and sprinkles her history with details that are enraging, provocative and, frequently, amusing' - Megan Gibson, The New StatesmanMother State 'blows open the dominant view of mothering instead Charman's history from below situates a radical collective conception of motherhood and care as central to all our lives meticulously researched... Mother State is both a prodigious historical analysis and a sobering one' - Ruth Gilbert, New Internationalist'Intellectually luminous and deeply affecting, Mother State is a remarkable, revelatory and life-changing book, and an indispensable tool and guide in the ongoing struggle towards radical, liberated and collective care' Daisy Lafarge'With ease and precision, Charman examines all the waged and unwaged labour that create mothers as well as the political processes that produce their vexed relationship to the British state. Mother State is at once a sorely needed politicised history of motherhood

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Book SynopsisA Telegraph Book of the Year A remarkable, unprecedented account of the role of magic in cultures both ancient and modern -- from the first known horoscope to the power of tattoos.''Fascinating, original, excellent'' Simon Sebag Montefiore______________________Three great strands of practice and belief run through human history: science, religion and magic. But magic - the idea that we have a connection with the universe - has developed a bad reputation.It has been with us for millennia - from the curses and charms of ancient Greek, Roman and Jewish magic, to the shamanistic traditions of Eurasia, indigenous America and Africa, and even quantum physics today. Even today seventy-five per cent of the Western world holds some belief in magic, whether snapping wishbones, buying lottery tickets or giving names to inanimate objects.Drawing on his decades of research, with incredible breadth and authority, Professor Chris Gosden provides a timely history of human thought and the role it has played in shaping civilization, and how we might use magic to rethink our understanding of the world.______________________''This is an extraordinary work of learning, written with an exhilarating lightness of touch . . . It is essential reading.'' Francis Pryor, author of Britain BC, Britain AD and The Fens''Without an unfascinating page'' Scotsman''Chris Gosden shows how magic explores the connections between human beings and the universe in ways different from religion or science, yet deserving of respect'' Professor John Barton, author of A History of The BibleTrade ReviewWith his own magic touch, Chris Gosden brilliantly reveals the place of magic in human societies from the Ice Age to the present day in all inhabited continents, and shows how the exercise of magic was an everyday practice that joined the world of the dead to that of the living -- Professor David Abulafia, author of The Boundless SeaFascinating, original and excellent, written with both narrative flair and deep scholarship, this is a world history, from the steppes of Mongolia to the palaces of London and Paris from prehistory to today, told through the lens of magic, that has always existed alongside and within religion itself, a gripping ride of astonishing span, filled with colourful characters, shaman, witches and kings, esoteric rites and revelatory research. An important and essential read that also happens to be a highly entertaining historical treasure-trove -- Simon Sebag Montefiore, author of Jerusalem and The RomanovsThis is an extraordinary work of learning, written with an exhilarating lightness of touch. And it's flexible: you can read it from cover-to-cover, or just dip in - or both. Chris Gosden has traced the story of magical beliefs from the Old Stone Age to modern times, across all the continents of the world. But it isn't just a work of archaeology and history: it has increasing relevance for our own times, as we witness the growth of extreme cults and the seditious myths of the post-truth era. It is essential reading -- Francis Pryor, author of Britain BC, Britain AD and The FensThe History of Magic is a major contribution to an important but neglected subject. It should be read not only by archaeologists and anthropologists but by everyone interested in the human condition -- Barry Cunliffe, author of The Scythians"To be human is to be connected." Chris Gosden shows how magic explores the connections between human beings and the universe in ways different from religion or science, yet deserving of respect. A magisterial account of the central place of magic in many cultures both ancient and modern -- Professor John Barton, author of A History of The BibleAn impressive and much-needed book, Gosden masterfully presents the history of magic from a global perspective, enabling the reader to make fascinating connections between traditions in different places and eras -- Violet Moller, author of the Map of KnowledgeBreathtaking in scope... For many readers its pages will be full of fascinating discoveries -- John Carey * Sunday Times *Comprehensive and remarkable . . . his book subverts essentially everything we are meant to believe -- Clement Knox * The Telegraph *Bold, gripping and arrestingly readable ... a path-breaking study of a pervasive and strangely neglected phenomenon -- John Gray * New Statesman *Exceptional -- Simon Heffer * Telegraph, Books of the Year *

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Book SynopsisOffering an account of the Cambodian revolution and genocide, this book includes a preface that takes the story up to 2008 and the UN-sponsored Khmer Rouge tribunal.Trade Review"Kiernan, the leading authority on modern Cambodia, meticulously examines Pol Pot's killing machine and clears up many misconceptions found in earlier studies. . . . An important book for students of genocide as well as scholars of Southeast Asia."—Library Journal * Library Journal *"The most comprehensive analysis of Khmer Rouge war crimes yet."—Yale Daily News * Yale Daily News *"Kiernan has compiled an invaluable record of the workings of a political phenomenon of our century, a materialistic idealogy applied to the enslavement of a people." -Simon Scott Plummer, Tablet -- Simon Scott Plummer * Tablet *"In this authoritative work, Ben Kiernan . . . explores the reasons why Pol Pot's Khmer Rouge revolution became a Cambodian nightmare."—Richard Gough, Times Higher Education Supplement -- Richard Gough * Times Higher Education Supplement *"This is not the first account of Pol Pot's terror. . . . But Mr. Kiernan's is perhaps the most complete and the closest to Cambodian sources."—The Economist * The Economist *"Impressively researched and deeply disturbing."—Sunday Telegraph * Sunday Telegraph *"One of the most important contributions to the subject so far, and one which neither specialist scholars nor general readers can afford to ignore." -R.B. Smith, Asian Affairs -- R. B. Smith * Asian Affairs *"The most detailed history to date of the genocidal Khmer Rouge regime. . . . This book, written at an advanced level, will certainly be the benchmark against which all future research on the Khmer Rouge must be measured. Very highly recommended."—Choice * Choice *

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Book SynopsisThe first full account of the medieval struggle for Jerusalem, from the seventh to the thirteenth centuryTrade Review“Hosler is a sure guide to this winding story. . . . This is an intriguing and occasionally eye-opening account of the Middle Ages’ most alluring city.”—Dan Jones, Sunday Times“This elegantly written monograph carefully evaluates a wide variety of surviving written and archaeological evidence to identify the factors that led to violence and/or peace in Jerusalem.”—Jessalynn Bird, sehepunkte“During the Middle Ages, Jerusalem did not go a century without armies surrounding and entering its walls. The city was continually sacked and the inhabitants massacred. Jerusalem Falls covers this violent and bloody history with thoroughness and brilliance. Reading it one can clearly agree with so many throughout history who wished that God cared a little less for a city that so many religions call ‘holy.’”—Kelly DeVries, author of Battles of the Crusades 1097–1444“With an original and thought-provoking approach, Hosler tackles the always controversial topic of Jerusalem. The seven centuries, from the Persian sack of 614 until the final fall of the Crusader city in 1244, are studded with successive brutal conflicts and conquests, but also with remarkable examples of rapprochement and concord. Hosler’s history will come as a revelation, and perhaps an optimistic one for readers mainly acquainted with the violent aspects of the Holy City’s past and present.”—Adrian J. Boas, author of Jerusalem in the Time of the Crusades

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Book SynopsisThe Irish famine that began in 1845 was one of the nineteenth century''s greatest disasters. By its end, the island''s population of eight million had shrunk by a third through starvation, disease and emigration. This is a brilliant, compassionate retelling of that awful story for a new generation - the first account for the general reader for many years and a triumphant example of narrative non-fiction at its best.The immediate cause of the famine was a bacterial infection of the potato crop on which too many the Irish poor depended. What turned a natural disaster into a human disaster was the determination of senior British officials to use relief policy as an instrument of nation-building in their oldest and most recalcitrant colony. Well-meaning civil servants were eager to modernise Irish agriculture and to improve the Irish moral character, which was utterly lacking in the virtues of the new age of triumphant capitalism. The result was a relief programme more concerned with fostering change than of saving lives.This is history that resonates powerfully with our own times.

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a huge range and FREE tracked UK delivery on ALL orders.

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a huge range and FREE tracked UK delivery on ALL orders.

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a huge range and FREE tracked UK delivery on ALL orders.

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a huge range and FREE tracked UK delivery on ALL orders.

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Book SynopsisAmerican presidents have often pushed the boundaries established for them by the Constitution; this is the inspirational history of the people who pushed back.

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Book SynopsisOxford Revise Edexcel GCSE History: Crime and punishment in Britain, c1000-present is a complete revision and practice book covering the full topic specification. with everything you need to know to revise for this choice of period topic. All key knowledge is clearly covered in one book, supported by case studies of crime and punishment from Medieval England right up to Modern Britain. By working through the Knowledge - Retrieval - Practice sections, you will be using proven ways to revise, check and recall so that what you revise sticks. Knowledge Organisers arrange the information you need to revise helping you to make connections with what you already know. Timelines and charts are used so that key information is presented in a meaningful way. An online glossary helps you to learn the definitions to key terms. Use Retrieval questions to check that you have remembered what you have just revised before moving on. Regular retrieval questions help to combat the forgetting curve. FinalTable of Contents1: Medieval England: criminal activity 2: Medieval England: law enforcement and punishment 3: Medieval case study: the influence of the Church 4: Early modern England: criminal activity 5: Early modern England: law enforcement and punishment 6: Early modern case studies: Gunpowder Plotters and Matthew Hopkins 7: Eighteenth- and nineteenth-century Britain: criminal activity 8: Eighteenth- and nineteenth-century Britain: law enforcement and punishment 9: Eighteenth- and nineteenth-century case studies: Robert Peel and Pentonville Prison 10: Modern Britain: criminal activity 11: Modern Britain: law enforcement and punishment 12: Modern case studies: Conscientious Objectors during the First World War and the Derek Bentley case 13: Historic Environment: Living in Whitechapel 14: Historic Environment: Policing in Whitechapel

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Book SynopsisNew in paperback - Explore a fascinating look at the three pretenders to the Tudor throne - Simnel, Warbeck, and Warwick.Trade ReviewA compelling tale packed with intrigue, jeopardy and sound judgment – this is Tudor history right out of the top drawer. -- Dan Jones

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Book SynopsisChange the history that pupils learn at Key Stage 3. Reframe familiar topics, discover forgotten stories and amplify unheard voices.Through an evocative, story-based approach, this ground-breaking course brings together historical scholarship and enquiry, presenting a truly diverse, inclusive and ambitious history curriculum.This is the history we owe to our pupils. This is the past for today and tomorrow.> Establish a strong foundation of British history. A clear, chronological spine underpins each book, empowering pupils with the knowledge they need to understand, question or disrupt national narratives.> Journey far beyond Britain. Move between local and global, between small details and wider developments, as the books blend depth and overview, expanding pupils'' knowledge of people, places and events around the world and the links between them.> Use the power of story to transform your teaching. Captivated by vivid, intriguing narratives, pupils will remember more than they ever have before. See their literacy improve as they encounter a wide vocabulary in context, become immersed in rich, quality texts, and enjoy hearing the book read aloud or reading it themselves.> Teach a diverse curriculum with confidence. Gender, class, race and religion are treated with sensitivity and sophistication, intrinsically woven into the content to create perspective on social, economic, religious and political history.> Stay up to date with historical scholarship. The authors have undertaken extensive reading, so every chapter is informed by current research from historians such as Helen Castor, Ruby Lal and Toby Green.> Deliver the aspirational curriculum that Ofsted expects. The course embodies the requirements for scope, coherence, rigour and sequencing. The Changing Histories curriculum is a progression model. Skills and knowledge are built systematically across each lesson sequence and new material makes sense to pupils because of the content covered earlier.> Trust a meticulously planned approach. Each ''enquiry'' chapter helps pupils to shape an extended answer to the overarching question, with carefully paced ''steps'' that support pupils in processing substantive knowledge. Shorter ''story summary'' chapters keep narratives moving in between the enquiries.> Benefit from some of the best minds in history education. Leaders in history curriculum, practice, research and debate, the authors have poured their expertise into every page, making quality history accessible to all.

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Book SynopsisIncorporating sharp questions and big ideas, Niven shifts deftly between history, politics, culture and literature to offer a fascinating and provocative analysis of the marginalisation of the North. Madeleine Bunting, author of Labours of Love: the Crisis of CareAn in-depth exploration of the importance of the North of England in the modern era.The North Will Rise Again covers the colourful adventures of its inhabitants, the expansiveness and optimism that defines Northern culture, and the recurrent sense of failure and despair that is at the heart of one of the West's most impoverished regions. By telling the story of the North in the last few decades, Alex goes in search of answers to some of the big questions at the forefront of British politics and society today, touching on live issues including the North/South divide, austerity, the impact of Brexit, the collapse of Labour's Red Wall', and calls for regional devolution. He cTrade ReviewA great book. -- Andy Burnham, Mayor of Greater ManchesterIncorporating sharp questions and big ideas, Niven shifts deftly between history, politics, culture and literature to offer a fascinating and provocative analysis of the marginalisation of the North. -- Madeleine Bunting, author of Labours of Love: the Crisis of CareAlex Niven’s elegant, heartfelt book is the best I have read about the North’s subordination by the South in modern England, and about how visionary northern culture of all kinds has defied that imbalance. -- Andy Beckett, Guardian journalistAlex Niven reveals the north of England in all its variety, potential and vitality. One Nation Under a Groove in book form. -- Lynsey Hanley, author of Respectable: Crossing the Class DivideA bold, compelling attempt to imagine a new future for England's industrial north by looking at its cultural and progressive past. -- John McTernan * Financial Times *The North Will Rise Again is thought-provoking, evocative, tenderly appreciative and optimistic. -- Katherine Backler * The Tablet *The history of the North of England is one of astonishing visions, great attempts to realise true progress, and painful deferrals of these dreams, so argues Alex Niven, who constructs this argument incisively, elegantly and movingly in The North Will Rise Again. Niven’s intervention is a timely one. At a moment where appeals to an insurgent, anti-establishment Northern identity are galvanised by the right and neglected by the left, never before has it been more urgent to revive the modernist, utopian dreams of those who made the region what it is. -- Fergal Kinney, Tribune[Niven] sees the north as craggy cradle of tradition but also crucible of modernity, from T Dan Smith’s doomed architectural dreams of Newcastle as “the Brasilia of the north” to the experimental poetry of the 1960s centred around the Morden Tower poets … Niven is good on the melancholic, bitter-sweet descant of failure detectable in Victoria Wood, Phoenix Nights, Morrissey and others – the sad, plangent bottom note audible beneath the raucous swagger. -- Stuart Maconie, New StatesmanA fascinating, expansive book, which takes in civic architecture, modernist poetry, postmodern art, independent filmmaking, and popular music, from the queer futurism of Frankie Goes to Hollywood to the utopian aspirations of Factory Records. -- James Greig, DazedA lively cultural and political history of the lands between the Tweed and the Mersey–Humber line … Niven skilfully connects Wyndham Lewis’s northwards-looking BLAST magazine and the Vorticists’ love of concrete and machinery with Yevgeny Zamyatin’s inspiration in the “grand mechanised ballet” of Tyneside shipyards, Aldous Huxley’s formative visit to the Imperial Chemical Industries’s huge plant in Billingham (which “opened the doors of his perception”) and on to the influence of industrial Teesside on the aesthetics of Ridley Scott’s Blade Runner. -- Dan Jackson, Prospect

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Book SynopsisA definitive history of the German Peasants' War, the greatest popular uprising in Western Europe before the French Revolution, by award-winning historian Lyndal Roper.

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Book SynopsisStep back in time and discover the sights, sounds and smells of London through the ages in this enthralling journey into the capital''s rich, teeming and occasionally hazardous past.Let time traveller Dr Matthew Green be your guide to six extraordinary periods in London''s history - the ages of Shakespeare, medieval city life, plague, coffee houses, the reign of Victoria and the Blitz.We''ll turn back the clock to the time of Shakespeare and visit a savage bull and bear baiting arena on the Bankside. In medieval London, we''ll circle the walls as the city lies barricaded under curfew, while spinning further forward in time we''ll inhale the ''holy herb'' in an early tobacco house, before peering into an open plague pit. In the 18th century, we''ll navigate the streets in style with a ride on a sedan chair, and when we land in Victorian London, we''ll take a tour of freak-show booths and meet the Elephant Man.You''ll meet pornographers and traitors, actTrade ReviewDr Matthew Green, author of London: A Travel Guide Through Time, has a knack for revealing the most unexpected details of London's multifaceted past in fascinating and accessible detail. * Daily Telegraph *Matthew Green's time travelling vehicle's headlights focus on fascinating details, time after time, as it swoops around London. A must for anyone interested in London's history. His research can't be faulted. -- Liza Picard (bestselling author of 'Elizabeth's London' and 'Restoration London')It's a sizeable tome, yet written with such a storyteller's flare that the pages whizz by like a hover-converted Delorean... London: A Travel Guide Through Time is easily the most engaging social history of the capital since the books of Liza Picard a decade ago. * Londonist *London: A Travel Guide Through Time is really excellent; I think it's one of the best London books for a long, long time. Green is a brilliant, brilliant London historian. -- Robert Elms * BBC Radio London *I enjoyed this book immensely. Matthew Green has executed an original idea extremely well. Every page yields fascinating glimpses into the past habits and horrors of our greatest city, bringing to life the detail of daily existence in an unforgettable way. There are many surprises for all of us here about how Londoners lived, at least as much, it turns out, in the 1950s as in the 1390s. An excellent and vivid work of history. -- William HagueDr Matthew Green is hands down the best storyteller I have ever met. His book, London: A Travel Guide Through Time, is endlessly illuminating and engaging. -- George LambLondon: A Travel Guide Through Time, by the hugely talented author Dr Matthew Green, is a masterful evocation of the sights, sounds - and smells - of old London town at various key moments through the last few centuries. -- Tom Hodgkinson (bestselling author of 'How To Be Idle')A brilliantly-observed work...Green starts each chapter by plonking you in a very specific location - richly described - in the London of the year featured. You then visit various parts of the metropolis by both day and night...like a skilled guide or conversationalist, the author succeeds in making the places visited genuinely interesting. A wonderful debut. * London Historians *Green is a superb storyteller. The writing is evocative and witty. It was such an engaging book, that I was loathe to put down at night. Whether you are new to London, a born-and-bred Londoner looking to to rekindle your connection with your city, or a visitor planning to enjoy a trip here, this book is for you. * Medievalists.net *No-one makes history come to life more vividly than the erudite, acclaimed and all-round impressive Dr. Matthew Green. -- Eleanor O'Keefe (co-founder, 5x15)Immersive... an all-sensory travel tour. * The Sunday Times *

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Book SynopsisIn the nineteenth century, as Britain became the world''s most powerful industrial empire, Ireland starved. The Great Famine fractured long-held assumptions about political economy and ''civilisation'', threatening disorder in Britain itself. Ireland was a laboratory for empire, shaping British ideas about colonisation, population, ecology and work.Scanlan reinterprets the history of this time and the result is a revelatory account of the Irish Great Famine (1845-1851). In the first half of the nineteenth century, nowhere in Europe - or the world - did the working poor depend as completely on potatoes as in Ireland. To many British observers, potatoes were evidence of a lack of modernity and ''civilization'' among the Irish. Ireland before the Famine, however, more closely resembled capitalism''s future than its past. Irish labourers were paid some of the lowest wages in the British empire, and relied on the abundance of the potato to survive. Scanlan expertly shows how the

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Book Synopsis''Compelling and informative... a useful gateway into [Xi Jinping''s] mind'' Rana Mitter, Literary ReviewFrom one of the most admired reporters covering China today, a vital new account of the life and political vision of Xi Jinping, the authoritarian leader of the People''s Republic whose hard-edged tactics have set the rising superpower on a collision with Western liberal democracies.Party of One: The Rise of Xi Jinping and China''s Superpower Future shatters the many myths and caricatures that shroud one of the world''s most secretive political organizations and its leader. Many observers misread Xi during his early years in power, projecting their own hopes that he would steer China toward more political openness, rule of law, and pro-market economics. Having masked his beliefs while climbing the party hierarchy, Xi has centralized decision-making powers, encouraged a personality cult around himself, and moved toward indefinite

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Book SynopsisA queen on the edge. Anne Boleyn has mesmerised the English public for centuries. Her tragic execution, orchestrated by her own husband, never ceases to intrigue. How did this courtier's daughter become the queen of England, and what was it that really tore apart this illustrious marriage, making her the whore of England, an abandoned woman executed on the scaffold? While many stories of Anne Boleyn's downfall have been told, few have truly traced the origins of her tragic fate. In Thorns, Lust and Glory, Estelle Paranque takes us back to where it all started: to France, where Anne learned the lessons that would set her on the path to becoming one of England's most infamous queens. At the court of the French king as a resourceful teenage girl, Anne's journey to infamy began, and this landmark biography explores the world that shaped her, and how these loyalties would leave her vulnerable, leading to her ruin at the court of Henry VIII. A fascinating new perspective on Tudor history's most enduring story, Thorns, Lust and Glory is an unmissable account of a queen on the edge.

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Book SynopsisFrom calls to arms to demands for peace, and from cries of freedom to words of inspiration, this stirring anthology captures the voices of prophets and politicians, rebels and tyrants, soldiers and statesman, placing them in historical context. With over a million copies already sold, this completely revised and updated pocket edition includes speeches by those that have truly shaped the modern world: from Greta Thunberg to Donald Trump, and from Nadia Murad to Oprah Winfrey. A biography of each speaker reveals how they came to stand at the crossroads of history, and each speech is accompanied by an introduction explaining its historical context and how it influenced the momentous events of the day - as well as those that followed. By turns moving and thought-provoking, this new edition reveals a modern world in which freedom of speech remains a powerful agent of change - and gives unique perspectives on key turning points in history. Contents include: Nelson Mandela, Barack Obama, Martin Luther King, Jr, Queen Elizabeth I, Oliver Cromwell, George Washington, Napoleon Bonaparte, Abraham Lincoln, Emmeline Pankhurst, Mohandas K. Gandhi, Adolf Hitler, Joseph Stalin, Franklin D. Roosevelt, Charles de Gaulle, George S. Patton, Jr, Malcolm X, Vaclav Havel, Mikhail Gorbachev, Indira Gandhi and Winston Churchill to name a few.

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Book Synopsis**Shortlisted for the Baillie Gifford Prize 2024**A story of staggering scope and drama, Revolusi is the masterful and definitive account of the epic revolution that sparked the decolonisation of the modern world. 'Astounding . . . history at its best' Yuval Noah Harari'Utterly compelling . . . astonishing' Financial Times'Superb' GuardianOn a sunny Friday morning in August 1945, a handful of tired people raised a homemade cotton flag and on behalf of 68 million compatriots announced the birth of a new nation: Indonesia. Four million civilians had died during the Japanese wartime occupation that ousted its Dutch colonial regime. Another 200,000 people would lose their lives in the astonishingly brutal conflict that ensued - as the Dutch used savage violence to reassert their control, and as Britain and America became embroiled in pacifying Indonesia's guerrilla war of resistance: the 'Revolusi'. It was not until December 1949 that the newly created United Nations finally brought the conflict to an end - and with it, 350 years of colonial rule - setting a precedent that would reshape the world. Drawing on hundreds of interviews and eye-witness testimonies, David Van Reybrouck turns this vast and complex story into an utterly gripping narrative that is alive with human detail at every turn. A landmark publication, Revolusi shows Indonesia's struggle for independence to be one of the defining dramas of the twentieth century. 'A magnificent fusion of oral history, sparkling analysis, and historical wisdom. Revolusi has it all: a masterpiece' Sebastain Mallaby'A magisterial and gripping account of events of urgent importance to us now' Jason Burke'A wonderful book' Peter Frankopan'Masterly' J M Coetzee**Shortlisted for the Cundill Prize**

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Book SynopsisPacked with violence, political drama and social and cultural upheaval, the years 1913-1923 saw the emergence in Ireland of the Ulster Volunteer Force to resist Irish home rule and in response, the Irish Volunteers, who would later evolve into the IRA. World War One, the rise of Sinn Féin, intense Ulster unionism and conflict with Britain culminated in the Irish war of Independence, which ended with a compromise Treaty with Britain and then the enmities and drama of the Irish Civil War. Drawing on an abundance of newly released archival material, witness statements and testimony from the ordinary Irish people who lived and fought through extraordinary times, A Nation and not a Rabble explores these revolutions. Diarmaid Ferriter highlights the gulf between rhetoric and reality in politics and violence, the role of women, the battle for material survival, the impact of key Irish unionist and republican leaders, as well as conflicts over health, land, religion, law and order, and welfare.Trade ReviewThis outstanding, carefully researched study by Ferriter, professor of Modern Irish History at University College Dublin, sets the bar high for good writing and scholarship. * Financial Times Summer Reading Pick 2015 *Ferriter has been to the forefront of scholarship of this particular period of our history and has brought vigour, detail and honesty to the often vexatious debate around events of this time...this engrossing and highly stimulating book offers a perfect companion to the debate * Sunday Independent *Ferriter's magisterial review of the period, the events and how they have been recorded and sacralised, chronicled, distorted or suppressed...brings the whole period to life with a vividness that reflects the cry of pain of the victim as well as the bombast of the gunman and the rhetoric of the politician...but the real value is in hearing the voices of ordinary people who are suffering...a wonderful book * Irish Independent *Very illuminating detail...simply setting violent events in context is a step forward. Thoughtful, balanced, even handed * Irish Times *...The mighty mind this book comes from... rightly renowned for his voracious learning * Sunday Times *Tugs at the tapestry of myths surrounding the independence struggle and the civil war that followed * The Independent *Ferriter's book is of such comprehensive and original scope...immensely readable and impressive * Sunday Business Post *The uses and abuses of national memory and the compromising of revolutionary ideals form the spine of this excellent history of the Irish revolution...Ferriter is the outstanding young Irish historian of our time: robust, intellectually sophisticated and a master of the sources * Prospect *Ferriter is interested above all in the sources, what is preserved and what is forgotten, and the oblique shafts of light which they cast on a disputed history...fascinating * Spectator *What is most impressive is what it shows of the author's omnivorous appetite for research...it includes a rich vein of material mined from the most recently released archives * Books Ireland *Powerfully shows how the mythology has taken shape...explores the grass-roots experience of Ireland's revolutionary decade. * New Statesman *This outstanding, carefully researched study by Ferriter sets the bar high for good writing and scholarship * Financial Times *an honest perspective and a valuable handbook for both the historian and the general reader * History Ireland *

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Book SynopsisA Financial Times Book of the Year Though we might not realise it, our collective memory of the twentieth century was defined by the poets who lived and wrote in it. At every significant turning point we find them, pen in hand, fingers poised at the typewriter, ready to distil the essence of the moment, from the muddy wastes of the Western front to the vast reckoning that came with the end of empire. This is the first and only history of twentieth century poetry, by the acclaimed poet, author and academic John Burnside. Bringing together poets from times and places as diverse as Tsarist Russia, 1960's America and Ireland at the height of the Troubles, The Music of Time reveals how poets engaged with and shaped the most important issues of their times - and were in their turn affected by their context and dialogue with each other. This is a major work of scholarship, that on every page bears witness to the transformative beauty and power of poetry.Trade ReviewThe joy of Burnside's poems - and part of what makes them moving - is that he does know and never stops registering the ways in which beauty makes life worth living. * Observer *Burnside can describe the material world with astonishing deftness... He is the poet who more than any other writing today sees the material world and the world of thought and ideas as two sides of the most fragile of membranes. -- Fiona SampsonBurnside, who is also an accomplished poet, writes lyrical prose with virtuoso ease * Guardian *Burnside has a lovely garrulousness that is distinctively his own -- Tessa HadleyBurnside has written a generous, combative, honest book, which will compel re-reading and deserves to survive, as poetry itself survives, alongside the laziness and imaginative carnage of public speech in the 21st century. -- Rowan Williams * The New Statesman *A highly personal work by the Scottish poet John Burnside, The Music of Time is above all an urgent defence of the power of poetry. Burnside shows us how words on the page can bring us an understanding beyond words - and beyond science - whether we are in mourning, in love (or out of it but still married to the once beloved), at war, in exile, in despair or - as now - in crisis. Enriched by Burnside's clear, luminous prose, it tackles overlooked - in this country at least - issues of translation and challenges the reader to think more deeply. About death. About life. About everything. -- Fiona Rintoul * The Herald *A rich, generous and often surprising book * The Scotsman *A rare blend, mixing equal parts intellectual rigour and engaging conversation. -- Maria Crawford * Financial Times *

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Book Synopsis** SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLER **'Astonishing' ANTONY BEEVOR 'One of the most promising young historians to enter our field for years' MAX HASTINGSA thrilling new history of the disastrous years of indecision, failed diplomacy and parliamentary infighting that enabled Hitler and the Nazis to dominate Europe.On a wet afternoon in September 1938, Neville Chamberlain stepped off an aeroplane and announced that his visit to Hitler had averted the greatest crisis in recent memory. It was, he later assured the crowd in Downing Street, 'peace for our time'. Less than a year later, Germany invaded Poland and the Second World War began. Drawing on previously unseen sources, Appeasing Hitler sweeps from the advent of Hitler in 1933 to the beaches of Dunkirk, and presents an unforgettable portrait of the ministers, aristocrats and amateur diplomats whose actions and inaction had devastating consequences. 'Brilliant and sparkling . . . Reads like a thriller. I couldn't put it down' Peter Frankopan 'Vivid, detailed and utterly fascinating . . . This is political drama at its most compelling' James Holland 'Bouverie skilfully traces each shameful step to war . . . in moving and dramatic detail' Sunday TelegraphTrade ReviewAppeasing Hitler is an astonishingly accomplished debut. Bouverie writes with a wonderful clarity and we will no doubt hear a lot more of his voice in future -- Antony BeevorA brilliant and sparkling debut by an outstanding young historian. Tim Bouverie has written an account of the build-up to the Second World War that reads like a thriller. I couldn’t put it down. -- Peter FrankopanThis is the debut of an unusually talented writer, one of the most promising young historians to enter our field for years -- Max HastingsEvery so often I've been escaping to the corner of my garden and losing myself in Tim Bouverie's brilliant Appeasing Hitler. It's a compelling read that combines detailed research with a flair for narrative -- Nick Robinson * Radio Times *Drawing on an impressive and interesting range of sources and characters, Tim Bouverie has written a fascinating and scholarly portrait of a decade when credulity, self-interest and poor judgement prevailed tragically and inexorably over morality and good sense: this is the reporting of history at its best -- Caroline MooreheadAppeasing Hitler is the stunning debut of a major new narrative historian. A riveting and depressing story which has resonance today as the democracies again face dictatorships -- Professor Margaret MacmillanIn meticulous detail and with moments of novelty and insight… [Appeasing Hitler] should become a standard text on this inglorious episode… an exceptionally promising debut. He has great narrative abilities and his research has been extensive -- Simon Heffer * Daily Telegraph *Sparkling and witty... The best account of the subject that I have ever read -- Professor Sir Michael HowardThis gripping book is…valuable because it illuminates some eternal truths -- Andrew Rawnsley * Observer *Tim Bouverie tells the story of appeasement with skill, verve and panache, using contemporary accounts to great effect in exploring the mentalities that lay behind the political decisions -- Ian KershawWith enormous flair and confidence, Tim Bouverie has brought his subject to life, elegantly drawing out the historical parallels while also presenting a gripping and well-paced narrative. Lively, nuanced, and full of surprising details, this is a stunning debut -- Henry HemmingWith tremendous narrative flair and impeccable judgement, Bouverie illuminates the wishful thinking, the gullibility and the appalling amateurishness that led us to the precipice -- Simon Griffith * Mail on Sunday *An eye-opening narrative which makes for exciting but at times uncomfortable reading as one reflects on possible lessons for the present -- Antonia FraserTruly impressive and enjoyable. Tim Bouverie writes with verve and wit, gives us an often moving and always human angle on the story, and removes the tarnish from the word ‘appeasement’ to make us look anew at one of the most important, and salutary, periods of modern times -- Roland PhilippsNo previous book on Appeasement has managed to cast such a vivid, detailed and utterly fascinating light on the incredible political machinations that were being played out in the late 1930s. Tim Bouverie has brilliantly brought alive the tension, political brinkmanship and immense drama of those days... This is political drama at its most compelling, and one whose relevance sits with the reader long after the book has been put down. Superb. -- James HollandTim Bouverie breathes new life into this familiar story. His vivid narrative is compelling, even exciting, as it hurtles towards its tragic conclusion. This is a superb book that deserves to be widely read -- Adam Sisman * Literary Review *Vivid, engaging... pacy, personality driven -- Susan Pedersen * Guardian *Bouverie… retells [the story of appeasement] with gusto -- Dominic Sandbrook * Sunday Times *Bouverie gives a lucid account… [and] skilfully traces each shameful step to war… which he describes in moving and dramatic detail -- Lewis Jones * Sunday Telegraph *Gripping.. Bouverie has written a searching, wide-ranging, and above all readable chronology of a shameful era of British history… a very cautionary tale -- Nigel Jones * Spectator *[An] impressive and very readable account -- Tony Rennell * Daily Mail *Tim Bouverie’s first historical work… is a well-argued, lucid case for the prosecution of the appeasers -- David Aaronovitch * The Times, *Book of the Week* *So assured is Bouverie’s writing, and so sound his judgments, that it is hard to believe that Appeasing Hitler is his first book. It is a wonderful debut that marks the arrival of a young historian to watch -- Saul David * Evening Standard, *Book of the Week* *[An] accomplished and lucid account -- Josh Ireland * Prospect *Bouverie’s well-written Appeasing Hitler aims to provide a timeless lesson on the challenges of standing up to aggression. -- Jo Johnson * Financial Times *Bouverie has mined an impressive range of sources and quotes from them judiciously. His narrative is lucid, his prose efficient, his put-downs witty… [he] tells an important story well. -- Lucy Hughes-Hallett * New Statesman *The skill with which Tim Bouverie navigates here through the worlds of politics, officialdom and diplomacy is quite exemplary… his explanations of complex issues are always lucid; his narrative style is thoughtful, unshowy and always a pleasure to read… This is, quite simply, the best book ever to have appeared on this whole subject -- Noel Malcolm * Oldie *Bouverie’s Appeasing Hitler provides a meticulous picture of a Britain that faced very different problems from our own -- Thelma Lovell * Catholic Herald *Scrupulously fair, [and a] readable account… [an] excellent book -- Marcus Tanner * Tablet *Appeasing Hitler…is a staggeringly good account of the build-up to the Second World War… gripping, dramatic and revelatory -- Christian May * City AM *Bouverie’s prose is fluent and assured throughout. Those in search of an entertaining read will find one… an admirable retelling of traditional history -- Robert Crowcroft * History Today *An enthralling, nuanced tale… the narrative is absolutely compelling * Times Literary Supplement *An elegantly written account by a rising young historian * The Times, *Summer reads of 2019* *This is a gripping account of the wishful thinking that led us to the precipice -- Neil Armstrong and Hephzibah Anderson * Mail on Sunday, *Summer reads of 2019* *There is a sure command of narrative and judgment in faultlessly lucid prose, with subtexts of pathos -- Bruce Anderson * Spectator *A fascinating narrative on the politics of wishful thinking and the law of unintended consequences in international relations -- Ali Ansari * History Today, *Books of the Year* *[A] finely researched and well-argued book * Daily Mail, *Books of the Year* *[A] phenomenal book -- William Keegan * Observer *Excellent -- Andrew Roberts * Wall Street Journal *Excellent and compelling -- William Leith * Evening Standard *

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Book Synopsis*A THE TIMES BOOK OF THE YEAR 2020*'Brilliant and gripping, here is the full true Renaissance in a history of compelling originality and freshness' Simon Sebag MontefioreThe Italian Renaissance shaped Western culture - but it was far stranger and darker than many of us realise. We know the Mona Lisa for her smile, but not that she was married to a slave-trader. We revere Leonardo da Vinci for his art, but few now appreciate his ingenious designs for weaponry. We visit Florence to see Michelangelo's David, but hear nothing of the massacre that forced the republic's surrender. In fact, many of the Renaissance's most celebrated artists and thinkers emerged not during the celebrated 'rebirth' of the fifteenth century but amidst the death and destruction of the sixteenth century.The Beauty and the Terror is an enrapturing narrative which includes the forgotten women writers, Jewish merchants, mercenaries, prostitutes, farmers and citizens who lived the Renaissance every day. Brimming with life, it takes us closer than ever before to the reality of this astonishing era, and its meaning for today.'Terrifying and fascinating' Sunday Times'Enlightening...exactly the alternative history you might wish for' Daily TelegraphTrade ReviewTerrifying and fascinating ... If you thought the Renaissance was all about beautiful pictures and the ‘rediscovery’ of Classical writing, you are quite wrong … The Beauty and the Terror dismantles our assumptions about the Renaissance with the precision of a wheellock arquebus … an ambitious, multifocal book, encompassing more than 150 years [that] shine[s] a light on figures often forgotten in conventional histories -- Mary Wellesley * Sunday Times *Impressive and lucid … Fletcher’s narration excels in such colourful details … a scholarly, but vivid history that shows the impact that the machinations of the great, good and not so good had on the insignificant … a persuasive account of how Italy was brought low even as the culture floated high -- Michael Prodger * The Times *Richly well-informed and admirably well-written, containing material of real interest on every page ... has added a wealth of information that will be new to most of us -- Noel Malcolm * Sunday Telegraph *A story of alliances, betrayals, sacks, sieges, famines, assassinations and gruesomely ingenious tortures … Fletcher navigates this difficult terrain with great skill. She creates atmosphere and drama without any surrendering of clarity... A powerful book -- Charles Nicholl * Guardian *Fletcher’s expertise is enviable … she knows better than anyone else just how treacherous a time and place it was. At its best, The Beauty and the Terror is as enlightening as you might hope: a chapter tracing early modern ambivalence about the rise of handguns … is exactly the alternative history you might wish for, as are the sections on slavery, sexual mores and pornography -- Tim Smith-Laing * Daily Telegraph *

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Book Synopsis** AS READ ON BBC RADIO 4 BOOK OF THE WEEK IN DECEMBER 2022 **'Curious, lively, humble, utterly genuine ... a remarkable debut.' SUNDAY TIMESAlice Vernon often wakes up to find strangers in her bedroom.Ever since she was a child, her nights have been haunted by nightmares of a figure from her adolescence, sinister hallucinations and episodes of sleepwalking. These are known as 'parasomnias' - and they're surprisingly common. Now a lecturer in Creative Writing, Vernon set out to understand the history, science and culture of these strange and haunting experiences. Night Terrors, her startling and vivid debut, examines the history of our relationship with bad dreams: how we've tried to make sense of and treat them, from some decidedly odd 'cures' like magical 'mare-stones', to research on how video games might help people rewrite their dreams. Along the way she explores the Salem Witch Trials and sleep paralysis, Victorian ghost stories, and soldiers' experiences of PTSD. By directly confronting her own strange and frightening nights for the first time, Vernon encourages us to think about the way troubled sleep has impacted our imaginations.Night Terrors aims to shine a light on the darkest parts of our sleeping lives, and to reassure sufferers from bad dreams that they are not alone.Trade ReviewFascinating - just don't read it at bedtime. * The Observer *Curious, lively, humble, utterly genuine ... a remarkable debut. * Sunday Times *By writing this gruelling, honest book, Alice Vernon has done her small bit to try to puncture the power of nightmares. * Daily Mail *In a discourse fired by lively inquiry and personal anecdote, [Vernon] looks to art, literature and science to demonstrate the profound effect these eerie and surprisingly common nocturnal states have had on the human imagination. Fascinating - just don't read it at bedtime. * The Observer *Fascinating ... a rich, immersive study of not just nightmares but the full range of parasomnias - the strange sleep disorders that can afflict us. ... [Vernon] can really write. ... This book felt like an extended hand to me. It is curious, lively, humble, utterly genuine - and, if you're a sufferer too, wonderfully reassuring. It is a remarkable debut. * Sunday Times *A vivid history of sleep disorders ... a candid, intense look at what keeps people up at night. * Publishers Weekly *A welcome addition to the vast library it cites and celebrates, Vernon's work is a compelling guide to the uncanny grammar of our dread and desire. * Fortean Times *

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Book SynopsisCHOSEN AS A BOOK OF THE YEAR BY THE FINANCIAL TIMES * TELEGRAPH * PROSPECT'The best account of the ongoing conflict — its preconditions and its present-day horrors' Prospect Do you know what is at stake in Ukraine? Urgent, compelling reading from the author of Chernobyl on the defining conflict of our timesOn 24 February 2022, Russia stunned the world by launching an invasion of Ukraine. In the midst of checking on the family and friends who were now on the front lines of Europe's largest conflict since the outbreak of the Second World War, acclaimed Ukrainian-American historian Serhii Plokhy inevitably found himself attempting to understand the deeper causes of the invasion, analysing its course and contemplating the wider outcomes.The Russo-Ukrainian War is the comprehensive history of a war that has burned since 2014, and that, with Russia's attempt to seize Kyiv, exploded a geo-political order that had been cemented since the end of the Cold War. With an eye for the gripping detail on the ground, both in the halls of power and down in the trenches, as well as a keen sense of the grander sweep of history, Plokhy traces the origins and the evolution of the conflict, from the collapse of the Russian empire to the rise and fall of the USSR and on to the development in Ukraine of a democratic politics.Based on decades of research and his unique insight into the region, he argues that Ukraine's defiance of Russia, and the West's demonstration of unity and strength, has presented a profound challenge to Putin's Great Power ambition, and further polarized the world along a new axis. A riveting, enlightening account, this is present-minded history at its best.BEST BOOKS OF SUMMER 2023: FINANCIAL TIMES * THE TIMES * SUNDAY TIMES CULTURE * TLSTrade ReviewHow did we get here? Serhii Plokhy, a professor of Ukrainian history at Harvard University, looks for an answer to Putin's irrational war in this important and magisterial account. . . He is excellent on the dangers of perverse history * The Times and Sunday Times Best Books for Summer *The foremost historian of Ukraine turns his attention to contemporary events. He argues that Russia's invasion is an act of old-fashioned imperialism. Plokhy uses his historical perspective to provide an original erudite and very readable account of the roots of the war and its course so far -- Gideon Rachman * Financial Times Best Summer Books *Vladimir Putin's full invasion of Ukraine has made 2021 look like "vegetarian times", to borrow Anna Akhmatova's phrase. I'll be spending three weeks among the scrabbly pitch pines of Cape Cod, and of the stream of new books about the war itself, I plan to bring ... Serhii Plokhy's The Russo-Ukrainian War (Allen Lane), for its historical perspective on Ukraine and the Russian imperial project -- Rebecca Reich * TLS Summer Books *The great chronicler of Ukraine breaks new ground in his rigorous and elegant analysis of Europe's biggest conflict since 1945. Wonderfully readable and deeply personal -- Luke Harding * Observer *This magisterial book by a leading historian explains how long-held Russian imperial delusions lay behind the attack on Ukraine. It brilliantly outlines the dangers of perverse history -- David Patrikarakos * The Times *Erudite, objective and immensely readable. A compelling rejoinder to those who, reductively, still blame Putin's war of aggression on western provocations, and an expression of faith in Ukrainian resilience -- Ben Hall * Financial Times *Plokhy, a Harvard historian who has authored many respected books, is himself Ukrainian. . . this book represents an impassioned plea for his country * Sunday Times *The world's foremost historian of Ukraine. . . the chronicler of a country on the front lines of a seismic European war * Financial Times *Impressive and valuable... A clear, reliable and (in the circumstances) remarkably calm account of how we got here -- John Simpson * Guardian *Plokhy has become an international celebrity. His books on Ukrainian history fly off the shelves as a domestic and international audience look to understand the history and culture of the country at the heart of the clash. His writings introduce readers to a history that is rarely taught in the West and explain the region's complex and difficult past * Daily Telegraph *This is one of those wars rooted deep in the past, and it takes an outstanding historian to make sense of its antecedents without falling into partisan cheerleading or cartoonish oversimplification. Fortunately, Serhii Plokhy is such a historian. His evident sympathy for his homeland never overpowers his scholarly instincts -- Mark Galeotti * TLS *A feat of scholarship under pressure -- Patrick Hudson * Tablet *Plokhy is a fine, crisp writer and does brilliant research. . . . There is so much more here to inform this huge and important debate that I can only urge anybody who cares about the matter to buy and read the book -- Peter Hitchens * Mail on Sunday *A masterpiece of historical research that will give Western readers a much better understanding of Russia's motivations and the conflict's early months * Independent.ie *The horrific war in Ukraine rumbles on, and perhaps it's a strange time for a history of the conflict to come out, but Serhii Plokhy is the perfect historian to write it. Plokhy has lost relatives and friends in the conflict, and The Russo-Ukrainian War details with well-constructed arguments the causes and consequences of Putin's gamble. It may be current affairs, but it's difficult not to argue the invasion is historic -- Oliver Webb-Carter * Aspects of History *An utterly compelling account, deeply personal, persuasively authoritative, surely the must-read book for this challenging moment -- Philippe Sands, author of East West StreetFor those trying to understand the roots of the war in Ukraine, there is no better guide than Serhii Plokhy. It's impossible to make sense of the Russian invasion of 2022 without knowing something of the history - recent and less recent - and the struggle for Ukrainian national identity; this compelling and lucid book illuminates both -- Lindsey Hilsum, author of In ExtremisThe essential book for the Russia-Ukraine war - superb, accessible and erudite - by the world's chief expert. The must-read work -- Simon Sebag Montefiore, author of The World: A Family HistoryThe thread of history is central to understanding Putin's invasion of Ukraine. Serhii Plokhy outlines this in fascinating detail and reminds us of the constant fragility of peace -- David Lammy

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Book SynopsisGorgeous Collector's Edition. The period of the first Ancient Greek peoples, the Mycenaean civilization, from the 1700s BCE, through to the Greek Dark Ages and the rise of Classical Antiquity more than a thousand years later is one of profound significance for Western modes of thought. The first cities, works of art, the stories of Olympic Gods and heroic warriors in classical literature find their origins in the traditions of this era. This new book is the perfect companion to Greek Myths & Legends in the same series of beautiful Collector's Editions, and sits alongside the other great cultures of the early world. Flame Tree Collector's Editions present the foundations of speculative fiction: authors, myths, tales and history without which the imaginative literature of the twentieth century would not exist, bringing the best, most influential and most fascinating works into a striking and collectable library. Each book features a new Introduction and a Glossary of Terms or lists of Ancient Leaders.

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Book Synopsis''CAN WE ALL AGREE THAT WE WANT SHALINA TO BE OUR HISTORY TEACHER?''Anita Rani''SHALINA PATEL IS THE HISTORY TEACHER I WISH I HAD AT SCHOOL''Sathnam Sanghera, author of Empireland''GO AND BUY THIS BOOK - SHALINA IS AN EXTRAORDINARY TEACHER AND MAKES EVERY SUBJECT FASCINATING''Bella Mackie, author of How to Kill Your FamilyTaking the reader on a tour through history, from the Romans to the Second World War via Tudor courts, medieval castles and more, this hugely entertaining debut from an award-winning history teacher explores a variety of historical topics in a thoughtful and engaging way. Written in an approachable and accessible style, Shalina Patel will be your guide on an eye-opening and jaw-dropping journey back in time.The History Lessons invites readers to reclaim our history education, and is a treat for curious minds keen to look beyond the usual narratives. This is a book that celebrates stories and people that may be less familiar - but no less remarkable or fascinating.

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Book Synopsis''An excellent book'' David Aaronovitch, The TimesWas the 1960s really that great time of liberation, joyful experimentation and celebration of youth? Growing Up takes an unflinching look at the dark underbelly of the sexual revolution.No era in recent history has been both more celebrated and vilified than the 1960s. For some it was a time when music, fashion and drugs enabled young people to express their individuality and freedom, their hopes and dreams of a different, perhaps better, world. For others, the decade marked the advent of the permissive society, with its undermining of authority, family values and common decency. At the heart of this continuing controversy is sex. For this wide-ranging and eye-opening survey of the sexual landscape of the 1960s Peter Doggett has assembled a dozen little-known stories that reveal how the sexual revolution transformed people''s lives. Growing Up provides an honest, often distur

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Book Synopsis'Beautiful. Poignant. Phenomenal...I cried and I smiled...Truly a gem.' Goodreads reviewerA moving and heartbreaking journey of a daughter discovering her Palestinian roots and recovering her mother's beloved past. Perfect for fans of The Bookseller of Kabul and The Beekeeper of Aleppo.1948, Jerusalem. Zakia is forced to flee the only home she's ever known as war rips through the leafy streets and the bustling spice-filled souqs. Taking just one suitcase, Zakia thinks she'll be able to return soon. But within weeks, she realises she won't be allowed back to her beloved homeland. 2007, California. Mona grew up with her mother Zakia's memories of Palestine, imagining the muezzin's call for prayer and the medley of church bells her mother so vividly described to her. So, when Mona gets the opportunity to teach conflict resolution in Ramallah, she also embarks on a personal pilgrimage to find her mother's home in militarized and occupied Jerusalem.With cherished letters from her mother who writes to Mona regularly, sharing her story of Jerusalem, Mona dreams of one day being guided by her through the winding cobblestone alleys of the Old City. Yet it is Mona who instead holds her mother's hand as they finally visit Jerusalem together. After fifty-nine years of exile, her mother is returning to the place she once called home - but can a lifetime of loss ever be healed?

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Book Synopsis'Dazzling. Mind-altering. World-changing. A once-in-a-generation contribution' NAOMI KLEIN'Sweeping and provocative... groundbreaking' AMITAV GHOSH'Will transform your understanding of the modern world' JONATHAN KENNEDYFrom a Pulitzer Prize-winning historian comes the first definitive history of the Western hemisphere, a sweeping five-century narrative of North and South America that redefines our understanding of both continents. The story of the United States' unique sense of itself was forged facing south no less than Latin America's was indelibly stamped by the looming colossus to the north. In this stunningly original reinterpretation of the New World, Professor Greg Grandin reveals how the Americas emerged from constant, turbulent engagement with each other, shedding new light on well-known historical figures like Bartolomé de las Casas, Simón Bolívar and Woodrow Wilson, as well as lesser-known actors such as the Venezuelan Francisco de Miranda, who almost lost his head in the French Revolution and conspired with Alexander Hamilton to free America from Spain. America, América traverses half a millennium, from the Spanish Conquest the greatest mortality event in human history through the eighteenth-century wars for independence and the Monroe Doctrine, to the coups and revolutions of the twentieth century. This monumental work of scholarship fundamentally changes our understanding of racism, the rise of universal humanism, and the role of social democracy in staving off extremism. At once comprehensive and accessible, America, América shows how the United States and Latin America together shaped the laws, institutions, and ideals that govern the modern world. Drawing on a vast array of sources, and told with authority and flair, this is a genuinely new history of the New World. 'Masterful and erudite yet absolutely riveting' ADA FERRER'An awe-inspiring masterpiece' SAMUEL MOYN

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