History Books
Yale University Press Spain
Book Synopsis
£11.99
Orion Publishing Co The Tunnels of Cu Chi
Book SynopsisThe story of an extraordinary campaign in the Vietnam War - fought in a 200-mile labyrinth of underground tunnels and chambers.
£9.99
Penguin Books Ltd The Origin of the Family Private Property and the
Book SynopsisThe Origin of the Family, Private Property and the State (1884), was a provocative and profoundly influential critique of the Victorian nuclear family. Engels argued that the traditional monogamous household was in fact a recent construct, closely bound up with capitalist societies. Under this patriarchal system, women were servants and, effectively, prostitutes. Only Communism would herald the dawn of communal living and a new sexual freedom and, in turn, the role of the state would become superfluous.
£13.49
Oxford University Press Modern Italy
Book SynopsisThe history of modern Italy is characterized by recurrent cultural and political projects of modernity, rejuvenation, and regeneration; projects which often had their roots in a widespread dissatisfaction with social and political reality, and perceived moral corruption. The Risorgimento, the movement leading to Italian Unification in 1861, explicitly linked the quest for national unity to a process of moral regeneration and progress. Later forms of nationalism and the rise of fascism in the first two decades of the twentieth century advocated a spiritual revolution and the moulding of new Italians through war and violence. The tragic outcome of Italian fascism led to the emergence of new visions of progress during the post-war First Republic, in which European integration was embraced with conviction. In the last 25 years a project of of modernization epitomized by Silvio Berlusconi has characterized Italian politics, invoking a mixture of nationalist themes and an uncritical embracing of consumer and media culture. In this Very Short Introduction Anna Cento Bull addresses the question of what modernity means to Italy, and asks what modern Italy stands for. She considers Italy''s political system and style of government, and looks at its economic modernisation and issues with emigration, internal migration and immigration. Bull concludes by looking at the Italian culture and lifestyle, including modern art and architecture, cinema, literature, gastronomy, fashion and sport.ABOUT THE SERIES: The Very Short Introductions series from Oxford University Press contains hundreds of titles in almost every subject area. These pocket-sized books are the perfect way to get ahead in a new subject quickly. Our expert authors combine facts, analysis, perspective, new ideas, and enthusiasm to make interesting and challenging topics highly readable.Trade ReviewThey say 'good things come in small packages' and this compact tome definitely proves the point. Packed into its 140-odd pages is all any italophile needs to know about the evolution of Modern Italy from the Risorgimento in the mid-1800s to the present day ... this snappy small-format guide is crammed with detail but never dry - the tone easy and accessible. An excellent overview, not to be missed. * Italia! *Table of ContentsINTRODUCTION; CONCLUSION; REFERENCES; FURTHER READING; INDEX
£9.49
Penguin Books Ltd On China
Book SynopsisIn 1971 Henry Kissinger took the historic step of reopening relations between China and the West, and since then has been more intimately connected with the country at the highest level than any other western figure. This book distils his unique experience, examining China''s history from the classical era to the present day, describing the essence of its millennia-old approach to diplomacy, strategy and negotiation, and reflecting on these attitudes for our own uncertain future.
£15.29
Simon & Schuster Ltd Foreign Bodies
Book Synopsis‘This splendid and often moving work of history… Schama has a gift for combining novelistically colourful detail, serious analysis and wryly amusing asides’ Daily Telegraph ‘Superb’ Observer ‘Extraordinary… A meticulous retelling of a terrible yet scientifically innovative period… Makes an urgent case for building a better future on our toxic past’ Guardian ‘This is history of the best sort – humanly engaged but never sentimental’ Mail on Sunday Cities and countries engulfed by panic and death, desperate for vaccines but fearful of what inoculation may bring. This is what the world has just gone through with Covid-19. But as Simon Schama shows in his epic history of vulnerable humanity caught between the terror of contagion and the ingenuity of science, it has happened before.
£11.69
WW Norton & Co Black Flags, Blue Waters: The Epic History of
Book SynopsisSet against the backdrop of the Age of Exploration, Black Flags, Blue Waters reveals the surprising history of American piracy’s “Golden Age” - spanning the late 1600s through the early 1700s - when lawless pirates plied the coastal waters of North America and beyond. “Deftly blending scholarship and drama” (Richard Zacks), best-selling author Eric Jay Dolin illustrates how American colonists at first supported these outrageous pirates in an early display of solidarity against the Crown, and then violently opposed them. Through engrossing episodes of roguish glamour and extreme brutality, Dolin depicts the star pirates of this period, among them the towering Blackbeard, the ill-fated Captain Kidd, and sadistic Edward Low, who delighted in torturing his prey. Upending popular misconceptions and cartoonish stereotypes, Black Flags, Blue Waters is a “tour de force history” (Michael Pierce, Midwestern Rewind) of the seafaring outlaws whose raids reflect the precarious nature of American colonial life.Trade Review"An entertaining romp across the oceans that shows how piracy is an inseparable element of our past.... Mr. Dolin has a keen eye for detail and the telling episode. Readers will learn fascinating tidbits of language, habits and cultural assimilation." -- Rinker Buck, Wall Street Journal"Black Flags, Blue Waters is rumbustious enough for the adventure-hungry, but it also hews to the facts as they are known about the pirate lives and activities.... Dolin’s book is not only a fine entertainment, but it draws the pirate in a clear light." -- Peter Lewis, San Francisco Chronicle"A masterly and vivid account of the pirates who operated around America’s coasts in the late 1600s and early 1700s. Using an impressive array of sources, Eric Jay Dolin throws a fresh light on familiar stories, unearths some new and surprising facts, and skillfully sets the exploits of a notorious generation of pirates in their historical context." -- David Cordingly, author of Under the Black Flag"Elegantly written.... Black Flags, Blue Waters is distinctive and an excellent addition to this subdivision of maritime history." -- Louis Arthur Norton, Sea History"Gripping.... Dolin, who has previously written popular narratives about whaling, the fur trade and opium trafficking, finds another can’t-miss subject in the adventures of Kidd, Bonnet, Blackbeard and their ilk. Dolin makes it fresh by focusing on the interaction between pirates and the British colonies. His evidence is irrefutable: pirate cash and stolen goods were invaluable to colonial ports." -- Anne Bartlett, BookPage"If you’ve never read Dolin before, prepare to have a new favorite historian." -- Jeff Guinn, author of The Road to Jonestown"A compelling examination of the economics, geopolitics, and strong?sometimes mad?personalities that fueled the great age of New World piracy. Black Flags, Blue Waters illuminates a fascinating era of maritime history but also the dark actions of desperate men." -- Dean King, author of Skeletons on the Zahara"Eric Jay Dolin has written a tour de force history of this period in American history. Black Flags, Blue Waters brings to life the famous, the not-so-famous, and the infamous of the ranks of American pirates during the... Golden Age [of Piracy]." -- Michael Pierce, Midwestern Rewind"As he did with whales and lighthouses, Eric Jay Dolin gives us another sea-meets-shore epic wrapped in a swashbuckling narrative.... A fascinating adventure story filled with rogues, rascals, and ruthless renegades, this is stirring history that reads like a novel." -- Stephen Puleo, author of Dark Tide"In Black Flags, Blue Waters, Eric Jay Dolin presents the surprising and enthralling Age of Pirates that was more bloody than golden. In the process, he proves again that skillfully presented narrative nonfiction is even more gripping than swashbuckling mythology. If you’ve never read Dolin before, prepare to have a new favorite historian." -- Jeff Guinn, author of The Road to Jonestown
£14.24
Giles de la Mare Publishers Inherit the Truth 1939-1945: The Documented
Book SynopsisThis is the story of the destruction of a talented Jewish family, and of the survival against all the odds of two young sisters. It is one of the most moving stories to emerge from the Second World War. Anita and her elder sister Renate defied death at the hands of the Gestapo and the SS over a period of two and a half years when they were sucked into the whirlpool of Nazi mass extermination, being first imprisoned as 'criminals' and then being transferred, separately, to Auschwitz, and finally to Belsen when the Russians approached. They were saved by their exceptional courage, determination and ingenuity, and by several improbable strokes of luck. At Auschwitz, Anita escaped annihilation through her talents as a cellist when she was co-opted into the camp orchestra directed by Alma Rose, niece of Gustav Mahler. Her book is especially remarkable because of the many documents she has managed to preserve, most of them now lodged in the archives of the Imperial War Museum in London. In a sequence of family letters to her sister Marianne, who was marooned in England, from just before the war to 1942 when her parents were deported and liquidated, an atmosphere of happy normality gradually gives way to latent terror and foreboding. The appalling predicament of the Lasker family, and of Anita and Renate in particular when the rest of their relations had been deported and they were left totally alone in Breslau, could not be more poignantly conveyed. They were caught by the Gestapo trying to flee to Paris, and sent to prison: another piece of 'luck', as it turned out, since they were spared the worse horrors of Auschwitz for a crucial year. After the liberation of Belsen in April 1945, the correspondence with Marianne in England resumed. Anita was seconded to the British Army, and she quotes first-hand material about the early days of the occupation, including a transcript of part of the Luneburg trial in late 1945 when she gave evidence about Nazi atrocities at Auschwitz and Belsen, and was confronted in court by her tormentors. In 1946 she and Renate were both finally permitted to emigrate to England. Three years later, Anita became a founder member of the English Chamber Orchestra, in which she continued to play the cello until recently. Anita's book featured in BBC Radio 4's 'Desert Island Discs' programme on 25th August 1996. She had also told her story in a series of five BBC Radio 4 programmes in 1994; and a BBC 2 TV film about her experiences, Playing to Survive, was screened in October 1996.Trade ReviewWalter Laqueur, Center for Strategic and International Studies, Washington, in Holocaust and Genocide Studies: 'It is my job...to read most of the current literature on the Holocaust, and if someone had the time and inclination to read only one book published recently, I would...choose without hesitation a small book [Inherit the Truth] which appeared last month in England...it is precisely as a historian that I recommend this account...' Sir Martin Gilbert in his Preface: 'Like so much in this book, the story of liberation brings a chill to the spine and the realization of the miracle of survival. Anita Lasker-Wallfisch has given an account which, in its personal immediacy, conveys many elements of the almost unconveyable.' Peter Lennon in the Guardian: 'There are the baleful routines of war, which we persuade ourselves we can just about cope with mentally, and then the obscene recesses of war featuring particularly perverse human behaviour which baffles us almost more than it appals. The Ladies' Orchestra, formed of Auschwitz inmates, set up by the Nazis to provide stirring music daily at the extermination camp, is one of those aberrations. When you meet someone who played in that orchestra, greedy curiosity prompts you to ask: "What was it like?" Then you panic in case they might actually be able to convey the experience to you. If anyone could, it would be Anita Lasker-Wallfisch...' In December 2002, the German Ambassador, Thomas Matussek, presented Anita Lasker-Wallfisch with the Cross of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany, and said this in his address, referring to her plea for understanding and tolerance between Britain and Germany, especially among young people: 'You overcame this natural hatred, this natural bitterness. In an extraordinary achievement, you have devoted your life to turning the most terrifying and traumatic personal experience into a universal message. It is a timeless appeal, to which we must listen and remind ourselves of over and over again.' Classical Music: '...a harrowing account of how a sixteen-year-old had survived enormous atrocities...due largely to her ability to play the cello.' Independent on Sunday: 'There was never any doubt about the alternative to playing in the orchestra. "I was once asked on Newsnight, 'How did you know that there were gas chambers at Auschwitz?' " She gestures to a building ten yards away. "They weren't exactly hidden. We saw the people going in and coming out as smoke"..."[The book] started with watching a TV documentary in 1985. My son said to me: 'Actually, you've never told us anything.' I decide to write down something strictly for my children." This narrative was shared with a wider audience when she was persuaded to give a series of radio talks and in turn led to her book.' Michael Kennedy in Sunday Telegraph: 'Books about the Holocaust have a numbing effect. How can anyone who was not there begin to comprehend the unspeakable horror of it all?...What is almost unbelievable is the resilience of the human spirit as exemplified by those who experienced Auschwitz and other camps. Two recent books, one by a victim, the other by a survivor [Anita Lasker-Wallfisch], add valuably to the documentation of a ghastly period in history.' Raphael Wallfisch, interviewed in the Sunday Times: 'The first time I noticed the number, 69388, on my mother's arm, I asked, as any young child would, what it was for. Her answer was that she had once been in prison, but she never invited any further comment...The history came out in bits and pieces...I knew that she played the cello in the Auschwitz orchestra, but never the fine details, until she wrote the book.'Table of ContentsPreface by Sir Martin Gilbert, 7; Acknowledgements, 9; List of Illustrations, 10; Key to Names, 12; Foreword, 13; Introduction, 15; 1 Pre-War Germany and the Kristallnacht, 17; 2 The Destruction of a Family, 21; Attempts to arrange emigration before the outbreak of war, 21; Family life after having to leave our home, 31; I go back to school, 34; Forced labour, 38; My parents are deported, 45; 3 Alone in Breslau with Renate, 48; 4 Convicted Criminals, 53; 5 'Voluntary' Transfer to Auschwitz, 68; 6 Music for the Inferno, 74; 7 From Hell to Hell: Our Miraculous Escape to Belsen, 87; 8 The Liberation of Belsen, 94; 9 Peace at Belsen: Secondment to the British Army, 101; Contact with Marianne, 101; Searching for a new life, 107; The traumas of achieving entry to England, 115; 10 Marooned in Brussels, 136; 11 The Boat Across the Channel, 142; Appendices; 1 Declaration of Possessions (Vermogenserklarung), 146; 2 Official German Documents Relating to the Seizure of the Lasker Family's Property in Breslau, 149; 3 Alma Rose in Auschwitz by Dr Margita Schwalbova, 153; 4 Transcript from the Official British Record of the Trial in Luneburg, 157; Index, 164.
£999.99
Granta Books Street Without A Name: Childhood And Other
Book SynopsisBorn in Sofia, Kapka Kassabova grew up under the last years of Cold War Communism in the 1980s, emigrated after the fall of the Berlin Wall, and has loved and hated her homeland in equal measure ever since. Thirty years later, as Bulgaria was joining the EU club, Kapka revisited the country of her childhood and her own relationship to it to discover just how much it - and she - had changed. With the irreverence of an expat, the curiosity of a visitor, and the soul of a poet, Kassabova brings to life the past and present of Bulgaria, as well as probing the complicated connection between place and mind, between geography and fate.Trade ReviewA fascinating book - at once evocative, disturbing and chock-a-block full of charm -- Jan MorrisA unique memoir of what it was like to grow up in a Communist satellite country. In the mosaic of books about the bad old days, this book is the piece that was always missing. Now we have it, and it shines -- Clive JamesNot many books on the travel shelves have the force of revelation, but this one does ... Kapka Kassabova leads us into a country most of us have hardly read about with an elegant assurance, an acid wit and a heart-rending precision that can make you see the world quite differently. This book is a treasure -- Pico Iyer
£10.44
Bonnier Books Ltd England's Villages: An Extraordinary Journey
Book SynopsisTHE STUNNING NEW BOOK FROM THE HOST OF BBC 2'S VILLAGES BY THE SEAEngland's villages have survived, developed, and thrived over hundreds of years. But what makes a village and how has that changed over time? Take a charming and unexpected journey through the quirks of England's villages throughout the ages in the excellent company of Dr Ben Robinson, expert archaeologist. Join him in visiting villages from prehistoric, to Roman, to medieval times, all the way through to today's modern, urban villages. Discover how landowners, governments and communities have shaped villages, why village greens, village pubs and village halls exist, and the real meaning behind names like Bunny, Yelling, Lover, Great Snoring and Slaughter. A compelling study of archaeology, history and architecture, England's Villages is a thoughtful, enlightening and informative look at our oldest homes, uncovering and revealing the extraordinary heritage of the places that surround us.Trade Review'Villages are the ancient heart and soul of rural England. Ben Robinson's book vividly explains the complexity of their history and why we must cherish them for future generations.' * Francis Pryor *'Dr Ben Robinson reveals how England's Villages have a dynamic and turbulent history which belies their sleepy image.' * Choice Magazine *'A fascinating, often surprising history, full of twists and turns, of something as apparently simple as a village. I was raised in a village (though I left it for the big city) so this book helped me understand the village part of my childhood.' * Rachel Morris, author of The Museum Makers *
£10.44
Bloomsbury Publishing PLC Poet Mystic Widow Wife
Book Synopsis-- As featured in The Bookseller Buyer''s Guide Seasonal HighlightsA spectacular, vivid, groundbreaking work of history which takes us into the minds and lives of medieval women.What was life really like for women in the medieval period? How did they think about sex, death and God? Could they live independent lives? And how can we hear the stories of women from this period? Few women had the luxury of writing down their thoughts and feelings during medieval times. But remarkably, there are at least four extraordinary women who did. Those women were: Marie de France, a poet; Julian of Norwich, a mystic and anchoress; Christine de Pizan, a widow and court writer; and Margery Kempe, a no-good wife. In their own ways these four very different writers pushed back against the misogyny of the period. Each of them broke new ground in women's writing and left us incredible insights into the world of medieval life and politics.Hetta Howes h
£19.80
Ebury Publishing Isle of Dogs
Book SynopsisEvery dog must have his day. There's nothing the British love quite as much as their dogs - but did you know that our canine companions have also shaped the history of this sceptred isle? From hunting to our hearths, and from herding to heavy industry, our dogs have accompanied us through centuries of social and economic change, and our relationship is still evolving today. In this fascinating alternative history of Britain, Clare Balding takes us on a journey across the length and breadth of the home nations, exploring our unique heritage of canine tradition and meeting the people who still live, work and innovate with their dogs. A story of companionship, loyalty and good old-fashioned hard work, Isle of Dogs is an unmissable read for anyone whose life has been transformed by a faithful hound.
£999.99
Oneworld Publications The White Ladder
Book Synopsis
£21.25
HarperCollins Publishers Night of Power
Book Synopsis''INCOMPARABLE DEPTH AND UNDERSTANDINGAND EXTRAORDINARY COURAGE'' NOAM CHOMSKYThe final work from foreign correspondent Robert Fisk, picking up the story in the Middle East where his internationally bestselling The Great War of Civilisation left off, starting with the aftermath of the Iraq invasion in 2005.From the Arab uprisings and the Syrian civil war to Israel's conflicts with Palestine and Lebanon, Fisk condemns the West's ongoing hypocrisy and interference while revealing the horrific truth of life on the ground. Unafraid to criticise authority and unpick complex truths, hecreates a compelling narrative of passionate and engaging journalism, historical analysis and eyewitness reporting.With a Postscript by Nelofer Pazira-Fisk and a foreword by Patrick Cockburn, Night of Power delivers an essential and prophetic account of the last twenty years, which exposes the inescapable consequences of colonial oppression and violence in the Middle East.Every sentence of Robert Fisk radiates
£24.00
HarperCollins Publishers Night of Power
Book Synopsis'ROBERT FISK HAS BEEN REPORTING FROM THE MIDDLE EAST WITH INCOMPARABLE DEPTH AND UNDERSTANDINGAND EXTRAORDINARY COURAGE' NOAM CHOMSKY In this final work from renowned journalist Robert Fisk, he picks up reporting on the Middle East where his internationally bestselling The Great War of Civilisation left off.
£12.34
HarperCollins Publishers The Wood Age
Book SynopsisWhen our ancestors came down from the trees, they brought the trees with them and remade the world.A stunning book on the incalculable debt humanity owes wood' John Carey, The Sunday TimesHow did the descendants of small arboreal primates manage to stand on our own two feet, become top predators and take over the world?In The Wood Age, Roland Ennos shows that the key to humanity's success has been our relationship with wood. He takes us on a sweeping ten-million-year journey from great apes who built their nests among the trees to early humans who depended on wood for fire, shelter, tools and weapons; from the structural design of wheels and woodwinds, to the invention of paper and the printing press.Drawing together recent research and reinterpreting existing evidence from fields as far-ranging as primatology, anthropology, archaeology, history, architecture, engineering and carpentry, Ennos charts for the first time how our ability to exploit wood's unique properties has shaped our bTrade Review‘A stunning book on the incalculable debt humanity owes to wood …Roland Ennos’s knowledge of all things arboreal is vast and intricate. He is a professor of biology at the University of Hull and the author of several books, among them the Natural History Museum’s official guide to trees. But The Wood Age is something different — nothing less than a complete reinterpretation of human history and prehistory, and it is written with enormous verve and pinpoint clarity … No review can match the richness of Ennos’s book. There are chapters or sections on coal and charcoal, pottery kilns, modern wooden buildings, techniques of melting and smelting metals, the history of shipbuilding, wind and watermills, deforestation and much else … I felt like cheering.’ John Carey, The Sunday Times ‘A lively history of biology, mechanics and culture that stretches back 60 million years… A specialist in the mechanics of wood, Ennos has a fierce love for his topic’ Nature ‘Passionate … In this very readable historical survey, Ennos argues that not only do we need to reassess the role wood has played in our history, but by embracing a new age of wood, we can help to reset our broken relationship to the natural world … [A] fascinating ‘wood-centred view’ of our history’ P.D. Smith, Guardian ‘Wonderful’ i news ‘An eye-opening piece of environmental history … Excellent … Comes highly recommended’ The Inquisitive Biologist ‘Ennos, a professor at the University of Hull and a specialist in the mechanical properties of trees, shares his insatiable curiosity with us. He applies his sharp eye for details, and he does so entertainingly’ Washington Post ‘Ennos’s special love and concern is for things made from trees … The principles of every significant technology, from tree-felling and carpentry to shipbuilding and papermaking, are described with a precise, almost mesmerizing detail’ New York Times Book Review
£9.99
HarperCollins Publishers Murder The Biography
Book SynopsisTHE CRIMES. THE STORIES. THE LAWFascinating' Sunday TimesMasterful' Judith FlandersA page-turning read'' Prof. David WilsonTotally gripping and brilliantly told, Murder: The Biography is a gruesome and utterly captivating portrait of the legal history of murder.The stories and the people involved in the history of murder are stranger, darker and more compulsive than any crime fiction. There's Richard Parker, the cannibalized cabin boy whose death at the hands of his hungry crewmates led the Victorian courts to decisively outlaw a defence of necessity to murder. Dr Percy Bateman, the incompetent GP whose violent disregard for his patient changed the law on manslaughter. Ruth Ellis, the last woman hanged in England in the 1950s, played a crucial role in changes to the law around provocation in murder cases. And Archibald Kinloch, the deranged Scottish aristocrat whose fratricidal frenzy paved the way for the defence of diminished responsibility. These, and many more, are the people vTrade Review‘Brisk and fascinating… as befits a lawyer, Morgan’s real interest lies in the slippery concept of murder itself, which she carefully traces through the centuries.’ – Sunday Times 'A fascinating new history of homicide… Kate Morgan’s book is a detailed account of the subtle way that the law has changed over the years to embrace self-defence, insanity, diminished responsibility, medical incompetence, corporate manslaughter, dangerous driving, even death by bicycle.' – Daily Mail ‘Kate Morgan’s panoramic tour allows us to pull back and examine how our understanding is built on history, but also fiction and legend. Masterful.’ – Judith Flanders, author of The Invention of Murder ‘A page-turning read… A history that is framed by the Law but does not shy away from using popular culture and our endless fascination with murder and murderers to bring the story to life.’ – Prof. David Wilson, author of Signs of Murder ‘With Murder: The Biography author and lawyer Kate Morgan asks two essential questions: What exactly is the crime we know as murder? and how has it gained its current prominence in our criminal justice system? Weaving together fascinating historical cases and expert opinion on the subject, Morgan presents an account that will engross and titillate all those for whom murder is a passion…’ Vaseem Khan, author of Midnight at Malabar House ‘Fascinating reading… The pages come alive as the author drops in details about some well-known crimes – such as Ruth Ellis and Derek Bentley, and other more obscure cases and how they changed public opinion about the law… Morgan’s book will satisfy those who like grisly tales all in all it’s an excellent book which I highly recommend.’ TotalCrime.co.uk
£9.49
HarperCollins Publishers The Times London in Photos
Book Synopsis
£15.29
Vintage Publishing Mao The Unknown Story
Book SynopsisJung Chang was born in Yibin, Sichuan Province, China, in 1952. She was a Red Guard briefly at the age of fourteen and then worked as a peasant, a 'barefoot doctor', a steelworker and an electrician before becoming an English-language student and, later, an assistant lecturer at Sichuan University. She left China for Britain in 1978 and was subsequently awarded a scholarship by York University, where she obtained a PhD in Linguistics in 1982 - the first person from the People's Republic of China to receive a doctorate from a British university. Her award-winning book, Wild Swans, was published in 1991. Jon Halliday is a former Senior Visiting Research Fellow at King's College, University of London. He has written or edited eight previous books.Trade ReviewThe first great political biography of the twenty-first century -- Frank Johnson * Spectator *This is a bombshell of a book... Jung Chang and Jon Halliday have done this extraordinary country a huge service with this book, which will one day be read as widely within China as it will deservedly be in the outside world -- Chris Patten * The Times *Chang and Halliday cast new and revealing light on nearly every episode in Mao's tumultuous life... Magnificent... It is a stupendous work -- Michael Yahuda * Guardian *Devastating... Awesome... Mesmerising... The most powerful, compelling and revealing political biography of modern times. Few books are destined to change history, but this one will -- George Walden * Daily Mail *A triumph. It is a mesmerising portrait of tyranny, degeneracy, mass murder and promiscuity, a barrage of revisionist bombshells, and a superb piece of research. This is the first intimate, political biography of the greatest monster of them all -- Simon Sebag Montefiore * Sunday Times *
£15.29
Penguin Books Ltd The British in India
Book SynopsisA SUNDAY TIMES, THE TIMES, SPECTATOR, NEW STATESMAN, TLS BOOK OF THE YEAR''A richly panoramic exploration of the British experience of India ... hugely researched and elegantly written, sensitive to the ironies of the past and brimming with colourful details'' Dominic Sandbrook, Sunday TimesThe British in this book lived in India from shortly after the reign of Elizabeth I until well into the reign of Elizabeth II. Who were they? What drove these men and women to risk their lives on long voyages down the Atlantic and across the Indian Ocean or later via the Suez Canal? And when they got to India, what did they do and how did they live?This book explores the lives of the many different sorts of Briton who went to India: viceroys and offcials, soldiers and missionaries, planters and foresters, merchants, engineers, teachers and doctors. It evokes the three and a half centuries of their ambitions and experiences, together witTrade ReviewHugely researched and elegantly written, sensitive to the ironies of the past and brimming with colourful details -- Dominic Sandbrook * Sunday Times *Glorious, human, colourful, teeming and spicy. If you read just one book on imperial India, let it be this -- John Lewis-Stempel * Sunday Express *An exceptional book. It evokes those animated crowd scenes painted by William Frith, full of people going about their workaday lives, or enjoying themselves. ... David Gilmour's canvas is British India and he provides the answers in a penetrating and vivid portrait of the British men and women who ran the show from the mid-18th century to 1947. -- Lawrence James * The Times *
£16.14
Penguin Books Ltd Italy Reborn
Book SynopsisThe rebirth of Italy after the Second World War is one of the most impressive political transformations in modern European history. In 1945, post-fascist Italy was devastated by war and its reputation in the international arena was nil. Yet by December 1955, when Italy was admitted to the United Nations, the nation had contested three acrimonious but free general elections, had a flourishing press, and was a leader in the re-building of Europe. The contrast with Fascism was stark. This book charts the descent of Italy into Fascism, the scale of the wartime disaster, the Italian resistance to Nazi occupation, and the establishment of the Republic in 1946. The Cold War divided, in 1947, the coalition of parties that had led the resistance to Fascism and Nazism. The book's final chapters deal with the consolidation of Italian democracy and with the statesmanship of Alcide De Gasperi, the premier from December 1945 to August 1953. The book argues, first, that De Gasperi deserves more c
£11.69
Penguin Books Ltd A Little Devil in America
Book Synopsis**As featured on Barack Obama''s Summer 2022 Reading List**Winner of the Gordon Burn PrizeWinner of the 2022 Andrew Carnegie Medal for Excellence in NonfictionFinalist for the National Book Critics Circle AwardFinalist for the Pen/Diamonstein-Spievogel Award for the Art of the EssayShortlisted for the National Book Award''Gorgeous'' - Brit Bennett''Pure genius'' - Jacqueline Woodson''One of the most dynamic books I have ever read'' - Clint SmithAt the March on Washington, Josephine Baker reflected on her life and her legacy. She had spent decades as one of the most successful entertainers in the world, but, she told the crowd, I was a devil in other countries, and I was a little devil in America, too. Inspired by these words, Hanif Abdurraqib has written a stirring meditation on Black performance in the modern age, in which culture, history and his own lived experience collide.With sharp insight, humour and heart, Abdurraqib explores a sequence of iconic and intimate performances that take him from mid-century Paris to the moon -- and back down again, to a cramped living room in Columbus, Ohio. Each one, he shows, has layers of resonance across Black and white cultures, the politics of American empire, and his own personal history of love and grief -- whether it''s the twenty-seven seconds of ''Gimme Shelter'' in which Merry Clayton sings, or the magnificent hours of Aretha Franklin''s homegoing; Beyoncé''s Super Bowl show or a schoolyard fistfight; Dave Chapelle''s skits or a game of spades among friends.Trade ReviewHanif Abdurraqib's genius is in pinpointing those moments in American cultural history when Black people made lightning strike. But Black performance, Black artistry, Black freedom too often came at devastating price. The real devil in America is America itself, the one who stole the soul that he, through open eyes and fearless prose, snatches back. This is searing, revelatory, filled with utter heartbreak, and unstoppable joy. -- Marlon James, author of Black Leopard Red WolfA rapturous exploration of black genius. Whether heralding unsung entertainers or re-examining legends, Hanif Abdurraqib weaves together gorgeous essays that reveal the resilience, heartbreak, and joy within black performance. I read this book breathlessly. -- Brit Bennett * author of The Vanishing Half *To read Hanif Abdurraqib is to be embraced in the middle of chaos. In his latest book, A Little Devil In America: In Praise of Black Performance, he does what many great writers do, which is to illuminate and join the dots between connections readers may once have failed to see. * Huck *Abdurraqib is one of the most brilliant writers I've ever read. A Little Devil In America needs to be on every bedside table, every high school and college desktop - and basically, in this age of a revolution, this is that ONE book that everyone needs to read. Pure genius. I'm not even trying to get at even SOME of the brilliance Hanif gets to with this book-there is just too much. From Black Exceptionalism to Josephine Baker to Old Heads-he brings it and clarifies it, then shapes it into every bit of medicine we need right now. -- Jacqueline Woodson * author of Red at the Bone *Poignant, powerful, candid, written with sincerity and emotion ... An important book * New York Times *The most important cultural critic in America right now? This writer gets my vote. Abdurraqib has delivered a winner. * Chicago Tribune *Hanif Abdurraqib has a way of taking slices of our cultural landscape, examining them, and transforming them into observations and analyses that leave me underlining the entire page. In A Little Devil In America, Abdurraqib brilliantly braids together history, criticism, and prose so stunning that it makes you want to read every word out loud just so you can hear its music. Everything Abdurraqib writes is a must-read, but this is his best yet. It is one of the most dynamic books I have ever read. -- Clint SmithBlending pop-culture essays, memoir, and poetry, A Little Devil in America delves into the manyiterations of Black artistic expression through an often deeply personal lens ...Startling, layered, and timely, this is an essential, illuminating collection * Booklist (starred review) *A thoughtful memoir rolled into a set of joined essays on life, death, and the Black experience in America... Social criticism, pop culture, and autobiography come together neatly in these pages, and every sentence is sharp, provocative, and self-aware ... A winner. -- Kirkus Reviews (*starred review*)A Little Devil in America is so so heavy in some places that I have to take breaks. It just hurts to read some of these truths, woven in such beautiful writing. -- Yomi SodeIn this staggeringly intimate meditation, Abdurraqib shines a light on how Black artists have shaped-and been shaped by-American culture. His prose is reliably razor-sharp. Filled with nuance and lyricism, Abdurraqib's luminous survey is stunning. * Publishers Weekly (starred review) *Abdurraqib pens respectful, heartwarming essays that reflect on giants in music, television, cinema, and even magic...his stories will inspire and provoke thoughtful meditations on how Black lives matter in all areas of life and art. * Library Journal (starred review) *Abdurraqib uses his inimitable blend of incisive, piercing criticism and shimmering stream-of-consciousness to explore everything from the problem with praising Black women for being "vessels" who have "saved America" with their votes (he points out: "It occurred to me that Black women were simply attempting to save themselves") to Dave Chappelle's appeal to white audiences to the death of his mother. Moving, provocative, and infused with a singular lyricism, A Little Devil in America is an exultant blend of memoir and criticism, a must-read for anyone looking to better understand this country and its people. * Refinery29 *It's an absolutely brilliant book from a critic who's become one of the country's most essential writers... To call Abdurraqib anything less than one of the best writers working in America, and to call this book anything less than a masterpiece, would be doing him, and literature as a whole, a disservice -- Michael Shaub * Minneapolis Star Tribune *These 'notes in praise of Black performance' encompass dance, music, film, and standup, along with everyday affectations and embodiments of masculinity, fear, intimacy, and belonging. Subjects include Josephine Baker, Michael Jackson, blackface, "Soul Train," and brotherhood. ...Combines meditations on personal experiences-losing his mother, navigating the Midwestern punk scene-with affectionate studies of cultural moments and figures, beloved and under-sung alike. Abdurraqib views performance as an expression of life and a means of survival * The New Yorker *[Abdurraqib] has brought to pop criticism and cultural history not just a poet's lyricism and imagery but also a scholar's rigor, a novelist's sense of character and place, and a punk-rocker's impulse to dislodge conventional wisdom from its moorings until something shakes loose and is exposed to audiences too lethargic to think or even react differently -- Gene Seymour * Bookforum *A book that brims with wonder and introspection while also honoring the significance and contributions of so many of the lives within it. Abdurraqib's passions are fully on display, and his widespread love is infectious in the best way possible, resulting in a masterwork that will not only move readers but will also send them off into their own personal rabbit holes of joy and wonder. This is, perhaps, the greatest gift a writer can give to his readers, and A Little Devil in America delivers it in spades -- Daniel Modlin * The Daily Beast *contemplative and scholarly... it is a joy to watch [Hanif's] mind work. In his new collection of interconnected essays, the author...excavates the bits of pop culture that often get paved over by white supremacy and our collective short-term memory. As for the parts we think we know - Abdurraqib has lots to say about Whitney Houston, Dave Chappelle, Green Book, Altamont, and more - it's his pointed and frequently personal re-examinations that set A Little Devil soaring -- Patrick Rapa * The Philadelphia Inquirer *A vibrant showcase of sharp writing, Abdurraqib's A Little Devil in America attests that Black performance at its root is not simply an outward show of talent but also a means of survival. Read carefully. Abdurraqib's book is a challenge not to accept the usual explanations for the performances we witness. * BookPage *Abdurraqib's great strength is his ability to present broad, canny observations through the lens of his personal experience, and his intimate exploration of what these specific moments meant to him as a Black Muslim coming of age in the US is what lingers long after you've finished the book * Buzzfeed *Abdurraqib has written a profound reflection on how Black performance is woven into the fabric of American culture... A Little Devil in America is a joyous ode to Black performance throughout history. * PureWow *Throughout, Abdurraqib writes with urgency as he highlights what these performances mean, how they connect to his own feelings on grief, love and life, and where they fit into American history. * TIME Magazine *From Josephine Baker to Soul Train to 'Sixteen Ways of Looking at Blackface,' Abdurraqib takes us on a wild ride through the history of Black performances, artists who crushed boundaries and carved out spaces for vigorous forms of African American expression. His is an intimate, conspiratorial voice, musically inflected, blending scholarship with anecdote, a 'waltz in a circular chamber of your homies and not-homies, shouting chants of excitement.' * Oprah Magazine *Abdurraqib breathes new life into performers of significance in his life, both legendary and unsung * A.V. Club *Abdurraqib is one of our finest writers period. A brilliant poet, essayist and cultural critic, he handles nostalgia, pop culture, Blackness and friendship in ways few writers can. Here, he examines Black America's changing views of Whitney Houston, the death of Michael Jackson, the spiritual properties of dancing, Afrofuturism and more. The early chapter "Sixteen Ways of Looking at Blackface" is a deeply humane piece of virtuoso writing. Longer dispatches are broken up by lyric, stream-of-consciousness pieces that refresh the soul and remind readers that there's little Abdurraqib can't do -- Aarik Danielsen * Columbia Star Tribune *In his new collection of essays, A Little Devil in America, the poet and critic Hanif Abdurraqib surveys this sprawl of expression. Here he charges himself with quite an ambitious task, pinning down and contextualizing the historic scale of such a globally significant cultural output, and it is one that would appear to call for an equally ambitious scope... Contemplations of legendary voices, sleights of hand, and charismatic choreographies are in dialogue with his own stories of grief, love, faith, and the search for freedom within the confinements of borders and a body...Abdurraqib expands the conception of "performance" to include the whole realm of behavior and culture...Playfulness, seduction, artistry, and reinvention: Abdurraqib wants us to know that these devilish gestures have their place, too, among the saints that line the corridors in this tiresome, captivating, and essential struggle * The Nation *In A Little Devil in America, Abdurraqib walks readers through Black archives of dance, film, social struggle, and song as though these "intimate histories" of performance (as Saidiya Hartman calls them) could free us from anything that misses the beat. For this collection of essays, he does the work of a DJ: he digs through the crates, selects the most appropriately unexpected songs/topics/subjects, builds a collage between cuts and scratches, and presents his set. His books are soundscapes in print, and I was somehow listening to each sentence as if it were a breakbeat of personal narrative and socio-historical commentary...Hanif is one of the most exciting writers of his generation * Los Angeles Review of Books *Abdurraqib, known for his playful, intelligent sense of humor on Twitter, highlights amazing performances that shed light on societal constructions and moments of sheer joy his book about Black culture in America. Writing about joy is challenging; falling back on cliche is a constant temptation that Abdurraqib avoids in this insightful tome * Forbes *That sense of limitlessness wraps itself around every essay in Abdurraqib's newest book, A Little Devil in America: Notes in Praise of Black Performance. In it, he writes about Black performance in America-from Great Depression-era dance marathons to the enduring cool of Don Cornelius to the art of Mike Tyson entering a boxing ring-with both great reverence and rigorous analysis. The book, in the way Abdurraqib's work so often does, erects monuments to our should-be legends and our unignorable icons alike, and paints an expansive, deeply felt portrait of the history of Black artistry -- Leah Johnson * Electric Literature *This deft consideration of seemingly irreconcilable values, between the personal and private dimensions of performance, can be found throughout the essays in A Little Devil in America...Abdurraqib sees performance as a site of radical questioning, experimentation, and dream-making. This book is not a work of theory. It is sensual. We watch him watching his idols and we watch him dancing along with them, sometimes clumsily. If Brooks's goal is to make a case for performers' intellectualism, Abdurraqib's is to help us understand how they teach us to live richer, more embodied lives -- Danielle A. Jackson * Vulture *Engrossing and moving ... A new, poetic take on essays that, I think, changes the game in many ways. -- Roger Robinson * New Statesman Books of the Year *Astonishing, impressive ... the connections he makes point to the enduring influence of Black art ... a book as bold as it is essential * TIME Book of the Year *
£10.44
Oxford University Press Oxford AQA History for A Level The Cold War
Book SynopsisPlease note this title is suitable for any student studying:Exam Board: AQALevel/Subject: AS and A Level HistoryFirst teaching: 2015First exams: June 2017Retaining well-loved features from the previous editions,The Cold War has been approved by AQA and matched to the new 2015 specification. This textbook explores in depth the evolving course of international relations during an era of tension between communist and capitalist powers. It focuses on key ideas such as communism and anti-communism, aggression and détente, and the power of nuclear technology, and covers events and developments with precision. Students can further develop vital skills such as historical interpretations and source analyses via specially selected sources and extracts. Practice questions and study tips provide additional support to help familiarize students with the new exam style questions, and help them achieve their best in the exam.
£39.78
Penguin Books Ltd Elizabeth
Book SynopsisTHE NO 1 SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLERA personal account of the life and character of Britain''s longest-reigning monarch, from the writer who knew her family best''Compelling . . . Fascinating'' DAILY MAIL''The writer who got closest to the human truth about our long-serving senior royals'' THE TIMES''The book overflows with nuggets of insider knowledge'' TELEGRAPHPaints a unique picture of the remarkable woman who reigned for seven decades. Fascinating insights'' HELLO!__________Gyles Brandreth first met the Queen in 1968, when he was twenty.Over the next fifty years he met her many times, both at public and at private events. Through his friendship with the Duke of Edinburgh, he was given privileged access to Elizabeth II.He kept a record of all those encounters, and his conversations with the Queen over the years, his meetings with her family and friends, and hTrade ReviewCompelling . . . Fascinating * Daily Mail *The book overflows with nuggets of insider knowledge * Telegraph *Paints a unique picture of the remarkable woman who reigned for seven decades. Offers fascinating insights into her life * Hello! *What Brandreth can uniquely offer us are verbatim replies to the questions he asked the Queen and Philip over many years * The Times *[Brandreth] paints a vivid picture of the Queen . . . Don't miss this trusted account of the incredibe life of the most famous and arguably best-loved Head of State on Earth * This England *
£31.13
Penguin Books Ltd The World Before Us
Book Synopsis''The who, what, where, when and how of human evolution, from one of the world''s experts on the dating of prehistoric fossils'' Steve Brusatte, author of The Rise and Fall of the Dinosaurs ''Fascinating and entertaining. If you read one book on human origins, this should be it'' Ian Morris, author of Why the West Rules - For Now 50,000 years ago, we were not the only species of human in the world. There were at least four others, including the Neanderthals, Homo floresiensis, Homo luzonesis and the Denisovans. At the forefront of the latter''s ground-breaking discovery was Oxford Professor Tom Higham.In The World Before Us, he explains the scientific and technological advancements - in radiocarbon dating and ancient DNA, for example - that allowed each of these discoveries to be made, enabling us to be more accurate in our predictions about not just how long ago these other humans lived, but how Trade ReviewFascinating and deeply researched. Higham conveys the thrill of archaeological discovery eruditely and accessibly -- Alexander Larman * Guardian *A gripping account of Earth's other humans -- New ScientistThe remarkable new science of palaeoanthropology, from lab bench to trench -- Rebecca Wragg Sykes, author of KindredThe application of new genetic science to pre-history is analogous to how the telescope transformed astronomy. Tom Higham, one of the world's leading scientists in the field, brings us to the frontier of recent discoveries with a book that is both gripping and fun. And the results are astonishing. It matters: understanding our evolutionary origins reveals our innate strengths as a species -- Paul Collier, author of The Bottom BillionA brilliant exposition of the way in which archaeology and science are completely changing our understanding of early humans. This is a fast-moving story written with verve and enthusiasm by one of the scientists deeply involved in tracking down the evidence. Essential reading for all interested in our early ancestors and the sheer excitement of their discovery -- Barry Cunliffe, author of The ScythiansA brilliant distillation of the ideas and discoveries revolutionising our understanding of human evolution. Tom Higham, one of the leaders of the revolution and the cutting-edge science on which it is based, introduces us to a complex world of many human species, whose genes and deeds live on in us today -- Chris Gosden, author of The History of MagicTom Higham has been at the pulsating centre of the close collaboration between archaeologists and geneticists that in the last few years discovered our previously unknown cousins - the Denisovans - and revealed the lost world in which they, Neanderthals and modern humans interacted and interbed. His thrilling book gives us a court-side view of this scientific revolution -- David Reich, author of Who We Are and How We Got HereA bang-up-to-date insider's review of a critical period in the emergence of modern humans. It also provides fascinating, intelligible and authoritative glimpses into a wide variety of new technologies -- Ian Tattersall, co-author of The Accidental Homo sapiens: Genetics, Behavior, and Free Will
£10.44
Yale University Press Cambodia
Book SynopsisA fascinating analysis of the recent history of the beautiful but troubled Southeast Asian nation of CambodiaTrade Review"Mr Strangio has done much original reporting, peeling away the miracle narrative to reveal the bruised fruit beneath."—The Economist"Sebastian Strangio provides a richly detailed study that goes a long way toward explaining the contradictions, corruption and complexity of Cambodia. . . . it’s a remarkably well-researched, astonishing portrayal of Cambodia’s own Fidel Castro, a folksy, self-styled godfather and his thugocracy."—Ron Gluckman, The Wall Street Journal"Strangio has covered Cambodia as a journalist since 2008 and paints a detailed, if dry account of a nation struggling to emerge from its brutal past and create a fair society."—Kit Gillet, Geographical". . . as a detailed and perceptive account of Hun Sen’s Cambodia, Strangio’s book will remain of fundamental importance for many years to come."—Milton Osborne, Contemporary Southeast Asia"Hun Sen’s Cambodia is an absorbing, clear-eyed evaluation of Cambodia today. Sebastian Strangio knows the country well, and has befriended many of its ordinary people. His book is a persuasive reading of the country's turbulent recent history, as it explores the connections between Hun Sen’s enduring dictatorship and Cambodia’s painful emergence, willy-nilly, into a larger, freer, very demanding world."—David Chandler, author of A History of Cambodia"Sebastian Strango has written a long overdue exposé of Cambodian thugocracy and its westerner enablers. He traces the roots of the deeply flawed Khmer Rouge trial to the UN’s failed attempt at democracy-building (UNTAC) in the early 1990s. In both cases, the UN and its cheerleaders in the human rights industry promised things they could not possibly deliver. Hun Sen's Cambodia is must-reading for anyone who wants to make sense of recent Cambodian history."—Peter Maguire, author of Facing Death in Cambodia"Sebastian Strangio has filled a big void with this much-needed history of modern Cambodia. With solid research and thoughtful analysis he unravels the country's contradictions: the outlines of democracy yet under one-party rule; modernization by a small political elite that has earned a reputation for extreme corruption and greed; billions of dollars in foreign aid to help Cambodia's poor and billions of dollars in foreign contracts to cut down Cambodian forests, mine its resources and rob the locals of their land and livelihoods. All this against the backdrop of the temples of Angkor and a vaunted culture that draws millions of visitors to the country every year. This book will set the standard for years to come."—Elizabeth Becker, author of When the War Was Over: Cambodia and the Khmer Rouge Revolution"Sebastian Strangio has written an exceptionally insightful biography of the world’s longest serving prime minister. Strangio entwines his narrative of Hun Sen’s life with a first-class analysis of contemporary Cambodian political history. This book is accessible to the general reader as well as Southeast Asia specialists."—Carlyle A. Thayer, author of WarBy Other Means: National Liberation and Revolution in Vietnam
£12.99
Yale University Press Battleground
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£18.04
Little, Brown Book Group Gibraltar
Book SynopsisFor over three and a half years, from 1779 to 1783, the tiny territory of Gibraltar was besieged and blockaded, on land and at sea, by the overwhelming forces of Spain and France. It became the longest siege in British history, and the obsession with saving Gibraltar was blamed for the loss of the American colonies in the War of Independence. Located between the Mediterranean and Atlantic, on the very edge of Europe, Gibraltar was a place of varied nationalities, languages, religions and social classes. During the siege, thousands of soldiers, civilians and their families withstood terrifying bombardments, starvation and diseases. Very ordinary people lived through extraordinary events, from shipwrecks and naval battles to an attempted invasion of England and a daring sortie out of Gibraltar into Spain. Deadly innovations included red-hot shot, shrapnel shells and a barrage from immense floating batteries.This is military and social history at its best, a story of soldiers, sailors and civilians, with royalty and rank-and-file, workmen and engineers, priests, prisoners-of-war, spies and surgeons, all caught up in a struggle for a fortress located on little more than two square miles of awe-inspiring rock. Gibraltar: The Greatest Siege in British History is an epic page-turner, rich in dramatic human detail - a tale of courage, endurance, intrigue, desperation, greed and humanity. The everyday experiences of all those involved are brought vividly to life with eyewitness accounts and expert research.Trade ReviewThe siege that changed the course of British History . . . Well-researched and briskly written . . . worthy of the most melodramatic Hollywood blockbuster -- Dominic Sandbrook * Sunday Times *The Adkins . . . have captured the tortured and contested story of this solitary rock with aplomb . . . The Adkins's page-turning account makes you feel as if you were there amid the smoke, blood and gunpowder * Catholic Herald *A definitive new book . . . it recounts in detail the stirring story of the conflict and Lord Heathfield's key role in ensuring a momentous British victory * Sussex Express *The Adkins bring the siege vividly to life, especially the everyday experiences of all those involved in the struggle . . . An epic page-turner -- Julian StockwinFascinating and timely * Daily Mail *Never loses sight of the human story at the heart of an extraordinary international incident * History Revealed *Fascinating . . . an enthralling and colourful history told with human stories at its heart * Family Tree *Another epic and illuminating look at Britain's past from Roy and Lesley Adkins, masters of the historical narrative. Ordinary mortals in extraordinary circumstances leap off the pages * Quarterdeck *Highly readable . . . With plenty of drama to draw upon and an impressive commitment to research, this is a book to delight the military history enthusiast * History of War *A fascinating, well-crafted account of a siege that defined Britishness -- Andrew Lambert * BBC History Magazine *Well written history, excitingly told. Why not get yourself a copy? -- J J Alcantara * Gibraltar Chronicle *The husband-and-wife historian team once again exhibit their talent for enlivening British history . . . Many readers will wonder why this episode hasn't been made into a movie, with all the heroics of soldiers, civilians, and, especially, families . . . The story is as compelling as it is fantastic - page-turning history of one of the most important eras of Western civilization * Kirkus Reviews *This intense account portrays the heroism and sufferings of the defenders while offering interesting vignettes that cover intriguing personalities on both sides. The Adkinses have created an absorbing examination of an important episode in British and European history -- Jay Freeman * Booklist *The authors adeptly place this siege narrative within the larger context of the war [American War of Independence] in its later years . . . Roy and Lesley Adkins have given us a gripping, well-written account . . . It is an excellent reminder to American readers, especially, that the spread of hostilities beyond the geographical limits of the thirteen rebellious colonies was a determining factor in their successful fight for independence -- Jon Ault, H-Net ReviewsA page-turning tale of one of the era's longest and most significant sieges, described from the perspective of those who lived through it . . . a well organized, fast-paced book * Publishers Weekly *This detailed account of possibly one of the greatest events in British maritime history ... as important to Britain as was the Siege of Stalingrad to the USSR in World War Two ... The authors ... give a superb social history dimension to the official military archives ... This book is thoroughly recommended -- Martin Hazell * South West Soundings *A page turner that vividly recounts the titanic, but little known, behind-the-scenes struggle between England, France and Spain that so dramatically influenced world events during the American Revolution * History 500 *Gripping, dramatically paced and thoroughly researched history of the dogged defense of Gibraltar * Washington Times *Breaks new ground in almost every page ... the book is difficult to put down. It reads like a thriller ... This is a book which you will read and read again -- Sam Benady * Gibraltar Heritage Journal *The Adkins have written a very popular history of the siege . . . the book is informative, clear, lucid, undemanding, and attractively written. Readers lacking prior knowledge will learn much -- John Childs * The Historian *Thoroughly researched and very readable, it draws on military and social history and explains the background to what was endured at every level of society * Devon Life *Splendid . . . As a history of the great siege this work stands out as a major contribution in bringing the atmosphere and challenges of late eighteenth-century warfare to the modern reader, and is highly recommended * Mariner’s Mirror *
£9.74
Methuen Publishing Ltd The Terrible Rain The War Poets 193945 A Methuen
Book SynopsisFrom the outbreak of war, through the Blitz, to fighting on land, sea and in the air, the poems mirror each phase of action in every theatre from the front line to the Home Front.
£8.99
Thames & Hudson Ltd Ancient Rome in Fifty Monuments
Book SynopsisA sweeping new history of the city of Rome, told through its emperors and the monuments they built to make their mark on one of the great capitals of the classical world. What is worse than Nero? What is better than Nero's Baths?' so wrote the poet Martial in the first century AD, demonstrating the power that buildings have on public consciousness. In ancient Rome, who built a monument and why mattered as much as its physical structure. Over centuries and under many different emperors, a small village in Italy was transformed into the crowning glory of an empire. Seeking out the personalities behind the great building projects is key to understanding them. With this firmly in mind, Paul Roberts takes the reader on a tour of ancient Rome, vividly evoking the sights and sounds of the city: from the roar of the crowds at the Circus Maximus and the Colosseum, to the dazzling gleam of the marble- and mosaic-covered baths of Caracalla and Diocletian. He tells this story emperor by emperor, drawing out the political, social and cultural backdrop to the monuments and ultimately the very human motivations that gave rise to their construction and destruction. These fascinating buildings are further brought to life with reconstructions that show how the ancients themselves would have experienced them. When and why were these monuments built? What did they add to the lives of the people who used them? What impact did they have on the shape of the city? Roberts expertly weaves together the latest archaeological research with social and cultural history, to tell the story of the Eternal City, always in some way rising, falling and being rebuilt.
£24.00
Penguin Putnam Inc Murder at the Mission
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£20.24
Transworld Publishers Ltd Brothers in Arms
Book SynopsisTrade ReviewBrothers in Arms does not disappoint...he has an eye for detail...He seemingly incorporates technical information about tanks and anti-tank weapons so that we get a feel for how men interacted with the technology of war...likewise, amid the numbers that demarcate hills of military deployments, Holland takes us down to the individual's experience. * Times Literary Supplement *War as it should be described - ordinary men facing extraordinary horror. Caught in the drama of battle, we sometimes forget the good men who died. Holland, to his credit, forces us to remember * The Times BOOK OF THE WEEK *Powerful and moving...James Holland's greatest strength as a military historian is that he brings humanity to his work. Brothers In Arms does more than just tell the story of the Sherwood Rangers...Holland has delved into their world and brought their characters to life. * The Spectator *Their [the Sherwood Rangers] story can be seen as a reflection of the British war as a whole and Holland tells it very well, using his trademark technique of immersive detail and a cast of well-defined characters. If you are a fan of his style and I am, you will find that once again it works brilliantly * The Daily Telegraph *An intimate and harrowing portrayal of warfare * Radio Times *
£11.89
Faber & Faber Crunch
Book Synopsis''It''s a triumph.''Nigella Lawson, Stocking Fillers 2024 list''This book is full of tasty morsels . . . A great present for the snacky gourmand.''Pandora Sykes''An absolute tour de force . . . I devoured it until the very last crumb and then licked the packet.''Felicity CloakeWe are a nation of crisp obsessives. Squashed into sandwiches on our lunch breaks and torn-open as centrepieces on pub tables, we buy tens of millions of packets every single day. But how did the humble potato snack become a national dish?CRUNCH: AN ODE TO CRISPS is journalist Natalie Whittle's love letter to the salty siren. She traces their evolution from the simplicity of salt sachets in the early 20th century, to 80s childhood favourites such as Hula Hoops, to the popularity of hand-cooked' gourmet flavours today.Along the way, Natalie will get to the heart of her own lifelong passion for crisps - exploring why they are bound up in ideas of childhood, nostalgia and comfort. Featuring crisp collectors, potato growers, flavour wizards and more, CRUNCH is a moreish read spanning 150 years of crisp history.
£17.09
British Museum Press Netsuke 100 miniature masterpieces from Japan
Book SynopsisNetsuke have once again come to the fore in the popular imagination of the public. This book brings together one hundred of the beautiful and interesting netsuke from the extensive collection of the British Museum, each of which has its own special charm and story to tell.
£13.49
ABC Books Saga Land
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£12.34
The History Press Ltd The Scum of the Earth
Book SynopsisRevealing how the men of Waterloo were left to languish after the battle, often homeless and penniless – history’s heroes forgotten are now remembered
£10.44
Anness Publishing The Illustrated Encyclopedia of American
Book SynopsisAn impressively presented guide to the 47 incumbents who have held the highest-ranking political office in the United States government.
£15.00
Headline Publishing Group Wartime Britain 19391945
Book SynopsisJuliet Gardiner''s critically acclaimed book - the first in a generation to tell the people''s story of the Second World War - offers a compelling and comprehensive account of the pervasiveness of war on the Home Front. The book has been commended for its inclusion of many under-described aspects of the Home Front, and alongside familiar stories of food shortages, evacuation and the arrival of the GIs, are stories of Conscientious Objectors, persecuted Italians living in Britain and Lumber Jills working in the New Forest. Drawing on a multitude of sources, many previously unpublished, she tells the story of those six gruelling years in voices from the Orkney Islands to Cornwall, from the Houses of Parliament to the Nottinghamshire mines.Trade ReviewJuliet Gardiner's 'Wartime' provides a marvellously rich, and often entertaining, recreation of life on the Home Front, 1939-45, drawing on an enormous range of oral testimony and memoir. * The Scotsman *From lost loves to crabby children to the sorrow of receiving the worst possible news, this is a remarkably personal picture of wartime life at home. * The Good Book Guide *Irresistably unputdownable * Scotland On Sunday (Angus Calder) *Danger, courage, deprivation, exhaustion, fear, humour and that old enemy 'boredom' were endured for six years. This exhilarating book is the voice of these people. * Despatches *humorous and deeply moving * Despatches *In a book replete with treasures, everyone will find a special jewel. * The Times Literary Supplement (David Stafford) *Juliet Gardiner's book is ...wonderfully readable * BBC History Magazine *after the torrents of film and forests of print devoted to her subject over the last four decades, it is exhilarating that Gardiner finds so many under-described aspects of the Home Front to document through her fresh witnesses. * BBC History Magazine *utterly gripping * The Spectator *Gardiner explores every aspect of the British home front, and presents these deeply moving moments superbly. I have no doubt that 'Wartime' will become the seminal work on Britain at war. * Daily Mail (Max Arthur) *Plenty of nostalgia and war-time spirit in this comprehensive account of life on the Home Front * The Veteran *
£10.99
Beacon Press Silencing the Past
a huge range and FREE tracked UK delivery on ALL orders.
£18.70
Stackpole Books The Border
Book SynopsisDavid Danelo has traveled the U.S.-Mexico border and his investigative report about a complex issue examines the border in human terms. As topical today as it was when he made his trek, this updated edition asks and answers the core questions: Is a fence or wall the answer? Is the U.S. government capable of fully securing the border?
£14.39
InterVarsity Press The Dust of Death
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£17.28
Halsgrove Discover Prehistoric Dartmoor A Walkers Guide to
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£17.99
Anness Publishing Practical Handbook of Archaeology
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£8.54
Holy Trinity Publications Recollections of Jerusalem
Book SynopsisRecollections of Jerusalem vividly opens up to us a world very different from our own. It affords the rare opportunity to see major world events through the eyes of one shaped by them, but unable to influence them.
£15.19
The Museum of Brands 1970s Scrapbook
Book SynopsisFull of pop, punk and personalities, The 1970s Scrapbook sways through this energetic era on platform shoes to the beat of glamrock and disco mania.
£14.20
Cato & Clarke My Darling Mr Asquith
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£19.79
Taylor & Francis Ltd Masculinity Meets Humanity
Book SynopsisIn this book the author, a clinical psychologist, reflects on her psychotherapy experiences with male clients as she debunks the myth of male alexithymia, the inability to recognise and express emotions. Men are apparently disengaged from wellness practices as they are perceived to be reluctant to seek mental health care.An ubuntu-inspired personhood discourse of trust, empathy and transformation theoretically underpins the author's clinical practice. The integration of the culturally familiar philosophy of ubuntu challenges the hegemony of strictly modern Western psychological discourses and theories. Although the book is not a manual for how to do therapy with men, neither a panacea for all male related challenges, it can ignite empathic insights and kindle gender sensitive responses to male concerns, locally and internationally. Women, who are frequently the targets of gender-based violence primarily committed by men, may play a significant role in the rehabilitation and hTable of ContentsList of TablesList of FiguresAcronymsAcknowledgementsForewordAbstractPrefaceChapter 1Masculinised psychotherapy: From personal resolution to professional contributionChapter 2Context of masculinised mental health treatmentChapter 3Socio-culturally situated masculinitiesChapter 4Starting and sustaining all-male psychotherapy groupsChapter 5‘Every day’ masculine therapeutic discursive practicesChapter 6Father in the groupChapter 7The woman in the men’s groupChapter 8ClosureReferencesIndex
£128.25
Pan Macmillan NotreDame
Book SynopsisKen Follett was born in Cardiff, Wales. Barred from watching films and television by his parents, he developed an early interest in reading thanks to a local library. After studying philosophy at University College London, he became involved in centre-left politics, entering into journalism soon after. His first thriller, the wartime spy drama Eye of the Needle, became an international bestseller and has sold over 10 million copies. He then astonished everyone with his first historical novel, The Pillars of the Earth, the story of the building of a medieval cathedral, which went on to become one of the most beloved books of the twentieth century. One of the most popular authors in the world, his many books including the Kingsbridge series and the Century trilogy - a body of work which together chronicles over a thousand years of history - and his latest novel Never - which envisages how World War III could happen - have sold more than 188 million copies. A father and husband, Ken lives with his wife in England and enjoys travelling the world when he can.
£11.69
