History Books

Book SynopsisBY THE AUTHOR OF CHERNOBYL: HISTORY OF A TRAGEDY, WINNER OF THE BAILLIE GIFFORD PRIZE 2018 WINNER OF THE PUSHKIN HOUSE RUSSIAN BOOK PRIZE 2015 On Christmas Day 1991 Mikhail Gorbachev resigned as president of the Soviet Union. By the next day the USSR was officially no more and the USA had emerged as the world’s sole superpower. Award-winning historian Serhii Plokhy presents a page-turning account of the preceding five months of drama, filled with failed coups d’état and political intrigue. Honing in on this previously disregarded but crucial period and using recently declassified documents and original interviews with key participants, he shatters the established myths of 1991 and presents a bold new interpretation of the Soviet Union’s final months. Plokhy argues that contrary to the triumphalist Western narrative, George H. W. Bush desperately wanted to preserve the Soviet Union and keep Gorbachev in power, and that it was Ukraine and not the US that played the key role in the collapse of the Soviet Union. The consequences of those five months and the myth-making that has since surrounded them are still being felt in Crimea, Russia, the US, and Europe today. With its spellbinding narrative and strikingly fresh perspective, The Last Empire is the essential account of one of the most important watershed periods in world history, and is indispensable reading for anyone seeking to make sense of international politics today.Trade Review‘Written like a good thriller, The Last Empire recounts how chance events and quirky personalities led within a few months in 1991 to the disintegration of the empire built and maintained by generations of Russian tsars and Soviet apparatchiks’. * Guardian *'A poignantly accurate examination of the last four months in the existence of the USSR...a grippingly captivating story'. * International Affairs *‘Incisive… [Plokhy’s] vibrant, fast-paced narrative style captures the story superbly’ * Sunday Times *‘Fascinating and readable… the cast is terrific… Beautifully written’ * Sunday Telegraph, five star review *'A riveting thriller’ * Mail on Sunday *‘Fine-grained, closely reported [and] highly readable’ * FT *'Almost a day-by-day, blow-by-blow account of the actions and reactions of the main figures… Very relevant to today's Ukrainian crisis... The dramatic events of the second half of 1991 are very well recounted' * Literary Review *‘Serhii Plokhy’s great achievement in this wonderfully well-written account is to show that much of the triumphalist transatlantic view of the Soviet collapse is historiographical manure… The author explains as no one in English has until now, just how central Ukraine was to the viability of any sort of Soviet bloc… it’s bracing and timely… well worth reading’ * The Times *‘A superb work of scholarship, vividly written, that challenges tired old assumptions with fresh material from East and West, as well as revealing interviews with many major players... masterly’ * Spectator *'In this highly original reanalysis, drawing on rarely used sources scattered from Texas to Ukraine, Serhii Plokhy gives us a whole new perspective on the Fall of the Soviet Union. Did the USA really ‘win’ the Cold War, he asks – or did democracy undo the Soviet Empire from the inside?' -- Ian Morris, Professor of History at Stanford University and author of Why the West Rules – For Now'Gripping, vivid and incisive – essential reading for anyone wanting to counter modern Russian myth-making about the Soviet collapse.' -- Edward Lucas, senior editor at the Economist and author of The New Cold War'Indispensable. At last, a definitive account of the breakup of the USSR: for the first time, Serhii Plokhy tells the story not just from the point of view of Moscow, and not from Washington, but also from Ukraine and the other republics where many of the most important decisions were actually made. If you don't understand what really happened in 1991, then you'll find it impossible to understand the politics of the region today.' -- Anne Applebaum, Pulitzer Prize-winning author of Gulag: A History'A brilliant work of political narrative: vivid, original, urgent and, above all, wise. Serhii Plokhy’s dramatic account of the high politics behind the collapse of the Soviet Union could not be more timely. In the context of what many see as a new Cold War between Russia and the West, it is crucial that we understand what really happened in 1991.' -- Rachel Polonsky, author of Molotov’s Magic Lantern: Travels in Russian History'By far our best account yet of the death spiral of the USSR. Serhii Plokhy’s fine book combines a colorful, fast-paced narrative with trenchant analysis of key players in the Soviet collapse.' -- William Taubman, Pulitzer Prize-winning author of Khrushchev: The Man and His Era'A masterful account of the end of the Soviet Union. The narrative tale alone, enriched by reams of new evidence, makes it well worth reading for anyone interested in the making of the contemporary world. But The Last Empire is equally notable for its penetrating analysis. It is particularly revealing on the contradictions built into US policy and on the contributions to the outcome of the many nations of the USSR, including the Ukrainians, whose pivotal role has often been neglected in previous studies.' -- Timothy Colton, Professor of Government at Harvard University and author of Yeltsin: A Life'Masterful... Provocatively places Ukrainian independence as the central factor in the Soviet Union’s collapse. Gripping reading, full of surprises and revelations for everyone, especially on the American role in this revolutionary event.' -- Vladislav Zubok, Professor of International History at the London School of Economics

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Book SynopsisThe first part of a detailed study of one of the longest, and most brutal, tactical operations of World War II. In September 1944, the Allied High Command continued to press eastwards towards the Rhine, the thrust being spearheaded by Courtney Hodges' US First Army, whose proposed line of advance was through a wooded area south of Aachen, known locally as the Hürtgenwald or Hürtgen Forest. On the opposing side, the German forces under the overall command of Walter Model would do all they could to defend the Reich, but also maintain a staging post for the forthcoming Battle of the Bulge. Fought in brutal terrain heavily wooded, riven with razor sharp ridgelines and precipitous cliffs, and with a woefully inadequate road network and in all elements, the Battle of Hürtgen Forest was a grinding and protracted encounter where gains were measured in feet and yards and not miles. This study explores the first phase of this bloody battle, including the Aachen Question' facing the Allies. Fe

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Book SynopsisNo conflict in the world has lasted as long, generated as many news headlines, or incited as much controversy as the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Yet, despite, or perhaps because of, the degree of international attention it receives, the conflict is still widely misunderstood. While Israelis and Palestinians and their respective supporters trade accusations, many outside observers remain confused by the conflict''s complexity and perplexed by the passion it arouses.The Israeli-Palestinian Conflict: What Everyone Needs to Know offers an even-handed and judicious guide to the world''s most intractable dispute. Rather than presenting a traditional, narrative history, this book employs an accessible question-and-answer format. Writing in an engaging, jargon-free style, Dov Waxman, a leading expert on the Middle East, provides clear and concise answers to common questions, from the most basic to the most contentious. Covering the conflict from its nineteenth-century origins to the latest dTrade Review"Waxman draws on his command of history, diplomacy and politics to untangle what is surely the most challenging quandary in the Middle East since the Gordian knot, and he dispenses his solid expertise in short bursts of clear and highly illuminating prose." -Jonathan Kirsch, The Jewish Journal "A standing ovation is the only reasonable response to Dov Waxman's The Israeli-Palestinian Conflict: What Everyone Needs to Know, as well as heartfelt thanks for addressing all the questions we are afraid everyone knows the answers to but us."- Foreword ReviewsTable of ContentsPreface Acknowledgments List of Maps and Figures Chronology Ch. 1 - The Basics Ch. 2 - The Origins of the Conflict Ch. 3 - The Arab-Israeli Wars Ch. 4 - The Peace Process Ch. 5 - The Occupied Territories Ch. 6 - The Future of the Conflict Suggestions for Further Reading Index

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Book SynopsisIn The Darkening Age, Catherine Nixey tells the little-known - and deeply shocking - story of how a militant religion deliberately tried to extinguish the teachings of the Classical world, ushering in unquestioning adherence to the 'one true faith'.The Roman Empire had been generous in embracing and absorbing new creeds. But with the coming of Christianity, everything changed. This new faith, despite preaching peace, was violent, ruthless and intolerant. And once it became the religion of empire, its zealous adherents set about the destruction of the old gods. Their altars were upturned, their temples demolished and their statues hacked to pieces. Books, including great works of philosophy and science, were consigned to the pyre. It was an annihilation.A Book of the Year in the Daily Telegraph, the Spectator, the Observer, and BBC History MagazineA New York Times Book Review Editors' ChoiceWinner of the Royal Society of Literature Jerwood Award for NonfictionTrade ReviewThis book uncovers what was lost when Christianity won…. a delightful book about destruction and despair. Nixey combines the authority of a serious academic with the expressive style of a good journalist. She’s not afraid to throw in the odd joke amid sombre tales of desecration. With considerable courage, she challenges the wisdom of history and manages to prevail. Comfortable assumptions about Christian progress come tumbling down. * The Times *Catherine Nixey has written a bold, dazzling and provocative book that challenges ideas about early Christianity and both how – and why – it spread so far and fast in its early days. Nixey is a witty and iconoclastic guide to a world that will be unfamiliar, surprising and troubling to many. -- Peter Frankopan, author of The Silk RoadA searingly passionate book . . . Nixey writes up a storm. Each sentence is rich, textured, evocative, felt . . . Nixey delivers this ballista-bolt of a book with her eyes wide open and in an attempt to bring light as well as heat to the sad story of intellectual monoculture and religious intolerance -- Bettany Hughes * New York Times *Superb -- Richard DawkinsWith passion, wit and thunderous eloquence, Nixey throws everything she has against the bishops, monks and Christian emperors of late antiquity ... ‘The Darkening Agerattles along at a tremendous pace, and Nixey brilliantly evokes all that was lost with the waning of the classical world. * Sunday Times *A book for the 21st century ... Nixey has a great story to tell, and she tells it exceptionally well. As one would expect from a distinguished journalist, every page is full of well-turned phrases that leap from the page ... finely crafted, invigorating ... [The Darkening Age] succeeds brilliantly. -- Tim Whitmarsh * Guardian *As Catherine Nixey points out in her vivid and important new book, the idea of the widespread persecution of Christians is a product of the Church’s marketing and recruitment techniques… Nixey is a funny, lively, readable guide through this dark world of religious oppression. She wisely insists at the start of her book that this account of cultural violence should not be read as an attack on those who are “impelled by their Christian faith to do many, many good things”. It is instead a reminder that “monotheism” (or, one could say, religion in general and Christianity in particular) can be used for “terrible ends”. -- Emily Wilson * New Statesman *Clever, compelling ... Readers raised in the milky Anglican tradition will be surprised to learn of the savagery of the early saints and their sledgehammer-swinging followers ... exceptionally well written. -- Thomas W. Hodgkinson * Spectator *Nixey has done an impressive job of illuminating an important aspect of late-antique Christianity. -- Levi Roach * Literary Review *Engaging and erudite, Catherine Nixey's book offers both a compelling argument and a wonderful eye for vivid detail. It shines a searching spotlight on to some of the murkiest aspects of the early medieval mindset. A triumph. -- Edith Hall, author of The Ancient Greeks: Ten Ways They Shaped the Modern WorldNixey's elegant and ferocious text paints a dark but riveting picture of life at the time of the 'triumph' of Christianity, reminding us not just of the realities of our own past, but also of the sad echoes of that past in our present. -- Dr Michael ScottCaptivating and compulsive, Catherine Nixey's debut challenges our whole understanding of Christianity's earliest years and the medieval society that followed. A remarkable fusion of captivating narrative and acute scholarly judgment, this book marks the debut of a formidable classicist and historian. -- Dan Jones, bestselling author of The PlantagenetsA devastating book, written in vivid, yet playful prose. Catherine Nixey reveals a level of intolerance and anti-intellectualism which which echoes today's headlines but is centuries old. -- Anita AnandPugnacious and energetically written * The Tablet *Sizzling, scintillating -- Book of the Year * Spectator *

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Book SynopsisHe did not return to Morocco for another twenty-nine years, travelling instead through more than forty countries on the modern map, covering seventy-five thousand miles and getting as far north as the Volga, as far east as China and as far south as Tanzania. He wrote of his travels, and comes across as a superb ethnographer, biographer, anecdotal historian and occasional botanist and gastronome.With this edition by Mackintosh-Smith, Battuta's Travels takes its place alongside other indestructible masterpieces of the travel-writing genre.

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Book SynopsisA reappraisal of the tumultuous Partition and how it ignited long-standing animosities between India and Pakistan Trade ReviewA 2008 Top Seller in Asian History as compiled by YBP Library Services"Mahatma Gandhi called the traumatic experience of Partition 'the vivisection of India'. In this book, Yasmin Khan shows how this operation was performed. She describes the suffering of the victims with great sensitivity, and traces the perceptions of contemporary observers, most of whom were at a loss when trying to imagine the contours of the new states. To a country that took its territorial unity for granted, the partition of India came as a rude shock; its impact reverberates through the pages of this illuminating book."--Dietmar Rothermund, Professor Emeritus of South Asian History, Heidelberg University, and author of The Routledge Companion to Decolonisation and (with H Kulke) A History of India"This is a compassionate and devastating book. It charts the long, complex and often brutal processes that engulfed millions of unsuspecting people in chaos. Few among the South Asian and British political elite could have imagined what they were letting loose, while many of those swept up even tangentially had no clear idea of what it might mean. Its long aftermath still scars the subcontinent, as India and Pakistan see each other through the lens of carefully constructed nationalist history which feeds on the partially understood history of Partition. This is a book for all who wish to understand attitudes on the subcontinent today."--Judith M Brown, Balliol College Oxford, and author of Nehru"Yasmin Khan makes a significant contribution to the ongoing study of the Partition of India in this lucid account. Her eye for detail strongly evokes the issues, personalities and events at this crucial moment in the subcontinent's modern history. Narrative and sharp analysis go hand in hand in a work which bears all the hallmarks of a first-rate scholar."--Ian Talbot, University of Southampton"Yasmin Khan's The Great Partition vividly and memorably portrays the sheer turmoil of decolonisation. In turning the spotlight away from high-level politics to bitter personal experience, she exposes the bewilderment, brutality and mayhem that followed the hasty British decision to 'divide and quit.' This book will be a touchstone in the retelling of one of the twentieth century's greatest calamities."--David Arnold, University of Warwick and Fellow of the British Academy and of the Royal Asiatic Society"This is an exceptional book. Yasmin Khan has written a vivid, authoritative and accessible account of one of the greatest human tragedies and dislocations of the modern era. Her particular achievement is in weaving the lived experience of Partition - the agony, the uncertainty, the conflicting identities and loyalties - into a broader account of the turmoil and confusion which so gravely soured India's and Pakistan's achievement of independence."--Andrew Whitehead, editor of History Workshop Journal and former BBC South Asia correspondent

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Book SynopsisAdam Zamoyski’s bestselling account of Napoleon’s invasion of Russia and his catastrophic retreat from Moscow, events that had a profound effect on European history.Trade Review‘So brilliant that it is impossible to put the book aside … A master craftsman at work.’ Michael Burleigh, Sunday Times ‘Zamoyski’s book is a brilliant piece of narrative history, full of sparkling set-pieces, a wholly fascinating account of what must be reckoned one of the greatest military disasters of all time.’ Sunday Telegraph ‘No review can do justice to the scholarly integrity and human sensitivity of this book, or to the horror is describes … “1812” is one of the greatest stories ever told.’ Christopher Woodward, Spectator ‘An utterly admirable book. It combines clarity of thought and prose with a strong narrative drive.’ Daily Telegraph ‘A gripping tale.’ Economist ‘The best non-fiction version to be written so far … Zamoyski is brilliant at explaining what it must have been like to be a foot soldier.’ Mail on Sunday

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Book SynopsisFor millennia, mankind has devised ingenious and diabolical means of inflicting pain on fellow human beings. This deplorable but seemingly universal trait has eaten away at mankind's very claim to civilisation. Despite how repugnant the practice of torture appears to us today, for at least 3,000 years it formed part of most legal codes throughout Europe and the Far East. The Big Book of Pain is an exploration of the systematic use throughout the ages of various means of punishment, torture, coercion and torment. It takes the reader into the Ancient Roman Coliseum, the medieval dungeon, the Inquisitional interrogation, the auto-da-fe, the witch-trial, and the worst of prisons. It is a shocking and compelling study of the shameful methods and motives of the torturer and the executioner, and of the heinous duty they have performed through the ages.

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Book Synopsis‘A companion for anyone navigating the hardships of loss and uncertainty’ - Octavia Bright, author of This Ragged GraceA unflinching memoir exploring the realities of marriage, care-giving, how we die and how we grieve. Told with humour and courage, its raw honesty offers profound consolation in difficult times.After thirteen years together, Sarah Tarlow’s husband Mark began to suffer from an undiagnosed illness, which rapidly left him incapable of caring for himself. Life – an intense juggling act of a demanding job, young children and looking after a depressed and frustrated parner – became hard.One day, Mark waited for Sarah and their children to leave their home before ending his own life. Although Sarah had devoted her professional life as an archaeologist to the study of death and how we grieve, she found that nothing had prepared her for the reality of illness and the devastation of loss.The

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Book SynopsisAlistair Moffat was born in Kelso, Scotland. He is an award-winning writer and historian, and was Director of the Edinburgh Festival Fringe and is former Rector of the University of St Andrews. He is founder of Borders Book Festival and Co-Chairman of The Great Tapestry of Scotland. His many books include Scotland's Forgotten Past and Before Scotland, both published by Thames & Hudson.

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Book SynopsisShortlisted for the Duff Cooper PrizeAs the Napoleonic wars raged, what was life really like for those left at home? Award-winning social historian Jenny Uglow reveals the colourful and turbulent everyday life of Georgian Britain through the diaries, letters and records of farmers, bankers, aristocrats and mill-workers. Here, lost voices of ordinary people are combined with those of figures we know, from Austen and Byron to Turner and Constable. In These Times movingly tells the story of how people really lived in one of the most momentous and exciting periods in history.

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Book SynopsisTrade ReviewEngrossing ... eye-opening ... an enormously refreshing treat -- Dominic Sandbrook * Sunday Times *With great skill the authors have managed to combine clarity and consistency, substance and fluency, historical precision and a text that is a joy to read * Lira Neto *A thoughtful and profound journey into the soul of Brazil...The Brazil that emerges from this book is, indeed, a fascinating, complex, multicoloured, contradictory and challenging organism, more like a living being than a political, cultural and geographical entity -- Laurentino Gomes * Folha de São Paulo *Coinciding with the election of the far-right president Jair Bolsonaro, this epic history of the world's sixth most populous country is a shocking, dramatic and utterly engrossing read. The details of Brazil's history, from the 19th-century empire to the suicide of the quasi-fascist dictator Getulio Vargas, are largely unknown to British readers, but that only makes its dark story all the more fascinating. * The Sunday Times, Books of the Year *Detailed and deeply reasoned . . . Illuminating, engrossing, and consistently thoughtful. -- Larry Rohter * The New York Review of Books *Compelling and insightful . . . One of Schwarcz and Starling's great strengths is their dissection of changing racial identity. -- Geoff Dyer * Financial Times *Evocative . . . Schwarcz and Starling adopt what they call a biographical approach: an attempt to tell the collective stories of the generations of Brazilians that have lived . . . They achieve this with flair in their rich evocations of colonial and imperial Brazil . . . Rich and absorbing. -- Patrick Wilcken * The Times Literary Supplement *

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Book Synopsis'The writing is sublime, the research thorough, the eye for story superb' Sunday TelegraphWhen Amitav Ghosh began the research for his monumental cycle of novels the Ibis Trilogy, he was startled to find how the lives of the 19th century sailors and soldiers he wrote of were dictated not only by the currents of the Indian Ocean, but also by the precious commodity carried in enormous quantities on those currents: opium. Most surprising at all, however, was the discovery that his own identity and family history was swept up in the story.Smoke and Ashes is at once a travelogue, memoir and a history, drawing on decades of archival research. In it, Ghosh traces the transformative effect the opium trade had on Britain, India, and China, as well as the world at large. The trade was engineered by the British Empire, which exported Indian opium to sell to China and redress their great trade imbalance, and its revenues were essential to the Empire's financial survival. Yet tracing the profits further, Ghosh finds opium at the origins of some of the world's biggest corporations, of America's most powerful families and prestigious institutions (from the Astors and Coolidges to the Ivy League), and of contemporary globalism itself.Moving deftly between horticultural histories, the mythologies of capitalism, and the social and cultural repercussions of colonialism, in Smoke and Ashes Amitav Ghosh reveals the role that one small plant had in making our world, now teetering on the edge of catastrophe.Trade ReviewGhosh has reinvented himself as a superlative commodity historian. In his new role, he has surpassed many seasoned historians in his ability to synthesise a wealth of research with remarkable intellectual clarity and suggestive simplicity . . . There's a quietly subversive element to Smoke and Ashes for which Ghosh deserves to be commended * The Times *The book gave me a deeper chill than any of the TV series about the opioid crisis I had viewed before reading it . . . The writing is sublime, the research thorough, the eye for story superb, and there are splashes of personal back story that underscore the sincerity of the author's arguments * Sunday Telegraph *A riveting new history of opium, a lucrative and destructive flower . . . Amitav Ghosh's sweeping, forcefully written Smoke and Ashes covers centuries in the life of the plant * Washington Post *A sweeping, and personal, account of the immense effect the opium trade has had on world history and how it continues to impact our lives today. * Financial Times *

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Book SynopsisThe significance of the Aran knit is so much more than an unusually popular design. Arans communicate warmth, comfort and a sense of home, which people the world over continue to respond to. Vawn Corrigan explores how the Aran knit became so iconic.

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Book SynopsisThe Financial Times Best books of 2022: Politics ''The prolific military chronicler and analyst Mark Galeotti has produced exactly the right book at the right time.'' The Times A new history of how Putin and his conflicts have inexorably reshaped Russia, including his devastating invasion of Ukraine. Written by one of the world's leading experts on modern Russia, Putin's Wars is a timely overview of the conflicts into which Russia has plunged since Vladimir Putin became prime minister and then president. From the First and Second Chechen Wars to the military incursion into Georgia, the annexation of Crimea, and the eventual full-scale invasion of Ukraine, Mark Galeotti has created a vivid insight into the inner workings of the Kremlin. Updated for this paperback edition to include both the aborted coup of June 2023 and a clear overview of how and why the Russian military has struggled in Ukraine, this is aTrade ReviewThe prolific military chronicler and analyst Mark Galeotti has produced exactly the right book at the right time. * The Times *Galeotti’s work is essential reading for anyone seeking to understand current events in Ukraine. -- Gillian Tett * The Financial Times *Putin’s Wars is essential reading for anyone with an interest in Russia’s military. * Literary Review *The definitive work on this subject to date. * History of War *Mark Galeotti is one of the most insightful and incisive analysts on Russia’s past, present, and future. Russia’s February 2022 expanded invasion of Ukraine tragically highlights the critical importance of understanding the connection between politics and war. Galeotti vividly shows how Russia has waged its wars... [and] how those wars shaped the country’s politics and, in turn, how politics shaped Moscow’s military campaigns. * Joshua C. Huminski, Director, Mike Rogers Center for Intelligence and Global Affairs, Center for the Study of the Presidency & Congress *This is a vivid account of how Putin has used armed force during his time in power, culminating in the deadly war in Ukraine. * Sir Lawrence Freedman, Emeritus Professor of War Studies, King’s College London *An accessible, lucid and vivid comprehensive contemporary account of the inner workings, logic and rationales of the central military pillar of Putinism. I unreservedly recommend this gem. * Dr Graeme P. Herd, George C. Marshall European Center for Security Studies *Putin’s Wars is Galeotti at his finest: writing that moves like a spy novel and enough information for the student or professional reader … An excellent and accessible contribution to the field for seasoned Russian observers and those interested in the larger sweep of how it all transpired. * Dr Yuval Weber, Bren Chair of Russian Military and Political Strategy at the Brute Krulak Center for Innovation and Creativity at the US Marine Corps University *Table of ContentsAuthor’s Note List of Illustrations List of Maps and Diagrams Abbreviations Cast of Characters Chronology 1. Introduction PART ONE: BEFORE PUTIN 2. Born in Chaos 3. A Military in Crisis 4. The First Chechen War 5. The Wars of Russian Assertion PART TWO: ENTER PUTIN 6. Putin’s Priorities 7. The Second Chechen War 8. Ivanov, the Initiator 9. Serdyukov, the Enforcer 10. Georgia, 2008 (1): Tbilisi’s Move … 11. Georgia, 2008 (2): … Moscow’s Counter 12. ‘New Look’ Army PART THREE: THE NEW COLD WAR 13. Shoigu, the Rebuilder 14. Crimea, 2014 15. Donbas, 2014– 16. Lessons of the Donbas War 17. Syria, 2015– (1): The Unexpected Intervention 18. Syria, 2015– (2): Lessons of the Syrian Campaign PART FOUR: REARMING RUSSIA 19. Rumble for Ruble 20. Armiya Rossii 21. The Sky is Russia’s! 22. Contesting the Sea 23. Power Projection: Blue and Black Berets 24. The Spetsnaz 25. The Nuclear Backstop PART FIVE: THE FUTURE 26. Political Warfare 27. New Generation Warfare 28. The Challenges of the Future 29. Ukraine 2022: Putin’s Last War? 30. Conclusions: The Eurasian Sparta? 31. Ukraine: A Dispatch on a War in Progress Notes Selected English-language Bibliography Index

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Book SynopsisOne of the Most Important Books on Civil Rights, Race, and Freedom Ever Written. “A groundbreaking challenge to white supremacy.” —The New York Times A classic work of American literature, African-American history, and sociology by W. E. B. Du Bois, The Souls of Black Folk is a monumental collection of essays that examines race and racism in America during the early 1900s and prior. Du Bois derived much of the book’s content from his own personal experience as an African-American living during these tumultuous times, which resulted in an expertly crafted firsthand account of the trials of oppression and segregation existing in America. Many of the book’s essays formulated Du Bois’s then-perceived radical thought and platform for change, and eventually became catalysts that sparked protest movements across the country. Containing some of the most revered work on the topic of race, this stunning new trade edition of The Souls of Black Folk is perfect for anyone interested in African-America literature and history.

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Book SynopsisLeading archaeologist Francis Pryor retells the story of King Arthur, legendary king of the Britons, tracing it back to its Bronze Age origins.The legend of King Arthur and Camelot is one of the most enduring in Britain''s history, spanning centuries and surviving invasions by Angles, Vikings and Normans. In his latest book Francis Pryor one of Britain's most celebrated archaeologists and author of the acclaimed Britain B.C.' and Seahenge' traces the story of Arthur back to its ancient origins. Putting forth the compelling idea that most of the key elements of the Arthurian legends are deeply rooted in Bronze and Iron Ages (the sword Excalibur, the Lady of the Lake, the Sword in the Stone and so on), Pryor argues that the legends'' survival mirrors a flourishing, indigenous culture that endured through the Roman occupation of Britain, and the subsequent invasions of the so-called Dark Ages.As in Britain B.C.', Pryor roots his story in the very landscape, from Arthur's Seat in EdinburTrade Review‘Controversial deceptively clever and a damn good read.’ BBC History Magazine Praise for ‘Britain B.C.’: ‘Francis Pryor has given us a remarkable, imaginative and persuasive account of those other Britons…its enthusiastic and confident approach deserves to be very influential.’ TLS ‘A compulsive narrative intertwining prehistory, the excitement of discovery and personalities. It bounds along, wonderfully enlivened by Pryor’s earthy enthusiasm.’ New Scientist Praise for ‘Seahenge’: ‘A magnificent book…a vivid story, superbly told. It gives a wonderfully clear explanation of how archaeology works, written in plain language which all can understand and enjoy.’ Magnus Magnusson

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Book SynopsisState of Emergency : Britain 1970-74 is a brilliant history of the gaudy, schizophrenic atmosphere of the early Seventies. The early 1970s were the age of gloom and glam. Under Edward Heath, the optimism of the Sixties had become a distant memory. Now the headlines were dominated by social unrest, fuel shortages, unemployment and inflation. The seventies brought us miners'' strikes, blackouts, IRA atrocities, tower blocks and the three-day week, yet they were also years of stunning change and cultural dynamism, heralding a social revolution that gave us celebrity footballers, high-street curry houses, package holidays, gay rights, green activists and progressive rock; the world of Enoch Powell and Tony Benn, David Bowie and Brian Clough, Germaine Greer and Mary Whitehouse. Dominic Sandbrook''s State of Emergency is the perfect guide to a luridly colourful Seventies landscape that shaped our present, from the financial boardroom to the suburban bedroom. ''Hugely entertaining, always compelling, often hilarious'' Simon Sebag Montefiore, Sunday Telegraph ''Thrillingly panoramic ... he vividly re-creates the texture of everyday life in a thousand telling details'' Francis Wheen, Observer ''Masterly ... nothing escapes his gaze'' Independent on Sunday ''Splendidly readable ... his almost pitch-perfect ability to recreate the mood and atmospherics of the time is remarkable'' EconomistTrade ReviewSuperb ... vivid ... magnificent ... Anyone who was there should read it: and so should anyone who was not -- Simon Heffer Literary Review Hugely entertaining, always compelling, often hilarious -- Simon Sebag Montefiore Sunday Telegraph Thrillingly panoramic ... he vividly re-creates the texture of everyday life in a thousand telling details -- Francis Wheen Observer Masterly ... nothing escapes his gaze Independent on Sunday Splendidly readable ... his almost pitch-perfect ability to recreate the mood and atmospherics of the time is remarkable Economist There is so much to enjoy ... Neatly interweaving his interpretation of the Heath years with insightful reflections on everything from racism in television to the rise of self-sufficiency, football hooliganism and sex comedies, Sandbrook has produced a memorable portrait of Britain in an era of angst and upheaval Sunday Times Sandbrook is an inveterate demolisher of myths Independent on Sunday This epically enthralling account of the Seventies will be read with embarrassed recognition by those who lived through it and disbelieving astonishment by those who missed it Independent

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Book SynopsisAn expert and fascinating guide to the history, mythology and religion of one of the world's first great civilizations, and a detailed guide to its awe-inspiring temples and tombs, sumptuously illustrated with 750 photographs and images.

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Book SynopsisWINNER OF THE EDGAR AWARD FOR BEST FACT CRIME SHORTLISTED FOR THE ANDREW CARNEGIE MEDAL FOR EXCELLENCE IN NON-FICTION SHORTLISTED FOR THE CWA ALCS GOLD DAGGER FOR NON-FICTION **NOW A MAJOR MOTION PICTURE DIRECTED BY MARTIN SCORSESE STARRING LEONARDO DICAPRIO AND ROBERT DE NIRO** ‘A riveting true story of greed, serial murder and racial injustice’ JON KRAKAUER ‘A fiercely entertaining mystery story and a wrenching exploration of evil’ KATE ATKINSON ‘A fascinating account of a tragic and forgotten chapter in the history of the American West’ JOHN GRISHAM  From the bestselling author of The Lost City of Z, now a major film starring Charlie Hunnam, Sienna Miller, Robert Pattinson and Tom Holland, and the Number One international bestseller The Wager, comes a true-life murder story which became one of

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Book SynopsisIn Jesus and John Wayne, a seventy-five-year history of American evangelicalism, Kristin Kobes Du Mez demolishes the myth that white evangelicals “held their noses” in voting for Donald Trump. Revealing the role of popular culture in evangelicalism, Du Mez shows how evangelicals have worked for decades to replace the Jesus of the Gospels with an idol of rugged masculinity and Christian nationalism in the mould of Ronald Reagan, Mel Gibson and above all, John Wayne. As Du Mez observes, the beliefs at the heart of white evangelicalism today preceded Trump and will outlast him.Trade Review"Kristin Kobes Du Mez takes on [the Religious Right’s] version of toxic masculinity in her book Jesus and John Wayne: How White Evangelicals Corrupted a Faith and Fractured a Nation… Du Mez writes from the inside. She was raised in the Christian Reformed Church, a splinter sect of the Dutch Reformed Church." -- Anne Nelson - Times Literary Supplement

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Book SynopsisThis is the definitive and most authoritative book ever published on the glories of English gardening--historically and horticulturally, a tour de force.An unprecedented in-depth look at the English garden by one of Britain's foremost garden writers and authorities, this book showcases the enduring appeal of the English garden whose verdant lawns and borders of colorful plants are the inspiration for garden lovers worldwide. Kathryn Bradley-Hole--the longtime garden columnist for Country Life--takes a fresh look at more than seventy gardens from across England and distills the essence of what makes the English garden style so sought after.Seasonal photographs capture the gardens--some grand, some personal, some celebrated, some rarely photographed--at their finest moments, accompanied by sparkling, insightful text. Featuring photographs from the unparalleled archives of Country Life, the full story of the English garden is here, from medieval monastTrade ReviewAt a time when the very idea of travel is inconceivable, what a gift to be taken on an armchair tour of the great English gardens, courtesy of the magnificent “English Gardens: From the Archives of Country Life Magazine” (Rizzoli, 491 pages, $85). Kathryn Bradley-Hole, the illustrated British weekly’s garden editor for 18 years, has chosen 62 garden profiles from the nearly 900 she wrote during her tenure. Her selection—featuring gardens and country houses large and small, from the ancient to the lately established—is divided into 17 thematic sections, from topiary, formal and cottage gardens to decidedly postmodern gardens designed to “succeed in an environmentally challenging world.” The concise profiles are accompanied by full-color images by many of today’s outstanding English landscape photographers, and some also by fascinating archival materials. Section headers and picture captions provide historical context, addressing the impact on gardens of changing styles, design, economics and technology...The current Duke of Devonshire wrote the book’s foreword; his estate, Chatsworth House (profiled here twice), is one of the grandest of them all. —WALL STREET JOURNAL An instant classic, Kathryn Bradley-Hole’s ENGLISH GARDENS: From the Archives of Country Life (Rizzoli, 491 pp., $85) contains a lifetime of travel itineraries. Great Dixter in East Sussex is vibrant with experiments in color and texture; tulips dance through a box parterre at Broughton Grange, an Oxfordshire garden recently designed by Tom Stuart-Smith — who has also been invited to refresh parts of the garden at Chatsworth for the Duke of Devonshire. —NEW YORK TIMES BOOK REVIEW With its history and portraits of more than 70 beautiful gardens, this book is an instant classic. The author is the former garden editor of the revered British magazine, and uses its exceptional photographs. Many of these gardens, new and old, are open to the public. —BOSTON GLOBE

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Book SynopsisTypically wide-ranging, informative, and illuminating . . . a lovely book Peter FrankopanWhen did globalization begin? Most observers have settled on 1492, the year Columbus discovered America. But as celebrated Yale professor Valerie Hansen shows, it was the year 1000, when for the first time new trade routes linked the entire globe, so an object could in theory circumnavigate the world. This was the ''big bang'' of globalization, which ushered in a new era of exploration and trade, and which paved the way for Europeans to dominate after Columbus reached America.Drawing on a wide range of new historical sources and cutting-edge archaeology, Hansen shows, for example, that the Maya began to trade with the native peoples of modern New Mexico from traces of theobromine - the chemical signature of chocolate - and that frozen textiles found in Greenland contain hairs from animals that could only have come from North America.Moreover, Hansen turns accepted Trade ReviewProvocative . . . a smart, broad-ranging survey of the global Middle Ages that is learned, thought-provoking - and perfectly tuned to our times -- Dan Jones * Sunday Times *Typically wide-ranging, informative, and illuminating, Valerie Hansen has written a lovely book that puts together the pieces of the global jigsaw puzzle of a millennium ago -- Peter Frankopan, author of The Silk Roads: A New History of the WorldThe world has been connected longer than the schoolbooks tell you, a whole millennium longer at least: connections of gold and spices, dragons and slaves and faith. Valerie Hansen teases out the unfamiliar links between Chinese markets, Baghdad fortunes, strange blonds on the walls of Mayan temples, and Vikings on Russian rivers in a careful but accessible and truly global history -- Michael Pye, author of The Edge of the WorldValerie Hansen's sweeping tour of the world in the year 1000 is revelatory and full of eye-opening surprises. She tells a rich and fascinating story of the many ways that far-flung societies a millennium ago forged connections among themselves, a reminder that the forces of globalization that seem so potent today have been at work for centuries. A masterly work of scholarship -- Liaquat Ahamed, author of the Pulitzer Prize-winning Lords of FinanceValerie Hansen takes us on an informative and entertaining romp around the world of a thousand years ago, on everything from Viking longboats to camel caravans in Central Asia. Anyone who thinks that globalization is something new in life needs to read this book! -- Ian Morris, author of Why the West Rules - For NowIn a rich and fascinating account of the world around the year 1000, Valerie Hansen shows how people, goods, and ideas traversed vast spaces. Ranging by sea and land across six continents, she seeks out exciting and unexpected connections that show that globalization is by no means new to our own time -- David Abulafia, author of The Boundless SeaValerie Hansen has not only fashioned a coherent and original vision of the world in the year 1000, in itself a remarkable feat of scholarship, but described it in a clear, concrete and absorbing narrative that will entertain and enlighten every reader -- R.I. Moore, author of The First European Revolution and The War on HeresyWhat makes The Year 1000 so special is that it is the result of the author's unique fusion of firsthand, on-site investigations around the world and intensive research in far-flung libraries, archives, and museums. What's more, all of this energetic, scholarly activity is combined with a compelling argument for a new hypothesis concerning the origins of globalization, a topic that could hardly be more pertinent to our own age -- Victor H. Mair, editor of The Columbia History of Chinese Literature and coauthor of The History of Tea and Sacred DisplayThe myth of the 'European Middle Ages' dissolves in the ocean currents and trade winds of this stimulating account of early global connections. Bolstered by facts and enlivened by intriguing theories, Hansen's book presents a world of objects, ideas, people, animals, and know-how constantly on the move. A brisk and refreshing trip for us all -- Barbara H. Rosenwein, author of A Short History of the Middle Ages and Generations of FeelingA tour-de-force and offers many new ways of thinking about the past -- Katrina Gulliver * Spectator *A fascinating, gripping, all-encompassing read -- Giles CorenHighly impressive, deeply researched, lively and imaginative -- Christiane Bird * New York Times *A brilliant communicator... wonderful [book]...brilliant

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Book SynopsisAn epic journey through sea shanties, high tides and seven seasFrom the international bestselling singer comes The Book of Sea Shanties.The world sang in harmony with Nathan Evans, the Glaswegian postie turned singer of sea shanties. Join him as he takes you through time and seafaring history to discover the true meaning of Wellerman, and who and what exactly was the Drunken Sailor?Featuring over 35 best loved shanties, Nathan will share the meaning behind each of his favourite shanties and show how they have shaped and inspired him. Beautifully illustrated throughout, it will also include original shanties and bonus content written exclusively for this book.Whether you're young or old, gather around and discover the riotous world of sea shanties.Praise for Nathan Evans:A 'Sea Shanty sensation' Rolling Stone'An artist who really lifts the mood when he performs' Daily Telegraph'Too good to miss' Brian May, Daily Express

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Book SynopsisAfter a nomadic childhood in America, Canada and the UK, Jonathan Miles has been travelling ever since and currently lives in Paris. Having taken a first from University College, London, he received his doctorate from Jesus College, Oxford. Early books include studies of British artists Eric Gill and David Jones. Most recently, Medusa: The Shipwreck, the Scandal and the Masterpiece, Nine Lives of Otto Katz and St Petersburg: Three Centuries of Murderous Desire were all published to international acclaim.

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Book SynopsisA gorgeous Collector's Edition covering the history of Japan from prehistoric times to the end of the Heian period. Japan has gripped the imagination of readers of their spiritual and delicate myths, ghost stories and folktales for many generations but there is much more to draw our fascination. From the veneration of Mount Fuji to the long periods of isolation from other countries, to the warring kingdoms and the inception of the martial rule of the Shogunates, this history reveals the origins of the civilization that produced some of Japan's most beautiful art and literature and influences on modern Japanese culture. 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'A characteristically radical re-reading of history that places the social and political experiments of pirates at the heart of the European Enlightenment. A brilliant companion volume to the best-selling Dawn of Everything' Amitav GhoshThe Enlightenment did not begin in Europe. Its true origins lie thousands of miles away on the island of Madagascar, in the late seventeenth century, when it was home to several thousand pirates. This was the Golden Age of Piracy - but it was also, argues anthropologist David Graeber, a brief window of radical democracy, as the pirate settlers attempted to apply the egalitarian principles of their ships to a new society on land.In this jewel of a book, Graeber offers a way to 'decolonize the Enlightenment', demonstrating how this mixed community experimented with an alternative vision of human freedom, far from that being formulated in the salons and coffee houses of Europe. Its actors were Malagasy women, philosopher kings and escaped slaves, exploring ideas that were ultimately to be put into practice by Western revolutionary regimes a century later.Pirate Enlightenment playfully dismantles the central myths of the Enlightenment. In their place comes a story about the magic, sea battles, purloined princesses, manhunts, make-believe kingdoms, fraudulent ambassadors, spies, jewel thieves, poisoners and devil worship that lie at the origins of modern freedom.Trade ReviewChatty, punky, anti-everything catnip... it is good fun. It's about pirates, after all. * Sunday Times *Engaging ... the chief pleasure of Graeber's writing is not that one always agrees with his arguments about the past. It is rather that, through a series of provocative thought experiments, he repeatedly forces us to reconsider our own ways of living in the present. Whatever happened in 18th-century Madagascar, Pirate Enlightenment implies, we could surely all do with a bit more free-thinking and egalitarianism in our own social, sexual and political arrangements. -- Fara Dabhoiwala * The Guardian *Open and imaginative... Graeber is writing in a hybrid genre of poetic history, in this sense, but he is also reminding us why such hybridisation is good for us. * New Statesman *A characteristically radical re-reading of history that places the social and political experiments of pirates at the heart of the European Enlightenment. A brilliant companion volume to the best-selling Dawn of Everything. -- Amitav GhoshFeisty, heroic ... a highly original thinker and a wonderful writer. -- Peter Frankopan * New York Times *A genius... blazingly original, stunningly wide-ranging, impossibly well read. * The Atlantic *A thinker who revolutionises the way we see the world and helps us reimagine the things we once took for granted. * New Statesman *PRAISE FOR THE DAWN OF EVERYTHING: Iconoclastic and irreverent ... an exhilarating read. -- David Priestland * The Guardian *Pacey and potentially revolutionary ... This is more than an argument about the past, it is about the human condition in the present. -- Bryan Appleyard * Sunday Times *Blazing with iconoclastic rebuttals to conventional wisdom. Full of fresh thinking, it's a pleasure to read and offers a bracing challenge on every page. -- Simon Sebag Montefiore * BBC History *This is not a book. This is an intellectual feast. -- Nassim Nicholas Taleb

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Book SynopsisA facsimile edition of a classic source for the history of piracy, as used by Robert Louis Stevenson in the writing of Treasure Island.Captain Charles Johnson's General History of Pirates was one of the best-selling books of 1724, when it was first published. It provides a sweeping account of what has come to be called the Golden Age of Piracy.It went through four editions in two years, and without doubt owed a substantial part of its success to a dramatic writing style that vividly captures the realities of pirates' savage existence. The book contains documentary evidence of events during the lives of its subjects. In the 270 years since its original publication, Johnson's work has come to be regarded as the classic study of one of the most popular subjects in maritime history.Table of ContentsIntroduction by David Cordingly Captain Johnson’s Introduction The life of Captain Avery The life of Captain Martel The life of Captain Teach The life of Major Bonnet The life of Captain England The life of Captain Vane The life of Captain Rackham The life of Mary Read The life of Anne Bonny The life of Captain Davis The life of Captain Roberts The life of Captain Anstis The life of Captain Worley The life of Captain Lowther The life of Captain Low The life of Captain Evans The life of Captain Phillips The life of Captain Spriggs The life of Captain Gow The life of Captain Kidd An account of the piracies and murders committed by Philip Roche, etc An abstract of the civil law and statute law now in force in relation to piracy Notes Glossary Bibliography

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Book Synopsis''TOM PHILLIPS IS A VERY CLEVER, VERY FUNNY MAN'' Greg JennerThis is a book about TRUTH - and all the ingenious ways, throughout history, that we''ve managed to avoid it.We live in a ''post-truth'' age, we''re told. The US has a president who openly lies on a daily basis (or who doesn''t even know what''s true, and doesn''t care). The internet has turned our everyday lives into a misinformation battleground. People don''t trust experts any more.But was there ever really a golden age of truth-telling? As the editor of the UK''s leading independent fact-checker, Tom Phillips deals with complete bollocks every day. Here, he tells the story of how we humans have spent history lying to each other - and ourselves - and asks an important question: how can humanity move towards a truthier future?PRAISE FOR HUMANS: A BRIEF HISTORY OF HOW WE F*CKED IT ALL UP:''F*cking brilliant'' Sarah Knight, The Life-ChaTrade ReviewFor Tom Phillips and HUMANS:In dark times, it's reassuring to learn that we've always been a bunch of clueless f*cking nitwits -- Stuart Heritage * Don't Be a Dick, Pete *A light-touch history of moments when humans have got it spectacularly wrong... Both readable and entertaining * Telegraph *If you find yourself looking at the news and wondering how humanity has got so many things wrong, over and over again, this book is a very funny answer to just that question' -- Mark Watson, comedian

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Book SynopsisOne of our most provocative military historians, Victor Davis Hanson has given us painstakingly researched and pathbreaking accounts of wars ranging from classical antiquity to the twenty-first century. Now he juxtaposes an ancient conflict with our most urgent modern concerns to create his most engrossing work to date, A War Like No Other.Over the course of a generation, the Hellenic city-states of Athens and Sparta fought a bloody conflict that resulted in the collapse of Athens and the end of its golden age. Thucydides wrote the standard history of the Peloponnesian War, which has given readers throughout the ages a vivid and authoritative narrative. But Hanson offers readers something new: a complete chronological account that reflects the political background of the time, the strategic thinking of the combatants, the misery of battle in multifaceted theaters, and important insight into how these events echo in the present.Hanson compellingly portrays the ways Athen

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Book SynopsisStep into the tumultuous age of Stuart England with Peter Ackroyd's enlightening Civil War. Beginning with James I, the first Scottish king of England, it tracks an era of massive upheaval, ending with the dramatic flight of his grandson, James II, into exile.Civil War transports you to the heart of the 17th-century Britain, where you meet figures like James I with his shrewd perspectives on diverse matters, and Charles I, whose inept rule ignited the flames of the English Civil War. Ackroyd offers a brilliant – warts and all – portrayal of Charles's nemesis Oliver Cromwell, Parliament's great military leader and England's only dictator, who began his career as a political liberator but ended it as much of a despot as the king he executed.Beyond this political turmoil, Ackroyd also explores the rich cultural and literary contributions of the Jacobean era. This was a world where Shakespeare's masterpieces were penne

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Book SynopsisAn invaluable new reproduction of Holbein’s woodcuts of The Dance of Death   One of Hans Holbein’s first great triumphs, The Dance of Death is an incomparable sequence of tiny woodcuts showing the folly of human greed and pride. Each image is packed with drama, wit, and horror, as a skeleton mocks and terrifies everyone from the emperor to a ploughman. Taking full advantage of the new literary culture of the early sixteenth century, The Dance of Death took an old medieval theme and made it new.   This edition reproduces a complete set from the British Museum, with many details highlighted and examples of other works in this grisly field included. Ulinka Rublack introduces the woodcuts with a remarkable essay on the late medieval Danse Macabre (the Dance of Death) and the world Holbein lived in.   For more than seventy years, Penguin has been the leading publisher of classic literature in the English-sTrade ReviewThe underlying message of the series is, of course, that Death comes for us all, and if it interrupts the recreations of the wealthy rather more insolently than those of the poor, then let that be a lesson to us... Rublack's commentary is useful and illuminating, pointing out details, providing information about the time Holbein lived in, and even making a plausible case for her own views on Holbein's position on the reformation. -- Nick Lezard * Guardian *

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Book SynopsisAt a time when the world is searching for answers to extremism and polarization, The Centre Must Hold shows a more effective brand of politics.

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Book SynopsisThe most important historical source on one of the most powerful leaders of the ancient world, Arrian''s The Campaigns of Alexander illustrates how Alexander the Great came to rule over a vast empire of his own making, translated from the Greej by Aubrey de Sélincourt, and revised with an introduction and notes by J.R. Hamilton in Penguin Classics.Although written over four hundred years after Alexander''s death, Arrian''s Campaigns of Alexander is the most reliable account of the man and his achievements we have. Arrian''s own experience as a military commander gave him unique insights into the life of the world''s greatest conqueror. He tells of Alexander''s violent suppression of the Theban rebellion, his total defeat of Persia and his campaigns through Egypt, India and Babylon - establishing new cities and destroying others in his path. While Alexander emerges from this record as an unparalleled and charismatic leader, Arrian succeeds brilliantly in creating an objective and fully-rounded portrait of a man of boundless ambition, who was exposed to the temptations of power and was worshipped as a god in his own lifetimeAubrey de Sélincourt''s vivid translation is accompanied by J.R. Hamilton''s introduction, which discusses Arrian''s life and times, his synthesis of other classical sources and the composition of Alexander''s army. This edition also contains appendices, maps, a list for further reading and a detailed index.The details of Arrian''s life (b. 86) are uncertain, though the shape of it indicates a man of wide and varied talents. He was governor to the Emperor Hadrian, the author of a number of works of non-fiction and an Athenian citizen. In 145 he rose to become a chief magistrate of Athens and thereby part of the governing body of the city. His date of death is not known.If you enjoyed The Campaigns of Alexander, you might like Thucydides'' History of the Peloponnesian War, also available in Penguin Classics.

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Book SynopsisRichard Sennett''s The Fall of Public Man examines the growing imbalance between private and public experience, and asks what can bring us to reconnect with our communities. Are we now so self-absorbed that we take little interest in the world beyond our own lives? Or has public life left no place for individuals to participate? Tracing the changing nature of urban society from the eighteenth century to the world we now live in, and the decline of involvement in political life in recent decades, Richard Sennett discusses the causes of our social withdrawal. His landmark study of the imbalance of modern civilization provides a fascinating perspective on the relationship between public life and the cult of the individual. ''Brilliant ... One admires the breadth of Professor Sennett''s erudition, the reach of his historical imagination, the doggedness of his analysis ... Buy this book and read it. Ironically, it may provide a key to happiness''  Christopher Lehmann-Haupt, The New York Times ''A powerful argument for a more formal public culture and a swipe against the rise of a self-indulgent counter-culture''  Melissa Benn, Guardian ''A provocative book ... Sennett brings us to an undeniably recognizable place, the contemporary urban scene''  Richard Todd, Atlantic Monthly Richard Sennett''s previous books include The Fall of Public Man, The Corrosion of Character, Flesh and Stone and Respect. He was founder director of the New York Institute for the Humanities, and is now University Professor at New York University and Academic Governor and Professor of Sociology at the London School of Economics.

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Book SynopsisLONGLISTED FOR THE SAMUEL JOHNSON PRIZEBeautifully written, ridiculously erudite, warm and open-hearted' The TimesCompelling and poignant' GuardianThis is travel writing at its best' Observer Internationally bestselling William Dalrymple takes us to the heart of an undiscovered India.A Buddhist monk takes up arms to resist the Chinese invasion of Tibet - then spends the rest of his life trying to atone for the violence by hand printing the best prayer flags in India. A Jain nun tests her powers of detachment as she watches her best friend ritually starve herself to death.Nine people, nine lives; each one taking a different religious path, each one an unforgettable story. William Dalrymple delves deep into the heart of a nation torn between the relentless onslaught of modernity and the ancient traditions that endure to this day.Trade ReviewHis most ambitious yet, taking the reader into lurid, scarcely imaginable worlds of mysticism . . . Dalrymple has an inimitable way of conjuring the Indian landscape * Financial Times *Beautifully written, ridiculously erudite, warm and open-hearted . . . A towering talent * The Times *A blend of travelogue, ethnography, oral history and reportage, Nine Lives is compelling and poignant * Guardian *The reader gets the sense that the author is driven by an unquenchable curiosity about a country he loves. Dalrymple never mocks his subjects. Indeed, his prose is often tinged with tenderness and a sense of longing. In dashes of brilliance, Dalrymple’s work reveals an India still rich in religious experience, its spiritual quest – or rather, quests – still very much part of the warp and weft of daily life. Amid all the excitement about economic growth, an older India endures -- Sadanand Dhume * Wall Street Journal *At its best travel writing beats fiction, firing the imagination with tales of foreign peoples drawn close by our common humanity . . . This is travel writing at its best. I hope it sparks a revival -- Ruaridh Nicoll * Observer *Nine Lives remains oddly gripping, and often very moving, in its first-person accounts of spiritually-minded people that Dalrymple meets on his travels across the subcontinent -- Pankaj Mishra * The National *For those who enjoyed Dalrymple’s earlier travel adventures, this latest book is written with the same verve and sense of immediacy . . . In a deft way he shows how the tensions, dilemmas and changes in the lives of these individuals illustrate the vast transformation of Indian society . . . Vibrant and engaging, Dalrymple paints a compelling portrait of this complex sprawling giant of a country at a time of momentous change -- Peter Kirkwood * The Australian *His characteristic wit and sympathy are fully evident in the interviews he has conducted . . . Beautifully illustrates the relationship between tradition and modernity in India * Spectator *A fascinating text . . . It is an index of Dalrymple’s ability as a writer and his complex immersion in Indian cultures that he deftly avoids any hint of “Orientalism” . . . Dalrymple succeeds in juxtaposing the sacred and the secular without diverting the captivating flow of his prose. This is a rich book, teeming with fascinating characters and places worth visiting; it is a travel book that takes the reader not only across the wide expanse of the Indian subcontinent but also into intriguing aspects of India’s past and present -- Tabish KhairDalrymple’s storytelling skills and eye for the bizarre make this a fascinating and entertaining window onto spiritual India -- Anthony Sattin * Sunday Times, Books of the Year *A travel writer of huge talent, even genius * Outlook *A fast-paced book, moving from the perspective of a Jain nun contemplating the slow and voluntary relinquishing of her life, to the dilemma of the Dalit theyyam who shuttles between his job as a prison warden to his life as a man in the grip of religious ecstasy. These are compelling contemporary stories, and Dalrymple seems to be channelling a modern-day avatar of Kipling * Business Standard *In Nine Lives the author is on the road again, but deliberately takes a back seat, allowing his characters to tell their own spellbinding stories. Dalrymple’s exhaustive research and deep feeling for Indian culture and ancient faiths mean he writes with clarity, erudition and engagement. With his guidance and context, each story reads like a rare insight into a multifarious and often impenetrable culture. Nine Lives is India at its most pure but also its most fragile. Dalrymple’s stories always strive for a higher purpose than simply recounting adventures in the manner of so much contemporary travel writing. In Nine Lives, that purpose is to record and conserve these unique, fantastical histories, before they disappear forever -- Kendall Hill * Sydney Morning Herald *Dalrymple is widely read and admired, and Nine Lives is both moving and radiant: an austere, piercing, and exciting book on nine astonishing religious lives -- Pradeep Sebastian * The Hindu *

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Book SynopsisHarald Jähner (Author) Harald Jähner is a cultural journalist and former editor of the Berliner Zeitung. He was also an honorary professor of cultural journalism at the Berlin University of the Arts. His book Aftermath: Life in the Fallout of the Third Reich was shortlisted for the 2021 Baillie Gifford Prize for Non-Fiction in the UK and won the Leipzig Book Fair Prize for Non-Fiction in his native Germany.Shaun Whiteside (Translator) Shaun Whiteside is an award-winning translator from French, German, Italian and Dutch. His most recent translations from German include Aftermath by Harald Jähner, To Die in Spring by Ralf Rothmann, Swansong 1945 by Walter Kempowski, Berlin Finale by Heinz Rein and The Broken House by Horst Krüger.

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Book SynopsisCompleted in 1136, this classic chronicle traces the story of the realm from its supposed foundation by Brutus to the coming of the Saxons some two thousand years later. Vividly portraying legendary and semi-legendary figures such as Lear, Cymbeline, Merlin the magician, and the most famous of all British heroes, King Arthur, it is as much myth as it is history, and its veracity was questioned by other medieval writers. But Geoffrey of Monmouth’s powerful evocation of illustrious men and deeds captured the imagination of subsequent generations, and his influence can be traced through the works of Malory, Shakespeare, Dryden, and Tennyson.   Lewis Thorpe’s translation from the Latin brings us an accurate and enthralling version of Geoffrey’s remarkable narrative. His introduction discusses in depth the aims of the author and his possible sources, and describes the impact of this work on British literature.Table of ContentsTranslated with an Introduction by Lewis ThorpeIntroduction1. Geoffrey's Purpose2. Who was Geoffrey of Monmouth?3. Geoffrey's Sources4. The Work Itself5. Geoffrey the Artist6. Geoffrey of Monmouth down the Centuries7. Editions of the Historia8. Earlier Translations9. This Translation10. AcknowledgmentsNotes to the IntroductionShort Bibliography of Works Used in the Introduction and in the NotesMap of BritainDedicationPart One: Brutus Occupies the Island of AlbionPart Two: Before the Romans CamePart Three: The Coming of the RomansPart Four: The House of ConstantinePart Five: The Prophecies of MerlinPart Six: The House of Constantine (Continued)Part Seven: Arthur of BritainPart Eight: The Saxon DominationTime ChartIndex

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Book Synopsis'With God's help, I, Bede ... have assembled these facts about the history of the Church in Britain ... from the traditions of our forebears, and from my own personal knowledge'Written in AD 731, Bede's Ecclesiastical History of the English People is the first account of Anglo-Saxon England ever written, and remains our single most valuable source for this period. It begins with Julius Caesar's invasion in the first century BC and goes on to tell of the kings and bishops, monks and nuns who helped to develop government and convert the people to Christianity during these crucial formative years. Relating the deeds of great men and women but also describing landscape, customs and ordinary lives, this is a rich, vivid portrait of an emerging church and nation by the 'Father of English History'.Leo Sherley-Price's translation from the Latin brings us an accurate and readable version of Bede's History. This edition includes Bede's Letter to EgTable of ContentsBook one: the situation of Britain and Ireland - their earliest inhabitants; on Gaius Julius Caesar, the first Roman to reach Britain; Claudius - the second Roman to reach Britain - annexes the Isles of Orkney to the Roman Empire - under his direction Vespasian subdues the Isle of Wight; Lucius - a British king - writes to Pope Eleutherus and asks to be made a Christian; Severus divides Roman Britain from the rest by an earth work; the reign of Diocletian - his persecution of the Christian Church; the martyrdom of Saint Alban and his companions - who shed their life-blood for Christ at this time; the Church in Britain enjoys peace from the end of this persecution until the time of the Arian heresy; during the reign of Gratian - Maximus is created Emperor in Britain and returns to Gaul with a large army; during the reign of Arcadius - the Briton Pelagius presumptuously belittles the grace of God; during the reign of Honorius - Gratian and Constantine set up as despots in Britain - the former is killed shortly afterwards in Britain - the latter in Gaul; the Britons - harassed by the Irish and Picts - seek help from the Romans - who come and build a second wall across the island - notwithstanding, these enemies again break in and reduce the Britons to worse straits; during the reign of Theodosius the Younger - Palladius is sent to the Christians among the Irish - the Britons make an unsuccessful appeal to the Consul Aetius; the Britons made desperate by famine drive the Barbarians out of their land - there soon follows an abundance of corn - luxury - plague - and doom on the nation. (Part contents)

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Book SynopsisWritten when Engels was only twenty-four, and inspired in particular by his time living amongst the poor in Manchester, this forceful polemic explores the staggering human cost of the Industrial Revolution in Victorian England. Engels paints an unforgettable picture of daily life in the new industrial towns, and for miners and agricultural workers--depicting overcrowded housing, abject poverty, child labour, sexual exploitation, dirt and drunkenness--in a savage indictment of the greed of the bourgeoisie. His fascinating later preface, written for the first English edition of 1892 and included here, brought the story up to date in the light of forty years'' further refelection. A masterpiece of committed reporting and an impassioned call to arms, this is one of the great pioneering works of social history.

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Book SynopsisWhen Peter Hessler went to China in the late 1990s, he expected to spend a couple of peaceful years teaching English in the town of Fuling on the Yangtze River. But what he experienced - the natural beauty, cultural tension, and complex process of understanding that takes place when one is thrust into a radically different society - surpassed anything he could have imagined. Hessler observes firsthand how major events such as the death of Deng Xiaoping, the return of Hong Kong to the mainland, and the controversial consturction of the Three Gorges Dam have affected even the people of a remote town like Fuling.Poignant, thoughtful and utterly compelling, River Town is an unforgettable portrait of a place caught mid-river in time, much like China itself - a country seeking to understand both what it was and what it will one day become.Trade ReviewWritten with great clarity and affection, River Town should be read by anyone with any interest in finding the Chinese less inscrutable * The Times *If you read only one book about China, let it be this * Jonathan Mirsky *Hessler's account superbly captures the spirit of a country in which he is an invader, albeit welcomed, understanding rather than merely describing it and, with consummate skill and literary style, bringing it alive in all its mesmerising complexity * Martin Booth, Sunday Times *To come across a Westerner patient enough and tolerant enough to try to understand the immense, exasperating and ultimately lovable entity that is China is always a pleasure. To encounter one who is as literate and sensitive as Peter Hessler is a joy. This tender, intelligent account of two years spent teaching deep in the country's heart is the work of a writer of rare talent: it deserves to become a classic * Simon Winchester *Studded with insight and humility, written with unshowy elegance, River Town is about ways of seeing * Daily Telegraph *Table of ContentsPart I: downstream; the city; Shakespeare with Chinese characteristics; raise the flag mountain; running; the white crane ridge; the dam; the Wu River; opium wars; white flat mountain; storm. Part II: summer; the priest; Chinese life; the restaurant owner; money; the teacher; Chinese new year; the land; spring again; the river; upstream.

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Book Synopsis*FULLY UPDATED WITH A NEW FOREWORD*THE SUNDAY TIMES TOP TEN BESTSELLERWINNER OF THE BRITISH ARMY MILITARY BOOK OF THE YEAR 2016''Truly essential'' Simon Sebag MontefioreThe final destruction of the Ottoman Empire - one of the great epics of the First World War, from bestselling historian Eugene RoganFor some four centuries the Ottoman Empire had been one of the most powerful states in Europe as well as ruler of the Middle East. By 1914 it had been drastically weakened and circled by numerous predators waiting to finish it off. Following the Ottoman decision to join the First World War on the side of the Central Powers the British, French and Russians hatched a plan to finish the Ottomans off: an ambitious and unprecedented invasion of Gallipoli...Eugene Rogan''s remarkable book recreates one of the most important but poorly understood fronts of the First World War. Despite fighting back with

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Book Synopsis''James Holland is the best of the new generation of WW2 historians.'' Sebastian Faulks''Holland''s skill lies in bringing these warriors to life with vivid prose.'' The TimesShortlisted for the 2021 British Army Military Book of the Year_________________________________________________This is the story of the biggest seaborne landing in history.Codenamed Operation HUSKY, the assault on Sicily on 10 July 1943 remains the largest amphibious invasion ever mounted. That day, over 160,000 Allied troops were dropped from the sky or came ashore to begin the fight for Europe.The subsequent thirty-eight-day Battle for Sicily was one of the most dramatic of the entire war, involving daring raids by special forces, deals with the Mafia, attacks across mosquito-infested plains and perilous assaults up almost sheer faces of rock and scree.Made worse by virulent disease and extreme heat, the Allies also had to fight their way across anTrade ReviewMarshalling a wealth of primary and secondary sources into an engrossing narrative, Holland fills a yawning gap in histories of WWII. This magisterial account is a must-read for military history fans. * Publishers Weekly *Perfect territory for a military historian of Holland's talents * The Times *Historians too often neglect that emotional tapestry. War is characterised as arrows on a map, tables of munitions, cold casualty statistics. Holland's skill lies in bringing these warriors to life with vivid prose. He's a prolific historian of the war, but each book is constructed with great care and emotional commitment...Holland is obsessed with war, but fortunately does not seem to love it. He recognises its beauty, but also its vileness * The Times *Holland argues very effectively that the success of Husky was a turning point in the war * Times Literary Supplement *Holland makes the capture of the island one of the great turning-point battles of the war * Military History Matters *

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Book SynopsisFrom the CWA Historical Dagger Award-nominated author of The Angel's Mark in 2019 and The Serpent's Mark in 2020England, 1593: Five years on from the Armada and Elizabeth's kingdom seems secure. But there is always a plot afoot...Robert Cecil, the Queen's spymaster, needs Nicholas Shelby - reluctant spy and maverick physician - to embark on an undercover mission once again. One that he can't refuse, if he wants to keep Bianca Merton safe.Crossing the seas to Marrakesh in search of a missing informer, Nicholas hunts the dingy back alleys and dazzling palaces for the truth. But his search reveals a deadly conspiracy, one far more difficult to survive than he'd ever imagined.And back in London the plague has returned, ravaging the streets and threatening everything he holds most dear...________________________Praise for The Jackdaw Mysteries, a CWA Dagger finalist series'S. W. Perry is one of the best' The Times'No-one is better than S. W. Perry at leading us through the squalid streets of London in the sixteenth century' Andrew Swanston'S. W. Perry's ingeniously plotted novels have become my favourite historical crime series' S. G. MacLeanTrade ReviewThe third in Perry's series is as dramatic and colourful as the previous two. * The Sunday Times *An absolute belter of a read and another fabulous addition to the Jackdaw Mysteries series... I just gobbled up the pages as the story fairly roars along battling spies and pirates on route... S. W. Perry ensures the sights, smells and sounds of London and Morocco entered my very being. I love this series. -- Liz Robinson * LoveReading, Picks of the month *The writing is of such a quality, the characters so engaging and the setting so persuasive that, only two books in, S.W. Perry's ingeniously plotted novels have become my favourite historical crime series. * S. G. MacLean on The Serpent's Mark *A satisfyingly convoluted plot. * Sunday Times on The Serpent's Mark *No-one is better than S. W. Perry at leading us through the squalid streets of London in the sixteenth century. * Andrew Swanston on The Serpent's Mark *The Serpent's Mark is an excellent evocation of Elizabethan England, with espionage, intricate conspiracies, strange medical practises and a gripping story. A rattling good read. * William Ryan on The Serpent's Mark *A gorgeous book - rich, intelligent and dark in equal measure. It immerses you in the late 16th century and leaves you wrung out with terror. This is historical fiction at its most sumptuous. * Rory Clements on The Angel's Mark *Wonderful! Beautiful writing, and Perry's Elizabethan London is so skilfully evoked, so real that one can almost smell it. * Giles Kristian on The Angel's Mark *[With] intrigue and suspense, Perry's diligent research makes the period detail convincing. Fans of S.J. Parris and C.J. Sansom will be pleased. * Publishers Weekly, starred review *

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